HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/24/2006 Team Springfield
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Minutes of the Joint Elected Officials Meeting
July 24, 2006
Willamalane Adult Activity Center
215 West C Street
Springfield, OR 97477
The TEAM Springfield group met on Monday, July 24, 2006, at 6:00 p.m., with the business
portion ofthe meeting beginning at 6:20 p.m., at Willamalane Adult Activity Center, 215 West C
Street, Springfield, Oregon.
ATTENDANCE
City of Springfield
Mayor Leiken, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Lundberg, Pishioneri, Ralston, Woodrow, City Manager
Gino Grimaldi, Julie Wilson, and various members of the staff.
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Springfield School District
Board Members: Vice Chair Jonathan Light, Bill Medford, Garry Weber, and Superintendent
Nancy Golden (7:20 p.m.), Bret Yancey, Director of Budget and Finance, Bruce Smolnisky,
Director of Curriculum and Instruction and Rob Hess, Student Achievement Leader.
Springfield Utility Board
Board Members: Chairman Ted Johnson, Bobbie Adams, Virginia Lauritsen, Joe Mathieu, and
General Manager Bob Linahan.
Willamalane Park and Recreation District
Board Members: Board President Gary Ross, Lee Beyer, Greg James, Danelle Ralston, Helen
Wagner, and Superintendent Bob Keefer.
INTRODUCTIONS AND WELCOME
1. Call to OrderIWelcomelIntroductions.
Mayor Leiken called the meeting to order and welcomed all present to the eleventh TEAM
Springfield Joint Elected Officials meeting. Self introductions were provided.
2. Oregon Department of Education, 2006 Outstanding Community / School Partnership Award.
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Mayor Leiken introduced Becky Eklund, Oregon Department of Education. Ms. Eklund is
the Community School Coordinator at the State level and works jointly for the Oregon
Department of Education and Oregon Commission on Children and Families. She said
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Superintendent Castillo was sorry she could not be at the meeting this evening but was
presenting a speech in another town. She expressed Superintendent Castillo's appreciation
for the work and dedication to the partnership, in particular, the partnership between the
community and the school. She recognized TEAM Springfield agencies as well as the
Springfield Chamber and their strong partnership supporting the students of the Springfield
community.
She recognized County Commissioners in attendance as well as Representatives Beyer and
Barnhart, Patti Tanner, Oregon School Employee Association, Michelle Wilkinson, Oregon
PT A, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce Board President Mike Donnelly and
Executive Director Dan Egan, and Springfield School Board Members. She provided special
thanks to Dan Egan and the Springfield Chamber for their sponsorship ofthis outstanding
partnership award. She said it is important for every student to be given the opportunity to
succeed in life. She explained that Susan Castillo recognized the success of the program and
TEAM Springfield efforts to partner and promote literacy and higher education for children
of the community. Springfield Public Schools and Board of Education programs such as the
Gift of Literacy as well as other programs were factors in the decision-making process for
this 2006 Outstanding Community/School Partnership Award.
Becky Eklund thanked TEAM Springfield for being an inspiring model for the community
school partnership. Certificates were presented to each agency. Dan Egan was presented
with a certificate of appreciation for sponsoring the award. Mr. Egan thanked TEAM
Springfield for their collaboration efforts. Mr. Donnelly presented a check to Jonathan Light,
on behalf ofthe Springfield Chamber.
Mr. Light recognized the partnership and its efforts and thanked TEAM Springfield.
3. Agency Reports.
Sprin2field Public Schools
Jonathan Light and Bruce Smolnisky provided the school district update. They were pleased
to report that Springfield Public Schools had a tremendous year of student achievement,
growth, and positive community engagement. Even though test scores are reported annually
in How are the Children?, school improvement includes much more than only test scores.
Making schools better for children entails improving each child's quality of experience by
meeting their needs, one child at a time. Since Springfield's Quality Education Model (S-
QEM) best captures the vision of what the school district is striving to achieve, in Springfield
Public Schools, they are using the S-QEM as a tool to measure achievement and success. S-
QEM Achievements of 2005-2006 include:
· 6-12 and K-5 Literacy Initiatives.
· Increased professional development for certified and classified staff.
· The successful development of the Academy of Arts and Academics (A3).
· Establishing the Springfield Education Day highlighted by the Gift of Literacy.
· Long-term facilities planning and recommendations for the future.
· A variety of innovative projects throughout the schools including expanding after-school
programs and opportunities for students to learn beyond the classroom.
· Continued support of Oregon's original One-to-One Laptop Initiative.
· Extended Positive Behavior Support (PBS) to all schools.
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· School-based family centers.
· Health care available for every child in our district.
· Additional community and business partnership.
· Increased use of instructional technology and technology as a tool for student testing
through TESA.
· Data to the desktop of every teacher through Mastery-in-Motion.
· Cultural competency training throughout the district.
· ELL Newcomer Program and Translation Project.
· Establishing a Student Advisory Committee.
2005/06 Key Accomplishments include the following:
· Increased Student Achievement and Literacy. Literacy has become the gateway skill at
Springfield Public Schools, and recent improvements have resulted in marked
improvement in reading scores at all levels. In response to a growing awareness and
sense of urgency about the reading achievement ofK-12 students, the school district
launched the K-5 and 6-12 Literacy Initiatives. These task forces are charged with
researching the most effective ways to teach reading throughout our schools and how to
implement those strategies. Read 180, a motivational technology-based reading recovery
program, has been successfully piloted at two schools and will be fully implemented next
year in secondary schools. The District has provided professional development for staff
in Reading Apprenticeship Training, a program designed to improve reading and thinking
capacity of all students in grades 6 through 12. In addition the District has increased use
of instructional technology through Technology Enhanced Student Assessment (TESA),
and other interventions, based on our literacy scores. In coordination with numerous
community groups, a daylong Gift of Literacy Celebration was held in June, with nearly
1000 Springfield fIrst-graders participating; Celebrity readers, including University of
Oregon's women's basketball coach Bev Smith, KEZI's Rick Dancer and Korenza
Burris, Congressman Peter DeFazio, and Springfield Mayor Sid Leiken, read to groups of
10 students in 30-minute intervals. In addition, each student received a new hardbound
book, bookmark, and bag.
· Academy of Arts and Academics. Springfield Public Schools is preparing to open the
Academy of Arts and Academics (A3) in Fall 2006. It will enable students to earn a
standard high school diploma in a small, personalized environment that is intended to
engage students by providing a rigorous curriculum in the context of the Arts. They have
developed the curriculum, acquired outside funding to support the program, and
renovated the facility. The funding for A3 was included in the 2006-2007 budget
message, and the District continues to research potential grants as we work with various
foundations to locate and solicit additional funding.
· Facilities Committee. The Facilities Committee was formed for the purpose of reviewing
and studying ail District facilities and sites leading to a recommendation to the School
Board on a long-range plan addressing current and future needs. As a result of the
committee's hard work and dedication, a 20-year plan was proposed and adopted this
spring, and the District is moving forward with a facilities bond for the upcoming
November ballot. This measure will include funds to build two new elementary schools
(replacing Thurston and Maple) as well as funds directed to development of a technology
infrastructure for instructional technology, including computer labs. Portions of the
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proposed bond will also address necessary building upgrades and renovations to include
roofing, boilers, HV AC, and security issues.
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Increased Professional Development. One of the District goals in the Springfield Quality
Education Model (S-QEM) is to provide professional development opportunities for all
staff. The District has made a milestone step toward meeting this goal by developing a
classified staff development day. This was the fIrst training of its kind in Springfield and
it proved to be extremely successful, offering a wide array of training opportunities, from
how to deal with difficult people to job-specific training. The day was positively
evaluated and the District will use the feedback in future training.
Bret Yancey explained that the Board met prior to the TEAM Springfield meeting and during
that meeting, approved a bond proposal for the District. A citizens-led facilities committee
reviewed all of the District's buildings and facilities and made recommendations for
immediate, intermediate, and long-term priorities for facility needs. These priorities were
tested in the community by a scientific survey to determine the understanding and support by
the local community as to the specific needs. Having reviewed the community's priorities
and the committee's priorities, the staff is recommending that the following projects be
presented to the community in a bond proposal.
The proposal includes replacing Thurston Elementary School and Maple Elementary School,
as recommended by the long-term facilities plan. These are two of the highest need schools,
and their conclusion is that the District would be better served to replace the schools than to
try to maintain the outdated and deteriorating features in these schools.
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The proposal also includes upgrading and renovating of roofs, heating and ventilating, boiler
replacement, and potable water systems at schools throughout the District to protect the
community's investment in school buildings.
Technology for classroom instruction and school security to support student learning and
safety is also included in the proposed bond measure.
The total amount of the proposal is $42,746,000 over 21.6 years. It is projected that the
estimated levy rates will remain at approximately 97 cents per $1000 of assessed value, and
their intent would be to try to maintain tax levies at levels constant with 2005 rates.
The last bond presented by Springfield Public Schools was approved by voters in September
1994 for a total of $37,626,326 million. This bond provided for a new Agnes Stewart Middle
School, Riverbend Elementary, and Mt. Vernon Elementary.
Sprin2field Utility Board
Bob Linahan provided an agency update. He noted that the high temperatures we are
experiencing has put a strain on the electrical system. He discussed the system control and
data acquisition. He said after two days of 100-plus degree heat, you can tell that all the air
conditioners are running at the same time. In addition all the water facilities were operating
at the same time. They did have to draw on the reservoirs to pick up slack at the high demand
times.
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· Electric Utility. The Electric Utility continues to be in great fmancial condition. They
expect the year-end fmancial results will be better than forecasted in the 2006 budget.
Bonneville Power Administration (BP A) has provided its customers with a new rate
schedule for the period from October 2006 to September 2009. These rates are about 3
percent less than expected. Even though Springfield Utility Board (SUB) has a 31
average megawatt BP A contract expiring this year on the last day of September that had
low power rates, SUB's staff believes there is a good possibility they will not ask the
Board to increas,e the electric rates for two years.
Construction work continues at a fast pace. The new substation at 28th and Olympic will
be completed at the end of this year along with a new transmission line on Q Street from
Pioneer Parkway West to 28th Street to serve this substation. The work that the Electric
Division is performing at the PeaceHealth location is remarkable. PeaceHealth would
,like permanent service about September 1 of this year.
The Board gave staff approval to entertain proposals to sell the 10 megawatt natural gas
generation farm, provided they obtain a reasonable purchase price for the equipment.
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Water Utility. The Water Utility will have a good budget year. SUB anticipates the year-
end financial results will be better than what was forecasted in the budget.
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With all the anticipated work required in the next several years, staff will be seeking
Board approval for annual water rate increases ofless than 9 percent for each of the next
three years and to secure a loan for some long-term capital projects. They are in the
process of estimating the cost of these capital improvement projects.
Construction work is very busy for the Water Utility. A few projects include:
. 21 st Street, street improvement project.
· Main Street, street improvement project.
· 42nd Street, street improvement project.
· PeaceHealth project with the Water Division crews installing water lines and electric
conduits as well as conduits for Comcast and Qwest. NOTE: Over 100,000 feet of
conduits will be installed for the electric, telephone, and cable TV.
Willamalane
Gary Ross provided an update on Willamalane activities:
· Community Recreation Center. The new 21,500 square foot facility is scheduled to open
in December. The project is on time and within budget. It will greatly improve their
office and meeting space and enhance the recreational program space. The child care
programs will be housed in a state of the art facility. The Memorial Building has been
leased to the school district and Willamalane staff has moved temporarily to the LCOG
building located at 640 A Street. The Administration Center remains on the market. They
have had several inquiries, but no fmal offers.
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· Mike Kelly Field. Construction was completed on the second artificial turf field at the
32nd Street Community Sports Park. The project was completed with the assistance of a
State Parks grant ($500k) and generous donations from the Jaqua's, Wooley's, Williams
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Bakery, and Symantec. The field was dedicated to long-term City Manager and leader,
Mike Kelly. The field will also be the new home field for the Northwest Christian
College men's and women's soccer programs.
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Ruff Park Master Plan. Willamalane has developed and approved the Ruff Park Master
Plan, which will provide guidance for the future development of the park and provide the
basis for the District's Special Use Permit Application with Lane County. The first
hearing on the permit was held three weeks ago. The District expects an initial decision
by the Planning Director in mid to late August.
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Swim Lessons. The Budget Committee approved funding to continue two-week swim
lessons for all fourth graders in Springfield schools. Willamalane staff hopes to add a
swim lessons program for sixth graders in FY 07.
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W AAC. Activities at W AAC continue to grow. The Vineyard & Violins auction raised
over $15,000 for programs at the Center with the focus of keeping user fees low. The
Trip Program continues to be very successful. As a result, the Board has approved the
purchase of a new 35-passenger bus in FY 07.
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Gray/Jaqua Heritage Park. After two-plus years, negotiations have been completed and
agreements were executed for acquisition of 80 acres of open space and ridgeline along
the Thurston Hills. The property also includes the oldest house in Springfield which is
now owned in partnership between Willamalane and the City. He stated this would not
have been possible without the partnership of the City.
· Technology. Willamalane has connected to SUB's fiber ring at very little cost and
upgraded the data network. They have purchased, installed, and begun implementation
of the Class Registration Software program. Online registration should be in place by FY
08. The Board just approved a contract to install a new voice over IP telephone system,
which will be activated when staff moves into the new Community Recreation Center.
· Living History Festival. Willamalane is sponsoring the 2nd Annual Living History
Festival at Dorris Ranch. Again this year, the festival will also include Civil War
reenactments with over 500 reenactors. The festival will be held August 5-6, the same
weekend as the Filbert Festival. Both events are coordinating with joint tickets and
transportation.
· Adopt-A-Park. Starbucks and Oregon Community Credit Union adopted Meadow and
Thurston Parks, respectively. Staffhas seen a positive impact the work parties have had
on the neighbors of Meadow Park, and graffiti and vandalism incidents have decreased.
City:
Mayor Leiken provided an update on City activity. He stated that the issue of Public Safety
is a topic that is important to our community. The City has two public safety measures on the
November ballot. One is the renewal of the Fire and Life Safety levy and the second measure
is a police services levy,. which includes municipal jail funding.
Police Services and Jail Operations Levy. The police services levy is $1.09 per thousand.
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· Mayor Leiken spoke about the issue of crime in the metropolitan region, both Eugene and
Springfield.
· The 2004 crime statistics note that property crime rates in Lane County are higher than
eighty-two percent of similar counties, nationwide.
· We also rank in the top fifty percent for vehicle theft, burglary, and rape. (Ranked
among similar counties nationwide)
· Springfield Police Chief, Jerry Smith, has expressed frustrations felt by his officers as
they repeatedly arrest criminals but simply do not have any place to put them.
· The word Matrix (as in "Matrixed" out of jail) has become synonymous with the all-too-
common problem of not being able to hold criminals accountable. Releasing them back
into society sometimes hours after they are apprehended.
· In November 2004, Springfield voters approved Ballot Measure 20-91 which provided
funding ($28.65 million) for the construction of the new Justice Center Facility.
· This new facility will provide space for the Police Department, a new Springfield
Municipal jail with lock-up for one hundred prisoners and Municipal Court space.
· Funding for the operation of the jail was not included in the original bond and the City
Council has indicated that the construction ofthe jail will not proceed until funds are
identified for the on-going operations cost.
· In order to fund jail operations, the current police levy, which is up for renewal this
November, will now include partial jail funding.
· The remaining jail funding needs will come from fees related to the prisoners and leasing
of jail space.
· If the levy is approved, the city will continue to see excellent response times from our
officers. What will be different is criminals will now be held accountable.
· Last November, the City Council approved a contract with Robertson Sherwood
Architects for the design of the new facility. It is our hope that this building will be the
cornerstone ofthe new look of downtown Springfield.
· The project team anticipates that the construction of the Police/Courts building will begin
in spring 2007 and be complete in fall 2008. Construction of the jail will begin as soon
as the Police and Courts are moved into the new building and be complete in summer
2010.
· We are at a turning point in our history as a city. This is a chance to.take back our streets
and provide safer and more livable neighborhoods.
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Fire and Life Safety levy. 40-cents per thousand.
· The basics of the Fire and Life Safety levy have not changed.
· The levy provided one fire engine crew to be added for 24-hour service, allowing all five
fire stations to be fully operational. Recruitment and training of the new crew was
completed on December 3,2003. The City has experienced increases in runs of more than
3 percent annually since December 2003.
· The levy promised to improve response time to fire, rescue and emergency medical calls
citywide to achieve a standard of responding to 80 percent of emergencies in less than
five minutes. Now the number of responses is less than five minutes to fire, rescue and
emergency medical calls citywide improved by 14 percent.
· The levy promised to improve survival probability and reduce property loss citywide.
Now survival probability of persons in life:..threatening situations improved by 6 percent
and the City maintained its fire protection insurance rating.
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Additional information:
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· Cost of Levies for voters: $150,000 home: Police Services $163.50 per year, FL&S
$60.00 per year. $223.50 total.
Police Department building will be 46,900 square feet.
New Courts - 19,800 square feet.
New Prosecutor's Office - 2,800 square feet.
New Jail Facility - 37,400 square feet.
· Justice Center and Municipal Jail combined construction costs - $24 million.
· Additional Project costs (architects, removal of hazardous materials from old building,
City costs, bond financing costs) $5.4 million.
· Construction of the Police/Courts building will begin in spring - 2007 and be complete in
fall - 2008.
· Construction of the jail will begin as soon as the Police and Courts are moved into the
new building and be complete in summer - 2010.
4. Gift of Literacy Video Presentation, Nancy Golden, 10 minutes
Bruce Smolnisky introduced Rob Hess. Mr. Hess played the Gift of Literacy 2006 video.
5. FY 07 Budget Presentation.
Bob Keefer recognized and thanked SUB for their service and noted TS agencies appreciate
their services, especially with the heat wave we have been experiencing in our area. He
provided a draft budget for review and highlighted the status of the budget.
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He reviewed the recommendations included in the budget, as well as touched on publication
of one newsletter and one all inclusive publication highlighting activities.
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The proposed budget was reviewed as follows:
Team Springfield
FY 2007 Budget
7/1/06 - 6/30/07
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Totals
Agency Allocation
Total Allocation
$69,100
$20,000
$80,000
$67,100
$20,000
$80,000
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$71,000.00
$20,000.00
$80,000.00
Available for grants or special
ro'ects,
Signature Projects FY 07
Increase Bike/Foot Patrol -
Downtown
Support Opening of A3 &
Wildish
Develop and Implement
Action Plan for Farmers
Market and/or other
community activities
downtown
Support downtown
beautification by youth
Signature Projects FY 08
Increase Bike/Foot Patrol-
Downtown
Support Opening of A3 &
Wildish
$15,000.00
Sponsor Event(s)-
$8,000.00 Entertainment/Publicity/Refreshments
Includes marketing/promotion
$4,000.00 material for FY 08
Looking Glass/NWYC/County Youth
$3,000.00 Services (250 hrs @ $12)
$30,000.00
$15,000.00
$0.00
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Implement Action Plan
Support downtown
beautification by youth
Farmers Market/Concert/Downtown
$10,200.00 events
Looking Glass/NWYC/County Youth
$4,800.00 Services (400 hrs @ $12)
$30,000.00
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6. TEAM Springfield Signature Projects.
Bob Keefer introduced the signature project proposal, titled TEAM Springfield - 2006 &
2007 Signature Project, Caring For The Heart Of Springfield. He reviewed the proposal in
detail and shared the steps that may assist TEAM Springfield in reaching some of the goals of
the signature project, including 1) enhancing safety in downtown; 2) increasing community
activities downtown; and 3) improving the appearance of downtown.
Below are listed some of the targets that would assist in accomplishing those initiatives.
Initiative 1 - Enhance Safety in Downtown
· Enhance the number of bike and foot patrols by Springfield Police. Create a visible
presence in downtown. Police Chief Jerry Smith is preparing a patrol plan. He discussed
the target date considered to focus patrols in the downtown area. This would be in
conjunction with the start of the school year as A3 starts its first year of operation and
when Wildish Theater opens.
· Evaluate a nuisance ordinance for downtown similar to the nuisance ordinance associated
with residential development. Continue to enforce the exclusion ordinance.
· Continue sting operations to reduce prostitution.
· Other - Gather input from the Downtown Association and other allied groups on
additional safety enhancements. Mr. Keefer provided some examples, which might
include the use of cameras and fiber optic line to transmit video directly to police,
improve lighting, (and become?) downtown ambassadors.
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Initiative 2 - Increase Community Activities in Downtown
· Develop and support an ongoing, high quality Farmers Market. Mr. Keefer explained the
group could work on planning this fall/winter for an initial market to open next summer.
This could include promotional material to encourage locals and visitors to attend.
· Utilize the existing concert series sponsored by Willamalane to help support and enhance
additional activities in downtown including the Springfield Cruz, Farmers Market, and
the Emerald Arts Association artist exhibit openings.
· Work with the Wildish Theater, Springfield Historic Museum, Springfield Public
Library, Emerald Arts Association, Willamalane, Springfield Public Schools and other
organizations to coordinate and support promotion of activities downtown. Look for
opportunities to create additional partnerships. Mr. Keefer said the group could think
about what could be done to tie some of the festivals in Island Park to the downtown area,
such as SUB's Light of Liberty, Children's Celebration, National Night Out and Filbert
Festival.
· During the fall of 2006 support the opening of the Academy of Arts and Academics High
School and the Richard E. Wildish Community Theater. Would TEAM Springfield
consider sponsoring an evening event?
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Initiative 3 - Improve the Appearance of Downtown
· Employ youth through such groups as Looking Glass and Northwest Youth Corps to
complete downtown cleanup and beautification projects. Examples might include
pressure washing, landscape maintenance, and graffiti removal that show we care about
Springfield.
· Continue to provide and support projects in downtown that can be completed during
Youth Day of Caring sponsored by Springfield High School. As TEAM Springfield we
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could identify projects for downtown and have youth come in as contract employees and
do work for the downtown area.
· Through the TEAM Springfield newsletter and other publications and events, recognize
businesses and landowners in the downtown core that maintain their property to high
standards and/or make significant improvements to their property. Mr. Keefer said each
agency could support this action by highlighting businesses and/or organizations that
strive to improve our downtown. Each could take a different but similar approach. An
example, Willamalane could work on beautification, the City could focus on safety and
security, the School District, work on Art displays from A3, and SUB could focus on
energy and water conservation projects that make downtown safer and cleaner.
· Other - Gather input from the Downtown Association and other allied groups on
additional appearance enhancements or other funding opportunities. Mr. Keefer said we
could consider things such as themes, additional landscaping, environmental design,
consistent signage, interpretive signs, and walking tours.
Mr. Keefer referenced the proposed FY 07 and FY 08 budget and information related to the
Signature Project proposal.
Councilor Lundberg noted that in addition to the Holiday Parade, the Veteran's Parade is also
scheduled for downtown. Mr. Keefer noted this addition.
The group provided consensus on the proposal for signature projects and were instructed to
proceed.
7. Remarks from Elected Officials.
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Danelle Ralston shared information about the Filbert Festival and the scheduled ice cream
social. She encouraged everyone to attend.
Nancy Golden said Jeff DeFranco was recently married and had a beautiful wedding.
Tammy Fitch congratulated Nancy Golden and Springfield Public Schools on the Education
Award.
Bill Medford recognized and thanked Julie Wilson for her assistance in coordinating the TS
meeting.
8. Adjourn.
Mayor Leiken adjourned the meeting.
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Attest:
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City RecoIi r
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