Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/18/2013 Work SessionCity of Springfield Work Session Meeting_ MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, November 18, 2013 at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Wylie, Moore, Ralston, Woodrow and Brew. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilor VanGordon was absent (excused). 1. Lane Regional Air Protection Authority ( LRAPA) — City's Participation. Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery presented the staff report on this item. The City of Springfield had been a member of LRAPA since its creation. In the past few years; there had been discussions about participation and funding at the Council and Budget Committee. If the Council wanted to terminate participation, it must do so by providing written notice no later than January I of the year in which participation was to end. LRAPA was created in 1968 to achieve and maintain clean air in Lane County with the support of its member entities (Lane County, Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove and Oakridge) through a combination of regulatory and non - regulatory programs and activities. The City of Springfield paid annual dues of $21,220 and that amount was expected to stay the same for next year. If the City terminated its participation, there would be no Springfield member of the LRAPA Board and LRAPA would continue to provide services in Springfield unless either Lane County or the City of Eugene terminated participation. There was no indication that either Lane County or the City of Eugene had plans to terminate participation at this time. If either were to terminate, DEQ would take over enforcement responsibilities and any non - regulatory programs provided by LRAPA would cease. Mr. Towery outlined some of those responsibilities. LRAPA had provided estimated costs to implement local ordinances if LRAPA did not exist. For Springfield they suggested a range of $54,345 to $92,279 depending on whether monitoring & reporting were included. That analysis appeared to be the result of prorating LRAPA's costs to all the member entities. City staff and the City Attorney had concluded that the City was not obligated to enforce an LRAPA type program and the language in the state statutes about cities taking on this responsibility was permissive. Mr. Towery noted that Councilor Ralston served on the LRAPA Board as the Springfield representative. LRAPA Executive Director Merlin Hough was in the audience and available to answer any questions. Councilor Brew said he had served on the LRAPA Budget Committee for the past three years and asked to have this work session in order for LRAPA to know about funding before going into their budget process. I City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 18, 2013 Page 2 _ Councilor Moore said -she would be interested in seeing LRAPA's budget. She also noted the reduction in dues over the last few years from Springfield, Eugene, and, Lane County and asked how that affected LRAPA's services. She had recently read that the City of Eugene was looking at their budget and may be considering their dues to LRAPA. She asked if there were other regional areas that had agencies similar to LRAPA. Mr. Towery invited Mr. Hough to come forward to help answer those questions. He said if the Council was concerned about the dues amount for Springfield, staff had the ability to negotiate a lower dues amount. Even if the City of Springfield reduced their dues significantly„ Springfield would still have a place on the Board, unless they actually terminated the ]GA. Mr. Hough said LRAPA's overall budget varied depending on pass - through dollars. Their core budget was just under $2M per year. About 2/3 of the budget was from permit fees from the industries they regulated and the other 1/3 was a combination of Local funding, State funding and Federal air grant funding. When LRAPA was first formed in 1968, it was all general funded by Local, State and Federal. Over time, under the Federal Clean Air act, there had been pressure that permit programs be self - supporting. That explained why the majority of their funding was now from permit fees. The original philosophy of forming LRAPA was that it would be a more effective way to handle regional air issues and that had proven true. At one time, all of Willamette Valley was covered by three local air districts. LRAPA was the only one that had survived. All of Washington was covered by local air agencies and most of California. The partnership with LRAPA had been very effective and efficient. The core budget was mostly spent on personnel. Staffing had been reduced from 23 FTE in 2008 to 16 FTE currently. They were able to maintain the 16 FTE, in part due to the recent funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). LRAPA focused on making sure they got the most important work done, but there were some things they were no longer able to do with the reduced staff. The letter from LRAPA regarding the EPA funding was distributed. Overall LRAPA had been very successful in receiving other grants as pass - through funds. He explained the wood stove replacement program which was funded by a grant that had been focused in Oakridge, but also had served many Springfield businesses. Mr. Hough said the funds from the permit fees went primarily to staff for administering those grant programs. Permit fees were also required to cover their share of the administrative costs of the agency and the air monitoring. There were some capital expenses for replacing monitoring equipment. Councilor Woodrow asked about the relationship between the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and LRAPA, and if most of the time was spent reaching federal standards. Mr. Hough said most of their efforts were in solving local problems while remaining aware of federal standards. LRAPA coordinated closely with DEQ to match their requirements. They found that by maximizing compliance of the industries they worked with they were able to further reduce emissions into the atmosphere, and also protect the industries from federal oversight. That had been very rare in Lane County and his only recollection of that occurring was when a business had chosen not to work with LRAPA. Councilor Woodrow said because they were set up to do that, they were able to do it more efficiently than cities doing it on their own. Mr. Hough said that was correct. LRAPA had a good relationship with the DEQ and the EPA. That made it easier for LRAPA to focus on the issues rather than discourse. DEQ spoke during the work City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 18, 2013 Page 3 session with the Lane County Board of Commissioners and was very supportive of LRAPA. It was also useful in that there were two voices for Oregon when addressing national issues. Councilor Moore asked if permit fees would go to the DEQ if LRAPA no longer existed. Mr. Hough said that was correct and it would remain self - supporting. Where it would hurt was in the implementation of the local programs, such as the wood stove program; that were key in meeting the air quality health standards. All of those programs were critical in meeting standards which was important for public health and economic development. Councilor Woodrow said there were times DEQ wasn't timely in expressing their standards. She asked if he saw a credibility factor for LRAPA as a buffer between the DEQ and local business. Mr. Hough said he admired the DEQ, but noted that the more local the government the better. LRAPA was able to work leaner and provide a quicker response time to the local community. Councilor Moore said if Springfield and other jurisdictions didn't contribute, it would mean dismantling of LRAPA. She asked if it would be possible to bring it back if that occurred. Mr. Hough said it would be very difficult. There was leveraging in their funding which was why LRAPA was able to provide more services locally than the cities or county. LRAPA had to at least match the State general fund and they were able to do that even now with a reduced fee. They also had to have a 40/60 match with the Federal grant, but more importantly needed to meet a maintenance of effort requirement or get an exception. He explained. When State funding got cut and local funding got cut, there was no way to meet that maintenance requirement so LRAPA filed the exception letter. That was what the EPA letter addressed. What helped them to receive the exception was having everyone in and supportive of the request. At their current reduced staffing, this reduced maintenance of effort was sustainable as long as all of the partners could stay at that level. Councilor Moore asked if the Federal funding was calculated like Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding. Mr. Hough said maintenance of effort should be the same as last year. That was to prevent someone from taking their Federal Air Grant as a way to reduce their share of the commitment. The Federal Air Grants were very restrictive in that way. Mayor Lundberg said there were two decisions: the first was whether or not to support the local air protection agency; and the other was the funding piece. She was not a big fan of duplicating services, and interactions with her former employer and LRAPA was not positive. During the last Budget Committee meeting, one of the members had a poor experience with LRAPA. On the other hand, Eugene, Lane County and Springfield were still participants of LRAPA'. Several years ago, all three were considering withdrawing, yet had gone back and forth since then. The City budget was not yet known so they couldn't make the funding decision at this time. She knew it was difficult for LRAPA when jurisdictions were constantly going back and forth. Mr. Grimaldi said there was no indication the other partners would be pulling out of LRAPA. In terms of Springfield's budget, they continued to struggle. This time of year, there was typically a deficit and that was the case this year, although not as bad as it was one year ago. It would be interesting for Council to go through the priority of services process to narrow it down to citywide or funding outside City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 18, 2013 Page 4 agencies. If Council pulled out, the organization would still exist, but without a Springfield representative which was something to consider. There were a number of filters Council could use to determine which way they wanted to go. They could also wait and make it part of the Budget process. They needed to plan for budgeting one way or another out of respect for LRAPA. When jurisdictions had reduced or foregone funding in the past, it was temporary and had been resumed. There was an advantage to citizens of being able to go to a local board or director rather than someone at a State level. Mr. Hough responded to the concern raised during the Budget Committee meeting. He had followed up with the member who had complained and was able to provide information about the follow -up that had been done. She was pleased with the actual follow -up and what had been done. He commented on the duplication of services. Permitting was done by LRAPA, but funds went to LRAPA and would go to State if done by the State so there was not a duplication of services. The key to local programs was that the State didn't have the insight into local issues. He noted the services being done in Klamath County compared to those done here. Mr. Hough said he would be interested in knowing which businesses had issues with LRAPA and the specifics so he could have a chance to follow -up. Councilor Ralston said as long as LRAPA existed we needed to have a Springfield representative. He didn't like duplication of services, but understood that LRAPA would continue to exist if Springfield dropped out, as long as Eugene and Lane County stayed in. The real question was whether or not to continue to pay dues. LRAPA would survive without our funding and Springfield would still have a seat on the board. He asked what it would cost the City to provide what was required by the State if LRAPA went away. The City was not obligated to enforce an LRAPA type program, but there could be other things required. He asked what services would have to be provided and which they could choose not to enforce. He felt $21,000 was a good deal and it was not likely the City could do as well at that cost. Mayor Lundberg said it was good to ask what the City was required to do. She referred to Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) and how the dues were calculated. In regard to LCOG, smaller communities needed more help than larger communities because they didn't have staff for many things. Similarly, Oakridge needed more help from LRAPA due to their air quality. She asked if there was a way to look at the dues in terms of the need and use of each community. Mr. Towery said the City was not required to provide any services if LRAPA didn't exist. The State statute was permissive. Springfield could establish programs like LRAPA locally and pursue those with our own staff or contract with another agency. That was not likely the question today since it was not likely LRAPA would go away. If they did go away, the City would have at least six months' notice. If Springfield took over programs exactly like LRAPA with staffing and funding, there would be a cost. Staff hadn't done those types of analyses at this time. Councilor Ralston said he didn't feel we would be required to do anything so our costs would be zero. Klamath County had a different problem and was required to monitor. Mr. Hough said there were commitments this area had made as part of the State implementation plan. That legal question was worth looking into further. The advice LRAPA received was that the area was required through EPA approval or the area would be subject to federal sanctions if they didn't follow through on those commitments. Councilor Ralston said he would like to have that answered City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 18, 2013 Page 5 Councilor Brew said those he knew that had worked with both LRAPA and DEQ, preferred to work with LRAPA. They preferred to be regulated and work with LRAPA. He would be interested to hear from others in the business community who had dealt with both LRAPA and DEQ. The City was interested in creating a good business environment and if LRAPA improved services here, it could be worth the investment. Councilor Woodrow said she felt working with a local agency could be a buffer for businesses. She was more comfortable with that, especially for the limited cost. Councilor Wylie said LRAPA was a benefit to local businesses and developers. They needed to weigh how that affected our total community in making it friendlier for our businesses. Part of the City's responsibility was to think about how it affected our business community and neighbors. Mr. Hough said their Citizens Advisory Committee had done surveys compiling results from businesses they had worked with and had found those results to be favorable with an extremely high service rating. Those results had been provided to Community Development Manager John Tamulonis. The Chambers of Commerce in both Eugene and Springfield had polled their members and provided strong letters of support to LRAPA. There were likely mixed results, but overall the ratings were favorable. Mayor Lundberg asked to get those reports in a future Communication, Packet. Councilor Moore spoke regarding vehicle emissions. She asked if there was a connection between the standards for emissions and LRAPA monitoring air quality. Mr. Towery said the issue of auto emissions was not a driver in the work of LRAPA or the DEQ. Auto emissions did contribute to some of the CO2 monitoring done by LRAPA, but that was not the crux of regulation LRAPA monitored. Councilor Moore asked how emissions were being monitored. Mr. Towery said the expectation was that reducing vehicle miles traveled reduced the level of emissions. No one was actually monitoring the emissions. Councilor Moore noted that she had asthma and there were days in Springfield when they did have poor air quality. Mr. Hough said the Department of Motor Vehicles was a significant part of the air pollution picture. Cleaner vehicles and cleaner fuels had brought about improvements in emissions. They had never reached a level where they needed inspections as in some of the larger cities. Councilor Woodrow said having a local agency such as LRAPA could be a selling point for industry in these times of continued interest in air quality and quality of life. Mayor.Lundberg said for the most part, general consensus was for Springfield to continue to participate with LRAPA. There would be further discussions regarding the budgetary question. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 18, 2013 Page 6 Mr. Grimaldi confirmed that staff would provide additional information, but would not schedule another work session on this topic. They would not look to withdraw from LRAPA. Correct. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:56 p.m. Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundber Mayor Attest: Amy SoNa City Recorder