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City Council Minutes - 03/15/2005 Agenda Item No. j For Agenda of 24,DLo ,05 COUNCIL MINUTES TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 15, 2005 1. WORKSHOP MEETING 1.1 Mayor Dirksen called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. 1.2 Present: Mayor Dirksen; Councilors Harding, Sherwood, Wilson, and Woodruff 1.3 Pledge of Allegiance 1.4 Council Communications & Liaison Reports: None f 1.5 Call to Council and Staff for Non-Agenda Items 3 _ 2. JOINT MEETING WITH LIBRARY BOARD , Library Board Members Present: j Marvin Diamond Sue Kasson ' Brian Kelly Ruthanne Lidman =Alternate Jane Smith Suzan Turley, Chair Library Director Barnes introduced this agenda item. She noted that this is the City Council's annual meeting with the Library Board. i Library Director Barnes introduced Library Board Chair Suzan Turley. Ms. Turley then introduced the other Library Board.members who were present. Ms. Turley thanked the City Council for its support of the new library. She noted that people are thrilled with the new space. The library has three and one-half times more space than the old library. Board member Diamond reviewed statistics regarding the new library. Since opening, the library has experienced a 31 percent increase in visitors -- more than 200,000 visitors have accessed the library since its opening. Reference desk transactions are up more than 70 percent and library checkouts are up 14 percent. The number of print and audio visual items processed is up over 20 percent — more than 260,000 items have been processed. Mr. Diamond noted appreciation for the City Council's support of the library. Library Board member Kelly noted that the Library offers lifelong learning opportunities and bedrock services for the community. Library programs and services are offered to all ages. Mr. Kelly reviewed some of the programs available. �f COUNCIL MINUTES— MARCH 15, 2005 page 1 Board member Kasson reviewed that the library has been open from 1-5 p.m. during the last two Sundays., Ms. Kasson referred to a recent survey wherein 71 percent of those participating in the survey requested that Sunday hours be added to the library. On March 6 and 13, approximately 905 people came to the library. Board member Smith reviewed the results of the recent public survey for the. library. This information obtained from the community is important so that the Library Board knows how the community feels about the services being provided. 2,830 surveys were completed this year and were available both in English and Spanish. Last year, 1,265 surveys were completed. Of those who responded, 49 percent used the library four or more times per month. Patrons were asked if they found the materials they were looking for when the came to the library: 31 percent said always, 61 percent said "sometimes," and only .75 percent answered "never." Of those survey respondents who used the reference desk, 97.5 percent rated the service received as excellent or good. 97.5 percent of the respondents who use the check-out desk rated the service as excellent or good. Mayor Dirksen noted the accessibility of the reference desk, which is much better than the old library. Library Board Chair Turley, again, noted her appreciation of the City Council and the City staff. There was some discussion on the peripheral library amenities including the coffee bar and the community room. From the survey comments, people were pleased with the coffee bar. Library Director Barnes noted the community room is available for the public's use; its use is scheduled through city offices. This room has been used for regional training by government agencies as well as by private groups for functions. In response to a question from Councilor Woodruff about the rental income from the library as a potential source for funding library services on Sundays, Interim City Manager Prosser noted that the rate established for the community room was ` only enough to recover costs for utilities and janitorial services. I The library board is working on a Strategic Plan. This information will be presented to the City Council at a later date. 3. JOINT MEETING WITH SKATE PARK TASK FORCE Skate Park Task Force members present for this agenda item: Rich Carlson and Pat Biggs. Staff members present for this agenda item included Public Works Director Koellermeier and Parks Manager.Plaza. Public Works Director Koellermeier introduced this agenda item. page 2 COUNCIL MINUTES — MARCH 15, 2005 Task Force member Rich Carlson reported to the Council on the work to get ready for fundraising. At a recent meeting, there were a number of volunteers who agreed to contact about 80 businesses to raise money for the skate park. A packet of information on the fundraising effort was distributed the City Council. The theme is "Get on Board!" for the Jim Griffith Memorial Skate Park. Fundraising strategies were briefly reviewed with the City Council. Mr. Carlson noted that Mayor Dirksen had signed a letter that would be sent to businesses. There is a plan to publicize the names of those who make a contribution to the skate park. Ms. Biggs noted that, in the packet distributed to the City Council, there is a contribution pledge form. The information contained in the packet was reviewed with the City Council. Councilor Sherwood said it was important to remember to ask those with whom you come in contact about whether they would be willing to make a contribution to the skate park. Mr. Carlson noted that fundraising will continue through May 2005. Information about the Skate Park will be included in the next issue of Cityscape. The skate park article will feature some information about the park as well as asking people to "Get"on Board!" Laura Tietz has donated her time for the graphic design work. The Board members discussed with the City Council the fundraising activities to date and solicited ideas from the Council about how volunteers could make contacts. Mr. Carlson asked for help from City Council members in raising funds. Ms. Biggs is coordinating the list of people contacted. Public Works Director Koellermeier noted that an update on the grant application for skate park funds will be coming to the City Council in April. City Council must give staff the authority to apply for the grant is needed. The grant funds come from state lottery dollars. The grant, if received, would be used to match the pledge of$150,000 by the City. Public Works Director Koeilermeier advised that General Contractor Doug McDowell will help the City of Tigard work on this project. Mr. McDowell will coordinate the commercial/corporate sponsorships and donations of construction materials. Public Works Director Koellermeier referred to the concept pian. A company by the name of Dream Land will create the set of plans which will make it possible to request and obtain permits. The plans will also show a timeline for construction. I page 3 COUNCIL MINUTES — MARCH 15, 2005 i Parks Manager Plaza reviewed the proposed schedule, which would be to apply for the State grant in April. By June, it will be known whether or not the City was successful in receiving the grant. Money from the grant would be available in the fall of 2005 and it is anticipated the skate park would be open by June 2006. In response to a question from Councilor Wilson, Public Works Director Koellermeier noted the need to work with the contractor to determine what materials can be provided by donation and those materials that the contractor would need to provide. A system needs to be devised to assure that items donated are available when needed. Mr. Carlson noted that Mark Scott would also be helping with the coordination of donations. Councilor Wilson said he could also help with a list of contacts for construction materials. City employee, Marco Cabanillas, has offered to volunteer to work on the skate park. 4. JOINT MEETING WITH DOWNTOWN TASK FORCE/DOWNTOWN PIAN UPDATE Downtown Task Force Members Present: Janice Arave, Carolyn Barkley, Martha . Bishop, Marland Henderson, and Mike Marr Staff present for this item: Community Development Director Hendryx, Planning Manager Shields, Associate Planner St. Amand. Community Development Director Hendryx introduced this agenda item and distributed to the City Council a Downtown logo button. Highlights of the presentation made by Community Development Director Hendryx are contained on i a PowerPoint handout; the presentation is on file in the City Recorder's office. Council received handouts during the presentation and discussion that followed. Handouts included: a brochure entitled, Your Tigard, Your Downtown; a packet of materials entitled, Community Dialog Packet. In addition, a Refined Design Alternative map was reviewed with the City Council. ' Staff, when reviewing the Refined Design Altemative map, noted the reality of the pian will depend on whether the market will respond to the plan. There are many things the City can do to jumpstart the plan in the implementation stages. The downtown area consists of 140 properties, with 107 property owners. Most of the property owners have been in the City for a long time. Ten percent of the property owners are out-of-state; while 88 percent are from the Metro area or are located within the state. Two-thirds of the people in the downtown area have not been involved in the planning for the downtown area. Communication tools used have included newspaper notices, fliers, and focus meetings. There is some frustration page 4 COUNCIL MINUTES — MARCH 15, 2005 that there has not been more involvement. The Task Force will continue to outreach to the downtown property owners. A meeting was held last week regarding a potential extension of Ash Street. The neighbors that attended this meeting were opposed to the extension. This connection is shown in the Transportation System Plan. The Downtown Plan is not dependent upon the Ash Street extension; however, developers have advised that access and visibility to the downtown are highly important. Decisions will be needed on how the Plan will be implemented. Measure 37 complicates and raises additional issues. Funding of the Downtown Plan would include formation of an urban renewal district. However, it was noted that the Downtown Plan is distinct from an Urban Renewal Plan. The Downtown Plan is a land use document. Task Force Chair Marr noted that there are approximately 22 members of the Downtown Task Force who represent a wide variety of perspectives. Mr. Marr advised that Tigard,is one of the last communities to set a Downtown Plan in place and said that he believes the Tigard community is suffering because of this.. He advised that people do not feel there is community center and he would like to see this corrected. Mr. Marr said the Downtown could have a unique identity where people could spend their time and dollars. He noted the additional employment opportunities that could be made available. He acknowledged there would be issues to work through including the Ash Avenue extension and the railroad crossings. The plan calls for rebuilding most of the Downtown except for Main Street and City Hall; however, the Task Force wanted to make sure that no property or business owner would be on the "losing end of the stick." Relocation of businesses would not be the first choice — the Task Force members want to minimize impacts on business and property owners. Mr. Marr noted that there are a lot of issues that are yet to be decided upon — but there's a need to "start from somewhere." He said that the Task Force felt if would be reasonable to first layout a drawing of what "might be" and then refine the plan. Plan implementation will need to be market driven and developers will need to be certain of the Plan's viability before they will invest. Recently several large 'i developers were contact (including Commercial Realty Advisors, PacTrust, OPUS Northwest, Gramor Development NW, Specht Development, GSL Properties, and Center Oak Properties). Their comments included suggestions about the need for visibility of the downtown area. The developers said this is an ambitious plan overall, which balances diversity. Mayor Dirksen referred to the Washington County work on an urban renewal plan for the Highway 217 corridor. In the County's study, the mixed uses for residential and commercial for the downtown area were supported. COUNCIL MINUTES — MARCH 15, 2005 page 5 Planning Manager Shields noted there is excitement about the Downtown Plan -- for what's uniquely Tigard and the basic concept of the "green heart of Tigard." There is concern about the need for more parking and the constraints on access from Hall Boulevard and 99W. It is anticipated that the Main Street area will remain much as it is now. New development will complement the Main Street development. Councilor Woodruff noted that the Downtown Plan drawing shows the clearest vision that he has seen so far with regard to concepts for the downtown. He referred to the Vision Task Force recommendation that the downtown become the gathering place for community activities such as the Saturday Market. He noted support for use of the Fanno Creek area for family friendly events. Community Development Director Hendryx referred to a community dialog packet, which gives information on projects that the community and consultants say are key. There was some discussion of the "branding Tigard" efforts for both the downtown and the City of Tigard (which is being pursued as part of a City Council goal). Councilor Wilson noted he attended a December meeting regarding the downtown. He said the drawing appears to have changed, since then. He commented that it looked as if the Task Force backed off on density. Community Development Director Hendryx responded that the current map is a more site- specific plan. There is a need to develop more parking. Planning Manager Shields noted that the number of units that will be available in the downtown is not yet known — a variety of housing options could be pursued. Councilor Wilson commented that, as the downtown area redevelops, he hoped that it would be able to support a mix of uses. Councilor Wilson noted in December that it seemed as though the Ash Street connection had some interesting elements and was depicted as a "spine." Planning Manager Shields noted that if the Downtown Plan does not rely on the Ash Street extension, then the "spine" would move to Pacific Highway. Mr. Marr said that he did not think that the Task Force should rely on the Ash Street extension so much that the Plan would fall apart if there is a great deal of opposition to the extension. He noted the need to work with the neighborhood for a crossing of Fanno Creek and to provide some traffic calming. Another hurdle will be to cross the railroad tracks — to give the downtown some needed traffic circulation. It was suggested that work continue with the Railroad to look at the possibility of consolidating crossings in other areas. Mayor.Dirksen said an over crossing of the tracks was also discussed. Mr. Marr said that a viaduct to address the railroad situation would ruin the ambiance of the downtown. Mayor Dirksen advised that it would be worth considering — to review illustrations of what it would look like.if put into place. COUNCIL MINUTES —MARCH 15, 2005 page 6 Mayor Dirksen said there is much speculation about the Walnut Street extension and a scientific .study is needed so that it can be determined exactly what the impact will be. Councilor Harding noted the Greenburg intersection also needs to be addressed. Councilor Wilson referred to the Transportation System Plan and acknowledged the opposition that the Ash Street connection would generate. He also agreed that the downtown area needs traffic circulation improvements. Task Force member Barkley distributed a March 9, 2005, letter to the City Council and Downtown Task from Daniel and Kathy Strauss regarding their questions and concerns associated with the downtown improvement plan. She reported that Mr. and Mrs. Strauss have not received an answer to this letter. Task Force member Henderson noted that the downtown effort will need additional city staffing and requested that this be reviewed during the City's budget process. Mr. Marr encouraged the City Council to look at this as an opportunity to pull the community together. He said there will be a need to compromise. The City will need to have a significant majority of support (85 percent) from the citizens for the plan to become a reality. It is critical to work with people to find ways to give them something they would want. The Ash Avenue neighborhood is critical and for plans to be in place to protect property values. There was brief discussion on Measure 37 implications. The goal would be to make improvements that would increase property values. Community Development Director Hendryx noted the Plan was not far enough along to make a determination about impacts relating to provisions of Measure 37. Planning Manager Shields said Measure 37 issues would have to be addressed. Mr. Marr said if the Council decided to go out for a vote on urban renewal, there would be a need to respond to opposition on this concept. Councilor Sherwood said the urban renewal effort would need to include some funding for public relations. Mr. Marr remarked that how urban renewal works would need to be explained in plain language so people could understand tax increment financing. j He suggested that this information be presented by other citizens. Councilor Sherwood said she agreed with Mr. Marr and indicated that this had been also discussed by the Council. Councilor Woodruff said that the challenge would be to work with people directly affected by the Downtown Plan. He said he thought the plan looks "great" for those people who are not directly affected. Mayor Dirksen said there will be some opposition as there are some people who will not want to see any changes. COUNCIL MINUTES — MARCH 15, 2005 page 7 In response to a question from Councilor Harding, Mr. Marr advised that there are not a lot of alternatives for traffic circulation in the downtown area. There was additional discussion on the need to work with the railroad to determine if some of the railroad crossings could be eliminated. The Downtown Task Force will visit again with the City Council in June. Mr. Marr agreed with Councilor Wilson that there needs to be a grassroots campaign for the Downtown Plan to be successful. Councilor Harding suggested that information and a public survey be made available at the Library. She also suggested that the map (drawing) of the proposed. Downtown Pian be made available for public viewing at the Library. Mr. Marr said he believes that the majority of the community would support the Downtown Plan; however, there is a need to address the concerns of the minority. Council meeting recessed: 8:38 p.m Meeting,reconvened: 8:44 p.m. 5. PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECTS FOR FY 2005- 06 City Engineer Duenas presented a staff report; the presentation outline reviewed with the Council is on file in the City Recorder's office. With regard to the $50,000 overlay for Burnham Street, City Engineer Duenas said that after receiving input from Councilors Sherwood and Harding, he is recommending that improvements be delayed until the Downtown Plan is finalized. City Engineer Duenas talked about how concerns could be alleviated with the Walnut Street extension study and to look at the Ash Street corridor. He recommended holding off on this item until the Downtown Plan is completed. There was discussion of the railroad switching area located in the City of Tigard. Mayor Dirksen suggested this might be a good time to talk with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) about this area being used for switching of cars — why can downtown Tigard be used as a switching yard? Councilor Wilson suggested that talks be held with Railroad to advocate finding another alternative. City Engineer. Duenas said that one mile of track is needed for this switching operation, which is presently being done between Bonita Road and Tiedeman Street in Tigard. Councilor Harding noted she had received calls about the Walnut Street improvements (a County project). Residents have noted concerns about the type of street lighting to be used for this project. City Engineer Duenas said there are COUNCIL MINUTES- MARCH 15, 2005 page 8 lighting requirements. Councilor Harding reported that the neighbors wanted the lighting to look less industrial. City Engineer Duenas said he would look into this with the County. Councilor Woodruff noted the Skate Park amount as shown on the CIP list should indicate that this total amount is not all City dollars. Councilor Woodruff said he appreciated being supplied with the comments from the public. He was surprised that more people did not comment. Councilor Wilson asked about fee-in-lieu of undergrounding money (for utility lines). City Engineer Duenas noted that the fees collected have been used for projects and this money could be used in conjunction with Transportation Growth Management (TGM) money. Councilor Wilson pointed out there are a lot of overhead power lines and he would like to see more of these removed. In response to a question about the money shown in the Capital Improvement Project list for the water building, Interim City Manager Prosser noted that this money would be used for the HVAC system, window seals, and reconfiguration of office space. This would be paid for by water funds. Councilor Sherwood noted the need to coordinate with the Senior Center with regard to the Community Development Block Grant for remodeling. 6. CONTINUED DISCUSSION OF A PROPOSED RESOLUTION TO SUPPORT COLLABORATION WITH WASHINGTON COUNTY JURISDICTIONS REGARDING PROPOSED CHANGES TO GOAL 14, URBANIZATION AND THE URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY ADMINISTRATIVE RULES Community Development Director Hendryx reviewed the information contained the City Council meeting packet including a proposed resolution. Also included in the packet was a resolution adopted (October 25, 2004) by the City of Tualatin. Community Development Director Hendryx referred to the City Council 2005 goal to seek changes with Metro. He noted that the City Council wanted to see some ability to free up the Comprehensive Planning process so the City could respond to i citizens' concerns and to have more flexibility with density requirements. Interim City Manager Prosser referred to the draft resolution. At a previous City Council meeting there was a proposal that to split the resolution into two separate resolutions. One resolution.could address the City of Tualatin's issues and the other could outline the City of Tigard's issues. Interim City Manager Prosser asked if the City Council was interested in pursuing two separate resolutions. There will be a.meeting with the City of Tualatin Council on April 4 and this might provide an COUNCIL MINUTES —MARCH 15, 2005 page 9 opportunity for the City of Tigard City Council to discuss with Tualatin their issues with Metro. Councilor Wilson said he would rather talk about the City of Tigard's issues as he was not sure he totally understood Tualatin's issues. Interim City Manager Prosser reviewed the history of how Metro came into existence as it is now structured including the 1992 Charter ballot measure approved by voters. Councilor Wilson commented that the 1992 Charter measure was billed as a "Home Rule" piece of legislation, but it also established a regional framework which gave power to Metro to "trump" local planning. He said that he felt that Metro ignores the impacts to local communities. Councilor Wilson agreed there are issues that should be addressed on a regional basis but, as much as possible, planning should be a local responsibility to respond to neighborhood concerns. Councilor Wilson said that the Metro Policy Advisory (MPAC) recommendations are ignored by Metro. He said he did not believe the issues with regard to setting urban growth boundaries were seriously debated. Councilor Wilson suggested a review of Metro could range from elevating the importance of MPAC all the way to whether or not Metro serves any purpose. He said it seems that cities are constantly on the defensive while local planners spend their time reacting to Metro's initiatives. Citizens have no easy way to send feedback to Metro when Metro issues regulations affecting them. Citizens complain to local government, and Councilor Wilson questioned whether Metro had any idea of the level of the public's dissatisfaction. Councilor Wilson summarized that the above issues are examples of what needs to be dealt with; although, at this point, he is not sure to what extent he would support changes to Metro. Councilor Woodruff said he basically agreed with Councilor Wilson, but asked what could the City realistically do? Discussion followed on options including proposing a ballot measure to address concerns about Metro (initiative process). There was a comment that the City of Tigard could not do this alone; however, there may now be an opportunity to join other jurisdictions on Metro issues. MPAC would be a good venue for these types of discussions. City of Tualatin Mayor Ogden has invited others to participate in a regional discussion. Councilor Wilson reiterated that the stature of MPAC should be raised. Mayor Dirksen advised that he recently met with Lake Oswego Councilor Jack Huffman and discussed the possibility of an MPAC-sponsored symposium to review Metro issues. COUNCIL MINUTES —MARCH 15, 2005 page 10 Council consensus was for Mayor Dirksen to pursue the idea of a symposium. Suggestions for invitees to the symposium included the Metro Council, regional mayors, City Council members, and business leaders. Another option would be to approach the State legislature with proposed changes . to Metro. Councilor Wilson said he could support the proposed resolution as a starting point for the City of Tigard. Interim City Manager Prosser suggested that a section be added to the resolution to direct staff to contact other cities to identify issues and develop a common strategy. Consensus of the Council was that Section 1 of the resolution be fleshed out. There was discussion on whether or not to pursue a resolution or focus on working with MPAC or businesses. Community Development Director Hendryx and Planning Manager Shields noted that the City of Tigard is hoping for assistance from Metro with the downtown area. The urbanization.section of the proposed resolution was reviewed. Mayor Dirksen referred to problems with urban growth boundaries whereby properties should have been required to be tied to an urban area before development could occur. Staff will redraft Sections 1 and 2 of the resolution. Section 2 will need to indicate the City's need for more authority with regard to local comprehensive planning and limit Metro's authority on local land use controls. A revised draft resolution will be brought back to the City Council at a later date for its consideration. 7. COUNCIL LIAISON REPORTS: None 8. NON AGENDA ITEMS: None > ADMINISTRATIVE ITEMS: City Hall Day at the Capitol—April 13 —The day will include meetings with legislative leaders, briefings on issues and opportunities to meet with your legislators and network with other city officials. Contact Mary Macpherson {503} 588-6550 or mmacpherson aPorcities.org. Staff needs input from City Council to prepare a list of Tigard issues. Interim City Manager Prosser advised the Assistant to the City Manager Newton is working on a list of issues. There are three bills regarding limiting government authority on imposing staffing limits. Councilor Wilson noted the need to get staffing costs under control as the current trends are not sustainable. Interim City Manager Prosser will review this matter again with Council on April 12 so the City Council can give staff its final word on matters of concern. COUNCIL MINUTES— MARCH 15, 2005 page 11 • Fifth Tuesday Meeting Notice: The notice was revised to delete the requirement for meeting participants to submit a written statement. • Council Calendar: o March 29: 5t" Tuesday Council Meeting — 7 p.m. —'Water Auditorium --- check to see if library com. room is available o April 4: Special Meeting - Library Community Room 6-7 p.m. — Goal update (staff) 7 p.m. -- Joint Meeting with Tigard-Tualatin School Board and Tualatin City Council o April 12: Council Business Meeting --6:30 p.m. —Town Hall o April 19: Council Workshop Meeting —6:30 p.m. —Town Hall o April 25: Budget Committee Meeting — 6:30 p.m. — Library Community Room o April 26: Council Business Meeting —6:30 p.m. —Town Hall o May 6: Shining Stars Banquet 9. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Not held. 10. ADJOURNMENT: 10:16 p.m. Catherine Wheatley, City Reco er Attest: May , Cty of Tigard Date: isladm1cathytccM2005T50315 final,doc I I COUNCILMINUTES — MARCH 15, 2005 page 12