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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 03 Council Minutes AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: Meeting Type: Department: Staff Contact: Estimated Time: April 16, 2007 SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL Regular Meeting City Manager's Office Amy Sowa, 726-3700 0>. Consent Calendar ITEM TITLE: COUNCIL MINUTES ACTION REQUESTED: By motion, approval of the attached minutes. ISSUE STATEMENT: The attached minutes are submitted for Council approval. ATTACHMENTS: Minutes: a) January 20, 2007 - TEAM Springfield JEO Meeting b) April 2, 2007 - Work Session c) April 2, 2007 - Regular Meeting d) April 9, 2007 - Work Session DISCUSSION/ None FINANCIAL IMPACT: Sowalagendalminutes AIS TEAM <!) Minutes of the Joint Elected Officials' Meeting January 20, 2007, 8:30 - 11 :30 a.m. Willamalane Community Recreation Center 250 South 32nd Street Springfield, Oregon 97478 The TEAM Springfield Jojnt Elected Officials met on Saturday, January 20,2007, at 8:30 a.m., in the Ken Long Room at the Willamalane Community Recreation Center, 250 South 32nd Street, Springfield, Oregon. ATTENDANCE City of Springfield: Mayor Sid Leiken; Councilors John Woodrow, Anne Ballew, Joe Pishioneri, Dave Ralston, and Hillary Wylie. City Manager Gino Grimaldi; Bill Grile; Mark Metzger; Bob Duey; Mike Harman; Niel Laudati. Springfield School District: Board Members Laurie Adams, AI King, and Garry Weber. Superintendent Nancy Golden; Deputy Superintendent Steve Barrett. Springfield Utility Board: Board Members Bobbie Adams, Ken Boyst, Virginia Lauritsen, and Joe Mathieu. General Manager Bob Linahan, Executive Assistant Judy Berra. Willamalane Park and Recreation District: Board Members Lee Beyer, Greg James, Gary Ross, Danelle Ralston, and Helen Wagner. Superintendent Bob Keefer; Chris Pryor; Jason Genck; Greg Hyde; Joel Miller; and Pam Caples. Others: State Representative Elizabeth Beyer; Jack Moran, The Register-Guard; Matthew Smith, Springfield Beacon. INTRODUCTIONS AND WELCOME Mayor Sid Leiken called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone to TEAM Springfield's Joint Elected Officials' Meeting and invited everyone in attendance to introduce themselves. Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 2 GROWTH/EXPANSION OF URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY (UGB) Mayor Leiken noted that the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) has been prominently discussed within the Springfield City Council and they felt it was important to bring this matter to the TEAM Springfield meeting for discussion. He introduced Bill Grile, the City's Development Services Director, to present information regarding the growth and expansion of Springfield's UGB. The supply of buildable land in Springfield is a growing concern, said Mr. Grile. About 48 percent of the residential land that is available for development is located on slopes that are very steep. On the industrial side, the Mayor and City Manager recently met with a company that would like to bring a number of quality jobs to this community and they would like a reasonably sized piece of land to build on. Unfortunately, Springfield cannot easily accommodate them. About a year ago, while setting goals, the City Council direCted staff to address the residential buildable land supply. Staff was asked to inventory the amount of land that was left and to then come up with an assessment of the demand and supply. Staff expects to have that information available for the City Council in the near future. The results of the assessment are expected to indicate that Springfield has a shortfall, which would lead to questioning what options are available. The options are to either increase densities and build up, or to look at expanding the UGB. On the commercial/industrial side, the Lane Metro Partnership commissioned a study called the CIBL (Commercial Industrial Buildable Lands), Mr. Grile said. This study inventoried what land was available, but did not address what the need was for the additional land in order to be able to do a gap analysis. As a result, the City Council directed staff to prepare an issue paper for consideration during Springfield's budget process to look at some options to address that need. Springfield is a topographically constrained community that is hemmed in by two rivers and there are also hills that make development more challenging and more expensive than in other places, he explai'ned. In the recent past, Metro Portland did an expansion and added about 15,000 acres to their UGB, said Mr. Grile. However, adding land to the UGB is kind of a paper exercise if you can't provide the infrastructure and facilities that are needed to allow development to occur. These are among the things that Springfield should be thinking about as it considers expanding the UGB, if the results of the land inventory study indicates that Springfield has a shortfall. As we look at alternatives to a land shortfall, City staff will be communicating closely with TEAM Springfield staff, Mr. Grile said. Today's meeting is a wonderful opportunity for staff to hear Springfield's elected officials discuss those things that attracted their attention to this issue. He then turned the discussion back over to the elected officials. Dave Ralston commented that the City of Eugene recently made a decision that they were not going to do a land study until they were forced to do so by the State of Oregon. Since Springfield and Eugene are both part of the Lane Metro Plan, Springfield can't really do anything without their permission. He believed the real issue is how Springfield is going to proceed and are they going to be doing it on their own. Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 3 Mayor Leiken asked Mr. Grile to clarify why Springfield is tied to Eugene under the Metro Plan and to explain how the Plan works. i With the exception of Metro Portland where they have an elected metropolitan government, in virtually every other municipal setting in Oregon the decisions about expanding a city's UGB is a shared decision between the city and the county, Mr. Grile said. In the 1970s decisions were made in this metropolitan area to put together a planning partnership that came to be known as the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan, also .known as the Metro Plan. Under the Metro Plan, planning is centralized into one UGB, one land-use inventory for residential lands, one land-use inventory for commercial and industrial lands, etc. The compliance requirements that the State enacted in 1973 in Senate Bill 1 00 that created the Land Conservation and Development Commission (LCDC) were addressed through the planning partnership of the Metro Plan, and the State approved that Plan in 19S3. The Metro Plan has a provision for amendments to the UGB that requires the concurrence of not only Springfield and Lane County, but also Eugene's concurrence. Cities all over Oregon have amended their UGB probably several hundred times; it's not an uncommon thing, he said. Planning is done at a point in time. We can't guarantee with any certainty what this area will look like in 20 years. Planners will tell you that planning is not set in concrete, but unfortunately in many regards the Metro Plan has become set in concrete. Since 19S3 on the Springfield side of the freeway, the Metro Plan's UGB has been amended ' only three times. In the early 1 9S0s there was a large Metro Plan amendment for a UGB expansion on the west side of the freeway for the industrial triangle area by the airport. Aside from that, Eugene has not addressed UGB expansions as frequently as many, if not most, other communities in Oregon have done. As we look at the land supply issue on Springfield's side of the freeway, there is one question that seems to cause a certain amount of anxiety. If we prove statistically that we have a shortage of land through the analysis of how many acres we have and how many acres we need, and the Springfield City Council attempts then to amend the UGB, will that proposal receive the concurrence and support of our other two Metro Plan partners? . ' Dave Ralston said that he believes the studies will show that Springfield is short on real estate and he feels that Springfield needs to find an area where it can expand and then propose that expansion and see what happens. He also felt that Eugene should be encouraged to do their own study because they are going to be in short supply also. Laurie Adams asked if Springfield would have any recourse if Lane County and Eugene were to say no to a Springfield proposal to amend the UGB. Bill Grile responded that Springfield does have recourse in that it is legally entitled to have its own comprehensive plan, just like every other city. If the land shortfall is established, then Springfield has three options. The first would be to seek a plan amendment to expand the UGB and if Lane County and Eugene support that, then that would solve the problem. If Lane County and Eugene disagree with the proposal, then the second option is that the Springfield City Council can throw up its hands and declare that it's just a victim of the Metro Plan, end of discussion. The third option would be for Springfield to "unyoke" from the Metro Plan and Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 4 proceed to prepare its comprehensive plan for the city of Springfield. The comprehensive plan would require Lane County's support. If Lane County did not concur, that is not the end of it. Oregon land use law stipulates that these kind of decisions cannot be arbitrary and capricious, they have to be based on findings of fact and conclusion of law supported by substantial evidence. AI King said the other option the City Council had for expansion was to go west. A number of people there have been advocating that Springfield take them over completely rather than piecemeal. Since there are so few large pieces of industrial property available, he asked for some comment on expansion into the Jasper-Natron and Mohawk Valley areas. Lee Beyer said that residential land would need to be separated from commercial-industrial land. He believed they have a shortage of residential land because they are not letting reasonable economics play. Anytime bare residential lots are costing up to $150,000 apiece, that's too much, he said. The land is constrained. If you are concerned about young people being able to buy houses, you completely put them out of the marketplace with that kind of cost. That study currently underway, he said, and the issue is whether they can get that piece through. He suspected they would have less opposition on the residential side than on the commercial-industrial side. In 2001, there were no big commercial-industrial lots. The land studies showed there was a lot of industrial land, but it was all in small chunks. When we worked on the Metro Plan in the late 1970s, we created what we called the Special Light Industrial sites, which we now call Campus Industrial, and they let us go outside the numbers because we said that there was a special need, and we received agreement on that. Unfortunately, most of those sites now are pretty well developed and a number of them are wetlands. The remaining site is coming up for discussion on whether to convert it to housing and commercial uses. He thought the City Council would be dealing with that soon. The options that we looked at in the late 1970s were the Mohawk Valley and to some degree across the river into the Seavey Loop area. In looking to the future for our community, there aren't a lot of choices. As for the future on the industrial side, the traditional industrial users want to be close to the freeway. Bill Grile said that when Portland expanded their UGB, they added all that land and years went by before any density occurred there because they did not have the money to do the infrastructure. We have to figure out how to make this happen in a way that's fair to everyone-property owners, developers, the community, and the taxpayers. We need to create a win-win solution. As an elected official, Gary Ross said he always felt that his position was to ensure we have the ability to make it possible for our citizens to live and work here. He thought it was good business sense to look at what Springfield has for industrial land, what its needs are and project out for the next 10-20 years. He thought the Springfield City Council needed to move forward, regardless of what they think their neighbors will or will not do, and fight those battles when they get there. First they need to do their inventory and determine what they need. They should look at the currently developed and undeveloped areas and make some decisions about what's best for this community. Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 5 Garry Weber agreed with Gary Ross and said he would also like the City Council to comment on one of Bill Grile's options, to run it as it is set up to run through the Metro Plan. He asked if they have done any trial balloons there. Mayor Leiken said that he has a monthly breakfast with Eugene's Mayor Piercy and the Board Chair of the Lane County Commissioners, Faye Stewart. One of the things that they have discussed is the Metro Plan. It really is outdated, he said. Not much has been done with it for over 25 years, and yet the community has changed. For example, under our state land use 'laws forest land was being protected because it was being harvested, but we're not harvesting as much now. Some folks have taken the issue of forest land protection into a whole different arena than the one it was actually intended for in the first place. Mayor Leiken said the State has agreed to our request that they look at Senate Bill 100 regarding Oregon's land use laws. These laws haven't changed in nearly 35 years, yet from an economic viewpoint the state has changed dramatically. So they are looking at these laws to see what changes may need to be made. We've come back with the idea of looking at the Metro Plan. Both Mayor Piercy and Commissioner Stewart have agreed that it's probably a good time to look at it. It's been passed up to the administrators, where City Managers Gino Grimaldi and Dennis Taylor and Lane County Administrator Bill Van Vactor have met and agreed that it's time to move forward. The Planning Directors have been talking about this for the last several months. Mayor Leiken thinks the best way to go would be to keep the Metro Plan in place and yet create stronger autonomy for each of the cities so that if Springfield wants to do a UGB expansion, it can do that without having to have concurrence from Eugene. If we can continue to sell ourselves as the Eugene-Springfield Metro Area, the second largest metropolitan area in the state along the 1-5 corridor, in the long run it will continue to make us stronger. Based on the latest statistics from Portland State University on growth, from a percentage point Springfield grew quite a bit more than Eugene, the Mayor said. So people are looking at this area not only for new business opportunities, but also to live here. Another option, which should probably be the last option, would be to see if something could be done at the Legislature. If we can somehow get this settled within our jurisdictions, that would make the most sense. AI King said he thought the Metro Plan had been unanimously agreed to by all the parties, whereas Eugene's 20-50 Plan is not a consensus product. One large aspect is that Eugene has its own river-crossing issue to deal with potentially, whereas we had said that maybe Mohawkwould be a river-crossing issue at some point. So the aspect of Eugene needing to go across the river becomes part of the dynamic of how they work with Springfield. Not necessarily. today, but 20 years from now, when Springfield has hopefully made some progress, that's going to put a lot of pressure on them that someday we will be their constraint as well. Mayor Leiken said that AI King made a good point that Eugene has its own challenges and focus and it probably makes sense that they don't want Springfield to interact at this time. He thought there were a lot of positives to be gained about moving forward and having this overall Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 6 discussion. As we look at the Metro Plan, if we can somehow keep the strength in numbers and yet allow each city to clearly have more autonomy, he felt that would be the best way to go. Lee Beyer said that while he was on the Council, the Metro Plan was amended to allow the cities to amend their UGBs on their own, with concurrence primarily with the County because the County has to be involved. However, we left each city the opportunity to opt in if they determined that an amendment was of metro impact. The reality is that we did do the Blue Water Boat expansion and Eugene stayed in the discussion but chose to stay out in the end. We also did the Royal Caribbean amendment and Eugene stayed out. When they were doing the iron triangle on the west side, some members of our Council at that time thought we should get involved, so that street goes both ways. It sounds like Springfield does have some agreement with Mayor Piercy to allow a look. The Metro Plan can work if they allow us to look at that. There are constraints out there, he said. One of the issues on residential land is that the County is the one empowered under state law to determine what the population forecast would be, and they delegated that to the Lane Council of Governments. That in itself is a constraining factor. He agreed with Mayor Leiken that if people are talking together, that's the best way to go, if you can develop the idea that each city has a right to its aspirations and its policies in allowing that to happen. Virginia Lauritsen asked how soon Springfield was thinking of moving on the issue to expand the UGB. Mayor Leiken responded that first they need to have the analysis back from the studies, to be able to show to the local jurisdictions and the Land Conservation and Development Commission / Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development (LCDC/DLCD) that Springfield has a c'ase, and then we can move forward prudently., We have to have the facts first, he said. Once this residential land supply study comes into play, we are going to clearly have an idea of where we are and how to proceed. It looks like we're moving forward on the commercial and industrial land demand study as well. As long as we have the facts to back us up, we should be able to proceed. There is no doubt that the Springfield City Council has been aggressive, and once we have a case, we will look at it and then look to see where our next steps are. Bill Grile said they will have the demand analysis on the housing side to compare with the supply piece in a couple of months, and then with direction from the City Council, the question will turn to where and how to expand. And if the direction is that we can't just build vertically, that we need to build horizontally and expand the UGB, then there will be an option, an identification of areas, and that will have to be evaluated. This is not something that's going to happen within a matter of weeks or months, it's going to take some time. Virginia Lauritsen asked the Mayor how long it would take. Mayor Leiken said he did not know at this time. When they receive the information back from the study and review it, then they should be able to determine some kind of a timeline and he would try to personally send her a response. Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 7 Bill Grile said it would take about 18 months to do the analysis and to know what the gap analysis is on the commercial-industrial piece. But how do you resolve it, where do you look for solutions? There is very little you can predict with certainty under Oregon land use law, but one thing is sure, there is going to be an appeal, from one side or the other, and nobody can tell you how long an appeal will last. In looking ahead, AI King said he anticipates a problem in the Jasper-Natron area in the future. As that area builds up and more jobs are created, there needs to be more housing for the people who will be working there. If there is not enough land for housing development, then there would probably be large numbers of people commuting back and forth between Eugene and Springfield on a daily basis on 1-105. Laurie Adams said she has some memory of the Metro Plan development at the time her husband was on the Planning Commission. She remembers some long struggles with that and it was expensive and fractious. She supports the Mayor's approach and his sense of community and working together. She thinks that is the way to go. Referring to Lee Beyer's comment about young families not being able to afford the cost of new homes, Laurie Adams wondered if it was possible to look at areas in the vicinity of downtown Springfield that could be redeveloped or remodeled. Downtown Springfield has come a long way toward being a family-centered area because of its affordability, and she felt sure that young families could afford those homes. So, as the City looks for buildable land, she wondered if they could also consider areas that just need some improvement. She didn't know if they would be able to 'include that in their study, but she'd like to see them try. Bill Grile said that they are actually required to do that evaluation. Joe Mathieu said that as an elected official he would like to be kept informed on the City's progress with the growth/expansion of the UGB. Anne Ballew asked if there was anyone from the agencies who felt strongly against the City seeking expansion of the UGB or was everyone okay with the City moving forward. Bobbie Adams said she supported the City looking into expanding the UGB. Garry Weber said he felt it was important that Springfield's young people should be able to own a home in Springfield rather than commute back and forth between Springfield and Eugene or other areas. He didn't think it was in Springfield's best interest to bring in wonderful businesses while young people who may work in those businesses can't live and afford their own home close to where they work. He said he was in support of looking at that and if it meant they needed to move forward on something, he was in support of moving forward. Greg James said that WillamaJane has been very fortunate to work with the City on several projects and that he is very much in favor of the City moving forward on the UGB expansion Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 8 issue. He also felt it was fortunate that the TEAM Springfield group was created and that its. members would continue to be a part of these conversations concerning our community. Lee Beyer said that he supported Laurie Adams' suggestion about redeveloping and/or remodeling areas of downtown Springfield to make those properties more affordable for our young members of the community. There are some great houses in there that are just out of style or are in need of improvements. Some of the larger cities, like Portland, are doing that kind of redevelopment. It doesn't really fit into the context of the Plan very well, and it seems to just be human nature to keep going out to the next greener pasture. He thinks Springfield has to do both, but it's really hard to get people to do the rehab, and there's not many tools to do it. Mayor Leiken concluded by saying that this has been a very good discussion and that he and Gino Grimaldi will make sure that all of the TEAM Springfield partners are kept informed and involved in this issue. Everyone thanked the Mayor and City Council. Mayor Leiken introduced Bob Keefer to review logistics. Bob Keefer welcomed everyone to the new Willamalane Community Recreation Center (CRC). He explained where to find the restrooms and invited everyone during their break to feel free to walk through the new building. To pay for this new facility, he explained that Willamalane sold their office and storage facility on the Mill Race, plus they had a $1.8 million loan and about $500,000 in operating funds that Willamalane had saved over the last several years to help offset the cost. Willamalane will pay back the $1.8 million loan over the next fifteen years. Wi llama lane appreciates the partnership it has with the City, SUB, and the Springfield School District. All these agencies had a vision of the sports center facility, and it could not have been done it without that, he said. The School District is now leasing the Memorial Building for their alternative education programs and that is assisting Willamalane in paying their debt for the CRC. SUB assisted Willamalane a lot with getting fiber optics to the facility. They now have not only fiber optics, but also a voice-over IP telephone system. He thanked everyone involved for their support of the building. Mr. Keefer said that following the break Chris Pryor would facilitate the next portion of the meeting. BREAK Everyone took a 15 minute break. Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 9 CREATING OUR SIGNATURE IN SPRINGFIELD (Breakout Sessions) INTRO AND REVIEW OF ASSIGNMENT Following the break, Mayor Leiken introduced Chris Pryor to facilitate the breakout sessions for Creating our Signature in Springfield. Chris Pryor explained that Willamalane had set up four separate areas in or near the main meeting room for the breakout sessions and he explained where they were located and that there would be a flip chart in each location for noting each group's comments. The CEOs will be divided up into four groups in order to have small-group discussions about TEAM Springfield's signature projects/needs. Each of the four CAOs will present the signature project relating to their agency and the question or questions they have for the group. As comments/suggestions/strategies are generated from the group, they will be noted on the flip chart pad. Every 15 minutes or so the CAOs will rotate to a different group until each CAO has met with each group. The CEOs were divided into four groups by counting off one through four around the room and each of the groups went to their designated areas to meet with each of the CAOs over the next hour. Following the breakout sessions, Mayor Leiken spoke for Group No.2. He felt they had good discussions on all the issues. On the City's issue of branding, "Strengthening Springfield's Sense of Place and Community," the group talked about not necessarily sticking to a brand but instead focusing on what has made Springfield work and move in that direction.' On Springfield School District's issue of "Revitalization of Downtown through A3," another excellent discussion, he said, AI King brought up some different scenarios, especially incorporating this with the Urban Renewal District, but also the positive impacts that the School District is already making. More desirables will run the undesirables out of the downtown core, he said. Our group thought that, overall, this would have a positive impact not only for the downtown, but for the children, too, as they look at different alternatives in the School District for different learning styles. On SUB's issue of the "Oregon Renewable Portfolio Standard Update," the Mayor said they received a lot of technical, helpful information from Bob Linahan. We have been very fortunate to have one of the lowest electricity and water rates here in Springfield and he felt that has helped to keep Springfield very competitive. The reality is that alternatives are going to have to be part of the mix, but it was important that SUB have plenty of time to transition to the Renewable Portfolio Standard and not be forced into a situation where it would have no control. On Willamalane's issue of the "Future Funding for Park, Recreation, and Natural Area Acquisition and Development," the Mayor said this was another great proposal. Our group recommended Willamalane go out with a bond to make sure that the title is simple so folks understand what they are voting on and that they are voting yes and no. As far as making sure a campaign is involved, it was highly recommended that Willamalane include many folks on TEAM Springfield to help move this along. The Mayor believed they would have positive results.' Speaking for Group No.1, Laurie Adams said regarding SUB's issue that she couldn't speak to it because she doesn't know enough about it, but they support SUB's efforts toward getting reasonable renewable energy standards and they appreciate that SUB works hard to keep consumers' costs down and that would be their reason for wanting it to go forward to getting I I Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 10 those renewable energy standards. Regarding Willamalane's issue, she said this was generally supported by the group, with just a concern about the consideration of the financial impact on the community and citizens. Regarding Springfield School District's issue to increase the opportunity for students to interact with the community in downtown Springfield, perhaps a group could be formed to give the kids a voice and to give the community an opportunity to hear their voice, and increase student visibility in some ways, have them do a production on the sidewalk, keep them visible. Regarding the City's issue, our group talked about the work that needs to be done on the downtown area. We want to see renewed energy in downtown and they appreciate the City's can-do approach and their attitude. The first person speaking for Group No.3, Garry Weber, said he would speak to the City's issue. Our group loved.the branding idea and even generated some possible slogans and catch phrases. They thought the City was on the right track with the understanding that the slogan as they underlined it is more than a catchy slogan, it really matches the true identity that the community has, in addition to the intention of where they want to go. We all thought it was a great idea to move forward on, he said. Dave Ralston added that the group also thought the image of Springfield was important. There was a lot of discussion around making it attractive, he said. When people enter Springfield, no matter which entry they take, there should be a nice, attractive sign that shows we have pride in our city, he said. Danelle Ralston next responded for Group No.3 regarding the School District's issue. Springfield needs to have more supportive businesses downtown, she said. The School District could use the kids to do public service and clean up downtown, do some volunteering, get kids into the businesses so the businesses are interacting with them. Have the kids do plays outside of the buildings so downtown people will see them. Have more police exposure. Enhance the visualness of the buildings, maybe using the school kids. John Woodrow next responded for Group No.3 regarding SUB's issue. The group supported and complimented SUB on what they're doing now, how they're doing it, and the way that they've been doing it, he said. SUB should continue to keep that up, he said. SUB should go forward with the plans that they're working on, and look at the four percent cap process. They also should start raising rates slowly now to help build up a reserve so that when they get to 2011 and need conservation programs, they have that money set aside, and also to help reduce the rate impact that might come along at that time. Dave Ralston gave the final response for Group No.3 regarding Willamalane's issue. The group agreed that as Springfield expands, there would be a need for more parks and recreation facilities. The number one key to that is to educate the public. Wi llama lane needs to make it very clear what the projects are, what the costs are going to be, and impress upon the citizens that the selling point is going to be that the other bond measures are going to be paid off in two years. That shows responsibility and they can roll some of that money into these other projects. Willamalane needs to educate the public and show them that it is spending theirmoney responsibly. Team Springfield Minutes January 20, 2007 Page 11 Speaking for Group No.4, Anne Ballew said regarding the City's issue, her group didn't want to go into branding so much as they wanted to focus on how Springfield is a city in transition. Springfield has been a working class town, but it's not just a working class town anymore. We're changing for the best, she said. There may still be some negative attitudes, but we would like to have people understand how many opportunities there are in Springfield. We get things done here, we're innovative, and Springfield has great recreation facilities. We are interested in branding, but we want to be in tune with our residents. We should take this slowly and come up with a consensus that we all agree on, she said. Regarding Willamalane's issue, our group was very supportive, but felt that Willamalane should keep its issue very simple. One concern is who else in the community will be going out for bonding at the same time because we need to be mindful of each other's needs. Willamalane should reassure voters that it is maintaining what it already has before it starts adding to it. Regarding SUB's issue, we .want to be supportive of renewables, but we would also like to limit our liability for the ratepayers to support someone else's idea with our money. Regarding the . School District's issue, partnership was a big topic with the schools being in partnership with the museum, the downtown library, and businesses, so lots of opportunities for the students to be involved in all those areas. Also the students could maybe do outdoor productions, like music or dance, etc., so the kids are outside where they can be seen. It was suggested that they merge with the Springfield Greeters for the downtown area, and the kids could all be young ambassadors of goodwill. It was also suggested that the kids be polled on what they think needs to be done downtown, let them take ownership. REMARKS FROM ELECTED OFFICIALS Anne Ballew thought this was one of TEAM Springfield's better meetings. She liked the breakout sessions, the meeting organization, and she felt there was good participation. Everyone thanked Willamalane for providing the meeting facilities in their new building. Danelle Ralston said she and the other elected officials don't usually see minutes from all the TEAM Springfield meetings. She thought Board members sometimes feel disconnected because the CAOs make decisions or talk about issues that the elected officials aren't always aware of; they like to be kept informed on what is going on so they can give their feedback. She suggested that minutes of all the TEAM Springfield meetings be sent to the elected officials. Joe Pishionerj added that it doesn't cost anything to send the minutes electronically and he thought that was a good way to keep everybody connected. Communication is imperative for TEAM Springfield to function as a viable, healthy group in order to get the will of the citizens done, he said. The more we're informed of each others' activities and the more we can provide information to each other, the more effective we can be as a group and we can be better ambassadors for one another in the community. 1---- Team Springfield Minutes January 20,2007 Page 12 Laurie Adams said the elected officials all need to be conscious about developihg female leadership in this community, helping women develop their skills as leaders and play an important role in the community. Danelle Ralston agreed with Laurie Adams and also recommended that perhaps they could start doing seminars for high school girls now to let them know they are empowered, they can have a voice, and there are places out here for them. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Leiken said he appreciated being a part of this community and a member of TEAM Springfield and looked forward to everyone working together for the betterment of Springfield. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 11 :30 a.m. Minutes Recorder: Judy Berra, Executive Assistant Springfield Utility Board Sidney W. Leiken Mayor Attest: City Recorder City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2007 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 2, 2007 at 6:02 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. . ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Ballew, Rals~on, Woodrow 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. Councilor Wylie was absent. 1. Council Communication Options. Information Technology Director Rod Lathrop presented the staff report on this item. The City engages in primarily paper-based communications with the Mayor and City Council. There is no mechanism for the City to send electronic mail, electronic meeting notifications, online agenda packets or electronic documents to elected officials. This hampers the ability of the City to communicate with elected leadership during the conduct of regular business, and could be a constraint during an emergency. Staff communication with elected officials was raised as an issue during the December 4, 2006 City Council Emergency Management work session. Options were presented and discussed at a Council Work Session on February 5,2007. Subsequent two-on-two meetings were held with elected and appointed City leadership. These follow-up meetings have identified four options for enhancing communication between the City of Springfield and top elected leadership: 1. Status Quo, no new capabilities, no additional costs; 2. Cell/Internet allowance of $45 per month, to reimburse elected leadership for using their personal cell phones and Internet resources for city business. Costs $3,780 per year. 3. Furnish Smartphones and wireless service to interested Elected Officials. Other Councilors would receive the $45 monthly cell/Internet allowance. Cost would be $6,452 the first year; 4. Option Four would add a laptop computer to the solutions identified in Option Three. First year costs would be $8,452. Mr. Lathrop reviewed the issues regarding this subject that had been discussed during the different meetings with Council members. He went over the four options proposed. Councilor Woodrow asked for clarification regarding use of personal equipment for City business and whether or not that made the equipment reviewable by anyone requesting public records. Mr. Leahy said the City information would be public. If there were questions, and the Councilor maintained that it was personal, the City would object to the release of the personal information, City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 2 and the District Attorney's (D.A.'s) office would make a decision. If the City disagreed with the D.A.'s decision, it would go to a judge for review and a decision. Councilor Woodrow asked if someone could physically take his personal laptop. His concern was that his laptop contained business information from his work. Mr. Leahy said requests were handled on the honor system and the Councilor would be responsible for providing the information in response to a public records request. If the requestor felt that the Councilor was not providing the information, something would need to be worked out with Information Technology (IT) to retrieve the public information while protecting the integrity of the Councilor's personal equipment. Mr. Lathrop said IT could work through that issue if it arose. The process would be the same with the Councilors' existing status quo option regarding public records requests. Councilor Woodrow said his concern was that he had proprietary information on his laptop and that was where he received his City email. He would not be comfortable giving his laptop to anyone because it could cost his company money. Councilor Pishioneri said he liked Option 3 for now. He would like to keep Option 4 available in case it was found that there was a stronger need at a later date. Mr. Lathrop said Option 3 was the IT recommendation to meet the majority of needs expressed. Councilor Ballew said she was personally happy to remain with the status quo, but felt it was good to leave all the options available. Council consensus was to proceed with Option 3. 2. Progress Report on Fire Station #1 Rehabilitation. Interim Assistant City Manager Mike Harman presented the staff report on this item. Fire Station #1, located at 6853 Main Street, was originally constructed in about 1980. It was a cutting edge design at the time, using passive solar design elements, and was built to house 3 firefighters and 1 fire apparatus. Twenty-seven years later, the station houses 5 firefighters, 3 to 4 pieces of apparatus, does not meet current seismic standards and lacks adequate dormitory space to accommodate a multi-gender workforce. The Fire & Life Safety Department has been working to address water intrusion and mold problems inside the station. Work on the facility has uncovered extensive problems with water damage and dry rot. Findings from a mold test in June 2005 resulted in the crews being moved out of the facility (see Attachment 2). In March of2007, the City received a report from Architect Paul Bentley (Attachment 3) assessing the current condition of the Station and the options for moving forward. The advantages and disadvantages, as well as rough order of magnitude cost estimates, were requested for three options as follows: 1.) Return the Station to its original condition; 2.) Save the existing structure but add dormitory space as part of the City of Springfield Council Work Session'Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 3 reconstruction process; 3.) Tear down the existing structure and construct a new Station at the current location to meet current space needs and seismic standards. Because of the extensive work already done to the structure, and because the need for dormitory facilities has long been recognized, Option 1 (which was the original intent of the project) is no longer recommended as a solution. Option 2 retains the value of the remaining structure, but limits options for remodeling, and bears a risk that mold and water problems could reappear. The estimated cost difference between Options 2 and 3 is between $150,000 and $250,000, depending on how much of the remaining structure can be saved, in today's dollars. In order to maximize our future investment, the preferred option is Option 3. The best available cost estimate for this option, in today's dollars, is $1,880,000. Mr. Grimaldi noted the location of Fire Station 1 in the Thurston area. He reviewed the problems that were involved with the building. Once staff saw the extent of the issues, they felt there was a need to rebuild the facility. Tonight staff wanted to talk about the options. The goal was to make the best investment possible looking towards the future. Mr. Harman said in March 2007, staff talked to an architect, Paul Bentley, to evaluate three options for the facility and provide rough estimates of cost. Mr. Bentley was familiar with the building since he had done assessments of all Springfield fire stations in 1999 and provided recommendations regarding maintenance. Mr. Harman reviewed the options considered and the advantages and disadvantages of each option. He noted thatsome of the mold found in the building was toxic and although it had been removed, would likely return due to the structure and design of the building. He explained why staff felt Option 3 was the best choice. The details were noted in the Council Briefing Memorandum included in the agenda packet. He explained why the estimates between Option 2 and Option 3 were not more significant. to Mayor Leiken commended staff for contracting with Paul Bentley. He was a very good architect and was the architect who designed the Gateway station. The information laid out by Mr. Bentley gave a good idea of how the City should proceed. Mayor Leiken said his personal opinion was to have the fire fighters do a practiee burn on the existing building. It would be better to spend the money to build a new building for the long run. It was an asset that would increase in value. Fire fighters were unique and the station was their home away from home. The City had a responsibility to make sure the fire fighters were treated well and were in a position where they could do their jobs well. 'He said the City was proud of their firefighters and this would help them continue to do a great job. This option may put fire fighters out of the station for one year, but in the long run it was the best option. Councilor Ballew said it was unfortunate that we spent the money we did trying to fix the problem, but the difference between bringing it up to standard and building a new facility was not much in the overall scope of project. She felt the City needed to go forward and build a new facility. Councilor Ralston agreed it was disappointing to have spent the money to get to this point. He asked where the money would come from for the building. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 4 Mr. Grimaldi said there were several options listed in the agenda packet. Staff would come back to Council at a later date with more specifics. He briefly reviewed some of funding options such as using reserves, using funds from other projects or borrowing some of the funds. Staff was confident they could make adjustments in the budget to get it done. Discussion was held regarding the possibility of building or moving another station and the study being done to determine station locations. Staff would bring the discussion regarding station location to the Council at a later date. Councilor Ralston said he didn't like using reserves. He wanted to look at the option of a small bond measure to replace the station. Mr. Grimaldi said they could put that as an option. He said that option could pose a delay, however, because it would need a double majority and would most likely need to go on the ballot in an even numbered year. He said the difference in the interest rate between a bond measure and loan was not that much. Finance Director Bob Duey said it would not be much different as they were both tax exempt. Mr. Grimaldi said they could get a bank loan and move ahead very quickly. Councilor Pishioneri said Option 3 seemed the most logical although the most painful. In the interim he would like to look closely at what the City was spending now and how the fire fighters would be housed. The City could buy the tent used to store the equipment, and then sell it after the year, rather than continue to rent it. He would like to look at any way to curb costs. He said it was a good opportunity for design and suggested giving the building a peaked roof rather than flat. Councilor Woodrow asked when staff would come back with financial options. Mr. Duey said it could be done soon. Councilor Woodrow agreed Option 3 was the best option. Councilor Lundberg asked how long it would take from now, including time to figure out costs and other issues. Mr. Hannan said some of the work would overlap. He asked the consultant for a timeline and was told about a year. Mr. Grimaldi discussed some of the steps, such as determining the right location and going out for bid for construction. Councilor Ballew asked about using the plans from our most recent fire station. Mr. Grimaldi said different sites required different designs and he wouldn't recommend using plans for another facility. Councilor Lundberg asked about looking at growth in that area. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 5 Councilor Pishioneri suggested looking at recently constructed stations in similar areas over the last few years. Mayor Leiken asked about the interest rate if the funds were borrowed. Mr. Duey said it would be somewhere below five percent. Mayor Leiken said the sooner the better to avoid weather issues. Consensus was to move forward with Option 3. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Sidney W. Leiken Mayor Attest: Amy Sowa City Recorder City of Springfield. Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2007 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Jesse Maine R.oom (6:32 p.m. - 6:55 p.m.) and the Council Meeting Room (7:00 p.m. -7:21 p.m.), 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 2, 2007, with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATIENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie (by conference phone at 7:00p.m.), Ballew, Ralston, Woodrow 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. The order of the meeting was changed by Mayor Leiken The Regular Meeting was called to order by Mayor Leiken at 6:32 p.m. in the Jesse Maine Room. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Business from Council a. Committee Reports 1. Councilor Ballew discussed a letter she, and all the Councilors, had received from State Representative Paul Holvey requesting a letter of support on a certain issue. She felt a protocol should be in place to address this type of request. She would like full Council backing before she sent a letter of support or opposition. Councilor Pishioneri said he felt that was a good idea so they all knew what each other was doing. There could be issues from other Councilors. Mr. Grimaldi said one option would be to run these types of requests by Council leadership during their weekly meeting. The Mayor and Council President could then contact each councilor with a position, asking for any comments or objections. If there were concerns or objections, the topic could be discussed at the next Council Work Session or Regular Meeting to deal with it quickly. Councilor Ballew said she would like a list of Council goals and standard policies for guidance on these requests. She asked for Council's opinion on this letter of request and the issue of replacing the Metropolitan Policy Organization (MPO) and implementing an Area Commission on Transportation (ACT). Mayor Leiken noted that the MPO was required for federal issues. Transportation Manager Tom Boyatt confirmed that was the case. The ACT would replace the Board of Commissioners on the decision making process on State transportation issues. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 2 Councilor Woodrow said he received a request to write a letter of recommendation as Councilor for Ward 5, for Willamalane for a new park they were proposing on the east end of Mt. Vernon Road. The letter would be to help Willamalane secure funding for this park. The park would not cost the City any money. The. developer was donating the land and Willamalane would be building the park. Council asked to have the request email sent to them for review. Councilor Lundberg asked if Council could take action on the request to submit a letter (regarding the letter from Paul Holvey regarding the ACT) since it was not on the agenda. Mr. Leahy said that action would need to take place during a Regular Meeting in the Council Chambers. Mr. Leahy said concerning the letter from Councilor Woodrow for the park funding, Councilor Woodrow could submit the letter on his own behalf as long as he indicated he was speaking personally endorsing the park. Ifhe wanted to endorse on behalf of the Council, action would need to be taken during a Regular Meeting. Councilor Lundberg referred back to the letter from Paul Holvey regarding the ACT, which came to all ofthe Councilors. She said it would be appropriate for Council to take a position one way or the other once that was determined. Councilor Ralston said he wanted information on whether or not there was an advantage to forming an ACT. 2. Councilor Ralston reported on the Housing Policy Board (HPB). He discussed some of the programs offered by the HPB and the City. Currently, the program for fIrst time buyers offered up to $10,000 towards a downpayment. They had planned to give out to forty buyers, but had only given to fIfteen, because people were unable to afford houses due to the high cost of housing. HPB would propose to both Eugene and SpringfIeld City Councils to increase the amount to $20,000 temporarily for this year. Councilor Lundberg asked if those funds were repaid. Councilor Ralston said they were repayable either when the house sold or the title was transferred. Originally, he expressed his initial objections to the HPB. Councilor Pishioneri asked if someone could use this to accumulate rentals. Councilor Ralston said it could only be used for fIrst time home owners. Councilor Pishioneri asked how that was monitored. Mayor Leiken suggested Housing Assistant Jodi Peterson contact Councilor Pishioneri to answer his questions related to this topic. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 3 Councilor Ballew also asked to have it demonstrated how much difference $20,000 would make compared to $10,000 in terms of affordability to the home buyer. Councilor Ralston said he agreed, but felt it could be effective on a temporary basis. Councilor Lundberg expressed concern about getting people into houses that were then unable to afford the upkeep and maintenance. She was concerned that by offering a larger downpayment, people that couldn't afford to maintain their home would be allowed to purchase a house. Councilor Ralston said the numbers showed a very low rate of foreclosure. He explained that the proposal would be worded to include the ability for the HPB to work with developers who were trying to create low income housing. Councilor Ralston said Eugene had a Eugene Allocations Committee that took proposals for requests for funding. It was pointed out by Roxie Cuellar that Eugene would be raising their park SDC's considerably in May. This would directly affect low income housing apartments. He noted that Willamalane was also raising their SDC's. He would like to discuss this with Willamalane to see if they would consider waiving that extra fee for low-income housing. It would be up to Willamalane. Councilor Lundberg said Council just discussed the increase in SDC's from Willamalane at a recent Council meeting and Ms. Cuellar supported that increase. 3. Councilor Lundberg reported on the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC). She said they had a set aside for downtown for the fourth year. They didn't get a lot of applications for specific downtown projects. She didn't advocate for the private business owner that wanted $90,000 ofthe $150,000. She was looking at downtown and how to combine funds as they became available. That recommendation would be coming to Council soon. Councilor Ballew asked for imaging of what could be done downtown for redevelopment. Mr. Grimaldi said that would be part of the urban renewal discussion for downtown and part of the planning effort. A lot of work had been done regarding downtown plans, but the City had not adopted a single plan. Councilor Ballew said she would like to see grand ideas and then discussion could be held regarding cost for those ideas. Mr. Grimaldi said they would also discuss the appropriate sequence. 4. Councilor Ballew said the two Fiber Consortiums had been struggling financially. Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart, the Chair of the other consortium, Linda Lynn and Milo Meechum were going to get together to consider bringing the two consortiums into one through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOD). A firm that the consortium provided services for left owing money, causing part of the financial struggle. . City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2,.2007 Page 4 5. Mayor Leiken said he, Development Services Director Bill Grile, and Planning Manager Greg Mott would be going to Salem tomorrow to testify on Representative Terry Beyer's bill. The hearing would be held tomorrow afternoon. The bill included language making periodic review very clear to cities and also addresses the separation ofthe urban growth boundary (UGB). He said the legislators needed to hear what this Council had been conveying for a long time. The bill strengthens the regional planning concept because if it didn't happen, Springfield would consider going their own way and dissolving regional planning. This bill would give strong autonomy to the cities and more of a say in what each city wanted to do. Eugene did not want to expand the UGB, but Springfield did. Mr. Leahy had looked through the bill and Mr. Mott and Mr. Grile had done a great job working with Representative Beyer. Representative Beyer and Senator Morrisette were both in favor of this bill. He noted those, along with City representatives, that would be there in support. The bill gave a common sense approach and helped to avoid a legal battle. Once more information was available, the Mayor would talk with Mr. Grile and Mr. Mott about drafting a memo to the Council. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER None. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY None. The Mayor called for a five minute recess at 6:55p.m. The meeting reconvened at 7:00p.m. in the Council Chambers. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT 1. Employee Recognition, Tana Steers, 20 Years of Service. City Manager Gino Grimaldi acknowledged Tana Steers for her twenty years of service to the City of Springfield in the Police Department. He reviewed some of the history of her career with the City, including five years when she moved to Woodburn as a police officer. Her main duty with the Police Department has been in Crime Prevention. Mayor Leiken said Ms. Steers was a wonderful asset to Springfield and a great face for the City and Police Department. 2. Child Abuse Prevention Month Proclamation. r-------- I , City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 5 Mayor Leiken proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month. Rodger Terrall, Relief Nursery Board Chair, received the proclamation from Mayor Leiken. Mr. Terrall discussed this campaign and displayed the blue ribbons that would be handed out to remind people about this important topic. He thanked Springfield for all that the Council had done in support of the Relief Nursery. CONSENT CALENDAR IT.W AS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WOODROW TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST 1. Claims 2. Minutes a. March 12,2007 - Work Session b. March 19,2007 - Regular Meeting c. March 26,2007 - Work Session 3. Resolutions 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Award the Subject Contract to Migson Contracting, Inc. for Project P20252: Maintenance . Shop Vehicle Washrack, in the Amount of$132,168.98. 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. BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE 1. Curtiss Greer, 357 55th Street, Springfield, OR Mr. Greer first complimented the Public Works Maintenance staff for their project coordination in taking care of a problem with the sidewalk and tree near his home. Mr. Greer then spoke regarding policies and actions by the City and Springfield Utility Board (SUB) that concerned him. He discussed honesty and integrity, and felt that procedures had been put in place to defeat liberty and freedom. He said he would be happy to give his time to explain his testimony to the Mayor, Councilor staff at any time. He spoke of Hitler, Pearl Harbor, and 9-11, the policies that were in place that caused these actions and similar policies put in place by the City. The leaders had been entrusted to preserve our freedom and liberty. Those who do not know history were destined to repeat it. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 6 2. Gail Stator, 546 F Street, Springfield, OR Mr. Stator discussed problems he and his family had with a pack of dogs in their neighborhood. A woman riding her bike was chased by one of the dogs and had to flee through an intersection. Luckily there were no cars. When Mr. Stator called in the incident, the animal control officer was sympathetic but said the woman on the bike would need to call. Mr. Stator noted three more confrontations with the pack of dogs in his yard. The dogs were loose and tried to bite him twice on his own property. He said he was concerned for his grandchildren. The third complaint regarding these dogs led to a court hearing. The Judge filed an order that if one more violation, the dog would be destroyed. Mr. Stator said ifthe proposed amendments to the ordinance would make animal control more protective, he would be supportive. He hoped there would be language regarding complaints against being chased. He was hopeful it would become less likely that people were attacked by vicious dogs in the future. There were a lot of dogs wandering around and it was a problem. 3. Joan Schrvvers, 6810 North C Street, Springfield, OR Ms. Schryvers spoke regarding vicious dogs. She discussed how four dogs that used to live next door to her, broke through the fence into their yard. When she arrived home that evening, she couldn't tell what had happened because it was dark, so she called the Police. The Police found that the dogs had broken through the fence and gotten into her rabbit cage and killed one of her rabbits. She discussed other incidents with the same dogs. The fourth time animal control was called regarding these dogs, in November of 2006, animal control took the dogs. She said the dogs barked often and were often left alone for days. Neighbors were afraid to contact Police because the neighbors were as vicious as the dogs. She explained some of the criminal offenses of the people living in the house. When Ms. Schryvers did call animal control, she found that there had been other anonymous calls regarding these dogs. She said it would be helpful if Police could identify a dog as vicious when it broke through a fence. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS BIDS ORDINANCES 1. Amendment to the Springfield Development Code Article 9 Vacations by Adding New Right-of-way Vacation Criteria for Certain Vacation Proposals. ORDINANCE NO. 6191 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE SPRINGFIELD DEVELOPMENT CODE ARTICLE 9 VACATIONS ESTABLISHING NEW CRITERIA TO APPLY TO COUNCIL INITIATED VACATIONS OF PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY WHERE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY WILL BE RETAINED IN PUBLIC OWNERSHIP BUT USED FOR AN ALTERNATIVE PUBLIC PURPOSE (Jo. No. LRP2007-00002). Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report on this item. The City Council initiated this amendment in January to provide a procedural and factual basis to consider right-of-way vacations for reasons other than the transfer of ownership from the public to abutting private property owners. The existing vacation criteria do not recognize the possibility of alternative City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 7 public purpose use of right of way. The Council may only consider uses contemplated by transportation related documents. The proposed criteria expand the consideration beyond this either-or model and allow the Council to place other public purposes on par with transportation objectives because the Council will retain public ownership. Consistency with provisions of the Transportation Planning Rule (OAR 660-012) will apply as will the need to ascertain that a greater public benefit will occur from the vacation rather than from retaining the right-of-way in its pr~sent status (added by the Planning Commission on March 13, 2007). On March 19, 2007, the Council conducted a public hearing on this proposal; no one appeared to testify. The Council voted 4-2 to add "vehicles" to criterion C so that "providing reasonably direct routes" was not limited exclusively to bicyclists and pedestrians. The revised criterion now reads: "Approval of the vacation would be consistent with provisions of safe, convenient and reasonably direct routes for cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles as provided in OAR 660-012- 0045(3)." This is consistent with.the exact language ofthe Rule, which states: "The purposes of this section are to provide for safe and convenient pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular circulation. . .". He discussed the change to the ordinance related to vehicles and noted that it would be consistent with Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) on this subject. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WOODROW WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 6191. THE ORDINANCE PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 2 AGAINST (Ballew and Lundberg). 2. Vicious Dogs Ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 6192 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SPRINGFIELD' MUNICIP AL CODE (SMC) SECTION 5.402, DEFINITIONS REGARDING THE SMC'S DEFINITION OF "VICIOUS DOG" AND SMC SECTION 5.456 REGARDING THE MISDEMEANOR OFFENSE OF OWNING A VICIOUS DOG. Matt Cox from the City Attorney's office presented the staff report on this item. The proposed ordinance was brought to Council for discussion and review on February 26, 2007 during their work session. Several recommendations were made during that meeting regarding clarification of several definitions. A first reading was held on this ordinance on March 19, 2007. Adoption of this amended ordinance would add to the existing Springfield Municipal Code definition of vicious dog as well as add new definitions including "Control of Dog," "Controlled Property," "Physical Injury," and an exception to the Class C Misdemeanor, "vicious dog," regarding illegal trespassers. Adoption would also provide specific and clear language for identification and detennination ofa vicious dog through Springfield Municipal Court action. This ordinance's purpose is to provide clearer SMC language to the defmitions and offense of owning a vicious dog. No Financial Impact. I City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes April 2, 2007 Page 8 Mr. Cox noted that City Prosecutor Dave Logan was available tonight for questions. Mayor Leiken thanked the citizens who came to speak before Council on this topic. He said the City had received a lot of calls regarding this ordinance. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR WOODROW TO ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 6192. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at approximately 7:21 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Sidney W. Leiken Mayor Attest: City Recorder ,----- City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 9, 2007 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 9, 2007 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Ballew, Ralston, Woodrow 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. 1. Historic Commission Applicant Interviews. City Planner Kitti Gale presented the staff report on this item. The Historic Commission has one opening on its seven-member commission. The recruitment for this opening began February 21, 2007, and closed March 29,2007. Two candidates have applied, Paula Guthrie and Elizabeth Uhlig. Section IX, 3.8 of the Springfield City Council Operating Policies and Procedures, states that the <t. .. Mayor and Council will hold formal interviews of applicants for positions on the Budget Committee, Historic Commission, and Planning Commission and a recommendation from these bodies is not necessary although they may have a representative present to participate in the interview process. . ." Springfield Code 1-10-1, Historic Commission Charge, requires that the 7-member Commission shall be residents; electors; property owners within Springfield; appointees of other Springfield public agencies such as Willamalane Park & Recreation and School District #19; or, specialists with expertise in such fields as architecture, history, architectural history, planning, or archaeology who live within the Metro-Area General Plan boundaries. For state certified funding it is recommended that a majority of the Commission have professional qualifications. The vacancy on the commission is that of James McNett who had served on the Commission since February of2005; Jim recently moved to the state of Washington to accept new employment in historic preservation. Each Councilor chose the questions they would like to.ask of the candidate. Ms. Guthrie knew all of the Mayor and Council except for Hillary Wylie. Councilor Wylie introduced herself. The Mayor and Council interviewed Paula Guthrie. Following the questions by the Mayor and Council, Mayor Leiken asked Ms. Guthrie if she had questions of them. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 9, 2007 Page 2 Ms. Guthrie asked what expectations the Mayor and Council had for the person in this position. She also asked what the Council saw as potential projects that the Historic Commission could undertake. Mayor Leiken said Council would be hearing a presentation from staff regarding downtown revitalization and that there were a number of historic buildings in the downtown corridor. The City would likely work closely with the Historic Commission on some of the opportunities that could exist downtown. He noted the quality of the members on the Historic Commission and said Council liked to hear the commission's ideas on potential projects. Councilor Pishioneri said he would like to see the Historic Commission in the forefront of revitalization projects. There was a great history in downtown and he wanted to see the historic buildings preserved and would like to see that same caricature strengthened downtown. Councilor Ballew said she would like to see links on the web site to specialty items for restoration. She said she would like t,o see someone with an interest in downtown revitalization. Other than what was required by law, Council didn't have a specific expectation of this position. Someone with enthusiasm was important. She asked if there were any homes in Thurston that were identified as historical. Ms. Gale said there were one or two off of Thurston Road. Surveys had been conducted in that area looking for others. Ms. Guthrie said there was a lot of work to be done by the Historic Commission in expanding to areas outside the Washburne District, such as Thurston and Glenwood. The Mayor and Council introduced themselves to Ms. Uhlig and which ward they represented. The Mayor and Council interviewed Elizabeth Uhlig. Following the questions by the Mayor and Council, Mayor Leiken asked Ms. Uhlig if she had questions of them. Ms. Uhlig asked what the Mayor and Council saw as their goals and objectives for downtown or other areas in Springfield. Councilor Pishioneri said Council wanted to revitalize downtown, but not sacrifice the historic aspect of downtown. It was important to maintain the historic connection. Discussion was held regarding the charge of the commission and the different strengths each member brought to the commission. Councilor Woodrow asked if the commission had a recommendation regarding the two candidates. Ms. Gale said in the past the commission had preferences, but were not asked for those preferences by the Council. The commission did not voice any preferences on the two candidates interviewed tonight. ' City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 9, 2007 Page 3 The Mayor and Council discussed the qualifications of the candidates. Both were very well qualified. Council consensus was to appoint Paula Guthrie to the Historic Commission during the April 16, 2007 regular meeting. Councilor Pishioneri said it was refreshing to see a City employee getting involved with the community. Council asked staff to encourage Ms. Uhlig to participate with the City because she was well qualified. Ms. Gale said the Historic Commission changed the date of their meetings so Councilor Pishioneri would be able to attend. Councilor Pishioneri said he appreciated that, and although he would not be able to attend every , meeting, would enjoy attending periodically. Ms. Gale said the Historic Commission members looked forward to his participation. 2. Downtown Revitalization Update. City Planner Mark Metzger presented the staff report on this item. Downtown is showing signs of new life. New construction and increased activity is evident, particularly within a two-block radius of City Hall. A combination of strategic public/private investments, fruitful policy , initiatives, and changing market conditions are raising interest in the downtown area. At issue are thoughts about the different strategies and resources that can be applied downtown to support revitalization efforts. The 1984 "Downtown Tomorrow" report by the Springfield Downtown Commission, opens with this observation: "Downtown Springfield has needed revitalization for a long time. The jumbled mix of signs, vacant buildings, ragged patches of landscaping, crumbling sidewalks, and heavy vehicle through-traffic vividly portray a lack of care and a message of neglect." Much has changed since that report was completed. Some impediments to revitalization continue to be a challenge, and there is no "silver bullet" to resolve them. Working to implement an agreed upon set of strategies while remaining opportunistic and flexible in responding to both prospects and problems has proven to be effective in other communities like our own. Staff will illustrate recent accomplishments and continuing impediments, and will share a variety of strategies and resources that could be applied in the effort to revitalize Downtown Springfield. Central to a strategy for recovery will be a renewed focus on the basic elements of downtown revitalization: organization; design; promotion and economic restructuring. These elements formed the framework for the 1984 "Downtown Tomorrow" effort and are at the core of the nationally recognized "Main Street" approach to downtown revitalization. The attached report describes these elements in more detail and suggests actions that may be taken to reestablish a focus for continued downtown revitalization efforts. Mr. Metzger said the focus of tonight's meeting was to give Council a broad brush of issues downtown and ideas to address those issues. At the end of the discussion, staff would like feedback from the Council whether or not staff was looking at the right issues and proposing the right actions. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 9, 2007 Page 4 Mr. Metzger presented a power point presentation. He noted the number of studies that had been done regarding revitalization of downtown. He reviewed some of the many projects that had been completed over the years when a plan was in place. He discussed policy actions that had been put into place by the current Council including: formation of the downtown redevelopment area allowing the City to focus Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in that area; downtown bicycle police patrol; Vertical Housing Development Zone; and system development charge (SDC) discounts trying to encourage and support new businesses downtown. In 2005 the City updated the Downtown RefInement Plan and adopted mixed use zoning. It formally identifIed the downtown area as a nodal development and also applied higher design and development standards for downtown buildings. He discussed some newer high profIle projects that had happened in downtown over the last several years. Mr. Metzger discussed the impediments in redeveloping downtown. Police met with downtown, business owners during the summer of2006 to address some of the crime issues in downtown. Truck traffIc along Main Street was a major issue as was the amount of traffIc along South A Street. Lack of front doors on the north side of South A Street, and shortage of visible and accessible off street public parking were other issues. A dedicated downtown manager and staff point person for downtown redevelopment was instrumental in addressing some of these issues. Mr. Metzger discussed the four strategies for the future of downtown; organization; design; promotion and economic restructuring. Downtown Tomorrow was developed with those strategies. He reviewed the actions staff was recommending, such as having a downtown association in place, establishing an urban renewal district, hiring a downtown manager, supporting enforcement, and establishing design standards. The Historic Commission was meeting with Council in June and would discuss design standards. Mr. Metzger reviewed the list of resources including: CDBG funds, HUD Section l08 Loan Program Funds, Downtown Urban Renewal District Local Improvement District (LID), Economic Improvement District (EID), Business Improvement Districts (BID), State Transportation Enhancement Funds, DLCD and TGM Planning Grants and Oregon State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Pro!:,lfams. Mr. Metzger asked Council if staff was on the right track. Mayor Leiken complimented Mr. Metzger on a nice power point. This was a good start on downtown revitalization. Springfield had a good track record and this was a good opportunity to see where we could go from here. Councilor Ralston said this was a great plan. He asked where the heavy truck traffIc was coming from and where were they going. He said 1-105 was a major thoroughfare from the east to the west end of town and he felt the trucks should use that route. Councilor Ballew said Main Street was a state highway and part of the freight route. Councilor Woodrow noted the number of trucks coming from lumber companies along Main Street and trucks that had to deliver to downtown. Councilor Ralston said it was a great plan. He asked who would pay for a downtown manager. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 9, 2007 Page 5 Mr. Metzger said in many cases it was the Downtown Association, but occasionally the City might put money in to prime the pump. It was good to build a strong association and out of that strength, the association could choose to set up the funding mechanism for that position. Some cities partly funded that position. Olympia, Washington had a parking district downtown, businesses paid for the parking structure and part of those funds paid for the downtown manager. Councilor Wylie asked who the point person for the City was now. City Manager Gino Grimaldi and Development Services Manager Bill Grile were currently the point people. Councilor Wylie asked who gave the guidelines for St. Vincent's new building. Mr. Metzger said it was the planning staff and Historic Commission. Councilor Wylie asked ifthere was a formal truck route. Main Street was a truck route. Mr. Metzger said both Main Street and South A Street were state highways. Councilor Pishioneri asked about making South A Street and Main Street two way streets, with South A Street as the main truck route. Mr. Metzger said that idea was in the 1984 plan. Councilor Pishioneri asked City Attorney Joe Leahy if the downtown district could be designated an enhanced criminal activity district to double fines, like in a construction or school zone. He would like to move that into the Glenwood area. Mr. Leahy said there could be some potential, but he would like to research it further. Councilor Pishioneri said the State had brownfield and redevelopment funding tied to CDBG match funds. There were several grants available that dealt specifically with buildings that were in need of repair. Councilor Woodrow said it was a great presentation and he appreciated staff bringing it to Council. He would like to hear what the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) would say about making Main Street and South A Street two way. Design standards for downtown was a fabulous idea, especially on the north side of South A Street. He woul~ like the Council to ask staff to go forward with more information on design standards. It was time to clean up downtown as much as possible. By working with business and property owners, the City could increase the appearance of downtown and get a better environment. Councilor Ballew said she was not overly concerned about the trucks. They had always been around and always would be. There was a very narrow swath for downtown and the City needed to look more at what was rather than what wasn't. She thought the downtown committee was a good idea, but it needed new members, including downtown business people and others. She City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 9, 2007 Page 6 suggested making a defmition of who should be on the committee. It shouldn't be too big, but needed high energy. She suggested looking at the plans from the Charette. Mr. Metzger said one of the great ideas from the Charette was to establish South A Street as a civic street. He said he envisioned the downtown committee reviewing past planning and reports, not reinventing ideas or plans. Get people that knew the downtown, had experience and could focus on the priorities. Councilor Ballew said the committee or the Councilor both needed to be focused and to find the catalyst that kept it moving. It could be an Arts and Cultural District or an Entertainment District or something else. She said Washburne was the neighborhood and perhaps a bakery would be a good addition to serve those neighbors and others. Parking was an issue because of the number of City employees that parked downtown. She suggested looking into building parking garages with urban renewal district funds. She was not sure if an urban renewal district would be significant enough, but felt it was important to use all resources available. She said the City needed to know where they were headed. Councilor Lundberg said it was a great list and a concise power point. She said she was part of the last downtown grouping. She said things could be done on a two or three pronged approach. A committee was a must and Council was very good at defming who could be on the committee. She suggested representatives from the four public agencies and the Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Lane Transit District, as major investors in downtown. She said the Washburne neighbors also needed to be involved because they were enthusiastic and understood downtown. The neighbors were very invested in the success and reduction in crime in downtown. Someone was needed to call the meetings, and it could be a combination of TEAM Springfield funding. She suggested the Springfield Renaissance Development Corporation (SRDC) taking the lead, perhaps with a new board. She said the idea of SRDC was to take on civic improvement projects and this could be an expansion of SRDC. She agreed they should look at Charettes and the work done on the Mill Race. It would be important to come up with one project to work on. The best thing for downtown was to have a lot of people, such as in a parade, the Springfield Cruz or a Friday or Saturday night event during the summer. A committee could work on a signature project to compliment those activities, pooling resources to fund it. She said walking tours downtown would be great to capitalize on what we had downtown. It could promote businesses, eateries and other venues downtown had to offer. Councilor Ballew said another idea from one of the Charettes was to open up the streets to connect with the Willamette River. Councilor Wylie said a downtown committee, downtown manager and the Chamber could coordinate events. A manager could communicate between everyone. Mayor Leiken complimented staff on their work. Their recommendation was a good starting point and good plan of attack. The City was still open to adapting as this moved forward. It was important to identify the committee, including committed and talented people from downtown. He mentioned former councilor Tammy Fitch and the owner of Econo Sales. This would eventually be driven by the private sector, but first needed a commitment from City Hall. The City could provide the committee with this plan and get their input. It provided additional tools to help it move forward. He discussed the impact of the new Justice Center, and the asset of Booth Kelly. Traffic was an issue, but we needed to adapt to that and address that issue. He City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes Apri19,2007 Page 7 suggested incorporating the history of Booth Kelly and the Mill Race and capitalizing on that. When the Mayor was in Salem, an influential lobbyist noted that Springfield was the guiding light of Lane County. Now was the time for Council to plant seeds for this change. He appreciated serving with the Council because once they put their minds to it and staff went forward, things got done. He thanked all the staff that helped on this project. Mr. Metzger said the following staff had contributed: Housing Manager Kevin Ko, Housing Assistant Jodi Peterson and City Planner Kitti Gale. Mr. Metzger introduced Betty Trotter, a new business owner in downtown. Councilor Pishioneri would like to look at putting the Downtown Urban Renewal District on the ballot in November 2007. Councilor Ralston agreed as did Councilor Woodrow. Councilor Ballew asked for a fact sheet about where the funds had gone into these downtown projects to date. Councilor Ballew said she would be talking to the Washburne Neighborhood Association tomorrow evening about downtown revitalization. Tonight's discussion was very timely. Mr. Metzger said he would come back to Council with more details. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Sidney W. Leiken Mayor Attest: Amy Sowa City Recorder