Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/27/2003 Work Session . MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2003 The city of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, January 27,2003, at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. I ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield (via conf. phone) Ralston and Woodrow. Councilor Burge was absent. Also present were City Manager Michael Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi, City Attorney Tim Harold, Clerk III Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. 10- Year Service Plan Assistant City Manager Gino Grimaldi and Finance Director Bob Duey were present for the staff report. Mr. Grimaldi said the intent this evening was to determine where to go next regarding the 10-year service plan due to changes in our financial situation, etc. He referred to the three alternatives listed below. At the January 12,2002 goal setting session, the City Council received preliminary information regarding the City's 10-year financial forecast. At the April 1, 2002 work session the City Council continued the discussion of the 10-year outlook. At that time, the City Council developed a general outline of how to develop a plan that would result in a 10-year service plan. . The major steps for preparing a 10-year service plan include the following: . . Select performance indicators · Establish acceptable levels of service for each performance indicator (Attachment I) · Determine cost to provide acceptable levels of service (Attachments II and III) · Identify funding gaps and identify alternative ways of closing the gaps Staff has determined the cost to provide the service levels established by the City Council. Costs are in current dollars. Cost estimates are only provided where service levels have been established that are above existing levels. City council direction is needed regarding the next step(s) in establishing a 1O-Year Service Plan. The following alternatives exist: 1. Review the service levels established by the City council in light of the cost to provide the service; make adjustments; and prioritize service level increases. Create a strategic plan for increases in services when the city's fmancial situation improves. 2. Prioritize services not part ofthe 10-year service plan and explore the elimination of low priority services in order to fund higher priority services. This effort would involve a detailed inventory of all city services. 3. Do nothing and revisit the 1 O-year service plan after the city has achieved financial stability. . Councilor Hatfield said that to achieve levels of service we need to look at options. Some of those revenue options include the Police and Fire Levies and the Fire and Library Districts. He nott;:d that we have serious revenue issues. We need to look at service levels and perhaps reduce our expectations to service levels that we can afford. We need to look program by program and subscribe to eliminating some programs and reallocating the funds. '''.. . Springfield City Council Work Session Minutes -January 27,2003 Page - 2 Councilor Ballew would like to see more time spent on looking for ways to enhance the Library with funds available. We have taken steps with the Police and Fire levies, DSD development fees and the TSMF fees for the Street Fund, all of which have given us several years. Councilor Fitch clarified that Councilor Ballew recommended option three - do nothing except look at the Library for the short term. Councilor Woodrow agrees with Councilor Ballew considering we don't know the outcome of Measure 28. He feels we may need to table this until we have a better idea of the fiscal ramifications. He agrees with option number 3. The time period was discussed. City Manager Mike Kelly described the process for going forward with consideration of a Fire District. He said if Council decided to go forward with this and we begin that process soon, City of Eugene and Lane County will probably join in this effort and look at both a Fire and Library District. Another option, as Councilor Ballew had said was to appropriate funds from the general fund for the Library or Library District. Mayor Leiken mentioned that Mayor Torrey of Eugene spoke of the Library services in his State of the City address. Mayor Leiken also mentioned the Lane Library League. Library Director Bob Russell said they have been working on the League for a couple of years. Councilor Ballew asked about a County Library. . Councilor Fitch asked if there was an estimated date of when we would know who was willing to work on the possibility of a Library and/or Fire District with Springfield. Mr. Kelly said that staff would bring forward initiation of the Metro Plan by the end of March. , At that point, council would be part way through the annexation issue with Willakenzie. ' There was discussion of proposed Fire Districts and Fire Districts in place throughout the state~ Councilor Hatfield felt that a modification of#3, pursuing both the Fire and Library Districts, was appropriate. He suggested Council revisit it in a couple of months. Councilor Ralston does not advocate raising more fees or taxes. He feels that option #2 offers the best solution by prioritizing services and determining which services we can provide. He is willing to explore the Fire and Library Districts. Consensus of the Council is to wait until the end of March to proceed. Mayor Leiken asked Finance Director Bob Duey if any federal dollars would be coming our way. Mr. Duey said that the only federal money we would see would be standard money through the CDBG program and other specific grants. He said one thing staff would do is to update the numbers to 03-04 FY to keep things current. Mayor Leiken would like to hear what staff and the public has to say about prioritizing. It's important to hear what the public wants for services. . Springfield City Council Work Session Minutes - January 27, 2003 Page - 3 . Councilor Ralston said he agrees. We want to provide the best services we can afford. Ultimately the public pays for the services so he feels it is important for citizens to be involved. Mr. Kelly said the first step is for Council to decide the template of what information is included. Why we do it, how we do it, who's involved, cost, etc. Staff can prioritize by department. Council and the public can then decide which items are the highest priorities. He said we will revisit this in the spring. 2. 2003-2008 Capital Improvement Program City Engineer Al Peroutka was present for the staff report. He said that the usual process is to advertise in the paper to try to receive feedback from the public and agencies, and then the staff. The Springfield 2003-2008 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was reviewed at the Planning Commission's January 7,2003 meeting. The Commission recommended council approval of the plan with one modification. The Planning Commission recommended adding funding to modify appropriate existing traffic signal heads to allow a permissive left turn after the end of a protected left turn movement. This type of signal phasing increases the efficiency of handling turning traffic at a signalized intersection. Mr. Peroutka pointed out that further information on the major features ofthe proposed CIP was contained in the attached memorandum to the Planning Commission (Attachment A). He asked council to save and bring the attached CIP document to the February 3 CIP public hearing. Mr. Peroutka referenced a chart outlining the different projects to be complet"ed. He noted that preservation projects do not receive funding from the street fund. . There was discussion regarding where funding is coming from and which projects will be funded. Mr. Peroutka explained that funding was available for maintenance and operations, but not preservation. Councilor Ralston acknowledged how important it is for the citizens to see the work being completed, especially in some of the areas that are most traveled and visible. Mr. Peroutka explained that there are many sources of money for different projects. They have given conservative estimates on things like the SDC fees. He described several of the projects on the chart. Discussion was held regarding the fund being commingled, but the usage tracked separately. Mr. Kelly reminded council that they determine uses of funds by passage of ordinances, etc. A summary of the fee systems could be brought to council if needed. Councilor Ballew asked if revenue from the gas tax might go down with higher gas prices. It is difficult to predict. Councilor Hatfield signed off at this time (6: lOpm). 3. Franklin Boulevard Design Concepts . Planner Susanna Julber was present for the staff report. She said an extensive amount of infrastructure development and maintenance will take place on Franklin Blvd. between summer Spnngfield City Council Work Session Minutes - January 27,2003 Page - 4 . 2003 and 2005. How these projects will compliment the redevelopment of the Glenwood Riverfront depends on Council direction and agency cooperation. She referred to the questions included in the AIS: 1. What is the Council's long term vision for the Franklin Blvd. corridor? 2. How does the Council want Staff to respond to development applications in regard to implementing that long term vision? 3. How does Council want Staff to work with LID to achieve that vision? 4. Would Council prefer that the sidewalk money be used for improvements at strategic locations or along the whole corridor? A vision for Franklin Blvd. is necessary so that future funding opportunities and regulation of redevelopment can be taken advantage of, to result in a transformation of the roadway. In the short-term, our best opportunities to move towards that vision come with the work that is being done by LTD around the BRT stations in Glenwood, where curbs and sidewalks are planned to be moved back, and with the ODOT and potential Transportation Enhancement Grant funding ($300,000 and $250,000 respectively), which will be available for sidewalk improvement along Franklin Blvd. The funding available through these projects will not be sufficient to fund a vision which includes roadway widening and setback sidewalks throughout the entire length of the road, but could be used strategically to establish such a pattern of improvements in strategic segments of the road. Ms. Julber said that staff is looking for Council vision and direction to proceed with a grant proposal. Several grant applications are due and there are time constraints on when money from these grants needs to be spent. . Ms. Julber said the attached drawings are early concepts. In all the examples, BRT is not included, because in the short term it is located in the median of Franklin Blvd. through Glenwood within mixed traffic. Each design incorporates the following design assumptions: (1) Because of ODOT regulations, lane widths cannot be narrowed; (2) Franklin Boulevard will continue to be the primary east-west corridor connecting Eugene and Springfield; and (3) no traffic calming allowed on the state highway. Staff recommends example 3 as it provides the greatest benefit and safety for motor vehicles, pedestrians and bicyclists, and will do the most to encourage greater private investment in Glenwood. Councilor Ralston felt that option 3' was too excessive and would cause too much of an impact on existing businesses. He felt option 1 was the only one that was feasible. Councilor Ballew said she had the same concerns that Councilor Ballew had regarding taking too much property. She likes the trees and lighting, but does not want to harm businesses. Ms. Julber said that even option 1 would impact businesses. She discussed the issue of power poles and the conversations staff has had with SUB Councilor Woodrow asked if they had estimates for each option. Ms. Julber gave estimates for each option, but pointed out that each estimate is very rough. . Springfield City Council Work Session Minutes - January 27,2003 Page - 5 . Discussion was held regarding the costs and where the funds would be coming from. Grants would be pursued if Council directs. Councilor Fitch asked if staff had received input from citizens. Ms. Julber said that they had talked to citizens and had different views from different groups of people. Homeowners had a different vision than business owners. Discussion was held on the amount of property used for sidewalks and why it was placed the way it was on the examples. Council could direct otherwise if they did not agree with examples. Mr. Kelly reminded Council that this is a process that will be going on for some time. He said that many folks in the Glenwood area would like it to remain a nice place to live. At this time Glenwood is viewed as a place that is a high potential, high value riverfront property with commercial/industrial development areas. Whatever is developed in Glenwood will be there for 50 years. How Franklin looks will be a large factor in developers wanting to come in and invest. Mayor Leiken said we need to continue long term discussions with SUB because their h1volvement is necessary. He is also interested in bringing in the private sector regarding opportunities in this area. The private sector will look to see how committed the government is to this project. He feels there also needs to be good dialogue with people living there. We need to look at all options. He said because Franklin Boulevard is a state sYlitem, we need to have dialogue with ODOT to see if they are willing to participate. There are members of the community who are very committed to this area. . Councilor Fitch discussed example 3 and asked how many access points we would loose. Ms. Julber said they are looking at that with ODOT's assistance. ODOT has been a good partner in this project. Discussion was held regarding ODOT's commitment to this project and what will occur after the project is completed. Councilor Fitch brought up the legalities of this project in relationship to the vision. She also asked about the grants. Ms. Julber said that by asking for option 3, the opportunities would be greater with the larger sum of money. This would be our starting point in securing funding. Discussion was held regarding the matching funds and ODOT's overlay and sidewalks. Discussion was held regarding bike lanes and sidewalks and the need for ongoing conversations with the people who live there and what their needs are. Mr. Kelly asked for high level preference, not necessarily detail. Once grants are secured, details can be worked through. Traffic Engineer Brian Barnett a'sked for more clarification for a grant proposal. . Mr. Kelly said that council is not comfortable at this time giving consensus. He suggested that staff move forward with the grant application. Once the grant is successfully secured, staff can . . \ . Spnngfield City Council Work Session Minutes - January 27,2003 Page - 6 come back to Council with more specifics on the plans. Council can then determine if they want to accept the grant or not. 4. Springfield Mill Race Ecosystem Restoration: Proiect Update Maintenance Manager Ed Black, Environmental Services Manager Susie Smith, and Technical Services Manager Len Goodwin were present for the staff report. Mr. Black introduced Steve Killgore and Dennis Spencer from McKenzie Forest Products who would be available to answer questions. Mr. Black said the purpose of this evening was to give council an update on the Mill Race project and answer questions. This project has been slow but steady due in part to the Corps of Engineers. Mr. Black explained that two of the issues that were recently resolved were the project boundary and buffer strip. Environmental Services Manager Susie Smith pointed out . that part of the negotiations for the new boundary has enabled them to include the storm water quality management facilities necessary for Booth Kelly. The Springfield Mill Race Ecosystem Restoration Project includes the following elements: (1) relocation and construction of a new inlet approximately 1800 feet upstream at Clearwater park; (2) connecting the new inlet to the existing mill Race by re-establishing flows in a wet weather slough; (3) removal of the Mill Pond dam and fish ladder; (4) replacing the pond with a meandering stream, wetlands and several seasonal ponds; (5) construction of afire protection water supply pond; (6) installation of a Mill Race education/recreational facility; and (7) improvement and rehabilitation of stream and riparian area conditions. The total project cost is estimated to be $4 million. It is anticipated that the City's real estate (either currently owned or to be acquired) contribution to the project will satisfy the local match (about $1.4 million) ofthe project cost. This year's United Front federal lobbying effort includes request for $2 million of completion of the Corps' Mill Race Restoration Project, and $l million for restoration and enhancement ofthe Y2 mile reach of the Mill Race which is downstream from the Corp project boundary. Project plans and specifications are scheduled to be completed by September 2003, and construction is scheduled to begin in April 2004. Next October the Corps and the City finalize negotiations on the Project Cooperation Agreement; this agreement will establish the roles and responsibilities for completion of the project as well as the City's ongoing responsibility to manage the resulting ecosystem improvements. Mr. Black said that they have received more of a project schedule from the Corps and he feels confident that they will stick to the timeline. He referred to the chart outlining the timeline. An ongoing part of this project is the purchasing of real estate. Once the design is done they will want to go on with construction. Mr. Black referred to the ongoing negotiations for real estate. He noted that staff will need to develop a maintenance development. plan for this proj ect. He said that the Endangered Species Act requirement will be included in fmal design. Improvements downstream for water quality have been included in the plan. Councilor Ballew asked if funds from the 1996 bond were still available and if there was a time, constraint on when that money needed to be spent. Mr. Duey said we have already made one payment and are in good shape. Councilor Ralston noted several property owners present and asked what their concerns were regarding negotiations. Spnngfield City Council Work Session Minutes - January 27,2003 Page - 7 . Mr. Black said that the properties being negotiated for are specific properties, and those have . already been identified. Citizens present voiced concerns that there was not clarity about whose properties would be negotiated. One citizen mentioned that the City and County have different rules, cultures and needs. She invited Councilor Ralston to visit her property so she could show him all that has happened there. Mr. Woodrow asked questions regarding the photo outlining the project area. Mr. Black described the ponds within the project area including the pond that McKenzie Forest Products uses for fire protection. Mr. Black discussed water quality for these ponds including installation of a high velocity channel to cool the water. A citizen who was present expressed her concern with the mill race not being cleaned and storm water drains. Mayor Leiken would like to learn more about their concerns and discuss this issue at a later time after staff has had a chance to brief council. Discussion was held regarding pond depth. . Mr. Kelly acknowledged the concerns of the citizens present and other citizens regarding this project. We need to be able to deal with these issues without people feeling lied to or deceived. Mr. Kelly suggested the citizens put concerns in writing so they can be dealt with appropriately and factually. Mayor Leiken offered to schedule a time for himself, any interested councilors and a staff member to come out to the citizen's property to look at the situation. Councilor Ralston said he would visit as well. The citizen has concerns about certain staff on her property. Mr. Kelly recommended she either put her concerns in writing or allow the Mayor and council members to visit her property with a staff member. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:12 p.m. Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa , .