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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/04/2009 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MAY 4, 2009 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 4, 2009 at 6:03 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Leezer, Ralston, and Pishioneri. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. I. Historic Commission Annual Report to Council. City Planner and staff liaison to the Histone Commission Molly Markarian was present for this item. The Historic Commission introduced themselves. Ted Corbin, Chair of the Historic Commission said he was Chair last year for a short time and continued on for this year. He had been on the Commission for about six or seven years. The Commission was doing their best to balance being active and letting things run the way the Washburne community wanted. The Commission was very well represented, with a lot of diversity. They had experienced some turnover in the last three or four years, but had a good mix at this time. Paula Guthrie said she had been on the Commission for two years. She had put together the Downtown Walking Tour Guide and was currently revising the website. She had also done some work on plats that would be presented to Council in the near future. John Tuttle said he had been on the Commission for about nine years. He was the past Chair of the Commission. Two commissioners were not present this evening, Maren Tomlin and Sean Van Gordon. Kuri Gill said she had served on the Commission for a few years and had worked up the Heritage Programs. Mayor Leiken welcomed the Historic Commission members and said he always looked forward to this meeting. Ms. Gill reviewed the Historic Commission goals: Goal A: Educate the Community about Historic Preservation; Goal B: Continue Survey and Inventory Efforts; Goal C: Protect Resources through National Register Listings; Goal D: Conduct Historical Research; Goal E: Use Current Technology to Make Information Pertaining to Historic Preservation and Historic Resources Available to the Public; Goal F: Develop Public Support; Goal G: Develop and Offer Incentives to Property Owners Interested in Preserving Historic Resources; Goal H: Strengthen . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 4, 2009 Page 2 and Maintain the City's Historic Preservation Program as Part of the City's Planning and Regulatory Efforts. Ms. Gill said they had become more active in discussions and planning. She thanked her colleagues on the Commission for their efforts and accomplishments. Mr. Corbin said over the last year, applications that went through the Historic Commission had been down. It was difficult to say what that meant. The Commission didn't police the district, but there were some members that walked the neighborhood and hadn't seen many projects going on. The Historic Commission wanted to make sure the Washburne continued to revitalize itself. The goal was for the properties to gain value while maintaining some of the heritage. They tried to make the application process accessible for residents. Ms. Gill showed a slide of the postcard sent out to the Washburne residents and property owners to let them know how the Historic Commission could assist them. She reviewed the Historic Commission accomplishments from July 2007 through April 2009 (listed in Attachment 2 ofthe agenda packet). A copy of the Walking Tour Guide and Everyday Houses, a Guide to Springfield's Most Popular House Types 1880-1980 was provided to Council members. Ms. Gill discussed the application to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) for the Gray House and the issues faced in that application. This house could be on the local register without being on the National Register. Ms. Gill discussed the Historic Commission's Proposed Projects for April 2009-April 2010 (listed in Attachment 3 in the agenda packet). The update of the Commission website would be very helpful and they would send Council the link once it was ready. The Historic Commission supported a SHPO historic resources survey of Post WWII era houses in the Mohawk Neighborhood. There was a large boom in growth for Springfield during that time and they wanted to make sure to capture that information. Many of the homes in the Mohawk Neighborhood were still in their original design. The Commission was looking forward to connecting with the people in the neighborhood. One of the projects for the next year would be to participate in discussions regarding what, if any, sites in the Glenwood areas of Springfield should be preserved as part of the Glenwood Refinement Plan Update project. She spoke about the Main Street Program and said the program was interested in working with Springfield. Ms. Gill said they were working to make revisions to the Historic Overlay District in the Development Code by clarifying the application review process, correcting typographical errors, and establishing procedures to address non-compliance with the regulations of the Historic Overlay District that were fair and equitable. Ms. Gill said the Commission applied for grant funding from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to support its activities. The Commission was still drawing from its funding from the 2008 - 2009 grant cycle, and the Commission applied for grant funding for 2009 - 2010 in late March. SHPO had recently changed the grant application funding cycle. Starting in 2010, applications would be biannual and would be due to SHPO in early February. To ensure on-going coordination with other City activities, the Historic Commission proposed the following schedule for communicating with Council in the coming years: City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 4, 2009 Page 3 Oct 2009: Commission establishes goals, objectives, and implementation actions for 2010 - 2012 Nov 2009: Commission presents proposed activities for 2010 - 2012 to Council for review and feedback Jan 2010: Commission and staff present draft grant application to Executive Team for review and feedback prior to submittal to SHPO in F eb 2010 Nov 2010: Commission presents annual report to Council on activities to date Nov 2011: Commission presents annual report to Council on activities to date and proposes new activities for 2012 - 2014 for review and feedback Mayor Leiken said the City had recently received good news on funding for the Mill Race. He would like the Historic Commission to research more about the historical value of the Mill Race. Elias Briggs, founder of Springfield, dug most of the Mill Race by hand. He asked if the Historic Commission could come up with some ideas about how to acknowledge that at the Mill Race. He noted that when growing up in Roseburg, he and his friends found headstone markers for four of General Joseph Lane's children at his elementary school. That area was now fenced in as a historic property. The Mill Race was important and it was important to understand why it was there in the first place. Councilor Lundberg agreed that the Mill Race had historical importance and the City and Parks District were working to make it a place for all to enjoy. Another area she was interested in was Willamette Heights over to Dorris Ranch, where the Briggs House was located. There were historical buildings there, so it would be interesting to tie those places together. There was huge potential for a place to show off and learn more about our history. Ms. Guthrie said when talking to Bob Keefer, Superintendent from Willamalane Parks and Recreation District, about Dorris Ranch, they told him there needed to be more signage on Main Street and South A Streets noting the many amenities at the ranch. We needed to draw people to that area more. She had done four years of research on Elias Briggs and hoped to write a book about him. Her notes included the significance of the Mill Race. Councilor Lundberg said the two books distributed were wonderful. Councilor Wylie said Rotary had a presentation from RiverBend regarding the gravesites found on that site and the research of the family. They had reunited the graves from the RiverBend site to the rest of the family on the hillside family graveyard. The presenter brought a map showing the pioneer graveyards in our community. She would like to see more information about how we had researched our history. Councilor Pishioneri said the Commission did great work and he was anxious to see the website. He asked if they had a pictorial or catalogue of all the homes in the Historic District. Ms. Guthrie said the only thing like that was a reference book in the Library. There was no database with photos and descriptions. That was another project she would like to undertake. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 4, 2009 Page 4 Councilor Pishioneri said it could be a way to memorialize it in case of a catastrophic event. He said he appreciated their work and was proud to be Council liaison to this commission. Mr. Corbin asked Ms. Gill if the cemetery at Willamette Heights had been involved in the State's efforts. Ms. Gill said as of last Thursday, it had not. To do anything significant there, some ground penetrating radar would fIrst need to be done to see if there was still anyone there. Most of the burials were removed at some point, but it was not clear how many. Mr. Corbin said the current commission had a strong interest in education for citizens and the neighborhoods. The Council was expressing an interest in making things more visible. Over the next year or two, many of the efforts from the Commission would move in that direction. A couple of new members were very excited and delivering good products. The Commission really wanted to stay on track with the Council and their interests. Downtown was important to the Washburne neighbors and they were happy with the way things were going. Councilor Pishioneri said Springfield's downtown had a number of historic buildings still in place, unlike some cities. We had the Mill Race, downtown, and the Washburne District. He felt that design standards that complimented what we had instead of taking away would be beneficial. Mr. Corbin said "Feet on the Street" waskey to the health of Booth Kelly, Downtown, and Washburne. Historic neighborhoods were fantastic because people still walked through them, and the great ones were close enough for people to walk to do their shopping. Mr. Tuttle said the Commission couldn't function as well as they did without the staff provided for them. He encouraged the City to make sure staff continued to be funded to help. Community Relations Manager Niel Laudati said next year was Springfield's 125th Anniversary. It could be a very good year for the Historic Commission if the City could partner with them on events. One of the things they were planning was a historic 5k run/walk through the Washburne District. He would be working with the Commission on that and other events. 2. I-5 Willamette River Bridge Proiect Update. Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report on this item. The I-5 bridge project began in 2003 when state bridge inspectors determined that the now decommissioned I-5 bridge could no longer safely support the weight of to day's freight trucks. The temporary bridge was completed in 2005 and was not intended to be in use past 2015. ODOT secured funding'for the permanent replacement bridge in 2007 and is ready to commence the final phase of this project. Dick Upton, I-5 Willamette River Bridge Project Manager, was present to provide an update to the Council. Mr. Upton thanked Council for the opportunity to present this item. He said he would not be going through the information in the packet, but rather point out the project details on the map on the wall. He was here to provide information to the Council as construction of the bridge began. He expressed appreciation to City staff, including Mr. Mott, who was a member of the citizen advisory committee; Planner Mark Metzger, who helped work through the permitting process; City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 4, 2009 Page 5 and Transportation Manager Tom Boyatt, who helped ODOT secure some enhancement funding. He appreciated the partnership. Mr. Upton said the core of this project was replacing the old structure over the Willamette River. The replacement would be twin structures, each capable of carrying three lanes, although they would each start out carrying two. Because of additional clearance needed over the railroad and Glenwood Boulevard, they would be raising the bridge three or four feet. In doing that, they needed to re-track the horizontal alignments. He referred to the area on the map that would have to be reworked in order to elevate the bridge. That elevation put the canal bridge at the wrong elevation relative to the new construction, so it would also need to be replaced. They would also be doing some work on the ramps for the same reason. Mr. Upton said the map showed the fIrst phase of work. During construction, they would try to keep bike traffic going. There would be some impacts near the Mill Race. As an agreement with SHPO, they would be doing some research around the history ofthe Mill Race and building an interpretative center. He had noted that he would talk to the Historic Commission about that project to make sure ODOT included things the Historic Commission wanted. Councilor Pishioneri asked about one area on the east side. Mr. Upton said they would be building work bridges and containment structures across the river that would give them a platform. The area Councilor Pishioneri noted was access at that end of the work platforms. They would also have access at the other end. In doing so, they were building an alignment to drive construction trucks on. They would also be impacting and shifting around the bike path. Through most of the alignment they were at grade. He referred to the map and explained further. Councilor Pishioneri spoke regarding outflows and if that had been coordinated with the City. Mr. Mott said Public Works (PW) were sending crews out to survey the condition of that waterway. They were preparing some documents to enter onto the property and remove some blackberries. That would be a significant component of the Stormwater Master Plan. PW was aware ofODOT's interest in this as well as the Oregon Department ofFish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the Division of State Lands. Mr. Upton said they were anticipating starting construction on the south bank on May 18. The first thing they would be doing was moving in on the bike path. Based on the timing for permits they needed from national parks to do any work in the park, and because of the salmon run that used the north bank in June, July and August, they would start on the path work in about mid- June. They wouldn't be starting in the water on the north side until early or late August. They would be working with the national fisheries to make sure the salmon had passed before they went into the water. They expected that most of the construction would start from the south. Once the work bridge was in place, they would begin taking down the existing relic structure. It would be crushed up so it could be re-used. Councilor Wylie asked when the big construction would start. Mr. Upton said that should start in September. This was a very large project. Things would most likely come up monthly that would affect their schedule. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 4, 2009 Page 6 Councilor Wylie said she often drove under the old bridge and saw the extent of the damage. She asked how they would take the old bridge down over the roadway. Mr. Upton said there would be times when Franklin Boulevard would be closed, mostly weekends and nights. They were working on a detour. The device to take it down was a machine with 'jaws' that chewed and crunched up the pieces. Mayor Leiken asked if they needed demolition permits from the City or someone else. Mr. Mott said it was not the City. The City had provided all the permits we had the authority to review and issue. The City had no jurisdiction regarding their building or, demolition permits. Mr. Upton said relative to the greenway permit, ODOT had described the work they would be doing. Mayor Leiken said he was fine with the project, but there could be some neighborhoods that were interested. Mr. Upton said they would meet with each of the neighborhoods to talk about the project. He described the further steps in this project. They would work on the south alignment to make it the new detour. Once the south alignment was finished, they would move traffic off the temporary structure onto the southbound, and would shift the containment structures over and begin work on the southbound bridge, then the northbound lanes. Southbound should be starting up late this Fall (2009) and would continue through the Summer of201O. Around the Fall of2010, they expected to shift to the north. Northbound work should continue through the 2011 and early 2012. In the summer of2012, they would pull the old structures out of the water. The target completion date was December 2012. Discussion was held regarding offramps. Mr. Mott asked if they would be constructing any soundwalls. Mr. Upton said they had soundwalls planned for several areas. He noted those locations on the map. They fIrst needed to present the impacted neighbors with the proposal and make sure more than half wanted the wall. Councilor Pishioneri discussed the need for high security around the construction site. He asked about future on and off ramps. Mr. Upton said they had not explored that in this process. There was discussion about creating ramps into Springfield. There was a project discussing how to provide access into Springfield in several locations. Councilor Pishioneri asked if this construction would preclude that possibility. Mr. Upton said it would not. ADJOURNMENT City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 4, 2009 Page 7 The meeting was adjourned at 6:58 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: ~~ Amy So City Recorder