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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/21/1979 Meeting i .e e - M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL February 21, 1979 Adjourned meeting from February 14, 1979, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller at 11:30 a.m. on February 21, 1979, King's Table, Oakway Mall, with the following Council members present: Jack Delay, Betty Smith, Eric Haws, Scott Lieuallen, Brian Obie, Gretchen Miller, and Emily Schue. Councilor D.W. Hamel was absent. I. Items from Mayor and Council A. Airport Conditional Use Permit--Mr. Haws requested a status report. Manager replied staff is preparing an appeal to LCDC. Lane County and the Council will be notified when the appeal is filed. B. Lane Economic Improvement Commission--Mr. Haws said the basis of the Commission had been formed and several jurisdictions indicated they would participate. There may be need for some budget money before the end of this fiscal year from jurisdictions who wish to participate. Manager had received from L-COG the minutes and some indication of a hoped-for payment from the various jurisdictions. He was not certain the Council had officially appointed a regular representative. Mr. Haws noted there was some desire on the part of L-COG to have a resolution passed by the jurisdictions that they want to be members. He requested the item be placed on a future agenda. Manager noted Council had passed a resolution a year ago in support of the formation of such a commission. It was consensus that Mr. Haws and Manager would meet to collect information regarding the item to be sent to Councilors. c. House Bill 2276--Mr. Haws noted a hearing scheduled February 27 regarding whether or not the State should ban smoking in public and work places. He wondered if Council should adopt a clean air ordinance. He requested that this be placed on a future Council agenda. He would like Council to support the bill, even though the Legislative subcommittee has taken no position. Carol Baker, Community Relations Director, said the bill asked that smoking be banned in any room in which there will be a public meeting one hour prior to the meeting time and no smoking materials brought into the meeting room during recesses. She didn't feel work places were mentioned in the bill. 2/21/79--1 ~~ Mr. Lieuallen felt the Council should support a move in that direction, but be cautious in how it phrases the ban. He felt that Council should take a reasonable approach to protect ... _ the rights of people who do not smoke while they are in public ~ places. Ms. Miller said her interpretation of the bill was that it placed a ban on smoking in rooms during public meetings and recess, and would allow a distinct separation of smoking in work places. She was not sure Council had enough information to take action, but felt banning smoking during public meetings was clearly within Council's jurisdiction. Ms. Schue and said Council should look at what is reasonable, i.e. banning smoking in public meeting places and careful consideration regarding work places. Mr. Obie suggested the bill be reviewed by the Legislative Sub- committee with recommendation to be forwarded to Council. D. It was consensus that the bill would be referred to the Legislative Subcommittee at its February 22 meeting. Metro Treatment Plant Funding--Ms. Smith has requested City Manager to prepare a briefing paper for Councilors attending the NLC meeting regarding several funding issues for their meeting with the Oregon congressional delegation. Manager said this would be a discussion item at Council's meeting February 28. E. Metro Plan Update Forum--Ms. Miller said the Forum held February 17 at the Fairgrounds seemed to be have been highly successful. Many ~ elected officials, as well as over 1,000 citizens, attended. She felt it was a real success with participation and comments from those attending. Ms. Smith commended the staff and the Committee for the fine work that they had done. She felt the money had been well spent. Appointments--Mayor made the following appointments: Building/Housing Code Board of Appeals: Dan Platz 1820 Happy Lane Unexpired Term ending 1/1/80 Zoning Board of Appeals: Dick Unruh 460 East 2nd Five-year term ending 1/1/84 F. G. Emergency Medical Services Policy and Task Force Study Committees-- One Eugene Councilor needs to be appointed. Mayor Keller requested those interested in serving let him know. Manager noted a motion was needed to approve the composition of the committes as outlined in memo distributed to Council. Thus, staff could notify those on the Committees and invite them to participate. He said Springfield had responded and appointed its Councilor. - 2/21/79--2 q5 -e Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to make ap~ointments of the Emergency Medical Services Policy and Task Force Study Committees as recommended by the staff, with Eugenels Councilor appointment by the Mayor, confirmed by Council. Motion carried unanimously. H. Recognition of Alma Nelson--Mayor Keller presented Alma with a certificate of appreciation and a bouquet of flowers, and thanked her on behalf of the Council and City staff for the fine service she had given the Council while it held its meetings at the King's Table. I. Council Hamel IS Request for a Leave of Absence--Memo distributed Manager noted that the request was for a 90-day leave of absence starting Monday, February 19. An attorneyls memo also was distri- buted to Council indicating alternatives Council could consider in accordance with Section 23 of the Charter regarding Councilor absences from meetings. Mr. Obie moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to grant a 90-day leave of absence for Councilor Bill Hamel as requested. Mr. Delay said he had just received information and would like more time to reflect on it. He felt this was an extraordinary set of circumstances. It was noted that Council should take action by the March 12 regular meeting. e Mayor Keller said he had visited Councilor Hamel, who was making very good progress. The request came before Council as Mr. Hamel felt he should let Council know where he stood. Mr. Haws was in favor of granting the request. However, he did request that, should Councilor Hamel decide not to continue serving on the Council, the Council be informed as quickly as possible. Vote was taken on the motion which carried unanimously. J. Boundary Commission--Manager said a hearing is scheduled today at 1:30, with another one Friday at 1:30. Paget Engen had requested some assistance from Council at the Friday hearing. Mayor Keller will attempt to attend; alternate attendee Emily Schue. K. Council Meeting Wednesday, March 21, CANCELED--Due to Spring vacation, many Councilors will be out of town, therefore no quorum can be met. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Mr. Haws, to delete March 21, Wednesday Council meeting from its schedule. Motion carried unanimously. - 2/21/79--3 ~6 L. Hearings Panel 2/19/79--Mr. Haws reported the Zoning Board of Appeals matter had been unanimously denied by the Panel. M. Citizens Involvement Committee--Manager said the City Manager's ~ - office is mounting a large campaign for the next 30 days requesting citizen applications. Once those are received, they will be brought before Council for review and appointment. Mayor Keller said one Councilor had indicated interest in serving, and he requested other Councilors to so indicate. II. Routine Items A. Council Minutes February 14, and Amended Council Minutes February 7, 1979--Ms. Miller questioned Mr. Haws' motion regarding the Airport conditional use matter in the February 14 minutes. Mr. Haws said the motion was as he had stated, with the general reference to lIany other matters that come up in the futurell implied to be Airport- related matters. He said the intent was not to bring to Council each matter that comes up regarding uses around the Airport. Mr. Delay moved, seconded. by Ms. Smith, to approve Council minutes as noted. Motion carried unanimously. B. Legislative Subcommittee Minutes February 15, 1979--Manager said there were unanimous votes on all legislation brought before the subcommittee. He said also a preliminary study had been made to cover some of the aspects of tax relief programs. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to approve minutes as noted. Motion carried unanimously. ~ C. Transfer of Funds--Memo distributed Manager said the effect of this resolution would be to extract certain portions and designate for certain staff appropriations and cost some of the $18.5 million funds for the Civic Center. Mr. Lieuallen requested this information be distributed to the Civic Center Commission in order to keep them apprised of what is happening. He questioned whether this funds the operations director, booking agent, and staff time to create the governing board. Manager said these funds were for the construction project matters and not for operations. He would send the information to the Civic Center Commission. Loren Stubbert, Finance Administration, responded to a question from Mr. Lieuallen. He said the Center has been operating under Civic Center funds with some room tax dollars spent during the interim. This resolution would put the bond issue dollars for funding the project staff operations. e 2/21/79--4 91 .. Res. No. 3079--Authorizing transfer of Non-Contingency funds from Capital Projects establishing an operating budget for the Civic Center Project was read by number and titl e. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the reso- lution. Motion carried unanimously. I D. EWEB Transaction--Map Distributed Manager said EWEB needed more land for a substation and the County needed a right-of-way. EWEB asked the County to buy land from Lane Plywood for the substation. EWEB is deeding to Lane County the right-of-way in exchange. He said this is a road that runs to Lane County property near Beltline. Keith Parks, EWEB manager, was available to answer questions. In response to a question from Mr. Haws, Don Allen, Public Works Director, said the proposed location for a truck-traffic route in that area is north of this particular parcel. Res. No. 3080--Authorizing sale of property located between Bertelsen Road and the Beltline Road to Lane County for road purposes and retaining access rights across road right- of-way and easement to IS-foot wide strip was read by number and title. e Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. Motion carried unanimously. E. Calling Public Hearing March 28, 1979 re: Easement Vacation C.B. 1833--Calling public hearing March 28, 1979 re: Easement vacation located at southeast corner of West 18th Avenue and Washington streets (A & X, Inc.)(EV 78-15) was read by council bill number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting it be read in full. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be read the second time by counci 1. bi 11 number only, with unanimous consent of the Council, and that enactment be con- sidered at this time. Motion carried unanimously and the bill was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All Councilors present voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18341. e 2/21/79--5 '18 III. Public Hearing Re: Adoption of Supplemental Budget--Memo distributed Manager said the Budget Committee had held its hearing on the matter February 15. .- Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. C.B. 1834--Adopting the supplemental budget; making appropriations for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1978, and ending June 30, 1979; and declaring ~n emergency was read by council bill number and title only, there being no Councilor present requesting it be read in full. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, 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 time. Motion carried unanimously, with Mr. Haws abstaining, and the bill was read the second time by council bill number only. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. All Councilors present voting aye, except Mr. Haws abstaining, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18342. Mr. Haws noted his abstention was a result of not attending the Budget Committee meeting February 15. e IV. Wednesday Council Meeting Location--Memo distributed Manager noted the variety of places listed on the memorandum, and said there might be another possibility of use of a larger space at the Holiday Inn. Staff was still checking on that possibility. Mr. Obie favored either North's Chuck Wagon, Asia Gardens, or the Thunderbird. Mr. Haws favored any except Asia Gardens and the Council Chamber. Ms. Smith requested staff to pursue the Holiday Inn further. and noted concern regarding use of the Council Chamber because of the formality. Mr. Delay favored the Council Chamber. Its location is well-known among the public, and it is very accessible to the public and staff. He did not think the formality of the Chamber would make a significant difference in the ability of Council to act. He did not feel it would intimidate the public. He would like to try the Chamber, with an opportunity of getting together informally before the meeting. Mr. Lieuallen agreed with Mr. Delay's comments. He felt it was a better location, especially for staff, noting more efficient use of staff time. He felt the concern regarding the formality is valid, and suggested perhaps trying to make arrangements in the Chamber for a less formal setup for the Council. e 2/21/79--6 9q -e Mr. Obie was willing to try the Council Chamber. His concern was the public being ill at ease in that formal setting. He expressed concern of the CQuncil moving from its informal work sessions during the Wednesday meetings into a more formal session. He felt there was benefit for both the Council and the public with the informality of Wednesday meetings. Ms. Schue said she would like to see the meetings held downtown, noting energy conservation and the convenience of public transportation. How- ever, there seemed to be no restaurant available to meet the Council's needs. She would support experimenting with use of the Council Chamber and hoped the formality of the setting could be avoided. In response to Mr. Obie's remarks about the Wednesday informal work sessions, Mr. Lieuallen said he was not sure it had ever been a work session. He felt it had always had an element of formality. Gretchen Miller supported the Council meeting downtown, but not in the Asia Gardens. She did not agree with the argument that the public would feel more comfortable in a restaurant setting, saying it was not all that dramatically different. She did not know if the archi- tectural setup would make that much difference, or if it were more the attitude that the Councilors bring to the meeting in the Council Chamber. She felt the public meetings should be held in public places. The Council Chamber, by definition, is where the Council should be meeting, rather than in a private place. She was willing to try meeting in the Council Chamber to see how it worked out. e Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to establish protem- porary the City Council Chamber as the regular Wednesday meeting place, with a review of the matter the first Wednesday meeting in May. Mayor Keller supported the Council's trying its Wednesday meetings in the Council Chamber. He suggested perhaps it was City Councilors' attitudes toward the public when they come to less formal meetings, and thus perhaps the Council could bring that same attitude to the Council Chamber. Ms. Miller requested information from staff regarding adverstising for meetings. Assistant Manager reviewed the various legal advertising requirements from two weeks to six weeks being the most. Vote was taken on the motion, which carried with all Councilors present voting aye, except Mr. Haws voting no. - 2/21/79--7 100 v. Eugene Economic Development Comm~ttee--Memo and minutes distributed Manager said staff had prepared information and was presenting for Council's consideration and discussion the concept, function, and composition of an economic development committee. Council's action today would be to adopt the concept. A resolution would be brought back to Council, possibly March 14, which would more specifically define the formation and membership. e- Jim Farah, Planner, reviewed the memorandum for Council. He said for the last two years, the Council has discussed various possible institutional arrangements to effectively deal with Eugene's economic health. Based on those discussions, it was determined by the City Council that the City, being the general purpose government, was the best framework within which to deal with economic development. The committee would be an advisory committee to the City Council, with the Mayor as chairman of the committee. It was suggested the Mayor act in this capacity as he was the one person on the Council elected at-large in Eugene. Thus, he would be acting as a representative of the broad perspective of the City. Mr. Farah said the formation of this committee would simply formalize the structure presently occurring throughout city government. The committee would continue to rely on other agencies and organizations, such as the Eugene Renewal Agency, or the Airport Commission and, thus, it would not depart from what is presently occurring within the city structure. He reviewed the recommendations as follows: 1. The proposed structure should be viewed as experimental in nature. e 2. The Mayor should form and chair the committee. 3. The committee should be comprised of representatives from appro- priate public bodies and the private business community, including the chamber of commerce and labor organizations. 4. The committee should be supplemented and/or staffed by existing City committees or departments, with coordination of staff work being conducted through the office of the City Manager. 5. The committee, as all other similar committees in Eugene, should be advisory to the City Council. 6. Eugene's efforts should be coordinated with similar efforts which might occur in the City of Springfield or as a result of regional economic planning conducted through L-COG or the proposed Lane Economic Improvement Commission. - 2/21/79--8 101 "4t Mr. Farah noted the Planning Commission, on January 15, spent consider- able time reviewing the staff proposal. As a result of the review, several changes or points of emphasis were suggested by the Commission. The Planning Commission did vote unanimously to endorse the concept of the Eugene Economic Development Committee. The changes suggested by the Commission had been incorporated in the recommendations. Mr. Farah referred to the recommendation incorporated in Item 5, which would include "recommendations or actions that effect land-use planning or implementation should be referred to the Planning Commission prior to Council consideration." A second addition was in the makeup of the Committee in which membership from the Eugene Human Rights Council was added. He said there would be some budgetary support needed for materials, minutes-taking, and supplies, but no new staffing was anti- cipated. He said the intent of the formation of this committee was to deal with the city's economic health. It would be structured to deal with all possible conditions the community might face in the future through use of the city's resources. e Ms. Smith wondered where the employment, training, and CETA would fit into the proposed committee. Ed Whitelaw said he saw four substantive topics that would be integral parts of the economic development: 1) employment and training programs and human resources; 2) resource management; 3) land-use planning and growth management; and 4) all economic planning for industrial and commercial activities. He said it was up to Council whether it wanted to institutionalize those now with the concept approval, or let the committee consider those. He felt all four should be addressed on an equal footing by the committee, but noted that was a policy decision to be made by the Council. Mr. Farah referred Council to No.3, page 5, which speaks to that issue. It was felt the Committee would be tapping ETAC/CETA as resources as it goes through the resource training. Mr. Delay felt there should be goals and criteria establishing what is economic development. He said there is a difference of opinion about what represents economic development and economic progress for the city. Thus, it may be necessary to establish different criteria for goals, depending on the definition. Mr. Whitelaw responded he envisioned the committee as starting within the context of the goals and statements within the 1990 Plan. It would be the committee's task to clarify and set the definition and determination. Regarding work programs, Mr. Delay thought long-range planning of the committee is absolutely critical. He said it is necessary to think about the possible scenarios which the City might face in the future. Since Eugene seems economically healthy right now, that does not mean it will continue to be so. Also, he felt if the committee were formed and such a task were taken on, it would probably require more staffing. He was not sure the approach was realistic, saying there was no need e ) 02. 2/21/79--9 '- for additional staffing. Mr. Whitelaw agreed strongly with Mr. Delay's comments about long-range planning, and thus his emphasis on considering all four topics simultaneously. Mr. Porter replied to the additional ~.... staffing question, saying this committee was experimental at this ~ juncture. More st~ffing is not felt to be necessary at this time. As the committee expands its work incrementally, there will probably be a need. But, he emphasized there is no need for additional staff and certainly no immediate request for this budget year. Mr. Obie requested the specific rationale behind including in the pro- posed committee structure a representative from the Eugene Human Rights Council and a representative from neighborhood organizations. Mr. Farah replied the Planning Commission had specifically commented that dis- advantaged groups in the city were not represented, but did have an economic interest in the city. The Human Rights Council is the only bOdy that in essence speaks for the disadvantaged groups in the city. The neighborhood groups were included because there is quite a lot of interest at the neighborhood level for economic development. He said if that interest is occurring, it was felt that neighborhood groups had to be included. Neighborhood economic development and planning affects the entire city. Mr. Obie wondered if consideration was given to EWEB representation. Mr. Farah said EWEB would be considered in the same light as the Airport Commission or Eugene Renewal Agency, a resource to be drawn upon. In response to a question about rail or LTD (transportation service) representation, Mr. Farah said the LTD board would be a resource board, but no consideration had been given to rail trans- ~ portation representation. ~ Mr. Haws felt the Council was facing a policy decision regarding the funding. He said it looked as though the Council would have to make a decision about funding the Lane Economic Improvement Commission, the Eugene Economic Development Committee, or both. Mr. Porter replied the priority for funding from the Planning Department includes $26,000-$27,000 for the Lane Economic Improvement Commission. Also included is a request for $5,000 for materials, overhead, and supplies for the Eugene Committee. He said those would go to the Budget Committee for consideration this year. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt in concept the Eugene Economic Development Committee. Lorie Loehr, 1312 Piper Lane, said the neighborhood leaders met Monday, February 19. They discussed the format of the committee. A unanimous motion was passed that more members should be included on the committee from the private and innovative sectors, i.e., small businesses. e 103 2/21/79--10 a .. Mr. Delay said he presumed there would be further opportunities for the Council to discuss the actual composition of the committee when the resolution was before Council later in March. Mayor Keller expressed his total support of such a committee. He said it was necessary to have some mechanism to deal openly with companies and businesses who are interested in locating in the city. He felt it necessary for the City to be able to give some direction to these companies that is not presently available now. No one par- ticular person can speak for the City today. He felt the real thrust of the committee would be to make sure that what happens economically in the future of the city is dealt with as the Council wishes it to be dealt with. This mechanism would give the Council an opportunity to make sure Eugene remains economically viable. Mr. Obie expressed concern that the committee might be able to achieve its objectives. He was not in favor of any more studies, but wished to see some accomplishments. He wondered if there were any time frame in which the committee would actually start working. Mayor Keller responded that the committee would have a seven-month study period, the balance of 1979, to recommend specific proposals and guidelines within which to work. e Mr. Lieuallen noted his full support of the concept when he first heard it a year ago. It appealed to him because of the lack of coordi- nation and efficiency within the city in dealing with economic develop- ment. He saw this as an effort by the city to coordinate activities of already-existing groups, such as ERA, the Planning Commission, and Airport Commission, which would result in more efficiency. He said it may not be a direct action committee, or it may be, but it would also provide many other needed activities. He saw it as an effort by the City to become directly involved in economic development activities. The creation of the committee would recognize the fact of finite resources in the city, and the need to be more efficient in the use of those resources. He was pleased with the inclusion of the repre- sentative from the Human Rights Council. He said economic development is a concern and activity which effects all citizens of Eugene. Manager noted the role of the proposed committee is not an implementing agency, but a goal-setting one, or a guiding and coordinating agency. The Chamber of Commerce, ERA, etc., would be the implementing agencies. Keith Parks, EWEB manager, said he had been involved with many companies who had expressed interest in relocating in Eugene. When asked what is the attitude of the governing body, the City Council, toward this form of business, his answer had to be, "nobody knows." Vote was taken on the motion, which carried unanimously. e 2/21/79--11 104- VI. Public Hearings Scheduled Monday, February 26, 1979 A. Community Development Block Grant Application FY 79-80 ~ B. Concurrent annexation/rezoning property located generally northeast of Dillard Road (Rodman/Shinn)(A/Z 78-14) C. Rezoning from RA to R-2 property located on west side of Oak Patch Road between 11th Avenue and 15th Avenue (Napier)(Z 78-32) D. Rezoning from M-1/SR to R-1 property located on Bertelsen Road north of 18th Avenue (Bettensek)(Z 78-36) ... E. Code amendment re: Panhandl e .Lots F. New Liquor License Outlets: Genhiskhan Mongolian Barbecue, 900 West 7th Shakey's Pizza Parlor, Fred Meyer Center Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjoured to February 26, 1979. ~)~ Charles T. Henry City Manager CTH:DT:ml/CM8a19 e 2/21/79--12 e 105