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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 12/12/05 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room—Eugene City Hall December 12, 2005 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Poling, Jennifer Solomon, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Gary Papé, Chris Pryor; Andrea Ortiz. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Bonny Bettman. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She noted that Ms. Ortiz and Ms. Bettman were at a conference regarding police civilian review; however, Ms. Ortiz would be joining the meeting via speakerphone. A. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mayor Piercy noted a recent article in The Oregonian regarding River Play at Skinner Butte Park. Mayor Piercy said that Lane Community College signed on to a worldwide effort for a sustainable future called the Talloires Declaration, an action plan for teaching and operating in ways that help achieve environmental literacy and sustainability. She congratulated the college and noted it also committed to wind power purchases from the Eugene Water & Electric Board. Mayor Piercy reported that she recently participated in Human Rights Day at Kelly Middle School, which was a great experience, and also visited the Bertha Holt School to present gifts from Holt Childrens Services in Korea as well as give a slide show presentation regarding her recent sister city trip. Mayor Piercy invited the public to attend the Sustainable Business Initiative Town Hall the following night at City Hall at 7 p.m. Mr. Poling had no items. Mr. Pryor reported the Enterprise Zone Committee met recently and reviewed the public input it received. It also discussed the standards for wages and benefits to be paid in the zone. The next meeting was scheduled for January 9. Mr. Pryor said he attended the McKenzie Watershed Council meeting on December 8 and heard a presentation on the Oregon Riparian Tax Incentives Program, which provided property tax relief for land located within riparian zones. The program included areas within cities, and would likely apply to most Goal 5 areas in Eugene, allowing those affected property owners to apply for relief for such things as riparian setbacks. It did not amount to much money but was some incentive for maintaining a riparian zone. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 1 Work Session Mr. Pryor said the City would have to adopt the program for property owners to take advantage of it. He promised to return to the council with more information. Ms. Taylor said she just returned from the National League of Cities conference in Augusta, Georgia, where she learned Eugene was not the only United States city focusing on the arts and outdoors as an economic tool, and she and Mr. Papé attended a workshop on the topic. She commended the keynote presentation by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, which focused on the “high road and low road” to economic development. The high road was investing in education, public transit, good streets, and people; the low road was attempting to attract businesses with low taxes and tax breaks. Ms. Ortiz said she also attended the Kelly Middle School “Hometown Heros” event with the mayor, and learned a great deal from a fellow participant who had been interned during World War II. Ms. Ortiz said the Police Commission met the previous week and agreed to forward the Eugene Police Department’s Strategic Plan to the City Council. She characterized the plan as good work. Ms. Ortiz said she was attending a conference in Miami regarding police review and it was a very good conference. She would report in more detail when she returned. Mr. Kelly said he understood a Request for Proposals (RFP) had been issued for private operation of the Cuthbert Amphitheater. He asked why the council was not notified and asked to weigh in on the decision. He said the council just authorized funding for the Cultural Services Strategic Plan, which was not to start until the next year. He asked why the City was proposing such a change before the planning began. He requested a memorandum on the topic. While he acknowledged the manager had the charter authority to implement his management decision, he asked that the contract award be postponed. Mr. Papé shared Mr. Kelly’s interest in the Cuthbert Amphitheater issue. He said that other local businesses were interested in the contract. City Manager Taylor said he understood that there was an appeal to the review committee. Mr. Papé noted his recent participation in a Habitat for Humanity project, which was intended to benefit residents of St. Charles, Louisiana. Mr. Papé noted some upcoming agenda items related to River Road/Santa Clara and asked if parks could be a part of those discussions. Ms. Solomon said she read about the RFP for the Cuthbert Amphitheater in the City Council newsletter several months ago and had been pleased to see it. She had a long-time concern about how to make the facility more profitable as she though it was a “gem,” and did not think the City was currently realizing its “bang for the buck.” She appreciated that staff was willing to look at the issue from another point of view. She also expressed appreciation for the concerns expressed by Mr. Kelly and Mr. Papé. Ms. Solomon noted she would soon take Ms. Taylor’s seat on the Public Safety Coordinating Council. City Manager Taylor said that the City reached agreement in principle with the Federal Highway Admini- stration (FHWA) on a collaborative process that allowed the community to review alternatives to the West Eugene Parkway with the assistance of an experienced facilitator. It was envisioned that the process would MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 2 Work Session occur over between February and April 2006 and would be part of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. He believed that there was increasing “buy-in” to the concept from all those involved. Mayor Piercy recognized Mr. Kelly for a motion. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to initiate the required process to name the rdth 3/4 Connector “Shelton Boulevard.” Mr. Papé favored the motion but questioned whether the name was the appropriate name to honor the Shelton-McMurphy-Johnson House. Mr. Taylor noted there was concern that “Shelton” was the name of an existing street. He indicated he would return with a process to initiate a name change so the council could have a thoughtful discussion about the name change. Mr. Kelly said the reason for the name was because it was the most recent request from the board of directors that oversaw the house. The motion merely initiated the process. The motion passed, 7:0. B. WORK SESSION: River Avenue Improvements Michelle Cahill of the Public Works Engineering Division joined the council for the item. She called attention to e-mail correspondence received by the City since the packet was prepared. Ms. Cahill reviewed the public input process that led to the development of the recommendations before the council. She said the City formed a stakeholders group, which included representatives of the affected property owners, the two neighborhood associations, and the Eugene Bicycle Coalition. Ms. Cahill called attention to the amendments to the staff-prepared motion prepared at the request of Mr. Kelly and Ms. Taylor. Ms. Cahill described the proposed improvements, which included a center turn lane the full length of the street from River Road to the Beltline ramps, bicycle lanes on the west end of the street that stopped just short of the post office, a multi-use path along the east end of the project in lieu of bicycle paths, street trees along both sides of the west end of the project, and along the south side on the east end of the project; and bioswales where possible. In addition, the project included two additions that were not part of the scope of the original project: 1) operational improvements in the intersection of River Avenue and River Road; and 2) to move forward the extension of a path for bicyclists and pedestrians that would pass under the Beltline Bridge and connect to the Santa Clara neighborhood. Ms. Cahill noted the need for additional right-of-way due to the multi-use path, the bioswales, and tree plantings. Ms. Cahill noted the initial unanimous support for the proposal at the end of the process and the decision of the River Road Community Organization (RRCO) to withdraw its support, for a final vote of 8:2. However, that left a supermajority of stakeholders supporting the recommendations, which was the process agreed to by the stakeholder participants. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 3 Work Session Ms. Cahill noted an amendment to the City’s Arterial and Collector Street Plan (ACSP) providing for another exception that would be needed if the project were to go forward. Ms. Cahill recommended the council accept the recommendations of the stakeholders group and direct the City Manager to go forward with the initial implementation steps. She noted the council would see the project again when staff returned to request approval to form a local improvement district (LID) for the project. Mayor Piercy called on the council for questions and comments. Ms. Solomon thanked Ms. Cahill for her hard work. She said she had gotten everyone to the table and they produced a great plan that everyone could support. People might not have gotten everything they wanted, but they had been able to reach agreement. She supported the recommendations before the council. Mr. Kelly echoed Ms. Solomon’s compliments to staff and also expressed appreciation to the stakeholders. He thought a good compromise emerged and was supportive of most elements of it. Mr. Kelly asked what staff believed the phrase “bioswales are possible” actually meant. Ms. Cahill said that bioswales could occur in the front of the wastewater treatment plant, at some locations in the west end of the project. There were challenges to locating the bioswales in some areas, but staff would see where there was space for such facilities and if more right-of-way would be needed to accommodate them. She said the City believed it had the space to fulfill its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements. She anticipated a significant number of bioswales would be included in the project. Mr. Poling asked what would happen if the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) shut down the ramps at Beltline, and if any consideration had been given to what the City would do with the remaining underpass to connect it back north of the Beltline. Ms. Cahill said ODOT indicated it would not disconnect the ramps and that local connectivity was important to what it wanted to do. No firm plans were offered. Mr. Poling asked how much time elapsed between the vote and the change of heart by the RRCO. Ms. Cahill said the group acted on October 5 and by the end of October, staff was informed the votes were rescinded. No additional meetings of the stakeholders group had occurred since October 5. Mr. Poling asked about the additional cost of the street trees. Ms. Cahill said that more right-of-way would be required to install street trees. Mr. Poling also shared in the thanks to staff and the stakeholders. Mr. Papé thought the stakeholder process, while it could be refined, had worked well in this instance. He had been concerned after the initial meeting, but thought staff and the facilitator had done a good job in working with the stakeholders. He also supported the recommendations before the council, noting that the group had agreed that 8 of 10 votes would move a recommendation forward. Mr. Pryor wanted to employ bioswales as much as possible. He said after reviewing the minority report, he believed the issue came down to the character of the street, and he asked that staff give consideration to that issue. He wanted to continue the conversation with the public as the project proceeded, citing continued conversation about the property owners regarding the trees as an example. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Taylor also commended Ms. Cahill and the stakeholders for their work. She said that many people supported changes to the plan and she hoped the council supported the amendments prepared on her and Mr. Kelly’s behalf. Ms. Taylor was pleased to see that bioswales were envisioned. Ms. Taylor agreed about the need to retain the character of the street. Ms. Ortiz was disappointed she could not attend the meeting in person, noting that she had asked that the issue be postponed but, due because of bidding issues that was not possible. She was very supportive of the stakeholders’ recommendations and also commended the process. She acknowledged that some community members were not satisfied but thought the amendments to be offered by Mr. Kelly would address those concerns. Mayor Piercy said when she received the stakeholders’ recommendations and the minority report she made inquiries about how the two conflicting recommendations would be addressed. She had been under the impression that with the exception of the issues related to Beltline, those issues could be resolved. However, she had since learned that might not be the case, and apologized for the misunderstanding. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to approve the conceptual design of trans- portation improvements for River Avenue approved by the River Avenue Stakeholder Group and direct the City Manager to proceed with the final design and bidding of an im- provement project. Mr. Kelly, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to amend the motion by inserting the phrase “except that street trees shall be included along the full length of both the north and south sides of the improvement” after the word “group.” Mr. Kelly acknowledged it would cost money to acquire the right-of-way and plant the street trees, but he thought it fundamental to the street character. He acknowledged the property owners agreed to talk about the issue but he wished to make the planting of trees a requirement like it was in other parts of the community. Ms. Solomon asked why the property owners wanted to use discretion with regard to the planting of trees on the north side of the east end of the project. Ms. Cahill said the property owners made the proposal and it had stayed in place. Ms. Solomon acknowledged Mr. Kelly’s concerns, but because the stakeholders group reached the agreement, she wanted to honor its recommendations and leave the issue to the discretion of the property owners. She suggested the City consider incentives for the property owners to plant the trees. Mr. Papé said he understood many compromises were made by different stakeholders, including compro- mises by the RRCO and property owners. He determined from Ms. Cahill that the Eugene Bicycle Coalition and Santa Clara neighborhood association continued to support the stakeholder recommendations. Responding to a question from Mr. Papé, Ms. Cahill confirmed that business visibility was a major concern for the property owners. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 5 Work Session At the request of Mr. Papé, Ms. Cahill pointed out the area that would be affected if the amendment to the motion passed. She said the commercial businesses on the east end were being squeezed by the Beltline and used every available inch of space as they redeveloped. Ms. Ortiz supported the amendment to the motion and asked for council support. She acknowledged that the recommendations enjoyed the support of a majority of the stakeholders but thought the councilors as decision-makers were responsible for maintaining the character of the street. Ms. Ortiz said she thought streets without trees were ugly. She determined from Ms. Cahill that funding for the City’s share of the project would come from transportation systems development charges (SDCs) rather than the General Fund. Mr. Pryor said he wanted to plant trees in most cases but suggested that in this case it might not be feasible. He agreed that the City should provide some incentive to make it more attractive for property owners to plant trees. He did not want to require it in this instance but would support whatever incentives could be created for increased tree planting. Mayor Piercy said if Mr. Kelly’s motion failed, she hoped the property owners would work with the City to plant trees. She said that trees were important to the community. Mr. Kelly asked if the ACSP provided for exceptions to street tree planting if physical constraints existed. Ms. Cahill said yes. Mr. Kelly pointed out to Mr. Pryor that the City would not require trees if they were physically impossible to install. Nothing in the amendment limited the existing exception to the ACSP. He emphasized that the intent of his amendment was to maintain the standard City street tree policy. City Manager Taylor suggested that Mr. Kelly could clarify his intent by adding the “in accordance with the ACSP” after the word “included” to recognize the deviation from the plan. Mr. Kelly and Ms. Taylor accepted the suggestion as a friendly amendment. Mr. Schoening said the original design met the standards in the ACSP and included trees along the section of the road in question, so staff believed it was somewhat disingenuous to employ an exception in the alternative plan that was not needed in the first plan. Mr. Kelly said every street was unique, which was the reason for the exceptions in the ACSP. However, he did not know the street in question was so unique that it could not accommodate street trees. Regarding the issue of business visibility, Mr. Kelly said that was an issue all over the city and that it was one an arborist could easily address. At the request of Mr. Papé, Ms. Cahill reviewed the six exceptions in the ACSP. Mr. Papé continued to be concerned about the issue of business visibility as a result of trees. The amendment to the motion failed, 4:3, Ms. Taylor, Mr. Kelly, and Ms. Ortiz voting yes. Ms. Taylor moved to direct the City Manager to proceed with final design and bidding of an improvement project for River Avenue in accordance with Plan A described in the Minority Report submitted by representatives of the River Road Community Organization. The motion died for lack of a second. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 6 Work Session Mr. Kelly said that he would be unable to support the motion because of the failure of his amendment. He thought deviating from the street tree policies was a very bad precedent for a City that “pretends” to pride itself on its standing as a Tree City USA. The main motion passed, 4:3; Ms. Taylor, Mr. Kelly, and Ms. Ortiz voting no. C. WORK SESSION: Telecommunications Tax Fund The council was joined for the item by Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson. He noted that Information Services Director Randy Kolb and Franchise Manager Pam Berrian were also present for the item. He called attention to the background materials provided in the meeting packet and reviewed the history of the fund, which was initially established in 1997 following passage of Ordinance 20083 establishing a two percent telecommunications business privilege tax. Assistant City Manager Carlson recalled the litigation that occurred following the implementation of the ordinance, which was finally resolved in the City’s favor. The City received arrears payments of fees and taxes that were directed to the General Fund and Telecommunications Tax Fund. The money had been used to repay the General Fund for the City’s court costs and administration of the program during litigation. Assistant City Manager Carlson said that when a large amount of arrears was received in FY2005, the council directed it to the Facilities Reserve, consistent with the council’s policy that one-time funds be used for one-time purposes. Assistant City Manager Carlson said that a regular payment stream had not yet been established, but he estimated about $2.2 million in revenues per year to the Telecommunications Tax Fund. That fund supported related administrative costs, projects, and equipment replacement. The projects are cable or telecommunications-related projects of benefit to the community. A list of the projects was included in the meeting packet. Each year, department proposals are reviewed by the executive managers and forwarded to the City Manager for a final decision. Assistant City Manager Carlson noted that much of the funding collected as a result of the telecommunica- tions tax had been used for public safety services. The revenues funded mobile date terminals in all police and fire apparatus and would fund video cameras in police cars. Assistant City Manager Carlson also noted the funding that had gone to improve the City’s Web portal, which would allow more e-government activities to occur on line. The City would seek public input on how that would occur. Assistant City Manager Carlson reported that there continued to be legislative assaults on the City’s ability to charge a telecommunications tax and even a franchise fee. Until the City had a clear understanding of the federal legislation to be proposed, he recommended the program be continued in its present form before seeking input from the public regarding possible new services and the use of the money. Assistant City Manager Carlson said the Equipment Replacement Fund was an issue identified in the multi- year financial fund for several years. The fund was established because of the short life expectancy of some equipment and the need to replace it over time. Staff was looking at a more comprehensive way to replace equipment such as radios. It could be that the telecommunications revenues can be used to replace both radios and radio system components such as towers and repeaters. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 7 Work Session Mayor Piercy called for council comments and questions. Mr. Poling appreciated the emphasis being placed on police, fire, and EMS services, as well as public works. He said radios for cultural services during events and for emergency preparedness may not sound like much, but it was extremely important when staff needed to have the right equipment that worked. He asked if the fund could be used to pay for the activation and deactivation of the Community Emergency Notification System (CENS) system. Assistant City Manager Carlson said the fund was being used for that purpose. Responding to a question from Mr. Poling, Ms. Berrian said the web cam footage for the cameras in parks would only be reviewed by staff. The web cams will be permanently installed at three park sites. Assistant City Manager Carlson noted that two other web cams were operating on the public Web portal - one at the Owens Rose Garden and one at the west wetlands area. Mr. Papé said he thought the City was doing a great job in this area and had persevered through many court cases. He asked if the City’s legal fees could be recovered from those filing suit. Assistant City Manager Carlson said no, not in this instance. Mr. Papé noted the council’s goal related to neighborhoods and asked if there was anything else the City could do in the next year. Assistant City Manager Carlson said that the “My Neighborhood” concept was a staff-generated concept about how to provide residents with information about their neighborhood, but he thought it would be useful for the City to go to the neighborhoods and seek information about what they want in the way of services, such as a greater Web presence for neighborhood organizations. Mr. Papé suggested cable coverage of neighborhood meetings to generate more interest and involvement. Assistant City Manager Carlson noted that council meetings would soon be available on the Web. He added that the new Web portal gave the City some tools it previously did not have to get additional information to interest groups. That might be useful to the council’s neighborhood initiative. Mr. Papé acknowledged Ms. Berrian’s work and said the City was lucky to have her on staff as she was a known expert. Mr. Papé called attention to pending federal legislation that could further erode the City’s ability to charge the two percent telecommunications tax. Mayor Piercy said the League of Oregon Cities was working on the issue and there may be an opportunity for the council to help. She noted that Senator Gordon Smith had introduced legislation related to the topic and was willing to work with local communities on changes. Responding to a question from Ms. Solomon about the federal legislation, Ms. Berrian said some of the bills that had been introduced threatened the City’s right-of-way management authority. In the worst case, any fees would be taken out of local hands, taxes would be prohibited, and disputes would be resolved at the federal level. City Manager Taylor said like other federal legislation, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was up for review, and it created an opportunity for renewed discussion. Without the vigilance of communities like Eugene, he thought the national discussion would be quite different. Mr. Kelly thought the City’s ordinance forward-thinking. He saw no reason to make significant changes to it. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 8 Work Session Mr. Kelly said the projects that had been funded made solid contributions to operational efficiencies. He asked when projects would be considered next. Assistant City Manager Carlson said the process was evolving. Currently, project requests were done as part of the annual Information Services work plan in the spring, and projects occur on a fiscal year basis. The departments would like to change that timing so requests that were not funded could be referred to the Budget Committee for consideration. Mr. Kelly suggested that not all great project ideas were within the organization. He suggested setting aside ten percent of the funds annually and allocating it to community projects through a Request for Proposals (RFP) process. That could include such things as Internet kiosks and wireless access at community gathering locations. City Manager Taylor said that the City may get additional ideas when it solicits ideas from the community, which could help it get a sense of what was needed in terms of funding. He concurred with a suggestion from Mr. Kelly that that work could form the basis of an RFP process. He added that the process used by staff helped put more rigor in the equipment replacement system across the board, and staff was contemplating returning to the council with a proposal to do something similar for all large City equipment, not just telecommunications equipment. Assistant City Manager Carlson thought Mr. Kelly’s proposal consistent with the intent of the fund and that the FY08 process could accommodate the suggestions. Ms. Taylor also complimented Ms. Berrian. She asked why the council would want to have meetings on the Web when they were already on television. Assistant City Manager Carlson pointed out that not everyone had cable and those with interest might live outside the local Comcast service area. It allowed people to view archived meetings as well. Ms. Taylor asked if the money could be used to fund neighborhood Web pages. Assistant City Manager Carlson said it could be used to help create the environment to develop a Web page, but historically the money had not been used to pay staff. He said it was possible the City could provide a dedicated server to host neighborhood Web pages. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to maintain the program as currently oper- ated, at least as long as there remain active threats to the revenue stream, requesting a staff report after the 2005-2006 Congressional session. Mr. Papé asked if the City’s communications were interoperable. Ms. Berrian indicated she would provide the council with information about what was occurring to make the City’s radio system interoperable. Mr. Papé wanted to ensure the City’s communications were interoperable, and if not, he thought the item should be added to the list. Mr. Kolb said that the City’s computer network was highly interoperable. Mr. Papé asked if the funds could be used to improve radio interoperability between government emergency service providers. Ms. Berrian indicated she would get back to him with an answer to the question. Responding to a question from Mr. Papé, Assistant City Manager Carlson indicated he was not aware of any legal or financial barriers to use the Telecommunications Fund for loans to other agencies, such as the County. Mr. Kelly observed that another advantage of Web casting council meetings was that it was completely on demand. MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 9 Work Session Mr. Kelly determined from staff that it did not interpret the motion as precluding the implementation of his suggestions for a community RFP. Mr. Kelly said that the fund contained $2 million but it lacked council oversight. He suggested that once the executive managers reviewed the list, it be referred to the council as a Consent Calendar item. He asked for council comment. Responding to a question from Mr. Poling, Assistant City Manager Carlson said the fund was in the budget document but staff did not generally provide detail about individual projects. He likened it to the $2.9 million of General Fund capital expenditure. Mr. Poling suggested that rather than include the item on a Consent Calendar, staff provide an annual update on projects. Mr. Papé indicated staff already sent the council annual updates and preferred to see the projects listed in the budget document. He asked for a staff recommendation to accomplish that end. Assistant City Manager Carlson agreed that information could be illustrated in FY08. The motion passed unanimously, 7:0. The meeting adjourned at 7:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES—Eugene City Council December 12, 2005 Page 10 Work Session