HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/03/2003 Work Session
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MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION
OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL
HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3,2003
The Springfield City Council met in Work Session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Meeting
Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield Oregon, on Monday, February 3, 2003 at 6:31 p.m., with
Mayor Leiken presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Ballew, Burge (by conference phone), Fitch, Ralston,
and Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Mike Kelly, Assistant City Manager Gino
Grimaldi, City Recorder Kim Krebs, City Attorney Tim Harold, and members of staff.
1. Review Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) Bvlaw Amendments.
Transportation Manager Nick Amis and Tom Schwetz of the Lane Council of Governments
(LCOG) were present for the item. Mr. Amis asked the council to review proposed amendments
to the MPC bylaws to recognize the change in the status of the metropolitan area to be a Federal
Transportation Management Area. That change was impelled by population increases in the
metropolitan area.
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Mr. Arnis called the council's attention to a resolution in the packet passed by the LCOG Board
delegating certain responsibilities of the Eugene Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to
the MPC. The packet also contained changes to the bylaws reflecting those additions, and adding
the City of Coburg as a voting member to the MPC for transportation-related issues.
Responding to a question from Councilor Ballew as to why Coburg was being added as opposed
to Junction City, Mr. Schwetz explained that every ten years the Census Bureau defines what it
calls urbanized areas across the country; those were areas with populations over 50,000 satisfying
certain criteria. Generally those areas had contiguous urban densities, and the boundaries were
drawn on the basis of census tracts meeting those urban densities. A map of the area indicated '
that Coburg was the closest pocket of density to the metropolitan area. Mr. Schwetz said that the
urbanized areas were allowed to draw their boundaries where they believed it made the most
sense. He added that the LCOG Board and staff considered the subject and agreed not to include
Junction City at this time. He anticipated that over time, Junction City would be the first other
small city added to the urbanized area.
Councilor Woodrow asked if Article IV, Section 2.A should not be amended to include Coburg as
a member that could call a meeting of the MPC. Mr. Schwetz clarified that the MPC was a joint
creation of Eugene, Springfield, and Lane County. Since its inception, more responsibilities that
necessitated the need for additional members were added, but the three original jurisdictions
remained the core MPC members, and the three core members were the only ones that could call
a special meeting. Mr. Arnis distinguished between transportation issues that could involve
Coburg and land use issues that were of concern to the three original jurisdictions.
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Mayor Leiken suggested that the addition of Co burg had more to do with the functions of the
MPC in its role as the local Area Commission on Transportation (ACT). Mr. Arnis and Mr.
Schwetz agreed. Mr. Amis said that Coburg's addition reflected a federal requirement rather than
a local decision. Mr. Schwetz added that Section IV A did not mention Coburg because it
defmed what constituted a Coburg, and staff did not want to have the single member from Coburg
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Work Session Minutes - February 3, 2003
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obligated to attend an MPC meeting if it was not necessary. He noted that the Oregon
Department of Transportation, which was a member, was not included in the quorum requirement
and could not call a meeting.
Councilor Ballew determined from Mr. Arnis that currently, the Board of County Commissioners
served as the de facto local ACT. Mr. Schwetz clarified that the ACT process only affected the
prioritization of projects in the State Transportation Improvement Program. The MPO process
included TransPlan and related federal requirements related to transportation.
Mr. Arnis briefly reviewed the responsibilities of the MPO and noted its direct connection to
additional federal funding received by the metropolitan area as a result of that status. He
acknowledged that the status also came with more requirements, such as the mandate for a
congestion management plan.
Mr. Schwetz said staff perceived the change in MPO responsibilities from the LCOG Board to the
MPC as a way to place greater emphasis on the MPO process.
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Councilor Burge noted another recent amendment to the MPC bylaws related to include regional
parks and open space planning in its mission. He did not want to lose sight of the MPC's original
focus, which was conflict resolution between the three parties to local planning documents.
While he supported the changes being proposed, he did not want to give birth to another
bureaucracy with expanded duties and powers. Mr. Schwetz noted that others had expressed the
same concern, but he pointed out that transportation oversight was also an initial charge to the
MPC. He believed that the change being proposed was a good idea, as the members ofthe MPC
were individuals who were actually knowledgeable about transportation issues and they would be
making the decisions regarding transportation. Councilor Burge agreed that was a benefit.
However, he was concerned about diluting the authority of Springfield.
Mayor Leiken thought Councilor Burge's concerns were valid. He was unsure that the council
would be discussing the issue were it not for the fact certain members of the Oregon
Transportation Commission (OTC) were putting pressure on the community to move toward the
ACT process. In response to a question from Councilor Burge, Mayor Leiken clarified that the
bylaws changes were not being put forth by the OTC.
Mr. Schwetz suggested the issues of the bylaws and the ACT were separate and should be
considered as such. He said that the OTC was not demanding that the local area form an ACT,
but they wanted it to behave like one. He said that staff and the MPC continued to work on the
Issue.
In response to a question from Councilor Burge regarding the reaction of the Eugene City
Council, Mr. Schwetz said that Eugene Councilor David Kelly had a minor comment about the
notice requirements for bylaws changes. Mr. Arnis noted that the Eugene City Council had
chosen not to have a work session on the proposed bylaws changes. Mr. Schwetz conftrmed
Eugene Mayor Jim Torrey's support for the changes.
Councilor Fitch said that Springfield's MPC representatives could report to the MPC regarding
Springfield's lack of objections to the proposed changes.
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Mayor Leiken deferred to Councilor Fitch for some remarks regarding the goals discussed at the
recent goal setting session. Councilor Fitch said she requested an extra week for the council to
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get additional comments to staff about the council goals. She did not think that the council's
intent was fully captured by staff, particularly in regard to the revisions the council made to the
third goal statement.
Councilor Burge noted his concern that the recent goal setting process was more staff-driven than
council-driven. He said that the process also seemed rushed. He was not comfortable with that.
He added that he was not condemning staff but wanted to review the procedure and discuss it in
more detail prior to the next year's session. Councilor Fitch indicated that staff was essentially
following the council's direction, but Councilor Burge's remarks could be considered next year.
_ ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p.m.
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Minute Recorder - Kim Krebs