HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2010-01-05 PM°t LAKE Os k'!
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
January 5, 2010
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Mayor Jack Hoffman called the regular City Council meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. on
January 5, 2010, in the City Council Chambers, 380 A Avenue.
Present: Mayor Hoffman, Councilors Jordan, Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney,
and Johnson.
Staff Present: Alex McIntyre, City Manager; David Powell, City Attorney; Robyn Christie,
City Recorder; Jan Wirtz, Parks S Recreation Dept; Kim Gilmer, Parks &
Recreation Director; Joel Komarek, LOIS Project Director; Jane Heisler,
LOIS Communications Director; Johanna Hastay, Associate Planner;
Christine Kirk, Public Affairs Director; Denise Frisbee, Planning & Building
Director; Denny Egner, Long Range Planning Manager; Guy Graham, Public
Works Director; Erika Rooney, Engineering Services Division Manager;
Jordan Wheeler, Management Analyst
Youth Council
Present: Youth Councilors Cooper and Silbert
3. PRESENTATIONS
3.1 Selection of Council President
Councilor Hennagin moved to elect Councilor Johnson as Council President. Councilor
Jordan seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken, and the motionap ssed with Mayor
Hoffman, Councilors Jordan, Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney, and Johnson voting
`aye.' [7-0]
3.2 Friends of Rogerson Clematis Collection at Luscher Farm
Ms. Wirtz indicated that Brewster Rogerson began his clematis collection in the late 1970s, prior to
his moving to Oregon from Kansas around 1980. He kept his collection in greenhouses until he
donated it to the Friends group, which moved it to Luscher Farm in 2005. She said that the
Friends had a greenhouse and display gardens at Luscher Farm open to the public. In addition,
the Friends provided classes and research on clematis cultivation and propagation.
She introduced Sally Geist, Board President, and Larry Beutler, husband of Curator Linda
Beutler.
Ms. Geist thanked the City for adopting the collection. She announced the collection's acceptance
as a 'collection consortium' with the National North American Collections Consortium, a
designation of which they were very proud, as they were one of the few small collections in this
Consortium. She directed the Council to the handout provided and the Friends' website for further
information.
She announced that last June, at the International Clematis Society, she gave five pieces of a
clematis lost by Poland, which Brewster had had in the collection and the Friends propagated, to
people from Poland. Recently, the Polish collectors sent the Friends 68 clematis for addition to the
Rogerson collection.
She spoke of the Board's enthusiasm and strong commitment to volunteerism, and their
appreciation for the hard work, leadership, and knowledge of the collection's curator, Linda Beutler.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 16
January 5, 2010
Mr. Beutler explained that his wife was teaching a class tonight at Clackamas Community College.
He spoke of the transformation of Luscher Farm over the years with the continual expansion of the
gardens. He mentioned that the Friends were re -installing an heirloom apple orchard at the farm.
He clarified that either of the two pronunciations of clematis frequently heard were fine: one was
British and one was American.
He mentioned that although the Rogerson collection was one of the smallest in size in the North
American Consortium, it was the second largest in the country with respect to the number of plants
in its genus. He indicated that the 1,478 plants represented over 670 distinct types of clematis,
with 572 plants actually in the ground now. He said that their goal was to get all the plants in the
ground and to use the greenhouse for propagation and research. Ms. Geist mentioned that
volunteers maintained all the plants.
Ms. Geist indicated to Councilor Hennagin that while clematis roots did need to be shaded, they
could manipulate it a bit. Mr. Beutler noted that the apple orchard would serve to shade the roots
and provide climbing supports for the clematis. Ms. Geist informed the Councilor that the peak
blooming season was from May through September.
Mayor Hoffman asked the Boy Scout Webelos in attendance to introduce themselves. The seven
scouts were fourth graders from Lake Grove Elementary School working on earning their
citizenship badge.
3.3 Acquisition and planning history of Iron Mountain Park
Mayor Hoffman explained that he asked Ms. Gilmer to make this presentation because last
summer the City tore down the last house acquired in achieving this long-term vision. He
commented that it was through the leadership of Ms. Gilmer and others like her that the City
acquired this jewel of a park.
Ms. Gilmer concurred that it took decades of long-term vision and tenacity to reach the goal of
having a centrally located large natural area close to the middle of the city. She commented that a
major factor was staff being nimble in seeking opportunities when properties became available and
Councils approving funding to acquire those properties.
She gave a PowerPoint presentation to tell the story of Iron Mountain Park. She described the
park as primarily a natural area consisting of Douglas fir, mixed deciduous and fir forest, and rare
Oregon oak uplands. She noted the extensive trail system and the historic significance of the area
as the location of the iron mines connected with the iron production in George Rogers Park.
She mentioned that in 1963 the Schukart family donated the first of the 18 parcels that make up
this 45.72 -acre park. She commented that the $2.6 million spent over four decades to purchase
the parcels (most were purchased between 1990 and 2008) would be a much higher figure today.
She indicated that the majority of the funding came from parks and open space bond measures,
with the 2006 Metro parks and natural area bond providing funds to purchase the last parcel.
She presented several photos of the park, noting the viewing platform built by Paul Graham's son
when he was a Boy Scout and the area at the south end of the park where Mike Buck's group
diligently pulled ivy.
She presented the 1984 master plan for the site, which placed a priority on wildlife viewing, trails,
and preserving most of the park as a natural area, while including picnic facilities, a tennis court, a
playground, restrooms, and a small parking area. She mentioned that the Parks Commission in
1984 had not wanted to expand the wetlands but rather to concentrate more on natural area
protection elsewhere in the park.
She reviewed the property acquisitions timeline. She said that the City acquired the second parcel
in 1990 from the Oregon Community Foundation, followed by several pieces acquired from the
Trust for Public Lands, including an access from Fairway into the park. She mentioned the two
parcels acquired in 2000 from the Bothwells and the Inksters, the parcels acquired in 2002 from
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 16
January 5, 2010
the Englands and the Elshires, and two more parcels from the Brons and the Grimwolds. She
explained that the acquisition of the little triangle from the Handels shifted the trail crossing private
land to crossing public land. She indicated that the City acquired the final parcel from Mr. Schamm
in 2008. She reported the Planning Department's estimate that 137 homes could have been built
on the park acreage.
She noted that special thanks was owed to the Mayors and Councils that purchased the properties:
Alice Schlenker, Bill Klammer, and Judie Hammerstad.
She discussed the next steps for the park. She spoke of doing resource management planning for
Iron Mountain Park in the next one to five years. She observed that it was a more ecologically
complex site than Cooks Butte and would require choices on how to manage the different
ecosystems. She gave an example of whether they should take out the young Douglas firs
growing in the oak savannah in order to preserve the oak savannah, or allow the Douglas firs to
keep growing. She discussed the long term needs of the park, mentioning trail system
improvements in particular and additional parking.
Ms. Gilmer concurred with Councilor Hennagin that it would make logical sense to acquire part of
the parcel that bifurcated the park in order to make the connections. She said that if the Council
was interested in doing so, staff could approach the property owner. At the Councilor's request,
she pointed out the trailhead locations on the map.
Councilor Jordan agreed that it would be good to acquire at least a portion of the property of
which Councilor Hennagin spoke for continuity. She observed that the parcel to the east was
isolated.
3.4 LOIS Update
Ms. Heisler described the types of activity that one could see currently on the lake. She reported
that the contractors have installed 50% of the piles and 64% of the anchors, and fused 40% of the
bottom pipe.
Mr. Komarek mentioned that the drilling contractor was overcoming the challenges posed by the
length of the ground anchors, which were now approaching 300 feet in the deepest portions of the
lake. He spoke of the extremely variable geology they were encountering in the lake, which has
caused some design changes. He said that staff was working through the issues with the drilling
and pile contractors, and the work was progressing satisfactorily. He mentioned that they were
making progress on the manholes and tether bracket installations.
He noted that later tonight, he would ask the Council to award a contract for the Bryant Road and
Foothills pump stations. He indicated that they were in the bidding phase for the lake down
contract, the next largest phase of the project. He reported that the work was complete in
Lakewood Bay and the contractor has completely demobilized from the former U.S. Bank area.
Ms. Heisler indicated that staff met with the Woodside HOA and the Blue Heron Neighborhood
Association to update them on what to expect on the pump station activity. She noted that staff
posted both regular project updates and the pump station bid results on the website. She
mentioned the "Working in the Cold" video posted on the website. She reported that TVCTV was
broadcasting both the "Overview" and "In -water Work" videos daily. She noted the LO Down and
Digest updates, and the Lake Oswego Review article explaining the need to put the curve in the
buoyancy pipe in order to keep the pipe at the correct alignment and grade.
Mr. Komarek reported that they were still on schedule with the lake full project, the lake down
phase, and the Bryant/Foothills pump stations. He mentioned the preliminary discussions with
Council regarding Phases 5 and 6. He indicated that if they moved forward with those phases,
then they would want the work to coincide with the lowest summer flows in the sewer lines,
because both phases involved significant bypass operations.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 16
January 5, 2010
He reported that the project has a little over $33 million in expenditures. Staff was still confident in
their projections that the project would come in just over $100 million. He mentioned staff's
expectation that the market would remain favorable for competitive pricing during the lake down
phase bidding.
Mr. Komarek indicated to Councilor Hennagin that the new barge pieces he saw delivered were
for one or two additional barges. He explained that the contractor would mobilize up to three dive
crews in order to make sure that he completed the work on time.
Mr. Komarek indicated to Councilor Tierney that the negotiations with the contractor did relate to
the piles and anchors. He mentioned seeing a preliminary request of an additional $600,000 for
the work. He pointed out that because of the changing geology, the contractor would likely not
complete quite a bit of the work outlined in the original bid, thus reducing that cost by $300,000.
Therefore, the net difference would be around a $300,000 increase.
He confirmed to Councilor Jordan that the former U.S. Bank property was open again as a
parking lot. He clarified that the $100 million cost estimate did include the two final phases of the
LOIS project. He mentioned wanting to talk with Council soon about the pieces down in the
Foothills area that were in bad shape and presented a risk of failure.
Mayor Hoffman invited the Boy Scouts in attendance to introduce themselves. The three Scouts
were sophomores at Lakeridge High School working on their citizenship in the community merit
badges.
3.4 Lake Oswego Open City Hall
Mayor Hoffman invited the community to visit the Lake Oswego Open City Hall, an online forum
where citizens could provide direct input to the City Council and City leaders on various topics. He
indicated that the current topics were the City Council goals and agenda for 2010, the golf course,
and the tennis center.
He announced the Mayor's Round Table on January 9 from 9 a.m. to noon in City Hall. He
indicated that this was another opportunity for citizen input on what issues residents thought the
Council should focus on in 2010. He mentioned other opportunities, such as Citizen Comment at
the Council meetings or phoning or e -mailing Councilors.
He welcomed Christine Kirk, the new Public Affairs Director, and thanked her for her work on
citizen input opportunities.
4. CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Hoffman noted that Councilor Olson had identified a correction to the minutes.
Councilor Johnson moved the Consent Agenda. Councilor Jordan seconded the motion. A
voice vote was taken, and the motionap ssed with Mayor Hoffman, Councilors Jordan,
Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney, and Johnson voting `aye.' [7-0]
4.1 RESOLUTIONS
4.1.1 Resolution 01-10, adopting a proposed collective bargaining agreement between the
Lake Oswego Municipal Employees Association and the City of Lake Oswego
Action: Adopt Resolution 01-10
4.2 APPROVAL OF MINUTES
4.2.1 October 26, 2009, special meeting
4.2.2 October 27, 2009 special meeting
Action: Approve minutes as written
END CONSENT AGENDA
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 16
January 5, 2010
5. ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA
6. CITIZEN COMMENT
• Jeff Gudman, 4088 Orchard Way, Budget Committee member
He stated his theme of who's minding the store. He contended that the City had serious problems
in Council oversight of the City finances, as evidenced by the first auditors' report in many years
discussing material weaknesses in the financial operations of the City. He held that these findings
indicated the auditors' belief that Lake Oswego did not have adequate financial practices or
safeguards in place to prevent mistakes or misstatements in its financial statements.
He presented several examples of the problems identified by the auditors. He mentioned over -
expenditures in nine of the City's funds by an average of $300,000 per fund and an overstatement
of cash by $226,000. He indicated that the three funds consolidated in the general fund last year
(police services, fire services, and building permits) overspent by an average of $2.8 million each.
He stated that the numbers in the financial reports received by the Council for FY 2008/2009, June
2009, and FY 2009/2010, did not add up or tie from one report to the other. He mentioned that for
the last year the Budget Committee members have not received a monthly summary version of the
financial information provided to the Council. He described the complicated process one had to go
through to determine the total City revenues spent in the major categories, such as sales and
services, compensation, materials and services, and capital expenditures.
He recalled staff informing the Council and the Budget Committee that the FY 2009/2010 budget
was so tight that staff was counting pencils in order to balance the budget. He questioned how
then staff found the money to fund a police emergency communications study without a
supplemental budget request to use the reserves or to reduce any of the other approved
expenditures.
He commented that the Washington, D.C., lobbyist hired by the Council would use up more than
the amount budgeted for intergovernmental relations. He asked if that meant that the City would
do no other intergovernmental work or was it cutting something else.
He referenced the West End Building and City facilities strategy adopted by the Council on June
18, 2009, with its policy directing the Council to develop a financing strategy that did not use
general fund revenues or reserves to pay the debt service on the building and property by May 1,
2010. He argued that the Council's consideration of issuing full faith and credit bonds without voter
approval just after adopting this strategy appeared to contradict the policy, and seemed like an end
run around seeking voter approval to pay for the building.
He contended that with a FY 2009/2010 capital budget of $8.5 million (not including the LOIS
project), the Council should know on a regular basis how much of the budget for each project has
been spent and how much was left to be spent. He indicated that the budget at this time did not
have that information.
He argued that at a minimum, the Council deserved timely, accurate, and informative numbers in
order to provide oversight without micromanaging. He contended that not enough attention was
being paid to how the City was spending the taxpayers' money. He held that better reporting of the
City finances was in everyone's best interests. He suggested fixing the Council oversight problem
by staff providing the Council with a list of all the financial problems, the person responsible for
fixing each one, a deadline for fixing the problem, and a monthly report on the status of each
problem and its solution.
7. PUBLIC HEARINGS
7.1 Ordinance 2545, an ordinance of the Lake Oswego City Council vacating partition
plat no. 2007-172 (affecting 775, 787, and 799 Country Club Road) at the requ t of
the property own r
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 16
January 5, 2010
Mr. Powell reviewed the standard hearing procedure and testimony time limits. He noted that the
Council's criterion for deciding on a plat vacation was whether the public interest would be
prejudiced by the vacation.
STAFF REPORT
Ms. Hastay reviewed the history of this request to vacate partition plat #2007-172 (p.43). She
explained that the previous property owners failed to demolish the onsite structures before
recording the partition plat, as they were supposed to do. The bank that foreclosed on the property
brought the situation to the City's attention.
She mentioned the three options the City provided (Exhibit F-2): demolishing the structures to
create three buildable lots, modifying the lot lines to locate all structures on one lot and meet the R-
7.5 residential zoning regulations, or vacating the partition plat. She reported that the owner who
bought the property from the bank wanted to retain the structures on the existing parent parcel and
chose vacating the plat.
She stated that the vacation met the approval criteria for vacating a partition plat (p.48). There
were no public interests affected, all noticing requirements were completed as required, and the
City had the consent of the property owner. She mentioned that she received no public comments.
QUESTIONS OF STAFF
Mr. Powell explained to Councilor Hennagin that the State statute on vacations set out the
criteria for both street and plat vacations. He indicated that the one instance where the public
interest might be affected would be if the plat created some kind of connectivity, such as a street
running through the plat, but that was not the case here. He commented that it was difficult to see
where the public interest would be harmed by a partition never acted upon. He confirmed that the
statute set the technical criteria Ms. Hastay referenced, which the City has met.
Councilor Jordan commented that she was glad that the owner was not demolishing the house,
as it was one of her favorite houses along Country Club. She asked why the plat did not simply
disappear, given that the owners recorded it illegally by failing to remove the house. Ms. Hastay
reiterated the three options staff provided to the property owner. She mentioned that she did not
find the condition to demolish the structures before recording the plat in the staff report, and
somehow it just got missed in the process.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Mayor Hoffman opened the hearing to public testimony. Hearing none, he closed the hearing.
COUNCIL DISCUSSION
Councilor Jordan moved to enact Ordinance 2545. Councilor Johnson seconded the
motion. A voice vote was taken, and the motionap ssed with Mayor Hoffman, Councilors
Jordan, Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney, and Johnson voting `aye.' [7-0]
8. REPORTS
8.1 Bryant Road and Foothills Pump Stations Bid Award
Mr. Komarek apologized for the mistaken subject line on the report, which should have read
'Bryant Road and Foothills Pump Stations Bid Award.'
He asked the Council's approval in accordance with State contracting rules to award a public
improvement contract to James W. Fowler Company for construction of the Bryant Road and
Foothills Pump Stations in the amount of $1,789,050.00.
He referenced his discussion of the two pump stations in the report (pp.73-74). He mentioned
staff's finding that a new Bryant Road pump station was the preferred alternative to constructing
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 16
January 5, 2010
larger pipelines in both the Main Canal and the Blue Heron Canal. He noted the safety concerns
behind replacing the Foothills pump station.
He reviewed his discussion of the contractor selection process (pp.74-75). He reported that the
staff's evaluation of the low bid out of the four received found no irregularities. Therefore, staff
recommended awarding the bid to the low bidder, James W. Fowler Company.
Mr. Komarek clarified to Councilor Tierney that the general contractor had to use subcontractors
pre -qualified by the City.
He indicated to Councilor Olson that because the two lowest bidding contractors were both pre-
qualified, the only determinant in the competitive bidding process then became price. He stated
that if the City had chosen the second low bidder, whose bid was only $1,900 higher than the
winning bid, the City would have faced a challenge from the lowest bidder. He reiterated that staff
found no reason in the lowest bidder's documents not to award the contract to that company. He
said that staff was comfortable with their recommendation.
He indicated to Councilor Hennagin that the engineer's estimate of the project cost had been a
little over $2.5 million. He speculated that the $1.8 million bid reflected the current construction
work market. He agreed that a $700,000 savings on the estimate was substantial
Councilor Jordan moved to award a public improvement contract for Bryant Road and
Foothills pump station to James W. Fowler Company, in the amount of $1,789,050.00.
Councilor Johnson seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken, and the motionap ssed
with Mayor Hoffman, Councilors Jordan, Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney, and Johnson
voting 'aye.' [7-0]
8.2 2010 Federal Priorities
Ms. Kirk mentioned that CapitalEdge, the lobbyists hired by the Council, considered themselves
as City staff at the federal level. She described the role of intergovernmental relations as an effort
to define how visible Lake Oswego was on the map(s) of issues relevant to the City, as well as a
means of defining who the City was and what it was trying to accomplish.
She commented that she recently learned that Oregon was a donor state with more federal taxes
leaving the state than returning to it. She spoke of the Council and staff's responsibility to leverage
opportunities for returning federal taxes to the area where the city's residents worked and played.
She described adding intergovernmental relations to the City's role as strategic, given the
movement of the federal and the state governments to distributing funding on a regional basis.
She discussed the multifaceted benefits of having CapitalEdge work for the City at the federal
level. She pointed out that getting federal appropriations for City projects was the facet that most
frequently discussed. She spoke of the importance of knowing where to allocate staff resources in
advocating for the City; CapitalEdge would advise the City on which venues were worth the staff's
time to participate in. She mentioned that CapitalEdge has already helped staff identify better uses
of existing resources. She indicated that CapitalEdge would help the City be more strategic in
negotiating the complicated federal processes for existing projects, such as the streetcar.
She described the federal platform as detailing the City's expectations of CapitalEdge in terms of
alerting the City when red flag issues came up and helping the City respond appropriately on a
variety of issues relevant to the City's interests.
Councilor Jordan clarified that this federal platform (with respect to transportation strategies) was
not a separate effort to gain funding for local projects in opposition to the region's Transportation
System Plan. She indicated that the region's federal representatives did not like seeing small
communities coming forward on their own outside of Metro's regional requests.
Ms. Kirk noted the change made to the guiding principles to recognize that Lake Oswego was part
of the Metro/JPACT priorities and processes, which included the Lake Oswego to Portland
streetcar as a priority. She spoke of CapitalEdge being able to help the City be a partner in
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 16
January 5, 2010
pursuing transportation priorities. Mr. McIntyre clarified that while the City did not want to compete
with the other regional players, it did want to be at the table participating and adding its voice to the
regional voice at the federal level.
Councilor Tierney asked for clarification of the water policy item on p. 86 regarding pending
federal chemical security legislation duplicating local efforts. Mr. McIntyre concurred with Ms. Kirk
that staff could get more information on this issue for the Council. He mentioned that CapitalEdge
also protected the City's interests by tracking federal regulations that might impose requirements
that would cost the City money, since federal mandates usually did not come with funding. He
explained that the amount of money it would take at the local level to implement this proposed
water supply protection was outrageous.
Mr. Komarek explained that this legislation could potentially overtake State primacy regulations
regarding drinking water and dictate at the federal level what types of disinfectants local
jurisdictions could use for their water supplies. He indicated that municipalities wanted to retain
control of which disinfectants to use because raw water conditions varied across the nation. He
described the issue as keeping control of this process at the local and state levels and not at the
federal level.
Councilor Tierney referenced a New York Times article that he circulated recently on water
quality, which mentioned Lake Oswego in the debate over drinking water. Mr. McIntyre expressed
his hope that the Council would embrace the idea of local control and the Council making informed
decisions versus the federal government dictating local actions.
Councilor Tierney commented that he had been impressed with the CapitalEdge individuals and
thought that they would do a good job for the City. He asked how CapitalEdge would complement
the City's existing relationship with the National League of Cities, which also advocated on major
issues. Ms. Kirk reiterated that CapitalEdge would help the Council members as elected officials
determine when it was important to be at the table to weigh in on issues important to the City. She
spoke of not duplicating lobbying efforts but rather helping the City connect better and more
strategically and using the Council and staff time more wisely.
Councilor Tierney asked how to judge the success of this program. He commented that a dual
platform of bringing money into the community and not having worse things happen to the City was
a wide format. Ms. Kirk indicated that after a year, she would consider factors such as whether
the City has been successful in defining itself or whether it has been in the right place at the right
time to voice its concerns. She commented that the likelihood of Lake Oswego getting earmarks
(appropriations) was small, given that only 77 out of 590 requests received by Senator Merkley's
office last year were funded.
Ms. Kirk commented that the soft benefits, such as saving money by people not attending a
conference that would not have been worth the time or knowing when staff should advocate for
issues and get money released to the state or local area, were difficult to measure. She mentioned
the benefit of preventing unfunded mandates that usurped local control or cost too much. She
emphasized that measuring success involved both quantitative and qualitative elements in
determining whether the $54,000 was well spent.
Mr. McIntyre noted that in the past Lake Oswego has taken a passive approach to the federal
government, responding when asked for its opinion but not reaching out actively to provide input.
He indicated that a payoff to him was when Lake Oswego started to have influence. He held that
how much money Lake Oswego received as a result of this effort was not the way to measure it.
He spoke of government representatives seeking out Lake Oswego as a model or influence maker
with an ability to affect policy at the federal level.
Councilor Tierney commented that he would be equally impressed with the money. He asked if
the City had a State platform. Mr. McIntyre explained that Lake Oswego already had influence at
the state level and could handle the State platform locally.
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 16
January 5, 2010
Councilor Tierney asked if staff would provide a state platform document similar to the federal
platform document. He asked what Ms. Kirk expected of the Council as part of this effort. Ms.
Kirk commented that her goal was to be at the table at the right time, and to get the right people at
the table at the right time at the state level also. She indicated that this was a different process at
the state level than at the federal level, but one on which she was working.
Ms. Kirk said that she would review the federal and state platforms of other Clackamas County
jurisdictions with common interests to see if any of their efforts aligned with Lake Oswego's
interests. She indicated that she expected the Council to provide direction to the long distance
staff and to her personally as the onsite staff.
Councilor Hennagin observed that Lake Oswego has not been active in Salem or with the
League of Oregon Cities during his three years on the Council. He spoke to Lake Oswego being
more of a player with the League. Ms. Kirk concurred that there were opportunities on a number
of levels for the City to participate with the League.
Councilor Olson concurred with Councilor Hennagin that Lake Oswego should become more
involved with the League, as it was in the past. She asked whether $54,000 was all that the City
would spend on this item. Mr. McIntyre noted that he budgeted $50,000 in the City Manager's
budget for special projects. Since the City hired CapitalEdge and Ms. Kirk in November, it would
spend less than $54,000 this fiscal year. He recalled that the Council authorized expenditures in
the two areas of staffing and lobbying (advocate) work in Washington, D.C.
Mayor Hoffman mentioned that CapitalEdge would help him when he attending Congressman
Blumenauer's Streetcar Summit in Washington, D.C. He said that CapitalEdge has already helped
save the City thousands of dollars by advising him not to attend the US Conference of Mayors
Water Summit because it was not worth the City's while.
Councilor Jordan mentioned that the Clackamas County Coordinating Committee (C4) had a staff
member who put together a legislative agenda for the Committee's review. She indicated that the
Committee would hear from Dave Hunt on what he saw actually happening in the next legislative
session. She said that she would forward the agenda to the other Council members.
Councilor Moncrieff moved to accept the 2010 Lake Oswego platform. Councilor Johnson
seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken, and the motionap ssed with Mayor Hoffman,
Councilors Jordan, Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney, and Johnson voting `aye.' [7-0]
9. ORDINANCES
9.1 Ordinance 2543, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego
amending LOC Chapter 50 (Community Development Code) relating to lot coverage
for schools (LU 09-0004)
Mayor Hoffman noted that staff was still working on the language of this ordinance.
Councilor Hennagin moved to continue Ordinance 2543 to January 26, 2010. Councilor
Jordan seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken, and the motionap ssed with Mayor
Hoffman, Councilors Jordan, Hennagin, Moncrieff, Olson, Tierney, and Johnson voting
`aye.' [7-0]
10. INFORMATION FROM THE COUNCIL
10.1 Councilor Information
Councilor Olson stated that she attended the open house at the new City Hall in Oregon City.
She distributed handouts on the green building strategies Oregon City used in this extensive
remodel of an existing building.
10.2 R port of Council Committ s, Organizational Committ s, and Int rgov rnm ntal
Committees
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 16
January 5, 2010
11. REPORTS OF OFFICERS
11.1 City Manager
11.1.1 Review of Council Schedule
Mr. McIntyre reminded the Council that the Mayor's Round Table was this Saturday. He
mentioned the Centennial Kickoff on Tuesday, January 19. He asked the Council members to let
him know whether any intended to attend the National League of Cities Winter Congressional
Conference on March 13-17. Mayor Hoffman noted that both this conference and the National
Congress of Cities were worthwhile conferences.
Mayor Hoffman mentioned that the Council needed to discuss Boards and Commission
assignments at its goal setting retreat.
11.2 City Attorney
Mayor Hoffman recessed the meeting at 8:11 p.m. for a break. He reconvened the meeting at
8:23 p.m.
12. STUDY SESSION
12.1 Annexation Approach
Mayor Hoffman described this study session as Annexation 101 to answer Council members'
questions about annexation. He noted that all cities in the region were engaging in annexation
discussions.
Ms. Frisbee referenced the background report assembled by the Planning staff (p.89-110). She
noted the staff members present to answer Council questions on the various issues relating to
annexation.
Mr. Egner gave a PowerPoint presentation on annexation. He discussed the reasons why the City
annexed land. He noted the policy reasons of the Comprehensive Plan, State law, and the City's
Urban Growth Management Agreement (UGMA) with Clackamas County. He mentioned property
owners wanting to annex in order to receive the urban services provided by the City and cities
wanting to annex in order to expand their tax base.
Councilor Hennagin asked Mr. Egner to clarify the City's provision of urban services in relation to
the City's Urban Services Boundary (USB). Mr. Egner explained that a city's USB was the area
inside the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) that a city agreed to ultimately provide with urban
services. Usually the agreement was an UGMA, such as the one that Lake Oswego had with
Clackamas County.
He indicated to Councilor Hennagin that essentially the USB was identical to a city's UGB. He
noted that there was no USB in situations where one city abutted directly against other cities, such
as between the Lake Oswego and Tualatin city limits.
Mr. McIntyre indicated to Mayor Hoffman that Lake Oswego provided first responder services to
areas outside the city limits but inside its USB because of mutual aid agreements. He said that
once the sheriff arrived on the scene, the City emergency personnel turned the incident over to
them.
Mr. Egner mentioned that occasionally the City provided sewer service outside the city limits for
health reasons. The City might also provide water service to water districts around the city through
agreements. He emphasized that these were exceptions, and that typically the City provided the
full range of urban services only to those properties inside the city limits.
Councilor Ti rn y raised the equity issue of non-residents within the USB using City services,
such as parks and recreation facilities, for which the City did not charge a non-resident fee. He
recalled the Council's previous discussions of the equity issue in relation to the adoption of
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 10 of 16
January 5, 2010
neighborhood plans, in which the USB residents informed the Mayor that they did not intend to
annex to the city. He observed that while the intention was that these areas would come into the
city, the residents did not want to do so.
He noted another issue of whether it was fair to the current city residents to annex an area that
needed more funding to fix its problems than it would bring to the City in tax revenues. Mayor
Hoffman commented that Washington County cities have had to address that question.
Councilor Olson mentioned that the City did charge non-residents a higher fee to take Parks &
Recreation classes.
Mr. Egner indicated to Councilor Moncrieff that Lake Oswego's agreement with Clackamas
County said that the City would provide urban services to the properties within the USB. However,
the City would only provide those services through annexation. Ms. Frisbee pointed out that there
was no time limit on when those properties would annex to the city for services.
Mr. Egner mentioned the two 2009 annexations in Forest Highlands, one for development and the
other for sewer to replace a failing septic system. He pointed out that the City's approach to
annexation has been to respond to requests for annexation, which resulted in a disjointed pattern
of properties inside and outside the city.
He indicated that failing septic systems would continue to be a reason for annexation, noting that
Rosewood had many lots on septic systems. He presented graphics showing the pattern of failed
systems in Rosewood and Forest Highlands over the past 10 years. He commented that the
County has re -issued septic permits for properties more than 300 feet from the city limits or a city
service line (Exhibits E and F).
He reviewed the different types of annexation, including voter, urban service provider, owner
consent (double and triple majority), and island (pp.90-91). He noted that most of Forest
Highlands and Lake Forest were islands, while Rosewood, Skylands, and most of Birdshill were
not islands.
He reviewed the key issues of annexation, including street jurisdiction, storm drainage, septic
system failures, cost of services, and equity (pp.92-96). He explained that annexing areas such as
Rosewood with streets still in good shape could reduce street maintenance costs in the long run
because the City would not have to replace deteriorated streets but rather it could maintain decent
streets. He indicated that most of Lake Forest's streets would need replacing. He identified the
lessons from these issues as 'one size does not fit all,' and the City would need to adapt its
strategies to the individual needs of the neighborhoods.
He indicated to Mayor Hoffman that the County generally did not provide regular street
maintenance for most of the streets within Lake Oswego's USB. Mayor Hoffman mentioned the
information he received from Mr. McIntyre that there were approximately 27 miles of streets in the
unincorporated area, which would need $7 million to rehab them up to an 80 Pavement Condition
Index (PCI) from their current 59 PCI.
Mayor Hoffman observed that his horizon tended to be five to twenty years out. He expressed his
concern that the condition of these roads was similar to the condition of the roads in Aloha, which
Washington County has allowed to deteriorate. He wondered what the roads in Lake Oswego's
USB would look like in twenty years.
Mr. Graham confirmed that roads not receiving any kind of maintenance would continue to
degrade over time. He indicated that the PCI numbers from 2007 would undoubtedly drop,
following the upcoming 2010 street evaluation. He said that the County focused primarily on
arterials and collectors and ignored the local streets, a strategy that Lake Oswego was also
following at this time. He expressed his hope that the City would be able to address the lower
volume roads.
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January 5, 2010
Ms. Roon y confirmed to Councilor Olson that the County did not maintain the local streets such
as Firwood, Madrona, or West Sunset. The County did not have those roads in their plan and had
no intention of paving them, although they might do spot maintenance on potholes.
Councilor Jordan commented that even maintaining the arterial roads was a challenge for the
County, as it did not have the necessary money for the whole county. She mentioned the County
discussion of instituting a transportation funding mechanism, which would focus on funding the
County's share of the Sellwood Bridge with little leftover for other road projects.
Mayor Hoffman commented that an interesting discussion question for City Councils was whether
to do something about this situation now or let a future Council address it in 20 years at the higher
costs.
Mr. Egner indicated to Councilor Jordan that installing sewers in selected streets was an
incentive strategy for bringing properties within the 300 -foot limit for annexation. He said that staff
included it as an option for future consideration. Mr. Graham confirmed to the Councilor that
Gresham used that strategy as part of the Mid -County sewer program mandated by the
Environmental Quality Commission to install sewers in the largest unsewered area in the county,
using local improvement districts to fund it. He mentioned that Gresham leveraged those dollars
by replacing pavement at the same time.
Mr. Egner mentioned that in the last economic cycle, Lake Forest did not see much redevelopment
because the developers did not have sufficient incentive to extend the sewer lines into the core of
the neighborhood, as most parcels were divisible into only two lots. In contrast, developers paid
for the sewer line extensions in Forest Highlands because the parcels were bigger and had a
higher land value.
He reviewed the study findings of the cost to fully serve Rosewood ($8.5 million), Forest Highlands
($1.2 million), and Lake Forest with sewer (pp.100-104). He noted that the sewer cost per lot was
highest in Rosewood and lowest in Forest Highlands with its greater redevelopment potential.
Councilor Moncrieff observed that the County re -issued some permits for septic systems within
300 feet of the City sewer line. Councilor Jordan mentioned that she and Mr. McIntyre talked with
the County staff about that issue. Apparently those in charge of issuing septic permits had had a
different view on re -instituting septic permits than the County did. Ms. Frisbee indicated that the
City has called the County on this, and the County was much better about informing the City of
applications coming in from properties within the 300 -foot rule.
Mr. Graham indicated to Councilor Moncrieff that installing a new septic system in the event of
failure did not necessarily cost substantially less than hooking up to sewer. He commented that
the real wild card was the effect of the geology on the costs, especially running into rock. He
mentioned another issue of too many septic systems in a given area compromising the water
quality of an aquifer used for drinking water.
Councilor Moncrieff mentioned her surprise at seeing 20 new septic systems recertified in the last
two years. Ms. Rooney indicated that the City had a good process in place to handle the weekly
calls it received about installing a septic system.
Mayor Hoffman noted that the cost of a typical septic system could range from $2,000 to $5,000,
or up to $12,000 in the more difficult locations.
Councilor Jordan mentioned that the County and the City monitored the water quality in the
wetlands, the Tualatin River, and the lake for indications of high levels of bacteria. That
information helped determine whether to grant septic permits. She commented that another issue
in areas with good drainage percolation was not thinking about where the wastewater was
percolating to, an issue she was concerned about continuing into the future.
She pointed out that a developer of a new development in Forest Highlands would likely simply
add the cost of the sewer line to the house price, and it would not have much effect. However, in a
built out neighborhood such as Rosewood, the homeowner would have to bear that cost. She
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 12 of 16
January 5, 2010
asked if the City could use different incentive methods in different areas of town and still have a
legal and equitable system. Mr. Powell indicated that legally there was not a requirement for
identical requirements citywide as long as there was a rational, objective basis for the differences.
Councilor Tierney asked why the City was trying to find incentives to bring people into the city
who did not want to come into the city, especially when it appeared that many of these areas would
bring in problems that would cost the City more to fix than the revenues generated by the annexed
area. He suggested first asking the fundamental question of whether it was in the best interests of
the existing city to bring in new areas.
He commented that at some point in time, it would be in the best interests of Rosewood and Lake
Forest to come into the city because of their failing septic systems. However, the City's concern
would focus on the road conditions, which could be in terrible shape by that time. He argued that
incentives made sense if the communities came to the City looking for solutions to their issues.
Ms. Frisbee concurred with Councilor Tierney that the City needed first to identify what its goal
was, whether that was to expand the tax base, to address the equity issue, or to deal with health
concerns related to water quality and septic systems. She spoke of weighing the short term and
immediate consequences (e.g., finding $16.7 million to pay for installing sewers) against the long-
term consequences (e.g., deterioration of the roads). She commented that adding incentives to
the mix meant the City using different strategies and time frames in approaching each area. She
emphasized the need to ask at the start what the City's purpose was for annexation.
Councilor Hennagin indicated that he did not disagree with Councilor Tierney about determining
the costs of annexation to the city residents and deciding on an annexation strategy. He pointed
out that the City also had a duty to protect the health and safety of its citizens. He said that he
would be concerned to know what the effect all those septic tanks had on the water table,
especially as water became a rarer resource. He agreed with Councilor Tierney that the question
of the impact of the septic systems has not been answered.
Councilor Tierney noted that the public works staff was indicating that they did not have an
answer. He wondered which government agency would be responsible for resolving the problem if
a problem existed. He expressed his hope that these issues were serious enough to motivate
people to decide to do something in the next five to ten years. He said that if the City was the
solution for the sewer problem, then the City needed to start some dialogs and figure out how to
deal with it.
Mr. Egner discussed the equity and cost of services issues. He mentioned the tax and cost
differentials of being inside or outside the city (pp.95-97). He said that the differentials in the three
areas examined by staff ran to $300 to $600 a year in property taxes (depending on house value)
and another $600 a year in utility fees. He mentioned that Hillsboro has waived or lowered some
of its fees as an incentive to help people make the transition.
He referenced a 2003 study done as part of the urban services provider program, which found that
it cost a city household $100 a year to provide the additional road maintenance and expanded city
services to non-residents. He indicated that staff would have to revisit the report if the Council
wanted more details on the methodology behind that dollar figure.
He reviewed the options before the Council (pp. 104-106). He noted that the current approach
worked in bringing in properties incrementally and responding to people needing service but it did
result in a strange boundary pattern and it had some associated inequities. He noted the other
types of annexation available and the menu of incentive -driven approaches. He said that staff
thought it was important to involve each neighborhood in defining the annexation strategy for that
neighborhood because each neighborhood's needs were truly different.
He noted that annexation and a strategy for providing urban services to these neighborhoods were
good topics to address as part of the Comprehensive Plan update process. He indicated that
without a broader strategy, staff would continue with the incremental annexation approach.
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January 5, 2010
Councilor Jordan spoke to the Council deciding whether it was worthwhile for staff to investigate
incentive options with those neighborhoods that have expressed interest in annexation or to bring
forward a broader annexation strategy than the piecemeal approach. She acknowledged that the
Council might decide not to pursue annexations because of the cost. She described the USB
residents as participating in the city. She argued that it made better sense to figure out how to
bring those interested into the city in the short term than to discuss how to provide urban services
to Stafford in 15 to 20 years when it did not have a population base at all.
Councilor Hennagin concurred with Councilor Jordan that the City should explore its options
regarding annexation. He commented that he saw Rosewood as a more looming problem
because he has heard of far more septic tank failures in Rosewood than he has in Lake Forest or
Forest Highlands. He speculated that it would be less expensive to the individual homeowners to
build the sewers all at once rather than installing laterals to one house at a time. He observed that
if the analysis supported that supposition, the homeowners might be receptive to the idea.
Councilor Moncrieff concurred with Councilors Hennagin and Jordan about pursuing annexations
with interested USB residents. She held that it was in the City's interest to consider annexation.
She said that she was also concerned about the water quality. She cited the information in the
table on p.106 about the potential general fund revenues to be gained in arguing that the revenue
would cover the capital expense to extend the sewer and the roads in a reasonable number of
years.
Councilor Tierney concurred with the other Councilors, if it was true that Rosewood, Lake Forest,
and Forest Highlands were interested in annexing to the city, and if the septic systems were
creating water problems. He asked if the representatives from those neighborhoods who were in
attendance could address the Council in order to include them in the dialog. Councilor Olson
supported the request, indicating that hearing from the neighborhoods would better inform her
decision.
Mayor Hoffman indicated that that was fine as long as the meeting did not go past 10 p.m. He
commented that he thought that the Council had an obligation to future residents to consider the
issues of deteriorating infrastructure in neighborhoods outside the city. He asked what the future
of these three neighborhoods was, citing unincorporated Los Angeles County as an example of
what could happen to unincorporated areas. He emphasized that Lake Oswego was not alone in
the region in asking this question about adjacent unincorporated areas.
He spoke of the importance of a collaborative approach and hearing from the neighborhoods. He
speculated that if this Council punted the issue to a future Council, then a Council in 2020 or 2030
might well wonder what the 2010 Council had been thinking at a time when it had an opportunity to
get a handle on the infrastructure issues. He pointed out that this City Council was committed to
sustainability and infrastructure.
Councilor Tierney agreed that they did not want to be myopic about this issue, yet the City faced
a challenge in maintaining the infrastructure already in the city. He mentioned the two major
infrastructure projects in sewer and water underway, which he did not think dealt with some of the
fundamental infrastructure. He commented that putting in a new sewer interceptor did not address
the laterals and other lines in neighborhoods that needed rehabilitation. He agreed that the
Council had to address these annexation issues in a prudent way that balanced and considered
the existing issues inside the city.
Councilor Jordan commented that the City had a different kind of expenditure in replacing City
lines when it worked in partnership with a neighborhood outside the city whose residents were
willing to spend their own money to connect to the City lines needing replacement. She pointed
out that those residents were not currently invested in the system. She agreed that there needed
to be a joint interest at this point in time, yet she shared the Mayor's concern that not all residents
would be happy about it at any one time. She asked what the tipping point was in light of the
certainty of not obtaining a unanimous vote.
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January 5, 2010
Mayor Hoffman invited the neighborhood representatives to address the Council.
Randy Duncan, Skylands Neighborhood Association President, expressed his appreciation for
the thoughtful dialog and informative discussion.
Skip Ormsby, Birdshill CPO, commented that this was a start. He expressed his concern
regarding the City's urban service provider capacity, citing reports he has received from the Tryon
Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant that it was at capacity limits for wet weather. He asked what
those limits were and where Lake Oswego and Portland were with respect to those limits. He
mentioned an additional concern regarding surface water management because of the drainage
problems in their area off Hwy 43.
Chris Robinson, Forest Highlands Neighborhood Association Chair, pointed out that the
City's R-7.5 overlay of their neighborhoods was a huge disincentive to the residents to annex to the
city. He contended that annexation would chop up their large lots into smaller pieces and change
the character of the neighborhood. He held that providing a variety of property choices for
residents included both high density and low density areas.
He suggested that the City revisit the overlay designation as an incentive for annexation. He
mentioned a recent survey done by the Association, in which residents expressed their preference
to retain the rural character of the neighborhood and the larger lot sizes. He indicated that the
incentives discussed in the staff report did not provide Forest Highlands residents with any
motivation to annex.
He indicated his grave concern with the situation, citing the proposed Jurnstead development
recently before the City that would have split a seven -acre parcel into a 35 -lot subdivision of 4500
and 5000 square foot lots and completely changed the character of the neighborhood. He
questioned how long the reprieve they got from that development would last. He spoke to
designating certain areas in Forest Highlands, such as on the perimeter along Boones Ferry and
Country Club, for higher density development while protecting the core of the neighborhood with a
zoning overlay that made more sense.
Caroyin Krebs, Lake Forest Neighborhood Association Vice Chair, indicated that she would
not speak for the neighborhood on the subject of annexation without a neighborhood dialog on the
subject because annexation was a hot button issue for the neighborhood. She said that from her
personal perspective, it was imperative to use the current process of implementing their approved
neighborhood plan as a vehicle to discuss annexation.
She recalled hearing people claim that the potholes in the street were what kept the speeds down
on Washington Court. She commented that she understood that there were people who felt that
there were characteristics of the neighborhood that created the environment that the residents
wanted to see preserved. She cited seeing maintenance crews patching potholes on private
streets in her neighborhood, such as Inverrie, as evidence that street maintenance occurred on
neighborhood streets as well as the arterials and collectors.
She questioned the $100 a year figure provided as an estimate of the cost to city residents for USB
resident use of parks. She asked how the City knew whether those non-resident users came from
inside or outside the USB. She agreed that the issue of equity was important on both sides of the
issue, and one that needed accurate information for the discussion. She urged the Council not to
discuss annexation without first asking the neighborhoods.
Peter Klaebe, Rosewood Neighborhood Association/CPO Chair, commented that he would like
to have seen this good report four months ago when his Association conducted a survey to assess
the neighborhood's reception to receiving sewer service from the City. He indicated that failing
septic systems were the biggest annexation driver in his neighborhood, and this information would
have been very useful.
He recalled that the Clackamas County Sewer and Septic Manager informed the Association at a
meeting that Rosewood did not have to worry about sewer because it had concrete septic tanks
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 15 of 16
January 5, 2010
with a 100 year lifespan and great drainage for the most part. He noted that that message
conflicted with the information in the staff report.
He reported that there was definite interest in the neighborhood in receiving City sewer service,
although one-third of the residents said consistently that they did not want to annex to the city. He
indicated that the Association would likely work with City staff on finding the best approach with a
reasonable cost. He commented that the urban services provider annexation approach made
sense in their situation.
He concurred with Ms. Kreb's comments regarding the equity issue and questionable information
in the report that he would not want to see repeated on a larger basis. He commented that they
could make the same argument on the usage of roads for Lake Oswego residents driving into
Portland without paying Portland city taxes. He expressed his appreciation for the City having
done this annexation study.
Mr. Duncan stated unequivocally on behalf of Skylands that there was a high 90s percent non-
interest in annexation. He noted that he got shouted down if he even mentioned the word
'annexation' at neighborhood meetings. He commented that he personally thought this process
was effective in raising the issues, such as water quality. He agreed with the other chairs'
comments about the quality of the report.
13. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Hoffman adjourned the meeting at 9:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Robyn &ristie
City Recorder
APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL:
ON March 16, 2010
City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 16 of 16
January 5, 2010