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HomeMy WebLinkAbout191016 WS MINUTES – Eugene City Council October 16, 2019 Page 1 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Harris Hall, 125 East 8th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97401 October 16, 2019 12:00 p.m. Councilors Present: Betty Taylor, Emily Semple, Mike Clark, Greg Evans, Claire Syrett, Chris Pryor, Councilor Zelenka Councilors Absent: Councilor Yeh Mayor Vinis opened the October 16, 2019, Work Session of the Eugene City Council. 1. WORK SESSION: Rivers to Ridges Partnership - Fifteen Years of Accomplishments Public Works Parks and Open Space Director Craig Carnagey and Shelly Miller, Natural Resources Planning Supervisor, provided an update on the accomplishments of the Rivers to Ridges partnership over the past 15 years. Council Discussion • Councilor Evans – Discussed and inquired about Suzanne Arlie Park and asked whether commercial development adjacent to the park is still under consideration. • Councilor Zelenka – Discussed the roles within the partnership and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board grant; inquired about and discussed the impact of the project on jobs and the economy. • Councilor Pryor – Expressed appreciation for work; discussed long-term vision for these enhancements and the partnership with Willamalane; expressed pride in developments and congratulated staff for their work. • Mayor Vinis – Discussed impacts of plan on the whole city; discussed work of fire reduction strategies; discussed personal experience with parts of the parks system and appreciation for staff’s presentation and work over the years. 2. WORK SESSION: Transportation Update – Climate Action Plan 2.0, Transportation System Plan, and Electric Vehicle Strategy Public Works Transportation Planning Manager Rob Inerfield and Sustainability Manager Chelsea Clinton reviewed the Climate Action Plan 2.0 Transportation Fuels Gap Strategies, provided an update on the Eugene 2035 Transportation System Plan Implementation Strategy, and shared the first draft of an Electric Vehicle Strategy Council Discussion • Councilor Evans – Asked what happens if the City is not making significant progress towards 2030 goals and about any interim strategies, particularly with regard to infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations; asked who would pay for the electric vehicle charging station infrastructure; discussed community comments about Climate Recovery Ordinance goals and supported creating a report card about the City’s progress on accomplishing its goals. • Councilor Zelenka - Expressed appreciation for the report and supported efforts to track progress; discussed co-benefits of strategies aside from reduction in greenhouse gases and MINUTES – Eugene City Council October 16, 2019 Page 2 Work Session quantification of these benefits; said any conversation about costs should include consideration of the cost-savings realized by implementation of strategies; expressed appreciation for electric vehicle strategy and discussed electric vehicle costs; related his experience with San Diego e-scooter program. • Councilor Syrett – Expressed appreciation for coordinating the Transportation System Plan and Climate Recovery Ordinance goals; discussed autonomous vehicles and 5G implementation and asked about the technology requirement for such vehicles; reiterated comments by Councilor Zelenka regarding costs of strategies to mitigate climate change as well as co-benefits of strategies. • Councilor Pryor – Discussed how to communicate complexity of this work to the public, including a report card or dashboard; discussed what information a dashboard could include including cost implications of implementation strategies and allowable disruption to the community. • Councilor Clark – Discussed previous motion made during Transportation System Plan presentation about autonomous and electric vehicles and the need to know what infrastructure is required and potential dangers; inquired about emissions gap strategies using electric vehicles and discussed tradeoffs of increasing infrastructure of public transportation using fossil fuels versus individual public electric vehicles. • Councilor Taylor – Raised concerns about the upcoming e-scooters program and asked for an update from staff; said council should have considered the e-scooter program before staff moved forward and asked about council’s role in creating policy around these transportation alternatives; discussed concerns about cuts in service to bus routes on East and West Amazon and the impacts on utilization of public transportation; discussed electric vehicle charging infrastructure and related concerns. • Mayor Vinis – Noted the report Navigating New Mobility provided a good opportunity for council input. • Councilor Zelenka – Discussed e-scooter safety strategies; discussed electric vehicle strategies and made suggestions for related city code updates; discussed public concerns about pace of council addressing climate mitigation strategies and ways for council and the public to work together to enhance communication about the progress of the City in these strategies; discussed pace of climate mitigation in the city. • Councilor Evans – Asked how the City is working with other local municipalities to achieve these goals and what conversations are taking place; inquired how the City is working with its partners to achieve buy-in to CRO goals and strategies. • Councilor Clark – Discussed cost tradeoffs of climate strategies; inquired about final expenditures for West 11th EmX development; inquired about and discussed projected expenditures of development of five corridors involved with the MovingAhead project; expressed support for making corridors more travel-friendly; discussed ideas for investing in individual electric and autonomous vehicles for public transportation rather than buses. • Councilor Syrett – Discussed conversation with Lane Area Commission on Transportation about the tradeoffs of individual transportation versus mass public transportation; discussed concerns about e-scooter program and confirmed process of implementation within the City. • Mayor Vinis – Reiterated comments by Councilor Zelenka and Councilor Pryor about a potential dashboard to communicate climate mitigation strategies and progress, particularly in the Transportation and Consumption “buckets” and discussed options for displaying information, as well as timing of such a dashboard; expressed appreciation for report.