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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/19/2016 RegularCity of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 2016 The City of Springfield. Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday September 19, 2016 at 7:05 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Wylie (by phone), Ralston, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sawa and members of the staff. Councilors VanGordon and Moore were absent (excused) PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Lundberg. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT 1. Mayor's Recognition a. Distraction Free Driving Awareness Day Proclamation. Mayor Lundberg read from the proclamation and proclaimed September 20 to be "Distraction Free Driving Awareness Day" in Springfield, Oregon and encouraged all residents to join in this observance. CONSENT CALENDAR I. Claims a. Approval of the July 2016, Disbursements for Approval. b. Approval of the August 2016, Disbursements for Approval. 2. Minutes 3. Resolutions 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Authorize City Manager to Sign Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Lane County for $165,426 and Execute all Documents Required to Effect the Transaction. b. Authorize City Manager to enter into an Agreement with. Hartford Insurance Company in the amount not to exceed $135,000 Annually for Group Insurance Services. Services include Employee Group Basic Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment and Long Term Disability Insurance. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes September I.9, 2016 Page 2 IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (2 ABSENT .... VANGORDON AND MOORE). ITEMS REMOVED PUBLIC BEARINGS - 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. Collection of Transient Room Taxes from Booking Agents for Short Term Rentals. ORDINANCE NO. 1 — AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE SPRINGFIELD MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 7.700 ET.SEQ TO ADD DEFINITIONS AND CLARIFY DUTIES FOR OPERATORS OF SHORT TERM RENTAL LOCATIONS Courtney Griesel, Community Development Manager, and Kristina Kraaz, City Attorney, presented the staff report on this item. The City of Springfield, through a voluntary agreement has authorized the City of Eugene to collect and distribute transient room taxes (TRT) received from overnight stays booked through the internet- based platform, Airbnb, Inc. Collection of TRT through Airbnb requires amendment to Springfield Municipal Code (SMC) Chapter 7 to clarify that booking agents and hosts of short-term rentals are subject to the TRT. Under the agreement with Airbnb, collection of TRT begins October 1, 2016. Ms. Griesel noted this was voluntary and the National Airbnb had signed on to pay those taxes. Through this adoption process, our code amendment would go into effect October 3. Staff feels the existing code covers Airbnb, although they feel it is better to be more specific in the code. Councilor Ralston confirmed that those types of facilities don't currently pay the taxes, but if they sign up with Airbnb, they would be required to pay. He asked if other agencies pay the tax or if private citizens could pay. Ms. Griesel said Airbnb is a third party platform and doesn't include the single homeowner. Mayor Lundberg said Travel Lane County was happy with this tax, and it would generate transient room tax funds to the City of Springfield. 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 City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2016 Page 3 Mayor Lundberg asked if those here to speak on one subject could select 3 or 4 people to speak on behalf of the full group in order to keep the time to the limit of 20 minutes. Frank Lawson Eugene. Water and Electric Board EWER General Manager— Eugene, OR: Mr. Lawson thanked the Council for their consideration and deliberation on the topic of EWEB's process to initiate land use changes necessary for a secondary water intake treatment plant in Glenwood. Eugene is the only major city in the Northwest without an alternative source for drinking water. It is something EWEB has been working on for many years. Independent of the, number of residents, if there is a failure of their system they would be required to turn to their neighboring utilities, including Springfield, for assistance. This is done through the mutual aid agreement. The new plant built to current standards would not only be a major step in relieving the burden on their neighboring utilities, but would also put EWEB in a position to help others around them in the region. Independent of who initiates the process, EWEB is looking forward to working with the City on the project. They do recognize that a new treatment plant was not originally contemplated in the Glenwood Refinement Plan. They support the City's vision for the area, and want to be a good neighbor and be a responsible party in the area. They had already been working with City staff to manage litter, help with illegal camping, and doing other things to improve the property they already own at that location. EWEB is looking forward to answering all of the questions of the Council. 2, Josh Bruce Director of Oregon Partnership for Disaster Resilience Universi1y of Oregon, Eugene, OR. Mr_ Bruce said he lives in Eugene and is on retainer with EWEB and the City of Eugene. He has worked with both the City of Eugene and the City of Springfield over the last seven years on a wide range of issues related to resilience in the metro area. fart of the role of the partnership is to help communities all around the state consider natural hazards and vulnerabilities and how to address those. They have helped the cities of Eugene and Springfield in updating and keeping current the cities multi jurisdictions Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan adopted by the City of Springfield about 18 months ago. fart of that process included the partnership leading an effort to assess vulnerabilities across a wide range of public infrastructure and non -infrastructure systems. They determined through that assessment that Eugene and EWER sole source is a significant vulnerability, not just for the City of Eugene, but for the entire region. Because so many sectors rely on water, not just for drinking but for doing business and generating economic development, if water is not available to the jurisdiction it has significant and wide ranging impacts. There are public safety issues as well. He is here to advocate for initiation of this second source. When talking to jurisdictions about resilience, one of the key things is diversity and redundancy. Not having redundancy is a liability and detrimental to the whole county. One of the other principles is thinking about jurisdictions working collaboratively on these issues. He would like to leave a vision of Springfield, Eugene, SUB and EWEB working together on this issue. Tasha Briquet, S Min field OR. Ms. Briquet said she felt it was not uncalled for to increase time for the audience to speak. She said she is a history major and provided some historical context of Columbus Day. She read an excerpt from a letter from Christopher Columbus which said he took Indians by force. She referred to his first voyage in 1492 where he landed in what is currently the Bahamas. On his first voyage, he brought back 10 to 25 natives as slaves and only 7 or S of them survived the journey. On his second trip to the Caribbean, he was appointed Governor of the Indies and ruled from 1495 to 1500. During his time as Governor, he demanded whatever he wanted from the native people including goods and slavery of native women and girls. He ruled with cruel veracity, forcing the native people to mine for him and become slaves. Many would not survive. When the population of native City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2016 Page 4 people dwindled, Europe went to other sources for slavery including West Africa. Christopher Columbus helped create the slavery we fought a Civil War over. He was a vile monster contributing to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of natives. She read further from his journal regarding the native people and that they had no worth. She asked if those are the words they wanted celebrated by their children in this city. She asked them to not celebrate the life of this monster, but rather celebrate the life and culture of the Indigenous people. 4. McKa la Figueroa. S rin field OR. Ms. Figueroa said she is of Puerto Rican heritage, descended from the people of Puerto Rico who also inhabited Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola (modern day Dominican Republic and Haiti) where Christopher Columbus was Governor. For about 150 years, Columbus Day has been celebrated on the second Monday of October. She asked who they were really celebrating. In reality, Christopher Columbus didn't accomplish anything besides coercing her ancestors into mining gold and fanning cotton through enslavement and cruelty in the Caribbean Islands. He is celebrated for discovering America, but you can't discover a place where an estimated three million people were already living. Also, he was not the first to arrive here. Research has shown that Lief Erickson and his Vikings landed in what is now modern day Canada 500 years before Columbus. Also, mathematicians had proven over a thousand years previous to Columbus sailing that the earth was round, and only the Catholic Church thought it was flat. Experienced explorers for the most part already understood the earth was round, but didn't know what was on the other side of the Atlantic because the voyage was long and dangerous. Columbus was trying to find a faster route to Asia to help European countries make more money. Americans have been desensitized to the stories of blood, cruelty and tragedy of Native and Black lives in the 15"' Century onward. There is nothing left to celebrate about Columbus — he was a lucky, ignorant fool who stumbled onto an island by mistake. She proposed celebrating Indigenous People's instead so we can celebrate peoples and cultures actually relevant to the history of our nation. Leilani Sabzalian, Sprin fielg d" OR. Ms. Sabzalian said she wanted to give some context for their proposal. She is Alutiiq Alaska native and a member of the Chifin Native Youth Center community in Springfield. She asked everyone that supports a resolution to change the second Monday in October to Indigenous People's Day to stand. The people in this room are citizens and residents of Springfield or community members involved in the Chifin Native Youth Center. They are proposing that the City of Springfield recognize on the second Monday of each October, Indigenous People's Day. They recognize that the State of Oregon does not actively observe Columbus Day, but given the history of genocide, they believe that a passive stance of not supporting Columbus is not enough. They believe we must actively support Indigenous Peoples in our community. In order to insure that genocide doesn't happen in the future, they don't need bystanders to injustice. They had a very strong movement at the Chifin Native Youth Center of a meal, speaking of the legacy of Columbus, speaking of their presence of Indigenous People, and when she came here she felt that powerful and positive momentum was deflated. They had talked to all of the youth about being civically engaged, who their ward representative was, how to reach out to City Council, so they came here for this moment that was so important to them. She knows there are many of them, but she wanted the Council to know this is a very important date for people. People are heartbroken and flustered they will not be able to speak. She continued by saying they can't be silenced or passive to injustice or oppression; we must be fully aware, not as bystanders but as upstanders and willing to speak up in support of Indigenous issues. Columbus is not history as a colonial legacy that we live with, and history is not even about the past, but about moments that people are faced in the present. The Council is faced with a moment right now where their constituents are telling them, and will be telling them, that Indigenous People's Day is City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2416 Page 5 important to them. She hopes the story told of this moment is of the City's courage, integrity, and respect for diversity, all professed City Council values. 6. Sammy Flores Springfield,. OR. Sammy said she attended Thurston High School, was a member of citywide MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan), and lives in Ward 4, which is represented by Dave Ralston. Indigenous People's Day is important to her because being indigenous is something she values. It is a day that should be acknowledged, a day where Indigenous people should be recognized. It is important because it represents her and her family. To her, knowing that she is part of an indigenous background makes her value all of the sacrifices her indigenous people went through when Spain colonized them. Everything they went through should never be forgotten; they should be remembered and not buried under white history once again because without them, she wouldn't be who she is. She is proud to be indigenous, and is from an indigenous tribe from Mexico, part of this whole indigenous land mass. This is something she will never deny, but expose herself and identity. Erasing Columbus Day would help expose true history, their history. She is tired of hearing the history they want them to hear; they want to be acknowledged and their history to be acknowledged. By doing this, they would have the opportunity to retroact a 400 year mistake. 7. Carlos Garcia, Springfield, OR. Carlos said he is a student at Springfield High School and is involved in citywide MEGhA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Aztlan). He was born in East Los Angeles California where there are beautiful Indigenous People everywhere. Celebrating Indigenous People's Day is important to him because it is special for his people. It's who they are and sadly it got destroyed by European people and Christopher Columbus. Erasing Columbus Day does make his people feel better by not celebrating a day of someone who killed their people. It benefits the community of Springfield by celebrating Indigenous People and showing respect to the elders. Mayor Lundberg reminded the audience that they can attend any Council meeting every other week to speak. There is also the option of writing to the Mayor and Council. She was presented with a resolution earlier today that they will send to the Diversity Committee to review and provide input. She gave her card to Ada and Leilani which includes her phone number. She thanked them all for coming. The City is looking carefully at what the resolution or proclamation would be. It may not be the next week or two, but will be well thought out so it is something everyone can be happy with. She appreciated everyone for coming. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS 1. Correspondence from Elizabeth Lyon Regarding Cascade Health Solutions and the Springfield Municipal Jail (with attached response from Police and the City Attorney's office). 2. Correspondence from City Prosecutor Matt Cox Regarding General Order 2016-2, Alternative Payment Policy. Mayor Lundberg said the first letter was from a mother of an inmate at the Springfield Municipal Jail that appeared to have mental health issues that we were not equipped to handle. Interim Chief Lewis said he, Lieutenant Boring and City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith met with the author of the letter, along with Cascade Health. He feels comfortable with the solutions from those meetings. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2016 Page 6 Ms. Smith said the woman's son was in the Springfield Municipal Jail, but is not currently incarcerated. Ms. Lyons brought to their attention the State bill about the ability to charge private insurance. They looked into that and were grateful for the information. Ms. Lyons also had some ideas about Cascade's service, and submitted the paperwork. Councilor Ralston said some people have medical needs and are incarcerated. That has been a concern and he asked if it was being addressed. Ms. Smith said the Jail contracts with Cascade Health Solutions who has a nurse practitioner, several EMT's and mental health professionals (counselors) available to the Jail to help people get their medications. Over time, Cascade Health has developed a good process. Councilor Pishioneri said he was concerned that Cascade Health Solutions (CHS) was unable to provide reports regarding their activity on a regular basis. He thought that would be part of the Request for Proposals (RFP) requirement. Ms. Smith said there is a reporting requirement. CHS's records are not electronic so it is difficult to pull the statistics together. They do keep HIPAA certified documents of people in the Jail. Ms. Lyon was referring to other facilities such as Lane County Jail, which provide a higher level of services than a municipal jail. They do provide some reporting. Councilor Pishioneri said he understands the difference in operations and level of care, but it is concerning if we aren't able to get documentation about level of care per circumstance. He asked if they could put in the RFP that we want electronic record keeping so we could have some access and timestamping to give a higher quality of care. Interim Chief Lewis said he could review the contract and discuss setting that standard in the next RFP process. Mayor Lundberg referred to the second letter from City Prosecutor Matt Cox andsaid she likes the alternative payment process, allowing people to work off fines. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO ACCEPT CORRESPONDENCE FOR FILING. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (2 ABSENT — VANGORDON AND MOORE). BIDS ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Committee Appointments a. Springfield Police Advisory Committee (SPAC) Appointment. Mike Harman, Police Associate Program Manager, presented the staff report on this item. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 19, 2016 Page 7 The Springfield Police Advisory Committee has one position open for a representative of the minority community. The previous incumbent resigned when he moved outside the City limits. David Wyer and Sefiu Ballam were interviewed at the September 19, 2016 Council Work Session for the Minority Community Representative position. The Springfield Police Advisory Committee recommends that David Wyer be appointed to the position, to expire in October 2020. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WYLIE TO APPOINT DAVID WYER TO THE SPRINGIELD POLICE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SPAC) FOR A TERM EXPIRING OCTOBER 2020. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (2 ABSENT — VANGORDON AND MOORE). 2. Other Business Councilor Pishioneri spoke regarding the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) meeting which included funds transferred to the capital fund and equipment replacement funds. They are looking at putting a new pump station in Glenwood. Amber Fossen is moving from MWMC to the City Manager's Office. ii. Mayor Lundberg said they are working on a fuel tax for the benefit of the community. A committee has been formed and she has handouts to get out to everyone. Mailer and lawn signs will be going out, as well as letters to editors. She thanked all who had been helping. BUSINESS FROM. THE CITY MANAGER I. Initiate Amendments to the Eugene -Springfield Metropolitan Area Public Facilities and Services Plan (PFSP), Concurrent Amendment of the Eugene -Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan), and Amendments to the Glenwood Refinement Plan and Springfield Development Code (SDC), for EWEB Water Intake, a Water Treatment Facility and Related Infrastructure in Glenwood. This item was removed from the agenda. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 7:48 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa 4ChristinlT- Lundberg Attest: City Rec rder