Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/08/2000 Work Session . . . . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MAY 8, 2000 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 8, 2000, at 5:32 p.m. with Mayor Weathers presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Weathers and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg, and Simmons. Also present were Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, Administrative Coordinator Shari Higgins, AIC Human Resources Director Ardis Belknap, Risk Manager Craig Gibons, AIC Development Services Director John Tamulonis, Planning Manager Greg Mott, and members of staff. Guests: Tom Schwetz and Paul Thompson from Lane Council of Governments (LCOG). 1. City Attorney Evaluation and Contract Renewal. Risk Manager Craig Gibons was present for the staff report. Present from Harold, Leahy, Trudeau and Kieran were Tim Harold, Joe Leahy and Meg Kieran. Mr. Gibons stated the firm of Harold, Leahy, Trudeau, and Kieran received high marks recently during the annual review of their performance of the city attorney duties. The City Council was asked to approve the terms for renewal of the contract for attorney services effective July 1,2000. Mr. Gibons highlighted the main feature of the contract, which was an increased in the number of hours of work the firm would provide under its retainer portion. Also increased was the hourly rate upon which the retainer fee was based. Mr. Gibons said the annual hours in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999-00 was 1,820 and expected to rise to 2,040 in FY 2000-01, totaling an 11 percent increase. The hourly rate in FY 1999-00 was $110, and would increase to $113 in FY 2000-01. It was explained the 11 percent increase in the number of hours reflects the increased number of hours the city is using the firm. The 2.5 percent hourly rate increase was proposed in conformance with the current consideration of a July 1, 2000, non-union Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) salary increase. Mr. Gibons reviewed the Council Briefing Memorandum and Summary of Performance and Development Appraisal for the City Attorney. The following topics were included in the performance appraisal: General Legal Counsel, Legislative Counsel, Litigation, Citizen Requests, Any Other Comments or Concerns Not Already Covered. Councilor Ballew asked if the city attorney hours at council meetings are inclusive in the city attorney citywide utilization. Mr. Harold responded yes. Mr. Leahy said sometimes it is marginal, but either legal issues that arise or bringing the firm up to speed after a council meeting, causes more time after the fact. Councilor Ballew spoke about the need to gatekeep the attorney's time. Mr. Harold said if a large amount of time is involved with a staff request then they often seek input from City Manager Mike Kelly and have him make the decision. Both Mr. Harold and Mr. Leahy felt their time was not abused. City of Springfield City Council Work Session - 5/8/00 Page 2 . Regarding city attorney time and department utilization, Mr. Leahy said they would begin a better tracking system on how time is charged to departments. The City Council shared concerned over their increased usage and wondered ifthe hours billed came from the City Manager's Office instead. There was a lengthy discussion on time usage and training needed to bill hours to specific departments. Mayor Weathers said it would be very important to be provided with more accurate hours at the end of the contract period, or July 1, 2001. Mr. Gibons spoke regarding the new contract and its renewal. There was a discussion on the annual hours of the retainer, the proposed increase, and the total annual compensation. Mr. Harold and Mr. Leahy said the hours projected for FY 2000-2001 were an estimate, but in their 35 year history they have never projected hours over what actually occurred. Councilor Fitch requested council receive information next year that show the projected hours versus the actual hours. She also felt the COLA increase might be higher than 2.5 percent. Mayor Weathers said it was important to alert the Planning Commission and City Council early on regarding large issues or land use issues. Mr. Harold said he and Mr. Leahy recently met with Mr. Kelly and Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi to discuss how to be more effective and efficient with regards to city usage. One focus was to reduce hours when additional coordination could occur. Mr. Harold responded to a general comment on evaluation regarding Litigation. He said only receiving a satisfactory rating was not sufficient. The firm would continue to work with Finance staff regarding city contracts. . 2. Review of Staff Responses to Adopting Officials Questions and Public Testimony Regarding Draft TransPlan. Present for the staff report were Greg Mott and Tom Schwetz and Paul Thompson from the Lane Council of Governments (LCOG). Mr. Mott reviewed work that had been completed by council in work session's to-date. He explained that the city's metro partners and other agencies had also completed work sessions. Mr. Mott stated that there were 11 issue areas left to review. He clarified what items were City of Eugene specific. The City Council would not discuss City of Eugene specific items. Mr. Mort reminded council that July 12,2000 had been scheduled for another Joint Work Session for TransPlan review. Mr. Mott moved to Attachment 1, Transportation System Improvements: Issue Area 6, Bicycle System, and Issue Area 7, Pedestrian System. Regarding Bicycle Policy # 1: Bikeway System and Support Facilities; Bicycle Policy #2: Bikeways on Arterials and Collectors; and Bicycle Policy #3: Bikeway Connections to New Development, the City Council had no changes or suggestions. Regarding Pedestrian Policy # 1: Pedestrian Environment; and Pedestrian Policy #2: Continuous and Direct Routes, council also provided no changes or suggestions. . Councilor Ballew questioned the bicycle system support facilities. Mr. Mott explained what the use of gas tax funding versus System Development Charge (SDC) funding could be used for in terms of system improvements, right-of-way, stripped bike lanes, etc. He said funding comes from agencies, not specifically dedicated for bicycle systems, but sources can be funded from a number of ways. There is not a direct user fee for use of bicycle systems. City of Springfield City Council Work Session - 5/8/00 Page 3 . Mr. Mott reviewed page five of Attachment I, staff recommendation regarding Route 827. There was a discussion of Glenwood Boulevard and what portion of it was within the city limits of Springfield, per the Jurisdictional Transfer. Mr. Mott said it was included as a street project, per Attachment 3, Transportation System Improvements, page three. Mr. Mott referred to Attachment 2, Review and Recommendations: TransPlan Provisions for Financial Policies, and introduced Mr. Paul Thompson. Mr. Thompson said the financial policies in TransPlan were developed after the review of public testimony. Mr. Thompson reviewed each policy and the issues associated with it. Finance Policy # 1: Adequate Funding. After council discussion, there were no changes suggested. Finance Policy #2: Operations, Maintenance and Preservation. Councilor Simmons shared his concern with the issue of financing and operational maintenance of roads. He said the city and county's road funds are maximizing. He felt the discussion should address the lack of future financing for maintenance, with no funding remaining for new construction. Councilor Simmons felt an impact analysis should occur to ensure users all pay their fair share - an equitable payment system. Councilors Ballew and Hatfield suggested adding language to page eight to read: "Equitable sharing financing costs for all users" or "equitable road costs for all users." By consensus, there was support for a vaguely worded policy as referenced above. No other changes were suggested. . Finance Policy #3: Prioritization of State and Federal Revenue. After council discussion, there were no changes s~ggested. Finance Policy #4: New Development. After council discussion, there were no changes suggested. Finance Policy #5: Short-Term Project Priorities. After council discussion, there were no changes suggested. Mr. Thompson then reviewed each new Finance Policy, as suggested in the public testimony: Policy Suggestion # 1: Include policy committing jurisdictions to rescinding gas tax restrictions. After council discussion, no change was suggested. Policy Suggestion #2: Add a policy establishing criteria for prioritization. After council discussion, no change was suggested. Policy Suggestion #3: There should be a policy that commits funding to bicycle infrastructure based on bike ridership as a percentage of total trips. After council discussion, no change was suggested. Regarding clarification on Transportation Utility Fee (TUF) recommendation, Mr. Thompson said language clarifying the use of the acronym TUF was suggested. Councilor Hatfield agreed and felt an increased revenue source should be tied to all users of the transportation system. By consensus, council agreed to the suggestion. . City of Springfield City Council Work Session - 5/8/00 Page 4 . Councilor Ballew inquired about Operations, Maintenance, and Preservation, as listed on Attachment 2, page eight. She asked where the figure of the $12 million shortfall on maintenance came from. Mr. Schwetz said it was a regional number, amounting to approximately 10 percent of current funding. Mott provided notebooks titled, May 1999, Revised Draft TransPlan, Public Testimony, Volume 2, November 1999-April 2000. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:57 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ~/A,-vJu.~j)/ aureen M. Weathers, Mayor ATTEST: . ~~ City Recorder .