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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/04/2017 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, DECEMBER 4,2017 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Spnngfield,Oregon,on Monday.December 4,2017 at 6:00 p m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Stoehr, and Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith,Administrative Specialist AJ Ripka and members of the staff. Councilor Pishioneri was absent(excused) 1 Sanipac Supplemental Rate Increase. Councilor Stoehr recused himself from this discussion due to a conflict Management Analyst Neil Obringer presented the staff report on this item. Sanipac,the City's franchise hauler for solid waste, has requested a supplemental rate adjustment effective January 1, 2018 to accommodate increases in operating costs and lost material sales revenue due to the loss of foreign buyers of American recyclables. After discussion, Council can approve the rate increase and/or ask Sanipac to re-divert the recyclable materials collected in Springfield to the landfill The latter option would also result in a rate increase Mayor Lundberg said for future rate increases, she would like to see one document with both the current and proposed rates to make it easier to compare Mr. Obringer introduced Josh Metcalf and Aaron Donley from Sanipac Mr Donley, Account Manager from Sanipac, provided an ON en iew of the recycling market. China prey iously accepted up to 80% of the United States recyclables. Earlier this year, China announced that they were puffing a ban on some rec\clables and decreasing the threshold of contamination in those recyclables dramatically. Prey iously, recycling curbside had between 5-10% contamination which China had accepted.As of January 1, 2018,they announced they would limit that threshold to 0 3% of contamination.They hay e since changed that to 1%, which is still unattainable for most processors for curbside rec)cling He further discussed the trade with China. On the west coast,many of the recyclables will have no place to be taken as of January 1, 2018. Mr. Donley referred to a chart showing the percentage of recyclables between the United States and China. Some other countries have stepped up to take some recyclables since China's announcement, but there is still a significant impact. He further discussed the recycling market and the increased costs in order to get down to I% contamination. Those costs are being passed on to haulers like Sanipac. Councilor VanGordon asked about our local contamination rate Mr. Donley said it depends on a lot of factors We are likely between 5-10%. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 4,2017 Page 2 Josh Metcalf, District Manager of Sanipac, noted some of the items people throw into their recycling bins that affect the contamination. Councilor VanGordon asked if Sanipac was planning on making more investments to drive down the contamination rate. Mr Donley said they are starting an education piece to clean up what is being put into the containers, and also doing a pre-sort at EcoSort to make sure the material is as clean as possible before sending it on to the material recycling facilities(MRF) in Portland Councilor VanGordon asked what would happen if China changed back to 5% in a month or two Mr. Donley said it might take some time for the market to re-adjust the pricing, but they would be happy to come back to the City of Springfield to provide an update on the situation. Mr. Metcalf said typically, Sanipac comes to Council in May for updates and increase requests. They will continue coming to the Council in the spring of 2018.and can address ally ariables and report on the state of the markets. Councilor Wylie said they used to do local sorting rather than comingling. She asked if there was an opportunity to return to that system Mr. Donley said in hindsight if they had known this was coming,they would have retained that system as it was cleaner. It is possible to go back, but would be a large readjustment. Councilor Wylie said it may have to happen The direction we are heading is to recycle in Oregon People don't want to pay more to recycle less. Mr. Donley said looking to restructure to a single sort would also be y ery expensive, unless the whole industry was developed more like that. Mr Metcalf said originally when the industry decided to make that shift to commingled, it was meant to encourage participation in recycling and make it easier and user friendly In retrospect,that was a decision that ultimately had many stakeholders involved The standards for recycling will continue to be more strict. Councilor Wy lie said we need to take China out of the equation and find other solutions for our own recy cling. Mr Donley said there are some companies in Portland interested in doing more plastic recycling. Mr. Metcalf said they have significant infrastructure, which allows them to continue to find markets for the material and be creative in finding viable solutions The other thing that is great about the area we live is that we have EcoSort which allows an avenue to find markets for the material. Sanipac is working to find solutions. Councilor Wylie said she strongly encourages finding local markets. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 4,21117 Page 3 Councilor Moore said the letter from Sampac noted that the adjustment would be about$1/month for their most frequently'utilized service level. She asked which level that was. Mr Donley said the 35 gallon trash can, picked up once a week. The increase would be closer to $1.40. Councilor Moore said she understands the issue,but is also aware of our patrons.Every time we increase garbage fees, we risk haying someone drop the service altogether and not taking care of their garbage appropriately. She said she uses the mini-can and asked how much they promote that size. Mr. Donley said when people sign up for service,they are presented with all of the options. It is a great idea to let people know that they can decrease their sen ice. Mr. Metcalf said this is an unprecedented event driven by recycling Councilor Moore asked about the option of sending all of the recycling to the dump Mr Donley said the Department of Ln ironmental Quality(DEQ) has been meeting with haulers and stakeholders in Oregon weekly and has issued a blanket concurrence allowing haulers to go to the landfill with their material. There is a process and application in order to do that. rhe haulers approached DEQ w ith this option in the event a recycle facility was shut and they had nowhere to take the recycling He noted the cities that hay e been approved for that option. Councilor Moore said her concern is that if she couldn't recycle,which is a free service,her garbage would be more requiring a larger,more expensive cart She agreed they needed to educate people about properly separating their recycling Councilor VanGordon strongly encouraged Sanipac to invest in local infrastructure.and would love to hear in May how things are going. He is comfortable paving the additional fee. He doesn't feel our citizens would be comfortable taking recycling to the landfill Mayor Lundberg said education is very important. Most people really try to keep their recycling separate from other garbage or yard debris, but she can see how those living in multi-family units and don't see the bill might be less diligent. It would he important to find a way to educate those families of the importance of separating their recycling Mr. Donley said outreach to those living in multi-family units is more difficult due to transition of tenants Sanipac is involved in property manager groups and provides presentations to them regarding recycling. Opportunity to Recycle has some requirements that landlords must pass on certain recy cling information to their tenants. Sanipac provides the property managers the information to pass on. When the driver sees there Is a problem, someone from Sanipac calls to let them know,and works with them to correct the issue. Mayor Lundberg said perhaps some signage near the receptacles would be helpful. Councilor Woodrow suggested making labels using pictures for the containers. Mr Donley said they have developed those for problem sites, but it would be good to expand that to all sites so people are more aware City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 4,2017 Page 4 Mayor Lundberg said there is an opportunity to try some things out in Springfield. She agrees that the more we can do regarding recy cling locally, will bring the biggest benefit. Mr. Donley said they were going to make some changes to the rest cle information sheet,eliminating certain plastics. He described Plastics are the main issue for contamination. Councilor Moore said this needs to he made very clear to the customers Mr Metcalf said part of the process is trying to figure out an easy marketing campaign for each city. Councilor Moore said there may be more willingness for people to do more in order to recycle Mr Metcalf said they expect this to be an unprecedented opportunity to see behavior change Mr. Donley said there are also changes as of January 1, 2018 with more plastics being eligible for deposits Mayor Lundberg said marketing could also be done through the TEAM Springfield newsletter either as an insert. or an article Mr. Donley thanked the Council for their time. 2 Transportation System Plan Implementation Project. Senior Planner Emma Newman presented the staff report on this item. Ms. Newman introduced the core team that has been working on the Transportation Sy stem Plan (TSP) implementation project. Michael Liebler. Mark Rust, and Kristina Kraaz. The goal of tonight's work session is to provide the framework for review ing materials to get more in depth discussion in future work sessions, and to discuss the public notice that will go out in mid-December to all property owners within the urban growth boundary(UGB)to notify them about the changes. This is also an opportunity for Council to raise any issues that staff can address for the next work session. Ms Newman said with the passage of HB3337,both Springfield and Eugene needed to draft individual TSPs City of Springfield adopted the Springfield TSP in 2014, which is planning out to 2035 That established the high-leselgoals, policies and actions for the future of transportation in Springfield. There are also state rules that require that the TSP not only be adopted,but that there are implementing regulations That is what the implementation project is doing by taking the high level policies and actions and implementing them through updating the Springfield Development Code with amendments that are transportation specific, adopting a conceptual street map,and updating the TSP project list and map There are also some amendments to the Engineering Design Standards and Procedures Manual for consistency. Ms. Newman said staff drafted changes to the Development Code, reviewed them with an oversight team consisting of management staff within the City,took them to a stakeholder sounding hoard including Councilor Wylie, and went through a Technical Review Team with City and other agency staff represented. It then went back to staff for revisions based on feedback,then out for another round of review. Staff revised the elements and brought those to the Planning Commission. Those will be coming to the City Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners for co-adoption. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 4,2017 Page 5 Councilor Stoehr asked if the goal of the changes to the Development Code was to make the roads more mass transit friendly, more bicycle friend].more pedestrian friendly. etc Ms.Newman said she does have a goal plan which she will discuss shortly. A stakeholder sounding board provided feedback to staff about this project as they developed materials. Many of those members had served on the Stakeholder Advisory Committee to develop the TSP so were familiar w ith the policies adopted A few positions were swapped out due to several people no longer being able to serve. The Stakeholder Sounding Board met for orientation on the project plus three meetings to review the various drafts of the material and pro'ided input. They discussed the Springfield De‘elopment Code amendments and the draft Conceptual Map. and provided valuable feedback. Ms.Newman reviewed the process for this project and the next steps. On December 14, 2_017 notice will be mailed to all real property owners within the Springfield I1GB from both the City and the County. That notice will include an advertisement for an open house opportunity prior to the public hearing before the Planning Commission The City and Lane County Planning Commissions will meet jointly a work session and public hearing on January 23, 2018,followed by separate meetings on February 6. The Cit) Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners will meet jointly on February 20t for the co-adoption process Ms Newman said the goals of the project come directly from the TSP Chapter 7 I he goals focus on the following areas: • Needs of the transportation dependent and disadvantaged • System connectivity • Ways of supporting and promoting walking,hiking, and taking transit • Treatment of transportation facilities in the land use planning and permitting process • Update and adapt the Conceptual Street map Mayor Lundberg said the term 'transportation dependent' is very ambiguous. She asked if that could be clarified. She assumes it means those that do not have a single car, but rely on public transportation, although everyone depends on transportation Councilor Moore said the term 'disadvantaged' also has many meanings. Ms. Newman said they would take that back and try to make it more clear. She noted that the three main sections to this project will be adopted through a land use planning process The first piece is the Springfield Dey elopment Code changes. She described some of those changes They will also be pros iding some additional Engineering Design Standards and Procedures Manual language which yvll be coming soon to Council. In the Dey elopment Code amendment packet,there is staff commentary to show the changes and why they are being made. Ms. Newman said Part 2 is the Springfield Conceptual Street Map. The map was updated by staff and a subgroup of the technical review team.and project oversight team. The Conceptual Street Map comes into consideration with the development review process. Some local streets shown could continue to be shown on the map for many years to come and never be built unless a developer comes in and it affects the area in which that street connectivity needs to change It helps achieve the system connects its goal for the City and sene all modes of transportation as stated in the TSP implementation goal Any updated adoption of this map was specifically stated in the charge for this project with Chapter 7 direction. The draft's intent is to implement the policy direction and ensure we City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 4, '_017 Page 6 has e a high quality of community in Springfield in which people have multiple ways to access different destinations and secondary emergency access is pros ided to sites. It shows arterial, collectors and multi-use off-street paths as they are adopted in the TSP. The black on the map shows the conceptual local streets which are subject to the Springfield Development Code street connectivity standards. By showing the conceptual local streets on the map, it provides a clear objectis e and fast pass for developers to take if they wish to do so. Otherwise.they can provide findings through the development review process to support their change Ms.Newman pros ided some examples of the types of local streets shown for connectivity and emergency access Ms.Newman said the third component of the project is the TSP project list and figure updates. She noted some of the changes listed in this section. There is consistency with the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP)which is adopted through the Metropolitan Policy Organization (MPO) There are additions of identified needs and opportunities that has e come up over the last several sears since the TSP was adopted. Finally,there are housekeeping changes All of the content for this project is posted on the webpage and will also be published with the newer version prior to the notice going out. Staff will provide a summary of the feedback received at the open houses. Ms.Newman said although the TSP Implementation Project is taking on quite a lot, there is still more to be done She explained Councilor Stoehr said when he talks with people who live on gravel streets,they are generally split between wanting their road paved or not. Some are concerned about the cost of paving, and some are concerned their street might become a thoroughfare through their neighborhood. He asked if the residents are going to be given input into whether paving occurs or not. Ms.Newman said public notice will be given to all real property owners in Springfield. Prior to a project being built,they would be given another notice about development review. The City is having enough challenges financially maintaining our collector and arterial streets in good conditions, so vs dl not likely be building new local streets Mr Liebler said if any type of development came in that triggered the need for an improvement on the road, property owners would he notified at that time about the level of improvement and how it relates to their individual circumstance If it was a Council initiated public improvement project,the citizens would also be notified With our limited funds, the City hasn't had many local paving projects. Councilor Moore asked about sections on bicycle parking and whether or not that had been incorporated yet. Ms. Newman said there are changes to the bike parking section which are based on a regional bike parking study done as a collaborative effort in 2013. Staff can provide more information on that section during the next work session The cross sections shown in the draft code amendments were based on feedback from the stakeholder sounding hoard. Those pros ide an option for how the minimum street and curb right-of-way could be built out. Mayor Lundberg said she would like to discuss planter strips to make sure there is flexibility per area They need to have language in the code that pros ides discretion to gain or buffer areas The other area is parking One of the main incentn es for people to take transit is lack of parking where they want to Cm of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes December 4,2017 Page 7 go. She would like to look at the minimum standards for parking and figure out how to look at that as it relates to transit. She would like to look into how many ADA parking spaces are required. She doesn't want the parking spaces smaller. Ms Newman said staff can bring that section back with examples The approach that has been taken has been well received by the stakeholders to provide a buffet of options that allow the developer to reduce parking. One of those areas is along or nearby a frequent transit corridor, such as Gateway and Main Street ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7 01 p.m Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa 4414 etristine174, g Sean Va nGord on -Mayer- Council President Attest' Amy So City Recorder