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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/13/03 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall January 13, 2003 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: David Kelly, Gary Pap~, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Jennifer Solomon, Betty Taylor, George Poling, Bonny Bettman. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. A. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Ms. Bettman welcomed Mr. Poling and Ms. Solomon to the Eugene City Council. Continuing, Ms. Bettman announced that, with the help of County Commissioners Bobby Green and Bill Dwyer, a verbal commitment from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and written approval from the University of Oregon had been attained to rename Centennial Boulevard in the City of Eugene after the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. She requested advice from the City Attorney as to how to proceed. The City Attorney suggested that the council direct the City Manager to bring back the necessary documents to initiate renaming the street. Ms. Bettman moved to direct the City Manager to bring back the appropriate documents to initiate the renaming of Centennial Boulevard to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard. Mr. Pap~ provided the second. The motion carried unanimously. Ms. Bettman commented that KEZI had contacted her regarding a meeting with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). She requested to be notified about such meetings in the future. City Managerpro tern Jim Carlson stated that it was a briefing and not a meeting and that it was held periodically to keep the City informed. He added that councilors were welcome to attend. Ms. Taylor said, regarding the mayor's State of the City Address, that she agreed that the City should cooperate with the County for road funds. She believed that the transportation system maintenance fee (TSMF) should be repealed. She also supported the mayor's assertion that all MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 1 Work Session school-aged children in the area should be able to receive free library cards, regardless of whether they resided within the city limits. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Carlson stated that Eugene Police Department staff knew about the resolution regarding equal rights and he assumed that staff agreed with it. Regarding a question about a specific citizen complaint made to Ms. Taylor about alleged building of multiplexes in backyards, Mr. Carlson stated that he would need more information and then he would instruct staff to follow up. Ms. Nathanson noted that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor plan had been approved. She recommended that this opportunity for undergrounding utilities be seized. Ms. Nathanson cited the fact that Oregon has the highest unemployment of any state in the country. She felt that, should Ballot Measure 28 not pass, citizens would be in more dire straits than before. She related that she had learned that many people are not aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit available to working poor people. She advocated for leveraging $2000 for an education campaign to aid people in attaining Earned Income Tax Credit, stating that doing so would help the working families of Eugene attain approximately $3 million. Ms. Nathanson called attention to the memorandum about the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Comprehensive Plan update process that she had circulated to councilors. She related that the Mayor's Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee, of which she was chair, was still in the information-gathering and brainstorming mode. Mr. Kelly welcomed the two new members of the City Council to the table. Mr. Kelly, noting that in August 2002, the council had voted to fund $50,000 in consulting services related to sustainable economic development planning and implementation, asked when the memorandum describing what the funding would be used for would arrive. Mr. Carlson responded that he had received the memorandum from Planning and Development the previous week and had sent it back for "one more round of iteration." Mr. Kelly suggested, given that he had just read about the governor's draft budget and he felt that there could be many implications for the City of Eugene, that the Intergovernmental Relations Office keep the City Council aware of what issues in the budget could potentially be of the greatest impact to the City. Mr. Pap~ lauded the mayor for his State of the City Address. He also expressed tremendous appreciation for the grand opening of the new library. Mr. Pap~ informed the council that there would be an Evening with David Suzuki, an environmentalist and writer, in Portland on February 4, 2003. He encouraged councilors to attend. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 2 Work Session He said that this was intended to be a kick-off for the Innovation in Ecological Design and Construction, and noted that the new library had won a silver-green award. Additionally, Mr. Pap~ thanked Tom Costabile for the excellent piece on the library. He noted that Mr. Costabile was leaving Sony Corporation and the area for another job. Mr. Pap~ announced that the last section of the new bikeway, proposed to be named the Ruth Bascom Bikeway, was slated to be opened on January 31 at noon. Mr. Meisner related that he had spoken to Ms. Bascom and that she was very excited to see the completion of this project. Mr. Meisner noted that the City had put out a Request For Proposals for the Sears Building in December. He felt that the timing was poor for this as the holidays were a busy time for people. He related that he had spoken to an interested developer who had been unable to complete the required paperwork because of the timing. Continuing, Mr. Meisner thanked those councilors who attended the grand opening of the new library and commended the staff and Friends of the Library for the work that they had done for this event. He commented that approximately 12,000 commemorative brochures had been printed for the event and all of them had been taken. He related, on a lesser note, that the Sheldon branch of the library would be closed for four to six weeks due to mold. Mr. Poling thanked staff, and Mary Walston in particular, for the thorough City Council orientation provided to Ms. Solomon and him. Ms. Solomon thanked those present for the welcome and said that as a representative of Ward 6 she looked forward to working to make the City of Eugene a better place to live. Mr. Carlson welcomed Mr. Poling and Ms. Solomon. He applauded the grand opening of the library, calling it a "great event." He commented that it was a landmark building, as was the Hult Center and the new Mahlon Sweet Airport. He said that the City has some fine buildings now, adding that he hoped the new downtown fire station to be built would prove to be a similar asset. Mr. Carlson commended Brad Black, project manager for the new library, for his work. He opined that Mr. Black had not received sufficient recognition for his integral role in the development and building of the new structure. Mr. Carlson advised Ms. Nathanson to make a motion regarding the allocation of funding to raising citizen awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Ms. Nathanson moved to allocate up to $2000 from the Council Contingency Fund for a public information campaign regarding the Earned Income Tax Credit. Mr. Meisner provided the second. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 3 Work Session Ms. Bettman recommended that this be brought to the Budget Committee. She said that she would oppose the motion if it was not adequately scrutinized. Mr. Meisner supported the motion, stating that, though there was already this sort of service, more publicity would help to raise public awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Mr. Kelly wondered if the dollar amount was adequate. He suggested having a plan in place. Ms. Taylor suggested that the council check with the Human Services Commission to determine if there was already this sort of program in place. The motion carried, 6:2; Ms. Bettman and Ms. Taylor opposed. Mayor Torrey advised Ms. Nathanson to keep the council aware of how the funding would be used. Mr. Torrey congratulated Ms. Bettman on her efforts for the renaming of a local street in honor of the Reverend King. He conveyed his support of the selection of Centennial Boulevard for renaming and offered to do anything needed to encourage the City of Springfield to do the same with the portion of the street extending into that city. Mr. Torrey expressed appreciation for Ms. Taylor's support for providing library cards to all school-aged children. He strongly encouraged the council to make a motion to facilitate this by having the City Manager bring back a short-term recommendation on how the council should proceed. He felt that there were local citizens that would be willing to provide some financial support for this. Ms. Bettman moved to direct the City Manager to bring back a working proposal to provide all school-aged children library cards regardless of whether they reside within the city limits proper. Ms. Taylor provided the second. Mr. Meisner noted that many families in the River Road area pay for library cards and that this could represent a loss of revenue to the library. Mr. Torrey suggested that the provision of the card could be based on a student being qualified for free or reduced price lunches. Mr. Pap6 agreed that providing library cards could be costly and requested that the City Manager include cost projections in his proposal. The motion carried unanimously. Mr. Torrey felt that Mr. Black deserved to be recognized for his contributions to the success of the new library building. Mr. Carlson said that staff would figure out a presentation to be made at a future council meeting. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 4 Work Session In closing, Mr. Torrey welcomed Ms. Solomon and Mr. Poling to the City Council of Eugene. B. WORK SESSION Proposed Modifications to Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Regional Wastewater Systems Development Charge (SDC) Methodology and Rates Fred McVey, Engineering Data Services Manager for Public Works, referring to the second paragraph under the heading Financial and/or Resource Considerations on page 2 of the agenda item summary, clarified that while the wastewater SDCs in the City of Eugene would be among the lowest in the state with respect to single-family development, it was actually in the median and higher ranges for non-residential development. Mr. Kelly supported the modifications to the SDC methodology and rates. He wondered, as this was a regional "plant," if the City of Springfield was proceeding with a similar action. Mr. McVey replied that there was an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in place and that Springfield was doing so on a similar timeline as the City of Eugene. In response to a question from Mr. Poling, Mr. McVey said that the 140 percent increase pertained to the current rate and would be effective upon adoption. He noted, in response to Mr. Torrey, that the current rate for a single-family home was $367 and the increased rate for the same type of development would be $877. Mr. McVey stated, in response to Ms. Solomon, that the SDCs for non-residential uses varied by development type and were affected by the estimated flow as well as the strength of loading, i.e. the amount of treatment needed for wastewater discharge. He said that the percentage increase for a restaurant was approximately 125 percent and other non-residential SDC rates were generally doubling. Mr. Pap~ asked if SDCs would be applied to remodeling projects. Mr. McVey responded that they would not apply with respect to residential development, but that an increase in the gross square footage of a commercial building could instigate a regional SDC for wastewater. Mr. Meisner commented that, though it sounded like a large increase, it was based on capital needs. He asked how the capital needs were computed and whether this was based on present capital costs or future projections. Mr. McVey stated that, in general, the SDC rate was based on projects in the ten-year window of the regional wastewater capital improvement program, which looked at all of the capital needs for regional wastewater facilities. Mr. Carlson said that this action represented a transition, that the original wastewater facility bond had just been paid off in the previous fall. He noted that the federal government had provided a 75 percent grant for the construction of the plant at the time it was built and that the bond had provided 25 percent of the funding. He related that the commission had moved to a self-funded MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 5 Work Session model of capital improvements. He said that the commission was looking at the two kinds of improvements for which it had to pay 100 percent of the cost, the new development, which would be covered by the SDC requirements, and the rebuilding of existing components, which would be covered by the regional sewer user fee. He commented that this represented a fundamental shift as the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) was transitioning away from partial federal funding to a self-funded model. Ms. Bettman commented that there was a big difference between raising a rate and raising a one- time fee. She questioned, when all of the other planning processes were predicated on a 20-year time frame, why the wastewater CIP was predicated on ten. Mr. McVey responded that the commission had felt a ten-year CIP was more predictable and reliable. Mr. Torrey asked whether the public hearing on the modifications to the SDCs was well-attended. Peter Ruffler, Director of Wastewater Management for Public Works, replied that it was not. Mr. Meisner clarified that the switch to self-funding was not because the City was disdaining federal funding, but rather, that the City was not likely to receive further funding for its wastewater management. Mr. Poling expressed concern that a 140 percent increase would not be well-received. He opined that the public would be unhappy with it. He supported affirming the proposed resolution and directing the City Manager to proceed with the scheduled public hearing, the first option listed in the agenda item summary. Ms. Solomon commented that such a rate increase was "staggering." She said that she was not prepared to support it, but that she also felt that council should proceed with the first option. In response to a question from Mr. Pap~, Mr. McVey stated that the MWMC was guided by a different set of financial parameters than the City, which included financial policies that guided them to carry out rate reviews. Mr. Kelly stressed the importance of clarifying, for the sake of members of the public, that the rates referred to in this modifications were strictly SDCs and not the rates that appear on the monthly bills of citizens. Ms. Bettman remarked that, should these modifications not be adopted, the user rates would have to be increased. Mr. Carlson, in answer to a question from Ms. Bettman, stated that the public hearing would be held on January 27 at the regular council meeting at 7:30 p.m. Mr. McVey listed the noticing that had occurred, noting that it had been adequately noticed as required by law. Ms. Bettman felt that citizens should be strongly encouraged to look over the current wastewater charges on their bills and made aware that, should the SDC modifications not be approved, this amount would drastically increase. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Taylor asked if the proposed rate modifications would be adequate. Mr. Ruffler responded that, based on projections for capital project needs over the next ten years, it was. He added that it needed to be recognized that the SDCs would not recapture the full cost of capital expansion and, as such, there could still be an increase in user rates. Mr. Kelly moved to affirm the proposed resolution and direct the City Manager to move forward with the resolution adoption process. Mr. Pap~ provided the second. The motion carried unanimously. C. WORK SESSION: 2001-2002 City Council Goals Final Progress Report Mr. Carlson stated that this was the first step in reviewing and revising council goals. As such, he said that this would be the last report provided on the existing council goals. He related that a date was being determined to discuss the goals for 2003-2004. He noted that the executive managers were present in order to respond to any council questions. Mr. Carlson felt that most of the work plan for 2001-2002 had been achieved and listed the achievements, as follows: · The City had increased its emergency preparedness at the airport and in the police and fire departments as a result of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. · Street safety had been improved through education, enforcement, and capital projects. · Regarding sustainable growth and change, while a workable solution for PeaceHealth had not been found, the City continues to talk with PeaceHealth and the McKenzie- Willamette Hospital about hospital options for the area. · The City increased its supply of low-income housing. Mr. Carlson cited the example of the Aurora Project as a positive step for both low-income housing and downtown housing. · The Downtown Plan had both progress and delay and was as yet unfinished. Broadway Street has been reopened and the Courthouse Neighborhood Plan process had been completed. Mr. Carlson said that the completion of the Downtown Plan was anticipated to occur in the coming year. · There has been continued progress on the parks and open space projects. Mr. Carlson reported that the purchase of a 120-acre parcel in the south hills had been finalized the previous week. He noted that this represented a major addition to the Ridgeline Trail and was located between Chambers Street and Bailey Hill Road. Work on the Parks and Open Space Plan update has begun. Acquisition of some stream corridors has been initiated and acquisition and redevelopment work on the wetlands system continues. · Although the opening of the new library had not been a City Council goal, considerable staff time had been spent on it and it was a success. Mr. Carlson reported that the biggest achievement was the renewal of the library levy. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 7 Work Session · An acoustics project was completed at the Hult Center, funded largely by private donations and partly by patron user fees. Mr. Carlson commented that this represented "alternative methods of getting things accomplished," such as volunteer programs or private fund-raising. · A downtown space plan had been developed. · Voters approved the new downtown fire station. The design was underway, the funding portion had been completed, and the City owned the property. · The funding plan and timeline for moving the Eugene Police Department out of"the basement" had been developed. · Regarding the financial plan, the City was now using a multi-year financial plan. Mr. Carlson related that staff had gone through the exercise twice to date. He felt that, should the PERS problem be resolved, resources may become available to make progress on some of the problems. · A non-property tax funding source for the operation, maintenance, and preservation of the transportation system had been approved, though not without some controversy. This represented a major piece of work over the last two years. Mr. Carlson said that this work continued, with the consideration of a local gas tax on January 27. He noted that this had been done in cooperation with the City of Springfield. Mr. Carlson reminded the council that the 2001-2002 goals statements were not changed from the 1999-2000 goals. He felt that this was because they were broad and, as such, could last for some time. He commented that, from these goals, the council had chosen 22 action priorities and that staff had encouraged council to pare the list down. He related that council had still ended up with 72 work plan items and 141 target dates. He conveyed staff sentiment that there was perhaps too much detail in the process. He expressed hope that in the next goal-setting process the focus would be on action priority levels that are outcome-based. He encouraged council to judge staff on the outcomes and performance rather than the methodology by which outcomes were achieved. Mr. Meisner agreed that the breadth of the goals may be too detailed. He said that the goals are outside what the City was already doing, and should be considered as an extra effort. He expressed concern, at a time when budgets are being cut, about the feasibility of adding on to goals. He stressed that, while commendable, providing services for those residing outside of city limits may not be advisable at this time. He also felt that some goals were not complete and "on target" as indicated in the report. Ms. Nathanson expressed disappointment in the work of the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC). She felt that the work of the PSCC should be a future topic of discussion. She requested specific responses to the following questions: · Re: Page 3, hillside fire danger: Should building and roofing materials be looked into for the purpose of consideration for code changes? Has Planning and Development done any work on this item? MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 8 Work Session Re: Page 5 and 6, improved street safety: Is there evidence that the efforts of the council to educate young people on safety, to reduce danger to other bicyclists and pedestrians, and to reduce conflicts between bicycles and automobiles had proven to be effective in a quantifiable manner? Re: the exploration of new approaches to code enforcement and the handling of complaints: How is this being handled differently? Can the increase in complaints be attributed to more public awareness or can they be attributed to staff2. Mr. Carlson responded that staff would provide answers to Ms. Nathanson in writing. Mr. Kelly stressed that much was accomplished. He felt that when the City "does a good thing it does a bad job of letting the public know about it." He noted that he had been unaware that the City's fleet of 15 heavy duty vehicles was testing the use of bio-fuel. He shared Ms. Nathanson's concern regarding the hillside fire danger question. He also expressed concern that the time line for the Downtown Plan had "slipped." He noted that the delays that have been experienced are directly attributable to staff cuts, stating that "you get what you pay for." He recommended budgeting for another City planner. He also strongly recommended that more time be spent on the discussion of how best to foster sustainable growth. Mr. Pap6 agreed with Mr. Carlson that the council needed to establish long-term policy-level goals. He stressed the importance of finding a way to measure goal achievement. He also felt, as did Mr. Kelly, that the City ought to improve its public relations. Ms. Bettman encouraged the council to include the promotion of diversity in the larger goals. She felt the exercise of goal development was a way for councilors to bring issues and strategies that they or their constituents felt strongly about to the table and to gain support for them. She stated that she supported, as an economic development strategy, the installation of a fixed rail "trolley" in the downtown area and that this was a priority for her. She discussed the west of downtown and downtown neighborhoods and the difficulties that are experienced there because the residences are largely rentals. She felt that making an effort to foster permanent residence in those areas would do much to further public safety and alleviate other problems that the downtown has experienced. Ms. Taylor commented that a place that the council had failed was in finding a source of equitable revenue. She noted that the TSMF had been adopted, but she felt that it was a regressive tax. She said that the City had taken some steps backwards, such as losing the River House and Sister City programs. She also felt that pedestrian safety had not been adequately addressed in the downtown area. She opined that revised council ground rules regarding agenda setting obstructed some things from reaching the table and that shortening the public forum had made the meetings less accessible to citizens. Mr. Torrey supported what the City Manager said in terms of the broad approach that should be taken. But, he noted that it was beneficial to the process for councilors to be able to bring issues of concern to the table. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 9 Work Session Mr. Carlson responded by stating that the executive managers had a session on how to improve goal-setting process so that it works better for staff. He said that it was beneficial to maintain the broader goals and then to move to the next level down and identify on what parts of the activities of the City of Eugene did the council want to make an extra effort. He stressed the importance of the action priorities needing to be realistic within the context of the current financial environment. For example, while he felt that having many recreational and cultural services was desirable, he also felt that it was unrealistic to ask for much new activity in those areas given that had been identified as a lower budget priority. Mr. Carlson suggested that action priorities should state what accomplishment was being sought by the pursuance of the priority, rather than the method by which it should be sought, and that they should include what quantifiable results would satisfy the goal. He reiterated that staff reductions had changed the amount of time staff could spend addressing these action priorities. Mr. Torrey asked the staff, to provide an example of how council should word a goal that would address developing an approach to funding the after-school program which is slated to lose its funding at the end of this year. Mr. Carlson suggested that the wording for such an action priority would be: "Maintain or enhance after-school activities for youth." He said that it would give the topic area of interest and would provide something that would be measurable by which programs could be designed. He added that the programs could be accomplished by school districts, private nonprofits, or by the City itself. Mr. Kelly declared that his goal was to not let things get a whole lot worse. He stressed the importance of having a specific measurable outcome to a goal and also to having a "feedback loop" for staff to keep the council informed of progress on the goals. Ms. Bettman commented that leaving much of the goal achievement and monitoring of outcomes to staff could overload staff. She wondered if the level of resources that would take had been fully considered. She added that many good ideas come through elected officials, citing former Mayor Ruth Bascom's promotion of the bike path as an example. She reiterated that she wanted to promote an increase in the owner-renter ratio in the neighborhoods adjacent to downtown. Ms. Nathanson noted that the University of Oregon had been in conversation with the City regarding strategies to reduce problems and violence. She thought this should be a long-term strategy and that the conversation that was occurring should be included in the current report as positive progress. She felt it was notable, that given the amount of work that the City Council and staff had taken on, so much had been accomplished. Ms. Taylor recognized that staff was overworked. She advocated for more reporting on the progress of the goals and for more council input in the prioritization of projects within the different departments. Mr. Carlson responded that staff does report every six months, but that he felt there was room for improvement. He said that, when feedback was provided regarding the action priorities, it was necessary to consider how much more work could be assigned to staff and whether staff could realistically accomplish it. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 10 Work Session Ms. Taylor suggested that the City Manager give an oral goals report at each City Council meeting. Mr. Papd encouraged the council to include a look at the budgetary "buckets" when considering what goals to set. He suggested that a council retreat be scheduled to hold an in-depth discussion on goals. Mr. Meisner wondered if the grams that the City applied for at times related to council goals. He also reiterated concern that some things were listed as complete were not actually complete. Mr. Torrey reiterated the importance of relating progress on action priorities to the council. He said that staff too often tried to find a way to do what the council had instructed staff to do when it might be more prudent to explain that it could not be accomplished at that time. Mr. Carlson responded that staff was trying to improve in that department, though sometimes it was not pleasant or easy. Mr. Kelly commented that, just as it was council's job to say what needed to be accomplished, it was staff's job to explain what could not be attended to at that time because of limited resources. Mr. Carlson replied that staff had tried to develop the action priorities with available resources. He added that where staff "fell down" was in not making a better effort to bring to the council was attention the new things that come along which have an impact on workload. Mr. Kelly responded that nothing got on the list of priorities without a full council vote. Ms. Bettman remarked that staff added some work items to the list. Ms. Nathanson requested that the City Manager, given the final report, provide his opinion one to two weeks prior to the goal setting session on what was finished and what was not finished, and what needed more work and should be included in the goals for the coming year. She asked the executive managers to do the same. Mr. Torrey said that in his State of the City address he intentionally avoided any issues that would create a need for a vote of the people. He asked councilors to identify two or three things for the goal-setting session that they wanted to accomplish in 2003-2004. He noted that he had been working the promotion of statewide funding of schools. He suggested to councilors that they keep their goals with them in order to provide public comment on them when necessary. Mr. Carlson stated that the council goal action priorities were never meant to be a full work plan for the City of Eugene. As an example, he noted that the Fire and Emergency Services Department had as a priority the redesign of the Emergency Medical Services funding and the allocation of fire response personnel. He said that this had taken much staff time, although it was not in the council goals. He stressed that council goals had to fit into the overall operation of the City of Eugene. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 11 Work Session In closing, and for the record, Mr. Torrey stated that he would not break a tie vote in the election of council officers. The meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Carlson City Manager pro tem (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 13, 2003 Page 12 Work Session