HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.11.2019 City Council Work Session MinutesMINUTES
Eugene City Council
Harris Hall, 125 East 8�h Avenue
Eugene, Oregon 97401
March 11, 2019
5:30 p.m.
Councilors Present: Emily Semple, Jennifer Yeh, Councilor Zelenka, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor
Councilors Absent: Greg Evans, Betty Taylor, Claire Syrett
Mayor Vinis opened the March 11, 2019, work session of the Eugene City Council.
1. Committee Reports and Items of Interest
• Councilor Semple - expressed concern about the delays in creating a downtown support center
and bathrooms for people experiencing homelessness.
• Mayor Vinis - reported on her United Front trip; expressed gratitude for the Public Works
Department's hard work during the recent snowstorm; reminded everyone the City does not
attend to fallen trees on private property.
• Councilor Clark- also noted the responsiveness of the Public Works Department; noted the
challenges that losing power present and asked whether the City might be able to workwith
EWEB to reduce the number of future outages.
Mayor Vinis adjourned the work session of the Eugene City Council and convened a work session of the
Eugene Urban Renewal Agency.
WORK SESSION: Downtown Riverfront Project and Riverfront Urban Renewal Investments
Community Development Director Mike Kinnison, Principal Landscape Architect Emily Proudfoot,
and Senior Financial Analyst Maurizio Bottalico gave a presentation on prior investments, current
investments, the Riverfront Park design, the current financial capacity, and next steps on the
riverfront projects.
Council Discussion
• Councilor Clark- asked when the sale of the property was completed, whether any of the parks
bond measure funds were to be used for the Riverfront Park, how long the park had been in the
planning process, how much money would be appropriated through the Capital Improvement
Program, and when the park would be completed.
• Councilor Pryor - appreciated the update on the project and the anticipated financial needs to
complete the work; commended staff on the thoughtful process thus far.
• Councilor Yeh - thanked staff for including art pieces related to Eugene's history; asked
whether neighborhood parks could get such quality planning, whether the project could be
completed for $4 million, and whether the West Bank Park presented similar challenges.
• Councilor Semple - asked for clarification on the use of the word "reserve" in the presentation;
thanked staff for their good work on the community meetings related to the project, and
requested incorporation of a dog park.
• Councilor Zelenka - thanked staff for the presentation; asked how many visitors other parks see
in a day, for more details on the project timeline, and for more details on the "river loans"
reference in the agenda item summary.
Mayor Vinis adjourned the work session of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency and re -convened the
work session of the Eugene City Council.
MINUTES - Eugene City Council March 11, 2019 Page 1
Work Session
3. WORK SESSION: Single -Use Plastic Items
Waste Prevention Manager Michael Wisth presented on the advantages and disadvantages of
plastic alternatives, the health considerations for restaurant/retail food patrons, and efforts to
work with Lane County on educational opportunities. Intergovernmental Relations Manager Ethan
Nelson provided an update on related legislation.
Council Discussion
• Councilor Clark - said the City should incentivize innovation rather than forcing businesses and
residents to comply; suggested a competition to spur the invention of better options.
• Councilor Zelenka - noted how helpful the graphs were for understanding the impact of the
type of material used to make the packaging; asked how HB 2509 compares to Eugene's current
code; asked about the status of state bills pertaining to polystyrene and plastic straws.
• Councilor Pryor - said that incentives used to work better than they do now; asked whether
aluminum foil could be a good alternative to some containers; expressed his support for staffs
recommendations.
• Councilor Semple - expressed disappointment that there were no good alternatives to plastic;
expressed interest in Councilor Clark's suggestion about incentivizing innovation locally;
expressed gratitude for the life -cycle analysis of containers; expressed hope the City could draft
an ordinance and hold a public hearing sooner rather than later.
• Councilor Yeh - asked whether staff had adequate funding for educational programming.
• Councilor Clark - asked for clarification on Option 3.
• Councilor Zelenka - asked the City Attorney whether it was possible to vote on all three
recommendations at once.
• Councilor Clark - asked whether banning polystyrene was included in the recommendations.
MOTION AND VOTE: Councilor Semple, seconded by Councilor Pryor, moved to:
1. Direct the City Manager to draft an amendment to the current bag ban to include single
use carryout bags for retail food businesses; wait until HB 2509 has come to fruition
before scheduling a public hearing; and direct the IGR Manager to support inclusion of
restaurants into HB 2509, remove the pre-emption of locally adopted ordinances, and
maintain a 5 cent bag fee.
2. Direct the City Manager to draft an ordinance banning polystyrene carryout containers
based on the standards within HB 2883; wait until HB 2883 has come to fruition before
scheduling the public hearing; and direct the IGR Manager to lobby in support of HB
2883 as a state wide law to ban polystyrene containers for food vendors.
3. Direct the City Manager to draft an ordinance and schedule a public hearing in May
requiring retain food businesses to provide single -use serviceware and utensils only
upon request by the customer. Includes straws, lids, utensil, stirrers and packaged
condiments.
PASSED: 5:0.
The work session adjourned at 7:00 p.m
Respectfully submitted,
,6,tA
Beth Forrest
City Recorder
Link to the webcast of this City Council meeting: here.
(Recorded by Cas Casados)
MINUTES - Eugene City Council March 11, 2019 Page 2
Work Session