The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About05/20/1996 Work Session . Springfield City Council Work Session MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, MAY 20, 1996 The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon at 6:04 p.m. with Mayor Morrisette presiding. Present were Mayor Morrisette and Councilors Ballew, Beyer, Burge, Dahlquist, Maine and Shaver. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Eileen Stein, Administrative Aide Shari Higgins, Development Services Director Susan Daluddung, Museum Coordinator Kathy Jensen, Building Official Dave Puent, Planning Manager Greg Mott, Code Enforcement Officer Jackie Murdoch and members of staff. Also present from Lane Council of Governments was Director of Local Government Services Jim Carlson. I. Museum Board Application Review Museum Coordinator Kathy Jensen stated the Museum Board of Directors is currently recruiting new members, but would like Council to re-appoint Sandra Rennie, Theodore Johnson and Thomas Wurtz. She stated that Mr. Wurtz was present and Ms. Rennie and Mr. Johnson were out of town and unavailable to attend the meeting. . Ms. Jensen clarified the roles of members of the Board of Directors and the Museum Committee. The board sets policy and raises funds and the committee recruits and organizes the Museum volunteers. By consensus, Council agreed to re-appoint Sandra Rennie, Theodore Johnson and Thomas Wurtz to the Museum Board of Directors. The appointments will be ratified at the next Regular Session Council meeting. 2. Springfield Comprehensive Urbanization Study Issues/Cost of Services Analysis Development Services Director Susan Daluddung introduced Director of Local Government Services Jim Carlson. Ms. Daluddung stated the recent adoption by the Council of land use fees within the city limits, prompted the completion of this analysis regarding providing city services in the urban transition area. Ms. Daluddung also introduced J.J. Bienn from Lane Council of Governments, who has worked directly with Greg Mott, Dave Puent and Jackie Murdoch regarding completion of the analysis. . Mr. Carlson provided an overview of the topic of studying urbanized costs and services. He explained that the services of the Police Department and Public Works Department were not included in the analysis, as this was a first phase review only. The purpose of the analysis was to identify potential subsidies for planning, building, library, fire and code enforcement services. He explained the services being reviewed are those currently provided to urban growth boundary (UGB) residents and whether or not the charges are appropriate for the services. " . City of Springfield Work Session - 5/20/96 Page two Mr. Carlson stated typically in an urbanization area there is a subsidy, but the percentage or amount varies per service or fee. He explained that some fees are controlled by other sources than local governments, such as state law. Mr. Carlson spoke of the advantages of having city staff review land use applications and how the city should continue to recover some of the fees for providing services. Mr. Carlson stated that historically the same fees have been charged for both in-city and out-of-city residents. There was a discussion regarding full-cost recovery and how it can be achieved and how it may vary, depending on the service. Mr. Carlson stated the city may be able to change land use planning fees, but that most building code fees are set at the state level. Mr. Carlson discussed the usage standard for the Library and if a higher level of usage is coming from users outside the city limits, then a higher fee could easily be imposed. He explained the capacity versus revenue stream, to either allow or restrict the Library users, based on current space needs. Mr. Carlson stated that the Fire and Life Safety Department is currently reviewing its own fees and so limited subsidy information was placed in the agenda item summary for this staff report. . Both Ms. Daluddung and Mr. Carlson spoke about the service of code enforcement. It was explained that currently very few fees are received by the city for enforcement services. Ms. Daluddung stated that the city can not use its citation process for UGB residents, as the citation to Municipal Court jurisdiction is limited to the city limits proper. Currently, there is no mechanism for citing non-city residents for code enforcement actions. Councilor Ballew asked how many households in Springfield are located outside the city limits, or in the urban transition (UT) area. Ms. Daluddung replied, approximately 3,200 households with approximately 8,000 people residing in them. She showed the Council a map which defined both the city limits and the UGB limits. Councilor Ballew asked at the time the city completed the Urban Transition Agreement with Lane County, how many structures were considered pre-existing. Mr. Mott replied none, and explained that during the time period since the agreement was ratified, the city has probably allowed only 30 single family homes. All other development has either been annexed or constructed with a delayed annexation effective date and will eventually become part of the city. . Councilor Burge asked why the City waited 10 years after ratification of the agreement with Lane County to initiate this analysis. He also asked how much the study/analysis has cost to date. Ms. Daluddung replied the study has been on-going since January of 1996 and the cost for contractual services with LCOG is approximately $3,700. Mr. Carlson stated to add the review of Police services and Lane County subsidies, would probably increase the cost to $20,000 to $25,000. Mr. Kelly explained that he has seen three attempts at this type of study or analysis over the years. One in 1987, with the completion of the Urban Transition Study, and one in 1995 with the completion of the Annexation Study. . . . .. ., City of Springfield Work Session - 5/20/96 Page three Councilor Burge commented that the analysis was complicated and possibly should have occurred earlier. Mayor Morrisette spoke of the process where the City asked Lane County for additional Urban Transition funding in 1991. Lane County denied the request, but provided Springfield with additional Road Fund dollars instead to be used for gravel and street paving. He stated the City has always tried to negotiate fairly with Lane County with regards to the citizens in the UGB area. Mr. Kelly explained how the additional Road Fund dollars in 1991, assisted the City by off-loading many Public Works Department employees from the General Fund into the Street Fund. This allowed other city departments to use the General Fund to offset costs associated with services to UGB residents. Planning Manager Greg Mott stated city residents are currently subsidizing planning fees in the UGB in the amount of$107,100 per year, or $4,463 per application. He discussed options for proceeding with an increase in planning fees and explained what types of applications are consistent between the City and Lane County. Councilor Maine requested a copy of the Intergovernmental Agreement. Ms. Daluddung replied it would be distributed to the Mayor and Council for review before nextweeks continuation of this subject. Councilor Shaver commented that most of the additional planning costs occur when non- service customers take up planning time that they are not paying for. The in-city residents pay for the planning staff to provide counter and planning advice, which is not presented in an application form, yet the UGB residents also receive the service free of charge. Council discussed the time frame they would like to pursue for further discussion of this topic. Ms. Daluddung stated the Planning Commission would be conducting a public hearing on in-city fees and discussing out-of-city fees at their May 21 meeting. By consensus, Council agreed to continue discussions on this topic at their next work session meeting on May 28, 1996. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins t6d1/(~cd - Mayor Mornse e ATTEST: ~ City Recorder