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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/09/1998 Work Session . .. . MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1998 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, at 6: 10 p.m. with Council President Shaver presiding. Present were Council President Shaver and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Dahlquist and Maine. Mayor Morrisette and Councilor Leiken were both absent (excused). Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Public Works Director Dan Brown, City Engineer Al Peroutka, Senior Management Analyst Len Goodwin, Management Analyst Eileen Stein, Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett, Transportation Plan Engineer Masood Mirza and members of staff. Also present was Nick Arnis, Oregon Department of Transportation. L 1999-2001 Legislative Policies. Legislative Committee Co-Chairs Anne Ballew and Terry Beyer presented the policies, as updated, for City Council approval. City Manager Mike Kelly and Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor were also present to provide information on the topic. . Councilor Ballew suggested council review the executive summary and recommended two initial changes. They were: 1) to have the state amend the constitution to permit voters to exceed existing property tax caps by $2, if funding pays for activities and services for youth (Executive Summary, page 4) which was revised to leave property taxes as is for the next two years. The proposal would be amended to say, place a surcharge on the commissions paid from gambling machines to assist with at-risk youth; and 2) which said the city supports allowing municipal courts the option to take jurisdiction over certain listed juvenile crimes. This policy will be dropped now, due to workload and financial considerations. Although this is a good idea, if the state implemented such authority, then the city would shoulder the financial burden and it is not known at this time what the costs would be. Input was provided by Police Captain Jerry Smith, who preferred the term optional be added versus deleting the policy. After discussion, council agreed with the recommendation of the Legislative Committee, but agreed to watch any . proposed legislation on this topic and asked to be kept informed. This subject is a very important one to the community and council felt strongly that any legislation on this topic should be monitored. Councilor Maine asked if the Legislative Committee adopted the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) agenda and priorities, as the document seemed more externally driven than in prior years. Councilor Ballew said it was created by information obtained by departments and compiled by Ms. Pryor with input from a LOC special at-risk committee that the Mayor has served on. . Mr. Kelly said this is just a starting point for the city to begin the session, updates would be given to the Legislative Committee throughout the session, and new priorities would need to established as the session moves along. There was a discussion regarding the lottery profits tax strategy. LOC felt city's need to unite in the 1999 legislature for funding for after school youth programs. They felt there should be no more property tax exemptions or pre-exemptions. Cities are continually being penalized when local children need services. Springfield City Council i,;Work Session - 11/9/98 Page 2 . Councilor Beyer felt the city should lobby for more children's programs and dedicated resources. By consensus, it was agreed the city would support legislation in this area. Councilor Ballew reviewed the legislative topics, per the Executive Summary. Council discussed the topics of mandated services, land use changes, House Bill 2709, in-lieu-of-taxes payments, telecommunications, transportation, House Bill 3065, and community development. Councilor Shaver suggested the state require license plates to have insurance tags placed on them, for ease of verifying insurance coverage. He felt this would assist public safety. Mr. Pryor said when the session begins on January II that bills would be forwarded to the Legislative Committee with copies available to any council members interested in receiving them. She said when issues arise during the session that she would convene the Legislative Committee. Ms. Pryor also shared that the Springfield Chamber of Commerce would be taking a more active role in this session. Ms. Pryor told the council about the recent awards given to the Mayor and City Manager at the recent LOC Conference. Councilor Shaver asked Ms. Pryor to provide him the information in writing and he would announce the awards under Springfield Upbeat at the December 7 regular meeting. 1. Beltline/I-5 Facility Plan Update. . City Engineer Al Peroutka introduced the item and Mr. Nick Arnis from the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Mr. Peroutka said this item was informational only and that no action was required. He explained the facility planning for the project had been on-going since June of 1996. The steering committee consists of staff, representatives from the Game Farm Neighbors, Harlow Neighbors, Sycan Development Corporation, Gateway Mall, and Banfield Properties. Mr. Arnis discussed why the timeframe for the project concept and land use issues had taken 2 V2 years to-date. He said he met with ODOT officials today and they were impressed with the progress on this project. Mr. Arnis explained the public input process, including the City Council and Planning Commission, and the numerous meetings of the steering committee. Mr. Arnis discussed other items, including the typography, interchange proximity, environmental impact statement (EIS) and partnership with the city. He said all pubic comments would be packaged during the EIS phase of the project and would be ready when the funding becomes available. Councilor Shaver asked staff to follow-up on the project being included on the current State Transportation Improvement Project (STIP) as an approved project. He felt the project must be included to receive consideration by the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) and to receive funding in March of 1999. . Mr. Arnis explained the maps that he provided for review: 1) no-build option; 2) Concept A (I with East-West grade separation and 2 with Gateway T); 3) Concept P (with East-West grade separation, and with Gateway T); and 4) Concept B. Mr. Arnis explained each proposal in detail. Springfield City Council l; Work Session - 11/9/98 Page 3 . Mr. Arnis said that ODOT and the city need to continue discussing the Pioneer Parkway Extension and factoring in it's construction and how it links to the 1-5 Facility Plan. A discussion occurred regarding the relocation (if needed) of a gas station, historic house, possible mobile homes, etc. which vary in each project scenario. Mr. Arnis also discussed the Safety Improvement Project that is scheduled to occur in 1999. Transportation Plan Engineer Masood Mirza said the Safety Improvement Project would help the interchange congestion and problems until the interchange facility plan could be constructed. Mr. Arnis said he previously made the same presentation to the city's Management Team and Planning Commission. He said the process had been well served by asking for public input early. Councilor Maine verified the council would be kept on the mailing list for all future public meetings. Councilor-Elect Simmons suggested ODOT receive a waiver from the federal government to have access to off-load traffic at the Harlow Intersection. He felt with a deceleration lane that. traffic could be diverted temporarily and help ease the congestion atthe 1-5 interchange. Mr. Arnis said that federal policies require extensive exception requirements and there are too many constraints. Federal policy also requires exceptions to be the only option available, not just the preferred option. The City Council thanked Mr. Arnis for his presentation. . Public Works Director Dan Brown provided an update on the November 12 MPC meeting. He provided information from Lane Council of Governments regarding additional funding which would be available for allocation to the STIP by MPC. Mr. Brown said both staff and the city's MPC representatives would recommend the 1-5 Facility Plan be considered to receive funding. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins iliegS~ ATTEST: ({)(JjM1 .