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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/10/2006 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JULY lO, 2006 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, July 10,2006 at 5:50 p.m., with Council President Woodrow presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Councilors Woodrow, Ballew, Ralston, Lundberg, and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Administrative Coordinator Julie Wilson and members of the staff. Mayor Leiken and Councilor Fitch were absent (excused). L TD Members present included Board Members Susan Ban, David Gant, Gerry Gaydos, Mike Eyster, Dean Kortge and Debbie Davis. LID General Manager Mark Pangborn noted that there was one position vacant on the Board. 1. Joint City Council and Lane Transit District (LID) Work Session. . Assistant Public Works Director Len Goodwin and Transportation Planning Engineer Gary McKenney were present. The previous joint meeting was held on June 12, 2004. At that meeting the Council and Board discussed updates on the Springfield Station, the Franklin EmX project, and the Pioneer Parkway EmX plan, and toured the Springfield Station project. At the joint meeting on July 10 LID staffwill give brief presentations on Ridership and Service trends, EmX Phase II Environmental Assessment, "Bus Plus" System Features, and Future EmX corridors; City staff will provide presentations onBus Routes and Stops, and GatewayIBelt1ine Design. Mark Pangborn, LID General Manager, introduced this topic. He provided a power point presentation. The following points were reviewed: · LID Ridership, Service, and Service area population 1988-2005. He. reviewed the population and service hours as well as customer trips. DOver 9.1 million boardings in last 12 months D Ridership up 10 percent due to possibly the following reasons: Student transit pass Gas prices Population and employment growth D Ridership by day of week D Ridership by time of day D Ridership per route (weekly boardings) Councilor Ralston asked how boardings were calculated. . Mr. Pangborn explained. They used the federal standard. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 2 . Councilor Ballew asked what percentage of LID riders were Springfield residents. Steph Viggiano from LID said Springfield was about twenty percent of the ridership and twenty percent of the population.. He said L TD could calculate the percent of ridership of Springfield residents. . Comparative Operating Performance D Transit property selection criteria Service level comparable to LID University community D FY 2004-2005 data D Fixed-route bus service only D Tri-Met not included in averages Mr. Pangborn discussed the following charts showing the comparisons of LID with other comparable communities: . Service hours per capita . Boardings per capita . Cost per service area Councilor Ralston asked about the cost per boarding to run the bus. It was noted that overall ridership was highly subsidized throughout the United States. . Councilor Ralston asked how much of that cost was born by other vehicles on the road. Mr. Pangborn said about 76% was paid by some sort of payroll tax, including the State of Oregon. There was also advertising revenue. Federal funds were received for construction. . Ride Source D Federally mandated D Increasing demand D 121,171 rides per year D 25 vehicles [J State funding flat D LID Contribution Increasing ($1.8M in FY 07) The cost per ride on Ride Source is about $18 (LTD cost). Mr. Pangborn noted the efforts made by LTD to move people fromthe Ride Source program to the fixed route buses. Councilor Pishioneri asked about the distance of the Ride Source trips. Mr. Pangborn said the cost to the rider on Ride Source was about $2.50. The federa11aw allowed them to charge $l.25. Medicaid sometimes covered some of the cost. . . Commuter Solutions Program (a joint program with Oregon Department of Transportation, City of Springfield, City of Eugene, Lane Transit District, and Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority) . . Group Pass Programs . Service Changes D . Major service changes considered once per year in annual route review process Public Hearings February and March Decision by the Board in March Changes implemented in September D Possible changes: Service fixes (overloads, scheduling problems) Service enhancements (service requests; new development; improved frequency on routes) Modification / deletion of substandard service D Comprehensive service re-design every 5-7 years Councilor Lundberg referred to the chart that showed that Reno was making a couple of million dollars more than LID. She asked why they had more revenue. Mr. Pangborn said he could fmd out. . Councilor Lundberg said there was a lot of potential for businesses to contribute, such as PeaceHea1th. Mr. Pangborn said PeaceHealth was the first private organization to buy group passes. He discussed future service to new locations such aJ Peace Health, Symantec, and the Royal Caribbean Call Center. LID discussed Reno and the large visitor market in that area. LID's fare types are different and can't charge as much. .1 I I LID would call and find out about other comp~ies and the possibility of having them payor subsidize for service. Councilor Ballew asked about the total number of miles of all routes. Mr. Pangborn said LID would need to calculate that figure. Mr. Pangborn discussed capital purchases. He said they will look at a five year average of capital expenses to determine whether or not L TD was spending too much in that area. Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett referred to Attachment C which outlined the Lane Transit District Annual Route Review Process for new routes or stops. Springfield's interest was for safe operation and street wear. Springfield found the policy outlined in Attachment C worked quite well. . L TD Staff provided information regarding Pion~er Parkway EmX Status. The following points were reviewed: City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 4 . . Corridor selected in 2001 . Stakeholder process to identify design alterIlatives . Alternatives analysis (technical reports) . Public improvement D Mailings/Open House/Stakeholder mtg./Presentations D Corridor contacts . Locally preferred design (AprillMay 2006) . Environmental Assessment (July - Sept. 2006) . Project approval (September 2006) . Councilor Ralston said it was his understanding that the Pioneer Parkway design was not set in stone. Council was to revisit that design again. i I Mr. Viggiano said more information would be coming to Council after the Environmental Assessment (EA) was completed. Council would then have the opportunity to formally approve the project and the design in September. I Councilor Ralston said he would like an opportJnity before making the final decision to allow Council to state any objections to the proposed route. He said he had some serious problems with this route. ! ! Mr. Viggiano said a work session was schedu1e4 for September II and the decision was scheduled on September 18. He said the goal was to keep Council updated as they went through the process, but an earlier meeting could be sch,duled. , Councilor Ralston said there were businesses at lhe end of the route that would be losing parking and he wanted to address that issue. He wanted ft to go straight on Harlow Road, not jog over when it came to the schoo1grounds. Those and other issues still remained for him. I I Councilor Ballew asked if LID was issuing soJething for public comment. - r Mr. Viggiano said the Environmental Assessmedt would allow comment. He said the option to retain the parking at the south end of the route h~d been retained along Pioneer Parkway East. I I Councilor Ralston asked if there was an option for the corridor to go straight as it passed the school. Mr. Viggiano said that was not the design that came out of the public meeting, but there was an alternative showing that. It was not being eva1u~ted in the EA, but could be included. Councilor Ralston said he made it clear when Council voted on this that it was not a done deal and Council would have additional input. He said he was disappointed to hear L TD was already moving forward. Mr. Viggiano said L TD was moving forward with the EA, but recognized that Council had not given fmal approval. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 5 . . Mr. Grimaldi asked Mr. Viggiano to discuss the steps following the.EA, such as changes that could be made without starting the process over. , I Mr. Viggiano said the EA looked at the design tp.at was developed to about five percent of the total design and was fairly conceptual. He said issues would come up as they went through the design. If there were significant changes, such 4s additional property to purchase or remove additional parking, a supplemental EA would need to be done. If the changes were minor enough, the EA would remain. The Federal Transit has final authority related to specific decisions made related to the project. He said going from five percent to one hundred percent of design there would be changes and issues to res9lve. He referred to the Franklin Boulevard corridor and changes made along the way in that process. I Councilor Ralston wanted to be sure there was sbme flexibility when they got down to the details. He wanted to continue to move forward~ but wanted a chance to address his issues. I , I Discussion was held regarding the Franklin Boulevard corridor through G1enwoodand decisions made before the EA. ! Mr. Viggiano discussed the bike lane in this corbdor. I I I Photos were reviewed displaying the following: ! I i . Pioneer Parkway (existing) I · Pioneer Parkway (with transit lanes) i . Pioneer Parkway EmX Unresolved Issues w~re reviewed. D Environmental AssessmentJProject Apptova1 D Springfield Study of GatewayIBe1tline (possible impact on EmX) D Funding I Federal funding request ! Local match (including Connect Or~gon) I I Mr. Viggiano reviewed the Pioneer Parkway EniX Development Schedule D Design and Engineering: 2007-08 I o Construction: 2008-09 I D Service Start: 2009-10 . Mr. Goodwin discussed the RiverBend construction project and the cooperation between the City of Springfield, LID and PeaceHea1th to economtze the EmX construction costs. Councilor Lundberg said the Pioneer Parkway Cprridor was a better plan that others, but she had understood that Eugene was going to do Coburg Road to complete the system. She said part of the piece that made the system work was the connectivity across to Coburg Road to relieve congestion. She asked about the status of that cdrridor. I Mr. Viggiano said the plan was to go through a Jrocess with the City of Eugene to select a third corridor in 2007. Coburg would be one of those pptions discussed, but may not be selected. A corridor on Highway 99 or West II th was more supported by the Eugene City Council. As the system grew, it would improve the connectivity ~d eventuallyCoburg would be built. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 6 . Councilor Lundberg said it was not the fault of LID, but she was frustrated that it did not work out. An LID representative discussed constraints with the infrastructure along that corridor that would have made the project very difficult. Councilor Pishioneri asked if there was a plan in place for the interim for riders from RiverBend. Mr. Viggiano said they did have an interim plan. He explained. Councilor Ballew asked how people could provide comment on the EA. Mr. Viggiano said it would be on the internet arid copies would be at the Libraries in Springfield and Eugene as well as at LID. CD's would also be available for people to view. The hard copies would be provided on a loan basis or at a charge. L TD Staff reviewed the following: . . Elements of EmX D Exclusive Right-of-way D Transit Signal Priority D Level Passenger Boarding D Off-Board Fare Collection D Wider Stop Spacing D High Level of Amenities at Stations D Real-time Passenger Information D New, Sleeker, "Green" Vehicles D New Image (Brand) D Automated Guidance . Bus Plus levels 1-4 were reviewed. D Level One: Transit Signal Priority. D Level Two: Improved stops; somewhat wider stop spacing; selected queue-jumpers. [J Level Three: EmX style stations with raised platforms and off-board fare collection; wide stop spacing; extensive queue-jumpers. D Level Four: Complete EmX design, including exclusive right-of":way. . Future EmX Corridors (previously reviewed). Councilor Ralston asked about the signal priority and if it would change the lights that were already timed for traffic to move through smoothly. An LID staff representative said those issues would be worked through and signal priority may not be feasible at all intersections. . Discussion was held regarding funding available for projects such as these corridors. LID would be talking to the City of Eugene about the. next corridor in the near future. It is important to have a system in place for the entire community. An LID representative discussed shuttle services. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 7 . Mr. Viggiano discussed neighborhood connectors. He addressed a question from Councilor Ballew and said the intent was to make service changes once the Pioneer Parkway corridor is complete. An LID representative thanked Council for their support up to this point. He reminded Council of the challenge for funding. Transit failed in the late 1960's, but the Federal and now State government recognized the importance of transit. Transit continues to remain important and Springfield's support is critical. He said a work session would be scheduled before the September 11 date to allow Councilor Ralston time to address his concerns. The Joint Meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. 2. Sanitary Sewer Facility Master Plan Summary and Update. City Engineer Ken V ogeney presented the staff report on this item. The Sanitary Sewer Facility Master Plan (SSFMP) update was initiated in 1999. The contract was extended in early 2003 with an anticipated completion date of October 2003. A consultant, CH2M-Hill, completed preliminary work on the project before they determined that the electronic sanitary sewer infrastructure data the City had at that time was insufficient to complete the project. In 2004 staff engaged in an effort to survey the City's sanitary sewer infrastructure, and compile an updated electronic database. Council allocated additional funding to address the costs encountered in the survey and data-collection process. . The survey effort required two years of work by the combined efforts of Water Resources, Survey, Maintenance, Technical Services and Engineering staff, and the resulting data is a complete representation of the City's sanitary sewer system. This data is in the process of being forwarded to CH2M-Hill, and work has been re-initiated to develop a computerized model of the sanitary sewer system that can be updated to retain future utility as the City grows. The new model will become the foundation for building the updated SSFMP. The existing contract with CH2M-Hill is in the process of being extended. Additionally, the existing scope of work is being amended, utilizing the most advanced and up to date modern technological model available. Under the updated schedule for the project, a final SSFMP will be submitted to the Council for review and adoption in February 2007. This Master Plan is a companion project with the Metro Wastewater Metropolitan Commission's (MWMC) Wet Weather Flow Management Plan (WWFMP), and may result in further analysis of the City's sewer lateral program. The contract with CH2M-Hill is fully funded through completion. Costs for this project have . been allocated in the adopted budget for FY 06-07. However, staff anticipates that the adoption process for the SSFMP may result in additional costs. Additional funds have been allocated in the proposed Capital Budget to. ensure that there is sufficient funding to complete this process. Councilor Ballew asked what staff wanted from this fma1 report. . Mr. V ogeney said it would give staff a better understanding of how to design in new areas such as Jasper Natron and Glenwood. It would identify problems or constraints in the existing City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 8 . system. When the plan is complete, the City would have a prioritized list of capital projects to address existing constraints and a plan to provide service to new areas. They would be able to update theSDC project lists and plan out for future CIP's. Councilor Ballew asked about costs involved. . Mr. Vogeney said this effort would focus on areas the Wet Weather Flow Management Plan did not address. He explained. He said he did not have a figure on the costs at this time. 3. Review of Schematic Design and Budget for the Justice Center - P50434. Project Manager Carole Knape1 presented the staff report on this item. Since March 21, 2006, the project design team has been working with representatives of the Police Department, Municipal Court and Prosecutor's Office to develop a building layout which incorporates the Functional and Space Program as approved by the City Council. Final schematic design review meetings were conducted with these User Groups in May 2006. In addition, the project team has worked with the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to develop an exterior design which reflects the character and values of the community and the downtown neighborhood. In addition to these sessions, the CAC hosted an Open House on June 14,2006 in order to provide the community an opportunity to review these design concepts. Comments received during the Open House indicated that the design is appropriate for the function and location of the project. . In order to ascertain that the project can be constructed within the construction budget, a cost estimate was completed. To obtain the best estimate, the project architect and the construction manager/general contractor (CM/GC) each completed a separate estimate. These estimates were reviewed and discussed with the project team. The final, reconciled estimate indicated that the project was over budget by approximately $2.148 million. Attachment A is the Reconciled Schematic Design Estimate. This document represents the collaboration of the architect, CM/GC and the City staff. The City Finance Director participated in some of these discussions regarding the cost estimate. He indicated that his bond sale schedule demonstrates an opportunity for interest earnings which would provide additional revenue for the construction costs. He suggested that the project team include approximately $l million in interest earnings to the construction cost budget. Following this direction, the project team agreed to identify approximately $1.148 million in project cost reductions. I The project team worked to develop a list of value engineering items which would reduce the cost of construction. The goal was to prioritize the potential reductions in order to minimize the impact to the functions and space requirements. Working together, the project team has identified $961,300 in cost reductions which will not affect the building functions or requirements. Attachment B is the Schematic Design Value Engineering list. These items include reductions which have been selected as preferred by the project team and User Groups. Other items were reviewed but not selected. A third category includes items which may be selected as more design and cost information become available during the next phase of the project design. The project team will be meeting with the CAC on July 5 to review these proposed reductions and obtain their input and their recommendations to City Council regarding these reductions. . Ms. Knapel referred to the Attachments included in the AIS packet. She reviewed the various components listed in the document. Ms. Knapel reviewed the chart on the wall and identified the different costs. Ms. Knapel reviewed the proposed reductions and total construction cost. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes . July 10, 2006 Page 9 . Councilor Ballew asked a question about the construction costs. Ms. Knape1 referredto the amount that was the construction costs and the other was the reduced construction costs. The project cost of$5A91M was the project cost beyond construction. Included in that were various consultant fees, the architect's fees, surveyor and other fees. She discussed the cost for asbestos abatement and the requirement to have that done before they begin demolishing the existing building. Councilor Ballew asked about the contingency amount of$957,000. Ms. Knape1 said that was the escalation contingency amount. Councilor Ballew said that was only about five percent and didn't seem like much. Ms. Knapel said it was only about four percent and was very stringent. It was based on the CM/GC strategy. She explained how they calculated those costs. Councilor Lundberg asked about the CM/GC general conditions and if they came under construction costs. . Ms. Knapel explained those costs and said they were under construction costs. She discussed the reduction in cost from changes in materials. Construction of the ancillary building was being simplified. She explained the reasons that building was more expensive than other areas, in part due to the exterior treatment being used. She said exterior treatment would be changed slightly, but would remain aesthetically appealing and less expensive. Councilor Ballew said brick facing seemed contrary to seismic safety. Architect Carl Sherwood said that was not an issue. He explained. Ms. Knape1 discussed the service court wall and the reduction in height. She discussed lightning protection and said it could possibly be eliminated. That type of protection was not necessary for this facility. She discussed reductions in the cost of the fencing around the parking area with the elimination of one gate. She outlined the parking area and where the gates would be located. Councilor Ralston asked about the two options regarding the ancillary building. Ms. Knapel said Option #25 - deleting the ancillary building was something considered, but not recommended. Option #27 - reduce size of ancillary building was still a possibility if further reductions were needed later in the project. The plan was to do another cost estimate during the next phase of the project. ' Councilor Pishioneri dis,cussed inmate property storage. He said the $5,000 would be well spent to retain a space saver system. . Ms. Knape! said these modifications were presented to the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAe) on Wednesday, July 5. The CAC voted to recommend Council accept the modifications with the City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 10, 2006 Page 10 . exception of one member who did not want to remove. the lightning protection system. Ms. Knape1 introduced Carl Sherwood, the architect for this project. Mr. Sherwood discussed the building design, parking to the north and the use ofB Street. During the construction period, it would be proposed to close off 4th Street and fence it in for secured parking. The area needed for construction staging was also discussed. The relationship between police and secured parking drove the design. Vehicle access points were reviewed. The site and landscape plan was further reviewed in detail. Mr. Sherwood further reviewed the building design and parking. The building design is low and horizontal. Design materials (steel and glass) were discussed. Solid vertical elements were proposed to the public view/face of the building. Space for court and prosecutor were reviewed. The proposed upper level of the facility was reviewed. Mr. Grimaldi noted that this plan would come before Council on Monday, July l7, 2006 for approval. Mr. Grimaldi said Council would be approving the design and the changes proposed. Councilor Ballew asked if we currently had training facilities for the Police. Chief Smith said the community meeting room / EOC will provide space for training. Currently, the Multi-Purpose Room is used for training. They currently have a small weight room. Councilor Pishioneri asked about 4th Street and if it would remain open. . Ms. Knape1 said it was determined there was no benefit in closing 4th Street. Ms. Knapel introduced Assistant Project Manager Jim Polston. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:45 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa ~. Attest: .~~. Amy SO~ City Recorder .