HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/2007 Regular
City of Springfield
Regular Meeting
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19,2007
The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street~ Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, November 19,2007 at 7:18 p.m., with Mayor Leiken
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Ballew, Ralston, Woodrow and
Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery,
City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Attorney Matt Cox, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the
staff.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
t, ,
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken.
SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT
, 1. Springfield Library Bookmark Winners.
Youth Services Librarian Barbara Thompson presented this item. Children's Book Week has
been celebrated nationally during the week before Thanksgiving since 1919 in schools, libraries,
and bookstores - where ever there are children and books.
For 27 years now, the Springfield Public Library has celebrated Children's Book Week with a
book mark contest for grades kindergarten through middle school. This year, 600 children
designed bookmarks and entered the contest. All of their designs, about books, reading, libraries
or the year's theme, which is "Rise Up Reading!", are now displayed in the children's
department.
After choosing the winners, the library has their book markS professionally printed and we then
give them out to library users and children on classroom tours of the library.
Ms. Thompson introduced the bookmark contest winners 2007. Mayor Leiken congratulated each
student. '
Kindergarten
Sarah Beck, Brattain Elementary
I st Grade
Amy Rose, Ridgeview Elementary
2nd Grade
Linda ~ham, Centennial Elementary
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19, 2007
Page 2
3 rd Grade
Braiden Gheen, Walterville Elementary
4th Grade
Mason Zmolek, Mt. Vernon Elementary
, 5th Grade
Monica Wilson, Brattain Elementary
Middle School
Stevie Bristow, Goshen School
Middle School
Megan Bernatzki, Briggs Middle School
Mayor Leiken thanked everyone for their involvement with the Library.
2. American Public Works Association (APW A) Award Presentation.
Public Works Director Dan Brown presented this item. He introduced Kurt Corey, President of
the American Public Works Association - Oregon Chapter. The APW A Public Works Project of
the Year Award was established to promote excellence in the management and administration of
public works projects by recognizing the alliance between the managing agency, the
consultant/architect/engineer, and the contractor who, working together, complete public works
projects.
The Martin Luther King Parkway and roundabout was awarded 2007 Project of the Year in the
category of a transportation project between $2M and $1 OM. Three plaques will be presented:
City of Springfield, Lane County and Delta Construction.
Mr. Brown discussed this project and noted the award they received last month from the
American Concrete Pavement Association. He noted that some ofthe people in the audience
tonight were representatives from the Oregon Chapter of the American Public Works
Association.
Mr. Brown introduced City staff that were involved in this project that were present tonight;,
Brian Barnett, Linda Pauly, and Ken V ogeney. There were many more staff people involved from ' '
the City and County.
Mr. Brown introduced Peggy Keppler, City of Eugene Manager in the Public Works Department,
and currently on the state chapter board of directors. He also introduced Kurt Corey, Oregon
Chapter APW A President and Public Works Director for the City of Eugene, who would be
presenting tonight's awards. Mr. Brown noted that Lane County did the engineering on the
project and Lee Babb, Delta Construction, wasthe prime contractor. Mr. Brown gave a brief
introduction of Kurt Corey. He noted that Mr. Corey was recognized in 2006 as one of the top ten
Public Works leaders in the nation by APWA.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19,2007
Page 3
Mr. Corey discussed the APW A and what it was about. He gave a brief history of the APW A, and
said that they recognized excellence in public works projects. The MLK Jr. Parkway and
roundabout project ranked top in the State in 2007 in the category of transportation project in the
$2M-$lOM category. One ofthe key factors in this type of project was the partnerships that went
into providing the public with these types of improvements. '
Mr. Corey asked Mayor Leiken, Bill Morgan, interim County engineer for Lane County, and Lee
Babb, president of Delta Construction to come forward to receive their awards. He congratulated
the Springfield City Council for their support of public works capital improvements and the
public works department and making this project possible. He presented the awards.
Mr. Babb said the MLK Parkway project was a project of many agencies. His employees and
superintendents were very proud of this job, but they just did what the City and County laid out
for them to do. He was pleased with the design and pleased it turned out so well. He said he was
proud to be here.
CONSENT CALENDAR
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
WOODROW TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED
WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
1. Claims
a. Approval of the October 2007, Disbursements for Approval.
2. Minutes
a. November 5, 2007 - Work Session
b. November 5, 2007 - Regular Meeting
3. Resolutions
a. RESOLUTION NO. 07-50 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT
P30l50 TAYLOR RAE TERRACE SUBDIVISION.
b. RESOLUTION NO. 07-51 - A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY
MANAGER TO AWARD COMPETITIVE BIDS EXCEEDING $35,000 AND
APPROVE AMENDMENTS TO PUBLIC CONTRACTS DURING THE PERIOD OF
DECEMBER 4, 2007 TO JANUARY 6, 2008 WHILE THE COMMON COUNCIL IS
IN RECESS.
4. Ordinances
a. ORDINANCE NO. 6208- AN ORDINANCE GRANTING COMCAST OF OREGON
, II, INC., AN ADDITIONAL TERM AND FRANCHISE RENEWAL FOR THE
OPERATION OF A CABLE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM; AMENDING
ORDINANCE 5567; ADOPTING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING
AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19,2007
Page 4
5. Other Routine Matters
a. Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Letter of Agreement with Comcast Concerning
Renewal ofthe Cable Television Franchise.
b. Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Agreement with Galardi Consulting, LLC to '
Provide Services in Connection with the Upcoming Update to the City's Local System
Development Charge Methodologies and Rates. '
c. Approval of Liquor License Endorsement for The Pour House, LOcated at 444 N 42nd
Street, Springfield, Oregon.
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. Downtown Urban Renewal Plan and Report.
ORDINANCE NO.2 - AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE SPRINGFIELD
DOWNTOWN URBAN RENEWAL PLAN AND REPORT AND ADOPTING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE (FIRST READING).
Community Development Manager John Tamulonis presented the staff report on this item. On
, November 6, 2007, the Springfield electorate authorized the City Council to allocate taxes to a
, downtown urban renewal district. Allocation of taxes to an urban renewal district requires the
creation and adoption of an urban renewal plan and report. A draft version of the Downtown
Urban Renewal Plan was reviewed by Council on September 17, 2007. Staff was authorized to
present that draft for review by other taxing bodies and for presentation and review by the general
public.
At issue is whether the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan and Report should be adopted; adopted
with amendments, or rejected by the Council. '
On October 2, 2007, the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan was reviewed by the Planning
Commission. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council
approve the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan and Report with a minor text change describing how
urban renewal would affect schools. "Town Hall" events were held on August 7th and September
20th, to present the draft plan for public review and comment These events were publicized by
display ads in the Register Guard, by media stories and by direct mail (September 20th meeting)
to residents and property owners within the urban renewal plan boundary. Staff also made
presentations to numerous community organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary,
and Lions Clubs.
Presentations and discussion with the staff and elected officials for affected taxing bodies
including Lane County, School District 19, Lane ESD, Willamalane Park andRecreation District
and Lane Community College were also held.
.4.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
Novernber19,2007
Page 5
Attachment I is the adopting ordinance which follows the required contents and makes the
required findings and determinations described in ORS 457.095.
Attachment 2 is the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan and Report which is also identified as
Exhibit A in the adopting ordinance.
Attachment 3 is the Staff Report which provides [mdings for Council review related to the
requirements of ORS 457 forthe establishment of an urban renewal district and for the contents
of an urban renewal plan.
Attachment 4 summarizes the comments received from the affected taxing bodies, the public, and
those received through the Planning Commission review held on October 2nd. The attachment
also includes recommended revisions to the Draft Downtown Urban Renewal Plan and Report
that are intended to respond tothe comments and to improve the documents.
Mr. Tamulonis referred to the attachments included in the agenda packet. He distributed a
document showing the notices that were sent out regarding this item as well as the mailer sent out
after the election noticing registered voters in Springfield of tonight's public hearing. He
discussed the proposed amendments from the Planning Commission. ,He distributed a memo from
Willamalane regarding a proposed project in the urban renewal plan.
Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing.
1. William Carpenter, 680T Street, Springfield, OR Mr. Carpenter recommended the eastern
boundary for the Urban Renewal District end at 14th Street. He noted several reasons for this
recommendation. The first was that the City needed to live within our means. There was a
great opportunity and he wanted to make sure we didn't drop the ball and fmd ourselves in
fiscal problems. He noted the cost of the fire station that was being built, the jail being built
and the urban renewal district in Glenwood detracting from tax revenues from the General
Fund. Two districts of that size (if the Downtown Urban Renewal District stopped at 14th
Street) would be sufficient to let the City move on and if it was later determined the land east
of 14th Street warranted some type of urban renewal, the Council could go to the voters to get
a small district added. He explained that the lands east of 14th Street were not appropriate for
the urban renewal district because they had larger than normal lots and were not conducive to
urban renewal. He felt the City needed to keep urban renewal downtown in the downtown
itself.
. 2. Michael Balk, 260 West J Street, Springfield, OR Mr. Balk said he read through the urban
renewal district plan and was thrilled with the language in the plan. He thanked staff for the
hard work they put into the plan. He said he was recently at a meeting at Eugene Water and
Electronic Board (EWEB) and said the meeting room had a beautiful vista of the river. Sadly,
there was nothing like that in Springfield, but he felt the urban renewal plan provided an
opportunity to address that reality. He said he had participated in a river clean-up recently and
noted the amount of transient's trash that was gathered. He feltthe reason for the excessive
trash and transient's living under the railroad trestle, was because much of the property was
unused. The objectives outlined in the development plan included the highest use of property
connected to the river and dealing with the community safety and health. He was thrilled that
this could offer an opportunity, in the long term, to relocate the chemical company. He made
copies of the current evaluation of Valley River Center and noted that they paid about '
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19, 2007
Page 6
$100,000 more in taxes annually than the entire Borden heavy industrial property complex in
Springfield, which was over double the size. He felt Borden Chemical (Hexion) might be
happier in a location that was less environmentally sensitive. He hoped they would look over
'those figures. He noted the many possibilities for downtown such as nice restaurants, hotels,
public open space, a new library or a foot bridge. The money would eventually accumulate in ,
the district making it easier for Hexion to relocate. He had his home in Springfield for thirty
years, and property along the river for twenty years, which made him sensitive to the transient
issue along the river. He didn't see things getting better until the property was fully utilized
and occupied. He provided the Mayor and Council with a copy of the Valley River Center
evaluation.
3. Fred Simmons, 312 South 52nd Place, Springfield, OR Mr. Simmons said the urban renewal
staff report was full of technical errors. It referred to a hearing that occurred before the
Planning Commission on October 2, but that meeting was not a public hearing, but rather a
meeting. He said he had noted that during the meeting and asked that it not be referred to as a
hearing, but it was. Tonight was the first public hearing that had occurred on the downtown
urban renewal district. He referred to Table 6, the list of proposed projects. He said they
didn't delineate how their execution benefited the urban renewal district boundaries. He
didn't feel the plan was legitimately adoptable in its present form. He said it was clear from
the SEDA meeting, that this was a done deal. He felt that this needed to be dealt with in a
court by a third party. The real flaw was the date of notice issue and that there was no date of
notice requirement in the urban renewal statute. The plan voted on by the people, didn't seem
that it was directly connected to benefit downtown. He discussed the issue ofthe boundary
going out to 23rd and noted that the southern boundary didn't include the Booth Kelly
property in a way that would be beneficial to the downtown urban renewal area. He said he
stood opposed to this plan and report.
4. Gery VanderMeer, 2604 J Street, Springfield, OR Mr. VanderMeet thanked Mark Metzger
and John Tamulonis and said they had done an excellent job of working with the public to get
the information out correctly. Since the urban renewal plan was first assembled, an
unforeseen circumstance had arisen - the substantial cost increase in construction and
building materials. This had resulted in the previously approved Justice Center experiencing
cost increases that had diminished funds available for the 100 bed jail that was promised to '
the citizens. He was concerned that the jail may get short-shifted. There was an opportunity
for SEDA to make sure that commitment of the 100 bed jail was met and the voters ofthe
City of Springfield would not have their faith in the City broken. If it was in the best interest
for SEDA to build a new Library and Fire Station, they should also support the jail. It would
be his request that SEDA be authorized in appropriate language in this plan to provide
financial assistance to City necessary to complete the jail. This would be a significant break
in faith for the citizens if the City did not support and build that jail. He would support 14th
Street as the eastern boundary for this district. It seemed logical that the area that would
benefit most from the funds allocated should be in the downtown area. Extending past 14th
Street would be including an area that wouldn't see any benefit. He hoped Council would
accommodate his requests and first complete the jail.
Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing.
, NO ACTION REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY.
City of Springfield
Council Regular , Meeting Minutes
November 19, 2007
Page 7
2. Merger of Regional Fiber Consortium and Fiber South Consortium.
ORDINANCE NO.3 - AN ORDINANCE RATIFYING THE CREATION OF THE
REGIONAL FIBER OPTIC CONSORTIUM. AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE
CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT
CREATING THE CONSORTIUM ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD. AND
REPEALING ORDINANCES 5926 AND 5942 (FIRST READING).
Assistant Public Works Director Len Goodwin presented the staff report on this item. The Board
of Directors of the Regional Fiber Consortium and the Board of Directors ofthe Fiber South
Consortium have agreed that the two consortia should be merged and that the Regional Fiber
Consortium should be the 'surviving entity. The Boards have approved a draft Intergovernmental
Agreement to effect the merger. That draft agreement is now presented for Council review, along
with an ordinance, as required by ORS 190.085, ratifying the creation of the Regional Fiber
Consortium as the surviving entity.
When the two Consortia were created, the principal reason for keeping them separate was the
perceived difficulty of managing an enterprise with a diverse group of cities and counties
encompassing virtually the entire southern half of the state. Shortly after both were formed, they
began to operate in tandem and, for the past several years, every meeting has been a joint meeting
of both Consortia. While the broad geographical scope of the two Consortia has been a
complicating factor in efficient operation, it is proving to be less of a concern than is the difficulty
of getting either of the Consortia to function, efficiently. Simply put, many member jurisdictions
take only a passive interest. The boards have concluded that the. core group, which includes
jurisdictions from both Consortia, can more effectively manage operations if the two Consortia
are merged and a representative Board of Directors created to manage affairs, rather than rely on
a Board which includes every member jurisdiction.
One negative impact of keeping the Consortia separate has been the difficulty of managing
financial resources. Although the telecommunications industry views the consortia's fiber assets
as a unitary system, because the original arrangements were made separately, a situation has
arisen where Fiber South has substantial debt and Regional Fiber has significant reserves well in
excess of that debt. This merger will allow for retirement of the existing debt, and by
consolidating many of the administrative functions, allow for reduced ongoing expenses.
Mr. Goodwin explained why the merger was being proposed and why it was being proposed as an
ordinance.
Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing.
No one appeared to speak.
Mayor Leikenclosed the public hearing.
NO ACTION REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY.
3. Vacation of a Portion of 18th Street Public Right..;of~way North of Q Street, Case No.
LRP2007 -00024.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19,2007
Page 8
ORDINANCE NO.5 - AN ORDINANCE VACATING A PORTION OF 18TH STREET
PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY WITHIN RONALD PARK PLAT AS PLATTED AND
,RECORDED IN BOOK 14. PAGE 13 LANE COUNTY OREGON PLAT RECORDS
(FIRST READING).
City Planner Andy Limbird presented the staff report on this item. On September 12, 2007, the
applicant, Scott McKee, initiated a vacation of public right-of-way for the segment of 18th Street
between Q Street and the developed intersection of 18th and Q Streets. .The applicant owns the
adjacent properties and intends to develop a commercial office building on the site.
The subject right-of~way is an irregular-shaped portion of 18th Street lying to the north ofQ
Street. The subject right-of-way was platted with the adjacent Ronald Park subdivision in 1948,
but was subsequently truncated when Q Street was realigned to accommodate the 1-105 on-ramp
and interchange. The right-of-way requested for vacation is partially developed with a 20-foot
wide asphalt mat surface and provides access to an existing dwelling. The three abutting tax lots
that have frontage on the vacation area were recently rezoned from Medium Density Residential
(MDR) to General Office (GO) pursuant to Planning Action ZON2007-000ll. An three tax lots
with frontage on the subject right-of-way are owned by the applicant. The applicant is proposing
to combine the vacation area and the adjacent tax lots into a single development site for a
commercial office building. The applicant has not completed an Assessment of Special Benefit
for the vacation area as required by the City's Municipal Code. The applicant is requesting a
continuance of the public hearing to allow for the information to be prepared and submitted for
consideration by City Council, and before any decision to approve the vacation ordinance.
Mr. Limbird said staff was recommending the applicant's request to open the public hearing and
leave it open until Council's regular meeting on January 7,2008.
Councilor Ballew asked for an explanation of 'assessment of special benefit'.
Mr. Limbird said the assessment of special benefit was an evaluation, typIcally by a professional
land appraiser, that would attribute an incremental value to the land as to proportional
development potential of the property. This vacation request was for 7500 square feet ofland, a
good portion of which could be built upon.
Councilor Pishioneri asked who would select the appraiser.
Mr. Limbirdsaid the Municipal Code required the applicant provide an unbiased, thirdparty
assessment for review by the City Manager and then presented to City Council.
Mr. Leahy said special assessment was a response to Council concerns over the years regarding
vacating property and it adding to the value of the person who seeks the vacation and the City not
receiving any remuneration for the vacation. The Code required an MAl appraiser, but allowed
for situations that didn't bear the cost of securing an MAl appraiser. The applicant had been told
that if he secured an independent appraisal from a recognized broker for the City Manager to
review and recommend to Council, that might work. The City was not bound to do that. If the
City Manager or Council determined the appraisal from the broker was not fair, they could
require the property owner go back and get an MAl appraiser.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19, 2007
Page 9
Councilor Pishioneri said he felt the amount of property was large enough to require an appraiser
from an MAl appraiser.
Mr. Leahy said it was written so Council could make that requirement.
Councilor Lundberg said if the appraiser came back and Council was not comfortable with the
report, Council could send it back for an MAl appraisal.
Mr. Leahy said that was correct.
Councilor Woodrow asked what the cost difference was between a broker and MAl appraiser.
Mr. Leahy said $0 - $800 compared to $2000 - $6000. It was Council~s choice.
Mayor Leiken said he was comfortable with a commercial realtor doing the appraisal because of
the information they had at their disposal.
Councilor Pishioneri said he would be comfortable allowing that if Council could come back to
revisit this if Council was not satisfied with the appraisal. He noted the ingress and regress in that
area and warrants for that intersection and traffic control. He explained. He had concerns about
, visibility on that corner. '
Mr. Limbird said the intent of the vacation was to combine the vacated area with the adjacent tax
lot to create one development area. The entire development was proposed as a commercial office
building and would need to go through site plan review. Traffic and accessibility issues would be
dealt with once a development plan was presented. Staff could then respond to that plan. The
applicant was looking to assemble the land base first. The applicant team would provide
information and analysis at that time to ensure accessibility for commercial traffic generation.
Councilor Ballew said there were a lot of public improvements in the right of way. She asked
how those would be moved and if the applicant would have to determine that before or after the
vacation.
Mr. Limbird said there was no specific timeline from the date the ordinance was approved until it
was recorded with Lane County. Staff would require that a public improvement plan to address
the existing utilities and improvements in that portion of the street was accepted prior to
recording the vacation ordmance. There needed to be a plan in hand for the relocation of the
utilities prior to recording of vacation, approved by the City Engineer.
Councilor Ballew asked how that was enforced and recorded.
Mr. Limbird said the developer would be required to bond for the public improvements.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
WOODROW TO EXTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING TO JANUARY 7, 2008. THE
MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.'
NO ACTION ON THE ORDINANCE REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19,2007
Page 10
BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE
1. Curtiss Greer. 357 55th Street. Springfield. OR. Mr. Greer opened his remarks by stating
that what he was reading was not directed at anyone individuaL ,Feeling that there was
something familiar about the recent actions by proponents of the ballot measure, he spent
the weekend searching speeches from the past and discovered a distinct similarity to what "
was happening here in Springfield. Having grown up near the time of a particular regime
that was extremely good at this, he became familiar with the strategy and he felt the same
strategy was being used here now. This was a propaganda game being set forth to
convince the populace to fall. As was said by the regime "if the propaganda achieves the
right results, it is good". He totally disagreed with that criterion. If we lose the value of
speaking the whole and complete truth, we are headed for destruction and dictatorship.
The urban renewal issue was riddled with propaganda. TEAM Springfield news releases
were riddled with propaganda. This was what upset him more than anything else. It did '
not matter ifhe agreed or disagreed with the projects, he did disagree with the
propaganda that had been published. He gave the example of the term 'no new taxes' and
said raising existing taxes had the same affect as new. Giving the impression that only
money from the area would fund the projects when the cost applied to the whole City. In
taking over $lM from the taxpayers to fund a project and then taking glory in having it
done. Using propaganda to have the schools agree that they could afford to have money
taken away - they better not ask for any replacement. From what he had observed, he
would like to know what safeguards were in place to prevent a repeat of history. In case
someone didn't know the regime he spoke of, it was the one in Germany by the man who
built the Berlin Party, later known as the Nazi Party.
COUNCIL RESPONSE
CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS
BIDS
ORDINANCES
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL
1.' Committee Appointments
a. Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) Appointment.
Housing Manager Kevin Ko presented the staff report on this item. Three positions on the
CDAC are scheduled to expire on December 31,2007, due to term expirations of Roxie
Cuellar, Dan Egan and Bonnie Peterson. A fourth position has been vacated due to the
resignation of Diana Garcia. All positions are at-large appointments. Pending confirmation
by the Council, the terms for three appointees will begin on January 1, 2008 and will continue
through December 31, 2011. The person appointed to fill the position vacated by Ms. Garcia
will serve the current term through December 31, 2009, and will be eligible to serve two ,
additional full terms.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19,2007
Page 11
The CDAC consists of six at-large positions from the community, one representative from the
City Council and one representative from the Planning Commission. The CDAC advises the
City Council on all matters related to the City's housing and community development
activities which are funded annually by Community Development Block Grant (CDBG)
funds and HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) funds received from HUD.
Applications are encouraged from lower income earners, residents of lower income
neighborhoods, racial and ethnic minorities, senior citizens, disabled individuals and female
heads of households. All applicants must live within the city limits of Springfield.
The positions are available as a result of the upcoming term expirations of Roxie Cuellar,
Dan Egan and Bonnie Peterson, and the resignation of Diana Garcia. The notice of available
positions was posted on October 23,2007 and applications were being accepted through
November 1,2007. Seven applications were received. Staff presented the applications to the
Council at the November 13,2007 work session. Council recommended Judith Harold,
Robyn Sattler and Caroline Toy for full-term appointments to the CDAC, and recommended
Gerald Strebendt to a partial-term appointment. Staff is requesting that Council appoint
Harold, Sattler, Strebendt and Toy to fill the four available positions on the CDAC.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY
COUNCILOR WOODROW TO APPOINT JUDITH HAROLD, ROBYN SATTLER
AND CAROLINE TOY TO THE CDAC WITH TERMS TO EXPIRE DECEMBER 31,
2011. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FORAND 0 AGAINST.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY
COUNCILOR WOODROW TO APPOINT GERALD STREBENDT TO THE CDAC
TO COMPLETE THE TERM OF DIANA GARCIA WITH A TERM TO EXPIRE
DECEMBER 31, 2009. THE MOTION :t;>>ASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FORAND 0
AGAINST.
2. Business from Council
a. Committee Reports
1. Councilor Ballew reported on the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.
There were some concerns that the Federal Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)
wasn't going to stand. There was a split vote from Eugene, with the standing vote
coming from Mayor Piercy. She noted the importance of that document. Without it, a
lot ofprojects would not be able to go forward. Part of the discussion was to start
working on updating the Metro Plan and particularly TransPlan. That would mean a '
commitment from Springfield. She had talked with City staff that felt they should
start on that, too. '
Mayor Leiken said Mayor Piercy's vote was key because of the federal dollars on the
line. If it had failed, it could have squelched some major projects including the
identifiable funding that could eventually get to the 1-5/Beltline interchange. He sent
Mayor Piercy an email thanking her for her vote. They would be looking to move
forward eventually to doing the infrastructure work on the intersection of the
Expressway and 52nd Street, as well as the intersection at the Expressway and Main
Street. The parties agreed the Metro Plan needed to be discussed.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19, 2007
Page 12
2. Councilor Ballew reported on the Lane Workforce Partnership. She said there was a
declining amount of federal financing for projects and training personnel.
3. Councilor Lundberg thanked Council for the moment to do the ribbon cutting for
Cafe Yumm! She said that was the nicest moment to have that come to this
community along with Starbucks. She said that Casey Hatfield from KEZI
commented that the new Cafe Yumm! in Springfield was easier to get to than the one
onCoburg Road because of traffic.
4. Councilor Ralston reported on the Human Services Commission (HSC). The main
topic was how to separate out the Health Center. The proposal would be going before
the Lane County Commissioners. It should save money and hold providers harmless.
Currently, the Health Center was taking more money and resources from the
providers, and that wasn't supposed to happen. The Health Center should be able to
stand on its own. To separate it out, however, a new Executive Director needed to be
hired, along with new staff, and it would cost more money. It was not clear whether
or not this would be beneficial. HSC was instructed to make a clear summary that
everyone could understand so it didn't look like they were hiding anything. It had
been a long process, but should be getting close to the end. He said he would provide
an update after they go before the Lane County Commissioners.
5. Mayor Leiken said he had the opportunity to have lunch atthe Relief Nursery. There
was a group looking at the Relief Nursery from Kiev, Ukraine. One was the Deputy
Mayor. It was interesting to talk to them about how non-profit agencies function and
work. The central government in the Ukraine had always provided these types of
services for the citizens. The Relief Nursery was a model organization.
Mayor Leiken also referred to Councilor Ralston's discussion about the HSC.
Senator Wyden would be in Springfield tomorrow to hold a round table on affordable
housing. Housing Manager Kevin Ko and the Mayor had been invited and would be
attending. The senator was very impressed with what was happening in Springfield
regarding affordable housing. The Mayor and Mr. Ko would have a seat at the table.
Councilor Ralston said Springfield was looking at expanding the urban growth
boundary and providing affordable land. He wanted to make sure that part of that
formula was some sort of mechanism to set aside property that non-profits could use
to build affordable housing. There was not much affordable property left in the City.
Mayor Leikeri said he agreed. One of the biggest arguments made when testifying in
Salem regarding HB3337, was that young families were moving to smaller outlying
communities to find affordable housing. When expanding the UGB, affordable
housing needed to be part of that. '
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
November 19,2007
Page 13
Mr. Leahy noted that the University of Oregon men took fIrst place in the National Cross Country
and the women placed second. ' ,
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:21 p.m.
Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa
Attest:
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City Reo clef ...