Loading...
2001-495-Minutes for Meeting June 14,2001 Recorded 6/21/2001VOL: CJ2001 PAGE: 495 RECORDED DOCUMENT STATE OF OREGON COUNTY OF DESCHUTES *CJ2001-495 * Vol -Page Printed: 06/29/2001 15:52:29 DO NOT REMOVE THIS CERTIFICATE (This certificate constitutes a part of the original instrument in accordance with ORS 205.180(2). Removal of this certificate may invalidate this certificate and affect the admissibility of the original instrument into evidence in any legal proceeding.) I hereby certify that the attached instrument was received and duly recorded in Deschutes County records: DATE AND TIME: DOCUMENT TYPE: Jun. 21, 2001; 9:23 a.m. Regular Meeting (CJ) NUMBER OF PAGES: 7 MARY SUE PENHOLLOW DESCHUTES COUNTY CLERK KEYpVIVCWtJ JUN 15 2001 EV) AA t' �AX� Board of Commissioners 1130 N.W. Harriman St., Bend, Oregon 97701-1947 (541) 388-6570 • Fax (541) 388-4752 www.deschutes.org Tom De Wolf Dennis R. Luke MINUTES OF MEETING Mike Daly DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AND 7 `--'• BEND CITY COUNCIL' ;z:' THURSDAY, JUNE 149 2001 = '_ X C') Present were Commissioners Tom DeWolf, Dennis Luke and Mike Daly; Mike Maier, County Administrator; George Read, County Community Development; Tom Blust, County Road Department; and Jenny Scanlon, County Media Representative. Also present were Bend City Councilors Bruce Abernethy, Kathie Eckman and John Hummel; Mayor Bill Friedman; Ron Garzini, Interim City Manager; Bend Police Chief Andy Jordan; and Patricia Stell, City of Bend Recorder. Barney Lerten of bend com and one other freelance media representative were in attendance. Bend City Councilor Oran Teater joined the meeting at approximately 8:40 a.m. The joint meeting between the Bend City Council and the Board of County Commissioners was called to order at 8:10 a.m. 1. Before the Group was a Discussion of the Bend Welcome Center. Mike Maier explained that the County has been meeting with the Oregon Department of Transportation, and there seems to be a strong interest in working out an exchange of properties. He said they hope to identify properties that are of equal value to the equity of the Welcome Center. ODOT has identified properties that in its estimation are of like value. They are in the process of getting appraisals on them. Minutes of Meeting Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Quality Services Performed with Pride Page 1 of 7 Pages Thursday, June 14, 2001 Mr. Maier further said that they would meet again to agree on an exchange. ODOT will provide a down payment and take over the payments. There is a balance now of about $1 million, with a payment due in November. An exchange could occur as early as July, with close of escrow in January, and with ODOT taking possession probably around June or July of next year. A general discussion occurred regarding properties that might be of interest in this exchange. Dennis Luke said the equity would be a 50/50 split between the City and County. If the transaction were concluded by January, it would save paying annual debt service of $40,000 each for the City and County. Ron Garzini stated that preliminary discussions with the Bend Development Board indicate that ODOT offered up properties that just happen to be in the plan. The Bend Development Board actually wants one piece that the County is interested in as well. The good news for the City is that this will be taken to the development committee and the council; the Bend Development Board then acquires the property; and the City then uses that acquisition to get rid of its share of the problem. He further explained that in terms of the Bend Visitors Center, ODOT has agreed to let them use the facility for years to come; they want to stay there, and ODOT has made a long-term commitment to them. ODOT likes having the Bend Visitors Center in the building. He pointed out that the only negative is that Ed Coe and Economic Development will have to move out, as ODOT needs the space. What it means for the County and City is, bottom-line, that $80,000 a year of lease payments will be gone. Mike Maier explained that the County is still working with the Chamber of Commerce, which is kind of like the master tenant. They'll be there through the end of the year. Gary Peters indicated they will continue in that capacity, and has notified the tenants of what is happening. No specific date can be given, but they are on a month-to-month lease. They have been assured that nothing will happen before the end of the calendar year. Minutes of Meeting Page 2 of 7 Pages Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Thursday, June 14, 2001 Mr. Maier further said that the Chamber of Commerce built up a reserve fund of approximately $20,000. This comes back to the City and County. In addition, the appraisal did not include the artwork. Some is part of the building, and may increase its value. Mr. Maier stated that he feels the County is close in its selection of the ODOT property. 2. Before the Group was an Update on the Humane Society of Central Oregon. Mike Maier said that a committee has met to discuss the potential merger with the Redmond Humane Society. They meet again later this day. A contract between the County and the City of Redmond has been signed, which is a continuation of the old contract. It includes a formula to include growth and CPI. A copy of this has been shared with the Humane Society of Central Oregon, and requested that they try to mirror it as much as possible. He further explained that the Central Oregon Humane Society would like to go back to a specific rate per day per dog, as they feel the monthly flat rate is not working. A sticking point is that they will get money from both the County and the dog owner, if the dog is bailed out. The collection rate is low, though, since a lot of dog owners say they can't afford to pay. This will be analyzed through next year. Tom DeWolf stated that if this arrangement were agreed upon now, it would be hard to go back. There should be an actual dollar amount attached to the service. If it's doubled, this needs to be justified. Mike Maier said that the $14.50 daily fee per dog is fair for the services provided; by statute they have to keep the dogs three days, and the County requires five days; but it usually ends up being much longer. After five days the dog becomes the property of the Humane Society, and it becomes their cost. They do have an outstanding adoption rate. Dennis Luke stated that the cost is much less than it would be if the County tried to run its own shelter. Minutes of Meeting Page 3 of 7 Pages Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Thursday, June 14, 2001 Mike Maier said there would be further discussions with them. The Humane Society also gets 40% of the license fees; he said he'd like to see them sell more licenses. The percentage is lower than it was five years ago. Tom DeWolf explained that there was a fee increase from $6.00 to $10.00, but neither Humane Society has held up its end of the bargain regarding public education about licensing. Bill Friedman replied that it is hard to track the results of educational efforts. Tom DeWolf stated that there's been an increase in funding for the Humane Society, but we can't identify what they've done. Mike Maier said there is a separate agreement regarding the license fees. Mr. DeWolf further said that perhaps the County should demand they track educational efforts separately. Andy Jordan stated they are making a better effort, but discussions regarding a merger might take a while. There are some turf battles involving the staff of both of the humane societies. A general discussion occurred regarding costs and revenue sources. Andy Jordan said that most counties run their own shelters, and that even with the costs incurred here, the current arrangement is a bargain. 3. Before the Group was a Discussion of Transportation Issues. Tom DeWolf explained that Bill Friedman and Oran Teater met with him the previous day to discuss transportation issues. Ron Garzini said that the City has decided to have COIC be the coordinator for transit plans for the region. A peer review of Bend's plans is now happening, to ramp up Dial a Ride on demand to a fixed route some day. It has been agreed that Bend will be the regional dispatch center, and will plan to serve in the role of ramp up. The City is also working with Redmond and other agencies regarding vehicle maintenance issues. Oran Teater joined the meeting at this point. Mr. Garzini explained that everyone realizes that Bend can't serve the region's transit needs, so there needs to be a next step some day. Minutes of Meeting Page 4 of 7 Pages Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Thursday, June 14, 2001 Tom DeWolf said that COIC met regarding this subject, and there is some hesitancy regarding the Bend Dial a Ride program, which has not yet transitioned into this demand response system. The City of Redmond has nothing in its plans. This means connecting two marginal systems that won't be able to handle what people need. $245,000 came to Bend many years ago; Bend had turned it back, as long as it stayed at COIC. He further stated that at the last meeting of the City of Redmond, the council dedicated $45,000 toward planning efforts at COIC, with $200,000 diverted to Bend for its planning, with the focus being the creation of a software program that would work on a regional basis as it rolls out in that direction. We're talking about Jefferson County and Crook County as well as all of us. It passed unanimously, so that money is staying in the region and has an identified purpose. Mr. DeWolf said it seems logical that Bend is sort of driving the bus at this point. At some point down the road, Redmond would be the next cog in the wheel; then it would move out to Madras and Prineville. Since COIC has representatives from all of the counties and cities, it is the logical organization to transition from Bend driving the bus to the region driving the bus. He suggested that the City may want to contact Ric Ingham or someone at COIL, and maybe people from the other counties will get involved in a committee to keep the dialogue going. Ron Garzini explained that the contact between the drivers and dispatch is the most difficult piece, and there's much involved in vehicle maintenance. The drivers provide huge input to the maintenance crew, and the dispatchers are the eyes and ears of the vehicles on the road. Someday when Bend is 75,000 people and has a big transit system, you'll rue the day you ever let the drivers, maintenance and dispatch get separated. You just can't split these out. He also said that by spring of 2002, approximately next May, Bend will be an MPO (Metropolitan Planning Organization for Transportation). A population of 50,000 gives us the necessary density, and we're there according to preliminary census data. Once the census is ratified, an MPO must be formed within a year or it will get in the way of federal highway and transit monies. Minutes of Meeting Page 5 of 7 Pages Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Thursday, June 14, 2001 Mr. Garzini went on to say that the County cannot be excluded in this process, and the Redmond Airport should also be a part of this planning. The cities, county, and the regional manager of ODOT must be a part of this at the policy level. Planners and operations folks from the cities and County should be involved at the technical level. And then there will be the citizen level. He further stated that you pass this plan through the state to the federal, but the state can't affect it. It can only be the contiguous census tract, so people from outlying areas can be involved in the citizen group or technical group only. The boundaries may not be the same as the City of Bend, so there may be a separate group created from the city and the county for the purposes of transportation planning and project development. The law says the governor has one year from the date the census is ratified to create the MPO. There is money from the feds, approximately $350,000 a year, which funds the MPO activity. The smallest MPO gets $350,000; the big ones get well over a million dollars. Mike Daly asked if this is something new. Mr. Garzini replied that MPO's go back at least thirty years. He said we're just getting to the population level where this is required. In-depth transportation will be addressed, including transit, streets and more; and the group will have to update the program annually. When projects are developed that you want funded, they automatically go into the state and on to the feds. He also explained that the cities of Salem and Eugene as well as the Rogue Valley have been willing to provide information since they have been through this process before. Bill Friedman explained that this is important in a further context. The City is beginning to collect information about this issue, and is discussing how it will be put together. The City's transportation committee has already begun to talk about the coordination of City and County traffic groups. This is beginning to move the two groups into closer coordination, and that's a good thing. The MPO will eventually have a half-dozen full-time employees doing transportation planning within the City and County area, and will work with citizens on issues as they arise. Dennis Luke said that there would be a motion before the Central Oregon Area Commission on Transportation today to support the Millican Road by- pass. Minutes of Meeting Page 6 of 7 Pages Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Thursday, June 14, 2001 A general discussion continued regarding this subject. Other transportation issues touched upon at the meeting were connecting the Providence subdivision with Highway 20, and the City of Redmond's by-pass plans. A brief discussion then occurred regarding the City's recruiting efforts to locate a Chief Financial Officer and a City Manager. Dennis Luke complimented the City of Bend on its progress regarding improvements to the Bend Airport, and its proactive handling of potential problems that could have surfaced from the owners of neighboring properties. A discussion ensued regarding changes to the Bend Airport. It was explained that all parties, especially the pilot groups, worked very hard to make the changes to the airport acceptable to the neighbors. One compromise was the limiting of businesses operating out of the Bend Airport to airport or flying related enterprises. Oran Teater said that the County would need to approve the changes; then it goes to the City, and finally the F.A.A. Ron Garzini stated that this will probably occur by July or August, and that the County Board would have to conduct a hearing since it's a quasi-judicial matter. He further said that the F.A.A. has very specific requirements for the runways and other equipment, and that federal funding will be paying for the work. Being no further items brought to the table for discussion, the meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Baker Recording Secretary Minutes of Meeting Page 7 of 7 Pages Board of County Commissioners and City of Bend Council Thursday, June 14, 2001