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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/2006 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2006 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, October 23,2006 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Woodrow, Lundberg, Fitch, Ballew, Ralston, 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. 1. Tour of the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater. Mayor Leiken noted the work Councilor Fitch and Cynthia Pappas had put into the theater project over the years. He said it was appropriate for both of them to see it open before they left. Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas said the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater was nearly complete and Council had been invited to take a tour of the facility. The Springfield Renaissance Development Corporation (SRDC) undertook the project of rehabilitating the old McKenzie Theater on Main Street to create a theater for the performing arts. This facility will be used for performing arts, author readings, community gatherings, concerts and the Springfield School District theater department for student performances. Over the years, the SRDC has received grant funding, corporate gifts and private donations to make this project a success. Now named the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater, this facility is near completion and Council is invited to tour this amazing new landmark in downtown Springfield. Councilor Fitch noted that there would be a Black Tie event on December 1 at the theater and Mason Williams would be performing. This would be the fIrst time Mr. Williams had performed in the Eugene/SpringfIeld area in six or seven years. There was limited seating at $135/ticket. Mayor Leiken asked that an invitation go out to Senator Smith for this event. Senator Smith was instrumental in getting federal funds to help with the cost of the theater. Council toured the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater. Council returned to the Jesse Maine Room for the remainder of the meeting. Mayor Leiken announced that the order of the last two items would be switched. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 23,2006 Page 2 2. Transfer of Property from the City of Springfield to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC). Enyironmental Services Supervisor Ravi Natanson presented the staff report on this item. MWMC was formed by an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) among the Cities of Eugene and Springfield and Lane County (Governing Bodies) in 1977 to design, construct and operate regional wastewater facilities (Regional Facilities). MWMC obtained federal grant funds for the project. In addition, the Lane County Metropolitan Wastewater Service District (CSD) sold general obligations bonds for the local share of project costs. In March 1978, MWMC and CSD entered into a lease wherein MWMC leased from CSD the Regional Facilities. CSD transferred its ownership interest in the Regional Facilities to MWMC after the bonds were retired in August 2002. As defmed in the IGA, the Regional Facilities were a combination of existing and new facilities. The existing facilities included the original wastewater treatment plants of Eugene and Springfield. The new facilities were to include additional land, improvements, equipment and vehicles. The eventual goal was to consolidate title to all of the Regional Facilities in MWMC's name. In May 2005, the Governing Bodies revised the IGA changing the definition ofthe Regional Facilities and directing MWMC to facilitate the completion of the process of transferring the ownership of the affected facilities in accordance with the revised definition. Completion of the process necessitates the transfer of some properties from the Cities of Eugene and Springfield MWMC and others from MWMC to the cities. In July 2006, the Eugene Council directed the Eugene City Manager to transfer the 95 acre River Ave. wastewater treatment plant site to MWMC upon the transfer by Springfield of the former Springfield wastewater treatment plant site to MWMC. In order to avoid a piecemeal transfer of the remaining properties, title to the former Springfield wastewater treatment plant site and the other affected properties will be transferred simultaneously. That will complete all of the transfers required by the May 2005 amendment to the IGA. At the Council's October 23rd work session, staff will present information regarding the property transfers. The Council may direct staff to further refine the proposed property transfers prior to the November 6th Council meeting. Additional information regarding the transfers is provided in the attached Council Briefing Memo and chart. Ms. Natanson referred to Attachment B, charts showing the property interests to be transferred. She also referred to Attachment C, a map of the property on D Street. The transfer of the title would not affect any existing uses on this property. Council consensus was to move forward with the transfer of property. 3. Surface TransportatiohProgram-Urban (STP-U) Modernization, Preservation, Proiect Development Fund Allocation for 2007 and 2008. Transportation Manager Tom Boyatt presented the staff report on this item. Of the federal STP- U funds it receives, the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) targets 65% for Modernization, City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 23, 2006 Page 3 Preservation and Project Development. The current estimate of this 65% of funding for 2007- 08 is $3,435,000. Last spring the MPC approved a partial allocation of available funds to Eugene ($319,000 for the Game Farm Road Project) and Springfield ($408,160 for GatewaylBeltline right-of-way). Applications will soon be due to Lane Council of Governments (LCOG) for the remaining $2,707,840. Staff understands that funding GatewaylBeltline intersection right-of-way acquisition continues to be our highest priority for STP-U funding, and anticipates applying for an additional $1,500,000 for this purpose. Staff also anticipates a need to increase project development funding for GatewaylBeltline by $100,000 in order to enhance final design activities and keep the project on schedule. The next identified project priority is to complete the 21 st Street preservation project, from D Street to Main Street. Staff anticipates applying for $500,000 for this project. Together, our project application for 2007 - 08 STP-U funding in the Modernization! Preservation category will total $2,100,000. A 10.27% local funding match is required for STP-U funds, and staff is confident that the match can be provided from the City's street capital project funding sources. While federal rules prohibit the "sub-allocation" of STP-U funds to MPC jurisdictions on a formula basis, the programming ofthose funds is typically negotiated among the jurisdictions prior to a recommendation to MPC. Therefore it is possible that MPC will decide to only partially fund some project applications. Mr. Boyatt discussed briefly the allocation of the funds and the MPC's role in determining where the dollars were dispensed. Mr. Boyatt said after the agenda packet had gone out, the collective staff group decided to add 2009 to the funding dispersal package. He said that would mean an increase of $1.8M added to the $2,707,840 listed at the end of paragraph one. With that increase, Mr. Boyatt proposed GatewaylBeltline at $2.5M, rather than $1.5M. He said the money could not be drawn down until the beginning of the federal cycle in which it was programmed. For that reason he would like to switch the proposal from right-of-way at GatewaylBeltline to construction for that project. . He said we could use funds the City already had to acquire right-of-way. He also recommended adding $100,000 to the $500,000 to complete 21 st Street. He referred to the discussion of regional versus local use of money pertaining to the Metropolitan Planning Organization's (MPO) highest regional priorities. He noted the difficulty in those discussions because of the differences between Eugene and Springfield. Eugene was focusing on preservation only projects and Springfield was focusing on new construction, with some preservation. Councilor Fitch thanked Councilor Ballew for serving on the MPC. Mr. Boyatt noted the difficulty in working through some of the issues. The Springfield projects were top priority projects that had been on the list for a long time. Councilor Fitch said it was important to keep the Gateway/Beltline project on top of the list. She agreed with using current money to acquire right-of-way. Mayor Leiken asked ifthe City had adequate funding to acquire right-of-way due to the escalating costs in the Gateway area. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 23, 2006 Page 4 Mr. Boyatt said that was unknown at this time. He said staff was trying to schedule a right-of- way strategizing session with Lane County. He said one appraisal was done on a piece of property. The challenge and risk was being able to make the decision to buy right-of-way without knowing where exactly the lines would be on the map. There would need to be discussions with property owners and analysis done to figure out what would make the most sense to build. He said staff had a meeting with the ODOT Region IJ manager and talked about the expectation that some of the earmark would be coming to Springfield. Mayor Leiken said he had talked with Peter DeFazio regarding those funds. Mr. Grimaldi said staffwould have one more meeting to make a decision on how to approach this. Mayor Leiken asked about the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). He asked staff to keep Council in the loop as it neared that level. Mr. Grimaldi said ODOT seemed as interested in completing the project as Springfield. Councilor Ballew asked if it would be prudent to have backup projects for the list, such as Jasper Road Extension or other regional projects. Mr. Boyatt said there were a number of other projects ready. He said he would discuss all of the cities priorities when they revisited this issue in a couple of years. Councilor Lundberg said the reason the I-5lBeltline was undertaken in the first place was because it was a safety issue. She said improvements at GatewaylBeltline nee~ed to be made to interface with the interchange project. It made sense to assist in getting the project done. Mr. Boyatt said he could remind ODOT about the safety issues. Councilor Ralston asked if Highway l26/Main Street was on the priority lists. Mr. Boyatt said that project was removed from TransPlan to make room for the West Eugene Parkway (WEP). He said it was a very high candidate to be placed back on the list. Councilor Ralston said that project should be a priority. Mayor Leiken thanked staff for their work. Councilor Ballew discussed the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Finance and Taxation Meeting she attended last Friday. She said they discussed the platform for lobbying in the coming year. She said there was also discussion regarding a proposed state sales tax that was being introduced by four representatives~ The LOC would be asking for 100 cities to endorse. She said copies of the information from that meeting were put in Council boxes. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes October 23, 2006 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:45 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: Am~~ City Recorder