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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/04/1978 Meeting " e M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL October 4, 1978 Adjourned meeting from September 27, 1978, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to .order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller, Octeber 4, 1978, at 11:30 a.m. at King's Table, Oakway Mall, with the fcllowing Councilors present: D. W. Hamel, Brian Obie, Tern Williams, Eric Haws, Jack Delay, Scott Lieuallen, and Betty Smith. Councilor Ray Bradley was absent. I. ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL A. Economic Improvement Commission Meeting--Manager anncunced a formatien meeting fer the Econcmic Improvement Commission to be held November 1 at 7:30 p.m. at Harris Hall. B. Jet Bcat .on the Willamette--Manager announced that a Marine Board hearing .on the matter will be held .on Octcber 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. - c. 1978 Meeting Schedule--Manager announced that meetings were scheduled for all four Wednesdays in October, with the comment that .on October 18 he and the Assistant Manager will be out of tcwn at the ICMA conference. Councilors felt that meeting could be cancelled unless scmething urgent comes up. In November, meetings are scheduled fcr all five Wednesdays including the day befcre Thanksgiving. November 6 was agreed upon by Council as an appropriate date fcr a Monday night Council meeting rather than November 13, as November 13 conflicts with the League of Oregon Cities meeting. In December, staff recom- mends one Monday meeting and three Wednesday meetings with no meetings during Christmas week. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Ms. Smith to adcpt the meeting schedule through 1978 as reccmmended. Mctien carried unanimcusly. D. Budget Committee Reccmmendtion--Mr. Haws recommended the appeintment .of Jim Elliscn, 4140 Ccncerd, to fill the unexpired term .of Warren Safl ey. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, to approve the appoint- ment. Mction carried unanimcusly. E. Leaf Pickup--Mr. Williams said he has been presented with a petition by residents in his ward desiring leaf pickup in their neighbcrhood. e Nearly 100 residents of Leigh, Randall, Van Duyn, Waverly, and Vincent have signed the petition. 10/4/78--1 ~53 ; It is City pollcy that leaves be picked up .only in areas where there are curbs and gutters. Mr. Williams feels that leaf pickup should . occur for all citizens .or for none. Don Allen, Public Works Directcr, emphasized the bcttcm line of the leaf pickup policy, which is that they are picked up so the drainage (catch basins) will properly function. He noted that the Budget Committee last year denied a proposal to increase service. He said it is a hcrrendous problem to pick up leaves en unimprcved streets. Several streets, including Tcmahawk Lane, Pioneer Pike, and Walnut Street, are not fully improved but are on the leaf pickup list. Assistant Manager commented that these streets are in a very gray area because .of the curb and gutter situation. A judgment call was made by staff .on whether those three streets are imprcved enough to afford leaf pickup. Though they are nct fully improved, the decision was made that leaf pickup would .occur. He said staff would further investigate if sc desired. It was understccd that staff wculd prcvide a further repcrt .on the matter. F. Citizen Interest Menth--Mayor Keller announced that October is Citizen Interest Month, and that all citizens are urged tc complete applications, available in the City Manager's Office, for filling vacancies .on boards and commissiens during 1979. G. CETA Review Committee--It was neted that Mr. Lieuallen, Ms. Smith, and Mr. Obie will serve on the CETA Review Ccmmittee. II. CALLING PUBLIC HEARING RE: EASEMENT VACATION e C.B. 1770--Calling public hearing Ncvember 15, 1978, re: pub 1i c utili ty easement located near the tenminus of Agate Street, south .of East 27th Avenue (Thomas) (EV 78-10) was read by number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting that it be read in full. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, that the bill be read the seccnd time by ccuncil bill only, with unanimous consent .of the Ccuncil, and that enactment be ccnsidered at this time. Motion carried unanimously, and the bill was read the secend time by council bill number only. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Rell call vote. Moticn carried unanimously and the bill was declared passed and numbered 18277. III. PUBLIC HEARING RE: WATER WITHDRAWAL FROM OAK WAY WATER DISTRICT Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. C.B. 1771--Authorizing water withdrawal from Oakway Water Disrict, that part annexed to city by Final Order 549 .of Lane County Bcundary Commission east of Arcadia, north .of Harlow Road (Babcock)(A/Z 78-6) was read by number e and title only, there being no Councilcr present request- ing that it be read in full. 10/4/78--2 "sat , Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, that the bill be read e the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be censidered at thi s time. Meticn carried unanimously, and the bill was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, that the bill be appreved and given final passage. Roll call vote. Mction carried unanimcusly and the bill was declared passed and numbered 18278. Mr. Obie left the meeting. IV. FINANCE: BOND SALES Res. Nc. 3015--Prescribing the form of netice of sale of two million one hundred twenty thousand dcllars ($2,120,000) General Obligation Bancroft Imprevement Bonds, Series E, of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was read by number and title. Res. No. 3016--Prescribing the form of nctice .of sale of Eighteen Millicn Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($18,500,000) General Obligation Civic Center Bcnds of the City .of Eugene, Oregon was read by number and title. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, to adept Rescluticns 3015 and 3016. Motion carried unanimously. e C.B. 1772--Authorizing issuance and sale of twc million one hundred twenty thousand dollars ($2,120,000) General Obligation Bancrcft Imprcvement Bcnds,Series E, .of the City of Eugene, Oregon, and directing they be advertised fcr sale in accordance with ORS Chapter 223 was read by number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting that it be read in full. C.B. 1773--Providing for issuance and sale .of Eighteen Million Five Hundred Thousand Dellars ($18,500,000) .of General Obligation Bcnds .of the City of Eugene, Oregon, as authcrized by Charter amendment enac ted by 1 ega 1 voters .of sa i d City a t spec i a 1 election held June 27, 1978, was read by number and title only; there being no Councilcr present requesting that it be read in full. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, that the bills be read the second time by council bill number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be considered at thi s time. Mcticn carried unanimcusly, and the bills were read the seccnd time by council bill number only. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, that the bills be approved and given final passage. Roll call vcte. Motion carried unanimously and the bills were declared passed and numbered 18279 and 18280. e 10/4/78--3 455 ; V. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Hamel meved, seccnded by Mr. Delay, to approve the Ccuncil e minutes of September 27, 1978. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Obie returned to the meeting. VI. LOCAL REHABILITATION LOAN PROGRAM--Memo and proposed resoluticn have been distributed to Council members Paul Osborn, HCC, commented that $1,595,300 has been spent on rehabili~ tation programs since the inception of the program in 1975. The new loan will meet the same criteria, same interest rates, etc. Interest rates are at zero percent, three percent, five and one-quarter percent, and seven and ene-quarter percent. The rate is based .on the disposable income of the bcrrower. A borrower alsc can qualify fer a deferred payment which is made when the property changes hands. Loans are available primarily in CD areas. Mr. Lieuallen said he had heard that some seniers en the low end .of the structure had not responded and were reluctant to express a need. Mr. Osborn said that they are trying through neighbcrhcod efforts to encourage those people to come ferth. Scme Councilors expressed the feeling that, frcm a CD standpoint, and obvicusly imprcved appearance .of the neighborhoods, the programs have been very effective. Res. No. 3017--Autherizing Qcrrowing $600,000 thrcugh loan agreement with United States National Bank of Oregon at 6.45 percent e interest rate, and authorizing City Manager to execute agreement for rehabilitaticn loan prcgram was read by number and title. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, to adopt the resolution. Ro 11 call vcte. Motion carried unanimously. VII. CIVIC CENTER PROJECT--September 18 memc and rules of prccedures have been distributed to Council members. Manager commented that the cemmittee would be adviscry to staff. A 1 sc , there had been a question about which rules the ccmmittee must operate under. It is the conclusion of the City Attorney that it must ccme under all aspects of the open meeting law. Joyce Benjamin, City Attorney's Office, commented that they reworked Section 3 .of Article II tc bring it in compliance with the law. The new secticn would say that lithe Ceuncil of the City of Eugene has established a prcject working committee tc be advisory to and tc review with the City Manger urgent matters in connecticn with the Civic Center project. The Chairperson of the Commission and the two Ccuncilcrs who serve as members of the Commission shall serve as members of the Project Working Ccmmittee." Regarding satisfying the open meeting law, perhaps meetings could be held at specific times during the week. Prcvisions ceuld be made for special meetings with a 24-hour nctice to the press. Emergency meetings could be arranged with immediate notice te the press, should the need arise. Mr. li euallen - 10/4/78--4 '5" . commented that, if the time commitment is too great, could an alternate e Council member attend. Ms. Benjamin said there might be some practical prcblems in bringing alternates up to speed. Mr. Haws expressed some ccncern with staff and Ccuncilers voting together. Mr. Williams expressed some discomfort with using alternates at all. It removes the pressure fcr an individual to attend the meeting, he said. Mr. Baumgartner, Civic Center Director, ccmmented that continuity is important, as some decisions of the Committee will be extremely technical. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, to create the project working committee as staff described in its memo in accordance with Revised Section 3 of Article II of the bylaws. Motion carried unanimously. Mr. Hamel moved, seconded by Mr. Delay, to appreve the rules of procedure and internal organizaticn as amended. Mction carried unanimously. VIII. AMBULANCE RATE INCREASE REQUEST--Memc from Shirley Swenson, Finance Department, letter to her from Medical Services, Inc., and rate charts, have been distributed to Council Members. Ms. Swenson said that, following the last discussicn with Council, she m~t with Medical Services, Inc. on the matter. She neted that the letter she has received from them identifies the reasons why they feel their service is not cemparable to Salem and Medford services. Medical Services, Inc. has more highly-trained people and work to maintain a e short respcnse time. They have varicus forms of training, as well. Ms. Swenson said it would not be cost effective to audit the firm's books every time rates are reassessed. She presented an alternative suggestion from her previous recommendation, the base fee be increased frem $59.50 to $65.00, mileage from $2.70 to $3.00, but not increase other charges fcr ambulance services. On the Mobile Chair, she recommends that the Mobile Chair rate be increased from $5 to $6 for the first trip, and that a return trip fee be increased form $2.50 to $3.00. Mr. Leonard, Medical Services, Inc., passed out an article reprinted from Physical Watchdcg in Santa Barbara, California, which says that paramedic service is far more costly than ordinary ambulance service, that municipally-run programs are very expensive to the taxpayers, since only a few persons use it, and that Medical Services, Inc., .of Eugene, is .one of the largest private firms .of its kind in the country, and it demonstrates that governments need nct be involved. He also passed out ccpies of Medical Services, Inc. pclicy statement. He says they have initiated a Gray Panther disccunt system through Eugene Parks and Recreation in cooperation with Campbell Senior Center. They alsc have initiated a transfer service for seniors, cutting their bills in half. They are alsc helping elderly tc understand what Medicare is all about. e 10/4/78--5 ~51 -. ., Charles Strcng, Aging Cemmissicn member, said that as a private citizen he feels that prcviding medical services fcr prefit does not hcld down e medical costs. When ambulance service is needed, no other service will do. He feels the service cculd be provided by a public .organization as increases in rates will continue to be requested. He said it is time tc consider a non-profit public service. Jean Freeman, Aging Commission member, ccmmented that the Commission .on the Rights of Aging voted unanimcusly to .oppose both the Medical Services Request and the Finance Department reccmmendaticn and call for nc increase. She said if a raise in rates is sanctioned, it will put the service farther out of reach fcr mcst seniors. She said the Commission also voted tc request that Council immediately conduct a feasibility study .on implementing a less ccstly ambulance service than the present one. She noted that there are systems in Albany, Oregon, Los Angeles, Califernia, and Seattle, Washingtcn, operated by fire departments and reported to be very cost effective. She alsc ccmmented that on the Gray Panther issue, they issue only a limited number .of cards, and when thcse are used up no more are issued. Mr. Delay referred te the study he did on the issue and said that the .only conclusion he has come to is that City involvement in the rate- setting business puts it in a positien of seeing that the service is satisfactcry and the rates are reascnable. He thinks the infor- maticn given by Mr. Leonard does nct give the City the entire picture. It is true that the increases have outstripped the Consumer Price Index. He is alsc ccncerned that, during a period of time when it is argued e that the increase is necessary, Mr. Leonard has presented a capital expansion prcgram. A question arises whether capital expansion is needed or justified. Mr. Delay said that the expansion of the facilities coincides with present fire station locations, and he thinks that the City shculd explore how to stabilize the rate. Perhaps sharing space could represent a ccst savings. He said there is no rationale that an increase is needed at this time. He says it is also incumbent upcn Council to ccme back by the end of the year with a prcposal for ways to take a look at these questions. Mr. Hamel feel s that the Council shoul d have more input. Mr. Obie said he suppcrts a definitive process fer determining rate increases. He feels that a rate increase should be either refused or accepted at this point, rather than postponed, and that a study shculd take place tc affect next year's increase request. There should alsc be a planning program on joint locatien of services. Mr. Williams said he dces not think that rates can be set without an opinion audit. He supports the formation of a committee to take a look at what it is buying. "You can't dc everything that is desirable because you can't affcrd it," he said. Manager noted that one .other element is that such a task force should be intergovernmental, involving at least Springfield, and possibly Lane County as well. e 10/4/78--6 ~58 . ~ Mr. Haws moved, and it was seconded, to implement Mr. Delay's e suggesticn and ask staff te bring back a suggested process and group to review the issues proposed by Mr. Delay by the end of the year. Motion carried, all Council members present voting aye except Mr. Hamel voting no. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Mr. Williams, tc adopt staff's reccmmendations on the increase. Mayor Keller said a charge for a service is never too much if a life is saved. He has never received a ccmplaint .on level of service, just on ccst. He also, at seme future time, wculd like to deal with the issue .on the Gray Panther disccunts. Vote was taken on the motion which carried, all Ccuncil members present vcting aye except Mr. Lieuallen, Mr. Haws, and Mr. Delay voting no. IX. BALLOT MEASURES 6 AND 11--Materials have been distributed to Council members. Paget Engen, Pclicy Analyst, said that tcday's discussion will deal with how the two measures compare to the present system. Part II, on October 11, will focus on the impact on the property tax system and .on individual taxpayers. Part III, on October 18, will focus on the impact on City resources. Part IV on October 25 will fccus on the impact .on selected community projects. The language of both ballot measures, as well as the spread sheets comparing the mesures, are available, sheuld anyone e wish a copy. The spread sheets outlining the ccmparisons between the three systems shcw general provisions, lecal provisions, and state prcvisions. The critical thing to remember, Ms. Engen said, is that constituticnal provisions cannot be changed by the legislature. Statutory provisions can be changed by the legislature, however. Ms. Engen described each item on the spread sheets. As to restricticns on local taxes, Mr. Delay wondered how passage of Ballot Measure 6 wculd affect all kinds of fees, special assessments, etc. and indicated that such fees would proliferate. On local bcnded indebtedness, Mr. Delay wondered how it would affect bond issues when using property tax as a guarantee against the bond. How can it be kncwn if it is within the 1.5 percent limitatien? Assistant Manager commented that is very fuzzy at this point and that the property tax probably could not be used tc guarantee any further debt under Ballot Measure 6. A further cemment is that there is a provision in Ballot Measure 11 that says if both measures pass the higher number of affirmative votes is in effect and the ether measure is repealed. X. PUBLIC HEARINGS TENTATIVELY SCHEDULED OCTOBER 9, 1978 A. Appeal of Planning Director's Denial of Miner Partition (Goldstein) (M 78-96), lccated on south side of East 27th, west of Central Boulevard. B. Appeal of condition imposed by Planning Department fer Horizon West e First Addition (5 78-12) located on east side of Hawkins Lane, south of 25th Avenue. 10/4/78--7 ~5Cf I . '.. C. Transpcrtation Improvement Program D. Cable TV Franchise e E. Recommendaticn from Historic Review Bcard tc revise lIusell section of Palace Hctel Histcric Ordinance (H 75-9) F. Liquor License New Outlet: Poppi's (RMB), 675 East 13th Avenue. Upon moticn duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjourned. ~H~ City Manager CTH:DP:ml/CM25a1 e \ e 10/4/78--8 Io~O