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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 02/26/99 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council Goals Process Work Session McNutt Room--Eugene City Hall February 26, 1999 12:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Bobby Lee, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor. COUNCILORS ^BSENT: Part Fart, Nancy Nathanson, Gary Pap& I. CALL TO ORDER The February 26, 1999, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 1 p.m.; His Honor Mayor dames D. Torrey presiding. I. INTRODUCTION Mr. Torrey requested that those present introduce themselves. Noting that this was the final goals process session prior to the March 13 Goals Setting, Mr. Torrey said the four presentations that follow were intended to present a wide variety of perspectives to Council. II. REGIONAL ECONOMICS City Manager Jim Johnson introduced ECO Northwest representative Ed Whitelaw. Referring to an outline of his remarks, entitled Space, Time, and Eugene's Economy, that was distributed to councilors, Mr. Whitelaw presented a view of Eugene's economy based upon the following three points: · Eugene's economy is a system within a system within a system: To learn about the cycles and trends in Eugene's economy, it may be more informative to examine Portland's economy than Eugene's. We should replace the terms urban and rural with metropolitan and non-metropolitan. · Local governing involves dodging the cycles and riding the trends: With cycles, we examine short-run fluctuations: prosperity and depression; expansions and contractions; upswings and downswings; peaks and troughs; bulls and bears. With trends, we examine long-run cumulative patterns: economic growth or decline; changes in productivity, real per capital income, standards of living. · Distinguishing between the cycles and trends precedes evaluating them. Minutes--Eugene City Council February 26, 1999 Page 1 Goals Process Session Councilors issued questions and comments concerning Mr. Whitelaw's presentation and regional economics in general. In response to a request by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Whitelaw briefly summarized what he believes is the appropriate role for local government in terms of encouraging economic activity. Mr. Whitelaw said local government should do that for which it is best suited: paying attention to public activities and services as opposed to recruiting and offering subsidies. Mr. Whitelaw stated that in general, recruiting creates a "perverse" division between recruited firms and existing firms because cities do not always make available to existing firms those benefits it provides to recruited firms. He said this places existing firms at a disadvantage. Mr. Kelly inquired as to Mr. Whitelaw's opinion concerning the role of local government in matters of affordable housing. Mr. Whitelaw stated that the more attractive an area is to households, the more likely people will want to live there. This drives up housing costs and drives down wages. The only option for curtailing growth is to make an area unattractive. Mr. Meisner requested that Mr. Whitelaw discuss cycles versus trends with regard to subsidies. Mr. Whitelaw stated that when considering subsidizing a business, a city should ask itself whether the business will succeed independent of the subsidy. If success following the expiration of the subsidy is questionable or unlikely, the city should not subsidize the company. In response to a question from Mr. Meisner, Mr. Whitelaw advised the City against becoming involved in job creation as a function of government. He expressed support for the City focusing on infrastructure-related matters. He said a strong infrastructure will attract jobs. Mr. Torrey commented that the compensation level of University of Oregon graduates are the lowest of any Oregon school and a considerable number of individuals earn minimum or just above minimum wage. Noting that elementary school populations are decreasing in the Eugene area and growing in the Bethel and Creswell areas, Mr. Torrey inquired as to how Eugene should address the service demands of those who live outside the city limits. Mr. Whitelaw stated that the issue raised by Mr. Torrey was enormous. He said there are a number of terms used to describe the dichotomy or tension that Mr. Torrey spoke to; however, there are no easy solutions. Mr. Whitelaw said the dichotomy, which consists of political, economic, and ecological issues, will become more severe as Eugene continues to grow. Noting that it appears Cottage Grove has considerable capacity for new industry, Mr. Torrey said he would like to support the siting of business there; however, he inquired as to whether Cottage Grove should compensate Eugene for the basic support that is needed to support Cottage Grove's growth. Mr. Torrey inquired how Eugene might address this issue in a meaningful way. Mr. Whitelaw said that although the issue is extremely complex, there are ways to quantify some dimensions of basic support requirements. He said the various units of government should initiate the conversation early and continue the discussion for a number of years. Mr. Whitelaw said many local governments have struggled with this issue. II. LOCAL YOUTH ISSUES Mr. Johnson introduced Looking Glass Director Jim Forbes and briefly described the services provided by Looking Glass. Minutes--Eugene City Council February 26, 1999 Page 2 Goals Process Session Mr. Forbes distributed and reviewed a packet of information entitled Environmental Scan Panel Discussion of Youth Issues. Stressing the importance of building upon the existing infrastructure and bridging services, Mr. Forbes proposed and presented an overview of a community-wide children's strategy to address downtown mall related issues and implement the Mayor's six-point youth plan. Mr. Forbes distributed a list of local planning groups that might participate in a community-wide strategy. Councilors issued questions and comments concerning local youth issues and the proposed youth strategy. With regard to the mall strategy proposed by Mr. Forbes, Mr. Meisner said that although the City has involved police, businesses, and some youth representatives in discussions about the mall, the City must also involve other stakeholders, such as senior citizens. Ms. Taylor inquired as to Looking Glass' opinion about the mall ordinance. Mr. Forbes said Looking Glass supports the ordinance. He said that due to the prevalence of older individuals preying on youth in the Downtown Mall area, Looking Glass supports the added enforcement provided by the ordinance. Mr. Lee said people often inquire as to the role of government in child-related issues. He said this is an intergenerational issue since society is continuing to grapple with the question of how to replace families. Mr. Lee said the bottom line is that families cannot be replaced; however, some safety nets can be provided. He said that while government can provide services and some level of support, what children want is a loving family. Mr. Forbes stated that when a child's family is not a viable resource, services such as recreation programs, outreach workers, and mentors are available. With regard to the downtown mall, Mr. Lee commented that discussions tend to focus on excluding individuals from the mall rather than including them. He expressed concern that as a government, the City is finding new ways to separate populations. (The council took a short break) iii. TRENDS IN MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT Mr. Johnson introduced Bill Simonsen, representing the University of Oregon Public Policy and Management Graduate Program. Mr. Simonsen distributed and reviewed a packet of information that addressed the following aspects of results-oriented management: 1) notions of accountability; 2) Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA or Results Act); 3) performance measurement; 4) program evaluation; and 5) experience in the Federal, state, and local governments. Mr. Simonsen explained that the aim of the GPRA, which is based on what is called a "process model," is to make government more efficient and effective by making it more accountable and results oriented, and consequently to increase trust and confidence. The GPRA requires major departments and agencies to: 1) develop strategic plans for outlining missions, goals and objectives; 2) formulate performance (outcome) measures; 3) develop five-year performance plans, and; 4) prepare annual performance reports assessing the success of these plans. Mr. Simonsen said there are several reasons for the renewed interest in accountability for results, including: 1) the notion that government should be driven by citizen desires and needs, not government rules and Minutes--Eugene City Council February 26, 1999 Page 3 Goals Process Session regulations; 2) taxpayers will pay for results, not efforts; and 3) government must better communicate progress toward goals and objectives. Following a brief review of the weaknesses of the outcome-oriented approach, Mr. Simonsen solicited questions and comments from councilors. Mr. Kelly inquired as to whether the City's service profile approach is a step toward outcomes measurement. Mr. Simonsen responded that the City must decide where it wants to be on the continuum. The City can elect to loosely or tightly link reported performance to the resource allocation process, or to simply report the measured performance. Mr. Johnson inquired as to whether studies have been conducted that demonstrate the success of this approach in terms of increasing trust in government. Mr. Simonsen said he is not aware of any systematic research that has been conducted. Mr. Lee commented that the City engages very little in outcome-based performance measurement. He said he would like someone to prove that the downtown mall ordinance has been effective. Mr. Lee stated that because there is no data, political issues are argued based simply on belief systems rather than quantifiable facts. Mr. Kelly expressed support for City Council exploring the issue of data in relation to land use and transportation. He suggested that the Council look at the difference between the "lofty" growth management goals and the "nitty-gritty" of Trans Plan. Mr. Lee reported that prior to leaving the meeting, Mr. Forbes had commented to him that economic growth and stability are essential to assisting the youth population. He said violence against children and juvenile drug abuse increased dramatically during the recession of the 1980's. IV. URBAN WATERSHEDS AND THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT Mr. Johnson introduced Angela Wilson, Officer of Commissioner Eric Sten, of the Bureau of Environmental Services. Ms. Wilson stated that when the National Marine Fisheries Board listed the steelhead as an endangered species, Portland Mayor Vera Katz requested that Commissioner Sten oversee the city's response to the listing. She said Commissioner Sten believed that the listing provided Portland with an opportunity to better align its practices with its image of being a "green" city. She said Commissioner Sten believes that Portland must commit not only to stop killing steelhead, as mandated by the listing, but to restore the species as well. Ms. Wilson stated that Portland established a city-wide committee consisting of bureau representatives to assess the impacts of current city practices on steelhead. She stated that in addition to establishing a city- wide committee, Portland hired a consultant to evaluate the city's environmental practices. Ms. Wilson distributed to City Council copies of the briefing packet that was submitted to Portland's City Council. She said the report revealed that some of the changes that were deemed necessary would require an expenditure of funds and some would require only modifications to current practices. Ms. Wilson said Portland will complete and submit its proposed response to the listing in approximately three years, and will then await a Minutes--Eugene City Council February 26, 1999 Page 4 Goals Process Session response from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) steering committee. She said an agreement will likely be reached within five years. With regard to how Portland's experience might be of value to Eugene, Ms. Wilson encouraged Eugene to partner with federal and State agencies as soon as possible. She said establishing the partnerships was important not only for the purpose of avoiding adversarial relationships, but because this is a bureau-driven issue as well. Mr. Lee inquired as to whether the City of Eugene is beginning to look at its current environmental practices. Public Works Director Christine Andersen responded that the City has a number of initiatives in place as part of the water quality program. She said Eugene will learn as much as possible from Portland's experience and build on what is already in place. In response to a question from Mr. Kelly, Ms. Wilson stated that the application of pesticides by Portland Park Bureau personnel was identified as having a key impact on fish. She said culvert cleaning and repair practices were identified as secondary issues. Mr. Rayor inquired as to whether Eugene stormwater permit requirements will become more stringent as the result of the listing. Ms. Andersen said that is a possibility. She said the City must focus on permitting requirements when addressing the run-off problem. She said a site's contribution to run-off impacts will determine costs and requirements. Mr. Torrey stated that 75 percent of Eugene citizens surveyed want the City to go beyond what is required by the Endangered Species Act. Mr. Meisner commented that it was easy for people to respond to the survey as they did because the issues of money and private conduct were not presented. Mr. Meisner said the City must consider not only what it permits, but how it will control private conduct. Mr. Torrey thanked the panelists. He requested that all City Councilors be advised that they must attend every meeting unless a valid excuse is communicated in advance. The meeting adjourned at 4:26 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Kim Kunkel) Minutes--Eugene City Council February 26, 1999 Page 5 Goals Process Session