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Home My WebLink About06/11/2001 Work Session '."- . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2001 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth Street, Jesse Maine Meeting Room, on Monday, June 11,2001, at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg, and Simmons. Councilor Ralston was absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, City Recorder Kim Krebs, City Attorney Tim Harold, Police Chief Jerry Smith, and members of staff. 1. Discussion ofa Potential.5% Increase in Transient Room Tax (TRT) Starting in FY 2001- 2002. Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis was present for the staff report. He said on May 29th and June 4,2001, council met in work session to discuss a possible .5% increase in TRT funds and directed staff to bring back additional information on options for increasing the TRT contributions to the City's General Fund. Council also expressed interest in discussing information for Lane County Commissioners' consideration on potential capital projects and long-term TRT investments in Springfield that would be very cost efficient in generating TRT revenues. . Mr. Tamulonis referred council to Attachment 1-1 "Estimated Impact of Transient Room Tax (TRT) on General Fund". He explained the different options. Councilor Ballew asked if our proposed budget assumes the .5% increase in TRT. Finance Director Bob Duey said yes it does. There was discussion regarding the different options listed on Attachment 1-1. Councilor Lundberg asked how much funding did the city provide for community service projects. City Manager Mike Kelly said when the money comes in from the room tax Y2 is put in the general fund, and the balance is distributed at the discretion of the council by application of the various organizations. He said again, this is policy from past council, and if council chose to change that policy it can be done. Mayor Leiken asked about a bill that is before the Legislature that relates to a cap in the TRT. Mr. Tamulonis provided a brief explanation of the proposed bill. . Councilor Fitch suggested a split of 55% to 45% for a short-term basis, and re-evaluate after a certain period of time to see if this addresses all the needs. . Councilor Hatfield said it might be time to have a discussion about the possibility of a convention center in the City of Springfield. He said George Rogers from the DoubleTree was present in the . . . . Springfield City Council Work Session-June 11,2001 Page - 2 audience, and said he has heard that they the DoubleTree are interested in the possibility of donating land for a proposed convention center. He said it might be a time for a feasibility study to determine the need. George Rogers said CV ALCO has stepped forward and said it will fund the feasibility study if they go forward with it. Councilor Hatfield said it is his understanding that the Chamber will be taking the lead on the possibility of a convention center. He said as information becomes available he would be sure and keep the council up to date. After further discussion council consensus was to increase the split to a 55% general fund and 45% other designations, with a review in six months. Council would like to see in more detail information about a possible convention center. Mr. Tamulonis said Mr. Duey will make the adjustments necessary in the budget, and said staff will also monitor the revenues for the room tax and keep council apprised of any potential shortfall as it relates to the projections. He said sometime in December staff will return with information and summary. Mr. Todd Cooley, General Manager of Comfort Suites was present in the audience, and said he as an industry would be willing to provide a forecast of what they currently have on the books as well, so the numbers staff has available are as true as they can possibly be. Councilor Lundberg said she would like to see the council develop a better line of communication. She said she is sure there are other city councils or boards that we can look at to determine if there is a better mechanism set up, or a ways and means to bring items forward outside of a casual and informal phone call. She said this may be a discussion for a future work session, but would like to encourage the council to have a discussion and maybe set up some guidelines to follow. Mr. Kelly said staffwill do some research on the agenda setting processes with other mid-size cities in Oregon, and return next month with either a communication packet item, or maybe a work session depending on the outcome ofthe research, to address Councilor Lundberg's concerns. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:08 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs ATTEST: Councilor Tammy Fitch Presiding Officer Kim Krebs, City Recorder