HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/17/2010 Regular
City of Springfield
Regular Meeting
MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, MAY 17,2010
The City of Springfield Council met.in regular session in the Council Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon,. on Monday, May 17,2010 at 7:09 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 Bill Van Vactor, City Recorder Amy Sowa, and members of the staff.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Leiken.
SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT
1. Springfield High School Varsity Cheer Squad Recognition.
Mayor Leiken introduced Springfield High School Cheerleading Coach Janet Fryback. Mayor
Leiken noted some of the many accomplishments of the Cheerleading Squad during the
2009/2010 school year. The squad did a short cheer.
Ms. Fryback said because the cheerleading program was not funded, the cheer squad was always
looking for fundraising ideas throughout the community.
2. National Public W orks Week Proclamation.
Mayor Leiken proclaimed May 16-22 National Public Works Week. He acknowledged the work
done by our Public Works employees and the many things they did to help the citizens in
Springfield. Whenever we had a storm, public works staff were on call to clean up after the storm.
3. Employee Recognition: Annette Miller, 20 Years of Service.
City Manager Gino Grimaldi introduced Annette Miller from the Springfield Police Department.
He noted the history of Ms. Miller's career since she started and acknowledged her many
accomplishments over the last 20 years. Mr. Grimaldi said in regards to her work at the Court and
Jail, Ms. Miller was fIrm, fair and very respectful. Mr. Grimaldi presented Ms. Miller with a
plaque.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 2
Ms. Miller said it was her honor to work for the City of Springfield. She had held a variety of
positions in the Police Department. She loved working with the Court staff and the new Jail was
an adventure. The City of Springfield was a great place to work and she appreciated that the
Council recognized the true value of the line people who were providing the image of the City.
4. Employee Recognition: Todd Schwartz, 20 Years of Service.
City Manager Gino Grimaldi introduced Todd Schwartz from the Fire and Life Safety
Department. He noted the history of Mr. Schwartz's career and acknowledged his many
accomplishments over the last 20 years. Mr. Schwartz had been involved in the union for a
number of years, often at the negotiating table. He was known for his honesty and integrity at the
negotiating table. Mr. Grimaldi presented him with a plaque.
Mr. Schwartz thanked the Mayor and Council for the opportunity to come forward to receive this
recognition. Since he started in fIre services 27 years ago, he had worked for Federal, State and
now the City. He still enjoyed making people's worse days better.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilor Ralston said he was asked to pull Item 3.c.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR WITH ITEM 3.C REMOVED.
THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
1. Claims
2. Minutes
a. April 26, 2010 - Work Session
b. May 3,2010 - Work Session
c. May 3, 2010 - Regular Meeting
3. Resolutions
a. RESOLUTION NO. 10-22 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PROJECT P20377.
MOUNTAINGATE DRAINAGE
b. RESOLUTION NO. 10-23 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT
P20476. SCHOOL ZONE BEACONS
c. Pulled
d. RESOLUTION NO. 10-25 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT
P20526. MLK JR PARKWAY BARRIER RAILS
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 3
4. Ordinances
a. ORDINANCE NO. 6255 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 4.218(1) OF
THE SPRINGFIELD MUNICIPAL CODE TO REPEAL THE REQUIREMENT TO
PAY SANITARY SEWER USER FEES ONCE A PROPERTY HAS BEEN ASSESSED
FOR SEWER CONSTRUCTION AND SETTING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
NOTWITHSTANDING WHETHER THE PROPERTY OWNER HAS CONNECTED
TO THE COLLECTOR SEWER.
5. Other Routine Matters
a. Continue the Public Hearing to July 6, 20 10 to Consider Offers to Purchase Property
Previously Declared Surplus at 58th and Daisy Streets.
ITEMS REMOVED
3. Resolutions.
c. RESOLUTION NO.1 0-24 - A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT PERMIT PROJECT
P20486, STREET LIGHT REPLACEMENT - MAIN AND A STREET.
Councilor Simmons said this project was to replace light arms. and standards, but the photo
metrics were different than the old lights. When the City did projects in the future, he felt we
should look at altering the spacing and lighting configuration in that process. East Main Street
was especially bad because we replaced lights with the newer lights that had different light
dispersion patterns. He would like to look at that in the future. He would vote to approve this,
but wanted to be on the record raising that issue. When replacing street lights in the future,
we needed to meet some reasonable standards for public safety.
Councilor Pishioneri said he concurred. High Pressure Sodium beams were more narrowly
focused than the Low Pressure.
Councilor Simmons said they had to make the new dark sky standards, so there was a
different dispersion pattern. He felt that was one of the problems that contributed to the
vehicular accidents on Main Street. We needed to do all we could for safety.
Mr. Paschall said many of these projects were to replace lights on the current existing poles to
meet the new lighting standards within the current limited budget. As they could, they
programmed additional lights.
Councilor Simmons said not to do it halfway, but in a proper way that was the best for the
community and the citizens. If they didn't have the money to replace the lights, he didn't
want them to do it halfway to present a substandard result.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR
LUNDBERG TO APPROVE ITEM 3.C. THE MOTION PASSED BY A VOTE OF 6
FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 4
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. 10-26 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD
COMMON COUNCIL SETTING LOCAL AND REGIONAL SEWER USER FEES AND
LOCAL STORMW ATER FEES 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 would not produce sufficient
revenue to fully fund the proposed fiscal year (FY) 10-11 budgets for these funds. Council action
was needed to establish new rates for FY 10-11.
Each year, the City Council reviewed and established the rates for local wastewater and stormwater
user fees. These rates were 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 adopted 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 May 3rd work session. Staff prepared a schedule of user charges for tonight's public
hearing based on a 9% increase in the local wastewater user fees and a 15% increase in the local
stormwater user fees. In addition, the Council was informed that the MWMC adopted a 5%
increase in regional wastewater user fees that also needed to be incorporated into the schedule of
user charges for FY 10-11.
Attachment A of the agenda packet, a resolution establishing the local and regional wastewater and
local storm water user fees for FY 10-11, was provided for Council consideration. It was requested
that the Council consider acting on the resolution following the public hearing.
Mr. Schuck described the different options that were brought forward as directed by the Council at
their May 3 Work Session.
Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing.
1) Curtiss Greer. 357 55th Street. Springfield. OR. Mr. Greer said MWMC had stated they
needed the increase for FYI0/ll and he had no problem with that. The Council was
approving an increase that would be instituted before FY101l1 and would be assessing
him this fee three weeks before MWMC. Using this methodology gave the City $40,000+
prior to the date MWMC said it should be collected.
. ,
Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing.
Councilor Simmons asked if the language in the resolution adopted by MWMC stated imposition
of fees or service after July 1, or bills rendered after July 1.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 5
Mr. Schuck said the MWMC resolution did not say, but just stated a five percent increase to fund
FY10/11. The City implemented the rates. Section 1 of the resolution stated that the rates would
take effect "with bills rendered on or after July 1,2010".
Councilor Simmons said the IGA stated that Eugene and Springfield as partners ofMWMC, must
adopt the rate adopted by MWMC. The issue brought forward by Mr. Greer was about the rolling
date. In the future, he would like language to be consistent with the adopting agencies
methodology of collection rather than leaving that potential gap. This issue needed to be
addressed. The IGA said we should adopt the rate as presented by MWMC. He asked ifMWMC
could include language from MWMC to make it consistent with Eugene and Springfield. If the
language was consistent, it would take away that issue.
Mr. Schuck said they could explore that.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 10-26. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A
VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAlNST.
2. Liquor License Endorsements for the Renewal Period bf2010-2011.
Community Services Manager Dave Puent presented the staff report on this item. On December
19, 1994, Council approved Ordinance No. 5768 that established specific criteria to be used when
reviewing an application for a liquor license endorsement. Council may recommend denial based
upon reliable, factual information as it related to any of the criteria listed in Section 7.302 of the
Springfield Municipal Code.
For the renewal period of 2009-1 0, as a result of information provided to Council that identified
the persistent continuance of illegal activity and the need for police assistance in the downtown
area, Council made a Deny recommendation for Club 420 and a No Recommendation for Jim's
Landing and Stables. As an outcome of this action, OLCC's regional office conducted additional
investigations of the recorded illegal activities at these establishments and provided a Notice of
Proposed Refusal to the Commission. The three establishments had subsequently requested a
hearing to dispute the proposed OLCC actions which were scheduled for early to mid summer of
this year.
The public hearing this evening was scheduled for Council to receive community testimony
relative to the liquor 'license renewal endorsement. At the conclusion of the public hearing,
Council was requested to provide one of the following recommendations to the OLCC for the
license renewal of the listed establishments: l.Grant; 2. No Recommendation; 3. Do Not Grant
Unless (applicant demonstrates commitment to overcome listed concerns); or 4. Deny.
In completing the review of police activity throughout the last renewal period, persistent illegal
activity and need for police assistance had continued in the downtown area. In addition, illegal
activity and police arrests at The Country Side and Phil's Clubhouse had continued to escalate
over the past five years to increasing high levels. In accordance with section 7.302 of the
Springfield Municipal Code, staff recommended that Council provide a recommendation to Denv
for Club 420, Stables and Jim's Landing; and a No Recommendation for The Country Side and
Phil's Clubhouse.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 6
Mr. Puent said staffwas recommending a Denial for Jim's Landing, Club 420, and Stables due to
a continued increase in police activity. He noted the high calls of services for Dari-Mart and 7-11,
but noted that those calls were related to the hours of operation (24/7) and high level of traffic at
those sites. Staffs recommend a recommendation of Grant for those establishments.
Mayor Leiken said Council was here to discuss the OLCC issue and not thoughts about whether
or not the establishments were moral or not.
Mayor Leiken opened the public hearing.
1) John Woodworth. Representing PSJ Enterprises dba Phil's Clubhouse. P.O. Box 747.
Eugene. OR. Mr. Woodworth said Phil Johnson was the sole owner of that business and
frrst received notice of the City's concerns about their establishment on Friday, May 14
with delivery of the agenda packet. Mr. Johnson wanted the Council's concerns
addressed. Rather than receive a recommendation of "No Recommendation", Mr.
Johnson wanted the opportunity to address those issues and work closely with the City
through the City Attorney and any others that wanted to be involved. Next year would be
here soon and another review could be made at that time. The report indicated offenses
that resulted in arrests (Attachment 3, page 4 of the agenda packet). There was one arrest
for criminal mischief, two DUll's, one fraud arrest, three warrant services, one forgery
arrest, an done theft of services. Mr. Woodworth pointed out that the majority of the
arrests were crimes against his client. This was a business that sold alcohol and DUlls
were bound to happen. Mr. Johnson had regular contact with the Springfield.Police and
had cooperated with them fully. Mr. Johnson thanked Council for considering opening a
dialogue prior to a recommendation of "No Recommendation" which did have a
significant impact. He felt Council would fmd two things: (1) his client wanted to deal
with Council's concerns; and (2) Council would fmd that with Mr. Johnson's mid-term
business plan and the vision for Main Street did coincide.
2) Judith Anderson. 1816 Swank Court. Springfield. OR. Ms. Anderson thanked the Mayor
and Council for the opportunity to testify. The purpose of her testimony was to share the
perspective of a new resident to Springfield. She moved to Springfield one year ago. She
noted that this was a difficult decision and affected people's livelihood and rights of
individuals who went to the businesses. There were also benefits to citizens in taxes
generated by the businesses. On the other hand, she was concerned about the cost of
police responses. Her understanding was that citizens were paying for that cost. The taxes
paid by the businesses may break even for those services, but may also be a net loss for
citizens. She was concerned about the safety of the Police. Every time they were called
out, it potentially.put them in harms way. She said she had been involved in community
development and building in other communities. She had discovered a concept known as
a tipping point, when there were too many of a certain kind of housing or business. That
could be detrimental to the entire community. In reading the article, she noted that
Councilor Wylie wanted to hear more discussion and she did as well. She thanked them
again for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion.
3) Richard Welch. The Brick House. 136 4th Street. Springfield. OR. Mr. Welch said he
.wanted to address the issue of police calls. The policy at the Brick House was to keep a
detailed log book of the events that went on in and around there area. Their calls from
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 7
their business to the Police Department were less than what was stated in the paper. The
other day a woman passed out by RuthieB's on 4th Street, and that call went on the Brick
House's record. The report needed to note if the calls didn't come from the establishment,
or perpetuated by the establishment because it looked bad on the business's part; Their
policy was to be supportive and cooperative with the local Police. The Police knew they
could rely on his staff to work with the Police when looking for a person in question. He
said he had lived in this area for 43 years and was a team player. He cared about the
community, too. He had an excellent record of service to his customers as well as being a
business owner in this community. He had been given credit by the public and Council at
times. He didn't want his employees harassed or intimidated when they had to call the
Police when the need arose. The Police were here to protect and serve, and they did it
very well. It was important that the business owners in this community kept an open and
comfortable relationship with the law enforcement. To not report a crime for fear of the
phone call being used against the business was a disservice to the next victim, and he
would not be a part of that kind of thinking. His employees needed to know they could be
protected by our law enforcement. Alcohol was not the crime, but rather the person
committing the crime. They served hundreds of people a week in their establishment, and
they would have a few phones calls over a twelve month period to Police officers. It was
the nature of the business. He noted that they bought their alcohol from the State of
Oregon, so the State was in the alcohol business as well. He would continue to call
Police. He felt there was more going on in downtown than met the eye.
4) Robert Welch. Stables Bar and Grill. 414 Main Street. Springfield. OR. Mr. Welch said
. he had made more calls because he was trying to do what it took to clean up downtown.
He had made arrests on 4th Street. There were eleven calls in nine months. One of them
was not from his establishment, and eight of those ten calls were made by him to try to
make downtown a better place. Now those calls were being used against him. He didn't
know what the City wanted him to do. He had talked with Chief Smith and the Mayor
and let them know he was willing to do whatever was needed. When he called Police to
try to clean up downtown, it was used against him. To clean up downtown, there needed
to be some Police calls. He made eight out of the ten calls to get people arrested, but it
was now being used against him. He said he met with Mr. Grimaldi in April and asked
him if the City of Springfield had put a bid on his building and was told no. He asked if
that was still Mr. Grimaldi's official position.
Mr. Grimaldi said they had held discussions with the property owners, but no bids.
Mr. Welch said he had a document showing a bid and counter offer. He felt this was
more about the property. The addresses bid on by the City of Springfield were 402, 406,
414, and 416 Main Street. His business occupied 414 Main Street. The offer came from
the City of Springfield attorney's office, Evans, Elder and Brown, and was from Mr. John
Brown with an attachment from the City Manager's Office, Gino Grimaldi. He felt his
property was in someone' s site. He was trying to run a good business and clean up
downtown. Everyone that knew him knew he was out sweeping the sidewalks. He wanted
to let the Mayor and Council know that he would do whatever they wanted him to do. He
appreciated those on the Council that stood up for him. He had talked with OLCC and
they told him he was in compliance. If they were not in compliance he would be out of
business immediately. He was available for any questions.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 8
Mayor Leiken said the Council would hear from the rest of those that wanted to testify, and then
ask any questions they might have.
5) Brent McClean. 3378 Bailev Lane. Eugene. OR. Mr. McLean said his family, his father-
in-law in particular, bought Jim's Landing in 1978. It had been part of Springfield for
seventy-five years and was incomprehendable to him that an established bar was being
recommended for closure for normal operating procedures. His son.had done his best to
keep it within reasonable standards like most bars in any part of Oregon. He felt they
would not be before Council tonight if it hadn't been for the persistent problems up the
street. Many of the calls made to the location of 303 Main Street were not separated from
the 21 rental units in that building. They were recommending bars with more incidents
than 303 Main and Jim's Landing in Springfield remain open. They asked for serious
consideration to remain part of downtown Springfield or to be relocated away from the
downtown area if that was part of the decision.
6) Ral?h Brown. Country Side. 4740 Main Street. Springfield. OR. Mr. Brown thanked the
Mayor and Council for this opportunity. He said he was the owner of the Country Side.
He was disappointed his name appeared on the No Recommendation side. It appeared
that people such as the Council were trying to do a service to the community, but only
saw numbers and did not actually see what was going on out in the community. He would
like to see them get out in the community more often. He showed an incident rate of
about 40, but noted the high volume of customers at his establishment, which was nearly
ten times what they would see in some of these other establishments. He felt they ran a
good clean business. They worked positively with the Springfield Police Department
(SPD) and OLCC. They had been proactive in approaching the SPD and OLCC. Since
they opened in 2003, they had gone to them to see what they could do. OLCC had given
training to the employees, and the SPD had told them that for the size and volume of their
establishment, the number of calls was not serious. He agreed that any incident was too
many, but with the large volume of customers, he felt they were placed out of category.
The Country Side had the largest live music venue in Springfield and they brought
customers in from outside of the City. He hoped that people didn't put all of the
establishments listed in the same category. His was a family operated business, they ran a
clean business, and provided good entertainment. Their establishment had recently
passed a surprise inspection from OLCC, and installed the fIrst breathalyzer machine in
Springfield. He noted that the incident rate had actually gone down this last year.
Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing.
A member of the audience said he had wanted to speak, but may have filled out the wrong
section of the card.
Mayor Leiken re-opened the public hearing.
7) Glen Mvers. 440 Main Street. Trash and Treasures Antique Shop. Springfield. OR. Mr.
Myers said he saw the people coming in and out of the bars next to him. They had rolling
arguments up and down the street. A woman walked by his window with a needle in her
hand, injected herself, and then dropped the needle in his flower box. He understood the
bar owners had a hard time, but they needed to stay more on top of it or something. They
needed to keep an eye on the people inside and outside their establishment. They could
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 9
run them off the sidewalk, and he often did. This was not conducive to a family
atmosphere for downtown. He knew the bar owners had a hard time, but that was the
nature of their business and they needed to work harder. They were not doing their job.
He hoped the Mayor and Council recommended removing their OLCC licenses.
Mayor Leiken closed the public hearing.
Mayor Leiken said in the past, the Council had asked for 'No Recommendations. He was
surprised that OLCC had acted as they did on the 'No Recommendations' this last year. He had
never seen the OLCC this aggressive and doing their job. He asked Mr. Puent if this was what
they could expect from OLCC in the future. If the City Council recommended 'Denial' and 'No
Recommendation', they were no longer just going through the motions.
Mr. Puent said they were no longer just going through the motions. A recommendation of 'No
Recommendation' or 'Denial' required an OLCC investigation. They did a much more in-depth
investigation than looking at calls of service. The report included in the agenda packet included
the findings from OLCC's investigation relative to the three downtown establishments.
Mayor Leiken said in the past, OLCC had not been as diligent. He asked if this more in-depth
evaluation was what the City. could be expecting from now on.
Mr. Puent said he believed it was.
Councilor Ralston said he would like to break this up into three parts.. Council had talked about
the three downtown bars before and he felt they needed to recommend denYing their liquor
license. He referred to the two new places that had been brought to their attention. He was
surprised to see the Country Side on the list because he knew it well. The staff report said it was
due to escalation over the last five years. He did see an escalation of illegal activity at Phil's
Clubhouse, but he saw that the activity at the Country Side had actually gone down in the last
year. There were nearly 150 customers at the Country Side on Friday and Saturday nights, so
their number of calls for service was not something.that concerned him. His recommendation was
to make a decision on the three downtown bars, then discuss Phil's Clubhouse and the Country
Side each separately.
Councilor Simmons said this was complex. He asked if Bottle Trek at 5075 D Street sold alcohol
on the internet. It was listed on Attachment 1, page 1, number 16.
Mr. Puent said he did not know, but there were people that did sell wine on the internet and
shipped it from home. He could investigate further.
Councilor Simmons said the Country Side was a very active food, beverage and entertainment
facility that was growing and doing well. Based on the number of clientele, the number for
response did not seem unusually high. He compared it to WalMart regarding criminal activity. He
noted that he had clearly supported denial of Club 420 based on the public record, and that had
not improved. He favored the license of the Brick House and felt they had done a good job of
managing their establishment. There was not a dramatic improvement when looking at the record
in the previous package for Jim's Landing, nor at Stables. He understood that Mr. Welch wanted
to do a better job. It was hard to compare the facilities because they were all so different, and they
appeared to be applying a uniform standard.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 10
Mr. Puent said he agreed. The Council Briefing Memorandum in the agenda packet did note that
the high number of calls at the Country Side was due to the higher number of clientele. This was
the largest establishment on the list.
Councilor Simmons said he agreed in breaking them down separately. He suggested that when
looking at comparators in the future, they should look at the total of activity in the process. He
said he noticed a new sign at Stables, and he asked if a sign permit had been issued.
Mr. Puent said he could check on that. He did not issue sign permits for the City.
Councilor Simmons said he understood Mr. Welch's intent.
Mr. Welch said he called the City and was told he did not need a permit to write on the side of his
building.
Councilor Lundberg said the Council struggled with this each year. She agreed to discuss them
separately. She said volume had played a role in activity with a past establishment that escalated
over time. She agreed the numbers were going down at the Country Side which showed active
participation by the owner. The three they were most concerned about drew in the patronage that
was comfortable and at home in their establishment. They were not able to get past the clientele
that caused problems because they were comfortable in and around that area. It may not be a
direct correlation between that clientele and having a liquor license. In looking at the reports,
situations often occurred inside by patrons that must have felt comfortable inside these
establishments, and it continued to be an issue. She felt strongly that OLCC had stepped up and
decided to help the City. She also hoped the jail would help by moving the situation off the street.
She wanted to look at the three downtown businesses that OLCC had issued 'Denial', and a
second look at the Country Side emphasizing continued improvement. The largest establishment
in the past had the biggest problem and took most of the City's resources. She would not be
opposed to a 'No Recommendation' for Phil's Clubhouse. It brought OLCC's attention to the
situation and they could come up with a plan. It was time to raise the bar for what the
community's expectations were for these establishments.
Mr. Puent said he did not look at a 'No Recommendation' as a negative. It was a neutral
recommendation and brought the City's concerns to OLCC, asking them to do a more in depth
investigation.
Councilor Pishioneri said he concurred with staffs recommendations. OLCC was a separate
entity and did their own separate investigations as it was their realm of authority. The City just
brought concerns to OLCC by recommending a 'No Recommendation'. If the establishment
passed the OLCC test, the City would have no reason to stand in the way ofOLCC issuing the
license. If it didn't pass the OLCC test, the City didn't have the training or the administrative
rules to determine whether there had been violations or not. He was fine separating them out and
would stand with staff's recommendations.
Mayor Leiken asked Mr. Van Vactor if it was prudent to abide by staff, or to allow the appeal
process go through with OLCC. He asked if the Council should be making a recommendation of
any sort during the appeal process.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 11
Mr. Van Vactor said they were separate processes. This was the annual renewal process and the
other was the appeal which would be processed through OLCC this summer.
Councilor Lundberg said the City had to make their forward set of recommendations for any of .
the businesses to be able to renew their annual licenses.
Councilor Ralston said there were actually four issues because they needed to make
recommendations on all the other establishments on the list.
Councilor Wylie suggested voting on the separate establishments fIrst, then the rest of the list.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO APPROVE ALL LIQUOR LICENSES OTHER THAN THE FIVE
THAT HAD BEEN SPECIFICALLY CALLED OUT. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A
VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE 420
CLUB. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE LIQUOR LICENSE FOR JIM'S
LANDING. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO RECOMMEND DENIAL OF THE LIQUOR LICENSE FOR STABLES.
THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO RECOMMEND A NO RECOMMENDATION FOR PHIL'S
CLUBHOUSE. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 1 OPPOSED
(SIMMONS).
Councilor Ralston said he would like to recommend approval of the liquor license for the Country
Side and look at it again next year. A 'No Recommendation' put them on OLCC's radar and they
were already working with OLCC.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE
LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE COUNTRY SIDE AND LOOK AT IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR.
This motion died for lack of a second.
Councilor Lundberg said her concern was that they had a way to work with them.. She wanted to
make sure they were on the right track with something formal. She asked if a recommendation of
No Recommendation would put something like that in motion.
Mr. Puent said one of the recommendations available to Council would be 'Do Not Grant Unless.
. . .'. Unless would be where the applicant could demonstrate a commitment to correcting the
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes .
May 17,2010.
Page 12
City's concerns. It was a condition plan imposed on the business. The plan would be negotiated
with OLCC.
Councilor Ralston said he ~d not have a problem with that. He did not want to recommend a No
Recommendation.
Councilor Simmons said they were requesting an OLCC review.
Mr. Puent said the establishment would have to come up with some formalized plan that they
could demonstrate they were addressing the City's concerns about the establishment.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO RECOMMEND DO NOT GRANT THE LIQUOR LICENSE UNLESS
THE APPLICANT DEMONSTRATES A COMMITMENT TO OVERCOME LISTED
CONCERNS (COUNTRY SIDE).
Councilor Wylie said that was a step that was more severe than staff s recommendation of 'No
Recommendation'. A recommendation of 'No Recommendation' put them on the radar screen to
work with OLCC. The next level was more severe.
Mr. Puent said the operation plan was not enforceable and hadnothing binding legally. The 'No
Recommendation' would force OLCC to do an investigation of the activity and out of that
investigation they could come up with a formalized plan based on their investigation that could be
enforced. .
Councilor Simmons said there were four choices; grant, deny, no recommendation, or request that
OLCC do a review and compliance order with the establishment. Councilor Ralston wanted
OLCC to engage in one of those compliance reviews and enter into a compliance agreement. That
was done with the Club 420 several years back. He felt, though, that the Country Side was
actively involved in the management of their business.
Councilor Ralston said that was correct.
Mr. Puent said with that recommendation, the City would have to address their concerns to
OLCC. They would then set up a plan with the establishment based on those concerns.
Councilor Pishioneri reiterated that a 'No Recommendation' would trigger an investigation. If
there was compliance, they would not be denied. If they were out of compliance and failed to
respond, their license would be denied. The plan was not enforceable until next year. One of the .
highest crimes in the City was DUlls. He concurred with staff s recommendation.
Councilor Ralston restated his motion.
THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 2 AGAINST (pISmONERI
AND WYLIE).
Mayor Leiken said one of his biggest concerns was that if Club 420 was one of the biggest
culprits downtown, and it caused the other establishments problems, that was a tough situation.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 13
Councilor Ralston said they had given them a chance last year. They couldn't just deal with one
of them because the problem just moved somewhere else.
Mayor Leiken said he was concerned if the businesses stopped calling police.
Councilor Pishioneri asked for the motion to be read back into the record.
DO NOT GRANT UNLESS APPLICANT DEMONSTRATES COMMITMENT TO
OVERCOME LISTED CONCERNS.
Councilor Simmons referred to the report on Phil's Clubhouse. If the business owner called the
Police where they were the victim, they were blamed for the call. There needed to be some kind
of mechanism that identified the type of call. If the subject was doing fraud or bad check, and the
business called it in, there needed to be a provision.
Councilor Pishioneri gave an example of an incident occurring in an establishment where the
customer was drunk and disorderly. Something needed to be done before the customer reached
that point and the call needed to be made.
Councilor Ralston felt businesses should not be punished for calls made to Police. Some people
showed up at bars already drunk. There needed to be a way to document the types of calls.
Councilor Lundberg said she formerly had a place downtown. Before she had phones, she needed
to use the neighboring business's phone to call the Police, and they did not want her to call from
their business as it would be used against them. She understood not wanting to increase the
number of calls. There was a huge issue downtown and if nothing else, this could make them take
a deeper look at how they needed to deal with it. Maybe this was the year they took this head on
and figured out how to address the clientele. It was up to Council as the leadership of the area and
they needed to figure out how to deal with the people correctly and deal with the business owners
so they did not feel like they couldn't call. She would like Council to take this on as a challenge
this year.
Councilor Leezer thought that was an excellent idea. She asked if the City Council could work
with Chief Smith to distinguish the types of calls and the reason for the issue.
Chief Smith said as an example, if they had 500 calls from Club 500, but none were alcohol
related, OLCC would not have a concern. That was the reality. OLCC only cared about problems
related to that bar. The numbers generated from the computer system showed calls for service,
some from inside and some from outside. .OLCC did the checking on all the calls during their
investigations. The numbers only showed the City the environmental conditions of that area. He
did let Council know several years ago when they were discussing this that some of the calls
could be traffic stops that had nothing to do with the businesses. They could pull those out, but
even the calls left on the report may not have anything to do with the bar. OLCC did that work
when they investigated to determine whether or not to issue a license. It would be more difficult
for the City than OLCC because that was what OLCC did..The City's computer system was not
set up to differentiate and staff would need to manually read each report.
Councilor Wylie said maybe they should have a task force to discuss some of these concerns
between now and next year.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 14
Mayor Leiken asked Chief Smith and Mr. Grimaldi to bring this topic to Council leadership.
OLCC was doing the job expected from them. That could be the reason for the discussions over
the last few years.
Councilor Lundberg said it was helpful to know what was expected of an establishment in terms
of alcohol use or abuse. A one page memo with that information would be helpful. OLCC looked
at those things when granting the license, so infractions dealing with liquor were what they cared
about. It would be helpful when discussing this issue:
BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE
1. Gary Lutman. 79206 Territorial Road. Lorane. OR. Mr. Lutman said he had lived in
Springfield for over 25 years before moving to Lorane. Mr. Lutman said he was with the
Association of Northwest Steelheaders and was here to talk about the changes that were
occurring on the McKenzie River. Most notably, the changes were dealing with the pending
closure of the river between Hendricks Park and the Bellinger Landing. There were fly
fishing organizations that said this was necessary for the protection of the native McKenzie
Redsides. The same organizations advocated dramatic reductions, if not the elimination, of all
hatchery trout on the McKenzie River and eventually turning the McKenzie River into a fly
only fishery. This seemed very extreme since the hatchery fish were sterile and didn't spawn
with native Redsides. This also created fewer fishing opportunities for the general public. A
particular fly fishing organization had provided the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(ODFW) with an $18,000 grant to study the Redsides over a five year period of time, with all
data being collected by this fly fishing organization before it was given to ODFW. This was a
huge conflict of interest, a conflict exacerbated by the closure, which meant bait fishing only.
Fly fishing would continue to be allowed. In addition, there had never been any open
meetings to allow other fishing organizations or the general public to have input on the
McKenzie and how it should be managed. ODFW had partnered with the fly fishing
community exclusively and no transparency had existed. It was also possible that with this
management program, hatchery steelhead could come to an end. The McKenzie was currently
closed from Bellinger Landing to the confluence of the Willamette River. In addition, another
closure existed in the Blue River area. The Steelheaders supported those closures and
advocated strongly for the protection of the native Redsides; however, no data existed that
these native fish were in any way endangered or threatened. In fact, the native Redsides
continued to flourish and thrive in these areas. Additional closures were not necessary and
would affect the greatest public access with the remainder of the river. With the population of
Springfield and Eugene around 300,000 people and with houses that lined both sides of the
river from Blue River to Armitage Park, they believed the McKenzie River should be
managed as an urban river for the greatest benefit of all, not just the fly fishing community.
The Northwest Steelheaders also advocated for the continued placing of fish carcasses in the
river to provide for necessary nutrients for the native Redside, Salmon, Steelhead, and the
general health of the river. A far better fix than providing for fly fishing only.
COUNCIL RESPONSE
Councilor Simmons asked if the City could prepare a communication to forward to the ODFW in
terms of closure of the river. He agreed with Mr. Lutman and felt the City needed to respond.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 15
Councilor Pishioneri said the letter should be addressed to Jeff Ziller.
Councilor Pishioneri said he felt the City needed to let ODFW, McKenzie Watershed Council,
and all of their partners that the City Council was very alarmed and had a lot of concerns. He
questioned a lot of the materials on this topic.
Councilor Lundberg asked if this was also a tourist issue. Yes.
Councilor Pishioneri said it could cost millions of dollars in economic revenue for businesses in
the McKenzie Valley, and hundreds of jobs would be at stake. This was under the umbrella of
making the river a native fishery only. He had sat in on those discussions and read the studies,
and things were not adding up. He was very concerned there were underlying motives.
Councilor Simmons asked that a response be constructed for Council to review before they send
it out.
Mr. Grimaldi said staff could draft the letter.
Mayor Leiken suggested having Councilor Pishioneri review the letter as the Council
representative to the McKenzie Watershed Council.
CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS
1. Correspondence from C Wallace Regarding the Fire Department Merger.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FILING. THE MOTION
PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
BIDS
ORDINANCES
1. An Ordinance Amending Springfield Municipal Code Chapter 4.0 Utilities to Add 4.370
Illicit Discharge and Chapter 5.604 Application and Amendment, Section (l,a) to Add
Stormwater Illicit Discharge 4.370.
ORDINANCE NO.2 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SPRINGFIELD MUNICIPAL
CODE CHAPTER 4 "UTILITIES". TO ADD 4.370 "DEFINITIONS" AND SECTION 4.372
"ILLICIT DISCHARGES" RELATING TO ILLICIT DISCHARGES. AMENDING
SECTION 5.6040 )(a) TO ADD "STORMW ATER ILLICIT DISCHARGE 4.370 TO
4.372". AND SETTING AN EFFECTIVE DATE (FIRST READING),
Environmental Services Supervisor for Water Resources. George Walker presented the staff report
on this item. The City was subject to the discharge limitations and storm water management
program requirements contained in its NPDES Phase II Storm water permit, also referred to as, the
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) permit. The permit was issued by the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality and required the City to address six minimum control
measures for stormwater management in its Stormwater Management Plan. The City Council
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 16
/'
adopted the Stormwater Management Plan, including the six minimum measures, in January
2004, and again in November 2008.
Staff currently cited multiple nuisance sections of the. Code in addressing Illicit Discharge
incidents, which was one of the six minimum measures for permit compliance. The foremost
purpose of this amendment was to provide clarity and specific language, which provided
understandable guidance for staff and the regulated public. It did not increase restrictions or
sanctions. Secondly, the proposed Code amendment more clearly met the regulatory needs for
these activities. It included Environmental Protection Agency (EP A) language and specifically
identified Illicit Discharge Activities which impaired water quality. The proposed Code language
was functionally identical to the Lane Code language adopted by the City's partner agency for
application in the Urban Transition Zone.
This proposed amendment would facilitate the City's ability to carry out the many activities and
actions stipulated in the NPDES MS4 permit and the Council adopted Stormwater Management
Plan.
Councilor Simmons said the Illicit Discharge put the City in the position of being the perpetrator
and the regulator in the same wording. Discharge from street purposes was municipal purposes as
defmed in this Code. It may be clarifying and it may be complYing, but the discharge from the
street flush was an illicit discharge into the system. He wanted staff to be aware that they were
clarifying and making the City a perpetrator in this process. It was not part of the exclusionary
language, but part of the illicit discharge language. He was supportive, but wanted staff to be
aware that we were the perpetrator in part of the discharge language.
Mr. Walker said he was aware and the City certainly could be the perpetrator.
NO ACTION REQUESTED. FIRST READING ONLY.
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL
1. Committee Appointments
2. Business from Council
a. Committee Reports
1. Councilor Wylie commended Councilor Ralston, Mayor Leiken, and Councilor
Pishioneri for continuing to work together with decorum and responsibility and
making the Council's job a lot easier.
Councilor Simmons thanked them as well.
2. Mayor Leiken noted the new entrance sign into Springfield. The sign was fantastic
and he encouraged everyone to drive by and see it.
Mayor Leiken said several of the Council attended the V A Clinic rally and noted that
it was a great event. He thanked the Mohawk businesses for putting on this
outstanding event. .
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 17
Mayor Leiken said he recently met Mercedes Russell. Mercedes was a freshman at
Springfield High School and was on the fIrst team all-league basketball team this
year. Mercedes was 6'4" and would be going far in this sport. She was already
receiving letters. He recommended watching her play basketball next year.
3. Councilor Leezer spoke regarding the V A Clinic .event. The committee was looking
at five locations, three of which were in Springfield and two in Eugene. The Mohawk
business neighbors had really organized to try to bring it to the Mohawk area. The
event was wonderful; there were veterans, motorcycle groups, car clubs,
cheerleaders, bands, and great entertainment. It would be fun to watch what happened
with the decision. The Mohawk businesses were the only group that had organized to
try to bring the clinic to their area. The decision would be announced in June or July.
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER
1. April 20 10, Disbursements for Approval.
Finance Director Bob Duey presented the staff report on this item. The April 2010 Disbursements
for Approval was attached for Council review and approval. Checks totaling $7,704,390.80 were
issued in April 2010. Documentation supporting these paYments had been reviewed.
Councilor Lundberg recused herself from this item. She declared a conflict of interest because of
a paYment to her employer in the disbursements.
Councilor Leezer recused herself from this item. She declared a conflict of interest because of a
paYment to her company in the disbursements.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
PISmONERI TO APPROVE THE APRIL 2010, DISBURSEMENTS FOR APPROVAL.
THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 4 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (2
ABSTENTIONS).
2. Ratification of the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) FYI0-ll
Regional Wastewater Program Budget and Capital Improvements Program (tIP).
Environmental Services Manager Ron Bittler presented the staff report on this item. As provided
for in the MWMC intergovernmental agreement (IGA), the City of Springfield, the City of
Eugene, and Lane County, as governing bodies, must ratify the annual MWMC's Budget and
CIP.
The FY 10-11 Regional Wastewater Program (RWP) Budget and CIP document was approved by
the MWMC on April 9, 2010. In preparing and reviewing the Budget and CIP, the MWMC
convened three budget work sessions and a public hearing prior to taking action to adopt it. The FY
10-11 Budget funded all operations, administrative services, and capital projects planned for the
Regional Wastewater Facilities. The approved budget included an 8.5% decrease in administrative
costs and a 2.2% increase in operations and maintenance (0 & M) expenses. The decrease in
administrative costs was due to a staffing reduction related to the decreasing number of capital
projects. The increase in 0 & M was due primarily to an increase in employee wages (2%
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 18
COLA), computer equipment replacements and additional maintenance expenses. The CIP
outlined and described the capital projects planned for the next five years. The FY 10-11 R WP
Budget and CIP document reflected continued focus on the completion of facilities upgrades and
expansion, and operation and maintenance activities to provide wastewater treatment for a growing
community through 2025 in a manner that protected the public's health and safety, and the
environment. The Commission took a corresponding action to adopt a 5% increase in regional
wastewater user charges in order to fully fund the Budget and CIP.
In accordance with the IGA, the MWMC contracted with the City of Eugene for operations and
maintenance services, and with the City of Springfield for administrative services. The attached
budget document provided regional program and budget summaries as well as detailed budgets for
the services provided by Eugene and Springfield. The budget document also provided information
about how the RWP activities were driven by MWMC established goals and performance measures.
The FY 10-11 RWP Budget and CIP must be approved by the MWMC and ratified by Lane
County, Eugene and Springfield, and then finally adopted by the MWMC, prior to the beginning of
the next fiscal year (July 1, 20 I 0). The Eugene City Council was scheduled to ratify the Budget and
CIP on May lOth and the Board of County Commissioners to ratify the Budget and CIP on May 19th.
Councilor Simmons said staff had done a superb job in preparation of the capital plan, and
achieving budget savings in the capital portion of the rebuilding of the plant. A Eugene plant
manager had left MWMC and he would be missed. He felt the budget should be approved.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR
LUNDBERG TO RATIFY THE FYI0-ll REGIONAL WASTEWATER PROGRAM
BUDGET AND CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP). THE MOTION
PASSED WITH A MOTION OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
3. Lane County Intergovernmental Agreement for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
System (NPDES) Phase IT Permit Compliance Services.
RESOLUTION NO. 10-27 - A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AND APPROVING AN
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN LANE COUNTY AND THE CITY
OF SPRINGFIELD. OREGON FOR NPDES PHASE II SERVICES.
Environmental Services Supervisor for Water Resources George Walker presented the staff report
on this item. Stormwater discharges were regulated in federally defined Urbanized Areas (UA
through provisions of the Federal Clean Water Act's NPDES permit program. Both the City of
Springfield and Lane County held Phase IT NPDES stormwater discharge permits.
Guidance documents for Phase IT NPDES permits identified six minimum measures, which
constituted the mandated stormwater management program. Collaboration of efforts by the City
and Lane County eliminated the need for duplicate programs to cover the lands within the City
and the adjacent Lane County lands within the federally defmed UA's. The UTZ had similar
needs to the area within the city limits and shared many of the same storInwater facilities, flowing
both into and out of the city limits. City and County staff had a long term relationship of
cooperation regarding the activities for compliance with the clean water mandates. Lane County
elected, in their NPDES permit, to rely on Springfield for administration and enforcement of their
storm water management program.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 19
The proposed Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) defmed the responsibilities of Lane County
and the City to meet the requirements of the NPDES permits issued separately to each agency. In
general, the program elements developed for land inside the City limits would also be applied
within the UTZ by the City. The City was delegated by this IGA to act as the Lane County agent
for the identified activities. Monetary compensation by Lane County to the City for the
additional costs incurred for this service was identified within the agreement.
Lane County was obliged to complete the IGA, and related code adoption, before June 17. The
Board of County Commissioners would consider the IGA on May 19.
Staff recommended the Council approve the motion allowing the City Manager to enter into this
agreement with Lane County.
Councilor Simmons discussed frustration over Lane County's lack of action on the PFSP. This
was an example of how Springfield could take the high ground.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR
LUNDBERG TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 10-27. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A
VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
4. Declaration of Real Property at 1082 Main Street as Surplus.
RESOLUTION NO. 10-28 -A RESOLUTION DECLARING CERTAIN REAL
PROPERTY OWNED BY THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD SURPLUS AND DIRECTING
THE CITY MANAGER TO OFFER SUCH PROPERTY FOR SALE FOR CASH OR FOR
CONSIDERATION OTHER THAN MONETARY OR A COMBINATION THEREOF.
Civil Engineer Matt Stouder presented the staff report on this item. In 1929, by Warranty Deed,
the City acquired an approximately 0.40 acre piece of real property along the north side of Main
Street, east of 10th Street, as described in Attachment 2 of the agenda packet. The property was
being used as right-of-way, and the easterly portion of this property, 642 square feet as described
in Attachment 3 and shown in Attachment 5, was no longer needed.
The abutting property owner, Springfield Church of the Brethren, had expressed interest in
acquiring the property (Attachment 4 of the agenda packet), and owned parcels 1062 through
1096 Main Street immediately to the north. If acquired, the Church intended to use the property
to meet building setbacks required for their onsite redevelopment plans, including building new
low income housing. The Church had secured a federal grant, but risked losing the grant without
acquiring this property because they would not be able to meet minimum density requirements.
Staff believed this redevelopment activity would enhance the City's downtown core, while
providing needed low income housing. Staff recommended that the property be declared surplus,
advertised for sale for cash and/or consideration for other than money, and then conveyed to the
Springfield Church of the Brethren. This was consistent with the provisions of Municipal Code
Section 2.714 and the relevant provision of Oregon Revised Statutes regulating the disposal of
public property. -
Councilor Simmons reminded the City Manager and staff of the policy that stated when property
was taken out of public use and put into private use, compensation would be paid to the City. The
language in this resolution.said "compensation other than cash". When the City abandoned the
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 20
alley right-of-way for the car dealership, there was compensation paid. The value was being
received, but the Council needed to be sure the citizens were protected and received
compensation for release of that property.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR
LUNDBERG TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 10-28. THE MOTION PASSED '''ITH A
VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
5. Periodic Update on Fire Merger Proposal.
Springfield Chief Dennis Murphy presented the staff report on this item. Springfield Fire & Life
Safety (SFLS) had completed plans for Functional Consolidation with Eugene Fire & EMS under
direction of joint city managers as explained to Joint Elected Officials at the December 7,2009
meeting. The Council received the last update on April 26.
Based on a 2009 consulting frrm report and internal analysis, the city managers and fIre chiefs of
Springfield and Eugene recommended initiation of preliminary steps for a functional
consolidation of the Eugene and Springfield fire departments as a means of reducing costs while
maintaining service levels and providing for metro-wide service efficiencies. Both councils
directed their city managers to proceed with efforts on an incremental basis.
The next step was the adoption of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the two cities
to share the services of certain key administrative positions in both departments, beginning July 1,
2010. The IGA was prepared and ready for Council action.
The primary benefit of a functional consolidation was that it permitted both cities to share savings
resulting from eliminating redundant resources, taking advantage of existing vacancies of key
personnel. Meanwhile, service levels were expected to be maintained or improved as a result of
joint efficiencies. Projected personnel savings for the City of Springfield for FY 2011 beginning
in July 1, 2010 were over $280,000 with a similar amount of savings to the City of Eugene.
. A secondary benefit was an incremental approach to merger. This permitted the appointed and
elected officials of both cities to evaluate the feasibility of continued efforts based on progress
reports, prior to the decision to proceed with a full merger.
Chief Murphy said this did not relate to changing fIre stations, changingjob positions or union
positions, and no exchange of money. The two City Managers could agree in the future that it
made sense to exchange funds. Each City was accepting responsibility for its own equipment,
maintenance, facilities, insurance, etc. This was the first step and could be the first step to a full
merger, or not. The City Managers of Springfield and Eugene would supervise the new Fire
Chief. It was City Council's decision whether or not to move forward.
Councilor Simmons said the $281,000 savings was just a first look. He supported the movement
forward, but as we got closer to a full merger, he wanted to see numbers regarding costs of
potential increases. Information needed to be made available in time to allow the Council to
thoroughly review and comprehend. He respected Chief Murphy, but wanted to see those figures.
He respected what they were doing.
City of Springfield
Council Regular Meeting Minutes
May 17,2010
Page 21
Councilor Wylie expressed confidence with Chief Murphy, Chief Groves, and the City Managers.
There was good thinking going into this process. It was one step at a time, but she had confidence
in the direction they were going.
Councilor Pishioneri asked about the population the Eugene Fire Service served.
Chief Murphy said they served the City of Eugene plus five contract areas, including the
McKenzie Fire District which Eugene and Springfield shared. That equated to just over 185,000.
Springfield served about 68,000 including our three contract areas. The ambulance service areas
were larger and Springfield served about 93,000.
Councilor Pishioneri said Eugene served about three times as many people.
Chief Murphy said that was correct.
Councilor Pishioneri said Eugene had six shift district battalion chiefs, and Springfield had three.
Chief Murphy said that was correct. One on duty at all times in Springfield, and two on duty at all
times in Eugene.
Councilo:( Pishioneri said he was trying to understand how Eugene could operate with only twice
as many when they served three times as many people.
Chief Murphy said the five contract areas and density were the differences. They had more square
miles to serve and a greater density. Some stations served, higher density than others. He
explained.
IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCaOR RALSTON WITH A SECOND BY COUNCaOR
LUNDBERG TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO SIGN A FIRE SERVICES
FUNCTIONAL CONSOLIDATION INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH
CITY OF EUGENE UPON APPROVAL OF THE CITY ATTORNEY (City Attorney Bill
Van Vactor acknowledged it had been approved). THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE
OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST.
BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at approximately 9:12 p.m.
Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa
Attest:
~~
City Record r