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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/28/2000 Work Session ~ . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2000 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, on Monday, February 28,2000, at 5:30 p.m. with Council President Arme Ballew presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Councilors Ballew, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg, and Simmons. Mayor Weathers and Councilor Fitch were absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, City Attorney Tim Harold, Administrative Coordinator Shari Higgins, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, City Recorder Kim Krebs, Management Analyst Len Goodwin, Finance Director Bob Duey, Accounting Manager Valerie Nardo, AlC Director John Tamulonis, Planning Manager Greg Mott, Planning Supervisor Mel Oberst and members of the staff. Guests: Paul Nielson, Moss Adams, LLP, and Joann Gelthi, League of Oregon Cities (LOC) 1. 1999 Annual Financial Report and Management Letter. . Valerie Nardo was present for the staff report. Ms. Nardo introduced Paul Nielson from Moss Adams, LLP. She advised council in accordance with Oregon statues and the City's Charter, the city is required to complete an annual audit and fmancial statement. Moss Adams, the city's independent auditors, have completed their audit of the city's 1998/99 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and have issued their opinion and management letter. Mr. Nielson reviewed the following attachments: Attachment 1 - Council Briefing Memo; Attachment 2 - Management Letter; and Attachment 3 - Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Mr. Nielson presented a Power Point presentation which included an overview of the financial statement and a report to Council which included the following topics: Audit process; Component Units (MWMC, Hospital Authority); Cash, Fixed Assets, and Debt; Total Revenues and expenditures for the last three years; General Fund Cash and General Fund, Revenue and Expenditures; Street Fund Cash and Street Fund Revenue and Expenditures; Capital Project Funds Revenues and Cash; Sewer Utility Fund Revenue and Expenditures; EMS Fund, Cash and EMS Fund Revenues and Expenditures; Booth Kelly Fund Revenue and Expenditures. Further points included in the report were the change in budget method, Arbitrage and GASB 34 (Governmental and Accounting Standards Board). The City of Springfield will be required to provide reports with GASB 34 beginning in the year 2003. Mr. Nielson said on June 30,2003 the new reporting requirement would be implemented, which would include a full accrual process. There was discussion on how GASB 34 would apply to the City. . In conclusion Mr. Nielson informed the Mayor and City Council that the city received a "Clean Opinion" . City of Springfield Work Session - 2/28/00 Page 2 . Mr. Neilson said there are three types of opinions, clean, adverse or disqualified. However, during the audit, Moss Adam's identified for the city's benefit, three areas where the city could strengthen the internal controls to better safeguard the city's financial information. The three areas are: 1) Automated Investment Tracking System; 2) Information Technology - Staff Support for Financial Systems; and 3) Account Receivable Valuations. Mr. Nielson said the comments and recommendations, most of which had been discussed with appropriate members of management, are intended to improve the internal control structure or result in other operating efficiency. 2. Gated Residential Developments. Colin Stephens was present for the staff report. Mr. Stephens informed council the purpose of the meeting was to provide direction to staff on whether council wishes to allow gated residential developments to be a permitted use in Springfield. . Mr. Stephens gave a brief history of the topic and informed council during their December 6, 1999 regular meeting that they discussed the use of gates to control access to residential developments. That evening the particular issue was the placement of a gate at the Harlow family's manufactured housing park, Maia Park. He reminded council they gave permission to the Harlows to make application to the Development Services Department to allow the development to be gated. Council directed staff to prepare options for their consideration at a future meeting. . Mr. Stephens introduced Deputy Chief/Fire Marshall Dennis Shew from Fire and Life Safety. Mr. Shew spoke regarding the Fire Department being very aware of response times throughout the city for medical and fire emergencies. He asked council before approving the issue of gated communities to consider the delay in response time if the emergency vehicle needed to stop and use a special key or other method to open a gate. He said there might be a one to two minute delayed response in these communities. He felt it was important to relay this information to council and express his concern. Mr. Shew said the Fire Department would work within the system if approved by council but with the understanding that the delay in response time may be the loss of a life. Police Chief Jerry Smith addressed council and reinforced the comments from Mr. Shew. He spoke about the special keys that are issued and currently used by the Fire Department to access the few gated communities in Springfield. He said they are not a viable option for the Police Department. He encouraged them to review the possibility of a keypad entry, but cautioned them when a unit has to stop to access the keypad there are also delays in response times. Councilor Hatfield referred to the Council Briefing Memorandum and commented on the Recommended Standards. He said the guidelines need to be very clear as well as strict. He felt the safety issue is of great concern especially for senior citizens that feel they are living in a gated community where they are safe. However, they are far more likely to need medical attention than they will need police attention, and if the medical vehicle cannot respond fast enough to the emergency, the gated communities may be far more dangerous than they are helpful. . Councilor Lundberg expressed her concern and is not convinced it would be to the city's advantage to approve the use of gated communities. City of Springfield Work Session - 2/28/00 Page 3 . Councilor Simmons said he objects to the general principal and strongly opposes gated communities. He said he doesn't feel it is in the best interest ofthe community. Councilor Ballew said she understands there are instances where gated communities are wanted. She does not want the city to prohibit gated conununities in its entirety, specifically in the elderly communities. She suggested maybe a Type IV land use procedure or an informed consent in some way. She suggested the possibility of placing special language in deeds or rental contracts stating in the event of an emergency the gate may impair response issues. Mr. Mott asked for clarification from council on how staff should proceed. After discussion, council indicated they did not wish to allow gated residential developments as a permitted use in the Springfield Development code. Council specified gates should not though be prohibited outright. It was suggested that each application for a gated residential development be reviewed directly by council. Council requested staff investigate potential procedures that could be established for each application review. 2. 58th Street and Thurston Road Roundabout Conceptual Design and Task Force Recommendations. . Traffic Engineer Brian Bamett and Traffic Engineer in Training Kristi Mayes were present for the staff report. Mr. Barnett said at the June 14, 1999 work session, staff made a presentation on traffic roundabouts to the Mayor and City Council. In response to the presentation, council expressed an interest in considering a pilot project roundabout. Staff suggested the intersection of 58th Street and Thurston Road, due to increasing citizen requests for greater traffic control measures to be taken at that intersection. Council directed staff to create an Advisory Task Force for the purpose of the pilot project. Mr. Barnett said the task force was approved on September 20, 1999, which consisted of City Councilor Lyle Hatfield, Planning Commissioner Sean Wilson, John Lively, Lou Woodford, Greg Hyde, Stephan Morelock, Sue Esau and Daniel Leavitt. The task force completed a series of four meetings over the five-month period beginning in October 1999, and has commented on design concepts for the roundabout and formulated public outreach and implementation considerations for the pilot project as well as roundabouts in general. Mr. Barnett said that four of the members of the Roundabout Task Force were present and introduced Councilor Hatfield, Greg Hyde, Daniel Leavitt and Lou Woodford . Mr. Barnett gave a brief summary of the key points. They have met with the comer property owners; have had meetings with Police, Fire and Lane Transit District (L TD) personnel; have held four task force meetings, and held a trial run on January 18, 2000. During the trial run they laid out the preliminary roundabout, and ran L TD buses, fire and life safety vehicles and maintenance vehicles. Dan Leavitt from Leavitt Trucking brought a large truck and ran through the layout also. Staff held an open house for the public at Thurston Middle School, and Mr. Barnett said the city was pleased with the tumout. He also provided copies of newspaper articles that ran in local papers covering the roundabout issue. . City of Springfield Work Session - 2/28/00 Page 4 . Mr. Barnett said staffis returning to the Mayor and City Council for permission to continue with the project. They would like permission to continue with the public outreach, completion of right- of-way acquisition, and prepare for a second test run after making some changes and modifications. Staff would like approval to proceed with construction at the close of this school year, and complete construction prior to the start of the next school year. Ms. Mayes reported at the conclusion of the meetings with the property owners the biggest concern was educating the community on how to walk and drive on the roundabouts, as well as making sure there was plenty of parking available to the property owners. She said the driveway on the northwest corner would have to be relocated to Thurston Road, making access to the property on the west side instead of the east side. Council discussed the use of standard curbing or angled curbs. Councilor Hatfield spoke as a representative ofthe Roundabout Task Force and shared his findings from public input as well as personal experience in Europe. Other council members spoke regarding their concerns on construction and what delays or detours might happen as a result of the construction. Councilor Leiken asked if staff had a traffic count at peak commute hours available. Mr. Barnett said there had been a count, but did not have the information with him. He said research showed that single lane roundabouts had the capacity of 2500 - 2800 vehicles per hour. . Mr. Barnett said the construction is completed in stages, and occurs from the outside in. He said' there will not be any delays or closures even during the construction. However, if the roundabout is built in concrete there is a staging issue, and there may be some interruption during the curing of the concrete. The question of using concrete or asphalt is still a pending issue. Councilor Simmons spoke regarding construction using concrete versus asphalt. He said if asphalt is used he would suggest a 20-year expense plan for continued maintenance. He said there would be an advantage to using concrete in looking at the long-term cost. Councilor Simmons said the roundabout is a wonderful concept and commended staff on a job well done. Ms. Mayes said there are still two issues that need to be addressed: 1) concrete versus asphalt, and 2) what lighting should be used. The task force recommends the lighting in the roundabout have a distinct difference, which would enhance the pavement markings. They suggest High Pressure Sodium (HPS) to be used for lighting. There was discussion regarding the difference ofHPS lighting versus Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) which is the current standard throughout the city. The LPS or yellow lighting is easier on the eyes. Because the goal is to highlight the roundabout and make it more visible, the HPS lighting is being recommended. . Council consensus was to use HP S for lighting to ensure the white light shines to highlight the roundabout and make it more visible. There was also consensus to proceed with the project. Council asked staff to provide cost comparisons on the construction as well as the comparisons on the traffic lighting cost before final approval by council. . . . , . City of Springfield Work Session - 2/28/00 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:07 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs ~ ~~tl~~~...J Anne Ballew, Council President ~U).4 City Recorde~