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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 05/12/99 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall May 19, 1999 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Pat Farr, David Kelly, Bobby Lee, Nancy Nathanson, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Gary Pap~ I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned May 10, 1999, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.; in Mayor James D. Torrey's absence, Council President Scott Meisner presided. II. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER A. South University Parking Ms. Taylor said she has been getting calls about the two-hour limit on parking in the south university area and asked staff to review/reconsider the limit. City Attorney Glenn Klein explained that the procedure is outlined in ordinance and the parking limits are set administratively. B. Hyundai Alleged Discriminatory Hiring Practices Ms. Taylor said she hoped the City will investigate the allegation of discriminatory hiring practices at Hyundai. Mr. Kelly discussed the Hyundai suit ruling in California. He requested a report regarding legal issues in enterprise zones. Mr. Kelly ascertained from City Manager Jim Johnson that the council will receive a report about the legal issues that may arise with respect to Hyundai's participation in the City's Enterprise Zone Program. C. Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth Mr. Farr reported on the last meeting of the Council Committee on Homelessness and Youth and asked the council to review and renew the committee's charge in a future meeting. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 1 5:30 p.m. D. Teen Council Mr. Lee said he encountered a woman with a cart of books reading in the mall and after inquiring, he discovered that this was a library staff person who, under direction from the Teen Council, brings the books out to the kids. He was very impressed with the work of the Teen Council and thanked the library staff for its enthusiasm. E. Friendly Area Neighborhood Meeting/Willard School Mr. Rayor announced a Friendly Area Neighborhood meeting scheduled for May 26 to discuss ideas about what to do with the Willard School facility once the students are transferred to their new school. He indicated that City staff have been invited and will attend. F. Police in Schools Mr. Rayor asked for an update on the Police in Schools Program. Mr. Johnson said the issue will be raised in the Budget Committee meeting scheduled for May 17 and the council can expect public comment from schools and others. G. Council Process Mr. Rayor asked for clarification on how and when council work sessions are scheduled, specifically why the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) was not brought before the council for discussion prior to adopting its budget. Mr. Johnson explained that historically MWMC's budget has been handled in this manner as it is an ongoing budget item for both cities; but, at the council's pleasure, it could be brought before the body in a work session in the future. The council honored Mr. Rayor's request to switch the order of Items V and VI. H. Lane Transit District (LTD) Downtown Shuttle Ms. Nathanson said the North End Scoping Group was very interested in a downtown shuttle and she hoped the City was looking for all possible opportunities to help start up a shuttle service. Mr. Johnson said it would be helpful to get a progress report from Lane Transit District on the project. I. Rivers Museum Ms. Nathanson said she had discussed the concept of a rivers museum with the Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County (CVALCO) director. She wondered if a museum might be incorporated with the Wetlands Education Center, the subject of lobbying efforts in Washington, DC. Ms. Nathanson said she wanted to be sure that everyone interested in this or a similar MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 2 5:30 p.m. concept was in communication to avoid several proposals being advanced and competing for the same funds. Mr. Johnson said he will make sure the Museum Directors Association gets a copy of the Wetlands Education Center description. J. Rate of Growth Citing the importance of growth management, Ms. Nathanson asked if it were possible to analyze the rate of growth in each of the council wards. Mr. Johnson said he believed it was possible to produce such a report. K. Library Workshop Mr. Meisner announced a library workshop scheduled for May 18 at the First Methodist Church south of the Library, adding that floor plans will be available for review. L. Planning Field Trip Mr. Meisner expressed great interest in a field trip to Portland to view various developing patterns, particularly in housing and wondered if there was any interest on the council. The council was interested, particularly if it was a train trip. Planning and Development Department Director Paul Farmer will follow up. Mayor Torrey arrived at the meeting. III. ACTION: CONSIDERATION OF CONTINGENCY ACCOUNT FUNDING REQUEST--EUGENE CITY CLUB Mr. Meisner said the request from the Eugene City Club would fund the effort to complete a history of Eugene anthology project. He indicated that the current anthology goes through 1950 and much growth and change has happened since then. He acknowledged the presence of City Club officers to answer questions. Ms. Nathanson wondered if it might be possible to guarantee a group purchase of a specific amount of the anthologies as part of the request. The anthologies would make great gifts to other governments and agencies, e.g., visiting delegations from sister cities. Ms. Nathanson moved, seconded by Mr. Farr, to authorize the expenditure of $5,000 from the contingency fund for the History of Eugene Anthology project. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. IV. ACTION: CONTINGENCY FUND REQUEST FOR SUMMER YOUTH HEALTH SERVICE MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 3 5:30 p.m. Mr. Farr presented the request, saying the funds would be used to fund nurse and mental health counselor positions for the clinic at the Summer Youth Camp. He noted that the clinic was already in operation so there was very little overhead attached to the positions. Mr. Farr urged the council to support the request. Mr. Lee expressed support for the request. Ms. Nathanson moved, seconded by Mr. Farr, to approve the expenditure of $11,885 from council contingency funds to provide limited medical and mental health services for at-risk youth attending the City's 1999 summer youth program. Ms. Taylor wondered if the program was duplicating services. Staff responded that over one- third of the youth eligible for the Oregon Health Plan were not on it. The program would serve that population as well as youths not eligible for the plan. The positions are field practitioners and reach youths who are unaware of such services. Mr. Kelly complimented the council committee for identifying the need, and staff for figuring out a way to fill it cost-effectively. Mr. Meisner said he hoped that staff would assist youth who qualify for the Oregon Health Plan to apply for services. The motioned passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Lee left the meeting. Mr. Rayor asked that this action be passed on to the Human Services Commission. Mayor Torrey assumed the chair. V. WORK SESSION: NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES REDESIGN OPTIONS Richie Weinman, Planning and Development Department, introduced the topic and referred the council to the packet material and the displayed wall charts. Mr. Meisner moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to adopt the mission statement for neighborhood associations. Mr. Kelly moved, seconded by Mr. Farr, to amend by substituting "identifying and advocating" for the term "discussing" in the mission statement. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 4 5:30 p.m. Ms. Nathanson supported the amendment, saying it is important to keep in mind that the neighborhood program involves many activities and neighborhood associations are a major portion. Addressing a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Kelly indicated that the substitute language was initially drafted by the Neighborhood Leaders Council (NLC). Mr. Meisner expressed support for the amendment. Mr. Farr said the new language more accurately described the process. Mr. Rayor supported the amendment because he said it does a better job of defining roles and encourages interaction between the neighborhoods and the City. The motion to amend passed unanimously, 6:0. The main motion passed unanimously, 6:0. Mr. Meisner moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to recommend $285,500 to the Budget Committee to fund a neighborhood program that includes the following elements: increasing FTE from 1.0 to 1.85; increasing distribution of neighborhood newsletters/notifications; establishing citywide newsletters; organizing dormant neighborhood associations; developing new neighborhood boundaries; and creating a matching grant program. Addressing a question from Mr. Farr, Mr. Weinman said that the figure for neighborhood boundaries represents staff time entirely and if the result is more neighborhood groups, staffing costs may increase. Mr. Farr expressed support for the motion. Ms. Taylor expressed reservations about funding the matching grant program, particularly about the portion coming out of the General Fund. She urged the council to hold a public hearing before any part of the proposal is approved. Addressing follow-up questions from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Weinman indicated that staff will need further direction on the boundary changes and distribution of the citywide newsletter as an insert in The Register-Guard is the most cost- effective. Regarding the newsletters, Ms. Nathanson said she was very glad that the City was going to increase the amount of information it provided to citizens about what was occurring in the community, in their neighborhoods, and new City initiatives. She hoped that even more could be done because she was convinced that some of the City's single-issue publications, such as those issued by the Public Works Department, could be combined with other information in a semi- annual or quarterly newsletter. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 5 5:30 p.m. Mr. Meisner mentioned using volunteers to deliver newsletters and hoped there was flexibility. He shared Ms. Taylor's concern with the matching grant program. In response to his question about one-time sources, Mr. Weinman said this was a carryover from the neighborhood redesign item approved by the council in the last fiscal year. Mr. Meisner was pleased that the redesigning of boundaries included consultation with neighbors as well as neighborhood associations. Mr. Kelly expressed support for the motion, particularly with the matching grant program, which "allows neighbors to work for something positive." He said the package was finally going to get the neighborhood association program on its feet and he was delighted to see it happen. Mayor Torrey said he hoped whoever participated in boundary changes would keep in mind that the City would be changing its ward boundaries based on the new census. In response to a question from Ms. Taylor, Mr. Johnson said the portion allocated from the Y2K was done because staff anticipates that at least one issue of the citywide newsletter will address the Y2K issues. Mr. Farr spoke in support of the matching grant program and said it would serve to empower neighborhoods. Ms. Nathanson said there will be other opportunities to discuss the matching grant program and the boundary changes. She asked for additional information about the newsletter, including guidelines, content, and production. Mr. Johnson said he would distribute a memo on the subject. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. Citing time constraints, the council opted to move on to Item 5 of the wall charts, a proposed Police Volunteer Coordinator. Mr. Kelly was reluctant to take action on the item without having the NLC review it. Ms. Nathanson said she supported the position whether it was a part of this program or not. Mr. Meisner said he supported it conceptually but needed to see a list of all the piecemeal budget items the council has approved. Mr. Johnson said that information would be available for the May 17 Budget Committee meeting. Mr. Rayor asked for more information on what the Police Department was currently doing in this area, wondering why the position was tied to the Neighborhood Program budget. Mr. Johnson reiterated that the information would be available at the Budget Committee meeting. The council determined that proposed motion 4 on the wall charts, pertaining to the neighborhood matching grant program, should be handled administratively. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 6 5:30 p.m. Mayor Torrey summarized the discussion by saying that proposed motions 3 and 5 would be taken up in a future meeting. VI. WORK SESSION: DRAFT ARTERIAL & COLLECTOR STREET PLAN Dave Reinhard, Public Works Transportation, and Allen Lowe, Planning and Development Department, narrated a slide presentation on the Arterial and Collector Street Plan. Mr. Reinhard said the plan has been developed over the last couple of years to provide specific direction to adopted transportation policies. Mr. Reinhard reminded the council of its public hearing scheduled for June 14, adding that staff was available for consultation as needed. Mr. Kelly complimented staff on the draft plan. He noticed that design standards are adopted by resolution, but not the design guidelines, which set up a hierarchy, and wondered why. Mr. Reinhard said he would consult the City Attorney for direction. Drawing the council's attention to the last line in Section 2 on page 316 of the meeting packet, Mr. Kelly said it makes it possible for the City Engineer to make changes to the design standards without review by the council. He asked staff to review the public input with respect to Garden Way and its intended classification, noting that the proposed width for the redesign is narrower than the minimum for a minor arterial. Referring the council to pages 47-51, Mr. Kelly pointed out redundant references to both the design standards and guidelines. Finally, he said, in the adopting ordinance, what is adopted is a separate document that appears to be an excerpt or reformatting of the information. Addressing a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Reinhard said staff would review page 74 and clarify the requirement for planting street trees. Mr. Kelly added that he would like to have interruptions in long running fences mandated, rather than suggested. Mr. Rayor shared input he received about a bike lane on 13th Avenue and asked staff how these problems will be solved. Mr. Lowe said TransPlan has information regarding streets and associated components, e.g., bike lanes. He explained that the purpose of the parking bay design is to remove some inherent conflicts of trying to include many elements in a street where there is insufficient room. Referring to page 53, of the draft plan, Ms. Nathanson said that in some cases there will be insufficient room to retrofit sidewalks to include planting strips and wondered if staff had considered low physical barriers as an alternative. Mr. Reinhard said staff would analyze other options. Mr. Lowe said staff tried to incorporate flexibility in the report to entertain suggestions, adding that this particular suggestion is not precluded by the plan. Ms. Nathanson wondered why parallel parking "is always the preferred method" as stated on page 58 of the draft plan. Mr. Reinhard said parallel parking takes up less space and allows for other things, such as bike lanes. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 7 5:30 p.m. Ms. Nathanson asked staff to determine how much more space was required for diagonal parking. She said she intuitively believed diagonal parking might be safer and asked staff to include those issues in the research. Mr. Rayor left the meeting. Addressing a question from Ms. Taylor about how much consideration is given to preserving neighborhoods and about the possibility of improving the safety of bike routes, Mr. Reinhard said staff was very aware of how important on-street parking was for neighborhoods and mentioned ongoing improvement to bike routes, primarily on 15th Avenue with the green street project. He mentioned other planned improvements made possible by a State grant. In response to a follow-up question from Ms. Taylor regarding the impact to the median on Franklin Street if Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is installed, Mr. Meisner said the issue is undecided. One of the suggestions is to raise the dedicated guideway above the median. Mr. Meisner reminded the council that under State law, bicyclists have full rights to all roads. He said he was concerned that neither the street classification matrix or the text consider, as part of the point system, what the land uses are along the streets. He urged the City to look at the transportation system with "new eyes" and find a way to acknowledge the uses in the classifications. Mr. Meisner said advanced planning should look consider issues beyond counts in classifications, i.e., a proactive system that works. Mr. Farr said the document paints a picture of a City in which he would very much like to live. He asked for additional information on costs and sources involved in maintaining and replacing street trees and landscape maintenance in medians, and for street retrofit and upgrade. Mr. Farr said the draft plan allowed flexibility, describing it as a "very usable document." Mayor Torrey asked what "could be done about Gilham Alley, after the fact." He suggested calling a community meeting to address the problem. The meeting adjourned at 7:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 19, 1999 Page 8 5:30 p.m.