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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/27/09 MeetingMINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall -777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon July 27, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, George Brown (via telephone), Andrea Ortiz, Betty Taylor, George Poling. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Jennifer Solomon. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. She noted that the meeting had been moved to the McNutt Room because of a lack of air conditioning in the Council Chamber. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed procedures for providing comments. Paul Duchin, Highland Oaks Drive, Eugene, described a problem with water seeping into the daylight basement at his home. He said there was no leak on his side of the water meter and Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) took no responsibility for the water. He hired a contractor to install a drainage system that shielded his home from any additional water damage, regardless of the source, at a cost of $38,000, but even with the new system, water issues were still not resolved. In 2008, EWEB finally acknowledged that there was a leak for which they were responsible and repaired it, eliminating all water problems. He filed a claim with EWEB regarding the $38,000 cost of a new drainage system, but instead of making an offer to settle, EWEB was requiring him to go to court and the litigation would cost more than the drainage system. He was prevented by state statute from seeking legal fees or punitive damages. Appeals to the EWEB Board of Commissioners had been unsuccessful. He asked the council to intervene and urge EWEB to do the right thing. Riley West, Eugene, owner of Riley's Real Wood Furniture on West l P h Avenue, said he had only become aware of plans for an EmX route down West l P h Avenue two months ago. He said his business could not afford to lose parking spaces if the street was widened for transit lanes, which would render the building unusable. He relied on the building and business to support his retirement. He visited other businesses along West l P h Avenue to discuss EmX and now there were 100 businesses with petitions indicating they were opposed to using the street as a transit corridor. He distributed copies of a list of those businesses. Ilona Koleszar, West l P h Avenue, Eugene, founding member of Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit (3RT), spoke to the concept of a City- sponsored stakeholder group for the West Eugene EmX project. She said Lane Transit District (LTD) was planning a stakeholder group of two representatives each from the City Council, Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) and LTD to meet in the spring of 2010 to make a recommendation regarding the locally preferred alternative. She urged the council to establish a stakeholder group that included representation from businesses in West Eugene along all of the potential EmX routes. Lisa West, Eugene, owner of Riley's Real Wood Furniture, expressed her concerns about West l P h Avenue as a transit corridor including the cost, disruption and displacement of small businesses and siting of the MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 27, 2009 Page 1 route. She said that the project manager from LTD had made contradictory statements regarding the type of transit service, first indicating that it would be an express service to move people across town and then saying that people could use it to access businesses along West l P h Avenue. She questioned whether studies had been done to determine what effect there would be on congestion on that street. She said that 25 percent of the project costs would have to be paid by LTD at a time when it was also cutting services in the fixed route system due to financial shortfalls. Drix, High Street, Eugene, reported on his recent activities cleaning up the pit on Willamette Street to improve the appearance of a blemish on downtown, turning it into a beauty mark. He encouraged the council to incorporate the concept of "free" into the City's budget. Lisa Arkin, Eugene, Oregon Toxics Alliance, distributed materials to the council and discussed air pollution related to the proposed Seneca biomass plant. She supported green business and green renewable energy, but had a growing concern with the Seneca proposal because of its location within the City limits and impacts on adjacent neighborhoods in West Eugene. She said the plant would produce nearly 500 tons of hazardous air pollutants, including carbon dioxide. She invited the council to join the American Lung Association, Oregon Toxics Alliance and Lane Regional Air Protection Agency to participate in a stakeholder process to be facilitated by the Environmental Protection Agency to discuss concerns regarding the Seneca proposal. Mayor Piercy closed the public forum. She thanked those who spoke and said she would be willing to contact EWEB regarding Mr. Duchin's request. She called for comments from the council. Councilor Poling asked if a lawsuit had been filed in the Duchin case. City Attorney Glenn Klein said he did not know. Councilor Poling expressed concern with the City or council becoming involved in a legal matter and urged consultation with the city attorney before any action was taken. He said during a May work session with LTD the council was asked for feedback on formation of a stakeholders group and he felt there was some support on the council for an approach similar to the stakeholder process used for the Coburg Road project in which a wide range of community and neighborhood interests were represented. He hoped the council would strongly recommend that type of stakeholder group to LTD for the West Eugene EmX corridor. Councilor Clark thanked those who spoke. He agreed with Councilor Poling that LTD should establish a true stakeholders group that included all those who were interested in the project. Councilor Brown stated that he would also talk to EWEB on behalf of Mr. Duchin. He agreed with Councilor Poling regarding wide representation on the West Eugene EmX corridor stakeholders group. Council Ortiz cautioned that any contact with EWEB about the Duchin case should follow a consultation with Mr. Klein to assure there was no conflict. She was concerned with the lack of business involvement in the West Eugene EmX corridor to date and hoped that LTD would invite all affected stakeholders to be involved in the process, particularly business owners along the corridor and in downtown. Mayor Piercy recalled that LTD asked the council to determine what role it wished to have in the process. MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 27, 2009 Page 2 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes of February 6 -7, 2009, Goals Session; February 23, 2009, Executive Session; April 27, 2009, Work Session B. Approval of Tentative Working Agenda Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to approve the items on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed 7:0. 3. ACTION: Appointments to Civilian Review Board Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to appoint Bernadette M. Conover to Position 6 on the Civilian Review Board, for a term beginning on Au- gust 1, 2009, and ending October 31, 2013. The motion passed, 7:0 Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to appoint Marisa Men- doza to Position 7 on the Civilian Review Board, for a term beginning on August 1, 2009, and ending on October 31, 2012. Councilor Poling stated that he would not support the motion as he preferred another candidate whom he felt was better qualified because of his past work as a police officer and minister. He hoped that applicant Steven Broome could be retained on the Civilian Review Board (CRB) candidate list and given strong consideration when more appointments were made in the fall. Councilor Pryor said it was a difficult choice from among many qualified applicants. He would support the motion, but agreed that Mr. Broome was a highly qualified candidate. He hoped that all of the candidates who were part of the current pool would be carried forward to the appointment process in the fall unless they opted out. Councilor Ortiz agreed that all of the candidates who were interviewed were very qualified. She felt that Ms. Mendoza would bring some new perspectives to the CRB and would support her appointment, but also was impressed with Mr. Broome's qualifications and hoped he would be a candidate for appointment to the CRB in the fall. Councilor Clark indicated that he would have supported Mr. Broome's appointment to the CRB, but would vote in favor of Ms. Mendoza's appointment. He felt several candidates, including Mr. Broome, were extremely well qualified. Councilor Zelenka said he was impressed by several of the candidates interviewed by the council. He would support Ms. Mendoza's appointment and agreed with Councilor Pryor that the other candidates should automatically move forward to the next round of appointments unless they were no longer interested. The motion passed, 6:1; Councilor Poling voting no. 4. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning Motor Vehicle Fuel Dealer's Business License Tax and Repealing Section 3 of Ordinance No. 20337 MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 27, 2009 Page 3 Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to adopt Council Bill 5004, an ordinance concerning motor vehicle fuel dealer's business license tax. Councilor Poling stated that he would support the motion. He stressed that it was not a new tax; it had been enacted several years ago with a sunset clause to allow the council to review the financial status of the City's street maintenance program. Councilor Zelenka said he would support the motion because it was not an increase; it maintained the status quo. He said the initial reason for the sunset provision was anticipation of sufficient funding from the state to meet the City's needs for Road Fund revenue. He said those funds were insufficient and uncertain and necessitated keeping the gas tax in place. Councilor Clark said he would vote in favor of the motion because it would change nothing and allow the City to continue to do the job of street maintenance. Mayor Piercy pointed out that there had been support from the public and no active opposition. The motion passed 7:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 27, 2009 Page 4