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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/10/2005 Work Session . .~ City of Springfield Work Session Meeting . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JANUARY 10,2005. The City of Springfield council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, January 10 at 6:20 p.m., with Council President Fitch presiding from 6:20 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. and Mayor Leiken presiding from 6:30 p.m. - 6:58 p.m. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken (6:30pm) and Councilors Woodrow, Lundberg, Ballew, Ralston, Fitch and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Meg Kieran, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. RiverBend Collector Road Street Lighting. Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett presented the staff report on this item. In April 2004 council directed staff to change the City of Springfield street light standards and approved a resolution authorizing the RiverBend area to use the anticipated city street light standards. Peace Health's current request is to use decorative lighting on RiverBend Drive and Cardinal Way, both collector roads. Collector roads are typically illuminated with standard lights. . The existing city standard for collector roads and the proposed city standard for collector roads specify standard fixtures on 30 foot tall poles. PeaceHealth proposes to use decorative fixtures on 18 foot tall decorative poles. The collectors in RiverBend are wider than typical collectors to accommodate Bus Rapid Transit lanes and stations, and extra turn lanes. Using decorative fixtures on extra wide streets requires two fixtures per pole to achieve the minimum amount of light needed for the street. Street trees will block some light from reaching the road and sidewalk but it is likely that decorative fixtures at the lower mounting height will not have as much interference as standard fixtures. PeaceHealth's proposal and the city's standard design meet national standards for lighting illuminance and uniformity. Pole Count Fixture Count Watts Annual Cost City Standard 38 38 250 $3,447 7 7 175 $505 Total 45 45 10,725 $3,9,52 PeaceHealth Proposal 47 74 175 $5,337 23 23 175 $1,659 Total 70 97 16,975 $6,996 Annual cost difference between alternatives = $3,044 or 43.5%. Either system will be owned by the city and operated under the existing street lighting agreement with Springfield Utility Board. . Mr. Barnett said that PeaceHea1th removed its request, but staff would recommend going forward with this item anyway as this may come up in the future. He recommended the city would not allow this to go forward without the applicant, PeaceHea1th, entering into an agreement to cover the additional costs. That is stated in the resolution. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 10, 2005 Page 2 . Councilor Ballew asked if there were special lighting districts in Oregon, how they worked and if PeaceHea1th could create such a district. Mr. Barnett said there are such districts in Oregon and that is a mechanism that could be used. A benefit assessment could be placed on the properties or it could be accomplished through a standard agreement. The proposed resolution would require PeaceHealth to pay the difference between standard lighting and the requested lighting. A district would pay for the entire cost. Mr. Kelly said the city has had street lighting contracts, which are local improvement district funds. That generally covers the installation costs, but not the power costs. Councilor Fitch said a Lighting District would not likely pass because of the way the current Metro Plan is set up regarding city services. Councilor Lundberg said PeaceHea1th is non-profit and she asked if they could be taxed. Mr. Kelly said an assessment district would be taxed on the assessment, not on the property. He explained Bancroft payments, which are not property tax based. It would be a lien against the property, but not a property tax. It would be a payment for a service provided. He said that Councilor Ballew's suggestion of a Lighting District would be different than a Bancroft District or Local Improvement District. Mr. Kelly said staff brought this to council's attention in case other developers come forward and make a similar request regarding decorative lighting. Staff would like to know if this is the approach council would like to take if such requests are made. . Councilor Lundberg asked which standard lighting would be included. Mr. Barnett said they would be the white lights. Councilor Ralston asked if there was an issue with these decorative lights and glare that could affect drivers as they approach. Mr. Barnett said these lights would prevent that type of glare. Mr. Kelly said if council is comfortable with this, the resolution could be brought forward in the Regular Meeting on the Consent Calendar. If they would like more discussion, staff could bring it back for further discussion during another work session. Councilor Ballew said she supports this concept. Her only concern is that there would be some sort of exception standard so there is not too much variation around the city. Mr. Barnett said the particular lighting fixture shown in the Attachment would be one of two included in the city's newly adopted standards. A majority of the council chose to have staff bring this back for further discussion at a future work session. Mayor Leiken arrived to the Work Session (6:30pm). 2. Informational Presentation of Community Health Centers of Lane County. '. Housing Program Specialist Kevin Ko presented the staff report on this item. Community Health Centers of Lane County (CHCLC) has been awarded a $650,000 federal community . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 10,2005 Page 3 health center grant by the Bureau of Primary Health Care to provide primary medical, behavioral health and dental services to the disenfranchised citizens of Lane County Oregon who have little or no access to hea1thcare. The RiverStone Health Center opened on March 1, 2004 at 1640 G Street in Springfield. Other CHCLC clinic sites are the Safe and Sound Homeless Youth Clinic at 941 West 7th Ave. in Eugene and the Springfield High Health Center at 875 7th Street in Springfield. The CHCLC staff had requested an opportunity to speak to the Springfield City Council about the Community Health Centers. This meeting is for sharing of information and to give the council the opportunity to ask questions of the CHCLC staff regarding the RiverStone Health Center, its impact on Springfield and future considerations. Mr. Ko introduced CHCLC staff Grace Almeda, Selene Jaramillo and Dr. Larry Meyers. . Ms. Almeda discussed the Health Center and the services offered to the public. According to a survey conducted by Volunteers in Medicine an estimated 68,000 Lane County citizens are without insurance. No one knows how many of these decline or are unable to seek help from the existing resources. Refusing or delaying appropriate care, minor conditions become major health threats that are more costly and difficult to deal with. The CHCLC playa wide role in addressing the needs of health concerns of this segment. As a Board Member, Ms. Almeda's goal and passion is to help the homeless veterans and others in need to receive medical help and educate them of the medical resources that are available to them. So far, she has helped and placed twelve clients in different homes and was able to get medical help for them. She did not realize the importance of insurance until she was in need of medical services last year. She told of a young man seeking employment that needed a complete physical to qualify for the job. Ms. Almeda was able to send this young man to the Community Health Care Centers so he could get the physical he needed. She asked the young man to give her feedback from his experience with the Community Health Care Center. He was very pleased with the help and service he received. Ms. Almeda said the staff at the Health Care Centers are professional and often go beyond the call of duty to help and assist. She is devoted to doing everything she can to insure that this center thrives and succeeds. She thanked the council for their support. She asked the council to take a poster to display at their place of work and to educate friends and workers about the Health Care Center. She quoted John F. Kennedy, "Ask not what your country can do, but what you can do for your country". Ms. Jaramillo distributed handouts, posters and business cards regarding the clinic. Ms. Jaramillo is the Clinic Coordinator and she invited the council members to come by the clinic to visit. It is important to see the facility and the services it offers to many in the community. It is of great importance to have this health center in Springfield. This facility has been opened less than a year, and is already outgrowing the facility. They will be looking to Springfield for support and assistance in fmding a new larger facility. They will be seeking congressional appropriations for a new facility just a few years down the road. At this time they see 30-40 new patients each day plus 30-40 established patients each day. She invited council to call to set up an appointment to tour the facility. She explained the extended hours the clinic is open for the community. Nearly thirty-five percent of the staff at the clinic are Springfield residents. . Dr. Meyers emphasized that this is a Springfield establishment. There is a large need in this community. Many patients commute by Lane Transit District (LID). They have four providers at the clinic, including two physicians and two nurse practitioners, as well as a nurse practitioner at the high school clinic. There is another clinic in the Homeless Youth Center in Eugene. They see a lot of patients with a lot of complex, difficult problems. The clinic offers continuity with the same doctors and nursing staff and patients can choose the doctor they want. They have a City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 10, 2005 Page 4 . good communication system within the clinic. The clinic has arrangements with both hospitals for patient care. Dr. Meyers is responsible for the quality of the care given at the clinic and the clinic has an advisory board who is very interested in maintaining quality. He invited council members to come by and meet the staff to get a sense of what they are doing. The clinic could use help to interface with resources and transportation. Councilor Fitch asked how information about the clinic was getting out to Springfield citizens. Dr. Meyers said bringing it to a forum such as the council meeting was one way. Also, sharing this information with other committee meetings and city staff would be a great way to inform the public. City staff could inform the public of this service. He also suggested putting out brochures throughout the city and in the Library. Ms. Jaramillo said they want to stress, is that this is a Springfield health center. They want council to feel that it is part of Springfield. The clinic serves a large portion of the Springfield population. She noted that this is not a free clinic and is not a low quality or low resource clinic. The clinic has patients with insurance as well as those without. The clinic is top of the line in health care for both uninsured and insured patients. . Mayor Leiken asked if they were networked with Centro Latino Americano and other non-profit agencies. Ms. Jaramillo said they were. Mayor Leiken said working with these other non-profits is another great way to get the word out about the clinic. One of the catalysts at the city is the Library. He also mentioned providing clinic information to Willamalane, local churches and other community groups. He discussed the Volunteers in Medicine and the number of Springfield residents they also serve. He said he would be interested in doing a tour. Dr. Meyers asked council to speak of the clinic to as many organizations as they could and invite them to take a tour. 3. Remand of Metro Plan and Gateway Refinement Plan Amendments and Council Initiated Amendments to the Commercial Lands Study and Development Code (PeaceHealth). City Planner Colin Stephens and City Attorney Meg Kieran presented the staff report on this item. The City Council is asked to accept argument from members of the public who have participated during earlier phases of review on the four applications described above. The council is then asked to deliberate and vote. The applications contain the staff's recommended responses to the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) and the Oregon Court of Appeals decisions on the PeaceHealth plan amendments approved by the City Council on Apri121, 2003. The City of Springfield is holding a public hearing on these four applications in response to the Land Use Board of Appeals and the Court of Appeals decisions on the PeaceHea1th plan amendments with respect to Statewide Planning Goal 9 (Economic Development), Goa112 (Transportation) and consistency with Metro Plan policies regarding auxiliary uses in the residential designations. . On November 16,2004 the City Council and Planning Commission held a joint hearing to accept oral testimony on the PeaceHealth applications. The written record was left open until November 23, 2004. All documents submitted during that time were distributed to the council on November 24, 2004. All participants were given until November 30, 2004 to submit rebuttal. PeaceHealth was allowed an additional two days to comment on the rebuttal. All evidence and rebuttal has been distributed to the council in previous packets. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 10,2005 Page 5 . The Planning Commission met on December 9,2004 and voted to forward an affirmative recommendation to the City Council (Attachment 2 included in the agenda packet). The Planning Commission requested three changes to the staff recommended Gateway Refmement Plan language. The Planning Commission requested that the language pertaining to nodal development within the policies and refinement plan that were approved by council in April 2003 remain in the revised text. The commission also voted to limit the amount of Mixed Use Commercial zoning through a policy in the Refinement Plan to thirty-three acres. The commission voted to specify that the Medical Services Zoning District is the only zoning district that will implement the Community Commercial Metro Plan designation. The commission also voted on a motion to recommend that the council accept oral argument at the council's January 10, 2005 hearing continuation. Since the record is closed, all argument and discussion must be limited to information and evidence already contained in the record. Mr. Stephens asked council members to hold any questions relating to the Remand items of Goal 9, Economic Development; Goall2, Transportation; or Plan Diagram until after the public testimony portion of the public hearing. Mr. Stephens said that he, Ms. Kieran and Transportation Planner Gary McKenney would be available to answer those questions during the public hearing. Mr. Stephens said the applicant informed him that they would be addressing council regarding the thirty-three acre limitation for the Mixed Use Commercial. Mr. Stephens said he would be prepared to speak about that during the question and answer portion of the public hearing after testimony is accepted. . Mr. Stephens discussed the three items that staff recommended the council change from the Planning Commission recommendation. These three items were originally recommended by staff and are not within the Refmement Plan text or other portions of the application based on any concerns by the Planning Commission. The fIrst change was removal of language related to Land and Drainage Alteration Permit (LDAP) in the implementation actions of 13.0 and 13.3, located on pages 8 and 9 of Attachment 2 included in the Agenda Packet. He explained the reasons for this change. The second change was to remove the last two sentences in Condition number three, pages 4 and 5 in Attachment 2 included in the Agenda Packet. He explained the reasons for this change. The third change was very minor. On page 10 of Attachment 2 included in the Agenda Packet, under GRP Residential Element Policy and Implementation Action 13.6, the fourth line from the bottom was changed to conform to the rest of the document by removing "MDR" and replacing it with "MS". Councilor Fitch confirmed that council could accept or reject any of the Planning Commission recommendations when taking action during the Regular Meeting. Mr. Stephens said that was correct. Council could also choose to make any other changes following their deliberations. The Planning Commission voted to ask to allow the public to provide argument before the City Council during the Public Hearing. That argument would be limited to only three minutes and only for those who have participated in the hearings to date. . Mr. Kelly discussed with council that those that were elected and re-elected during 2004 would be required to take their Oath of Office. Normally, this occurs during the first Regular Meeting of the year following the election. Our fIrst normally scheduled Regular Meeting was set for January 18, but this Special Regular Meeting was called tonight, so staff and the City Attorney's felt it would be necessary to perform the Oath of Office this evening since council would be taking action during the Special Regular Meeting. This would be the fIrst item of business. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes January 10, 2005 Page 6 . ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa '\. Attest: ~7L Amy So City Recorder . .