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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/08/1992 Meeting e e e M I NUT E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall January 8, 1992 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Shawn Boles, Ruth Bascom, Debra Ehrman, Bobby Green, Randy MacDonald, Paul Nicholson, and Kaye Robinette. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Roger Rutan. The adjourned meeting of January 6, 1992, of the Eugene City Council was called to order by His Honor Mayor Jeff Miller. I. ITEMS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL, MAYOR, AND CITY MANAGER A. Neighborhood Leaders Council Memorandum Mr. MacDonald shared a memorandum from the Neighborhood Leaders Council re- garding the second round of Eugene Decision public workshops. B. Security Agencies Certification Proposal Mr. MacDonald asked for an update on the set of proposals related to security agencies and implementation of certification fees. C. Scrap Dealers and Pawn Shops Mr. MacDonald asked for a report on the status and/or City's response to the letter from E. H. Robbins proposing that scrap dealers and pawn shops be licensed. D. State of the City Event Mr. MacDonald congratulated Mayor Miller on the State of the City event and the special publication. He noted that the inclusion of articles from coun- cilors was helpful, and drew special attention to the piece written by Mr. Nicholson. E. National League of Cities Conference Mr. MacDonald said he will submit a written summary report to council on the National League of Cities Conference he attended. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 8, 1992 Page 1 e Mr. Green later reported briefly on his participation, saying the Eugene Decisions process was well-founded. A City of Corvallis councilor has asked for information and wants to be kept apprised of the City's progress. F. Political Campaign Ms. Bascom announced that she will make her first issue-oriented campaign statement at 11 a.m. in the Hult Center Lobby. She said this will be the first of a series of such statements. Noting that the lobby is set up for free concerts on Thursdays, Ms. Bascom has suggested that that facility be made available for anyone making announcement for City office. G. Opening of Olive Street Ms. Bascom wondered if the opening of Olive Street to vehicular traffic is a legal issue. City Attorney Bill Gary said that council has the authority to open Olive Street to vehicular traffic, and there is nothing in the charter that prohib- its such action. He noted that the charter amendment that was passed last year prohibiting traffic on the mall without a vote of the people does not prohibit opening Olive Street. He said the mall area protected by the amend- ment is described as Willamette Street from the south margin of 8th to the north margin of lOth Avenue and Broadway Avenue from the east margin of Charnel ton Street to the west margin of Oak Street. He noted that Olive Street was conspicuous in its absence in the charter amendment. e Responding to a question from Mr. Boles, Mr. Gary said that there is no defi- nition of "vehicle" in the charter or City Code; therefore, he was not sure if bicycles are considered vehicles. He said it is a difficult question because it is not clear what the intent of the charter amendment was. Mr. MacDonald asked that the City Attorney's Office define vehicle as it relates to bicycles in the development of its opinion. Responding to a question from Mayor Miller, Mr. Gary said there is a provi- sion in State Law whereby the City can go to court in a single-party proceed- ing and ask the court to declare that the City has authority to do whatever it is undertaking. He did not recommend this because the legal system is designed to have an adversary process before the court. The results from this form of litigation is no better than legal advice. Mr. Gary said the best approach is to take whatever legal advice is available, make a political judgement about how to proceed, and answer challenges as they arise. Mr. Nicholson said the council will make a serious mistake if it treats the opening of Olive Street as a legal rather than political issue. He said he firmly believes that if the voters are presented with a sound proposal, they will respond with a sound decision, without raising further cynicism. Mayor Miller suggested asking the Downtown Commission to develop a proposal for opening Olive Street to vehicular traffic. Councilors agreed with the e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 8, 1992 Page 2 e e e suggestion. Ms. Ehrman said the new Library should be taken into considera- tion in the proposal. Ms. Bascom said the Downtown Commission should develop as inexpensive a plan as possible. H. Conference Attendance Ms. Bascom asked the council to decide on conference attendance in the next couple of months. She also reminded the council of its ground rule to make conference reports in writing. I. Tree Commission Ms. Bascom said that the Tree Commission's new member has asked if the Tree Commission can make another attempt at resolving the "require/encourage" issue in the revised tree ordinance. There was consensus to allow further review by the Tree Commission provided that the process remain within the established time line. J. Use of Credit Cards at Airport Ms. Bascom asked that staff contact Airport Director Mike Boggs to explore the use of credit cards to pay for parking. K. Century Council Mr. Boles expressed a need to work with the City's liaison to the Century Council, as his repeated requests to the group for information have been ignored. L. Government Efficiency Mr. Boles said he had been invited to speak about the Eugene Decisions pro- cess in the home of a constituent. He described this unsolicited interest from citizens as invigorating and said their main point was that they could support additional revenue sources if they could assure themselves that the City was efficient. M. Local School Issues Mr. Green expressed concern over recent reports of violence and the presence of weapons in local schools. Noting that the Cops in Schools program failed to show any positive affect in schools, Mr. Boles said he agreed with the school board's opinion that the issue should be addressed with the legal guardians of these students, their parents. Councilors expressed interest in discussing this further. Staff was directed to provide historical information on the Cops in Schools program and place the issue on a future agenda. City Manager Gleason noted that schools have MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 8, 1992 Page 3 e asked that the City renew the program. City staff is in the process of giv- ing an immediate response and developing a program, consistent with the dis- trict's wishes and Eugene Decisions. Ms. Ehrman suggested a joint meeting with the school board and a representa- tive from the Juvenile Department. Councilors expressed support for the idea. e Mr. Green said there is also a program called "Cities in Schools" that both districts 4J and Bethel are exploring. Mr. MacDonald said there is interest for the issue at the State level, pro- viding additional resources. N. Mayor's Office Mr. Green announced that he is no longer interested in running for election to the office of Mayor, saying he has work yet to do on the council. O. Human Rights Commission Mayor Miller expressed appreciation for the Human Rights Commission's inter- est in requesting that the State deal with racism in sporting events. P. Redistricting Ms. Ehrman said she and Mr. Robinette attended a neighborhood meeting on redistricting, saying public controversy over the issue will continue. Q. Dogs Off Leash Program Ms. Ehrman asked that staff, as part of its evaluation of this pilot program, make periodic visits to the parks involved. She thought it unusual that the Wayne Morse east pasture was generating most of the complaints. Mr. MacDonald said that the Parks Division is developing a process for deal- ing with this issue. A public hearing is scheduled for February. R. Vending Ordinance Change Ms. Ehrman encouraged progress on the upcoming vending ordinance change, noting it had been quite some time since council had first received petitions on the issue. S. Lane Transit District Ms. Ehrman said that a proposed change in Lane Transit District's (LTD) traf- fic pattern at 13th Avenue and Kincaid Street was not evident, and wondered about the status of that proposal. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 8, 1992 Page 4 e e e T. University of Oregon Housing Mr. Boles said Dan Williams' response to expanding University of Oregon hous- ing is not convincing. He said the Social Goals Committee and the Housing Policy Board should follow up on the issue. Ms. Bascom said the University may address the Legislature's concern by pro- ceeding with an upgrade of the Amazon Student Housing Center, possibly adding some units. U. Homelessness Video Ms. Ehrman said that the producers of the video on local homeless issues need funding and wondered if the project met the council's criteria for the Con- tingency Fund. V. Solid Waste & Recycling Board Mr. Nicholson said he is impressed with how difficult it will be to resolve the issue of solid waste and recycling in the time allotted. He expressed the opinion that there is no consensus on the role of the Solid Waste and Recycling Board. W. Public Versus Private Employees Mr. Nicholson said he is often faced with questions such as why it is that when per capita income is substantially below the national mean, the City should have employees paid the mean wage for the market. He also questioned whether the City used the right market. Mr. Nicholson wondered if there were some positive way to proceed without ignoring this, which the public per- ceives as an important issue. Councilors responded saying this public perception was not unique to the City of Eugene. The programs implemented by the City had been ineffective in alleviating the public distrust. A certain number of the population will not be persuaded otherwise, whatever the approach. Mr. Gleason noted that it is the council's fiduciary responsibility to satis- fy itself. Reports initially raise more questions than provide answers. He said staff is in the process of answering that second round of questions and feels confident in the analysis. Mr. Nicholson suggested convening a citizen panel to evaluate the City organ- ization with the mission of analyzing areas where improvements in efficiency can be made. Both Mayor Miller and Mr. MacDonald mentioned a program called Total Quality Management that might serve this purpose. Mayor Miller invited specific proposals for how the City can accomplish the task. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 8, 1992 Page 5 e e e Mr. Gleason said staff is responding to council directives with rigorous quantitative analysis up against known objectives, with employee involvement, focusing on the product and customer need. He said there is no institutional resistance, simply a lack of clarity about how to proceed with regard to time frame and resources. He agreed that there needed to be a higher level of discussion about the issue. X. Change in Staff Mayor Miller announced the departure of Matt Schuler, who is returning to the Fire Division. He introduced Ron Sutton, Department of Public Safety, as the new Public Service Officer. Y. Library Cards for the Homeless City Manager Gleason said he presumed that the issuance of library cards to homeless individuals properly resided with the Library Board, unless the council wished involvement. The council did not. II. ELECTION OF CITY COUNCIL OFFICERS Ms. Ehrman moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, that Mr. Boles be elected as City Council President, with Mr. Green as Vice President. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. MacDonald asked for clarification on the process by which council offi- cers are elected. The council meeting adjourned at 1:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Micheal Gleason City Manager (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) MNCC 102391 MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 8, 1992 Page 6