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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/23/1978 Meeting M I NUT E S e EUGENE CITY COUNCIL August 23, 1978 Adjourned meeting from August 16, 1978, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller at 12:00 noon on August 23, 1978, King's Table, Oakway Mall, with the following Council members present: D. W. Hamel, Ray Bradley, Tom Williams, Eric Haws, Jack Delay, Scott Lieua11en, Brian Obie, and Betty Smith. 1. ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL A. Teleprompter Franchise--Mr. Williams commented that he feels the franchise, in final form, is far superior to anything he would have dreamed possible. He said the article in the Register-Guard regard- ing the franchise is accurate, in that it indicated there was a five-year review process; in fact, there is a three-year mandatory review process. He mentioned another matter of concern, that being whether an experimental Public Broadcasting Service should be funded by the rate-bearers of the franchise area. He said the Commission has determined that right now it would not be funded through a locked- in long-term grant. A third area of concern is whether a failure in the cable system can trigger a private engineer to analyze it. If e in the judgment of the Commission there is a need for a private engineer, the Commission can do it at its discretion and charge it to Teleprompter. Mr. Williams is pleased with the outcome of the negotiations and the job done by the Commission and the City Attorney's office. Mr. Delay wondered if the three-year review period would be ongoing or a one-time shot. Mr. Williams answered that the review would take place every three years. Mr. Delay also wondered what process' there would be, should the franchise prove ineffective. Mr. Williams responded that provisions for level of service provide that what other franchises provide should be included in the data during any arbi- tration procedure. Mr. Delay also had a question regarding public access. Mr. Williams responded that the franchise provides that Teleprompter will make available all but 18 hours a week on KOZY that is reserved for religious programming. As soon as the system goes to the 20-channe1 system (which is expected in 1980), up to three additional channels will be provided for public access. Teleprompter is obligated to make the facilities available to anyone wanting to produce something to go on the system at a reasonable charge. Teleprompter is also obligated to provide a black-and-white camera free for anyone wanting to produce something for public access. Mr. Williams added that most would argue it is poor government - . 8/23/78--1 ~ 513 -- to lock in any service on a 15-year level with guaranteed funding, e and not have the service come in front of an annual budgetary review process. Shirley Swenson, Finance Department, added that, as far as providing equipment is concerned, it will be necessary to keep in mind the FCC authority in that area, as the rules have changed since the service was first looked at. It was understood that the franchise agreement will be coming before the Council in September~ probably Seotember 11. B. Meetings--Mr. Bradley announced that the 1990 Update Committee will meet at 7:00 a.m. August 24 at the Gingerbread House in Springfield. He also announced a MAPAC meeting Wednesday, August 24, at 7:30 at Harris Hall. C. Herbicides--Scott Lieuallen said he and the Council aides had been working on a packet of information on herbicides. He will be getting that information out to Council and a public hearing will be held, probably on September 25. D. Committee Appointments Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to approve Mayor Keller's recommendation for reappointment of Dick Hanson and Janet Boettcher to the Room Tax Committee terms to end July 27, 1979. Motion carried unanimously. e Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to approve Mayor Keller's recommendaton of appointment of Robert Talbott to the Airport Commission, to replace Glenn Gordon. Term expires January 1, 1979. Motion carried unanimously. E. Weyerhaeuser Tour--Manager noted that Council has been invited to tour tree farms from the air and view the herbicide problem. That tour is to take place on Wednesday, September 13, and six Councilors indicated they would attend. F. Ordinance Concerning local Improvements--Manager noted that Section 7.165 of the Eugene Code concerning public notice and calling for bids on local improvements contains a reference to only one of the Code sections involving the public contract law. It is necessary to change the ordinance so that alternate bids can be accepted on an impending sewer project. C.B. 1741--0rdinance concerning local improvements, amending Section 7.165 of the Eugene Code, 1971, and declaring an emergency was read by number and title only, there being no Council member present requesting that it be read in full. ' Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, that the bill be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at this e time. Motion carried unanimously, and the bill was read the second time by council bill number only. 8/23/78--2 5~ e Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. Motion carried unani- mously and the bill was declared passed and numbered 18250. II. AMBULANCE RATE INCREASE REQUEST--Staff memo and recommendation and letter from Medical Services, Inc. have been distributed to Council members. Shirley Swenson, Finance Department, referred to the chart distributed to Council members that compares rates in Eugene with rates of other cities. She said Mr. Leonard of the ambulance service had originally requested that the increase be based on the Portland Consumer Price Index. She said she recommended against using the consumer price index because its increases are greater than in other medically-related costs. Instead, she said staff recommends that any rate increase be refused at this time, since the local ambulance service is without competition and is already charging more than the services in other cities which have single ambulance operators. Mr. Haws wondered what the reason is for regulating the rates at all. Ms. Swenson answered that it is because the ambulance service is a monop- oly. She said the ordinance, at pr.esent, provides that no other ambulance service can come in without a public hearing first showing a need for another such company. It was also noted that there had been no complaints about the service provided, simply complaints about the rates. ., . Mr. Bradley wondered what kind of services the Fire Department provides. Ev Hall, Fire Chief, said that the Fire Department works in conjunction by providing emergency medical treatment when requested. The Fire Depa rt- ment Emergency Medical Technicians I attempt to stabilize patients until the ambulance arrives. He stated that the ambulance service has some Emergency Medical Technicians III on their force. He said the Fire Depart- ment does not transport patients to the hospital or provide all of the stabilizing kinds of things that the ambulance service does. He sa i d occasionally they will assist with transportation. Mr. Bradley wondered if the City had plans to provide a full line of ambulance services. Manager sai~ the City does not have such plans. They would be at quite an additional cost if that were to happen. Additionally, that would not solve the metropolitan problem. If the government were to take over the ambulance service, it would be most appropriate that it be funded at the County level. Mr. Williams said that he does not think the consumer price index is a sound vehicle 'for setting ambulance rates. He said that, sooner or later, it will be necessary to set up a requirement for open audits on the operations, plus a desired service level standard. Mr. Bradley said he thinks it's necessary to have the highest standard possible, since the ambulance service is a life-sustaining kind of operation. Mr. Bill Leonard, Ambulance Service, Inc., said he feels the City should have its fingers on the rates and the kind of service that is provided because the ambulance service is a quasi-judicial public body. He sa i d ~ they do work closely with the Eugene Fi re Department. He also mentioned 8/23/78--3 515 e that Eugene-Springfield is noted as having one of the finest, most advanced medical services in the United States. He mentioned two com- plaints that had been lodged with the ambulance service, explained how they were resolved, and he also passed out letters of commendation which he has received from various citizens. He went over rates in other cities, saying that rates in several towns will be increasing approximately 15 percent per year. Mr. Leonard then showed the Council a map of the five-year plan. It showed fire stations, the ambulance station, and where satellite ambulance stations are planned. Those will be added over a five-year period with no additional cost to users. Only inflationary increases will be requested. Mr. Leonard suggested possibly some kind of compromise. He said that, with inflation, the ambulance service would have to request a rate increase every year. He said, right now, perhaps a nine-percent increase on the base rate and mileage could be approved or perhaps a 6-1/2 percent increase on everything. Manager said that Council should take the opportunity to review the information that has been presented and come back to the next meeting with a recommendation. Mr. Haws said he felt the need to request certain information be provided that the City's accountant could look at, and on which to base a decision. Mr. Leonard said they would be against a certified audit because it would cost about $15,000 to $25,000. Mr. Delay agreed to the need for further review. He said any automatic adjustment based on some arbitrary base only adds to inflation. Mr. Williams said he felt the data that Council has at present is inadequate. He said it e might be worthwhile to create a regulatory commission and let them look at various rates for quasi-judicial public utilities. Mr. Obie said that, if the City want~ quality of service to be kept at its present state, the equipment must be maintained and the City must support that. He said he has not as ,yet seen a better system for granting rate increases. Mr. Lieuallen said perhaps staff could come up with an idea of what would be considered reasonable service. He is not in favor of a City commission at this point. It was understood that Council will come back with a recommendation in a week and that staff will respond to Mr. Leonardis alternative suggestion for a nine-percent increase on base'rate and mileage, or a 6-1/2 percent increase on everything. III. VISITORS FROM KAKEGAWA--Visitors were present from the city of Kakegawa. They hope to establish a sister-city relationship with the City of Eugene. Jean Paul, Sister City Committee, introduced members of the tour. The leader of the delegation presented a message from the mayor of Kakegawa, indicating that the city wishes to institute a sister-city relationship because of the similarities of the two cities, because the mayor is the general manager and owner of a lumber company and has been working with American corporations having Douglas firs, and because Eugene is the Number 2 city in the United States for livability. Gifts were exchanged between the two delegations. e 8/23/78--4 516 IV. Sidewalks on City View from West 22nd Avenue south 2,000 feet--Memo - and map have been distributed to Council members. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to authorize staff to proceed to notify property owners that the project has Council approval and give property owners the time to put in their own walks, after which staff will handle the project as a standard City project and come back to Council with formal bids. Motion carried unanimously. V. Resolution Supporting Lane Council of Governments--Copy of resolution has been distributed to Council members. Res. No. 2987--Supporting the continuation of L-COG as it is presently constituted and requesting Lane County to continue providing its share of funds for continuation of L-COG was read by number and title. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to adopt the resolution. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Williams and Mr. Haws left the meeting. VI. Storm Sewer between Echo Hollow and Ellsworth Street from the Marshall Ditch to Royal Avenue Res. No. 2984--Authorizing storm sewer construction between Echo Hollow e and Ellsworth Streets from the Marshall ditch to Royal Avenue (1155) was read by number and title. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. VII. Improvement Petitions Res. No. 2985--Authorizing street paving, sanitary sewer, storm sewers, and pedestrian way construction to serve Anton Subdivision and Amber Subdivision and sanitary sewer construction within 160 feet of the eastern boundary of Anton Sub- division (1335, 1654) was read by number and title. (Affected property represented as follows: Paving--100%; sewers--100%; pedestrian way--100%; City cost--none). Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to adopt the reso- lution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. Res. No. 2986--Authorizing street paving, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer construction to serve White Oak Heights Subdivision; and sanitary sewer construction within 160 feet of the west boundary of White Oak Heights (1608) was read by number and title. e 8/23/78--5 5" (Affected property represented as follows: Paving--100%; sewers--100%; - City costs--none). Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to adopt the reso- lution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. VIII. Transportation Improvement Program--Memo and draft of ESATS three-year transportation program distributed to Council. A hearing will be held October 9, 1978. IX. Approval of Minutes Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Bradley, to approve the minutes of August 16, 1978. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. X. Public Hearings Scheduled August 28, 1978 A. Selection of Architect for Civic Center Phase II. B. Rezonings: Z 78-17 Rossi Z 78-18 Needham Z 78-20 Thorne Z 78-21 Painter C. Annexation/Rezonings: Fairview Investments, A/Z 18-7 Alpert, A/Z 78-8 e Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjourned. ~~ Charl es 1. Hen City Manager CTH:DP:ml/CM12a8 - 8/23/78--6 518 -