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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/22/2001 Work Session .. . MINUTES OF WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2001 I The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, at 5:31 p,m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg, Ralston and Simmons. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Kim Krebs, Police Chief Jerry Smith, and members of staff. Guests: Tom Schwetz Lane Council of Governments (LCOG), and Jan Childs from City of Eugene. 1. TransPlan Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) Conflict Resolution. . Traffic Manager Nick Arnis and Planning Manager Greg Mott were present for the staff report. Mr. Arnis began by saying the purpose of this work session was to gain approval from council on he MPC recommendations about alternative performance measures and unresolved issues. He said following the October 18, 2000 joint adopting officials work session on TransPlan, issues from the joint work sessions that remained unresolved were forward to MPC. Two MPC subcommittees were formed: 1) dealing with alternative performance measures, and 2) dealing with all other unresolved issues, He said the subcommittees presented their reports to MPC on December 14, 2000. The subcommittee on unresolved issues presented a partial report to MPC . on December 14 noting unresolved issues dealing with a new finance policy, which is to fund all operations and maintenance and preservation before adding capacity, and location details about a Willamette River crossing in Eugene. He continued to say that MPC approved the subcommittee work and forwarded the recommendations to the adopting bodies. There are now at lease three remaining tasks for TransPlan besides adoption, they are: . The project list must reflect adopting officials' decisions; . The finance section must be updated; and · The Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) must approve the alternative measures. Mr. Arnis said both City of Eugene and the Lane Transit District (L TD) Board have both approved the alternative performance measures, he said they have not reviewed the unresolved issues. He said Councilor Ballew and Hatfield both sat in on the MPC subcommittee meetings, and encourage them both to assist in leading this discussion. Mayor Leiken commended Councilor Hatfield and Ballew for their dedicated work on the subcommittees. He said they both served the community and council well with their participation on these subcommittees. . Councilor Hatfield referred council to Attachment C page 3 of 3 that outlined the TransPlan Alternative measures MPC Subcommittee Recommendations dated 12/1/00. He highlighted the information, which included measure, description, how it was measured, and the update and reliability process, He said it is important to evaluate how we are measuring and the reliability of City of Springfield Work Session - January 22,2001 Page - 2 . the information. He also said it is important to determine if there are conditions out there that prevent us from achieving our targets, as we move through the update process. He further stated once TransPlan is adopted we have three years to put the plan in place. He said they have chosen six measures that can be independently verified, through an outside measure. He said this is more accurate and better information out of these six different measures. Councilor Hatfield described the 6 different measures: 1. Percentage Non-Auto Trips 2, Percentage Transit Mode Share on Congested Corridors 3. Priority Bikeway Miles 4. Acres of Zoned Nodal Development 5. Percentage of Dwelling Units Build in Nodes 6. Percentage of New "total" employment nodes. There was discussion regarding the six different measures. Mr. Schwetz responded to questions and said additional information was submitted to council via a memorandum from Paul Thompson dated December 12,2000. He handed out additional copies of the memorandum There was discussion regarding Lane Transit District (L TD) and how they can have the most impact on reducing the number of vehicles off major corridors at peak times. . Councilor Ballew said in her involvement in the subcommittee meetings, she was very careful not to give bikeways more importance than she gave to auto traffic. Councilor Hatfield said the targets themselves are based on models from Tom Schwetz, which include predictions on what should happen, then attempt to validate his models. Mr. Mott said the State is also adopting new rules that are based on models. He said the Plan is made in order to mix uses to create further opportunities, reasonable, accessible and reliable choices. That would make more efficiency all around. Mr. Arnis said all the targets listed appear to be achievable. After further discussion council consensus was they had no objection to the alternative measures. Councilor Hatfield said he specifically asked that Item B- Attachment A page 2 on the interchange study be used for Beltline 1-5 using it's environmental assessment, so we are looking at it as the prospective buildout, not as it is currently. He wants to make sure that is "in there". We want to look at Beltline as it is going to be, not as it is currently. He said the Issue 15 c-2 is they did not want to see the 1-5 Beltine being stalled waiting for an 1-5 corridor study to be done at some point. He said if the prospective is used, it will not be slowed down. Councilor Ballew highlighted the information regarding the unresolved issues on the Financing, She said there is still an issued on the Division Bridge in Eugene. . Ms. Childs said Bobby Green supported the language, and the City of Eugene seems to be ok with it. City of Springfield Work Session - January 22, 2001 Page - 3 . Councilor Ballew provided information on Attachment B Page 2; MPC Subcommittee on TransPlan unresolved issues, Action Summary. She provided information on the items listed. She said both she and Councilor Hatfield object to 14.3 being included in TransPlan (attachment B page 4 (#2). Does not want to hinder peoples ability to have a full broad range of policy choices, or actions to take. She said it would be done anyway by practice, but doesn't think it needs to be put into the policy by restricting our use to add capacity Mr. Arnis said this is one of the options that will be reviewed at MPC, There was discussion on what would be the best language on item #2 Issue 14.3: New Finance Policy #3, whether "before adding capacity" is necessary. Mr. Mott said on February 8th MPC will be reviewing the finance issue, he wants to make sure council is comfortable with MPC understanding their concerns, and said Councilor Ballew and Hatfield as the representatives will carry forward their preference forward Mr. Mott concluded the discussion by saying the Eugene City Council did not get to the discussion regarding the river crossing. He said L TD made no formal recommendation either regarding the river crossing. 2. Review City of Springfield Hazardous Materials Inspection Program Fee Structure. . Finance Director Bob Duey and Deputy Chief Fire Marshall Dennis Shew were present for the staff report. Mr. Duey said on August 20, 1990, the City Council approved a Hazardous Materials Control Program for the City of Springfield. At that time, the council hoped to assist with the funding ofthe program so business owners were not carrying one hundred percent of the program cost recovery. As a result, one-third of the funding for this program was generated by permit inspection fees from the occupanCies in the city that use hazardous materials, the remain two thirds funded by the general fund. Mr. Duey further stated in 1998 the City Council revised the recovery schedule which resulted in fifty percent of funding for this program being generated by permit inspection fees from the occupancies in the city that use hazardous materials, the remaining fifty percent funding by the General Fund. He said council is being asked to review the existing program fee structure and provide direction regarding fee structure and recovery rate. He said the council was requested to reconsider the inspection fees relating to the Hazardous materials control program by recently annexed businesses because the fees were significantly higher than fees charged by the City of Eugene. At that time council requested a more in depth review of the Hazmat program and a comparison to other jurisdictions' programs in order to evaluate the rate structure of Springfield's program. He said it is apparent that Springfield's Hazmat fees are substantially higher than those asses by the City of Eugene. Other cities, to which Springfield is routinely compared, do not charge a fee. Mr. Duey said due to the substantial difference in cost to the business owners recently annexed to Glenwood, council is being presented with background on the Fire Marshal's Office and options to consider regarding the fee structure, and impacts on revenue generated. . City of Springfield Work Session - January 22,2001 Page - 4 . Councilor Ballew pointed out that "training" has been omitted. She feels there should be a cost for training that relates to all of Hazmat. Mr. Shew provided information on how the current training program is structured in the Fire and Life Safety Division, and how Hazmat is covered in the program. Mr. Duey said one of the changes was removal of all items that are other than inspection program, or not in total of the Hazmat program. City Manager Mike Kelly provided some history on this issue that has been ongoing for approximately 11 years. He said Fire and Life Safety are very active at state level. This is unusual because our fee structure is so different than that in other jurisdictions. Some of the fee programs are unique when related to Fire and Life Safety. He said to keep in mind with the failure of Ballot Measure 20-40 in November the Management Team is evaluating different fee proposals to the council for approval to try and build a stable general fund. It needs to be stabilized by approximately $800,000. Councilor Ralston said he supports Option #2. Councilor Simmons said we need to have a cost recovery system that will recover those costs so future policy makers can make reasonable decisions. Slight increase on the low end, 100% recovery IS necessary. . Mr. Duey said during the late summer/early fall annual inspection cycle, the Fire Marshal's staff kept logs of the on-site time spend at the different businesses involved in the program. With few exceptions, it was found that the number of permits required by a business did not have any appreciable impact on the time spent performing the annual inspection. One factor that consistently impacted the amount of time spent performing the annual inspections was the overall size of the site. He said this relationship held true for the pre-site work and consultation as well as the accompanying records keeping. The actual cost of inspection did not vary much whether it was 1, 2,or 3 permits when arrival at the facility. Councilor Lundberg said she likes the idea of a tiered method. Suggested possibly a surcharge system depending on the size of the facility. She said it is not fair to charge the same for a small facility that requires one inspection to another larger facility that has more than one. Our fees must be defensible. Councilor Fitch she has no problem collecting 100% of the costs. The problem is the amount per permit charged. She doesn't think there is any justification for the fee. Maybe a square footage cost of facility, that would be justifiable. Councilor Hatfield suggests looking at option 2. There was discussion surrounding option 2, suggests $210. per permit. There was discussion regarding spending a possible hourly rate per permit. There was discussion surrounding our Drinking Water Plan and businesses that have DNAPLS can operate their business in Springfield. . Councilor Fitch said this is a good base to start with. City of Springfield Work Session - January 22,2001 Page - 5 .' Mr. Shew said he did not think there would be a decrease in the number of permits. Mr.Duey this item is scheduled for the annual fee review on the council's February 5th Regular Meeting. He said there are three different fee resolutions, Development Code, Municipal Code, and Administrative Codes. Asked council if they wanted staff to include in the February 5 fee schedule. After discussion, there was council consensus to carry forward to the February 5, 2001 meeting for public hearing. They chose not to amend by emergency, and instructed staff to remove the emergency language. 3. McKenzie River Oxbow Project Draft Document Review (Continuation). Planner Col in Stephens was present for the staff report. He said there was a missing paragraph on the bottom of Attachment 2, Page 14, in council's packet, and provided an additional handout. Mr. Stephens began by stating this work session is a continuation ofthe City Council's review and discussion of the Draft Program Report and Site Schematic for the McKenzie River Oxbow site, He asked council to consider the information and recommendations contained within the attachments and provide input and direction to staffwhere appropriate. . Mr. Stephens said On November 6, 2000, the council held a work session to hear a presentation of the draft Program Report and Site Schematic for this project. At the conclusion of the work session the council determined that an additional work session was necessary in order to all the council adequate time to fully discuss the draft documents. Mr. Stephens highlighted the events that have taken place since the November 6th work session, and highlighted the information attached in the handout. Councilor Ralston asked about the preservation zone, and why are we restricting access. Mr. Stephens said it can be altered in the master plan, these areas are off limits because of the existing conditions and isolated area. The plan would not endorse access to the area because of the liability or hazard of access from the river. He said what they are trying to accomplish is to identify areas to be left in its natural state. Councilor Ballew said she has concerns regarding the management of the plan. Her concerns relate to the close ness of the well head, and wondered who would maintain the facilities, garbage cans, and bathrooms. Mr. Martorello from Satre Associates, P.c., said the management of the facility is in questions. He said they can provide recommendations regarding the possible partnering of agencies, or entities but that would be a decision the council would have to make and direct. Councilor Hatfield said he did not want to a bureaucracy to manage the preservation, and thought it best to defer that decision to management. . Greg Hyde from Willamalane Parks and Recreation District was in attendance, and said Willamalane would be very interested in acting as a partner, either by deed of agreement with the city, or some other means. ~ City of Springfield Work Session - January 22,2001 Page - 6 . Councilor Simmons said this is part of the river, it is very important to look at this as a critical natural resource, these issues need to be discussed. He said the need to facilitate those discussions for a comprehensive review. Environmental Services Manager Susie Smith joined the discussion and said as this planning study was going on there are other activities going on in the McKenzie Watershed. She highlighted what the McKenzie Watershed Council has been doing in the area, and added they will look at preserving for restoration. She said it is important to partner in education projects. This site will become a really high priority according to the watershed report. She feels these both need to overlay each other. She said due to the complexities excellent opportunities for funding are coming our way, and the city needs to be aware of them. She urged council to instruct staff to slow down for further analysis before any wrong decisions are made Mr. Stephens said this is outside the scope to not impede any type of restoration. Councilor Hatfield said the problem is we have a Plan, and said if it doesn't take into effect all the things that Ms. Smith has mentioned, it is important to take those issues into account. Councilor Simmons said the opportunities are so outstanding, the area on the north side of the fIver. . There was discussion regarding Willamalane being the "keeper" of the open space, and the need for many people to come to the table and discuss before any final decisions are made, which would include the management policies. Councilor Fitch said earlier in the evening council had a discussion regarding limited funding, she asked if this is Phase I of our master concept, and wondered how we keep moving forward. Development Services Director Cynthia Pappas said this is a pretty complicated yet, incorporate scientific information tonight, the scope of the grant does not go that far, we are so close to getting that information, she said there are a couple of options available. This could become a concept plan, and not the master plan; but staff would need to talk to the forest service to see if they would agree to that. Taking that into consideration we may not be able to meet the June deadline. She said another option would be to close out the grant and bring in the additional information through additional funding, via additional sources. She said staff could consult with the forest service to see ifthey are interested in an expanded scope. We are working with our partners, but didn't have the information at the beginning of the planning process. Councilor Hatfield that staffis quite capable of flushing this information out and finalizing. After discussion council concensus was to attempt to expand or extend the grant funding, cut off at a certain point, and then forward on to the determined managing partner, once a final decision is made. They directed staff to bring this item back to council when in final format. More of a . City of Springfield Work Session - January 22,2001 Page - 7 . ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Heather Underwood ATTEST: ~~ Kim Krebs, City Recorder . .