Loading...
City Council Minutes - 04/19/2016 ., Cites Tigard Tigard Workshop Meeting Minutes April 19, 2016 WORKSHOP MEETING 1. A. At 6:30 p.m. Mayor Cook called the City Council workshop meeting to order. B. City Recorder Krager called the roll. Present Absent Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Mayor Cook ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Councilor Goodhouse ✓ C. Mayor Cook asked those attending to stand with him for the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Mayor Cook called for any non agenda items from council and staff There were none. 2. JOINT MEETING WITH LIBRARY BOARD Library Director Barnes introduced this item and was joined by Library Board Vice Chair Katie Harris, and members Linda Monahan,Becky Gauthier and Cole Webber. Vice Chair Harris said the library is a core service and should be a budget priority for the city.The library serves the educational,recreational and cultural needs of the entire community. This department serves children,youth, seniors, the business community and the marginalized more than any other city service and as such, should be a priority. Board Member Gauthier said the library is a hub for connecting with the city's vision. Board Member Cole noted that the library has seen reduced funding since 2010 and the board believes that the budget should not only be restored,but sustained. With passage of the WCCLS levy and funding from the city the library was able to reopen on Thursdays but with limited programs. She said the Library Board encourages supporting the library's budget so it can once again be a full service library like all the other city libraries in Washington County. Board Member Monahan urged the council to restore funding for full service library programming. She said the Library Board understands Tigard's fiscal situation and that there is not enough general fund money to support all city services and the council goals. Ms. Monahan said if the city elects to go for a local option tax levy, support from library patrons is needed. She suggested that instead of reducing services to demonstrate need the city should galvanize support for the great service the library offers. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -APRIL 1% 2016 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 1 of 7 In response to a question from Councilor Woodard about what additional resources were needed for Thursdays,Library Director Barnes replied that two options for library funding were presented to the Budget Committee last budget season and the option chosen provided limited Thursday hours without full restoration of all operational needs. Expanding this would include the possibility of actual programs on Thursdays and staffing beyond the level of a skeletal crew. Council President Snider asked what is not getting done and Vice Chair Harris said there is just basic circulation, checking materials in and out,but no reference service, technical service, collection development, literacy programming, or youth and senior programming. Library Director Barnes confirmed for Council President Snider that there is limited reference desk service on Thursdays but there are many gaps in scheduling. He said that translates into longer waiting time for patrons,not having technical resources to answer questions and slower return of material to shelves. Councilor Woodard said one measurement is circulation and asked for the numbers for Thursdays and the rest of the week. Library Director Barnes said it is too soon after reopening on Thursdays to have that data. Councilor Woodard said he would like to see those numbers and asked if some processes could be done through the cloud. City Manager Wine said the Budget Committee will be hearing about choices and Library Director Barnes has prepared a white paper. Mayor Cook asked about their support for a local option levy and Ms. Monahan said they understand that the city does not have money in the general fund to do everything and cannot raise the property tax. She reiterated that library patrons vote and if the city provides visible,good service they will be more supportive than if services are reduced. Mayor Cook noted that a local option levy would be packaged with library,public safety or parks and if it is too specific,you lose groups that support one but not the other. If too many services are included the amount is too high. However, he agreed that the library should be part of a future local options levy. Citizens want that but they also want police and parks. He said, "I think they pass when citizens come out and say `we want this. join me to get that.' " 3. RECEIVE UPDATE ON SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL Safe Routes to School Program Coordinator Hormann gave the staff report and presented a PowerPoint. She was joined by Lenora Garcia,a Tigard parent with children in elementary and middle school who shared her experience with the SRTS program. Ms. Hormann said bike safety education got assistance from a jump Start grant with the Tigard Tualatin School District and the Bicycle Transportation Alliance. Teachers were trained in bicycle safety in March. Bicycles were obtained and given to Twality Middle School and will be going next to Metzger Elementary and then Fowler Middle School. Efforts were made to get parents excited about the national bike and walk to school event in May and some schools have since begun recurring events. Templeton Elementary has designated the first Wednesday of each month as a walk or bike to school day. Parents made signs encouraging children and their parents to make this a regular practice. Mary Woodward Elementary Principal Nihill started a weekly Walking Wednesday and is in the process of setting up a meeting spot because of the irregularities in their school's border. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES —APRIL 19, 2016 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 2 of 7 The schools are working on their Action Plans,which include lists of concerns,infrastructure recommendations and programmatic strategies. Templeton Elementary has adopted theirs and there will be two or three more completed by the end of the school year. Ms. Hormann said two signalized crossings on Durham Road have been adjusted. Pedestrians now have a five-second head start before the vehicle signal turns green. She said these are low cost implementations and studies show they reduce pedestrian/vehicle accidents by 60 percent. A no parking zone was created near Mary Woodward at Katherine Street. Mary Woodward Elementary Principal Nihill reported that busses could not get through because of all the parents picking up and dropping off children. City and school district staff,including police traffic officers, observed the bottleneck and concluded that there was no reason not to block the area from parking as it did not front any homes and was not really wide enough to accommodate busses and parked cars. Now the crosswalk there is much more visible and the busses are getting through. A LQC project near Metzger Elementary called the Lincoln Street Trail, connects Lincoln Street with Oak Street. When the weather dries out Streets Division staff will clear the trail of brush and create a trail on the higher side out of the boggy area. This improved trail will hopefully draw parents and children away from using the nearby Lincoln Center driveway,a very active driveway not safe for children to be walking around. Ms. Hormann showed a graph of concerns identified by parents of elementary school age children. While the time savings and convenience of driving their kids to school is important to them,what always rises to the top are infrastructure concerns such as sidewalks and safe crossings. Parent Lenore Garcia shared her experience trying to walk with her children to school. She said many parents share her concerns. Their top two concerns are safe crossings and intersections and the amount of traffic along the walking route. She told council that most week days between 7-9 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. traffic is in total chaos. She said 32 percent of children attending Templeton Elementary are driven by parents and these cars are rushing along roads without bike lanes and sidewalks where children are trying to bike and walk to and from school. Car traffic at Murdock Street is often backed up from 97`''Avenue to 98ffi Avenues. She described how her youngest son fell into one of the ditches on Murdock Street between 98'''and 1006'Avenues while dodging a car that approached very close to them as they walked. Ms. Garcia noted that 144 families walked to school safely on Walk or Bike to School Day. This was due to the collective efforts of crossing guards,volunteers and designated walking areas. She asked council to imagine the impact that even half of those 144 families walking to school would have. She said children would be safer and healthier and there would be improved traffic flow. She said while improvements have happened in the downtown and other parts of the city,Templeton Elementary students are facing hazards walking to school every day. Children are excited about walking or biking to school but these unsafe conditions make parents hesitant. Councilor Goodhouse said he lives near Templeton and Twality and commented that many parents drive their kids to school in the morning but are more likely to walk in the afternoon. More sidewalks are needed and this is why he supports a sidewalk gap program. Councilor Woodard said Ms. Hormann and the community have done a great job. He said much work needs to be done to create safer routes and the city is chipping away at it. He thanked Ms. Garcia for coming forward to express her concerns. Councilor Henderson asked about using school assemblies to get the word out and Ms. Hormann said some schools have already planned assemblies promoting the May 4 TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -APRIL 19, 2016 City of Tigard 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov Page 3 of 7 Youth Bike Fair and walking to school and she is meeting with the school district to discuss how to integrate this into the curriculum. Mayor Cook thanked her for kick starting the program. 4. CONSIDERATION OF THE FORMATION OF A TIGARD TRIANGLE CITIZEN ADVISORY COUNCIL Community Development Director Asher and Senior Planner Shanks briefed council on the formation of a new citizen advisory council (CAC) for the Tigard Triangle urban renewal plan.This is a two-step process with one resolution to form the committee and another to appoint members. The Metro grant requires citizen outreach and to reach a broad number of citizens, staff publicized this volunteer opportunity through Cityscape and on the website. Ms. Shanks said staff also gave presentations to all city standing committees and a representative from each stepped up to be on this ad hoc CAC except the Parks and Recreation Board (DRAB). Four citizens also volunteered to be on the CAC,including an architect, a planner (Tigard resident who works at another city) a Tigard Triangle property owner and a housing advocate. There will also be a technical advisory committee (TAC) formed that will include representatives from the taxing districts that would be impacted by urban renewal. She said everyone was interested but she did not hear from the Lake Oswego business community. City of Lake Oswego staff said they did not have time to serve on the committee at this time. Councilor Woodard expressed disappointment that no one from PRAB volunteered. He said the TTAC or Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee representative may be able to share the vision on walkability,pathways, space activation and recreational activities. Senior Planner Shanks said she would work extra hard to make sure there is no gap and these things do not get lost in the conversation. She said they are aware of the need for parks in the Triangle. Mayor Cook asked some questions about the composition of the CAC and commented that SW Portland neighborhood representatives were included in SW Corridor meetings and gave input on how they drive to work or shop in Tigard and he suggested the Lake Oswego neighborhoods across the freeway from this project be represented. Senior Planner Shanks said she will reach out to Lake Oswego neighborhood associations. Mayor Cook noted that the Tigard Youth Advisory Council representative will graduate soon and asked if another member of the TYAC will join to complete his term. Community Development Director Asher said the youth position could be created without a name and members can be identified in a later resolution. Councilor Henderson mentioned previous service on a task force that explored securing financing for urban renewal for the downtown and asked about this process for the Triangle. Community Development Director Asher said the city needs to study what is necessary or desirable in the Tigard Triangle. He said they want committees that have interest in the Triangle and want to look at streetscape standards, code revision and urban renewal. The study is all part of the Metro grant award. The urban renewal plan will be prepared by fall and council will discuss when to place it to a vote. Metro agrees that the Triangle is a great candidate for urban renewal. He said the only reason to create an urban renewal area is to get the authority to do tax increment financing. The city's Charter requires a public vote if tax increment financing will be used and there be a separate urban renewal committee. He said we will learn many of our needs during this study. Senior Planner Shanks said there will be a project list produced at minimum,which will fulfill the Metro grant TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -APRIL 192 2016 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 1 www.dprd-or.gov Page 4 of 7 requirements, The resolutions establishing the CAC and appointing members will be scheduled for the April 26, 2016 council business meeting agenda. 5. RECEIVE A BRIEFING ON THE METZGER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PARK PROJECT IR Assistant Planner Smith and Community Development Director Asher presented this item and showed slides of ideas for a new community park drawn by students at Metzger Elementary.The city and Tigard-Tualatin School District have joined together through an intergovernmental agreement to allow the fields at Metzger Elementary to be a used for a community park outside of school hours. Since the school is in a diverse neighborhood, an RFP was issued for a consultant team with multi-cultural experience. The contract was awarded to Verde,working with the Multicultural Collaborative and ESA Vigil-Agrimis. Planning has begun and student illustrations and ideas for the park are posted on the city's website. Site analysis and outreach will continue in May. The consultant team's approach is "focused on inclusivity, social enterprise and advocacy for community members." Community Development Director Asher said this type of park planning is not the city's usual process. The consultant team wants to find out from the community what their needs are. He said the consultant will set up office hours at the school,go door to door in the neighborhood and produce materials in English and Spanish. They will also work with Supafresh and their constituents. He said this will not be done through a traditional committee and Verde's model is to empower citizens to design community parks through grass roots efforts. Councilor Woodard asked if there would be all-day park use and Mr.Asher replied that non-school hours are for public use, and it is not uncommon for schools to share their space with the public. He commented that the more use it gets the safer the space will be. Councilor Woodard asked what the maintenance costs were and if they needed to be added to the budgeting process. Public Works Director Rager said they will need to be factored into the budget. The ball field and garden will remain. Community Development Director Asher said staff will keep council informed on progress. 6. DISCUSSION ON RIVER TERRACE AND CITY-WIDE SANITARY SEWER SURCHARGE FEES Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance,Public Works Director Rager and City Engineer Faha presented this agenda item seeking direction from council on whether or not River Terrace and citywide sanitary sewer surcharge fees should be added to the Master Fees and Charges Schedule during the 2017 budget committee discussions. Mr. LaFrance said of any of the fees the most urgent is the sewer surcharge. Council will be considering a budget in the next few weeks and the forecast is that most funds are keeping positive balances. However, the sewer fund is in dire need and will be negative within two years without some changes. Mr.LaFrance said Clean Water Services (CWS) sets rates and the cities' shares. For every dollar citizens pay, $0.84 goes to CWS and$0.16 goes to Tigard. Of the $0.16, $0.05 goes to the general fund and$0.11 goes to the sewer fund towards operational/maintenance costs of the sewer system and capital improvements.Tigard and other cities are allowed to charge utility districts a franchise fee. Tigard is the only city within CWS boundaries that does not charge a sewer surcharge. A TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -APRIL 19, 2016 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 5 of 7 franchise fee cannot come out of the $.0.84 cents paid to CWS but it could be applied against the $0.16 cents,putting more like$0.14-$0.15 into the sewer fund. Council directed staff to go to CWS and dialog for a franchise fee and a lower surcharge. City Manager Wine and Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance have been working with them for the past year. There should be a decision that leads to CWS paying their fair share of the franchise fee but this will take time and the city's sewer system does not have time. He said the city contracted with FCS Group to perform a sewer rate analysis to determine how much additional revenue would adequately fund sewer services and capital. A copy of the Sanitary Sewer Infrastructure Financing Services—Tigard Sewer Surcharge Draft Report was included in the packet for this meeting. Mayor Cook asked if Tigard is the only city without a franchise and Mr. LaFrance said that was true. All of the other cities in the CWS area have a franchise fee. He verified that city managers and finance managers in the district have been meeting and a smaller group will go to CWS to discuss it with them. Mayor Cook noted that Tigard is not the only city in this situation and unlike some fees, which address wants, this is going towards a dire need. He said it is not last minute and council and staff saw this coming. City Manager Wine said the health of the system is important. The city has been deferring sewer projects for some time. In response to a question from Council President Snider on whether CWS sets rates for the entire district,Mr. LaFrance said there is a possibility of a city rate and an unincorporated rate. All cities will have a franchise fee but someone in an unincorporated area would not be paying a city franchise fee. Public Works Director Rager said like a street maintenance fee which extends the life of streets, there is money placed in the budget every year for emergency broken water mains or sewer segments. He said the city is keeping up with mandates to video inside the storm and sewer lines so needs are known already. There are sewer lines in creeks because that was how it was done in the past. In response to a question from Councilor Henderson he said he did not know if this would be enough money but it is a big step in the right direction. Councilor Henderson said people think sewer lines should last forever but he just had to spend a lot of money for a cast iron pipe breaking in his basement. He said he wants a sustainable program ensuring a healthy system for future generations. City Engineer Faha said the city is due for a sewer master plan update but in the meantime there is a list of projects that keep getting pulled out of the budget including exposed sewer lines and old pipelines filling with grease due to bad past practices. The system is aging. Mayor Cook, Councilor Woodard and Council President Snider expressed preference for scenario #2 for the Citywide Sewer Surcharge which will help with Tigard's sewer infrastructure needs. $2.07 will be added to citywide utility bills. Council President Snider recommended simply calling the fee a "sewer fee." Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance discussed the River Terrace Parks,Stormwater and Transportation fees. In previous discussions council made the decision not to implement a TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES -APRIL 1% 2016 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 6 of 7 River Terrace Parks Fee due to park financing decisions. Council approved a River Terrace Transportation Utility fee currently set at$5. City Engineer Faha said stormwater plans in place for River Terrace have been changing. The big pipe on south River Terrace will not be built. Developers are putting in additional smaller sites. A $12.00 per month River Terrace stormwater charge has been recommended but will not be implemented yet because the stormwater facilities developers are putting in have a three-year warranty. This reason and the fact that the city is also doing a stormwater master plan will buy time to determine an appropriate stormwater fee. Mayor Cook asked if there is a way to give home buyers notice that this $12 fee might be implemented at a future date. Council President Snider asked if it could be added to a covenants, codes and restrictions document. Public Works Director Rager said the city cannot enforce CCRs. Councilor Goodhouse agreed that people need to know what these fees are before they make the decision to buy a home. 7. NON AGENDA ITEMS None 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 8:43 p.m. Mayor Cook announced that the Tigard City Council was entering into Executive Session to discuss property acquisition and exempt public records under ORS 192.660 (2) (e) and (f) and they would adjourn from the Red Rock Creek Conference Room immediately after the Executive Session. 9. ADJOURNMENT At 10:02 p.m. Council President Snider moved for adjournment. Councilor Goodhouse seconded the motion and all voted in favor. Yes No Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Mayor Cook ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Councilor Goodhouse ✓ Carol A. Krager, City Recorder AvNst. uil Jo L. Cook, Mayor qt"/," l am, a 616 Date TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MINUTES —APRIL 19, 2016 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov Page 7 of 7