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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/26/99 WS MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall July 26, 1999 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Scott Meisner, Pat Farr, David Kelly, Bobby Lee, Gary Pap~, Gary Rayor, Betty Taylor. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Nancy Nathanson. I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned July 21, 1999, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m.; His Honor Mayor James Torrey presiding. II. WORK SESSION: COUNCIL GOALS City Manager Jim Johnson introduced the topic, saying staff was anxious to complete the council goal process to begin implementation. He asked the council for guidance on Level A items, including the specific language of each of the goals. Mr. Johnson said that staff would keep a list of discussion topics should the the council have insufficient time at this meeting. Jan Bohman, City Manager's Office, recalled that there was only one priority action under the financial resources goal and, at the council's request, staff had generated additional options. She reminded the council that it had made a distinction between those items classified as "ongoing" and those where additional information was needed. She noted that staff had drafted the latter as work plan items and they would be treated like all the other work plan items unless the council directed otherwise. Ms. Bohman distributed copies of the revised Safe Community Work Plan. Mr. Johnson indicated that the council would receive an update on its goals quarterly. Goal: Safe Community At Ms. Taylor's request, Ms. Bohman reviewed the changes to the Safe Community Work Plan. Ms. Taylor said she was opposed to any more substations (Level B) and wished to implement bike team patrol officers now (move to Level A). Mr. Fart disagreed with Ms. Taylor, urging the council to move the work plan item on substations to Level A, wrapping it with Item 6 of Level A, i.e., continue exploring neighborhood substations. Mr. Kelly expressed concern that the council was moving toward adding a substation without first adequately staffing the existing substations. Mr. Fart said that should additional resources become available, he wished to have substations given priority along with the other items on Minutes--Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 1 5:30 p.m. Level A. Police Chief Jim Hill said he understood that the distinction between the two levels was what the City could do without adding additional resources (Level A) and those requiring additional resources (Level B). He expressed concern about tying substations to the Public Safety Coordinating Council's (PSCC) levy. Mr. Johnson added that the council might want to direct staff to "look for opportunities to expand the substation concept as a part of community policing." Mr. Fart said that was his intention. Mayor Torrey indicated that the council had been asked to meet with a group of people to discuss hate crimes and discrimination and asked the council to direct the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to draft a strategy for doing "outreach to communities of color and disadvantaged" to include in Level A. Mr. Johnson said he had consulted the commission's staff and the task can be included in its work plan, pending adoption. Mr. Lee noted that the Human Rights Support System (HRSS) would soon be codified as a public service and said the Mayor's suggestion went beyond that, which he supported. Mr. Kelly asked the council to consider moving Item 1, under Level B Code Revisions to Level A. Mr. Johnson indicated that some elements of the item will be moved. Mr. Kelly also asked that some part of Item 3, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), be moved to Level A. Mr. Johnson said that Level A, item 2, Community Emergency Preparedness, was a first step toward CERT and that would be indicated. At Mr. Rayor's request, staff reviewed the Pre-Incident Planning Effort (Item 7 on Level A). Goal: Sustainable Community Growth and Change Mr. Meisner expressed concern with the trend of converting older, affordable homes, particularly in the downtown area, into office/commercial properties, with the City ending up having to subsidize their replacements. He suggested addressing the problem through the Land Use Code Update (LUCU). Staff agreed. Mr. Kelly asked for an early opportunity for council involvement in the LUCU project. Mr. Pap~ concurred with Mr. Kelly. Mr. Fart pointed out that the notion to "foster affordable housing" was not addressed in the action priorities on page 34 of the packet. He asked the council to do whatever it could to ensure that entry-level housing was as affordable as possible. Ms. Taylor said inclusionary zoning, which she believed belonged under this item, would help provide entry-level housing. Mayor Torrey noted that the zoning could not be mandated under State Law. Ms. Taylor added that sustainability was a principle that should underlie all of the council decisions. Paul Farmer, Planning and Development Director, said staff had researched housing affordability, including the role of livable wages, and a report was forthcoming. Mr. Farr said he was satisfied with staff's awareness of the problem. Minutes--Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 2 5:30 p.m. Mr. Meisner said he has been working with Marsha Miller on comparing system development charges (SDCs) throughout the state. He noted that Eugene's SDCs were lower than many other communities, including the City of Springfield. For that reason, he said, he would be hesitant to support a Level A priority. Goal: Healthy Natural and Built Environment Mr. Rayor asked to add a 7th item to the work plan under Level A, executive order requiring permits. Mr. Johnson summarized Mr. Rayor's suggestion as follows: "Administrative order directing the department directors of Public Works and Planning and Development to comply with all applicable local, State, and Federal laws as either projects or land development occurs by the City of Eugene." Referring the council to the action priority for a revised tree ordinance, Mr. Rayor said it was an issue that could not be addressed without bringing in the planned unit development (PUD) process. Mr. Johnson said staff needed council direction on how it wished to make changes, noting that Items 2 through 7 were on-hold until Item 1, a work session on the current ordinance, was held. Mr. Meisner expressed concern with the time line and thought that public anxiety over the issue would not be assuaged by having a departmental advisory committee (DAC). He said the DAC process would likely extend the time line and raise the level of anxiety in so doing. Mr. Kelly echoed Mr. Meisner's comments. Mr. Pap~ expressed concern about including the tree ordinance in the LUCU process and thus delaying that project. Mr. Meisner said at the same time, whatever recommendation the council made needed to be reviewed by the Planning Commission to make sure it was consistent with its charge at the time. Mr. Fart said that by eliminating the DAC process, the council narrowed the views because public hearing testimony was usually provided by the same people. Mr. Johnson suggested the council decide on item 1, which would clarify the issue for the council. Mr. Rayor said he wanted to make sure that the PUD process was not exempt from the tree ordinance, which was currently the case. Mr. Farmer noted that staff has already started discussing the correlation between the PUD process and the tree ordinance. Mr. Kelly said he was disappointed at not seeing any items under Level A under the Action Priority: Review Downtown Plan, revise or adopt new plan and boundaries, siting the impetus of the North End Scoping Group and the Downtown Summit. He asked the council to take advantage of the momentum built by these two projects. Mr. Pap~ suggested adding Level C: Buying and renovating the train station. Mayor Torrey said that recent legislative action forced the City to address the train station issue. Mr. Rayor suggested the following Item for Level A: Monitor the changes as tenants move into the Broadway Plaza building. Mr. Meisner pointed out that Item 1 under Level B was ongoing and more appropriate as a Level A item. Mr. Farmer agreed the item could be moved to Level A, although resources have been Minutes--Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 3 5:30 p.m. scaled back. He added that his department did not have the resources to implement the North End Scoping Group's recommendations. The council agreed that the item should be moved to Level A. Mayor Torrey supported Mr. Rayor's suggestion to monitor the effect of the downtown development. Mr. Farmer said staff would develop a proposal for the council's review. Mr. Kelly said that ending the urban renewal district did not mean stop "the focus on the downtown," adding that the district was simply a tool. Mr. Farmer said staff was clear that the council wished a focus on the downtown. He noted, however, that district funding had supported the staff assigned to downtown projects. Ms. Taylor said she saw no connection between urban renewal agency and downtown and she hoped that most items under this Action Priority would be on Level A. Mr. Pap~ said he well understood the concern with resources and looked forward to discussing the allocation of resources. Mr. Johnson asked the council to raise any Level A items it did not want staff working on now because the next goals session was scheduled for September. Ms. Taylor said she strongly opposed the transportation utility fee (TUF). The council agreed and the item was deleted. Mayor Torrey said he had asked the Citizen Charter Review Committee on Council Compensation for a written report. Mr. Kelly indicated he would distribute other comments and questions about the goals process via e-mail and suggested others to the same as a way of extending the discussion time. Mr. Pap~ suggested extending the time line on Items 4 and 10 under Level A for the Action Priority: Provide safe, efficient infrastructure until intergovernmental funding issues are settled. Mr. Kelly said the intent was to proceed with the design/public input portion of these projects without expending resources. Addressing a question from Mr. PapS, Mr. Johnson indicated that the bonds for parks and open spaces was a two-phase program and the $19,000,000 represented the first phase. He wondered if the City could hold it off for a year and combine the two phases. Warren Wong, Administrative Services Director, confirmed that it was possible with the use of interim financing. Mr. Meisner raised Councilor Nathanson's concern about complaints and code enforcement. Mr. Johnson said the information had been distributed to the appropriate staff and the issue would be addressed. III. WORK SESSION: CITY MANAGER PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Facilitator Margot Helphand offered the council an opportunity to highlight any items they wished on the Manager's appraisal document. Minutes-Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 4 5:30 p.m. Mr. Meisner said the appraisal was a remarkably consistent document in its conclusions, adding that he was astounded to remember that Mr. Johnson has held the manager's position for only one year. He said he was particularly pleased with the manager's willingness to be available to members of the council as needed. He thanked Mr. Johnson for "a great job," adding he wished to hear from him more at council meetings. Mr. Kelly commended the assembled packet, saying it was very useful. He quoted from an employee comment: "Jim Johnson is living proof that you don't have to be pushy, domineering, or overly zealous to be an effective, respected leader..." Councilors added accolades and several expressed a desire for having the City Manager contribute more to the council discussions. Mr. Lee said "just watching Mr. Johnson was an inspiration for others, including himself." He added that the City Manager had helped him become a better councilor. Mayor Torrey said he was not surprised with the manager's performance, recalling the exemplary remarks made by others when he was soliciting information for the appointment of an interim manager. Mr. Rayor said he was also very pleased with the City Manager's performance but remained concerned about some of the staff's resistance to organizational change, adding that he hoped some of Mr. Johnson's characteristics could filter down to other staff. Ms. Taylor expressed concern about the staff's "attempt to set the council's agenda and brainwash" the council. She asked that the council be given an opportunity to hear about items before having staff recommendations. Ms. Taylor said sometimes the community hears about issues before she does and asked to be kept apprized of emerging items in a timely manner. She asked for oral reports rather than written reports from the manager. Mr. Meisner corrected a media report this morning by saying that none of the evaluations were anonymous. He noted that employee feedback was very positive and supportive of the manager. Although his expectations were high, Mr. Meisner said, the manager has met them all. He agreed with Ms Taylor, adding that he did not wish to add meeting time for oral reports provided written reports are made. Mr. Farr thanked Mr. Meisner for preparing the performance evaluation documents. Mr. Meisner said the effort was shared with Mr. Johnson. Mr. Kelly suggested quarterly reports from the manager on the matters at hand, which he said would help the council assess upcoming agenda items. Ms. Helphand gave Mr. Johnson and opportunity to comment. Mr. Johnson described the manager's evaluation as a unique process for one to go through, terming it a humbling experience. He credited his staff for "making him look good." He said he takes these evaluations very seriously and asked the council to use the council meetings to evaluate him on an ongoing basis and raise issues of concern as they occur. Minutes--Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 5 5:30 p.m. Mr. Kelly asked the manager to give feedback on the council as a group. Mr. Johnson said it was difficult to evaluate the council as a whole but he believed it was working well together most of the time. He emphasized the importance of the council's and the organization's image in the community and said the council should be careful about the image it projected as it went about doing its work and as councilors worked individually with each other. Mr. Johnson said he expected some of the relationships to change in the year to come, given the major projects to be undertaken, particularly charter review. Ms. Helphand suggested both the council and the manager give each other feedback on performances throughout the year. Addressing a question from Mr. PapS, Mr. Johnson said department directors should be included in the management team as they are intimately involved in implementing the the council's directives. Mr. Farr encouraged the manager's feedback to individual council members and the council as a group. Mr. Meisner moved, seconded by Mr. Farr, to grant the City Manager a one step pay increase, based on the merits of the current evaluation. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. Mr. Meisner noted that there were no changes in the other terms of the City Manager's contract with respect to compensation. Mr. Meisner asked the council to give feedback on the appraisal documents while it was fresh in their minds. Mr. Johnson asked Human Resources Director Lauren Chounaird to contact council members in a week to gather feedback. Mr. Rayor urged the council to ensure that the manager's evaluation process remained as public as possible. Mayor Torrey asked the council to entertain a question from Mr. Rayor about the matching grant program for after school programs. Mr. Rayor said it was his understanding that the council direction on the matching grant program set the amount of the program at $150,000 through a request for proposals (RFP) process. He said he has been informed that $75,000 of the amount was a sole source project. Mr. Johnson recalled that the council discussed the Boys and Girls Clubs, but added that if there were multiple groups in the community who wished to start boys and girls clubs then it was not a sole source. He said the RFP process might render only one applicant. He said he would review the language for the motion and provide clarification. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Minutes--Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 6 5:30 p.m. James R. Johnson City Manager (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) Minutes--Eugene City Council July 26, 1999 Page 7 5:30 p.m.