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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/07/2010 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, ruNE 7,2010 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jessie Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors 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. Councilors Ralston and Lundberg were absent (excused). 1. Willamette River Bridge Project Update. Planning Manager Greg Mott presented the staff report on this item. He introduced Dick Upton, 1-5 Willamette River Bridge Project manager, who would provide the Council with an update on the status of this project. The 1-5 bridge project began in 2003 with the construction of the temporary detour bridge (completed in 200S). ,The decommissioned 1-5 bridge had been removed and the next phase of the project, southbound interstate lanes, was under construction. Work still remaining was the northbound lanes and surrounding ground work; the south bank bicycle viaduct; and a vadety of de~ign enhancements throughout the project area.( Mr. Upton thanked the Mayor and Council for allowing him to provide an update on the Willamette River Bridge improvements. He referred to the hard copy of a power point that was included in the agenda packet. Mr. Upton said he would review the process, but also talk about the opportunities that had presented themselves throughout the process. He noted that the budget was $154M for construction, with an overall budget of$201M. The project was a CM/GC (Contract Manager/General Contractor) approach. Because of this approach, ODOT had been integrated in the design and was able to manage decisions during the design and construction. ODOT was proud that this project included local peopre-"OBEC Consulting was originally from Eugene, and Hamilton Construction started in Springfield. During this process, there was a heightened community engagement, and ODOT had done their best to make this bridge,more about the community. Mr. Upton provided an update on the status of the project. The temporary bridges were fmished, and !De next stages included building the southbound lanes, the northbound lanes, and then the fmish work beneath the interstate. The southbound lanes should be complete in the fall of 2o.l1;-'They needed to beqomplete so they could move all of the traffic off of the temporary structure and onto the southbound lanes. In late fall of 2011, the traffic would be shifted so the detour structure could be removed. Fall of 20 13 would be completion of the project regarding traffic on the interstate. They ) would then complete the fmish work that could continue into the spring of 20 14. The design of the City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes June 7, 2010 Page 2 project was 90% complete, and construction was 20% complete. Mr. Upton referred to photos showing work being done beneath the bridges. Mr. Upton discussed the goals of this project: fit improvements to the context of the place; rely on the community to defme the context; and leverage opportunities for improvements beyond the bridge. He referred to a page in the power point that showed some of the ways the community had been engaged, including the project management team, the project development team, and the citizen's advisory group. There was also targeted outreach to a large number of local groups, businesses, clubs, and citizens. Mr. Upton discussed some of the many opportunities that had come out of this project. There were ten listed and he spoke regarding three: bicycle-pedestrian viaduct on south bank; trees on west embankment slope; and design enhancements. He noted that Mr.. Boyatt had suggested working the bicycle path along the river in Glenwood into this project and submitted information so ODOT could apply for a grant to make it work. He discussed the trees on the west embankment slope and how they were able to work with Willamalane to retain the trees on the west side, while making some adjustments on the east side. He spoke regarding the design enhancements. On large projects, ODOT did try to make the project more aesthetically pleasing. For this project, they looked at each place the enhancements would be going in, made up a budget, and brought that information to the citizen advisory committee (CAC). The CAC had worked hard over a period of about a year looking at a number of options. Mr. Upton said the last slide of the power point included contact information, including John Lively, who was the public involvement consultant for this project. He invited everyone to take a tour of the project. Every second Wednesday, there were organized tours lead by Kevin Parrish. Councilor Wylie said her husband, Scott, was on the citizen advisory group that had worked on the design part of this project. She said it was a very lengthy and involved process and he had worked many hours. Mr. Upton said her husband had been a great asset aI;ld one of the leaders on that committee. He admired everyone that volunteered on the citizen advisory group. . Mayor Leiken suggested scheduling a tour for the Council. Councilor Simmons recalled a presentation a few weeks ago on the name of the bridge. The name would be the Whilamut Passage. , Mayor Leiken asked about potential for future on and off ramps into Glenwood. He asked if that was still part of the process. Mr. Upton said that was not being considered as part of this project. The type of bridge selected, however, allowed that opportunity at a later date. Mayor Leiken said he felt that was a lack of vision by the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC). That was a great entryway into Glenwood in Springfield and the new basketball arena in Eugene. It didn't seem to matter what Springfield brought to the table. He understood that Mr. Upton was the project manager here and this was not his call, but MayorLeiken said he would let his feelings be City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes Jooe 7, 2010 Page 3 known during his next Oregon Transportation Policy Committee meeting in Salem. He felt this was a missed opportunity. He was pleased this was a signature project. Councilor Simmons asked about the environmental issues over the south bicycle path due to removal of trees and if those issues had been resolved. Mr. Mott said ODOT still had to get local approval from the Planning Commission for the permit. City staff met with Mr. Upton on this subject recently. They would be looking at mitigation of that and what was going to go back in its place. Typically, when talking about a riparian context, they got more sp~cific about what could be done there. This would be an issue the City would be dealing with along the entire length of the river in Glenwood. This could be the fIrst part they dealt with in that regard. Some shading had been removed with the removal of structures, which was a benefit to the area. Mayor Leiken thanked Mr. Upton for his presentation. Councilor Pishioneri concurred with the Mayor regarding the off ramp issue. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 6:31 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: ~A Amy So . WJL City Recorder