Loading...
City Council Minutes - 05/16/2017 City of Tigard _ Tigard Workshop Meeting Minutes ' ! Mav 16 2017 1. WORKSHOP MEETING A. Mayor Cook called the meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. B. Deputy City Recorder Burgoyne called the roll. Name Present Absent Councilor Goodhouse ✓ Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Councilor Anderson ✓ Mayor Cook ✓ C. Mayor Cook asked those attending to stand with him for the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Call to Council and Staff for Non Agenda Items—None. 2. RECEIVE AN UPDATE ON THE PARKS AND RECREATION FEE Public Works Director Rager introduced Parks and Facilities Manager Martin and Public Works Business Manager Williams, presented this item and gave a PowerPoint presentation. Mr. Rager gave an overview of the current fee structure and said it is not currently enough. He discussed the municipal code that created the fee,which brings in$1 million a year at a rate of$3.75 per dwelling unit and explained the level of service, funding options and staff recommendations. Mr. Rager defined what the level of service should be to ensure safety and quality of parks. He compared the City of Tigard's level of service with the City of West Linn and the national average. He said staff is not recommending the city meet the same level of service as that of West Linn or the national average,but said there is room for improvement and suggested the city decide what level of service it wants to provide. Mayor Cook asked how many acres are undeveloped and what type of land is included in the comparison. Mr. Rager said West Linn has very similar types of acreage to that of Tigard. Mr. Rager explained the inventory would grow in the next several years. He talked about how tight maintenance of existing parkland has been, especially deferred maintenance, and how System Development Charges (SDC) would pay for some of the deferred maintenance. Recreation Program: Mr. Rager discussed the recreation programs the city offers and how successful they have been, and introduced new recreation programs staff will be implementing. He said council's second goal is to advance the recreation program. He talked about the five-year forecast plan and the Parks and Recreation Fee (PARF) the city implemented in 2016. He discussed TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 1 of 9 options for funding the five-year forecast,which included: • Option 2B: 80/20 split: 20 percent coming from the General Fund and 80 percent coming from the Parks and Recreation Fee (PARF) Revenue. • Option 2C: Increase to the Parks and Recreation Fee (PARF) while the General Fund remains constant. • Option 2D: Full funding of the Parks and Recreation Program with the Parks and Recreation Fee (PARF). Councilor Goodhouse asked how much is money is coming out of the General Fund. Public Works Business Manager Williams replied that approximately $1.5 million this year and said it would be the same for next year. Mr. Rager said staff discussed option three, an option levy for the park and recreation program and see what happens. He explained the downside of this option is that it would take time, and if a levy passed,the city would not see any fiscal revenues until 2020. He said option four is to do nothing, this option being much worse because things that are already degrading would continue to do so. Councilor Goodhouse asked if all the options showed both the parks and recreation together. Mr. Rager replied yes. Mr. Rager asked council to consider one of the options in the report. Councilor Goodhouse asked if options 2B and 2D would free up General Fund money. Mr. Rager said yes, there would be less burden on the General Fund and that option 2C is holding the $1.5 million constant. Councilor Goodhouse asked if they have taken into account every need. Mr. Rager said staff has taken into account where they think park inventory will grow,but does not factor in additional money to build new parks and they have factored in the deferred maintenance. Councilor Goodhouse said considering all this,he prefers option 21). Council President Snider focused on table two, and said the data presented is very raw and he would like to see the data presented in a way that shows the actual numbers. He said the acreage per thousand is actually above the national average, and the full time (FTE) staff comes out to be 2.41 per 10,000 residents compared to the City of West Linn that has more FTE than the national average. Councilor Anderson asked if they had to name the parks and recreation program as part of the option levy. City Manager Wine said no, but that it is an option. She said council could consider any of the General Fund options as inclusion as a future local option levy. Councilor Woodard asked if staff just focused on type one and type two parks for keeping the level of service up,what is the minimal amount of revenues needed for the parks program in a five-year period. Parks and Facilities Manager Martin explained most of the increase is with level one and two and less level three and four. He said most of the mowing they do now is in level three and this is just to keep the city in compliance with the code. He said most of the full time employees are used to maintain levels one and two. Councilor Woodard asked if staff had briefed the Parks and Recreation Board (PRAB) about this and gotten their input. Mr. Martin said he had presented them with the same material that was in council's packet and they would be discussing this in the future. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 2 of 9 Councilor Woodard asked that staff brief the Neighborhood Involvement Committee on this and get their input. Councilor Goodhouse asked if this covers everything or if there are still areas that need to be done down the road. Mr. Rager explained it is the complete package, but does not account for any additional growth from City constructed projects for the next 5 years. Councilor Goodhouse asked about option 2c and as the recreation program requires more and more, how that is accounted for. City Manager Wine clarified that the growth in the recreation is accounted for. Mr. Rager asked if council would like them to come back with additional information or if there was a specific option council would like staff to bring back. Mayor Cook asked for confirmation that there is $1.5 million from the General Fund this year and $1.5 million next year, meaning there would be zero increase from the General Fund to cover any additional expenses for park and recreation. Ms. Williams explained that what staff put into the proposed budget holds the fee at the $3.75, so it holds the $1.5 million. Mayor Cook explained the General Fund is contributing the $1.5 million and the difference is 4.26%. Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance explained that last year City Council was exploring options for a park and recreation fee the city contracted with a consulting group. He explained that part of what they did was to look at the city's historical costs and components, and if components like staffing and equipment stayed roughly proportional, the cost in total would grow by 4.26 percent on average. Mayor Cook asked if that included the parks and recreation program. Mr. LaFrance replied it did not; that would be an additional cost. He said if the city keeps the parks and recreation program the same, they can count on that growth, but if there are additional changes, then fees will go up annually. Councilor Goodhouse asked if there is a way to increase the fees more in the first year in order to lower future increases. Ms. Williams explained the proposed budget for 2017-2018 is still at$3.75 per dwelling unit,because they have not brought forward master fees and charges for council approval. Staff did not anticipate an increase that has not been approved. Council President Snider asked if they could do the same with this fee as they did with the water increase fees, and figure out what the amount would be and then have it remain the same for the next five years. Mr. LaFrance said this is something council can consider and staff would add multi- year increases within the master fees and charges. He said staff could set budgets around known decisions to council and plan accordingly. Councilor Goodhouse asked what it would look like with this model for an additional five-year forecast, and if that fee would continue to be increased or would the deferred maintenance be caught up. Mr. Rager explained for this report staff did not look out ten-years,but imagines that fee would start to flatten. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 3 of 9 Councilor Woodard asked if they could assign an index showing the breakdown. Mr. Rager said it could be done with additional work. Mr. Rager talked about the Parks Maintenance Budget Forecast as outlined in Appendix B of the Parks and Recreation Fee Report. Councilor Woodard said he would be ok with something between option 2A and 2C, average out the increase,not increase beyond$7.00 and then look at a local option levy. He said a combination of these things could probably get the city through the next two years. Council President Snider asked if this is workable from a staff perspective. He can support something like this if staff thinks it will work. Mr. LaFrance said staff could bring a proposal to council that shows a combination of option 2A and 2C to the June 6 council meeting. Council President Snider asked if that is enough time for staff to prepare. Mr. LaFrance replied it is, and while it may come to council later than normal,but that it would still be before the meeting. Mayor Cook asked if increasing other fees prior to going out for a local option levy would hurt the chances of the levy passing. Council President Snider said that in the local option levy, they should fund the entire need, and that part of this decision should be to repeal the fee increases if the local option levy passes. Mayor Cook said that all of this should be considered prior to putting a local option levy out to the voters, how much money will be needed, and if increasing these fees in the meantime hurts the chances for the local option levy passing. At the same time,he is not in favor of staying the same. Council President Snider said the model staff will come back and propose is for council to take action on fee increases annually. 3. CITY CENTER DEVELOPMENT AGENCY: DOWNTOWN PUBLIC SPACE DISCUSSION Redevelopment Project Manager Farrelly presented this item and gave a PowerPoint presentation. He discussed and clarified the council's new goal of developing a downtown plaza. He said that plazas and public spaces are part of the urban renewal plan and goal 4B. Mr. Farrelly talked about urban strategist Michele Reeves' 2012 recommendation for the downtown plaza and suggested it should be on or close to Main Street, appropriately sized for Downtown Tigard, and the need for framing, design and activation. He gave examples of successful plazas and explained the importance of activation. Making it a place where people want to be. Mr. Farrelly talked about current downtown projects and council's goal to focus on developing the downtown plaza. He asked if council took these action measures,would this meet council's goals for the plaza. Mayor Cook said that if one and two incorporated Michele Reeves' criteria, then yes. Mr. Farrelly said that any public space they design would follow Michele Reeves' criteria. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 4 of 9 Councilor Goodhouse said small plazas are great,but there is a need for larger spaces with something like a splash pad where people can go. He can see easily that little areas will fill up quickly. Councilor Woodard said they need to consider vehicle traffic and parking spaces. He always envisioned something that was not less than 1,000 feet and keeping it within a scale so there is no wasted opportunities and that once the space is over 2,000 feet,it does not fulfill the purpose. He thinks they should look at a public space that has something with a splash pad and enough seating to hold good-sized events. Mr. Farrelly said Michele Reeves recommend spaces that are 10,000 and 20,000 square feet. Councilor Woodard agreed. Councilor Anderson said he thinks it is a great start. He said the Rotary Plaza is too narrow for a splash pad,but there is potential for live entertainment underneath the bridge and other gathering spaces. Mr. Farrelly asked if the civic center were to be developed,would this be considered for the plaza area, or if there is another location. Council President Snider said it is too far away and does not think of this site as making Downtown Tigard a place where people want to be. They are separate areas. Councilor Anderson said it could work in addition to other locations. Mayor Cook said a large plaza would be great at the Civic Center, but does not think it would replace a splash pad near Main Street. Councilor Goodhouse said so much open space that there is too much. Maybe something that goes off Main Street. Agrees the location of the civic center would be too far. Councilor Woodard talked about the splash pad area in Beaverton and said he is impressed with it. Mr. Farrelly summarized his report and said they will keep working on smaller public spaces, the Downtown Main Street space and the River Place Plaza. He said they will be looking for spaces larger than 10,000 square feet and asked council what kind of timeline they should consider. Council said they would like to have something acquired within the next year or two. 3. DISCUSSION ON PROPOSED AFTER BUSINESS HOURS WATER SERVICE TURN-ON FEE Water Division Manager Goodrich presented this item. He explained this would be a new fee within the master fees and charges schedule for an "after hours water turn-on service". He said this this fee would apply to customers who request restoration of water service after normal business hours and customers such as "snowbirds." Mr. Goodrich discussed the staff overtime costs to the budget in these types of situations. Council President Snider asked if service is turned off, do they stop paying all fees. Mr. Goodrich said he understands it is just the water that is turned off and that they still receive a utility bill for the other charges. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 5 of 9 Council President Snider asked if the afterhours fee would cover all the costs incurred by the city and if the city has staff that is already on-call. Mr. Goodrich discussed the union contract and explained the approximate costs associated with after hour hours. He said the general ratepayer could pay some of the cost so staff can design it in a way that the city recovers some of the costs. Mayor Cook said snowbirds could call in ahead of time and arrange for service to be restored during work hours,but that there should be a high enough fee to discourage after hour calls. He said another issue to consider is water shut-offs due to lack of payment. That when staff goes back to restore service, this could be done after hours as well and it does cost the city money. He does not want to burden other residents, however, customers who are late and turned off for lack of payment are probably already having a hard time paying their bill, so how does the city charge someone a fee when they cannot pay their water bill to begin with? Councilor Goodhouse asked why they shut-off in the evening and not morning. Mr. Goodrich said some of this is past practice,but that staff also gives them the day to pay. He said it includes a small amount of people and it takes sixty days before staff shuts-off water service for non-payment. City Manager Wine explained shut-offs are done on Wednesdays and not at the end of the week. Councilor Goodhouse said implementing some kind of fee would help discourage after hour calls. Councilor Woodard asked if there is an official snowbird policy. Mr. Goodrich said no. Councilor Woodard said he thinks there should be a cost for the snowbird service and if they call in advance maybe, they should be charged half of the fee. He said this is a privilege and they are saving money. Council President Snider said this does cost the city something. He would be in favor of charging everyone and then a fee for emergency, or even a freebie every couple of years. Mayor Cook asked about the base charges vs usage charges. He said he has a vacant house and pays the base fee every month. Mr. Goodrich said he is getting a sense that council would like to see an administrative rule on what they want to answer. He said staff could create a draft administrative rule with some of the information provided tonight and come back to another workshop for further discussion. He explained they want to provide services,but at same time, not everyone should be on the hook for some things. Councilor Woodard asked how many times this occurs. Mr. Goodrich said a very small amount, maybe five to ten customers that call on the weekend. He will have this information next time it is discussed. 5. DISCUSS A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH SD DEACON FOR TIGARD TRIANGLE PROPERTY Assistant Community Development Director McGuire and Associate Planner Pagenstecher presented this item. Mr. Pagenstecher said they have been working with SD Deacon for the last year. He explained where the property is located and said the property is already developed with a building and parking, but now they are looking to redevelop the Northern portion so that the two TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 6 of 9 parcels would each have parking lots that would serve the buildings. Mr. Pagenstecher said the applicant has submitted the Site Development Review application for phase I of the redevelopment, but that phase II is expected to be processed under the new Mixed Use Triangle (MUT) standards. This agreement would reduce the risk to the developers where the code is changing. He talked about the proposed changes to the code and how these would affect this redevelopment. Councilor Woodard asked staff to define non-accessory parking. Mr. Pagenstecher said it serves no use on the property but can be used. Councilor Anderson asked how long they have been working with the developers. Mr. Pagenstecher said it has been a couple of years,but the Code has been in development and there has not been a target completion date. He thinks the spirit of the new Code is not for properties like this and he has no problem with the agreement. Councilor Goodhouse asked why it affects them. Mr. Pagenstecher explained it is a two-phase project and they would like to have greater than the FAR limit. Councilor Goodhouse asked if there are others. Mr. Pagenstecher said this is the only one. 6. DISCUSSION ON CITY COUNCIL TRAVEL POLICY Assistant City Manager Newton presented this item. She said council talked about this at their goal- setting meeting and she explained what staff has done and who they had talked to in order to help with staff recommendations. Ms. Newton summarized staff recommendations, specifically three changes: • Lower the distance in miles to local events from fifty miles to forty miles. • Expand the definition of"conference" hotel • Delete the paid travel time section, as it does not apply. She talked about airline mile accruals and explained the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) offered the following options: • Approve council only policy allowing for airline mile accruals and it would take effect once current council terms are up due to conflict of interest. • Have council approve a citywide policy only for employees that allows for airline mile accruals, but that this would not apply to council. She said they could have the city manager approve airline mile accruals for council. She discussed Hillsboro's policy regarding this and said their current council did not approve that policy. She recommended leaving the policy as it currently stands,which is not to allow accrual of airline miles. Council President Snider asked if the previous council had adopted it for themselves. Ms. Newton replied they had. Councilor Goodhouse asked about hotel reward points that could be used for things like free Wi-Fi, things that benefit the city by saving the city money. Ms. Newton said OGEC recommended against this. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 16, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 7 of 9 Council President Snider asked if voting on their stipends is considered a conflict of interest. Ms. Newton said this is going to be changed, so that the budget committee will be approving this in the future. Councilor Goodhouse suggested having the city manager make the decision on airline mile accrual for city council. Ms. Newton suggested making the policy consistent with practice. Ms. Newton said the city would pay for the stay if the local hotel were less than the forty miles,but that council will pay taxes on this. Ms. Newton said city council can accept membership dues from other organizations,but they will need documentation from that organization on what the cost was. Ms. Newton said OGEC advised that city funds paid to or for the relative of a public official would be considered a gift, and this includes spouses. She said staff recommends not allowing this. Ms. Newton talked about expanding the definition of"official" hotel when at conferences,to state "conference" hotel since there may be other hotels in and around the official conference site that can accommodate attendees, especially when the site hotel is booked. Ms. Newton said she would make the proposed changes and would bring this item back to council for consideration on June 27. Mayor Cook asked if there is a way to write a policy that the city manager could approve for airline mile accumulation. He explained he can use these accumulated miles for things such as baggage fees which is a savings to the city. He said he understands the state's reasoning behind their recommendation, but asked if there is a way to get a policy in place so they can save the city money. Council President Snider said even though it is not advisable, they could create a policy for mileage accumulation for everyone. Councilor Woodard agreed there should be a way to do this. Something where the miles go back to the city and not an individual, and then could be used as needed. Ms. Newton said she would investigate a method in which would save the city money for things like baggage or internet fees, and would be a general policy and not something the city manager would be approving each time. Councilor Goodhouse suggested looking at a policy that would be citywide. Ms. Newton replied that if council votes on a citywide policy,it could not apply to the current council. Councilor Goodhouse said he favored a policy for city council and citywide. Ms. Newton said staff would look at coupling airline miles with saving dollars for the city. 7. NON AGENDA ITEMS —There was none. 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION—There was none. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES - May 1G, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 8 of 9 9. ADJOURNMENT At 9:00 p.m. Councilor Goodhouse motioned to adjourn the meeting and Councilor Anderson seconded the motion. Motion was approved by a unanimous vote of council. Name Yes No Councilor Goodhouse ✓ Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Councilor Anderson ✓ Mayor Cook ✓ Kelly Burgoy , Deputy&ity Aecorder r Attes John L. gok,Mayor Date: YT 1 1l f 2O/7 TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — May 1G, 2017 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 9 of 9