BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS’
REGULAR MEETING
February 23, 2011
9:00 a.m.
Harris Hall Main Floor
APPROVED 3-15-2011
Commissioner Faye Stewart presided with Commissioners Jay Bozievich, Rob Handy, Sid Leiken and Pete Sorenson present. County Administrator Liane Richardson, County Counsel Stephen Vorhes and Recording Secretary Melissa Zimmer were also present.
1. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA
Item 5.B.1) is pulled.
Richardson asked the Board if they wanted to provide input to the Legislative Assembly about the proposed Junction City State Hospital and HB 3280, dealing with restaurants and wineries. She distributed information for these items.
Stewart wanted to take up these items.
Handy asked if they could schedule it for the afternoon.
Stewart indicated there was support to take these items as Other Business in the afternoon.
2. PUBLIC COMMENTS
David Sonnichsen, Eugene, thanked the Board for taking action on endorsing the Whilamut Passage Bridge.
Kari Westlund, Veneta, recalled that the cities of Eugene, Springfield and Lane County each invested in the success of hosting the 2008 Olympic Team Trials for Track and Field, known as Eugene 08. She said the organizers are asking all three jurisdictions to match their levels of support for hosting the 2012 Trials. She reported that Lane County’s support totaled $300,000, less than seven percent of the total operating budget for the event. She added that Eugene 08 generated returns that included $28 million dollars in spending, the use of over 33,000 hotel room nights, 5,802 media articles reaching a circulation of 617.2 million people and it resulted in the booking of more than $73 million dollars with of track and field meets in the years since they won the bid for the 2008 Trials. She indicated that it provided business for the community. She asked for the Board to support the 2012 Trials.
Greg Erwin, Eugene, said he is co-chair of Track Town 12. He commented that Track Town USA is no longer a theoretical moniker for the community, but a national and global brand gaining greater prominence each year. He said each track event has further cemented the area as a premier destination for the highest quality events in the sport and it has brought visitors to Lane County. He commented that Track Town USA generates jobs and income. He reported since 2006, 5 FTE have been created to manage the operation of Track Town each year. He noted as a direct result of the popularity of Track Town USA, other track events have brought in another 12 FTE, drawing additional events to the community. He said Track Town USA and its marketing event Track Town 12 will be valuable to Lane County. He asked the Board to help invest in its success.
Vin Lananna, Eugene, spoke about the spirit of Track Town USA. He indicated that there is great excitement in the community. He hoped the Board supports moving forward for the 2012 Trials.
Douglas Beauchamp, Eugene, said he is involved with arts in the community. He asked the Board to support the naming of the new I-5 bridge the Whilamut Passage Bridge. He commented that it isn’t just a label, it is a marker of leadership for future generations. He indicated the approval by the Board is a commitment for moving forward. He thanked the Board for their consideration.
Charlotte Behm, Springfield, stated that she has been on the citizen planning committee for the Whilamut Passage Bridge for over a decade. She wanted to see this go forward. She hoped the Board considers it. On another note, she stated she is taking a wine class and learned about the importance of pairing wines with food. She hoped that the Board doesn’t restrict restaurants.
Vicki Mello, Eugene, discussed the I-5 bridge naming. She thought the bridge naming was a positive step forward to help everyone crossing the bridge. She thought the area was unique. She asked the Board to endorse the name Whilamut Passage Bridge.
Jim Gillette, distributed letters. (Copy in file). He thanked Sorenson last week for asking for a letter. He thanked Stewart for listening to him on the phone. He said there has been no evidence against him that he was in violation. He thought the reason why the legal department worked so hard to keep this from the Board is because they have no evidence. He said he was guilty of not having the money for the fine so he could have a hearing. He thought that legal counsel should work for the citizens who are paying their wages. He stated that he wants a hearing.
Jamon Kent, Junction City, spoke on the Mayor of Junction City’s behalf. He indicated the Joint Ways and Means Committee of the legislature has diverted funding for 174 beds at the hospital slated for Junction City to other local health programs. He said this is about ten years of work putting infrastructure in place. He added that funding is there and everything is together. He noted the 174 bed state bed hospital in Junction City will provide 522 jobs for the area, not including the construction work. He noted the state currently houses people in Portland and the facility will need to be closed. He added the facility in Pendleton will also need to be closed. He indicated the numbers of beds they need are the ones slated for the hospital in Junction City. He asked for the Board to support a resolution.
3. COMMISSIONERS' RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS AND/OR OTHER ISSUES AND REMONSTRANCE
Handy reported that this weekend he delivered the opening remarks at the Food Justice Conference at the University of Oregon. He said when they think about economic development, they have to make sure they are paying attention to preserving their soils and making sure they have quality and quantity of water and clean air. He said there are still some people who deny climate change. He stated the debate is over, it is about climate destabilization. He said in Lane County they have resources that will be important to them as the destabilization becomes clear. He said change will come, the question is will it be orderly and planned or violent and chaotic. He said they need to focus on foodsheds as well as their air and watersheds as they look at economic development.
Leiken announced that it was the sixth year in a row that Springfield High School and Thurston High School placed first and second in the state high school cheerleading competition. He recalled two years ago Springfield High School won the national championship in cheerleading competition. He also noted that the Springfield High School Girls Basketball Team was number one in the state for 5A. He added the Thurston Boys and Girls also made it to the basketball championship and the Thurston Boys won the 6A title this year.
Stewart thanked David Sonnichsen for bringing the Whilamut Passage Bridge to the Board. He said in the past they supported the Olympic Trials at the $300,000 level. He commented that it will be challenging to support that amount at this time. He said they will try to become a contributor and supporter for the event. He asked if Richardson could review Jim Gillette’s letter and bring it back as a board item. He received a letter from former commissioner Bobby Green. He said Green wanted the letter read into the record. Stewart stated that Green wanted to make his opposition known that he doesn’t think Lane County should appeal the judge’s decision.
4. EMERGENCY BUSINESS
None.
5. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Approval of Minutes: None.
B. Board of Commissioners
1) ORDER 11-2-23-1/In the Matter of Appointing a Member to the Lane County Commission for the Advancement of Human Rights. (PULLED)
C. County Administration
1) ORDER 11-2-23-2/In the Matter of Extending Board Appointments of Three (3) Members of the Economic Development Standing Committee (EDSC) Whose Terms Expired on January 3, 2011.
D. County Counsel
1) ORDER 11-2-23-3/In the Matter of Appointing Justices Pro Tempore for the Florence Justice Court Through January 6, 2012.
E. Health and Human Services
1) ORDER 11-2-23-4/In the Matter of Appointing Two Members and Reappointing Two Members to the Community Health Council.
F. Public Works
1) ORDER 11-2-23-5/ In the Matter of Awarding a Contract, FY10/11 FS-06, to Kendall Ford, in the Amount of $434,635.61, for the Purchase of Three (3) New Compact 4x4 Pickups, One (1) Cab-chassis Truck, One (1) 1 Ton Pickup/box Delete, Seven (7) Mid-sedans, One (1) Intermediate SUV, Seven (7) Police Sedans, One (1) Unmarked Police Sedan, One (1) Compact Cargo Van, One (1) Compact 2x4 Pickup, with No Trade-in, as Per Bid.
2) ORDER 11-2-23-6/In the Matter of Awarding a Contract, FY 10/11 FS-06, to Hubbard Chevrolet, Inc., in the Amount of $105,297.96, for the Purchase of Three (3) New Police Pursuit SUVs and One (1) ½ Ton Crew-cab Pickup, with No Trade-in, as Per Bid.
3) ORDER 11-2-23-7/In the Matter of Awarding a Contract, FY 10/11 FS-06, to Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Wilsonville, in the Amount of $112,263, for the Purchase of Two (2) New Compact SUVs, One (1) Mini-Van, and Two (2) Intermediate SUVs, with No Trade-in, as Per Bid.
4) ORDER 11-2-23-8/In the Matter of Approving an Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Lowell for Mitigation Site Monitoring and Reporting of the Wetleau Housing Project in the Estimated Revenue Amount of $40,000 for a Six-Year Term with the Option to Extend in Order to Complete the Project.
5) ORDER 11-2-23-9/In the Matter of Authorizing Applications for Funding on Identified Roads from the Federal Highway Administration Under the 2010 Oregon Forest Highway Pavement Preservation Projects.
6) ORDER 11-2-23-10/In the Matter of Amending the Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Eugene for Cooperative Services Regarding the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Permit Held by the County.
MOTION: to approve the Consent Calendar.
Leiken MOVED, Bozievich SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
6. PROCLAMATION
a. ORDER 11-2-23-11/In the Matter of Proclaiming the Month of March as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in Lane County.
Stewart read the order into the record.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 11-2-23-11.
Bozievich MOVED, Leiken SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
7. COMMISSIONERS’ BUSINESS
a. ORDER 11-2-23-15 / Endorsing Naming the Newly Rebuilt Interstate 5 Willamette River Bridge the “Whilamut Passage Bridge.”
Stewart recalled six months ago they had this item as a Public Hearing. He said there was no opposition but they were waiting for a Lane County naming policy to be in place. He noted that Richardson indicated a naming policy has been adopted.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 11-2-23-11.
Handy MOVED, Leiken SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
8. COUNTY ADMINISTRATION
a. Announcements.
None.
b. ORDER 11-2-23-12/In the Matter of Approving a $75,000 Loan from the Overnight Stay Development Loan Fund and a $75,000 Grant from the Economic Development Strategic Investment Program to St. Vincent de Paul for the Oakridge Incubator Project.
Mike McKenzie-Bahr, Economic Development, explained that this is a request for a $75,000 loan and $75,000 matching grant to assist St. Vincent de Paul to convert the former roller rink in Oakridge to a business center. He indicated it is the Upper Willamette Revitalization Center. He noted these would be matching funds for grants received and for money St. Vincent de Paul is investing and what community members have invested into the project. He said the loan fund was set up last year and has not been allocated. He said they had a party who was going to use the funding, went through the process but the party decided not to accept the funds. He thought this was a great use for the funds. He added the other $75,000 is from the video lottery grant program that currently still has about $519,000 in the fund.
Stewart thanked staff for accepting the proposal. He said this money is critically important to secure the facility and the commitment that needs to go along with the grant and loan funds. He indicated what it means to Oakridge is 16 jobs that will produce an opportunity for citizens with needs and challenges to get into the Metro Center to purchase necessities. He said this gives the people the opportunity to buy things in their community. He indicated that they will be able to have job training in this facility.
Leiken thought this would be excellent for the community and he strongly supported it.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 11-2-23-12.
Handy MOVED, Leiken SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
9. COUNTY COUNSEL
a. Announcements
None.
10. MANAGEMENT SERVICES
a. DISCUSSION/Process to Review Population Densities of Each Commissioner District and Modify Boundaries Where Necessary.
Cheryl Betschart, Elections, discussed the process for reviewing the population densities. (Copy in file). She said her job as County Clerk is to redraw the precinct lines. She indicated that happens at the conclusion of everything. She said the census data will be available no later than April 1. She noted that it starts with the congressional and the legislature districts. She added that once those are completed then they will redraw the commissioner lines. She said if the congressional and legislature districts are not drawn, it will go to the Secretary of State and it becomes their responsibility to complete that task. She indicated the cities will also redraw their wards and the PUD’s will do the same. She said her last job is to redraw the precinct lines. She asked for direction for utilizing a task force or to have county staff do the work. She said the timeline begins in July. She stated this has to be completed no later than November 12. She added the latest date that everything has to be done would be November 15 but if the Secretary of State takes on the task, it would be December 15. She indicated the month of January is when she will draw the precinct lines.
Leiken asked if they could purchase software to do the work. He asked if it was better to get it to LCOG for a checks and balances issue. He was interested in saving money in the long run.
Betschart responded that she had met with one software vendor and the price was comparable to utilizing LCOG. She said the piece missing with the software was that it did not include anything for voter registration or precincts. She noted the state is working with a vendor. She added that LCOG can do the same thing with providing voter registration and precincts.
Bozievich stated that he had seen a demonstration of the Moonshadow software. He indicated that it gets data quickly. He asked how much staff time could be saved in the redistricting. He indicated that Moonshadow was sold to the Pennsylvania legislature and there were other entities purchasing the software because of the savings of labor. He supported using a citizen advisory group.
Stewart was interested in further research into the software, if there could be benefit to the County in the future. He also wanted to put a committee together. He heard that Santa Clara/River Road shouldn’t have split commissioners. He thought they could have questions for a committee and then they can make recommendations to the Board.
Betschart said that she would investigate more software options and something they could look at in real time. She thought they could have an interactive group work on this so changes could be instantaneous.
Stewart wanted to see staff get this started. He wanted a seven member committee with appointments made by the Board. He wanted to also get public buy in. He thought the more they could build the public into this, the better the product would be.
Sorenson wanted a task force. He said they are paying LCOG to give them the data and to staff the committee. He wanted to make sure they follow the charter and as much equality in the districts as possible.
Handy wanted something fair, logical and transparent. He wanted a zero to two percent maximum. He thought they should work with the data they currently have and to distribute those as evenly as possible over the five districts. He wanted boundaries that make sense.
Bozievich thought it should start with staff but move toward a citizen task force. He thought getting the citizens involved was important and it makes it an open and transparent process. He indicated that staff is going to need to recommend to the Board a process for appointing the task force members. He thought they also needed a discussion on how the at-large task force members are appointed. He wanted to keep the districts aligned with like populations and geographical areas.
Assistant County Counsel Marc Kardell said they were thinking about getting advertisements for task force members and to distribute whatever applications they get to the Board. He indicated they can then discuss a process in picking the other two. He thought depending on the amount of applications, the Board could opt for a smaller or larger group. He said they could come back to the Board with a draft order in about six weeks.
Handy was comfortable with that process.
Stewart reiterated that the Board wants a citizen task force, the process Kardell is recommending and interest in considering software. He said they want staff with LCOG to get started.
11. PUBLIC WORKS
a. THIRD READING and DELIBERATION/Ordinance No. PA 1277/In the Matter of Amending the Springfield Local Wetland Inventory, the Springfield Inventory of Natural Resource Sites, and the Springfield Natural Resources Study, to Include Newly Identified Wetland and Riparian Sites and to Update the Boundaries of Known Sites Within the Glenwood Area; and Adopting a Severability Clause. (File No. PA 10-6053) (NBA & PM 1/18/11, 2/7/11)
Stephanie Schulz, Land Management, reported that the Public Hearing was held jointly on February 7 and the Hearing was closed after testimony. She added the Board held the County record open until today. She indicated there were additional questions from Handy on evaluation on the site acre calculations and the e-mail communication and response was distributed to the entire Board. She stated there has been no additional written material received by the Board. She reported that last night the Springfield City Council passed their action as a Consent Calendar item.
MOTION: to adopt Ordinance NO. PA 1227.
Leiken MOVED, Handy SECONDED.
ROLL CALL VOTE: 5-0.
12. EXECUTIVE SESSION as per ORS 192.660
(Commissioners' Conference Room)
Per ORS. 192.660 (2)(h) for the purpose of pending litigation.
There being no further business, Commissioner Stewart recessed the meeting at 12:00 p.m.
Melissa Zimmer
Recording Secretary