HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/27/2015 Work SessionCity of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY APRIL 27, 2015
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday April 27, 2015 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Ralston, Woodrow and
Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City
Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
1. Travel Lane County Presentation.
Travel Lane County President and CEO, Kari Westlund, provided an update on how Travel Lane
County has promoted Springfield over the past year, and plans for the future.
Springfield offers a rich mix of history and a passion for progress. A vital partner in the local tourism
industry, its hospitality offerings of hotels, restaurants, breweries, shopping districts and recreation
provide a wealth of opportunities for both visitors and locals. Recent development and revitalization
efforts continue to improve the landscape with gems like Sprout! Regional Food Hub and the new
Simpson's Mural to ever-expanding parks and sports fields lead by Willamalane Park and Recreation
District and city leaders.
Travel Lane County works to promote Springfield's diverse collection of amenities through its
marketing efforts and its Springfield -based Adventure Center welcomes visitors to Lane County.
Ms. Westlund presented a slide show. The first slide showed visitor spending impacts in Lane County,
which reached almost $850M in 2014. Visitors coming in spent $610M in the countywide economy,
while others spent nearly $240M. The data showed a breakdown between east and west Lane County.
There are nearly 10,000 direct tourism jobs in Lane County. Visitor spending in 2014 included hotel
stays, private homes, vacation homes, campgrounds, and day travel. The largest sector of visitors stay
in homes. This is true in nearly every market.
Councilor Woodrow asked how they knew how many people stayed in homes rather than hotels.
Ms. Westlund said she it was done using some sort of secondary model, but she was not sure how they
get those figures. Although 23% stayed in hotels, it made up 41% of visitor spending. The next slide
showed a breakdown of these dollar figures. She referred to a document she provided to the Council
which included a breakout of the economic impact data. For every person that lives in Lane County,
there is $23,800 visitor dollars coming into the county economy.
Ms. Westlund discussed transient room tax collections in the county over the last eleven years. Over
the last four years, transient room tax (TRT) is up an average of about 12%, a little higher in
Springfield. In FY2014, the total amount of room tax collected was $2,276,750 with Springfield's
share at just over $IM. There is an administrative cost to the City of Eugene for handling the TRT
dollars. Room tax is a direct correlation to lodging revenues. She described the market share of TRT
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collections and distributions in the area. She described the distribution among cities, the County and
marketing.
Ms. Westlund said the TLC was formed in 1980 from the Eugene Chamber for destination marketing
as a TRT investment tool. Their mission is to increase the number of overnight visitors to Lane
County. In the mid -1990's, TRT was raised to fund Travel Lane County (TLC). The Board is made up
city and county representatives. The following are the Springfield representatives: Mayor Christine
Lundberg, Dan Curtis, Jonas Kungys, Richard Boyles, JB Carney, Andy Vobora, Dan Egan, John
Tamulonis and Courtney Griesel. Travel Lane County is part of a distribution marketing channel.
Travel Oregon receives a 1% TRT from the entire state, about $13M -$14M annually. They have
divided the state into seven regions and Lane County overlaps two. TLC works with 10 Chambers of
Commerce, including the Springfield Chamber.
The county -wide brand promises to offer "a variety of enriching, authentic, approachable adventures
for all ages and abilities". They roll the culinary and arts culture into it as complimentary adventures.
She noted all of the attributes they consider as they promote the county. There are Community Brands
with each area as well. For Springfield they have Rivers, Recreation, Sports, History & Culture,
especially the Murals. TLC tries to work those attributes through the content of the materials for
Springfield.
TLC recently relaunched their website and it continues to grow. The Springfield page gets a lot of hits
and includes a video done by staff. They are always looking for new photos to add to the page. They
have the ability to build out microsites. She noted some of the uses for those sites, including one for
Springfield as the "official" Springfield with the Simpsons Mural. In the last 30 days, 450 unique page
views of the Simpsons site and tour section had been made, staying on for five minutes or more. Since
launching the microsite last August, there have been 3368 unique page views. On the meetings and
convention site, they did an ad shoot at SPROUT. They would like to do more photography and video
for more of a Springfield leisure message around local food.
Ms. Westlund referred to the copy of the Visitors Guide that had Springfield on the front cover. They
are proud of the accomplishments of Springfield regarding recreation. TLC sponsors all of the
community pages so can control photography and video. She distributed a brochure titled "65 Places
to Go Fish in Lane County". This is the first ever publication that a state agency has done like this
with a local destination brand. It includes several places that people can access the river from
Springfield. It has been very popular.
Ms. Westlund referred to the handout in the agenda packet which includes a summary of different
projects TLC has done focused on Springfield. They are ready to meet with all of the breweries to go
to Phase 2 of the Ale Trail. The insert gives a sense of the earned media generated up until publication
at the end of the calendar year. They would like to hear feedback from Council.
Councilor Pishioneri asked about the TRT funds going to the fairgrounds.
Ms. Westlund said part of those funds go into the bond retirement and part to operations. The history
is that it is capital money for bond indebtedness and not operating. The change for the operating
sweep to the Fairgrounds started about 10 years ago. It is at the discretion of the Lane County Board
of Commissioners (LCBC) and has been consistent for a period of time. The genesis of room tax was
for capital projects.
Councilor Pishioneri asked about the funds spent in Creswell and Florence for projects.
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Ms. Westlund said the Florence money came out of this capital account, but she is not sure about
Creswell.
Councilor Pishioneri said Springfield has been paying into this and he is looking for a capital
investment in Springfield.
Ms. Westlund said there had not been a project in Springfield or Eugene, unless you count the
fairgrounds.
Councilor Pishioneri said he would love to see an advocate for Springfield to get a project that they
could take to the LCBC.
Mayor Lundberg said that advocacy needs to come from the Council.
Ms. Westlund said the TLC Board would be approachable for support on projects.
Councilor Ralston asked about one of the community brand attributes in Westfir.
Ms. Westlund explained that attribute which was a scenic byway.
Mayor Lundberg thanked Ms. Westlund for her presentation. She also thanked the TLC for their
assistance in getting the Mayor's Soccer Tournament off the ground, and for continuing to put
Springfield on the map.
Councilor Moore said TrackTown is mentioned on the Eugene site only, but her understanding is that
TrackTown is larger than Eugene only.
Ms. Westlund said that is correct. Almost all of the TrackTown legends lived in Springfield. They
need to work hard to get that connection. It is noted on the Springfield page that many of those legends
lived in Springfield.
2. Main Street Traffic Safety.
Brian Barnett, Traffic Engineer, presented the staff report on this item.
Mr. Barnett noted that Angela Kargel, Region II Traffic Manager from Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) was in the audience. She has been a great partner with the City helping with
the All Roads Transportation Safety (ARTS) applications, speed zone reduction discussions and a
variety of other things.
Mr. Barnett noted the five attachments to the agenda item summary and said Police had increased
enforcement on Main Street and that information is being provided in the weekly Council updates.
One of the things that is key to this discussion is recognizing that we have a very substantive situation
to deal with that will require a long-term commitment. In order to accomplish good work, they need to
be thoughtful in how they do it, allocate resources appropriately and recognize there are other
priorities in the City.
Mr. Barnett referred to Attachment 1 of the agenda packet and reviewed the list of actions completed
or underway:
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1) Agency Partners engaged
a) ODOT, owner and operator of the street, is committed to improving the safety in the corridor
and is in ongoing discussions with City staff
2) Engineering Projects
a) Rapid Flash Beacon (RFB) crossings (8 planned) (City lead project with ODOT funds). Mr.
Barnett noted the great work done by staff meeting with business and property owners on
these crossings. Councilor Woodrow had been a great support on these projects.
i) Four completed at 35th, 41St, 44th, and 51St Streets
ii) Two are under design at 48th and Chapman Streets with anticipated construction Summer
of 2015
iii) Two crossings are planned at 40th and 57th Streets. In light of the installation at 41St Street
location the 40th Street location will be examined in late 2015 to see if it is still warranted.
57th Street requires reconsideration and an evaluation is expected early 2016 and may
result in a relocation eastward to an unknown location. Funds may be redirected to new
RFB locations or to Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) locations.
iv) Transit stop relocation (completed at new RFB crossings and under way with proposed
crossings)
b) Countdown Pedestrian Heads at traffic signals (completed by ODOT and City)
c) 69th Street left turn signal improvement — flashing yellow arrow (completed by ODOT)
d) Install reflectorized borders on traffic signal back plates (ODOT commitment)
e) Design and construct a bike boulevard on Virginia & Daisy Streets from South 32nd Street to
Bob Straub Parkway (City lead project with ODOT Bike/Pedestrian funds)
f) All Roads Transportation Safety (ARTS) project funding application completed (ODOT
Safety funds)
g) Main Street Corridor Vision Plan Implementation (City of Springfield staff)
h) Requested speed limit reduction on Main Street and Highway 126
3) Education Programs
a) Redirect Public Works Week to bicyclist and pedestrian education
b) Support Safety Town program for pre -kindergarten children
c) Promoting existing educational materials
d) Social media outreach begun
e) Video production begun
4) Enforcement Activities
a) Increased enforcement effort — See Attachment 5 of the agenda packet. Police Chief Doney
responded to a question from Councilor Ralston and said the citations numbers over the last
few months are an increase over similar periods of time.
b) Requested Redflex Traffic Systems, a vendor of red light enforcement cameras, to implement
traffic surveys at key locations
Councilor Ralston said an article should be printed noting the enhanced enforcement so the public is
aware. He had received emails from people seeing drivers still go through red lights.
Chief Doney asked that Councilor Ralston forward those emails to him. They have had the media out
riding with patrol officers so they are trying to get information to the public.
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Councilor Pishioneri said he was most interested in seeing what kind of enforcement activity is being
done in the high speed areas of Main Street, between 28`x' and 70th Street.
Mr. Barnett said they have made significant progress prior to and since the accident with the items
listed above, and will continue that effort. He reviewed the short-term actions they hoped to move
forward with in the near future:
5) Agency Partners identified and engaged
a) Springfield Public Schools (SPS) is primarily responsible for education of children in the
community and operates the Safe Routes 2 Schools program
b) Lane Transit District (LTD) owns and operates the transit stop locations and the transit
service, and operates the Point 2 Point Solutions program
6) Enforcement
a) Publicizing enhanced enforcement effort
b) Reporting on enforcement statistics
c) Deploy "Buster", the radar speed feedback trailer
7) Education
a) Signs aimed at pedestrians to be aware of traffic
b) Educate drivers and pedestrians to not trust each other and look out for errors by others
c) Teach pedestrians and drivers to make eye contact, improve scanning behavior
d) Pedestrian video education
8) Engineering
a) Request speed limit reduction
b) Speed feedback radar signs
c) Implement the Main Street Corridor Vision Plan, Short Term Strategies (City of Springfield
with ODOT & LTD collaboration)
He noted the excellent work done by Michael Liebler to get the crossings along Main Street, working
with business and property owners, and keeping the costs below estimates when possible.
He reviewed the longer terms items:
9) Enforcement
a) Continue the short term actions
10) Education
a) Continue the short term actions
b) Traffic Safety banners over road
11) Engineering
a) Implement the Main Street Corridor Vision Plan, Short Term Strategies (City of Springfield
with ODOT & LTD collaboration)
b) Add more signalized intersections and crosswalks
c) Advance RFB beacon ahead of crosswalk RFB
d) Add pedestrian hybrid beacon (PHB aka HAWK)
e) Narrow traffic lanes or/and reduce number of lanes
f) Remove southbound Hwy 126 off ramp to westbound Main Street
g) Redesign entire corridor
h) Street or lane narrowing
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i) Add median islands
j) Improve street lighting
k) Enhanced crosswalk lighting
1) Remove signals and add roundabouts
m) Designating Main Street as a Safety Corridor
Other suggestions that were submitted include:
12) Pedestrians carry crossing flags from one side to the other side of street
13) Speed bumps to slow traffic speeds
14) Advance warning beacon
15) Install pedestrian bridge(s)
16) Change flashing yellow beacons to flashing red beacons on RRFB
17) Rumble strips to warn of crosswalk ahead
18) Railroad style crossing arms at crosswalks
19) Sun visors on beacons
20) Time traffic signal timing to control speed
21) Longer pedestrian signal timing
22) Pedestrians wave arms or clothing or flags or umbrella (make like a big lion)
23) Citation cameras
24) Delay walk signal by 5 seconds
25) Add state police to enforcement efforts
26) Death Toll bill boards
27) Park a police car with a dummy in it in area to scare drivers into slower speeds and to stop at
signals
28) Revise pedestrian J -walking laws
29) Add silver ring around red signal
30) Put the pedestrian crossings at intersections not mid -block
31) Better signage
32) In -pavement warning lights at crosswalks
33) Signage notifying drivers that they are approaching the crossing.
34) Provide "LifePaint" a spray on reflective paint
35) Main Street near 54`" Street should be renamed "Hudson Highway" in memory of the children that
passed.
36) Change the yellow light to red or one that stays yellow and adds flashing red circuit with a
brilliant white strobe ring (like what is seen on high end luxury cars).
37) Installing a metal grate system similar to a cattle guard before the intersection may "catch driver's
attention" or putting in a flashing light similar to what the railroad uses may also help catch the
attention of drivers and make them pay attention at the intersections.
38) Red Stop Lights is installed along with the Yellow Flashing lights at the pedestrian crossings for
added visibility to motorists.
39) railroad arms that come down at crossings to act as an additional barrier to vehicles at intersections
40) There needs to be a longer delay between the time from the time the cross walk changes and the
time the motorist given a green light.
41) Signs at each crosswalk stating: Pedestrians Be Aware of traffic at all times
42) Just like a person should behave in front of a mountain lion, pedestrians should make themselves
as big as possible with raised waving arms, with a waving cloth, with an open (red if possible)
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umbrella to create alert. The last suggestion for an open red umbrella I want to call The Red
Umbrella Campaign for Crosswalk Safety.
43) The signs are at the side of the road not above traffic where most traffic control lights are located.
44) To grind the pavement creating a series of rumble bars that remind drivers they are coming up to
an established cross walk.
45) Another type of sign (alphanumeric like a cellphone or a bank clock/thermometer) could create a
mental interruption - to be effective.
46) Change the signal timing to slow people, everyone speeds to get the green lights
47) Drivers cannot see people standing at these crossings when they are behind the pole and drivers
just go through them thinking no one is there
48) Crossings need better signage
49) Gateway crossings should be the standard for the future
50) Look at East Coast solution of using raised bumps on the ground along a crosswalk that have LED
lights in them that flash when button is pushed
51) Put a speed bump or succession of speed bumps prior to the intersection at 54th and Main Street to
help slow down traffic.
52) Add flashing amber lights similar to ones we currently have in otherpedestrian crosswalks around
town; however, these would be out front of each common -intersection crosswalk along Main
Street, and light up only when people are crossing.
53) share with your mayor or top local elected official about the Mayors' Challenge for Safer People
and Safer Streets
54) A new traffic signal on Main Street (highway 126) and Mountain Gate Drive (where Main Street
intersects with Mountain Gate Community).
55) A new traffic signal on Main Street and 66th Street (in front of Ridgeview Elementary School).
56) Two new crosswalks on Main Street between 58th and 69d' (currently there are no crosswalks
between 58'h and 69th).
57) Believe it is important to re-engineer the street layout of Main Street in order to reduce speeds and
create shorter crossing distances for pedestrians.
58) Transit improvements may be one way to help implement some broader safety improvements for
all users of the road along the corridor.
59) The curb -to -curb distance on the west side of the 54b and Main intersection is approximately 85 ft.
wide and the curb -to -curb on the east side is about 97 ft. wide, which are both huge crossing
distances with no pedestrian refuge islands and cars approaching 2 -ways from all directions.
He noted that one of the suggestions was to build median islands. There is an ARTS project that is
being applied for that would consider medians in the entire corridor. There are substantial changes that
can make substantial improvement in traffic safety, but they do also have a cost that is not financial.
The Corridor Vision Plan has already given a new way to look at Main Street. Staff would like to
table the final list at this time, but would like to hear Council's input on all ideas. To be most effective,
they would like to narrow their efforts.
Councilor Woodrow said the focus by the community following the accident was the speed, although
that particular accident did not involve speed. There were multiple factors involved such as pedestrian
awareness. It is important to broaden our education scope beyond the schools. She would like to see
the Chamber of Commerce communicate with businesses and let them know safety encompasses
everyone paying attention to everyone.
Mr. Barnett said that was their intent.
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Councilor Woodrow said she is concerned that banners and other signs might be too distracting for
drivers. They need to look at what is out there now and the visual image so we don't add more
distractions. The ideas are good, but if all are in the same place it will be too distracting. She noted
that the pedestrian signs block the flashing lights. She had talked with Civil Engineer Michael Liebler
so he is aware and going to look into it further.
Mr. Barnett said he and Mr. Liebler agreed and are working with ODOT to remedy that issue.
Councilor Woodrow said she also wants to make sure the pedestrian are able to see the light before
they cross.
Mr. Barnett said he could discuss that with her after the meeting.
Councilor Ralston said he didn't have a problem with the current speed, but would support a 5 mph
reduction. He thinks the delayed walk signal should be considered. He has seen pedestrians not paying
attention and expecting cars to stop. Pedestrians also need to be cited for infractions and that should be
made known to the public.
Mr. Barnett said pedestrians have been cited. He asked for clarification of the delayed walk signal.
Councilor Ralston said he thought the walk signal should be delayed at the onsite of the red light by
about 5 seconds or so.
Mr. Barnett said staff would work with ODOT on that as that is their authority.
Councilor Ralston asked about the Red Flex. He is not a proponent of red light cameras for citations,
but is supportive if the information is used to determine how many people are running red lights.
Mr. Barnett said he is also not in favor of red light cameras for citations. In this case, Red Flex has
offered Police to collect information on how many red light violations are occurring. Then Council
could determine whether or not to go forward with automatic red light enforcement.
Chief Doney said he has experience with photo red light enforcement as well as radar van enforcement
and has differing opinions on each. Red Flex has offered to come in and do surveys. He is willing to
talk with anyone about his experience with red light cameras. This survey work is at no cost to the
City and they will look at high volume crash intersections. It will then be an option for the Council to
consider. He will find out from Red Flex if they will do manual surveys or camera surveys. Council
will be notified before any survey begins and where they will be located.
Councilor Ralston said gathering information is great to help determine problem intersections.
Councilor Pishioneri referred to the item on the project schedule about removing the southbound
Highway 126 off -ramp and said he was concerned about removing that instead of extending the island
curbway from the off -ramp.
Mr. Barnett said any of that type of action will require a significant amount of analysis before moving
forward. That was listed as a placeholder.
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Councilor Pishioneri referred to another item on the project schedule regarding two new crosswalks on
Main Street between 58g' and 69h Streets. He asked if there are plans to mitigate crossings in that
section.
Mr. Barnett said there are additional crossing locations in the Main Street safety study. One is between
Highway 126 and 58 h Street, but that may not be a good location. That would be a project that could
be moved farther to the east to address those concerns.
Councilor Pishioneri said he had noted speed location signs all over in the Tacoma area, as well as
camera enforcement. He is supportive of camera enforcement and would like to see at least one on the
far east end of town. The camera enforcement could be moved to different intersections.
Councilor VanGordon said a lot of progress had been made since the last time they met. He agreed
with Councilor Ralston about having a delay in the timing of the signals and would like that revisited,
as well as timing of signals. He asked if the list could be grouped into themes for their next
conversation. He is interested in the red light cameras. He also likes the survey and would like it done
no only at high accident areas, but high citation intersections as well.
Councilor Moore said she likes the speed signs that note the speed vehicles are traveling. She referred
to lights in the pavement of the crosswalk. She asked if staff would be looking into the cost of that
option and if they are currently being used in other cities in Oregon. She would like to have the list
condensed and grouped. She thanked staff and ODOT for their work to date.
Mr. Barnett said the in -pavement lights don't have a better safety rate and are very costly to install and
maintain. He also noted that ODOT prohibits those types of lights.
Councilor Moore said it would be helpful to have notes on those items with that reasoning explained.
Mayor Lundberg said she would like the same messaging about being safe to go out to everyone. She
noted Point2Point which did the Eye to Eye campaign. She would prefer to use a positive and simple
message rather than `don't trust each other' and teach it to children. She would like to have the
flashing crossings standard across the City. Currently those in Eugene and Springfield are all different.
She likes the ones in front of Autzen Stadium. There are so many signs along Main Street and they
need to make sure they don't have too much clutter. She likes signs that tell drivers the speed is
lowering up ahead. When she was at the American Planners Association (APA) Conference in Seattle,
she saw videos of community improvements. One was a simple planter design that was a small barrier
along the sidewalk as a subtle signal to people not to cross. It also adds beauty along the street. She
asked if they might look at adding something like that in the Main Street Corridor Vision Plan.
Mr. Barnett said that is something that would be implemented in the Main Street Corridor Vision Plan.
Councilor Pishioneri noted that there is only one speed sign as vehicles travel west on Main Street
between 42nd and Highway 126. He would be willing to have other signs removed in order to add a
speed sign.
Mr. Barnett said they would approach ODOT about doing an audit of the signs on Main Street.
Council thanked staff for all of their work.
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3. Wastewater and Stormwater User Fees FY 2015-2016.
Matt Stouder, Environmental Services Manager, and Katherine Bishop, Environmental Services
Program Manager, presented the staff report on this item.
User fees for local and regional wastewater and local stormwater are reviewed by the Council annually
as part of the City's budget development process. Staff is in the process of developing user fees for
consideration and adoption by Council later this spring. The Metropolitan Wastewater Management
Commission (MWMC) approved a schedule of Fiscal Year 2015-16 (FY 15-16) regional wastewater
user charges on April 10, 2015 and will forward them to the cities of Springfield and Eugene for
implementation.
Each year, staff presents proposed user fee rates for local wastewater and stormwater programs to
Council. These fees are established to provide adequate revenue to fund operations and maintenance,
capital improvement programs, debt service payments, and meet environmental permit requirements
for the City. In addition to local user fees, MWMC develops regional user fees to support the
Regional Wastewater Program. On April 10, 2015, the MWMC adopted the FY 15-16 regional user
fees with a 2.0% rate change that will increase the typical residential customer's monthly bill by
$0.48.
Last year, Council approved a 4.0% stormwater rate change along with a rate forecast projecting a
4.0% increase in FY 15-16 and FY 16-17. Additionally, Council approved a 3.0% rate change last year
for wastewater along with a rate forecast projecting a 2.5% increase in FY 15-16 and a 2.0% increase
in FY 16-17. Staff has prepared FY 15-16 rate options for further discussion and Council
consideration. The options show the combined change to local wastewater and stormwater user fees
for a typical residential customer:
Option 1(basic service level and smoothed rate increases) includes a 3.0% user fee rate increase in FY
15-16, resulting in a $1.02 monthly increase, which includes a local wastewater increase at $.053 and
stormwater at $0.49 monthly, as discussed in Attachment 1.
Option 2 (basic service level with pay -as -you go financing strateg) includes a 3.4% user fee rate
increase in FY 15-16 resulting in a $1.16 monthly increase, which includes a local wastewater increase
at $0.64 and stormwater at $0.52 monthly, as discussed in Attachment 1.
Option 3 (reduced service level now and larger rate increases in future ) includes a 2.4% user fee rate
increase in FY 15-16 resulting in a $0.82 monthly increase, which includes a local wastewater increase
at $0.43 and stormwater at $0.39 monthly, as discussed in Attachment 1.
A public hearing on the option Council selects is scheduled for May 4, 2015.
A power point presentation showed a review of the Annual User Fee and Proposal for FY 15-16. The
revenue goals included:
1. Provide Adequate Operations and Maintenance
2. Fund the Adopted Capital Improvements Program
3. Maintain Debt Service Requirements
4. Increase Capital Reserves; Defer Future Financing
5. Maintain Fiscal Health and Favorable Credit Rating
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Mr. Stouder described the system of wastewater and stormwater. The community said most people
don't think of these systems on a daily basis, but rely on them and place a high value on the systems.
Recently, staff surveyed the community and found that the priorities included maintain healthy
environment/rivers, protecting water quality, recreational opportunities, and promoting economic
development. Staff also met with a focus group through MWMC with representatives from both
Springfield and Eugene, to discuss rate increases. The group was generally supportive of rate increases
when they knew it would protect our resources. Some of the challenges being faced include fixed
operating costs, large and continuing capital needs, cost of inflation being greater than the Consumer
Price Index (CPI), stringent environmental requirements, and debt service.
Ms. Bishop reviewed the proposed rates. She referred to the three options being presented to the
Council for consideration as noted above.
Mr. Stouder noted the wastewater rate factors such as the revenue bond, capital improvement plan,
ongoing system operations and maintenance, and planning for the future. He rioted some of the capital
projects including the Franklin Boulevard/McVay expansion, Pump Stations, and Jasper Trunk line
extension.
Ms. Bishop reviewed a comparison of wastewater rates. Springfield has come down where others have
gone up, putting us closer to the average. She described some of the increases in other cities. She
discussed the three options for the wastewater rates and forecasts.
Councilor Pishioneri asked for an explanation of the disparity in rates between Eugene and
Springfield.
Ms. Bishop said the main reason is economies of scale, as Eugene is much larger than Springfield,
meaning more customers to distribute those costs. Also, much of Eugene's flow activity comes from
their commercial and industrial customers.
Mr. Stouder said the difference between the two cities over the last 20 years has remained constant.
Recently, Eugene has done a lot of wastewater projects while doing some street projects, eliminating
mobilization costs for the wastewater projects. Eugene also didn't sell bonds so they don't have debt
service like Springfield.
Ms. Bishop said Eugene has capacity in their system for growth. Some of the projects in Springfield
include expansion of current systems. She continued to discuss the local wastewater options.
Mr. Stouder spoke regarding local stormwater services. Some of the rate drivers for stormwater
include debt service requirements, level of investment in capital improvements, increasing operating
requirements, maintaining our financial position, and inflation. The City is also planning for the future
and positioning to delay future financing and avoid rate spikes. He noted projects that had been
completed and others that were scheduled.
Ms. Bishop reviewed the fee comparison in stormwater rates. She reviewed the options for
stormwater rates and the forecast for future years. Operating and maintenance costs will increase to
meet future, more stringent regulations. Staff is hoping to move ahead with a pay-as-you-go model
instead of going out for another bond.
Mr. Stouder said the Council could also consider looking at the capital projects, increasing SDC
revenue, or other options.
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Ms. Bishop said the proposed option is Option 1.
Discussion was held about the increase per average customer monthly.
Councilor Moore asked if there would be a time when they would not be increasing rates.
Ms. Bishop said not in the foreseeable future.
Councilor Moore asked when the $ l OM debt would be paid in full.
Ms. Bishop said they were twenty-year bonds and would be paid in full in 2029.
Councilor Moore asked what would happen to those funds once the bond is paid off.
Ms. Bishop said it was difficult to know what regulatory requirements will be in place at that future
date. There will be situations in the future that will require major capital investments. The plan is to try
to pay as they go instead of layering debt.
Councilor Moore said there is not a big difference over the five year period with any of the options.
Councilor VanGordon said he appreciated staff working to keep the increases as low as possible, and
creating a better plan for moving forward.
Councilors Ralston, Woodrow, VanGordon and Pishioneri supported Option 1.
Councilor Wylie asked if other communities gave discounts for seniors.
Ms. Bishop said she was not aware of any cities that offered a discount for seniors. There may be
programs outside of the utility to assist low-income households.
Councilor Wylie said senior incomes are stagnant and these increases affect the household budget.
Ms. Bishop said a discount is not provided within the rate structure.
Mr. Stouder said they would look to see if there are programs to assist seniors or low income
households and would forward that information to the Council. Stormwater is a fixed cost and was
discussed a year ago. One of the easiest ways to lower a bill is to reduce the amount of water usage.
4. Scenario Planning Update.
Anette Spickard, Development and Public Works Director, presented the staff report on this item.
She introduced Kristen Hull from CH2M Hill who presented a power point presentation.
The Councils of Springfield, Coburg and Eugene as well as the Lane County Board of Commissioners
are required under the Jobs and Transportation Act of 2009 to cooperatively select a preferred scenario
to meet State goals for improved air quality by 2035 and to submit a report on this effort to the
Legislature by close of the 2015 session. The selected scenario is not binding and does not have to be
implemented by the jurisdictions.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
April 27, 2015
Page 13
Since the last update to Council on the Scenario Planning process on October 13, 2014, staff from all
four agencies and ODOT have developed a preferred scenario that meets the requirements of the Jobs
and Transportation Act of 2009. Based on the feedback received from Council in October, the
scenario includes a set of seven strategy areas under which the City can choose some or all of the
actions to achieve the State's scenario planning goals. This cooperative approach reflects that each
community is different and will have different needs and policy desires to achieve the overall goal.
If the Council is comfortable with the preferred scenario there is no formal action required to be taken
by the Council, such as passing a resolution, to complete the project. Instead, to demonstrate
"cooperative selection" of the preferred scenario, the report to the legislature will note the date the
scenario was reviewed with each Council and the Board of Commissioners.
There is no financial impact to the City for conducting this project; all expenses were reimbursed by
ODOT. While the City is not required to implement the preferred scenario, the final report to the
legislature will identify funding as the major barrier to implementation and concludes that it is not
realistic to expect implementation without a substantial state investment in the identified strategy
areas.
Ms. Hull noted the preferred scenario is a hybrid of Scenarios A, B and C and includes enhancing
existing policies. As they pushed closer to Scenario C, they found they received better economic
benefits and improved public health benefits through active transportation. Equity is difficult to assess
without specific projects, so they will continue to look at that if they go forward with any of the
investments. She reviewed the preferred scenario elements:
■ A significant investment in transit, active transportation and education and marketing
programs.
■ Some change in the way drivers pay to use the system.
■ Continued investment in optimizing roadways in the region.
■ Continued support for the state's assumptions about changes to vehicle and fuel technology.
■ Continued policies related to parking pricing and availability.
Ms. Hull discussed preferred scenario outcomes. Community outreach was done with stakeholder
workshops, a future builder online tool, a telephone survey, and targeted equity outreach. The next
steps are to present the scenario to each jurisdiction. To date, they had already presented to Lane
County, Eugene and Coburg. They hoped to wrap it all up by the end of June.
Ms. Spickard said a draft of the legislative report was included in the agenda packet as Attachment 2.
The summary report is nearly done and ready to send to the legislature. The Lane Transit District
(LTD) Board also reviewed the report and provided feedback. The letter to the legislature identifies
the time and effort that went into the project and the challenges the cities would face if they were
required to implement this scenario.
Councilor Ralston said he feels the State will eventually make the cities do this and that it has been a
waste of time. He asked for an example of the actual preferred scenario.
Ms. Hull said the preferred scenario is to push harder in terms of transit, education and marketing than
they have today. They want to make a scenario smaller in changing the way people pay to drive,
continue to optimize roadways (already in the Transportation System Plan (TSP)), and not make many
changes to parking. It is not prescriptive because they didn't want to make it look like they were
picking things to implement.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
April 27, 2015
Page 14
Councilor Ralston said part of preferred scenario shows a reduction in vehicle transportation by 11%,
which he does not support. His preferred scenario is between A and B. Even though this is just an
exercise, it is likely the State will one day require cities to implement.
Councilor VanGordon said they are not officially adopting this; it is just going to be sent to the State.
He asked if Council's feedback would change the report.
Ms. Hull said if Council is not comfortable, the group can circle back to address concerns.
Mr. Grimaldi said they should consider that accepting it now would eliminate additional staff time that
is being dedicated to this project.
Councilor VanGordon referred to Transit Strategy #2: Support a stable source of funding for transit
operations and maintenance. He did not feel that from a strategy perspective, they would support an
increase in funding for transit operations and maintenance. That strategy makes it sound like they are
asking the City to support more money for LTD operations, which is outside the city's threshold. LTD
has their own board. He can understand the piece about supporting improvement in capital. He
referred to Active Transportation Strategy #2: Dedicate a larger share of local transportation dollars
to constructing and maintaining biking and walking projects. That indicated that the City would
dedicate dollars to construct biking and walking projects, without providing the opportunity to
evaluate policy options which could further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Ms. Hull said these are intended to be a menu to choose from. They are not prescriptive, just ideas
about how to implement.
Councilor VanGordon said he was looking for something that captured looking holistically at
transportation.
Ms. Hull said they could add that as part of the menu.
Councilor VanGordon said in looking at the pricing of pay-as-you-go insurance, it is not something
Springfield could get behind. They need to look closer at the effect on the insurance market if this was
adopted statewide.
Ms. Hull said she could add those comments.
Councilor Moore said she is impressed that they are currently making headway on some of these
things, and exploring many of these things. We are already looking at ways to improve the health of
Springfield and how to get around.
Councilor Wylie said part of TransPlan, which the cities partners with other local governments,
includes reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT). One of the ways to do that is with alternative
modes of transportation. All of it works together. Having the bus rapid transit (BRT) in Springfield has
been a benefit to our community in that area. These are reasonable things we are working towards.
Councilor Ralston agreed that Springfield is already doing these things, and he feels that is sufficient.
He doesn't understand why they need to record that they will do more in order to make the State feel
good.
City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes
April 27, 2015
Page 15
Mayor Lundberg said the purpose of this exercise was to reduce carbon emissions, and cars are a very
small percent of those emissions ye they have done a million dollar project to accomplish that. She
asked Department of Land and Conservation Development (DLCD) whey they didn't look at things
that could have a bigger impact, such as advanced wood products and was told they hadn't thought of
that. She proposed they end this project and send it to the State. She asked that staff write a strongly
worded letter to accompany our part of the report stating that we are doing a lot of things, and we will
continue doing more things. The VMT fees and registration fees are only going to be paid by those
living in our state, and not those who travel through on our roads. She proposed a toll bridge, not near
town but for travelers on the interstate. She wants to capture in the letter that we need to make all
neighborhoods better, not just lower income neighborhoods, in order to make it equitable.
Mr. Grimaldi said staff will run the letter by the Mayor and Council President, and then share it with
the rest of the Council.
Mayor Lundberg she would propose that they advance things that reduce our carbon footprint in a
more impactful way, so we can be credited with those things.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:51 p.m.
Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest:
Amy So a
City Recorder