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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/13/1999 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MEETING HELD MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13,1999 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, September 13, 1999, at 5:02 p.m. with Mayor Maine presiding. Present were Mayor Maine and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg and Simmons. Also present were Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Planner II Lauren Lezell, Development Services Director Susan Daluddung, Public Works Director Dan Brown, City Engineer AI Peroutka, Management Analyst Eileen Stein, City Surveyor Don Rogers, Planning Manager Greg Mott, and Transportation Planning Engineer Masood Mirza. Guests: Myra Wall, and members from the Springfield School District and their Board of Directors. 1. Endorsement of Measure 20-25 Discussion of Appropriate Uses for Springfield's Revenue Sharing. . Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi introduced the Public Safety Coordinating Council (PSCC) Levy Measure - 20-25. He said Springfield representation on PSCC included Maureen Maine as Chair and Mike Kelly as Vice-Chair. He introduced Lane Council of Government staff member and coordinator of the PSCC, Myra Wall. Mr. Grimaldi said council's last discussion on the topic was prior to the Lane County Board of Commissioners endorsement of the levy and council did not make a recommendation to support or not support the measure. It is now appropriate to discuss the levy as well as Springfield's Revenue Sharing portion. It is recommended by staff that council approve the general definitions for the use ofthe revenue portion now and to hold off on a detailed discussion until January 2000. Mayor Maine agreed and said if the levy passes, then specific decisions regarding the $1.6 million dollars of Springfield Revenue Sharing would need to occur in January. Councilor Ballew asked when the funding would be placed into the Springfield budget. Mr. Grimaldi responded the funding would begin July 1,2000, through anticipation funds. This would occur with our next adopted budget covering FY 2000/2001. Councilor Hatfield said he was on the PSCC Finance Committee. He spoke regarding the financing package, highlighting that discretionary funding is at a minimum and no excess funding would occur at the county level. Councilor Hatfield said the committee looked at two proposals, one a property tax levy and the second an income tax levy. He and the larger part of the committee supported income tax levy, as it is at a low marginal rate and has a broad equity. He felt it was supportable and the city could easily spend its portion of Revenue Sharing funds on public safety. The committee mandated the funding must be used to draw a distinct connection to public safety. . Mayor Maine added the funding would be used for safer communities also. She was encouraged with the Finance Committee's proactive discussions and suggested ways the county can receive input on how public safety spending would occur. City of Springfield Work Session - 9/13/99 Page 2 . Councilor Fitch asked if any categories are funded through grants or other sources what happens to excess funding. Councilor Simmons said it is clearly defined in the Lane County Code Charter Amendment that funds would be dedicated through an annual budget process, listing what type of sources it can be spent on. Councilor Lundberg respects the process that was used to put the levy information together. She said a good job was done in trying to address all of the public safety issues. She spoke on specific aspects ofthe levy and the future potential for helping Springfield through the Revenue Sharing portion: The levy has pluses and minuses, but people should look for the aspects that they can support and fund. Mayor Maine said Springfield School District Superintendent Jamon Kent was present and also a member of PSCc. Along with Mr. Kent were school board representatives who are very active community members and would assure the outcomes of additional funding to benefit the city. Councilor Fitch said she is supportive, but felt education would be a huge part of the levy success. Councilor Leiken said he has heard concern over eight percent of income tax, not eight percent of salaries being taxed. He said people, especially in the rural areas, do not understand the premise of the tax. If people haven't heard how it works then they shouldn't decide what would or would not work. Councilor Leiken felt the council, in their leadership positions, should educate the public and continue to work hard to get the correct information out. . Councilor Simmons suggested council members go out in the community and do one-on-one visits with citizens. He shared his concern over the levy's success without proper education, and suggested information be put into personal terms that citizens can understand. Councilor Ballew received council concurrence on the Revenue Sharing portion. Both councilor Hatfield and Lundberg suggested the council be more specific on distribution of Revenue Sharing, as they felt voters might be more supportive if they could see pieces which would impact them. Council had a lengthy discussion on this and decided it would be too early to target specific funding with the benefit of hearing from the public. It would also help to simplify the education portion of the levy. Mayor Maine said the bulk of Revenue Sharing funding would be dedicated to the Long Range Police Plan, with the balance for intervention and prevention programs. It was agreed the city would continue to work with the Springfield School District and Willamalane Park and Recreation District to find gaps in programs in Springfield after county-wide funding is distributed. Councilor Simmons suggested the city begin to reemphasize the benefits of the Long Range .Police Plan. Councilor Ballew asked ifthere was council consensus to support the levy. All council members did endorse Ballot Measure 20-25. . City of Springfield Work Session - 9/13/99 Page 3 . 2. Historic Commission Interviews. The City Council reviewed the interview questions. They interviewed two applicants for two vacant positions on the Historic Commission, including: Michelle Dennis and Donald Maloney. The City Council introduced themselves and asked the following questions: 1. . Tell us about yourself. 2. What specialty or skill do you have that would benefit the Historic Commission? 3. If you were not appointed to the Historic Commission, would you be willing to apply for other city committees? 4. Have you attended a Historic Commission meeting? Can you attend the meetings? 5. Do you have any special visions for the Washburne Historic District? 6. What vision do you have for the Historic Commission? 7. Do you own a historic home? Why are you interested in serving on the Historic Commission? . 8. Do you have any questions for us? After the interviews were completed, by consensus, council agreed to appoint Michelle Dennis and Donald Maloney to the Historic Commission. The appointments will be ratified at the regular City Council meeting on September 20. 3. Local Improvement Districts and Improvement Agreements. Public Works Director Dan Brown introduced the item and provided background information. He said council asked a number of questions at their July 19 meeting regarding the Walnut Road Local Improvement District (LID) and about the Improvement Agreements that had been recorded. Mr. Brown said staff compiled information on current ordinances and policies that govern the local improvements, to see if any changes were suggested by the council. City Engineer Al Peroutka referred council to the Briefing Memorandum, Attachment A, of the Agenda Item Summary. He explained the two approaches for constructing public improvements, including the centralized approach and the decentralized approach. Mr. Peroutka reviewed the following wall charts: LID PROCESS Initiation . - no formal public process - council directs City Engineer to prepare design and proposed assessment policy City of Springfield Work Session - 9/13/99 Page 4 . Adoption of Engineer's Report - formal notification of property owners and public hearing - council approves project design and assessment policy A ward of Contract - no formal process - council awards to lowest responsive bidder Assessments Levied - formal notification of property owner's public hearing - council adopts assessment ordinance Council asked questions regarding the LID process, property owner's ability to remonstrate, improvement agreements, and the specifics regarding the Walnut Street project and assessments. IMPROVEMENT AGREEMENTS - postpones the obligation of street improvements when there is no improved section of street either abutting or across from the area of development . - allows for economy of scale and unified development of infrastructure - construction is postponed until the council forms an LID for the construction of the improvement - the timing of the formation of an LID is sometimes an issue, particularly whfm triggered by the requirements imposed on new development - alternatives to Improvement Agreements include always requiring construction of improvements at time of development or requiring payment into an escrow account set up to pay for future construction obligation City Attorney Joe Leahy suggested changing the title to Improvement Agreement/Potential for Possible Lien or Notice of Potential Lien. Accounting Manager Valerie Nardo spoke about Bancroft Financing, the assessment program, and assessment liens against properties. She spoke on engineers completing specific criteria studies prior to project initiation to ensure property to collateral comparison. Ms. Nardo closed by discussing the revenue from bancrofting and bond sales, the last being in June of 1997. Mr. Leahy discussed options with council. He brought up the Dolan case and how the city is limited in what types of items developers can be charged for. . Councilor Leiken spoke regarding the definition -and application of improvement agreements and individual property rights. City of Springfield Work Session - 9/13/99 Page 5 . Mayor Maine recommended staff review any unintended affects as well as the improvement agreements in context with System Development Charges (SDC). She said this is a policy issue regarding encouragement of quality development. Councilor Fitch felt the change in title and making all references to the title in bold good form improvements. She felt the city should continue to support quality development for economic growth. Councilor Leiken concurred. Councilor Lundberg agreed, but felt the city should make sure that all citizens understand the form, especially low-income participants. Councilor Simmons said after participating with Eugene and Lane County on an improvement review process, he felt good about the way Springfield conducts their agreements. He suggested we continue to have Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) citizens pay for their fair share to reduce future process issues. Mr. Peroutka showed a map that listed each property in Springfield that has an improvement agreement. He said there is a large data base system that created the map. Mayor Maine said Monday, September 27 is the TransPlan review meeting prior to the Joint Elected Officials (JEO) meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 28. She reminded council that the agenda item for the JEO meeting had been distributed. . Mayor Maine shared information on the State Transportation Improvement Plan (STIP) from the recent Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on STIP. Copies were provided for councilors. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:22 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins ~~~ Maureen Maine, Mayor ATTEST: .