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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/13/08 Work SessionM I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon October 13, 2008 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Mike Clark, Jennifer Solomon, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling and Alan Zelenka. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Chris Pryor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order at 5:30 p.m. A. Committee Reports and Items of Interest from Mayor, City Council, and City Manager Ms. Piercy noted that Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary would be reporting during the meeting in lieu of City Manager Jon Ruiz. Ms. Piercy noted a recent visit from representatives of Eugene’s sister city, Irkutsk, Russia who had presented an award to the City. Ms. Piercy noted that on October 16 there would be a City Hall Week event on behalf of the League of Oregon Cities in which the City of Eugene would be participating. She commented that the event was designed to provide City officials, legislators and candidates the opportunity to meet and discuss issues of vital importance to the area. Ms. Piercy noted an upcoming farewell party for outgoing Chief of Police Robert Lehner. Ms. Piercy took the opportunity to thank Chief Lehner for his service to the community on behalf of the City of Eugene. Ms. Bettman asked about the special administrative fee increase specified in the recent City administrative order (44-08-07). She specifically asked if the fee increase and the corresponding tax assessments would apply to Crest when any street renovations or improvement began or once any such work had been completed. City Attorney Jerome Lidz responded that he did not know and would have to research the matter before coming back with an answer for the council. Ms. Bettman noted there was serious public concern regarding recent decisions affecting the City’s Spay and Neuter Clinic. Ms. Zelenka reported he had been involved with the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) process regarding the University of Oregon’s proposed arena project, noting that he had been working with the Fairmount Neighborhood Association as well as University representatives with the goal of drafting an acceptable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the near future. Mr. Zelenka said there was a South University Neighborhood Association (SUNA) meeting scheduled for October 14. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Zelenka commented there were two parks in Ward 3 that were currently under construction, one in the Fairmount neighborhood and one in University Park. Ms. Ortiz reported that Roosevelt Boulevard in Ward 7 was currently being repaved. She also noted that she had recently discussed the potential for an emergency medical services summit with Eugene Fire & EMS Chief Randall Groves. Mr. Clark expressed thanks to Chief Lehner for his service to the community. He noted he had met earlier in the day with Interim Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds to discuss local issues. Mr. Clark reported he had participated in the recent 4J School District’s Principal for a Day event at Gilham Elementary School, and noted it was a very informative experience. He reminded the council that a meeting of the Cal Young Neighborhood Association (CYNA) was planned for October 23 at the Sheldon Community Center. Mr. Clark asked Ms. Medary for more information regarding the development schedule of Creekside Park which he could then pass on to the CYNA. Ms. Taylor encouraged the Council members to participate in the previously mentioned City Hall Day event. She reported she had recently participated in a tour of sites involved in the Neighborhood Matching Grant Program, and was very impressed by the variety and level of community involvement in the projects. Ms. Taylor also noted her recent attendance at the memorial service for Bob Rosen, a community member who had edited the Southeast Neighbors newsletter for several years and had been very involved in community volunteer efforts. Mr. Poling noted he had recently attended a Convention and Visitors Association of Lane County, Oregon (CVALCO) meeting in Florence where he and several other public and private sector representatives had discussed ways to better link the marketing efforts of the Lane County and the City of Eugene governments. He noted that the group would very likely be shortening their name in the near future and that CVALCO representatives would make themselves available to speak at any upcoming council meetings if necessary. Ms. Solomon thanked City Planning staff for their assistance in addressing the needs of one of her constituents. She reminded the council that the Active Bethel Citizens (ABC) group would be holding a meeting on October 16 and encouraged them to attend. She noted that the ABC meeting would have a presentation from their sponsors regarding their involvement in their Highway 99 project. Ms. Medary noted that representatives from several local public schools would be signing their Diversity and Human Rights Consortium agreement at a ceremony on October 14. She reported that, in preparation for the October 29 City Council work session, several downtown business leaders had been invited to the Tango Center on October 15 to the participate in an informal conversation with City staff regarding parking issues in the downtown area. Ms. Medary added that the first ever Prevention Convention organized by the Eugene Police Department would be taking place on October 18 at South Eugene High School and would be devoted to educating the public about a variety of crime prevention and public safety practices. B. WORK SESSION: Lane Transit District Service Reduction Proposal Ms. Medary introduced Lane Transit District (LTD) Board President Mike Eyster, Service Planning Manager Will Muller and General Manager Mark Pangborn, noting that they would be presenting details regarding proposed LTD service reductions. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Eyster thanked the council for the opportunity to speak, and presented a PowerPoint report describing in detail the current state of LTD ridership/revenues and also the proposed service reductions. He noted that the current financial crisis which had necessitated the proposed service reductions was precipitated by a “perfect storm” of increased fuel costs, increased use of accessibility services for elderly and disabled riders well beyond established projections, and decreased payroll revenue streams brought on by the generally unfavorable economic climate. Mr. Eyster commented that LTD had earlier in the year considered sponsoring a ballot measure to seek financial relief for LTD. He noted that LTD had ultimately chosen not to pursue such a course of action, and that subsequently the only option left was to reduce service by approximately 15%. Mr. Muller presented a slide detailing the LTD’s “Service Redesign Goals” and noted that the redesign goals were drafted with the intent of meeting the necessary budgetary goals while negatively impacting LTD service levels as little as possible. Mr. Muller noted that LTD had held several open houses and public input sessions over the last two months related to the proposed service reductions, and noted that public hearings would be held on October 13 and November 10. He added that the adoption of the service reduction plan was currently scheduled for the November 19 regular LTD board meeting and that the service reductions would go into effect no later than September 2009, with some portions of the service reductions being implemented as early as February 2009. Mr. Muller proceeded to guide the council through a sector by sector summary of the proposed service reduction changes listed in the agenda materials submitted to the council as they pertained to the Ferry Street Bridge, River Road, Highway 99, West Eugene, South Eugene, and Springfield area LTD sectors. Mr. Zelenka asked, with respect to the changes to the Ferry Street Bridge LTD sector and the elimination of the Breeze route, if the revised LTD bus routes would stop in the same places as those routes that had been eliminated or curtailed. Mr. Muller confirmed that they would. Mr. Muller also commented that while many express routes were proposed to be eliminated, all LTD destinations would still be served, albeit with more transfers and less-expedient alternative routes. Mr. Muller, responding to a question from Ms. Solomon regarding the proposed Highway 99 sector, noted that no new LTD transfer stations would be built at the new transfer point of Roosevelt and Danebo, although a covered shelter structure might be built if the level of ridership justified such an expense. Mr. Muller, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz regarding the proposed West Eugene sector, clarified th the nature of travel for a person going from points along Highway 99 to the Wal-Mart location on West 11 Avenue, noting that a person traveling in such a manner would have to make one transfer along the way. Mr. Pangborn elaborated upon Mr. Muller’s comments saying that LTD had actually eliminated fare transfers a number or years ago in favor of all-day passes. Mr. Muller, responding to a question from Ms. Bettman regarding the South Eugene sector, noted that the th connector route along 29 Avenue between LTD routes 24 and 82 was not being eliminated as was indicated on the materials submitted to the council. Mr. Eyster added that the connector route had been reinstated in response to the aforementioned public input meetings. Mr. Muller reported that the Breeze route buses would be utilized for neighborhood service around town, specifically for the River Road connector service, the Bethel/Danebo connector route, the Campbell Center th route (LTD Route No. 1), the Jefferson Avenue route (LTD Route No. 33), and the routes along 18 and th 19 Avenues. He added that the Breeze buses would not be repainted for this purpose but would only MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 3 Work Session employ new decals to indicate their revised status. Mr. Muller, in response to a request from Mr. Zelenka, indicated the proposed EmX extension routes within the Springfield sector which were not demonstrated on the map submitted to the council. Mr. Muller proceeded to summarize the proposed service revisions noting that they represented a 14.5% service cut for LTD. He noted that similar cuts were enacted in 2000 in a two-step process, which was unpleasant but manageable, after several sustained expansion periods throughout the 1990’s. He commented that the current service reductions might be much more difficult as there was not as much substandard or superfluous LTD service. Mr. Muller noted that certain portions of LTD service might be reinstated should economic conditions improve. Mr. Eyster commented that it was very painful to have to cut service to such a great extent, particularly because ridership had been up considerably in recent years. Mr. Pangborn, in response to a question from Ms. Piercy, noted that the fixed route transit systems comparable to LTD in Portland, Salem and Medford were all undergoing similar service reductions, although the Tri-Met transit system in Portland did not have to eliminate as much service as LTD since they had fared better financially in recent months. Mr. Muller, responding to a question from Ms. Piercy, commented that there was no current plan or similar prioritization in place for reinstating service that was being cut once economic conditions improved. Ms. Piercy asked the LTD representatives what the public’s general concerns were regarding the loss of regular LTD infrastructure routes as opposed to any changes in the nature of the service provided by the EmX routes. Mr. Muller responded that LTD was considering charging the public for the EmX service, but that there were factors in place, such as the basic cost of implementing a fare system for EmX that would prohibit doing so for the near future. Mr. Muller added that there were no current plans to increase the frequency of EmX buses because it was currently cost-prohibitive to do so. Mr. Pangborn added that there was a wide range of public response with regard to what LTD services were being cut, and that a basic philosophical question being presented to LTD was whether it was going to function as a social safety net, providing less frequent service over as large an area as possible, or as a mass transit device designed to move as many people as possible in order to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. Ms. Piercy asked what conversations LTD had with the Oregon state legislature or any other government entities about remedying access service. Mr. Eyster responded that conversations with the state legislature were ongoing, but looked optimistic. Mr. Pangborn added that Governor Kulongoski was expected to propose a balanced transit bill in the future that might access service. Mr. Clark asked Mr. Pangborn to clarify the decision-making process used to determine service reductions or adjustments, particularly with regard to the possibility of charging for EmX service. Mr. Pangborn replied that while LTD was in initial preparations to begin charging fares for EmX service, many of the persons utilizing EmX were already paying an LTD fare of one kind or another. Mr. Pangborn added that EmX was already a highly subsidized service and that charging fares would not necessarily be of enormous benefit. MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Pangborn, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka regarding LTD’s budgetary plans between now and September 2009, commented that in addition to the proposed service reductions being presented, LTD was spending down approximately $3.5 million in reserve funds in addition to considering further service reductions should the current proposals prove insufficient. Mr. Pangborn noted that any funding assistance from the State legislature would most likely not materialize until the first or second quarters of 2010 due to the logistics involved in collecting and disbursing such funds. Mr. Pangborn, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka about what revenue sources might be used by the State legislature to provide additional funding to LTD, said that cigarette/tobacco, certain systems development charges, and additional parking or payroll taxes might be used. Mr. Pangborn added that gas tax funds could not be used to provide funding to LTD or similar public transportation concerns as it was prohibited by state law. Mr. Pangborn, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, noted that the current Oregon payroll tax rate was 0.0064% and would be increasing to 0.0065% beginning in January of 2009. Mr. Pangborn, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, commented that LTD’s 15% overall service reduction goal might necessitate the termination of between 25 and 27 bus drivers. Mr. Zelenka asked Mr. Pangborn to respond to the public perception that the EmX system itself was at least partially to blame for the current LTD budgetary crisis. Mr. Pangborn responded by repeating the philosophical dichotomy he had referenced earlier about whether LTD should focus on being a social service safety net or a mass transit initiative. Mr. Pangborn added that even thought LTD had always attempted to balance those two guiding philosophies, the LTD board had 14 years previously adopted a strategic plan that emphasized mass transit over social services. Mr. Pangborn reminded Mr. Zelenka that the primary reason for the budgetary crisis was not the use of the EmX system, but rather the triple-threat of increased fuel costs, increased accessibility/paratransit costs, and the poor condition of the economy. Mr. Eyster elaborated on Mr. Pangborn’s comments for Mr. Zelenka, noting that funds that had been devoted to EmX in the past would not have been eligible for other areas of LTD. Ms. Bettman asked how many riders per day were represented by LTD’s targeted 15% service reduction. Mr. Pangborn and Mr. Muller replied that while they did not know exactly, they could extrapolate such a number from reviewing the current productivity of the routes affected by the proposed service reductions. Mr. Eyster, responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, noted that LTD had taken efforts to ensure coverage for the elderly, disabled and economically disadvantaged citizens of Lane County. Ms. Bettman asked why LTD had not been lobbying the State legislature for access to gas tax funds. Mr. Pangborn replied that such efforts had historically fallen on deaf ears and that even if LTD were granted the ability to utilize gas tax funds there would still not be enough money to resolve the LTD budget crisis. Mr. Pangborn, responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, noted that a series of cuts at the administrative level of LTD had already been completed in anticipation of the budget crisis and resultant service reduction cuts. Mr. Pangborn was unable to give exact figures regarding the number and nature of the administrative cuts. Mr. Pangborn, responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, noted that LTD had spoken to Governor MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 5 Work Session Kulongoski regarding the aforementioned transit bill and made it clear to him that what was needed in any such bill would be direct operational funding support rather than a capital funding mechanism. Ms. Bettman felt that the LTD budget crisis was highly unfortunate since so many land use and transportation issues hinged upon the ability of LTD to provide adequate mass transit service to the citizens of Lane County. C. WORK SESSION: Adoption of Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU) Policy Recommendations Intergovernmental Relations Manager Brenda Wilson presented the draft report and policy recommendations regarding SAFETEA-LU as reflected in the materials submitted to the council. She noted that the federal transportation bill was due to expire on September 30, 2009, and that there was no new transportation bill scheduled to take its place at that time although there were expected to be continuations of the current bill to provide interim funds in the event that SAFETEA-LU was not reauthorized. Ms. Wilson said the new Federal Surface Transportation Bill (FSTB) represented an opportunity to make policy changes, to change the structure and the requirements of long-standing programs, to introduce new initiatives, and to add oversight requirements and responses. Ms. Wilson commented that the draft report and policy recommendations were the result of collaboration over the last several weeks between the staffs of LTD, the cities of Springfield and Eugene and Lane County, who had come together to review the current bill and its goals of increased safety, program delivery improvement, and the establishment of more efficient delivery systems. Ms. Wilson noted that the draft report and recommendations before the council would be forwarded once approved to Congressman Peter DeFazio. Ms. Wilson briefed the council on the Current Challenges, Policy Recommendations and Regional Program Priorities of the FSTB as listed in the draft report. She added that the Regional Program Priorities were not actually projects but only priorities with which to assist in more specific policy recommendations related to the FSTB. Ms. Bettman felt that what was needed in the adoption of the FSTB was a shift in funding strategies rather than the dominant paradigm. She added that the language in the draft report was so vague that it could allow current transportation legislation to proceed with no measurable policy changes. She maintained that any letter or report sent to Congressman DeFazio should contain specific operational requests for transit funding, alternative modes, and operations and maintenance funding related to preservation of the current transportation infrastructure. Ms. Wilson, responding to a question from Ms. Bettman about how funds provided in any reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU might trickle down to Eugene, noted that SAFETEA-LU funds were not typically allocated in a formula-based manner and, as such, that any specific trickle down benefits would be difficult to quantify. th Ms. Bettman advocated for the inclusion of access management and a boulevard treatment along West 11 Avenue as issues to be included in the final recommendations to Congressman DeFazio. Ms. Wilson, in response to a question from Mr. Clark, said that the federal priority partners referred to in the Agenda Item Summary referred to the various intergovernmental relations managers from Eugene, MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 6 Work Session Springfield, Lane County, LTD and Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) who had collaborated in drafting the report and policy recommendations. Ms. Wilson, responding to a question from Mr. Clark, noted that the broad policy recommendations listed in the draft report would most likely not have the opportunity to be discussed at any further joint elected officials meeting as the draft policy was scheduled to be sent to Congressman DeFazio before the end of the year. Mr. Clark felt that while he could agree with the broader regional program policies of preserving existing assets, enhancing public safety and supporting strategic economic investments, he could not support the entirety of the policy recommendations in the draft report. Mr. Clark asked for further clarification regarding the nature of the freight rail connections between Eugene- Springfield and the Coos Bay port as listed in the multi-modal transportation solution section of the Regional Program Priorities in the draft report. Ms. Wilson answered that she did not have any additional information but would research the matter and get back to him. Ms. Solomon thought that the draft report contained several good ideas and that of particular interest to her was the idea of moving freight transportation off of roads and back onto railways. Ms. Solomon and Ms. Wilson briefly discussed the Oregon Department of Transportation’s (ODOT) relationship to the FSTB and SAFETEA-LU, with Ms. Wilson noting there had been some disagreement between ODOT and Congressman DeFazio about how federal funds might be allocated with regard to transportation projects. Ms. Taylor asked what changes might be seen as a result of the council’s support of the draft report and policy recommendations. Ms. Wilson confirmed that one of the key desired changes inherent in the policy recommendations was for the federal government to reconsider the manner in which money was distributed and prioritized. Ms. Taylor expressed that true funding flexibility as was described in the draft report would mean that local governments such as Eugene would have more authority to use federal money as they saw fit in addressing problems of air quality and traffic congestion. Mr. Zelenka noted that he supported the policy recommendations listed in the draft report and said that a lack of adequate funding was likely to stall important transportation initiatives for quite some time. Mr. Zelenka agreed with Ms. Bettman’s assessment that operational funding needed to be part of any final list of recommendations sent to Congressman DeFazio, much more so than vague references to a paradigm shift. Ms. Piercy asked if Ms. Wilson had had any conversations with the other IGR managers where a focus on operational funding directives was suggested in a more direct fashion than broad references to increased funding flexibility. Ms. Wilson indicated that there had been no such conversations. Ms. Piercy responded that it was necessary to be much more specific in communicating what was important to the community regarding transportation policies and projects. Mr. Clark, sensing a general sense of support from the council about the philosophies of the draft report in addition to a great deal of unease about its lack of specifics, asked if there might be an intermediary step between approving or denying the staff’s recommendation that might be helpful in making the report more MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 7 Work Session productive. Ms. Wilson replied that she would investigate the matter with her colleagues to see if anything could be done to make the draft report more specific for the council. Ms. Taylor noted that it would be helpful to take the council’s input to the IGR committees in order to give the draft report more specificity. She felt there was ample time to do so before sending the report to Congressman DeFazio. Ms. Wilson, responding to a question from Ms. Bettman, noted that there was no specific project list related to the draft report and policy recommendations at this time, but that such a list might be drafted by the end of the year, certainly before March 2009. Ms. Piercy indicated there was a consensus from the council that their concerns regarding the draft report and policy recommendations should be taken before the IGR committee. Ms. Wilson commented that she would do so and then report back to the council The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Wade Hicks) MINUTES—Eugene City Council October 13, 2008 Page 8 Work Session