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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 06/24/09 Work Session M I N U T E S Eugene City Council Work Session McNutt Room – City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon June 24, 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 12:03 p.m. Ms. Piercy noted that she had recently attended the National Olympic Day event at the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. She noted that the second public forum regarding the proposed new police facility and the relocation of certain City staff offices would take place at the Sheldon Community Center on Thursday, June 25, 2009. Ms. Piercy noted that the opening ceremonies for the National Track and Field Championships would be taking place on Thursday, June 25, 2009. She reminded the council that events commemorating National HIV Day would occur at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, June 26, 2009. Ms. Piercy noted that a Mayor's One-on-One event would be held at 5:00 p.m. on June 30, 2009, at the Rite Aid at the Woodfield Station shopping center. She noted that a press conference with Jeff Merkley would be held on June 29, 2009, at Delta Ponds at 12:30 p.m. Ms. Piercy wished the council members and staff a happy Fourth of July holiday. Mr. Clark noted ongoing discussions between himself, Mr. Zelenka, and new Police Auditor Mark Gissiner about a variety of issues. He commented he had recently met with representatives from the Shangri La Corporation and further reported that they were still in negotiations with the City’s Planning and Development division regarding their housing project along Meyers Road in the north Eugene area. Mr. Clark noted he had attended the June 11, 2009, Police Commission meeting which was a joint meeting with the new police auditor and representatives from the City’s Civilian Review Board (CRB). He further noted there was a robust discussion regarding the varying levels of communication between the Police Commission and the CRB. Mr. Clark reported he had attended a meeting of the Beltline steering committee on June 15, 2009, along with Ms. Ortiz to discuss ODOT’s various interactions with community groups in the area regarding the Beltline upgrade projects. Ms. Solomon noted she attended the Active Bethel Citizens group’s quarterly general meeting to discuss a planned local farmers’ market at Petersen Barn. She further noted that Service Improvement Manager Terrie Monroe had attended that meeting to introduce the City’s outreach program. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 24, 2009 Page 1 Work Session Ms. Solomon noted she had attended the most recent meeting of the Lane County Human Services Commission where they finally passed their budget. She reported she had attended the grand opening of the Prairie View affordable housing complex and would be attending the grand opening of the Golden Gardens Park at 5:00 p.m. on June 25. Mr. Brown commented he had attended a portion of the most recent meeting of the CRB. He noted he had also attended the grand opening of the Prairie View housing complex and suggested that a similar affordable housing complex might be developed in or around the downtown area. Mr. Brown noted he had attended a City Hall community discussion at the Atrium Building regarding the City’s plans for a new police facility and that about 40 people had attended. Mr. Poling noted he and Mr. Clark had attended the Eugene Chamber of Commerce Business’s After Hours event at Crescent Village and reported that there was a very large turnout. He said he was pleased by the turnout at the recent Safety Day event on June 20. Mr. Poling noted there would be a public forum discussion at the Sheldon Community Center on June 25 to begin a series of discussions regarding high speed rail systems between Eugene and Vancouver. He reported he had attended the recent Travel Lane County Visitor Industry Celebration event at Lane Community College where several notable awards and recognitions had been given out. Mr. Pryor noted that the City’s Housing Policy Board would be reviewing applications on June 29 for construction on certain projects. He reported that he would be chairing a meeting of the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) on June 25 in Veneta where one of the agenda items was expected to be the performance evaluation of LCOG’s executive director. Mr. Pryor noted that he had also attended the recent Safety Day event and was very pleased by the turnout. Ms. Ortiz noted that the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) board had recently passed their budget and that the performance evaluation for that group’s executive director would be conducted soon. She further reported that LRAPA would be sending notices about the Seneca biomass burning and would be organizing community open house events regarding the same. Ms. Ortiz stated that she had been working on a taser forum for Friday, July 31 with the City Club of Eugene and that EPD Chief Pete Kerns, Police Auditor Mark Gissiner, Laura Reading from the Civil Defense Center, and Claire Syrett from the American Civil Liberties Union had also been participating in those efforts. Ms. Ortiz thanked the Public Works division for their recent cleanup efforts in the Trainsong neighborhood. She noted that the recent Trainsong Celebration event had been very well attended. She asked that a council work session meeting be scheduled to discuss roadway assessments. Ms. Taylor noted that a meeting of the Southeast Neighbors group had recently taken place and that the Crest Drive Citizens Association had decided not to meet during the summer. She stated she had recently attended the Very Little Theatre’s production of the play “Humble Boy” and encouraged the other council members to support local arts efforts. Mr. Zelenka noted that he had officiated at a recent run for sustainable schools event as well as a hip-hop fundraiser for the HIV Alliance and the Eastside Faith Center. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 24, 2009 Page 2 Work Session Mr. Zelenka noted he had recently toured the new University of Oregon basketball arena construction site and had learned about several of the more technical parking considerations that were being planned for the site. He noted he had attended a recent joint meeting of the City’s Sustainability Commission and Planning Commission groups. Mr. Zelenka noted he had attended the recent transportation town hall meetings with Mayor Piercy and several other City representatives. He also noted that he and Ms. Piercy had attended the most recent Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) meeting where there had been a presentation of the MPC’s long term transportation planning calendar. He suggested that a similar presentation be made to the Eugene City Council. Mr. Zelenka thanked the Lane County Board of Commissioners for their recent vote regarding increased jail beds and noted that the City’s commitment of $1 million in transportation funds toward those efforts had been very helpful. Mr. Clark noted he had recently attended the NAACP’s annual fundraising barbeque. He noted that he had also attended the recent Safety Day event with his family and had been surprised to learn that the Eugene Police Department had chosen not to participate in the event due to budget considerations. Ms. Piercy thanked Fire/EMS Chief Randy Groves for his efforts with regard to the Safety Day event. She noted for the City Manager that representatives from the Prairie View affordable housing complex had expressed interest in building a community garden at that location and hoped that the City might somehow be able to assist in those efforts. City Manager John Ruiz noted he would be participating in the City’s Human Right Commission retreat on June 27. He further noted that efforts regarding the Active Bethel Citizens Eugene Counts events, the City’s urban renewal discussions, the new City Hall/Eugene Police Department facilities, and other community issues would be continuing throughout the summer. Mr. Ruiz noted that the police chief recruitment process was currently ongoing and that interviews for the position were expected to happen toward the end of July. Mr. Ruiz noted that the local Arts & Business Alliance group had been continuing to investigate the creative ways in which arts and business interests in the community intersected. A. WORK SESSION – Sustainability Commission Work Plan FY10 and Annual Report Sustainability Manager Felicity Fahy presented the Sustainability Commission’s Work Plan FY10 and first Annual Report and commended the efforts of the commission members and support staff in that regard. Ms. Fahy thanked Mr. Zelenka for his invaluable input as a Sustainability Commission member. Sustainability Commission Vice Chair Dave Funk provided a brief overview of the history of the Commission as well as the group’s mission statement and the eight priority areas that had been identified by the group (i.e. climate change, transportation, triple bottom line, land use issues, green building, business initiatives, waste, food). He commented that, initially, the group had formed an Immediate Action Subcommittee based on the work of the Portland Peak Oil Task Force Report and the Sustainable Business Initiative Report as well as the testimony from business and community leaders. Mr. Funk summarized the progress on the six initial recommendations provided to the City by the commission as described in Item 3.1.1 of the First Annual Report included as Attachment A to the agenda item summary materials. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 24, 2009 Page 3 Work Session Mr. Funk noted that other items of interest not included in the First Annual Report included joint meetings between the Sustainability Commission and both the City’s Sustainability Board and the City’s Planning Commission, developing liaison relationships with various community groups and social services agencies, a variety of local media outreach efforts to increase awareness of sustainability issues, and the development of the sustaineugene.com website. Mr. Funk further noted that the Sustainability Commission had formed the Land Use Transportation Subcommittee (LUTSC) to explore a variety of sustainability issues with regard to local transportation issues. Sustainability Commission Chair Will Shaver directed the council to their copy of the Sustainability Commission work plan included as Attachment A in the agenda item summary materials and provided a brief overview of the work plan for the benefit of the council. Mr. Shaver proceeded to review each of the eight outcomes listed in the work plan in greater detail for the benefit of the council Ms. Piercy thanked Mr. Shaver and Mr. Funk for their presentations and the Sustainability Commission in general for their work on behalf of the City. She hoped the commission would continue to work with other local business leaders, neighborhood groups and social service agencies to coordinate and develop their sustainability efforts. Mr. Zelenka thanked Ms. Fahy and the Sustainability Commission for their efforts and also recognized the Sustainability Board. He noted that the primary challenge facing the Sustainability Commission was for them to narrow the scope of their efforts into a work plan that was practical and manageable. He commended the commission for the amount of work they had done over the last year and encouraged them to continue coordinating their efforts with local neighborhood groups. Mr. Zelenka commented that the triple bottom line tool used by the Sustainability Commission appeared to be very useful. Mr. Clark felt the commission’s goal to decrease the use of fossil fuels by 50 percent by the year 2030 was laudable but maintained that the metrics surrounding such a goal needed to be carefully and thoughtfully considered. Ms. Fahy, responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, noted that the Sustainability Board was an internal City staff group comprised of members from various City divisions and whose purpose was to set up, implement and maintain various sustainability policies. She further noted that many of the Sustainability Board members had been informally appointed by the City Manager. Ms. Fahy briefly discussed the relationship between the Sustainability Commission and the Sustainability Board for the benefit of the council. Mr. Shaver, responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, briefly discussed the nature of the food security issues being considered and reviewed by the Sustainability Commission. Ms. Ortiz hoped that the work plan might be revised or expanded to incorporate a greater focus on community outreach efforts and the coordination of same with local neighborhood groups. Ms. Fahy responded that the commission was in the process of setting up a sustainability workshop forum to increase public awareness of the commission’s efforts. She further noted that Mr. Funk currently served as the designated liaison to both the Neighborhood Leader’s Council and the community climate and energy group. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 24, 2009 Page 4 Work Session Ms. Fahy noted that she and Climate and Energy Action Coordinator Matt McRae had recently relocated their offices to the Atrium Building in the hopes that doing so might facilitate more efficient connections with members of the public and various community organizations. Mr. Funk briefly described a variety of community outreach efforts employed by the Sustainability Commission. Sustainability Commission member Shawn Boles noted that he was also involved in a program called Communities and Schools Together which had been formed to investigate various sustainability aspects of nutrition and physical education programs. Mr. Brown thanked the commission members for their efforts and hoped he would be able to sit in on a future Sustainability Commission meeting. He noted he was particularly interested in the commission’s efforts with respect to the food security issues and outcomes described in their work plan. Mr. Pryor agreed that food security was a very important component of an effective community sustainability strategy. He added that the protection of local water supplies and associated resources was also highly important in that regard. Ms. Piercy was pleased the Sustainability Commission was not asking members of the public to choose between environmental and economic concerns with respect to sustainability priorities and strategies. She hoped the commission would continue to effectively involve the public with respect to their work plan and future strategies. Mr. Clark agreed with Ms. Piercy’s statement and hoped that the commission would continue to foster productive discussions surrounding the intersection of various environmental and economic concerns. Mr. Zelenka suggested that a successful implementation of carefully considered sustainability policies might help foster the creation of a variety of green jobs in the community. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to approve the Sustainability Commission work plan and accept the annual report. The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. Mr. Funk reiterated that the triple bottom line tool of considering social equity, environmental health and economic prosperity had been very useful to the commission and hoped that it might be used in other City divisions and even local businesses. He invited the council to visit the sustaineugene.com website to learn more about the triple bottom line assessment tool. Mr. Funk, responding to a question from Ms. Piercy, commented that the City’s website did not do an adequate job of encouraging people to visit the sustaineugene.com website. Mr. Shaver thanked Mayor Piercy and the council for their ongoing support. Mr. Boles maintained that the City’s leaders and staff were not doing enough with respect to various sustainability issues and strongly urged them to encourage the enactment of a stronger and more proactive Sustainability Commission work plan. He strongly recommended that the City Manager take a much closer look at the sustainability issues facing the City’s organizational structure. Mr. Ruiz thanked Ms. Fahy and the Sustainability Commission representatives for their presentation. MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 24, 2009 Page 5 Work Session Ms. Piercy adjourned the work session meeting at 1:15 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz City Manager (Recorded by Wade Hicks) MINUTES—Eugene City Council June 24, 2009 Page 6 Work Session