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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/12/1981 Meeting r-"~~ "..'.;"............, '''::':~:_' -'" ~-' ,~~ ).',.. ., , .,::. ,.'C /""---'"",, -."".., '''yO' .......... M I NUT E S Eugene City Council City Council Chamber January 12, 1981 8 p.m. PRESENT: Councilors Gretchen Miller, Brian Obie, Betty Smith, Mark Lindberg, D. W. Hamel, Cynthia Wooten, and Emily Schue. Councilor Eric Haws was absent. Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Eugene, Oregon, was called to order by His Honor Mayor Gus Keller. I. RECOGNITION CEREMONY A. Councilors Delay and Lieuallen B. City Employees Retiring in 1980 -.....-, Mayor Keller called past Councilor Jack Delay to the podium and stated that it seems almost inappropriate to offer so little to someone who has given as much to this city as Mr. Delay has. He is concluding four years of dedicated service to the city and shares the basic concern that all share: he would like the best city in the world to live in. He has given of his time and exercised great leadership. A great debt is owed to him. Mayor Keller thanked him and presented Mr. Delay with a plaque. Mayor Keller called Commissioner Scott Lieuallen to the podium. Mayor Keller stated that he could say the same things about Commissioner Lieuallen that he said about Mr. Delay. Mr. lieuallen exemplifies the type of person who found a position on the council to be challenging and rewarding. Mr. Lieuallen will be missed, but he will be a great link between City and County government. Mayor Keller thanked Mr. Lieuallen and presented him with a plaque. Mayor Keller stated that he also would be recognizing various City employees who retired in 1980. Mayor Keller called Richard Allison to the podium. He stated that Mr. Allison had been employed by the Eugene Fire Department for 27 years and the last 13 years were spent in fire prevention. Mr. Allison has demonstrated what people were to do in his classes in case of emergencies. As an example, he used to put gas on himself and light it. During one demonstration, his pants caught on fire. Everyone left the room but came back to make certain that he was all right. Mayor Keller thanked Mr. Allison."for his service and presented him with a p 1 aq ue . MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1981 Page 1 e e ~- - Mayor Keller called Hal Reno to the podium. He stated that Mr. Reno had spent 23 years with the Eugene Fire Department, although it seems as though he has had 50 years. experience. He has been a faithfu,l public servant. The alarm systems which he has installed and maintained are retiring with him. Mayor Keller thanked Mr. Reno for his service. Mayor Keller called Cecil Taylor to the podium. Mr. Taylor had spent 11 years with the Public Works Department and was always on time and completed his work. Although it has been said that Mr. Taylor has had trouble with north and south directions as well as east and west, if a street name is mentioned to him, he knows how to find it. On one occasion, he and another employee were driving on Crane Lane. The other employee drove into a ditch which was filled with water. When the water came in the vehicle, Mr. Taylor crawled over his fellow employee and exited through the window. Mayor Keller stated that he hoped this would not have to happen again. He thanked Mr. Taylor for his service. Mayor Keller called William Brown to the podium. He stated that Mr. Brown.s nickname is "Curly" which is his CB radio name. It seems as if he has been in service to the City of Eugene for more than 12 years. Mr. Brown was a very dedicated City employee and even though he retired, he did come back and fill in for the Parks Department. He thanked Mr. Brown for his service. \. Mayor Keller noted that there were other City employees who retired in 1980 that were not present at the meeting. They were: David Boggs, Fire Department, 38 years; Richard Barnhill, Police Department, 21 years; Lewis Blum, Fire Depart- ment, 25 years; Avis Holmes, Finance Department, 4-1/2 years; and Wilburn Hutcheson, Police Department, 26 years. II. ELECTION OF COUNCIL OFFICERS A. Council President Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, to nominate Gretchen Miller as council president. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. B. Council Vice President Ms. Smith moved, seconded by Mr. Hamel, to nominate Brian Obie as council vice president. Roll call vote; motion carried unanimously. Mayor Keller thanked Betty Smith for her help in the past year as president of the council and Scott Lieuallen for his service in the past year as council vice president. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1981 Page 2 -~ III. MAYOR'S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS ~ Mr. Gleason introduced Mayor Keller to deliver the State of the City Address. "We've just recognized a total of 188 years of service to the City of Eugene, and we can take pride in the energy and spirit with which these people have served. One "retireell we haven't mentioned is former City Manager Charles Henry. We will all have an opportunity to salute, to kid, and heckle Mr. Henry on the evening of January 27, when we, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, 'are sponsoring a going-away party for Mr. Henry at that time. e e "But, you know, not all the people who have served long and well are retiring. During the last year a number of staff gave an extra effort for the City of Eugene. Don Allen took time out from directing the Public Works operation to serve as, interim Assi stant City Manager. Greg Page and Cathy Briner worked with the council for months on the City Manager selection. Planners Jim Farah and Jim Croteau put in hundreds of hours assisting the council with the Metro Plan Update. We are proud of all our staff, but these folks performed with what I fe 1t was II above and beyond" in the year of 1980. "I'd also like to recognize two other individuals who've given outstanding service over the past four years. I mentioned them earlier. Jack Delay and Scott Lieuallen, our outgoing City Councilors, took time from their work to volunteer their services to the City of Eugene. It wasn't always glamorous work: they went to hundreds of meetings, sat through public hearings, spent hours on the telephone or in person listening to citizens and trying to find ways to build a better city. . . and, fortunately I feel for this community, they're not retiring from public life. They are just moving on to serve our citizens in other capacities. We, all of us, the citizens of Eugene, I think need to say thank you and wish you both well. I would also like to welcome back Brian and Betty who will serve another four years after their re-election. We are looking forward to their continued service to Eugene. We will also be starting the new year with two new councilors and a new City Manager, and more citizens involved in government than ever before. You were officially sworn in last Monday but I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you, Cynthia, and you, Mark, and to Mr. Gleason. We are pleased to have you in City government. I look forward to working with you in the months and years ahead. Mr. Gleason has been here a whole week today and unfortunately, I have yet to see him walk on water. We are looking forward to that, Mr. Gleason. But, most of all, we are extremely pleased and proud to have you as a part of the local government scene here in Eugene. "I sometimes wish I could say something new or sensational on occasions like this, especially at the beginning of the new year, but though it's not sensa- tional, I am encouraged by the steady achievements and progress I see us making toward the goals that we have set for ourselves and for our community. liThe goals in 1980 were as follows: energy conservation, additional revenues, downtown housing, and economic development. Other goals focused on planning, capital projects, intergovernmental relations, and double taxation. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1981 Page 3 e "I'm pleased to report this evening that we've made long strides toward many of these goals: The City successfully negotiated a new downtown hotel and conference center, and we established a new visitors' and convention bureau in conjunction with the City of Springfield and local Chambers of Commerce of Eugene and Springfield and also Lane County as part of our tourism and convention package in developing, we hope, economically thi~ category for our community. The Abbie Lane Housing Project, dedicated in December, was a'superb example of intergovernmental cooperation with the Housing Authority and the Community Services Agency of Lane County as owners and sponsors of the development; the State Housing Division providing permanent financing while the City of Eugene provided equity capital and funds for the street improvements; and HUD supplying rent subsidies for the tenants. Another major advance for Eugene was establishing the City as aCETA prime sponsor which will expand employment and training opportunities for City residents. Prime sponsor status will mean that the City CETA resource will be managed in coordination and cooperation with other City goals such as economic development. e For years we've battled field burning smoke, and last year the council took a firm stand toward local environmental quality by passing a smoking ordinance to regulate tobacco smoke in public places. Citizen support is going to be essential in making that ordinance effective, and I'm hopeful that we'll get the kind of self-enforcement from Eugeneans that we need. "Looking over my Mayor's speeches for the last four years and researching back through ten years, I see that every Mayor's message since 1969 bemoans the fact that we have had no basis for planning more than one year's budget. Last year, the council created the "Eugene Plan" and the voters approved it. Having a new tax base will give us three years to build core budgets based on approved amounts of money. This budget program will facilitate decisions about where and how to spend City tax dollars in these times of growth, inflation, and economic uncertainty. liThe Metropolitan Plan Update was a major stride toward the City's planning goals. That project required hours of time from elected officials, our staff, and citizens alike, but through all the meetings, it was exciting for me to see how many Eugeneans cared enough about their City's future to contribute their time and ideas to make this type of long-range planning an effective tool. This effort gave us an updated blueprint by which we can make decisions that will shape the community's future. e MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1981 Page 4 e "That kind of long-range planning is going to be important as the City grows. We've passed the 100,000 population mark. The 1980 Census tells us that we have 104,672 residents who are residing in 44,500 households. Our updated Metro Plan projects that 194,600 people will call Eugene home by the year 2000. Planning issues will become increasingly important if we hope to maintain a "town-size" livability as we reach urban proportions. liAs we move into a new year, the City of Eugene is facing some major projects. These include smoothing the way for development of downtown housing, updating the City's Zoning Ordinance, and implementing a City-wide energy conservation program. Energy conservation legislation appears to be necessary to ensure a healthy energy and economic future, and the council's task will be to find ways to lessen the burden of such policies by making financing available for all Eugene citizens. Councilors Obie and Miller have taken leadership roles in developing conservation plans for Eugene, and now we are all going to have to devote our efforts toward building a workable program and educating our citizens about why it's important. "Through its projects in the last year, the City Council set a tone of unity among themselves, especially in selecting a new City Manager and in developing the Eugene Plan. I believe the spirit of cooperation will be an invaluable tool in tackling the projects that face us. e liAs the urban area grows and we have more problems in common with Springfield and the surrounding communities, it will be increasingly important to work coopera- tively with these other jurisdictions. We've got to commit ourselves to an effort in that direction--for the good of ~ of our citizens. "Last year at this time, I said that Eugene, along with the rest of the nation, had problems to solve, but that Eugene had a head start on the '80's. This year, I am pleased to report that 1980 was a year in which we made progress. Through the efforts of the council, the staff, and countless concerned citizens, we have worked our way forward toward success with our goals. "There's not much time to rest and pat ourselves on the back, though. We just about have to "hit the deck running" to keep up with the day-to-day and long- range challenges 1980 and the years beyond hold for us. I believe these moments of reflection are worthwhile, however. For the new year, we've rearranged the council meetings schedule somewhat to give us time to do our homework and to think about the material that comes before us. "By stopping every once in a while, we can keep our perspectives sharp and realize that we are not alone in the decisions we face. Throughout Oregon and throughout the nation, cities and citizens are concerned about money, housing, energy, and just plain getting along with one another. "Looking at Eugene from that perspective, it is easier to realize that we've taken the plunge into a modern, metropolitan future, and unlike some cities that are drowning, we're swimming very nicely. It's hard going sometimes, and sometimes it's easy to get discouraged because progress seems to be so slow, but I believe Eugene is making strong, steady, deliberate progress amidst an endless current of changing times and ever-present problems. - MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1981 Page 5 e" .\ a "In closing, let me stress to the council and the staff and to Eugeneans, that we realize there are economic problems present, even here in Eugene. We know we have all discussed and campaigned on employment diversification to offset the cyclical forest products industry. The council, during its goal-setting session, selected this program as one of its highest priorities. We have made a commitment to try and resolve this problem and we must get started in bringing about future results. Today's economics alone bear that out. In spending our citizens' tax dollars, we certainly must be prudent. Those dollars are diffi- cult to generate. We, the council, the Budget Committee, and the staff jointly must be careful in selecting how we spend each dollar. What we experience at the local level form of government is being experienced in every household, every apartment, every condo, wherever our citizens live today. Difficult economic times affect us all. By working together, the private and the public sectors, the elected officials and the citizens, I know, and I feel very strongly, that 1981 and the years ahead can be good for us all. III want to thank you for coming tonight. I want to wish you all a very happy new year and we want to thank you for your participation, and I want to also compliment the council on their fine selections and we're looking forward to a very busy and active 1981. Thank you." The meeting was adjourned to January 14, 1980. Respectfully submitted, (Recorded by Lynda Nelson) MDG:LN:db/CM7b1 MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 12, 1981 Page 6