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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/24/2008 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2008 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, March 24, 2008 at 6:07 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Ballew, Ralston, and Woodrow. Also present were Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Attorney Matt Cox, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. Councilors Wylie and Pishioneri were absent (excused). 1. Historical Commission Interviews. City Planner and Historical Commission staff liaison Kitti Gale, presented the staff report on this item. The Historical Commission has one opening on its seven-member commission. The recruitment for this opening began February 7, 2008, and closed March 10,2008. Two candidates have applied. The first applicant is Sean VanGordon. The second applicant is Kimarie Lamb. Section IX, 3.8 of the Springfield City Council Operating Policies and Procedures, 'states that the ". . . Mayor and Council will hold formal interviews of applicants for positions on the Budget Committee, Historical Commission, and Planning Commission and a recommendation from these bodies is not necessary although they may have a representative present to participate in the interview process. . ." Springfield Code 1-10-1, Historical Commission Charge, requires that the seven-member Commission shall be residents; electors; property owners within Springfield; appointees of other Springfield public agencies such as Willamalane Park & Recreation and School District #19; or, specialists with expertise in such fields as history architecture, preservation, architectural history, planning, or archaeology who live within the Metro-Area General Plan boundaries. For state certified funding it is recommended that a majority (4) of the Commission have professional qualifications. The vacancy on the Commission is that of Commissioner Tama Tochihara, who had served on the Commission since April, 2004. Due to family obligations, Ms. Tochihara chose not to apply for a second term. The Mayor and Council chose which questions they would ask of each applicant. Ms. Gale introduced Historic Commission chair Roxie Metzler who sat in as the applicants were interviewed. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 24, 2008 Page 2 Mayor Leiken welcomed the applicants. Sean Van Gordon was the first applicant interviewed. Kimarie Lamb was the second applicant interview,ed. Council discussed the qualifications of each applicant and recommended moving forward to appoint Sean VanGordon to the Historical Commission. It was noted that Ms. Gale was retiring at the end of this week. There had not been a replacement hired to fill her position to date. Councilor Woodrow asked if the Historical Commission had a recommendation on which applicant to appoint to the Historical Commission. Ms. Metzler said not to her knowledge. Ms. Gale said each candidate had been invited to attend a Historical Commission meeting. Kimarie had attended and Sean had not. She said in the past the Historical Commission had always interviewed applicants, but Council had not asked for their recommendation, so they no longer held interviews. Ms. Metzler said either candidate would be a great asset to the commission. She would very much like to have whichever one wasn't selected remain involved in some way. Ms. Gale noted that appointments would be made on April 7, 2008 during the regular meeting. Ms. Gale distributed a green folder on behalf of the commission that inCluded a summation of the Springfield Historic Preservation Program. The City didn't have a preservation plan, but had all the elements of a preservation plan. The City had a terrific preservation program. She wanted to lobby Council that this program couldn't continue at the same high quality without time for a staff person. Tentatively in May, there was someone taking over Ms. Gale's housing responsibilities, but no one had yet been appointed to take over her preservation duties. The Historical Commission was quite concerned. Ms. Metzler said she would be putting together a letter to the Council describing the program that Ms. Gale had developed over the years. She would also lobby for sufficient time for a staff person to continue this effort. Mayor Leiken said Ms. Gale had been great to work with. He wished her the best on her retirement. The City was losing a valuable asset. Ms. Gale had always been accessible to Council, and had a wealth of knowledge. Councilor Woodrow thanked her as well. Councilor Ballew asked if anything was planned during May preservation month. Ms. Metzler said there was a big conference in our area. Kuri Gill, Historical Commission member, was planning on bringing people over from the conference for a walking tour of City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 24, 2008 Page 3 Springfield. There were a number of activities planned. This year would be more of a showcasing of what we do in Springfield. That event would take place on May 4- 7, 2008. Mayor Leiken noted that the City had retained many older and historic buildings in downtown. He was glad people were coming over to Springfield. Ms. Gale said the City had an excellent planning department in Springfield with quality employees. With the quality of staff in the department, the quality of work would continue. 2. 2007 Annual Financial Report. Accounting and Audit Manager Mike Crocker presented the staff report on this item. In accordance with Oregon statutes and the City's Charter, the city is required to complete an annual audit and financial statement. Grove, Mueller & Swank, PC, the city's independent auditors, have completed their audit of the city's 2006/2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) and have issued their opinion thereon. Mr. Swank from Grove, Mueller & Swank, PC will review the audit process, their audit report and the financial report during the work session. As a preliminary summary for the council's information, you may note that the auditors found no material weaknesses in the city's internal financial controls and they issued a "clean opinion" on the city's annual financial report, which indicates we are properly accounting for the city's financial resources and that we are using adequate controls to prevent any improper use of City resources. The auditors did have management points not critical to the audit which were not material and therefore not presented in a written report. Mr. Crocker introduced himself and Chuck Swank, from Grove, Mueller & Swank, PC, who would be reviewing the audit for Springfield. Mr. Swank reviewed the audit that his firm performed for the City, the Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA) and the Regional Fiber Consortium. He said it was the auditors' job to put an opinion on each of the financial statements, but it was the City's job to put the statements together. Putting this document together annually took a lot of time and effort from the staff in the Finance Department and they did a great job. He noted that the Eugene/Springfield area had quality people putting finances together in the cities, schools, transit district and other agencies. Mr. Swank said overview information could be found on the transmittal letter (page iii in the City's Financial Statement document) and the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD and A), on page 3 in the document. Those documents told a lot about what was in the financial statements. In the middle of the document was a budgetary statement. He explained what that statement meant. He referred to page 58 in the agenda packet, which showed the Schedule of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in the Fund Balance (NonGAAP Budgetary Basis)- Budget and Actual for the General Fund. He explained the figures in that document. He referred to the statistical section in the report. He explained the information in that section. The City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 24, 2008 Page 4 compliance section was found in the document on pages 133 and 134. That section outlined the reporting requirements of the State of Oregon. He explained some of those requirements. The last section of that document included the Federal requirements, which Springfield was required to adhere to. He explained. Councilor Ballew asked about the $95,388 listed under Amount Provided to Subreceiptant on page 140 in the document. Mr. Swank said the City received funds from the Federal Government and then turned around and awarded those to another agency. Councilor Ballew still had questions about the amount. Mr. Duey said he and his staff could get that information. Councilor Ralston had a question about page 58 and the contingency funds. Mr. Duey explained. Councilor Ballew asked about the difference between the GAAP accounting and what the City did. Mr. Duey explained. It was mostly full accrual. Mr. Swank said the new auditing standards were coining out in June 2008. He gave an example of how those changes would affect the organization. Documentation standards would be increased substantially. Mr. Duey noted several other Oregon cities that had issues that had brought about these stricter standards. Mr. Swank said because of the increase in documentation, audit fees would increase. Mr. Duey noted that interviews would occur for new auditors for next year. The Finance and Judiciary Committee had been involved in the process and would bring a recommendation to the Council in April. Mr. Swank commented that there was a shortage of accountants. Mr. Duey said this audit report would be on the Council Consent Calendar on April 7 for Council's approval. Mayor Leiken thanked Mr. Swank for his work and the presentation. 3. Letter of Support to Willamalane for Grant Application. Mayor Leiken said Willamalane was applying for a grant to make improvements to the Jack B. Lively Community Park. Ms. Sowa distributed the draft letter of support to be signed by the City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes March 24, 2008 Page 5 Mayor and sent to Willamalane. Mayor Leiken noted that he had sent out an email to the Councilors several days ago asking if there were any concerns about sending this letter. Councilor Lundberg reminded Council of the new policy requiring such requests for letters of support to come to the Council for approval. Council consensus was to send the letter with the Mayor's signature. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: ~bwJ-- Amy So City Rec rder