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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/1999 Work Session .' . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15,1999 The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, November 15, 1999, at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Maine presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Maine, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg and Simmons. Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, Senior Management Analyst Rosie Pryor, City Recorder Julie Wilson and members of the staff. 1. Review of Process and Priorities for Five-Year RUD Consolidated Plan. Mayor Maine reported that she attended the League of Oregon Cities Conference. At the conference, the Springfield SHOP Program was recognized and an award was presented to the city of Springfield. . Councilor Ballew announced the city was presented with an Award of Safety, from the League of Oregon Cities. It recognizing injury frequency rate of 4.68 in FY 98-99. City Planner Robin Johnson presented the staff report on this issue. No formal action is required at this time. The Mayor and Council are requested to provide preliminary comments to staff regarding housing, the homeless and community development priorities in preparation for the draft of the five-year plan. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (RUD) requires a five-year Consolidated Plan that establishes objectives and priorities for the use of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Housing Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Funds. The Council was briefed on priorities in the current Consolidated Plan, and the process currently in place to identify emerging issues and priorities for the next five-year plan. The current Consolidated Plan was adopted by Eugene and Springfield in 1995 to cover the period ending in June 2000. The plan is prepared jointly with the city of Eugene because we are part of a Consortium to receive HOME Funds with Eugene. The Council independently approves an Annual Action Plan for the use of CDBG and HOME funds. These Annual Action Plans are based on the objectives and priorities established in the five-year plan. New projects, changes tot he annual action plans or amendments to the full Consolidated Plan are approved by the Council on an as-needed basis. . The plan includes a needs assessment for housing, the homeless and community development, a housing market analysis and a set oflong term objectives and priorities to address identified needs. Short-term strategies brought forward as a part of each Annual Action Plan are intended as ways to implement the long-term objectives and priorities. Springfield City Council Meeting Work Session - 11/15/99 Page 2 . Strategies entailing HOME or CDBG funding must meet certain eligibility requirements. HOME funds may be used for acquisition, rehabilitation or construction of new housing or tenant based rental assistance. CDBG funds must benefit low or moderate income persons, eliminate slums and blight, or address an urgent need. The process to adopt a new Five- Year Consolidated Plan is prescribed by HUD. Adoption of the Plan is scheduled for April 2000. This fall Eugene and Springfield citizen advisory committees will be working on priorities for the plan that will include a public event in December. The draft document will be available in February 2000 and a final public hearing will be held in March 2000. Ms. Johnson discussed priorities of Springfield. She further discussed the consolidated planning process. Council was asked for any feedback they might have regarding this process. Ms. Johnson said with information collected, it will be based on the past plan. Council would like to review the information before the draft document is prepared. The group discussed the goals of the Springfield community. . Ms. Johnson discussed CDBG application process and why we apply jointly with Eugene. Ms. Johnson discussed the consortium we have with Eugene. She discussed the benefits of doing so. She further discussed HUD requirements. She explained the process Lane County uses to apply for CDBG funds. Their application is made to the State of Oregon. She also discussed Oregon Economic Development Funds. Councilor Simmons said the Springfield staff has a good working relationship with HUD. Councilor Ballew said she also acknowledged comments made recognizing Springfield staff. Ms. Johnson would report back in January 2000. 2. Add and Amend a Section ofthe City Code for the Schedule of Deposits for Public Works. Projects. City Engineer AI Peroutka presented the staff report on this issue. The proposed ordinance relates to public works projects which are privately funded, engineered and constructed to serve private developments, such as subdivisions. The ordinance clarifies that full recovery of city costs for oversight of this private work includes overhead expenses. It also allows staff to set and adjust the advance deposit amount for this work based on prior years expenence. He'discussed indirect costs related to this issue. He discussed the deposit schedule. Staff would like the ability to administratively set the percentage of what the deposit would be rather than being required to bring it before council for revision or approval. Mr. Peroutka reviewed the expense overage / percentage over deposit report that was handed out to council. . Springfield City Council Meeting Work Session - 11/15/99 Page 3 . Mr. Peroutka discussed the two policy changes requested which included: 1. Clarify that indirects are part of costs to be recovered for city oversight of permit projects. 2. Allow for administrative setting of deposit amounts based on prior year's experience (staffwill target having sufficient deposits for 90% of projects. Mr. Peroutka provided clarification regarding the expense overage chart and how the figures were calculated. Councilor Hatfield further explained the logic of staff wanting to raise the deposit and his understanding of the increase in deposit amounts. Mr. Peroutka said when a refund is given to the developer; they are not paid any interest. Mayor Maine commented that staff might need to be prepared to do so. Councilor Simmons said it was not that there was a trust factor, but this is a policy decision and should be dealt with at a policy level. Customer Satisfaction was discussed. Mr. Peroutka said staff was not opposed to retaining the process as it is and require council approval. Staff considered that this might eliminate one step for both staff and council. . Supervising Civil Engineer Don Branch provided information regarding a situation in which a developer was billed following completion and adoption of a project. He provided details of how this caused some difficulty for the developer and the city. City Attorney Joe Leahy discussed section 3.018(2) and discussed revision to the language. This item was scheduled for the regular meeting. The item would be pulled at this time and brought back to council at a future date. 3. Update on Springfield's Water Resources Management Program. Environmental Services Manager Susie Smith, Maintenance Manager Ed Black and City Planner Mel Oberst presented the staff report on this issue. The purpose of this work session is to inform the council about the following water resource management issues: 1) current stormwater quality; 2) regulatory requirements and framework to meet quality objectives; 3) future outcomes for Springfield's water resources management program; and 4) program strategies and resource requirements. . Development Services and Public Works staffs plan, design, construct, operate and maintain facilities, which convey stormwater to the local rivers. Additionally we regulate development and land alteration activity to manage the quality and quantity of runoff that enters the public storm sewer and surface drainage system. As Springfield grows we are challenged to manage urban development and activities in ways that improve the quality of our urban runoff. Springfield City Council Meeting Work Session - 11/15/99 Page 4 . Rapid community growth in the 1990's caused the city to focus staff resources mainly on new development. However, staff anticipated the impacts of the Clan Water Act (CW A) on the city and altered some stormwater management practices to meet water quality objectives. For example, the practice of rapidly conveying stormwater to the rivers via pipes is being replaced by facilities, which employ retention and natural pretreatment to filter pollutants and allow percolation of runoff into the ground. We, however, have not had the resources necessary to fully evaluate and update our stormwater facilities plans, development requirements, and erosion control program and maintenance practices. These efforts are needed to address the city's long-range water resource management needs. Current water quality and capacity concerns necessitate the development and implementation of a comprehensive water resource management program in 2000. The scope of this program will guide by federal legislation - the CW A and the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Springfield is directly affected by the inclusion of the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers on the State's list of "water quality limited" streams; the recent listing of Spring Chinook salmon as "threatened" under the EASA; and the October 29, 1999 finalization of new National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements for stormwater. An interdepartmental staff team has been established to guide the development and im plementation of a water resource management program that will achieve objectives of the CW A and ESA, and will ultimately result in obtaining a municipal stormwater permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Additional background regarding ongoing efforts was provided during the work session. . Council was provided with a copy ofthe report Water Resources Presentation to the Springfield City Council. This was a copy of the slide presentation presented to the council. Ms. Smith asked council for direction on future presentations and how much detail they would like. Mayor Maine requested that the item be scheduled for another work session to further discuss this prior to the holiday recess. Council agreed with the recommendation by Mayor Maine. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Julie Wilson ~Jl;l~ Maureen M. Maine Mayor Attest: .