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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/11/2000 Work Session . . . .. MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2000 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, on Monday, September 11,2000, at 5:30 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, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, Public Works Director Dan Brown, Maintenance Manager Ed Black, Management Analyst II Eileen Stein, Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett, City Engineer Al Peroutka, and Police Chief Jerry Smith, and members of the staff. 1. Regional Fiber Consortium Representation. Project Manager Len Goodwin was present for the staff report. Mr. Goodwin requested council appoint a representative to replace Mayor Weathers. Mayor-elect Sid Leiken agreed to serve. He said he would like to give up his appointment to the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAP A) Board. An alternative representative was not identified. 2. Historic Commission Interview/Appointment. Planner II Lauren Lezell was present for the staff report. Ms. Lezell provided an overview of the candidate's qualifications. Councilor Ballew asked how the city recruits for applicants, especially to find Springfield resident applicants? Ms. Lezell said it is difficult to do this. At 5:45 p.m. the candidate arrived. The Council conducted an interview with Ms. Rebecca Gershow. She said her vision of the role of the commission is to ensure Springfield is aware of opportunities to preserve its past. She also said she would see that there is better coordination between Willamalane and the City of Springfield. She said she is generally familiar with Springfield's historic district. Councilor Ballew asked about the possibility of moving historic buildings for preservation elsewhere for example along the freeway? Staff responded and said they would research this information and report back to council. 3. 1-5 Beltline Interchange Reconstruction - Environmental Assessment Status Report. Management Analyst II Eileen Stein was present for the staff report. Ms. Stein introduced Jeff Cole, Planning Commission representative, Karl Weiseke of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), and Jay McRae ofCH2M Hill, who were present to respond to questions. Ms. Stein said the meeting of the Beltline Decision Team is scheduled for September 22od. She described the options being examined for redesign of the I-5/Beltline interchange. Councilor Hatfield asked if threshold criteria are strictly technical or are their other criteria? Mr. Weiseke said the stakeholder group developed a couple criteria. John Tamulonis added 3A and' 3B are not strictly technical traffic management criteria. It was explained that the criteria are intended to be pass/fail and would be used throughout the life of the environmental assessment. The criteria will be used to weed out the optimal and preferred design from eleven ideas. City of Springfield Work Session - September 11, 2000 Page 2 . Councilor Fitch asked if the area stakeholders' issues are contained in the designs? Mr. Tamulonis said no, these concerns would emerge as the work gets closer to solutions. Councilor Simmons asked if a roundabout is still do-able as an interchange design? Ms. Stein said the decision about what goes forward is set at this time. Mr. McRae said an interchange roundabout would be very, very large and would not perform well. Councilor Simmons asked if the roundabout analysis is in writing? Mr. McRae said he would look for it. Councilor Simmons said he was concerned that ODOT and federal guidelines result in construction of dysfunctional systems. Mr. Weiseke said the agency would look into the discussion about a roundabout as an exchange. Councilor Simmons said when one visualizes a roundabout as a multi-level construction; it has a functional flow. Mr. McRae said the individual who wrote the roundabout design manual for ODOT is on the team. Mayor Weathers said if there is a written evaluation of the concept to please provide that to Councilor Simmons. Brian Barnett said operational considerations are driving the design of the interchange. . Councilor Leiken asked ifODOT is familiar with interchanges in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area? He said the design is initially frightening but works very efficiently. Councilor Simmons said the parties involved need to make sure that whatever is done works for the twenty-first century. The design needs to give access to all the transportation modes in a well-balanced way. He said if the state doesn't have the right maybe we need to get the ROW. Mayor Weathers reminded the Council that what it is really looking at is how these threshold criteria are applied. She said if Councilors knew the reason for a design's dismissal, maybe council would understand it better. If it fails on engineering standards, for example, the council wouldn't have much to say about that. Ms. Stein suggested that perhaps a roundabout design could be tested against the criteria to see how it measures up. Ms. Stein said it is necessary to see how designs for the intersection work in combination with the interchange designs. Mr. Tamulonis described why some designs were dismissed. He said if the decision team looks at what remains in a prioritized order, solutions should become apparent. Ms. Stein said the at-grade intersection designs are considered to be the highest priority. If none of them work, then the design team would look at grade-separated intersection. Mr. Tamulonis said there is a limited budget to do the winnowing down of the design options. Councilor Ballew asked why the team is considering grade-separated designs? Ms. Stein said it has to do with the size of an interchange option. The larger intersection footprints necessitate grade separation at BeItline/Gateway. Councilor Simmons asked what's the modal split currently using the intersection? Mr. Wieseke said this information would be provided. He said the priority for intersection is to try to do it with existing roads. Councilor Lundberg said the current design options would take care of what is existing now but not necessarily the future. She said the City has the sports complex and other development coming. She asked what criteria needed to be looked at that would address the future needs. . Mayor Weathers asked if the evaluation criteria were modeled on a 20-year life? Mr. McRae said yes. Mr. Tamulonis distributed a handout, "Recommended Evaluation Criteria", with staffs suggested weighting for prioritizing the evaluation criteria. Mayor Weathers asked about loss of potential development based on need for right-of-way. She asked Council to add criteria City of Springfield Work Session - September 11, 2000 Page 3 . that would say any option that would totally shut off development in Gateway is not acceptable. Mayor Weathers wants the "no build" option evaluated as fairly as the others. Mayor Weathers asked if consideration for bicycles has to be at this intersection, and whether those considerations be made in another location, for example Harlow Road or in the future at Chad Drive? She said it is unrealistic to think that we will have one bike/pedestrian access intersection when you look at what we're trying to do. Mr. McRae said the agency would evaluate how the project improves transportation throughout the area, not just at the intersection. Councilor Lundberg said people would not use this route if we have good bike paths and alternatives elsewhere. 4. Gateway Traffic Capacity Improvements. Brian Barnett said the city could make traffic flow adequately in Gateway if modest improvements are made. Given the land use assumptions that the city is operating under, the city should be able to build adequate facilities for traffic. Mr. Barnett said the amount is estimated at $8.5 million. Mayor Weathers said the point is to give direction about what should be done from among the options described by Mr. Barnett. . Mr. Barnett said certain street changes would involve significant decisions by Council. Mayor Weathers said she was pleased to see the recommendations. Councilor Hatfield said the Council would need to know what the financing options are. Councilor Lundberg said she likes the recommendations and asked if staff had any information about the County's position regarding transportation funding. Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi said the Commissioners appear to feel positive about the potential for federal legislation that would provide replacement funding for lost revenue, which would better position the county to be a partner in Springfield transportation improvements. Mayor Weathers said this has been a struggle but this is a very good product. Councilor Fitch said she wants staff to identify a priority order for the projects. Al Peroutka said the models predicted what is being experienced in Gateway. He asked for direction regarding Pioneer Parkway. He said staff recommends looking at funding for the extension. He described a range of options, which could be examined. He asked if Council would like staff to bring back a proposed package in January? Mayor Weathers said she feels it is important to start early in identifying funding for road projects. Councilor Ballew said she sensed council consensus and advised Mr. Peroutka to bring back the proposed package in January. Councilor Ballew asked that consideration be given to when the area might be annexed to the city as funding options are developed. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. ATT Minutes Recorder - Rosie Pryor .