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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: October 12, 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 August 12, 2009, Work Session, and September 15, 2009, Joint Elected Officials Meeting. ATTACHMENTS A. August 12, 2009, Work Session B. September 15, 2009, Joint Elected Officials 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\M091012\S0910122A.doc ATTACHMENT A M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room – City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon August 12, 2009 12:00 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Chris Pryor, Mike Clark, George Poling, Betty Taylor, Alan Zelenka, Jennifer Solomon, George Brown, 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 recognized Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary’s birthday and also noted that Michelle Mortenson had recently been promoted to a new position with the City. Ms. Piercy noted that she and Ms. Taylor and Lane County Commissioner Peter Sorenson would be hosting a health options forum event on August 26 in the Eugene City Hall Council Chamber and that the council would also be hosting a reception for incoming Police Auditor Mark Gissiner from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on August 27, in the McNutt Room. Mr. Clark thanked City staff, Sergeant Lisa Barrong, and the other Eugene Police Department (EPD) personnel who had helped organize the local National Night Out events. Mr. Clark commented that the events had been fantastically successful. Mr. Clark reported on the recent Downtown Parking Subcommittee (DPS) meeting from August 5, 2009, and thanked Parking Services Manager Jeff Petry and the City staff who had generated a number of possible new downtown parking options. Mr. Clark noted that the DPS had directed staff to return for one more meeting to discuss the possibility of implementing free parking options for downtown that would be revenue neutral. Mr. Clark noted that the next Mayor's One-on-One event would take place in Ward 5 on August 25, at a location and time to be determined. Mr. Clark stated that he had considered making a motion for an ordinance revision that would make it illegal to block a bike lane with leaves or other similar detritus in the fall. Mr. Clark further noted he would be willing to forgo his motion in favor of further discussions on the matter at the council work session on September 16. Ms. Solomon acknowledged the success of the recent National Night Out event and thanked the EPD and City staff who had contributed to its success. She noted that her ward's portion of the National Night Out event festivities had taken place at Candlelight Park and had been organized by Active Bethel Citizens representative Gloria Foreman. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 1 Work Session Ms. Solomon reported that the second Bethel Farmers Market would be taking place on August 12, 2009, at Petersen Barn from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. Ms. Solomon noted that neither the Human Services Commission nor the PSCC had met during the previous month. Mr. Brown noted that the Joint Elected Official's (JEO) economic development task team on which he and Mr. Clark served, had been attempting to develop strategies to encourage the growth of local small businesses. Mr. Brown further noted that, to that end, he had drafted a survey for local small businesses to measure the quality of interactions between those businesses and local government agencies. He added that while the City Attorney had advised certain revisions to the survey, his preliminary responses to the survey from local business leaders had been encouraging. Mr. Poling thanked Sergeant Barrong and the other EPD representatives who had participated in the National Night Out events Mr. Poling noted that the Multi-Cultural festival had taken place on August 6 at the Sheldon Community Center, but did not believe that the event had been as well attended as it had in previous years. Mr. Poling noted that Congressman Peter DeFazio would be holding a public forum event at the Eugene Hilton regarding national health care reform on August 18. Mr. Poling noted that he planned to attend a Lane Workforce Partnership award luncheon meeting on August 27. Mr. Poling noted that he planned to attend the Lane Transit District (LTD) steering committee meeting on September 1, where different elements of LTD's various EmX-related projects would be discussed. Mr. Pryor noted that groundbreaking ceremonies for the I-5 Bridge, and Springfield bike lane projects, had recently been held but that he had been unable to attend. Mr. Pryor thanked the EPD and City staff for their work on the National Night Out events. Mr. Pryor noted that while there was no regular Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) meeting scheduled for the current month, the LCOG executive team would be holding a strategy session meeting to determine how the organization might be more effective in advancing various community issues. Mr. Pryor acknowledged the high level of road construction that had been conducted in recent months and felt incredibly impressed at the quality and scope of the work that was being performed. Mr. Pryor expressed that that the road work was "really keeping the promise" of the recent $35 million road construction bond measure and was producing tangible results, particularly with respect to construction along Bailey Hill Road. Ms. Ortiz thanked the various neighborhood organizations and leaders that had contributed to the National Night Out events. Ms. Ortiz noted that while there had been no regular Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) meeting during the month of August, LRAPA had conducted an open house event at Harris Hall regarding the Seneca biomass project. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 2 Work Session Ms. Ortiz commented that she had attended the City Club's recent taser forum and appreciated the variety and quality of the community feedback that had been presented. Ms. Ortiz noted that the EMS task force subcommittee she served on had met recently to discuss how that group planned to roll out information on EMS service and subsequent expansions of same to the communi- ty. Ms. Taylor noted she had received complaints about people loitering in front of the Eugene Public Library and hoped that a committee might be formed to explore ways to address the problem. Ms. Taylor noted she had received complaints regarding the cutting down of blackberry bushes along Amazon Creek. Mr. Zelenka noted that he had attended the recent groundbreaking events for the Millrace Restoration project in Springfield and felt that the project would be highly beneficial to the area. Mr. Zelenka thanked those City and community representatives that had contributed to the National Night Out events. Mr. Zelenka noted he had attended a recent neighborhood arena liaison committee meeting to discuss matters related to construction of the University of Oregon's new Matt Court Arena facility. Mr. Zelenka planned to attend the Laurel Hill Valley Citizen's summer picnic event on August 23. He noted the upcoming meeting of the City's Sustainability Commission on August 19, and further noted that the staff support person for that group, Felicity Fahy, would soon be leaving to assume a position at the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB). Mr. Zelenka noted that Ms. Taylor would be attending the August 13 meeting of the Metro Policy Committee (MPC) in his place. He noted that he also planned to attend the upcoming Lane Workforce Partnership award luncheon meeting. Ms. Taylor noted that she had also attended the recent DPS meetings and stated that she would be willing to invest more money in free parking strategies rather than to attempt to keep such strategies revenue neutral. Ms. Solomon reported that she and Ms. Piercy had recently attended the annual board of directors meeting for the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) at the Valley River Inn where she announced that, over the past five years, the OCF had granted over $32 million to Lane County area non-profit groups. Ms. Piercy asked council members willing to participate in the upcoming Eugene Celebration event to contact Jan Bohman. She commented that Springfield's Millrace Restoration Project was the result of United Front work by Springfield and its partner agencies. Mr. Ruiz noted that he would be participating in a panel discussion at the Springfield Chamber of Commerce's annual economic development breakfast event. Mr. Ruiz noted that he and Ms. Medary had participated in a ride-along with members of the City's Library, Recreation and Cultural Services staff and thanked Senior Recreation Programmer Roger Bailey and the River House staff for their assistance in that regard. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 3 Work Session Mr. Ruiz noted that he would be attending a River Road neighborhood meeting on August 17. He commented on recent instances where the City's permitting process regarding green building applications had gone particularly smoothly. Mr. Ruiz acknowledged Ms. Fahy's service to the City as Sustainability Manager and stated that she had done an excellent job of furthering the City's sustainability goals. He noted that he had attended the City's recent Safety Town events and thanked Sergeant Barrong for her efforts in organizing the event. Mr. Ruiz stated he had participated in a ride-along with EPD bicycle patrol officers during the previous week and thanked Sergeant Sam Kamkar and Officer Tim Hayward for their invaluable assistance. He encouraged the councilors to participate in EPD bicycle ride-alongs should they have the opportunity. B. WORK SESSION – West Eugene Collaborative Recommendations Transportation Planning Manager Rob Inerfeld provided a brief overview of the most recent developments regarding the recommendations recently provided to the council by the West Eugene Collaborative (WEC) and reminded the council that on April 27, they had directed staff to return with further information regarding the potential implementation of those recommendations. Mr. Inerfeld proceeded to brief the council in greater detail on a number of City initiatives that would address the WEC recommendations and which had been outlined in the staff memorandum provided in the agenda item summary materials. Mr. Inerfeld noted that staff would be presenting further information regarding the WEC recommendations in relation to Lane Transit District's (LTD) West Eugene EmX Extension project to the council at their September 30 meeting. Mr. Inerfeld noted that, with respect to the City's efforts to update its own Transportation System Plan (TSP), the WEC transportation recommendations would be considered in context of the larger regional transportation system. Mr. Inerfeld noted that the council had previously directed staff to use STP-U funds to conduct the West 11th Avenue Transportation Corridor study and further noted that the results of that study had addressed several issues related to the WEC recommenda- tions. Mr. Inerfeld noted that staff would return to the council with the results of the West 11th Transportation Corridor Study in the fall of 2009. Mr. Inerfeld described the manner in which the WEC recommendations would be utilized toward the City's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) federal grant funding application. He noted that the primary criteria for the TIGER grant funding included job creation, economic development, livability, innovation, partnership and increased infrastructure life cycles. Mr. Inerfeld explained how the WEC recommendations could be applied to the staff and council evalua- tions of the Eugene Comprehensive Lands Assessment (ECLA) process. Mr. Inerfeld noted that staff was working in conjunction with LTD to seek and assist property owners along West 11th Avenue who might utilize design assistance from the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development's Quick Response program in a manner that corresponded with the WEC recommendations. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 4 Work Session Mr. Inerfeld commented that the Access Management Policy currently being developed by the City staff, a group of strategies designed to improve roadway safety and efficiency, would be presented to the City Council in the fall. Mr. Inerfeld gave a brief description of the Metro Waterways multi-year study to assess the current status of local waterways, which was being performed by the City in conjunction with both the City of Springfield and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Inerfeld provided a brief overview of the timeline and detailed staff responses to the WEC recommen- dations, as included in the agenda item summary materials as Attachments A and B. Ms. Piercy recognized the various members of the WEC who were present at the meeting and thanked them for their time and input. Ms. Piercy appreciated that WEC's focus on short-term strategies intended to relieve local transportation congestion, particularly along West 11th Avenue, and hoped that a careful review of the group's recom- mendations would lead to effective and efficient transportation planning policies for the City of Eugene. Mr. Poling thanked the WEC representatives for their time and effort. Mr. Poling wished to make it clear that the City's investigation into the use of the aforementioned Quick Response program was only in the advance planning stages and did not represent a firm course of action regarding development along West 11th Avenue or Amazon Creek. Mr. Poling felt the TIGER grant might represent a significant opportunity to address long overdue issues of local infrastructure redevelopment. Ms. Solomon agreed with Mr. Poling's comment regarding the TIGER grant opportunity and asked if there was anything that the council might do to assist or accelerate that process. Mr. Inerfeld responded by providing the council members with a brief explanation of the application process and grant requirements, and further noted that the final determinations regarding the TIGER grant awards would be made in February of 2010. Ms. Solomon noted that with respect to the City’s TSP updates and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, there had historically been very limited bicycle access in the areas near Highway 99 and hoped that the WEC recommendations might be used to address those deficiencies. Ms. Piercy asked if it might be helpful to staff completing applications for TIGER grant funding, for the council to request support from other legislative entities. Mr. Inerfeld noted that staff had asked the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to complete the TIGER grant applications jointly with the City of Eugene. He further noted that ODOT and the OTC would be making a determination in that regard sometime in the next week. Ms. Piercy hoped that staff would take advantage of every available resource with respect to the TIGER grant applications. Mr. Inerfeld, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz, noted that the any TIGER grant funding would th primarily be applied towards addressing problems with westbound traffic along 5 Avenue near Highway 99. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 5 Work Session Mr. Pryor felt that implementation of public policies using the WEC recommendations could be highly beneficial to the community. He further commented that it would be advisable to let the public know that the initiatives touched on by the WEC recommendations would have a healthy amount of flexibility with respect to the kinds of projects that might be executed under those initiatives. Mr. Zelenka supported the initiatives described in the staff memorandum and further suggested that the staff might provide more specific information as to the City of Eugene's role in the execution of those initiatives. Mr. Zelenka commented that the staff timeline regarding the WEC Eugene Planning Initiatives had been very helpful in illustrating the long-term and inter-related nature of the initiatives. Mr. Inerfeld, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka, noted that the WEC did not generally address issues related to the westward expansion of LTD's EmX service as such matters were better addressed by the Corridor Committee for the West Eugene EmX expansion which Mr. Pryor and Ms. Solomon served on. Mr. Inerfeld further noted that both LTD and the Corridor Committee had been attempting to identify additional business owners along West 11th Avenue for further input and feedback. Mr. Inerfeld noted that representatives from LTD would be presenting to the council on September 30, and were expected to present further information regarding public involvement on the west Eugene EmX extension at that work session. Mr. Zelenka said it would be important for the City leaders, LTD and the West 11th Corridor Committee to focus on the community benefits provided by western EmX expansion with regard to public participation efforts. Mr. Inerfeld, responding to a question from Mr. Zelenka regarding a study of Highway 126 towards Veneta that had been sponsored by State Senator Prozanski, and Representative Holvey, commented that the study had not received funding during the most recent legislative session. Mr. Inerfeld further noted that Lane County had requested funding for the Highway 126 study as part of the reauthorization of the federal transportation bill. Mr. Brown thanked the members of the WEC for the material in their report and appreciated that certain portions of that report specifically addressed the environmental restoration and protection of local wildlife habitats. th Mr. Brown requested further information regarding the membership of the West 11 Avenue Corridor Committee and asked which agency was responsible for any expansions in the membership of that Committee. Mr. Inerfeld answered that LTD did a certain amount of recruiting for the Corridor Commit- tee, but that they endeavored to keep the membership as balanced as possible between business and community interests. th Mr. Brown maintained that many members of the public felt “shut out” of the West 11 Avenue Corridor Committee process and hoped that the WEC, the Corridor Committee and other similar groups would work to include a broader cross-section of community members. Ms. Piercy commented that the WEC and other groups continually struggled to maintain adequate community representation within their memberships. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 6 Work Session Mr. Poling hoped that it would be made clear to the public that any funds dedicated to roadway mainten- th ance and improvements along West 5 Avenue would come from existing gas tax revenues and not from any revenues expected to go towards any other project area. th Mr. Poling, responding to Mr. Brown’s earlier comments regarding the membership of the West 11 Avenue Corridor Committee, noted that he had recently spoken with LTD Director of Development Services Tom Schwetz who had assured him that LTD was actively working to balance the membership of the Corridor Committee between members of the business community and representatives from local neighborhoods. Mr. Pryor believed that LTD was typically very open to input from the community with respect to how certain public policies might be structured better. He did not anticipate any resistance from LTD with th respect to increasing the number of community or neighborhood representatives on the West 11 Avenue Corridor Committee. Ms. Ortiz agreed that it was very important for a wide variety of local business representatives to provide th input on the West 11 Avenue Corridor Committee and opined that LTD had not worked strongly enough to include more local business leaders. Mr. Inerfeld responded that LTD was continuing its business outreach efforts as well as its efforts to include a greater representation of neighborhood leaders and property owners. Mr. Inerfeld commented that the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC) would be meeting in Eugene on September 15 and 16 and noted that a discussion of the WEC recommendations was currently on the agenda for that meeting. He noted that the OTC would be discussing the TIGER grant program during their August meeting. Ms. Piercy commented that the program for the September OTC meeting was expected to be much shorter than their previous meetings. C. WORK SESSION – Cultural Policy Review Implementation Library, Recreation and Cultural Services Director Renee Grube noted that it had been two years since the Cultural Policy Review (CPR) had been adopted by the council and proceeded to brief the Council on the history and most recent developments surrounding the CPR. She reported that the CPR implementation team had been working diligently since the adoption of the CPR and specifically recognized the efforts of team members Alan Evans, Gretchen Hult Pierce, Kari Westlund and Dave Hauser. She further reported that team member Fred Crafts had recently been appointed as the CPR "ambassador of the arts" and had spoken throughout Eugene on the value of arts in the community. Ms. Grube commented that the implementation team and staff's efforts to achieve the priority goals of the CPR had also positively affected the City's efforts to further its downtown initiative, economic develop- ment, sustainability, and diversity/equity goals. Cultural Services Division Manager Laura Niles informed the council that the staff and implementation team's efforts to execute the goals of the CPR had had the unexpected outcome of significantly increasing the overall level of communication throughout the local arts community with an emphasis on how various individuals and groups such as the Lane Arts Council, DIVA, and the Lord Leebrick Theatre Company might positively benefit the cultural makeup of Eugene. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 7 Work Session Ms. Niles reported that work on the CPR had also greatly increased the level of engagement from the University of Oregon, and that faculty and student representatives from the University's Arts Management and Public Policy programs had directly participated in the CPR process. Ms. Niles commented that the CPR process over the last two years had greatly contributed to the increased level of awareness of how the City's arts and cultural footprint would contribute to the overall success of the community, both socially and economically. She mentioned that articles had appeared in the Register- Guard, several Eugene Chamber of Commerce publications, and Travel Lane Oregon in that regard. Ms. Niles noted that the CPR process had also improved the level of internal communications with respect to the City's cultural strategies and policies. Ms. Niles cited the recent Summer in the City event and noted that the Eugene Police, Planning & Development, and Library Recreation and Cultural Services depart- ments had each contributed to making it a safe and successful event. Ms. Niles noted that a detailed debriefing on Summer in the City would be presented to the council later in the year. Ms. Niles reported that the consultants working on the CPR had determined that while there were many cultural events and activities in Eugene, there was little if any connectivity between those interests. She hoped that the alliance of staff and community members working over the next year on the CPR would be able to help improve the level of Eugene's cultural connectivity. Ms. Niles noted that the a grant request had been written through the Oregon Community Foundation to fund the purchase of a software package called Artsopolis for use by the staff and CPR implementation team. She hoped that the software would be purchased and up and running by September of 2010. Ms. Niles noted that, as part of the staff's efforts to reorganize the City's Cultural Services Division, her office had been relocated from the basement of the Hult Center to staff offices in the Eugene Public Library. She expressed that her awareness and vision of the City's arts and cultural footprint had expanded greatly as a result of that move. Ms. Niles noted that new positions had recently been developed and filled for a Hult Center Manager, Community Events Manager, and Council Cultural Support as part of the CPR process. Ms. Niles reported that the Hult Center Operations Assessment had recently been completed as part of the CPR process wherein the Hult Center was reviewed in comparison to seven similarly sized venues across the country. She noted that the assessment had revealed several strategies towards developing the Hult's concessions and programming services along more sustainable business models. Ms. Niles noted that the CPR process would continue to specifically address how the Hult Center would serve the community as one of the City's most important and visible cultural assets. Ms. Niles noted that the consultant's data and a variety of other information related to the CRP was available online. Ms. Niles maintained that Ms. Piercy's active participation in the CPR process had engendered an enormous amount of community response and would help encourage even more people from across the City to become involved in local cultural events and activities. Ms. Piercy thanked Ms. Niles and her colleagues, and agreed that the Summer in the City events had positively contributed to public safety in and around downtown Eugene. MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 8 Work Session Ms. Piercy encouraged the council members and other community leaders to continue to actively support and encourage local arts and cultural development. Ms. Piercy noted that she had reviewed information regarding the Artsopolis software and believed that it could also be of benefit to the City's cultural goals. Ms. Ortiz hoped that Ms. Niles and her colleagues would continue to help younger members of the community participate in local arts and cultural events. Ms. Ortiz further noted that she had been disappointed to learn that recent opportunities to enlist a local youth arts group had been unsuccessful. Ms. Taylor thanked Ms. Niles and her colleagues for their efforts in facilitating the recent free Eugene Symphony concert at the Cuthbert Amphitheater. Ms. Taylor appreciated that one of the CPR's primary goals had been to encourage greater arts awareness and hoped that venues could be located in order to facilitate cultural events during the colder months of the year. She further suggested that local schools might be utilized in future events related to the CPR. Ms. Niles noted that several local resident arts companies often brought their works and events to area schools. Mr. Zelenka appreciated that the CPR process had positively affected many different areas of the community beyond just the City's diverse arts and cultural activities. Mr. Poling recognized the efforts of former Cultural Services division manager Robb Hankins in creating the City's "World's Greatest City of the Arts and Outdoors" slogan. Mr. Clark asked if there had been any discussion regarding the potential integration of certain aspects of the CPR process with the various School District 4J curriculums. Ms. Niles responded that such discussions had taken place in the Springfield school district with their Integrated Arts program and hoped that such strategies might eventually be applied to Eugene area schools in School District 4J and beyond. Ms. Taylor also noted the efforts of Mr. Hankins and similarly recognized the efforts of former City Council member David Kelly as a key player in Eugene's arts and cultural strategies. Ms. Piercy advocated for increased signage and media outreach strategies designed to increase and enhance awareness of local cultural policies and events. She further encouraged the staff to consider involving Eugene's sister city Irkutsk in the planning of upcoming cultural events. Ms. Piercy thanked the staff again for their work on the CPR and hoped that the process related to the CPR would continue to move forward in a positive manner. Ms. Piercy adjourned the work session meeting at 1:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 9 Work Session (Recorded by Wade Hicks) MINUTES—Eugene City Council August 12, 2009 Page 10 Work Session