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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/22/1999 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1999 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session on Monday, February 22, 1999, at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Maine presiding. Present were Mayor Maine and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg and Simmons. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Museum Coordinator Kathy Jensen, Planning Manager Greg Mott, Public Works Director Dan Brown, Senior Management Analyst Len Goodwin, City Engineer Al Peroutka, Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett, Management Analyst Eileen Stein, Transportation Planning Engineer Masood Mirza, Civil Engineer Molly Lindbloom and members of staff. Guest John Hire. 1. Adopt Changes to By-Laws of the Springfield Museum. Museum Coordinator Kathy Jensen presented the staff report. She said the by-laws of the Springfield Museum Committee had been updated last in 1990 and the recent amendments proposed, reflect the current needs of the committee. Kathy outlined changes in Article I, The Mission; Article II, Members; Article III, Vacancies; Article IV, Meetings; Article V, Amendments; Article VI, The Fiscal Year; Article VII The Board of Directors; the elimination of Article VII, Quorum (included in Article IV, Meetings) and Article IX, Duties of Members. . Councilor Fitch felt the changes were appropriate and thanked Ms. Jensen for her work on the by-laws. There were no further council questions. City Council stated they would formally adopt the by-law amendments at their March 1 regular session meeting. 2. Adjustment ofSanipac Rates for Collection of Garbage. Senior Management Analyst Len Goodwin presented the staff report. He said Sanipac had requested an increase in solid waste collection and disposal rates for all categories of service, with three separate elements. They are: I) a flat rate increase of .11 per month per residential customer to compensate for the cost of handling recyclable plastic, 2) an adjustment to the disposal portion of that rate to account for changes in the average weight of garbage cans; and 3) an increase in the disposal portion of the rate to compensate for increased costs of doing business. Mr. Goodwin introduced Sanipac General Manager John Hire. Mr. Hire said the rates proposed for change were listed incorrectly in Attachment B, pages one through five, but correctly in Attachment C, page 2. The increase to residential rates would be .11 per customer, to cover the cost of recycling and a reallocation of the rates imposed by Lane County for disposal, based on charges in average can weights. Mr. Goodwin said staff recommended the increase based on Sanipac's agreement if recycling rates per pound drop in the future, then Springfield residents rates would be adjusted down also. . Springfield City Council Work Session - 2/22/99 Page 2 . Mr. Goodwin said the most recent weight measurements from a 1993 study by the City of Eugene are 30.79 pounds for the 32 gallon container. Mr. Hire said the City of Eugene routinely checks their container weights and that the City of Springfield had not. Springfield did request a spot check, which was done on February 2. Those results were: 29.2 pounds for the 32 gallon size; 43.3 pounds for the 60 gallon size; and 53.07 pounds for the 90 gallon size container. Mr. Hire said Sanipac's conclusion is that the increase would result in minor changes to customer bills. Councilor Ballew inquired as to why Springfield weights have gone up. Mr. Hire said when recycling first began, many participated thus lowering weights. Many people now try to get more into their containers and average weights are higher in the Spring and Summer due to yard and grass clippings. There was a discussion of the rates for various sizes of containers. Mayor Maine asked Mr. Hire how many complaints are received from Springfield residents. Mr. Hire did not state a specific number, but said complaints usually center around recycling. Others occur on service interruptions, service cancellation, etc. Mr. Goodwin said he receives one to two calls per month complaining about the city's franchise, exclusively with Sanipac. Councilor Lundberg inquired about plastics recycling. Mr. Hire provided a lengthy answer pertaining to state law and recent Senate Bills on the use and recycling of plastic.. Councilor Simmons said it is appropriate torecycle this way as it allows flexibility, but he would like to see a low level focus on attempts to find markets for products which can not be recycled. . Mr. Hire said issues concerning the Lane County landfill would have a large section in the 1999 Sanipac Report. Mr. Goodwin said the third item for discussion, the rate of return adjustment would not be discussed at this time. Mr. Hire said Sanipac would not be requesting an eight percent increase for the collection portion of the customer rate. The council thanked Mr. Goodwin and Mr. Hire for their work on these issues. 3. Gateway Traffic Capacity Issues - Status Report Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett was present for the staff report and provided a hand-out titled, Gateway Area TrcifJic Update and Strategy; Mr. Barnett said previous council briefings on the topic were held on June 8 and October 12, 1998. Mr. Barnett said the demand for development will continue to be strong and more problems will occur if issues are not mitigated. He said the Beltline/I-5 Interchange Project is a state funded project, but it would not help traffic on Gateway Street, it would only assist with the intersection and exchange Issues. Mr. Barnett reviewed the coping strategies, including: demand management, access control, system improvements, operational improvements; and land use measures. On the topic of demand management, Councilor Hatfield said constrained parking can do more harm than traffic congestion. Council discussed issues concerning traffic. . Springfield City Council Work Session - 2/22/99 Page 3 . Regarding access control, council discussed interconnectivity. Councilor Hatfield felt council should review the Springfield Development Code (SDC) to provide more options for vehicle traffic among Gateway area businesses by internal circulation. Councilor Lundberg asked about the status of the Pioneer Parkway Extension project. Mr. Barnett said the city is waiting for the Lane County Board of Commissioners to approve the alignment configuration. After that approval, the city will wait for the vehicle trip trigger and seek project funding. Public Works Director Dan Brown said the city hopes to begin construction on the extension project in connection with the Beltline/I-5 Interchange project. On the topic of system improvements, council discussed roundabouts and the traffic flow off of Gateway Street through the Gateway Mall. Mr. Barnett said with the construction of 17 new theatres, that there would be an increased level of traffic. Council discussed the conversion of a private street to a public street, running behind the mall, adjacent to the freeway. They spoke in support of the concept and asked staff to review the feasibility and street placement. Mr. Barnett then moved to operational improvements, Council discussed signal coordination, and how hard it is to achieve balance throughout the city. The last item for discussion concerned land use measures. Mr. Barnett said this topic would be brought back to council at a future date. Items for discussion include the TransPlan level of service and TransPlan policies. Mr. Mott said the TransPlan discussion was scheduled for a council work session on March 8. . Mr. Barnett said staff would bring other, more specific items of traffic capacity concerns back to the council at a future work session, probably in June. Mayor Maine suggested Mr. Barnett circulate videos which she had viewed concerning roundabouts. She felt these would be informative for council members prior to the next traffic capacity work session. Mayor Maine suggested the city help businesses with tax credits when they encourage carpools. Mr. Barnett said the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) has funding dedicated to Lane Transit District (L TD) for transportation van/carpool programs. He said he would forward comments to LTD on the council's interest in parking management, as incentive for developers. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ~ . JtA~ aureen Maine, Mayor . ATTEST: L9--Q..SL, LV ) WilsoJ?, City Recorder