BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS' REGULAR MEETING
September 25, 2002
Following HACSA
Commissioners' Conference Room
Commissioner Bill
Dwyer presided with Commissioners Bobby Green, Sr., Anna Morrison, Peter
Sorenson and Cindy Weeldreyer present.
County Administrator Bill Van Vactor, Assistant County Counsel Stephen
Vorhes and Recording Secretary Melissa Zimmer were also present.
1. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA
Green added an item
regarding an ODOT representative under Commissioners
Business.
2. PUBLIC COMMENTS
None.
3. COMMISSIONERS' REMONSTRANCE
None.
4. RESOLUTIONS
a. RESOLUTION 02-9-25-1/In the Matter of
Proclaiming October 2002 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Dwyer read the
resolution into the record.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 02-9-25-1.
Green MOVED,
Morrison SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
b. RESOLUTION 02-9-25-2/In the Matter of
Appointing Retired Commissioner Ellie Dumdi as a Representative of Lane County
Government During Her Trip to St. Wendel, Lane County’s Sister County.
MOTION: to approve RESOLUTION 02-9-25-2.
Morrison MOVED,
Weeldreyer SECONDED.
Dwyer read the
resolution into the record.
Green suggested the
Board provide Ellie Dumdi with official gifts for the people of St. Wendel.
Morrison suggested
providing pens from Lane County’s 150th
celebration.
Dwyer stated he
would contribute $100 from his supplies and services account toward a gift, if
needed.
VOTE:
5-0.
5. EXECUTIVE SESSION as per ORS 192.660
To take place after
the meeting.
6. COMMISSIONERS' BUSINESS
a. UPDATE/Facilities Capital Improvement
Projects.
David Suchart,
Management Services, reported that the Mental Health Facility won the People’s
Choice Award for Public Architecture.
He stated all the doors in the Public Service Building had been
completed for ADA access. With regard
to the Boy Scouts, he said they are in the process of writing up a
contract. He noted they would go out to
bid mid-October for the Child Advocacy Center.
He reported on the Harris Hall remodel.
He said the architects are checking it over and he will get the proposal
to the Facilities Committee. He stated
the elevator had been repaired and they are waiting for its inspection.
With regard to the
Department of Youth Services, Suchart announced they were working on turning
the third pod of the Juvenile Justice Center into a court school. He said they have a plan and they will work
on the community service program at the same time.
Suchart reported
there was little damage in the past few days with the homeless campers.
Weeldreyer suggested
where there are smoking areas that the word “please” is used. She said the tone orders people to do
something instead of requesting them.
She noted the sign on Pearl Street was an example.
b. ORDER 02-9-25-20/In the Matter of
Appointing Commissioner Morrison to be an
Alternate for
Commissioner Green at the ODOT Region All-Area Meetings
MOTION: to approve ORDER 02-9-25-20.
Weeldreyer MOVED,
Green SECONDED.
Sorenson suggested
that this committee assignment be put on a list at the beginning of the year so
it is not forgotten.
Dwyer stated this
committee needed to be structured so the MPC delegates are the delegates and
the alternates to the ODOT Regional All- Area Meetings, so there is continuity.
Green read the order
into the record.
VOTE: 5-0.
7. COUNTY ADMINISTRATION
a. Announcements
Van Vactor reported
that the Oregon Cultural Trust would not be meeting until October 23. He stated they were low on applications and
he recommended extending the application date to October 10.
8. PUBLIC WORKS
a. ORAL REPORT/Short Mountain Landfill Leachate
Treatment System Update.
Ken Kohl, Waste
Management, reported in October 1998, Lane County entered into a contract with
the Paul Corporation, whereby they would furnish and install their leachate
treatment equipment. He stated the
equipment included a reverse osmosis system that would squeeze 90% of the water
out of the leachate. He said the cost
to furnish and install the contract is about $2.5 million. He added the contract includes an operation
and maintenance period for five years.
Kohl noted the
contract required that the treatment system be operational by April 2000. He said they failed to meet the April 2000
deadline and in January 2001, Paul gave Lane County an amendment to extend the
deadline to July 2001. He said they
were given credit for additional engineering costs associated for reviewing
their plans and they added a provision whereby they have to justify their
actual costs and show they meet the costs that were proposed. If they don’t it adds additional years onto
the operation contract. He added there
were liquidated damages in the contract and the damages were waived with the
first amendment. He noted the current
liquidated damages are $1,000 per day from July 2001. He said there is about $460,000 in liquidated damages to
date. He stated in April of 2002 they
began testing the full system and found it didn’t work as designed. He said they would use propane and special equipment
to evaporate the last 10% of the water, so they are left with a small amount of
solids. He said they were working on a
contract amendment to extend the date they will finish and be operational.
b.
WORK
SESSION/Cell Phone Tower Discrepancies.
Kent Howe, Land
Management, recalled the Board had a work session on June 18 and they were
directed to come back for a public hearing on the changes to the cell tower
ordinances. He examined the correspondence from Dan Stotter, (representing Mona
Lindstromberg’s concern) over definition of tracts. He said the ordinance covers their concern. He added Land Management has a requirement
that for any application that the property owner has, they have to grant
authorization as part of the application.
c. ORDER 02-9-24-3/In the Matter of
Approving Amendments to the Bylaws for the Lane County Planning Commission.
Howe explained that
the Planning Commission wanted to tighten up the attendance requirements. He said they amended Article 6 and required
that barring excused absences, the Planning Commissioners need to attend at
least two-thirds of the commission meetings.
Morrison commented
if they amend the bylaws for this committee they should amend them for all
committees.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 02-9-24-3.
Green MOVED,
Weeldreyer SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
d. ORDER 02-9-24-4/In the Matter of
Authorizing Use of County Road Funds for Construction of Road Fund Eligible
Improvements Within the Orchard Park ($85,000) and Walnut Park ($52,000)
Affordable Housing Projects; Waiving of Associated Assessments; and Authorizing
Agreements with the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO) and
Saint Vincent de Paul (SVDP).
Green stated this
came through the City of Eugene. He
agreed with this in principle.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 02-9-24-4.
Green MOVED,
Weeldreyer SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
e. ORDER 02-9-25-5/In the Matter of
Denying a Request to Amend the Rural Comprehensive Plan to Redesignate and
Rezone 80.25 Acres of Land from “Forest/F-2” to “Nonresource/RR-5”(file PA
98-1953; Cooley).
Jerry Kendall, Land
Management, reported that on March 15, the Board took tentative action and on
May 3, the applicant’s attorney filed objections on procedural errors
concerning new evidence into the record subsequent to the applicant modifying
their proposal. He added in the same
proposal on the table, their proposal was to void the covenant so they no
longer would have a 37 lot subdivision. He noted the 1955 plat indicated there
were just 80 acres under the proposal of RR 10. He noted the options were to stay the course, adopt the order of
denial at RR 5 (designation based on the original deliberation;) or option 2,
deliberate today and reopen the record only for allowing the attached items 2-7
into the record and deliberate on RR 5 or reopen the record and allow people to
comment on the attachments and site observation. He said they would then close the record, reconvene and have
final action on a later date, or reopen the record on the site observation RR
10 and the plat covenant.
Kendall recommended
Option 3.
Vorhes stated that
the recommendation of staff addresses legal concerns to consider, and if there
is interest by the Board to reopen the record, to let everyone comment and then
have the Board deliberate.
Dwyer asked with
Option 3 if any template process would affect future development.
Kendall responded it
wouldn’t with an F2 process, going to rural residential 10-acre minimums. He noted they would get eight parcels
maximum.
MOTION: to
move Option 3.
Green MOVED,
Morrison SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
Kendall noted they
would reopen the record for a period of time specified in this document. He said when they get the revised findings,
they would bring it back to the Board for consideration.
Van Vactor suggested
completing this matter while Weeldreyer was still in office.
f. ORDER 02-9-25-6/In the Matter of
Electing Whether or Not to Hear Arguments on an Appeal of a Hearings Official's
Reconsidered Decision Approving an Application for a Lodge in the Rural
Residential Zone (file PA 01-6417/McDougal).
Kendall reported
this was an appeal of a reconsidered decision by the hearings official by which
he approved the proposal for a 30-unit lodge.
He said the first issue is whether it is of countywide significance. He said as they noted in the order, the law
is changing and the new rural residential zone will change the way lodges are
evaluated. He said the amount of lodges
would be decreasing because of the change in the law in May 2002. He noted there were no unique environmental
resources and while the hearing official recommends review of the appeal, he
sought the Board’s concurrence with his approach to how the term lodge was
treated. He stated staff recommended
under the option not to hear it but to concur with the hearings official in his
interpretation of all Lane Code chapters and Rural Comprehensive Plan
polices. He said staff was recommending
the Board concur with the hearing’s official on all of his interpretations on
the local level, not just the definition of the lodge. He noted a benefit of that approach is when
this goes to appeal in front of LUBA, if there is a matter of county deference
for local issues, they won’t remand it back to Lane County.
MOTION: to approve Option 3 to not hear the
arguments and to affirm the hearing’s official’s decision.
Weeldreyer MOVED,
Morrison SECONDED.
Weeldreyer explained
that after reviewing the material, she thought the hearing’s official made a
correct finding on the use of the term lodge in this application. She didn’t see any procedural errors and
economically it would be something good for the McKenzie Bridge community.
Dwyer asked what the
effect would be with Option 2.
Kendall reiterated
if LUBA finds there is a local issue and the Board hadn’t concurred with the
hearing’s official, the concern is it would be remanded back to the Board. He said by concurring with all of the local
interpretations by the hearings official, they would avoid that step to
pre-empt the remanding back of this matter.
Sorenson said when
they decide to hear the appeal they have to examine the criteria to see if it
was met. He said the focus should be
that the hearings official recommended that the Board hear the appeal. He said the Board should follow the code and
allow for the appeal.
Weeldreyer believed
the hearings official wanted the Board to hear this to reaffirm whether or not
the Board had a problem. She didn’t see
the need to have a hearing because she didn’t see any reason or error in the
hearing’s official’s interpretation.
VOTE: 3-2 (Dwyer, Sorenson dissenting).
g. ORDER 02-9-25-7/In the Matter of
Adopting Findings Of Fact, Conclusions and a Final Decision in the Appeal of a
Hearings Official Decision Denying a Home Occupation and Temporary Permit
Within the Rural Residential Zone (RR 10) on a Parcel of Land Identified as Tax
Lots 211 and 205 of Assessor’s Map 16-05-18 (File PA 01-5803 & PA
01-5804/Neumann).
Tom Lanfear, Land
Management, reported this item was before the Board on May 28 when the Board
conducted deliberations and made a tentative decision to approve these two
applications and reversed the hearing’s official denial. He noted the Board directed findings to be
prepared by the applicant’s agent. He
said they were prepared and circulated to the agent for the opponents. He added they received comments from the
opponents and reviewed and prepared the findings for the Board’s adoption.
Lanfear reviewed the
conditions of approval that were proposed by the applicant and they had modified
a few of them. He recommended a change
to condition number 2. He noted it
originally had a provision to be renewed every five years. He added Lane Code does not allow temporary
permits to be renewed and they are limited to five years.
Dwyer asked if there
were any ex-parte contacts.
Green stated he
received a letter from Steve Cornacchia.
He advised legal counsel about the letter.
Weeldreyer received
a letter from a neighbor who provided information about an event that was held
there and how disruptive it was.
Morrison stated she
forward her letter to compliance.
Dwyer had also read
the letter.
Lanfear noted that
letters that are received by the Board after deliberation are not part of the
record.
Sorenson received a
letter from someone in Junction City who was opposed to this.
Lanfear said if the
information they received influenced their decision, they should re-open the
record to allow it in and let the other side comment about it. He added if it doesn’t influence it, they
could declare it.
Dwyer suggested
putting it into the record. He asked
how long the record should be left open.
Lanfear said they
could give a week to respond to the letters and get it back to the Board. He stated he would send copies of the
correspondence to each party, giving them a week to respond and he will bring
back their comments to the Board.
Dwyer stated this
would come back the first week of November.
9. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. Approval of Minutes: None.
B. Assessment and Taxation
1) ORDER 02-9-25-8/In the Matter of A
Refund to Seneca Sawmill Company and Larry J. Tapanen, Attorney for Petitioner
in the Amount of $77,249.51.
2) ORDER 02-9-25-9/In the Matter of A
Refund to MBM Group LLC in the Amount of $13,450.94.
C. County Counsel
1) ORDER 02-9-25-10/In the Matter of
Amending Chapter 61 of Lane Manual to Clarify Procedures for Attorney Conflicts
of Interest. (Teresa Wilson)
D. Health and Human Services
1) ORDER 02-9-25-11/In the Matter of
Awarding a Subcontract Amendment to ACES, in the Amount of $205,044, for
Problem Gambling Treatment Program Services.
2) ORDER 02-9-25-12/In the Matter of
Awarding the Contract for Adult Mental Health Consumer Services for LaneCare to
SAFE Inc. in the amount of $120,530 for the period October 1, 2002 through
September 30, 2003.
E. Public Works
1) ORDER 02-9-25-13/In the Matter of
Authorizing an Agreement to Accept $84,168 from Cascade Pacific RC&D Area,
Inc. for Installation of Fish Friendly Culverts on North Fork Siuslaw Road
(Harring Creek), South Canary Road (Carle Creek), Fiddle Creek Road (Alder
Creek), and Maple Creek Road (Grant Creek)
2) ORDER 02-9-25-14/In the Matter of
Accepting a Deed of Land to be Used as a Public Road Easement for Pitney Lane
(County Road No. 602) and Bailey Lane (County Road No. 783) (16-04-06).
3) ORDER 02-9-25-15/In the Matter of
Accepting a Deed of Land to be Used as a Public Road Easement for Hideaway
Hills Road (18-03-27).
4) ORDER 02-9-25-16/In the Matter of
Accepting a Deed of Land to be Used as a Public Road Easement for Coburg Bottom
Loop (County Road No. 939) (16-03-32).
5) ORDER 02-9-25-17/In the Matter of
Amending the Expiration Date of the Requirements Contract with Philip Services
Corporation to 6-30-03, and Authorizing the County Administrator to Execute the
Amendment.
MOTION: to approve the Consent Calendar.
Morrison MOVED,
Green SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
9. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
a. ORDER 02-9-25-18/In the Matter of
Appointing Two Members to Fill Vacancies on the Health Advisory Committee.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 02-9-25-18.
Sorenson MOVED,
Green SECONDED.
Morrison stated
there needed to be consistency with a two-term limit for all committees.
Dwyer noted they did
have a two-term limit, but they have the ability to waive the limitation on a case-by-case
basis. He said they have outstanding
citizens who want to continue to serve and they made exceptions in those
cases. He said they need to continue
the policy on a case-by-case basis.
Sorenson suggested
revisiting the topic of term limits on committees.
VOTE: 5-0.
10. PUBLIC SAFETY
a. ORDER 02-9-25-19/In the Matter of
Creating Five Deputy Sheriff Positions in the Sheriff's Office Corrections
Division.
MOTION: to approve ORDER 02-9-25-19.
Weeldreyer MOVED,
Green SECONDED.
VOTE: 5-0.
11. COMMISSIONERS' ANNOUNCEMENTS
Sorenson stated he
and Weeldreyer met to review the applicants for the Planning Commission. He said they were recommending to the Board
that Juanita Kirkham be reappointed and Bob Collin be appointed.
Morrison announced
she participated in a conference call with AOC. She said the county tasting was going to take place and the
overall theme this year is civil war.
Green noted the
Board asked CVALCO to appropriate an allocation of money to help with that
endeavor.
Morrison said she
would coordinate this with Green. She
announced that Saturday is the Veneta Chili Challenge. She noted Lane County was hosting the LCOG
Board Meeting at the new Mental Health facility. She thanked everyone who participated in the Day of Caring for
the United Way.
Weeldreyer stated
she would be attending the statewide Challenge of Change. She noted this was a conflict with the Board
meeting and asked if it could either be a down week that week or to have an
afternoon meeting on October 23.
Green said he would
be in agreement if they could accommodate it.
Weeldreyer also
announced she would be attending a telecommunication conference in Bend.
12. CORRESPONDENCE TO THE BOARD
Letter from R.
Michael Tugwell, Chumwa Fen, Inc.
Dwyer read the
letter into the record.
Green asked why the
Parks Advisory Committee had not supported this.
Rich Fay, Parks,
responded on two occasions the Parks Advisory Committee considered the matter
and on both occasions they deferred to staff to provide a clarification of uses
of the north bottomlands, which they had done on November 13, 2001. He stated they presented a concept for
clarification, including a native plant nursery site, a caretaker’s site, an
outdoor horse arena and indoor arena.
He added they were looking at an outdoor multipurpose recreation area.
Fay said they took
public comment on November 13, and
Chumwa Fen gave input. He added it was
staff’s proposal for consideration. He
said the Parks Advisory Committee reviewed that and thought it was a good
plan. He explained they wanted to
implement the aspects of that plan. He
said they were in conflict with the general use of that site. He noted they have the Sheriff’s Posse, the
20/30 Club and the Boy Scouts needing an area for multipurpose events.
Green asked how
Chumwa Fen would bring dollars into Lane County and through what
mechanism. He asked why Chumwa Fen was
not supporting the Park’s position.
Fred Farner, General
Manager, Chumwa Fen, said they are soliciting groups to hold their meetings on
this property.
Marshal Bilik, Board
of Directors, Chumwa Fen, thought the Lane County area needed to have a place
where any education or government agency could have picnics, trainings, and
education sessions. He said the north bottomlands
served the beginning of the purpose. He
noted they invested 10,000 volunteer hours developing the site.
Dwyer asked who
specifically would be bringing money into Lane County.
Farner said these
people spend money for recreation. He
said they would get business from the recreation groups and hunting clubs. He noted the goal is for Chumwa Fen to
operate the north bottomlands without cost to the County. He said they only used a total of 28
days. He thought they could move it up
to about 100 days to rent out and they could bring their user day count from
28,000 user days to between 150,000 and 250,000 user days.
Dwyer asked what
direct benefit Lane County would receive.
Farner responded
that Lane County would be relieved of the expense of developing the north
bottomlands. He said as soon as they
get their base operating expenses, then they would pay money into the
County. He said they are the only
stakeholder group that gives a copy of their books each year to the County and
does not come to the County asking for money.
Dwyer asked how Lane
County would get paid.
Farner stated it
would be done through a contract. He
stated his proposal is after the first 30,000 user days, they would put a
nickel in for each user day beyond that.
Green asked if there
was a sense of urgency with this matter and why they were not honoring the park
staff.
Farner responded
that since September 19, 2001, Lane County parks had not advised them of any
meetings so they could come to participate in the planning process. He added dollar-wise this is urgent. He noted there is a major event that would
come up next summer that could generate 18,000 user days. He stated in 2006, the Society for Creative
Anachronism holds their 40th birthday party. He added the bidding would be a two-year
process. He said if they have the
contract in place, they would have the volunteers getting rid of more of the
fire hazards.
Weeldreyer stated
she took a tour of the whole bottomlands area.
She learned that the purpose of Chumwa Fen is to broker educational
activities that take place on public lands.
She said having the Parks Department and Chumwa Fen as a community
organization dedicated to the management of that purpose would be a good idea. She was concerned because it is an area that
had been farmland. She shared the same
issues as the Parks Department that by removing the Parks Department from being
in the first position to manage would not be in Lane County’s best interest. She noted there are many groups that would
want to use the land but would not want to go through Chemwa Fen as the middle
person organization. She was also
concerned with fire safety in the summer months for that area. She wanted these issues resolved before they
went forward. She thought a working
relationship between the Parks Department and Chumwa Fen was a good first step.
Snowden noted
another issue that needed to be addressed was the carrying capacity to the
north bottomlands area. He believed
that crowds of 4,000 and 8,000 over several days would exceed the carrying
capacity of the park.. He asked at what
level the Board wants to develop the bottomlands.
Fay reported that
the Parks Department had not prevented Chumwa Fen from holding events or
working with them. He noted they walked
away from the table and haven’t contacted them. He said that Lane County is the group that should determine what
happens in those areas and to keep the calendar. He noted one of the carrying capacity issues is not just the
event taking place in the north bottomlands, but the arboretum, Friends of
Buford Parks and the Sheriff’s Posse events.
He said someone has to make sure the events are not held on the same
day. He said Lane County should issue
special use permits so those issues are addressed. He stated giving Chumwa Fen
a long-term lease and exclusive control was not in the best interest of the
public. He said the volunteers should
contribute to the good of the public’s use instead of a specific master plan. He said they were moving forward and
development was happening with Chumwa Fen.
Dwyer stated he
didn’t like the unhealthy relationship between the Parks Advisory Committee and
Chumwa Fen. He thought people in good
faith working together for the common good, recognizing each other's
responsibility should be able to work things out.
Fay responded they
work with a lot of people with special use permits.
With regard to
having a permit four years into the future, Snowden was concerned about fire
danger. He said a long-term commitment
for an August date would be complicated.
He asked if it was in the public’s interest to have a long-term lease
that gives control over all fee-paying events in the north bottomlands to
Chumwa Fen. He didn’t think so. He added they could work with them for a
special use permit.
Fay didn’t think one
group should dominate the area for years in advance.
Sorenson said they
couldn’t ignore the fact that there are other communities around the United
States attracting people from all over their region. He said it would be money coming into the community. He was concerned about the carrying capacity
for the park and he wanted to see more non-profit energy. He suggested a public/private partnership to
get rid of the vegetation.
Morrison was
concerned about Chumwa Fen’s business plan.
She didn’t think another entity should be involved in trying to schedule
use of the park. She added they pay
CVALCO money to help market the area and to recruit conventions. She said if
Chumwa Fen wanted to come in under the normal process to market an event, there
wouldn’t have to be another entity doing the contracting. She didn’t agree with the number of hours
that were put in by Chumwa Fen’s volunteers.
Dwyer stated CVALCO
was in support of Chumwa Fen promoting these types of events because they
benefit from the events. He thought it
was possible for Chumwa Fen to work out an agreement. He thought there could be a win-win solution for both
organizations. He wanted the Roads Advisory Committee and Chumwa Fen to come up
with something that fits the needs for the whole community and the County and
report back to the Board.
Green thought
something could be worked out. He was
not convinced that a long-term agreement was the way to go.
Weeldreyer stated
this type of activity is one that fits well in Oregon. She
said for the future, they need to develop a sense of trust that had been
lost between Chumwa Fen and the Lane County Parks Department. She thought there should be something in the
master plan that would allow for public facilities to allow for large
crowds. She reiterated that the
direction is for the Parks Department to work out something with Chumwa Fen and
report back to the Board if there was a problem that couldn’t be addressed at
any other level.
Email from L.
Michael Adler.
Weeldreyer stated
she spoke with Michael Adler about a month ago. She said Adler had concerns about a barking dog that belonged to
his neighbor. She said he worked with
Animal Regulation. She noted that the
Lane County ordinance had not been revised since 1986. She said the ordinance was in violation if
any animals cause annoyance, alarm or noise disturbance for more than 15
minutes. She stated that the City of Eugene’s law states a violation is when a
dog persistently barks or howls and thereby unreasonably deprives a person of
peace and quiet. She commented Adler
was frustrated that a dog could bark for 14 minutes, take a two-minute breather
and continue barking on and off and that dog wouldn’t violate the code as it is
written. She said Adler stated the Lane
County ordinance is grossly inadequate and the City of Eugene code is
better. She asked the Board if the
County should make those types of changes
Dwyer responded the
Animal Regulation Task Force has Judge Sinclair dealing with regulations and
discrepancies in the law. He noted the
changes would take place as a matter of course that relates to the task force.
Weeldreyer requested
sending this to the task force.
Sorenson suggested
having the task force focus on specific recommendations to the Board for ordinances. He said when there is agreement on the task
force they send it to the Board sequentially.
He wanted Judge Sinclair to review this matter and bring it back to the
Board as quickly as possible with a recommendation and remedy as how they
should deal with this problem.
13. EMERGENCY BUSINESS
None.
There being no further business, Commissioner Dwyer recessed the meeting at 12:00 p.m.
Melissa Zimmer
Recording Secretary