Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/18/2009 Regular City of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MAY 18,2009 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 18, 2009 at 7:03 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ralston, Lundberg, Wylie, Leezer, 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. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT l. Springfield High School Cheerleading Squad Day Proclamation. Mayor Leiken read from the proclamation and declared May l8, 2009 Springfield High School (SHS) Cheerleading Squad Day. The SHS Cheerleading Squad has earned numerous championships including the United Spirit Association National Championship, Small Co-Ed Varsity Show Cheer. Members ofthe SHS Cheerleading Squad, along with their coach Janet Fryback, were present to accept the proclamation. A photo was taken of the Mayor with the squad as requested by Coach Fryback. CONSENT CALENDAR IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. l. Claims a. Approval of the April 2009, Disbursements for Approval. 2. Minutes a. May 4, 2009 - Work Session b. May 4, 2009 - Regular Meeting 3. Resolutions City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 2 a. RESOLUTION NO 09-16 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT P3l004. PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS FOR OAKDALE AVENUE SANITARY SEWER 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Accept the Bid from Enviro Clean Equipment and Supplies for the Purchase of One (l) Regenerative Air Sweeper in the Amount of $l6l, 925. b. Award the Subject Contract to K&R Plumbing Construction Company, Inc., in the Amount of$386,103.00 for Project P2l0l9: Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation 2009 Basin lOB. c. Allow Construction Activities Outside of the Hours of7 a.m. and 6 p.m. for ODOT Traffic Signal Construction Work on the McKenzie Highway (OR-l26) at Henderson Avenue and BrooklYn Avenue, beginning June l, 2009 and ending April 30, 2010, with Conditions as Stated in Attachment l. ITEMS REMOVED 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. 1. Proposed Resolution Setting Local and Regional Wastewater and Stormwater User Fees. RESOLUTION NO. 09-l7 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD COMMON COUNCIL SETTING LOCAL AND REGIONAL SEWER USER FEES AND LOCAL STORMWATERFEES AS SET FORTH IN THE SPRINGFIELD MUNICIPAL CODE. Environmental Services Supervisor Tim Schuck presented the staff report on this item. At current rates, the local and regional wastewater and local stormwater user fees will not produce sufficient revenue to fully fund the proposed fiscal year (FY) 09-l0 budgets for these funds. Council action is needed to establish new rates for FY 09-10. Each year, the City Council reviews and establishes the rates for local wastewater and stormwater user fees. These rates are established to provide adequate revenue to fund operation and maintenance (O&M) of Springfield's sanitary sewer and storm water systems, and a portion of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for each program. The Council also adopts the user fees set by the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) for the Regional Wastewater Program. The City Council reviewed options for a proposed local wastewater and storm water user fee increase at its April 6th, April l3th, and April 20th work sessions. During these sessions, Council discussed different options for local wastewater including a 14% and l8% increase. Forthe purposes of the May l8th public hearing, staff has prepared a schedule of user charges based on an l8% increase in the local wastewater user fees and a l4% increase in the local stormwater user fees. In the event that Council opts for a 14% local wastewater increase, staffhas also prepared a schedule to support that option as well and will have that schedule available at the May l8th City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 3 session. In addition, the Council was informed that the MWMC was expected to adopt an l8% increase in regional wastewater user fees that also needs to be incorporated into the schedule of user charges for FY 09-10. Attachment l, a resolution establishing the local and regional wastewater and local storm water user fees for FY 09-l 0, is provided for Council consideration. It is requested that the Council consider acting on the resolution following the public hearing. Mr. Schuck said in an effort to minimize the local rate increase, the Budget Committee reviewed the budget and was recommending local wastewater budget reduction of$123,000 (3.9% over last year) and a local stormwaterbudget reduction of$ll5,000 (2.9% over last year). The two local rate drivers included the reduction in SDC revenues and fmancing of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Bonds had been issued to pay for the capital programs. The covenance ofthose bonds required a l.25 debt service coverage ratio so net revenues had to be l25% of annual maximum debt service payment. Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing. 1. Curtiss Greer. 356 55th Street. Springfield. Oregon. Mr. Greer said Council and staff were aware of the refund he instituted in 2004 of around $50,000. There were two parts to the problem at that time: l) staff did not follow Council's direction; and 2) the methodology applied by the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) was unequal in application. It charged some rate payers more than others for the same service. He questioned using this flawed methodology again in December. He had signed documents he had presented and received no response as to correction. Staff approach was to follow Council's directions as they had convinced Council to do it SUB's way. Having approached SUB about this matter, they became very upset with his request and indicated it was wrong for him to correct the mistake in collection. Also, staff refused a Freedom of Information Request and requested he meet with the City Attorney. The method of billing SUB used was not an industry standard, and no one else in Springfield used this method. He had bills from another electric company using the standard used by all other service providers in Springfield except SUB. He felt that the only reason SUB got away with using this method was that they were not under the rules of the Public Utility Commission (pUe). The method they used applied the increase to some ratepayers as much as twenty-eight days before others. He requested Council to ask staff to correct this unequal application. The correction could be applied at a minimal cost as it was in 2004 to accomplish a refund. He hoped they would hear his request before he took additional action by the end of the month. Mayor Leiken asked Mr. Grimaldi to look into Mr. Greer's concern. Mr. Grimaldi said he would. 2. Fred Simmons. 312 South 52nd Place. Springfield. OR. Mr. Simmons said he was opposed to the rate increase in its form because within the City budget, the indirect fees that were applied to the user fees through the Enterprise Fund process was adding a substantial amount of dollars to what we would have to pay. He recognized that the City needed to fund the capital process and pay for the services rendered, but more needed to be done in economizing with one in seven out of work. In addition, with the clear indication that the cost of oil would be going up shortly, the impact on citizens was substantial. He believed Mr. Greer's question about the pro- rata application of the rate increase was correct. The language needed to be equitable and fair to all and there needed to be some pro-rata basis from SUB. It was not fair to charge at an City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 4 increased rate on days when the rate hadn't gone into effect. He hoped the Council would instruct staff to make that rate increase equitable. 3. Jim Welsh. 90050 Killian Lane. Elmira. Oregon. Mr. Welsh said he was here representing the Springfield Board of Realtors. He said the Board had talked favorably about actions taken by the Council in the past regarding deferring costs for development and wanted to apply a friendly reminder of the number of people that were on curtailed hours or not working at all. The realtor business was also losing members, especially in the smaller communities. He would encourage Council to determine if there was anything else they could do to curtail that increase, such as deferring it to the end of the year, looking at the economy at that time, and allowing people a chance to recover. Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing. Mayor Leiken said this had been discussed with Council during two work sessions and the Council had not reached a consensus. Councilor Lundberg said she was struggling with any increases. She agreed with public comment for the most part, and felt she couldn't ask the public for more dollars right now. Councilor Wylie said she agreed. She officially retired last Friday and was now on a fixed income. She wondered how many increases we could pass on to the constituents at this point. The City was caught between our sincere hard-working staffwho were trying to do what was needed and consideration of the constituents. Councilor Leezer agreed. They were looking at raising everything now and this was not the time. Mayor Leiken asked staff to comment regarding permits required by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and what would happen if we deferred this increase to another date. Ms. Smith said based on all of the actions leading up to this, staff had prepared a City budget with a reduced operating budget, which was approved by the Budget Committee. If this increase was not implemented, staff would need to go back and change the budget. Council had also adopted a CIP which had also been reduced from its original form in order to minimize the funding requirements. What was left in the CIP were obligated projects primarily related to our local commitments to the Mill Race project. To fund the financial requirements that went along with that project, the City was looking at fmancing a revenue bond. In order to do that, the City had a revenue requirement to generate funds to meet our net coverage requirement. There was a lot on the line in terms of maintaining our permit. Staff vacancies had been held open to reduce the budget further. Staff had brought to Council a fourteen percent option that could still meet our permit obligations and revenue requirements. Mr. Schuck had the fourteen percent options available if that's what Council chose. Mr. Grimaldi said there were two drivers regarding wastewater and stormwater. The fIrst was regulatory and he would suggest that if Council wanted to keep the increase to a minimum, they at least cover the regulatory part. If we didn't do the regulatoiy mandates, the cost to the citizens would be extreme, perhaps double or triple that of current costs. The second was looking at future development. They could go back and look at the projects and determine which ones Council did not want the City to do. One of the major projects for wastewater was the Jasper Road project for City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 5 $l.2M. That did have an impact on rates, so there were choices to make. He would urge Council to raise the rates in order to perform the requirement from the state and federal authorities. Mayor Leiken agreed. If the City did not address those requirements now, the cost to the citizens would be much higher, including legal fees, etc. He asked what the minimum amount would be to address the regulatory part only. Ms. Smith said Council had asked that question before based on the CIP. Staffhad set aside the numbers on the wastewater and stormwater side in terms of the dollar value of the projects, but she didn't have it translated into the rate. She recalled that in wastewater there was about $l6M in system rehabilitation costs. The stormwater side was more complicated because the Mill Race project was about regulatory compliance in many ways. Councilor Ralston said they had to make tough decisions. The cost of doing business in Springfield did not go down and there were required projects that had to be done. They needed to do the responsible thing and not taking action would be irresponsible. He would support either Option 2 (10%) or 2+ (14%). Paying less at first just delayed the costs. Councilor Pishioneri said in listening to the other councilors, he agreed this was not the time to raise fees. The word needs was brought up and this was a separation of needs and wants. He did not want to be part of taxation and putting the burden on citizens and businesses, but the City needed to have these things done or there would be significant consequences. It was something they needed to do, not something they wanted to do. He agreed it was a matter of affordability. The City had requirements they had to fulfill and they needed to determine the best way to do that. Staff had worked hard to fmd a way to do this successfully. Councilor Ralston pointed out that originally he supported Option l, which was l8% up front, and that was still his favorite option because it would cost less in the long run. He felt he was compromising going to l4 or lO percent. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR PISmONERI TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 09-17 USING OPTION 2 PLUS. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 1 AGAINST (LUNDBERG). 2. Amend the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) Diagram to Implement a Nodal Development Overlay District for the McKenzie-Gateway MDR Site. ORDINANCE NO. 1 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN (METRO PLAN) DIAGRAM BY ADOPTING A NODAL DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY DESIGNATION FOR APPROXIMATELY l68 ACRES OF LAND WITHIN THE MCKENZIE-GATEWAY MDR SITE (FIRST READING). City Planner Andy Limbird presented the staff report on this item. The City Council is asked to conduct a public hearing to accept testimony and deliberate the implementation of a Nodal Development Overlay Designation (NDO) affecting approximately 168 acres of northwest Springfield. The subject area is identified in adopted plans as the "McKenzie-Gateway MDR Site." The City Council must decide whether to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the request. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 6 The subject area is located between Game Farm Road and the McKenzie River; and between Deadmond Ferry Road and residential properties on Wayside Loop. Approximately 180 acres are identified for nodal implementation in TransPlan, the Gateway Refmement Plan and the Metro Plan. However, staff advises that the requested plan amendment is limited to land currently inside the City limits (approximately l68 acres). The affected area includes the existing Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend and future commercial, residential and mixed use development areas comprising the RiverBend Master Plan area. As unincorporated areas within the planned nodal implementation area request annexation, the City Council may consider whether to implement the NDO designation on a case-by-case basis. The post-acknowledgement plan amendment is consistent with a Conceptual Development Plan adopted for the area in 1994; amendments to the Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) and Gateway Refinement Plan adopted in 2005 (Commercial Policy and Implementation Action 5.0); TransPlan; and provisions of the approved RiverBend Master Plan. Springfield City Council directed staff to implement the nodal development overlay plan designation through adoption of the amended RiverBend Master Plan in 2006. Upon implementation, the NDO designation will allow for a greater mix of housing types and slightly higher dwelling densities (12 to 24 units per acre) in areas zoned Medium Density Residential (MDR). For properties zoned mixed use or commercial, the NDO designation will provide for higher floor area ratios (F ARs), enhanced pedestrian and transit facilities, and special development standards for buildings fronting onto public streets. The NDO designation also prohibits certain vehicle-related commercial uses from locating in the area, including service stations, dealerships, parts stores, tire sales and service, car washes, and equipment rentals. Mr. Limbird summarized some of the verbal testimony presented at the public hearing before the Planning Commission. A letter in support of the action was submitted by Bonny Ullman (included in the agenda packet in Attachment 6). Also, PeaceHealth, represented by Phillip Farrington, observed that the nodal implementation would have some challenges at the RiverBend site in part because some of the design requirements were to move building closer to the street with parking in the rear. There were some double frontage properties along RiverBend Drive and Martin Luther King Blvd that could present some design issues. Staff would look at that as development plans were advanced for those sites. In response to the testimony, the Planning Commission made a recommendation, noted in Attachment 7. The Planning Commission recommended that as the balance of the area, currently outside the city limits, was brought in through annexation proceedings, the City would be responsible for initiating the amendments for nodal development. The bulk of the area, about l68 of the l80 acres contemplated in the original plan, was presented for the nodal development. As annexation was requested for those properties, the Planning Commission recommended these areas would be City sponsored amendments, so the person or entity requesting annexation would not have conditional costs of incorporating a nodal development. It also provided discretion for Council to apply the nodal development on properties on a case by case basis. Mr. Limbird reviewed the implications of the NDO. It did allow for a greater mix of housing types and slighter higher residential densities. Currently, all the affected area was medium density, which was about 10-20 units per acre, and the NDO allowed twenty percent more, which would be about l2-24 units per acres. The NDO also enhanced the pedestrian transit facilities. There was currently infrastructure that was contemplated to meet the intent of the NDO. There were certain commercial uses that were precluded through NDO, primarily vehicle and machinery oriented businesses including: service stations; auto dealerships; boat, truck, and City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 7 machinery dealerships; tire and parts stores; car washes; and equipment rentals. The Planning Commission adopted the recommendation for support of the NDO on April 2l by a vote of 5 in favor, 2 absent and 0 opposed. The recommendation from staff was a fIrst reading by Council of this NDO implementation. Mr. Leahy referred back to the previous public hearing regarding the sewer use and storm water fees. He said when adopting the resolution and changing Attachment l, Council needed to reference what had been changed. His recommendation was for someone that voted in the affIrmative, to move to reconsider, then move to amend the resolution to include the fourteen percent alternative as Attachment 1 rather than what was attached. This would make their intentions clear. Mayor Leiken said they would move the NDO item aside for now as they took care of the previous item. Mayor Leiken reopened the public hearing on Resolution No. 09-l7 and asked for reconsideration by Council. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI TO RECONSIDER THE MOTION ON RESOLUTION 09-17 FOR THE PURPOSE OF CLARIFYING THE ATTACHMENT TO THE RESOLUTION. Ms. Smith said there was an Exhibit A attached to the resolution, which needed to be replaced with the revised Exhibit A. Mr. Grimaldi said the original attachment was the eighteen percent increase, and they voted on the fourteen percent. Mr. Leahy said they wanted to clarify what the Council intended to do when they passed the resolution. Ms. Smith said they would switch Exhibit A, with the correct one showing the fourteen percent mcrease. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 1 AGAINST (LUNDBERG). Mayor Leiken returned to the item regarding the NDO ordinance. Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing on the amendment to the Metro Plan to implement a Nodal Development Overlay District. 1. Philip Farrington. PeaceHealth. l23 International Way. Springfield. Oregon. Mr. Farrington congratulated the Council on the passage of the nodal development overlay (NDO) and said it put Springfield ahead of the City of Eugene in terms of compliance with the DLCD requirements. Through the RiverBend master planning process, PeaceHealth was ahead of the curve in terms of many of the provisions for the NDO standards. Through the master plan, they had provided for effective and convenient transit access, an integrated network of on and off pedestrian and bicycle ways, and had done a credible job of preserving the area's natural features, waterways, and groundwater resources. They had planned through their master plan for a vibrant mix of complimentary uses around the Phase 1 development currently in place, but City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 8 did have some concerns mentioned by Mr. Limbird. In the Gateway Refmement Plan, Policy 13, 6, required that all future development comply with code standards for nodal development and/or mixed use unless specifically exempted, and the exemptions must be approved by the City Council as part of the Master Plan. One of the standards in the code stated that automobile parking, driving and delivering areas should not be located between the main buildings and the street. There were lots created on either side of Martin Luther King Boulevard with street frontage on two and three sides of the street. These lots left no place for auto turning areas, and if an exemption was required, they would need to come to City Council for approval rather than a site plan review process. The intent of the nodal standards was to create high quality development with an integrated mix of uses, but also something that was convenient and allowed investment to flock into nodal development areas. He was confident they would be able to work with staff on looking at the code closer. They went through one master plan amendment which was to re-orient a building (the Women's Care property), so there should be a more nimble way they could get to implementation of these standards. He supported the request made by PeaceHealth to the Planning Commission that the City initiate all future NDO applications rather than putting the burden on future developers. Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing. . Mayor Leiken referred to Mr. Farrington's concern about policy 13.6 and asked why something like that wouldn't be handled through a site plan review rather than bringing it to Council. He asked if that was something had already been adopted. Mr. Limbird said staff recommendation would be to take care of it at the stafflevel unless there was a question of policy or interpretation. It would likely be taken care of at the staff level. Mayor Leiken felt that would be the proper way to go. This project had one property owner, so would be easier to work with. If there were multiple owners, they could be an opportunity for Council to be involved. It would make more sense with one property owner to go through staff, unless there was an emergency or something that required policy change. Mr. Limbird said he would take that under advisement. Of the vacant land that was being requested for incorporation into the NDO, PeaceHealth was the ~ole owner. The Women's Care properties were separate and there was also a piece owned by the City. It was reasonable to expect that PeaceHealth might sell to other developers in the future. NO ACTION REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY. COUNCIL RESPONSE BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE l. Dave Hvland, 90570 Nadeau Road, Springfield, Oregon. Mr. Hyland said he was co-owner of SilverLite Trailers on South A Street. He distributed a document with photos of his business to the Mayor and Council. He commended the City for being great landlords and cutting the rent back on two Booth Kelly sites. These were tough times. SilverLite started in 1996 and had up to l20 employees in the past. He had been an employee all that time, and lived in Springfield all of his life. In order to get through the tougher times, SilverLite had diversified into other things. They started a company called "Tow a Toy", and were retailing rentals and sale. For the past l2 years, they had only been in the wholesale business so people weren't City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18,2009 Page 9 used to stopping there for retail. They put up banners and signs to try to bring attention to their sales. They had removed their banners when they found they were in violation of the sign code. He requested that the City allow them, through the summer, to do something special to bring attention to their business and generate some sales. City staff had been very helpful and had given him some guidelines. He asked them to come over to determine what they could do regarding signs. He said they had also started selling vehicles at their site over the last two years, fIrst freightliner trucks, now autos. Under the code, they were in violation by selling smaller cars. He asked for a variance to sell cars for a certain time frame. He noted other car dealers that were in the same area. He said he was not the owner of the property, but felt the owner wouldn't mind the change. He asked for the City's help so they could create sales at their site. Mr. Grimaldi said he would have Development Services Director Bill Grile talk with Mr. Hyland. Councilor Pishioneri said the fencing around their property had barb wire on top and that may be a conflict to consider. 2. Mary Davidson, l84 South nod Street. Springfield, Oregon. Ms. Davidson said she was with St. Alice Catholic Church, Justice and Peace Commission. She had a document with l40 signatures showing concerns for the poor in the City of Springfield. The concerned Springfield residents signed a form that stated "We, the undersigned, acknowledge by our signatures, that we recognize there are a number of residents of Springfield currently living below an adequate standard of living and that a potentially larger group may also be at risk of falling behind economically and financially. We support and endorse those pragmatic efforts which attempt to address and/or correct these inequities in our community". She said they came with no demands, and no agenda, but simply to let Council know of their concern and their willingness to support Council with any changes they could make to help our residents living in poverty and on the edge of homelessness. Those at St. Alice were constantly at service to these neighbors through work with St. Vincent DePaul and Catholic Community Services and most recently sheltered the homeless families for a week through the Interfaith Family Shelter program. They were not looking for more ways to serve, but wanted to support Council to make the changes that kept people in their homes and those that had lost their homes. She asked Council to let them know how they could help. Mayor Leiken said this group was very forthcoming and he had learned a lot from them. He thanked them for coming forward and said he was impressed they had received l40 signatures. He noted that Councilor Pishioneri suggested the City increase CDBG contributions for Project Homeless Connect event for the coming year and Council was very supportive of that effort. Ms. Davidson said she had worked with Kevin Ko and had also been in touch with John Lively about the housing summit. They were trying to stay abreast of what the City was doing. Councilor Lundberg said she would be attending a meeting at the Brattain House on Thursday to discuss this issue with the group working on the homeless issue. Councilor Pishioneri said he appreciated what they did and noted the great work they did for our community. He suggested they contact the school district to identify families that are low-income and could use help. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18,2009 Page 10 3. Lisa Emerson. 642 F Street. Springfield. Oregon. Ms. Emerson said she served on the Stormwater CAC and she thanked Council for providing a forum to learn about the City and meet some neighbors and potentially guide City policy. She did have a dissenting position from the consensus of the committee. She felt the City should move towards a waste and stormwater system that was maintained, and if it needed to be expanded, all the funds should be collected through user fees. This was the only sustainable and predictable income stream that the City had and that's how the City should fund those projects. An income stream based on new construction was complicated and inefficient and she strongly urged the City to abandon SDCs and work to create a simpler City budget. This would allow for a predictable cost structure, both for citizens and businesses. She enjoyed serving on the committee and acknowledged George Grier who served and suggested the replacement minus depreciation which allowed the CAC to approach consensus; and Laura Potter, who represented Lane County HomeBuilders and was well spoke and well informed. She said the City staff was consistently courteous and respectful and she appreciated that. She did feel there was room for improvement for efficiency of the meetings, with a more specific agenda that was adhered to during the meetings. The process took four months in addition to the original timeline and she was disappointed. She understood things were complicated now, but she would like the City to go in a different direction regarding SDCs. CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS l. Correspondence from Bill Berg, BT Properties LLC, 4l84l Deerhorn Road, Springfield, Oregon Regarding the Rent Reductions at Booth Kelly (staff response attached). IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FILING. THE MOTION PASSED BY A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. BIDS ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Committee Appointments 2. Business from Council a. Committee Reports l. Mayor Leiken reported on the joint elected officials (JEO) Economic Development Subcommittee meeting. He said Eugene and Springfield were on the same page, but Lane County seemed to have other thoughts. From a regional standpoint, Eugene and Springfield wanted to move in a similar direction. The group was working hard and he complimented Mayor Piercy on working with some of the commissioners in a positive way. It was difficult to know where the County wanted to go. Councilor Pishioneri agreed and said it went quite well. There were still some underlying issues. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 11 2. Councilor Leezer said she attended the Lane Workforce Partnership. They were starting an internship program this summer using stimulus money. The program was for students age l6-l8 to go into the community and work, and salaries and workman's comp was paid for by the stimulus funds. She signed up for. a student to come into her company and get an opportunity to build some working skills. She felt it was a good use of stimulus dollars. 3. Councilor Ralston reported on the Metro Plan Subcommittee mo. The two options discussed were l) no Metro Plan; or 2) revised Metro Plan. Each option had costs associated with them. They were trying to focus the group of revising the Metro Plan, but that also had a high cost. Councilor Lundberg was adamant that she supported having no Metro Plan because that gave the jurisdictions more flexibility. It was made clear that one way or the other, each City would always have to work with Lane County. At the end of the meeting, some agreement was reached that there could be a way to revise the Metro Plan that would separate those issues that the cities had in common, such as transportation and wastewater, and highlight areas where the cities wanted autonomy. Councilor Lundberg said they had one more meeting before bringing their recommendation to the full JEO. The full meeting was scheduled for June l. 4. Councilor Ralston discussed the number of meetings scheduled. He reported on the Ambulance Transport Task Force mo. They did disagree on whether an ambulance district was the way to go, but they were getting some good information. The system was failing, so something needed to be done. There were some strong feelings about whether or not the Ambulance Transportation System should be part of the General Fund. He agreed that an argument could be made that it should be part of the General Fund, but we didn't have the money in the General Fund to support it so another revenue stream was needed. 5. Mayor Leiken said the transportation bill was close to getting out of the House. He thanked Mr. Grimaldi, Tom Boyatt (Transportation Manager) and Len Goodwin (Assistant Public Works Director) for the time they had spent on this on his behalf as Chair of the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) Transportation Committee. There were still a couple of issues, but they had made progress. He suggested Council contact Mr. Goodwin for further details. The bill had to do with the Metropolitan Policy Organization (MPO) structures. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER l. Amend the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan (Metro Plan) to Include a New Population Projection for the City of Springfield. ORDINANCE NO.2 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1, INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE SECTION OF THE EUGENE-SPRINGFIELD METROPOLITAN AREA GENERAL PLAN BY ADDING A POPULATION FORECAST FOR THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD FOR THE PERIOD 20 lO-2030 AND INCLUDING THE PERIOD 2030- 2035 AND ADOPTING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18, 2009 Page 12 Development Services Director Bill Grile presented the staff report on this item. He was presenting for Planning Manager Greg Mott who was unable to attend tonight's meeting. He acknowledged the work Mr. Mott had put into this subject. The City must have a population forecast in order to adopt an urban growth boundary. Lane County is currently working on a coordinated population forecast for all Lane County cities. The statutory methodology, based on the current forecast prepared by the state Office of Economic Analysis (EOA), may be adopted into the Metro Plan unilaterally by the City of Springfield as provided in ORS 195.034 and 197.304. As it happens, however, Lane County's proposed population forecast is converging on a 2030 forecast well within the range of permissible statutory forecasts. Therefore, the Council has the discretion to adopt the forecast provided by Lane County in the interests of heightened intergovernmental coordination. At the April 6, 2009 public hearing on this matter the Council extended the written record two weeks. During that period the Lane County Board and Ms. Mia Nelson submitted testimony opposing the City's proposed methodology because the County was nearing completion of a county-wide forecast. On May 4, 2009 the Council agreed to continue deliberation until May l8, 2009 to allow city staff an opportunity to address the Lane County Board after the fmal PSU forecast was prepared. At two meetings with the Board, May 6,2009 and May l2, 2009, the Board agreed to an expedited hearing and adoption schedule to accommodate Springfield's lIB3337 implementation schedule (June 3, 2009 and June l7, 2009). The Board further supported the allocation of urban transition area population at the historic 28-72 percent for Springfield and Eugene, respectively. Based on the PSU numbers, Springfield's forecast as coordinated by Lane County is 8l,607 which is within 1.2% of the City's proposed number of 82,6l6. Additionally, the PSU forecast goes to 2035; therefore, adopting these numbers will facilitate any future work that must be based on a 20-year period that extends beyond 2030. Mr. Grile thanked Mayor Leiken for going to the Lane County Board of Commissioners (LCBC) and stressing the importance of this to Springfield. Staff was asking Council to reopen the written record to allow the PSU report into the record. They could then reconvene for the 3rd reading on June l5. The LCBC would then hopefully adopt on June 17. If Council approved, they would be agreeing with the PSU figure as supported by the PSU analysis, but also have the protection of the Safe Harbor statute because they had followed that procedure. Mayor Leiken thanked Mr. Mott and Bill Van Vactor, from the CityAttorney's Office, for going to LCBC with him. He also thanked Commissioner Bill Dwyer for his work in getting Lane County to this point and working with the other commissioners to agree with this approach. Mr. Leahy said technically, June l5 would be the fourth reading, the second on the revised title. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR LUNDBERG TO REOPEN THE WRITTE~ RECORD FOR TWO WEEKS TO PLACE THE PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY POPULATION FORECAST FOR LANE COUNTY AND ALL LANE COUNTY CITIES INTO THE RECORD, AND RECONVENE ON JUNE 15, 2009 TO CONDUCT FOURTH READING OF THE ORDINANCE. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY ADJOURNMENT City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 18,2009 Page 13 The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:l5 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Attest: ~bw/.- City Rec der