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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGovernance-Team-Minutes-5-8-2017 Approved 6/5/18 MINUTES OF MEETING Main Street Governance Team Monday, May 8, 2017 Library Meeting Room – Springfield City Hall 2:30 - 4:00 p.m. Attendees: Governance Team Mayor Christine Lundberg, City of Springfield Councilor Marilee Woodrow, City of Springfield Frannie Brindle, Oregon Department of Transportation Kate Reid, Lane Transit District Don Nordin, Lane Transit District Gino Grimaldi, City of Springfield Project Management Emma Newman, City of Springfield Tom Schwetz, Lane Transit District Kelly Hoell, Lane Transit District Brian Barnett, City of Springfield Molly Markarian, City of Springfield Guests Jon Kloor, Henry McCormick, Randal Jefferis, Todd Fortier, Kent Laxton, Sandy Belson, Loralyn Spiro, Joe Tokatly, Linn Panly, Brett Rowlett, Tamara Pitman, Bill Johnston, Laura Coco, Tony Rodriguez. Absent Leonard Stoehr A.J. Jackson 1. Welcome and agenda review Mayor Lundberg called the meeting to order at 2:31 p.m. and reviewed the agenda. Those present introduced themselves. Ms. Brindle reviewed what was discussed at the previous meeting. 2. Approve meeting minutes for June 21, 2016 Mr. Schwetz noted that survey results on EmX ridership on page 4 should specify that it was related to people heading to the University of Oregon. Ms. Woodrow moved, seconded by Ms. Reid, to approve the June 21, 2016 minutes as amended. The motion passed unanimously, 5:0. 3. Governance Team Membership Update Ms. Newman announced Mayor Lundberg would be stepping down as chair of the committee and Councilor Stoehr would be resuming the position. Ms. Hoell shared that Angelynn Pierce had stepped down from the Governance Team and that they were happy to welcome Kate Reid who was resuming the position. 4. Revise Governance Team Protocols MINUTES—Main Street Governance Team May 8, 2017 Page 2 Ms. Newman shared two copies of the protocols in the agenda packet, one with tracking changes and the other a clean copy. She suggested the protocols note that a City of Springfield voting Governance Team member would chair meetings. Ms. Lundberg said they could appoint the chair at the next meeting. Ms. Reid moved, seconded by Ms. Woodrow, to approve the track changes for the Governance Team Protocols document, with the amendment addressing chair appointment. The motion passed unanimously, 5:0. 5. Review Main-McVay Transit Study (MMTS) Accomplishments to Date Ms. Newman reviewed the accomplishments to date as was located on page 14 of the agenda packet. 6. Main Street Safety Project (MSSP) Update Ms. Markarian presented her “Main Street Safety Project” presentation. She shared that Main St. was one of the worst arterial streets in Oregon for safety. She said a result of the Pedestrian Safety Study, six Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons (RRFB) were established and a Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (PHB) was planned for construction that summer. Mr. Barnett explained how PHBs worked. Ms. Markarian shared the timeline and effects of the Main St. Vision Plan and of the Main-McVay Transit Study Phase 1. ODOT allocated $3.8 million to the city to establish a raised center median on Main St., based on a cost benefit analysis. ODOT offered financial support to plan for holistic future improvements. She shared ODOT recommended compliance with ODOT’s Access Management project requirements, which had been discussed along with SB408. She shared in the fall, the Council’s direction to staff was to study medians and their possible application in a coordinated way with the transit study. She said they were currently in the administrative steps to initiate the project. A recommended concept would be taken to the Planning Commission and Council for Springfield’s Transportation System Plan amendments, as a legislative land use decision. From there, it would go to the Oregon Transportation Commission so the Oregon Highway Plan could be amended. She said this would result in the development of a facility plan. If the plans were adopted, it would then go into the implementation phase, which would then use the funds allocated by ODOT. Ms. Lundberg asked if it had always been a legislative land-use decision. Ms. Markarian explained that ODOT wanted local jurisdictions to adopt facility plans for a clear signal from policy makers and the community that they were on board with the project. She gave an overview of the decision-making process. She said staff were trying to minimize repetition but the minimum level of analysis had not yet been completed. In response to Ms. Lundberg’s question on the time frame, Ms. Markarian said the planning phase would begin in 2017, with draft facility plan completed by early 2018, and that ARTS money could be used in 2019. She said once everything was approved, construction would begin in 2019. Ms. Lundberg noted the Gateway project took two years and asked why the Main-McVay study was taking so long. Mr. Grimaldi asked if the intent of the 408 could be met without going through the lengthy process. MINUTES—Main Street Governance Team May 8, 2017 Page 3 Ms. Markarian said both the Land Use and 408 processes were required by the legislature. She noted that the requirement had been applied but not yet for a project of this scale. Ms. Brindle emphasized the benefit of the 408 process to the community to measure the impact of alterations to access ways. She said medians were not specifically mentioned in 408, however, the intent of 408 was to address impacts of changing accesses, which the median would do. She said establishing principles during the planning phase would give more certainty in the implementation phase and to the property owners along the corridor. Ms. Markarian said the median also triggered a need for a facility plan. Bill Johnson introduced himself and explained that because land use and transportation were integrated in the State of Oregon, they had to account for each other. Ms. Markarian said they were amending the comprehensive plan in the area, and TSP was a component of the plan, which meant there had to be an analysis of the 19 state-wide planning goals. Ms. Woodrow asked what the main goal was. Ms. Markarian replied that it was to adopt a facility plan to get the Council to prioritize the values for safety, mobility and access to apply to the design of the median. Ms. Woodrow said she felt that they were repeating themselves. Ms. Markarian explained that ODOT was looking for a binding decision before they released the allocated funds to design and construct the median. Ms. Brindle said they wanted to bring LTD and safety processes together to inform the design concept. She emphasized ODOT wanted certainty to the project to put the safety money to the best use. She reminded the team that there had been a year delay. Mr. Nordin commented that the funds for the median project had not been secured and could be reallocated. Mr. Grimaldi asked if business owners would know how they were impacted by the end of 2018. Ms. Markarian responded business owners would know when the conceptual design had been completed, which was expected in 2019. Since the facility plan was subject to Oregon’s land use laws, it could only have a conceptual level design to avoid changes in the design having to go through the land use process again. Detailed designs for engineering purposes would be completed after the land use process, where they then would look at impacts on a site by site basis, taking into consideration the established values. Ms. Newman clarified that modernization projects required a facility plan. Mr. Schwetz noted that it was the first time the committee was hearing about triggered facility plans. He said it was still unclear what triggered the planning process. Ms. Markarian said the staff recommendation was to continue coordination of MMTS and MSSP. She said they wanted to give the team an opportunity to give feedback prior to staff taking it to Council MINUTES—Main Street Governance Team May 8, 2017 Page 4 on May 22. She shared there were two alternatives; to only do MSSP and hold the MMTS or to only do MMTS and decline MSSP funds. Mr. Grimaldi said he wanted to know if the 408 process was necessary. Ms. Lundberg said they needed further clarity to weigh all the options efficiently while also giving a chance for public feedback. She said she did not feel she had enough information to make a recommendation and suggested another meeting for continued coordination. In response to Ms. Reid’s question about postponing the presentation to Council, Ms. Markarian noted it would delay the process by several months since Council went into recess for the summer. Ms. Woodrow agreed with Ms. Lundberg noting she was still unsure of the necessities in the first phase. She said she felt it was important to involve the community at each level. Mr. Grimaldi said he was unsure the process provided meaningful public involvement. Ms. Brindle said they planned to do the outreach by breaking up the corridor section by section. She noted there could be some areas of the corridor where a median would not be productive. She said it was also important to differentiate between the needs of a drive-by business versus a destination business. Ms. Lundberg said it seemed to make sense to address transit and median processes together. Ms. Newman summarized that the Governance Team wanted to get to the detailed conversation surrounding design soon and to better understand what components of the Main Street Safety Project and the Transit Study were necessary. Ms. Brindle emphasized that the process would be worth it if they were able to incorporate everything the community wanted into the corridor. She said the 408-process layered an economic and business impact analysis into the process and said the inclusion of the 408 allowed for a more robust planning effort. Ms. Reid asked if there was any way to expedite the allocation of funds for the safety project. Ms. Brindle replied there was a possibility to move up the PE portion if they could have a concept level design sooner. Ms. Reid said she felt comfortable recommending further coordination efforts but that she did not feel comfortable that either of the alternatives were appropriate at that time. Ms. Lundberg said she would like information clarified by the time it got to Council and recommended further coordination with staff and ODOT. In response to Ms. Markarian’s question, Ms. Woodrow said she would like the clarified information in the AIS packet if possible. Ms. Markarian shared that AIS deadlines where that upcoming Friday. Ms. Lundberg said she would like the team to reconvene after the Council meeting. MINUTES—Main Street Governance Team May 8, 2017 Page 5 Ms. Reid encouraged finding ways to receive community feedback side by side with the planning phase. 7. Recommend Coordination of Main Street Safety Project and Main-McVay Transit Study Ms. Lundberg adjourned the meeting at 3:55 p.m. (Recorded by Hannah Parks)