HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/09/2017 Work Session City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINE ITS OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2017
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon,on Monday. October 9, 2017 at 5:34 p m., with May or Lundberg
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were May or Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Stoehr, Woodrow and
Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith, City
Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff
I Bicycle and Pedestrian Ade isory Committee Inten iews.
Senior Planner Emma Newman presented the staff report on this item I he Springfield Bicycle and
Pedestrian Advison Committee(BPAC) currently has three voting members whose terms extend
through the end of December 2018 There are currently six voting members whose terms expire at the
end of December 2017 who are eligible for re-appointment(Allison Camp, Claudia Denton. Dada
Robbins,Jeff Sakacsi, Kee in Schaper,and Robin Mayall). Members eligible for reappointment must
also reapplk before they can be reappointed. Two former members resigned during 2017 due to
MON ing and other commitments
The committee bylaws state, "Applications shall he rex iewed and evaluated by Cite Staff and the Cdy
Council. Committee positions shall be appointed by the City Council:.
The by laws also state,-Membership of the Committee shall consist of 10-16 voting members._ Since
there will only be three remaining N oting members as of the end of December 2017,the City is
seeking to appoint enough voting committee members(at least 7)to fulfill minimal membership
requirements, as well as possibly appoint a few additional oting members so that if resignations
occur, additional mid-year recruitment would not be required. The bylaws would accommodate up to
thirteen voting member appointments if the Council wished to appoint the maximum. If 13 Noting
members were appointed, the total Noting membership would be sixteen. There are five additional
liaison positions.which would result in the total Noting and non-Noting membership being twenty-one
Because of scheduling, Sandy Coffin w ill need to be interviewed at a later date. Also.I lolly Rockwell
called Ms Newman today and said she was not able to attend tonight. She will also be scheduled for
the later date in the fall
The Mayor and Council introduced themselves and then asked the follow ing questions of each
applicant
I. Why are you interested in serving on the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advison Committee
(BPAC)?(Mayor Lundberg)
2. Have you attended a BPAC meeting? If so, what were}our impressions?(Councilor Wylie)
3. Describe your familiarity with the City's walking and biking infrastructure and amenities.
(Councilor Stoehr)
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4. If you w cre queen/king for a day.and had the ability to do any project in the cm without
concern of the cost,what would that project be?(Councilor Pishioneri)
5. Describe your experience as it relates to your desire to become a BPAC member (Councilor
VanGordon)
6. What initiatives are you interested in working on if you are appointed as a BPAC member"
(Councilor Woodrow)
7. What is it about pedestrian and bicycle issues that interests you most?(Councilor Moore)
6'15pm: the Council took a break after inten levy ing six of the candidates.
6 24pm: Council resumed their meeting.
Council interviewed the remaining five candidates.
Following the interviews,the Mayor and Council discussed the candidates Councilor Pishioneri
suggested discussing the number of members on this committee at a future session. After discussion,
the Council decided to keep the size as it is now.
The Council chose to appoint all of those interviewed to the BPAC at the October 16, 2017 Council
meeting Thev would like some of them to sen e 2 years and some to serve 3 years. That w ill mean
amending the By laws Staff will bring the amended Bylaws to the Council during the October 16
Council meeting so they can be appro\ed prior to the appointments.
Councilor directed Ms.Newman to assign the 2 and 3 y ear terms based on returning members and
interest
2 Draft Springfield Look Economic Development Strategy
Economic Development Manager Courtney Gnesel presented this item and displayed a power point.
The work on the Springfield Look started about 6 months ago and has involved a lot of work by staff,
the consultant Allison Larsen, and other stakeholders in looking at the values and goals of improving
the economic prosperity in the community. Through this process,a lot of data has been gathered
which is extremely\aluable
Some common outcomes for economic development efforts include:
✓ increase earnings
✓ increase per capita income
✓ reduce poverty
✓ job creation(high-value, quality jobs based on wage levels and benefits)
✓ job retention(high-value, quality jobs based on wage levels and benefits)
✓ reduce unemployment
✓ increase tax revenues/growth of tax base
✓ stabilize Springfield's economy through economic cycles
Ms. Gnesel referred to the project timeline for this project and noted that they were in about the last
quarter. It is very exciting as all of the perceptions and discussion about data and trends starts to come
into view in the next couple of months as we look forward into marketing and taking initiatives to
market.
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They has e gone through the process of scoring where we are now, how competitive we are and what
things need to be improved This helped with the discussion around priority initiatives. Some of the
key areas being looked at are: sites, buildings: customer sen ice and permitting: and incentives.
especially in industrial areas in need of infrastructure.
Ms. Gnesel rev iewed the priority initiatives which were dei eloped through discussions with the
Council, stakeholders and leadership. Although this is called a strategic plan, it is actually a work
plan.The initiatives are rooted in tasks assigned to different people. They are currently building out
expectations for timing to do those tasks
The first priority initiative is City Competitiveness Development and Public Works Director Anette
Spickard is lead on this initiative with a team including staff from planning/permit counter,economic
development, Springfield Utility Board,developers as needed and potentially a graduate school intern.
The goal is to create a clear and consistent way to expedite development approval. Doing this will
improve the perception of doing the business in Springfield to greater, and will make it easier on staff.
Some of the tasks associated w ith this initiative include changing the organizational culture, assessing
current practices and best practices,getting clarity of process and timelines and establishing an
advocate. Staff w ill need to he trained on the process and w ill work to build relationships and
celebrate wins and success stories. lie metrics for this initiate e include number of best practices
researched and number of developer outreach meetings
Councilor VanGordon asked if the Development Code rewrite was included in this plan.
his. Spickard said it will he a separate,but parallel, initiative The department is currently running on
the hare minimum of staffing, so if we want to gear up to he a world class development sen ice with
one-on-one time,the concept of having an advocate would mean changing the structure of staff. The
Development Code update is another structural change, but is on the legal side of rewriting the Code.
This initiative is about changing how we do the staffing and work with developers on a personal level
Councilor VanGordon said being a world class organization has to be built on the Development Code
rewrite They NN ill hay e to work together.
Ms. Spickard agreed and said liming is i en' important
Councilor VanGordon said this was not constructive enough and felt it could go further. He noted the
goal of reducing the timeline to 1/3 from 31 and asked if that number was based on anything.
Mr Griesel said it was based on feedback from the private sector It was also staff looking at a mix of
how long it typically can take and the legal requirements with notice. etc. There was an expectation
that we could get closer to the legal notice requirement assuming completeness During that
discussion,they needed to make sure they were doing what was needed to communicate completeness.
It pulls itself apart into customer service. That is where the idea of an advocate that would stay with
the dei elopment through the whole process arose. That is a different way of adjusting development
from the beginning.
Councilor VanGordon said there are good elements to this, but he wants to look at how we can he
better than other communities.
Ms Griesel said these timelines are spread over 5 y ears Some of this includes things we can easili do
now This one plays out over a period of years. It could be that we ramp up to shorter time frames.
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Councilor VanGordon said he was fine with that. It is really easy to look at the current process and
how to improve, but we need to look at possibly changing the process rather than just improving on
the old process. This is business focused, but he wants to include the technology piece, which is
critical. When looking at outcome measures, he would have liked to see an industry standard matrix
for customer satisfaction and look at the private market. Ile also felt they should look at the final
outcome of'Minimize # issues raised above department level"and try to address that at the front line
with the first point of contact There are probably about 5 net performance goals, but this is a great
start.
Councilor Moore said she would like to see some sort of mechanism to get feedback from developers.
Ms Spickard said they have been working on a list of strategies to accomplish the goal of getting
dey eloper feedback. It includes a combination of reaching out to people the City has worked with in
the past 6 months, looking at how to interact with people going forward, where there are decision
points to talk with people.how things went, and a variety of sun eys to get better feedback.
NIr. Grimaldi said staff would be sharing more about that with the Council at a future meeting
Councilor Stoehr said perhaps they could add a metric showing that an issue not only got resols ed, but
was resolved to the person's satisfaction.
Councilor Pishioneri liked the new strategy for establishing an advocate That is very innovative. It
will be important for that advocate to play a significant role in seeing and speaking out about road
blocks and how to create change in the process
Ms Griesel said they do have a sequential order of how these things arc put into place Staff will first
look at best practices and where things like this have been successful elsewhere so they can determine
the most effective way to utilize that position. Currently,projects have an assigned planner and they
do a great job. This position could be built on existing talent, or could be something completely new
Councilor Pishioneri said he sees a difference between an assigned planner and an advocate
Councilor Woodrow said her overall reaction was a timeline and chronology, and those arc outlined in
this process She is looking for ways to identify the w ins so they know when they get there.
Ms. Griesel said in the"Why"we are doing this, they are identifying the win They are being
intentional that the story is told not just by staff.but by the businesses ne work with
Councilor Woodrow said she is looking for something measurable
Ms. Griesel said they can refine some of these pieces to provide that measurement. The big
measurement w ill be a growing economy'and tax base.
Councilor Woodrow gave an example of a measurement of efficiencies.
Ms. Griesel said they could do that through the customer service piece.
Mayor Lundberg said likes the advocate. She asked if it would be one person
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Ms Spickard said she based the cost estimate on one FTE,but it hasn't been determined yet.
Ms Gnesel said that would come out of the research they do for an adv ocate.
It was noted that the request for an advocate Caine from the deselopment community
Ms. Griesel said in all of the initiatives,the people around the table were looking at the feedback from
the Council and businesses. The team felt that more was needed so an advocate could he successful It
got built out because the staff doing the work knows it's more than lust adv ocating.
Councilor Pishioneri said the advocate needs to put themseh es in the shoes of the developer to come
up with the best way to get a positive end result.
Councilor VanGordon said this is really difficult,especially with limited public resources I1's
important to keep an agile mind set as they mo\e forward and understand that it may go through
several iterations I hey should run it like a start-up As long as they continue moving forward, it will
ser\e Dey elopment and Public Works and the community better.
Mat or Lundberg said they need to remain nimble Council needs to decide if they want to prioritize
the Development Code update.
Mr. Grimaldi said discussion on the Development Code update is scheduled for Noy ember 6
Mayor Lundberg said it needs to go hand in hand with this plan.
Ms Griesel said these ideas are all interconnected The question is how the economic development
program can work better with the initiatives.
Ms. Griesel said the next initiative is for Minimum Development Standards and Planning Supervisor
Jim Donovan is the lead The development standards were developed over 30 years ago and things
and technologies have changed Staff looked at what they were doing and how they could make things
easier and proside innovation. This moved more quickly and with more energy than expected It is not
going to be easy and will involve codifying changes to the standards,eliminating some process, easing
tip on the restrictive nature of it and advertising what we are doing This needs to be part of the v,ork
done by the Development Ady isory Committee
Ms Spickard said this is a subset of the bigger Development Code update. They will need to discuss
the basic expectation of how the City should look. Any changes will go to the Planning Commission
and then the Council.
Mayor Lundberg said they want standards, but not something that prohibits development
Ms. Griesel said staff w as willing to go through and look for way s to change.
Ms. Griesel said the metrics involve discussions w ith the Council about what we are hoping to
accomplish through these updates Ultimately it gets back to the timeline and how that can be
shortened to make the process easier for development.
Ms. Griesel spoke regarding Strategic Dey elopment of Priority Sites which she serves as lead. This
includes discussion about sites being ready to receive interested companies or expansions,mostly for
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employment land It also includes being aware of those sites and hay ing healthy relationships yy ith
those land owners,and looking at the utilities,transportation and other amenities. It helps the City be
more competitive when responding to prospective companies who want to come to Springfield or
expand in Springfield This is an ongoing core actiy ity that is already being done.
Councilor VanGordon said this w ill gather a lot of information. When it comes to economic
development, they need to figure out a way for people to access the appropriate information w rthout
hay ing to contact city hall
Ms. Griesel said website generation is part of this project and would include mapping tools There is
an intent to link to other agencies and resources. Staff is still working on relationships with property
oyw ners to encourage them to allow the City to populate some of those sites, communicating why it is a
mutual benefit for the property owner.
Councilor Moore said some of the sites have zoning already in place, such as Marcola Meadows and it
seems that it has limited development. They need to look at how the City can be prepared to change
directions and zoning.
Ms Griesel said Marcola Meadows doesn't necessarily fit in her area because it is residential and
commercial They do talk about way s to be nimble without having to go through major land use
processes. Some of this initiative is to say we are going to do this more often and look at the barriers.
Mr. Grimaldi said when the) have a property owner that doesn't know what they want to do with the
property, it can be difficult to move it forward When property ownership changes,there is an
opportunity to work w ith them.
Ms. Griesel said they will do site assessments and engage with property owners. They can then look
at what to adjust to give flexibility.
Mayor Lundberg said due to the length of time they hay e been in tonight's meeting, the) need to look
at the agenda and determine how to adjust the schedule.
Mr. Grimaldi said they could move the Downtown Loan Program scheduled for the SEDA Board to
another date. The Chamber request item w ill remain He asked how many more of the initiatives the
Council would like to review.
Ms. Gnesel said she could focus on initiatives with the partner agencies and say e those she is lead on
for a later meeting
Mayor Lundberg said if they are making changes and making initiatives, she doesn't like focusing on
traded sector. There are other things like healthcare that provide liw ing wage jobs in our community.
Ms Griesel said part of the plan includes looking at target industries, and healthcare could fit more
broadly' in that realm. The plan allows some flexibility There is a prioritization of traded sector, not
an elimination of other sectors
Mayor Lundberg said the Commercial Industrial Buildable Lands ICIBL) study' included acreage for a
sector strategy which included healthcare It is an economic drier in our community.
Ms. Griesel said they can talk about that in more detail when they talk more initiatiy es
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Ms. Griesel said one of the other places that got a lot of energy w as the Innovation Hub initiatiy e. It
could work in a number of ways including shared office space for incubation businesses, programming
and anchor spaces Some other needs identified included meeting spaces and ongoing mentoring.
I here was also awareness that the Library and fiber optic project play s into how this site is successful.
'this was an initiative that the Springfield Chamber championed on with some of our businesses and
regional leaders Vonnie Mikkelson, Executiy e Director of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce is
the lead, supported by the City. TAO, FertiLab/RAIN Eugene, the Springfield Library and Springfield
Utility Board (SUB). There will he discussions of w hal some other communities are doing and at
some point the community will be asked
Mayor Lundberg said it is a concept That has a lot of interpretation. It would be helpful to see some
real-lite examples of innovation hubs.
Ms Griesel said one of the first steps of the team is to go out and identify real-world examples The
first step is to build examples of where it exists and is working well.
Councilor VanGordon said when it comes to innoy anon type hubs,there may be a secondary work
item understanding medium size capacity He felt that how this is being inestigated is good.
Ms. Griesel referred to the initiative Springfield telecommunications Enhancement Project(STEP),
with Springfield Utility Board Superintendent Jeff Nelson as lead. This is a very intense effort and
work is already starting. This is likely the most detailed plan so far of all the 'naiad y es. This is a
significant initiative with some assessment of current infrastructure,current partnerships.market needs
and capacity There is also substantial capital buildout as they look at if and where an exchange might
fit and where it connects to sent the community. They continue talking with fiber pros iders in the
community while talking about full fiber buildout as one initiative. The near term initiative of getting
the fiber turned on to neighborhoods in certain locations continues to be a priority at SUB. This is one
of the most energized initiatives and everyone is very excited about it The City asks questions as
public space owners about where the logical location is to provide access for the equipment needed.
There may be some discussions as SUB starts to outline the actual plan for infrastructure coordination
and a formal agreement
Mayor Lundberg thanked the SUB Board for recognizing the potential and stepping into the 2I"
century
Mr Nelson said the SUB Board is behind this project If it turns out this is not a priority for the
Council, SUB will continue moving forward. As this goes forward,there are elements in this realm
that are beyond SUB's control and reside solely within the City, such as requirements associated with
fiber ducts within new development and attachments to buildings and street light. Those things will
need to be addressed with the Cit as they arise.
Councilor VanGordon said he is glad to see SUB here This is one of the most exciting opportunities
and one of the most important things for economic growth He asked that they ey aluate medium to
large industrial size complexes that hay e many tech machines.
Ms. Griesel said the residential piece is also important for affordable internet access and education
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Ms. Griesel said the next few initiatives—Real Estate Product Development, Partner Economic
Development Team, and Business Retention and Expansion—arc her initiath es which will be
discussed at a later meeting.
Ms. Griesel referred to the next initiate e, Industry Conference. I he lead for this mrtiatne,Janis Ross
from fravel Lane County(TLC), was unable to attend tonight's meeting, so TLC Executh e Director
Kari Westlund was attending in her place. This initiative is to hold industry conferences in Springfield
which are aligned to industry of focus. They will be making an intentional outreach to bid on
conferences ''hey would also assess current conference movement to find out where there are gaps,
and how we can showcase our area. It is a learning experience.
Ms. Westlund said this is about going a step further than just looking at conferences and visitor
spending. It is about looking at innov anon within targeted sectors and bringing those people to the
community They hay e had some success in this through the University of Oregon bringing in
industries they have interest in. It is a great blueprint to use in Springfield for industry such as
advanced wood products.healthcare and other targeted industries.
Councilor Stoehr asked what the biggest conference site was in Springfield.
It was noted that there are no large conference sites in Springfield.
Ms.Griescl said they would determine how to talk in more detail about the other pieces. Those
discussed tonight were more special project initiatives. Many of the others are things that staff is
already doing and they are working on getting more clarity around them. There are some tools coming
with this process such as customer management software to track who we talk to, what the) tell us,
and things we're learning. That information will allow us to create some metrics about touchpoints in
the community that can be reported back to Council. It also helps our other partners be more prepared
when speaking to those same businesses There is also a metropolitan comparate e tool that allows the
Cit\ to get industry, business and site specific and talk w ith the company about what they need to do
in our location,comparing it to the industry location of our competitor. It allows staff to be able to
address the strengths of our community when talking to businesses, and also show us where we are not
as competith e. It has helped already and some realtors are asking for this information. The process of
storytelling has already started. She re\iewed the timeline while Ms. Larsen is here. Work will begin
to happen in the next few months.
Mayor Lundberg thanked the leads for attending the meeting.
3. Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce WorkReadv Sponsorship
City Manager Gino Grimaldi presented the staff report on this item. The Springfield Area Chamber of
Commerce has been an active partner in workforce development and is planning to increase its efforts
regarding workforce development as well as increasing its involvement in economic development
activities such as the Springfield Look and sector strategies. Tonight.they are requesting funding for
the WorkReadv program
The major components of the WorkReadv initiative are the following career ready programs dex eloped
in conjunction with Springfield Public Schools: Middle School Career Day (Grade 8): Career
Exploration at Lane Community College(Grades 9 and 10); and Career Connect(Grades I I and 12)
The WorkReadv initiate a also includes the establishment of Career and Technical Education (CTE)to
advance, enhance and grow. WorkReadv programs, college and career readiness,and local CTE
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curricula in our schools. The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce's fundraising goal for this
program is $50,000.
Mr Grimaldi introduced Vonnie Mikkelsen,the Executive Director of the Springfield Chamber of
Commerce.
Ms Mikkelscn said the Chamber has spent the last year redefining and re-eny isioning the work done
by the Chamber. She noted that many of their discussions have been similar to what the Council has
discussed this evening: focusing on not just improving on things they are not doing that well,but
looking at how to hone in to efficient, effective ways of doing things They have reorganized
themselves around mission-focused priorities. The mission of the Springfield Chamber is business and
economic development, as well as quality of life for our community Through this process,they have
uncovered opportunities and shifted resources. One of those opportunities has been finding a shared
and common goal with small. medium and large businesses and industries—workforce and labor, and
filling local jobs needed for those businesses to succeed and grow with skilled trained workforce. As a
priority, they are partnering with Lane Workforce Partnership, Lane Connected, and industry partners
Locally they are honing in on the 11,000 students in our Springfield Public Schools, specifically the
4000-5000 students in grades 8-12. They hear from their educational partners that eighth grade is the
premier place to engage with students. That is where they are being introduced to career and technical
education and where the opportunity is to increase graduation rates They also hear the same thing
from the industry. Manufacturing and other trades also want to meet with students.
Ms Mikkelsen explained Why WorkReadr' A skilled, educated and qualified workforce is
fundamental to a strong economy. Through this program, they w dl wrap around the robust Career and
Technical Education(CTE)offerings in the Springfield Public Schools to improve the high school
graduation rates This will open the doors to industry to connect with schools and students. Their goal
ON er the next year tis to connect 2000 students in grades 8-I 2 to over 100 local employers and
educational institutions through WorkReadr programs Ultimate!), they w ill strengthen local
education-industry partnerships that cultivate a pool of local talent w ith the skills,education and
qualifications necessary to fill family wage jobs fundamental to a strong economy
The three core programs in this effort are:
• Middle School Career Day for all 8'h graders in the Springfield Public Schools. This
introduces the students to college and career conversations, provides an expo-style experience,
and provides a soft skills component where every student comes practiced and prepared for
mock inten iews with business voIunteers
• Career Exploration which is offered to 9th and 10th graders in the Springfield Public Schools.
This will be held at Lane Community College (LCC)with over 170 students attending. The
students will be v isiting 6 different LCC programs and meeting with 20 business leaders. She
noted the programs that would be part of this es ent.
• Career Connect which is offered to 111E and 12th graders in the Springfield Public Schools. The
students will have the opportunity to network with industry leaders and interview for available
internships, apprenticeships and job openings. She noted some comments from students who
attended the event last year.
1 he Chamber has also established a Career and Technical Education Fund that will fund programs
based on the input from the sponsors and impact investors. She referred to the Manufacturing Day
event which was held on October 6 This event connected 16 high schools from Lane County and 185
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students with ft manufacturing companies and 8+regional partners. This event was a big success and
had a big impact on the students.
Councilor Moore asked %here the funding w ill come from.
Mr. Grimaldi said it would be a budget transfer from reser Cs.
Councilor Stoehr asked if there had been any thought given to which careers are the most automation
proof.
Ms. Mikkelsen said many of the tours were at wood and paper companies which include skills in
computer science.engineering and auto mechanics. Technology is Integrated in all manufacturing
Councilor Vantiordon said he is comfortable going forward. It is important to talk to the workforce
about what the next 20}ears is going to look like from a workforce perspective People will need to
be nimble enough to move into different careers
Councilor Woodrow said she is excited to track this and hear the feedback from the students and how
this affects their future. It is important for students to be work ready.
Councilor Moore said she appreciated the goal of Increasing the graduation rate. It is vent' important.
Mayor Lundberg said there are great partnerships with the schools, the City and the Chamber.
Students can be working towards a career in high school. She is supportive of getting our kids out
there and learning
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p m.
Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest'
Amy So .�Y��"°`
City Recorder