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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/21/2012 RegularCity of Springfield Regular Meeting MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY, MAY 21, 2012 The City of Springfield Council met in regular session in the Council Chambers, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, May 21, 2012 at 7:00 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Pishioneri, VanGordon, Wylie, Moore, Ralston and Woodrow. Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City, Attorney Matthew Cox, Planning Secretary Brenda Jones and members of the staff. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Lundberg. SPRINGFIELD UPBEAT CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Claims a. Approval of the April 2012, Disbursements for Approval. 2. Minutes a. March 13, 2012 — JEO Public Hearing b. May 7, 2012 — Work Session c. May 7, 2012 — Regular Meeting d. May 14, 2012 — Work Session 3. Resolutions 4. Ordinances 5. Other Routine Matters a. Adopt a Motion to Approve a Special Procurement Process for the Springfield Police Department SWAT Team Rifle Replacement. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO APPROVE THE CONSENT CALENDAR WITH CHECK #113896 OF THE APRIL 2012 DISBURSEMENTS REMOVED. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. ITEMS REMOVED 1. a. Check #113896 of the April 2012 Disbursement. e City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2012 Page 2 Councilor VanGordon declared a conflict of interest because check #113896 was to his employer, United Parcel Service. He abstained from the vote. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO APPROVE CHECK #113896 OF THE APRIL 2012 DISBURSEMENTS REMOVED. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 5 FOR AND 0 AGAINST (1 ABSTENTION — VANGORDON). PUBLIC HEARINGS - Please limit comments to 3 minutes. Request to speak cards are available at both entrances. Please present cards to City Recorder. Speakers may not yield their time to others. BUSINESS FROM THE AUDIENCE William Vaughn, 4410 Aster Street, Springfield, OR. Mr. Vaughn said he was before Council several months ago and was still trying to get a stop sign in front of his house on the corner of 44th and Aster. He had 173 signatures from his neighbors to get a stop sign put at this location. Following the recent traffic study, he was to meet with Len Goodwin, but they had not yet met. A week ago on Sunday he witnessed a 19 year old boy get hit on a bicycle at this intersection. Richard Perry, an engineer with the traffic division, told Mr. Vaughn that the only way around the federal guidelines was for the City to put up a stop sign for him. He was tired of finding injured people. Staff told him there were only two accidents on record at that location, but Police provided him with reports of four accidents. Yield signs had been put up, but were not working. He wanted a stop sign as this was a dangerous street. He had a copy of all of the signatures with names and numbers. (The document was entered into the record.) There was.a new dead end sign and street light at this intersection, but neither helped. Mr. Grimaldi said staff was still in the process of completing the study and Mr. Goodwin would be meeting with Mr. Vaughn. Councilor Pishioneri said he had taken interest in this and assured Mr. Vaughn that they would follow up once the studies were complete. Mr. Vaughn said it was only a matter of time before someone died. Mayor Lundberg thanked Mr. Vaughn for coming and noted that Mr. Goodwin would get in touch with him when the study was complete. 2. Gretchen Harris, 904 65th Street, Springfield, OR. Ms. Harris said she owned a duplex and was protesting the legality of Ordinance 6269. She was sure Council consulted the City Attorney before they enacted this ordinance, but she wondered if any of them consulted their dictionary. According to Webster, the definition of a `business' is an `occupation, trade, or profession; operations of a detail or trade industry, or commercial enterprise; a firm; a factory; a store'. She said she was none of those. Webster described an `investment', as `the investing of money or capital to gain interest or income'. Ms. Harris said she invested in her duplex and was not a business. In investor was described as one-who invested in stocks or bonds or real estate. Everyone knew that real estate was one of the best investments. An investment didn't require a business license. When she was reaching retirement age, she did not have a pension or savings account, and. she knew she could not live on Social Security alone, so she invested in her duplex to help pay her high property taxes and supplement her Social Security. There City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2012 Page 3 were home businesses that should be required to have a business license. She noted that the City was not requiring assisted living facilities to pay a fee for each apartment rented, or retirement apartments. Those were businesses, but buying a single family home or duplex to rent out was an investment, not a business. Ordinance 6269 was illegal and was concocted behind closed doors. She felt it was taxation without representation as no one was notified. She was told it was enacted because there were so many tenants that had complaints about property repairs that the owners were not taking care of and the City had to send out inspectors to investigate. It seemed logical that if that was the case, the owner would be charged a fee if the complaint was valid. If the complaint was not valid, the tenant should be charged. There were no City programs related to small scale rental properties, or rental code in Springfield to justify the fee. The City was looking to stabilize the General Fund budget on the backs of small scale rental property investors. This ordinance must be abolished and any money collected should be refunded. 3. Ken Eilers, 449 9th Street, Springfield, OR Mr. Eilers said he was not here to offer criticisms or complaints about the rental property business license. He had the privilege of living and doing business in Springfield for almost 60 years and it had been a privilege. He was surprised when he received the notice in the mail for the business license, but he realized it amounted to only $0.87 per month. The amount didn't bother him; however, the ordinance passed last July after the current budget was set. He suggested that since the invoices didn't arrive until just recently from the ordinance passed last July, the City should just forget the next year and begin assessing the license fee for next fiscal year and put it into that budget. He thanked the Council for their time and their service to the community. 4. Irene Alltucker, Relief Nursery. Ms. Alltucker said the Relief Nursery had reached a milestone and raised enough funds to break ground on June 19 at I0:00am. She invited the Mayor and Council to attend the groundbreaking. The families were very grateful that they would be providing services in Springfield a year from now. Invitations to the event would be sent. COUNCIL RESPONSE CORRESPONDENCE AND PETITIONS 1. Correspondence from Jim Daubenspeck, Springfield, Oregon Regarding Rental License Fee (see attached staff response). 2. Correspondence from Paul Conte, Eugene, Oregon Regarding Eugene's Decision on the Capstone Project. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE FOR FILING. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. C It ORDINANCES BUSINESS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL 1. Committee Appointments City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2012 Page 4 2. Business from Council a. Committee Reports Councilor Pishioneri reported that he attended the Prayer Breakfast on Friday, May 18, which was well represented by Springfield. 2. Councilor Moore thanked the citizens of Springfield for coming out and voting on Tuesday, May 15. 3. Mayor Lundberg reported on Spring Cleanup. She said it was a fun event and was received well by the citizens. 4. Councilor Woodrow said attending the end -of -the -year Sustainable City Year event on Friday was fantastic. The presentations by the students were captivating and the students were very passionate about their work. It was great knowing the City had been involved as a partner in that project. Mayor Lundberg said Council would receive a format that the City could use. Councilor Pishioneri said being at the Spring Cleanup was great fun. Citizens were very supportive of the event and he had received requests to see if the City could put on this event twice a year. It was a significant event. He commended staff who volunteered their time to this event. b. Other Business- Councilor Pishioneri spoke regarding the renter license program. When Council initially enacted the rental license program, it seemed appropriate. They received very little public input in the last year, but had received a lot lately. Since that time, they had received multiple calls, emails and testimony regarding this license. As a Council, they took the public input very seriously and appreciated the feedback. It was important to respond to it in the right way. He would like the Council to re- evaluate the options surrounding this ordinance and review it during the next regular meeting on June 4. Mr. Grimaldi suggested they hold both a work and regular meeting in the event they chose to take action to modify or repeal the ordinance. The sooner they met on this the better as people were continuing to come in and pay the fee. Councilor Pishioneri asked that staff send out no further notices and stop collecting the fee. Mr. Grimaldi said that was currently being done. Council could direct staff to come back with several options for consideration. Any options would be brought forward in a way that Council could act upon them immediately. Council agreed that they wanted to move forward with that as soon as possible. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2012 Page 5 BUSINESS FROM THE CITY MANAGER 1. Ratification of the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission (MWMC) FYI 2-13 Regional Wastewater Program Budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Environmental Services Manager Ron Bittler presented the staff report on this item. The FY 12 -13 Regional Wastewater (RWP) Budget and CIP document was approved by the MWMC on April 13, 2012. In preparing and reviewing the Budget and CIP, the MWMC convened three work sessions and a public hearing prior to taking action to adopt the FY 12 -13 MWMC Budget. The FY 12 -13 Budget funded all operations, administrative services, and capital projects planned for the Regional Wastewater Facilities. The approved budget included a 1.7% increase in administrative costs and a 3.3% increase in operations and maintenance (O &M) expenses. The increase in administrative costs was primarily resulting from a change in methodology in calculating indirect costs consistent with the MWMC IGA. The increase in O &M was due primarily to an increase in personal service expenses at the treatment facility. The CIP outlined and described the capital projects planned for the next five years. The FY 12 -13 RWP Budget and CIP document reflected a continued focus on the completion of facilities upgrades and expansion, and operations and maintenance activities to provide wastewater treatment for a growing community through 2025 in a manner that protected the public's health and safety, and the environment. The Commission took a corresponding action to adopt a 4% increase in regional wastewater user charges in order to fully fund the Budget and CEP. On May 7, 2012 the City Council held a public hearing on the FY 12 -13 regional rates within the City. Following the public hearing, Council adopted a resolution to set the FY12 -13 regional rate within the City of Springfield. In accordance with the IGA, the MWMC contracted with the City of Eugene for operations and maintenance services, and with the City of Springfield for administrative services. The attached budget document provided regional program and budget summaries as well as detailed budgets for services provided by Eugene and Springfield. The budget document also provided information about how the RWP activities were driven by the MWMC established goals and performance measures. The FY 12 -13 RWP Budget and CIP must be approved by the MWMC and ratified by Lane County, the cities of Eugene and Springfield, and then finally adopted by the MWMC, prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year (July 1, 2012). The Eugene City Council was scheduled to ratify the MWMC Budget and CIP on May 14, 2012, and the Board of Commissioners was scheduled to ratify the MWMC Budget and CEP on May 23, 2012, with MWMC final budget adoption on June 8, 2012. Mr. Bittler noted that the principal budget driver continued to be the 2004 facilities plan. Eighty -eight million dollars had been invested in the regional treatment plan in terms of upgrades. This budget also reflected a continuation of that effort with $23.6M for next year's capital program, with a five-year capital expenditure of $94M. Funding had come from two revenue bonds in the amount of about $94M, and also from State Revolving funds of about $19M. This budget included a 4% rate increase to insure MWMC covered existing bonds and debt service payments, as well as the operations and administrative budget. He was proud of what they had done with the operating budget over the last few years. This showed a 2.8% increase over the previous year, 1.7% for administrative and 3.3% for operations and maintenance. The five year budget for administration had been reduced over the past five year by 6.4 %. That had come through a lot of hard work and adjusting staff as they changed the needs of the capital program. Much of the capital costs were built into the first part of the facilities plan and meeting wet weather requirements. As the regional efforts had reduced the capital output for each of the years, the budget had been adjusted in staffing accordingly. Mr. Bittler outlined the process for each of the jurisdictions to ratify the MWMC budget City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2012 Page 6 There were no questions from Council. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO ADOPT A MOTION RATIFYING THE FY 12 -13 REGIONAL WASTEWATER PROGRAM BUDGET AND CIP. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. 2. Resolution for Electronic Commerce Zone Preparedness. RESOLUTION NO. 2012 -06 — A RESOLUTION OF SPRINGFIELD REQUESTING THAT THE SPRINGFIELD COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE ZONE BE DESIGNATED FOR ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND AUTHORIZING THE SPRINGFIELD CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT THIS RESOLUTION TO THE STATE OF OREGON FOR.APPROVAL UPON A FIRM'S INTEREST IN LOCATING 'SUITABLE FACILITES IN SPRINGFIELD Community Development Manager John Tamulonis presented the staff report on this item. When Springfield extended the Enterprise Zone in 2010, Springfield was considering other permutations to sponsorship and development areas to include in the application sent to the State of Oregon for consideration. Not requested, at that low point of the recession, was adding an electronic zone for those firms primarily using the internet for commercial activities that might consider locating in Springfield. With the economy improving Springfield should consider passing a resolution indicating Springfield's interest in having an E -Zone added to the local incentive package available to firms and allowing the City Manager to present the Council's request for designation to the State of Oregon upon a suitable firm's expressing interest in locating here. Oregon had, perhaps, one remaining e- commerce zone to designate out of 60 and Springfield could be a prime location for a variety of call centers given the range of such facilities now in our community. The `e- commerce' zone had only a small, if any, local effect (related to the minimum value of exempt property for Enterprise -Zone eligible firms) and provided for eligible firms making capital investments and doing transactions on the internet or internet -based computer a credit equal to 25% of the capital investment made in a year against the business's annual state income or corporate excise tax liability (maximum $2 million credit in a year and unused credits may be carried forward over the next five years). He referred to the map in the agenda packet outlining the areas being considered for this zone. Councilor Ralston asked if the entire city was covered under the Enterprise Zone. Mr. Tamulonis said it was not. The map outlined the area which did not include a large area in Thurston and the Jasper Natron area. The Enterprise Zone covered about 11.4 square miles of the 15 square miles that made up Springfield. The City may ask to have the boundary adjusted in the future which could be done through the State. It was not allowed to have the whole city in an Enterprise Zone. Councilor Pishioneri asked Mr. Tamulonis to explain electronic commerce. Mr. Tamulonis said electronic commerce would include businesses that took orders, made sales or purchases, provided customer service or other business activities that occurred over the internet. Councilor Pishioneri asked if this was something that covered home businesses. City of Springfield Council Regular Meeting Minutes May 21, 2012 Page 7 Mr. Tamulonis said it wouldn't affect home businesses since it had to do with investment in property values. If a business was conducted in a portion of a home, it would not qualify. It had to be an investment of at least $50,000 to be eligible. Councilor Pishioneri asked if it would protect against that type of use and protect our zoning districts. Mr. Grimaldi said this wouldn't impact the City's zoning. Mr. Tamulonis said the zoning rules would remain in place with no changes. IT WAS MOVED BY COUNCILOR PISHIONERI WITH A SECOND BY COUNCILOR RALSTON TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2012-06. THE MOTION PASSED WITH A VOTE OF 6 FOR AND 0 AGAINST. Mr. Grimaldi reminded the Council of the Joint Elected Officials meeting on Thursday, May 24 with lunch starting at 11:30am and the meeting starting at 12:00pm. The meeting would be held at the Eugene Library. BUSINESS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY Mr. Cox introduced two new law clerks with the City Attorney's Office, Devin Driver and Alex Gavriilidis. The City Attorney's Office had made arrangements with the University of Oregon's Law School to have two municipal law clerks full -time at the office. The clerks would rotate each semester and would put in between 16 and 20 hours per week in order to get three credits each semester. The clerks would be doing research and writing for the City Attorney's Office. These were very bright students and the City Attorney's Office was very excited to be part of this program. They hoped it would be a long -term partnership with the Law School. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned 7:38 p.m. Minutes Recorder Amy Sowa Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: a0,(,t4WA__ City Rec Oder