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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 11/12/02 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room-City Hall November 12, 2002 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: David Kelly, Gary PapS, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, Pat Farr, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Gary Rayor. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. A. Items from Mayor, Council, and City Manager Mr. Farr thanked his constituents for placing him in office for a sixth time. He hoped to serve them well as a State legislator. He also thanked the voters for passing Ballot Measure 20-67. He told the council that each member was special in his heart in different ways, and he would miss them when he left the council. He assured the City of Eugene that it would have him as a representative in Salem. Mr. Rayor had no items. Mr. Meisner had no items. Mr. Pap8 acknowledged Mayor Jim Torrey's efforts in getting Ballot Measure 20-67 passed, and congratulated him on its passage. He thanked Public Works Department Director Kurt Corey for his ongoing work on implementing the Parks and Open Space measure. Mr. Pap8 said he had recently heard complaints about taxicabs and asked what authority the City had over taxicabs. City Manager Jim Carlson said that the City did not regulate taxicabs at a very high level. The City received most of its complaints about taxicabs in relation to those that served the airport, and had attempted to address them by supporting OmniShuttle, as it had more control over that service. He confirmed, in response to a question from Mr. PapS, that the City had no ability to keep taxicabs off City property. He said that taxicabs were a private business. Mr. Pap8 acknowledged that but expressed concern about unsightly and unsafe vehicles. Mr. Kelly called the attention of the council and councilor-elects to the American Planning Association Conference, to be held March 29 -April 2, 2003, in Denver, Colorado. He encouraged councilors to attend the conference. Mr. Kelly noted the hiring of Jack Roberts as new director of the Lane Metropolitan Partnership. He wished Mr. Roberts the best of success and expressed hope that his tenure led to improved economic development activities in the county. He added that Mr. Roberts was not his first choice for the position as he thought there were candidates who were better qualified due to their direct economic development experience. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 1 Work Session Ms. Nathanson recalled a program that the City established to work with taxi companies on vehicle condition and customer service. She asked for a copy of whatever report came out of that effort to remind the council what the City tried to do. Ms. Nathanson said she sent the City Manager a message regarding the County's safety and emergency communications funding measure. She had been surprised that the measure did not come through the Public Safety Coordinating Council, given the need for system interoperability. She requested more information about what the County had in mind for the future so the City and other interested entities had the most possible input into the design of the system if the County decided to go forward with another measure. Ms. Nathanson anticipated that she would be a candidate for nomination to the National League of Cities (NLC) Board of Directors. Ms. Taylor noted that the City Council had been receiving a large volume of e-mail messages due to the human rights ordinance revisions and she found it impossible to answer them all. Ms. Taylor said that she attended the November 6 meeting of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations when it discussed forwarding to the council a draft resolution opposing the USA Patriot Act. She hoped the council would entertain and pass such a resolution. Ms. Bettman thanked the voters for the excellent turnout and for supporting Ballot Measure 20-67. She acknowledged that it was only a four-year levy, but she believed it sent a message to the community's children that they were valued. She hoped the State Legislature would get the same message. Ms. Bettman thanked Richie Weinman of the Planning and Development Department for organizing a tour of Dignity Village in Portland. She looked forward to sharing her observations with the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth. Ms. Bettman also thanked Marshall Runkel of Commissioner Erik Sten's Office and Police Commander Plunk of the City of Portland for their input. She also thanked Mr. Kelly for participating on the tour. For the benefit of those viewing, Ms. Bettman asked the City Manager what it took for an item to get on a council agenda. Mr. Carlson said that the council's operating procedures included one method for a person to request an item be placed on an agenda. After a request was made, the council was polled, and if five members supported the item, it could be added to an agenda. The manager had the right to add routine, business-oriented activities to an agenda. Other work sessions stem from other council actions, such as a public hearing or a work session. Mr. Carlson noted the inclusion of a memorandum in the council meeting packet regarding the status of Ascot Park in the council packet. The memorandum clarified the council's role in the property transaction. Mr. Carlson said the City closed on the downtown fire station site purchase on November 8, 2002. The site was now in City ownership. The site involved was the southwest corner of lsth Avenue and Willamette Street. The property transaction related to the Santa Clara fire station site would close November 22, 2002. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Carlson reported that the City agreed on an interim possession agreement regarding the train station, the adjacent parking lot, and the property behind the jail. The City agreed not to require immediate possession of the express building and the Oak Street extension right-of-way as it needed to move forward with the rehabilitation of the station. He anticipated the ultimate price for the property would be established through the court system if negotiations did not succeed. In regard to the resolution mentioned by Ms. Taylor, Mr. Fart reported the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations directed staff to produce a letter for the entire council to sign rather than a resolution. Mr. Rayor believed the school district had decided to stop development of the Monroe site and was considering other sites. Mr. Carlson said that meetings on those sites were planned. Ms. Nathanson asked when the letter mentioned by Mr. Fart would be ready. Ms. Walston said that the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations would review the letter before it was forwarded to the council. Mayor Torrey commended the participation of Ms. Bettman and Mr. Kelly in the campaign for Ballot Measure 20-67, which was crucial to passage of the measure. Mayor Torrey indicated support for Ms. Nathanson's candidacy for the NLC Board. Mayor Torrey said that at a Sunday meeting at the League of Oregon Cities, an agreement was reached to support a resolution regarding education funding and forward it to the State legislature. He termed it an effort to shod-circuit the amount of time measure 20-67 was in place. He hoped to see a statewide measure in 2004 regarding school funding. B.Joint Meeting with the Citizen Involvement Committee The council was joined by Citizen Involvement Committee (CIC) members Christine Donahue, Sara Rich, Nadia Sindi, David Hinkley, Anne Marie Levis, Kevin Matthews, and Jack Combs, as well as CIC staff Beth Bridges. Acting Chair Christine Donahue introduced other members of the CIC present. Ms. Donahue also noted Ms. Bettman's long service on the CIC as both a citizen and a representative of the council. Ms. Donahue reminded the council of the concern committee members expressed the previous year regarding staffing levels. The council had directed the committee to develop some options for staffing, and the CIC had returned with options for further consideration at the start of the fiscal year 2004 budget season. Those options were outlined in the Agenda Item Summary (ALS) and the attached memorandum. Ms. Donahue provided background on the formation of the CIC and its evolving scope of responsibilities over time. Ms. Donahue noted the comparative lack of resources the City dedicated to the committee, and said that the committee prepared service level options that reflected a realistic approach to providing staff support to the committee. She reviewed the options: 1) disband the CIC; 2) maintain the status quo; 3) increase the work plan to include review of all committees and addition MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 3 Work Session of one major special project per year (.25 FTE); 4) increase work plan to include review of all committees and addition of two major special projects a year (.5 FTE); and 5) assume sponsorship of the Citizen Involvement Strategic Plan review and update, undertake two special projects per year, and provide overall oversight of the City's departments' citizen involvement efforts (1 FTE). Ms. Donahue highlighted the ClC's recommendation that the council adopt Option 3, requiring a staff commitment of .25 FTE annually. The special project could vary greatly from year-to-year, depending on the needs of the community and the City organization. Ms. Donahue noted that the ClC had also discussed alternative approaches to its membership without reaching a conclusion. Planning and Development Department Director Tom Coyle discussed the financial and staffing ramifications of implementing Option 3, saying that staff's recommendation was that resources be aligned with whatever work program met the expectations of the council. Mayor Torrey called for council questions and comments. Ms. Taylor asked if the ClC approved of the committee's make-up, questioning whether there was duplication of membership and room for improvement. Ms. Donahue said that there was always room for improvement. The ClC and staff were open to suggestions. She believed that the dedicated positions from the Planning Commission and Human Rights Commission were valuable and enriched the committee by bringing in another perspective. Ms. Donahue had no specific ideas to offer about membership. She said that the Voter Pool concept, instituted in the 1990s, had brought many new members to the committee with little prior volunteer experience. Ms. Taylor asked if people should be allowed to apply for the CIC as was done for other committees. She suggested that a member of the ClC should serve on the Planning Commission or the Human Rights Commission. Ms. Donahue said that over the years, the ClC had members that had gone on to other bodies. She suggested that the ClC and Neighborhood Leaders Council (NLC) had served as a launching pad for greater participation in local government for many citizens. Mr. Fart determined from Ms. Bridges that the City's current staff commitment to the ClC was four hours monthly. Mr. Fart was inclined to support the recommendation but wanted to ensure that the staff commitment did not go beyond the .25 FTE recommended. Mr. Carlson noted that the suggested motion was to forward a service level recommendation to the Budget Committee. Mr. Kelly determined from Mr. Carlson that passage of the motion would result in the option being listed as a budget add-on or a change to the existing baseline. Mr. Kelly wanted the option to be a component of the baseline budget and indicated he would modify the motion to that effect. Mr. Kelly said that citizen involvement was vitally important to the democratic process. He believed that it was appropriate for Eugene to enjoy a higher level of staff support for the CIC, and while he preferred a higher degree of commitment, he acknowledged the fiscal constraints facing MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 4 Work Session the City. He endorsed the many ideas the CIC put forth in the memorandum accompanying the packet materials. Mr. Pap8 indicated support for Option 3 and asked that it be highlighted to the Budget Committee. Mr. Meisner said that the City dedicated far more than four hours monthly to citizen involvement. He distinguished between staff support for the CIC and the City's support for citizen involvement. He noted the research project the CIC undertook and expressed dismay that it did not result in a higher response rate. He indicated tentative support for the motion if it was to refer the funding issue to the Budget Committee but was not satisfied it was justified. Mr. Meisner spoke to the representation of the NLC, and said that was a small group. He wanted to see more effective ways of citizen involvement. He said that the increased staff support was an eight-fold increase and he was unsure it was justified. Ms. Bettman thought there was a great deal of benefit to be realized from the CIC when departments were planning public outreach efforts. That was the purpose of the CIC, and she thought it had done some really good work. Ms. Bettman said the CIC could take a broader perspective than the departments could. However, the CIC was limited in what it could do because of limited staff assistance. She contrasted unfavorably the CIC's level of staff support with that enjoyed by other committees. Ms. Bettman suggested that the City should aspire to Option 5. However, she thought Option 3 was realistic and reasonable. She thanked the members of the CIC. Ms. Bettman confirmed with Ms. Bridges that the recommended option would not affect the CIC's level of staff support until fiscal year 2004. Ms. Nathanson suggested that there were three types of citizen involvement: 1) that of facilitating citizens' daily interactions with the City; 2) that of oversight on how citizens provided input to the City; and 3) that of oversight of volunteers. When she considered who should be responsible for those activities, she was not sure because she was not sure what the City could afford. She asked how the recommendation would be presented to the Budget Committee. Mr. Carlson said that the service level change would be highlighted to the Budget Committee. It could be either mentioned in the proposed budget with accompanying reductions or it could be shown as a possible "add" and not included in the proposed baseline budget. Either way, it would be obvious to the committee a change was being contemplated. Mayor Torrey recalled that he e-mailed a message to the council soliciting committee membership suggestions and no councilor had volunteered to serve on the CIC at that time. He said Ms. Taylor had agreed to serve in the absence of another volunteer. His concern was that he did not think the City's citizen involvement efforts were effective. When he sat on the committee, it discussed reaching out to faith-based and school groups, and that had not occurred. Mayor Torrey was supportive of the Neighborhood Matching Grants Program. He was not opposed to the recommendation if it accomplished when the City was trying to accomplish, which he hoped was a broader representation of citizen input. He asked how the City could get people like those who worked on Measure 20-67 in City affairs, noting that he had never seen many of the people involved in any other City activity. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 5 Work Session Mayor Torrey hoped that if the City continued the ClC, its expectations regarding outcomes were greater than what it achieved in the last few years. He emphasized project-by-project approaches. He said that did not mean he did not appreciate the work of the ClC. Mr. Kelly pointed out that in past years there had been "add" items included in the base budget. Mr. Kelly said that in terms of ClC membership, in the past the mayor had to assign councilors to serve on a committee, and that might be the case in this instance as well. He expressed appreciation to Ms. Taylor for her willingness to serve on the ClC. Mr. Kelly emphasized the need to focus staff on priority issues. Mr. Kelly spoke to Ms. Nathanson's remarks, suggesting the best overseer of a citizen involvement process was a citizens group rather than staff. Mr. Kelly thought Mayor Torrey's remarks regarding broader outreach should be pursued. He suggested it was difficult for a committee that met once a month to pursue broader outreach methods. Mayor Torrey reminded the council that when he polled it, a majority of members indicated interest in finding another approach than the CIC. Ms. Taylor clarified that she had volunteered to serve on the McKenzie Watershed Council, not the ClC, which she had spent four years on. She agreed with Mr. Kelly that a councilor could be assigned to the ClC if no one volunteered. Ms. Taylor commended the good work of the ClC. Mr. Fart said that people got involved in City issues on an ad hoc basis, citing the library measure as an example. He suggested that the City consider how to better get information about those issues out to the community and involve more, different people in City business. He believed that past patterns would continue into the future. He also stated that the ClC could help in the efforts. Mr. Rayor thanked the CIC for its work. He thought the CIC had the hardest job in the City. He supported the CIC's recommendation for Option 3. He suggested that a justification for the funding could be the fact that completion of a special project could save the City money and staff time in the future. Mr. Rayor asked what special project savings could be produced by the CIC to offset the additional costs. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. Pap~, moved to forward a recommendation to the Budget Committee to consider inclusion of Option 3 as a service level adjustment in the base draft fiscal year 2004 budget. Ms. Bettman said that in the absence of the CIC, its job would need to be done by someone, such as the Planning Commission, which would require an additional commitment of resources in some part of the budget. She reminded the council of the ClC's limited review role, and emphasized that it did not campaign for issues but attempted to improve the public involvement plans proposed by staff. She supported the motion. Mr. Fart concurred with the assessment of Ms. Bettman. He determined from Mr. Carlson that the motion meant that Mr. Carlson would have to include the option in the base budget, requiring a MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 6 Work Session like reduction. Therefore, this request becomes a priority over other items that had not yet been discussed. Ms. Taylor said that the CIC involved citizens who might not otherwise be involved in City projects. She cited the members from the Voter Pool and Neighborhood Pool as examples. Ms. Taylor questioned whether a staff person needed to attend all neighborhood meetings, suggesting that to reduce that commitment would free staff to provide more support to the ClC. Ms. Nathanson requested a one-page analysis illustrating the choices before the Budget Committee. She thought the committee needed the context such an analysis would provide. Mr. Carlson noted that typically, staff did not provide service level analyses until the Budget Committee requested them. Mayor Torrey urged members of the ClC and council who felt strongly about the topic to prepare a rationale for the recommendation to offer the Budget Committee members. He believed it needed to be considered in the framework of other City service priorities. Mr. Kelly suggested the CIC's major project could be examination of how to better involve citizens in ad hoc efforts. Mr. Kelly disagreed that staff members should not attend neighborhood meetings. Mr. Kelly spoke to the issue of including the item in the budget or identifying it as an add-on, saying the council was merely including the item "in the mix" and highlighting the change to the Budget Committee. Mr. Carlson said that the Budget Committee went through a priority setting exercise and Neighborhood Services was not in the top tier of service priorities. He said that staff wanted to ensure that resources were aligned with service levels. If resources were not provided, an enhanced level of service could not be promised. He wanted the council to come to agreement about the service and resources. Mr. Meisner anticipated a difficult budget season. He agreed with the mayor's summation of his poll, which was for change in the approach the City took to citizen involvement. The proposed action was occurring without public testimony on competing service priorities. He wanted the ClC to address outcomes. He said that the ClC had a survey that it ignored in making its recommendation. It was proposing to increase staffing by many times at a time when other City programs were undergoing reductions. Mr. Fart said the ClC had experienced dramatic program cutbacks and it deserved reexamination. He pointed out the increase in staff levels did not bring the program up to its past level of support. He preferred to employ the original motion in the AlS. Mr. Fart, seconded by Mr. Rayor, moved to delete the words "base draft" from the motion. Ms. Bettman opposed the amendment. She had hoped that the Planning and Development Department could reexamine its other resources when it prepared its budget. She pointed out that MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 7 Work Session the Planning Commission Plus 3, for example, enjoyed a high level of staff support, and proposed that those resources could be shifted to produce more resources for the ClC. Mr. Fart did not think his amendment precluded what Ms. Bettman mentioned. The vote on the amendment to the motion was a 4:4 tie, Mr. Rayor,, Ms. Nathanson, Mr. Meisner, and Mr. Fart voting yes; Mr. Kelly, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Bettman, and Mr. Pap~ voting no; Mayor Torrey cast a vote in support of the amendment, and it passed on a final vote of 5:4. Mr. Kelly indicated opposition to the main motion because of the City Council's lack of budgetary commitment to the ClC. He thought the recommended approach to funding would kill the proposal. Ms. Nathanson indicated regret that Mr. Kelly felt that way. She pointed out that the Budget Committee would receive a request to increase funding and staff support for the ClC. Mr. Rayor did not find the amendment an insult to the ClC. Mr. Pap~ said the ClC's function was not limited and he challenged it to do as much work as possible given its resources. He asked how citizen involvement could occur in the absence of the ClC. Mr. Carlson said that the State mandated citizen involvement for land use activities. The Planning Commission could perform that role, or another limited body could be charged with that work. Mr. Fart did not think it an insult to the ClC to accept its recommendation. Responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, Ms. Levis said the Planning Commission had discussed taking on the role of citizen involvement and agreed that it did not have sufficient time to take on the role. She thought other items now done by the ClC would be slighted as a result. Ms. Bettman believed that it was a "slap in the face" to the members of the committee not to fund it at an appreciable level or give it a shot at funding through the budget process. Ms. Taylor thought the amendment to the motion killed the ClC's proposal but indicated support on the chance it might go somewhere in the Budget Committee. Ms. Nathanson said no one suggested eliminating the ClC. She suggested that the council should be more focused on outcomes. Perhaps the committee's mission should be adjusted. Mr. Hinkley said that the CIC reviewed proposals, found the gaps, and offered suggestions for changes so the public had the opportunity to offer input and believed that input had impact. Ms. Bridges said that the memorandum prepared for the council included information about the fact to maintain the status quo required a small increase in funding. She said that she felt she could only use so much of the Neighborhood Services budget to fund ClC activities, for example, the survey. The follow-up needed for the survey was not accomplished because of a lack of resources. The ClC as it now stands was "starved" and needed money. MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 8 Work Session Mr. Kelly said that the CIC discussed and rejected the idea of maintaining the status quo, favoring eliminating of the committee to that approach. The motion passed, 6:2; Mr. Meisner and Mr. Kelly voting no. C.WORK SESSION: Discussion of Results of November 5, 2002, General Election Mr. Carlson reviewed the results of the November 5, 2002, general election, noting the successful passage of Measure 20-67 and the charter amendments approved by the voters. Mayor Torrey called on the council for comments and questions. Mr. Rayor said the measure did not put teachers in the classroom or reduce the size of classrooms. He spoke about the PERS issue and expressed hope the local districts would pursue the lawsuit against the PERS Board rather than stand with the teachers' unions. He said that even with the measure, classroom sizes were "probably" going up. Mr. Pap8 asked questions clarifying the next steps in implementing the changes to the City Charter. Mr. Kelly thanked the mayor and Ms. Bettman for their work on passing Measure 20-67. He also thanked the members of the Citizen Charter Review Committee for their long hard work on the charter amendments. He regretted the fact the charter amendment related to the City Attorney failed, but pointed out that seven of eight measures passed, which was a good record. Mr. Kelly suggested that staff return with examples of codes of ethics when the council considered the needed ordinance. Mr. Farr thanked Ms. Bettman for her work on 20-67, saying it was an important issue for him. He had campaigned actively for the measure. Speaking to Mr. Rayor's remarks, Mr. Farr said that the issue of PERS was high on the priority list for State legislators. Ms. Bettman thanked Mr. Farr for his remarks and congratulated him on his electoral victory. She commended the many volunteers who worked on the issue, including Angel Jones and Jan Bohman of City staff. She also thanked the members of the Citizen Charter Review Committee for their hard work. She also regretted the fact the charter amendment related to the City Attorney failed. Mr. Meisner said the community was lucky to have the volunteers who worked on the several recent City money measures. He was delighted with the passage of Measure 20-67, and said he wished he shared the mayor's optimism that the State would solve the school funding problem. He noted that it was suggested to him in Salem that school funding was a problem best solved locally. Ms. Taylor noted her concern about the environment, civil liberties, and world peace. She thought the success of the charter amendments was a tribute to the committee. She too regretted the loss of the City Attorney measure, saying she believed it had been misrepresented in some MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 9 Work Session quarters. Ms. Taylor said that the successful passage of measure 20-67 was a tribute to the community and its willingness to support schools. Mayor Torrey said that Governor-elect Ted Kulongoski was very concerned about the economy and did not think the school funding issue could be solved without a resolution to the PERS issue and information about the PERS baseline. He was very concerned about the potential of legislative preemption of local option transportation funding and said the City needed to be careful about that. He referred to the State's "Lawn Mower Fund," which contained about $10 million, and said the City needed to ensure it was not raided to solve other transportation issues and was protected to maintain one of the trains. Speaking to the last agenda item, Ms. Nathanson noted that the council was not presented with a status quo recommendation related to the CIC that involved a slight level of additional funding to make up the $6,000 gap. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James D. Carlson, City Manager pro tern (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 12, 2002 Page 10 Work Session