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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/15/2004 Work Session . . . i " City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2004. The City of Springfield council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, November 15, 2004 at 5:32 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Lundberg, Ralston and Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Joe Leahy, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members ofthe staff. I. Highway 126 Freight Route. Transportation Manager Nick Amis presented the staff report on this item. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) staff and the Freight Route Analysis Project (FRAP) committee are seeking public comment on new Freight Route designations for state highways. Comments were due the beginning of October, but given a great ,deal of public interest about the designations the comment period is extended to January 7, 2005. The Lane County Board of Commissioners, acting as an Area Commission on Transportation (ACT), held a public hearing on October 13th about the new freight designations in Lane County. The FRAP and ODOT are proposing five Freight Route designations in Lane County: · Highway 126 (Eugene to Florence) · Highway 20 (Highway 126/20 to Highway 22) · Beltline Highway (1-5 to Highway 126) · Highway 99 (Junction City to Beltline Highway) · Highway 126 (1-5 to Highway 126/20) The city submitted testimony (attachment A included in the agenda packet) at the county hearing citing concerns that a freight route designation has stricter highway design and traffic volume standards, and the city requested more time for discussion with ODOT about the possible designation. During the county hearing there was a great deal of opposition from the McKenzie Valley residents to the new designation for Highway 126. Mr. Amis said staff would be asking council to direct staff to prepare a response on the proposed designation to ODOT by January 7, 2005. Mr. Amis said there were some advantages and disadvantages to Springfield with designating this highway as a Freight Route. The advantages would include receiving a higher priority for funding from the state for projects on highways designated as a freight route. Another advantage could be if the city wanted to lessen congestion in an area, the Freight Route designation has a stricter standard of congestion. Disadvantages include with the stricter level of service standard, more space would be needed in designing roads. This could mean additional costs if larger ramps and more property were needed. During the city's land use processes, comprehensive plan amendments would be held to a stricter level of service standard at the highway. Staff feels that Highway 58, which is also a truck route and is receiving improvements, would be a better truck route. There is also a lot of public comment, particularly from residents of the McKenzie Valley, opposed to the Freight Route designation of Highway 126 east. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15,2004 Page 2 . Mr. Arnis introduced Robert Marshburn and Jerri Bohard from ODOT. Mayor Leiken asked if the county held a public hearing and if they voted to delay the comment . d i peno. . Mr. Arnis said they did hold a public hearing and the city submitted testimony for that meeting. Two letters were also submitted to ODOT with questions about the consequences of this designation. At that time, the county voted tentatively to accept all designations with the exception ofthe McKenzie Highway. Jerri Bohard, Planning Section Manager from the SalemODOT office introduced herself and Robin Marshburn, ODOT Planner. She distributed packets to the Mayor and council which included the timeline, current staff report and maps. The maps show the recommended revisions and two other technical maps. There are many other maps available on their web site at http://egov.oregon.gov/ODOT/TD/TP/FRAP.shtml#Documents. ODOT did extend the deadline for comments to January 7. The comments received by that date will go back to their Freight Route Advisory Committee. The public hearing before the Department of Transportation Commission is scheduled in May. Public comments can occur through May, but those coming by the January 7 deadline will go as a package to the advisory committee meeting. When the committee forwards their recommendation to the commission, they do it with full knowledge of the public input that has been received. They have received a number of comment letters and formatted them in a summary table. That table is also located on the website. Lane County provided some good questions and ODOT is working on responses to those questions along with other questions. . Mr. Marshburn gave a power point presentation. Mr. Marshburn said there is an existing State Highway Freight System that has been in place since 1999. It consists of key state highways with significant tonnage of freight. These are the primary connections to ports, intermodal terminals and urban areas. Freight routes are not necessarily truck routes. Trucks move on all state highways and the term freight route is not the same as a truck route. Freight route is more of a planning term that is used to identify those freight routes of statewide significance that are important to the movement of freight. There are now approximately twenty one hundred miles of statewide highways. Mr. Marshburn referred to a map which showed the existing State Highway Freight Route system. He referred to another map showing the Freight Route System established by the Metropolitan Policy Organizations (MPOs). The Central Lane MPO areas which are important for good movement include all National Highway System (NHS) highways in the MPO area. In January the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTe) included changes to the Oregon Highway Plan (ORP) to simplify the highway system designation process. Part of this included local support . necessary to designate an area an urban business area. During the process, some of the stakeholders were concerned about the impact of these and future highway designations on Freight Routes. Both the stakeholders and the OTC felt it was important to look at the freight system anc;l the methodology used to determine which highways get designated. An advisory committee was formed to assist in this process. He described the members of the advisory committee. Councilor Fitch asked who was representing the city on this committee. Mr. Marshburn said there was a city representative from the City of Redmond. . Councilor Fitch asked who was representing from Springfield. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15,2004 Page 3 . Mr. Marshburn said there was not a representative from every city. They tried to keep the group from getting too large. Councilor Fitch asked who from Lane County was on the committee. Ms. Bohard said a representative from the Association of Counties and a representative from the League of Oregon Cities (LOC) were on the committee. They did not look at jurisdictions, but looked statewide. Mr. Marshburn said that is why it is important to receive feedback from the jurisdictions during this time. Mr. Marshburn said the staff report included in the packets they received tonight . included information on the Oregon Highway Plan on freight, the methodology used to identify the State Freight Routes, the significance of a Freight Route Designation, and additional criteria proposed to identify additional freight routes. They applied the criteria and considerations and came out with the recommended freight routes. Changes to the OHP were also discussed. There is a list of jurisdictions. . Mr. Marshburn said there are five areas of significance in the staff report. One of those is Highway Segment Designations and Special Transportation Area (STA's). The highways that function as a freight route in the STA's need to be balanced with the local accessibility and circulation, taking into consideration the pedestrians, bicyclists, and the treatment of the downtown to make it more attractive. In those STA areas the freight route would be balanced with those design considerations. STA management plans are required for STA's on the freight routes. He discussed another designation called the Urban Business Area (UBA). UBA management plans are also required for those highway segment designations as well. The highway plan requires a slightly higher mobility standard, which means less congestion for those highways on the freight routes. He discussed access to the highways. Mr. Marshburn said highway design is an area of significance. In the Highway Design Manual consideration is taken regarding the highway functional class and whether or not it is part of the State Freight System, existing truck volume, the number of trucks on the highways at that time and the types of trucks. Highway Design issues impacted by the Freight Route include the road width, median barriers, and intersection design. In rural areas it affects the on and off ramps and grades. Mr. Marshburn said another area of significance is funding. House Bill (HB) 4021 states that 'in developing the STlP, ODOT shall give priority to freight mobility projects on identified freight routes of statewide or regional significance'. There is a STlP guidance document that recommends the Oregon Highway Plan policies including I.C., be considered in the development STIP, modernization and preservation projects. Councilor Ballew asked if the modernization and preservation projects on the STIP meant any request for any street within the city or only those that are part of the state highway. Mr. Bohard said it is primarily what is in the state system. Mr. Marshburn showed a map of highway segment designations. The Oregon Highway Plan states the freight system designation does not guarantee additional state investment. . Ms. Bohard said there are 130 freightway designations and 99 NCA's. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15,2004 Page 4 Mr. Marshburn said that in summary, the recommendations of adding the 119 additional highways would bring the total to 30 II, about a forty three percent increase in the State Highway Freight System. He said ODOT would like comments from the council by January 7, 2005; however, comments after that time are equally important. The final product will be a recommendation to the OTC in May 2005. Ms. Bohard said page twenty of the staff report shows a summary table outlining the existing system and the recommended additions. Mr. Kelly asked if the state staff would make a recommendation or if there would only be the recommendation from the committee. Ms. Bohard said the hope is that the recommendation would be one in the same. If there are substantial concerns, those concerns would be forwarded on to the commission as well. The decision would be by consensus. She explained the process of the committee and the sixteen issues that were considered. The ODOT staff would make a recommendation to the committee after reviewing the staff report and the comments received. The advisory committee would then agree or disagree with staff and try to work through the disagreements. Mr. Kelly asked how they would evaluate who is most opposed. Ms. Bohard said staff would go back and look at the criteria and factors. She discussed the information they have received from the citizens. They do not yet have all of the information from the local governments and citizens. That is the reason for these discussions. . Councilor Fitch said if local jurisdictions have concerns, those concerns can be expressed, but may not change anything. With no representation on the committee, locals may not be heard. She asked ifODOT would take responsibility for affects upon property as it pertains to Measure 37. Ms. Bohard said the Department of Justice is looking at the implications of Measure 37 and ODOT has talked to legal counsel about these projects. Enactment of these projects would be close to the time when those questions could be answered. Legal counsel from all agencies are working on this. It may come to a point where the Department of Justice recommends postponement of any designation until those answers are known. Councilor Fitch asked ifthere would be an opportunity to designate only a portion of a route. Ms. Bohard said ,it is important for comments to include why the designation is not wanted and why it doesn't work with the local planning effort. Councilor Fitch said there would need to be financial input on things that may need to be done in the city that would cost the city additional money. That is a major concern. Ms. Bohard said the advisory committee meetings are open meetings. She said she would inform Mr. Amis of upcoming meetings. ODOT staff will bring all comments to the OTC. When the advisory committee meets and forwards their recommendation, there would be enough time to get that information out to the affected jurisdictions allowing them time to respond. Mr. Marshburn said the route proposed through Springfield is already an NHS and an expressway. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15, 2004 Page 5 . Ms. Bohard said it is one of the highway designations so it has increased traffic. The modifications of the 1.B. Policy were to categorize the highway segments that are Special Transportation Areas (STA), Urban Business Areas (UBA) and Commercial Centers. ODOT suggested designating highways that already had characteristics of those, but were not yet on a freight system. There would be no need for a management plan as there has already been planning in the STP or a comprehensive plan that has been done. There was more of a recognition that more planning work would need to be done on a highway segment than a freight route. They tried to pull apart those that were on a freight route and those that were not. Councilor Fitch said if the city has to do more planning there would be more cost at the stafflevel. Mr. Amis said Mr. Boyatt from ODOT discussed the Expressway Plan with council last month. In that sense the city could fund our participation. If the section of Thurston was designated as a freight route, a management plan would be required in that area. It doesn't require the city to do a planning in and of itself necessarily, but would participate in any ODOT plans. Councilor Ralston said he sees no reason to support this. Every indication is that this will be contrary to improvements the city wants to make in that area. Highway 58 as a freight route is adequate. There is an insignificant amount of difference for someone going to Bend. This would make it more restrictive than what the city wants to do along that section of the road. There was no representation on the committee and he doesn't feel they can make a recommendation. He has had no indication from anypne that this is a good idea, especially those that live along the McKenzie Highway. Many driveways enter onto the McKe~ie Highway and traffic is already heavy enough without additional truck traffic. . Councilor Woodrow asked about the logic of designating Highway 126 as a freight route when there is already four other freight routes going over the Cascades. Ms. Bohard said there were some concerns by organizations such as Federal Highways and Oregon Trucking about the function of the National Highway (NHS) highway designation. Highway 126 is already NHS. There are a number of freight routes that cross the Cascades. She referred to the table on page 11 of the ODOT Staff Report that was distributed to the Mayor and Council. She suggested including those comments in the letter to the advisory committee. Councilor Woodrow said the McKenzie Watershed members are very concerned because of the scenic designation and accessibility to their property. Ms. Bohard said it is difficult for property owners when they don't know what it going to happen. This designation is recognition of what needs to be considered in the future. It is possible that it could impact a development that may want to go in along this route. Councilor Woodrow said the concern of the McKenzie Watershed Council is extra trucks, extra pollution and potential spills. Ms. Bohard said this designation does not impact the number of trucks. . Mr. Kelly asked if this designation would mean that over time more trucks would use this route. If not, he asked what the issues of making this designation might be, such as more direct routes, etc. There are issues of livability and access for those living along this route. He asked if there were any environmental criteria regarding such a designation. He discussed the issue of a truck going . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15,2004 Page 6 off the road into the river or stream which would affect the water source. Those issues should enter into the consideration. Ms. Bohard said those issues are factored in a limited capacity. This isn't a project but a planning effort. She said those are important comments and the input they are looking for as they bring the recommendations forward. . Councilor Lundberg said her biggest concern is that the city remains well informed of when the meetings will occur and action i's scheduled. She would want to know if this designation would increase truck volume and the costs of roadways. She is concerned that there will not be enough time to make comments. Ms. Bohard said it is important for the advisory committee to have as much of the information as possible. All of this is on the web site for reference at http://www.odot.state.or.us/ Councilor Fitch said once this designation was put into place, certain requirements would go into affect immediately. If there is no change on truck volume in the beginning, perhaps it could be phased in so the city doesn't have to meet the requirement of this new designation without the increase in traffic flow. She asked staff to bring that forward in their comments. Tom Boyatt, Planner from ODOT, said when a freight route designation is implemented the increase would be during project development and project delivery. The decisions regarding which projects to fund with limited resources come up from the city, through MPO, and through Lane County. The county or the city would be recommending the project. . Councilor Fitch gave an example of development in Jasper Natron and the requirements it would face under this designation. Mr. Boyatt said that intersection is already an expressway intersection so its mobility standards would be the same as a freight route. Mr. Marshburn said only a part of the expressway could be designated a freight route. Mayor Leiken said he would be curious to know how many state Memorandum of Understandings (MOU' s) are in place regarding local jurisdictions taking over responsibility for state system roadways. OTC would like to see more local communities taking more responsibility for state systems. He said this could potentially be an additional cost to the city. In the prioritization of maintenance and preservation, the freight system goes to the top of the list. This is a time for comment and there is plenty of time to contribute and be heard. He said he appreciated their time. Ms. Bohard said they appreciated the opportunity to present to council. She left her business cards with Mr. Amis and said she would keep Mr. Amis informed of upcoming meetings. 2. Arts Commission Applications Review. Librarian Barbara Thompson presented the staff report on this item. The Arts Commission has two vacancies on its board due to term expirations of members Nada Zawodny and John Keskinen. Ms. Zawodny has served since 1993 and is not eligible to re-apply at this time. Mr. Keskinen has served since 200 I and is eligible to re-apply. . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15, 2004 Page 7 . John Keskinen, Don Anderson and Carol Hartley have applied for the position. Ms. Hartley's application arrived November 8, after the November 5 deadline for submitting applications. The Arts Commission reviewed all three applications and met with the candidates at the regular November meeting. The commission believes all three candidates are well qualified to serve. All candidates possess expertise that will benefit the commission. The commission recommends that John Keskinen be appointed for a second term, with a term to expire December 31,2008. Mr. Keskinen, as a currently serving member, brings experience as well as expertise to the commission. The commission also recommends that Don Anderson be appointed for a term to expire December 31, 2008. The commission believes that Mr. Anderson's record of community involvement will be of special benefit to the Springfield community. The Arts Commission believes Ms. Hartley to be well qualified as well. She has very recently moved to Springfield and expressed enthusiasm for volunteering. The commission is hopeful that Ms. Hartley will re-apply for future openings in the Arts Commission and will encourage her to do so. All three candidates meet the residence requirement that members have a business or reside within the 97477,97478, or 97482 zip code areas. The appointment is scheduled to be ratified at the regular session, December 6, 2004. . Councilor Fitch noted the application for Ms. Hartley came in after the deadline, but she hoped Ms. Hartley could be involved in some other way. Ms. Thompson said the Arts Commission was working with Ms. Hartley to involve her in some other way and they are hopeful she will apply for future positions on the Arts Commission. Council agreed with the recommendations from the Arts Commission. 3. Eugene-Springfield Metro Area Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. Senior Management Analyst Bob Brew presented the staff report on this item. The cities of Eugene and Springfield have been involved in the preparation of a Eugene-Springfield Metro Area Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan in an effort to maintain eligibility for pre- and post-disaster mitigation funding available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Disaster Mitigation Act of2000 (Public Law 106-390) encourages and rewards local governments that are involved in hazard mitigation planning. In order to receive funds under this law, FEMA requires all u.S. communities, regions and states to produce mitigation plans for all naturally occurring hazards that may take place in their area. Local communities are required to have their plans drafted and approved by their governing bodies, the State and FEMA by November 2004. . Building on work that was begun following the floods of 1996, the City of Eugene applied for and received a grant in 2002 from Oregon Emergency Management Agency to begin work on a mitigation plan. Recognizing that a major natural disaster would not likely be limited to the City of Eugene alone, Chuck Solin, Eugene's Emergency Manager, invited the City of Springfield to . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15,2004 Page 8 participate in the preparation of a plan specific to the Eugene/Springfield metropolitan area. The Springfield Executive Team directed staff to work with the City of Eugene to develop the plan. This was advantageous for Springfield because there was no available staff to manage the preparation of a separate plan for the city. The City of Eugene contracted with Goettel & Associates Inc. to write the plan. Goettel & Associates have been involved in a number of mitigation planning projects on the West Coast, including the plan for Clackamas County, which was the first approved plan in the nation. FEMA regulations require community participation in the planning process. This includes the involvement of community stakeholders in planning meetings, confirming community data about previous losses, and evaluating exposure to future events. A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) was established to provide input into the development of the plan. The TAC included members from various City of Eugene and Springfield departments, local utilities, and the Army Corps of Engineers. The draft plan was then presented at two public meetings held in September in Eugene and Springfield. Copies of the plan have been available at the city offices and the Libraries of Eugene and Springfield, as well as on the web. The City of Eugene held a work session on October 13 and adopted the plan by resolution on November 8. Mr. Brew introduced Chuck Solin, Emergency Management Advisor for City of Eugene. Mr. Solin gave a power point presentation on this topic. . Councilor Ballew asked ifby accepting this there would be requirements that would cost the city additional money. Mr. Solin said it would empower the city as emergency managers, but would not cost additional money. Mr. Karp said the resolution states that funding sources had been identified. Mr. Solin said this plan is a big carrot for cities. The Federal Government just released the mitigation funding plan for the next fiscal year and there is a large amount of money. Emergency management includes four steps: 1) Mitigation, which is preventing emergencies; 2) Planning; 3) Respond; and 4) Recover. Mitigation is the step that takes place before something happens and help prevent emergencies from occurring. Mitigation means less emergency response and less emergency recovery costs to the community. Examples of mitigation projects include homes on stilts in flood zone areas, improved storm water drainage, and undergrounding power lines. Mr. Solin said the federal government had strict guidelines and an outline that was followed for this plan. Clackamas County was the first community in the United States to have an approved mitigation plan. This gave Eugene and Springfield a good model to use when creating their plan. A consultant was used to assist and grants were received to pay for some of the costs. They reviewed the hazards and the frequency and. severity of those risks. They identified Eugene and Springfield's goals, objective, priorities and actions for reducing risks to the community. Mitigation plans are planning guides, not regulatory documents, but a tool to use. Adopting this plan is not putting in regulation. . Mr. Solin said this plan would help the community deal with natural and human-caused hazards rationally, effectively and in a cost-effective manner. It is required by the Federal Emergency City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15,2004 Page 9 . Management Agency (FEMA). The State of Oregon is taking a stricter stance regarding this plan. Any community in Oregon that doesn't have one of these mitigation plans adopted by February 28,2005, the deadline for grant applications, won't be eligible to submit for grants. The Federal Government has given communities until the grants are issued to have a plan in place. To get the Pre-FEMA mitigation funds, a community must have a mitigation plan in place. FEMA funding often covers seventy five percent of a project. He gave examples of projects Eugene may be looking at for grant funding. The elected officials of the community must adopt the plan rather than staff sending it to FEMA on their own. Mr. Solin said hazards were evaluated such as floods, winter storms, landslides, wildland/urban interface fIres, earthquakes, volcanic hazards, dam safety, disruption of utility and transportation systems and hazmat incident. The Army Corps of Engineers was in on this project. The Utility Companies are the prime candidates for many of the mitigation projects. Mr. Solin said this is a living document and changes may be made over time. FEMA has done their final review of this document and have approved it based on adoption by both cities within sixty days. Councilor Fitch thanked Mr. Solin for including Springfield in this plan. She .asked if Eugene and Springfield would have to submit grant requests together since they did the plan together. Mr. Solin said each agency could apply separately. The cities of Eugene and Springfield and agencies such as EWEB and SUB could submit grant applications individually. . Councilor Ballew said SUB, EWEB and other agencies were mentioned. She asked if they need to adopt their own plan because the city cannot speak to their needs. Mr. Solin said they do not. FEMA said there must be a county p~an and individual cities can have their own plan. Utilities and sub-units under the cities do not have to have own plan. They should be involved and give input, which they were, but do not have to have their own plan. Councilor Ralston asked if FEMA had updated their floodway maps. Mr. Solin said they had not. This is the best available information. Councilor Ralston referred to a map on page 10-19 labeled "Relative Amplificaion Hazard Zones in Eugene". He asked for explanation about the section identified by orange in west Eugene. Mr. Solin said amplification has to do with seismic risk and these are the most current maps they received from the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. There is an area in West Eugene with a propensity for increased seismic activity. He discussed areas around Eugene and Springfield that have had some earthquake activity. Councilor Ralston asked what was located in that area. Mr. Solin said these maps are not that specific or' accurate to identify specific buildings. Councilor Woodrow asked if Glenwood was included in the Metro area and Rainbow Water District. . . City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes November 15, 2004 Page 10 Mr. Solin said that was correct and the Rainbow Water District had been a participant. He said the Springfield staff contributed a great deal to this plan and he appreciated their work. 4. Request to Vacate a Remaining Fragment of Right-of-Way Formerly Known as County Road 221 - Hammer Industrial Subdivision. City Planner Mark Metzger presented the staff report on this item. County Rd. 221, a half-mile long abandoned roadway crossing the Hammer Industrial Subdivision, was vacated in April 2003. The vacation followed negotiations between the city and John Hammer concerning an agreement dedicating right-of-way for a multi-use path within the Hammer Industrial Subdivision. Right-of- way (ROW) agreements are often negotiated concurrent with a vacation action. In this case, the vacation agreement was signed several months after staff work for the original application was completed. During negotiations for the multi-use path, a 6636 square-foot fragment of right- of- way was added to the original vacation application. The added fragment was inadvertently overlooked by both staff and the applicant when the vacation application was submitted for action by Planning Commission and Council. This action vacates the fragment of County Rd. 221 that was missed during the original vacation process and fulfills Section 1. A. of the "Agreement Providing for the Vacation of Certain Segments of Olympic Street Right of Way and Providing for Dedication of a Multi-Use Path," signed by John Hammer and the City of Springfield in February 2003. . The applicant has complied with the conditions of the original vacation application that called for easements and access ways to be reserved from the right-of-way vacation to protect access to utilities on the site. No further conditions of approval are recommended for the approval of this request. Based upon the findings made with respect to the criteria for approving vacations of rights- of- ways listed in Section 9.030 of the Springfield Development Code, staff recommends approval of the request. The agreement was already negotiated. The Planning Commission recommends approval and no testimony was received for this issue. The Mayor and council thanked Mr. Metzger for bringing this to their attention. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 pm. \" Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa . Attest: ()~ Amy Sow . . City Recorder