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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/06/2006 Regular City of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2006 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, November 6,2006 at approximately 7: 15 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Woodrow (by conference phone), Lundberg, Fitch, Ballew, and Ralston. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Finance Director Bob Duey, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilor Pishioneri was absent (excused). PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT CONSENT CALENDAR IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR BALLEW TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). 1. Claims 2. Minutes a. October 16, 2006 - Work Session b. October 16, 2006 - Regular Meeting c. October 23, 2006 - Work Session 3. Resolutions a. RESOLUTION NO. 06-44 - A RESOLUTION OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER AND CONVEYANCE OF REAL PROPERTY FROM THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD TO THE METROPOLITAN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND AUTHORIZING THE RECEIPT BY THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD FROM THE METROPOLITAN WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT COMMISSION OF CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY INTERESTS AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER. CITY SURVEYOR, AND CITY ATTORNEY TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO EFFECT SUCH TRANSFERS. 4. Ordinances City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 2 5. Other Routine Matters a. Approve the Purchase of Six Police Vehicles for Fiscal Year 2007, as follows: five patrol vehicles at a cost not-to-exceed $22,000 each, for a total of $110,000 and one unmarked vehicle at a cost not-to-exceed $20,000. Total expenditures for these six vehicles will not exceed $130,000. b. Authorize the City Manager to Execute Memorandum of Agreement with Springfield Police Association implementing negotiated settlement of collective bargaining agreement effective July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2008. 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. 1. Lane Transit District (LID) Pioneer Parkway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) EmX Environmental Assessment (EA). RESOLUTION NO. 06-45 - A RESOLUTION ENDORSING THE PIONEER P ARKW A Y BUS RAPID TRANSIT EMX CORRIDOR. Transportation Manager Tom Boyatt presented the staff report on this item. The Parkway BRT is supported by Council as the next phase ofBRT implementation in the Metro area because it provides a connection between downtown and the growing Gateway commercial and employment center. In April 2006 Council approved a motion endorsing the proposed Locally Preferred Alternative (LP A) for the project provided certain issues were addressed. The LP A was modified to address issues raised and the EA carries the modified LP A as the preferred alternative to a no build alternative. After meeting with Council again at the end of July 2006, L TD released the EA for public comment on September 20, 2006 and closed the comment record 30 days later on October 20, 2006. L TD staff will present comments received on the EA corridor design, and answer questions about the project. With Council and County Board endorsement, L TD will submit the EA to the Federal Transit Administration for a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) decision. The FONSI is necessary to continue to pursue the project for construction. The attached Draft Resolution endorsing the project also calls out the process by which the project design will be approved by the City for permitting and construction. Staff is proposing that the Parkway BRT construction project be reviewed and approved by the City using the normal Private Improvement Project (PIP) process. Staff believes that the project warrants this method of review and approval because it is a large and complex project with many of the design details not yet engineered. Staff also anticipates entering into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with LTD to specify the terms and conditions of using City right of way for BRT on an ongoing basis. This type of Use Agreement was previously executed between LID, ODOT and the City of Eugene for Phase I ofthe BRT that runs between downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 3 Mr. Boyatt noted that Gary McKenney, from the Transportation Department, was in the audience if Council had technical questions. He noted that three letters with comments were received by staff today and had been put at the Mayor and Council places. Mr. Boyatt introduced Steph Viggiano from LTD. Mr. Viggiano said LTD was seeking endorsement from the Council of the Pioneer Parkway EmX Corridor. In order to proceed, the project would also need to be approved by the Lane County Commissioners and the L TD Board. Those approvals were scheduled for later this month. The design being proposed was the same design the Council approved as the Locally Preferred Alternative (LP A) in April 2006. He described the route. He said he would be available for any questions. Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing. l. Casey Dresser, Springfield Cleaners, 206 Main Street, Springfield, OR. Ms. Dresser spoke regarding the loss of parking she would experience at her business due to the extra EmX lane. She said the dedicated lane would take all of her parking on Pioneer Parkway West. She said she had been tracking the parking and nearly 65% of her customers parked on Parkway. On average, over 43% park on Pioneer Parkway on a daily basis. She said elimination of that parking would be a major problem for traffic going in and out of her store. She said she also had concerns with a designated lane that close to the parking area regarding safety and noise. She said there was no parking for her customers on Main Street as it was taken by the other businesses. She said she had not seen any other possibilities and was very much against this extra lane. 2. Don Lutes, 778 Crest Lane Springfield, OR. Mr. Lutes said he was very supportive ofthe Pioneer Parkway EmX project in total, except that portion from F Street to the new roundabout (Hayden Bridge and MLK Parkway). In that section, he objected to the introduction of buses into the public open space and the proximity of the buses to the pedestrianlbike path. He discussed the historic and aesthetic value of Pioneer Parkway. He said the Parkway belonged to the City of Springfield and was voted in as part ofthe 3rd Street project. He saw no reason to use the public open space in this corridor for EmX. EmX could be accommodated in dedicated left hand transit lanes on Pioneer Parkway East and West, except for the stations which would be in the median strip. Additional right-of-way to do this could be shaved from the median and adjacent property without disturbing either the median open space or the bike path. This in turn would keep EmX away from the bike/pedestrian path. It was now shown as close as five feet from the path. He said this would also result in no loss of bus time as it was intended that the EmX bus would be traveling at the same speed as the other traffic. Mr. Lutes said he felt the EA was flawed due to an omission to key items regarding this open space and path. From the table on environmental impacts, parklands and recreational areas, the only comment was on the reduction of school fields, nothing on the impacts of the public open space in the median. In summary of impacts on non-vehicular, there was no mention of the impact of EmX on the bike and pedestrian path. In the summary of impacts on neighborhoods, there was no mention of impacts on the use or safety of the bike path; however, this path is a vital part of the neighborhood and the only sidewalk from F Street to Q Street. On the summary of impacts for visual and aesthetic, it did not mention the visual impact of inserting EmX into the public open space nor did it mention the aesthetic affects of EmX proximity to the bike path. The EA only notes positive impacts on the Washburne District regarding Historical and Cultural, but Pioneer Parkway as a significant part of City history was not mentioned. According to LID, project planning was about twenty percent complete. The key decisions supported by the EA had just about been made. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 4 The EmX Pioneer Parkway plan showed the EmX in the open space of the median and next to the bike path, even though eighty-five percent of the total Pioneer Parkway project remained on the street. The median public open space belonged to the people of Springfield and should not be violated. He asked Council to listeri to his plea, asorteof the pioneers that -- made the Parkway happen, and take wh~tever steps were necessary to keep this encroachment from occurring. ' 3. Ken Ravmen, 2150 Laura Street, #25, Springfield, OR. Mr. Raymen said politics used to be the art of compromise. Heagreed with Mr. Lutes' statements, although he felt compromise was necessary. He would like the bike path area protected. The buses could have their stops along MLK Parkway and onto Beltline. The compromise was that Gateway and Harlow Streets at one time were going to be affected by the bus stations put in the middle of the street, but L TD chose to give that up and put the parking along the curbing. He appreciated them doing that. 4. Shelly Krehbiel, Royal Caribbean, 1000 Royal Caribbean Way, Springfield, OR. Ms. Krehbiel said since moving into their Gateway facility earlier in the year, Royal Caribbean had gone out of its way to demonstrate a commitment to the environment and to the community. Royal Caribbean was one of the few Gold Lead certified buildings in the state and yet the majority of their employees still drove their own transportation to work. Royal Caribbean had partnered with L TD and took part in their group pass program to encourage employees to take advantage of the bus program and they strongly supported the Pioneer Parkway EmX project because it would provide even greater opportunities for employees to come to work using public transportation. She said it would be a great recruiting toetl for their company. Since moving in to their facility, Royal Caribbean had doubled their employee population and was still only at half their capacity. They stronglyencouraged Council's participation in helping to keep the EmX project on track. Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing. Councilor Lundberg asked to see the diagram showing the median area being discussed. She asked if the bike path could be moved and centered in a better way. Mr. Viggiano said there were several options to create more separation of the bike path and EmX lane. The bus lane could be moved to the east, but they would lose the opportunity to plant trees between the two lanes. The bike path could also be moved closer to the west. Those were options that could be undertaken in the design. He said originally, the public had indicated they wanted the bike path left in its current location. Councilor Lundberg asked ifthere was potential from a safety perspective and an aesthetic perspective for a better way to accommodate and make it better. She said there was a lot of space in that area. She said she had gone through a similar process out in Gateway. The committees for these projects looked for a solution that made sense and there was a lot of compromise. She noted that Councilor Fitch was a negotiator and compromiser and she appreciated her work. She said L TD had put out an admirable effort to make this system work and there would be many advantages. She was pleased with the mixed use in the Harlow/Gateway area. She would like to see a discussion over the Lindale Apartment area, to incorporate smaller buses to get people to the main stations. She said she had a lot of signatures from residents in that area requesting that service. She was also counting on the process to design this system in such a way that it accommodated businesses and parking issues. Parking was a necessity for businesses, and she City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 5 noted the importance of working with Springfield Cleaners. She said she was willing to be supportive, but wanted this to be resolved. She said she was proud of Pioneer Parkway; it was a beautiful entrance into Springfield. She said she had seen a lot of work and a lot of progress in terms of her support for this project, but those would be ongoing concerns in terms of the design process. Councilor Ballew said she was generally supportive ofthe EmX, but when Don Lutes talked she listened and he made good points about the open space. She said she would be willing to vote for this, but wanted the minimum taken out of the Pioneer Parkway median. It was a beautiful entryway into the City that needed to be preserved. Councilor Fitch said she appreciated the opportunity to stay on the EmX Steering Committee as a citizen because there was more work to be done. She said there was still eighty to ninety percent to be done on the design. They needed to work with citizens and businesses to make sure the final product accommodated all. She said staff from the City, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and LTD had worked well together on the technical committee to look at the issues. She said more input was needed to insure a minimum invasion and businesses could remain open. She said she was supportive of the project, but there was still a long way to go. Councilor Ralston said he hated to make a decision that was all or nothing. He hoped that by supporting this tonight, they didn't close the book on the other issues. LTD felt confident the issues would be worked out with businesses and citizens. There would be more input into the final design regarding businesses and the bike path. Councilor Woodrow said he agreed. He didn't want to see Springfield Cleaners lose parking or any of the local businesses. We were in the process of revitalizing downtown and taking away parking was not the way to do that. He said if there was a compromise on Pioneer Parkway where the EmX needed to go through the median, he wanted to see it work right and for the benefit of everyone. Mayor Leiken said there was room for discussions to work with businesses and citizens. He said he wasn't as concerned about the median as Mr. Lutes, but understood Mr. Lutes' perspective. He said it was important to work through this to find the best way. He said we were in the process of creating something special in our community. He noted the momentum in our community and acknowledged the revitalization efforts in downtown that Councilor Woodrow mentioned. He also discussed the redevelopment of Glenwood and the connection between Glenwood and the downtown corridor with this system. The goal of the City was to hold LTD accountable for the needs of Springfield's citizens. He appreciated the work of City and L TD staff to address the issues. There was still room for continued dialogue. Tonight Council was voting on the EA, which was just the first phase. There was still an opportunity to make adjustments for the best for our community. He appreciated all the comments tonight. They would help in creating something the community could be proud of. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR BALLEW TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 06-45. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). 2. Supplemental Budget Resolution. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 6 RESOLUTION NO. 06-46 - A RESOLUTION ADJUSTING RESOURCES AND REQUIREMENTS IN THE FOLLOWING FUNDS: Budget Officer Bob Brew presented the staff report on this item. At various times during the fiscal year the Council is requested to make adjustments to the annual budget to reflect needed changes in planned activities, to recognize new revenues, or to make other required adjustments. These adjustments to resources and requirements change the current budget and are processed through supplemental budget requests scheduled by the Finance Department on an annual basis. This is the first of three scheduled FY07 supplemental requests to come before Council. The supplemental budget being presented includes adjusting resources and requirements in the General Fund, Street Fund, Jail Operations Fund, Special Revenue Fund, Transient Room Tax Fund, Community Development Fund, RiverBend Development Fund, Building Code Fund, Fire Local Option Levy Fund, Police Local Option Levy Fund, Bancroft Fund, Bond Sinking Fund, Local Wastewater Capital Fund, Development Assessment Capital Fund, Development Projects Fund, Drainage Capital Projects Fund, G.O. Capital Projects Fund, Police Building Bond Capital Fund, Regional Wastewater Capital Fund, Street Capital Fund, SDC Local Storm Improvement Fund, SDC Local Wastewater Reimbursement Fund, SDC Local Wastewater Improvement Fund, SDC Regional Wastewater Reimbursement Fund, SDC Regional Wastewater Improvement Fund, SDC Transportation Reimbursement Fund, SDC Transportation Improvement Fund, Local Wastewater Operations Fund, Regional Wastewater Fund, Ambulance Fund, Drainage Operating Fund, Booth-Kelly Fund, Regional Fiber Consortium Fund, Insurance Fund, Vehicle & Equipment Fund, and SDC Administration Fund. The City Council is asked to approve the attached Supplemental Budget Resolution. The overall financial impact of the Supplemental Budget Resolution is to increase total appropriations by $17,540,565 and increase total FTE by 1.5. Mr. Brew reviewed why these types of supplements were brought to council. He discussed two significant items: 1) the creation of a jail operations fund, a special revenue fund, which was, at this point, being built to receive revenues from the court conviction fee adopted by Council; and 2) the addition of 1 Y2 FTE, the Y2 FTE would be funded through SEDA reimbursements and the full FTE would be in the Fire and Life Safety Department due to a reorganization. He explained the reorganization. This change would have no cost affect at the on set, but would show savings in the future. Councilor Ralston asked about the jail operations fund and Mr. Brew noted its location in the attachment. The fund was started with $25,000, since it was difficult to estimate how much would be coming in. Councilor Ralston noted his concerns about taking money out of reserves and asked how much money was coming from reserves. Mr. Brew said $986,803 was coming from reserves. Out of that $335,000 was money that was supposed to be budgeted but was inadvertently left out. He said $22,000 came out of General Fund reserves. He referred to Attachment A, page 2, which showed that $2,346,509 had been added to the reserve account. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 7 Councilor Ballew noted the amount of beginning cash that had to be changed and she questioned why there was so much discrepancy. She would like to see staff do a better job at that. , Mr. Brew said many ofthose were capital projects. He gave examples. Mayor Leiken asked about the $910,000 listed under Development Projects Fund for the BLM Construction project. Mr. Brew explained that BLM would be paying for the building over the course often years. Mr. Duey said they thought they would be further along than they were. Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing. No one appeared to speak. Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR BALLEW TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 06-46. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE Noone appeared to speak. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS 1. Signed Petition and Brief List of Reasons to Opposing the Application for the Subdivision - and Additional Housing for 1290 F Street, 1306 F Street and 1324 F Street, Springfield, Oregon. Applicant Gordon Hoerauf. 2. Correspondence from Andrea McKinney, l430 Vera Drive, Springfield, Regarding Smoking in Springfield Businesses. 3. Correspondence from Mayor Phil Brubaker, City of Florence, 250 Highway 101, Florence, Oregon, Expressing Thanks for Amy Sowa's Participation in a Recent City Manager Recruitment Process. Councilor Lundberg said she would like some follow-up information regarding correspondence number one. She referred to the letter and the issues discussed, including possible code violations, old sewer lines and maintenance responsibility. She would like Springfield staff to hold a meeting with the neighbors and the developer to discuss the impact of the subdivision. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR BALLEW TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FaING WITH FOLLOW-UP ON ITEM NO. 1. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 8 Councilor Ballew complimented Amy Sowa regarding the nice letter received from Florence Mayor Brubaker for her participation in the selection of their City Manager. Councilor Fitch discussed correspondence number two. She said she would like to see, possibly before Council's winter recess, any data regarding how the smoking ban in Eugene had affected business at restaurants in Springfield and how it may have affected crime. She asked if any of that could be tied to the smoking ban. She said she had heard people that were more family oriented were going to restaurants in Eugene because they did not allow smoking. She would like the facts to determine whether or not there was a reason to revisit this issue in Springfield. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR FITCH WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FaING WITH FOLLOW- UP DATA ON ITEM NO.2. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 1 AGAINST (BALLEW) (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). BIDS ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Committee Appointments a. Historical Commission ConfIrmation. City Planner Kitti Gale presented the staff report on this item. In work session on October l6, 2006, the Council interviewed and appointed two candidates to the Springfield Historical Commission. The fIrst appointee, Ted Corbin, will serve his second 4-year term, which will expire on date of 09/21/2010. The second appointee, Kuri Gill, will assume the position vacated by Commissioner Michelle Dennis, which will expire September 30,2007. On October l6, 2006, the Council interviewed two candidates for the two vacancies on the Springfield Historical Commission; a third candidate was not available for the interviews due to personal employment scheduling conflicts. Ted Corbin is a Eugene resident, Project Manager for Eric Hall Architects, and former Historical Commissioner. He served his first term on the Commission from 2002 through September 2006 and applied for a second 4-year appointment. Ted strives to be an advocate for the Washburne Historic Landmark District as well as a resource for district owners and residents. He believes that the Commission must function as an information resource, an enforcement body, and an advocate simultaneously for historic preservation. Kuri Gill is a Springfield resident, curator for the Mission Mill Museum in Salem, and a former member of the Salem Historic Landmarks Commission. Kuri has knowledge of historic preservation standards and historic interpretation. It is her goal to use this knowledge to enhance Springfield's local economy and quality of life. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR BALLEW TO CONFIRM THE APPOINTMENT OF TED CORBIN TO THE SPRINGFIELD mSTORICAL COMMISSION, WITH A TERM EXPIRATION OF City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes November 6, 2006 Page 9 SEPTEMBER 21,2010. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR BALLEW TO CONFIRM THE APPOINTMENT OF KURI GaL TO THE SPRINGFIELD HISTORICAL COMMISSION, WITH A TERM EXPIRATION OF SEPTEMBER 30,2007. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSENT - Pishioneri). 2. Business from the Council a. Committee Reports. l. Councilor Ralston reported on the Housing Policy Board. He said they discussed the Transportation System Maintenance Fee (TSMF), something Springfield had considered at one time. Eugene would be voting on a TSMF soon and there was concern from the HPB regarding the affect such a fee would have on those living in or providing low-income housing. He said he commented during the HPB meeting that Springfield would not be discussing it again. He said an engineer from Eugene said Springfield would be discussing it again. Mayor Leiken said that was incorrect and Springfield would not be discussing a TSMF again. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:55 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Attest: ~JmL6- City Rec er