HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/08/2000 Work Session
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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.
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City Council Work Session - 5/8/00
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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City Recorder
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