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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 06/26/00 Meeting MINUTES Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber--City Hall June 26, 2000 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Farr, David Kelly, Scott Meisner, Gary Pap~, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Nancy Nathanson, Bobby Lee, Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. I.PUBLIC FORUM Beth Little, 1560 Grant Street, speaking as the General Manager of Saturday Market, thanked the council for considering a resolution on public markets. She remarked that it was in the public interest to have a public market that was inclusive and accessible. Misha Seymor, complained against the recent police action concerning demonstrators. He said that he witnessed police torturing people and called for freedom of assembly. Councilor Kelly allowed that he had already expressed concern over the level of force used to make arrests during the recent demonstration, but expressed his dismay at Mr. Seymor's use of the word "torture". He said that torture was a serious term that should be used very advisedly and said that it should not be applied to what happened at the demonstration. Councilor Rayor noted that the city had many avenues open for communication with officials. He commented that Eugene was one of the most easy places to talk to officials that he had ever seen. He added that there would be policy discussion over the handling of demonstrations. Councilor Farr stated his support of the Saturday Market. He expressed a desire to make it an even bigger event for the City in the future. II.CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of Minutes: City Council Work Session of May 24, 2000, and Joint Meeting with the Lane County Board of Commissioners, May 31, 2000. B. Call for a public hearing on an ordinance vacating the improved portions of commerce street and West 13th Avenue in the West Park Commercial Center Subdivision; and providing an effective date. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 1 Regular Meeting C. Resolution 4636: A resolution regarding support of public markets in Downtown Eugene D. Approval of Eugene/Springfield HOME Consortium agreement. E. Resolution 4637: A resolution certifying that the City of Eugene provides the municipal services required by Oregon Revised Statute, Section 221.760, in order to receive state shared revenues Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to approve the items on the consent calendar. Councilor Kelly pulled item C. Councilor Rayor pulled items A and B. Mayor Torrey called for corrections to item A. Councilor Rayor offered a correction to the minutes of May 24. He said that he had attended a Chamber of Commerce Government Group. Councilor Fart offered a correction to the minutes of May 24. He said that the management of business was time consuming. The consent calendar, without items B and C, passed unanimously. Regarding item B, Councilor Rayor raised concern over impacts to wetlands south of the site and regarding street connectivity. He wanted a full analysis that was typical of street vacations. Item B. passed unanimously. Regarding item C, Councilor Kelly recognized the importance of the Saturday Market and the Farmer's Market. He thanked representatives from both markets for their efforts on the Public Markets Task Force that he was involved in. He commented that the park blocks marked the town center and the Saturday and Farmer's Markets were the stars of the park blocks. Councilor Rayor stated his appreciation for the Saturday and Farmer's Markets. He expressed a desire to work towards providing the on-site amenities that the markets were asking for. Councilor Taylor expressed her happiness to be part of the resolution. Item C passed unanimously. III.PUBLIC HEARING: An ordinance concerning parking lot rates, and amending Section 5.285 of the Eugene Code 1971. Mayor Torrey introduced the topic and opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed the hearing and called for questions/comments from the Council. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 2 Regular Meeting Councilor Taylor raised concern over charging for Saturday parking. She commented that it ran contrary to what had been said earlier regarding the support of public markets downtown. City Manager Johnson responded and assured Councilor Taylor that the ordinance only addressed monthly parking per units. IV. PUBLIC HEARING AND POSSIBLE ACTION: An ordinance concerning special service districts, and amending Sections 3.650 and 3.660 of the Eugene Code, 1971. Bob Hibschman pointed out two significant changes in the ordinance. The first change was that the three-year sunset provision was proposed to be changed to a petition process from the majority of the property owners representing the square footage. The second change was for the downtown services district only. Mr. Hibschman said that there was a fee increase necessary to provide essential services. Mr. Hibschman said that there was support for the ordinance among property owners representing 77 percent of the square footage for the renewal of both districts. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Sue Prichard, 101 East Broadway, called for support from the council in renewing the Downtown Services District. She commented that there was overwhelming property owner support for continuing the district. Russ Brink, 132 East Broadway, speaking as the director of Downtown Eugene Incorporated, (DEl), said that the district provided a stable source of funding for his organization. He cited the downtown guides, graffiti removal, and a variety of maintenance programs as examples of what the funding accomplished. He commented that the district provided many services that the City used to provide or would have to provide if the district did not do it. He called for the help from the Council to make downtown a better place. Gerry Gaydos, 220 East Broadway, spoke as the Chairman of Downtown Eugene Incorporated. He commented that the reason for the fee increase was to make sure that employees were paid better so that there would be less turnover. He expressed a desire for DEl to play a role in the downtown visioning process. Bob Lee, 860 East 13th Avenue, spoke as a small business owner in the West University area. He commented that there had been three years of success for the West University district and called for its continuation. He thanked the City for its past cooperation. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing and called for council comments/questions. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding fees paid by the City to DEl, Mr. Hibschman said that it was more practical to have one yearly payment than a series of quarterly payments. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding payments made by the property owners after a possible future dissolution of DEl, City Attorney Glenn Klein said that funding would have to MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 3 Regular Meeting be provided a minimum of two quarters after dissolution, but it was up to council whether to allow more time for collections. Councilor Meisner commented that the questions that were raised at the last work session regarding the item, and the responses from DEl and the staff analysis were not consistent. He said that one of the specific questions had to do with the possibility of residential properties in the downtown district. He said that staff stated that DEl was against that, but noted that DEI's memo did not even address the issue. Councilor Meisner raised concern over including the eastern half of Broadway Place in the district but not the western half. Councilor Meisner observed that the staff note covered city fees and payments but mentioned nothing about other governing bodies. Mr. Hibschman said that the boundary of the district was drawn before Broadway Place was conceived and noted that the developers were paying as if the whole project was located within the district. City Manager Johnson asked Council to consider Council Bill 4732, an ordinance concerning special services districts, and amending Sections 3.650 and 3.660 of the Eugene Code 1971. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Fart, moved that the bill, with unani- mous consent of the council, be read a second time by bill number only, and that enactment be considered at that time. The motion passed unanimously. City Manager Johnson asked that the council consider Council Bill 4732 by number only. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Fart, moved that the Bill be given final passage. The motion passed unanimously. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Fart, moved to consider a Council Contingency Fund request at a future meeting to pay for occupied city offices located within the Downtown Services District. The motion passed unanimously. V. PUBLIC HEARING AND ACTION: A resolution adopting a supplemental budget; making appropriations for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999 and ending June 30, 2000. Councilor Kelly noted, for the audience's benefit, that council was dealing with the past year's budget not the 2001 budget. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding increases to the Risk Management Fund, City Manager Johnson agreed to have an executive session to discuss the increase. In response to a question from Councilor Rayor regarding the Airport Fund, Warren Wong said that the item for airport improvements was to provide improvements to the food facilities. He said the Airport provided a loan to the tenant that would be paid back in monthly installments over the MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 4 Regular Meeting term of the lease. In addition, the City granted an improvement allowance to the tenant for which the City expects some offset from various rental revenues. In response to a question from Councilor Rayor regarding where the money for the loan came from, Mr. Wong said that the money came strictly from airport funds. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak, he closed the hearing and called for council questions/comments. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to approve Resolution 4638, a resolution adopting a supplemental budget; making appropriations for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1999, and ending June 30, 2000. The motion passed unanimously. VI.PUBLIC HEARING AND ACTION: A resolution adopting the budget, making appropriations, determining, levying and categorizing the annual Ad Valorem Property Tax Levy for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2001; and a resolution electing to receive state revenue sharing funds pursuant to Section 221.770 of the Oregon Revised Statutes. City Manager Johnson commented that the item was the last action for the budget adoption process for FY2001. Mayor Torrey took an opportunity to thank the members of the Budget Committee for their efforts. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Tom Cleveland, 1430 Willamette, spoke as president of Community Television of Lane County. He said that 80 percent of the programming for the channel was locally produced. He said that the channel provided valuable training for its volunteers who could put the experience to good use. He asked for $7,500 from the City, to put towards operations in FY2001. Steven Woodward, 1947 West 17th Avenue, spoke in support for providing funding to Community Television. He said that community television provided a creative aspect and a learning environment for kids. Ryan Koch, 518 Pinto Way, reiterated the comments of Mr. Woodward. He added that Community Television was one way to give kids extra learning activities. He noted that he produced a program on community television. He called for ongoing funding of the channel. JoDee Rann, 1153 Tarton Place, spoke in favor of community access television. She said that it provided a positive alternative for youth. She noted that her entire family produced programs on the community access channel. Carol Berg, 2510 Augusta, stressed the value of community-based television. She said the channel provided active, open and free community dialog. She said that community access televison was healthy for the community and essential for communication in the metropolitan area. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 5 Regular Meeting Craig Miller, 1273 West 17th, spoke in support of community access television. He called it a valuable resource and called for ongoing funding. Matt Laubach, 184 East 26th Avenue, commented that community access televison was a wonderful resource for everyone and called for ongoing city support. Dan Koetting, 3172 Emerald Place, spoke in support of Community Television. He said that television was a powerful resource and called for everyone to have access. Kurt Jensen, 1690 Mississippi Avenue, called for support of Community Television. He commented on the diverse group of people that worked at community access television and said that the diversity at the station reflected the diversity of the community. He stressed the importance of a medium for a free exchange of ideas and called for increased ongoing funding. Tim Lewis, 1080 West 3rd, called for continued and increased funding of Community Television. He commented that the current amount of funding was crumbs. Mayor Torrey closed the public hearing. Councilor Rayor commented that he did not own a television, but support for community access television was warranted. He added that the public needed to make its own alternatives and that the citizens owned the airwaves associated with Community Television. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to approve Resolution 4639, a resolution adopting the budget, making appropriations, determining, levying and categorizing the annual Ad Valorem Property Tax Levy for the City of Eugene for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2001. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Rayor, moved to amend the motion to allow funding ($7,500) for community access television. In response to a question from Councilor Kelly regarding the status of the funding, Councilor Taylor said that the funding would be ongoing and come from reducing the reserves by a like amount. Councilor Kelly reiterated Councilor Rayor in favor of the allocation of $7,500. He commented that he had not seen as diverse a range of people come out in support of an issue and added that this, in and of itself, spoke to the importance of community access television. He said that the money would be a good investment with a good return. Councilor Fart complimented the diversity of the testimony. In response to a question from Councilor Farr regarding an agreement about the last funding allocation, City Manager Johnson said that the organizers of community access television had agreed to do public outreach and find their own funding for the future. He said that the funding allocated at that time was clearly for one time only. In response to a question from Councilor Farr regarding public outreach for funding, Mr. Cleveland said that there had been some public outreach. He added that there had been a telethon that MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 6 Regular Meeting raised about $245. He said that there were new contracts with Lane Community College to do services for them. He said that a fund raising committee was constantly looking for support from the business community and individuals. Councilor Fart commented that Community Television was a tremendous service to the community. He questioned why there were not more fund raising efforts. He said he would vote for the funding on the condition that there would be more fund raising efforts. He expressed a desire to take part in those efforts. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding other jurisdictions funding the station, City Manager Johnson said that Lane County had donated $7,500. He added that the City of Springfield did not contribute at all to Community Television. In response to a question from Councilor Pap~ regarding Community Televison service to the City of Springfield, Mr. Cleveland said service was provided. He said that the City of Springfield had decided not to fund Community Television six years before. Mayor Torrey said that he had stressed the importance of fund raising for Community Television before. He commented that there should be creative ways to find funding for the station. Councilor Meisner opposed ongoing funding for Community Television. He said that this provided no incentive for community access television to do its own fund raising. Councilor Rayor supported ongoing funding. Councilor PapS, seconded by Councilor Meisner, moved to amend the amendment by changing the funding status to one time. City Attorney Klein said that ongoing funding would come from reserve, as Councilor Taylor requested, but added that one time funding would come from contingency. Councilor Kelly supported ongoing funding. He called for a report, from Community Television, on its progress in fund raising at the beginning of the budget process for the next year. Councilor Fart said that he would oppose the amendment to the amendment. He reiterated the importance of doing private fund raising. The amendment to the amendment failed 4:2 with Councilors Pap8 and Meisner voting in favor. The amendment passed 5:1 with Councilor Meisner voting in opposition. The main motion passed unanimously. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to approve Resolution 4640, a resolution electing to receive State revenue sharing funds pursuant to Section 221.770 of Oregon Revised Statutes. The motion passed unanimously. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 7 Regular Meeting Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting of the City Council and convened a meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency. VII.PUBLIC HEARING AND ACTION: A resolution of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene adopting the Budget and making appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2001. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one wishing to speak he closed the public hearing and called for questions/comments from the councilors. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Farr, moved to approve Resolution 1007, a resolution of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene adopting the budget and making appropriations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2000, and ending June 30, 2001. The motion passed unanimously. VIII.ACTION: A resolution of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene adopting a relocation policy, adopting rules of procedure relating to relocation claims, and authorizing the Director of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene to select Hearing Officers to preside at contested relocation cases. Ms. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Fart, moved to approve Resolution 1008 of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene, adopting a relocation policy, adopting rules of procedure relating to relocation claims, and authorizing the Director of the Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Eugene to select hearing officers to preside at contested relocation cases. Mr. Kelly called attention to a letter from Neil Hyat. He called on the City Manager and staff to address the points he raised in his letter. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly regarding the Director of the Urban Renewal Agency being able to select hearings officers, Mr. Klein said that the rule was intended to include employees of the Urban Renewal Agency, should there ever be any. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly regarding the reason a Hearings Official could not hear contested cases, Mr. Klein said that it was to give more flexibility. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly regarding items that were not compensated for in relocations, Jeff Mathews said that the City modeled its regulations after the regulations promulgated by the Federal Department of Transportation. He said that the $10,000 limit for compensation was not set in stone. He said that staff had seen no reason to change the figure. Mr. Mathews said that there were various means of appraising property costs. He said that relocation costs were separate from the value of a business. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. Fart, moved to amend the limitations in Section Seven of the resolution so as not to exceed $100,000 rather than $10,000. MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 8 Regular Meeting Mr. Meisner disagreed with Kelly. He opined that part of the valuation of the property was the good will of the business at the original site. Mr. Mathews said that the purpose of the relocation payments act was to ease the burden on those who were being forced to move from home or business. He commented that it was not meant to be a windfall for them. He said that, in addition to the fair market value of the property being acquired, the relocation was a separate item from the value of the business. Councilor Pap8 clarified that relocation benefits were over and above the condemnation charges. In response to a question from Councilor Pap8 regarding the reason for a limit on relocation benefits, Mr. Klein said that there were no statutory limits for the State but the Federal Department of Transportation used the $10,000 limit. Lew Bowers said that he had been in contact with the City of Portland to discuss the subject, and learned that there were legally tested combinations and balances that allowed large ongoing businesses to be fairly compensated for relocation. Mr. Kelly commented that there was sufficient confusion on the issue to warrant tabling the issue until a memo from city staff could be produced. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Mr. PapS, moved to table the item until a future date. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting of the Urban Renewal Agency and re-convened the meeting of the Eugene City Council. IX.ACTION: Appointments to Human Rights Commission Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to appoint Bahati Ansari, (To a term expiring May 31, 2001), Ed Ruttledge, (To a term expiring May 31, 2001), Steven Deutch, (To a term expiring May 31, 2003), Jean Grendler, (To a term expiring May 31, 2003), and Jennifer Self, (To a term expiring May 31, 2003), to the Human Rights Commission. The motion passed unanimously. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to reappoint James Dean to position 14 for a term expiring May 31, 2003. The motion passed unanimously. Councilor Taylor, seconded by Councilor Farr, moved to appoint (effective October 1, 2000) Marieke (Mo) Young, to a term expiring May 31, 2002, expected to become vacant in September 2000. The motion passed unanimously. X.ADJOURNMENT MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 9 Regular Meeting The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Joe Sams) MINUTES--Eugene City Council June 26, 2000 Page 10 Regular Meeting