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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/16/2015 RegularCity of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY MARCH 16, 2015 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie (by conference phone), Moore, Ralston and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Finance Director Bob Duey, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilor Woodrow was absent (excused). PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Lundberg. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT 1. Volunteer Recognition Check Presentation. KarLynn Akins presented the staff report on this item. In 2014, over 250 volunteers donated over 14,000 hours of service to the City of Springfield. Volunteers donated time in the Library, Police services, Development and Public Works, Fire, Human Resources, on boards and commissions, as well as many other departments and services. Volunteers are made up of a wide variety of community members. In the last six months, 85 volunteers had been added to the City of Springfield. On behalf of the 250 active volunteers, she presented the City of Springfield with a check in the amount of $342,667.50. This dollar amount is calculated by the Bureau of Labor and Wage using a national average to determine the worth of the number of volunteer hours donated. Mayor Lundberg said it was very nice to see this program up and running. She thanked Ms. Akins for her work on this program. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Claims a. Approval of the February 2015, Disbursements for Approval. 2. Minutes a. February 23, 2015 — Work Session b. March 2, 2015 — Work Session c. March 2, 2015 — Regular Meeting 3. Resolutions City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 16, 2015 Page 2 a. RESOLUTION NO. 2015-08 — A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT CITY PROJECT P21067• 10TH AND N SEWER UPGRADE — PHASE 2 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Approve Amended Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) Bylaws. b. Approve Amended Library Board Rules For Governance. c. Approval of Liquor License Application for The Gateway Tap House, Located at 3198 Gateway Street, Springfield, Oregon. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR VANGORDON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR MOORE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WOODROW). ITEMS REMOVED PUBLIC HEARINGS - Please limit comments to 3 minutes. Request to speak cards are available at both entrances. Please present cards to City Recorder. Speakers may not yield their time to others. 1. Updates to the Municipal Code in the Grading Section (8.300) and Adding a New Code Section for the Land and Drainage Alteration Program Section (8.400). ORDINANCE NO. 1 — AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SPRINGFIELD MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 8.300-8.338 ABOUT GRADING AND ADDING NEW SECTIONS 8.400-8.420 CODIFYING THE LAND AND DRAINAGE ALTERATION PROGRAM (FIRST READING). Matthew Ruettgers, Building and Land Development Manager presented the staff report on this item. As part of the City's MS4 Implementation Plan, as required by the Department of Environmental Quality, the City's existing stormwater management regulations must be updated to reflect new state laws. The goal of the Land and Drainage Alteration Program (LDAP) is the protection of. public and private property; the City's infrastructure; and all Goal 5 Natural Resources inventory of significant sites from potential adverse effects of construction activities. The exact provisions or conditions of a Land and Drainage Alteration Permit are based on the circumstances present at the development site and as a result, the program allows the applicant and the City the flexibility to design and apply the most effective erosion prevention measures on a case-by-case basis. This flexibility extends to modifications of these conditions after the permit has been issued to situations where the City determines the measures are not achieving the intended results. The purpose of the proposed amendments to Section 8.300 (Grading) is to make its terminology consistent with the proposed Section 8.400. The purpose of the proposed Section 8.400 is to codify the existing Land and Drainage Alteration Program currently administered by the City's Development and Public Works Department. The code language is designed to enhance the existing Section 8.300 with code that is specific to the LDAP City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 16, 2015 Page 3 program by defining the program, its outcomes, the permit process, and Construction Site Control Measures and Design Standards. It is also meant to provide regional consistency for contractors who do work in multiple jurisdictions because it is modeled after code language currently utilized by the City of Eugene. Council reviewed the proposed changes at their Work Session of February 9, 2015. Mayor Lundberg opened the public hearing. No one appeared to speak. Mayor Lundberg closed the public hearing. NO ACTION REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY. BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE Sue Hartman, Springfield OR. Ms. Hartman spoke regarding Main Street safety. She has lived in the Thurston area of Springfield for about three years and knows how dangerous these roads have been. She wants to see it made safer for everyone. She thinks the speed limit should be reduced to about 30 mph on Main Street. There is a mix of business and residential and speeds of 45 mph are too fast. She also felt more crosswalks needed to be installed and felt red lights instead of yellow would be best as they are more visible. Those that are currently yellow should be changed over to red. In the future, she would like to see a three- way signal light at the entrance to Mountaingate from Main Street as it got more developed. When they make changes on the roads, they need to educate the people through the media of the change and that it will be enforced. If people see police cars and people getting ticketed, they will usually slow down. She has noticed that people drive fast on Highbanks Road. It is posted at 30 mph, and then goes up to 40 mph as it gets to the country. There are a lot of people on bikes on that road. Another road that needs attention is 69 Street. 2. Larry Kirk, Springfield OR Ms. Kirk noted that the speed is 35 mph in Oakridge and people follow that because police are there all the time. Someone mentioned the visibility of the yellow lights, but he feels the yellow lights are very visible. There are red lights in Gateway, but there are still accidents. They do need enforcement to keep control of the traffic speeds. In 2011, the local news agency released information that Springfield had received, with the assistance of Peter DeFazio, $100,000 for a study and safety upgrades on Main Street. He saw streets lights changed from yellow to white, and two crosswalks built. Representative DeFazio then secured $1 M for safety on Main Street. He hasn't seen any results from that funding. When he contacted Representative DeFazio and was told to contact the Mayor. He was directed to David Reesor, project manager, who said the money was in reserve while a three - to -five study on safety was done in accordance with a 20 -year growth plan. He is concerned about people getting hurt during those 3-5 years, and was told Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) had the funds. He asked where that $1 M went. Mayor Lundberg said someone will contact him about his question. Normally, staff does provide the Mayor with the phone number of people that call, although David would have been the most appropriate person to speak with on that topic. Mr. Grimaldi said staff would meet with Mr. Kirk after the Council meeting. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 16, 2015 Page 4 William Carpenter, Springfield OR Mr. Carpenter said he is the acting Chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He feels there are three immediate fixes to improve safety on Main Street, and this is a vital topic for the BPAC to address for the longer-term items. All members on the committee have experience riding and walking in the City, and generally driving in the City as well. The first of the three items is above the increased enforcement on Main Street. Each intersection should be double red so there is no instantaneous light changes and walk signals occurring. This is often done in cities with inherent problems of people running red lights. With the double red, there is an instant where no one is in the intersection. The second thing is to put a rumble strip on the westbound exit ramp off Highway 126 onto Main at about 54`E' Street. That in conjunction with a `signal ahead' warning sign could help slow down traffic. The yellow flashers don't work in Springfield and they need the red lights. He has seen a number of cars run through these crossing on 5th Street, 19th Street and in the Gateway area. He urged the Council to move forward. This is a good opportunity to involve everyone to make a safer Main Street and Springfield for everyone. 4. Debbie Bosche Springfield OR Ms. Bosche said she is a mom and homeowner in Thurston. Her kids attend Thurston High and are on Main Street continually, now learning to drive. She had granddaughters at Willamalane on 32°d Street during the accident and one of her older daughters drove past the accident right after it happened. That Monday she attended the vigil and decided she needed to do something. She started calling around and found out about the town hall meeting and let people know about it. She is continuing to let people know that something needs to be done. She had provided some short-term suggestions and there is a petition with over 2000 signatures for long-term foot bridges. She believes that at the location where the freeway comes into Bob Straub onto Main Street needs something. She would like to see like to see them synchronize the lights to reduce people trying to hurry through the light. She would also like a delay on the walk light. She would like to see the walk lights changed from yellow to red. She also like the idea of pavement strip lights to alert drivers. Mayor Lundberg asked Ms. Bosche could leave her list of suggestions or email them to the City so they can be added to those to be reviewed and considered. Ms. Bosche said she did talk to a staff member after the last City Council meeting. She thanked everyone for coming forward and understood how nervous they feel. She asked them to stay with what the City is doing. They are working on things short-term and long-term. There will be changes coming forward. Robyn Sattler, Springfield OR Ms. Sattler said she serves on the Library Board and was here to provide an update. The Friends of the Public Library held their annual used book sale and raised $7800. After the sale, they have books available for others to take. St. Vincent DePaul took some of the books and will send them to the new State Mental Health Facility in Junction City. Last week was Teen Tech Week with a theme, "Libraries are for Making" which inspired the Library to offer a week of hands-on creative learning. Forty-eight teens learned how to knit, build an electric circuit board, and how to use a 3D pane to make 3D drawings. Next week is Spring break and the Library has lots of programs for kids of all ages. The theme for Spring break is "Art in Nature and Science". In the morning, they have science programs, and in the afternoon more art programs. University of Oregon Science in Demand is presenting a new science topic every morning. Some of the afternoon sessions included an Eric Carle Mural workshop, Art with Plant and Flowers, an Oregon Coast Aquarium visit, a City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 16, 2015 Page 5 Museum of Natural and Cultural History workshop on patterns and nature, and a Snap Circuit and Lego Challenge event. There are incentives for the kids to attend including free books every day and raffle tickets. Last year, over 800 participants attended the Spring break activities. They anticipate the same number this year. Councilor Moore asked if some of the volunteers helped with the Spring Break programs. Library Director Rob Everett said it was staff only. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS BIDS ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Committee Appointments a. Planning Commission Appointments. Matthew Ruettgers presented the staff report on this item. Beginning in mid-February, the City Council conducted interviews to fill three vacancies on the Planning Commission. After the interviews, the Council discussed each of the applicants and expressed an informal preference for three of the candidates. Tonight's action will formally conclude the process. Candidates for appointment to the Planning Commission are Mr. John DeWenter, Mr. Sean Dunn, and Mr. Michael Koivula. Councilor VanGordon said for most of 2015, the Planning Commissioners whose terms expired stayed on until new appointments could be made. He appreciates them staying on and noted the importance of the Planning Commission. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR VANGORDON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR MOORE TO APPOINT JOHN DEWENTER TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH A TERM EXPIRING JULY 31, 2018. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WOODROW). IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR VANGORDON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR MOORE TO APPOINT SEAN DUNN TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH A TERM EXPIRING JANUARY 18, 2019. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WOODROW). IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR VANGORDON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR MOORE TO APPOINT MICHAEL KOIVULA TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH A TERM EXPIRING FEBRUARY 5, 2019. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT — WOODROW). City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes March 16, 2015 Page 6 2. Business from Council a. Committee Reports 1. Mayor Lundberg noted the lighting ceremony that was held on Friday, March 13. She spent the day with the Mini -Mayor first at city hall, then at a ribbon cutting and lunch, and then at the lighting ceremony. It was a lot of fun. The Mini -Mayor is the daughter of City Attorney Matt Cox. 2. Councilor Pishioneri reported on the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) meeting that was held last Friday. They reviewed the preliminary FYI 5/16 budget which included capital programs totaling $21.9M, a regional operating budget of $16.6M combining Eugene and Springfield. They are looking at a proposed 2% rate increase which is lower than forecast. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 7:29 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: