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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/01/2010 Work Session . . . City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1,2010 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, February 1,2010 at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ralston, Lundberg, Wylie, Leezer, Simmons, 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. 1. Application Review of a Springfield Representative to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC). Environmental Services Manager Ron Bittler presented the staff report on this item. The term of Springfield's current lay representative, Doug Keeler, to the MWMC expired February 1,2010. The City Council needed to appoint a representative to serve the next term, which extended through February 1,2013. Two applications for the position were submitted and were in the agenda packet for City Council's consideration. The MWMC was composed of seven members. Springfield was represented by one City Councilor, Fred Simmons, and one citizen, Doug Keeler. Mr. Keeler worked for Springfield Utility Board, had represented Springfield on the Commission since 1997, and currently served as the Commission's Vice President. A media advisory was sent out announcing the vacancy and applications were accepted from November 24,2009, through January 6, 2010. Two applications were submitted by Springfield residents. The two completed applications provided background information and the stated interest of the applicants. Springfield Council appointment was scheduled for the regular meeting on February 16,2010. Council consensus was to move forward to re-appoint Doug Keelerto the MWMC. 2. 2011-2015 Capital Improvement Program, a Community Reinvestment Plan. City Engineer Ken Vogeney and Civil Engineer Jeff Paschall presented the staff report on this item. The City of Springfield's 2011-2015 CIP - A Community Reinvestment Plan had been drafted by staff, reviewed by the Planning Commission (January 20,2010), and was now being forwarded to the City Council for their review and comments prior to a Public Hearing at the February 16, 2010 regular seSSIOn. The draft City of Springfield 2011-2015 CIP, A Community Reinvestment Plan, was reviewed at the Planning Commission's January 20,2010 meeting. The Commission unanimously recommended Council approval of the plan. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes February 1,2010 Page 2 . The CIP attempted to balance the use of scarce capital construction funds with the long list of infrastructure needs for our community. It was not a document with budget authority, but it served as a guide for programming funds and planning the annual workload of Public Works staff. There were a few new projects proposed in the next five years of programmed funding, and the City was making significant progress toward completing the backlog of projects from previous year's capital plans. These items were detailed in the Council Briefing Memorandum, which was included in the agenda packet. Mr. Paschall presented a power point during Mr. Vogeney's oral presentation. Mr. Vogeney reviewed the CIP Update process. The past fiscal year, the City did receive nearly $2M in Federal Stimulus money. The City had also applied for a $49.5M Grant for improvements on Franklin Boulevard - the TIGER Grant (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery). This year's CIP was expanded significantly from last years, in part from an effort by all City departments to bring together all identifiable capital needs that could be foreseen in the next five years. The process of compiling this document began in October. Requests were sent out to the public and various City departments for project ideas. In evaluating some requests from the community, staff determined that they fit more appropriately in the maintenance and operations, rather than capital improvements. On January 20, 2010, staff met with the Planning Commission and reviewed the proposed CIP. The Planning Commission unanimously approved the plan. A public hearing before Council was scheduled for February 16,2010. . Mr. Vogeney said the 2011-2015 CIP had $209,007,000 in capital expenditures over the next five years, which was one of the largest they had brought to Council. The large amount was due mainly because they had tried to identify all needs in the City from all departments. Of those projects, the City was unable to complete all projects on the list, but used the list as a guide to perform projects as needed. The projects were spread throughout the City. He noted the amount in each category of the CIP. Councilor Ralston asked if a lot of the development and growth would be paid for by the developers. Mr. Vogeney said much of the development and growth included things like the project that would be funded by the TIGER grant. He referred to the map showing locations for proposed projects and a map showing actual projects that had funding secured or were in progress. Mayor Leiken asked when they would hear about the award ofthe TIGER Grant. Transportation Manager Tom Boyatt said they were targeting award no later than February 17,2010. Mr. Vogeney referred to a chart showing the Summary of Building/Property and Miscellaneous Capital Needs in the Proposed 2011-2015 CIP, and a chart showing the Summary of Transportation Capital Needs in the Proposed 2011-2015 CIP. He explained the figures in each chart. . Mr. Paschall pointed out that of the $70M in Transportation, $SOM was the TIGER grant. There were also some obligated needs in the Gateway/Beltline to fmish that intersection. The street sealant overlay project was broken into two categories due to lack of adequate Street "Funds for those projects. He highlighted the shortfall in those funds if the City was to maintain 85 percent or better. He discussed the South Bank Viaduct Extension project. He also discussed preservation needs. Councilor Ralston asked what the South Bank Viaduct project entailed. . . . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes February 1, 2010 Page 3 Mr. Paschall said it was a path under the 1-5 Bridge over the Willamette River. Mr. Vogeney said there was an unmet need for preservation of our local street system. Federal funds could not be used for local streets, but only for streets classified under the Federal Highway System as a collector or higher. Staff was continuing to look for ways to fund street preservation. Currently, they were limited to the fuel tax and transportation SDCs, both of which were insufficient. Mr. Paschall said having this list broken into two categories helped staff when applying for Federal funds. Mayor Leiken asked how confident staff was that the City could accommodate the transportation needs of a Federal project in the Mohawk area. He asked if staff was confident they could put a deal together. Mr. V ogeney said regarding wastewater and stormwater, the system was currently under-utilized because of un de ruse of several properties, such as the old WareMart building. There was capacity there to meet redevelopment of those sites. Mr. Boyatt said the benefit of that site was that there was a completely built out roadway system in place. Such a development could mean more traffic at the interchange. There was a good street system in that area, although there could be better organization. Mayor Leiken said he appreciated staffs ability to adapt. That was good to know. Mr. V ogeney reviewed The Summary of Stormwater Capital Needs in the Proposed 2011-2015 CIP. Once the Mill Race project was complete, the City would need to make additional changes to our stormwater system, primarily-in water quality to continue the benefits ofthat project. The City needed to program funds to meet those obligations. Councilor Ralston asked about the Island Park project. Mr. V ogeney said the City would be working with Willamalane on a portion of Island Park to put in a stormwater quality treatment area to take care of stormwater from existing streets and systems that were discharged directly into the Island Park slough. This would give the City a way to provide treatment to that water before it went into the slough. Councilor Ralston asked about the cost. Environmental Services Supervisor George Walker said all the stormwater from the downtown area was untreated and went directly into the Island Park slough. The City would work with Willamalane for acquisition of the land or the rights to use the land for a stormwater quality facility. The burden of the capital costs would be on the City. Mr. Paschall highlighted some ofthe stormwater projects. Some of the projects were to be funded over the next five years. The list showed the City spending minimal dollars in the first year, but staff hoped to generate more revenue in future years. A majority of the Obligated Projects were requirements or needed to be completed when the Mill Race was completed to treat the water before entering the Mill Race. To fund those projects, the City would bring different scenarios of increases and bond sales. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes February 1,2010 Page 4 . Mr. Vogeney discussed The Summary of Wastewater Capital Needs in the Proposed 2011-2015 CIP. Under the current budget, they were looking at a large wastewater rehabilitation project that was nearly complete. Many of those nine projects within that rehabilitation were completed on time and under budget. Mr. Paschall discussed the progress on Basin 19A and 19C. There was still restoration work to be done, much of which was weather dependent. Councilor Simmons said he was in that area and there were still yards dug up and people were getting anxious to get restoration of their yards complete. The pipes were in, but the work was not completed to the satisfaction of the neighbors. Mr. V ogeney noted the difficulty in completing the street paving because ofthe weather. He referred to work on sanitary sewer Basin 22, which ran from G Street to Highway 126, and from 5th Street to 12th Street. Design work had been started on that project. The Jasper Road Trunk Sewer project would be coming to Council in relation to user rates in the near future. The CIP contemplated completion of the design work and acquisition of easements, but delaying construction ofthe project until 2013. In doing that, it helped staff to restructure some of the bond revenues and defer or significantly reduce the rate increases from the wastewater user rates over the next few years. That discussion would be held with Council during a work session in the future. . Councilor Simmons said when the City raised the user rates in December 2008, it was with the provision that the money would be used for that portion of the Jasper Road extension. If they moved those funds to other rehabilitation projects, and an opportunity came along for Jasper Natron, the City would be without the opportunity. The City told the rate payers that was what we would be doing, but if reprogramming it to other projects, additional funding through bonds would need to be used to take advantage when the opportunity came along. He didn't understand how that could be done. He felt it was not fair to transfer the money without letting the people know. He understood the goal, but it seemed unfair. Mr. Goodwin said the ratepayers had been told the funds would be used for Jasper Natron; however, that was one of the projects in the CIP that could be highly leveraged using SDCs. That was the preferred alternative regarding growth supporting its own costs. For that reason, it was logical to defer that project and use user rates for rehabilitation. If an opportunity came along, the City could require the developer to pay a large portion of the project. There were opportunities that the City would have to make sure the Jasper Natron project advanced if we had a major developer in that area. Councilor Simmons referred to 2151 Street and said because of the loading from developments such as Jerry's, Wilco, etc., funding for that project should be able to come from SDCs. That street was used as a major connector street for people moving from Main Street to Olympic and back and he couldn't understand why they couldn't utilize SDC funds for that project since it was used to accommodate growth. . Mr. Vogeney said 2151 Street from Olympic to Main, was classified as a collector street and was eligible for Federal funding. The reconstruction and overlay work on 2151 Street from D to Olympic had all been funded using State pass-through funds. The portion of that street between D Street and Main Street was being evaluated in competition with some other preservation jobs. The improvements needed were considered preservation and not expansion for additional development, and that was why that street wasn't on the transportation SDC improvement list. They were not looking for improvements to provide additional capacity, but to preserve the current street. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes February 1,2010 Page 5 . Councilor Simmons said they were using it for additional capacity. If they just repaired it and didn't upgrade it, they were not doing a good job for 'preservation'. He felt it needed to be upgraded. He discussed the traffic analysis from ten years ago compared to what it would be today. Mr. V ogeney said the improvements that were needed were to preserve or restore the street. Councilor Lundberg referred to the Jasper Natron trunk sewer. She said the City did a CIP each year, which meant they had to be a little bit nimble. They fIrst added the Jasper Natron extension to the CIP and matched rates to that project, but it was not something that would occur in a short period oftime. Discussions had been held regarding work that had to be done. She would rather look at replacement and rehabilitation projects at this time and keep both rates manageable for at least another year. If that meant deferring something for a period of time, she would prefer to see that happen on behalf of the citizenry that was struggling to pay bills right now. She noted the current cost of water and sewer bills. There probably wouldn't be a developer in Jasper Natron in the coming year and she was looking at what made the most sense now. They would be looking at the CIP again next year, but they needed to be as flexible as possible during these tough eco~omic times. Councilor Ralston said people didn't normally use 21 sl Street to go from Main Street to Olympic Street because of the number of stop signs and the school. The improvements on 21 sl Street were strictly for neighborhood use. 28th Street was more development related because it went from Main Street to Mohawk. . Councilor Simmons said ifthere was data that supported that decision, he wanted to see that. 28th Street was also a truck route, so there was substantial improvement and traffic there as well. When looking at traffic on 21 sl Street, a substantial amount of that was not local residents, but were going in I and out of the commercial areas. Councilor Ralston said the only traffIc on 21 sl that went into those businesses was from Centennial to Olympic. He noted that he lived on 21 sl Street. Mayor Leiken said staff was just recommending deferral of this project at this time, which made sense in these tough economic times. He hoped most of the concentration was put in areas that did have opportunities in the more near future, such as in Glenwood with the potential of the TIGER grant. He wanted the City to continue to capitalize on the expansion of the University of Oregon and their new Knight Arena. He asked Mr. Goodwin if the City could be prepared with the pump station in Glenwood for potential development along the riverfront. The City was not walking away from Jasper Natron. Councilor Simmons brought up a good point regarding what they had told the citizens, but at the same time Council needed to be prudent with the funds we had and now may not be the best time to proceed in Jasper Natron. He asked if the City was prepared if a large development chose to come in to Glenwood. . Mr. Vogeney said staffs recommendation was to continue on the design of Jasper Natron, but defer the construction. The major pump station in Glenwood was an MWMC facility. When it was built, it was built with extra capacity. There was room for two more pumps to be added to it in the future. There was also ongoing development in Eugene, so it was a matter of balancing how much of the flow came from Glenwood or Eugene to that station. There was not a system in Glenwood for stormwater other than a small amount on Franklin Boulevard. Those would need to be developed. . . . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes February 1,2010 Page 6 Mr. Goodwin said if the TIGER grant was awarded, it was likely the City would need to adjust projects to provide funding to be ready to respond and extend the Franklin Boulevard extension. That was another example of the CIP allowing the City to be nimble if funds needed to be shifted. Councilor Lundberg said the City did well trying to protect the public's funds and put them where needed. It was a completely valid argument. When the Jasper Natron project was put into the CIP, things were booming and expanding in that area. Having the ability to address that change was a legitimate argument. They were doing the best they could with the resources available and that was being prudent. Councilor Pishioneri agreed. Councilor Simmons referred to the intelligent lighting item. He said staff needed to look into Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) when setting up dimming lights. Dimmed lights could give criminals more opportunity to be in the shadows. He asked them to check with Mike Harman, Senior Program Analyst with the Police Department. Councilor Pishioneri said it would depend on where the lights were located. Mr. Goodwin said that was a minor aspect of a full plate scaling system which would primarily enable the City to determine if the lights had failed. The concept was to have the capacity available when and if the technology became available so the lights would actually go up and down with motion detection when someone walked near the light. Mayor Leiken asked if Council was comfortable with staff recommendation. Yes. He complimented staff for thinking outside the box. It was tough to figure out how to make things happen. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 7:20 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: ~~ Amy Sowa City Recorder