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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 05/11/09 Work SessionMINUTES City Council McNutt Room -- Eugene City Hall 777 Pearl Street — Eugene, Oregon May 11, 2009 5:30 p.m. PRESENT: Alan Zelenka, Mike Clark, Betty Taylor, Jennifer Solomon, George Poling, Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, George Brown, members. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. I. COMMITTEE REPORTS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL AND CITY MANAGER Acting Police Chief Pete Kerns reported on the City's first homicide of 2009. He said the homicide had occurred in Skinner Butte Park. He did not know much about the victim at this time and indicated that officers were still processing the crime scene. Chief Kerns indicated he would share more information with the council as it became available. Mayor Piercy reported that along with several councilors and other elected officials, she had attended the deployment ceremony for the local National Guard battalion to Iraq to thank the battalion members for their service and their families for their sacrifice. She expressed the hope that all battalion members returned home safely. Mayor Piercy noted the council's recent receipt of information regarding the 46 commendations received by Eugene police officers, as well as a communication to Acting Police Chief Pete Kerns from District Attorney Alex Gardner commending Eugene Detective Matt Herbert for his work on serious violent crime. She wished to acknowledge the good work being done by the Eugene Police Department. Mayor Piercy reported that Eugene had been mentioned as one of the top cities in the country for its residents' interest in alternative modes vehicles, and was also listed as the third best place for the next generation of workers by Next Generation Consulting. She thought that the recognition Eugene received spoke to the livability of the community. Mayor Piercy expressed appreciation about that day's article in The Register -Guard about the fuel savings realized by Parks and Open Space employees. Mr. Clark recalled a motion he had made with regard to the City's Civilian Review Board (CRB) and recruitment process, which was that it proceed in selecting two new members as soon as practicable. He asked if there was a staff person in place to take that responsibility as it was not his intention to wait for the fall recruitment process. City Manager Jon Ruiz indicated he would report back but anticipated that responsibility would be handled by Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary and her staff. Mr. Clark referred to the work being done by the Metro Plan Subcommittee, which was addressing questions related to authorities and having some interesting discussions. He hoped to have some good recommendations to address some of the questions raised by the joint elected officials (JEO). He said a JEO subcommittee had also MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 1 Work Session been working on economic development proposals and he complimented the manager on the staff support the committee was receiving. He thought its work would be useful to the community. Mr. Clark reported that he and Ms. Ortiz met earlier that day to discuss ambulance service area problems and they were considering some interesting options. He anticipated that there would soon be an article about that effort in The Register - Guard. Mr. Clark said that he and several other councilors had the opportunity to attend the memorial services for late Springfield City Councilor John Woodrow. He offered his condolences to the residents of Springfield on their loss. Mr. Brown noted that he had also attended the National Guard send -off as well as a recent Police Commission retreat. He said that there was discussion at the Police Commission on how to run meetings better, although he considered them well -run already. He acknowledged that improvement could always happen. He had also attended the joint elected officials economic development committee and had high hopes something positive would come out of those meetings. Mr. Poling thanked Mr. Clark for his remarks about Mr. Woodrow, saying his funeral was well - attended and he believed that was a demonstration of Mr. Woodrow's caliber. He said that he attended the National Guard send- off, which was also very well- attended. He wished the National Guard members well. Mr. Poling noted the upcoming Harlow Neighborhood Association meeting. Mr. Pryor said he attended the annual ACE awards and it was wonderful to see the recognition received by teachers, administrators and classified staff. He had been pleased by the turnout. He had also attended the service for Mr. Woodrow and noted his past work with Mr. Woodrow, whom he found to be outgoing and conscientious in the spirit of a good public servant. He believed that Mr. Woodrow had always considered the broader perspective and he thought the community had experienced a great loss in that regard. Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Pryor about the character and contribution of Mr. Woodrow. Ms. Ortiz asked for follow -up on the work that was to have been done by the Downtown Parking Subcommittee, which had met once. Mr. Clark concurred. Ms. Ortiz also attended the deployment of the National Guard battalion and said that it had been a very emotional event. It was hard for people to send their children away, and hard to witness that. However, she was glad she had attended. Ms. Ortiz noted the recent Mexican Mother's Day celebration in Bethel, saying that the participating children were always very cute and the event was a great time. Ms. Ortiz reported that she had attended the Communities of Color event at the Lane Education Service District and the open house held at the Red Cross by Eugene Water & Electric Board. Ms. Ortiz said the Trainsong Neighbors had reorganized themselves and planned a neighborhood clean -up, celebration, and yard sale. Ms. Taylor had attended the Human Services Commission (HSC) special budget committee meeting and regretted that meeting did not result in any more money being allocated to human services. Ms. Taylor noted that the Farmers' Market was open and suggested that the City do something to better the parking situation. She suggested that a start was to stop charging the market for parking. MINUTES --City Council May 11, 2009 Page 2 Work Session Ms. Taylor spoke to the council's inability to separate motions. She said that in the past, people were allowed to separate motions but now people were forced to vote for something they did not support because people would not vote to separate motions. As a result, she had to vote about things she thought was wrong, like the supervision of the police auditor, which was a concern to some people. There were people who were upset about the limitations placed by the council on the interim auditor, which she had to support in order to get the auditor reinstated. She thought that was wrong. She also wanted to repeal the limitations the council placed on the auditor and hoped that occurred. Mr. Zelenka said he had attended a performance of Spam -A -Lot at the Hult Center and could report that the arts were alive and well in downtown Eugene. He expressed appreciation that the Hult Center could attract such events. Mr. Zelenka said that the Fairmount Neighbors had discussed the Walnut Mixed Use Station at its most recent meeting. He announced the upcoming meetings of the Fairmount Neighbors, Laurelhill Valley Neighbors and Amazon Neighbors. Mr. Zelenka noted the upcoming public hearing on the budget before the Budget Committee on May 18 Mr. Zelenka said he and Mr. Clark met with Interim Police Auditor Dawn Reynolds to confirm that she was following council direction. He briefly overviewed the meeting and indicated that Ms. Reynolds was checking with the City Attorney's Office to see if the IA Pro Data base was confidential. Ms. Reynolds was working with the Attorney's Office to put together a list of what was and was not confidential. He thought the list would help quite a bit. The council officers had also checked in with Ms. Reynolds on her case load and learned more about her job. Mr. Zelenka noted the police auditor interviews scheduled the next day. Mr. Zelenka noted that he had also attended Mr. Woodrow's memorial service and agreed he was a good man who loved Springfield and would be sorely missed. Mr. Poling thanked the members of the citizen panel interviews who participated in interviews of the police auditor candidates. Mr. Poling said that a recent piece in the newspaper had suggested that the council's support for the police auditor was waning, which he believed was "180 degrees" from the truth. He said the Mayor and council had worked hard to identify the best possible candidate for the job and was committed to that goal. To say the council's support had waned was "completely and absolutely" wrong. He emphasized the council and Mayor's support for the program and said they were working hard to make the system work right. City Manager Ruiz reported that he had attended a recent meeting of the West University Neighborhood Associa- tion and while there were there were not many people in attendance, those who were present had been engaged. City Manager Ruiz said that the application period for the position of chief of police had closed and he would soon review the applications the City received. City Manager said he recently attended a meeting of the Arts and Business Alliance and thought the potential for the alliance was huge. The alliance had a committed group of citizens. He anticipated the council would hear more about the alliance in the future. City Manager Ruiz thought the recent newspaper article on the work of Parks and Open Space staff demonstrated how employees at all levels of the organization worked to make a difference. MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 3 Work Session Mayor Piercy said that Mary Lee Woodrow had asked her to convey her thanks for the council's flowers, as they were the first she received and it meant a lot to her to hear from Eugene. Mayor Piercy said Eugene was getting wonderful cooperation from Springfield and Lane County on its economic development efforts. She expressed appreciation to those jurisdictions. Mayor Piercy noted the upcoming forum on the recommendations of the West Eugene Collaborative, scheduled to occur at the Eugene Library the following day. Mayor Piercy said the council was heading into a series of important decisions regarding the independent police auditor system. She suggested this was a good time for the council to gain some clarity around its expectations for the police auditor system so that could be shared with the public, the council, the chief, the Police Commission and the CRB. She believed the purpose of the system could be clarified, and she thought that the council needed to give direction in that regard. She recognized Mr. Zelenka for a motion. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to direct the City Manager to schedule a work session for Monday, May 18, 2009, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on expectations and roles of the police au- ditor, the Civilian Review Board, and the City Council in the police oversight system. Included in the packet should be information about the original information in the police oversight system. Mr. Clark looked forward to having a new beginning with the police auditor's office and its function. He referred to the op -ed piece mentioned earlier by Mr. Poling, written by CRB member Kate Wilkinson. He had been surprised to read a member of the CRB suggest that the council's support for the system was waning. He stated that he had been in favor of transparent, open, civilian oversight of the Police Department from the beginning of the discussion. While the opposite had been printed, it was not true. He was interested in having the most efficient and effective system possible. Ms. Solomon determined from Mr. Zelenka that the motion did not come to the council in advance of the meeting and reminded the council officers of the council's agreement in that regard. She noted that the item was already scheduled for council discussion later in the month. Mr. Zelenka distinguished between the work session already scheduled on May 20, which was concerned with the recommendations of the Police Auditor Ordinance Review Committee ( POARC), and the work session proposed, which would set out expectations for the roles of the police auditor, City Council, and CRB. Ms. Solomon determined from Mr. Zelenka that it was his intent with the motion that the council get ahead of the new police auditor's hiring as he thought it possible the City Council could be hiring a new auditor as early as the next day and that individual could be on board by June. Mr. Zelenka noted his own long -term support for the police auditor system and his support for the changes recently processed by the POARC to make the system stronger. He also wanted to get the best candidate for the police auditor possible to ensure the office was strong and had a forceful role in police oversight. He was eager for the day when a new police auditor was in place, the CRB was at full strength, and police oversight was "business as usual." Mr. Pryor appreciated Mr. Zelenka's desire to provide more clarity about the roles of the various parties. He said it was important the council be clear about its intentions and what it wanted to have happen. He said every employee deserved good supervision and he thought the proposed work session would accomplish that. Mr. Pryor recalled that he had supported placing the auditor on the ballot and had worked to get the measure passed. Now he was being characterized as being against the auditor. He did not know what he could do to be considered "for" the auditor other than to be politicized in regard to the position, and that was not the council's MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 4 Work Session role. He supported having stronger clarity around the roles of the three parties, what good performance was considered to be, and how the auditor's job could be done in the best way. Ms. Ortiz expressed appreciation for Mr. Pryor's remarks. She said it had been difficult not to discuss her views as she did not want to politicize the issue beyond what was occurring through the media. She supported the police auditor and wanted a police auditor program that worked well. The motion passed, 7:1; Ms. Taylor voting no. U. WORK SESSION: Next Steps on Facility Reserves The council was joined by Interim Central Services Director Kristi Hammitt. Acting Police Chief Pete Kerns and Mike Penwell of the Facilities Division were also present for the item. Ms. Hammitt provided a PowerPoint presentation entitled Next Steps on Use of the Facility Reserve. The presentation provided background on the issue and outlined the staff recommendation for a consolidated, parallel planning process that would 1) explore site options for government services (excluding police) currently provided at City Hall and options for the future use of City Hall; 2) provide a detailed analysis of the Country Club Road site for Police Services; and 3) continue to explore long -term options for City Hall consolidation. The presentation also noted the chief's recommendation for a downtown police substation. The presentation laid out a series of steps needed to accomplish the recommenda- tion and associated timeline. Ms. Hammitt invited questions. Mayor Piercy opened the discussion. She indicated a police facility not in downtown would be a "hard sell" for her. She thought the staff presentation omitted mention of the public perception of a physical separation between the police and the rest of the organization, and the public perception of a reduced City commitment to downtown. On the other hand, she believed that City Hall was more than inadequate; it was dangerous. Mayor Piercy thought the council had a duty to get City employees to sites where they could work safely. She believed the City was tempting fate by staying in the building. She wanted to be pragmatic and thought the Country Club Road site was suitable for a police site that helped to address some of the concerns that had been raised. Mayor Piercy suggested the council could mitigate the perception of the appearance of moving away from its commitment by pushing hard on its commitment to keeping the rest of the organization and a public safety station downtown. She advocated for a community conversation about the topic. Mayor Piercy cautioned staff to do due diligence in regard to the Country Club facility. She observed that she would miss the connection with the County if the City administration moved out of City Hall. She anticipated that the manager would negotiate the best price possible. Mr. Clark shared many of the Mayor's sentiments and expressed appreciation for them. With regard to the concept of a city hall campus, he favored the idea in a general way. He did not want the concept to become the permanent way of delivering City services, and wanted the organization to continue to look for more permanent city hall location. He continued to favor the Eugene Water & Electric Board site for that purpose and hoped the council continued to discuss that option. Mr. Clark spoke to the proposed police facility building and expressed concern about traffic and access. He said he would like to hear more from staff about that. Mr. Clark liked the idea of having a public safety station downtown to mitigate for the move of the police to Country Club Road. He was concerned about leaving downtown but agreed that the need was real and imminent. He wanted to be pragmatic because he was very concerned about what the City could afford, and thought that when such an opportunity arose, the City needed to be prudent about public resources and make a smart decision. He iVIINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 5 Work Session said that if the council could address the need inexpensively, it owed it to the taxpayers to do that. He looked forward to the appraisal process and hopped the costs could be brought down. Addressing Mr. Clark's questions about access and traffic, Chief Kerns said the police were not dispatched out of the Police Department so he did not think access would be a problem. In regard to traffic and access, Chief Kerns did not think it would be much different than trying to access City Hall at rush hour, particularly if the station had a dedicated access to I -105. He thought the presence the department created in the downtown core, aside from assigned police patrols and assigned patrol teams, was determined by the department's workload studies and those would not change because the police were not headquartered downtown. He did not think there would be much of a change downtown in terms of a police presence and suggested the police presence might be enhanced with the new substation. Mr. Poling pointed out to Mr. Clark that police officers also worked staggered shifts, which helped to mitigate traffic. Responding to a question from Mr. Poling, Mr. Penwell said there were several approaches the City could take to the purchase, including a purchase and sale agreement, which was the most expedient approach and left the purchase price subject to the appraisal and due diligence process. Mr. Poling clarified that the cost of the building was not $16 million; $16 million represented both the cost of the building and the costs of the move, and it was possible not all the money would be required. He looked forward to seeing the building's appraisal. He thought in today's market the City should be able to buy the property at the same cost as other parties could. Referring to the City Hall campus concept, Mr. Poling said he was still not sold on that. He questioned how long the concept would last and what would happen to the development when the City moved its offices out. City Manager Ruiz did not think the development would be constructed to the City's needs as most of its needs were general office needs. Special facilities, such as a council chamber space, could be constructed but then easily remodeled to another purpose when the City moved. He suggested that part of the advantage of the concept was synergies created by the existing uses and the presence of so many people within a tighter geographic area. He reminded the council that the City agreed to lease up to 15,000 square feet in the Beam development if necessary and thought the concept might be a way of meeting that obligation. Speaking to the issue of appearances and separating the police from City Hall, Mr. Poling recalled the feedback the City heard during the public input process related to a new city hall facility, when most of the participants indicated support for a separate police facility. He said that once the police finished their briefing, they generally left the building and were on the street in the areas to which they were assigned. Speaking to the potential of a collapsed bridge on the Willamette River in the case of a seismic event, Mr. Poling pointed out that no matter what, one part of the community would lack services. Mr. Brown recalled that the council requested information about the police take -home vehicle idea and asked for the status of that. He said the council also requested information about other first responder sites, adding he would place the airport in that category. The council had not received that information. He thought the council needed that information before it voted on any motions. Mr. Brown asked about the independent analyses mentioned in the staff materials and asked to receive copies. Mr. Penwell indicated the reference was to the space needs assessments done during the city hall master planning process as well as past space needs studies by parties such as Barry Architects. Mr. Brown asked the ideal space for the staff currently at City Hall. Mr. Penwell said the space needs projected for the department for the year MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 6 Work Session 2010 was about 70,000 square feet, twice the amount of space occupied by the police in City Hall. He indicated that accounted for a modest increase in staff predicated on past staffing studies. He confirmed, in response to a question from Mr. Brown, that those studies included the Magellan report, which did not speak to the square footage needed by the department. The report's staffing analysis was translated into square footage through a space needs analysis accomplished through the city hall master planning process. Mr. Brown requested a copy of the recent seismic analysis of the Country Club Road property. Mr. Brown expressed concern that the City did not have funding to hire the officers needed to fill the space on Country Club Road, even to a basic service level. The City would have to hire 71 new officers to get to a basic service level, but the recommendation did not provide for that. Mr. Brown said the recommendation would result in the expenditure of the Facility Reserve and the City would have "nothing to play around with" to hire new police or open new jail beds. He believed all councilors were interested in achieving a `typical' community policing service level, which would require 186 new hires. Mr. Brown believed that the City should first hire more officers and then secure a building. Mr. Pryor said it was important to be thoughtful and deliberate, particularly when considering deviating from the master planning process. However, when opportunities presented themselves, particularly if they accomplished certain goals, they needed to be considered. Since the City only could spend the Facility Reserve once, the council needed to proceed carefully. He pointed out the council could not use the Facility Reserve to hire police because it was one time money and should not be used for an ongoing expense. Mr. Pryor suggested that regardless of the police facility's location, the distribution of police officers would be the same. For that reason, he was less concerned about the effect of the location on police operations than about whether the building was a good investment for the use of the City's one -time moneys. Mr. Pryor said he was interested in the EWEB site, but was unsure that could happen. He was also interested in the civic center concept. He wanted to explore the available options in a thoughtful and deliberate way. Mr. Zelenka recalled that he had initially favored using managing the Facility Reserve in a way that allowed the City to hire new police officers in a way that avoided the one -time money issue but that had not been well- received by the council. Mr. Zelenka believed that City government was already very decentralized, and pointed out that less than 20 percent of City staff worked in City Hall. He had considered the City Hall master planning process to be a consolidation process, which made sense but cost a lot of money. He did not think the current discussion was about the police or the police facility, but about City Hall. The biggest tenant of the building was the police, so that department's needs had to be taken into account. Mr. Zelenka saw two options for the organization: stay in City Hall or move. He said the council needed to decide if City Hall was worth investing in, and if it met the organization's needs. He noted that the building was built in 1964. It had seismic issues and HVAC issues and the space was inadequate. He said that renovating the building would still result in a space not adequate for the organization. He questioned where the money for such a renovation would come from. He was skeptical that it made sense to stay in the building. However, Mr. Zelenka hoped the building would be painted soon because he anticipated the organization would be housed there for a while regardless. Mr. Zelenka was intrigued by the City Hall campus idea. MINUTES --City Council May 11, 2009 Page 7 Work Session Responding to a question from Ms. Taylor, Ms. Hammitt indicated that $22 million was available in the Facility Reserve. Ms. Taylor thought take -home police cars a better solution than a new police facility. She thought that deserved further investigation. Ms. Taylor believed any new police facility should be located downtown. She had reviewed the motion the council had passed that provided direction to staff, and it directed staff to find a downtown location for the police facility but staff had returned with a location outside of downtown. Ms. Taylor asked the cost of a police substation. Mr. Penwell said that staff had not programmed out those exact costs given the unknowns of whether the facility would be owned or leased. Ms. Taylor said she had visited the location of the proposed police facility and suggested it was easier to walk into the police station downtown than it would be at the Country Club location. There was no guarantee that a Breeze bus would continue to operate. Ms. Taylor said if the council decided to move forward, she hoped that there was a public vote on the proposal. Ms. Taylor asked if the City would have to demolish the existing City Hall if it was considered to be unsafe. She did not think that made sense. She thought the City needed to do the basic seismic retrofit of City Hall whether it used the building or someone else used it. Ms. Taylor did not think a civic center could be achieved by decentralization, which was what she considered the proposal. Ms. Ortiz asked if the City was still collecting money from the departments for the Facility Reserve. City Manager Ruiz said the transfer would not occur in fiscal year 2010. He believed that the City Council would need to determine how to replenish those dollars in the future to keep the fund sustainable. Ms. Ortiz endorsed staff's incremental approach. She indicated she liked the idea of having the police separate from City Hall. She did not object to demolishing the building, and suggested the potential of doing so and making the site a downtown park until it could be sold. Ms. Ortiz was not happy about the concept of a police facility not in downtown. Many constituents had contacted her about the loss of foot traffic that patronized local businesses. She was cognizant of that concern, but also was also committed to doing what she could in regard to replacing those jobs and encouraging residents to visit downtown. She believed that examination of the parking issue was part of that effort. Mr. Brown believed that a new police facility was a low public priority because it had been voted down three times. However, he thought that public safety improvements were a high priority for voters. The public wanted more police and more jail beds. He thought the council and staff needed to spend more time figuring out reliable ways to fund public safety, even if it was incremental and involved hiring only four new officers each year. He suggested the Facilities Reserve could be used as a trust fund to hire new officers as had been proposed at the Budget Committee. He also thought the City needed to ensure all its buildings were safe for staff and visitors. He thought the City was just beginning to explore the options and there were more options to consider beyond what was before the council. His worst fear was that adoption of the staff recommendation could be divisive in the community and there could be a public backlash. If the funding was used as proposed, nothing was left in the Facility Reserve for seismic upgrades for two fire stations, the airport main terminal building, or any other first responder site. MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 8 Work Session Mr. Brown asked if council action on the recommendation could be referred to a ballot. Mr. Klein said the council could choose to place a measure on the ballot, but unless it voluntarily agreed to do so, the council could take action such that they could not be referred. Mr. Brown believed that if the council failed to refer its action to the voters it would destroy the council's credibility even further and would be a terrible mistake. Speaking to the question of what would happen to City Hall if the police moved out, Mr. Poling suggested that was part of the future process. He said if the City Council decided to bring other functions back to City Hall if the police moved out, he would be willing to give up his office space, which he did not use and which was a project that had cost much more than initially envisioned. Speaking to Mr. Brown's concern about the airport fire station, Mr. Poling pointed out that the City was in the process of building a new station with the use of federal stimulus money as well as from other sources. Mr. Poling said the public voted down new taxes, not necessarily a new police facility. Subsequently, the City Council had begun to set aside the money. The City had the need and opportunity to use the money as intended, and the council had the right to make the decision about the expenditure. Mr. Poling believed that the space issue was one of the hard decisions the council had to make. He said the council could "dance around" the issue and have a "chicken and egg" discussion but he thought it needed to "step up to the plate" and make a decision. Mr. Zelenka reiterated that the issue for him was not about the police patrol but about City Hall and all the functions in City Hall. He said he supported referring a measure to the ballot if it addressed only the police facility. He considered the recommendation a plan to deal with all the functions in City Hall. He reiterated that the civic center concept had a lot of appeal to him given the activity it would create within a one- to two -block period. Mr. Zelenka thought there were many things the City could do with the existing building and expressed interest in Ms. Ortiz's suggestion for a park. However, he suggested the City needed the money the building's sale would realize. Mr. Zelenka wanted to avoid creating another pit. Mr. Zelenka did not think all buildings needed to be preserved. Sometimes it was time for buildings to go. That left the question of where to locate the police, which was a service with special needs. Very few buildings fit those needs, and to build a new building would cost $34 million. Mr. Zelenka said that the City could get the functional- ity for less than half that amount, and he wanted to explore the concept in more detail. Mr. Zelenka acknowledged that he did not think the police needed to be downtown. He said that if the City built a new police facility, it would be basically be a "ghost garage." If the police were doing their jobs right, they would not be in the building, and he did not think a "ghost garage" was the best use of space downtown. He believed the police presence could be provided through a police substation. He found the Country Club Road building interesting because it met seismic standards, was located on a Lane Transit District bus line, was proximate to I- 105, was essentially a shell, the needed technology could be easily put in place and the building had adequate parking. Ms. Taylor asked why the City needed a police facility if there was no one there. She said that took her back to the suggestion for take -home cars. Ms. Taylor believed City Hall was falling apart because the City had not maintained it. She said the City needed to do the basic seismic upgrade of the building if anyone was to use it. She preferred to rehabilitate and reuse City Hall and construct a basic office building in the parking lot across the street for the rest of the staff. She did not think the City needed to embark on an expensive public input process and recalled a two -day event the City held several years ago, during which several people advocated for rehabilitation of City Hall, but after it was over nobody remembered that. Ms. Taylor thought City Hall could be made to look good, and commended the plantings outside the City Manager's Office. She preferred to spend the money to make City Hall look decent and be safe. MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 9 Work Session Ms. Ortiz agreed with Mr. Poling's remarks about the past votes. She agreed with Mr. Zelenka that the council needed to look beyond downtown. She suggested that providing the police with decent space was a matter of equity. Ms. Ortiz said she used her office at City Hall but would also be willing to give it up. While she appreciated the space, she regretted the cost of the project. Mr. Pryor said constructing a new city hall building would cost $120 million, and the City would not have that kind of money anytime soon. The council had to do something in the interim. Mr. Pryor thought that the council would have to spend far more than the amount it had in the Facility Reserve to renovate City Hall. He said the council would have to seek voter approval for a bond to make that happen. Mr. Pryor was intrigued with the idea of a temporary park. Mr. Pryor believed the recommendation might not be the entire solution, but it would move the organization toward a more permanent solution. He said it was not viable for the organization to stay in City Hall. He liked the options presented to the council and supported the public input proposed. He said the council had the responsibil- ity for making the decision, but he wanted its decision to represent an informed choice. Mayor Piercy reminded the council that it had been working on the issue for the last few years and the council majority had not changed its vote; for several years, the council majority had said the organization should vacate City Hall over time, and would build a new city hall. Nothing had changed; the issue was how the council would reach that goal. Given the current economy, Mayor Piercy believed that the public expected the council to go about solving the problem in the most practical and cost - effective way possible. Mayor Piercy reminded the council that it needed the organization's first responders in a place where they could provide services in case of an emergency. That was a basic service, not the "bow on a cake." She thought the council owed that to the public, and reiterated the question was which avenue it would try. She suggested that the council needed to move on and try to get together on this, and councilors needed to decide what they could live with. Mr. Brown thought there was general agreement with the Mayor. He clarified for Mr. Poling that he was speaking about the airport terminal and the two active fire stations that were considered seismically vulnerable. Responding to a question from Mr. Brown, Mr. Penwell said that the building at 858 Pearl was about 16,000 to 17,000 square feet and had no basement. Mr. Brown said he was not interested in more public process about the future of City Hall, although he was interested in more public input related to a new police facility because someone might have a good idea that led to the best use of the $22 million in the Facility Reserve. He suggested the potential of using urban renewal dollars for a new police facility. Mr. Clark expressed appreciation for Mr. Brown's remarks about the need for new officers and said he would offer the Budget Committee a motion to fund new officers again this year. He believed that the public deserved the most effective public safety system at the least possible cost, and for that reason found the recommendation intriguing. Mr. Clark asked about City Manager Ruiz' communication with EWEB regarding the City's interest in the utility's administrative building. City Manager Ruiz said he had not written a formal letter but had discussed the issue with General Manager Randy Berggren. He anticipated further discussion. Mr. Clark advocated for contact with the MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 10 Work Session board as he had heard from a couple of board members expressing confusion about the status of the situation. City :Manager Ruiz indicated he would send the board a letter. Mr. Clark was interested in public input because he wanted to hear from the general public if there were better ideas available. However, he was not interested in another $2 million visioning process using outside consultants. He wanted to do what was possible with City staff to engage public input. Mayor Piercy did not contemplate a long public process and emphasized the importance of being clear with the public about what type of feedback the council was asking for. Mr. Zelenka, seconded by Mr. Clark, moved to direct the City Manager to initiate a public forum for the purpose of seeking community input on the options for City Hall and police facilities, and bring back the results to the council prior to the council break on August 13, 2009. Mr. Brown determined from Mr. Zelenka that the motion did not preclude people from coming up with their own options. Mr. Poling termed the motion a rehash of what the council had been doing for ten years. He feared to lose a practical and cost - effective way to move the Police Department to a new facility tomorrow. Speaking to Mr. Brown's suggestion that a good idea could come from a member of the community, Mr. Poling pointed out that the proposal to use the building on Country Club Road came from a member of the community. Mr. Poling, seconded by Ms. Solomon, moved to substitute the motion with a motion that directed the City Manager to attempt to negotiate a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) for the property at 300 Country Club Road for a price to be determined following completion of an appraisal, and to make the PSA contingent upon council approval of the purchase price. Mr. Clark said while he did not want to get bogged down in more discussion that did not lead to a council action, he wanted to leave room in the schedule for additional public input. Mr. Pryor did not think holding a forum was a complicated thing. He said the council had not had any formal public input on the options now before the council, and he was interested in hearing that. He did not think the process would materially affect the timeline. His concern about supporting Mr. Poling's motion was that it sent a signal that the council did not want to provide for public input. While he appreciated Mr. Poling's desire to get something done, he thought the public forum would not interfere with the other necessary steps, such as the property appraisal. City Manager Ruiz indicated that staff would prefer a council motion regarding the appraisal. He did not think a public forum that allowed people to provide meaningful feedback would be difficult to arrange using City staff. He said that the City also had other steps it had to take before it could purchase Country Club Road property. Mr. Poling said that if Mr. Pryor had accurately portrayed the process that would occur if Mr. Zelenka's motion passed, he was willing to withdraw his motion. His intent in offering the motion was to convey to the owner of the Country Club Road property that the council considered his property a viable option for the police facility. Mr. Zelenka concurred with the assessment of Mr. Pryor. Mr. Poling withdrew his motion. Ms. Solomon withdrew her second. MINUTES —City Council May 11, 2009 Page 11 Work Session Mr. Clark offered a friendly amendment that the motion include direction to the City Manager to move forward concurrently with the property appraisal and other due diligence tasks related to the acquisition of the property. Mr. Zelenka accepted the friendly amendment. The motion passed, 6:1:1; Ms. Taylor voting no, and Mr. Brown being out of the room when the vote was taken. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES --City Council May 11, 2009 Page 12 Work Session