HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/02/2012 Work SessionCity of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL BELD
MONDAY, JULY 2, 2012
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street, Springfield, Oregon, on Monday, July 2, 2012 at 6:00 p.m., with Mayor Lundberg presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors Pishioneri, VanGordon, Moore, Ralston and Woodrow
Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi, Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery, City Attorney
Mary Bridget Smith, City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff.
Councilor Wylie was absent (excused).
1. Municipal Court Prosecutor Services to the City of Springfield.
City Manager Gino Grimaldi acknowledged the work done by Purchasing Officer Jayne McMahan in
preparing the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) and assisting in the process. The process was
important as the City looked at changing a relationship that had been in place since 1984 when Dave
Logan first became the City Prosecutor for the City. The City had not gone out to bid until just
recently. There was an effort to do an evaluation through a Request for Qualifications based on a
number of factors, including cost.
Assistant City Manager Jeff Towery also thanked Ms. McMahan for managing this process. The RFQ
that went out in April focused on six areas the City wanted to evaluate: emerging technology;
efficiency of the overall system; streamlining process; cost; external factors such as impact on
defendants from charged case resolution; and ability to internalize the impacts of the Municipal Jail.
Three responses were received: one from Dave Logan, one from the Lane County District Attorney's
Office, and one from Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy. A panel review was held of those
responses. The review panel included Mr. Grimaldi, Mr. Towery, Police Chief Smith, Presiding Judge
Strickland, Court Supervisor Kathy Cunningham, Ms. McMahan and Finance Director Bob Duey.
Consensus of that group was to offer interview opportunities to Dave Logan and Leahy, VanVactor,
Cox and Melendy.
During the interview, it seemed that Mr. Logan's response was to keep things status quo with no plans
for changing or streamlining the process. There seemed to be a large support staff compared to other
agencies. Also, Mr. Logan was the sole prosecutor from his firm with no staff on hand to cover during
vacations or illness.
Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy were interested in process improvement and had ideas of using
technology and other efficiencies to streamline the process. There were multiple attorneys in this
office allowing overflow when people were gone. They had several suggestions of how to improve
docket management resulting in fewer trials being set, less staff for court time, less police time for
trials, less time on the bench for the Judges, and earlier settlement offers resulting in a higher
resolution rate and lower turnaround time. They also showed significant cost savings.
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Council Work Session Minutes
July 2, 2012
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Mr. Duey said the court had been interested in process improvement for about 5 years. It was
important that the court staff, judge, prosecutor and police used the same processes. The court had
been using LaserFiche to electronically process files. They had more electronic documents in the
courtroom making the documents more accessible. They also had online entry in the courtroom which
expedited the process. Many of those improvements occurred prior to the jail opening. The opening of
the jail had an extensive impact on the court system, more than expected. Two FTE were added to the
court staff from the levy to handle the extra workload, but one FTE was lost with General Fund budget
cuts. He discussed other changes that were made to accommodate the jail and noted that because of
that process improvement had become even more important. They were moving to phase III of process
improvement which included implementation of the Tyler software which replaced the AIRS system.
Other improvements included automated phone calls to defendants, better docket management, and
shared files between police, city prosecutor and court. It was very important that each element of the
system kept up with the process improvement. The new technology would be going into effect during
the fall and winter.
Mr. Towery said he understood that many Councilors and the Mayor had contact with Springfield
Police Association (SPA) members who had also spoken with Mr. Grimaldi and Mr. Towery. Their
questions were legitimate and he felt that those questions had been answered through the RFQ process.
There were some issues that would need to be addressed during contract negotiations. Pre -trial offers
for settlement was one topic that had generated some discussion, and that or whatever process was
chosen would need to be worked out through negotiations in a way that worked for the judge. This
was a complicated process and involved people's lives and livelihoods. Dave Logan had served as the
City Prosecutor for many years, was very well thought of throughout the community and had done a
fine job for the community. In the City's changing economic times, 53 positions had been eliminated
in the City organization -over the last three years. Every department had been affected and that was a
point of consideration when looking at the cost factors. They felt strongly about the need for
automation and the needfor emerging technology to create links between the courts, police and jail. It
was expected that the cost savings identified in the RFQ process would be $50,000 plus additional
savings in office supplies and other soft costs.
Mr. Grimaldi said staff would be asking for two actions from Council during the Regular Meeting.
The first was to authorize the City Manager to negotiate a contract with Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and
Melendy. The second action was to extend the contract for six months to allow time for transition. Mr.
Logan was agreeable to that extension.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if someone had been hired for fees collection.
Mr. Duey said they had not yet hired for that position.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if that was part of the collection process and if any part of that could be
shared with the prosecutor's office.
Mr. Duey said they hadn't included the prosecutor in looking at that position.
Councilor Pishioneri said that could be something to consider when they drafted the contract.
Councilor Moore said she met with police officers and listened to their concerns. It was obvious they
had a lot of love and loyalty for Mr. Logan. One of their concerns was regarding office hours. She
asked if while negotiating the contract they could include office hours one afternoon a week. Another
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Council Work Session Minutes
July 2, 2012
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large concern was the paperless issue. It was important to make sure everything was done to ease that
situation and make the transition smooth. Another issue was handing out restitution victim letters. She
asked if that was something that the police currently did as point of first contact.
Chief Smith said there were forms for certain cases. The concern would be if there was an expectation
for police to go back to an investigation to deliver a form. He felt those issues could all be worked
around.
Councilor Moore said the officers assured her that once a decision was made they would work with
whoever was chosen. She noted that cooperation between the Police Department and City Prosecutor's
Department was very important. She asked about the responses from Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and
Melendy, and from Mr. Logan.
Mr. Grimaldi said Mr. Logan responded to the RFQ, but not with the same depth and quality as the .
one from Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy. The initial move to going paperless would not impact
the officers, but was at the court and city prosecutor level. The police had been involved and would be
positively impacted with the new field based reporting system.
Councilor Pishioneri asked what the current hours were for the City Prosecutor.
Mr. Towery said the letters of qualifications from both firms proposed the same number of hours. The
initial letter from Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy proposed 8am -12pm. Scheduling could be
addressed when negotiating a contract to make sure they were available for officers, court staff and
others. The current hours were flexible and were dependent on the court docket. Mr. Logan worked
with the court staff to manage the other aspects of his schedule.
Councilor Pishioneri said that could be harder or easier to work with. He explained possible situations.
Chief Smith said police reports on an arrest were usually turned in before the officer went home.
Traffic citations were routed through the court and not sent to Mr. Logan. If there was a DUII, he
would see them the next business day.
Councilor Pishioneri asked if the Chief saw a negative impact with an Sam -noon schedule.
Chief Smith said yes he did, although he met with Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy about this and
felt it could be worked out. The genesis for all of the anxiety was the loyalty and long -term
relationship the police department and courts had enjoyed with Mr. Logan's office. -
Councilor VanGordon said another issue SPA representatives brought forward was the workload at the
jail when there were no pleas. He asked if that issue had been addressed.
Mr. Towery believed it had been addressed. He felt it was more of a misunderstanding of how the
process worked and whether, or not it would impact officer's workload. Those details needed to be
worked out with the judge and court staff to understand the impacts and minimize the external staff
workload. There were legitimate concerns about access and the uncertainty about how things would
occur. Everyone wanted to move the system forward.
Councilor VanGordon said another concern of SPA was working with multiple attorneys rather than
just one.
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Council Work Session Minutes
July 2, 2012
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Mr. Towery said there were ways to address that concern.
Councilor Moore said Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy had a number of other obligations with
other cities such as Junction City and Oakridge. She asked if that would be a problem and if all four
attorneys would be acting as prosecutor.
Mr. Towery said it would primarily be Matt Cox acting as City Prosecutor. Taylor Murdoch could also
act as prosecutor, with Mary Bridget Smith as backup. Mr. Melendy brought additional capacity to the
firm and Mr. Cox would discontinue most of his business law clients and would focus on the City
Prosecutor's office.
Councilor Moore asked if there would ever be a conflict of interest with the same firm serving as the
City Attorney and the City Prosecutor.
Mr. Towery said that had been addressed to staff's satisfaction. With multiple attorneys in the firm, it
was unlikely they would all carry the same conflict based on a particular file or case. They could
contract with an outside attorney if needed. The same agreement was with Mr. Logan, although there
had been less probability of conflict with him as he served primarily as the full -time prosecutor.
Councilor Moore confirmed that the conflict would be with the attorney, not the firm. Yes.
Mr. Grimaldi said there was potential for awkward moments. He provided the following as an
example: If the City was involved in a labor dispute, a Police officer was terminated but the City lost
arbitration so the officer was still with the City, it might be awkward for whoever represented the City
in that situation to work with that police officer. That was not a legal conflict of interest, but could be
awkward. The way that would be avoided was by having Mary Bridget Smith first on the list of the
attorneys to handle labor relations and last on the list for prosecution services.
Councilor Pishioneri said the City was paying about $6000 or $7000 per year for a subscription to
LexusNexus services for the City Prosecutor's office. Leahy, VanVactor, Cox and Melendy had their
own subscription which the City would not need to pay.
Mr. Grimaldi said currently for the City Prosecutor, there were the contract and the costs for materials
and services. The cost of materials and services would go away.
Mayor Lundberg asked about SPA training. She thought that pertained to how prosecutors wanted
evidence. She asked if that was already done or if it would be different.
Mr. Towery said it might include training if there was new case law about searches or seizures. In that
case, the City Attorney's office would provide that training. There would not be any duplicate training.
1. Springfield Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee.
Brian Barnett presented the staff report on this item. During the May 16'�, 2011 Council work session,
Springfield City Council directed staff to create a one -year pilot Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory
Committee (BPAC). Based on this direction, staff created the committee and held its first meeting on
August 11 ffi, 2011.
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Council Work Session Minutes
July 2, 2012
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A total of six meetings were held over the course of approximately one year. Initial recruitment efforts
for the BPAC illustrated a strong interest from community members to be part of the BPAC and
provide the City with input on bicycle and pedestrian issues in Springfield. Original recruitment
efforts solicited 5 -9 members to join the BPAC. Staff received 15 committee applications. After
Planning Commission (acting as the Committee for Citizen Involvement) review, the Planning
Commission appointed all 15 members, and three ex- officio non - voting members. Staff received
additional community interest after the recruitment deadline.
As noted in the attached BPAC letter of recommendation to Council, the BPAC covered a wide -range
of topics during the past year. Meeting attendance was consistently high and the committee members
were highly engaged in discussion, questions and comments.
Based on the past year's events, staff recommended that the Council direct staff to continue the BPAC
beyond the initial one -year pilot phase. If the Council chose to continue the BPAC, the following next
steps were recommended:
1. Update committee by -laws
2. Re- advertise / recruit committee membership, allowing existing members to reapply
and allow other interested community members to apply.
3. Reconvene committee meetings beginning late summer / early fall.
BPAC Chair Pat Mahoney and committee members Carrie Lynn Welch and Marcy Carico joined staff
in reporting on BPAC progress to -date. Committee member Taylor Murdoch was also in the audience.
Mr. Barnett referred to the letter from Chair Mahoney which highlighted the accomplishments of the
BPAC committee. Although David Reesor was the staff liaison to the committee, Mr. Barnett had
provided support and attended all of the meetings.
Ms. Mahoney said while working at the Olympic Trials, she talked with a couple of students that had
worked on the Sustainable City Year project at the University of Oregon. In order for some continuity
to happen. with some of their ideas, it was important the BPAC continue.
Ms. Lynn -Welch said she had been a resident of Springfield for over 3 5 years. She felt the value of the
BPAC Committee was to provide feedback, solutions and opinions to help solve various pedestrian
and cyclist issues and needs. She believed the committee should continue because they were helping
improve the community in which they lived and commuted daily. Recently the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT) called upon a BPAC recommendation to adjust the speed limit on Oregon 126
north of the Bob Straub Parkway. One of the members had mentioned the speed dynamic on Hwy 126
as it crossed Main Street onto Bob Straub Parkway. The speed on the highway was 55 mph and the
other side at Bob Straub was posted, at 45 mph. ODOT traffic reviewed the situation and as a result of
the suggestion, lowered the speed to 45 just before the intersection.
Ms. Carico said the timing was perfect with this pilot committee and the SCY program allowing them
to get input and learn a lot about the students at the University of Oregon and what they were doing on
their bicycle and pedestrian projects. It seemed to be the right thing to do to continue the committee so
they could implement their ideas and make the City a safer place for people who walked and biked,
and get more people from Eugene over to Springfield to do those things. She enjoyed everything she
had learned on the committee and sharing that with people she knew.
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Council Work Session Minutes
July 2, 2012
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Mr. Murdoch said this had been a great committee. There was a lot of high energy and great citizen
output. People from all walks of life and all areas of Springfield were participating.
Mr. Barnett said there were a couple of letters in the agenda packet from other committee members
including Rob Cook, a blind gentleman who was a member of the committee. He had helped the
committee identify needs for people with disabilities.
Councilor Woodrow said she was very impressed with the committee. She loved having everyone at
the table and coordinating with one another. This effort allowed them to now reach out in every area of
the population.
Councilor Pishioneri acknowledged that the committee had done great work. He asked about process
if a citizen request conflicted with something related to traffic. He asked if it would have to be cleared
by this committee.
Mr. Barnett said the committee was advisory in nature and would continue toward planning policies,
review of policies, encouragement and education. If an applicant came to the City with a request such
as a driveway, it would be processed through the City's normal process based on Code. The BPAC
had no review authority. They would not set policy, but would rather review policy and make
recommendations. They had no authority to make decisions or put policy in place. The bylaws were
very clear that they had an opportunity to provide recommendations, but not of a technical nature.
Councilor Pishioneri spoke regarding the reduction of speed on Highway 126. Several councilors
served on the Highway 126 Plan committee and he would prefer they were contacted prior to the
committee going directly to ODOT or another state agency.
Mr. Grimaldi said he heard Councilor Pishioneri saying they needed to be careful in any situation
when speaking to an outside agency such as a state agency, that we speak in one common voice, not
with differing opinions.
Councilor Pishioneri said he agreed with the issue and had been working hard on reconfiguring lanes
on Main Street at that intersection. He would actually like the speed reduced even further and was
concerned the State might feel they had met his goals by reducing it to 45 mph.
Mayor Lundberg thanked Councilor Moore for restarting this committee. She was very happy with the
committee and the work they were doing. There were many things coming up in transportation and
this was part of the bigger picture. She also wanted to look at capitalizing on recreational activities.
There were two other groups that bicycled: BMX'ers and mountain bikers. The BMX'ers would like
an inside track for their races and activities. She would also like to take a look at our ridgeline for
mountain bikers. They had events in the Portland area, but wanted events in another metro area south
of Portland. It was a great way to bring people to the community. She was looking to the BPAC to
look at these as a side project or to bring those people in as a subcommittee. People from those groups
were willing to come to speak to the group.
Mr. Barnett said the BPAC had a number of ideas of next steps included in the agenda packet. One of
those things was to update the bylaws and part of the mission identified in the bylaws could include
BMX and mountain bikes. Staff wanted to open up the recruitment and have a Council selection
process. Once the new members were on board, the committee could reconvene.
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July 2, 2012
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Mayor Lundberg said they appreciated everyone who had served on the committee to date. They had a
very impressive list of accomplishments.
Councilor Pishioneri suggested they check out a project in Eugene for a national class competition for
BMX. They had identified some grant money and the BPAC might be able to look into that further.
Mr. Barnett said the committee had an ex- officio member from Willamalane who could also help in
that area.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:48 p.m.
Minutes Recorder — Amy Sowa
(_ G
Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor .
Attest:
Amy SoNO
City Rec rder