BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS'
REGULAR MEETING
December 17, 2008
following HACSA
Commissioners'
Conference Room
APPROVED
2/13/2009
Commissioner Faye
Stewart presided with Commissioner Bill Dwyer, Bobby Green, Sr. and Peter
Sorenson present Bill Fleenor
was present via video conferencing. County
Administrator Jeff Spartz, County Counsel Liane Richardson and Recording
Secretary Melissa Zimmer were also present.
1. ADJUSTMENTS
TO THE AGENDA
Stewart noted item
6 b. on McKenzie Basin was cancelled. He
added the appointment of Fair Board members to today’s agenda. He added 6 d.
for the recognition of Commissioner Green.
2. PUBLIC
COMMENTS
Jim Gillette, Eugene, said he talked to his attorney and his
attorney said he prevailed in court because he received prevailing charges.
He said Milo Mecham was the one that said he still owed the County
$30,000. He thought Mecham’s letter had mistakes. He asked the legal
department to show him where he was wrong.
He thought people in compliance didn’t like him.
He wanted to try to resolve this personally.
David Monk, LRAPA, commented that it is the Board’s political support that is most
important regarding LRAPA. He added
that if the Board can’t continue to support the agency as they have, then the
agency can’t survive. He thought
federal monies the County would be receiving could be given to LRAPA to provide
an on the ground staffed agency that could help facilitate the green technology
jobs and sustainability initiatives the City of Eugene is pursing.
He indicated that the agency has brought in a lot of resources.
He said despite the current economic difficulties, the agency has value
for the citizens of Lane County. He
didn’t think ending the IGA and asking the DEQ to come in will resolve the
issues that the City of Springfield had with LRAPA.
He hoped the Board could see that the agency is the same as it ever was.
3. PUBLIC
HEARINGS
a. PUBLIC HEARING
AND ORDER 08-12-17-1/In the Matter of Adopting the FY 2008-2009
Supplemental Budget #2, and Making, Reducing and Transferring Appropriations.
Dave Garnick,
Budget Manager, explained that this is Supplemental Budget #2.
He said now that the annual forecast is completed, they need to adjust
the cash balances. He noted there are ten funds that have changes above ten
percent and they are required by state budget law to have a public hearing.
He noted under General Fund 124, under general expense, there were
changes as a result of the cash balance carry forward being smaller than what
was hoped. He said there was a
shortage in the U.S. Marshall’s revenue.
He said they transferred money from the road fund to the Traffic Team and
any revenue they generated was supposed to go to the general fund, but they were
$700,000 short. He stated that the Hynix tax refund took some tax revenues
away. He noted that they had to
reduce the service stabilization reserve by $2 million.
He said the prudent person reserve is still intact at $4.6 million.
He reported that under Fund 614 employee benefits, the
fund transfer amount should be minus $39,798 instead of what was contained in
the legal notice. He indicated that
the pension bond should be $319,442. He
noted under Fleet Fund, 619 under Public Safety, the amount should be a negative
$88,815 and under PC Replacement Fund 653, it is a zero transfer amount.
Commissioner
Stewart opened the Public Hearing. There
being no one signed up to speak, he closed the Public Hearing.
MOTION:
to approve ORDER 08-12-17-1 with the noted changes.
Green MOVED, Dwyer
SECONDED.
Sorenson understood
the funding for Elections is within the clerk’s office.
He noted that whenever Deeds and Records falls from recording documents
and there are insufficient funds in the revenue for recording fees, it affects
their financial position and the amount of money Elections gets from the fees.
He thought it was important that they monitor this closely because they would
have to backfill from the general fund.
Fleenor asked if
they could establish a lapse via a board order including a provision that any
department head shall report to the County Administrator any fluctuation within
their revenue by more than five percent in any given month, so they are given
notice prior to a deficit situation.
Garnick explained
that normally Finance and Audit Committee receives a report quarterly prepared
by Finance. He said that is
intended to alert any issues.
Fleenor thought
they should have a monthly report or a trigger of a deviation of
five percent of expended revenue with managing the fiscal solvency of the
County. He wanted to see a board
order to that effect.
Dwyer said he would
want a discussion but now was not the appropriate time.
He said they need to have a discussion about the unintended consequences
of those types of policies. He
wanted to see the past five year lapse history for Elections.
VOTE:
5-0.
4. EMERGENCY
BUSINESS
None.
5. COMMISSIONERS'
REMONSTRANCE
None.
6. COMMISSIONERS'
BUSINESS
a. DISCUSSION/Lane
Regional Air Pollution Authority.
Merlin Hough, LRAPA,
sent a letter to the Board and provided a memo. (Copy in file). He
commented that LRAPA has been an excellent investment for the local
intergovernmental partners. He said
they have been able to reduce their budget and have secured additional funding.
He thought they have given a good return for the County’s investment.
He recalled that over the years local control has been a key part of why
LRAPA exists. He said in order to
have a local regional authority, it requires contiguous local governments for
that to occur. He added if there
wasn’t a local authority or contiguous local governments to satisfy the
requirements for a regional agency, then Title 5 fees would go to a state agency
and the state agency would be responsible for permits and overseeing the
compliance of industries.
Stewart stated that
as a board member, he is proud of the agency and its employees.
He indicated that they do a great job within their means.
He was concerned about rural Lane County.
He said it is hard to keep a balance.
He asked if LRAPA wasn’t
in place, what the differences would be.
Andy Ginsburg, DEQ,
(via speakerphone) said they haven’t mapped out what would happen if LRAPA
doesn’t exist. He was hopeful the
Board will decide to continue with LRAPA. He
indicated that the DEQ has a regional office in Eugene but there is no air
staff. He noted the closest air
staff is in Medford and Salem. He
said they would have to reorganize and redeploy if they were to be able to cover
Lane County. He said they
couldn’t do it with the same level of service LRAPA provides. He indicated
that they would be under pressure to treat every County consistently. He added that if there were special situations in Lane County
requiring something different, it would be cumbersome.
He noted that Lane County would have the same local voice it currently
has. He said his perspective is
that it is important to have a local partner.
He commented that it was beneficial to continue with LRAPA.
Fleenor asked if
LRAPA were to go away would certain Clean Air Act rules and regulations as
determined by the Oregon DEQ still necessitate the restrictions LRAPA has
imposed on the Springfield area.
Ginsburg indicated
that they would roll all of LRAPA’s current rules into their rules.
He noted that many of the regulations in Lane County were put in place
for specific local air quality problems. He
added that anything adopted to implement the Clean Air Act would have to
continue. He noted that under state
law, LRAPA is required to have rules to implement what DEQ requests.
Dwyer didn’t see
any strong desire by the Board to sever its ties.
He thought LRAPA was a redundant agency. He commented that from a policy
perspective Springfield will save dues, but they are giving up a voice.
Fleenor recommended
retaining its relationship with LRAPA and having a more in-depth discussion
early next year.
Stewart urged the
LRAPA Board to consider statutorily changing the requirements of the make up of
the Board. He believed that if they
are going to move into a more geographical area and consider the air shed based
on the size instead of the population, they should find a way to get more
appropriate representation based on the geographical aspect than the way they
currently have. He indicated that
the Board will send a letter of response to LRAPA.
b. REPORT/McKenzie
River Basin. (PULLED)
c.
REPORT/Implementation of the Oregon Forestland Urban Interface Fire Protection
Act in Lane County.
Lena Tucker,
South Cascade District Forester, gave a power point presentation on the
Oregon Forestland Urban Interface Fire Protection Act and SB 360. (Copy in
file).
MOTION:
for Lane County to support the implementation of SB 360 and work to make
appointments necessary for the Oversight Committee and have the committee
utilize some of the resources available to implement policies.
Dwyer MOVED,
Sorenson SECONDED.
Sorenson requested
more written documentation. He
wanted to amend the motion to have Legal Counsel amend the Board order.
He asked for another report back in April.
Tucker stated she
will put together a cooperative agreement that could be used as part of the
board order.
VOTE:
5-0.
d. ORDER 08-12-16-2 Appointing Members to the Lane County Fair Board.
Stewart recalled that yesterday a motion was passed with a draft board order. He added that Dwyer’s choice was not included on the draft order. He asked if the terms should be staggered.
Richardson recommended having two positions for a one year term and two positions for a three year term.
Sorenson recommended Myers and Evans be appointed for the year appointment with Land and Vorhees appointed for three years.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 08-12-16-2.
Dwyer MOVED, Sorenson SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
e. Recognition of
Bobby Green, Sr.
The Board
recognized Bobby Green, Sr.’s 14 years of service as the North Eugene County
Commissioner.
7. COUNTY
ADMINISTRATION
a. Announcements
With regard to the
potential bad weather, Spartz indicated that they are monitoring Lane Transit
District and if they have to terminate bus service the County will close down so
no one who is dependent upon public transportation will become stranded.
b. REPORT BACK
Future of Metropolitan Wastewater Service District.
Spartz reported
that the Metropolitan Wastewater Service District has fulfilled the initial
condition of financing wastewater treatment bonds for the metropolitan area. He
stated the bonds have been retired and there is no particular purpose for the
district. He indicated that state
law only allows extinguishing the districts by a vote of the electorate.
He added that the cost could be $60,000 and they currently have around
$30,000 in the account. He stated that in order to go to a public vote, they would
have to take money from the general fund. He
communicated to Springfield and Eugene and they weren’t concerned. His
recommendation is to leave the district in its state and when they do a
community survey using ICMA, that they try to get some questions about the
public’s view of the district and if they would support abolishing it.
He said if the public supports it, they
should try to get it done legislatively using that information.
He added that they could always choose to go to a vote.
Dwyer agreed
leaving the district alone. He said
they have to have one meeting per year and it was cheaper to spend money for
lunch than $60,000 for an election.
Fleenor also
supported leaving the district alone, but he thought they should look for a legislative relief.
Dwyer thought that
Alex Cuyler, Intergovernmental Relations Manager, should look for every
opportunity to have a legislative fix.
c. ORDER 08-12-17-2/In
the Matter of Approving Allocations Totaling $200,000 for 2008-09 Rural Tourism
Marketing Program (RTMP) Projects in the Cities of Oakridge, Lowell, Westfir,
Coburg, Cottage Grove, Veneta, Creswell, Junction City, Florence, Dunes City,
and Services in the McKenzie River Region and Authorizing the County
Administrator to Sign Contracts
Authorizing Distribution of Funds.
Cristina Rosado,
Economic Development, explained that there was competition and after the review
committee went through the applications, they recommended McKenzie River Chamber
of Commerce with some changes.
MOTION:
to approve ORDER 08-12-17-2.
Dwyer MOVED,
Sorenson SECONDED.
VOTE:
5-0.
8. PUBLIC
WORKS
a. ORDER 08-12-17-3/In
the Matter of Amending Chapter 60 of the Lane Manual to Change Electronic
Equipment Recycling Fee Provisions to Apply Only to Large Businesses and Large
Non-Profits in Order to Participate with State Ecycles Program (LM 60.875M),
Effective January 1, 2009.
Sarah Grimm, Waste
Management, explained that Lane County has been doing E-waste recycling since
2004. She said E-waste is
toxic-containing units like computers, monitors, laptops, televisions, VCR’s
and telephones. She indicated that
they paid for the program through charging fees.
She reported that the state legislature passed the Oregon Electronics
Recycling Law, requiring manufacturers to finance a statewide system of
collecting and recycling toxic- containing items. She said the law stipulates that there will be statewide
programs providing free recycling of the materials for citizens in counties and
cities over 10,000. She added the
law also stipulates that the materials will be banned from Oregon landfills in
2010. She said the County is not
obligated to participate, but the law stipulates in 2010 that they have to make
sure those items are not going into the landfills.
She commented that participating in this program is important to maintain
their high level of recycling services to the citizens and help to work into the
ban in 2010.
Patti Hanson, Waste
Management, reported that this program will be free for all individuals, all
business and non-profits with less than ten employees.
She said by participating in the Ecycles Program, they could adjust their
operation and be ready for the ban in 2010.
She said they requested the Board amend Chapter 60 of Lane Manual to
change the electronic equipment recycle fee provision to apply only to large
business and large non-profits in order to participate.
MOTION:
to approve ORDER 08-12-17-3.
Fleenor MOVED,
Dwyer SECONDED.
VOTE:
5-0.
9. CORRESPONDENCE
TO THE BOARD
Oregon’s 150th Birthday
Stewart recalled that they invited people to do planning toward activities
that will take place next year. He
indicated that Phillip Carroll has been guiding the effort.
He thought they could get Carroll to come and report to the Board on the
activities.
Letter from Senator Joanne Verger
Stewart said they received a letter from Verger asking the Board to
consider her recommendation. He
said that John Griffith, Commissioner for Coos County is leaving his post and he
serves on the Ocean Policy Advisory Commission. Verger recommended the Board support Susan Morgan, Douglas
County Commissioner, to that committee.
MOTION: to consider Susan Morgan as a member of the Ocean Policy Advisory
Commission.
Fleenor MOVED, Dwyer SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
10. COMMISSIONERS'
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Fleenor announced the Senior Holiday Dinner on December 25 at 12:30 p.m.
11. EXECUTIVE
SESSION as per ORS 192.660
Per ORS 192.660 (2)(e) for the purpose of discussing possible property
acquisition.
12. OTHER
BUSINESS
None.
There being no
further business, Commissioner Stewart recessed the meeting into Executive
Session at 11:50 a.m.
Melissa Zimmer
Recording Secretary