Loading...
2010-2950-Minutes for Meeting October 07,2010 Recorded 12/6/2010NANCYUBLANKCOUNTY ENSHIP FCOUNTY CLERKDS vd 20+~N2950 COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL 12/06/2010 08:54:35 an 11111111111111111111111111111111111 111111111111111111111111111111111111 2010-2950 Do not remove this page from original document. Deschutes County Clerk Certificate Page Ij WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES SISTERS CITY COUNCIL 520 E. CASCADE AVENUE OCTOBER 07, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: STAFF PRESENT: Lon Kellstrom Mayor Eileen Stein City Manager Jerry Bogart Councilor Pauline Hardie Comm Devel Director Pat Thompson Councilor Brad Grimm Public Works Director Lynne Fujita-Conrads Accounting Analyst ABSENT: Liz Majury Accounting Technician Bill Merrill Council President Kathy Nelson City Recorder Sharlene Weed Councilor ABSENT: DESCHUTES COUNTY: Lisa Young Finance Director Dennis Luke Commissioner Alan Unger Commissioner GUESTS: Erik Kropp Deputy County Admin Brad Bailey President HCD Timm Schimke Director of Solid Waste Peter Gutowsky Principal Planner ABSENT: Tammy Baney Commissioner Dave Kanner County Administrator 1. Quarterly Meeting with Deschutes County Commissioners A. Welcome and Introductions The joint meeting of the Sisters City Council and Deschutes County Commissioners was called to order at 8:11 a.m. by Mayor Kellstrom and Commissioner Luke. Introductions were made and Mayor Kellstrom welcomed County staff and visitors. B. Visitor Communication There was no visitor communication. C. Sisters Recycle Center Status Manager Stein explained the City recently approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City, Deschutes County and High Country Disposal (HCD) for the operations of the Sisters recycling center for FY 10-11. She stated Council members were interested in discussing what the County's future participation in operating the facility will be. Timm Schimke, Deschutes County Director of Solid Waste stated the County has experienced a significant drop in flow to its landfills over the last four years which has caused the County to Workshop Meeting Minutes 10/07/10 Page 1 of5 WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES SISTERS CITY COUNCIL 520 E. CASCADE AVENUE OCTOBER 07, 2010 close two of its facilities on Sundays, reduce hours of operations and cut staff. He stated service at collection centers had been transferred to franchise collectors such as HCD. He stated that although the County is participating by providing $25,000 towards operations of the center this year, he is expecting a flat revenue year and does not expect the County to participate towards operation costs at the Sisters recycle center next year. He stated the responsibility for operations will transition to the franchise collector. HCD President Brad Bailey stated HCD began operation of the center in August and he has not collected enough data to determine what the future needs will be. He reported that with the new curbside recycling program in the rural areas outside Sisters there has been a noticeable drop in the amount of recyclables coming into the center. Commissioner Luke added it was too early to know what the Deschutes County budget committee would decide for next year. Councilor Thompson remarked the City paid all the up-front costs to build the recycling center and stated the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) provided for the County's participation in down-the-road costs such as staffing. He stated it has been just two years and the County is terminating the IGA. He voiced his disappointment stating the vision for the recycling center was for the long term. He stated without support from the County the burden falls to HCD to make the center financially feasible and that will likely require a rate hike to cover expenses once the County ends its participation. Commissioner Luke stated all Deschutes County residents are benefiting with the slowdown as it means the landfill will not fill-up as fast. Councilor Thompson stated the County also uses recycling to meet the state diversion program requirements so the County is deriving a benefit from the recycling center also. Director Schimke stated there was no difference whether it is the County or the County's franchise holder that operates the center. Commissioner Unger thanked Councilor Thompson for bringing the subject up and agreed the County should look at the matter carefully. Councilor Thompson stated he was looking for a solution that is not a cost burden that will be passed onto the citizens of Sisters. Commissioner Luke stated he thought the discussion was premature and time was needed to develop an understanding of how the center is being used with the changes that have occurred. He suggested continuing the conversation at the April 2011 joint workshop when it is closer to budget season. Mr. Bailey stated by January he will have new forecasts and a better idea of what will be required to keep the center operational for FY 11-12. He noted that recycling at the center is down by 40% which has decreased his hauling costs. Mr. Bailey stated he would also attend the joint April workshop. D. Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness Deputy County Administrator Eric Kropp explained the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness is a national effort with 275 communities involved across the nation. He stated the plan addresses Workshop Meeting Minutes 10/07/10 Page 2 of5 WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES SISTERS CITY COUNCIL 520 E. CASCADE AVENUE OCTOBER 07, 2010 homelessness in a new way by using a housing first model to get homeless people into housing and then providing the services they need to be successful. He stated the local program consists of two committees; the steering committee comprised of elected officials and the working group comprised of providers, non-profits and others. He reported the working committee created a draft plan identifying 30 potential strategies that were presented at seven town hall meetings held concurrently across the entire region. He stated the purpose of the meetings was to gather information for the regional plan. He distributed the executive summary of the town meetings as well as the summary sheet specific to the Sisters town hall meeting. He indicated the strongest message taken from the Sisters meeting was the desire to develop a continuum of services within the community. Deputy Administrator Kropp reported the working committee is drafting a plan for the steering committee to adopt. That plan will then go out to the cities and counties for adoption to launch the effort. Manager Stein indicated Sisters was seeing a larger percentage of the population with unmet needs and would like information that could be disseminated via utility bills or through Family Access Network (FAN). Councilor Bogart suggested that on a local level the City could add a surcharge to utility bills that could be used to help those in need within our City. Manager Stein suggested the draft plan be presented at the next joint workshop. E. Historical Landmarks Commission Discussion Deschutes County Principal Planner Peter Gutosky provided an overview of the type of work and projects the Historic Landmarks Commission is involved with. He explained that currently the Commission is comprised of nine regional members representing four cities. He stated members have been made aware of a new movement whereby each city establishes its own program to increase the potential for grant funding at a local level. Manager Stein asked if decentralization would occur regardless of whether Sisters wants to split off from the Deschutes County program. Planner Gutosky replied creating a local historic landmarks commission is not required and it is more a matter of whether a city would like to split off from the Deschutes County program. If so, he stated, the request would be honored. Manager Stein commented that with only four historic building in the City it is not feasible to have a separate commission and the cooperative relationship Sisters has with the existing commission works well. F. Other Business Commissioner Luke stated the meeting would be his last before his retirement from his commission position and stated he had enjoyed working with the City on a number of issues. Mayor Kellstrom thanked Commissioner Luke for the help he has provided to the City over his years as a commissioner. Commissioner Unger reported the Collaborative Landscape Forest Restoration Project was moving forward with meetings to develop oversight structure. He stated continued political Workshop Meeting Minutes 10/07/10 Page 3 of5 WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES SISTERS CITY COUNCIL 520 E. CASCADE AVENUE OCTOBER 07, 2010 outreach to Washington D.C. will be necessary to secure additional funding. Manager Stein thanked Commissioner Unger for the trip he made to Washington, D.C., noting it made all the difference in bringing the importance of the project to the forefront and ultimately funding. G. Adjourn Joint Meeting Mayor Kellstrom thanked the Commissioner's and County staff for attending the workshop. Mayor Kellstrom called for a recess at 9:12 a.m. The meeting reconvened at 9:17 a.m. 2. Utility Payment Program Changes Accounting Technician Liz Majury reported the City would be expanding its utility payment options to include credit card drafting and on-line payments. A PowerPoint presentation included details on how accounts are paid at present and how the new processes would be implemented. She informed the Council that staff is constantly asked if a person can make a credit card payment over the phone or if the City can keep an individuals credit card number on file and charge it monthly. Since neither of those options are allowed at present, the new options will provide better customer service as well as a more efficient use of staff time when processing payments. Representatives from Bend Mailing, the company the City contracts with for sending out utility bills, provided an on-line demonstration showing how easy the new processes will be. Bend Mailing will also oversee the two new processes. The Council was supportive of the new payment options. Technician Majury informed the Council the two programs would be implemented between October and November. 3. Preview October 14, 2010 Workshop and Regular Meeting A eg nda Manager Stein provided a preview of the upcoming workshop and regular meeting. She noted there were several items on the workshop agenda to cover. The Council requested the order of the items for discussion in the workshop be changed so the COIC Needs and Issues preliminary list was the first topic at the workshop. Manager Stein stated the change would be made. 4. City Manager Update Manager Stein directed the Council to the description of the Desktop Support Technician position included in the workshop packets. She stated the City intends to recruit locally through the Nugget Newspaper and that Todd Pilch, the City's contracted IT staff person, will participate in the interview process. Councilor Thompson requested the recruitment ad be written so that citizens understand it is merely a transfer from a contracted person to an in-house position and that anew job is not being created. He stated the ad should also point out the cost savings to the City. Manager Stein replied the ad would be written accordingly. Workshop Meeting Minutes 10/07/10 Page 4 of5 WORKSHOP MEETING MINUTES SISTERS CITY COUNCIL 520 E. CASCADE AVENUE OCTOBER 07, 2010 Manager Stein informed the Council that a horse drawn carriage will be participating in the Harvest Faire as a special event but the owner would like the ability to be in Sisters on a more regular basis for not only special events but weddings, caroling and other appropriate venues. She stated staff discussed the matter with City Attorney Bryant and he stated the carriage should be considered a taxi service. She explained that currently the Municipal Code as it relates to taxi service only allows motorized vehicles. She stated it could easily be amended to include the carriage and other forms of taxi service such as pedi-cabs. She stated the City would control the non-typical types of taxi service by limiting their length. Community Development Director Hardie stated she discussed the horse carriage business with the Bend Police Department as the business owner provides his services in Bend on a regular basis. She stated the police indicated they have not had any issues with the carriage owner. The Council agreed to have staff amend the ordinance relating to taxi services to be more broad based and include other means of transportation. Manager Stein stated a revised ordinance would come back to the Council for adoption. Manager Stein distributed an email from Economic Development of Central Oregon (EDCO) Executive Director Roger Lee in response to the Council's request to know who participated on the interview team and the names of the candidates applying for the economic development position in Sisters. Mr. Lee's email advised that EDCO did not plan to release that information. She indicated she would make certain a copy of the email was given to the two councilors not in attendance. 5. Tour of Public Works Facility Director Grimm offered to take Council members on a tour of the new Public Works building currently under construction. There were no Council members available to take the tour. The meeting was adjourned at 9:58 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Kathy Nelson, City Recorder Lon Kellstrom, Mayor Workshop Meeting Minutes 10/07/10 Page 5 of5 DATED this day of d u~' U C~~l'f`~'~ 2010 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. DE IS R. LUKE, air 1 ALAN UNGER, Commissioner Qp7v2e~l TAMM ANEY, Co ssioner ATTEST: Recording Secretary