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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCMinutes - 01/07/04 SOC MINUTES Eugene City Council State of the City Eugene Conference Center January 7, 2004 11:30 a.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: Gary Pap6, Nancy Nathanson, Scott Meisner, David Kelly, Betty Taylor, Bonny Bettman, George Poling, Jennifer Solomon. Mayor James D. Torrey called the meeting of the Eugene City Council to order. I. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Council President Gary Pap6 welcomed those present and introduced the City Council. He also introduced City Manager Dennis Taylor. Mr. Poling led the audience in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. II. RECOGNITION AWARDS Mayor Torrey presented Community Service awards to Lance Lowell, the organizer of The Revolution, a youth activity night, and to Greg Ewert for his work with the Kids Club at Fourteen Pines. Mayor Torrey presented Employee Recognition awards to Alternate Modes Coordinator Diane Bishop, Officer Randy Foster of the Traffic Enforcement Unit, and to Human Rights Program Director Greg Rikhoff. Mayor Torrey recognized the efforts of Beth Forrest, Sarita Black, and Jan Bohman of the City Manager's Office in organizing the event. III. STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS Mayor Torrey recognized the efforts of City staff during the recent ice storm. Mayor Torrey recognized the City's executive management team: Assistant City Manager Jim Carlson of Central Services, Fire Chief Tom Tallon, Library, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director Angel Jones, Public Works Director Kurt Corey, Planning and Development Director Tom Coyle, Finance and Court Services Director Cindi Hamm, and Human Resource and Risk Services Director Lauren Chouinard. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 7, 2004 Page 1 State of the City Mayor Torrey called the audience's attention to a document distributed to those in attendance outlining the City's 2003 accomplishments. Mayor Torrey reviewed progress on his 2003 goals, reporting that his goal of free library access for all children, regardless of where they lived, had not been achieved but was still worth doing. He advocated for a partnership with Lane County to achieve the goal. Regarding his goal of increased road maintenance, Mayor Torrey noted the progress made with the adoption of a local gas tax but acknowledged the problem was not solved. The City continued to work with its partners on the issue. Mayor Torrey noted recent discussion of potential partnerships between the local jurisdictions for the delivery of service such as fire services and emphasized the importance of extending the discussion to other public safety services, such as the jail. He urged the Board of County Commissioners and the rural fire districts to consider whether consolidation and additional efficiencies made more sense. He said public safety is the top priority service provided by local government and as budgets get tighter, government must get smarter and maintain credibility with its citizens. He called on the three local jurisdictions' budget committees to form a committee to examine ways for them to deliver services together. Mayor Torrey discussed his tour of the state and his findings regarding the school financing issue. He said education funding was the major issue facing Oregon. He learned that citizens were very concerned and did not believe the legislature and governor could solve the problem. He had shared his findings with represen- tatives of five foundations, the Collins Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, Jellwen Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, and Oregon Community Foundation, which were seeking to canvass Oregonians for their education priorities and desired outcomes to determine what the resulting system would look like, how much it would cost, and how it could be paid for. A plan reflecting the results would be forwarded to the legislators and onto the voters. He thought the effort represented the best chance the state has to solve its education funding problem. Mayor Torrey urged the audience to become knowledgeable about the issue of education funding and to vote their convictions. He quoted the words of Winston Churchill: "Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to the overwhelming might of the enemy." Mayor Torrey also quoted President Abraham Lincoln: "In a democratic society, you must run the country, as you would steer a riverboat. You don't just set your compass and head south, or you will quickly run aground. Instead, you steer from point to point according to how the river is running and the obstacles that appear in your path. " Mayor Torrey said that President Lincoln's words are still relevant today. He noted some of the issues that had arisen in the past year, including the provision of accessibility features for the new federal courthouse, the siting of a new hospital in Eugene, the siting of a new basketball arena. Mayor Torrey expressed confidence in the City's ability to overcome any obstacles that arose in 2004. Mayor Torrey discussed his 2004 goals, noting the theme of "Time, Place, and Partnerships." Among his goals was Metropolitan Area Transportation Infrastructure Funding. He emphasized the importance of partnerships and noted the interjurisdictional United Front lobbying effort. Mayor Torrey spoke of his MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 7, 2004 Page 2 State of the City interest in seeing offramps into Eugene and Springfield from the new Willamette I-5 Bridge. He said the project had the support of Congressman Peter DeFazio and many local public officials. He asked the participants in the upcoming United Front visit to seek federal transportation funding to expand the environmental documentation required for the bridge replacement project to include a study of a new interchange at 1-5 and Franklin Boulevard. He called for continued effort to fund the Beltline Gateway project and the needed improvements from River Road to 1-5 on the Beltline. Mayor Torrey also called for completion of the West Eugene Parkway. Mayor Torrey advocated for Eugene to develop a new economic development strategy to replace the outdated existing strategy. He asked the City Council to join him in the effort. He wanted to bring together a committee to examine the City's past efforts, where it had been, where it was today, and finally, where it needed to be for the future. He called attention to the council's adopted growth management policy 16, ~Focus efforts to diversify the local economy and provide family wage jobs principally by supporting local and environmentally-sensitive businesses." He said it was time for Eugene to review its economic strategy and adopt a new economic strategy consistent with the economic realities that face the city of Eugene today. He noted that Eugene had been supplanted by Salem as Oregon's second largest city, and said Eugene would not be the second largest city by the year 2010 unless it learned to succeed as a partner in our region. Mayor Torrey suggested that the committee commence its work while the City went through the next budget cycle, and employ diverse expertise from many sources. He cited the Region 2050 project, a regional planning effort, as a model for the effort, and noted that the Region 2050 partners will ask representatives of various Lane County communities, many of whom were present, for their opinions about three regional growth scenarios. That input will help shape the Preferred Growth Scenario, which will be part of the Regional Growth Management Strategy for the Southern Willamette Valley which will be adopted and carried out in the policies and actions of the County and the ten cities. Mayor Torrey said that a stated economic development strategy was important because the City's public and private sector partners deserve to know where Eugene's elected officials stand and what part Eugene will play in the region between now and 2050. There was no better time than during an election year to have a discussion about how to capitalize on the area's many assets, such as the University of Oregon, Riverfront Research Park, PeaceHealth, and Triad. He wanted the committee to consider the issue of the urban growth boundary, the location of the fairgrounds and convention center, how to best support local start-up and existing companies, and whether the community should recruit new outside companies. Mayor Torrey proposed that the committee submit its final report to the City Council in June 2004, with the goal of council adoption of a final strategy before December 1, 2004. Mayor Torrey suggested that the community take a more visionary look at governmental civic center facilities. He reiterated his theme of time, place, and partnerships and pointed out the many growing government spaces needs, including the need for a new police center and a new City Hall. He said he was asking 15 public and private citizens to serve as members of a special Civic Facilities Visioning Committee. The proposed committee will look at the best use of existing public buildings and land, joint facility efficiencies, phasing opportunities, financial implications, and relocation opportunities, with goal of having a final report regarding the advisability of asking the voters to support a Police Services Building measure in November 2004 before the City Council in early June 2004. He suggested the committee start its work in February following a public design charette to be held January 23 and 24. MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 7, 2004 Page 3 State of the City Mayor Torrey concluded his eighth State of the City address by again quoting Robert Frost: ';The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep". Mayor Torrey asked God to bless the men and women of the United States armed services wherever they were serving around the world. He thanked those in attendance for coming. Mayor Torrey adjourned the meeting at 1:24 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Dennis M. Taylor City Manager (Recorded by Kimberly Young) MINUTES--Eugene City Council January 7, 2004 Page 4 State of the City