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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/19/2004 Work Session . . . '" City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, APRIL 19,2004. The City of Springfield council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, April 19, 2004 at 5:45 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ballew, Woodrow, Lundberg, Fitch, and Ralston. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Planning Commission Interviews. Planning Supervisor Mel Oberst presented the staff report on this item. There were three candidates for two vacant positions on the seven member Planning Commission. James Burford's tenure expired March 31,2004, after which he served two full terms. William Carpenter's tenure also expired March 31, 2004, but he was able to re-apply for one more term of four years. The appointments for these positions would begin immediately upon Council ratification and bring the Planning Commission roster to the full seven members. The city received three applications for two positions on the Planning Commission. The three applicants received by the city are from Steven J. Acton, William C. Carpenter and Frank B. Cross. All three applicants reside within the city limits. Steven Acton resides at 332 South 69th Place, William Carpenter resides at 680 "T" Street, and Frank Cross resides at 2580 "D" Street. The Mayor and Council discussed the interview questions and chose those each would be asking the candidates. Council interviewed the following candidates: 1. Steven J. Acton 2. William C. Carpenter 3. Frank B. Cross Council discussed the qualifications of each candidate. All three were very qualified candidates. Mayor Leiken noted the difficulty in getting three applicants for these two positions. Discussion was held regarding how to get citizens involved. Mr. Carpenter has been a valued member of the Planning Commission and council chose to re-appoint him to his current position. Council majority was to appoint Frank Cross to the other Planning Commission position, with a recommendation to encourage Steven Acton to re-apply when another vacancy opened on this or any other board, committee, or commission. 2. Street Light Standards. Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett presented the staff report on this item. Mr. Barnett introduced Jim Hanks, representing PeaceHealth; Tamara Johnson and Bob Linahan from Springfield Utility Board (SUB); Greg Hansen from Balheizer and Hubbard Engineers representing MountainGate Development and who has worked with the Downtown Association; and Don Emmens. All were . . . , City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 19, 2004 Page 2 present in the audience. He acknowledged the assistance staff received from all of these people on this proposal. Current city code and standards require the use of Low Pressure Sodium (LPS) street lights and allow decorative High Pressure Sodium (HPS) street lights in certain locations. Developers of RiverBend and MountainGate developments, and representatives from the Downtown Springfield Association submitted independent requests to use Metal Halide (MH) decorative and roadway style lighting systems in lieu ofLPS and HPS. Copies ofthose requests were included in the agenda packet. Transition to MH and HPS lighting would improve human visual performance. This is important for traffic safety and pedestrian security. MH lighting would also improve the appearance of landscaping and building facades. Discontinuing installation of new LPS lighting would diversify the lighting system and reduce the risk of relying on a declining lighting technology. Use ofMH and HPS lighting would decrease initial costs and would not substantially increase energy and maintenance cost to the city. Long-term cost to the city should decrease by changing lighting standards. Staff requested approval to modify the relevant codes and standards for use in all new construction throughout the City of Springfield, and when an existing LPS streetlight fails it would be replaced with a MH or HPS streetlight. MH lights were installed on Main Street at 6th Street to provide an opportunity for council and staff to compare with adjacent areas illuminated with Ll~S lights. The Council Briefing Memorandum in- the agenda packet included additional information. Mr. Barnett said staff was asking council to take two separate actions this evening. The fIrst was to direct staffto amend streetlighting standards through the various codes in the city. This amendment would relate to new construction and ultimately the changeover of luminaries throughout the system. The second action would be to adopt or not adopt a resolution that would allow for a departure from the current city codes and standards to specific projects and developments. Those developments include PeaceHealth, MountainGate and the Downtown Association and other major arterial projects that are currently underway or in the planning stages. Mr. Barnett said the purpose for recommending the code change or the departure in the code for the short term is to provide a better quality of life, a better cost efficiency of light utilization and a better lighting system for the citizens of Springfield. He discussed the analyses that have been done both by the private developers and the city. These analyses helped determine what relative cost differences the city would have with the different types of lighting. The two issues are the cost to purchase and the cost to operate and maintain. Mr. Barnett discussed the different types of lighting the city currently has in place. He referred to Attachment A, page 1 of the Council Briefmg Memorandum in the agenda packet which noted the inventory of the different lights in the city and those lights that would be phased out. The LPS lighting system was chosen in the mid-1970's because it was a highly efficient lighting source. Energy credits were in place at that time to consolidate city lighting. Mr. Barnett referred to Exhibit B included in the agenda packet which noted the human responses to the whiter (blue rich) lights and the yellow lights. He discussed the differences between the two types of lights. The blue rich light sources allow for better visibility. The principal reasons staff is recommending the changes are lower cost to the city and better appearance of the light source. The recommendation would be for decorative lights using MH City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 19, 2004 Page 3 . technology for developers in residential areas, all streets within the zone of a nodal overlay, and all off-street access ways such as bike paths. Mr. Barnett discussed roadway style lighting. He referred to the sample lighting fixtures that he had available at the meeting. The size of the lamps staff is recommending is smaller and more compact than the older lamps. Councilor Fitch asked if the dissemination ~f the light covered the same area as the larger fixture. Mr. Barnett said it was not necessarily the same. The newer lights do not put out as much glare and the amount of area covered by the light is more precise. He explained how the lens of the fixture disseminates the light. Staff recommends using these lights with Metal Halide (MH) on arterial streets, Bus Rapid Transit corridors and zones that would have a high degree of pedestrian activity. The current area would total about fourteen percent ofthe city's total light inventory. Removing the MH in roadway style fixtures would be a small part of the city's inventory. In most other residential and industrial areas, staff is recommending a HPS roadway type fixture. That would include approximately seventy-five to eighty percent of the city's inventory. The reasons for using the HPS lights in these areas are lower capital and maintenance costs. Councilor Woodrow asked if the HPS lights would be like those Mr. Barnett had on display. . Mr. Barnett said they would. Mr. Barnett said the recommendation is to eliminate the use of LPS lights in new construction, to use MH lights in retail and high pedestrian activity areas or where decorative fixtures are desired, and to use HPS roadway lights in all other areas. Councilor Ballew asked what the housing looks like for the MH lighting. Mr. Barnett said it would be the same as the lamp displayed at the meeting. He said the fixture is inexpensive and more easily replaced. Councilor Ballew asked if this type would be mounted at different heights according to the application. Mr. Barnett said the higher the wattage, the higher the light is mounted. The wattage would be determined by the application. Mayor Leiken thanked all those involved in this project. He thinks it is a good idea to do this as a test case for these specific areas. The light staff is recommending is functional. He appreciated staff getting others involved to look at this issue. It sends a positive message. Councilor Woodrow asked if the city would eventually replace all the LPS fixtures with HPS and MH fixtures. Mr. Barnett said yes. Councilor Ballew asked about other technologies in lighting that may be better than these proposed. . Mr. Barnett said MH has been around for a number of years and continues to improve. It is a light of choice in many applications, so there would be continued research efforts to improve them. There is another type of lighting technology called induction lighting that is about ten , , . . . . t City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes April 19, 2004 Page 4 years old and is mentioned in the report included in the agenda packet. It has potential in the decorative fixture arena, but not in large roadway uses because of less ability to control. Induction lights are 100,000 hour lights, but the initial costs are higher. There are some areas in Springfield that are currently using induction lighting. Mr. Barnett said there are other technologies being formulated. He said MH is a stable but improving technology and HPS would be around for a long time as well. Councilor Lundberg said she has noted a substantial difference with the improved lighting that was placed near her restaurant downtown. She would like the change to this type of lighting occur as quickly as possible for the image of our city and for growth. Councilor Fitch asked ifthere was a cost saving by purchasing larger quantities. Mr. Barnett said many are purchased through state contracts and do not require a minimum. Initial purchases for fixtures would pr:edominantly be done by developers because they put in more lights than anyone else. Lights that were not available through the state contracts could be bought in large quantities for cost savings. Council commended staff for their research on this item. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:48 pm. I Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa Attest: ~WR- Amy Sow City Recor er