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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2A: Approval of City Council Minutes ECC UGENE ITY OUNCIL AIS GENDA TEM UMMARY Approval of City Council Minutes Meeting Date: September 28, 2009 Agenda Item Number: 2A Department: City Manager’s Office Staff Contact: Beth Forrest www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5882 ISSUE STATEMENT This is a routine item to approve City Council meeting minutes. SUGGESTED MOTION Move to approve the minutes of the July 27, 2009, Work Session, August 10, 2009, Work Session, August 10, 2009, City Council Meeting, and September 14, 2009, City Council Meeting. ATTACHMENTS A. July 27, 2009, Work Session B. August 10, 2009, Work Session C. August 10, 2009, City Council Meeting D. September 14, 2009, City Council Meeting FOR MORE INFORMATION Staff Contact: Beth Forrest Telephone: 682-5882 Staff E-Mail: beth.l.forrest@ci.eugene.or.us Z:\CMO\2009 Council Agendas\M090928\S0909282A.doc ATTACHMENT A M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room – City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon July 29, 2009 12:00 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, George Poling, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Solomon, George Brown (via phone), Andrea Ortiz. Ms. Piercy called the work session meeting of the Eugene City Council to order at 12:00 p.m. A. WORK SESSION – COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Ms. Piercy reported that she had recently conducted another Mayor’s One on One event with Councilor Poling on July 28, 2009, at the Albertson’s on Coburg Road, where they each fielded a variety of questions and concerns from community members. Mr. Zelenka noted he had attended the recent Fairmount Neighbors’ ice cream social event. Ms. Taylor reported that she and Ms. Solomon had attended the recent meeting of the Human Services Commission and had participated in discussions regarding the group’s funding options. She noted that options to determine funding were based on 1) inflation plus population growth; 2) inflation only; 3) a percentage of the general fund; or 4) a percentage of total taxes budgeted. Ms. Taylor noted that she had recently attended a free performance of the Eugene Symphony at the Cuthbert Amphitheater and found it very enjoyable. She encouraged the other council members and their families to support the arts by attending events at the Cuthbert and other venues. Ms. Taylor was glad to see that a recent grant application for the acquisition of areas along Amazon Creek had been approved and hoped that the City would be able to enforce its ordinances regarding tree cutting on the property until the City took control of those areas. Ms. Taylor noted that a constituent had alerted her to the construction of a building at the intersection of th 16 Avenue and Pearl Street and believed that the building might be in violation of certain local ordinances regarding building height and parking space requirements. Ms. Ortiz suggested that a volunteer participation day might be initiated by the Public Works Department to deal with the over-growth of weeds along the north side of the Public Works property on Roosevelt Avenue. Ms. Ortiz noted that she had attended the Musicians Emergency Medical Association fundraiser at the Sweet Cheeks Winery on July 26 and that it had been very well attended. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 1 Work Session Ms. Ortiz noted that she had recently attended a meeting with new University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere, and several other community representatives, to discuss the perceived lack of access and opportunities for minority students at the University. Ms. Ortiz noted that she had recently participated in a program at Lane Community College to discuss with students issues related to civic and government service in the community. Ms. Ortiz thanked the other council members, the City Manager and the Eugene Police Department representatives who had participated in the recent listening circle discussion. Ms. Ortiz commented that there were several local boards, commissions and committees with positions available and encouraged the other councilors and any community members listening to the webcast to “get involved.” Ms. Ortiz commented that the City’s taser forum would be taking place on Friday, July 31, at the Hilton and would include EPD Chief Pete Kerns, Police Auditor Mark Gissiner, local ACLU representative Claire Syrett, and Civil Liberties Defense Center representative Lauren Regan. Mr. Pryor noted that an extreme weather advisory had been issued for Eugene and Lane County for the next two days. Mr. Pryor noted that he had also attended the free Eugene Symphony performance at the Cuthbert Amphitheater and found it highly enjoyable. Mr. Brown commented he had attended a recent City Planning Commission meeting to discuss the Walnut Node development and had been surprised to learn of a great deal of skepticism regarding the project from the commissioners. Mr. Brown further noted he had also attended the recent Eugene Redevelopment Advisory Committee meeting where they had discussed the proposal to increase the borrowing limits for the downtown urban renewal district and learned that several committee members were skeptical of such increases as well. Mr. Brown noted he had attended a community listening session and felt that it was a positive event that would go a long way toward building trust between the EPD and the citizens of Eugene. Mr. Brown commented that he had spent a considerable amount of time drafting a memorandum to the other council members regarding the proposed use of the facility reserves to fund the new police building. Mr. Brown indicated he was surprised that the council had not yet discussed his memorandum. Mr. Poling thanked the members of the public that had participated in the Mayor’s One-on-One event. Mr. Poling reported that August 4 would be the National Night Out event, a nationally recognized crime prevention event devoted to helping citizens reclaim their neighborhoods, and that the Mayor and several other councilors were expected to participate. Ms. Solomon was excited to announce that the Bethel area had recently had its first farmers’ market and that it had been very successful. She noted that the Bethel farmers’ market would be happening again on August 15 at the Petersen Barn. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 2 Work Session Ms. Solomon noted that there had been another automobile accident the previous evening at the intersection of Barger Avenue and North Terry Street. She further noted that the intersection had been the site of several previous accidents and requested that Mr. Ruiz contact the EPD for more information to bring back to the council regarding the matter. Mr. Clark thanked the City Manager and staff for their recent work regarding downtown parking issues. Mr. Clark noted that the City’s free two-hour downtown parking pilot program had begun earlier that day and that he had already received several encouraging phone calls from members of the public. Mr. Clark reported that the Cal Young Neighborhood association picnic would be taking place on August 2, 2009, at 1:00 p.m. Mr. Clark commented that he also planned to take part in the National Night Out event and looked forward to doing so. Mr. Ruiz thanked Parking Services Manager Jeff Petry and his colleagues for their efforts in developing the free downtown parking pilot program. Mr. Ruiz noted that he had recently participated in the Eugene Public Library’s summer children’s reading program and encouraged the other council members to do so as well. Mr. Ruiz reported there were currently four candidates being reviewed as part of the police chief recruitment process and thanked the various community representatives that had provided input and feedback on the matter. He further noted that staff would be compiling information for the executive team before moving forward with the recruitment process. Mr. Ruiz, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz, noted that the spaces for the free downtown parking pilot program were well-delineated and that the meters on those spaces were covered with highly visible signage indicating their use. Ms. Piercy and Ms. Taylor thanked the Eugene Public Library staff and volunteers for their outstanding summer reading program efforts. B. WORK SESSION – Next Steps on Police Facility/City Hall Central Services Division Manager Mike Penwell provided an overview of the next steps regarding the police facility building and City Hall and gave a PowerPoint presentation illustrating in greater detail the ongoing process regarding those plans. Mr. Penwell further noted that staff was requesting that the council consider three separate but related motions dealing with the implementation plans for the two facilities. Mr. Penwell briefly described the various elements of the City Hall master planning process that had led to the investigation of the use of an alternative facility for the Eugene Police Department headquarters. Mr. Penwell presented information regarding several of the outdated features of the current City Hall building and commented on the various and significant seismic and structural inadequacies of the building itself MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 3 Work Session Mr. Penwell reported on the City’s most recent attempts to relocate certain public safety services out of the current City Hall building including the 911 call center, the property and forensics section of the EPD, and the downtown fire station and the fire marshal’s office. Mr. Penwell continued to describe the current City Hall’s failing building systems, including the deteriorat- ing state of the building’s electrical and heating/ventilation systems. In addition to various other energy inefficiencies endemic to the current City Hall building, Mr. Penwell noted that the use of steam heat for the building would be discontinued by EWEB within the next three to five years. Mr. Penwell described that, although the current City Hall building had won several design awards since its completion in the 1960’s, the structure had not aged well and currently represented an inefficient and inwardly-focused design aesthetic that did not correspond with the City’s urban development planning strategies. Mr. Penwell expressed that one of the main reasons for the investigation for a new city hall facility was that the City divisions had become spread out over too wide an area downtown. Mr. Penwell presented information regarding the proposed police facility building at 300 Country Club Road and reviewed several of that building’s features for the benefit of the council. Mr. Penwell stated that, should the City choose to relocate the EPD headquarters to the Country Club Road building, a downtown public safety station would be established in conjunction with regular car and bike patrols in order to maintain a police presence in the downtown area. Mr. Penwell briefly described the projected costs associated with a new police facility including those associated with a new patrol facility as well as the relocation of the EPD into the Country Club Road building. Mr. Penwell described the current status of the facility reserves for the benefit of the council. Mr. Penwell presented information regarding the City’s Civic Campus Concept and noted that staff was currently recommending that the City utilize its development partnerships with Beam and WG in order to consolidate a number of City offices into their respective development projects. Mr. Penwell noted that, with respect to the plans for the current City Hall building, a variety of public outreach and community involvement opportunities would be provided in order to determine the best possible plans for the site. Mr. Piercy thanked Mr. Penwell for his presentation and appreciated that he had restated much of the information for the benefit of those members of the public watching the council webcast. Ms. Piercy found it hard to believe, in light of the current City Hall’s significant structural and design problems, that it was possible to continue the discussion of the building as a viable public service facility. She appreciated that the building had at one time been a valuable and important facet of the City but felt that the current information indicated that it would be best to discontinue the use of the building. Mr. Zelenka supported the City’s efforts to move out of the current City Hall facility and noted that he was in favor of soliciting public feedback and input regarding the future use of the current building. He agreed that while it might be better to have the EPD based downtown there were currently no viable spaces available and that the Country Club Road building represented the best course of action. Mr. Zelenka liked that the Country Club Road facility represented the re-purposing of an existing structure rather than a completely new construction. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Taylor disagreed with Mr. Ruiz and the staff’s negative assessment of the current City Hall building and felt that the City should use the facility reserves to immediately retrofit the building to comply with seismic life safety standards. She further averred that other options should continue to be considered alternative to the proposed Country Club Road building including allowing EPD officers to take their patrol cars home in the evenings and the use of the previous fire station space to house the EPD. Ms. Taylor believed that implementing a downtown police substation to compliment the proposed Country Club Road police facility was too expensive to consider and felt that the City’s leaders were rushing through the purchase of the Country Club Road building. Ms. Taylor believed that the Country Club Road building would be wiped out in the event of an earthquake that would destroy dams along the Willamette River. Mr. Pryor appreciated the budget committee’s work regarding the next steps for the facility reserves and maintained that it was important that a Eugene police presence be implemented and maintained north of the Willamette River. Mr. Pryor felt it would be important for the City leaders to effectively communicate to the public the urgent need for a new city hall and EPD facility as well as the reasons the Country Club Road building might serve as an efficient and effective space. He noted that successful public outreach on the part of the City might engender greater public support for the new police facility and the City Hall relocation. Mr. Pryor stated that he would not support putting tens of millions of dollars into upgrades of the current City Hall building but felt that the City should hold onto the site. Ms. Ortiz noted that while voters in Eugene had turned down attempts to fund a new police facility through local bond measures, the use of the City’s pre-existing facility reserves toward such ends was an acceptable means of providing a badly needed resource for Eugene police officers. Mr. Brown maintained that the currently proposed use of the facility reserves to purchase the Country Club Road building represented a terrible business plan and would cripple the City’s ability to do anything useful with the remainder of those reserves. Ms. Solomon supported the EPD’s move to Country Club Road and believed that the City should work to unload its current City Hall site into private ownership as soon as possible in order to have it begin generating tax revenue as soon as possible. Mr. Poling noted he was in favor of the three proposed motions regarding the next steps for the facility reserves and felt there needed to be further discussion on the future use of the current City Hall facility. Mr. Poling agreed with Ms. Ortiz’s statement that the use of the facility reserves represented the use of money already in the City’s purview and not the use of a bonding measure where the City did not yet actually have the funds available. Mr. Poling, responding to previous comments made by Ms. Taylor, noted that catastrophic damage to dams along the Willamette River would most likely flood the entire Eugene/Springfield area and not just Country Club Road. Mr. Clark noted his support of the three motions suggested by staff and strongly advocated for the concurrent implementation of a downtown police substation as part of those motions. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Clark noted that he had heard testimony at a recent Sheldon Community Center public forum from a citizen who was generally incensed at the lack of support for the officers of the EPD. Mr. Clark expressed that he valued and appreciated the EPD and would be happy to spend money the City already had in order to finally and adequately support their work. Mr. Clark believed that the incorporation of a downtown police substation as part of the relocation of the EPD to the Country Club Road building would enhance public safety downtown. th Mr. Clark reiterated his support for the use of the EWEB building at 500 East 4 Avenue in Eugene as a new Eugene city hall. Mr. Brown, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved to delay voting on the expenditure of the facility reserves and to not empower the City Manager to enter into negotia- tions on Country Club Road. Mr. Brown maintained it was too early for the City Manager to enter into negotiations for the acquisition of the Country Club Road property and felt there had not been a robust examination of alternative plans. Mr. Brown noted he had recently drafted and distributed a memorandum to the other council members containing a rough outline of his plans to make the current City Hall building compliant with seismic life safety standards. Mr. Brown stated there had been no healthy criticism or discussion of his plan. Mr. Brown believed that moving the EPD employees to the Country Club Road building would not enhance or improve public safety. Mr. Brown maintained that the council was moving too quickly regarding the use of the facility reserves and that inadequate time had been taken by the council and staff to the discussion regarding the use of those funds. Ms. Ortiz stated she did not support Mr. Brown’s motion and encouraged Mr. Brown to have faith in the decisions that had been made previously and the work that had been performed beforehand. Ms. Ortiz noted that the City staff had been researching and investigating the relocation of the EPD and the need for a new City Hall facility for more than nine years and hoped that critics of the proposed plan would have more faith in the process. Mr. Ortiz disagreed with Mr. Brown’s assessment that the City Council was moving too fast with respect to the use of the facility reserves and further noted that while the use of the Country Club Road building had not been her first choice she would support the motions suggested by staff. Ms. Taylor supported Mr. Brown’s motion and believed that not enough members of the public had been adequately apprised of the issues related to the need for a new police facility. Ms. Piercy called for a vote regarding Mr. Brown’s previously stated motion. The motion failed 2:6 (Mr. Clark, Ms. Solomon, Mr. Poling, Mr. Pryor, Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Zelenka voting in opposition.) Mr. Pryor maintained that the current council discussion might encourage the sellers of the Country Club Road building to increase the price and acknowledged that empowering the City Manager to negotiate for the building acquisition would protect the City’s ability to “walk away” from the purchase of the building. MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 6 Work Session Ms. Taylor asked where the funds for a downtown police substation would come from. Ms. Taylor did not understand the connection between moving the EPD to a new facility and the need to relocate the remainder of the City Hall offices to a new space. Ms. Taylor believed that, subsequent to the immediate retrofit of the current City Hall building to seismic life safety standards, other improvements to the current City Hall could be made over time and funded incrementally. Mr. Brown, seconded by Ms. Taylor, moved for the City Council to refer to ballot whether or not the City of Eugene should spend up to $16 million for the acquisi- tion and remodel of the property at 300 Country Club Road. Mr. Brown commented that the voters and taxpayers needed to be more involved in the discussion surrounding the use of the facility reserves and believed that putting the matter to a vote would allow the City to better present and refine its plan. Ms. Piercy called for a vote regarding Mr. Brown’s previously stated motion. The motion failed 2:6 (Mr. Clark, Ms. Solomon, Mr. Poling, Mr. Pryor, Ms. Ortiz and Mr. Zelenka voting in opposition.) Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to 1) authorize the City Manager to negotiate and sign a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of the proper- ty at 300 Country Club Road for use as a Police Facility and request on a Sup- plemental Budget an appropriation of up to $16 million from the Facility Reserve for costs related to acquisition, design, construction, furnishing, and move-in, and; 2) to direct the City Manager to return to the council at a future work session in the fall of 2009 with implementation plan options—including a detailed financing plan—for moving the remaining non-police services out of City Hall and creating a new downtown Eugene Police Department substation; and 3) to direct the City Manager to return to the council at a future work session in the fall of 2009 with options and a public input process for the future use of the existing City Hall site. Mr. Zelenka suggested that a downtown police substation could be a leased space and would not necessarily require the utilization of capital funds. Mr. Zelenka noted that he worked near the property on Country Club Road and stated that even at the busiest times it took relatively little time to travel from there to the downtown area. Ms. Solomon agreed with Mr. Zelenka’s suggestion that the space for a downtown police substation be a leased property and hoped that any funds used to do so would come from the$16 million portion of the facility reserves. Mr. Ruiz responded that the intent was to acquire the Country Club Road building and the lease or purchase of space for a downtown police substation using all of the $22 million available in the facility reserves. Mr. Clark agreed that the downtown police substation should be based in a leased property and noted that his support for the acquisition of the Country Club Road building had been expressly contingent upon the creation of a downtown police substation. Mr. Clark hoped that, considering the state of the national and local economies, the City Manager would use a “very sharp pencil with regard to negotiating the price of [the Country Club Road] building.” MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 7 Work Session Mr. Ruiz, responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, confirmed that the $16 million in facility reserves specified in the motion would be directed toward the acquisition of the Country Club Road property and that any funds beyond that to fund a downtown police substation and other related improvements would be part of the financing plan developed for the relocation of the Eugene City Hall. Ms. Piercy recognized that directing the City Manager and staff to return with a financing plan for the relocation of City Hall offices and a downtown police substation would allow the ouncil to continue detailed discussions surrounding the use of the current City Hall as well as the possible creation of a downtown civic campus. Ms. Piercy called for a vote on Mr. Zelenka’s previously stated motion. The mo- tion passed, 6:2 (Mr. Brown and Ms. Taylor voting in opposition.) Ms. Piercy adjourned the work session meeting at 1:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Wade Hicks) MINUTES—Eugene City Council July 29, 2009 Page 8 Work Session ATTACHMENT B M I N U T E S Eugene City Council McNutt Room—City Hall—777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon August 10, 2009 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Andrea Ortiz, Jennifer Solomon, Chris Pryor, George Poling, George Brown, Betty Taylor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Eugene Comprehensive Lands Assessment Jason Dedrick of the Planning and Development Department provided responses to questions raised by the council at its July 22, 2009, meeting. He said the Infill Compatibility Siting (ICS) study was on a slightly different timeline than the Eugene Comprehensive Lands Assessment (ECLA), with ECLA concluding by the end of 2009, and ICS continuing into 2010. He said the ICS process was addressing how infill could occur instead of whether it would occur. He felt the amendments that emerged from that process would not have a large impact at the aggregate, citywide level, which was where ECLA functioned, although any amendment affecting the housing supply would include documentation of how that would be addressed. The ECLA process would incorporate any new amendments that occurred prior to its conclusion. He said it was also possible that the Opportunity Siting (OS) process could result in impacts that balanced those of ICS. He said employment growth rate was projected at 1.4 percent over the next twenty years, based on the State forecast and implicit in that rate was an assumption that there might be years when the rate was higher or lower. Mr. Clark asked if the employment growth rate was a policy issue or intended to demonstrate that Eugene was following the appropriate formula with its model. Mr. Dedrick said it was both; if the City chose that rate the State considered it “safe harbor” because it was based on the State forecast. The City could use a different figure, but did not currently have data that suggested one. That policy question could be addressed by the council during its September review of the ECLA process. Ms. Taylor expressed concern with the assumptions as they did not appear to consider the City’s adopted sustainabil- ity principles, which would affect things like the amount of infill that was allowed. Mr. Dedrick said the baseline numbers being used were based either on historical data from the last several years or a published forecast. Staff could prepare variations on those numbers if the council wished to look at higher or lower development rates and impacts on the land supply. Ms. Taylor preferred to see assumptions that considered sustainability instead of just being based on historical data. She asked why the ECLA community advisory committee was no longer meeting. Mr. Dedrick replied that the committee’s work had been concluded, but the ECLA process would move forward through 2009. He said committee members would continue to be involved as interested parties and kept apprised of the process. Ms. Taylor asked for a minority report from the committee. She noted that the employment projections were higher than the population growth rate. Mr. Dedrick said the difference in numbers was due in part to Eugene’s role as the MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 1 Work Session County’s employment center and provided jobs for people other than residents of the City. Ms. Gardner said the community committee was a department advisory committee and the group functioned in such a way that no minority opinion surfaced, although any member of the committee could provide their individual comments to the council. Ms. Piercy said it appeared that there was a desire to have a policy discussion at some point on future economic development, as well as how it could be guided by sustainability principles. Mr. Zelenka observed that half of the people who worked in Eugene were not residents. He asked what prevented the baseline assumption from becoming the only path forward, instead of using several scenarios to project future growth. Mr. Dedrick said the decision to move away from scenarios, which had broad policy implications, was made in order to complete the products required by House Bill (HB) 3337 in a timely manner. Staff was at the point of beginning to look at variables and the committee had provided some guidance on the direction those should take. Mr. Zelenka asked how the ECLA process and council’s policy discussions would relate to any consideration of expanding the urban growth boundary (UGB). Mr. Dedrick said determination of a land needs number through the ECLA process was not tied to any amendments to the UGB. There were three routes to meet that land need: amendment of the UGB, efficiency measures established through policy or some combination of both. Mr. Zelenka asked if it was possible to avoid using the initial baseline number unchanged through the entire projection period. Mr. Dedrick said the economy over the past 12 months had been factored in to reduce the employment base to a more realistic figure and the council could also discuss how it wished to alter that 1.4 percent growth rate. Mr. Zelenka noted that the proposed motion was to move forward with the baseline assumptions and questioned what that meant. Mr. Dedrick said it was intended to indicate that staff was on the right track with respect to data analysis, but periodic reports to the council over the next several months could include discussions of variations in data that the council wished to have analyzed before any final determination. City Manager Jon Ruiz clarified that staff would be testing some assumptions suggested by the advisory committee and reporting results to the council in late September and the council would have an opportunity to direct staff to explore other assumptions. Mr. Pryor indicated that he was comfortable with using the baseline assumptions as a starting point for policy discussions and in order to satisfy HB 3337 requirements to provide data. He said the assumptions did not commit the council to a policy direction; those discussions would occur during the process. Mr. Brown said the City’s current unemployment rate was approximately 15 percent and it would take several years to recover at an employment growth rate of 1.4 percent. He asked if the baseline assumptions could be examined at some point in the future to determine the real growth rate and adjusted if necessary before there was any considera- tion of expanding the UGB. Mr. Dedrick said the periodic review process was intended to do that. Mr. Clark asked how the new population growth figures developed by Portland State University (PSU) and adopted by the County had changed the growth rates for surrounding cities such as Coburg, Veneta and Elmira; resulting in a larger percentage of the projected population growth going to smaller cities than Eugene and Springfield. He understood that the PSU number showed 12,000 fewer people in the City of Eugene as a function of projected growth than the safe harbor numbers. Ms. Gardner agreed that was the general trend. Mr. Clark questioned how those growth assumptions took into account the City’s growth policy related to working cooperatively with urban partners and nearby cities to avoid urban sprawl and preserve rural character outside the MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 2 Work Session UGB. Ms. Gardner said that issue had not been specifically considered in the ECLA process but could be pursued in future conversations. Mr. Zelenka commented that growth rates, such as construction of single-family homes and density of development, were dramatically different over the last three years than the figures reflected in averages over the last eight years. He asked if it would be more accurate to use recent numbers in the model rather than averages. Mr. Dedrick said the period of time for which data was reviewed was defined by statute as since the last code update, 2001-2008. He said the committee felt the average of 64 percent for single- family dwellings seemed high. A review of the last 30 years indicated that 55 percent was more realistic as larger developments could have a disproportionate impact in a shorter period of time. Mr. Zelenka suggested that the density per acre and housing type figures should be modified. Mr. Dedrick replied that the advisory committee had already asked to see both higher and lower variables for housing mix and housing density in scenarios. Ms. Taylor asked why the council had to pass a motion instead of waiting for other scenarios. She said the motion language seemed to mean the recommended values were being accepted. Mr. Dedrick said the motion would inform staff that the baseline data was an acceptable starting point. He said staff would continue to provide scenarios. Ms. Taylor asked if a 1.4 percent employment growth rate indicated how much land would be needed as well as the number of jobs. Mr. Dedrick said the employment forecast translated into jobs created and the City would need to plan for land. Trends indicated the employment sectors, job types and density that could be anticipated. The council could express a preference for certain types of jobs. Mr. Brown thought the 1.4 percent employment growth rate over 20 years was too high because it would take several years for the City to recover jobs lost in the past two years. He asked if the PSU forecast was the basis for the employment growth data. Mr. Dedrick said the PSU forecast was only relevant to housing. Ms. Ortiz remarked that staff was going in the right direction. She pointed out that one large employer could make up for the recent job losses. She looked forward to future conversations as more scenarios were developed. Ms. Piercy commented that small cities had strong opinions about their destinies and Eugene had no ability to control their desires for growth, but all jurisdictions in Lane County should plan cooperatively for the future. Mr. Clark asked that the council have an informed conversation about accelerating the growth rate at which jobs were recovered and the impact that might have on land need. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved, with the understanding that there would be dif- ferent scenarios in the future, to direct the City Manager to move forward with the baseline assumptions, which is a starting point, expressed as recommended values in column 2 of At- tachment C, for the analysis of future employment land needs, residential land needs, and public and semi-public land needs. Mr. Clark offered a friendly amendment to add the following at the end of the motion: “as a baseline to inform the policy discussions and development of future scenarios.” Mr. Zelenka restated his motion: I move to direct the City Manager to move forward with the baseline assumptions expressed as recommended values in column 2 of Attachment C, for the analysis of future employment land needs, residential land needs, and public and MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 3 Work Session semi-public land needs as a starting point baseline that will inform future scenarios and poli- cy discussions. The motion passed, 6:2; Mr. Brown and Ms. Taylor voting no. B. WORK SESSION: Downtown Outcomes Amanda Nobel Flannery, Planning and Development Department, used a slide presentation to provide an overview of the agenda materials. She identified the common themes and aspirations for downtown that had emerged during the planning activities to date and provided some sample outcomes: ? Downtown as a regional center – a strong economic center that drew everybody downtown ? Building downtown – collaborating with businesses, property owners and developers to generate projects ? Enhancing special places – downtown character identity and civic pride, including open space and public art ? Getting around – making it easier to get to and through downtown by bike, car, walking or transit The councilors each wrote several desired outcomes on slips of paper that were collected by staff and organized in categories. Mr. Ruiz stated that staff would develop the outcomes in the collective statements for the council to review. He asked if there were any issues that had not been addressed during the exercise. Ms. Taylor said refurbishing City Hall should be added to the list. Ms. Ortiz expressed concern that bringing the subject of urban renewal districts into the discussion would divert attention from downtown development. She preferred the future of the urban renewal district to be a separate conversation. Mr. Pryor agreed that the discussion at this point should be at the visionary, not the proposal level; the urban renewal district was a specific strategy. Mr. Brown asserted that all of the discussion was headed toward amendment of the downtown urban renewal district. He had many specific questions on that subject and felt it should be discussed very soon. He saw no value in the council’s visioning exercise as nothing new had been added to the list of outcomes developed in earlier planning processes. Mr. Clark felt it was productive to have a larger visioning conversation to help the community see and support an image of what downtown could be. He said there would not be fundamental change downtown until the council was willing to take bolder steps such as locating a new city hall on the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) site and making the current City Hall into a farmers’ market. Those were actions that would significantly change how downtown was used. Ms. Piercy noted that the council composition had been different during earlier discussions of downtown’s future; the current council had not yet confirmed its common vision. She hoped there was an opportunity to work collaborative- ly with the County. Mr. Taylor agreed with Mr. Pryor and Ms. Ortiz that the urban renewal district should be discussed separately. He said it was time to take action instead of just discussing a vision for downtown. Ms. Taylor said actions should be incremental, organic and local and do no harm. She said those things worth keeping should be nurtured. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Piercy remarked that the many conversations about downtown were moving the City toward action. Ms. Ortiz affirmed that ongoing discussions about downtown were important until actions were taken. She said revitalization of downtown was an important task. Mr. Pryor hoped that current and future conversations about downtown would be more collaborative and productive as some prior discussions had been divisive. Mr. Brown said he did not understand the purpose of the process, other than to create some type of document, followed by a discussion of tools to implement strategies. He said one of the tools was the downtown urban renewal district and that was where the conversation was leading. He said the council should “cut to the chase” and begin discussing specific projects and plans. Mr. Ruiz summarized that the council wanted to define what it wanted to accomplish downtown, then determine how that should be accomplished, including use of the urban renewal district. He noted that the council had acted to pursue several redevelopment projects and address public safety and parking issues at the same time it was refining the vision for downtown. Mr. Zelenka said it was important to move through the visioning phase as quickly as possible and develop a specific list of activities and estimated costs so the council could begin to discuss how to pay for those. The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Lynn Taylor) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 5 Work Session ATTACHMENT C M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon August 10, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. CEREMONIAL MATTERS Proclamation: Eugene Firefighters Appreciation Week - Mayor Piercy read a proclamation declaring the week of August 23 to August 29, 2009, Eugene Firefighters Appreciation Week. She acknowledged that firefighters Bob Ritchey and Nathan Kunasek were present to receive a copy of the proclamation. The firefighters received a round of applause. City Manager Jon Ruiz noted that Captain Randall Groves was out of town and would have liked to have been present. He passed along Captain Groves’ heartfelt thanks to the firefighters. He commended the firefighters for their work, both in fire fighting and for fund raising efforts on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. 2. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. Albert Brahimaj , 958 Lawrence, #1, owner of two businesses in the downtown area, stated that his hot dog cart was being affected by “homeless street kids” begging for change. He said the young people would become hostile when people refused to give them money and because of this people did not want to get their money out to buy food from his business. He averred that he had worked too hard to get where he was and to have what he had to let “these little hooligans” affect his business. He said if they hung out in front of his store he had the recourse of calling the police, but he could not call the police when they were hanging out in front of his stand. He related that he had been assaulted on the previous Friday. He had called the police and the police had arrested three young people. He noted his intention to press charges. He said the three had been released from jail on the previous day. He observed that he was a pretty big guy and if he was getting beat up, what would happen to a “little old lady” in that situation. th Samantha Chirillo , 157 East 27 Avenue, #3, thanked the council for moving forward with the Police Auditor ordinance revisions. She surmised that those who had attended the committee meetings seemed satisfied with the results. She asked the council to continue supporting the roles of the Police Auditor and the Civilian Review Board (CRB). She noted that she had witnessed the tasering incident of May, 2008, and had recently participated in the investigation. It had become apparent to her that the Police Auditor and CRB played an important role in overseeing those kinds of investigations and giving feedback to the council MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 1 Regular Meeting on them. She was concerned that the City was not suspending its use of tasers until they revised “how the police operations work.” She felt communication and non-violent means needed to be “#1” before any use of tasers. She averred that their misuse would not change the ways police operations happen and the relationship between the police and the community. She believed there was more work to be done in this area. Zachary Vishanoff , Ward 3, observed that the Police Auditor ordinance changes were on the evening’s agenda. He believed that there had been a lot of complicated changes through the work of the Police Auditor Ordinance Review Committee (PAORC) and since then. He had been trying to follow the details of it and it was difficult and complicated. He averred that it would be a “healthier process” if, as the changes were made, there were periodic changes and some “level of effort” to discuss the details. He commented that he was lost. He understood that the PAORC had requested to be reconvened and this was not happening. He was interested in knowing why that request was “being ignored.” Mr. Vishanoff understood that the Oregon Research Institute (ORI) wanted to relocate to a property near the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) site. He was concerned that this would “open up a back door” in the Riverfront Research Park. He opined that there was not enough public discussion over whether that was a good idea. He noted that if one went to the Atrium Building and asked to see ORI plans and whether there would be a public hearing, the planning staff indicated that they did not know. He asserted that when staff did not know, the person requesting the information was required to pay $85 for staff to make a determina- tion whether a public hearing was needed and whether it was in compliance with the Riverfront Research Park master plan. He asked the council to ask the Planning Division to make a determination. Kimberly Gladen , 361 West Broadway, stated that she lived and worked in the downtown area and did not own a car. She believed that the downtown had a lot of potential but it had a “really bad problem” with security. She said there were a lot of people who were mentally ill in the downtown area. She attributed this to the last eight years of politics; a lot of programs had been eliminated. She averred that police would need to be trained to handle the mentally ill and homeless in a humane and kind way. She predicted that they would have a lot of wounded soldiers coming home from the war, which would increase the numbers of homeless and mentally ill people. She declared that these people were the “least of our brothers” and the most damaged people of society and damaging them further would not improve the situation. She believed that the problem with the downtown was directly related to the need to deal with these core social problems. She related that there was a person sleeping on Broadway in the old Rosewater Deli area until the mid- afternoon. She felt it was difficult for people to walk by and see that with their kids. She said seeing a police cruiser could make a person feel more secure or that there was a problem. She added that they would have to work harder to maintain a presence without adding to the carbon footprint of the force if the police facility moved across the river. She concluded by stressing that the downtown needed attention and the police needed to be more a part of the community. Tom Kamis , 856 Lincoln Street, #2, Ward 7, supported the retention and expansion of the parking exemption program. He related that he had received “amazing” feedback from customers and people who were downtown. He noted that someone had stressed the importance of asking the downtown businesses how they felt about the parking exemption. He wished to point out that there were only five businesses along the stretch in which the exemption was in place. He predicted it would take ten minutes to ask them. He said parking should be exempted in the downtown area. He opined that the City had opportunities to change the downtown core and the City Council had decided to “take away some development opportuni- ties.” He declared that the City had given up a big opportunity to have a lot of employers downtown when the City had “[done] away with that last possible build-up” of the downtown area. He did not think the City deserved any more money. He declared that if lack of funds was the issue that would keep the parking exemption from being in place for a longer period of time, the City Council would have to “learn to do without.” He underscored that the councilors were the City’s leaders and he believed that they should have MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 2 Regular Meeting the vision to make the problems not happen. He opined that there was no reason to pay for parking downtown, noting that half of the businesses in the exemption zone were only open after 5 p.m. He asked the council what they were waiting for. He had seen more foot traffic since the exemption had been put into action. Mr. Kamis considered homeless youth downtown to be a big problem. He related that a 16-year-old had been assaulted by an inebriated man one week earlier and on August 7 he had walked out the back door of his business to discover a 40-year-old man “shooting up” a 14-year-old. He declared that there were always issues downtown and they needed another body there. He observed that if the City had funding for new police offices and a new city hall, it should have enough money to hire one more police officer. He added that Officer Tom Schulke was a great beat cop who knew all of the young people by name. He wished that Officer Schulke could be cloned. th Eugene Drix , 307½ East 14 Avenue, Ward 3, reiterated his love for Eugene. He observed that the one thing a person learned in the University was that they did not know it all. He said kids downtown were “just youth” who were “tired of what the preachers say and tired of what their parents say.” He likened it to a “bubbling cauldron of life.” He was not certain what to do about it. He commented that he was friendly with everyone from the councilors to street people. He related that he knew a former architect with a family who now collected cans for a living and slept in doorways. He said everyone had to keep an eye out for their neighbor. He declared that Eugene was a world class town and that people in Portland were starting to copy Eugene. Justin McBurnett , 4105 Fox Hollow Road, voiced his support for the community, the City Council, and community members including the police. He cited a couple of examples of when he had been thankful for the police. He recognized that the police were a valuable asset to the community, but he was “befuddled” to imagine that people who would do a good job for the community would not support transparency “in a sense that would make the community feel at ease.” He related that his three-year-old son had witnessed an incident involving police gunfire and was now afraid to go outside by himself. He wanted his son to grow up and trust the police. He thought citizens should be able to utilize the traffic cameras or to use their own cameras to monitor the police. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum and called for comments from the councilors. th Councilor Clark thanked everyone for their testimony. He noted that his office was located on 8 Avenue and Willamette Street. He understood what the downtown business owners were talking about because he saw it every day. He believed their first priority should be to dramatically enhance public safety downtown. He felt the City had made good strides toward that by adding bicycle officers full-time downtown and making room in the budget to allow more officers. He noted that he had brought up at the Budget Committee, along with Councilor Brown, an idea on how to pay for more public safety. He said if the business owners had ideas on what more they could do, they should contact him. Councilor Solomon thanked the downtown business owners for coming down. She averred that “all the visioning in the world” would be moot if they did not address the public safety situation first. She noted that Police Chief Pete Kerns was in the audience and added that she hoped he had taken notes from the testimony given. She also requested that staff provide some background information regarding the potential ORI project. Councilor Ortiz also wanted to thank everyone for coming down. She believed that policing in the downtown area needed to be part of a bigger picture. She opined that the children on the mall were there because they were “throwaway kids.” She asserted that it was part of their charge in the community to take care of the people who were “our lesser brothers and sisters.” She said it was a challenge as a councilor to MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting decide whether to spend more money on human services or on policing. She believed it was part of their charge to address the needs of those young people; they were the future and needed to have the opportunities to make productive citizens out of themselves. She remarked that it was hurtful to hear of these incidents involving the youth and it made her want to ask where their parents were. Councilor Clark agreed that there were a number of people downtown with no other place to go. He noted that Councilor Zelenka worked with the Safe & Sound program and Councilor Ortiz had worked with other programs that provided assistance. He wanted to be clear because the conversation so often steered toward the idea that the problem downtown was “just kids.” He said he was downtown every day and would bet anyone that the vast majority of people were over the age of 18. It was not kids causing problems, the problems were caused by predatory adults. He stressed that the public safety problem was due to people who came from other areas on purpose and to people who might have been from the area and were down there often. He declared that they should not talk about the problem as if it was only attributable to the youth. He said any of the officers that were downtown would substantiate this. He knew this because he talked to them every day. Mayor Piercy said they all knew the challenges that faced the downtown area and the City was working hard on the problems, as were the police officers in the area. She related that one thing they were trying to do as a strategy, was the Summer in the City program, which sought to fill up the downtown with good activity and positive energy. She agreed with Councilor Clark that the biggest trouble makers were not the young people. Mayor Piercy thanked Ms. Chirillo for speaking on behalf of the auditor ordinance revisions. She considered the revisions to be “one step further in a good direction.” She also wanted to thank Ms. Gladen for talking about both the potential of the downtown area and the challenges it faced. She expressed appreciation to the business owners in the downtown area and pledged to continue to do the best they could to support them in many ways, including parking. 3. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - May 11, 2009, City Council Meeting - May 26, 2009, City Council Meeting - June 8, 2009, City Council Meeting - June 10, 2009, Work Session - June 15, 2009, Public Hearing - June 22, 2009, Work Session B. Approval to Tentative Working Agenda C. Acceptance of Products Associated with Department of Land Conservation and Develop- ment Grant for Eugene Comprehensive Lands Assessment Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved to approve the Consent Calendar. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. 4. ACTION: An Ordinance Concerning the Police Auditor; Amending Sections 2.450, 2.452, 2.454, 2.456 of the Eugene Code, 1971; and Providing for an Effective Date for Implementation Mayor Piercy noted that the PAORC had made all of the meeting minutes available. Councilor Zelenka, seconded by Councilor Clark, moved that the council adopt Council Bill 4998, an ordinance concerning the Police Auditor. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 4 Regular Meeting Councilor Brown asked Police Auditor Mark Gissiner to confirm his recollection that the memorandum submitted to the council by Mr. Gissiner had indicated that he could not recall a case in Cincinatti in which an administrative investigation could not occur concurrently when it was appropriate to do so. Mr. Gissiner replied that the only time there was a consecutive issue had been instances when there were shots fired by police officers. He explained that in this case there was a criminal investigation first, followed by an administrative investigation. He recalled “one or two” times in which an officer was possibly being charged with criminal charges and the administrative case had been suspended until the criminal investigation was done. Councilor Brown did not think this had been much of an issue in Eugene either. Mr. Gissiner remarked that in the genesis of the auditor/police relationship there were some concerns about it, but they had gotten past this. Councilor Brown was amenable with all of the changes to the ordinance with the exception of the one regarding concurrency. He did not see the idea of a disagreement by the chief of police with the auditor having to go before a municipal court judge as a diminution of the auditor’s authority. He asked if the police chief in Cincinatti had ever disagreed with him regarding a concurrent investigation. Mr. Gissiner replied that he found it ironic that the issue of concurrency had been viewed as problematic more for the complainant than for the officer there and the argument in favor of consecutive versus concurrency in Eugene was more of a problem for the officer than for the complaint. It was unusual for him to see this couched in this way. He explained that because the complainant was not a trained observer, his or her version of events would be less likely to remain consistent throughout the process whereas a police officer was a trained observer and was much more likely to maintain consistency. He said in Eugene there was more concern about an officer being consistent through the process, which was the reverse of the situation in Cincinatti. Councilor Brown said he was a little concerned that the changes would present a diminution of the auditor’s power. Mr. Gissiner noted that the ordinance allowed the auditor to separately conduct an external investigation if he or she believed it was warranted. Councilor Ortiz was glad to be at this point in time, moving the revisions forward. She said if it did not work or problems arose, they could bring it back for further revision. Mayor Piercy explained that PAORC was not being reconvened because they had decided to wait until the new auditor was in place. Councilor Zelenka thanked the members of the PAORC for the hours they had contributed to the process and the “homework” associated with it. He noted that the committee had also heard a lot of public input and had held a public hearing. He believed that changes that were proposed closed loopholes, clarified rules, and made the office of the Police Auditor stronger. He averred that they were consistent with the two votes that the public had engaged in on the auditor ordinance. He supported the changes. Councilor Poling noted that in addition to the people that Councilor Zelenka had mentioned, there had also been a subcommittee of councilors that had worked on the final recommendation. He said they had discussed and reviewed the recommendations and had done some wordsmithing to “smooth it out.” He believed this demonstrated the dedication and support to the Police Auditor position that the council possessed. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 5 Regular Meeting Councilor Clark thanked the committee members for their work. He was glad they were finally done. He was happy that the ordinance was before the council. He observed that as they now had a nationally recognized police auditor and a much stronger ordinance in place. He felt this was the best opportunity they had “in a long time” to see successful police oversight. Councilor Zelenka took the opportunity to welcome Mr. Gissiner to the office of the Police Auditor. He said Mr. Gissiner had “hit the ground running.” He also wanted to thank Chief Kerns for the “great job” he had done in cooperating with both the past and present auditors. Roll call vote; the motion passed unanimously, 8:0. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 10, 2009 Page 6 Regular Meeting ATTACHMENT D M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber—Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon September 14, 2009 7:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, George Brown, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. 1. PUBLIC FORUM Mayor Piercy reviewed the rules of the Public Forum. stth Jim Wilcox , 205 West 31 Avenue, wished to speak about the development site located at 10 Avenue and Olive Street. He related that in 2008 he had collaborated with Plug in America to come up with a plan and they had developed a housing/transit station idea in which residents could receive credits for having no car and that included amenities such as electric car charging stations, among others. He had submitted the plan in response to the City’s request for proposals, but WG Development had been awarded the project. He had worked on the design criteria and tried to talk to the City further as the project appeared to be faltering after six months, but the City was not interested in looking at other proposals. He believed that in the interim the Obama stimulus grants had come through for a possible $20 million for a “unique transportation development” and he could have accessed that money, but the City still had not been interested. He observed that WG Development had bowed out and now it seemed Lane Community College hoped to build on that site. He said it had been 18 months and he wanted to provide copies of the plan to the council. He encouraged the council to consider the design criteria and the plan. He averred that it would help lead toward a more sustainable Eugene. th Eugene Drix , 307 ½ 14 Avenue, declared his love for Eugene. He welcomed the council back after the summer break. He said new was only new until it was known. He related that he had gone to the Eugene Celebration and as he had walked by the Lane Community College (LCC) downtown center three women were working to get the door closed and locked. He had offered to help them to move “into one of the holes” and one of them had said they had the money and just needed a place to move to. He commented that he was passing that message along to the council. He stated that branding was important; Eugene was a beautiful community. He suggested that Eugene could be the “city of thought.” He thought the City could have a new expression: “How are You-gene?” Howard Kopp , 2175 Polk Street, Executive Director of Nearby Nature and affiliated with the Network Charter School (NCS), explained that NCS was a collaboration of a number of non-profits and alternative schools, including Nearby Nature, MECCA, Peace Village, Le Petit Gourmet and Eugene Glass School. He stated that they were a provider of community-based education with teachers who provided expertise in community issues. He said NCS was a collection of campuses where “kids get involved” in hands-on learning in small-group settings. He believed that the NCS was a haven for “innovative creative kids” who would be lost in larger public school class rooms. He said NCS had an interest in remaining downtown and was interested in occupying the building at 858 Pearl Street. He thought it would provide a use for a vacant City-owned building and they intended to attract other non-profits as MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 1 Regular Meeting occupants in the building, such as the Saturday Market. He noted that the Market was interested in forming a coalition with NCS in order to move into the building. He thought they would be able to pay for improvements and they would provide a long-term presence there. He stated that the location would allow their students easy access to all of the satellite campuses because students used Lane Transit District (LTD) buses and the bicycle paths for transportation. Joyce Holmes Benjamin , 1375 Olive Street, Apt. 502, stated that she was an attorney. She noted that she lived at the Tate Building and was one of the developers along with Jean Tate. She was very interested in the NCS because she was interested in education. She related that she had spent 22 years of her life on different boards of education, including the State Board of Education, and she had spent 11 years working for the Department of Education in Salem. She had sat in on NCS classes and thought they were doing an excellent job with the children. She understood the school needed a home and believed the Pearl Street building was a good fit and would solve the problem the City had in needing to make good use of the building. She said they had submitted a proposal to the City Manager. She urged the council to commit to an interest in the proposal. th Sally Snyder , 1134 West 8 Avenue, stated that she was a child and family therapist and her daughter was a senior at NCS. She related that her daughter had started at South Eugene High School and it had not worked for her, but the NCS had been “a great fit.” She said her daughter had flourished there and would graduate after the current semester and begin classes at LCC in the spring. She urged the council to help the NCS remain downtown. She related that in addition to access to transit and the bicycle path, being in the downtown area provided easy access to the library and to art galleries. She added that parents also spent more time downtown because of having to transport their children. She echoed the sentiment that the NCS would be a good match for the building. Pauline Hutson , 1025 Taylor Street, accused Councilor Pryor of making remarks at a work session on August 12 that she perceived to discredit Residents for Responsible Rapid Transit (3RT). She quoted Councilor Pryor as having said that some people were spreading “misinformation and scary stories” about the proposed west Eugene EmX corridor project. She had taken umbrage at this remark. She averred that 3RT did not lie or make up stories and anyone was welcome to go through their files. She asserted that the councilor had been “lying and making up stories.” She found this to be unpleasant and upsetting and asked that it stop. Herschel Henderly , 1493 Queens Way, spoke in support of keeping the NCS in the downtown area. He asserted that the NCS was important to the school system. He related the story of his son, who had difficulty focusing in class and distracted other students. His son had transferred to NCS and he lauded the benefits it had provided for him. He averred that the NCS teachers did a great job of handling a diverse group of young people. He stated that his son had graduated the previous spring. He felt that the NCS provided a safety valve for the school districts because kids who were disruptive in class caused no one to learn. Lisa Anderson , 1230 Arthur Street, said a neighbor had told her about the draft plan to put a bus line through her neighborhood. She had spoken with her neighbors and none of them had heard about it. She asserted that LTD had not notified anyone in her neighborhood. She had attended an LTD meeting to ask about a specific section of the draft proposal for a route along the Amazon Canal and LTD staff did not know anything. She related that staff had informed her that they would hold a meeting with the neighborhood in September and she was displeased that they had not done so yet. She had asked staff repeatedly when the plan would be ready to present in a meeting and no one every seemed to know. She was concerned that they would run a bus down a section of the bicycle path which she believed would be costly to the taxpayers, harmful to wildlife, would require eminent domain, would take out low- income housing, and would disrupt a peaceful neighborhood. Darren Reiley , 129-A North Polk Street, Executive Director of Peace Village, stated that he had worked as an educator for 12 years. He had been working with Peace Village for eight years. He explained that Peace Village offered non-violence education through summer camps and for the past five years Peace Village had contracted with the Churchill Alternative High School and NCS to offer non-violence training to teenagers. He averred that they did “good work” and offered young people non-violent alternatives to resolving their conflicts. He related that they had MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 2 Regular Meeting taken a group of young people on a service trip to the Navajo Nation and they had, among other things, chopped wood for the elders. He felt they had done a lot of good work with the youth. He noted that their biggest contract was with NCS. He urged the council to consider the proposal to allow NCS to move into the Pearl Street building. He said NCS had outgrown 45 Broadway and the City had informed them that because of the size, the code would no longer allow them to be in that building. They had been looking for a year to find a building that would meet their needs and 858 Pearl Street would be an ideal location for them. th Sandra Bishop , 591 West 10 Avenue, Ward 7, understood that the councilors would be selecting a preferred alternative route for the West Eugene EmX corridor within the next nine or ten months. She believed that the final decision made by LTD on the EmX route through West Eugene’s historic neighborhoods would be one of the most significant decisions to be made. She declared that where the EmX was routed would have a profound effect on the livability and the long-term viability of the local neighborhoods. She asked the council to support the neighbors and business owners who oppose the development of EmX routes on residential streets and along the Amazon Canal. She asserted that at times the LTD staff had taken undesirable alternatives off the list only to have them “mysteriously reappear.” She asked that the council let LTD know that it was unacceptable to “destroy” close-in downtown th neighborhoods by routing EmX “inappropriately.” She asked the council to join her in opposing the use of West 13 th Avenue, the Amazon channel, and West 11 Avenue west of Garfield Street and to support the establishment of an thth EmX corridor on 6 and 7 Avenues. th Ilona Koleszar , 871 West 11 Avenue, stated that she was a member of 3RT and also sat on the West Eugene EmX Extension Corridor Committee (WEEECC). She alleged that there were detailed maps of proposed route corridors and the committee had looked at them. She wanted the council to request copies of the maps and review them. She thought the council would take away “the obvious conclusion” that the impacts of the Amazon Canal and West thth Garfield Street alternatives were “huge” compared to the impacts on 6 and 7 Avenues. She urged the council to take the time to read the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) when it was available. She also asked the council to think about the Multiple-Unit Property Tax Exemption (MUPTE) extension and what they were trying to thth accomplish with it. She believed that if they considered the MUPTE and the 6/7 Avenue alternative, they would th find them to be compatible. She asked the council to remember that 13 Avenue was “smack dab” in the middle of the neighborhood. She averred that they “kept hearing” from LTD that it was on the edge of the neighborhood. She urged them not to view it that way. Anand Keathley , 389 North Polk Street, Ward 7, noted that he represented the Whiteaker Community Council on the WEEECC. He related that Robert L. Hirsch had updated his report on peak oil in 2008 and had concluded that things could be much worse than he had initially believed. He said Mr. Hirsch thought this would be because of the tendency of nationalistic resource withholding which would cause oil prices to rise sooner than had initially been projected. He asserted that the Oregon Department of Energy Senior Energy Analyst Christopher Dymond had projected that oil peaking would occur between 2012 and 2015. He believed that with newer conclusions, it could happen more rapidly. He provided copies of both Hirsch reports on discs for the councilors. He averred that the route for the EmX needed to be chosen with both the future and present in mind. He conveyed the Whiteaker thth Community Council’s preference for the 6/7 Avenue corridor. Charles Rintalan , 391 La Casa Street, recalled past mayors of the City of Eugene and commented that there had been decisions made throughout the past that affected the well-being of Eugene residents and influenced Eugene in a thth good manner. He hoped that the council would consider the 6/7 Avenue corridor for a new EmX route. He th believed that routing it closer to the Amtrak and a dogleg closer to West 11 Avenue would be workable. He commented that he could remember the 1980s, a time when “trees were a sensitive subject.” He asserted that trains brought old growth logs through the City in the night and people were not aware of it. He averred that trees were one of the three things most important to Eugene. He alleged that the Parks Division was spraying Roundup around the bases of trees and it was killing them. th Ron Doerr , 3012 West 11 Avenue, representing M & G Collision Specialists, stated that of the three routes being thth set forth for a west Eugene EmX corridor, the 6/7 Avenue route was being strongly suggested. He stated that the MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 3 Regular Meeting th suggested Amazon Canal and West 11 Avenue route would impact both of the businesses’ tax lots and its structures. He said the business had made it through tough times and supported 12 families. He noted that the 12 employees had a total of 120 years of service in the business between them. He was concerned that building an EmX route through their tax lots would cause them to lose their business. He pointed out that the business had been in its th location long before West 11 traffic had become dense. He thanked Councilor Pryor for holding a meeting with thth area residents and businesses. He asked the council to consider the routes carefully and to pick the 6/7 Avenue option. Jozef Siekiel-Zdzienicki , 1025 Taylor Street, Ward 1, said the draft EIS for the West Eugene EmX corridor project had been slated to come out on January 1, 2010, but had been delayed a couple of months. He had attended the thth workshops on the corridor and he had not noted the attendance of anyone from 6 or 7 Avenues nor from any th businesses on 13 Avenue. He said the proposed routes would traverse Councilor Ortiz’ ward and recommended that she hold a meeting for residents that might be affected by them. He asserted that LTD was not doing their job in talking to people. He averred that this was a major decision. He urged the council to start some stakeholders groups. thth George F. Cole , 2760 West 11 Avenue, noted that he also owned the properties at 2770 and 2780 West 11 Avenue. He was concerned about the potential EmX route by the Amazon Canal. He recalled a conflict he had with LTD six years earlier – LTD had wanted most of his property for a park and ride facility and it allegedly cost him $160,000 in legal fees to keep the property. He was suspicious that objections to how his property looked had something to do with it. He related that his father had started the business in 1935 and it had grown from then. He had started his own construction business because there had not been enough income generated by the small furniture business. Because of this, he had acquired several pieces of obsolete equipment. He said after the bicycle path had been developed, people had complained about the view. He stated that since then he had planted an “urban forest” to th obscure the equipment. He requested that the council listen to the business owners of West 11 Avenue. th Brent Woodrich , 2700 West 11 Avenue, representing Autocraft Auto Body and Repair, said an EmX corridor along the Amazon Canal would take out part of their parking lot, which he needed to store the vehicles they were working on. He did not think the councilors understood just how many businesses and residents would be affected by thth choosing this corridor. He said the 6/7 Avenue corridor would not affect as many people. He underscored that th West 11 Avenue was an industrial area. He did not believe it could be developed into something akin to what would be found in the City’s core. Kimberly Gladen , 361 West Broadway, supported moving the NCS into the Pearl Street building. She commented that anything that kept drug dealers and panhandlers off the streets would benefit the community. She stated that she lived and worked in the downtown area and did not own a car. She liked to have everything within walking distance. She remarked that she liked to smell the petunias and watch ducks in the fountain. She said there were problems in the downtown core and strongly suggested that the bicycle patrol be expanded to work at night, from 9 p.m. to about 4 a.m. which was when most of the vandalism happened. She thought a night time patrol should be deployed from Wednesday through Saturday nights, if not all week long. She believed a bicycle patrol was the only way to police the area, because an officer in a patrol vehicle would not be able to tell the difference between patrons of a bar or restaurant outside having a cigarette and panhandlers and drug dealers hanging out on the corner. She also felt that bicycle officers would be better equipped to thwart vandalism that occurred after the bars closed because they could hear the noisy bar patrons from a distance and could monitor their activities. She believed a foot patrol officer would be a waste of taxpayer money. As for panhandlers, she remarked that there were some that she gave money to every time she saw them, but there were too many of them. She averred that most people did not want to walk downtown because they would get panhandled five or six times on every block. She related that she had been panhandled five times just walking by the library and around the corner to the Kiva grocery store. She said she had been yelled at “aggressively” by young men when exiting the Kiva if she did not have change for them. She noted that there was one man with a damaged hand that regularly panhandled, ostensibly for medical care and commented that “this stuff scares people.” She was used to it, but for a lot of people it was off-putting. She underscored the need for foot traffic in the downtown area for it to be viable. People needed to come downtown to shop. She declared that Eugene was a beautiful town that “just needed some TLC” and the downtown had been neglected for too long. She added her MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 4 Regular Meeting feeling that the downtown should be its own council ward. Mayor Piercy closed the Public Forum. She asked the City Manager to direct someone from the Planning Division to speak with Mr. Wilcox about his proposal. She thanked all of the people representing the NCS for coming and speaking. She also thanked the members of the public who spoke about the EmX Corridor. She remarked that it was a “long journey,” the ultimate goal of which would be to have a fully developed transit system that would make it easy to choose to use it instead of driving. She said it would help growth and development and would be good for neighborhoods and businesses. She felt the first route had been successful, and they would soon understand how the second route would be. Because the third route was planned for a very built-out area, she found it hard to imagine that “somebody’s ox would not be gored” in the process. She assured them that they would try to get the best route possible. She noted that when her family was young, they had bought a lot of furniture from Cole’s. Regarding the downtown area, she stressed that there were issues to work on and they continued to struggle to get developments underway. She commented that the financial crisis had not helped things move along. Councilor Pryor expressed appreciation to everyone who spoke, especially those who spoke about the EmX. He underscored that it was his principle interest to find the best route possible. He thought he could provide reasonable and passionate arguments for and against all three routes. He was interested in gaining as much input as possible and had strongly recommended to LTD that it increase opportunities for input. This was one of the reasons he had held the meeting during the previous week. He reiterated that he was not interested in disrupting businesses on West th 11 Avenue; whatever solution they arrived at needed to be undertaken in the way that would least damage the businesses that were there. He observed that figuring out a way to put another transit route through West Eugene would be challenging. He stressed the importance of understanding that the process was not at a point of making a final decision; there were a lot of opportunities still to provide input and to shape the ultimate result. He hoped that LTD and the City would hold more public forums. He planned to help in as many ways as he could to help LTD have more forums and collect more information. He underscored that the participation of the people who were concerned about it was very important. Councilor Ortiz thanked everyone for their input. She expressed appreciation to Councilor Pryor for helping to make sure the conversation “stayed broad.” She had thought LTD had done a pretty good job of presenting the thoughts they had, though there was always room for improvement. She had asked LTD to make sure they had contacted businesses and was glad that they had done so. She said she planned to hold a meeting with her constituents in the thth 6/7 Avenue corridor. She noted her support for the NCS and said it would be a good match for the Pearl Street building. She thought the NCS provided a “natural pathway” to education for those young people. Additionally, she commented that Ms. Gladen was very brave. She appreciated her commitment to the downtown area. She remarked that the 2010 census could demonstrate that the downtown could be its own ward. Councilor Poling said Councilor Pryor had made his points about the EmX corridor proposals. He wanted to reiterate that nothing had been “chiseled in stone.” He expressed resentment toward the comment made about Councilor Pryor regarding misinformation. He related that as far back as four or five months ago he had received calls from business owners saying that someone was coming into their shops and claiming that LTD would be placing the EmX route there. He stated that there were lies and misinformation being passed around regarding the West Eugene EmX corridor and he did not know where it was coming from. For someone to claim that Councilor Pryor’s comment was aimed specifically at one group was “just bad” and wrong. Councilor Clark appreciated everyone’s testimony and especially Ms. Gladen’s remarks. He reiterated that he was downtown every day, adding that he thought the situation was even worse than Ms. Gladen had presented it. He believed there was a significant public safety problem in the downtown area that the City needed to do a better job of mediating. He looked forward to the conversation that was planned in the next couple of months about increasing police staffing. He added his appreciation to the dedication of the business owners and the advocates regarding the EmX corridor. He requested that the City Manager provide copies of the map that Ms. Koleszar referred to for the councilors. MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 5 Regular Meeting Councilor Brown thanked everyone for coming down. He observed that though the topic of the EmX corridor kept thth coming up, no stakeholders from the 6/7 Avenue areas came. He did not think there was a very good representa- tion on the stakeholder group for the West Eugene corridor. He was concerned that outreach was not being conducted in an indepth way in advance of the public hearing process. He thought the complaints were valid and needed to be addressed. He felt that if people were shut out, it would make the determination of which corridor to develop more difficult. 2. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Approval of City Council Minutes - May 11, 2009, Work Session - June 8, 2009, Work Session - June 17, 2009, Executive Session - July 8, 2009, Work Session - July 13, 2009, Work Session - July 15, 2009, Work Session - July 20, 2009, Civilian Review Board Interviews - July 20, 2009, Public Hearing - July 21, 2009, Joint Elected Officials Meeting - July 22, 2009, Work Session - July 22, 2009, Executive Session - July 27, 2009, City Council Meeting - August 10, 2009, City Council Meeting - August 10, 2009, Executive Session B. Approval to Tentative Working Agenda C. Adoption of Resolution 4986 Renaming the “Autzen Footbridge” as the “Dave and Lynn Frohn- mayer Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge” Councilor Clark, seconded by Councilor Taylor, moved to approve the Consent Calendar. Councilor Brown pulled Items A and C. Mayor Piercy pointed out that it would not be necessary to pull Item A in its entirety to make a correction to the minutes. Councilor Brown left Item A in the Consent Calendar. Councilor Ortiz wanted to pull the minutes from the Council Meeting held on August 10. She asked that the minutes recorder review her comments reflected in the last paragraph on page 3 in order to clarify her intent. Councilor Brown offered the following correction to the Work Session held on May 11: ? Page 8, paragraph 11, last sentence: “If the funding was used as proposed, nothing was left in the Facility Reserve for seismic upgrades for two fire stations, the airport fire station main terminal building, or any other first responder site.” Roll call vote; the motion to approve the Consent Calendar with the exception of the minutes from August 10 and Item C, and with the aforementioned amendment to the minutes of the Work Session held on May 11, passed unanimously, 7:0. Councilor Brown stated that he meant no disrespect to the Frohnmayers. He said he was “old school” regarding the naming of structures and he thought it was too soon after the Frohnmayer’s departure. He thought the renaming would pass and he was not strongly opposed to it, but he intended to vote against it. Councilor Pryor understood the concern, but he thought the naming of the DeFazio Bridge had set a precedent for doing so. He averred that Representative DeFazio had richly deserved having a bridge named for him because he had MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 6 Regular Meeting done an enormous amount of good for Oregon and the Eugene/Springfield area. He believed that Dave and Lynn Frohnmayer had also done great things for the area and for the state. He recalled his long relationship with Mr. Frohnmayer, one in which they had not always agreed about things. He listed Mr. Frohnmayer’s accomplishments which included adding new academic centers and a great deal of fundraising, noting that he had excluded listing the athletic facilities. He declared that Mr. Frohnmayer and his wife, Lynn, had done an enormous amount of good for the University of Oregon and the community in which it resided and he believed that this tribute was at a reasonable level and was a good thing to do. He supported the renaming “wholeheartedly.” Councilor Taylor noted that she had voted against naming the bridge after Rep. DeFazio, though she was a great admirer of his. She thought they needed a policy regarding naming and to determine whether the public should be involved in such activities. She indicated she would vote against the item. Councilor Clark agreed that a discussion on a policy for a naming process would be in order. Nonetheless, he was very happy to support this particular item. He believed that there were children all over the state and even all over the country who would benefit from the work of the Frohnmayers. He could not think of a more fitting tribute to two people who had “spent a lifetime building bridges between people in the State of Oregon.” Mayor Piercy remarked that it would be tough to have a discussion on the process at this point without sending a message they might not want to send. She believed that the naming of this bridge was a good choice. The motion passed, 5:2; Councilors Taylor and Brown voting in opposition. The meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Ruth Atcherson) MINUTES—Eugene City Council September 14, 2009 Page 7 Regular Meeting