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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 10/12/09 Work SessionMINUTES City Council work Session McNutt Room Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street Eugene, Oregon October 12, 2009 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Chris Pryor, George Brown, members. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the October 12, 2009, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER Mayor Piercy commented on the recent well- attended "Great Solar Tour," which was a big success. She also reported on her attendance at a performance at Yuj in Gakuen Elementary School as part of the recent Day of Culture event, as well as her attendance at an event sponsored by Mid -Town Arts. She recognized the work Mid - Town Arts did to promote art in the community. Mayor Piercy noted that Parks and Open Space staff had reduced its fuel usage by more than 20 percent and she commended staff for that achievement. She announced that Shasta Middle School would soon celebrate 20 years of being a sister school with the middle school in Eugene's sister city, Kakegawa, Japan. Mayor Piercy noted that a local technology firm, Concentric Sky, won a contract to redesign Michael Moore's web site. Mayor Piercy called on residents lacking health insurance to enroll in the Oregon Health Plan with the Oregon Department of Health and Human Services. She anticipated that due to demand, the State would use a lottery approach again this year for new applicants. Mayor Piercy reported that the Hilyard Center and Adaptive Recreation Services would celebrate their 20 birthday and 40 anniversary, respectively, on October 17. She noted that a delegation from Bahrain was visiting Eugene under the auspices of Mobility International. She said a "Prevention Convention" would occur October 17, at Sheldon High School from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mr. Clark reported that he and Ms. Ortiz attended a joint elected officials subcommittee regarding ambulance service delivery and affordability on October 5. Later that evening, they also attended a meeting of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) steering committee for the Beltline improvement project. Mr. Clark thanked Police Chief Kerns for the discussion they recently had on downtown safety issues. He said that on October 15, the Eugene Chamber of Commerce would hold its annual Business to Business Expo from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. He planned to participate in the City's booth and encouraged council attendance. Mr. Clark announced the November 5 Santa Clara Community Organization meeting, which would include a special presentation on the Eugene Comprehensive Land Analysis (ECLA). He said that residents of Santa Clara believed the outcome of the process -would significantly impact their neighborhood. Mr. Pryor spoke of a smoke detector distribution project conducted by the Red Cross and City of Eugene. Smoke detectors were distributed in the Trainsong neighborhood; 76 University of Oregon students assisted in the process MINUTES —City Council October 12, 2009 Page 1 as well as six staff from the Fire &Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) Department. He thanked Sandra Johnson of that department for her assistance and Bi -Mart for donating the materials. Mr. Pryor reported that the Housing Policy Board met that week and began to discuss potential new projects. Ms. Taylor asked if the City was doing anything about leaves blocking bicycle paths. She reported that she had attended the October Metropolitan Policy Committee on behalf of Mr. Zelenka and noted the distribution of information about that meeting. Ms. Ortiz reported that she attended several of the FEMS forums for solutions to continue ambulance service funding. She had also attended the Civilian Review Board forum regarding the downtown taser incident. Ms. Ortiz had also attended the meeting of the Trainsong neighbors and commended them for the progress they were making. She reported that she and Ms. Solomon had met with some residents at Putters to discuss planning along Highway 99. Ms. Ortiz indicated she intended to attend the next day's Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) meeting to hear about Seneca's bio mass plant air quality permit. Mr. Brown reported on his attendance at the recent McKenzie watershed Council retreat. He said that the watershed council was doing considerable habitat restoration as well as monitoring for water quality. He said the council also had embarked on a broad campaign to halt the spread of invasive species in the watershed. Mr. Brown said he also attended the Police Commission meeting, which discussed its bylaws and a report form the Use of Force Subcommittee. Mr. Brown reported that he also met with Jana Rygas of the Save Civic Stadium campaign and shared some promising ideas about putting the organization on a more professional footing to be in a position to possibly acquire the stadium property. Ms. Solomon reported she attended a recent meeting of the Metropolitan wastewater Management Commission, which she enjoyed. She noted the upcoming Active Bethel Citizens meeting occurring on October 21, at 7 p.m. at Peterson Barn and invited residents to attend. Mr. Poling reported that the Executive Committee of Travel Lane County had met to review a draft audit and hear a presentation on the organization's new interactive website. The Travel Lane County Board of Directors was meeting on October 22 in Florence as the board's monthly meetings were held in different venues each month. He said that same night, he and Mr. Clark would attend the Cal Young Neighborhood organization meeting. Mr. zelenka also commended Concentric Sky for receiving the contract to redesign Michael Moore's website and recognized that one of the firm's principals, Mike Biglan, was a member of the City's Budget Committee. Mr. zelenka also congratulated Kristi Hammitt, recently appointed as the City's permanent Central Services Director. Mr. zelenka recognized the appointment of City employee Gary Gillespie to the Lane Transit District Board of Directors. Mr. zelenka noted the October 21 meeting of the Sustainability Commission and the October 22 meeting of the South University Neighborhood Association. He also noted the upcoming Thousand Friends of Oregon workshop on greenhouse gases being held at the Springfield Library on October 27. City Manager Ruiz indicated he planned to attend the Business to Business event. He noted the Prevention Convention was the second such event and thanked Lisa Barrong of the Eugene Police Department and her staff for their work on the event. He also recognized the anniversary of the Adaptive Recreation function and thanked staff. He noted the fact it was Adaptive Recreation Month, and encouraged councilors to talk to Adaptive MINUTES —City Council October 12, 2009 Page 2 Recreation staff about the work it was doing. He commended the professionalism and quality of Adaptive Recreation staff. City Manager Ruiz also planned to attend the Cal Young Neighborhood Association meeting. City Manager Ruiz said the Budget Committee would meet on November 2. He believed last year's budget process went exceptionally well and anticipated this year's budget would be equally challenging, if not more so. City Manager Ruiz noted the upcoming Eugene Counts event on October 14. He also announced the Low to No Vision Resource Fair, part of the White Cane Celebration, scheduled on October 15 at the Hilyard Community Center. B. WORK SESSION: H1N1 Briefing The council was joined by Joe Rizzi of the City's Human Resource and Risk Services Division, who provided an update on H IN 1 in the community and answered council questions about the nature of the illness. Mr. Rizzi emphasized that people should stay home if they were ill, should cover their mouths when they coughed, and should wash their hands. He also provided the Lane County information hotline: 682-418 1. C. WORK SESSION: Engaging the Community in Land Use and Future Growth options The council was joined by Carolyn Weiss of the Planning Division, who provided an update on the public involvement process that will follow the Eugene Comprehensive Land Analysis (ECLA) .This process will build on the results of the ECLA to define a vision for the future of Eugene. Planning Director Lisa Gardner and City Attorney Glenn Klein were also in attendance. Councilors asked questions clarifying the information presented. Mayor Piercy solicited council comments. Mr. Clark advocated for a process that was different than the traditional discussion the community had held on such issues. He wanted to avoid polarization and to bring people together as much as possible. He called for a principle- driven process that talked about the shared principles and values that everyone in the community had, and a push toward solutions that focus on those shared principles and values. Mr. Clark asked where adoption of the ECLA ft in the deadlines associated with House Bill 3355. Ms. Gardner said the City would meet the requirement established by the legislation by December 21, 2009. The chart provided by the council demonstrated there were many ongoing efforts that would inform the policy choices that followed; the question was at what point in time did the council want to "take the snapshot" that informed its decisions. She suggested that progress on some of the projects would help paint a more complete "policy picture." Responding to a follow -up question from Mr. Clark about the legal timelines mandated by the state legislature in regard to the establishment of a Eugene -only UGB, Mr. Klein indicated legal staff would follow -up with a memorandum. Responding to a follow -up question from Mr. Clark, Mr. Klein averred that HB 3355 did not split the Eugene-Springfield UGB but gave both communities the authority to independently establish a UGB. Mr. Clark asked if it was true that nothing that Eugene did as part of its adoption process affected Springfield, and vice versa, all the Way to adoption of the UGB. Mr. Klein said in general, yes; however, he would ensure staff followed up in the memorandum. He reminded the council that the Lane Board of County Commissioners was also a part of any decision - making process related to the UGB. Responding to a question from Ms. Solomon, Ms. Weiss indicated that the process proposed by staff reflected some of the elements of the Cheyenne model mentioned in the packet materials; however, the principles and MINUTES --City Council October 12, 2009 Page 3 outcomes were generated by staff with a focus on Eugene. She said staff provided the Cheyenne example because it had been inspired by some aspects of it and wanted to share it with the council. It was not a traditional planning document. It was very user friendly and not just to those interested in land use but to the entire community. Ms. Weiss said the Cheyenne model addressed both vision and implementation. while she thought the City's existing plans had great goals and good policies, Eugene did not have a lot of clarity around its vision. She noted that Cheyenne had also spent considerable time on the implementation element of its plan. Mayor Piercy noted the council had received a link to the Cheyenne plan, which she found interesting. Mr. Pryor liked the idea of employing the elements of the Cheyenne model that worked best. He also recommended staff to employ those elements of the Eugene Decisions process that had worked. He cautioned against giving people the false sense that their suggestions would be automatically implemented and wanted staff to be clear the City was asking for input as opposed to a decision. He said the goal of improved understanding of common goals and community vision would require multiple steps over a significant amount of time. Mr. Pryor was interested in seeing how staff connected the dots in the final planning document. Mr. Poling liked many of the ideas from the Cheyenne model and encouraged staff to glean what it could from it. He expressed concern that the process had the potential of taking on a life of its own. He was also concerned that the council tended to see the same people offering public input, and while he appreciated their input, he wanted to see some new faces. He approved of the draft principles and outcomes as a starting point. Mayor Piercy urged staff to be clear about what the City was trying to accomplish and what the necessary steps were, and to say it in enough ways that it would be heard by as many as possible. Speaking to the nature of citizen participation, Mayor Piercy suggested that some people were just more involved than others and people participated in different ways, leading to multiple tools to facilitate that participation. She encouraged staff to consider using media opportunities to extend an invitation to citizens to participate. Ms. Ortiz expressed appreciation for the citizens the council heard from on a regular basis, but wanted to challenge the "usual suspects" to bring someone new with them to an ECLA forum. She suggested that the templates for each neighborhood might be different depending on the level of citizen input. She asked if citizens could suggest code revisions. Ms. Gardner anticipated that such suggestions could come through the Infill Compatibility Standards project as well as the Strategic Neighborhood Action Plans. Ms. Taylor asked questions clarifying the steps remaining to be completed in the ECLA. She did not want the process to preclude citizens from offering viable options to the City. Mayor Piercy did not want the public conversation to be too broad or too narrow. She said that the Eugene Recisions process had been a broad one but it was conducted several years ago and it was time to check back in with the public on the policies it wanted guiding the community. She wanted ECLA to inform the decision - making process rather than drive it. Mayor Piercy thought the council's policies needed to be the lens through which the council addressed the supply questions that came from ECLA, rather than vice - versa. She said if the council chose to adjust those policies that required another discussion. She suggested the real question was how the council wanted the community to look, and how it could address the community's' needs within that policy context. Mayor Piercy said the council needed to have some agreement about that policy lens before it went to the citizens to ask their opinion. If the council had disparate ideas about what it was trying to accomplish, she anticipated a problem. Ms. Solomon asked how Mayor Piercy's comments fit with the timing associated with ECLA and the deadlines set by the State. Ms. Weiss indicated staff would return with more information. MINUTES —City Council October 12, 2009 Page 4 Mr. Pryor suggested the question was whether information drove policy or if policy drove information. He suggested the former was preferable. He said that perspective and perception also drove policy. Mr. Pryor said the community had opinions, regardless of their factual basis, and the City needed to acknowledge those perceptions if it was to have a meaningful discussion about land use and growth. He anticipated both a "fact" discussion and a "Perception" discussion would occur, and believed the council would need to consider both in its decision- making. Mr. Clark agreed the community had many opinions, and finding a common vision would be a Herculean task. However, he continued to be interested in a process that focused on shared principles and values and believed that could be accomplished. He expressed concern that the legislature could step in if the process took too long to complete. D, WORK SESSION: City Council Process Session The council discussed carry -over items 9 -12 from its recent process session. Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary clarified that not all the items were generated by councilors; some were generated by staff. IL MayorlCity Council e -mail list Ms. Medary briefly described the scope of the list and recalled that a concern had been expressed by a councilor that too many people were on the list. Councilors indicated they had no concerns in this area. 12. Inclusion of ordinances showing legislative /grammatical changes in agenda packets. Mr. Klein outlined a proposal to more clearly show councilors legislative changes in ordinances. The council had no objections to the proposal. 10. New toolsltechnology for agenda materials, meeting records and minutes, goals and issue tracking Ms. Medary reported that the City was working with SharePoint, an online collaboration tool and suggested that councilors who wished to employ the tool could do so. Councilors were very supportive of the use of new technology, with cautions of the need to be aware of the limits imposed by the Public Meeting Law on council discussion using SharePoint. Ms. Ortiz asked that staff keep in mind some people were more conversant with technology than others. She also asked that the council assignments list be updated on the website. Mr. Clark observed that the City's home page still included pictures of former councilors. 9. City Council meeting minutes —detailed versus summary versus video. Ms. Medary sought council direction on the level of detail needed in minutes or whether video would be appropriate as a substitute for minutes. Councilors were not unified in regard to the subject. Mr. Zelenka supported the use of webcasts due to their accuracy, and suggested annotated summary minutes with the time noted to allow people to refer to the webcast. He suggested that the City could hire a resource person to assist those without computer skills. Mr. Clark suggested that minutes provided a valuable level of access for many residents and provided an accurate record of what occurred. He thought it was prudent to make any needed transitions slowly. Mr. Brown found minutes useful on some, but not all occasions. He had been quite interested to see the archived minutes related to urban renewal and thought the detail provided had been useful. He determined from Ms. Medary that the webcasts as well as written minutes were archived. Mr. Poling commended the summaries prepared by Council Coordinator Beth Forrest, to which he frequently MINUTES --City Council October 12, 2009 Page 5 referred. However, he also referred to the minutes of other groups, particularly when the council was considering a recommendation from an advisory group. He liked having hard copy minutes and thought they were a valuable tool. Ms. Solomon was unsure of her position, and asked if the City could broadcast more meetings, such as Police Commission and Housing Policy Board meetings, over the Web. Ms. Medary indicated she would look into that. Ms. Solomon determined from Ms. Medary that the issue was raised in part due to resource concerns. Ms. Solomon thought it was important to consider transparency when talking about meeting minutes. She expressed concern about spending more in one area to save in another area. Mr. Pryor suggested that the minutes needed to be in a format that could be preserved, and paper was not the perfect format for that. He suggested that something on CD could be updated to a new technology. He agreed that access was another issue. He said he preferred a summary approach; if he wanted to know more, he could go back to the video recording. He believed that the actual broadcast would provide a better sense of legislative intent than written minutes. Ms. Taylor was also unsure of her position. She was not ready to say that minutes were not needed. She pointed out that not all citizens had access to computer technology. She was not ready to fire the minutes recorders yet. Mayor Piercy suggested that the issue did not concern the council only; she believed that the public had an interest in the subject as well. She did not want to make a determination without giving the community an opportunity to weigh in. Mr. dark invited the input of minutes- recording staff. Mr. zelenka suggested the minutes recorders would have a new job annotating the webcasts. He said his suggestion would only work for those meetings on webcasts, while other meetings would still have minutes recorders unless the City held more meetings in rooms that were wired for webcasting. That was also a resource issue. Ms. Ortiz concurred with the remarks of Mayor Piercy. She said that she sometimes had a difficult time understanding those offering public comment, and often relied on the minutes for that information. Mayor Piercy adjourned the work session at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jon Ruiz, City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young MINUTES ---City Council October 12, 2009 Page 6