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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/19/2004 Work Session . City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JULY 19,2004. The City of Springfield council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, July 19,2004 at 6:15 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ballew, Woodrow, Lundberg, Ralsto~ and Fitch. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and.members of the staff. 1. Public Facility Bond Measure. Mayor Leiken thanked Police Chief Jerry Smith for the tour of the current Police Facility which took place from 5:30-6:00pm. For those wishing to take a longer tour, Chief Smith or Captain Harrison may be contacted. Mayor Leiken noted that if the work session went past 7:00pm to allow time for this important discussion, staff should notify those in the Council Chambers that the Regular Meeting would be starting late. Staff acknowledged they would notify those in the Council Chambers. .. Police Chief Jerry Smith and Community Development Manager John Tamulonis presented the staff report on this item. Council has discussed the potential of constructing a new public safety facility to include the housing of the police, fIre administration, municipal court and city prosecutor functions of city government. The facility housing the police, court and city prosecutor was originally constructed in 1949 and 1957 and has undergone several remodels. The facility was not constructed to house a police department and in fact consists of two separate contiguous buildings. The western end of the building is leased to a print shop. The current facility consists of approximately 24,000 square feet and because of design, presents cost prohibitive or structural prohibitions to expansion. A companion discussion to the issue of constructing a new public safety facility is a decision on whether to construct a municipal jail. The current police facility houses a ten bed jail that is used as a holding facility after years of use as a municipal jail. Berry Architects projected costs for the construction of a new public safety facility in a 1999 Space Needs Study at $15;819,880, not including land acquisition. Berry Architects also conducted a Space Needs Study for a municipal jail in 1999 and projected costs at $8,725,196. They opined that as a starting point, any cost estimates should be increased by approximately eighteen percent to adjust for inflation in the construction marketplace since 1999. If a decision were made to construct a municipaljail as part of the public safety facility, there would be savings in both facilities. . Annual staffmg costs of a municipal jail are estimated at $1,066,000. This estimate was reached after review of current Department of Correction, (D.O.C.) salary schedules. An additional City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 19,2004 Page 2 . $270,000 is required for items such.as inmate medical, food, supplies and maintenance. The total estimated operational cost of the municipal jail facility is $1,336,000. Chief Smith introduced Ken Larson and Matt Gibson from DLR Architects, an architectural fIrm in Portland who have reviewed the Beery study that was done in the past and given the city an assessment of costs. Chief Smith also introduced City Prosecutor Dave Logan, Judge Strickland from Springfield Municipal Court, Dave Lewis from the Springfield Police Association, and Carole Knapel, officially the project manager for PeaceHealth, but also an expert regarding police and jail facilities. He introduced Mike Grover, Chief of Police from Cottage Grove. . Mr. Tamulonis said staff has spent time going over the older report from Beery Architect regarding a Police, Prosecutor, Municipal Court and Fire and Life Safety Buildings and subsequent study for the jail. Staff has updated that information. He referred to maps on the wall outlining the current location of the facility, adjoining properties and how it could be re- used to house the new facility. He outlined three options and how they could fit onto the current footprint plus additional properties for parking, etc. The fIrst option included using the existing facility site, adding two portions of right-of-way and acquiring two parking areas from nearby properties. This option is a minimum cost addition to the existing property and would be suitable for a Police/Court facility. The current facility could continue to remain in operation during the construction of the new facility. The second option would include Fire Administration. This option includes an additional two segments of 4th Street, an additional .4 acres on B Street, with the same underlying base as in the first option. This would include a facility that would house Fire Administration/Police/Court. The third option included the addition of a jail, but without the Fire Administration. The last option considered acquisition of property for a potential fIre station. The fire department would like to have access on two-way streets from their fire station, rather than one-way streets such as Pioneer Parkway. These options were based on trying to keep additional land acquisition to a minimum. Councilor Woodrow asked about the second option. He asked if the land where the existing building is located would be enough for parking or a fire station once the new facility was constructed. Mr. Tamulonis said it would not be enough without building up which would increase the cost substantially. He referred to a chart titled "Public Safety Facility Capital Costs Estimates as of July 18, 2004". Electrical and water sources still need to be considered, Fees, SDC's, demolition of buildings, removal of parking lots and other areas of concrete were included on the chart as Site Related and Permit Costs. Staff is still doing research regarding asbestos. Councilor Fitch asked ifthere were cur:ently reduced SDC rates in the downtown area. Mr. Tamulonis said it is at 100 percent reduction at this time and will taper off to 75 percent and then 50 percent. Councilor Ballew asked if the city could waive our own SDC's. Mr. Tamulonis said under state law, the city must be consistent throughout an area. The city could not waive their own fees, but could set a policy that allows fees in all of downtown to be reduced, benefiting all applicants. . . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 19, 2004 Page 3 Councilor Ralston asked about the second option which showed Police/Court/J ail, but not Fire Administration. He asked what would happen to the area where the current building is located and if it could be used for the Fire Administration. Mr. Tamulonis said it would be used for parking and support facilities for the Police Department for such items as hazmat materials and outdoor storage. Chief Smith said the police currently rent storage units for stolen property, bicycles and materials. Much of this storage that is now inside the building should be away from the main building. Councilor Ralston said he is not opposed to building up higher if it were to include the Fire Administration. He said he was not sure that having a fIre department building right in downtown because of noise issues was a good idea. He has mixed feelings about taking up the church's parking lot, but he liked that particular footprint and would like to see the Fire Administration at this location. He understands there is a need for a new fire station. Mr. Tamulonis referred to models that showed the footprint of the building. There are some inefficiencies of building higher, such as stairways and elevators, but it could be a possibility. He noted that the massing works, but construction costs goes up quite a bit. He referred to the figures on the chart Councilor Woodrow asked if it was that much more to construct the jail rather than the Fire Administration. . Chief Smith said the plans that were designed by Beery for ajail was for 35,000 square feet and the square footage for the Fire Administration was 20,000 square feet. It would also cost more to construct ajail than office space. Councilor Ralston said he liked the configuration with all the components. Discussion was held regarding the different configurations. The additional cost for a fire station would only be for acquisition of the land, not construction of a station at this time. Mr. Tamulonis said he doesn't know if the largest footprint is sufficient for all components. Mr. Kelly said both staff and council are on a learning curve. Council could give staff direction to come back on July 26 unless there is a consensus on a preferred option that staff could bring back for a public hearing in August. More of the details would be brought back at that time. He said the possibility of acquiring property for a new fire station has been brought to council in this discussion because it has been a long standing need to locate the station at 5th and M Street. With the building of the Gateway station, there is a need for a station closer to downtown, mainly Glenwood. Ifwe were considering l~d acquisition for the public safety facility at this time, we should look at this option. Mayor Leiken said one of council's responsibilities is to plan for the future and the future annexation of Glenwood. Councilor Ralston asked if a station could be located near the bridge in Glenwood. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 19, 2004 Page 4 . Fire Chief Dennis Murphy said bridges are considered a major obstacle if anything goes wrong; therefore fIre stations are not put near bridges or bodies of water. A fire station located anywhere within a four block area would get the same response time. Most planners would not take the risk of cutting a fire station off from thousands of people by locating it across the river. Councilor Ralston said it is important to look for a site for a station, but downtown does not seem like the appropriate place. He suggested a location closer to Pioneer Parkway. He said it seems like it should be a different discussion. Councilor Lundberg said in looking at priorities, she would look at building the Police Administration, the jail and facility. She asked if it made sense now to look at Fire Administration or to look at building a Fire Station and Fire Administration at a later date. We do not want to ask taxpayers for more than our highest priority. She would like to remain as conservative as possible. She would like to consider Police/Court/Jail now and Fire Administration and Fire Station space in the near future. Councilor Woodrow asked what it would cost to relocate the printing company. Mr. Tamulonis said there is a lease and the city would look at relocating them. That is one of the costs that will be added in for relocation costs. There are also standards for parking, pedestrian circulation, landscaping, and setbacks. . Mayor Leiken noted that the real estate costs in the downtown corridor have remained flat, which could be a benefit if they were to look at land acquisition for the facility and the fire station. If they do not do something now, they should do something in the near future to take advantage of the lower costs. Chief Smith said Chief Grover from Cottage Grove operates the j ail in Cottage Grove and has first hand experience. He also has past experience with Jackson County. Staff doesn't have all the facts tonight, and there is work that needs to be done between now and August. Demolition costs for the existing facility is about $86,000 plus asbestos removal at $1 a square foot ($24,000). The acquisition of the land needed would be approximately $300,000. Architectural fees will cost about ten percent ofthe project costs. He referred to the options and the cost for each option as described on the chart titled "Public Safety Facility Capital Costs Estimates as of July 18,2004". A facility that would house Police/Courts only would cost approximately $l7.6M, which equals about .58/thousand; a facility that would house Police/Courts/Jail would cost approximately $27.6M, which equals .91/thousand; and a facility that would house Police/Courts/ Fire Administration would cost approximately $22.5M, which equals .75/thousand. He referred to the figures on the chart relating to acquisition of property for a fire station. . Chief Smith said results from the survey showed that citizens lean toward support of a new public safety facility. There was not much difference in support regarding what was housed in the facility. The survey also showed citizens would support approximately .70/thousand and support declined as the cost went higher. The most controversial aspect is the construction of a jail. The cost to operate a jail is approximately $1.4 a year, with insurance costs of $9600.00 a year. There may be additional operating costs, but there does not seem to be any large items left out of the calculations. Staff has looked at other facilities. They are looking to operate the facility with fifteen people as well as support from the Police Department. The gross operating costs could be netted down due to recovery of bail, fines and no longer having to pay the cost to the county for contracting for five beds. He discussed the empty beds at the county jail. We could City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 19, 2004 Page 5 . rent jail beds for the same contract we now have with the county for $93 a day. The real savings is that crime will be reduced over time. Other jurisdictions with similar problems that have built jail facilities have reduced crime. We have a serious problem in Springfield and something needs to be done to change the course. Councilor Fitch asked Mr. Grover how many prisoners they house. Mr. Grover said they are able to house nine prisoners and they usually house eight. He is . budgeted $6000 a year to run the j ail, which covers the cost of TV dinners. Police officers staff the facility. They try not to hold people very long, the longest being 60 days. There are no televisions or radios, and no exercise equipment. The Library brings books and newspapers. They follow the law of ORS 169 and he has no problems. Their crime rate has gone down, probably forty percent on petty crimes. They do not house felons or women. Mr. Kelly reminded council there were consultants on hand to answer questions. ECONorthwest, the financial feasibility consultant, were also on retainer to assist in any studies council would like done on costing impact of crime. They could assist on any statistical studies and financial analysis per direction from council. Mayor Leiken welcomed acting District Attorney Alex Gardner. Councilor Ralston asked if with a jail in place, we would be collecting fines that we are not able to collect now. This could add to our revenue. He asked about the cost for re-arresting a person and if that could also justify building and operating a jail. . Chief Smith said the $500,000 savings listed does relate to fines that would be collected, but there are some criminals who will never pay their fines. When we did operate a j ail and Lane County jail was adequate, people did post bail and we didn't suffer the losses we are suffering today. Staff is still working on a study which shows it costs $500 each time a person does not appear. Councilor Woodrow had copies of that report and distributed it to council members. The re-arrest costs will continue to climb. He referred to the District Attorney's (DA) comments regarding which crimes the public wants to be prosecuted. There are no sanctions to make the treatment programs effective. Mayor Leiken asked about the capacity of the Work Camp, who were put there and for how long. Council Candidate Joe Pishioneri, Deputy Sheriff with Lane County, said the capacity is about 130 and they are currently working about 105. Chief Smith said the problem with work camps is that there is no way to house them until the disposition. Councilor Lundberg said she would like to have feedback on how citizens would feel paying county taxes to house prisoners that are not being housed and paying the city for housing prisoners in a municipal jail. Chief Smith said some counties have gone to a book-in fee. If an officer wants to take a person to jail, they are charged an additional amount, which is a disincentive to take people to jail. The county is not going to charge us any less in taxes because we are taking care of our own. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 19,2004 Page 6 . Judge Strickland said for people who have been sentenced there is $1,146,000 in unpaid fmes and the county jail can't be used as a sanction. There are over 300 people who are on probation violations for DUll that he cannot incarcerate. There would be about a half a million dollars saved on the DUll's. Councilor Ballew said the key to this is whether or not the people will support it. It will cost more money, even with the money saved by not re-arresting the same people. We are still paying the policeman's salary no matter what he is doing. Chief Smith said the savings is long term. The city is growing and the crime rate is growing and if something isn't done, we will need additional help. Councilor Ballew said she would like to see information on how much the Police facility would cost, how much for Fire Administration, how much for Courts and how much for the Jail and the operations of the Jail if this is to come before citizens on the ballot. Ifthe public wants to support it, that is great, but they need that information. Councilor Fitch said the information should be on the bond to explain that there would be a separate levy once a jail facility was built to pay for operations. Councilor Ballew said that is correct. We need to let citizens know the total tax bill, with the addition of the operating expenses. She discussed the total of all the levies and the discussion of a Fire District, which would be another taxing authority. We need to be sensitive and open and informative. There is probably support, but we need to be straight forward. . Mr. Kelly said in August staff will bring back all the costs and quantify the cost of doing nothing. He discussed the crime rate now and how that could multiply through the years. There is a cost to quality of life and people's confidence and feeling safe in their neighborhood by not correcting the problem. There is a cost to our reputation. Councilor Woodrow referred to the report he distributed which was a draft study on failure to appe~r costs. The basic cost for arresting someone is $737 the fIrst time. If they don't appear there is additional cost of $443. Ifwe don't go out and educate the public that we are wasting money every time we arrest someone who goes to the Lane County Jail and is then matrixed out, we are doing the citizens a disservice. He discussed the incident where the man matrixed out from the Lane County jail killed his wife. Lane County will continue to have budget shortfalls and continue to close jail beds to meet their budget. There is no other alternative other than the city standing up and using the help of our Police Department, Fire Department and Courts to educate citizens. He believes citizens will support the jail. . Mayor Leiken said we need to ask Springfield citizens if they would be willing to support a jail. He agreed with Councilor Ballew that we need to have a break down, including the operating costs. The figures need to be close. Springfield is continuing to grow as is the Metropolitan Area. The Lane County jail may not be sufficient, even at full operation, to deal with this growing population. We have opportunities to bring in family wage jobs into our community, but we need to be set up to address public safety for a stronger quality of life. We need to ask the citizens for their opinion. Jail capacity is part of that and needs to be addressed. There does not seem to be any other solution on the horizon. Chief Smith has said he does not want to be in the jail business, but does not want to continue to re-arrest the same criminals over and over again. , We must have all the costs and numbers available for the public. , . ~ . . . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes July 19, 2004 Page 7 Councilor Fitch said there is a need to present this to the public in some format. The fmal format will be determined in August. She said Councilor Lundberg listed her priorities as Police/Court/Jail. Councilor Ballew wants the citi~ens to decide, but with full disclosure. Councilors Woo,drow and Ralston would like all components included. Councilor Fitch said that although she is a supporter of the Fire and Life Safety Department, this may not be the time for the Fire Administration and Station site to be included. She needs to see the final numbers. If there is no consequence for criminals, it would be hard to go out for levies in the future to put more police officers on the street. She referred to others she has talked to about the need for sanctions. Without sanctions, the other programs are doomed to failure. She asked staff to go back and refine the numbers, and make sure we are not missing anything we can disclose. Springfield does operate conservatively and economically regarding finances. She referred to the jail in Cottage Grove and that there might be a way to operate our jail economically. We need to present the citizens with full numbers and then listen to what they say. Springfield has said that public safety is a number one priority. Ifnot here and now, when? Give the citizens a clear choice. Mayor Leiken asked if council wanted an additional work session next week. Mr. Kelly said if council is happy with the motion to move forward, staff will bring this back in August with more detailed numbers. Councilor Ralston said Police/Court/Jail/Fire is the order of priority. Councilor Lundberg asked that staff also bring back other balloting opportunities so we are not rushed. She also asked for information on what we might anticipate from other agencies on this and future ballots. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:13 pm. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa ~~- -SmIreyW- i1ren -Mayr>r- ~ Tamalyn Fitch Council President - Attest: ~ Amy So City Recorder