Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/22/2007 Regular City of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 2007 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, January 22,2007 at 7:07 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Woodrow, Lundberg, Wylie, Ballew, Ralston and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Interim Assistant City Manager Mike Harman, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT CONSENT CALENDAR IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. 1. Claims a. Approval of the November 2006, Disbursements for Approval. b. Approval of the December 2006, Disbursements for Approval. 2. Minutes a. December 4,2006 - Work Session b. December 4, 2006 - Regular Meeting c. January 8, 2007 - Work Session d. January 8, 2007 - Special Regular Meeting 3. Resolutions a. RESOLUTION NO. 07-01 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT P30297: MOUNTAINGATE PHASES 1 AND 2. b. RESOLUTION NO. 07-02 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT P30453: GLACIER VIEW SUBDIVISION. c. RESOLUTION NO. 07-03 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT P30455: ANDREWS ACRES SUBDIVISION. d. RESOLUTION NO. 07-04 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT P30375: JASPER MEADOWS 2ND ADDITION SUBDIVISION. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 2 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Approval of the Amendments to the Council Operating Policies and Procedures. b. Approval to Authorize the City Manager to Sign Amendment No. 1 to Increase the Limit of Federal Surface Transportation Program (STP) Funds in Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) No. 23,408 with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). c. Approval of Liquor License Endorsement for Buffet City Inc., located at 3260 Gateway Street, Springfield, Oregon. d. Approval of Liquor License Endorsement for The Office Diner and Lounge, located at 553 and 555 Main Street, Springfield, Oregon. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR PUBLIC HEARINGS - Please limit comments to 3 minutes. Request to speak cards are available at both entrances. Please present cards to City Recorder. Speakers may not yield their time to others. None. BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE 1. Isaac Kuhlman. 3333 W. 17th Avenue. Eugene. OR Mr. Kuhlman, assistant store manager of the Save-A-Lot Grocery Store, represented Save-A-Lot Corporation, which was putting in a new grocery store at the corner of 42nd and Main Street. Mr. Kuhlman gave a brief description of the premise of the store that allowed for lower prices than other stores. A neighborhood event was scheduled for February 7 from 5:00-7:00pm, and the grand opening would be held on Wednesday, February 8. He described the highlights ofthe event, including live music from a local band, Mood Area 52. He said Save-A-Lot had been in existence and was well known in the mid-west, but was fairly new in the Pacific Northwest. He invited everyone to attend the event, and noted that it was an exciting opportunity for the company and for the City of Springfield. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS 1. Correspondence from Devanie Stelzriede, 481 Y2 42nd Street, Springfield, OR Regarding a Smoking Ban for the City of Springfield. 2. Correspondence from Kelly Craig, Oregon Student Assistance Commission, 1500 Valley River Drive, Suite 100, Eugene, OR Regarding the ASPIRE Program. (see attached staff ~~~ . 3. Correspondence from Leonard Clearwater, 85694 Hampstead Lane, Eugene, Oregon Regarding the Justice Center Name. (see attached staff response) IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FILING. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 3 BIDS ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Business from Council a. Committee Reports 1. Mayor Leiken reported on the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Mayor's Reception which he attended in Salem the first part of January. He said fifty Mayors from around the state were there for a media event and the State Legislature got the message that the Mayors around Oregon were a strong voice. Many legislators attended the reception, including the majority and minority leaders from the Senate and the House. The following day the Mayor was in Portland at the Oregon Leadership where discussion was held on sustainability and health care. He noted that the City's Human Resources Manager, Ardis Belknap, who was a member ofthe committee, was able to arrange for Mayor Leiken to meet with the Health and Human Services Secretary. 2. Councilor Pishioneri reported on the Project Homeless Connect Media event that he attended this morning at 10:00am in Eugene. Mayor Kitty Piercy and Commissioner Stewart were both present. The event announced that Lane County was going to step into the Homeless Elimination and announced the Project Homeless Event scheduled at the Lane County Fairgrounds on February 8. United Way would be co-sponsoring with other organizations for this event to provide services for the homeless. He said if anyone wanted to make donations for the event, they could contact United Way. Mayor Leiken suggested they could also contact Community Relations Coordinator Niel Laudati or Housing Manager Kevin Ko. 3. Councilor Ralston reported on a Human Services Commission meeting that he attended earlier today. It was a joint meeting with a budget committee to discuss the budget for the coming year. Lane County was looking at losing approximately $45M if the government did not renew the Rural Schools funds. That would mean a cut to Human Services of approximately $517,000. He discussed further impacts this could have on Human Services and other health services. Following the budget process, the commission may be looking at how to reorganize the governing body. Councilor Ralston reported on Lane Regional Air Protection Agency. He noted that Commissioner Faye Stewart was now the chair ofthat committee and Earl Koenig was elected as vice chair. Councilor Ralston felt that was a good choice. He reviewed some of the things upcoming on the LRAP A agenda. He discussed some of the issues brought to LRAP A, including complaints against Rexius and a request for LRAP A to regulate dust. He said several of these issues related to incompatible zoning that allowed housing to be put in near gravel pits and other industrial businesses. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 4 4. Councilor Ballew reported on the Metropolitan Policy Organization (MPO), which met last week. Mayor Kitty Piercy was the chairman this year, with Mayor Leiken taking on that role next year. She noted that on Friday, January 26, she would be attending the Oregon MPO Consortium meeting. 5. Mayor Leiken reported that he and Councilor Wylie attended the EmX event and the Federal Transportation Administrator was there and spoke. Congressman DeFazio was also there. There were over 100 people inside the EmX, standing room only. Councilor Wylie said it was very exciting for her as she had been involved in the planning process for many years as a Lane Transit District (LTD) board member. She said to be on board the bus was a great feeling. The EmX was a transit system, not just a bus. Councilor Lundberg said her daughter was very impressed with the EmX. b. Other Business 1. Mayor/Council Committee Assignments. The Springfield Charter and Council operating policies require that the Mayor make and formally confirm Mayor/Council committee assignments. Mayor Leiken confirmed the Mayor and Council Committee Assignments as noted in the attachment. 2. City Council President Appointment. The Springfield Charter and the City Council Operating Policies and Procedures provide that at the first regular meeting in January after each general election, the Council shall elect by ballot one of its members as President of the Common Council. The Council President shall function as Mayor when the Mayor is absent from a Council meeting, or the Mayor is unable to function as Mayor. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR BALLEW TO NOMINATE COUNCILOR CHRISTINE LUNDBERG AS THE NEW COUNCIL PRESIDENT. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 7 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (THE MAYOR INCLUDING IDS YES VOTE). Mayor Leiken congratulated Councilor Lundberg and thanked Councilor Woodrow for his two years of service as Council President from January 2005 through today. Councilor Ballew had also served as Council President in the past. He noted that it took a lot of time and energy and dedication. He looked forward to Councilor Lundberg serving. Councilor Lundberg thanked Councilor Woodrow for his hard work as Council President. She said she appreciated his support and would try to live up to the position. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 5 BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER 1. Approval of Design Development Phase Cost Estimate for the Justice Center - P50434. Justice Center Project Manager Carole Knapel presented the staff report on this item. At the November 27,2006 Work Session, staff indicated that the project team had continued to work with the Police Department, Municipal Court, Prosecutor's Office and the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to complete the Design Development phase of the project. Construction cost estimates submitted by both the project architect and construction manager/general contractor indicated that $1.34 million in cost reductions were required in order to complete the project within the $24,066,000 approved construction cost budget. At that time, the project team had identified $1.299 million in reductions and staff indicated that the team was continuing work on the value engineering cost estimating in order to reach the $1.34 million goal. The project team has now completed that task and the revised value engineering list in Attachment A included in the agenda packet indicates cost reductions of approximately $1.368 million. The design ofthe project is continuing and the next milestone will be the negotiation of a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for the construction of the project with Heery/Hyland, the contractor the Council selected. The negotiation will be based on the Design Development estimate as modified in the attached value engineering list. Given the current cost estimate, it may be possible during the negotiation to include one or more items which were deleted in the value engineering,process. The cost of adding back any of these items also includes the cost for design revisions which would be required. If this opportunity were to occur, the City could choose to add; · Decorative Fencing - The revised design incorporates a vinyl-clad chain link fence in lieu of the metal decorative fence. Adding back the decorative fence would cost approximately $35,000. · Covered Walkway - The revised design eliminates the walkway covering between the Police/Court Building and the Ancillary Building. Adding back the covering would cost approximately $34,000. · Ancillary Building - The revised design eliminated approximately 2,200 square feet of the Ancillary Building. Adding the space back would cost approximately $378,000. · Police Vehicle Sallyport - The revised design eliminated the police vehicle sallyport which was located along 4th Street, adjacent to the Service Courtyard. Adding this area back into the project would cost approximately $63,000. From this list, the Community Advisory Committee has indicated a preference for adding back the decorative fencing and the covered walkway. Following the CAC discussion, Councilor Pishioneri has requested consideration of a change in the design of the 4th Street entrance gate to bi-fold doors. The cost of this change would add $16,000 for electric doors and $28,000 for hydraulically operated doors. Councilor Ballew asked about the elevator to the second floor for the public which had been removed. She asked where that elevator went. Ms. Knapel said the elevator provided access to the courtrooms. She said there had been two elevators in the initial design, but a second elevator was not required. The space had been saved so the elevator could be added back in later if deemed necessary. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 6 Councilor Ballew said it was a functional building, but didn't seem like there was a lot of consideration for the public. Councilor Pishioneri asked for clarification on what staff was asking of Council. Ms. Knapel said staff would like formal approval by the Council for the design development budget with the value engineering list that was developed. She said they would also appreciate guidance regarding what items to add back in if there were additional fund left over. She said she wasn't sure if there would be funds available. Councilor Pishioneri thanked Ms. Knapel for working with him on these issues. He noted his preferences for items to be added back in if possible: 1. Decorative Fencing: He said the decorative fencing was a priority. This was a landmark project and the building should look like a landmark project. He said he would accept putting the chain link fence along the north side, and using the decorative fencing on the east and west sides if it would cut the cost. 2. Covered Walkway: He said he felt the covered walkway was very important to protect the public and staff from the weather. 3. Hydraulic Bi-Fold Door: He said he would support putting in a hydraulic bi-fold door and raise the header in that area. That type of door would last for twenty five years, compared to five years for the other type, in his opinion. 4. Ancillary Building: That building was needed now, but there was no funding for it now. If funds could be found, he would like to see that building put back in. 5. Police Vehicle Sallyport: He said that would be a great add-qn, but not necessary for operations of the structure. Councilor Woodrow said he concurred with Councilor Pishioneri' s request for items to be added back in if funds were available. He asked if the ancillary building at the reduced size would provide adequate room so they would not need to rent space offsite. Police Chief Jerry Smith said it would be likely they would still have to rent space. He said one of the two vehicle bays was eliminated in the reductions and the archive storage was gone. He said there would be a need for both evidence and archive storage offsite. Councilor Woodrow asked if the original size of the ancillary building would be large enough to accommodate all required storage. Yes. He asked if the cost of adding back the square footage to the ancillary building offset the cost of renting space elsewhere. Chief Smith said it would take many, many years to offset that cost. He said the issue was more a matter of convenience. Councilor Ralston said he also concurred with Councilor Pishioneri. He asked about the cost of the bi-fold door. He said he felt it was a good deal. Councilor Lundberg asked for the difference between the authorized amount and the estimated amount after the reductions. Ms. Knapel said the difference between those two figures was about $30,000. She said they wouldn't know the final answer until the GMP proposal was received from the contractor. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 7 Councilor Lundberg said she would like to look at cutting down on the decorative wood in the courtroom. She said things like the bi-fold doors, the fencing and the covered walkway were more important than the decorative woodwork in the courtroom. She agreed that it was a landmark building and the aesthetics on the outside were the most important. The inside needed to be functional. Councilor Pishioneri commended staff and their group for looking at everything in every detail and paring down the costs. There was a good balance on the outside and inside. He said the expense of storing materials outside and away from the facility would include significant staff time in retrieving those items, as well as the cost of renting storage space. He asked Finance Director Bob Duey if there was anything in the system that would allow the City to lawfully finance these items through the project. Mr. Duey said staff was meeting with the bond counsel fmancial advisor to determine the sale of the bonds. He discussed the issue of the project being phased and that it was determined to do it in one sale, which would generate additional interest earnings. The sale would be about the last week in March. One of the reasons to sell the bonds now and in one sale was to put more of the funds back into the project. About three months ago, the finance department committed about $IM ofthose earnings to the project and was included in the funds Council was working with now. He said they would try to hone down the price for the bonds and how additional funds could be gained. By late March or early April, he hoped to be able to refine the $IM figure. Councilor Pishioneri asked if Council could direct Mr. Duey to approach the sale of the bonds to maximize the amount of money to reach these goals. Mr. Duey said they could direct them, but staff was already on that track. He said staff would bring a formal resolution to Council in a few weeks to authorize the sale of the bonds. Staff would act on that, assuming that was Council's direction. The sooner the bonds could be sold, the better. He said they had been waiting to coordinate it more closely with the actual start of construction, which was anticipated in March or April 2007. Mayor Leiken commended Ms. Knapel, her team and the Citizen Advisory Committee on their good work. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WOODROW TO APPROVE THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT PHASE AND COST ESTIMATE FOR THE JUSTICE CENTER PROJECT. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. 6. Council Initiation of an Amendment to the Springfield Development Code Article 9: Vacations. Development Services Director Bill Grile presented the staff report on this item. The vacation standards of Article 9 do not address circumstances that may affect interests of this community for reasons other than policies contained in the Metro Plan, TransPlan, or other planning documents that promote or implement the Metro Plan. The inclusion of new criteria responsive to these circumstances will enable the Council to consider specific public interests represented in the proposal. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 8 The text of Article 9 requires a Council decision to vacate public rights of way and other city property to be in compliance with policies in the Metro Plan; no other public interest can be considered if this requirement is not satisfied. This narrow focus of review has several short- comings, the most obvious of which is the inability of the Council to exercise its authority to act in the best interests of the community when the need arises. The existing criteria of approval were included in the Code to discourage or eliminate private acquisition of public land [for private purpose] which might interfere with Council policies or objectives regarding the use of public rights of way. These criteria have effectively implemented this objective, but until recent consideration of the siting of the Justice Center, alternative reasons for vacation, particularly if that land will remain in public ownership and public use, had not ansen. Staff has reviewed Oregon Revised Statutes and Administrative Rules regarding the authority of the City to administer public land, including rights of way, and can find nothing to limit the scope and purpose of Council consideration to the existing criteria of Article 9. Including these new criteria will allow the Council to weigh other reasons and public benefits in consideration of a proposal to vacate public land. Mr. Grile explained some of the proposed amendments and the reasoning for the amendments. Councilor Ballew said she understood the purpose of the amendment, but questioned that statement "on balance for the public good". She said there should be a more rigorous, underlying cause as to what was "on balance" and what was weighed. Mr. Grile said in the existing language of Article 9, Council could insert the criteria they felt would best fit Springfield's needs. He deferred the question of the meaning of "on balance" to the City Attorney. City Attorney Joe Leahy said the amendment would come back to Council after going through the Planning Commission. This amendment would provide a higher likelihood of sustaining an approval of a vacation of a public street for another public purpose. The history was not clear, but it was determined that the Council could sustain in terms of public policy, a lesser standard when the property was going to be kept for the public and continue in a public use, rather than when property was vacated and went back to private parties. The idea was to let the Council as the decision maker, determine that it was more important that this public entity be put to another use. Councilor Ballew said the wording was vague enough that it would appear the City did not have as high a standard as private citizens and she didn't feel that was right. Mr. Leahy said he understood and she was correct. The idea was that it was still being maintained in the public use, and the elected officials of the City determined that this could be done. There would still need to be findings regarding the reasons for the vacation. He explained. If Council wanted a higher standard, that was a Council decision. This was an easier standard to obtain than that for a private developer. The reason was that it still remained in public interest and staff felt the Council would be making the decision. Councilor Ballew said there were different public values and it seemed to be a subjective approach. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 . Page 9 Mr. Leahy said those were decisions Council made on many issues. If Council determined whether or not it was for the public good, staff would have findings based on staff discussion to support Council's decision. Councilor Ralston said he wasn't sure if the words "on balance" were needed. It still had the same meaning without those words. Mr. Leahy said it assumed there were considerations to be made, to either leave the street open or close it for the public good. Council would base their decision on those competing values. Councilor Lundberg said the motion before Council tonight was to just initiate the discussion and the wording. It would then be going to the Planning Commission, and the amendments would be drafted from that and brought to Council. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WOODROW TO INITIATE AN AMENDMENT TO THE SPRINGFIELD DEVELOPMENT COpE, ARTICLE 9 VACATIONS, SUBSECTION 9.060 CRITERIA OF APPROVAL BY INCLUDING A NEW SUBSECTION (3)(A-D) RELATED TO VACATION OF PUBLIC RIGHTS OF WAY, EASEMENTS AND OTHER PUBLIC LANDS THAT WILL REMAIN IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP AND PUBLIC USE. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 1 AGAINST (Ballew). BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY Mr. Leahy noted that there were three documents in the Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA) packet for this evening's meeting. There was an agenda item summary (AIS), a resolution and a proposed intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between SEDA and the City of Springfield. The AIS contained the instructions that SEDA provided to the SEDA staff at the last meeting to present a resolution in which SEDA and the City of Springfield entered into an IGA for the City of Springfield staff to implement the public contracting law on behalf of SEDA, with one exception. The exception was that the Contract Review Board still remained SEDA, so if there was anything that required City Council approval in the public contracting domain, it would still rest with the SEDA board and the City staff would implement the contracting. In addition to those instructions, the Finance Department, City Attorney's office and SEDA staff (John Tamulonis) looked at the proposed AIS, resolution and IGA and added two additional paragraphs relating to housekeeping issues regarding auditors, financial advisors, bond counsel and financial institutions in cooperation with SEDA in order to provide administrative support to SEDA, however a separate accounting record would be provided for SEDA fmancial records. This was to document what was occurring now. If those additions appeared reasonable, Mr. Leahy would ask that the City Council authorize the City Manager to execute the IGA in the event it was approved by SEDA later in the evening. If more time was needed, it could be deferred one more week. This was to formalize procedures that the City and SEDA had been operating under already. Councilor Ballew asked if there was an end date to the IGA. Mr. Leahy said the end date was December 31, 2007. City of Springfield , Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 22, 2007 Page 10 Councilor Ballew said she wanted to make sure there would be opportunity to amend the agreement if needed. Mr. Leahy said he agreed. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WOODROW TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY WITH THE SEDA BOARD TO PROVIDE THE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SET FORTH IN EXHffiIT A TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Attest: Ci~~