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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/28/2005 Work Session J . . . City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MARCH 28, 2005. The City of Springfield council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 28, 2005 at 5:34 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Fitch, Ballew, Ralston, Lundberg, Woodrow and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members ofthe staff. 1. Arts Commission Application Review. Librarian Barbara Thompson presented the staff report on this item. The Arts Commission has one vacancy on its board. Member Sandra Dominguez has moved from Springfield and has therefore resigned from the commission. Her term would expire December 31, 2007. Rosalee Baker has applied for the position. The commission recommends that Rosalee Baker be appointed to the commission, with a term to expire December 31, 2007. The Arts Commission reviewed her application. Ms. Baker was unable to attend the commission's regular March meeting, but did meet with a delegated group of members on March 17. Ms. Baker, now retired, taught music in the Springfield school district for several years. The commission believes that Ms. Baker's connections with the school district and involvement with the music community will be of special benefit to the Springfield community. The commission believes she is well qualified to be appointed to the Arts Commission. Ms. Baker meets with the residence requirement that members have a business or reside within the 97477, 97478, and 97482 zip code areas. The appointment is scheduled to be ratified at the regular session, April 4, 2005. Councilor Fitch said Ms. Baker was a teacher with Springfield High School when her own children attended. She said she was an excellent teacher. Councilor Ballew asked if the Arts Commission dealt with music. Ms. Thompson said the Arts Commission deals with all forms of art. The Arts Commission felt that Ms. Baker would be a valuable asset to the commission. Council consensus was to appoint Ms. Baker at the April 4, 2005 council meeting. 2. Sewer and Drainage User Rates and Capital Funding to Implement Council Goals. Environmental Services Supervisor Gary Colwell and City Engineer Al Peroutka presented the staff report on this item. The first work session in this series, on March 7, 2005 laid out the issue .' . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 2 of unmet capital funding needs, the state of our current fundmg for sanitary and stormwater management projects, and the choices which face the city regarding the ability to fund unmet needs through adjustments in priorities or adjustments to System Development Charges (SDCs) or user rates. The second work session on March l4, 2005, discussed some policy issues related to SDCs and the relation of SDCs to capital funding needs. This work session will focus on user rates, including options for the council to consider in deciding on new rates for next year, and the potential role of user rates in meeting sanitary and stormwater capital funding needs. User rate options will be presented for council discussion and feedback to staff, but no decision is needed at this meeting. A future work session with council is scheduled for April 25 to finalize a recommendation on rates to take to public hearing and adoption. Mr. Peroutka said Mr. Colwell had been doing the city's user rate modeling for many years. Mr. Peroutka reviewed the council briefing memorandum which was included in the agenda packet. He referred to the chart at the top of page 2 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which listed the Sanitary Projects the City has Funded over the Last Ten Years. The total was nearly $20M and included expansion of the system and expansion capacity of the system. A $6M debt was incurred from the projects over the ten years, which the city was currently paying back. That payment affected user rates. He said there was nearly a $680,000 annual debt service, which would retire in 20l4. Mr. Peroutka referred to the chart on page 2 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed the Sanitary Projects in the Current Five- Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The large projects listed there, such as the wet weather flow management, combined with the $680,000 debt service would take up a great deal ofthe city's capital projects funds. . Mr. Peroutka referred to the chart on page 3 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed the Unmet Sanitary Capital Funding Needs Identified. The city depleted its reserves in the fund. The city started the design process for the Harlow Road Lift Station and identified additional costs of about $500,000. Staff did a preliminary cost estimate for the Jasper Road Trunk Sewer which brought the total cost for that project to $4.8M. An additional $l.5 million would be needed to bring that fund to fifty percent. He discussed the Gray/Jaqua development. Councilor Ballew asked what the city's participation would be in the Gray/Jaqua development. Mr. Peroutka said the city's participation would include the extension of the sanitary sewer. The project was included in the city's master plan. Nearly $2.9M ofunmet needs were identified for sanitary capital funding. Mr. Peroutka referred to the chart on page 3 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed the Remaining Sanitary Master Plan projects. There were only a limited number of projects remaining in the current master plan to build out the city's system. Those projects totaled about $5.8M. Councilor Fitch asked about the Other Sanitary Repair as listed on page 2 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet. She asked if that amount would be sufficient to keep our system repaired or if that amount needed to be increased as the city's system gets older. . Mr. Peroutka said staff was trying to build up to a goal of an annual $lM rehabilitation cost for the city's system. That goal has nearly been met. He said the Wet Weather Flow Management had a dual purpose. It was part of the management of flow to the treatment plant reducing City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 3 't.;" . infiltration and inflow (I and I). It also processed replacing and rehabilitating some of the older sewers. Councilor Ballew said it was to reduce the flow to the plant. Mr. Peroutka said it was the cost effective solution. Mr. Colwell explained. Councilor Ralston asked about the Grand View pump station. He asked if the funds for that project came from the Jasper Road Trunk Sewer project. Mr. Peroutka said that was already set aside. Councilor Ralston said that over the past ten years, the city had spent about $2M a year. He noted that the projected five-year CIP was $9M, which was consistent with the past. He asked why there was now a crisis. Mr. Peroutka said the $20M did not include the debt service. The actual project list was about $5.3M. He said the crisis involved the unmet needs and how those fit with the city's CIP and the ability to meet those needs. Staff was trying to look at it, not just as a rate and SDC issue, but at other options. . Councilor Ralston discussed the Jasper Road Extension (JRE) trunk sewer and the developer's. responsibility to pay for those improvements. Mr. Peroutka said the city would like to get at least fifty percent ofthe costs in place. The trunk sewer needed to be built in order to attract development. The city's philosophy was to wait for the demand to be there and offer some incentives. He also spoke of the potential for economic grants. Mr. Peroutka discussed the rate options as shown on page 4 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet called Analysis of Rate Options. This chart showed comparisons with other cities. Mr. Colwell said there were some cities that were lower than Springfield, some that were quite a bit higher, but most were about the same. Mr. Peroutka discussed the six percent increase that would occur regionally in the next two years. Councilor Ballew asked how much the city brought in annually from sanitary user rates. Mr. Colwell said about $5M for sanitary sewer and $6M from stormwater. Councilor Ballew said that seemed like a lot. Mr. Pertouka said that cost covered CIP as well as upcoming projects. . Mr. Peroutka said in looking at modeling, if the capital contributions were maintained at the same amount as last year, less the debt service, and the increase was at two and a half percent, the city could run a $400,000 surplus. Some of the surplus would be due to carryover from . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 4 reserves. Staff outlined several options to meet the unmet rteeds. These options were outlined on pages 5 through 6 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet. He described each option. Mayor Leiken asked Finance Director Bob Duey ifthere would be a tie to prime rate on Option 2b under State Revolving Loan Fund. He asked how that interest rate would be set. He discussed the increase in the prime interest rate over the last year. Mr. Duey said the rate was set for as long as that pool of money was available, so he could not say when it changed. Mayor Leiken asked ifthere was a trend of how many years the rate was set. Mr. Duey said he would have to go back and research that question. Mr. Goodwin said the rate was set until the next sale. At every sale, the rate was blended. Mayor Leiken said if council was interested in this scenario, caution needed to be followed as interest rates were increasing. He asked for information regarding trends on how long a rate was kept in place. Mr. Peroutka continued his discussion regarding the options. . Councilor Woodrow asked if the two and a half percent increase was for local fees and a six percent increase for regional fees. Mr. Peroutka said that was correct. Councilor Woodrow asked if that made a combined increase of eight percent. Mr. Colwell said combined it would actually be a four percent increase. The two and a half percent would bring down the six percent. Councilor Woodrow asked if the city was regaining all the costs for development processing through SDC's. Mr. Peroutka said that was not the intent ofSDC's. Within the state law, the SDC's were used for administrative costs related to the capital project list and how development might impact those projects. There were costs of development that the Public Works and Development Services Department incur that were not eligible for SDC funds. Councilor Woodrow asked how SDC's increased. Mr. Peroutka said there was a methodology put in place several years ago. The city must prove there were capital needs and the city would have development that would not have impact on those capital needs. A calculation was used to determine a fair share of payment by development for those capital needs in the last methodology. The city could increase those costs if the city's costs increased. That could be done outside the methodology. Another option could be to reconvene the Citizen Advisory Committee to review the new master plan to determine if additional projects would add to our need and our ability to collect fees for that part of the system. He said there was a process in place which included public hearings, meetings and potential challenges. He said staff must be very careful about setting the rates. They felt there was a potential the rates were on the low side. . Councilor Woodrow asked if the current SDC methodology included current users assuming part of the payment for new development. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 5 . Mr. Peroutka said there were cases where current users and new development were using the same services so all users would have to be charged. Councilor Woodrow said the Jaqua property was a completely new development. He asked if the methodology would include charging current users part of that cost or if the cost would be borne only by the developer. Mr. Pertouka said the rates are set city-wide not per project. The developer would pay their portion of the impact from their development. The system built for the Gray/Jaqua development would also serve a larger area. He said it was hard to separate by project. The rate was analyzed citywide. Mr. Leahy said the Gray/Jaqua property was currently outside city limits. To develop, the owners would need to put in for annexation" and an annexation agreement would include details for payment. Councilor Ralston asked if each option could bring in the adequate amount of revenue. Mr. Peroutka said it was up to council as to what was needed. The CIP included specific projects, but other needs had been identified by staff and by council. Mr. Colwell said all the options do bring in enough to complete the CIP, although some use debt for part of the amount. . Councilor Ralston said he did not mind raising the residential user rates modestly, but ultimately development should pay its fair share. He would rely more on the SDC's to pay the greatest portion, but any combination would be fme. He said he didn't believe anyone of these options alone would provide enough for all that needed to be done. There could also be a need to borrow. He discussed preparing areas for development which would then bring in additional revenue. Mr. Peroutka said the Jasper Trunk line could be held until an immediate need came along and at that time borrow the funds. Raising the rates to $1.57 would give the most flexibility. Mr. Colwell referred to the master sanitary plan. Once that plan was created, council would have a better idea of the city's situation. He said he didn't believe in building out, but there was a point where $2M a year might drop to a $lM because the large infrastructure would be in place and more of the work would include infill. If the city had big needs now with falling needs in the future, that scenario may need debt fmancing. Councilor Lundberg said the master plan update would give a better sense of the needs. She said the updating process for SDC's was difficult and often contested. It would be important to evaluate when and why the updates were needed. She discussed the Gray Jaqua proposal and the Jasper Road Trunk Sewer line. She asked for timelines for these projects. . Mr. Peroutka said the Jasper Road sewer was difficult to estimate. That fund had been used to borrow funding for other projects over the last few years. At one point, there was $1.75M which represented about half the cost for that project. Council does not like taking from one project to another and would like to reimburse that account so it would be ready when the time was right. He said most likely, it would be ready for the sewer line once the Jasper Road Extension was fmished. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 6 . Mr. Kelly said the second phase of that road should be completed in about three to five years. At that time, sanitary sewer would be needed. Current and future owners in that area may be motivated to annex to the city and hook-up to the sanitary sewer. Businesses may begin to establish in that area as well. The sanitary master plan wouldn't be ready by April when the rates came before council to be set. Councilor Pishioneri asked ifthe funds collected were designated for these projects. That was correct. Councilor Pishioneri asked if the addition of more ratepayers as we grew was included in these figures. Mr. Colwell said the figures related to a short period of time and rate payer base only increased slightly each year. Councilor Pishioneri asked if the increases could stop once the city was caught up. He asked if the increases would at least slow down. Mr. Colwell said rate increases do not generally quit, but it could be that the increases would slow down. He discussed Portland's situation that had reached that point. . Mr. Peroutka referred to the chart on page 6 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed the Stormwater Projects Funded over the Last Ten Years and discussed some of those projects. He referred to the chart on page 7 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed the Stormwater Projects in the Current Five-Year CIP and discussed some of those projects. He referred to the chart on page 8 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed Unmet Stormwater Capital Funding Needs Identified. He said there was currently $500,000 of unprogrammed funds in the CIP which could remain unprogrammed to build reserves. He said there was about $30M listed in the current master plan for projects throughout the city. Mr. Peroutka referred to the chart on page 9 of Attachment A included in the agenda packet which showed the Analysis of Rate Options. This chart compared Springfield with other cites regarding montWy residential storm drainage fees. He said Springfield was at the high range in this comparison. Staff calculated that a 9.1 percent increase would be needed in the next year. That would bring the cost per month from $7.29 to $8.17. Mr. Peroutka reviewed the different options for stormwater: Option 1 - Reprioritize CIP; Option 2 - Increase funding for capital projects; Option 3 - Rely on anticipated SDC increases in future SDC updates; and Option 4 - Changes to the base rate and flow basis of the rate. Mr. Colwell discussed Option 4. He said by increasing the commercial user rate, the city could avoid the increase in residential user rates. If there was a 9.l percent increase on commercial, the residential rate increase would be reduced to 5.4 percent. This would put Springfield on more of an equal standing with Eugene. Councilor Lundberg asked Mr. Colwell to explain about the large commercial user and the change in their rates regarding their imperious areas. She asked how many dollars that would generate. . Mr. Colwell said the rates shown in the memo were only residential rates. He explained the components of residential and commercial rates which included the base fee and the impervious area of industry and commercial users. He said commercial users would pay the base fee plus City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 7 . the same fee for lOOO square feet of impervious area. He gave an example. Option 4 would raise residential rates by 5.4 percent and commercial rates by about 10 percent. Councilor Lundberg asked if it was an advantage for commercial sites to be located in Springfield. That was correct. Mayor Leiken said this was an important discussion. Commercial and industrial land was much more cost effective for a city than residential. Council must make some decisions regarding this issue. He said Springfield was in a position to be the employment center of Lane County. It was up to council to determine if the city should continue on that path or build more residential. Springfield may want to continue to have it be an advantage to be a business in Springfield rather than match up to Eugene. Councilor Ballew said there was an interest that growth pay its way regarding SDC fees as much as possible. She said it was important to avoid debt if possible and not overburden the city. She said there was not a lot of interest in charging commercial significantly more than residential. She referred to the charts and noted that the increases were not substantial. She suggested using both sanitary and stormwater rates as much as possible and calculating and collecting SDC's as accurately as possible. Issuing debt would be the last choice if needed. She confirmed the percentage increases were for one year. That was correct. She suggested bringing information showing the increases over a two to five year period. Mr. Colwell said that could be done. . Mayor Leiken said time was money. He encouraged the timeliness in the process for developers and acknowledged staff's work to achieve timely processing. Timing was very important to the developers. Councilor Fitch said she agreed with Councilor Ballew, especially the steady increase over several years. The initial step might have to be bigger than future years. She noted that the government has raised their standards for stormwater. She said she would not want to fund this with debt, as that was only a short term fix. Councilor Pishioneri said by showing the increments for several years, staff could reassess projects and funding needs each year. 3. South 42nd Street Reconstruction Proiect. Phase I (P20347). Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett and Civil Engineer Jeff Paschall presented the staff report on this item. South 42nd Street is currently scheduled to be reconstructed from Jasper Road north to the Mt. Vernon Road during the summer of2005. The City Council approved conceptual design elements at a public hearing held December 6, 2004. Due to recent citizen comment, Council has asked staff to report back regarding issues surrounding the approved roundabout design. . Due to recent citizen response regarding the final design of phase 1 of the South 42nd Street reconstruction project, City Council has requested staff report back to provide more information regarding pedestrian safety and right-of-way impacts in conjunction with a roundabout design versus traffic signal design. A report on possible financial impacts that may be incurred due to delaying the project was also requested. These issues and the background for the project are discussed in detail in the Council Briefing Memorandum (Attachment A). Also included is a roundabout study with specific data regarding pedestrian safety at intersections located near . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 8 schools (Attachment E). The current roundabout design is shown graphically in Attachment B. Schematics for alternate intersection designs are shown graphically in Attachments C and D. Following the work session discussion, council may choose to convene a special Regular Meeting if further action is desired. M P hll fi d h h II hi h h d h fi II fi 42nd S t/J . r. asc a re erre to a c art on t e wa w c s owe t e o owmg or tree asper: Roundabout (Current Design) Traffic Signal 4 Way Stop Pedestrian Safety Up to SO% Fewer Collisions Increased Ped. Similar to Exposure Signal Complex Decision Vehicular Safety 32% Fewer Collisions Increased Similar to 68% Fewer Injuries Vehicle/Vehicle Signal Conflict Pointes (8 vs. 32) Cost 10%-20% Less Than Signal Approx. $200,000 Minimal R-O- W Impact Up to 4300 square feet Up to 2100 Square Less than (mitigations have been made to Feet 2000 get it back to what the CAC Square Feet approved) Schedule/Time On Schedule for July 15,2005 Delay of 1 Month Delay of 1 Start or More Month or More Does it Meet Warrants N/A No Warrants Met Does Not Now Out of 8 Meet Warrants Does it Meet Warrants N/A 1 Warrant Met Out N/A 2025 of8 ODOT Allowed Non Issue Most Likely No Most Likely Yes With Conditions Level of Service Excellent 2x More Vehicle 2x More Delay Vehicle Delay For 42nd Street and Mt. Vernon: . 1 Way Stop 3 Way Stop Mid-Block (Current Desi2n) Silmal Pedestrian Safety Pedestrian Activated Flashing High Rate of Similar to Warning Lights Stop Violation Signal Increased Ped. Risk Vehicular Safety Fewer Collisions Increased Rear Similar to Fewer Injuries End Collisions Si~al Cost Minimal Minimal $120,000 R-O-W Impact Current Design Can Fit in Can Fit in Current Design Current Design City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 9 . Schedule/Time On Schedule for July l5, 2005 Minimal Delay Minimal Start Delav Does it Meet Warrants N/A Does Not Meet N/A Now Warrants Mr. Paschall explained the figures in the tables. Councilor Lundberg said she reviewed the process for this project including the meetings and recommendation from the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAe). She asked staffto address what changed from what the council approved to what actually would be going on the ground. It appeared to have gotten bigger, which was the issue to the neighbors. She asked what had changed now to make it more acceptable. Mr. Barnett said the CAC recommended and council approved a conceptual design of the roundabout that did not have the details it had now. He explained how the actual design moved closer to the Kramer and Schoettle properties. He discussed concept versus fmal design. Councilor Lundberg said the CAC members understood that what was approved was an accurate depiction of what would occur on their property. That issue was now what staff and council were trying to address and fix. . Mr. Barnett said staff did make it clear that the original drawings were conceptual only, but the CAC's expectations were violated. In an effort to mitigate that, staff worked on how the sidewalks along the frontages could be handled to get the curb lines to the place where the original sidewalk design was located in the original conceptual design. Councilor Lundberg asked about the amount of right-of-way needed for the roundabout compared to the traffic signal. Mr. Barnett said the same design criteria was used for the signal as the roundabout. For the Kramer's it would be roughly the same amount of square footage necessary in about the same location. Councilor Lundberg asked about pedestrian safety at the roundabout or the traffic signal. Mr. Barnett eXplained where the crossing would be for a traffic light and a roundabout. For a traffic light the crossing area would be about 65 to 67 feet from curb to curb. The crossing area for the roundabout would be about 22 to 24 feet from curb to curb. Councilor Lundberg asked if there was a mechanism in the roundabout to mitigate car traffic. Mr. Barnett said the travel path for the roundabout would be much slower than that going through an intersection with a traffic signal. The current travel speeds were 30 miles per hour on South 42nd Street and 35 miles per hour on Jasper Road. Those would be the speeds traveling through an intersection with a traffic signal. . Councilor Pishioneri said this project was set to go until the issue of the property was brought forward. Since that time, child safety had come out as an issue. He said it appeared the property issue was no longer an issue, just safety. If the roundabout was fifty percent safer than a traffic signal, those safety needs were being met. He noted that the traffic signal would cost an additional $200,000 and he asked where that money would come from. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 10 . Mr. Paschall said the roundabout would cost about $180,000 and a traffic signal would cost about $200,000. There would be funding from the reserves that were being set aside. The bigger issue would be to get approval from ODOT for a traffic signal. Mr. Kelly discussed the jurisdictional transfer of 42nd Street to the city, which would allow the city to make improvements. During that transfer, ODOT gave the city an amount of money to be used for improvement costs and maintenance costs for the future. If council were to choose a different design with additional costs, that money would come from the maintenance portion of the funds. Councilor Pishioneri said with a roundabout, the pedestrian would only need to go a short distance to find refuge. Crossing at a traffic signal would be much longer. . Councilor Ralston said he spent a lot of time in the area and observed. He went across from Mt. Vernon where the flashing yellow light was located. He talked with some of the residents in that area. He said he did not see any need for the third turn lane on South 42nd Street. He said that was a big issue for the neighbors as well. He asked why bike lanes needed to be included on both sides of the road. He discussed a sidewalk from Mt. Vernon along the road. He felt the property could be taken on the other side. He said there were a lot of trees along that side of the road and people don't want those trees taken down. He suggested cutting the project down and moving it to the other side. He said no one would ride a bike down 42nd Street because of safety and there was no where to go once they reached Jasper Road. He said one of the biggest problems was that no one stopped for the flashing yellow light. He said he tried it, hit the light, and no one even slowed down. He asked why a red flashing light couldn't be installed or some other safe way for pedestrians to cross. If there were sidewalks on each side of the road, pedestrians could have one safe place to get across the road without having to go to Jasper Road. He suggested making a combination bike path/sidewalk where people could ride their bikes or walk. He said it was an unreasonable amount of property to take with the third lane and bike paths included. He referred to the tree on the Shoettle' s property that would have to be removed for the roundabout. He said no one would want to live in a house with the road that close to their house. He thought the roundabout could be moved north or west more to give the Shoettle's five or six more feet. He said he didn't have a problem with the roundabout, as long as there was a safe place for pedestrians to cross. He said, however, that he didn't feel the roundabout was the best way to protect the pedestrians. Councilor Ralston asked Chief Smith about the difference between a yellow or red flashing light and if there were statistics on safety for each. Chief Smith said flashing yellow or red lights would be warning lights only. He noted that pedestrians would have the right-of-way in an intersection, but it could be dangerous. Councilor Ralston asked if there were statistics or studies done with flashing red lights versus flashing yellow lights. He discussed where people would want to cross. He would not have a problem having cars stop along that road to allow people to cross. He said he would want to hear that negotiations could be made regarding the bike lanes on both sides of the road and removal of the middle turning lane. Once the Jasper Road Extension was built, this road would be overbuilt. Mayor Leiken asked if the bike lanes were state standards. . Mr. Barnett said as a minor arterial road, it was required to have bicycle facilities unless a parallel facility was available. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 11 . Councilor Woodrow asked about the standard setback for a house facing a city street. Supervising Civil Engineer Ken V ogeney said front yard set back was ten feet from the house and eighteen feet from the garage to the right-of-way, typically one foot from the sidewalk. Councilor Woodrow asked about the size of the proposed sidewalk on the roundabout. Mr. Paschall said it was a three foot sidewalk with a two foot setback. Councilor Woodrow asked if the twelve feet was from the setback to the sidewalk. Mr. Paschall said it was from the back ofthe sidewalk, and eleven feet from the setback. Councilor Woodrow said the regular intersection was designed for truck traffic, but there was not a lot of truck traffic along the west side of Jasper Road or on the south side of 42nd Street past Jasper Road. He asked if it would be difficult to develop an intersection that would not take up that amount of space so there were not two lanes that were left turn lanes on the west part of South 42nd. Mr. Barnett explained why the lanes were left as they were to align the intersection. They were not put in for capacity, but for flow of traffic. He explained the confusion if one of those lanes was removed. Councilor Woodrow asked how far the sidewalk extended on the northeast corner. . Mr. Barnett said it went along the entire frontage of the Korner Market. Discussion was held regarding the current lanes and the proposed lanes for an intersection. Councilor Woodrow asked where they got the statistics of safety for the roundabout versus a traffic signal. Mr. Barnett referred to page 5 of Attachment A in the agenda packet which listed the sources for that information. Some of the information was from Europe and some was from the U.S. He said he also found additional information that corroborated those fmdings. Councilor Woodrow asked ifthere were statistics of accidents at the 42nd Street and Jasper Road intersection. Mr. Barnett said over the past three years, there were no vehicular or pedestrian accidents at either intersection. . Councilor Fitch said she appreciated the safety information provided by staff. She said sometimes conceptual design and final design were different. She said the best way to go would be with the roundabout design at 42nd Street and Jasper Road. She said it would allow the project to proceed and the right-of-way had been reduced. If the city tried to come up with traffic warrants to get approval from ODOT for a traffic signal, it would be difficult and could put the project on hold for a long time. She said originally there was a roundabout proposed at the Mt. Vernon Road intersection. She said something did need to be done at that intersection and a pedestrian activated light with signage should be helpful. She discussed signage throughout other areas where traffic was diverted reminding drivers to drive slowly. There could be a way to educate people to slow down. She did not feel a three way stop would be safe. She would like City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 12 . to see this project go forward. The city promised to do something about this road and the intersections. She said she believed this would be the best way to meet the safety requirements. Councilor Lundberg said she agreed with Councilor Fitch that something needed to be done at the Mt. Vernon and South 42nd Street intersection. She said it would be important to have crossing guards out with the students no matter what kind of signal was in place. The students needed to be educated as well. She said the turn signals may not be warranted, but there would still be quite a bit of right-of-way needed no matter what. She thought there could be a little room for adjustment on the roundabout, but it should be put in the best possible location. The roundabout was acceptable following the CAC meetings. She said the biggest issue was how close it would be to existing houses and safety. She said she supported the roundabout with all the mitigation possible to make it work and ease the impact. Councilor Pishioneri asked if there were statistics on roundabouts that had been installed in Springfield. Mr. Barnett said that information was summarized in the agenda packet. In the three years prior to the installation ofthe roundabout at Thurston and 58th Streets, there was one collision involving two vehicles, two parties were injured and one was admitted to the hospital. Since the installation of the roundabout at that location, there was one single vehicle collision. There have been no pedestrian collisions. The roundabout located at International Way had one single vehicle, DUll collision. . Councilor Pishioneri asked what impact the completion of the Jasper Road Extension (JRE) would have on South 42nd Street and Jasper Road, either negative or positive. . Mr. Barnett said it would decrease traffic significantly. Trips would be diverted to the JRE. He said it may not decrease truck traffic to the extent it would decrease auto traffic. That would depend on whether or not it remained designated a truck route. Councilor Woodrow asked ifthere was a crossing guard available at Mt. Vernon and 42nd Street during school hours. Mr. Paschall said during school hours a crossing guard was on duty that walked the students from the crosswalk to the school and from the school to the crosswalk. The crossing guard used a flashing light and a stick with a flag on it. . Councilor Woodrow said it would appear that ODOT would not allow a traffic light at the Jasper Road/42nd Street intersection. He discussed the current situation at that intersection and confirmed there had been no accident history at that location in the past. He asked if truck traffic and farm equipment would still be able to get into the Little Red Farm with the newly designed roundabout. Mr. Barnett said that was correct. Councilor Woodrow asked Mr. Barnett to explain warrants. . Mr. Barnett said warrants are included in the federal manual on uniform traffic devices. Warrants are used as a guide to determine when particular traffic signals should be used. There are warrants for two-way stops, yields, four-way stops, traffic signals and other items. They were essentially safety, volume, geometric and other issues that were put into a formula to determine what type of device should or shouldn't be used. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 13 . Councilor Woodrow asked if the roundabout would meet all traffic warrants. Mr. Barnett said there were no warrants for roundabouts at this time. The traffic signal would meet one warrant by 2025, but did not meet any warrants with current volumes. Mr. Kelly said the ODOT decision may be critical. Council would have the ability, ifthere was council consensus, to seek a jurisdictional change for the east leg of 42nd Street to allow the city to make the decisions. The city could then negotiate with ODOT to make the improvement. The project would be put on hold during that process, but would give the city sole jurisdictional responsibility. Mayor Leiken said that process could cause a long delay. He said, although he is not a fan of roundabouts, he supports what is best at this location. If council chose to put in a traffic signal, Representative Terry Beyer and others would need to be involved to move things along. He acknowledged the efforts of Jeannine Crane to get something done on South 42nd Street to improve safety. He said he appreciated her work to make this happen. He said everyone would not be happy, but council needed to look to the long term issues. He referred to the original vote on the roundabout and the project back in December. Mr. Kelly said this had not been a scheduled part of council's agenda since their decision on the design, but was brought up by the public for reconsideration. A special regular meeting could be convened immediately following the work session if council wanted to change the design. . Mayor Leiken asked if there were other decisions that needed to be made. Councilor Woodrow said based on consensus from the council to move forward with the original design approved by council with the roundabout corrected, there would not be a need for a special regular meeting. He asked that staff take into consideration the issue of the third lane and mitigation of traffic congestion during construction. Councilor Ralston said he would like a proposal that takes out the third turning lane on South 42nd Street. He would like to have the roundabout moved as far from the house on the corner as possible. He said he would not approve this if it continued to have the third lane. His second major concern was that there needed to be an effective pedestrian crossing near Mt. Vernon. Mr. Kelly said the design with the roundabout and the third lane was originally approved by council. Mr. Paschall said conduit could be put in now near the Mt. Vernon intersection, which would allow a mid-block crossing at a future date. This could be reassessed at a later date to determine if a mid-block crossing was needed. Discussion was held regarding the third lane on South 42nd Street. Mr. Barnett said they did make a commitment to the Korner Market to include that extra lane for customers to access in and out of the market. . Councilor Pishioneri asked if the extra lane was designated for turning, but could be used for traffic pulling in or out of the street. It would be a multi-use lane for people coming out safely to get into traffic without causing collisions. He referred to a multi-use lane on Main Street and its effectiveness. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 14 . Discussion was held regarding the size of the road with the multi-use lane. Councilor Ballew said the issues could be separated. The council supported the roundabout as designed. Mr. Barnett said the city made a commitment to Korner Market to put in that left turn lane and there should be a left turn lane from South 42nd Street to Mt. Vernon Road. Shortly after the 42nd Street and Mt. Vernon intersection, the road could be tapered down to two lanes, then back to three lanes before the Korner Market. People turning into their driveway may slow down or stop traffic behind them where there are only two lanes. It would not make a significant difference in level of service. It may make a difference in terms of safety because those people who are waiting to make a left turn could be rear-ended by someone who was not paying attention. The third refuge lane would be safer for those turning left from South 42nd Street. It would require less right-of-way in the area with only two lanes. Mr. Paschall said the city had acquired quite a bit of the property for the right-of-way. He discussed other developments going in and the added need for the safety of the third lane. Mr. Kelly said the cross section which included the third land resembled the stretch of road on Jasper Road between 32nd and 42nd Street. The curb to curb width was similar to what South 42nd Street would look like in the proposed design with the third lane. . Mr. Paschall said there would be an impact in timing of at least a couple of weeks if the street needed to be redesigned. Councilor Lundberg said she felt the project should move forward as scheduled. She discussed the medians that had been considered, but then were removed. She asked if it was the same width and same right-of-way with the third lane as it was with the median. Mr. Paschall said the lane would be wider, but there would be a distance of about eighteen inches on either side. It would have looked the same width, but the concrete median was actually narrower than the lane. Councilor Lundberg asked if the width was the same between those two options. Mr. Paschall said that was correct. It would have required as much right-of-way. Councilor Lundberg said she would prefer keeping the third lane along the entire length of the road as originally approved. Mr. Paschall confirmed that a mid-block crossing could be installed at a later date. The conduit could be put in place now. Councilor Woodrow said council consensus (less Ralston) was to go forward as originally designed. A special regular session was not needed. Councilor Ralston noted that he was opposed to the third turning lane and wanted to be assured the roundabout would be smaller than the stakes now indicated. . Mr. Paschall said the roundabout itself would not be smaller, but changes had been made to reduce the amount of right-of-way needed. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 28, 2005 Page 15 . Mayor Leiken confirmed with Mr. Leahy that no further action was needed or a special session called. Mr. Leahy said that was correct. Council had already given direction to staff by resolution for the design of this road. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:34 pm.. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa !C c Attest: Am~~ City Recorder . .