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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/13/11 Work SessionMINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall 777 Pearl Street—Eugene, Oregon July 13, 2011 Noon COUNCILORS PRESENT: Betty Taylor, George Brown, George Poling, Mike Clark, Alan Zelenka, Pat Farr. COUNCILORS ABSENT: Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the July 13, 2011, work session of the Eugene City Council to order. A. WORK SESSION: Items and Committee Reports Mr. Poling encouraged residents to visit the Web site for Travel Lane County, which listed various events occurring throughout the county. Mr. Farr reported the Human Rights Commission (HRC) was on hiatus while it worked on the Listening Project, which was an effort to redefine the commission's work. He commended the manager for initiating the project. He said the commission had conducted several Listening Circles. Mr. Farr anticipated the HRC's annual report would be provided to the council soon. He noted that several new commissioners had joined the HRC, including former Community Development Director Richie Weinman, now retired. Mr. Farr also reported that Human Rights Commissioner Ken Neubeck had attended the Human Rights City International event and had produced a full report that Mr. Farr would share with the council. He noted the recent resignation of Commissioner Melissa Mona and the departure of Human Rights Analyst Holly LeMasurier. He commended the work of Human Rights and Equity Manager Raquel Wells. Mr. Farr announced Eugene Pride Day on August 13 from noon to 7 p.m. at Alton Baker Park. Mr. Zelenka reported that the Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) was working on the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), which was scheduled to be completed before the end of 2011. He reviewed the funding sources that paid for local transportation projects and noted some of the projects submitted by MPC member jurisdictions for State and federal funding. Mr. Zelenka announced the open house for the draft State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) scheduled later that day at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) offices in Springfield. There were 64 projects on the STIP list, including several Eugene projects. He noted that MPC was also completing work on its Title VI Plan, which was out for public review. Mr. Zelenka reminded the council that House Bill 2001, the Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act, required the local metropolitan area to do greenhouse gas scenario planning. In addition, Senate Bill 1059 moved MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 13, 2011 Page 1 Work Session that scenario planning forward by creating a plan for greenhouse gas reduction efforts. The State proposed a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gases with the vast majority of the reductions to come from actions taken on the technology side, like more efficient vehicles and low- carbon fuels. Mr. Zelenka anticipated there would be a need for local land use and transportation policies as well and reported that the State had produced a toolkit to inform that process. Mayor Piercy briefly reported on the recently formed Area Commission on Transportation (ACT), which included representatives of other Lane County cities as well as metropolitan and special interest representatives. The ACT advised the Oregon Transportation Committee on transportation funding. The members of the ACT had been appointed and the ACT was working on its public participation approach. She was the current co -chair of the ACT and Mayor Bob Hooker of Creswell was the chair. Ms. Taylor announced the August 25 Lane Workforce Partnership awards lunch. Springfield School District Superintendent Nancy Golden would be the keynote speaker. She reported that the partnership's federal funding had been reduced but the agency continued to provide job training services to local workers. The center was located at 2510 Oakmont Way and residents could secure assistance with resume preparation and other job - related skills. Mr. Zelenka reported on the work of Sustainability Commission. He first commended the work of Sustainability Liaison Babe O'Sullivan and Climate and Energy Analyst Matt McRae. He announced that commissioners Lisa Arkin, Teresa Brand, Josh Bruce, and Will Shaver were leaving the commission and new commissioners were joining the commission. The commission had held one work planning retreat and would hold a second retreat on July 16. Mr. Zelenka briefly reviewed the commission's recent agenda items and public outreach efforts and emphasized the close tie between many of the staff and commission work plan items and the City's Climate & Energy Action Plan. Mr. Zelenka reported that the Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) was working on its Integrated Energy Resource Plan and suggested the council track that effort due to the plan's relationship to the City's Climate & Energy Action Plan. He requested staff updates on the IERP process and anticipated the IERP would be a subject of discussion at the council's upcoming joint meeting with the EWEB commissioners. He also felt it was important to include the item on the Sustainability Commission's work plan and determined there was no council objection to that. Mayor Piercy shared the ceremonial Millennium Drum that had been presented to Eugene by the Chinju, Korea, Sister City Delegation. She thanked the Sister City Foundation for its work in hosting the delegation. She emphasized the contributions that sister city relationships made toward peace and shared knowledge. She noted that two students from Eugene were leaving for Chinju that day. Mr. Poling shared the dates of some summer events sponsored by the Harlow Neighborhood Association meeting. He thanked the North Park Community Church for its interest in association activities. Mr. Poling also reminded residents of the ongoing road construction on Coburg Road and thanked Public Works for the overlay on Sandy Drive. He noted the upcoming Broiler Festival in Springfield. Ms. Taylor shared the National League of Cities Planning Guide for Civic Engagement with Immigrant Communities with the council. Mayor Piercy reported that she had addressed the Humphries Fellows at the UO earlier that day. The fellows came from all over the world to the UO to learn better English before attending universities throughout the United States. The fellows had told her they loved being in Eugene and had expressed their appreciation for the welcome they had received from the community. MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 13, 2011 Page 2 Work Session City Manager Jon Ruiz reported he had met with the new School District 4J Superintendent of Schools Shelley Berman the previous day and welcomed Mr. Berman to Eugene. He also reported that the City held an open house regarding 20- minute neighborhoods earlier in the week and it went very well. City Manager Ruiz reminded the council of the "Summer in the City" event scheduled that night. He thanked Health and Fitness Director Steve Auferoth for coordinating the City Manager's Activity Challenge, occurring during the month of July. Mayor Piercy commended the City's Web site, in particular the Eugene Counts Dashboard. B. WORK SESSION: Kaufman Center Design /Construction Section Manager Mike Penwell and Acting Recreation Services Director Craig Smith joined the council for the item. Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director Renee Grube, Acting Facilities Director Mymie Daut, and Senior Real Property Officer Russ Royer were also present. Mr. Smith provided the council with a short history of the Trude Kaufman Center and an update on the center's current condition and status. He explained that in January 2011 Cascade Solutions had vacated the lease and moved its services to another location. The center had been mothballed since that time. It cost the City $20,000 annually to maintain it in that status; that cost was paid out of the Kaufman Trust Fund. Continuing the presentation, Mr. Penwell provided information on the cost of renovating the structure, which he estimated at $150,000 to $200,000 if the building was in residential use; renovating the structure for institutional use would be significantly higher. He noted that the structure was the subject of the S- HK Historic Kaufman House Special Area Zone, which prohibited partition or subdivision of the property and required any landscaping or building alterations to comply with the approval criteria found in Eugene Code 9.817. The City could sell the house or use it for another purpose. Mr. Smith indicated the Recreation Division could not find a use for the center and would seek input from other departments and the relevant neighborhood associations on the future use of the property. Councilors asked questions clarifying the details of the presentation but had no objection to the staff recommendation to seek input from other departments and the neighborhood associations on the use of the property. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 1:11 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ,6 c t, ) �1� Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 13, 2011 Page 3 Work Session