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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 05/14/07 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall May 14, 2007 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka. Council President Andrea Ortiz convened the meeting. She noted that Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy would participate by telephone. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mr. Pryor reported that the Human Services Commission (HSC) was trying to finalize its budget requests and had two options, one that included its portion of the funding from the Secure Rural Schools act and one that sought to address the worst case scenario. He said the City would not be able to absorb the level of funding in that scenario because it would be in the neighborhood of $250,000. He thought the request that would be before the Budget Committee would be for approximately $140,000. He anticipated that there would be discussion on it at the committee’s meeting scheduled for May 15. Ms. Taylor requested a memorandum regarding whether it would be expensive to reactivate the water spray at Tugman Park. She related that some of the neighbors there had asked that it be reactivated. Ms. Taylor wished to comment on an article in The Register Guard regarding the difficulty of fighting fires when “sprawl” was allowed to happen. She also wished to highlight the letter from the Madison Garden neighbors that emphasized the importance of having “little spots of nature” as the City became more densely developed. She noted that the Madison Garden neighbors had a $30,000 challenge grant. She thought it would be a good thing for the City to help out with. Ms. Bettman stated her intention had been to place a motion before the council to direct the Police Auditor to pursue an administrative investigation. She said since the Mayor was not present and the council was scheduled to discuss the strategic plan for the Eugene Police Department (EPD) on May 29 she would defer the motion until that time. Mr. Poling reminded everyone that ballots for the May election were due on the following day. He congratulated the recent EPD graduates. He said this would be the last graduating class from the regional police academy. He related that during the Police Commission meeting there had been a discussion on the state academy; it had been built but was not yet staffed adequately to handle all of the recruits throughout the state. He explained that all recruits would attend this academy now. He thought it possible that the cities of Portland and Eugene would have to open up their regional academies again at some point. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Poling announced that the National Law Enforcement Memorial Service would be held on May 15 at noon at the Wayne Morse Free Speech area. He noted it was an annual event. He said that at 3 p.m. on May 16, the EPD would hold its award ceremony at the Hilton Hotel. Ms. Solomon related that the Housing Policy Board (HPB) held a retreat on May 7. She said the previous year had been a big year for the HPB as it had worked on the ordinance changes related to manufactured home parks. She stated that the ordinance changes were nearly complete and the HPB was looking forward to seeking out more opportunities for affordable housing in the area. She said the board would be looking at ways to creatively add to the stock of affordable housing. Ms. Solomon stated that several weeks earlier an email circulated that said there would be news about the J.H. Baxter & Company and the email asserted that its emissions had been found to potentially cause cancer to neighborhood residents. She said this was not true. She related that the report, conducted by the Superfund Agency, would indicate otherwise. The agency was scheduled to review the results of the report at 7 p.m. on May 17 at the Red Cross Office on Bethel Drive and anyone was welcome to attend. Mr. Clark noted that 1,000 Friends of Oregon indicated support for the City of Eugene to conduct a buildable lands study. Mr. Clark reported that he met with Lane County Commissioner Bill Fleenor and members of the Santa Clara Community Organization. He said they discussed their choice of place for a community park that had come before the council in terms of potential consideration of eminent domain. He related that they had looked at several alternatives for parks locations. City Manager Taylor thanked Assistant City Manager Angel Jones for filling in for him on a busy week. He said he had attended his daughter’s graduation from nursing school. He added that his daughter now worked in the operating room at the Billings Clinic in Billings, Montana. Ms. Ortiz said she met with Police Chief Bob Lehner at the Bethel Public Safety Station on May 2. She noted that she missed the Police Commission meeting on May 10 because she had attended the Dia de las Madres celebration at Meadowview School. She stated that over 350 people attended and the event featured children doing dances from different states in Mexico. Ms. Ortiz related that she had driven to Portland with a group of Bethel School District representatives. She explained that State School Superintendent Susan Castillo had recognized 10 schools for closing the achievement gap. She noted that the schools Ms. Castillo focused on were those with low socio-economic status (SES) students. She was inspired to see so many people working toward the common good of educating children. She stated that Meadowview School had been a recipient of this honor. Ms. Ortiz said she attended an open house at Peterson Barn presented by the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) regarding its potential building project in that neighborhood. She related that it was well- attended. She had also met with Trainsong neighbors to plant a garden. She felt it would have been better attended had it not been Earth Day. Continuing, Ms. Ortiz commented that it had been a grueling couple of months at the Human Services Commission (HSC) as they tried to work through the potential budget crisis. She averred that even the best case scenario was not a good picture. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 2 Work Session MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 3 Work Session B. WORK SESSION: City Council Goal – Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships Action Plan Ms. Ortiz thanked the community for serving so many hours on the committee. It spoke to her of the committee members’ commitment to help the City evolve. Executive Director for Human Resource and Risk Services Lauren Chouinard echoed Ms. Ortiz’s opening comments. He also thanked the members of the “Race Team,” City Diversity Consultant Jason Mak, Human Rights Program Manager Greg Rikhoff, Assistant City Manager Jones, Police Technical Services Division Manager Lynn Reeves, and Library Assistant Francisco Gutierrez. He noted that he served on the team as well. Mr. Chouinard reviewed Attachment A: Council Priority Enhance Understanding of Race Issues and Improve Race Relationships Action Plan. Ms. Ortiz highlighted the Council Committee on Race (CCR) recommendation to create a community cultural center. She said there had been a “lot of energy around this.” She related that it would not only allow people to get to know each other’s cultures, it would provide a “home” for community groups. She pointed out, as an example, that the Chinese Lion Dancers do not currently have a place to store their costume pieces and could potentially use such a center. Ms. Ortiz said Attachment C: Community Committee on Race Recommendation contained the recom- mendations that the committee wished the council to take on. She said her main goal had been to work on a strategic plan; to get to the point at which the council looked at “everything systemically” throughout the City and how it fit into the recommendations from the CCR. Mayor Piercy joined the meeting by telephone at 5:58 p.m. Mr. Zelenka averred that the CCR had been a “great group of people.” He felt they really cared about making Eugene a place for all people to live and prosper together. He wanted to especially acknowledge Ms. Ortiz and Human Rights Commission Chair Carmen Urbina for their work on the process. He believed that they needed to do a lot of work in that area. He supported the action plan. Ms. Bettman expressed appreciation for the work the CCR had undertaken. She believed that the City had made targeted and focused progress on this goal. She wanted the racism study circles to be available for councilors. She was happy to see the item related to the legislative agenda because she thought the staff and the council had done a good job of taking strong positions on legislative issues having to do with race and, in particular, the immigration issue. Ms. Bettman believed that any contractors with whom the City did business should be required to uphold the standards the City upholds. Ms. Bettman supported educating youth about race awareness. She thought the City could help defray the costs of such an effort. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Taylor asked if there were plans to do anything in the schools. She also asked for an example of the media perpetuating stereotypes. Mr. Rikhoff cited several examples, including a series on drug use in the local community that featured almost exclusively photos of Latino men as the purveyors of drugs. Ms. Ortiz stated that the CCR did not talk specifically about schools. She underscored that the council only had jurisdiction over Eugene but the City should take leadership and emulate the behavior that it would expect from the surrounding jurisdictions. She hoped that any youth who were being harassed would go to their respective principals to get the support needed to address the situation. Ms. Ortiz asked what was meant by “key high profile race related incidents and issues from the past” in the second item on the list of Uncompleted Items from Original Action Plan. Mr. Chouinard replied that he could not remember which councilor had brought that item up. He recalled that this was from the original work plan. He assumed that one or two of the councilors had brought it up and wanted to see a discussion of a high profile incident such as the one that happened several years earlier in which an African-American man was stopped and searched. City Manager Taylor stated that this matter was still in litigation over a tort claim action based on it. Ms. Ortiz thanked Mr. Chouinard, the other staff members, and the people who gave their time to the CCR. Mr. Pryor, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to approve the proposed enhance Understanding of Race issues and Improve Race Relationships action plan as amended. Mayor Piercy conveyed her appreciation to the CCR for the effort they had made. She thought it was good to set goals and remain accountable to them. Mr. Chouinard stated that one thing that was being piloted within the organization was a shortened version of the racism study circles. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Council President Ortiz adjourned the meeting of the City Council and convened a meeting of the Eugene Urban Renewal Agency at 6:09 p.m. C. WORK SESSION: West Broadway Project Update City Manager Taylor explained that this was a continuation of the discussion on the Request for Qualifica- tions (RFQ) process for the West Broadway area. He reported that the City had been able to talk with both development teams and an agreement to work together in principle had been forged should this be the tack the council would take. He noted that the motion was already on the table. Mr. Zelenka reread his motion into the record: “I move to select Beam Development and KWG Development Partners as the developers for the West Broadway project, and to direct the Agency Director to initiate actions related to agreements with the developers; public process that includes a citizen advisory committee MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 5 Work Session with an independent urban planner/facilitator whose work shall be completed by the end of August and presented to the Agency in September; option agreements; financial tools; and a th relocation/transition plan, all consistent with the Agency’s May 9 discussion, with all pro- posed actions, other than option agreement renewals and extensions, brought back to the Agency for final authorization. This motion further directs the Agency Director to secure the services of a qualified urban planner/facilitator to oversee the public process for the West Broadway development site footprint, and to establish a West Broadway Development Advisory Committee to work with a qualified urban planner/facilitator, and the developers, to identify preferred design elements, mix of uses, public open spaces, options for parking, as well as a transition plan for existing businesses. The Agency and the Advisory Commit- tee would also seek additional public input. The Advisory Committee shall be composed of 11 members, with each councilor selecting one member and the Mayor selecting three mem- bers. In addition, the Agency Director shall secure the services of a qualified consultant to perform market analysis and economic feasibility studies. This research and analysis will inform the Agency and the Advisory Committee’s deliberations.” Ms. Taylor said the development footprint included existing businesses and she was opposed to that. She did not think existing businesses wanted to transition to another place. She asked when Thomas Kemper th Partners was chosen for the redevelopment project at the site on the corner of Charnelton Street and 10 Avenue and when that process had been suspended. Senior Management Analyst for the Community Development Division Denny Braud replied that TK Partners had requested that it be allowed to suspend its work on the site in order to work on the RFQ in December, 2006. Ms. Taylor asked when the development project at the former Sears site would have been completed had construction not been suspended. Mr. Braud responded that it had been projected to have been completed a year after construction had begun. Ms. Taylor surmised that the project could be very nearly done if the process had not been discontinued. Mr. Braud said about this time. Ms. Taylor expressed disappointment that the project on the former Sears site was not going forward. Mr. Zelenka assumed in this motion that the advisory committee would bring its ideas to the council for review. He expressed appreciation for all of the people who participated in the process. He acknowledged that not everyone would agree on the process and said he had attempted to craft the motion so that it would have “a little bit for everyone.” He asserted that this part of the downtown needed to fundamentally change. He felt the developers had different strengths; Beam was good at rehabilitating old buildings and KWG was good at building a diverse mix of housing over retail. He thought it was prudent to undertake a three-month process in order to gain adequate input from the committee. Mayor Piercy appreciated Mr. Zelenka’s work on this. She supported bringing the partners who helped sponsor the public workshop to the table. She averred that the advisory committee’s recommendations should play a significant role in how the area was redeveloped. Ms. Bettman asked if the City would enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the developers. Mr. Braud replied that this would be one of the next steps. Ms. Bettman asked if the MOU would require that the proposal be consistent with the recommendations of the advisory committee. Mr. Braud responded that the MOU would outline the public process and the timeline and that all parties involved would agree to that process. MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Bettman asked if the City could require the developers to comply with the recommendations of the advisory committee. Mr. Braud explained that the City had to ultimately approve the development agreement and the Urban Renewal Agency ultimately decided whether the redevelopment projects should receive Urban Renewal money. In response to a follow-up question from Ms. Bettman, Mr. Braud stated that the next decision point was scheduled for September. Ms. Bettman indicated that she still supported the Beam Development project. She averred that when the motion “died of its own weight, cost, and uncertainty” she hoped the City would look at concrete proposals that it had the ability to move on instead of going through a “long convoluted decision-making with the developers in the driver’s seat and the public in the back seat.” She thought the City could already be breaking ground on projects. She believed that if the proposal was approved that the City would not be fulfilling its fiduciary obligation to the taxpayers. She likened it to buying “champagne and caviar with food stamps.” She asserted that it was not a cost-effective way to do business. She opposed the motion. Ms. Solomon expressed optimism about the proposal that Mr. Zelenka and Mayor Piercy had put together. She wanted to ensure that motion indicated that the developer and the community maintained a dialogue. She believed it would make a great “end product.” Mr. Zelenka affirmed that this was his intent. Mr. Clark said he had been very impressed with the KWG Development Partners proposal. He had also been impressed with the work that had been done by Mr. Zelenka, Mayor Piercy, and staff over time to refine the proposal. He felt the motion looked like it had the support it needed and that it would “finally breathe some life into the downtown.” He related that the vast majority of emails he had received on this item had supported taking action. Mr. Clark offered a friendly amendment to have the Mayor appoint the committee members. Mr. Zelenka accepted the friendly amendment as did the second. Mr. Pryor stated that one of the key elements of the discussion had been the role of the public to help shape the project. He felt it was critical to conduct the public engagement in good faith and with sincerity. He related that he had just participated in a process to hire a consultant to help facilitate a discussion involving different groups and the process had been undertaken efficiently and amiably. Ms. Ortiz supported the motion although she was not “100 percent there at this point.” She needed to see how the project would “look and feel.” She said she was concerned about the amount of urban renewal money the project could take and that the moment the developers had the go-ahead, they could potentially do as they saw fit. Mr. Poling also had supported the staff’s proposal. He still believed it was the best proposal, but because of Mr. Zelenka’s work and input from the community, he thought the current proposal was workable. He commented that he would prefer to have the advisory committee selection process remain the same, but he would support the motion. th Mr. Zelenka shared Mr. Poling’s optimism. He said he also wanted the Charnelton Street/10 Avenue site to be filled as soon as possible, but he felt the proposal was a better way to go as it would integrate the MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 7 Work Session smaller project into the larger project. He stated that the end result would be five times the amount of housing. Ms. Taylor reiterated her objections. She commented that the councilors had received many emails but she averred that a “great campaign” had been conducted and a model letter for submittal had been supplied to people. She related that many people said the City should not have two holes in the downtown when the time for the 2008 Olympic Trials arrived. She asserted that the proposal would guarantee that there would be two holes at that time. City Manager Taylor thanked the Mayor and Mr. Zelenka for the hard work. He believed that the proposal would lead to a plan that the Urban Renewal Agency and the community could embrace. Mr. Zelenka clarified that his original motion intended for the Mayor to make the selection of the advisory committee members in consultation with the council and asked Mr. Clark if this was what he intended with his friendly amendment. Mr. Clark affirmed that this was his intent. The motion passed, 6:2; Ms. Bettman and Ms. Taylor voting in opposition. Council President Ortiz adjourned the meeting at 6:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council May 14, 2007 Page 8 Work Session