HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/19/2008 Work Session
City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, MAY 19,2008
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225
Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 19,2008 at 6:15 p.m., with Mayor Leiken
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Ballew, Ralston, and Woodrow.
Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City
Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilor Pishioneri was absent (excused).
l. Community Imaging Proiect Plan Review.
Community Relations Coordinator Niel Laudati presented the staff report on this item. In
preparation for the city's 1 25th Anniversary (Feb. 25, 2010), the City engaged the services of
The Ulum Group, to facilitate a Community Imaging Project to better understand who we are
and who we want to be. This work was divided into phases, including research, analysis, and the
development of a plan with recommended strategies, tools and tactics for communicating the
city's image throughout its anniversary year to support its economic development efforts and
foster positive community relations.
This is a community project to gather current perceptions of Springfield residents and employees
of Springfield businesses. One-on-one stakeholder interviews, a series of focus group sessions
and an online survey accessible through a link on the city's home page were used to engage the
public. Nearly identical question guides were used to collect perceptions between Nov. 19,2007
and Jan. 25, 2008:
· 14 one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders, i.e., current city councilors, former
elected officials, community opinion leaders;
· 8 focus groups representing a cross section of the community
o Young professionals, seniors, high school students, Gateway area employees,
business owners/executives, Latinos, nonprofits and community volunteers,
realtors and neighborhood association leaders
o 72 participants total, 36 male and 36 female;
· 167 individual respondents to online survey
· 3 mail-in surveys
Key findings from the Primary Research Phase:
1. Community pride and cooperation is high.
2. Strength of natural amenities is an area of pride.
3. Residents are optimistic about the future.
4. Residents see change as positive and want to address negative perceptions of the city.
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Council Work Session Minutes
May 19,2008
Page 2
5. The Ideal. Everyone wants a safe, clean and attractive, family-friendly, thriving Springfield
that both residents and visitors can enjoy and be proud of.
Next steps include gathering council input on the attached communication plan. If approved,
work can start immediately. The bulk of the planning elements can start pending final approval
of the dedicated funds outlined in the FY08/09 proposed budget. The key to a successful project
is the engagement and involvement of Springfield Citizens. This is the community's project and
care will be taken to use the survey results to build all elements of this endeavor.
Mr. Laudati introduced Monica Shovlin, Vice President of the Ulum Group, who was present in
the audience.
Mr. Laudati discussed some ofthe information from the survey. He noted that the Latino focus
group said they felt comfortable at City Hall and with their local government, but there were still
some challenges in the way the City was perceived. The Police Department did a lot of work
with the Latino population who rated that they were most proud of the Police Chief Jerry Smith,
followed by the Mayor. Neighborhood groups also held the police in high regard.
Mr. Laudati said the City was very compartmentalized (Gateway, Washburne, Thurston, etc.).
One of the things that came out of this process was to put up some new monument signage to tie
in the different areas of town. Everything in the plan was from the community. He said one of
the key learnings was that the citizens were proud of Springfield's past and felt the future was
promising. From that Ulum developed a tag line that would not replace anything the City
currently had in place, but could be used in addition for the l25th Anniversary. The tag line they
created from the survey data was "125th Anniversary, Springfield, Oregon, l885-2010, Proud
History, Bright Future" A mark with that tag line could be put into a franchise packet that
community groups could get from the City and be part of the anniversary.
Mr. Laudati said the survey results would be put online; the good and the bad, so everyone could
have access to it. He reiterated that this was not something City officials made up, but that came
directly from the community outreach.
Mayor Leiken said at the grand opening of the Bob Adams Park in Mountaingate, Willamalane
Superintendent Bob Keefer commented about a 'small town like Springfield'. When talking with
Lane Council of Government (LCOG) partners, Springfield was one of the 'cities', and it was
one of the ten largest cities in the state. Citizens did still want the City to have that small town
charm. He thanked Mr. Laudati and the Ulum Group.
Councilor Lundberg thanked the Ulum Group and Mr. Laudati. She said tying Springfield
together and giving Springfield a theme as we transitioned out of that small town was close to
her heart. Springfield had so much to be proud of and so much in the way of natural resources.
To have a sense of what the community was thinking and a plan to implement it was great. The
survey also pointed out the things we needed to focus on, which was good. She was pleased with
the whole process and the product. Springfield can be proud.
Councilor Ballew said this was a good outcome. She cautioned against over-capitalizing on the
l25th anniversary so they could move on as the years went by. She suggested looking at logos
that could go past that anniversary. She liked the idea of partnering with other organizations for
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Council Work Session Minutes
May 19,2008
Page 3
the anniversary. She suggested looking for events that used to be done and do them for one year
only, such as the Broiler Festival. Involving the different service groups and agencies, could
make it a big community party. She said she wasn't sure we would want to spend $200,000.
Mr. Laudati said that included early estimates for a monument sign. It would be less than that.
Mr. Laudati thanked the Ulum group for doing a very professional job.
Ms. Shovlin said it was very fun.
2. Justice Center Naming Recommendations from Committee Panel.
Community Relations Coordinator Niel Laudati presented the staff report on this item. On May
1, 2008, a committee met to discuss naming ideas the City received for the Justice Center
project. Members of the committee in attendance at that meeting were: Tammy Fitch, John
Lively, Sandra Rennie, Bruce Berg, Fred Parra and George Litzenberger. Not able to attend
were: Chris Larson, Steve Singleton, Maren Tomblin and Linda Christensen. A paid display
advertisement of this meeting ran in the April 24, 2008 edition of the Register Guard's
Springfield Extra.
The committee members engaged in a detailed discussion and review of the unsolicited
recommendations and comments the City received on this issue.
· The recommendation formally submitted is:
'Edward C. Harms Jr. Justice Center'
· An alternative recommendation is:
'The Springfield Justice Center' with the building dedicated to Edward C. Harms Jr. and
a court room named in his honor. This would include a plaque on the building -
officially dedicating the structure to Ed Harms.
· Do nothing: the council is under no obligation to choose a name at this time so not
selecting a recommendation is a legitimate option.
According to Justice Center project management staff; the schedule for signage installation on
the building is:
June - preparation of specifications
July - bid process and award
August - installation
Mr. Laudati acknowledged the members of the committee that were present at the meeting
tonight: John Lively (Chair) and George Litzenberger. He also acknowledged Gail Woodford
who was not a member of the committee, but attended all of the meetings. The committee looked
at all recommendations and had great discussion about all the possibilities. Unanimous
recommendations came out of the meeting as noted on AlS. The first recommendation was to
name the facility the Edward C. Harms Jr. Justice Center and the second choice was to name the
facility the Springfield Justice Center, with the building dedicated to Edward C. Harms ir. with a
plaque and also a courtroom named after Mr. Harms. The fmal decision would be with the City
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Council Work Session Minutes
May 19,2008
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Council. The City had received a lot of feedback regarding the naming once the
recommendations were listed in the newspaper.
Mayor Leiken thanked those that served on this committee.
Councilor Ballew said she worked with Ed Harms on the new City Charter and he .was a
wonderful man. Since this was a bond issue, she felt the facility should be named the Springfield
Justice Center, but would very much like to name a courtroom after Mr. Harms.
Councilor Woodrow said he agreed with Councilor Ballew. He only knew Mr. Harms for a short
time, but had a lot of respect for him and for those serving on the committee. There were still
many people in Springfield that didn't know who Ed Harms was. Springfield voters gave the
City the ability to build the facility and a lot of work went into it by others to put it forward. He
would love to see a courtroom or court section named after Mr. Harms.
Councilor Ralston said he agreed with naming the facility the Springfield Justice Center, naming
individual rooms after Ed Harms or Jerry Smith.
Councilor Lundberg said there were not a lot of opportunities to honor those that had served our
community. She would want either the building or at least a courtroom named after Mr. Harms.
She referred to other facilities that had been named after individuals and noted that not everyone
remembered the people they were named after, but it was a way to honor them. There were
reasons we should honor citizens and make a statement. Ed Harms deserved that type of
recognition for his contributions to the community. Naming the facility after him would be an
honor and appropriate.
Councilor Wylie said she agreed with Councilor Lundberg. There were not many opportunities
to honor someone. She also acknowledged those that wanted the facility to honor Mr. Harms,
such as Don Lutes. People may call it the Justice Center, but having the name on it was a way to
honor our history and a man that did a lot for our community.
Mayor Leiken said after the newspaper report came out, a lot of people contacted him. Many
people supported the name the Springfield Justice Center because the voters had voted on this.
He said he didn't know Mr. Harms well, but his background was incredible. He was a
remarkable man and gave back to our community. If the idea was to go with the Springfield
Justice Center, he would support dedicating the building to him in the least. What Mr. Harms
brought to the community was tremendous.
Mr. Grimaldi said it seemed the majority of the Council wanted to name the building the
Springfield Justice Center. He asked about dedicating the building to Ed Harms with a plaque on
the building.
Councilor Ballew said she would support dedicating the building to Mr. Harms and adding
"dedicated to Ed Harms and the citizens of Springfield". She asked about naming the court
system the "Ed Harms Municipal Court". She wasn't sure ifthat might cause confusion,
however.
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Council Work Session Minutes
May 19,2008
Page 5
Mr. Grimaldi noted the confusion people had between the Springfield Municipal Court and the
Lane Justice Court. He said it sounded like Council wanted to call it the Springfield Justice
Center, Dedicated to Ed Harms, and a courtroom named after Ed Harms.
Councilors Ralston and Woodrow agreed.
Councilor Lundberg said it would be a disappointment to her not to name the facility the Ed
Harms Justice Center.
Mayor Leiken said he would like to hear Councilor Pishioneri's opinion on this matter. He
suggested getting Councilor Pishioneri' s opinion and bringing this back for further discussion at
a later meeting. No formal action was required. Mayor Leiken thanked those that served on this
committee.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:43 pm.
Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa
Attest:
Am~
City Recorder