Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/17/00 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room--City Hall July 17, 2000 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Nancy Nathanson, Pat Fart, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Gary Rayor, Gary Pap~. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting to order. City Manager Jim Johnson indicated that the executive session scheduled for later in the evening for the council as the Urban Renewal Agency had not been properly noticed, and would not occur. He said he would contact councilors individually with updates on real property acquisitions. Mr. Lee wished Mayor James Torrey a happy birthday. The council sang "Happy Birthday" to the mayor. Mr. Pap~ arrived at the meeting. A. Downtown Police/Fire Station Options Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson joined the council for the item, reminding councilors that, following the failure of the Ballot Measure 20-31 in May, the council had directed staff to develop two options for a potential November ballot measure. The council asked for a police-only building option, built at the full square footage (91,500 square feet) proposed by the Police/Fire Stations Task Force, and for a downtown fire station option, with remodeling of the existing Fire space for police use. Mr. Carlson said that subsequently, staff had developed variations on the first option: la, Police Station only, at a cost of $29.2 million, and 1 b, Police Station only with site acquisition and design fora downtown fire station at a cost of $29.97 million. Option 2, A new downtown fire station with interim remodal of the downtown fire station for police use, cost $9.1 million. Mr. Carlson said in addition, staff developed a third option, A smaller police station only, with site acquisitions and design for downtown fire station at a cost approximately $25.12 million. Regarding Option 3, Mr. Carlson suggested that there was an opportunity to build more than 80,000 square feet of space by combining savings from existing leased office space payments with the bond measure revenues to build a new facility. He acknowledged that the proposed space was not as large as proposed by the task force but it was 30,000 square feet more than the department currently occupied and would function well into the future. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Carlson recommended Option 3. He indicated that Police Chief Jim Hill and Fire Chief Tom Tallon were present to answer questions. City Manager Jim Johnson indicated that staff continued to work on an approach that allowed for the construction of a larger building that could accommodate staff now housed in leased space. He said that it was much cheaper for the taxpayers for the City to build a single large building now, rather than a series of additions over time. He said that the voters would be asked to underwrite the cost of an 80,000 square foot facility and the rental payments would assist with the bond costs associated with the larger building. Although he regretted the lost opportunity for a downtown civic center near the new library, Mr. Pap~ supported Option 3 as a realistic and pragmatic approach. Mr. Meisner said that the staff proposal made sense. He particularly endorsed the possibility of bonding against lease payments and moving staff out of leased space. Regarding a downtown fire station, Mr. Meisner said that it made sense to acquire a site now and plan for a bond measure. He noted that the City would have three surplus fire stations in the future and suggested disposal of those assets was a way to reduce the size of a bond. Mr. Johnson concurred that was an appropriate approach. Ms. Taylor noted her support for building a downtown fire station first because of inadequate staff facilities and the fact that fire equipment was damaged by use in its current location. She thought it was urgent to protect the equipment and provide adequate dormitory space for fire fighters to maintain a quick response for calls for service. The cost was less than a police station, and she also thought the public would support the smaller amount if the need was explained to residents. Following that, the City Council could take more time to convince the public of the need for a new police station. Ms. Taylor said the City had other pressing needs such as a new homeless shelter and a youth shelter. She questioned whether a new police station was the City's most urgent priority. She thought the public needed to be involved in deciding the size of a new police station, which she believed should be located downtown. Ms. Nathanson concurred with Mr. Meisner's remarks about disposal of surplus City assets. She wanted to see the value of the assets earmarked for a fire station. Addressing the question of which was the higher priority, Ms. Nathanson agreed with Ms. Taylor that a fire station was a high City priority, but Mr. Carlson's remarks about the timing of construction of the two facilities indicated that the fire station could be built about the same time the police station was built. Mr. Johnson concurred. He said that the timing depended on a successful election. Regarding Ms. Nathanson's points about surplus assets, Mr. Johnson said that the City generally dedicated the sale of surplus assets to the General Fund but the council could allocate the funds by motion to the new fire station. Responding to a question from Ms. Nathanson about the relationship between the options and other City space needs, Mr. Johnson briefly discussed the City's comprehensive space planning effort and emphasized staff's intent to keep the council's options open. Mr. Fart commended Option 3 as being in keeping with the direction given by the council to staff. Mr. Rayor said that staff had done an excellent job in taking available data and developing an optimum solution in Option 3. He found the police station the most compelling expenditure given MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 2 Work Session the working conditions of employees. He liked the option because it provided for planning for the fire station. He also liked the idea of using City assets no longer needed to underwrite the costs. Because of the lower costs involved, limitations he had previously wanted to impose on the ballot measure language were no longer necessary. Mr. Rayor said that the proposal evoked more trust and was driven by reality rather than staff. He complimented the staff team responsible for the proposal. Mr. Kelly liked the concept of using the revenue streams currently spent on leased space, saying it would make the issue more palatable to him, but he was dismayed the council would not know if that would work until after it made a decision to put a measure on the ballot. Mr. Johnson clarified that staff would not be able to tell the council precisely the impact of increased rent to the other special funds, such as the Stormwater and Road funds. The revenue streams could be used without a General Fund impact. Mr. Kelly said that the scope of the impact was an issue for him. Mr. Kelly thought that a measure that included some provision for the fire station was more likely to pass than a measure focused on a police station only. He pointed out that a new fire station would relieve some police space issues, and did not see anything in the proposal that distinguished itself from the rejected May measure. He thought Option 2 was more likely to pass and solve some of the problem, if not all of it. Mr. Meisner said the concept of a civic center was discussed by the Ad Hoc Committee on Greater Downtown Visioning, which discussed recognizing 8th Avenue as a government boulevard. There had been little interest expressed by committee members in creating other civic uses, such as a city hall, near the new library. Mr. Meisner reiterated his earlier remark about dedicating the revenues from the sale of assets to a fire station. He thought that the needs of the police were more urgent than the needs of the Fire and EMS Department. He did not favor Option 2 because he believed it was a waste of money to renovate City Hall. Mr. Meisner supported Option 3. Mr. Johnson noted that an initiative that might be on the November ballot would require that Certificates of Participation be voted on by residents. Ms. Taylor disagreed that the needs of the police were more urgent than the needs of the fire department. She thought that the Fire Department was more vital in an emergency than the Police Department because fire trucks would be urgently needed in downtown. She said that if the City was concerned about the police cars parked under City Hall, they should be moved. Ms. Taylor supported a seismic upgrade of City Hall in any case to protect the lives of employees. Regarding the issue of a civic center, Ms. Taylor expressed the hope the new library could become the center focus of a new cultural center. Mr. Lee asked Ms. Taylor about the basis of her statement that fire services were more important than police services in the case of an emergency. Ms. Taylor pointed out that police cars do not fight fires, which were likely to happen in an earthquake. Mr. Lee believed that both services were important. Mr. Johnson said that fire trucks were very important in such cases, but police personnel were also essential to ensure that the way could be cleared for fire trucks, for traffic control, and to prevent looting. Mr. Carlson pointed out that there were other fire stations outside the core that could respond to a downtown emergency, including a seismic emergency, if necessary. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 3 Work Session Mr. Farr concurred with Mr. Meisner's remarks about bonding for the larger building size. He suggested that once the stations were constructed, the City could save lease payments by moving services in rented facilities to City Hall. Mr. Johnson concurred. Mr. Fart suggested that a second bond measure could be successful because the first measure helped to create awareness of the need for the new facilities. He thought the timing of the November ballot measure was good and the reduced cost of the option appropriate. Mr. Pap~ also concurred with Mr. Meisner's remarks. He did not understand why there was any controversy about the topic as both fire and police were essential services and needed new locations. He thought Option 3 was the best option before the council. He thought that proceeding with the fire station first would severely impact the lead time the police station would require for design. Mr. Pap~ said he was not interested in spending any more money on the current City Hall because it was structurally and functionally obsolete and it could not be significantly improved. Ms. Nathanson said that it appeared the City could spend several million dollars to remodel City Hall without realizing any additional space. Mr. Johnson said that depended on what happened with employees working in the basement. He said that the council indicated support for moving employees out of that area. Mr. Carlson agreed with Ms. Nathanson that the remodel would not add space but would improve the existing space. Ms. Nathanson was also not interested in investing millions of dollars without getting more for the public in terms of usable space. Ms. Nathanson did not want to accept an alternative because it had the lowest dollar figure. She said that apparent bargains are not always such a good deal. Mayor Torrey emphasized the need to relocate the police to a new facility. He liked Option 3. He thought that the approach provided for both the Police and Fire departments over time. He said a failure to build now meant that building would cost more later. Regarding the potential of using the Sears site near the library and creating a civic center, Mayor Torrey noted his past advocacy of the site for a police station. He thought that bringing police into the general geographic area would have a calming effect. However, he acknowledged the lack of council support for the option. Mr. Kelly reiterated his support for new fire and police facilities but wanted to place a measure before the voters that would receive support. For that reason, he supported Option 2. Regarding further investments to City Hall, he said if the council had shown support for Option 2 he would have suggested a seismic retrofit of the office space as part of that bond measure. He acknowledged the cost of such a retrofit but thought it was unlikely the City would get a new City Hall in the next ten years. Mr. Kelly said that the County would have a public safety measure on the November ballot, and he suggested that it might be easier for the public to distinguish between the City's and County's measures if the City's were focused on a new fire station. Mr. Johnson emphasized the need for a police station adjacent to City Hall, noting the site under consideration was adjacent to the building, was in public ownership, and convenient to the courts and District Attorney's Office. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Rayor believed that the council would soon have to start looking at each proposed ballot measure in terms of how government was funded. He continued to support Option 3, although he suggested that the costs were likely to rise. Ms. Taylor said that the proposed location for the police station was excellent. She predicted the failure of a bond measure funding a new police station. She continued to support a separate measure for the fire station to give residents a choice. She called for an independent evaluation of the usable life of City Hall. Responding to a question from Ms. Nathanson, Mr. Johnson anticipated that the council would review the results of the comprehensive space study by the end of 2000. Mr. Lee moved, seconded by Ms. Taylor, to direct the City Manager to prepare a resolution and ballot title for Option 3 for the November 2000 general election. The motion passed, 6:2; Mr. Kelly and Ms. Taylor voting no. Mayor Torrey introduced Sara Hamlin, the new City Intergovernmental Relations Director. The council welcomed Ms. Hamlin. B.Youth Task Force Report on After-School Activities Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services (LRCS) Department Director Angel Jones and LRCS staff Linda Phelps joined the council for the presentation. Ms. Phelps introduced Youth Task Force members Pat Rogers, Carmen Urbina, Maria Thomas, John Crane, Dave Ison, and Wendy Avery- Kent. She also noted the presence of other LRCS staff and welcomed the participants in the annual week-long Institute for Community Leadership Workshop who were in attendance. Ms. Phelps said that the agenda item summary in the meeting packet identified the key recreation services the task force believed were essential to filling the gaps in after-school services for youth. Ms. Phelps provided background on the Youth Task Force effort and commended members for their dedication and commitment to connecting youth to positive activities. She reviewed the goals of the after-school program: 1) protect youth from negative behaviors by providing quality connections with caring adults in daily after-school activities; 2) improve the health of youth by increasing physical activity levels, providing programs that include nutrition and that emphasize a healthy life style; 3) increase the self-esteem of youth through leadership programs, connections with caring adults, opportunities for creative self-expression and programs that celebrate diversity; 4) decrease the incidence of juvenile crime in the critical hours after school by providing a variety of structured and drop-in activities that involve previously disenfranchised youth; and 5) increase interest in school and improving academic performance through participation in community service learning programs. Ms. Phelps said that $1.75 million in additional resources would be required to fund the recommendations of the task force, which envisioned a Request for Proposals (RFP) process for nonprofit organizations. She said that the contemplated activities were chosen to supplement rather than replace existing programs, and alternative methods were proposed to reach youth not now involved in after-school activities, such as job opportunities as mentors for older youth. Ms. Phelps said that the task force was committed to finding long-term funding, but proposed a short- term serial levy to provide funds for a pilot project to fill serious gaps in the system. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 5 Work Session Ms. Jones concluded the staff presentation by saying her participation in two conferences with youth as a major topic indicated that local efforts were validated by state and national initiatives. She noted widespread support for after-school programs and said they had proven positive results for youth. Ms. Jones acknowledged council concerns about Eugene as a sole source of funding for the program, but she believed that Eugene should lead in this area and demonstrate what can be done for others to follow. She asked for the council's support for placing the serial levy before the voters. Mayor Torrey said that all agreed there was a need for such a program. He said that councilors were provided with a national report that mirrored much of task force's report. He reviewed statistics from the national report, which indicated a large percentage of parents work and many youth were home alone after school. Youth need after-school programs to avoid getting into trouble. Mayor Torrey said that the cost of after-school care was an issue for many parents, and geographic location in the community could also hinder participation in after-school activities. The children attending Boys and Girls Club of Emerald Valley activities at Westmoreland Center come from all over the community. Mayor Torrey suggested that the proposed serial levy provided the council with an opportunity to leverage additional funds. He asked the council to give the public an opportunity to vote on the proposed funding mechanism. Mayor Torrey said the programs involved were not new, but were in need of assistance. He emphasized the opportunities for partnership with the school districts and nonprofits. He said that Springfield and Lane County were not prepared to participate at this time, but he reminded the council that the County had made the fairgrounds available for daytime activities for the youth of the community. Mayor Torrey said that he had met with youth who had written a letter to the editor complaining they did not have an opportunity to address the council at a recent meeting, and heard about their concerns that a place where activities such as dances for older, teen-aged youth could occur was needed. He said that Fairgrounds Manager Mike Gleason and the Board of County Commissioners supported having teen activities at the fairgrounds on weekends. Mayor Torrey noted his support for the County's proposed public safety measure but emphasized that prevention and intervention efforts were still inadequately funded. He thought that those approaches were a priority for Eugene residents. He asked who would provide such services if the City did not. He could not think of a better service the City could provide to youth then "to give adults of Eugene the chance to say yes to kids." Mr. Fart noted his concurrence with Mayor Torrey's remarks. He noted his past lack of support for serial levies but said that the language in Option 1 addressed his concerns as it directed the City Manager to seek a sustainable long-term funding source. He thought once residents saw the success of the program and the way it leveraged other resources they would support the program in a sustainable way, over the long-term. Mr. Fart pointed out that the City was not the sole public entity funding the program. The costs were spread across several sources, including the school districts and nonprofits. Mr. Farr endorsed the mayor's remarks regarding residents' support for prevention and intervention. He said that the amount of money involved in the pilot project was relatively small in comparison to the return on investment. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 6 Work Session Mr. Fart wanted to do more in the way of "training the trainers" to maximize the effectiveness of those who would be involved in delivering the programs. He said that the program was a well- rounded one that "touched all the bases." Mr. Kelly complimented the task force on its work. He particularly commended the formation of the Transportation Committee. Mr. Kelly also did not favor a serial levy, particularly a two-year levy, because its renewal could be rejected by the public. He preferred to move toward a unified permanent funding base, such as an admittance tax or special service district tax, to avoid the need to go back to the voters. Mr. Johnson clarified that the intent of the suggested motion directing staff to seek long-term funding was to direct staff to examine, at minimum, an admittance tax and special district formation as ways to underwrite the program funding in the future. He confirmed that a special district could be funded through a user fee. Mr. Meisner commended the work of the task force, in particularly its gap analysis, and said he expected to support its recommendations. However, he continued to be frustrated by the County's inability to provide funding for services to a population that commissioners claimed was a priority. Many of the youth to be served through the program were County, not City residents. Mr. Meisner said the County had no incentive to provide funding if the City continued to provide it. He was not persuaded that the County would be bothered to support the program, and hoped the school districts would. Mr. Meisner asked about the future of the program if no other government was willing to lend assistance, pointing out that the City's financial forecast suggested that programs would have to be eliminated rather than added. He said that the City must persuade its intergovernmental partners to participate in a more fundamental way. Mr. Meisner did not find provision of the fairgrounds facility to be a significant contribution. Ms. Nathanson questioned the connection between Mr. Meisner's remarks and expected discussions with Lane County regarding some collaboration and cooperation issues. Ms. Nathanson said that the vast social change that occurred over the last few decades was not matched by commensurate changes in how school districts or municipal governments operated; those agencies continued to do what they had done, and in Eugene funding for school districts had fallen. At a time of increased need, the ability to serve that need decreased. Ms. Nathanson supported the proposal but did not consider it a watershed event in a way that told her that "we've turned the corner," or that governments had changed to reflect the change that occurred in the country. She said that "this isn't it, yet," but it was a step in the right direction. Ms. Nathanson said she was particularly interested in the provision of affordable school-based child care, transportation alternatives, late night and weekend programs, sliding scale fees, school-based arts and activities, cultural activities, athletics, and other outdoor activities, including work, for individuals as well as teams. Mr. Johnson noted that school-based arts, music, and other cultural activities were a large element of the program. Mr. Pap8 said that the approach recommended was wonderful. He expressed concern, however, about the proposed serial levy because he feared that it would detract from the City's measure for a new police headquarters. He said that if asked his priority, he would have to support the police measure. Mr. Pap8 did not support the proposal for a serial levy at this time. Mr. Pap8 also expressed concern that Springfield and the County were not participating in the costs of the program as he did not think that youth from those jurisdictions would be turned away MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 7 Work Session from participating in the program. He said there had not been enough collaboration with those communities to ensure that if Eugene took the lead, those jurisdictions would help to backfill the costs in the future. Mr. Rayor referred to the financial forecast and asked how the funding fit into the continuum of services the City offered its residents. Mr. Johnson said that reducing programs was a policy choice of the council. He said that what was being suggested in the levy supported and built upon the programs and services that the City and the nonprofits currently provided to community youth. He said that during the Ballot Measure 50 reduction process, the City Council ranked priorities related to the services the City provided, recreation services ranked near the bottom of the list not because they were not wanted or were not appropriate, but because there were hard financial choices to be made. Mr. Johnson confirmed that the City would add approximately two full-time positions, but direct services would be delivered by the nonprofits. He anticipated continued use of the competitive grant process. Mr. Rayor asked how the budget was determined. Ms. Phelps clarified that the project budget was determined by extrapolating from examples of existing services providing the same types of services the project would provide. The task force prioritized the different services and recommended the funding levels. Mr. Rayor observed that the total of all the nonprofit contingency fund and budget requests received by the City over the past year was about $875,000. He asked if the levy could be a four-year, $875,000 levy meaning that optimization of the program in two years would not be so burdensome. Mr. Rayor was concerned with the possibility the proposed levy would compete with the renewal of the library levy. In response, Ms. Jones said that task force started with outcomes and costed those outcomes out to determine the funding levels needed. She said that the levy could be scaled down, but it would not be the amount represented to make a real difference the task force wants to make. Mayor Torrey clarified that the task force did not intend to seek renewal of the serial levy, but was attempting to establish a base program that could generate public support. Ms. Taylor was uncertain about her position on the task force proposals. She noted her past support for retaining the City's recreation programs. She was concerned about starting programs that might have to be cut in the future. Ms. Taylor thought the programs in question should be school-based. She said that reduced fees were often not adequate for Iow-income residents. Ms. Phelps clarified that the sliding fee scale not only addressed the most Iow-income residents, but families with working parents who had limits to their incomes that did not allow them to pay for after-school activities. People paid the price that they could. Mr. Lee said that the discussion was about how to address the needs of youth, and assembling such a program was a challenge. While he also did not like the mechanism of the property tax, he thought the program represented a bridge to the future and would provide a tool to leverage a larger discussion about a comprehensive youth strategy. Mr. Lee supported the inclusion of arts activities in the program. Mr. Lee thanked the mayor for the time he spent on the issue. Mr. Kelly asked if the BMX program at Alton Baker Park could be included on the youth services inventory. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 8 Work Session Mr. Kelly asked for clarification of the statement in The Register-Guard that the program would be open to youth from River Road and Santa Clara. Mr. Johnson said yes; he pointed to the difficulty of refusing to serve students that attend Eugene schools, even if they lived outside the city limits. Mr. Kelly said he had a problem with that. He said that criteria currently existed that let the City to distinguish between service to residents and nonresidents. He wanted staff to consider conditioning all RFPs on services being provided to Eugene residents only. Mr. Kelly wanted to give good service to Eugene residents rather than diluted services to a wider population. Mr. Johnson said that staff would look at those possibilities, but he repeated that it was difficult to tell a single child that he or she could not participate in an activity with the rest of the class. Mr. Kelly acknowledged that fact, but repeated his interest in ensuring Eugene tax money was spent to benefit Eugene tax payers. Mayor Torrey pointed out that the City Council could approve the conditions of the RFPs. Mr. Kelly indicated he would support the proposal with reservations, and would remind the council of the mayor's statement that the serial levy would not be renewed in the future. Mr. Farr pointed out that many of the programs would be delivered through the schools, and typically noncity residents would not be from outside the two school districts. That tempered the issue for him. He thought the RFPs could be crafted to address the council's concerns. Ms. Nathanson said that the primary objective of the program was a healthy community. A healthy community required healthy children with healthy minds and bodies. Ms. Nathanson noted that many of the activities involving youth resulted in tangible physical improvements to the community. She expressed interest in ensuring that improvements to community assets was a concept built into the program. Ms. Nathanson also wanted to provide opportunities for youth to learn about their community. For example, she had for some time wanted to create opportunities for high school students to learn about how local government worked. She volunteered to help in implementing that concept. Ms. Taylor asked if school officials were involved in the planning. Ms. Phelps said yes. Ms. Taylor asked why the schools did not propose a levy to support the program. She would have preferred that the levy be a school levy because of the connection to youth. Mayor Torrey pointed out that the school districts were at the cap with the passage of recent serial levies. Mayor Torrey reiterated his support for the proposal and said he had already begun the process of soliciting public support for passing the measure. He invited the council's support in that effort. Mr. Rayor supported the measure, but he emphasized that "not all kids are Kidsports kids." He supported the provision of cultural and arts programs as well as team sports. Mr. Johnson said that how the money was spent was a policy choice for the council. He estimated that at least $250,000 was intended for arts-related activities. Mr. Johnson clarified that the cost to the average household would be 21 cents per $1,000 in property taxes paid for an average cost of $27 per year. He noted after uncollectibles, discounts, and the amount budgeted for the unappropriated ending fund balance, the total available for services was $1.435 million. MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 9 Work Session Mr. Lee moved, seconded by Ms. Taylor, to direct the City Manager to proceed with the placement of a two-year, $1.75 million per year serial levy on the November 2000 ballot. The City Manager shall also continue work on a sustainable, long-term funding source to support a comprehensive after-school activity program to include exploration of an admissions tax and recreational service district. The motion passed, 5:3; Mr. Pap~, Mr. Meisner, and Ms. Taylor voting no. Mr. Pap~ said that in spite of his vote, he would support the measure, although he would dedicate his time to the police/fire measure. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jim Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council July 17, 2000 Page 10 Work Session