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Home My WebLink About10/25/1993 Work Session . . . rl ~ City of Springfield Work Session Council Meeting MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY OCTOBER 25, 1993 The City of Springfield Council met in the Springfield City Hall, Meeting Room 2, 225 N. Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, October 25, 1993, at 7:00 p.m. ATTENDANCE Present were Councilors Maine, Shaver, Walters, Burge, Schanz and Beyer. Mayor Morrisette was absent (excused). Also present were Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Recorder Eileen Stein and members of staff. 1. Request for Non-Standard Street Liqhtinq Public Works Director Dan Brown introduced Bob Linahan from Springfield Utility Board's Electrical Department, Jim Mitchem, President of L.H. Morris Electrical Contractors, Ainslie Krans, Developer of Oak Tree Subdivision, Dale Johnson, a representative from the Blue Ridge Agency and Craig Rhoden from Consolidated Electric Distributors. Mr. Brown explained the city is asking whether Mr. Krans should be allowed to install non-standard street lighting in his development. Mr. Brown showed the Council a display model. Mr. Brown described the benefits of street light standardization to city specifications and how the city is the owner of public facilities and must maintain them. Mr. Brown also discussed the factors to consider in going with non-standard lighting, such as availability of spare parts and he suggested conditions be implemented for the approval of non-standard lights. Councilor Burge asked for staff's recommendation and suggested lights be installed before any future building permits are issued. Councilor Shaver indicated he had spoken with Mr. Krans on this issue over a month ago. He discussed the opinion of the Springfield Utility Board (SUB) to go towards HPS lighting and mentioned options for how the lighting could be installed to the developer's preference. Councilor Walters asked how many lights would be installed. Mr. Brown replied four initially, with 10 total, at a cost of approximately $1,500 each for materials only. Councilor Walters praised the Oak Tree development as meeting a 1992 Council goal for more upscale housing and felt the city should be as flexible as possible. He also mentioned he would like to see similar a street light installation on Main Street. Councilor Burge said the lighting sounded appropriate for the development, but felt lighting on public streets should be standard. He stated he is not in favor of the city accommodating a single developer and although HPS is favorable in terms of appearance, LPS lighting is lower in cost. ~ City of Springfield Work Session Council Meeting Page two . Councilor Shaver commented if the city has standards to maintain, then the property owners in the subdivision might be required to pay the cost of electricity for the lights. Mr. Brown commented that when a private street is put in, it is usually the responsibility of the Home Owners Association to maintain the street lights and other infrastructure. He also said the city of Eugene uses HPS lighting. Councilor Beyer asked if the city has an energy policy. Mr. Brown said 10 years ago the city received a grant to install standard LPS lighting and at that time the Council made a policy decision to use LPS lighting. Councilor Schanz asked Mr. Krans and Mr. Mitchem to responded to issues presented. Mr. Mitchem addressed the issues in the staff presentation and told the Council specific information regarding LPS and HPS energy usage. He commented how HPS lighting is being used all along the I-5 corridor. Mr. Linahan discussed SUB's perspective of HPS versus LPS and said he did not see a difference between the two as far as energy consumption is concerned. He did mention that HPS lights have a 35 percent higher assertion level. . The Council discussed the above issues in detail and the actual energy consumption. Councilor Burge inquired about the accuracy of the energy consumption. Councilor Beyer stated she had concerns regarding safety issues. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR WALTERS WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR BURGE TO ALLOW THE OAK TREE SUBDIVISION TO INSTALL ALTERNATIVE LIGHTING AND FOR STAFF TO RETURN TO THE COUNCIL WITH A REPORT REGARDING FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS INCLUDING A DONATION OF POLES. THE MOTION PASSED BY A VOTE OF 4 (BURGE, WALTERS, SCHANZ AND MAINE) FOR AND 2 (BEYER AND SHAVER) AGAINST. Mr. Brown explained how the design of the new pole will compensate for the 35% increase difference. 2. Traffic Enqineerinq Issues Mr. Brown introduced Traffic Engineer Scott Morris who briefed the Council on existing traffic policies that arise frequently. Mr. Morris explained staff would like Council's review and reconfirmation on current traffic/engineering policies. Mr. Brown explained the traffic system and how one change in it can effect the entire system. He described the use of the warrants of the Uniform Traffic Code and how those help to reduce the city's liability. . Mr. Morris distributed examples of the informational materials about traffic that is routinely handed out to citizens. He gave detailed information on the topics of parking and enforcement in the downtown area, speed zones (particularly in residential areas), programs to assist residents in controlling speeding, the speed readerboard program, and the warrant system used for stop sign installation. " City of Springfield Work Session Council Meeting Page three . Councilor Shaver asked if at night the city could use flashing red and yellow lights, rather than traffic signals. Mr. Morris replied the general reason is to provide uniformity in the system. Councilor Shaver asked why the city does not have more sensor controlled traffic signals. Mr. Morris said the city has some, but due to climate and heavy traffic, the systems break down frequently. He described alternatives to street in-laid sensors, but he discussed cost and inconsistent research findings as reasons for not pursuing aerial sensors. Councilor Schanz suggested an ordinance prohibiting on-street parking in residential areas between 12:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. He described how this would make patrolling the streets easier for the Police Department. Council discussed the idea and similar ones to reduce the level of on-street parking. By Council consensus, it was agreed to continue with the city's current traffic policies. 3. Council Business Councilor Maine asked for a motion to confirm the Council's discussion in Executive Session earlier in the evening. . IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR SHAVER WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR BURGE THAT THE CITY TAKE NO ACTION TO ENFORCE SECTION 109 OF THE SPRINGFIELD CHARTER UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THERE IS A FINAL RESOLUTION OF THE LITIGATION: LON MABON ET AL VS. STATE OF OREGON. THE MOTION PASSED BY A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. Councilor Burge discussed the Council's travel budget. He asked for more detailed information regarding the amount of dollars spent for Council travel. Councilor Walters suggested each Councilor have a travel allotment and if the amount was exceeded, then the Councilor would not travel further. Councilor Burge felt a pre-approval system would work better than an allotment system. Councilor Schanz asked for a report showing a breakdown of costs per calendar year for 1992 and 1993. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Shari Higgins Maj5/~:r~ ATTEST: . ~k City Recorder( #4241