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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 03/11/98 Work Session MINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room--City Hall March 11, 1998 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Pat Fart, Tim Laue, Bobby Lee, Scott Meisner, Laurie Swanson Gribskov, Ken Tollenaar. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Nancy Nathanson Betty Taylor. I. CALL TO ORDER The adjourned March 9, 1998, Eugene City Council meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m.; His Honor Mayor James D. Torrey presiding. II. ACTION ITEMS A. Public Hearing/Action: Withdrawal From Special Districts Kurt Yeiter, Planning and Development Department, provided the report, noting that State Law required that a public hearing be held upon annexation of certain properties so that they can be withdrawn from the other special districts. The property in question was inadvertently omitted from properties approved by the council last month. Addressing a question from Mr. Laue, City Manager Vicki Elmer noted that the public hearing was being held on a Wednesday because the issue was time-sensitive. Mayor Torrey opened the public hearing. Seeing no one coming forward to testify, the Mayor closed the public hearing. Ms. Elmer asked the council to consider Council Bill 4640, an ordinance providing for withdrawal of territory (Breeden Land Company, C EU 97-36) from the Junction City Water Control District. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Tollenaar, that the bill, with unanimous consent of the council be read the second time by council bill number only, and that enactment be considered at this time. Ms. Elmer asked the council to consider Council Bill 4640 by number only. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Tollenaar, that the bill be approved and given final passage. Roll call vote. Having passed unanimously, the bill became Ordinance No. 20110. B. Contingency Fund Request for the Eugene Service Station MINUTES-Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 1 11:30 a.m. Richie Weinman, Planning and Development Department, presented the request, describing the program as one that provides day services for homeless adults. He explained that the request would allow the program to increase hours of operation, enabling people who work during the day to use the facility in the evenings and on Saturdays. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Tollenaar, to authorize the expenditure of $6,000 from the Contingency Fund for the purchase of services needed to support the needs of homeless adults by increasing the hours of operation at the Eugene Service Station. Mr. Farr spoke in support of his motion. Mr. Meisner said he supported the work of the Eugene Station but expressed concern that this was the program's third request for funding, pointing out that there was no indication that other community agencies and government jurisdictions had been approached for funding. Mr. Swanson Gribskov agreed with Mr. Meisner, noting that the request expanded an existing program at a time when others were being cut. Mr. Lee lauded St. Vincent de Paul for its history of service to the community, particularly to the homeless. He said he would support the motion. Mr. Farr said this was an opportunity for the council to enable the agency to leverage the money at great value. Jake Dudell, St. Vincent de Paul, said fund-raising in the private sector is more successful when the effort is supported by the City. Mr. Weinmann clarified that Lane County and the Human Services Commission were participating in support of the station. Mr. Meisner said if the City's support enabled the agency to leverage community funds, its contribution should be reduced. He favored restating the motion as: "...authorize the expenditure of up to $6,000." Mr. Laue was supportive, but cautioned against continuing to fund the program out of the Contingency Fund. Mayor Torrey said he would support the motion should he be required to vote; however, he would request a pro forma report from the agency. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 5:1; with Ms. Swanson Gribskov opposed. C. Contingency Fund Request for a Youth Performance Jamboree at the Hult Center Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Executive Manager Jim Johnson presented the request and asked for the council's support. He noted that the funding was to be used as a guarantee against loss, adding that revenues from admission fees will likely cover the costs. MINUTES-Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 2 11:30 a.m. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Tollenaar, to authorize the expenditure of up to $4,000 from the Contingency Fund to guarantee expenses incurred for the Youth Performance Jamboree. Addressing a question from Ms. Swanson Gribskov, Mr. Johnson said that if the council chose to waive the patron user fee (PUF), admission prices would be reduced accordingly. Ms. Swanson Gribskov was supportive of the request, noting this was one-time funding. Mr. Lee expressed support for the motion, with the understanding that the mayor would either sing or dance at the Jamboree. Mr. Meisner said he supported the request provided it was for one-time funding. Mayor Torrey said he hoped any excess funds would be placed in a retention fund to underwrite subsequent youth jamborees. Mr. Fart expressed disappointment that the media failed to acknowledge that the Willamette High School jazz band last week placed second at a national band contest. He explained that it was important to celebrate the accomplishments of young people in areas other than sports. This youth jamboree was an example. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 6:0. D. Contingency Fund Request for a Community Resource Information and Referral Service Mr. Weinman presented the request, describing it as "taking the (existing) directory into the computer age." He explained that the directory has previously been produced by White Bird Clinic and called the new venture "truly an intergovernmental and interjurisdictional approach," citing participation by Lane County and community agencies. Mr. Tollenaar ascertained that this replaced White Bird's directory, although the clinic remains involved in the current project. Addressing a question from Mr. Meisner, Katy Bloch, Lane County, said the project will be maintained through the continued support of government, with increasing support from the private sector. Mr. Meisner noted the lack of stated support from the City of Springfield. Mr. Lee clarified that the funding would facilitate implementation of computer hardware and software. Ms. Swanson Gribskov asked that Springfield be approached for support since the directory will be of great service to everyone. She wondered about updates and how it will be made accessible to the people that most need it. Ms. Bloch responded that community agencies will provide updates about their services on a daily basis. Addressing a follow-up question from Ms. Swanson Gribskov, she said the project will report to the Human Services Commission. Mr. Laue expressed concern that many people who need to access this type of information are not computer literate. Ms. Bloch said hard copies of the directory will continue to be available. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 3 11:30 a.m. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Tollenaar, to authorize an expenditure of $6,500 from the Contingency Fund for services needed to facilitate the creation of an improved computerized information and referral system. Roll call vote. The motion passed unanimously, 6:0. The council added the next item to the agenda. E. District Attorney's Ruling Related to Public Disclosure of City Documents Mr. Fart said he was disappointed that the council was being directed by the District Attorney to release copies of the council's performance evaluations of the City Manager before she had had an opportunity to submit a self-evaluation. He described the inevitable "media splash" as disruptive to the process. Noting the expense of an appeal of the ruling, he proposed to release the evaluations on March 13. Mr. Fart moved, seconded by Mr. Tollenaar, that the council release the City Manager's evaluations on or before March 13, with copies distributed to Councilors on March 12 and the media on March 13. Councilors expressed concern but reluctantly agreed that release of the documents was the most prudent approach. Mr. Farr said the point of contention was "when does it [public information] become available to the public." Mr. Tollenaar said the legal issue highlighted by Mr. Fart needed to be resolved and this might have been an opportunity to settle the issue; possibly with interest from other municipalities in sharing the costs of litigation. City Attorney Glenn Klein said there have been other cities that have taken note. At least one community is in the process of trying to arrange for an Attorney General's opinion--which, although not binding, would be information from a neutral third party. Ms. Elmer said she regretted that her self-evaluation would not be ready for distribution in the council's March 12 packet but she would submit it as soon as possible. The council asked her to submit the evaluation no later than March 13. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 6:0. III. NON-ACTION ITEMS A. Discussion: Separation of City Clerk and Finance Officer Ms. Elmer introduced the topic and asked Mr. Klein to provide the report. Mr. Klein indicated that the City Manager has the charter authority to move the City Recorder function from the Administrative Services Department to the City Manager's Office. To preclude future problems, Mr. Klein recommended that the council modify the code to reflect the change. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 4 11:30 a.m. Mr. Meisner asked why the City Clerk's position description called for "providing citizen education," noting it seemed redundant with services provided by the Communications Director and Public Information Officer. Ms. Elmer explained that the City Clerk/City Recorder provided for a centralization of those functions and addresses the institutional processes of the City. In response to a follow-up question, Ms. Elmer said the net savings in the reorganization of the City Manager's Office was $350,000, but the specific position in question was a more senior position with higher costs. Mr. Meisner asked for specific amounts. Ms. Elmer would follow up. At his request, Ms. Elmer explained what was meant by "institutional memory," saying it related to such things as council meetings, ordinances, and contracts--the equivalent of a "City library." Mr. Meisner wondered if the Committee on Citizen Involvement, Participation and Organizational Change, chaired by Councilor Nancy Nathanson had been consulted. Ms. Elmer said it had not. Ms. Swanson Gribskov expressed appreciation for the evident centralization of information since the change. Mr. Tollenaar did not question the rationale for combining the functions, noting that the council was spending an inordinate amount of time on the issue and recalling that previous significant changes had not involved the council as much. IV. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER A. Washington, DC Lobbying Trip Ms. Swanson Gribskov reported on the City delegation's lobby trip to Washington, DC. B. Council Committee Assignments Mr. Meisner announced that he and Mr. Lee have exchanged committee assigmnents to the McKenzie Watershed Council and the Southern Willamette Private Industry Council; Mr. Meisner will now serve on the McKenzie Watershed Council and Mr. Lee will serve on the Southern Willamette Private Industry Council. C. PIC/PDD "Kitchen Cabinet" Mr. Meisner asked Ms. Elmer to identify the "kitchen cabinet" she was working with around Permit and Information Center/Planning and Development Department issues. Ms. Elmer said she would distribute written information, adding it was a group that augmented and met with the department advisory committee. D. City Council Remuneration Mr. Tollenaar said it is evident, by how often the question about remuneration for members of the City Council comes up, that the community understands that this is a volunteer City Council. He said he was not sure the council should be paid because it had not done all it could to manage its workload. Before he could favor council pay, he added, he wanted an in-depth analysis on how the council managed or failed to manage its workload. He asked for a comparative study with other jurisdictions, calling the project worthy of a consultant's expense. Mr. Laue said remuneration would allow for a more representative council. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 5 11:30 a.m. E. National League of Cities Policy Committee Mayor Torrey read a report on the Washington, DC National League of Cities Policy Committee provided by Councilor Nathanson. F. Skinner Butte Memorial Mayor Torrey recalled the public discussion about replacing the cross on Skinner Butte with a flag. He said he has been contacted by an individual willing to raise the funds to carry out the project and asked for council direction. He noted support from the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars groups. Mr. Meisner said he was supportive of pursuing study and planning such a possible project provided that it was preceded by a broad public discussion and that the national, State, and possibly a municipal flag were included in the discussion. He added that the community could be invited to participate in a competition to design a Eugene flag. Mr. Tollenaar pointed out that by charter the area has been identified as a war memorial. There was sufficient council interest to schedule the item on a future agenda. G. Council Representation on the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) Mayor Torrey said he is unable to attend next month's LCOG meeting in Cottage Grove and solicited a volunteer to attend. Mr. Tollenaar offered to attend. MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 6 11:30 a.m. H. Council Credibility Mr. Fart noted the council's increase in credibility in the last few years, despite inaccuracies frequently reported by the press. The meeting adjourned at 1 p.m. Respectfully submitted, James R. Johnson City Manager Pro Tem (Recorded by Yolanda Paule) MINUTES--Eugene City Council March 11, 1998 Page 7 11:30 a.m.