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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Minutes - 07/23/12 Work SessionMINUTES Eugene City Council McNutt Room —City Hall 777 Pearl Street— Eugene, Oregon July 23, 2012 5:30 p.m. COUNCILORS PRESENT: George Brown, Pat Farr, Betty Taylor, Andrea Ortiz, George Poling, Mike Clark, Chris Pryor, Alan Zelenka. Her Honor Mayor Kitty Piercy called the July 23, 2012, 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 thanked those responsible for the recent, free Eugene Symphony in the Park concert at Cuthbert Amphitheatre. She noted that there would be a Mayor's One -on -One at Albertson's on Royal Avenue on July 31 and that she and Councilor Farr would be there to speak with citizens about community issues. She reminded the group that the Mayor's Innovation Project would be taking place in Eugene in early August. Councilor Taylor also commented on how much she had enjoyed the Eugene Symphony in the Park concert. She noted that the Lane Workforce Partnership was planning a working retreat. She said she had just attended the National League of Cities (NLC) board meeting. She noted that the NLC's influence in the nation seemed to be growing. She said Home Depot was a corporate partner of the NLC and was looking for community projects with which to be involved, including providing building materials and staff for veteran's housing projects. Councilor Poling said a meeting to discuss traffic- calming on Jeppesen Acres Road would be held July 25. He noted that the Lane County Home Builders Association had recently honored City Manager Jon Ruiz and Terry McDonald, executive director of St. Vincent DePaul, for their efforts to create housing for veterans in concert with the Home Builder's Association. Councilor Pryor noted that the neighbors in the Acorn Park Area had created a path from the street to the park by providing labor and materials for the path. He noted this as a great example of a neighbors working together to improve their neighborhood. Councilor Ortiz said she had recently attended an event in celebration of Union Pacific's (UP) 150' year of operation in the area. She said UP was offering officials a free ride to Salem on the train on July 30 and would return participants to the area by noon. Councilor Zelenka said he, too, had attended the UP event. He also said he had attended and greatly enjoyed the Symphony in the Park event. He noted that the Laurel Hill Valley Picnic was coming up and was attempting to have a no -waste event. He noted that several movies in the park were planned. He said he was concerned about a recent stop -work order issued to the Capstone project. MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 23, 2012 Page 1 Work Session Councilor Farr reminded the group that a young woman named Shelley Deadmond had recently spoken at one of the council's public forums on an anaerobic digestion plant with which she is affiliated. He said he had visited the biogas production facility over the weekend. He said the group has recently secured a grant to help Otter Crest problems related to its effluents. He noted that Councilor Pryor had spoken at a recent Human Services Commission meeting and had done a good job of summarizing the funding for human services. He said the council would soon receive a statement from the Human Rights Commission regarding a statement of principles from Lane County Network for Immigration Integration. Assistant City Manager Sarah Medary noted that the council had gotten the Santa Clara River Road Outreach and Learning Report in a recent packet and that this was an excellent example of neighborhood leaders working together. Councilor Brown said mitigation efforts to reduce the amount of dust being raised by demolition work for the Capstone project were ineffective. He said a lack of transparency and responsiveness by this group had prompted the motion he was about to present. The council discussed the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency's (LRAPA) role in the demolition work. Some councilors were concerned with a perceived lack of concern shown by Capstone in terms of demolition work and the possible toxins being released into the air in the area of the demolition work. There was concern that an environmental assessment report for the project had not been issued. MOTION AND VOTE Councilor Brown moved, seconded by Councilor Taylor, it is the intent of the City Council that the demolition of the PeaceHealth Clinic does not compromise the health and well -being of nearby residents, workers and visitors due to air -born hazardous materials (asbestos, lead, ultrafine particulate matter, etc.) that may be generated on site. The issuance of a City "stop work order" last week indicates lingering problems in this area. Council directs the City Manager to provide council at the Wednesday, July 25 work session with copies of any prior environmental assessment including the asbestos survey, and to provide council with specific protocols, air - quality monitoring and independent oversight being employed by the contractors and public agencies to ensure that council's intent is adequately addressed. FAILED: 2:6; Councilors Brown and Taylor in favor. Mayor Piercy requested staff to submit whatever information about the council's concerns related to Capstone it could gather by its next work session on July 25. B. WORK SESSION Annual Meeting with Police Commission Police Commission Chair Juan Carlos Valle and Vice Chair Tamara Miller reported on the commissions' past accomplishments and its present work and future plans. The council noted: • The Police Commission is doing an incredible amount of work • It could pursue a recommendation of Opportunity Eugene and look at how laws affect the homeless. • A student forum on the campus at the University of Oregon to solicit ideas from students on policing that respects and reflects Eugene's diversity seems like a particularly worthy goal. MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 23, 2012 Page 2 Work Session • The goal of holding a community panel on the state of public safety also seems highly worthwhile. • There is a concern for the amount of staff time available for the commission. • There is a need to always leave time in the work plan for emerging issues in the community. • The commission has its "ears to the ground" which helps it to be prepared for emerging issues. MOTION AND VOTE Councilor Brown moved, seconded by Councilor Farr, to approve the Police Commission's FY 2013 Work Plan. PASSED: 8:0. C. WORK SESSION: Plastic Bag Ban Waste Prevention and Green Building Program Manager Ethan Nelson and Zero Waste Community Outreach Analyst Stephanie Scafa presented a Power Point presentation on a proposed plastic bag ban. The council discussed the following: • Best way to encourage the use of reusable bags is to ban plastic bags and charge a fee for paper bags • A five -cent fee on paper bags is more equitable for grocers • Not a good time to create a new "tax" for people • Recyclable grocery bags may not be sanitary • Fee not a tax because those who bring recyclable bags do not need to buy a paper bag • Grocers committed to making bags available to low- income people MOTION AND VOTE Councilor Brown moved, seconded by Councilor Farr, to send the proposed ordinance with only one option containing the fee provision to the Sept. 17, 2012, public hearing. PASSED: 7:1, Councilor Clark opposed. Mayor Piercy adjourned the meeting at 7:24 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Beth Forrest City Recorder (Recorded by Kris Bloch) MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 23, 2012 Page 3 Work Session