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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/23/1998 Work Session . . . J MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MARCH 23, 1998 The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 23, 1998, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Morrisette presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Morrisette, Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge (6:05 pm.), Dahlquist, and Shaver. Councilor Maine was absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, City Recorder Julie Wilson and members of the staff. 1. Review ofTCI Franchise. Senior Management Analyst Len Goodwin presented the staff report on this issue. The city has granted a franchise to TCI to provide cable television services. This work session offers the council an opportunity to review TCI's performance pursuant to that franchise. The city has granted a non-exclusive franchise to TCI to provide cable television services. As franchisor, the city is responsible for protecting the public's interest and assuring that TCI complies with the terms of the franchise. Those terms have not recently been reviewed by the council. It is timely to review them at this point because franchise activities have received an increased level of public attention. TCI General Manager Mike White and members of his staff were available to answer questions from the council. Mr. Goodwin reviewed the staff report provided in their agenda packets. Councilor Shaver said this issue has been discussed during MPC meetings. Mr. Goodwin discussed the new method of calculating fees along with a potential [mancial audit. Mr. Goodwin answered questions about Public Access Television. Councilor Shaver discussed a limited franchise review. Mr. White discussed notification of changes to be implemented and effective May 1. Councilor Beyer said she now had digital cable access. She said some channels were still not being received. Mr. White discussed access to channels 96, 97, 98 and 99 and changes to be implemented. He also discussed the availability of free television converters. Councilor Ballew said she had heard a report or opinion that some areas in the United States were charged higher rates to help support lower rate areas. She thought our area was paying a higher rate. Mr. White said TCI followed FCC calculation rates. Mr. Goodwin discussed the rate calculations and the objective to provide service. Councilor Ballew asked questions about the payment schedule. She referenced page 11 of the staff report. She thought the payment schedule should be moved up slightly. Mr. Goodwin said this could be a negotiating factor. . . . (' Work Session Meeting Minutes March 23, 1998 Page 2 Councilor Shaver requested clarification that council agreed with the direction in which MPC was going and council agreed this was correct. Mr. White discussed the schedule of converting and upgrading their system. Mr. White discussed the rate increase. He discussed programming cost and the direct impact these costs have on TCI rates. 2. Presentation and Discussion of the Drinking Water Protection Recommendations from the Planning Commission. City Planner Sarah Summers presented the staff report on this issue. The Springfield Planning Commission has accepted the recommendations of the Drinking Water Protection Task Force with one modification and is passing on these recommendations to the council. The council will review the recommendations and ultimately adopt a final Drinking Water Protection Management Program. In June 1997, the Springfield Committee for Citizens Involvement appointed a ten-member Citizen Task Force to provide the Planning Commission with recommendations on drinking water protection options. A Drinking Water Protection Plan is a work task in the Metro Plan Periodic Review Work Program. Since Springfield's groundwater has been delineated, drinking water is a significant Goal (#5) resource which must be protected. The Task Force met over a period of four months and presented prioritized recommendations to the Planning Commission in February 1998. These recommendations were accepted by the Planning Commission with one modification. The recommendations have previously been distributed to council members. Chuck Davis, Springfield Utility Board, provided a presentation regarding the Wellhead Protection Plan, approval requirements and history regarding water protection and a detailed map and diagram. He also discussed the water table levels and how groundwater levels differ in other locations. He also discussed contaminant levels and wellhead locations. He said this has been an issue of discussion. He said the majority of the water was in the central and moved to the west of Springfield. Tim Hanley also answered questions regarding this issue. Councilor Burge again raised the issue of wellhead locations. Mr. Davis discussed Task Force recommendations regarding the location of wellheads. Sometimes there are benefits to surrounding industrial communities to relocate a well. If the community wanted to relocate a well, it should be considered. He said finding water was a little more difficult than just drilling for water. Mr. Davis discussed detailed information regarding drilling for a well, screening for protection, water table levels, shut off of wells and the different depth levels drilled. Mr. Davis explained the different layers and elevations between the ground surface and about 30 feet depth. Task Force members present were George Greer, Dean Trotter, Jenny Lauretzen, Bill Carpenter and Susy Eddie. Work Session Meeting Minutes March 23, 1998 Page 3 . Mr. Greer said other cities were surveyed and the Task Force was able to benefit from information provided by other cities. He said the majority of members supported all recommendations made. He also commended the Planning Commission for their contribution to the project. Mr. Greer said financial impact was not addressed. He said political expediencies that will come into play when this is implemented were considered so these would be practical recommendations. About nine categories were agreed upon. The rankings were agreed upon for the most part. He said the overlay zone had the most immediate impact on businesses and residents in the area. Councilor Burge said this was an important issue. He wondered if Eugene had conducted the survey. Mr. Greer said Eugene had the ability to take water from the old aqua foods and was investigating other options with SUB. Mr. Davis discussed the availability of water rights and the cost of drilling for wells. Mr. Greer said water quality was important and also reviewed the graph on page five of the staff report. Monitoring programs are in place and are good programs. It is suggested that resources continue to be allocated to these programs. He also discussed the hazardous waste program and proper disposal of these items. . The septic system program was also discussed. This did have the potential to impact water quality. Ultimately we do not have jurisdiction over areas outside the city limits. Mr. Greer answered questions regarding septic tanks that have failed. He said this should be watched. The recommendation was an effort to gain long term perspective. Mr. Trotter discussed companies who use chemicals and the importance of making everyone aware of consequences related to this. Deputy Chief Operations Bruce Hocking provided general information regarding companies that store chemicals and said the companies are good about notifying agencies as required of a spill, etc. He also said Deputy Chief Fire Marshall Dennis Shew participates in the HazMat Program and could provide more information about the program. Tim Hanley again discussed the location of wells. Mr. Greer discussed overlay zones. He said there was a potential for people to have a problem with this. He said their recommendation was to have a phase in period, with options such as including buying out a well, well relocation, private partnerships, mentoring programs, formalizing that as a broader endeavor. They could still do business and protect the water quality. The Task Force spent a lot of time talking about the fact that in practice, this will not have a significant impact on those doing business but will have a great impact on the water quality. . Councilor Burge said often the government tends to overreact and hoped that we were cautious not to do that but still have good results. Mr. Greer agreed. He said these . . . Wark Session Meeting Minutes March 23, 1998 Page 4 recommendations were practical and he would be happy to answer any questions the council had. City Planner Mel Oberst suggested staff bring back specific items for council review during another work session to further discuss this issue, including issues pertaining to cause and effect, cost, etc. The importance of implementation was discussed. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson i3d1~ Bill Morrisette Mayor ,