Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/2003 Work Session y . MINUTES OF THE GOAL SETTING SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JANUARY 13,2003 The Springfield City Council met in a goal setting session, in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, January 13, 2003 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, and Councilors Ballew, Burge, Fitch, Hatfield, Ralston, and Woodrow. Also present were City M~nager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Recorder Kim Krebs, Administrative Coordinator Julie Wilson, and members of staff. Mayor Leiken welcomed new incoming Councilors Stu ~.urge and J ohn Woodrow. 1. Welcome and Overview. City Manager Mike Kelly welcomed the Mayor and City Council and briefly reviewed the agenda (Attachment I) for the meeting. He said that each year the City Council conducted an annual goal setting session. The purpose ofthe session was to adopt five-year goals and to review or revise targets for the upcoming year. Goals are usually established looking forward five years. The annual targets describe what was planned for the upcoming year. Targets generally support the accomplishment of the five-year goals and the annual targets are used in the preparation of the annual budget that is presented to the Budget Committee during the spring of each year. . 2. Environmental Scan. Economic Development Manager John Tamulonis introduced this item. He circulated a handout of the PowerPoint slide show he presented. The information included in his presentation was prepared by the Lane Council of Governments and included information from the most recent census results and strongest indicators we currently have. The presentation highlighted the following: . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 1990-2000 Annual Average Growth Rate Springfield Area Population Trends Population 2000 Minority Population Distribution Comparison of the Hispanic Population Race and Ethnic Distribution 2000. Age Distribution/Percent of total Population Springfield Age Distribution 1990 and 2000 2000 Median Age Springfield School Enrollment 1990-2000 Springfield Household Type 2000 Family TyPe Comparison Springfield Average Household Size Comparisons Owner/Renter Springfield 1970-2000 Housing Springfield - Census 2000 Percent Owner Occupied Units Springfield Residential New Construction 1970-2000 Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session - January 13,2003 Page - 2 . . New and Existing Residential Home Average Sale Price . Springfield Housing Type 1980-2000 . Lane County Nonfarm Employment . . Total Employment Comparison . Employment 1990-2000 . Springfield Covered Employment 1978-1998 . Educational Attainment in 2000 . Springfield Education Attainment 1990-2000 . . Percent of Households Who Moved into their Home within the last 5 years . Year Springfield Householder Moved into Home by Owner/Renter . Percent of Person who speak English less than "very well" by language spoken . . Disability status . Proportions of person with a disability by age . Unemployment Rate 1980-2000 . 2000 Occupational Mix . Comparison of Income in 1999 . Percent of Person in poverty 1980-2000 . Percent of Persons below Poverty in 1999 by age . Income Characteristics · Median Value for Owner-Occupied Units · Households Paying 30 Percent or More for Housing · 2000 Median Contract Rent/Lease Comparison · 2000 Means of Transportation to Work . Mr. Tamulonis responded to questions of the council related to his presentation. Responding to a question from Councilor Ralston regarding the difference between the median household income and median family income, Mr. Tamulonis said that a family was more than three persons; the average household size was 2.5. He suggested that a household could have a higher income than a family because it could include two working members. He noted that the Springfield and Bethel school districts had a higher number of three- and four-bedroom houses than other metropolitan areas, and those were the areas that younger families were locating in. Mayor Leiken asked ifBethel-Danebo had DSL access. Mr. Tamulonis did not know. Mayor Leiken said that would be interesting information as he believed that such access was very attractive to young families. Mr. Goodwin did not know if the area had been upgraded. Councilor Ballew asked if the figures were adjusted to account for University students. Mr. Tamulonis compared the Eugene average household of 2.2 to the Springfield average of 2.5 and said that the difference could be attributed to University students. That also skewed income and rental numbers. Referring to educational attainment, Councilor Ralston asked Mr. Tamulonis to explain the difference in the bachelor's degree rates between the two communities. Mr. Tamulonis attributed it to the presence of the University and the large number of graduate students and faculty members. '. Councilor Ballew asked if disparity between economic levels in the two cities would be reduced if University salaries were backed out. Mr. Tamulonis thought it would be substantially closer r Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session -:- January 13, 2003 Page - 3 . but there would be no match because of the different professional types that affect the numbers in Eugene. Councilor Ralston determined that the information before the council did not compare the number of students in the two communities that went on to higher education. He asked ifthat information was available. Mr. Tamulonis said he might be able to get that information from the census, but it would take some time and was difficult data to extract. Referring to the Citizen Survey (Attachment III), Mr. Kelly said the information was presented as background. Staff had not planned to provide a formal presentation on the survey results, but was prepared to respond to any questions. . Referring to page 29 of the survey and the information related to proj ected voter turnout, Councilor Burge said it is important that the council be cautious of making decisions based on the information contained in surveys such as this as they might not be accurate or complete. Councilor Hatfield thought Councilor Burge's point well-taken. 3. Review Current/Existing Five-Year Goals. Mr. Kelly reviewed the existing City Council Goals 2002-2007 (Attachment V). . . Provide financially sound, stable City government . Utilize resources efficiently and effectively to meet citizen needs. . Expand the Springfield economy creating family-wage jobs. . Continue to make Springfield a safe community. . Deliver quality services. . Participate in a renaissance for Springfield. . Partner with citizens and other public agencies. . Preserve Springfield's small-town character. Councilor Burge asked if meetings of the Springfield Renaissance Development Corporation (SRDC)were open to the public or only to members. Before approving any further funding for the effort, he wanted to know if the public was welcome to these meetings. Councilor Fitch said that all the SRDC meetings were open to the public. Councilor Burge indicated he had expressed previous interest in attending but was told he could not. Councilor Fitch said she was unaware of anyone being turned away from attending and indicated she would follow-up. 4. Proposed Changes to Five-Year Goals. . Councilor Burge asked if the last item was related to limiting growth. Mr. Kelly indicated that the meaning of the item lay with the council. In the past the council had discussed the concept in terms of Springfield being big enough to meet everyone's needs and small enough to care about the citizens' needs. Councilor Burge thought the item subjective. Councilor Hatfield did not perceive it as a no-growth policy, but rather a way to maintain neighborhood identity. He cited the Thurston area as an example of a distinct neighborhood that could be negatively affected by, for example, redevelopment of Main Street as a strip commercial area, or enhanced by maintaining the neighborhood commercial character of existing areas along the street. Councilor Burge questioned the difference between Main Street from downtown to 60th Street and Highway 99 North. Councilor Hatfield agreed there was little difference at this time. He said that it was r Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session - January 13,2003 Page - 4 . his sense that Thurston residents were more likely to conduct businesses along that part of Main Street rather than in downtown. Councilor Burge asked if the Thurston neighborhood typically supported bond measures. Councilor Hatfield said generally, no. Councilor Fitch recalled that during the Springfield Update discussion with citizens, citizens expressed a feeling of a community with a character that was smaller town and "blue collar" in nature: "we're here, we have jobs, we work together, and we fmd solutions together." It was not so much of keeping growth down, but retaining the small-town image as Springfield grew. Councilor Burge assumed that the Thurston area had a higher percentage turnout in elections. If the area consistently voted against bond measures but demanded services, those two factors conflicted. Councilor Hatfield agreed that was an issue. He noted that Thurston had an identity based on self-reliance, such as its efforts to privately fund the Thurston High School football stadium. Councilor Burge questioned if the area preferred to de-annex. Councilor Hatfield did not think so. . . Mayor Leiken suggested that eventually the council would have to defme what a "quality" service . was. Councilor Fitch suggested the reference to "quality" services be changed to "quality priority services." Mayor Leiken agreed. He said he did not see the tax structure changing any time soon, and the community would be affected by the same economic conditions affecting the remainder of the state. Until the economy improved, the council would have to cre~te a defmition of a quality priority service. . I Councilor Burge suggested that the situation facing local government was the same as individuals faced in their personal budgets: government could spend what it could afford. If the community wanted additional quality services, it would have to decide that and then determine if it was willing to pay for them. Citizens would get what they paid for. Councilor Fitch agreed with Councilor Burge. She said that the citizens indicated support for services such as fire and police through the passage of the bond measures, which she characterized as a band-aid. It was now the council's task to determine how to make the funding permanent. Councilor Burge noted his support for the bond measures related to public safety. He said it was the council's responsibility to keep the community better informed so the citizens were able to make good decisions when they voted. He believed that City Hall had been honest with its citizens, and in turn the community had been benevolent when asked for money for public services and schools. He believed the citizens would make the right decision when asked, and would protect its investment in its infrastructure. . . Councilor Hatfield believed that the Budget Committee needed to have a philosophical discussion about how it approached service reductions; would it do piecemeal reductions, or eliminate entire programs. He noted the City's limitations on expanding its budget and noted that the annual cost of government was exceeding the allowable growth percentage each year. He suggested that the City could keep using the fee-for-service approach, but he believed the public would tire of that eventually. Councilor Burge agreed, saying that over time people may wish for lower and lower taxes, but when they got them they may find they got what they did not want. He did not think I Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session - January 13, 2003 Page - 5 . the community paid an exorbitant amount of taxes for the services it received. Councilor Burge believed that the council could trust the community to understand the facts regarding the services they received. Councilor Ballew suggested that at this time the council may have no changes outside of minor "tweeks" to the existing goals. She suggested that one possible "tweek" could be to revise the goal under discussion to read "Preserve the community's historical character." Councilor Burge endorsed alternative wording. Councilor Hatfield suggested that the intent of the goal was that the community worked together to solve its problems. Councilor Burge suggested "Maintain a community of character." Councilor Ralston liked the use of the words "small town" because some of the things that come with larger cities were things Springfield wanted to avoid. He interpreted "small town" as being neighborly. Councilor Ballew suggested the council move on and reconsider the goal later. Councilor Ballew suggested that the fifth goal be modified to read "Deliver prioritized quality services." Councilor Fitch said that the council was always going to provide quality services, but the need to prioritize services should be emphasized. . Councilor Ballew suggested that the council needed to capture the need for the tax base to include properties assessed at a higher valuation as well as 'affordable family housing, pointing out that the occupants of affordable family housing tended to be younger families who were more prone to be users of the system because they had children in school and made greater use of the infrastructure. Commercial and industrial properties and higher end residential properties overall pay more taxes and use fewer services. Councilor Burge concurred with Councilor Ballew. He said that there might be more demand for services from a property valued at $85,000 than from a property valued at $500,000. In addition, Springfield had many multi-family developments, in cases valued at $30,000 to $35,000 per unit, and in some close-in areas those developments generate more than 100 calls for police service annually. He thought that a better nexus between those who create the demand for service and the cost of that service was needed. Councilor Burge suggested charging such units an annual $15 license to capture those costs. He said the City must have housing at all levels to be a viable community, and the City should consider middle-income and high-income housing as well. Councilor Ballew suggested that such an approach would improve the City's tax base and that could be added as a goal. Mayor Leiken pointed out that Springfield must expand its tax base in order to deliver needed services to its citizens. He believed that fostering commercial and light and medium industrial development opportunities was necessary. Councilor Fitch suggested the following modification to the third goal: "Expand the Springfield ,economy creating family-wage jobs with an expanded tax base." There was general concurrence. . Mr. Kelly determined there were no further changes to the goals. Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session - January 13, 2003 Page - 6 . Referring to the one-year targets, Mayor Leiken was pleased to see the priority given to Glenwood Development. He believed that Glenwood was more ready for development than the Jasper-Natron area because of the existing infrastructure serving the area. He said he believed the 'area would be a "gem" in the future. There were many property owners in the area interested in partnering with the City. He wanted to put more emphasis in this area., Council members expressed agreement about the importance and potential of Glenwood. Councilor Hatfield suggested the Council remove Jasper-Natron off the high priority list and move to a mid-priority list until it was processed through the many road blocks it is facing. He noted that Glenwood had better access at this point in time. There was general concurrence. 5. Maior Work Plan Activities for 2003. Mr. Kelly reviewed the proposed work activities for next year. Mayor Leiken suggested that as the City worked through complex issues, such as amending the municipal code and addressing mandates from other levels of government, it work to better educate the public about the origin of the amendment or mandate; in order for the public to understand what is being done. He said the media could be used to accomplish that goal and called on staff to think more about the issue. . Councilor Burge suggested it would be useful if the City identified every service it provided to the community, the origin of the service, what it cost, and the source of the funding. When the City was faced with a new unfunded mandate, the Council could let the public know who wanted it to spend money to provide that service. Councilor Burge added that if such mandates came without funding, the City should tell the mandating agency to do the job itself. Councilor Ballew observed that the Council needed to keep in mind that the City was a political extension of the State government, and not an island to itself. While she agreed that unfunded mandates were very irritating, she was unsure the City always had a choice. Councilor Fitch noted that the Council had such a list of services that were developed previously by staff. Councilor Hatfield said voters were tax-adverse because they questioned the provision of certain services as opposed to other services. He said the council needed to be prepared to address those questions when it discussed cuts in service. It might be discussing a discretionary service people really wanted or a mandated service nobody really cared about. Councilor Hatfield agreed that the council had a role in educating the public about such mandates and the fact the City was not always master of its own destiny. . Councilor Fitch referred to the money realized from the sports complex/Chambers property exchange and said if the City was to expand its tax base, that funding should not be used as a band-aid. She suggested that it be used as investment capital, perhaps in Glenwood now or Jasper-Natron later. She believed that rather than applying band-aid solutions to the problems of nonprofit social service providers, the City would be better off bringing those providers together to work together toward a solution if Ballot Measure 28 failed. Councilor Burge concurred. While he did not want the Council to lose its sense of compassion, he favored carrying reserve funds so the Council could take advantage of opportunities when they arose. Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session - January 13, 2003 Page - 7 . Councilor Hatfield also agreed with Councilor Fitch, and suggested that the City Council would be better off creating an investment opportunity fund rather than attempting to provide stop-gap funding to social service providers. Councilor Burge noted his ongoing objection to the City's contractual agreement with the University of Oregon for funding of Hayward Field improvements. Mr. Kelly clarified that the City signed an obligation to make a best effort to provide $15,000 annually for 20 years. He said that the City Council could ask the City Attorney to explore legal ways to void that agreement. Finance Director Bob Duey noted that the City had approximately four years left on that obligation. Councilor Ballew said she agreed about the importance of having healthy reserves. However, she did not want to limit the City Manager and his staff from coming forward with a budget proposal to the council if, for example, the City was contemplating something as severe as closing the library. Councilor Fitch preferred taking another approach to maintaining libraI}' services, such as a merger. Mr. Kelly called attention to the work activities for 2003, noting a focus on the budget and some significant decisions facing the City. He anticipated staff would return to the Council sometime in the year with a fire district and library district proposal. He briefly described the scope of work required for those efforts and the required regulatory processes. . Responding to a question from Councilor Burge regarding the use of any money left over from the four-year fire levy if a fire district formation was approved before the levy expired, Mr. Kelly explained that the district, if formed, would likely over the levy by one year, and the council at that time could make choices about the levy and timing of the district start-up. Councilor Fitch said that if the City could complete work on the district in four years that would be great. Councilor Burge said he just wanted to ensure the City did not get into a "double-dipping" situation. Mr. Kelly explained that the voters would have to agree not to file a remonstrance petition. Councilor Fitch said she was asked to serve on the committee formed to discuss the feasibility of a new fire district, and would bring updates to the council as discussions go on. She invited other councilors to contact her with questions. While she was willing to accept it, Councilor Fitch asked if the council's change in the priority of the Jasper-Natron area sent the wrong message to the property owners that had been supportive of the City's efforts. Councilor Hatfield suggested that it would be the County, rather than the City, that would send the wrong message, given the County's threat to defundthe Jasper Road extension project. Councilor Fitch asked if changing the priority would send the wrong message to the Board of County Commissioners regarding the City's interest in the road project. . Mr. Kelly briefly discussed the status of the Jasper Road Extension and negotiations with the property owners for the right-of-way needed for the road extension. He said that the County Commissioners have indicated they had another use for the funds intended for the project. At this point, it appeared that the Oregon Department of Transportation had approved a Phase 1 Plan. Parties to the project were in agreement that construction could begin this year. Dan Brown ) I , Springfield City Council Goal Setting Session - January 13, 2003 Page - 8 . Public Works Director indicated that in approximately 45 days, the County Board would evaluate whether the project should go on to Phase 2.' In response to the issues voiced by Councilor Fitch, the Council agreed to leave the activity in its current priority position and defer a decision on the issue until later. Responding to a question from Councilor Ballew, Mr. Kelly provided additional information regarding the feasibility study for the conference center. He noted that the Chamber of Commerce and Lane County Convention and Visitors Bureau were sponsoring the feasibility study. If anything came out of the feasibility study, he anticipated the City would be asked for $10,000 in funding for the next phase of the project. Referring to the Booth Kelly redevelopment, Mayor Leiken asked that staff, as it moved forward, include what he termed the "Gunderson factor." He said that if Gunderson were stagnant or laying people off, the council needed to know that. Development Services Director Cynthia Pappas noted that staff would know if its grant application to the Environmental Protection Agency Ground ,field Grant Program was approved sometime in April. TEAM Springfield . Mr. Kelly referred to the information regarding TEAM Springfield distributed to the council. He reviewed the agenda of the TEAM Springfield meeting scheduled for January 16 at 3:45 p.m. at School District # 19. He said the information contained a letter that the TEAM Springfield partners would review. He recommended that the City sign on to the letter, which was addressed to various Public Organizations, Representative Groups, etc. suggesting that a long-term collaborative process be developed to the State's budget problems. He asked by a show of hands who would be attending the TEAM Springfield meeting. By a show of hands, the Mayor and Councilors all responded in the affirmative. Mr. Kelly asked if there were any additional items for discussion that the Council might want to take forward to the TEAM Springfield meeting. Mayor Leiken said he would suggest that the Oregon Business Council be included as a recipient of the letter. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. , Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs . A~~ Kim Krebs, City Recorder