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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/25/2002 Work Session .- MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25,2002 . The Springfield City Council met in work session at Springfield City Hall, Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, February 25,2002 at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor Leiken presiding. . ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Leiken, and Councilors Ballew, Fitch, Hatfield, Lundberg, Ralston (arrived 5:35 p.m.), and Simmons. Also present were City Manager. Mike Kelly, City Attorney Tim Harold, City Recorder Kim Krebs, and members of staff. GUESTS: Connie Bloom Williams, Chris Watchie, Marcia Maffie, Mark Pangborn, Kurt Corey. Eric Jones, and Larry Hill. 1. Gatewav Commuter Solutions Program. Nick Amis, Traffic Manager was present for the staff report. He began by introducing different members of the Commuter Solutions Program. He said the purpose of this work session was to provide an update regarding this program, . Mr. Arnis said the Commuter Solutions Program is based at Lane Transit District (LTD) and has been in existence since 1995 serving the Eugene Springfield metro area. Commuter Solutions is responsible for implementing what is typically called transportation demand management (TDM) programs that include education, car and van pools, parking management, and various transportation options for businesses, institutions, and employees. He said the program is voluntary and funded by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), with a local match from LTD. Mr. Arnis said the Gateway Transportation Partnership is a pilot project aimed at creating a voluntary transportation management program to offer businesses and employees options to alleviate congestion problems and meet the need of business transportation issues. He said Commuter Solutions and city staff have worked with businesses and agencies to determine what transportation strategies fit business owner and employee needs, and how to form a program for the area. He said businesses such as Symantec, Gateway Mall and Double Tree Inn participate in the Partnership. He said to further solicit business and property owner input, Commuter Solutions staff and the Partnership will host four Gateway area meetings or open houses to be held at different location in the Gateway area. Mr. Amis circulated a postcard, which highlighted the various, dates, times antllocations. Mr. Arnis said the Partnership devised four strategies to implement in the Gateway area. He said those include: 1. Transportation options, programs, and services 2. Planning Structure 3. Marketing 4. Evaluation . Mr. Amis said these strategies would be presented at the four open houses in March. Springfield City Council Work Session- February 25,2002 Page - 2 . Councilor Fitch asked as private businesses develop in the Gateway area, if they were to commit to alternative modes, is the city set up to respond by changing the number of parking spaces required in the development? Mr. Arnis said staff would probably work one on one with each of the businesses. Mr. Kelly said some companies are very much in favor of bus passes, and alternative transit, however at the same time they want to build as many parking spaces as they possibly can. He . said it might take some direction from the City Council and the Planning Commission as to what the objectives are. Councilor Fitch said she would prefer to allow some flexibility, and work with each particular company to see what fits their needs the most. If we can allow that flexibility she feels that would work the best. Councilor Simmons said looking at the Gateway area currently, and as it matures, then the design . of how the building sets up against the street, the desirability of saviIlg dollars in square footage ofthe land, in addition to a number of factors can bring an incentive. He said there would need to be some sort of economic incentive coupled with the desirability of meeting those transportation needs. He said this would need to happen in order to meet the goals of Trans Plan. Councilor Ballew asked what percent of Springfield residents use public transportation? . There was discussion regarding the studies, and the single most significant factor in encouraging people to use transit is parking costs or availability. Mr. Pangborn said people use transit because it is a better alternative than driving, if they have car availability. He said the LTD Thurston route in Springfield is the most heavily used route in the entire system. He said the advantage of the park and ride in Thurston is the convenience of the adjacent shopping area. Councilor Hatfield said parking is an issue for commuters, because of restricted parking. He said if dealing with strictly an employment area, restricted parking might be ok, however restricted parking for a retail or downtown area simply drives customers elsewhere. Councilor Simmons said as part of the solution process related to the open houses, it would be good to have some business data that would show the desirability of what types of services would meet their needs. As we change the dynamics of the Gateway area in the process, it will change significantly, and that planning will be an extreme necessity. Mr. Arnis said there have been a lot of good comments and questions regarding parking, time of day, and employees versus retail. He said what they have heard from businesses in the area and what tends to work in other communities around the country, is that where you have employees it is easier to manage a large group coming in. He said in that respect there is a lot more opportunity to mix and match, whether it's car pools, vanpools, or bus pass programs. . Mr. Arnis said in conclusion, this is a very young program, and hopes this can be a balance between what businesses want to do privately in order to attract customers and employees, and Springfield City Council Work Session - February 25,2002 Page - 3 . what staff is trying to accomplish as a city with the policies and land use ideas. He said from an initial standpoint, it is good for this program to be in playas it creates and begins that policy discussion with the state about how the traffic will be managed in the area. He said as areas are developed, it would be important to determine some strategies and solutions in how the traffic will be managed in these areas. He said it is a great program, and necessary to put in place in this area. Mayor Leiken said this is a good first step, and is glad to see that these discussions are moving fonvard, but said at the same time, it is important that we keep in check with what we are trying to accomplish. Councilor Simmons said all factors considered this type of transportation plarining would be the legacy of this community. He said if we don't do this type of planning, the reality is the next generation would suffer the consequences if we don't think ahead and proceed with this planning. He said, as much as we don't think it is a vital piece, it is an integral part ofthe year 2050 in this area. 2. Street Fund Local Revenue Sources. . Public Works Director Dan Brown, Technical Services Manager Len Goodwin and, Senior Management Analyst Eileen Stein were present for the staff report. Mr. Brown said Ms. Stein and Mr. Goodwin would be making the bulk of the presentation. He said there are three guests from the City of Eugene present, Kurt Corey, Public Works Director, Eric Jones, Public Works Department, and Larry Hill from the Finance Division. He said these representatives are present because the Eugene City ,Council has directed that they coordinate the Eugene street fund efforts with Spririgfield. He said they are available also for any questions that the council may have of them regarding the state of Eugene's efforts. Mr. Brown said Springfield's transportation system is in very good shape. He said its improvement over the last two decades is remarkable. He said this improvement is due primarily to the funding increases that were directed to Springfield in the 1980's, as well as the good decisions that were made by City Councilors, Planning Commissioners, and staff over the past.20 years. He said the fact that Springfield's street funding has taken a tumJor the worse does not make us unique. However, it is clear to staff that the responsibility for future street fund revenues lies at the local level, no longer at the state level. He said the urgency of the street funding crisis is this, while we all know that we are in an e.conomic down time, we also know that if new local funding revenues are not developed in a timely fashion, that the good state of Springfield's street system will decline. He said this decline would carry with it a much greater cost eventually for future Springfield generations. He said simply, to restore the system back to the condition that its in today. He said with each passing year of deferred maintenance and deferred preservation that might occur, the miles of Springfield streets will decline from the category of requiring low cost maintenance, to the category of requiring most expensive preservation. He said from there, they would move to the category of requiring very expensive reconstruction. He said the cost of waiting too long could be very expensive. Just to bring the transportation system back tothe condition it's in today. He said if that is the case so be it, however, staff believes that it needs to be the result 9f a conscious deliberate and informed decision. . Springfield City Council Work Session - February 25,2002 Page - 4 . Mr. Brown said when staff last reviewed the status of the Street Fund with the council in November; the consensus of the council was that staff should be trying to achieve the objective of providing funding at about $2.7 million. He recapped the direction of the council: · Staff was to review current ~pending in the street fund to assure that opportunities to use existing alternative revenue sources had been maximized. · Councilors wished to review the alternative revenue sources that were discussed in March 2001, to reassure that it was not necessary to revisit the solutions, which had not been viewed favorably as solutions to the Street Fund problems. · Staff was to flush out the concepts behind a local fuel tax, and a utility user fee to be charged to residents and businesses to recover costs of maintenance and preservation activities. · Staff was to report on outreach efforts to gauge the sentiments of the citizens with respect to transportation funding. · Pursue changes to design bidding and construction technique in an effort to maximize street life expectancy, and minimize maintenance costs. Ms. Stein said one of the first things that staff prepared given the time of the year was to begin looking at the FY 02-03 budget submittal. She said based on council's direction to prepare a budget that has expenditure reductions in the Street Fund, as well as fund shifts to other SDC funds and sewer funds as appropriate. She referred to a posted wall chart "Street Fund Expenditure Reductions in FY 02-03 Proposed Budget". . Reductions . Net 2.65 FTE Reduction · Miscellaneous M & S Reductions $118,915 25,000 Ms. Stein said what the proposed reductions equate to in terms of service impacts are: Service Impacts · Increased turn-around time for development review and map/graphics production, reduced counter service and ability to provide imalytical support for transportation planning; · Delays in traffic analysis work for high priority projects and reduced ability to update traffic counts; · Reduced number of new in-fill street lights installed per year; · Skin patching on unimproved streets eliminated; · Pothole patching performed only to minimize hazardous conditions; · Street sweeping and curbside leaf bag pickup programs moved to the Sewer Operations Fund; · Tree planting for in-fill and replacemeI)t purposes terminated; and · Loop detector repairs would be made on a priority basis. . Ms. Stein said in terms of service reductions and reductions in the Street Fund budget, and corresponding service impacts, staff wanted council to know that they have taken a look and are making reduction recommendations in this fiscal year, without a revenue source, we will have to make more dramatic positions reductions for the following years. Springfield City Council Work Session - February 25,2002 Page - 5 . Maintenance Supervisor Brian Conlon responded to questions of the council related to skin patching. Ms. Stein explained what a loop detector was, and the important role they play. Councilor Simmons said he would like to see numbers related to street sweeping transition as we move closer to the budget process. Mr. Goodwin referred council to Appendix A (Attachment A, page 11). He said when staff presented revenue alternatives in March 2001, in addition to the local fuel tax and a fee imposed for usage of the transportation system, staff presented three additional alternatives for consideration. Those included 1) a business or Occup<l.tions license or tax; 2) a local sales tax; and 3) a local gross receipts or value added tax. He said the business occupation license or tax is currently being reviewed with an inter-departmental task force as a potential solution for the current difficulties in the general fund. He said Appendix A (Attachment A page 11) highlights information related to the local sales tax and gross receipts tax, and said he would not review in detail, unless council had questions. . Mr. Goodwin said since the March 2001 discussion some additional possibilities have surfaced. He said state law imposes an annual fee for registration of all motor vehicles. He said under current Oregon law, counties have the ability to increase or provide for a vehicle registration fee of the same amount, not more than that imposed by the state. He said this can be done by any county, but requires a vote by the people in the county. He said it also requires if such a fee is imposed, that at least 40% of it must be shared with the municipal jurisdictions in that county. He said he circulated earlier a memorandum from Becky Koble, Finance Department from the City of Eugene, which provides the detail of the statutory provisions that regulate the enactment of such a registration fee, as well as the potential for revenue. He said if the county were to enact such a fee and if it were to be approved by the voters, than the city of Springfield would stand to gain at least $480,000 per year in revenue, assuming the county is will to share no more than they are required to by statute. He said if they were willing to share more than that, the city could get substantially more income. Councilor Hatfield asked if staff knew approximately by lane miles or miles how much road the county maintains versus the city? Mr. Goodwin said in terms of road centerline miles, the county has approximately 1400, Springfield has approximately 180, and Eugene has approximately 500. He said approximately 60-40 split in terms of centerline miles. Councilor Hatfield asked ifthere had been any work in Springfield or Eugene about what an equitable split would be for revenue between the county and the cities? Mr. Goodwin said from Springfield's prospective about 70% to the cities represents a proportion that reflects I) the population; 2) reflects the fact that approximately 80% oftrips in the county at one end are in an urban area; 3) reflects the volume and weight of traffic on the roads. . Kurt Corey, City of Eugene, confirmed that is consistent with Eugene's perspective. Springfield City Council Work Session - February 25,2002 Page - 6 . Mr. Goodwin said another area of issue with respect to the vehicle registration fee, is that the Governor has proposed a similar sort of increase in the state registration fee. He said the proposal is on the agenda for the current Legislature special session, and it is unclear at this time whether or not this would be approved. Mr. Goodwin provided information on how the vehicle registration fees are distributed by the State. Councilor Ralston asked what dollar amount is needed to stabilize the road fund right now? Mr: Goodwin said at the meeting in November, the general consensus was that we were looking at approximately 2.6 M per year. He said even though in the course of this current budget preparation, the number is still about 2.6M. He said there are approximately 3M coming in, and a little less than 4M going out. Essentially there will be approximately 1M short per year. He said. the 3M-dollar figure does presume that the current county payment will continue on a year-to- year basis. He said the county frequently suggests that the coming year will be the last year. Mayor Leiken said one of the difficulties, is that there is a perception that the streets aren't that bad, and no matter what we do to try to enhance, to the staffs credit they have done an outstanding job to maintain our streets. Even from an educational standpoint, no matter how much you try to educate the voters, they will still look at the streets and wonder what we are talking about. . Councilor Lundberg said it wouldn't something Springfield would be selling it would be the county. She said you couldn't sell streets; you have to sell it as they are going to spend less on the maintenance of their vehicles. Ms. Stein said the local vehicle registration fee would have to be enacted by a vote. She said the Council has the option on the local gas tax and the transportation fee to enact those administratively, or ordinance. This would not require a vote of the people. Councilor Hatfield referred to Attachment A page 8, regarding the Transportation System Maintenance Fee (TSMF) table #3 and asked if the numbers listed were annual or monthly. Mr. Goodwin said those sample rates listed are monthly. Councilor Hatfield said in reviewing the options, he does not have a lot of confidence in the county to succeed in an election. He said it has nothing to do with the validity of the proposal. Councilor Hatfield said in reviewing the table on Page 4 of Attachment A "Potential Revenue from Local Fuel Taxes", given the price of gasoline, and the variation, we would probably be able to impose a .5 cent a gallon gas tax, with Eugene doing the same thing, there would be no incentive to shop elsewhere, other than in the county. He said this is something the city would be able to do on it's own. He said the only problem would be a public outcry over an increase in gas tax, but after the educational campaign people probably would not be happy about it, but would probably accept it if they knew the funds went strictly to a road maintenance repair. . Councilor Hatfield said he would also like to look at the change in the formula for the SDC's, simply to put more dollars in the reimbursement fund, and fewer in the capital fund. He said if Springfield City Council Work Session - February 25,2002 Page - 7 . we work with the City of Eugene, begin an education campaign with the public, and go forward with a.5 cents increase that would generate approximately 1M dollars to fill the gap. Councilor Fitch agreed with Councilor Hatfield, and said we need to be very clear on what those dollars are being spent on during the educational campaign, and that the funds will be used for maintenance of roads only, and not expansion of staff. Councilor Simmons said he is conservative, and would support a county wide .2 cent a gallon gas tax. He is supportive of a TSMF of some type, not to exceed $2.00 per month per resident, with a low-income exception. He said the other monthly fees for businesses would need to be modified a little bit. He said he would be supportive of a $5.00 local registration fee..' He said this .is a realistic starting point, as we can support those numbers clearly on the need. Councilor Ralston said he would be supportive ofa 3.5-cent gas tax, and that is what he would suggest. Councilor Lundberg said she would support the change of the SDC formula. She is supportive of .2 cent per gallon gas tax, but would not be willing to take, but then again what would she be willing to take the heat for .5 cents. She said with an emphasis on education for the public in that what they would be paying for is maintenance, and would equate to less maintenance on a persons vehicle, and do not say it is for the good of the public. . Councilor Fitch said she drives by the Youth/Correctional Facility across from Autzen Stadium. She said each time she drives by she is reminded of the citizens who thought they were passing a measure that would pay for a fully funded facility, when in fact 1/3 of that facility is empty because they can't afford to staff or operate the balance of the facility. She said her fear is that if we go for a .2 cent tax citizens will expect that the roads are improved, and when projects can't be accomplished because the funding isn't available, the question raised would be "you took our money, why are we only getting a portion of the roads improved". Councilor Ballew said she would be willing to support the gas tax,.but said she would also support a TUF. Mr. Goodwin responded to questions related to the taxing of diesel. Mayor Leiken said Eugene and Springfield have a common need, and work well together. If the two cities were to negotiate and enact an equal gas tax would make sense, and leave the county out of it for now. Mr. Brown responded to questions of the council related to how and what gas tax funds can be spent on. He said none ofthis information has been factored into this year's budget pending council approval. . After further discussion council would be interested in the following: · May be interested in exploring a local fuel tax somewhere between .2 cents and .5 cents a gallon, coordinating with the City of Eugene; · Reformulate the SDC allocations; · Discuss further the possibility of a TSMF; · Continue with a public information campaign . . . Springfield City Council Work Session - February 25,2002 Page -,.- 8 Councilor Simmons asked City Attorney Tim Harold if the city were to impose a fuel tax is the first imposition legislative, or administrative if a referendum were do be done. Mr. Harold said it would be legislative. 1. State Highway Priorities Traffic Manager Nick Amis was present for the staff report. He said the purpose of this work session discussion is to review a state priority-planning list. He said with TransPlan adoption, the Transportation Planning Commission (TPC) recognizes a need to conduct planning studies for the state highway system in the metro area. Planning studies are required to determine transportation needs, timing and funding. Since there are many possible study locations, TOC will recommend a priority list of such projects for the Metropolitan Policy Committee (MPC) approval. He said Springfield staff from the Public Works and Development Services Departments met and used two broad objectives (reduce congestion, and improve transportation for economic development) to create a "tier one" priority planning study list that includes: · Pioneer ParkwayIHighway 126 Interchange · Main Street/Highway 126 intersection · Franklin Boulevard urban standards and McVay intersection (Glenwood) · I-5/Beltline interchange access management plan The Council discussed the merits of each of the items listed on the priority list (Attachment A) to the Agenda Item Summary (ATS). After further discussion council consensus was to rank the following two priorities as the top two for Springfield: I. Pioneer ParkwayIHighway 126 interchange 2. Franklin Boulevard urban standards and McVay intersection (Glenwood) ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m. '\ Minutes Recorder - Kim Krebs