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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/14/1980 Meeting .~ . e e . ,. M I NUT E S EUGENE CITY COUNCIL --January -14,-T980 Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Eug~ne, Oregon,. was called to order by his Honor Mayor Gus Keller at 8:00 p.m., Council Chambers, January 14, 1980, with the following Councilors present: Jack Delay, Betty Smith, D.W. Hamel, Eric Haws, Scott Lieuallen, Brian Obie, Gretchen Miller, and Emily Schue. --,-- - -_. --.-. ------------- ---------...------------ I. RECOGNITION CEREMONY A. City Employees Retiring in 1979 The Manager read the commendations for the City employees retiring in 1979. The Mayor presented them with plaques which noted their years of service to the City. Dudley Blatchley, Fire Department, served the City for 28 years. He was captain of the Central Station. Pierce Brooks, Police Department, served the City for three years. During those years, he brought new personnel and administrative techniques to the Department, instituted the Neighborhood COP Team, and worked to solve problems created on the mall, among other accomplishments. Norman Hansen, Public Works Department, had a knee injury in 1974. During the last five years, he has been an inspector for the Department. Leland Henry, Public Works Department, served the City for 26 years as an equipment operator. It is said in the Department that, as a grader operator, he could pick up a dime and give you change. Ray Hicks, Jr., Fire Department, served the City for 38 years. In 1953, he rescued three people. In 1965 and 1974, he received commen- dations, one for retrieving canoeists from the Willamette River. His father served the City for 46 years before his retirement. Wayne Kight, Fire Department, served the City for 27 years and headed an engine company at the fire station at Coburg and Harlow roads. Frank Stronach, Fire Department, served the City for 25 years. He was battalion chief. He was a supervisor in the Department shop where the fire engines are built, at great savings to the City. Henry Troyanek, Fire Department, served the City for 22 years and has trained new personnel, as well as teaching courses at LCC. 1/14/80--1 ~ Joe Williams, Fire Department, served the City for 24 years as an engineer, and in his spare time is an excellent fisherman. . B. Listing of Those Retirees Unable To Attend Raymond M. Campbell, Public Works Department, served the City for 12 years. Leon Christensen, Fire Department, served the City for 32 years. Alva "Mike" Copp, Public Works Department, served the City for 16 years. Robert G. Copple, Public Works Department, served the City for 18 years. Glenn F. Culver, Public Works Department, served the City for 17 yea rs . Sherman Flogstad, Finance Department, served the City for 10 years. Virgil T. Hicks, Parks and Recreation Department, served the City for 10 years. Fred F. Hoover, Public Works Department, served the City for 16 years. George C. Leber, Fire Department, served the City for 15 years. Isabel D. Smoots, Library, served the City for 10 years. e William "Bill" Strange, Public Works Department, served the City for 21 years. II. ELECTION OF COUNCIL OFFICERS A. Council President Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, to nominate Betty Smith as Council president. Motion carried unanimously. B. Council Vice-President Mr. Delay moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, to nominate Scott Lieuallen as Council vice-president. Motion carried unanimously. e 1/14/80--2 . , II 1. MAYOR I S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS-- TEXT AND MEMO, IISIGNIFICANT PROJECTS COMPLETED IN FY 1978-79 BY MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND STAFF--CITY OF EUGENE; ~ DISTRIBUTED Mayor gave the following address: IITonight we've honored almost 400 cumulative years of service to Eugene by City employees. These men and women provide a theme for my remarks on the state of the City because dedicated service has brought our community through a difficult year and will be even more critical in the year ahead. IIThis City faces the harsh facts of increased costs, decreased revenues, and energy shortages that face cities across the nation, but Eugene has a head start over most other communties in dealing with these nega- tive trends: There is a precedent here for creative problem solving. In other years, far-sighted citizens began to shape the Eugene of the 80's by planning compact growth, initiating a transportation plan, pro- viding parks and recreation facilities, and funding major civic projects like construction of a performing arts center, airport improvements, and wastewater system expansion. On May 20, Eugene voters will face a tax- base election mandated by the State legislature for all cities that have gone outside of their tax-bases in their last three years budgets. The next three months are going to be critical for the community's long-term well-being, as we take a hard look at City services and plan a realistic, long-range approach to funding them. e IIIn the past year, the City Council struggled with long-range planning and started to realize some of the goals we set for ourselves in 1978. Projects ranged from spurring community economic development to estab- lishing an active Sister City Program with Kakegawa, Japan, and lobbying the State Legislature for action to ensure clean air in the Willamette Valley. With the recent accord reached with the Grass Seed Industry, the Council can feel confident of having air quality improvement for Eugene citizens, and they can now turn their attention and redirect dollars from that ten year conflict to internal problems and challenges. IIPriorities and goals that the Council set for 1979 included reworking the City budget process, reviewing in depth Growth Management issues, taking an active role in discussion of Ballot Measures 6 and 11, updating the 1990 Plan, and creating a vehicle to address the City's overall economic development needs. 1I0ther priorities focused on the Council's role in the 1979 Legislature, development of the Performing Arts Center, the City's role in the CETA program, transportation and planning policies, reviewing the City's capital improvement projects, and working to improve inter-governmental relations. - 1/14/80--3 .. , "Establishing the Eugene Economic Development Committee for the City was a major accomplishment that addressed one of the Council's chief concerns. Exploring ways to bolster existing business and ~ industry and to attract new labor-intensive, clean industries to .., the community has headed the Council IS priority list for some time. The Committee represents not only the Council's commitment to economic development, but also represents a joint effort by a broad segment of the private sector to work with City government to bring about positive change in the community. liAs part of that economic development effort, the Council recently approved a proposal by the Springfield and Eugene chambers of com- merce to create a Convention Bureau that will serve the metro-region, developing the area's tourist and convention trade--again, a coopera- tive effort between government and private citizens to improve the economic base of the community. With the opening of the County's new convention facilities at the fairgrounds, convention trade will become increasingly important. And, of course, a major stimulus for increased attention to tourism is the Performing Arts Center that is under con- struction downtown. Last year it was just a bond issue on the ballot, and this year we can actually see the parking garage rising above ground. The facility, along with the adjacent hotel development being pursued by the City Housing and Community Conservation Department, is not only a giant stride for arts in Eugene but is also a positive step toward an economically healthy downtown. "With the new vitality stirring the central city and the Council's commit- ment to compact growth, downtown housing drew the Council's attention this year. We were able to zero in on many specific problems when the 4It condominium conversion issue came before us, and I am hopeful that the resulting study authorized by the Council will point toward creative long-range plans to provide a "ariety of downtown living alternatives. "Increased traffic is one of the growing pains felt in the central city and in the community at large. This year the Council, in cooperation with the Downtown Development Board, approved a large-scale paratransit and parking program designed to reduce the volume of employee vehicles downtown. They also approved updates to the T-2000 Plan approved in 1978 which provides guidelines for dealing with the city's vehicles and bicycles. Eugene is now listed on the six-year financing program of the State Department of Transportation and will now, hopefully, be able to complete some of the long-needed improvements to our transportation system that will serve all modes of travel. "0ne of the ma in reasons for t ra nsportat i on improvements and a lternat i ves is energy conservation. The Council recognized the need for city-wide conservation efforts, not only in transportation, but in all phases of community life. The energy task force that they created will be exploring largely new territory as it looks for ways to reduce energy consumption and costs. We all face lifestyle changes with some apprehension, but at the same time, it's exciting to think of Eugene pioneering in another frontier of modern urban living. e 1/14/80--4 e liThe guideposts for all of these decisions is the Eugene- Springfield Metropolitan Plan which is currently in the update process. It started out as the "1990 Pl anll, but as we move into the 180's, we are asking citizens to focus on what they want their community to be in the year 2000. 1I0f course, the projects live just discussed are only a fraction of the Council IS activity in the past year. Other significant Council undertakings and accomplishments included authorizing and appointing the Citizens Involvement Committee and the Employment Technical Advisory Committee as well as overseeing the Cityls assumption of IIPrime Sponsorll status in the CETA program; revising the ordinance covering the appointment of some 50 City boards, commissions, and committees; reviewing several hundred bills that came before the 1979 State Legislature and lobbying when necessary; approving annexation of the first of several major sections in the Willakenzie area; approving a revised panhandle lot policy; and enhancing the cityls recreational and entertainment options by facilitating the conversion of the parkland acquisition serial levy to a bond issue to allow more rapid acquisition of parkland in the face of inflation, and by approving Room Tax Funds to facilitate last summer's free public performances of Shakespeare- on-the-Mall which was tremendously successful and added a new source of entertainment for the enjoyment of our citizens. e 111979 was a year full of hard decisions as well as accomplishments for both elected officials and voters. I want to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of Eugene who participated in Eugene's government in 1979. I've seen their numbers grow in the seven years I have been in public office, and I believe they are a major reason we have the kind of community we do. At the same time, I would like to recognize the efforts of the staff to implement improved management techniques and cost savings in all areas of City services as they were outlined in the City Manager's report mailed to every city resident in the Winter Leisure Schedule. IIBut most of all lid like to thank the members of the City Council for the long hours of volunteer service they gave: attending meetings, holding public hearings, participating in study and work sessions, listening to constituents, and working with staff. Your willingness to study and tackle hard decisions head-on has been the bedrock upon which this community could build responsible local government. 1I0ur popul at i on has grown an average of three percent per year since the Metro Plan was first adopted in 1972, and we may have as many as 206,000 residents by the turn of the century. It is going to get harder for a small number of us to plan for the e 1/14/80--5 e e e whole community, and I want to stress the need for even more direct citizen involvement, following the example of the Council's willingness to give time and energy to help plan all phases of community 1 ife. liAs you know, the City of Eugenenlike the rest of the nation-- faces a fiscal crunch unlike anything we've ever experienced. Itls going to be critical this year for the people of the city to let us hear from them. We need to know where citizens' needs and concerns lie as we face the difficult job of finding more revenues and/or cutting City services. "With the uncertainty of the national economy, we will have to depend on local support to continue to fund local services, and that means we can no longer afford to have an "us-them" attitude about government. The City of Eugene needs all of its citizens working together. I know we have it in us to overcome the difficulties we face. None of us may feel we are able to control national or global problems, but individuals can have an impact here. I have said before that I believe this-,s a city of open doors and open minds, and this will be a year which challenges us to prove that true. If we take the leap into the new decade together, this can be a pivotal year for Eugene. Future citizens will be able to look back with pride on the events of 1980, knowing that we began, in the words of visiting Stadtdirector Niermann, to "win for the city's future citizens not only a place for commerce, but a living pl ace with a human scale. II Upon motion duly made, seconded, and passed, the meeting was adjourned to January 16, 1980. ~)~ Charles T. Henry, City Manager (Beth Conant, Minutes Recorder) CTH:BC:pm/CM7a25 1/14/80--6