HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/13/2010 Work SessionCity of Springf eld
.Work .Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
ThIE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY,. SEPTEMBER 13; 2010
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, September 13, 2010 at 5:32 p:m., with Councilor Lundberg
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Councilors Lundberg, Wylie, Leezer, Simmons, -and Pishioneri. Also present were City
Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney Matt Cox, City Recorder
Amy Sowa, and members of the staff.
Mayor Leiken and Councilor Ralston were absent (excused).
Councilor Lundberg noted that this was Councilor Leezer's last council meeting. Councilor Leezer
had added so much to the Council and to the community through her volunteer work. She recognized
Councilor Leezer for her hard work and thanked her for her service. It had been an extreme- pleasure
having her as part of the Council and she would be truly missed by her and all of the councilors.
Councilor Lundberg presented Councilor Leezer with an engraved plaque.
Councilor Wylie said it was difficult to accept that Councilor Leezer was leaving. It was hard to get
good councilors and people the Council could work well with and get things done. She had enjoyed
having Councilor Leezer as a partner on the.Council and as a friend.
Councilor Leezer said it was a difficult decision.
Councilor Pishioneri said Councilor Leezer had been a great sounding board and always very
supportive. She was willing to speak out about things she believed in and had integrity. It had been a
pleasure serving with her on the council. -
Councilor Simmons thanked Councilor Leezer for her service.
1. The Main Street Four-Point Approach®: A Comprehensive Community Strategy for Downtown
Economic Development and Revitalization.
Development Services. Department Director Bill Grile presented the staff report on this item. He
introduced Clair Carpenter-Seguin from .the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation
(NERCO) and Sheri .Stuart from the Oregon Main Street Program office. Both had extensive
experience with the Main Street program and had communicated this to downtown businesses. They
were here to present an overview of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Four-
Point Approach® and discuss how implementation of the program under NERCO's leadership would
support the revitalization of Springfield's Downtown District: The Council was asked to consider the
merits of the program and to direct staff to prepare a resolution of support.
The Main Street Four-Point Approach® was a unique preservation-based economic development tool.
that enabled communities to revitalize downtown and neighborhood business districts by leveraging,
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September 13, 2010
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. local assets -from historic, cultural, and architectural. resources to local enterprises and community
pride. It was a comprehensive strategy that addressed the variety of issues and. problems that
challenged traditional commercial districts. The four points of the Main Street approach worked .
together to build a sustainable and complete community revitalization effort:
^ Organization -established consensus and cooperation by building partnerships among the
various groups that have a stake in the commercial district.
^ .Promotion - created a positive image that would rekindle community pride and improve
consumer and investor confidence in .your commercial district. -
^ Design -getting Main Street into top physical shape and creating a safe; inviting environment
for shoppers, workers, and visitors.
^ Economic Restructuring -:retaining and expanding successful businesses to provide a
. balanced commercial mix, sharpening the competitiveness and merchandising skills of
business owners, and attracting .new businesses that the market can support.
Downtown redevelopment was a key strategy for fostering Springfield's community pride, livability
and economic development. NEDCO's implementation of the Main Street program would provide
strong support for the strategies outlined in the City's Downtown District Plan and for Downtown's
development as an attractive and economically viable city center: Main Street was a proven tool for
helping communities bring their commercial corridors back to life. Implementation of the Four-Point
Approach® would organize community-initiated business district improvement efforts to address. and
enhance the fundamental components of successful downtowns that were currently lacking in
Springfield: apedestrian-friendly shopping street, a significant retail presence, and a civic gathering
- , place at the heart of the community. These incremental changes had potential to transform the
dynamics and perceptions of Downtown. The program would be .implemented by NEDCO at no cost
to the City.
.... Ms. Carpenter-Seguin said she.started at NEDCO in January, and came with extensive experience with
the Main Street program: She recognized what a great fit the Mairi Street Program was for Springfield.
To spread the word .about the program, she had talked to the Chamber Economic Development
Committee, the Historic Commission, the USA Main Street merchants, and the Springfield
Renaissance Development Corporation (SRDC), all of who supported the Main Street Program model.
Ms. Stuart would provide more detailed information.
Ms. Stuart had been involved with the Main Street Program for 20 years, starting in Port Townsend,
Washington. Springfield had a fabulous downtown and Main Street. She spoke regarding the Oregon
Main Street program and provided a power point presentation.. The Oregon Main Street Program was
jointly administered with Business Oregon and the State Historic Preservation Office. Each state that
had a statewide Main Street Program, developed services based on the National Main Street model
which held the trademark brand for Main Street as it related to downtown revitalization. Each state
designed their own program to meet the needs of the communities in their state. In Washington, they
created a "Tier System" to serve communities based on their capacity and readiness to move forward
with a comprehensive downtown revitalization effort.
Ms. Stuart reviewed the levels in the tiered system. The first level in the tiered system is an
introductory level with low commitment on the community's part, but did enable them to get email
service and invitations to trainings. The middle level was when a community was ready to step up and
look at whether or not Main Street was a good fit. It was at this stage that a community would begin to
structure their committees along the Main Street principles and dedicate some staff time to that effort
and see what changes could be made based on the Main Street model. At this level, the community
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September 13, 2010
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would be eligible for a wide range of services from the program as well. At the top level, communities
. were 100% committed .to.implementing the comprehensive Main Street Program, with anon-profit
organization in place with a core committee structure based on the Main Street principles. The
communities at this level also had a fully funded program that was fully staffed and were working
aggressively at implementing a Main Street Program in their town. Corvallis, McMinnville, Albany,
_, and Baker City were all in the top tier of this program and had used the comprehensive Main Street
revitalization program.
Ms. Stuart discussed some of the services provided by their organization. One of those services was an
annual Downtown Revitalization Conference, which would be on October 6-8, 2010 in Albany..
Springfield officials.were invited to attend at no cost. They also provided quarterly trainings and
workshops that were free of charge for communities that were in the network. Online technical
assistance was provided based on a community's needs, opportunities and issues. She discussed other
services provided, including a large amount of resource information. They were not a fee for service
program, but provided the services at no charge for those in the network.
Ms. Stuart said they were tied in to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, National Main Street,
who started the Main Street philosophy in the late 1970's, and early 1980's. The Trust discovered that
many downtowns were suffering due to shopping malls and other issues. The National Trust got
involved to see if there was something that could be developed to help communities strengthen their
downtown, spark investment in historic properties, and strengthen the businesses. The comprehensive
approach developed by the Trust to revitalize downtowns included: Organization; Design, Economic
Restructuring; and Promotion. There was a need to work on' each of these points.
Ms. Stuart discussed the four points. Organization was having a structure in place and taking a lead in
revitalization: Downtowns needed a person or group that acted as the manager for the downtown.
Most organizational structures include an independent non-profit organization with a board of
directors and staff, and the four committee structure after that. They could also have a Main Street
organization with an existing parent,organization, such as NEDCO; who wanted to spearhead and
nurture the Main Street effort. In that case, there would be an independent steering committee that .
could serve similar to a board of directors. The same four committee structure would follow. Main
Street recognized that businesses could not do it alone, nor could the City. Partnerships were needed
throughout the community. to be successful in the long haul. It was important to identify the needs of
each organization and develop those through projects and programs. Main Street efforts normally had
one paid staff persona Much was dependent on mobilizing volunteers across the community to be
involved in the revitalization effort: The whole community benefited from the revitalization of
downtown. She also noted that a long range fundraising plan needed to be developed. In Oregon, some
Main Streets utilized the Economic Improvement District. When moving to the Main Street
revitalization effort, nationally start up costs were about 30% from local government, 30% from local
businesses and property owners, 30% from general community members and benefactors, and 10%
from special event fundraising efforts.
Ms. Stuart spoke regarding design, which was looking at all of the physical elements that made up a
district, both public and private. She provided photos of facade upgrades and described the benefits
from making the upgrades. They tried to re-instill the feel of authenticity when upgrading the
buildings. Another component of design was looking at visual merchandising and design education to
help the business owners. It also included looking at appropriate infill that was compatible to historic
buildings. Streetscape improvements, parking and transportation were important pieces to the design.
Planning and zoning were also part of the plan.
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September 13, 2010 '
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The third component of the Main Street approach was economic restructuring, which included looking
at how to restructure the economy to make it successful today and in the future. Market analysis was
done and updated for downtowns. The program also provided one-on-one business assistance and
development of incentive programs. They helped to identify new uses for vacant storefronts.
The fourth component of the Main Street approach was promotion, which was a very important aspect
of the program. This point was equally as important as the other points. They could promote
downtown through special events, business and retail events, imaging and branding of a district.
Ms. Stuart discussed some of the communities that were using this program. La Grande had been
participating in the Transforming Downtown level (the second level of the program) for about a year _
and a half and made great strides in getting a comprehensive revitalization effort in place. Some of the
key things they had accomplished included new design standards adopted for the downtown district,
managing a facade grant program, putting together 42 welcome banners, getting new historic district ,
street signs, putting together a comprehensive resource guide and survey of all structures in the
historic district, working closely with the RARE program to get a volunteer to help with historic
preservation research, and getting a Main Street volunteer to create window displays and keep
windows clean in vacant storefronts, which Springfield was. currently doing. Oregon City had been
working on their downtown revitalization for about a year and a half and had done extremely well.
Their goal was to bring in creative artists after the County offices moved out leaving many vacancies.
They created the "Blue Collar" creative business recruitment campaign. She highlighted some of the
events and activities they were working on in this campaign. They had about $1.2M worth of building
improvements, leveraged a grant to provide 16 new business. signs in the downtown district, and were
holding new events such as the Artwalk. Ms. Stuart reiterated that revitalization needed to 'be
comprehensive in approach and include all aspects of the plan. It was important. to build on the
-community's sense of authenticity. Every town had its own history, making it unique and interesting.
They needed to work with the whole community. Revitalization needed to be phased in incrementally,
and often took years. They needed to be action oriented and vision based., The most important piece
was to have a core group that was committed. She talked about a community in Kansas that had a lot
of obstacles, but a strong vision which had become a reality.
.Councilor Leezer spoke regarding the Crandall Arambula's proposal. She asked if that proposal and
the Main Street proposal meshed together.
Ms. Stuart said the plan from Crandall Arambula could point the direction. The Main Street program
could be one of the elements to help determine how to make that plan happen and. to bring it together.
Main Street looked at the plan and prioritized projects. They could be the private sector party that
helped implement the plan and sit in on the committees.
Councilor Lundberg said Springfield had historical buildings and other buildings in between that
didn't have. longevity or character, and were often in disrepair. She asked what other communities had
done with those buildings.
Ms. Stuart said most programs had focused on the historic buildings first and brought those back, then
worked on the infill. Treatments could be added to help make those buildings blend. If it was poor
construction, it could be an opportunity for compatible redevelopment. The key component was to
look at .the historic buildings.
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September 13, 2010
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Councilor Lundberg. asked if Ms. Stuart was in the position to take on more communities and to help
Springfield.
Ms. Stuart said they had just opened up the middle level (Transforming Downtown) application from
Springfield which was under consideration now. They did have the capacity to take on the work and
help Springfield.
Councilor Lundberg said they needed someone with staff and the ability to take this on as part of their
daily activities. She asked who that might be. ~ ~
Ms. Carpenter-Seguin said NEDCO had stepped in and committed to pursuing the Main Street
designation conceptually by allocating her time to present it and advocate to the community. NEDCO~
applied for and received an AmeriCorps position, full-time and dedicated to the Main Street model or
some other function for downtown. She introduced several people from NEDCO that were working on
this and. other efforts in downtown. NEDCO would take this as far as the City wanted. They would .
need to discuss the long-term relationship in the near future. NEDCO was committed to discussions
about downtown.
Ms. Stuart said volunteers that had worked on some of the Main Street projects were very good.
Karen Hageman, owner of The Washburrie Cafe in downtown, was in attendance as an audience
member and asked how they determined funding.
Ms. Stuart said the programs themselves were locally funded. The Main Street program provided
technical assistance and may at times have some facade improvement grant funding available. The
funding was an important component of the Main Street revitalization. Few received statewide
funding, so they needed to be sustainable over the long-haul.
Mr. Grile said this was an ideal situation that came to Springfield. He thanked the NEDCO board and
Ms. Carpenter-Seguin for getting this started. The City's commitment was technical, not financial.
Depending on where it went, the City could determine if there were opportunities for investment. The
City had already made a significant investment downtown, but there could be additional things that
could be done through the Springfield Economic Development Agency (SEDA), such as facade loan
programs. It was ideal for those programs to come from NEDCO, rather than the City.
Councilor Lundberg thanked all. those that were moving this forward.
Councilor Leezer thanked Ms. Stuart for a wonderful presentation. It was wonderful to have a partner
like NEDCO to keep the City on track and focus on the vision.
2. Community Survey.
Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery thanked Councilor Leezer for her service on both the Planning
Commission and City Council. He appreciated her energy and enthusiasm.
Mr. Towery then presented the staff report on this item. Earlier this summer, the City conducted a
telephone survey of the community to check perceptions on the importance of sixteen community
values and city services. People were asked about what was important to them and how they felt the
City was performing on those things. Safe Neighborhoods ranked most important. followed closely by
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Quality Education and a Healthy Environment. We also asked questions about the jail, fire merger
and library services. Barb Tull of Advanced Marketing Research, who had been doing this kind of
` work in the area for quite a long time, did the survey and report. In addition, Barb compared this
information to the results of the 2005 ,survey.
Community Relations Manager Niel Laudati presented a power point on this item, which was included
in the .agenda packet. .
1VIr. Towery provided an overview of the survey. The 81 % response meant that of the .100% of people
that picked up the phone, 81 % finished. the survey. He noted that the survey also asked if there were
. things that should have been asked that were not. He noted that the full report would be available
online by the end of the week. There was a lot of demographic information available in the .full report,
including break down by wards. ~ ,
Councilor Pishioneri asked about the question on the survey regarding fire department response times.
Mr. Towery said the question was completely perception based on whether or not the respondents
thought a merger would improve response times.
Councilor Pishioneri spoke regarding the question on whether or not the new jail was contributing to
safety. He asked what percentage of voters voted for the j ail.
Police Chief Smith said it was about 54-56%
. Councilor Pishioneri noted that was the same figure that felt, it was helping. He referred to the question
about a new Library with a levy.
Mr. Towery said the actual question was "If an election were held today, would you support or oppose
a local option levy that would open the Springfield Library 10 additional hours per week at a cost of
$9 per year for the owner of a $275,000 home".
Councilor Wylie said she liked this survey, and felt it provided good information. She complimented
public works for the good remarks regarding well-managed wastewater.
Councilor Simmons asked for a hard copy of the full report.
Councilors Lundberg and Pishioneri also wanted a hard copy so they could see the details.
Councilor Leezer asked if there were differences in responses between wards.
Mr. Towery said he hadn't looked into that detail. The consultant noted major differences, and because
that hadn't been brought to his attention, he assumed there were no large differences between wards.
Mr. Grimaldi noted that citizens from Councilor Wylie's ward were slightly more interested in things
-- about downtown because of the proximity to the ward.
Councilor Wylie spoke regarding the Library piece. There was a difference between supporting a new
Library and supporting a new tax for a new Library.
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