Loading...
City Council Minutes - 09/15/2015 n City o 'Tigard Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes September 15, 2015 1. BUSINESS/WORKSHOP MEETING—September 15, 2015 A. At 6:33 p.m. Mayor Cook called the meeting of the Tigard City Council to order. B. City Recorder Krager called the roll. Present Absent Councilor Goodhouse ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard ✓ Mayor Cook ✓ C. Mayor Cook asked everyone to stand and join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Mayor Cook called to council and staff for any Non-Agenda Items. City Manager Wine said she had an item to present at the end of the meeting. 2. PROCLAIM PLAY BALL MONTH&HONOR TIGARD/TUALATIN CITY LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM Mayor Cook proclaimed September as Play Ball Month and honored the Tigard/Tualatin City Little League Team and their coaches and manager. Mayor Cook said when attending the United States Council of Mayors Conference in June he heard about a joint initiative from the U.S. Council of Mayors and Major League Baseball.Tigard joined many other cities to promote sports activities (baseball and softball). Mayor Cook said the Tigard-Tualatin City Softball Team represents Oregon District 4 and is a majors division of 11-12 year olds. The city recognizes them for making it to the World Series. He commended them for their goodwill and sportsmanship and noted that Fusion is the team name because they are two leagues joined together. Manager Steve Dardis,and Coaches Howard Hoyle and Steve Harms were present with many of the team members. Mayor Cook presented the manager and coaches with baseballs and a city pin and the players with t-shirts and city pins. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES - SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard, OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 1 of 6 3. CONTINUED DISCUSSION ON THE STREET MAINTENANCE FEE Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance led the discussion and was joined by Streets and Transportation Senior Project Engineer McCarthy. He reviewed the history of the street maintenance fee program. He said the focus tonight would be on how council's policy direction from January and March,2015 was included in proposed changes and to confirm if council feels this is ready for a public hearing. Mr. LaFrance said the city's public outreach included both residential and commercial customers. Key results from the outreach presented to council in January showed that residential customers did not want to pay a higher share. Responses were mixed regarding the commercial share. Commercial customers did not want to pay more;residents thought commercial customers could pay more. Both felt commercial and residential should pay for right-of-way maintenance. Responses leaned towards businesses paying for right-of-way maintenance in areas that are largely commercial. There was no clear direction on the program to cap parking lot spaces at 250 and there was a question as to if we should raise the cap. Council direction was to remove the cap so additional spaces create revenue. Council directed that the road type splits in the code remain the same. Mr. LaFrance said the street maintenance fee pays for Tigard's Pavement Management Program (PMP). In 2009 council set a Pavement Condition Index (PCI)goal of 72-75. The city's PCI is currently a little below that. Council wishes to raise the PCI to 80-82,which would be less costly to maintain once achieved. However,much work needs to be done to rise to that PCI. $11 million over ten years would be added to the PMP. ADA requirements for curb cuts have been added and Tigard's current code is ambiguous about whether the street maintenance fee can be used to pay for these. Earlier, council indicated they wish to amend the code to allow the use of street maintenance fee dollars for these federally required sidewalk curb cuts. IR Councilor Henderson said staff provided no information identifying what the ADA curb cut costs are. Mr. LaFrance said that is not currently split out from the total. Appendices A and B include the cost of curb cuts. Councilor Henderson asked if the city needs to subsidize that in a fee increase and how much that would be. Engineer McCarthy said the city has been doing 50 curb cuts per year at around$5,000 per ramp which is 12-13 percent of the overall program. He said that is figured into the calculations going forward. Councilor Henderson commented that it is normally a residential cost and not necessarily a commercial one. Engineer McCarthy said the ADA ramps are built into the cost of the street. Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance said looking ahead,arterial roads will become the largest share. This road type is paid 62 percent by commercial customers so there is a general shift towards higher costs for commercial customers. The fee increase for commercial customers would be larger than residential customers will bear. Mr. LaFrance said once the backlog is taken care of the street maintenance fee will lower. He directed council to Table 5 in the staff report attachment which shows impacts of the backlog. In this case, the share of different street type costs is a one-third, two-thirds split. It would cost$2.34 TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 2 of 6 more per month for residents and.66 cents per parking spot per month for businesses. The $50,000 charge for commercial right-of-way maintenance adds about.12 cents per parking spot. He said the commercial fee would be doubled. Councilor Henderson said he understands how the figures were arrived at but doubling the commercial street maintenance fee did not seem logical and is concerning to him. He said when businesses are charged more, they pass it along through their prices to consumers. Mr.LaFrance discussed how the commercial and residential fees were reached. Council agreed that the dollar figures were clear,but requested that Mr. LaFrance work on the table showing percentages. Council President Snider said it is well described and thought through. It reflects council's policy direction at the high level and makes sense. He said he thought it good that businesses pass their expenses on to customers who do not live in the area but use the roads. He said if the city is serious about reducing the backlog this needs to be done. Councilor Goodhouse said he was favorable to the idea of passing it onto businesses. He noted that commercial drivers are using side streets and take detours through neighborhoods. He asked if catching up on the backlog will prevent any future backlogs. Engineer McCarthy replied that is the goal but an unknown is the future cost of asphalt which could limit what the city can afford to do each year. Councilor Henderson said when Tigard goods and services cost more than goods and services in other cities,it is hard to believe customers will want to shop here. Council President Snider said he did not think Washington Square would lose any customers. He said there was no rationale for the cap. Mayor Cook said he mentioned this to the general manager of Washington Square so they are aware they will see an increase. Council President Snider commented they have been getting a subsidy for several years. Councilor Goodhouse mentioned that their customers often use nearby side streets. Councilor Henderson commented that it would be good if Portland was having this conversation. He said while it is understandable that maintaining the CPI at a high level saves money,the CPI jump is sizable for a small town. He commented that the politics were strong last time this was considered and council did not err by talking to businesses. Transportation Project Engineer McCarthy said Hillsboro recently doubled their fee. West Linn and Oregon City are currently at$10 per month. Councilor Goodhouse asked about projections for what will be raised by River Terrace construction. Mr. LaFrance said for the next ten years River Terrace roads will be brand new. He said when homes are occupied this will increase the residential base and there will be more people to spread the costs. Engineer McCarthy commented that these new residents will also be driving on other Tigard streets. Finance and Information Services Director LaFrance asked if council wanted to move forward with code changes or fees. He asked if a hearing should be scheduled or was another workshop discussion desired. Mayor Cook acknowledged the outreach already done but suggested further TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 3 of 6 outreach to residents and commercial customers with actual dollars listed. Council President Snider said it needs to be clear what the city is trying to achieve. Councilor Goodhouse mentioned that a question came up at the Cooking with the Council event about why a road that already looked good was being paved. He said people need to hear that preventive maintenance on good roads is easier and cheaper in the long run. Council President Snider suggested tying communication about this to the future and sharing that everyone's cost will eventually be reduced. Councilor Henderson said in the past the city found the street maintenance program was not working. Increasing the index requires we do some extra work. He acknowledged previous councils were brave to tackle this and did a good job of protecting Tigard's streets. He said he is still upset about the federally demanded ADA curb cuts having to come out of this budget. City Manager Wine confirmed that the street maintenance fee report reflects the direction council is prepared to consider. She said staff will replicate the residential outreach poll and extend it to businesses,perhaps through Tigard's Chamber of Commerce or the city's fall community survey. Staff will put the feedback results in a report for Council so they will have it before considering any policy changes. Council President Snider suggested giving survey responders information about the public hearing date. 4. QUASI-JUDICIAL PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER VACATION OF PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT ADJACENT TO ASH AVENUE a. Mayor Cook opened the public hearing. b. City Attorney Olsen gave a statement describing procedures. C. Mayor Cook asked council if they have any conflicts of interest. None were mentioned. Mayor Cook asked council members to declare any contacts about this case with a member of the public or if they have independent knowledge or relevant facts, such as from a visit to the site in question. Councilor Goodhouse said he walked past the site. d. Statement by Mayor Cook: Mayor Cook said the conduct for tonight's hearing shall be as follows: 1. City staff will summarize the written staff report. 2. Council will take public comment. 3. Staff will have an opportunity to respond. Council members may also ask the staff and witnesses questions throughout the hearing. After the record is closed the City Council will deliberate. During deliberations,the City Council may re-open the public portion of the hearing if necessary to receive additional evidence before making a decision. TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES - SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 4 of 6 e. Redevelopment Project Manager Farrelly gave a brief staff report and said this easement is no longer needed. Utility providers and adjacent property owners were notified and only one response was received. Frontier said they have no objections to the vacation. f. Public Testimony: Mayor Cook asked if anyone in the audience wanted to speak. No one testified. g. Staff response to public testimony: (Not needed as there was no public testimony.) h. Mayor Cook closed the public hearing. i. Council consideration of Ordinance No. 15-15 Councilor Goodhouse moved for adoption of Ordinance No. 15-15. Council President Snider seconded the motion. City Recorder Krager read the number and title of the ordinance: ORDINANCE NO.15-15 AN ORDINANCE VACATING APPROXIMATELY 100 SQUARE FEET OF PUBLIC UTILITY EASEMENT ALONG SW ASH AVENUE IN THE CITY OF TIGARD,WASHINGTON COUNTY, OREGON (VAC2015- 00001)AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY There was no further discussion. Mayor Cook asked City Recorder Krager to conduct a roll- call vote. Yes No Councilor Goodhouse ✓ Councilor Henderson ✓ Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard (absent) Mayor Cook ✓ Mayor Cook announced that Ordinance No. 15-15 passed by unanimous vote of council. 5. PREVIEW AND UPDATE ON THE LIBRARY'S AUTOMATED MATERIALS HANDLING Library Director Barnes said the Lyngsoe automated materials handling system is fully operational and has been well received by library patrons. Efficiencies in checking in items and returning them to the shelves have improved. She said council will be given a demonstration at the library at the end of this meeting. Councilor Henderson mentioned he heard a comment about volunteers losing 189 hours because of automation. Library Director Barnes said the 189 hours represents 4.5 FTE volunteers which was a fluctuating workforce. She said they love their volunteers but they do not meet the same schedule TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES - SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 5 of 6 requirements as for employees. The automated system provides a more consistent work flow and also frees up other volunteer opportunities. She said staff spent six months meeting with volunteers to offer them other areas of the library where assistance is needed. She acknowledged that the check-in process changed dramatically and for the public good but there are many other activities that have been transferred over to volunteers. At 7:42 p.m. Mayor Cook said the council would go over to the library to see a demonstration on the new automated materials handling system. He announced that the meeting would adjourn from the library. At 7:45 p.m. Councilor Henderson left the meeting. Mayor Cook,Council President Snider, Councilor Goodhouse,City Manager Wine,Assistant City Manager Newton,and City Recorder Krager went to the Tigard Public Library where Library Director Barnes gave a tour and demonstrated the automated materials handling system. Council identified some security concerns and asked about the unit cost for checking in library materials and the difference in efficiency since the new system was implemented. Ms.Barnes said she will have this data by the next budget preparation cycle. 6. NON AGENDA ITEMS *This item was heard prior to council leaving Town Hall to tour the Library. City Manager Wine said she sent a memo to council outlining content of materials the city will use to educate and inform voters on the three measures on the November ballot. She encouraged council to read them and give her any comments. She said all materials have been reviewed by the Secretary of State. The only other planned election activity council will be a public forum to be scheduled for October. Councilor Henderson asked if council suggests changes would the material have to go back to the Secretary of State's office for review. City Manager Wine said it would. 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION None held. 8. ADJOURNMENT At 8:20 p.m. Council President Snider moved for adjournment and Councilor Goodhouse seconded the motion.The motion passed. Yes No Councilor Goodhouse ✓ Councilor Henderson (left at 7:45 p.m.) Council President Snider ✓ Councilor Woodard (absent) Mayor Cook �/✓ (�4i1 Carol A. Krager,City RecoAer Attest: (I John . Cook,Mayor a Date TIGARD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES — SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 City of Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,"Tigard,OR 97223 1 www.tigard-or.gov Page 6 of 6