HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/15/2003 Work Session
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City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2003.
The City of Springfield council met in work session in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street,
Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, September 15, 2003 at 6:02 p.m., with Mayor Leiken
presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Leiken and Councilors Woodrow, Burge, Fitch, Malloy (6:10 pm) and
Ralston. Also present were Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas, City Attorney Joe Leahy,
City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilor Ballew was absent (excused).
Mayor Leiken asked Chief Murphy to update council on the hydrogen leak from the tanker that
was in the Springfield city limits. Chief Murphy explained the events leading to the truck driver
diverting to Springfield's off-ramp. Eugene Haz-Mat, Springfield Fire, Eugene Fire and Lane
Count)' arrived on the scene. He described the evacuation process and the decision to evacuate
nearby residents and businesses. He discussed the venting process and the time involved.
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Chief Smith described some of the traffic issues that occurred today and the possibility of the
same tomorrow if this is not resolved soon. He discussed the location of evacuation centers and
the phone number for citizens to call.
Ms. Pappas discussed the school issue and how they will notify schools when they can return to
respective sites.
Discussion was held regarding costs and the responsible party. The transporter is responsible for
costs incurred.
They discussed the offload vehicle and the distance it was from our site. Chief Murphy said
there will be an 11 :00 pm update available.
1. City Prosecutor Update.
Assistant City Manager Cynthia Pappas introduced City Prosecutor Dave Logan. Mr. Logan has
served as our City Prosecutor for nearly 20 years. He is here to update council on city prosecutor
functions and activities.
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Mr. Logan gave a brief work history, focused on Springfield. He is an independent contractor
supervised by the Assistant City Manager, Cynthia Pappas. He still maintains some private
practice as part of the contract and teaches a class in Criminal Law at Lane Community College.
He discussed some of the cases he prosecutes that include a large number of misdemeanors,
which he described. He explained the decision four years ago to incorporate all the state statutes
so all could be tried in Springfield Municipal Court, which he feels was a good decision. He
described his current staffmg and the additional staffthat will join his office resulting from levy
funding. He commended his staff for their hard work. He explained the different classes of
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City of Springfield
Council Work Session Minutes, September 15,2003
Page 2
misdemeanor and the fines that accompany those charges. He discussed briefly the lack of jail
bed space.
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Mayor Leiken asked Mr. Logan about the cost of the jail beds and if he thought it would be
worth it to have those beds at the County guaranteed or are there other alternatives. Mr. Logan
feels that we do need some beds we can rely on to be open for the worst of offenders. He gave
some examples and the need for these beds. Councilor Fitch asked how many dedicated beds we
would need to create a cultural change. Mr. Logan said approximately 40-50 beds would be
needed to really make a change.
Councilor Burge discussed the system in Mariposa County's Tent City in Arizona and the
effectiveness and positive reception it receives.
Mr. Logan and Chief Smith addressed this question and discussed the jail bed issue. They
discussed length of time to book someone in jail.
Councilor Fitch said she would guess that Mr. Logan settles more cases in other ways because he
knows there aren't enough jail beds.
Mr. Logan agreed and discussed some of the alternatives, such as road crews. He discussed
diversion and the positive impact it can have on specialty cases. He explained the increase in
traffic fines from the Oregon Legislature. He feels that this should be explained and posted for
citizens so they realize it is not City driven._-
Discussion was held regarding the exclusiveness of the jail beds being used just for the city and
those beds rented out to the federal government and whether or not this is revenue generating.
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Mr. Logan noted the assistance his office receives from Harold, Leahy, and Kieran's office. He
noted the balance with Police, Municipal Court and the City Prosecutor's Office and commended
Kathy Cunningham. Municipal Court Supervisor.
ADJOURNMENT
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The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 pm.
Minutes Recorder - Amy Sowa
Attest:
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City Recorder
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