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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/05/2001 Regular . ' . . 'w MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2001 The Springfield City Council met in Regular Session at Springfield City Hall, Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, on Monday, November 5,2001, at 7:03 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg, Ralston and - Simmons. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, City Recorder Kim Krebs, Police Chief Jerry Smith, and members of staff. " PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Leiken led the Pledge of Allegiance. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT 1. City Manager Mike Kelly recognized Judge Jon Joseph, Springfield Municipal Court, for 35 years of service to the City of Springfield. 2. City Manager Mike Kelly recognized Officer Thomas Maloney, Springfield Police Department, for his 25 years of service to the City of Springfield. 3. City Manager Mike Kelly recognized Annette Miller, Springfield Police Department, for her 10 years of service to the City of Springfield. CONSENT CALENDAR IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD, WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. 1. Claims a. Approve the September 2001 Disbursements for Approval. Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2001 Page - 2 . 5. Other Routine Matters a. Approve Endorsement of OLCC Liquor License Application for the Club Lounge, located at 420 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon. b. Approve Endorsement of OLCC Liquor License Application for the Lucky Chinese Restaurant, formerly the East Garden Chinese Restaurant, located at 1216 Mohawk Blvd., Springfield, Oregon. PUBLIC HEARINGS 1. Amendment to the Fee Schedule of Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services. RESOLUTION NO. 01-60 - A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE MASTER FEE SCHEDULE OF MISCELLANEOUS FEES AND CHARGES. RATES. PERMITS. AND LICENSES. John Garitz, Deputy Chief was present for the staff report. He said at this point they are recommending a rate revision, and was available to respond to questions of the council. Councilor Ralston said in reviewing the comparisons included in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS), he was surprised not to see the City of Eugene included. . Mr. Garitz said Eugene currently has the same rate as proposed in the ordinance. Councilor Ballew asked if this increase would bring them up to existing expense, or was there any anticipated cost of living for the next couple of years? Mr. Garitz said there is an anticipated amount for about the next 6 - 12 months. He said given the size of the rate increase they did not want to include much more than that being sensitive to the percentage increase at one time. He said these rates are reviewed annually to make sure that there is a sufficient amount of incoming revenue to cover expenses. Councilor Simmons asked related to the transition that is going on at the federal level, how would that impact the City of Springfield? Will it mean a substantial amount of dollars in the near future? Mr. Garitz said in terms of dollars that we will not be able to collect, his estimates based on the information that is currently available, he is seeing an approximate $200.00 decrease in the amount of Medicare revenue that is received per Medicare patient. He said this rate increase is an attempt to cover some of those losses. He said once the final rules are published, and implemented exactly the amount of impact that will have on us. He said the tentative date for that implementation is either April I S\ or July 1 st of 2002. Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing. No one appeared to speak. . Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing. Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2001 Page - 3 . IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD WITiI A SECOND BY COUNCIL FITCH TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 01-60. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. 2. A Resolution initiating an Extraterritorial Waterline Extension to territory outside the City of Springfield and within the Metro Plan Urban Growth Boundary and requesting that the Lane County Local Government Boundary Commission approve the extension in a public hearing. RESOLUTION NO. 01-61 - A RESOLUTION INITIATING AN EXTRATERRITORIAL WATER LINE EXTENSION TO TERRITORY OUTSIDE THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AND WITHIN THE METRO PLAN URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY AND REQUESTING THAT THE LANE COUNTY LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOUNDARY COMMISSION APPROVE THE EXTENSION IN A PUBLIC HEARING. . Planning Supervisor Mel Oberst was present for the staff report. He said the property is at the eastern edge ofthe Springfield Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), and south of the McKenzie Highway, mostly hillside property that is forested. He said the property was developed before it came into the UGB in the county in mostly one acre lots, but not all of the lots have houses on them. He said for some years now the property owners have struggled with trying to produce well water sufficient to run a household, and many of them have been unable to accomplish that. To the extent that they have had to go to a water station that the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) has provided at their facility on 18th Street to fill up jugs and barrels and water trucks and drive them back to their homes to fill up water tanks. He said this has been an old problem, and the property owners over the years have sought city assistance, and as recently as a year ago there was a concerted effort on part of the property owners to try and determine what could be done. He said the city and SUB formed an inter- agency team to work the property owners in order to come up with possible solutions. ,Unfortunately, the solutions are not inexpensive; we could provide sewer and water to this area at approximately $20,000 to $25,000 per service per house, which is approximately $50,000 per dwelling unit or per parcel. At that time the property owners felt that was overly expensive and did not pursue this option. Mr. Oberst said the owners subsequently found some assistance through Lane County and Commissioner Dwyer came to their aide, by directing them to Peter Thurston, who was able to find a solution, which was a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies that could be used to subsidize the cost for this water line extension. He said this most recent development took place unbeknownst to the city, and came to fruition when the leader of the new neighborhood association came to the city and asked that we provide our standard letter to the Boundary Commission as such matters as extraterritorial extensions. He said when staff reviewed the issue on this occasion, staff said this project was much bigger than they thought, because it included probably 40 - 50 lots. He said the provision of water when there is no sewer is a factor in that there is not enough capacity in our storm water system for any more land division in this area. ' . Mr. Oberst said the downstream basin is full of water. He said the solution for improving the drainage in the area is unresolved, he said staff hopes it will be resolved as part of the storm water master planning effort which is yet to happen. He said he sought assistance from the City Attorney on this issue as to how staff can assist in providing water, and at the same time insure that land division in the area is not going to overwhelm the lack of infrastructure that we have, and make the downstream flooding problems worse. Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2001 Page - 4 . Mr. Oberst said the property owners have all signed annexation agreements, he said there has been some difficulty in getting those filed at Lane County because old forms were used, and staff is currently trying to resolve that issue. He said the property owners have provided legal descriptions, estimates on the cost of the water extension, and have hired an engineering firm to design the waterline, as well as obtaining consent from the SUB Board for this extension. They now seek the consent and recommendation of the City of Springfield to the Boundary Commission to recommend approval. Mr. Oberst said based on his meetings with the City Attorney, they have offered a couple of solutions. He highlighted those solutions: . Do nothing, and allow the waterline extension to go through; or . Record a Restriction, by having each property owner record a Restriction on their property stating that they would not undertake any land divisions on their property in this area until such time as sanitary sewer and storm water capacity were made available to the site. He said that would be separate piece of paper that the City Attorney's office would draft, and each property owner would need to sign that before the city would recommend approval to the Boundary Commission for the extension of water, or . Recommend a delay of the Extraterritorial water line extension until staff could possibly come up with an alternative solution, or . . Not recommend approval. City Attorney Tim Harold said his recommendation would be to adopt the resolution for the extension of the water, based upon an agreement with each of the property owners that they encumber their properties with a CCR, that states that there will not be any partitioning of the property until the issues of the sanitary and storm sewers are resolved. He said he believes this is probably the most practical way to resolve the problem. Councilor Hatfield said he agrees, it is important to move ahead of the water issue. He said he is inclined to move forward under the circumstances that Mr. Harold has recommended and record a Restriction on those properties until such time as we are able to get sanitary and storm sewer out to them. Councilor Ballew asked who permitted construction without water? Mr. Oberst said that happened while under the jurisdiction of Lane County. He said there are other issues out in that area that staff is currently working on with Lane County as well. Councilor Ballew said it is unfortunate that the City of Springfield are now having to resolve this and the County is accepting no responsibility. She would suggest that staff at least bring this to the attention of the staff at the County. . Councilor Simmons said the extension of the water is a critical aspect. He said since it appears that it is a voluntary offer on the part of the property owners, there does not appear to be a restrictive covenant that is being required by the city for purposes other than rendering the service that they are requesting. He said he did not believe there would be a Dolan issue, Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2001 Page - 5 . and is therefore supportive of it, being clear that the covenants are clear and legible. However, it is going to require city resources to resolve issues on the whole hillside in that area, and sees this as a step forward in beginning the remedy. Mayor Leiken opened the Public Hearing. I. Bob Kokotan, 490 So. 79th Street, Springfield, Oregon, said he was elected President of the NeighborhoodAssociation. He said the property owners did approach the County, and they granted them with a grant for a hook-up from the main line to the homes of some of the lower income residents. He said that grant is currently in place, and that is why they are now trying to move ahead as fast as they can in order to take advantage of the grant opportunity. He said Mr. Peter Thurston has been very helpful, and said the County does see a responsibility of this issue. He said a well was drilled a couple of days ago, and it is a 800 foot well, and got less than one gallon a minute. He said when he purchased his property he was told the water was great, unfortunately he did not realize that there was a water problem until the next summer when he ran out of water. He said the property owners are not developers, there a community that has gotten together and are requesting assistance from the city. He said today, he was able to record consent for annexation for 37 properties at the County, and is still working on more in order to meet the Boundary Commissions deadline. Councilor Fitch asked Mr. Kokotan as President of the Association ifhe thought the property owners would agree to the Restriction if the council approved? . Mr. Kokotan said he could probably speak for the majority of the property owners that they are in such dire need for water that they understand and are willing to do whatever it takes to get this accomplished. He said he would organize a meeting and discuss and explain the process. Mr. Harold informed Mr. Kokotan that the staff would provide the information to him. Councilor Simmons asked Mr. Harold if some of the property elect not to enter into the covenant where does that put the city? Mr. Harold said that it would be conditional upon any of the extension that they have all the individuals, unless they all sign. He said his recommendation to the City Council that all property owners have CCR on their property to solve the sewer, sanitary and draining problem before we allow the extension. Mayor Leiken closed the Public Hearing. Councilor Hatfield said subject to the recording of a Restriction for sub dividing the existing properties . IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD SUBJECT TO THE RECORDING OF A RESTRICTION TO PREVENT SUBDIVISIONS OF EXISTING PROPERTIES UNTIL SUCH TIME AS ADEQUATE SANITARY SEWER AND STORM WATER FACILITIES CAN BE PROVIDED, WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 01-61. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5,2001 Page - 6 . 3. Resolution Reinstating a Lien for unpaid Grass & Weeds charge, plus related foreclosure RESOLUTION NO. 01-62 - A RESOLUTION THAT THE FINANCE DIRECTOR OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD SHOULD BE, AND IS HEREBY DIRECTED TO IMMEDIATELY REINSTATE TO THE LIEN DOCKET THE GRASS AND WEED CUITING CHARGES, PLUS ASSOCIATED FORECLOSURE COSTS, UPON THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED ON THE ATTACHED EXHIBIT "A". Finance Director Bob Duey was present for the staff report. He said this piece of property for grass and weed activity last summer went unpaid. Through the notification process correspondence was sent to the property owner, and received no correspondence back and staff proceeded with the foreclosure of the property in the summer. He said there were no bids at the sale, and the city purchased the property at that time. He said subsequent to the sale staff became aware that the owner had filed bankruptcy, and because ofthat status, the foreclosure should not have occurred. He said the foreclosure was reversed, the property was deeded back to the property owner, and waited. The property is now out of bankruptcy, and staff is now requesting that the lien be placed back on the property at this time. Councilor Ballew asked if there was any way that staff might have known the owner was in bankruptcy prior to the foreclosure? . Mr. Duey said there is a bankruptcy procedure in place that staffs follows, however none of those normal procedures identified this bankruptcy filing. Mr. Harold said if a party is not listed as a creditor, a notice is not mailed to you. However, even if you do not received the notification under the Bankruptcy Act, you are still a creditor, and are still stayed from pursuing any legal action while the debtor is in bankruptcy. Councilor Simmons asked if there were any other encumbrances listed against this property? Mr. Duey said he is not aware of any other encumbrances. Mayor Leiken opened the Public Hearing. No one appeared to speak. Mayor Leiken closed the Public Hearing. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 01-62, THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE . 1. Curtis Greer, 357 55th Street, Springfield, Oregon, he said given the time restraints given by the City Council he trusts they will understand what he is saying in so few words. He said a publication in the Register Guard on August 8, 2001, states "Springfield ranks number one for Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5,2001 Page - 7 . property crimes in Oregon". He said the City Council only cure is more taxes. He said Mr. Simmons statement put more troops on the street, he said Hitler tried that and it didn't work then, and will not work now. He said the Police Chieffee1s it is good for revenue, and this statement says it will not go away for a long time, we will milk it to the end. He said another town faced the same problem 16 years ago and they solved the problem without more taxes, and they now have the lowest crime rate in their state, which is Kennisaw Georgia. He said why the City Council does not follow the trail that has been proven, instead of the unproven is hard for him to understand. He closed with this thought "council has chosen to represent those of us as a council elected by us, they do not trust us who elected them, these types of actions are exactly what James Madison spoke about in a constitutional debate". MayorLeiken asked Mr. Greer ifhe had the information from Georgia, and how they solved it? Mr. Greer said the power needs to be back in the hands of the people, and said he will get the information and provide it to the City Council. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS 1. Correspondence from Larry Mullarkey, D.V.M., q Street Animal Hospital, 235 Q Street, Springfield, Oregon, regarding a cat treated at the Animal Hospital. Councilor Lundberg asked that a copy of the attached staff report be sent to Mr. Mullarkey. . IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FILING AND RESPOND AS COUNCILOR LVNDBpRG HAS REQUESTED. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. ORDINANCES I. Eugene - Springfield Metropolitan Area Public Facilities and Services Plan and Related Metro Plan Amendments (Jo. No. 2000-12-0243). ORDINANCE NO. 5992 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE EUGENE- SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN (METRO PLAN) TO ADOPT A NEW PUBIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES ELEMENT PLANNED PUBLIC FACILITIES PROJECT LISTS AND MAPS AND RELATED CHANGES TO THE PLAN TEXT; ADOPTING A NEW EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN AREA PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICE PLAN AS A REFINEMENT PLAN TO ' THE METRO PLAN; ADOPTING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. . Mark Metzger was present for the staff report. He provided background information and highlighted the information contained in the Agenda Item Summary (AIS). He said at the City Council meeting in July staff was directed to make an adjustment in one of the maps to show generation facilities in Springfield. He said staff has amended Map 4 to reflect both Springfield Utility Board and Eugene Water and Electric Board generation facilities. He said the amendment is described in Addendum 5 to Exhibit A and attached to the adopting Ordinance. He said at this time staffis requesting the City Council adopt the Ordinance. . . . Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 2001 Page - 8 IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 5992. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Committee Appointments a. Historic Commission Appointment IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD TO APPOINT JOHN TUTTLE TO THE HISTORIC COMMISSION TO SERVE A TERM ENDING ON APRIL 30, 2002, WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH, THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. 2. Business from Council a. Councilor Hatfield said Commissioner Green and he attended the Region II Oregon Transportation Committee meeting regarding the funding distribution for HB 2142. He said our Region's share of the money distribution is 18 million for Beltline/I-5 interchange, and $800,000 for a bike path overpass in Creswell. b. Councilor Ralston said the Housing Policy Board and the Human Services Commission held a joint meeting to discuss homeless issues, and the potential of approximately 1,800 more unemployed people due to the downturn in the economy. He said they chose to create a task force that will study those issues in order to try and find ways to combine services with the housing issues, in an attempt to address those homeless issues. c. Councilor Lundberg said the family meal program was closed on the 17th of October. She said she and staff have met with other members of the community in order to explore some options with Springfield to not necessarily solve the issue completely, but find a site particularly over the holiday period, because there may be some better solution after the first of the year. She said because there is a gap at this time and hopefully something can be resolved in a meeting they are all attending this week. d. Councilor Ballew attended the LOC finance and taxation meeting and said they are gearing up for the Legislative session. She said there would be additional LOC meetings coming up and encouraged other Councilors to attend. e. Councilor Simmons said the Police Planning Task Force (PPTF) met last week and discussed the building facility for Police and Corrections. He said there is a definite short fall not only in the number officers on the street. He said there is a problem with the corrections process at the Lane County Jail in that we are expended an outrageous amount of city resources to take people to the jail, and then have them be released. He said it costs approximately $500 - $600 each time that happens. He said it is time to be realistic in looking at the concept of doing something in order to fund a new facility. He said the responsible thing to do is look at that facility and design one to meet the correctional needs. He said if Lane County cannot meet it's responsibilities in a cost effective sort of way, it is something that Springfield might have to do. He said we could . . . Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 200 1 Page - 9 no longer afford to throwaway law enforcement resources. He said it is time to begin developing a solution, and hopes that can be looked at in the near future. f. Councilor Fitch said the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) meeting will be exciting to attend. She said with Springfield taking the leading edge and hopes that Eugene will mirror our actions to connect. g. Councilor Fitch said the McKenzie Theater has received two more grants, and provided a brief update of the progress they are making with their fund raising activity. h. Mayor Leiken thanked Councilor Hatfield for attending the meeting with Commissioner Green. 1. Mayor Leiken said he attended the 1000 Friends of Oregon conference. He said it was very interesting to hear some of the planning processes happening throughout the state, and then how good it is to see how close the City of Springfield is in line with these planning processes. He commended the city staff for a job well done. J. Mayor Leiken said Sheriff Clement is planning a Security Summit to be held at the Fair Grounds, and will be asking all ofthe Mayors in Lane County, and probably the Law Enforcement division will attend. k. Mayor Leiken said Symantec has invited him to speak to their employees before they move into their new facility. 1. Mayor Leiken said at the LOC meeting coming up this next weekend, Mayor Torrey would be making a motion that Councilor Hatfield be named to the Board ofthe LOC. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER 1. Intergovernmental Agreement for the Disposition of Volunteer Park. Kevin Ko was present for the staff report. He said the IGA was discussed at the work session held on October 15th. He said at that time council directed staff to bring back responses to several issues that council raised. He said those responses have been summarized in the material distributed, and highlighted the information again for the council. Mr. Ko responded to questions of the council. He said on October 17,2001 he attended a Board meeting at Willamalane and they approved the IGA contingent on the City Council's approval. He said the School District would be taking this item to their Board on November 19~ ' Mr. Ko responded to questions regarding the HUD calculation allowed for relocation costs. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR HATFIELD WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR FITCH TO APPROVE THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY, WILLAMALANE, AND SPRINGFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR THE DISPOSITION OF VOLUNTEER PARK. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 IN FAVOR AND 0 AGAINST. , . . . . Springfield City Council Regular Meeting - November 5, 200 I Page - 10 BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY There was none. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs ~ Klln Krebs, ~iryfRecorde ~