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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 01/21/98 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council Council Chamber--City Hall January 21, 1998 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Farr, Nancy Nathanson, Tim Laue, Scott Meisner, Bobby Lee, Betty Taylor, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Ken Tollenaar. The January 21, 1998, meeting of the Eugene City Council was called to order at 11:30 a.m.; Mayor Jim Torrey presiding. I. ITEMS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mr. Torrey reminded the City Council and the public of City Charter restrictions on the council's ability to address personnel matters. He said that personnel matters were the purview of the City Manager. The City Council had the authority to hire and fire only the City Manager. Mr. Torrey asked City Manager Vicki Elmer to respond to the following three requests: 1) report to the council on January 28 about her long-term objectives for the Police Department and her anticipated outcomes for the department; 2) what steps the manager was taking on a short-term basis to deal with the absence of the Chief of Police through his resignation, particularly in terms of its impact on existing programs and several issues under discussion, such as external review; and 3) to determine whether she had any comments she would like to discuss with the council regarding personnel issues. Mr. Tollenaar said that a regularly scheduled evaluation of manager will take place in February, and he hoped the council would reserve judgment and place the situation in the context of an overall evaluation of performance. Ms. Nathanson indicated her appreciation for Mr. Torrey's requests. She said that when she heard Ms. Elmer's response to Mr. Torrey's requests, she would be interested in hearing how the council can expect actions and activities, whether they are personnel changes or organizational changes or program changes, help it achieve its goals and the community's goals, and whether the manager perceived the events occurring in the last few weeks or few months as helping or hindering or making progress toward those goals. Ms. Nathanson noted she had received an invitation to the ceremony recognizing the separation of the Police Department and Fire Department on January 23, but could not attend because she was out of town on business that day. Sbe regretted missing the event. Mr. Meisner concurred with the comments made by Mr. Tollenaar and Ms. Nathanson. He said that it was a challege to back away from each crisis and have perspective on issue. He said that the Human Rights Commission had passed a motion the previous night regarding the situation, which he distributed to the council. He said that the manager should consider both the council's MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 1 11:30 a.m. goals and the values behind those goals as she considered her response to Ms. Nathanson's request. Mr. Lee said he appreciated the manager's personal courage in making decisions. He said he believed the council and manager underestimated the public's ability to handle the truth. He believed that if the council and manager mislead the public it would harm the organization. He indicated that he anticipated more discussion regarding the topic during the upcoming evaluation of the manager. Mr. Lee read the following statement into the record: "1 want to be part of a city 1) where staff's ability to meet desired outcomes for the community is measured with more weight than personal style differences and political loyalties; 2) where day-to-day interactions are based on trust, honesty, and respect between the city staff members and the council and the mayor, at all times; 3) where the council and the mayor establish the community vision and the city manager develops a clear organizational vision which leads to the desired outcomes and goals for the community; 4) where trust is the foundation for organizational change; and 5) where we strive to maintain positive working relationships with other agencies, institutions, community groups and individuals." Ms. Swanson Gribskov said that organizational change was not easy. She said that the departure of Chief Cooke was one of the dynamics of change. She said she felt both sadness and sorrow as well as anger at the media for what she termed a "feeding frenzy." She expressed regret that Chief Cooke did not have an opportunity to present his position. Mr. Laue said that he was looking for vision, direction, organizational cohesiveness, staff morale, and would look at the manager's evaluation with those things in mind. He disagreed with Ms. Swanson Gribskov about the media, saying it was the media's job to report issues that arise in the community. He said that the chief's resignation was obviously an issue for the community, and one the council needed to address. Ms. Taylor said that the manager had her support and confidence. She said that the council and public should expect changes when a new manager takes over. She believed that the public was blaming the manager for the budget cuts approved by the council and confusing the issue with the chief's resignation. She said that personnel issues were the business of the manager, and she must be free to run the organization as she saw fit. Mr. Farr observed that not all decisions will be popular, and any decision will be unpopular with some people. Mr. Fart reported that Willamette High School was awarded first place in its division at the recent University of Oregon Jazz Festival, which was attended by school age children from across the state. In addition, Shasta Middle School received first place in its division, and his son Evan received recognition as outstanding soloist. He urged the media to give such events better coverage. Ms. Elmer reported that she was proud of the organizational response to the impacts of Ballot Measure 47/50. She had visited with the City's displaced employees and had been proud of the courage they displayed. She was also proud of the council for its decisions. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 2 11:30 a.m. Mr. Torrey encouraged the council to establish a date and time for the evaluation of the City Manager. Mr. Torrey left the meeting. II. ACTION ITEMS A. Approval of Minutes Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to approve the minutes of the dinner work session of December 1, 1997. Roll call; the motion passed, 8:0 B. Appointments to Eugene Toxics Board Mary Walston, Administrative Services Department, collected the council ballots and provided them to the council vice president for tallying. Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to appoint Michael Frieze to Position 1 for a three-year term on the Toxics Board ending January 21, 2001. Ms. Taylor said that the council should interview candidates for the position in question. Ms. Taylor moved, seconded by Mr. Lee, to table the motion to allow the council to appoint the candidate for Position 1 on the Toxics Board so that the council could interview more candidates. Responding to a question from Mr. Lee regarding the timing of the appointment, Glen Potter, Fire Department, explained that the current member's term expired on January 22, 1998, but it was traditional that the current member served until the council appointed a replacement. Roll call; the motion to table failed, 5:3; Ms. Taylor, Mr. Tollenaar, and Mr. Lee voting yes. Roll call; the motion passed, 6:2; Ms. Taylor, Mr. Lee voting no. Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to appoint Madrona Holden to Position 4 for a three-year term ending January 2001. Ms. Taylor said that the wishes of the advocate members on the committee should be respected and their preferred candidate selected for the position. The motion passed 7:1, Ms. Taylor voting no. C. Sale of City-Owned Property as Portion of the Ferry Street Bridge Project Tom Larsen Public Works Department, was present to answer questions. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 3 11:30 a.m. Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, to direct the City manager to sell excess City-owned real property commonly known as portions of Centennial Boulevard and Club Road, adjacent to Hutchins Nissan, and return the proceeds to the Ferry Street Bridge Project. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. III. NON-ACTION ITEMS A. Work Session: Public Works Department Advisory Committee; Systems Development Charges (SDC) Policy and Principles Les Lyle, Public Works Department, provided the staff presentation. He discussed the establishment of the Public Works Department Rates Advisory Committee, a committee formed to advise the Public Works Department on systems development charges (SDCs), and reviewed its initial work program. Mr. Lyle asked the council for direction on two alternatives outlined in the meeting packet for reporting the work of the committee back to the council. He said that one alternative was for staff to routinely report on committee activities to the Council Committee on Finance (CCF), or to the Council Committee on Infrastructure and Planning Services (CCIPS); a second alternative was to report as needed to the full council. Staff recommended the CCF. As part of a separate action, Mr. Lyle said that one of the members proposed for the committee lived outside Eugene but owned a business in Eugene and was the preferred representative of the Homebuilders Association. He asked the council if it wished to waive the residency requirement. Ms. Taylor believed staff should report on the committee's progress to the full council. Mr. Lee said he preferred the reports go to one or both of the council committees, and suggested the chairs of the committees be asked to make the decision as to which. Mr. Meisner said that the issue of SDCs were directly related to growth management. He said that it was his preference, that the committee report as needed to both committees, depending on the topic. He said that issues related to GMS policies should be referred to the CClPS. Noting that all the things the council did came down to money, Mr. Meisner believed that the council needed more discussion of the role of the CCF and the committee structure as a whole because he believed the CCF was acting as a sort of mini-council. He said that committee meetings were not broadcast and neither citizens nor councilors could attend them all. Mr. Tollenaar agreed with Mr. Meisner. He said that the CCF discussed the issue of the SDC Committee (PW rates advisory committee) and agreed that the CCIPS should be the committee for the rates advisory committee to report to. He anticipated that the rates advisory committee would seek guidance from the CCIPS on policy issues. Mr. Tollenaar thought the process would save the council from overload. He suggested that items with major fiscal ramifications were appropriately directed to the CCF. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 4 11:30 a.m. Ms. Nathanson said that she was still attempting to figure out the general role of the council committees. Some committees had very clear charges while others did not. She said that different councilors appeared to have differing concepts of the roles of committees. Ms. Nathanson believed that the committees were an important vehicle to advise the city manager or designated staff on the options proposed to the council. She said that they were not mini- councils or mini-decision making bodies. Ms. Nathanson was unsure which committees should be making recommendations to the full council, but suggested that it might depend on the issue involved. Mr. Farr said that the PW rates advisory committee's work was extremely important to the entire community. He said that he believed it was appropriate for the committee to report to the CCIPS but said that the full council should attempt to keep informed of the process. He was prepared to accept the Homebuilders Association's recommendation on a representative. Ms. Swanson Gribskov commended the balanced membership of the rates advisory committee. She said that she was also willing to accept the homebuilders' nominee. She agreed that CCIPS was the appropriate committee for the rates advisory committee to report to and seek feedback from. Ms. Swanson Gribskov pointed out that the council committee structure was new and the council was still refining it. She had questioned the number of committees and the work load they created. Ms. Swanson Gribskov said that it would be helpful to hear periodic reports from the council committees and learn about emerging issues. That would allow councilors not participating on a certain committee to provide input in a timely way. Mr. Farr said that all councilors should receive the agendas of all the council committees. Mr. Meisner indicated he would like to have committee minutes as well. Mr. Laue said that the PW rates advisory committee should report to the CCIPS. Regarding the council committee structure, Mr. Laue said that the committees' purposes were unclear and nebulous. He said that the committees did not have good work plans and lacked clearly defined outcomes. Mr. Laue reminded the council of the committee restructuring that occurred in 1992 and said that the result was short-term committees with specific work plans and pre-identified sunset dates. He said that it was unclear what the council expected from the council committee structure. Ms. Taylor said that if a council committee must be selected she thought CCIPS the appropriate committee. However, she continued to believe the PW rates advisory committee should report to the full council because it would eliminate repetitive discussion. She termed the council committee structure a waste of time that took more council and staff time. Ms. Taylor said that the committee structure was more hidden from the public and the council. She reiterated a previous complaint that the CCF had produced a recommendation that the council not seek voter approval for a new ballot measure on the basis it was too late to act when she had anticipated it would recommend a combination income-business tax be placed on the May ballot. Mr. Farr expressed concern regarding the composition of the rates advisory committee. He believed it was weighted with people who did not share his general viewpoint on SDCs. He said that he would be interested in reading the minutes of the committee's meetings. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 5 11:30 a.m. Mr. Tollenaar moved, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, that the rates advisory committee confer as needed with the CClPS. Roll call; the motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. Mr. Tollenaar, seconded by Ms. Nathanson, that the council waive residence requirements for the Homebuilders Association representative. Roll call; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. B. Work Session: Non-General Funds Forecast Ms. Elmer introduced the item. She reminded the council that it had several questions about non-General Fund reserve levels during its deliberations on the Ballot Measure 50 reductions. She said that the council received a report on those reserves in September 1997, which was included in the meeting packet. She said that the report outlined several follow-up steps, which included analysis of internal service fund rates, reserve levels, and the Bancroft Fund reserve level, review of the Stormwater Fund, and review of the City's Parking Fund and six-year forecasts of major enterprise and revenue funds. Ms. Elmer said that the staff had prepared the forecasts for the council's review. Ms. Elmer indicated that the council would receive ongoing financial forecasts about the City's different non-General Funds. Sue Cutsogeorge, Administrative Services Department, reviewed the assumptions behind the forecasts. Ms. Cutsogeorge reviewed the status of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund. Responding to a question from Mr. Farr, Ms. Custogeorge said that there were approximately two months' reserve targeted for most City funds; staff targeted a higher amount for the EMS fund, which contained three months' reserve. Ms. Nathanson asked about the City's propects of taking advantage of enabling State legislation allowing municipalities to take an entreprenuerial approach to service delivery and realize additional income. Ms. Cutsogeorge said that staff had not investigated the impact of the legislation, although it continued to consider different ways to increase revenues in the fund. Ms. Nathanson said she would like to know more about such opportunities. Mr. Meisner asked if the EMS fund maintained large reserves because of a lag in the receipt of revenues. Ms. Cutsogeorge said no; ambulance billings occur as service was provided. Mr. Meisner asked how staff knew beforehand they were responding to a nonemergency and did not need an emergency vehicle. Mr. Bass said that the City's ambulance service provided scheduled nonemergency transport services. Scott Luell, Planning and Development Department, discussed the status of the Parking Fund. Mr. Meisner said that he heard complaints from citizens that parking rates were artificially Iow, do not cover capital costs, and subsidize those who drive downtown. He asked how rates were set and how capital costs were recovered. Mr. Luell said that parking was subsidized in that to charge the cost of debt on a per space basis would be $100 to $150 month for a space. He said MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 6 11:30 a.m. that the City used urban renewal and parking fund reserves to build parking structures, and covered the cost of parking operations with the current rate structure. Mr. Meisner asked if staff considered downtown parking demand from new development in the context of what already existed. Mr. Luell reminded Mr. Meisner that the downtown was exempt from parking requirements. However, acknowledging that there was a practical demand for parking, staff modeled parking as part of the Central Area Transportation Study (CATS) to predict future demand and determine how to meet the demand. Results predicted demand for about 3,000 new spaces in the west end of downtown and the 5th Street Market area at the end of the 15-year planning period. If the City were to build all those spaces now, it might have enough parking until it reached that year. Mr. Meisner asked if modeling factored in the possibility that a parking space could serve a resident who both lived and worked downtown. Mr. Luell said that such parking, known as shared parking, was recognized in the demand projections. Responding to a question from Mr. Farr, Mr. Luell confirmed that the Parking Fund had revenues of approximately $4 million. The remainder of the fund constituted reserves for capital, etc. Ms. Nathanson referred to the first objective listed in the overview regarding the need for an efficient and appropriate level of service. She said that the council sometimes received letters from people who raised questions about the appropriate level of parking enforcement activity in downtown. In some cases, the concerns were raised regarding private lots. Ms. Nathanson said that the issues of accountability and equity were important to her, and asked how the City could begin to meet the objective. Ms. Elmer responded that in recent months the City had been approached by Downtown Eugene, Inc., who wished to play a more active role in the Parking Fund. Staff had agreed to work with DEl and the downtown merchants on a joint approach that focused on customer service. In addition, the issue of the need for similar standards for private and public parking facilities had come up. Ms. Elmer said that citizens wanted "seamless service" and did not know or care who provided parking. Another idea that had come up was that of integrated parking signage for downtown that included signage for alternative modes. Ms. Nathanson asked that staff prepare a brief memorandum regarding the third objective listed in the fund overview, which called for supporting the implementation of council goals by funding promotion of alternative modes that support compact growth/growth management. Specifically, she asked for information about relationships between the location of downtown employee parking and customer parking and its distribution. She was interested in knowing if available parking was in the right place, were people aware of it, how far did they need to travel. Ms. Nathanson said she would like to understand the concepts behind distribution and distance. Ms. Taylor asked why no public parking was provided at the railroad station. She maintained that it had become difficult for people wishing to pick up a passenger or buy a ticket to park at the station. Ms. Taylor said that it would be consistent with the City's goals to make parking easier. She also questioned why residents of the proposed St. Vincent de Paul downtown Iow-income housing development would need parking as she believed the concept of locating such housing in the core close to bus lines was to eliminate the need for automobiles. In response, Mr. Luell said that the railroad was located on private property and the property owners chose the parking arrangement. He noted the presence of public on-street parking in the right-of-way. Regarding the need for parking for the St. Vincent de Paul project, Mr. Luell agreed that the concept was MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 7 11:30 a.m. true but the reality was that many residents would have jobs and child care needs that will require some parking, although not as much as outside the core area. Glen Svendsen, Public Works Department, presented background on financial status of the Road Fund. Ms. Elmer stressed the poor condition of the Road Fund and the City's continued disinvestment in its road infrastructure. Ms. Andersen concurred. She said that the longer it took the organization to establish a stable funding system for roads the more costly the problem becomes. Delaying road maintenance dramatically increased its costs. She said that Eugene, like many Oregon communities, had serious maintenance backlogs to address. She suggested that there may be an opportunity through the League of Oregon Cities to address the issue on a more comprehensive, statewide basis. Mr. Svendsen noted that the TransPlan update would include a financial section addressing the issue from a metropolitan approach and suggesting metropolitan wide approaches. Mr. Lee said that the City needed to address the issue as soon as possible. He suggested that the council establish improving the condition of the Road Fund as a short-term goal and consider revenues that might be available to finance road construction and maintenance. Responding to a question from Ms. Swanson Gribskov, Ms. Andersen anticipated that the TransPlan update would be presented to the council within the year; she was unsure about the precise timing of the public review process. Ms. Nathanson said that there was considerable wear and tear on city roads from heavy equipment, and when utilities made road cuts improperly, those cuts contributed to deterioration and shortened the life of the road. She said that it appeared that while the City's financial outlook worsened, the City street systems were under increasing pressure. Ms. Andersen concurred. She said that heavy axle vehicles had the biggest impact on roads. She said that the City was building to respond to growth but the result was that the deficit picture was getting worse. Mr. Tollenaar said it would be helpful to have a list of specific projects that comprise the maintenance backlog. He asked if staff had an estimate of what a local gas tax would realize. Mr. Svendsen estimated such a tax would realize $500,000 annually. He said that it was a cost- effective approach toward funding that would raise issues with ODOT and change the City's position relative to shared projects. Mr. Farr asked if the council could move money from the Parking Fund to the Road fund. Ms. Andersen was unaware of any legal barrier to such a transfer, although she noted that a connection between a revenue source and its intended use was often the key to securing public support for a revenue measure. Mr. Farr pointed out that there was a natural relationship between parking and peoples' use of the roads. Mr. Meisner said that people who drive are the people creating the problem. He said that traditionally, a family had a vehicle, not all family members, and cars were used for important errands but not every errand. He said that more people were driving all the time and in addition were driving big offroad vehicles. He feared that "if we build it they will come," suggesting no matter what the organization built, resurfaced, repaved, or improved, it would not be enough. The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 8 11:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Vicki Elmer City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) r: 1998~adm~cis~cc98012 l m 1. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 21, 1998 Page 9 11:30 a.m.