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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 08/08/05 WS M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall August 8, 2005 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Bonny Bettman, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor. Mayor Kitty Piercy called the August 8, 2005, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS, ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mayor Piercy noted several items of recent interest to the community, reporting that the previous week a federal transportation bill had passed and Representative Peter DeFazio had secured $55 million in federal funding for Lane County in the bill. She reported that she had Mr. Pryor recently met with Santa Clara citizens. She said she attended the kickoff of the Oregon Crafted Guidebook, noting Ms. Taylor had also been in attendance at the event. Mayor Piercy said she also celebrated National Kids Day with the Boys and Girls Club and heard Cole Porter music at The Shedd. She participated in a ceremony commemorating the loss of life at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Mayor Piercy said that all had been important and interesting community events. Ms. Solomon had no items. Mr. Pryor said the mayor’s remarks addressed most of his items. Ms. Bettman asked if the agendas of neighborhood meetings could be included on the public meetings calendar. Currently, most meetings have general neighborhood issues as the listed agenda. Ms. Ortiz reported on the grand opening of Fire Station 11 that occurred on August 6, saying Mayor Piercy and Fire Chief Tom Tallon spoke and the event was successful. She had been able to visit with many staff members and had a good time. Mr. Papé said he also attended the grand opening of the fire station, and he agreed the event went well and had been a lot of fun for participants. He encouraged residents to visit the station, which was designed to function as a neighborhood center. Mr. Papé said that the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) Board held a planning retreat the previous month and it appeared that LCOG would concentrate on transportation and education issues. He would have more to report on when LCOG staff finalized the board’s goals for the coming year. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Papé thanked Ms. Taylor and Ms. Bettman for their work during the recently completed legislative session as members of the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations. He thanked Intergovernmen- tal Relations Director Jason Heuser and staff members Lisa Klemp and Kelly Brooks for their work as well. Mr. Papé believed the City realized many of its goals during the session. Mr. Kelly alerted the public that the council had been discussing future plans for the City Hall complex and downtown City offices in general. The council would be getting into that issue in more detail in the future. There was a public hearing scheduled on the topic during the 7:30 p.m. meeting occurring on September 12. Mr. Kelly asked that staff consider additional signage along the bicycle path asking people to travel on the right side of the path to reduce conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians. Mr. Kelly also expressed appreciation for the new fire station, particularly the green building techniques used in construction. He thought the building was architecturally pleasing, and said he understood from Fire staff that it was also a very functional building. Ms. Taylor said she enjoyed her service on the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations. Regarding the 2005 Oregon Legislature, Ms. Taylor said she was happy about the retention of the second passenger train and the legislature’s agreement to allow Oregon communities limited participation in the federal Forest Legacy program. She suggested there were several places in Eugene where those funds could be used for acquisition and expressed hope that staff would look into how to apply for the funds. Ms. Taylor commended the mayor and staff for the time they spent showing the mayor of Katmandu around the community. She thought he appreciated the time and enjoyed his visit tremendously. She hoped the visit re-energized the City’s involvement with the Sister City Program. Mr. Poling also expressed appreciation for the fire station opening and thanked the staff who took time to visit with his grandson. Mr. Poling said that the repairs on Willakenzie Street were completed. He asked City Manager Dennis Taylor if the City had any standard it applied to companies with which it contracted for flaggers. He said that he heard many complaints from constituents regarding the performance of flaggers during construction and the confusion created by the flaggers and traffic management plan. Mr. Poling noted that Fire Station 1 was now completely vacated and staff was operating out of the new downtown fire station. Mr. Poling expressed appreciation for the recent multicultural festival at the Sheldon Community Center. It was a well-attended event. He thanked staff from Parks and Recreation and the Police Department for their efforts at the event. City Manager Taylor noted the upcoming Volunteer Appreciation Picnic occurring on August 13. He said the turnout was usually very good, and the volunteers represented many thousands of hours of work and many different City programs. He invited the councilors to attend the event, which would be held at Alton Baker Park from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 2 Work Session B. WORK SESSION: CITY COUNCIL PRIORITY ISSUE—HOSPITAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE CENTER CORE City Manager Taylor introduced the item, recalling that in 2004 the council had adopted as its only goal that nd the siting of a hospital in the center core, an area defined as a 2-1/2 mile area around 2 Avenue and Chambers Street on the south side of the river. That goal was carried forward in 2005. Staff had prepared an action plan for the goal (Attachment B in the meeting packet) that outlined a three-phase process—Site Selection, Planning and Design, and Construction—to accomplish the goal. He anticipated a three- to five- year process before a new hospital could be built. City Manager Taylor reminded the council that the City reached the outline of an agreement with the McKenzie-Willamette Health Center and with staff from the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) in Fall 2004. He recalled that one of the issues the council discussed at its December 2004 work session on the subject was the hospital’s stipulation that its location on the EWEB site depended on the construction of an underpass in the Patterson Street area. Staff had developed a financing and construction plan for that facility, anticipating the costs would be repaid by the tax increment generated by an $85 million hospital located in the urban renewal district. The council also discussed purchasing the riparian edge of the EWEB property to ensure it could control what occurred in that area with regard to pedestrian and bicycling connections. Funding was included in the fiscal year 2006 budget to support the staff work. At this point, City Manager Taylor said, all the elements under the City’s control were in place. The outstanding issue that remained was site selection and land assembly, which precluded the City from executing an agreement that allowed it to begin to design the underpass. The City lacked only a firm commitment or timeline from the hospital for the purchase of the EWEB site. Speaking to that issue, City Manager Taylor said that at the last EWEB meeting, EWEB staff recommended the commissioners pursue the move of some or all of its operations to a new site in a phased manner. The commissioners declined to adopt the staff recommendation, and instead directed staff to continue work on the engineering and architectural design necessary for a move that occurred either in phases or all at once. He anticipated that work would not be done until mid-November. City Manager Taylor acknowledged hope that the site transaction would have already occurred, clarifying the location of the hospital in time to influence the certificate of need process through which the hospital had to go, allowing EWEB to put forward a refinancing proposal this year. However, that would not be the case. The City’s plans remained in effect. Staff was prepared to move forward when necessary. He added that the work the City had done with regard to planning for the underpass had application not only for this project, but for other projects in the urban renewal district. City Manager Taylor acknowledged the work of Acting Planning and Development Director Susan Muir, Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson, Public Works Director Kurt Corey, Keli Osborn of the Planning and Development Department, and Sue Cutsogeorge of the Central Services Department, who were all present to answer questions if needed. Mayor Piercy called on the council for questions and comments. Ms. Ortiz determined from the manager that if the hospital did not succeed in securing the EWEB site, the council action plan would not go forward. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 3 Work Session Ms. Ortiz asked if the City would offer a similar package of assistance to another private hospital. City Manager Taylor believed the City would offer a similar package to a development locating in an urban renewal district that would leverage at least $85 million in property tax improvements. He said the package in question was specific to the hospital at that site. Ms. Solomon said the council had been working on the issue for some time and it did not seem much progress was being made. She believed the City had done what it could, and it was up to the hospital and EWEB to resolve the site acquisition question. Ms. Solomon asked what the hospital’s “drop dead” date was, if the hospital had a “Plan B,” and if staff had discussed other potential sites identified by the City with the hospital. City Manager Taylor said that McKenzie-Willamette Hospital indicated its first choice site was the EWEB location. The hospital had not indicated to him or other City staff that it had any back-up sites. He acknowledged there was speculation about the fairgrounds as a possible site for the hospital, but he emphasized that was speculative. Another option was for the hospital to rebuild in its current location. Other than the EWEB site, representatives of the hospital had not been specific about other sites, and remained committed to making the EWEB site work. Ms. Solomon asked how long the hospital was prepared to wait for a decision. City Manager Taylor did not know. Mr. Kelly applauded the staff team for the thoroughness of its work. Mr. Kelly hoped that the EWEB commissioners became comfortable with the proposal as he considered that site the best available site. He said the “rumor mill” seemed to have quieted somewhat, but he wanted to be clear that McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center indicated that if EWEB fully or partially moved, it would make use of the EWEB headquarters building for medical offices and other hospital functions. Mr. Kelly spoke to concerns about the riparian edge, saying part of the plan was for the City to acquire a strip of property along the river to improve the native environment and bicycle access in the area. He appreciated the manager mentioning those points. Mr. Kelly referred to the Patterson underpass, and said that the previous fall the council looked at several options for required emergency access. One option involved extending Agate Street through the Riverfront Research Park. Several councilors, reflecting what he averred was community sentiment, suggested that the extension would complicate the issue by creating additional public controversy. Roy Orr of McKenzie- Willamette indicated then that if the Patterson extension was in place, that option could be dropped from consideration. Mr. Kelly acknowledged the lack of a council vote on the topic but said it seemed to be dropped from consideration. However, the packet included a map that showed a connection from Avenue A east to Agate Street. Mr. Kelly requested an explanation of the note. City Manager Taylor recalled that the council had previously seen the map in question, which was an example of a solution, though not necessarily the preferred solution. He asked Mr. Corey to speak to the issue. Mr. Corey said the extension was not “on the table” as part of the discussion staff was having with the hospital. He said the process had not progressed to the degree where the City had hired a consultant to examine options for crossing the tracks. The plans before the council were conceptual in nature. Mr. Kelly determined from Mr. Corey that it was not the City’s intent to connect Agate Street through the process. Responding to a question from Mr. Poling, City Manager Taylor recalled that the council set aside $500,000 as an initial incentive for a hospital to locate within the preferred area. If the real estate transaction between the hospital and EWEB did not come to fruition, he would return to the council to verify the City would continue to offer incentives within the preferred area. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Poling said there was an “urban legend” circulating that the City was trying to force the issue by directing the hospital to the EWEB site. To the contrary, they were the only “two players at the table talking.” He wanted the public to be aware that if the proposal did not come through, the council would continue its work to locate a hospital in the area identified by the council two years ago. Mr. Papé also thanked staff for its work. He noted that a hospital in central Eugene was the council’s only goal for 2004, which was not mentioned in the agenda materials. He was disappointed and frustrated by the lack of progress. However, he acknowledged the resolution to the issue was not completely within the City’s purview. Mr. Papé said if EWEB needed additional funds to finance its move, he believed it would be too much for McKenzie-Willamette to pay. He asked about the hospital’s reaction to the proposed cost of $67 million. City Manager Taylor clarified that was not the offer the hospital had made, and he did not think it was a price the hospital would be willing to pay. He also did not think that was the expectation of the EWEB commissioners with regard to the sale. With regard to the real estate transaction, the commissioners wanted to know how the utility could move in part or at once without affecting its ratepayers. The estimate of $67 million was above previous estimates. City Manager Taylor did not think there was an expectation the real estate transaction would cover all the costs of moving the utility at the prices that had been quoted. Mr. Papé asked if EWEB had come up with a financing plan. City Manager Taylor said he did not think so. The board was waiting for final numbers. While Mr. Papé agreed with Mr. Kelly that the EWEB site was the best one of all available, he wondered what it would take to assemble a site near the fairgrounds and suggested a staff team be formed to look into that potential. City Manager Taylor said because of McKenzie-Willamette’s focus on the EWEB site, that work had not been done. If the hospital looked to another site, the City would work with it on that. He said the hospital was not interested in the fairgrounds at this time. He thought it premature for the City to initiate such an effort without a signal from the hospital. Mr. Papé said that until there was more clear direction about what would occur in the future, he preferred staff to halt work on the EWEB site. Ms. Bettman agreed with Mr. Kelly and Mr. Papé that the EWEB site was the best available for the hospital. She acknowledged that some community members had other visions for the site, but if the hospital did not locate there, it did not mean those visions would be realized, given the constraints that existed on the property. Ms. Bettman noted that EWEB’s plans for relocation included expansion for future growth. She did not think the utility expected those costs to be captured by the sale price of the property. Those costs would be incurred and transferred to the ratepayers regardless of the location. She did not know how EWEB would “get around that.” Ms. Bettman asked why the EWEB commissioners were not taking any action beyond requesting engineer- ing studies. City Manager Taylor did not know. He did not think staff knew clearly why the commissioners acted as they had. He thought the commissioners believed they needed more time. The commissioners had been working on the EWEB Master Plan for many years and wanted to incorporate the decision into that MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 5 Work Session planning and did not want to be rushed into a decision without due diligence. The commissioners seemed to believe there was a benefit to moving in phases but they had not come to a final decision. Ms. Bettman shared the frustration of other councilors that the City had to wait while others made a decision and suggested the City should take action to influence Plan B. She believed that if the fair board put the fairgrounds on the table, it would cause a mass exodus from the adjacent neighborhoods and create a ring of urban blight. She said those who she talked to were very concerned about the issue, and that someone other than them would decide the fate of their property values and where they lived. She urged caution with regard to that site. Ms. Bettman wished there was a way for the City to sit down with representatives of the nd hospital and get to “yes” on the 2 Avenue and Chambers Street site as Plan B. nd Mr. Kelly regretted the hospital had not shown interest in the 2 Avenue and Chambers Street site. He did not think it made sense for the City to do design work there or at the fairgrounds until it heard from the hospital. He was not interested in stopping staff work on the EWEB site, although he suspected the amount of effort was low given the activity going on in other arenas. City Manager Taylor agreed. City Manager Taylor said once the real estate transaction was complete, there would be more opportunities for City involvement around the tradeoffs that would be involved with regard to the riparian area as it related to pedestrian and bicycle access, environmental protection, and the hospital design. He said the hospital would be required to produce a master plan, which would be subject to public review. Mr. Kelly agreed there would be opportunities for public input in the future given the many land use processes involved. Mr. Kelly said for several months in 2005, a diverse group of eight people with both development and environmental interests, the “Riparianistas,” met together to discuss riparian development principles. Those principles would be presented at the City Club on September 30. Mayor Piercy called for a second round of council comments and questions. Ms. Ortiz pointed out there was already a hospital in Eugene, Sacred Heart Hospital, and that was not mentioned in the council agenda materials. She had no vision for the EWEB site, although she would be nd excited about a hospital at 2 Avenue and Chambers Street. That made sense to her. Ms. Ortiz noted her employment at Sacred Heart Hospital and acknowledged the challenges people faced daily in attempting to reach the hospital. She would not stand in the way of the council’s previous direction, but the proposal to locate a hospital at the EWEB site ”did not fly” with her. She pointed out that Sacred Heart’s current location was within the 2-1/2 mile radius identified by the council, and it would have more of a presence in the downtown core than it originally planned when it decided to move some operations to the RiverBend campus. Speaking to Ms. Ortiz’ comments, Ms. Bettman said the reason the identified radius included the current Sacred Heart site was in case it decided to retain a full emergency room and diagnostic services at that site. That site was also eligible for the incentives being discussed. Ms. Bettman emphasized that the council was interested in locating a full-service hospital in downtown. PeaceHealth, the operator of Sacred Heart Hospital, had consistently indicated that was going to occur at the RiverBend campus. Ms. Bettman said the council had the ability to consolidate property and she suggested the City begin to nd consider ways to do so at 2 Avenue and Chambers Street as an attractive Plan B. She suggested the City MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 6 Work Session be proactive in that effort rather than wait for EWEB to act. She thought a lot of people in the community would be grateful if the City took that approach. Ms. Bettman referred to page 12 of the council meeting packet (Attachment B) and recalled that Avenue A was previously removed as unneeded. She wanted to take out the bulleted item at the bottom of the page referencing that before the council approved the plan. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to approve the proposed Hospital Develop- ment in the Central Core Action Plan. Ms. Solomon said she would support the plan for the time being. She was not interested in endorsing the nd Chambers Street and 2 Avenue site as a Plan B at this time. She thought it would be in the best interest of the public if the City went “back to the drawing board” and looked at sites previously identified both within and outside of the 2-1/2 mile radius. Ms. Solomon suggested that reexamination would involve representa- tives of McKenzie-Willamette. She hoped that when the hospital become interested in a Plan B, the City was “ready to go.” Mr. Pryor declared a conflict of interest due to his wife’s employment with McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. Ms. Bettman offered an amendment to the motion that stipulated Exhibit 2 was for illustrative purposes and was not adopted as shown, and that the mention of extending Avenue A to the Riverfront Research Park property be deleted. Mr. Poling and Ms. Solomon accepted Ms. Bettman amendment as a friendly amendment to the motion. Mr. Papé offered an amendment to the motion, stating he would like to see the first paragraph of Attachment B modified with the mention of both the 2004 and 2005 council retreats of the Eugene City Council. Mr. Poling and Ms. Solomon accepted the amendment as a friendly amendment to the motion. Mr. Kelly pointed to the top of page 9 of the council packet as the place the amendment would occur. The motion passed, 6:1:1; Mr. Pryor abstaining from the vote and Ms. Ortiz voting in op- position to the motion. C. WORK SESSION: CITY COUNCIL PRIORITY ISSUE—REVISED RACE PRIORITY ISSUE ACTION PLAN The council was joined by Human Resources and Risk Services Director Lauren Chouinard and Human Rights Director Greg Rikhoff for the item. Mr. Chouinard acknowledged the contribution of staff members Lynda Rose, Rachel Wells, Karen Loy, and Mr. Rikhoff. Mr. Chouinard reviewed the changes made to the Race Priority Action Plan in response to council remarks at the June 13 work session on the topic. Mr. Chouinard noted the inclusion in the meeting packet of the City’s diversity training calendar, which he termed the most extensive in Oregon. He also called the council’s attention to a pledge respecting diversity and honoring human rights, which had been signed by members of the council seven years earlier. He invited questions. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 7 Work Session Mayor Piercy suggested that that the Communities of Color process needed to be an ongoing one. City Manager Taylor said that the City used to do so, but it was generally focused at the executive level. The proposed plan envisioned a richer discussion involving more people, including the elected officials. Mayor Piercy suggested the City ask the affected communities how often such an event should occur. Mayor Piercy called for questions and comments from the council. Ms. Ortiz said she participated in several Community of Color events and found them to be both painful and frustrating as no progress seemed to be made in response to the input and criticism offered at those events. People often used the opportunity to tell the City what it was doing wrong and there was no opportunity for dialogue. She hoped another format could be found. Ms. Ortiz asked if the job description for the diversity consultant was on the City’s Web site. Mr. Chouinard said yes. City Manager Taylor noted his hope the position resulted in more retention of employees. Ms. Bettman expressed appreciation for the changes made to the plan and said she looked forward to participating in the privilege training. Ms. Bettman thought it a good strategy to involve boards and commissions in the diversity training. She suggested a complementary piece would be the development of a strategy to actively and specifically seek the same input from communities of color that the City sought from the community in general. Ms. Bettman liked the element of the plan regarding the council’s collective reaction to acts of racism in the community and found it important. She asked how that could be implemented, as she usually heard about racially related incidents long after they occurred. There did not seem to be a process in place to alert councilors about incidents so that they could react or collectively take a stand. She suggested that be incorporated into the objective. Ms. Bettman asked about the participation rate for optional courses. Mr. Chouinard said it was quite good. The City had so many training requirements that it did not want to overwhelm staff. Staff was also evaluated on its participation in such extra trainings. Mr. Kelly thanked staff for the changes made to the action plan, which he considered generally positive additions. He thought it important for the council adopt such a plan, but he wished he was happier with the plan, and looked forward to revisiting it. Mr. Kelly believed the plan continued to be weak in regard to the community and organizational elements, and cited as an example of the organizational element the lack of any mention of the organization’s response to the recent evaluation of the City’s diversity elements. He suggested that an action item stating that the organization would respond to the issues raised in the evaluation was needed. Mr. Chouinard said the two diversity consultants would be meeting with the executive managers in September as part of the follow-up. Mr. Kelly hoped the council would hear something about that. With regard to the community element, Mr. Kelly said if the City decided that outreach that cost money was a good thing, the document lacked mention of any way for it be funded. He also called for organizational and community outcomes as well as mayor and council outcomes. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 8 Work Session Mr. Papé commended staff for commissioning the evaluation of the diversity program, and looked forward to a memorandum with the results of the evaluation and the next action steps. Mr. Papé expressed appreciation for the pledge and asked if the council needed to recommit to it or pass it back to the Human Rights Commission (HRC). He suggested the pledge be mounted on the McNutt Room wall to reinforce its message. Ms. Taylor recalled that the pledge had been on the McNutt Room wall at one time. Ms. Taylor referred to the proposed meetings between the council and communities of color mentioned on page 30 of the meeting packet, and asked how staff decided who represented the communities of color. Mr. Chouinard said staff generally left that issue up to the communities in question. A broad invitation was extended and the meetings had been quite large. Ms. Taylor suggested that people would not necessarily feel represented by another person simply because they were the same color or ethnicity. Mr. Chouinard said that was why the City’s invitations had been broad in nature. Ms. Taylor asked what the proposed facilitator would be used for. Mr. Chouinard indicated the facilitator would be used for the facilitated dialogue on race. Ms. Taylor noted her opposition to hiring facilitators and asked why one was needed. Mr. Chouinard said staff found it very beneficial in such discussions to have a skilled facilitator present. Mayor Piercy solicited a second round of questions and comments. Mr. Kelly encouraged all councilors to be present at the September diversity training, both for the substance and symbolic nature of all being present together to discuss the issue. Responding to a question from Mr. Kelly, Mr. Chouinard said the City’s previous Diversity Coordinator position was more focused on community issues that, in many cases, were more the purview of Mr. Rikhoff as the director of the Human Rights Program. The City wanted to refocus the position to work on best practices in recruitment, selection, and retention. The position was an internally focused position. Mr. Kelly acknowledged the need to not overwhelm the HRC with additional work but suggested more resources could be directed to the commission to address issues of racism. City Manager Taylor said he spoke with Sara Rich, chair of the HRC, who believed the commission could be of great assistance to the council in this area. He looked forward to partnering with the commission in executing the plan if it was adopted by the council. Mayor Piercy expressed appreciation for the way in which the conversation had been conducted and the manner in which staff incorporated the council’s suggestions in the plan. She noted that she would be unable to be present for the entire diversity training scheduled for September due to a previous commitment. Mr. Papé said that the position name “Diversity Consultant” implied to him an outside consultant rather than an employee, and he was worried that the title might make the person feel he or she was not part of the organization. Mr. Chouinard said that worldwide, human resource departments were making a shift from being the regulator to being advisors and consultants, which was reflected in position titles. He acknowl- edged the concern expressed by Mr. Papé, but he believed the executive staff owned the diversity manage- ment role and needed an expert consultant rather than a diversity manager. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 9 Work Session Mr. Papé hoped the work plan would be revisited with the council so it could track progress, determine if mid-course corrections were needed, and celebrate the City’s accomplishments. City Manager Taylor indicated staff would provide quarterly updates on the goal as with other goals. In addition, information on the council’s goals and progress on them would be posted on the City’s Web site. Ms. Ortiz said she would be proud to sign the pledge. She said that if staff needed additional money for outreach and training, it should ask the council for it. Ms. Bettman agreed that adopting the pledge was a good idea and suggested it be edited to be more City- centric. She also supported mounting the pledge on the meeting room wall. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to approve the revised Race Priority Issue Action Plan. The motion passed unanimously. Mayor Piercy thanked staff for its continued effort in working on the council’s eight priority goals. The meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 8, 2005 Page 10 Work Session