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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/02/2006 Regular City of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2006 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, October 2,2006 at 7:03 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Fitch, Lundberg, Woodrow, and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilors Ballew and Ralston were absent (excused). PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT Mr. Grimaldi referred to the City's Organizational Statement, noting that it applied to the two individuals being acknowledged this evening. It leads off with: Passion, Integrity, Results. 1. Recognition of Dennis Murphy, Springfield Fire and Life Safety, for 25 Years of Service to the City of Springfield. City Manager Gino Grimaldi introduced Fire Chief Dennis Murphy. Mr. Grimaldi noted Chief Murphy's occupational background and his years of service with the City. He discussed the many awards received by Chief Murphy and the FireMed program which was started by Chief Murphy. He noted his many activities outside of his City occupation, including his work in creation of the Ribbon of Promise. Chief Murphy had always been a strong advocate for the Springfield Fire and Life Safety Department. Chief Murphy was instrumental in getting Fire Station 5 up and running. Mr. Grimaldi noted that Chief Murphy was a leader in his profession and also a leader in our community. Mr. Grimaldi presented Chief Murphy with a plaque acknowledging his years of service. Chief Murphy said he loved Springfield. That's why he was here and that's why he would be here for a few more years. 2. Recognition of Brian Parmelee, Springfield Fire and Life Safety, for 15 Years of Service to the City of Springfield. City Manager Gino Grimaldi introduced Brian Parmelee. Mr. Grimaldi noted Mr. Parmelee's. past occupational history. He noted many events that Mr. Parmelee was involved with, including several rescues. He referred to some of the many awards Mr. Parmelee had received over the years, including Oregon Arson Investigator of the Year in 2005. Mr. Parmelee was lead investigator and instrumental in obtaining the conviction of a serial City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes October 2, 2006 Page 2 arsonist in Springfield. Mr. Grimaldi noted the many other accomplishments of Mr. Parmelee outside his occupation with the City. Mr. Grimaldi presented Mr. Parmelee with a plaque acknowledging his years of service. . Mr. Parmelee said he appreciated the Council and their support. He said this was the best job he had ever had and he hoped to make it to twenty-five years. Mayor Leiken noted the reputation of the Springfield Fire and Life Safety Department throughout Oregon and the nation. He thanked Chief Murphy for his leadership and recalled the arson investigation that Mr. Parmelee had helped to solve. CONSENT CALENDAR IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (2 ABSENT - Ballew and Ralston). 1. Claims 2. Minutes a. September 11,2006 - Work Session b. September 18, 2006 - Work Session c. September 18, 2006 - Regular Meeting d. September 25,2006 - Special Regular Meeting 3. Resolutions a. RESOLUTION NO. 06-40 - A RESOLUTION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF PROJECT P30469: SPORTS WAY RESTRIPING. 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Contract with ECONorthwest to Complete a Housing Needs Analysis as Part of the Springfield Residential Lands Study. b. Approval of the Liquor License Endorsement for Eirinn's Bistro, Located at 639 West Centennial Blvd., Springfield, OR. c. Approval of the Liquor License Endorsement for More of Everything, formerly Ashley's Gateway Bistro, Located at 3000 Gateway #602, Springfield, OR. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS - Please limit comments to 3 minutes. Request to speak cards are available at both entrances. Please present cards to City Recorder. Speakers may not yield their time to others. BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE - Limited to 20 minutes. Please limit comments to 3 minutes. Request to Speak cards are available at City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes October 2, 2006 Page 3 both entrances. Please present cards to City Recorder. Speakers may not yield their time to others. 1. Curtiss Greer. 357 55th Street. Springfield. OR Mr. Greer read from a statement he had prepared. He said he saw a repeat of history and the road to destruction. Bi-lingualism, multi-lingualism and bi-culturalism is a blessing for an individual and a curse for society. Any country that has not assimilated has constant turmoil. Diverse people around the world are mostly engaged in hating each other. He said a great man who preceded him said, "Now we are engaged in a great Civil War". Mr. Greer said we were now engaged in a great cultural war. The Civil War pitted brother against brother and we were now pitting nationality against nationality. The Civil War was fought to save the union, and we must fight again to save the union. We must retain the American Heritage our forefathers fought and died for, that their effort had not been in vain, let us rise up to the call of being Americans above all, may this nation under God endure that we may all be American brothers and sisters. Mr. Greer spoke in opposition ofthe Police levy. He said it was not an opposition to the jail, but was on the fact that some Council members and City staff wished the ratepayers to pay as high a labor cost as possible. He discussed the recommendations by the Citizen Task Forc~ and questioned why their recommendations were not utilized. He said it showed that City staff and some Council members cared less about the impact on the ratepayers. He discussed the support of funds and volunteers from Chamber of Commerce members. 2. Dennis Shine. 2923 GameFarm Road. Springfield. OR Mr. Shine asked Council to support Lane ComrrlUnity College's (LCC) measure 20-120, individually or collectively. He intended to talk more extensively, but said the Register Guard article by Jack Wilson eloquently stated his views as well. He said LCC had a large learning center in Florence and Cottage Grove, but also had smaller units such as that attached to Thurston High School (THS). He said many people didn't know that site was there. Mr. Shine said he was presently a member of the LCC Budget Committee. The Budget Committee met with the LCC Board in a work session and talked about the budget deficit for next year. Last year, LCC had to cut $6M out . of the budget, which included a lot of people's job. This year, there wasn't much left to cut. If this small levy didn't pass, one of the things that would be cut would be those smaller centers. The professional staff had already been eliminated from those centers. He said those centers were extremely important in allowing LCC to carry out their mandate to serve all of Lane County. He said it would be in the interest of citizens of Springfield to support this measure. He thanked Councilor Fitch for her work on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway. It made Springfield look very good. 3. Bob Miller. 1358 H Street. Springfield OR Mr. Miller said he grew up in Springfield, started with the Springfield Police, and then moved to the Sheriff's office and the State Police. He said he was outraged how Springfield had greeted some of the immigrants from Mexico. He said they had gotten away with crimes. He supported Councilor Ralston's email. He noted that years ago, officers could ask if someone was an illegal immigrant, and if they weren't they went to the County jail. Those immigrants understood some English. He said he was ashamed of Springfield's governing body for their attitude. He said things needed to change. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes October 2, 2006 Page 4 Mayor Leiken noted that it was against the state statute for the City to engage in immigration issues. He said it was up to individuals like Mr. Miller and Mr. Greer to approach their legislators to try to change the law. Mayor Leiken referred to Dennis Shine's testimony. Springfield Council's standard policy was not to endorse measures as a body. He asked City Attorney Joe Leahy if each councilor could endorse a measure individually as a City Councilor. Mr. Leahy said that was correct. He said each of the Councilors had the first amendment right to speak out individually. He said it would be a Council decision whether or not each Councilor used their title when endorsing a measure or not. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS BIDS ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL I. Business from Council a. Committee Appointments 1. Planning Commission Appointment Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report on this item. There is one candidate for this position; the incumbent, Mr. Lee Beyer. Mr. Beyer just concluded a four-year term that was preceded by a 17-month appointment. This will be the last consecutive term Mr. Beyer may serve. The City received one application for this vacancy and that was from the incumbent, Mr. Lee Beyer. Mr. Beyer continues to reside at 951 S Street and is employed by the State of Oregon as a member of the Public Utility Commission. Mr. Beyer has previously served on the Planning Commission, is a former City Council member and state legislator. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO RE-APPOINT LEE BEYER TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH A TERM TO EXPIRE SEPTEMBER 22, 2010. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (2 ABSENT - Ballew and Ralston). b. Committee Reports 1. Councilor Lundberg handed out schedules to the Council members of where Police and Fire would be in the upcoming weeks. She encouraged Councilors to join any of the events listed and be ayailable for questions or discussion. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes October 2, 2006 Page 5 2. Councilor Fitch said if the citizens passed the levy for the public safety and jail operations, she suggested that the naming of the facility be considered. She proposed the name of Ed Harms. Councilor Woodrow added that the Police Planning Task Force (PPTF) had also suggested a name for the facility. He would ask them to bring that to Council. 3. Mayor Leiken said he attended the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Conference last week along with Gino Grimaldi, Niel Laudati and Councilor Fitch. He asked Councilor Fitch to report on the events she attended. 4. Councilor Fitch said she attended the leadership training and took the tour of the Martin Luther King (MLK) urban renewal area in downtown Portland. She said the tour was fascinating and noted the many partnerships and activities. Some of the development that had occurred was private only and some was public/private. The difference it had made in the area was tremendous. The Mayor of Portland and about six staff people accompanied the tour group. She discussed a current project which would include commercial condominiums, where small businesses would own their space in the building. Their goal was to have the biggest and best Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in the nation. 5. Mayor Leiken said he sat in on the Big Look panel discussion during the LOC Conference. The panel clearly understood how much the dynamics in Oregon had changed. He said they clearly understood the ramifications of Measure 37. It was good to see friends and elected officials at the conference. He said he met with the Mayors from Hillsboro and Redmond and talked about common issues. The conference was a good time to learn a lot from other elected officials. He noted that there were a lot of communities watching Springfield's public safety levy. Dependant of the outcome of our election, there could be a change in the dynamics of how communities deal with incarceration. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:31 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Attest: ~hun... City Reco r