Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/10/1979 Meeting M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL . October 10, 1979 e Adjourned meeting from October 8, 1979, of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller at 11:45 a.m., Council Chambers, October 10, 1979, with the following Councilors present: Jack Delay, Betty Smith, Eric Haws, Brian Obie, Gretchen Miller, and Emily Schue. Councilors D. W. Hamel and Scott Lieuallen were absent. 1. ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL, APPOINTMENTS, ANNOUNCEMENTS, AGENDA ADJUSTMENTS A. Citizens Involvement Committee Appointments--Manager announced that on October 8 Councilors selected Dan Anderson and Darcy Marentette to fill the vacancies on the Citizens' Involvement Committee. B. Revenue Task Force Meeting--Manager announced that a meeting of the Revenue Task Force would be held Thursday noon, October 11, 1979. C. Manager Absence--Manager announced he would be absent from the Wednesday, October 17, meeting. Assistant City Manager Keith Martin will preside. e II. ROUTINE ITEMS FOR COUNCIL APPROVAL A. Approval of Council Minutes of September 26, 1979 Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to approve the Council minutes of September 26, 1979. Motion carried unanimously. B. Improvement Petitions (Affected property on petition; assessable cost: Paving, total front footage, 679.88 feet, and front footage petitioned, 488.45 feet, 72%; sewers, total square footage, 124,400 feet, square footage petitioned, 124,400 feet, 100%; City costs, none) Res. No. 3253--a resolution authorizing street paving, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer construction within and adjacent to Judson Subdivision (1505), was read by number and title Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. e 10/10/79--1 55'1 I (Affected property on petition; assessable costs: Paving, total . front footage, 66,580 feet, total front footage petitioned, 5,855 feet, 89%; sewers, total square footage, 665,200 feet, square footage 4 petitioned, 665,200 feet, 100%; City costs, none) ~ Res. No. 3254--a resolution authorizing street paving on 5th Avenue from Bertelsen Road to 2,000 feet east; and street paving, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer construction within Park West Industrial Park (1677), was read by number and title. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. (Affected property on petition, assessable costs: sewers, 100%; City costs, none) Res. No. 3255--a resolution authorizing sanitary sewer and storm sewer construction within Overbrook PUD (1719), was read by number and title. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. III. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Easement Vacation for Gary Hu hes (EV 79-8) Recommended approval by Panning Commlssion July 23, 1979) Vote: 6:0 Public hearing was held with no testimony presented. ~ CB 2009--authorizing easement vacation of property on the north side of Jessen Drive between Highway 99N and Beltline Road, the east two feet of a seven-foot-wide public utility easement on and along the west side of Lot 17 Blackstone; exception, north and south five feet, was read by number and title, there being no Councilor present requesting that 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, and the bill was read the second time by council bill only. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, that the bill be approved and given fi nal passage. Roll call vote. All Council orspresent voting aye, the bill was declared passed and numbered 18520. 10/10/79--2 ~ 560 IV. PROPOSED EWEB-CITY-LANE COUNTY LAND TRANSFERS e Manager explained the need to develop a substation to handle the Eugene downtown growth and have it in operation in a year or two. It should be pointed out that, from this substation site, lines will be underground, he ) said. The issue of whether those lines supplying power to the substation site will be above ground will be considered later. In 1967, EWEB obtained the Charnel ton and 17th Avenue site. Due to interest in establishing a neighborhood park, the three staffs have agreed to propose an exchange of 1 and. The proposal is that the City exchange a parcel at the back of Jefferson Pool for a County parcel located adjacent to the Fairgrounds and north of the pool. The parcel north of the pool would be the site of the substation and the parcel at the back of Jefferson Pool would be jointly improved by the Fair Board and the City Parks Department into a joint-use parking lot to serve the fair and swimming pool. Walt Haniuk, Parks Department, said the various staffs have discussed the matter and this mutual exchange seems beneficial to all agencies. The parcel was also viewed by the design staff and the exchange appears compatible with any type of use it might require in the future. Mr. Obie asked whether this exchange would affect the bike path in the area. Mr. Haniuk responded that this plan would not disrupt the current path. Mr. Obie wondered if any thought had been given with regard to the Amazon Channel beautification effort currently underway in the community. He asked about buffering of the substation. Mr. Haniuk said he has not been involved with that particular aspect. However, EWEB has indicated e that they do have plans to landscape the substation and make it as aestheti- cally pleasant as possible. Mayor Keller felt it made sense to trade a location in a residential area for one in a non-residential area. Mr. Obie reiterated his concern about the long-range impact on the Amazon Channel should it become a scenic waterway. Mayor Keller suggested that the resolution could include a request to EWEB to be extra sensitive to those concerns. Jean Reeder, EWEB, said that, in designing the substation, they have been working with the Emerald Canal people regarding placement of transmission lines, etc., to take those concerns into account. She felt public use of the Channel would probably not develop there to any great degree' due to the relative location of the site. ~.;t,,~ ' ' Res. No. ~--authorizing transfers of property between the City, EWEB, and Lane County, was read by number and title. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. ' Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. V. ENERGY CONSERVATION--STAFF REPORT ON OPTIONS FOR DEVELOPING COMMUNITY ENERGY PROGRAM Manager asked for Council comment on the various proposals that staff had prepared. He said staff will then return with timetables on e impl ementation. 10/10/79--3 561 Greg Page, Technology Coordinator, said that staff has been examining I processes in other cities, such as: Portland; Seattle; Davis, California; San Diego; and Minneapolis. From that information he has developed e various process options in a flow-chart format. He feels the key questions would include what level of participation the Council wants from the community, especially those in the affected interest groups. For example, he said a proposal regarding mandatory weatherization of homes would be of interest to real estate people. Other key questions would be the timetable on implementation and, also how much Council involvement is desired during the formulation of the policy. He outlined the three options as presented to Council which are common in that a proposed community-wide conservatiQn plan would go through a public hearing process, modifications would be made, and a budget process developed for funding education, enforcement, etc. Option A provides that staff alone would develop a proposed compre- hensive energy plan for presentation in the various public forums. He said that this option would be the quickest of those presented. The disadvantage is that there would be little community involvement in the development of the plan. Option B is similar to the plan used by the cities of Seattle and Portland. It consists of a policy board made up of Councilors, EWEB, Planning Commission, and affected interest groups. Subcommittees on various specific topics would be formed from the policy board. The advantages would be community participation and perhaps a better level of community support. Option C is somewhat a hybrid of Options A and B, and would involve a technical advisory group consisting 'of City staff and EWEB staff, as well as community resources. The pl an would be presented in a public forum prior to Council consideration. Ms. Smith wondered if any consideration had been given to involving someone from the city of Springfield. Mr. Page said this had been considered but, e there were things unique to Eugene dealing only with EWEB, which does not serve Springfield. There was some discussion of a community-wide program with the County and Springfield, and he suggested that the best way would be through the policy board. Ms. Schue said she had the impression that much research has already been done on energy conservation. Mr. Page responded that much information is being received, but staff has not spent much time transferring that information to a process that would work for Eugene. Ms. Schue does not envision a citizen committee getting involved in studying the energy issue, but rather promoting awareness, taking public input, and working on modifying staff suggestions. If Option C would do that, she would favor it. Mr. Delay said he fears that, even if the Council reaches consensus on a process to be followed, later down the road there might be parties objecting to the measures forced upon them. Some balance will need to be struck between conservation and the extent to which it will create hard- shi ps. He wants to use the information we already have and proceed from there so as to not "invent the wheelJl again. He feels such a vehicle should not take more than a year. Mr. Obie agreed, adding that Council must take a strong leadership role and participate with the community e 10/10/79--4 5~2 in gaining the acceptance of desired measures. Ms. Smith feels that one . of the hardest parts will be community education and stressed the need e to have affected groups involved in the policy committee right from the beginning. Ms. Miller concurred that they would have to be involved because of the need for much community-wide support. She added that one, however, should not overemphasize what the Policy Board can do. Mr. Keller summarized the Council's statements by saying that they seemed to want to include the public and to complete the task in timely fashion which eliminates options A and B and points to Option C. Manager suggested that Council might establish parameters for the size of the affected interest groups on the policy board. Mr. Obie felt it best not to have interest groups on the board itself, but make certain the board receives their input, whether through a public hearing process, direct conversation, etc. In answer to a question from Ms. Smith, Mr. Page said that some of the interest groups involved in the City of Portland's process were Northwest Natural Gas, Portland General Electric, US National Bank, Retail Employees Local, architects, and consulting engineers. There were no Council members involved in the process. Ms. Miller said it was hard to imagine a committee of workable size that is represented by a wide enough section of interest groups. She feels it necessary to have some imaginative meeting procedures to encourage public input and citizen involvement, rather than going through the typical public hearing procedures wherein people testify and the matter is then turned over to the board. She felt perhaps a round-table discussion format would be more appropriate. Ms. Schue agreed with Ms. Miller's suggestion. Councilors agreed that early community involvement would e eliminate possible problems in the future. Mayor Keller said he is grappling with the issue of whether the special interest groups' involve- ment would be compatible with the decision-making process of the board. Mr. Page said staff could put together a work program if Council would select an option which best reflects their preference for proceeding. Councilors agreed that Option C came the closest, and Mr. Page said staff could come back in three weeks with outlines on committee structure and meeting format. Mayor Keller wondered if Boeing could be a resource on refining benefits of solar energy. Mr. Page said they could be contacted as well as the University, which has a solar program, plus local builders. Mr. Keller suggested that interest groups could be notified by written invitation to participate. VI. COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLANS--STAFF PRESENTATION A status report on the 1979-'80 priority work programs and projects of the Council, as developed as the McKenzie Bridge Goal Session in September, has been distributed to Councilors. The report translates the goals into specific projects. The various sections include intergovernmental pro- jects, economic development, city government funding for development, and City Council processes and projects. Results of the voting on topics e 10/10/79--5 ~3 ~ at the McKenzie Bridge meeting were also shown in the report and all programs described, giving the vote of this year's goal session, as well . as a comparison to last year's voting, current action status, staff key e leadership, critical dates in the processes, and comments on deadlines and actions to be taken. Councilors were asked to review the work program and express any concerns. Manager commented on a few items. He indicated the vote tally was the same on the 1990 Metro Plan Update process for both years. He said that energy issues were first priority for the first of the year. He emphasized the importance of the T-2000 programs and the effort to have Transportation Commission consideration of the 6th-7th corridor development. He indicated the importance of the Chambers Connector proj ect. He said that one goal is for the new conference/convention ,bureau to be operating in January. He indicated efforts for improving relationships with the commissioners will continue, and double taxation is a concern of the Council. He said that last year economic development received the highest number of votes. He indicated the three areas of concern in downtown development: 1) revised plan for housing; 2) trans- portation study; and 3) the Civic Center development. Funding for general operations is an issue as well as space expansion in City Hall. Manager also indicated the processes and programs of the City Council as shown in this report. Mr. Haws left the meeting. In answer to a question from Mr. Delay, Planning Director commented that he and the Manager had discussed presenting options on central area housing for Council review by December. They would include information about the parkulation study. Mr. Delay emphasized he would like Council e to take a broad, rather than a narrow look at all those matters. Mr. Obie cautioned that those subjects not get lost in the area of economic development and agreed with Mr. Delay that all possibilities should be considered. VII. PROPOSED RESOLUTION FOR INCREASE IN WATER USER'S CHARGE FOR THE CITY OF EUGENE Manager emphasized that this increase relates only to Eugene, not the River Road-Santa Clara district, and a public hearing is scheduled for October 29. He said that the City has been running into the red since 1975 in terms of supporting the sanitary sewer operations. The rate has not been increased since 1959. Councilors have also received a comparison of charges for other jurisdictions, and staff is recommending a charge equal to that of Springfield's and lower than most. Public Works Director commented that it still continues to be the best bargain in town. VIII. RESOLUTION: ADJUSTMENT TO THE CONTRACT BETWEEN EUGENE DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION AND THE CITY OF EUGENE (October 2 memo distributed) Manager said that the adjustment involves $14,000 for renovation and erection of a shel ter owned by the Universi ty of Oregon and which wi 11 be placed on indefinite loan to the EDA to facilitate activities on e 10/10/79--6 5blf the mall during the rainy season, mainly at Christmastime. It woul d also provide for installation of a roof over the raised platform on e the southeast corner of the central plaza. Manager clarified that the other item in the October 2 memo, namely a linear shelter along the sidewalk on the west side of Willamette extending south from the curb line opposite the Parcade to the beginning of the mall, is not part of the resolution at this time. Bob Thomas, Assistant HCC Director, pre- sented slides showing the shelter, which is 50 feet in diameter. The cost includes repairing the shelter as well as replacing some parts, which is estimated to run about $4,000. He said the issue involves providing a cover for users of the mall, but also to cover the location for performances and exhibits. He said the area in question is one of the widest gaps in "rainfreeness" on the mall. Allan Pierce, 2515 Terrace View Drive, owner of the Outdoor Store and the Cinch & Saddle, mentioned that the Parks Department plans to have a significant increase in lighting on the mall during the Christmas season. Also, the time frame for the need for the cover is becoming quite short and he is interested in seeing all this take place rapidly. Dan Childress, EDA, said, in providing some background information, that in mid-August they were presented with the issue of providing a cover for the performance areas on the mall. It seemed impossible to go through the full process, including finding a designer, developing a design process, interviewing those who might have input, drawing up documents, going through the bid process, proceeding to the construction process, and still meet the November deadline. He then suggested the structure that e is being proposed. He said there are many positive aspects to using this particular cover. It is a temporary structure now, but is fairly portable and could be used elsewhere later. Res. No. 3258--a resolution authorizing the transfer of non-contingency appropriations within a given fund between programs and/or object groups, was read by number and title. Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Ms. Smith, to adopt the resolution. Roll call vote. Motion carried unanimously. Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjourned to October 17, 1979. Respectfully submitted, ~),~ Charles T. Henry, City Manager CTH:DP:pm/CM8a17 - 10/10/79--7 5b5