Springfield City Council — January 6, 2025

0:05 I call this Springfield City Council special regular session to order with roll call. Mayor Van Gordon? Here. Counselor Weber? Here. Counselor Mow? Here. Counselor Rodley? Here. Counselor Blackwell? Here. And Counselor Doyle? Here. All right. You want to read the first item before we all and I'll give people some instructions. Yes, Mayor. The first item is the city council member and mayor oath of office. And Mayor Bridget Smith, this is your hand. All right. So, if you want to be sworn in, you need to proceed and sit next to Counselor Alex Stout and they will take us up one at a time um to make sure that we get uh take the oath. And then we will follow instructions of the PIO who's going to want some pictures taken. And I do want to recognize we have a lot of folks in the room. It is good to see a lot of staff

0:51 folks, County Commissioner Lovell, and a lot of our families here. It's a it's a pretty exciting day here for the uh City Council. All right. Well, good evening. We're going to be swearing in uh new councilors for wards three, four, six, and the mayor. We're going to go in

1:37 order of uh ward number and start with uh Counselor Rodley. So, uh Counselor Rodley, if you would raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Corey Rodley, do solemnly swear and affirm that I support the following, that I support the following, The Constitution and the laws of the United States, the Constitution and the laws of the United States, the Constitution and laws of the state of Oregon, the Constitution and laws of the state of Oregon, the charter, ordinances, and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield, the charter, ordinances, and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield, and I will faithfully and honorably

2:25 perform the duties of Ward 3 counselor for the city of Springfield. Perform the duties of Ward 3 counselor for the city of Springfield. Congratulations and thanks in advance for your service. Okay, next will be counselor Blackwell for Ward 4.

3:11 Um Okay, uh raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, Beth Blackwell, I, Beth Blackwell, do solemnly swear and affirm that I support the following: That I support the following: The Constitution and the laws of the United States, the Constitution and the laws of the United States, the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oregon, the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oregon, the charter, ordinances, and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield, the charter, ordinances, and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield, and I will faithfully and honorably perform the duties of Ward 4 counselor for the city of Springfield. Perform the duties of Ward 4

3:57 counselor for the city of Springfield. Thank you. Congratulations. Okay, counselor-elect Stout. You ready? Yes. All right. Raise your right hand, please. I Ryan Stout Ryan I Alan Stout Stout. I'm sorry. Get it right. That's good. I Alan Stout Start over. I Alan Stout I Alan Stout do solemnly swear and affirm that I support the following the Constitution and the laws of the United States

4:43 and the laws of the United States the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oregon the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oregon the charter, ordinances, and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield ordinances, and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield I will faithfully and honorably perform the duties of Ward 6 counselor for the city of Springfield. Perform the duties of Ward 6 counselor for the city of Springfield. Congratulations. Thank you.

5:34 Do you want to double-check? I I think I got your name. Okay. All right. Raise your right hand. I Sham Sean Van Gordon Too many. I Sean Van Gordon do solemnly swear and affirm Do you solemnly swear or in affirm that I support the following the Constitution and the laws of the United States the Constitution and the laws of the United States the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oregon the Constitution and the laws of the state of Oregon the charter ordinances and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield the charter ordinances and rules of procedure for the city of Springfield and I will faithfully and honorably perform the duties of mayor of the city of Springfield and perform the duties of the mayor of

6:19 the city of Springfield Congratulations. Thank you. We're going to follow instructions here too. That's good. All right. Guys, come on. Come on. Into the well. Into the well. We got one group picture together.

7:16 Follow my instructions here. Oh, I have to give instructions? Well, Have the camera. Yeah. Yeah, bring it together. Turn slightly sideways. Bring it in a little. Good. What are we supposed to be looking at first? Just go Yeah, okay. Okay. I've been barged in everything. Let me get it lined up. Add one. Right here, everyone. Right here, right here, right here. Great. Now you can look over at me for I think style 123. And you should do the spray lighting, Chris. All right. A couple more here. Right here, everyone. Great. All right, wait, don't go anywhere. Come on.

8:02 If you're a family, come on. wife Yeah, we can Yeah, maybe step behind her a little bit. Perfect. Good, good. And in a little bit more if we can on the

8:47 end there. There we go. Yeah, come on. I know this family. there Great. Thank you. Now you can look over at me. Yeah, I know I'm not much to look at. Um thank you. Thank you.

9:48 All right, for the record, I'm going to adjourn us for the next until 6:15, so feel free to stay here and mingle. I'm going to call the Springfield City Council work session to order with roll call. Mayor Van Gordon. Here. Councilor Weber. Here. Councilor Moe. Here. Councilor Rodlin. Here. Councilor Blackwell. Here. Councilor Doyle. Here. And Councilor Stout. Here, thank you. We have one work session item tonight. It's the code enforcement municipal code updates with Charlie Kent.

10:36 Good evening, Mayor and Council, and happy New Year. Um, effective code enforcement is critical to maintaining the health, safety, and quality of life in Springfield. The mission of our program is to promote a safe, clean, and thriving community by ensuring compliance with city codes through education, collaboration, and equitable enforcement practices, fostering a high quality of life for all residents and businesses in Springfield. Staff were first before Council 18 months ago and presented a phase plan to implement changes in the program designed to increase or improve community service. We've come a long long way since then. We're here today to discuss two key concepts presented in previous work sessions, specifically administrative civil penalties and a municipal nuisance

11:22 code update. While current enforcement mechanisms, such as warning warnings, abatement, and civil prosecution serve important roles, the absence of administrative civil penalties limits the city's ability to efficiently address code violations. Some of our current challenges Am I too far away from the the mic? Can you hear me okay? I can hear you okay. Okay, my apologies. Some of our current challenges are limited deterrence, a strain on resources, and resolutions which are inefficient. Without timely financial consequences, many violators are not incentivized to properly promptly address code violations. This is particularly problematic for repeat offenders. Civil prosecution and court processes

12:08 are time-consuming and expensive, diverting resources from other city functions. Delayed compliance leads to prolonged public nuisances and potential safety hazards. This negatively and directly impacts neighborhoods and the community as a whole. The benefits of administrative civil penalties are enhanced compliance, more cost-effective and proportional enforcement, and improved recovery of resources. Monetary penalties provide a clear and immediate incentive for property owners and businesses to comply with city codes. Administrative processes reduce the burden on courts and city staff, thereby streamlining the resolution of violations.

12:53 And penalties can be scaled based on the severity and frequency of the violations, ensuring proportional consequences. And funds collected through penalties can be reinvested into enforcement programs or community improvements. Broadly speaking, the proposed framework includes a penalty structure and appeals process. ACPs are more of a community approach and allow officers to spend more time talking with folks than sitting in the office sending letters. This approach prioritizes public education and flexibility to address different hurdles that community members face when resolving these violations. The penalty structure establishes a tiered system of fines based on the nature and severity of the violation with escalating penalties for repeat

13:39 offenders. The appeals process is important and provides a clear and accessible process for violators to contest penalties which ensures fairness and transparency transparency. Pairing penalties with public education campaigns to inform residents and businesses about code requirements and the importance of compliance is important to to build those types of relationships and and provide some sort of outreach. Adding administrative civil penalties to Springfield's code enforcement toolbox will strengthen our ability to address violations efficiently, promote community well-being, and reduce strain on city resources.

14:31 There we go. And this brings us to the second issue I'd like to present and discuss today. Section 5.002 of the Springfield Municipal Code currently addresses the majority of violations handled by the code enforcement program. Staff have reorganized this section to address current issues more effectively including the addition of provisions for dangerous, abandoned, or derelict structures. These structures present significant risk to public safety, community well-being, and property values. Staff reviewed similar codes in Oregon cities identifying these key provisions. A clear prohibition of unsafe structures, immediate and temporary safeguards for imminent hazards, mandatory registration and maintenance plans for dangerous and vacant properties,

15:17 fee structures and waivers to encourage compliance, and clear criteria for abatement by demolition, ensuring that we're following due process. And those are really the the wave tops of the specific code for dangerous abandoned derelict structures. Some key concerns about these structures are public safety risks, neighborhood impacts, and long-term economic costs. Unstable structures, exposed wiring, and unsecured access points, uh which pose risks to residents, emergency responders, and children are very real uh conditions and and they're pretty hazardous. And unfortunately, Springfield has a tragic history regarding fire risks and unsecured abandoned structures. Abandoned buildings often attract unauthorized occupants, increasing the

16:03 likelihood of fires. Community impacts are uh very real as well. They're not necessarily seen immediately. However, there are decreased property values and neighborhood decline in these blighted areas. Neglected structures lower adjacent property values and discourage investment in the city. And these properties become eyesores, reducing community pride and engagement. And there are associated economic costs as well. There's an increased enforcement burden and a taxpayer burden. Munici- municipal resources are repeatedly spent on inspections and compliance efforts uh without mechanisms to recover costs outside of the formal process. The proposed code features uh definitions and classifications,

16:49 enforcement mechanisms, and funding and cost recovery. There's clear criteria for identifying dangerous structures, and we'll use tiered classifications to prioritize actions based on that severity. Enforcement mechanisms, including expe- inspection authority and owner accountability to enhance inspectors' abilities to assess and document structural conditions. And we'll also require owners to remediate uh or demolish uh non-compliant structures within specified timelines. Funding and cost recovery include lien authority and direct collection of fines to be deposited or um uh placed into a special fund designed strictly for abatement of code violations.

17:36 And additionally, staff intend to proactively educate property owners on compliance requirements and partner with community organizations to identify and prior prioritize uh these problem areas. The proposed updates to the Springfield Municipal Code include critical revisions and additions that aim to enhance public safety, improve operational efficiency, and align with national best business practices for managing dangerous, abandoned, or derelict structures. And with that, I'd like to open up for any questions or comments that you have. Good morning. Thank you very much. Um and I appreciate your your continued work on this cuz I know we've had multiple conversations.

18:21 Um and we're getting close. I think um one of the things as I was reading through it and thinking about um and this could just be a matter of sort of just tracking it as it as it happens. Um I'm interested to see I mean we we were talking a lot about the the cost abatement and like getting, you know, the the fines and getting money back. And I would I know that we're we're very much around, you know, that this is going to be complaint-based. We're not going out and and looking for things. Um however, because we're putting increased energy into this, I am curious as to whether or not it's a costing us more as well. So, somehow moving forward with this to kind of somehow be tracking the expenses to see if it ends up that we are pulling more money in that we can

19:06 use for abatement or if it's costing us more in terms of the administration and we're not getting to that like sweet spot. I'm assuming we will, but I just I'm hoping we pay attention to that so that when we come back in a year or so and talk about it, we're like, "Oh, yeah, we are getting our a good bang for our buck and we've invested all of this time and and energy into this and we're um bringing money in that's helping to clean up the city." Thank you. Uh anybody else? Uh Victoria. Um thank you. So, I just wanted to get a a clarification on a couple things. So, the the abandoned and derelict buildings, that is also still going to remain complaint-driven. It's not going to be a city a city staff going to determine that?

19:51 Are you going to get a call from somebody? Uh um it's going to be similar to our current standards. Uh and and this is in regards to a public safety issue. Um and so um this won't be the same response to an employee complaining about a car parked on the front yard. Uh this will be the structure that look like it's falling down and it's a dangerous to other folks. Um so, we won't be uh driving around the city looking for these specifically, but often times our referrals come from the police department or the fire marshal's office based off of their concerns um or neighbors. And so, it's it it is still strictly complaint uh initiated. Okay, it is it is still complaint. Okay, great. And then um when I was reading it, there's a when I was looking at on the other uh

20:37 side of this um when we're talking about the um persons in charge as opposed to the responsible person, I think that we I think that um Councilor Pizurny had talked about the the owner versus tenant and how that's going to play into how these fines are initiated. If you're going to be issuing those to the tenant who's there and ultimately if they don't pay, is this going to land on the responsibility of the owner of the property who may be out of state or whatever. How are we How are we working through that? Sure. Uh there's no change to our current procedure. Um ultimately, if a citation is issued uh for violations occurring on a property, um it's up to the owner to identify a

21:22 tenant if we're not able to do so. Um so we don't have a property registration uh system whereby, you know, there's no um there's no data for us to sift through to locate who a tenant is outside of DMV records. I mean, we go to extremes to to locate that tenant, including knocking on the front door, talking to neighbors, that sort of thing. So if that's the case, um we will be in contact uh with the the homeowner through um official notices, warnings, prior to um any citation. Um so ultimately, yes, uh the the violation will potentially land on the property owner. However, there is some flexibility within that um where we can um uh

22:07 negate any um uh fines that are issued to them um if that uh it's found once we're able to identify that tenant. Okay. Yeah, cuz you know, the tenant laws have changed a lot, too. And so it can kind of put an a property owner a landlord in a tough situation cuz they may have a a tenant that's that's doing other things and that they're not able to evict, that they're trying to evict. And in the process of that, then they're on top of that getting dinged for these things that are happening, you know, because of their tenant on the property and that. So I'm just, you know, trying to be sensitive to the fact that there's two sides of that. And so I know I know it's it's it's tough cuz they do own the property, but Sure, it's it's not easy. And and to be

22:53 clear, um we're looking for communication. If we're in communication about a resolution through the property owner with that bad tenant, um uh we completely understand. It's It's what we do, Okay. you know, so so it's not an uncommon issue. Okay. And then, sorry, I have a few written down here. When you When we're talking about the changes to this going to the hearings official as opposed to the council, can you kind of explain that process and how that's changing or what that procedure is What's not coming to council, what is going to the hearings official, kind of how that works? Sure. And I can loosely speak to that, Bridget, if uh you could as well. Um I Charlie, why don't you start and then I'll fill in if It sounds great. Um hearings official is different in

23:39 that these are folks contracted out who are are familiar with the code or the principles of the code in the minutia. Instead of having council be the appeals process for these folks when it's more of a technical area of law. Um council is still um uh any any sort of lien that code enforcement staff would go through for a nuisance violation. So, like, if there's a you know, a $10,000 fine that that some property owner incurs, if I were to move forward with a lien on that property for that nuisance violation, I would need to come before

24:24 council to get that approved. Okay. Yeah, and I'm familiar with how there's differences between hearings officials and like planning and commissioner, you know, city council on on other types of stuff. So, yeah, I just wasn't sure on that. And then, I think there was one other thing that I wanted to ask about. Um Oh, the the staff member that you're wanting to add, the 3/4 Yes. um FTE. Can you kind of explain how you know or can project that you're going to be able to pay for that position with this supposed increase in fine collection. So so to clarify, there's not necessarily a significant increase in collection of of fines.

25:09 You know, we're we're not expecting six figures out of out of this and it's not to generate revenue. It's to recover costs more effectively and quicker. So a turnover currently through the municipal court is 6 to 8 weeks before we hit trial and then there's recovery on the back end of that. Right now it's a $50 ticket versus a $500 ticket for the same violation. And that would be much more reasonable for somebody to pay Okay. right out of the bat. 0.75 is in part due to the increased the the Tyler software. There's a payment processor that goes along with that

25:54 where our current software platform is not they don't talk to each other. And so if we were to try and use the current software, it wouldn't it just wouldn't work out. Additionally, we're already very understaffed in terms of the administrative needs for the program. The administrative civil penalties would work as a front counter staff similar to what court does and manage the financial documents and impacts there as well. So 0.75 we're currently at 0.25. Okay. We could easily be at 0.5 right now

26:39 with just collecting new complaints and improving our efficiency out in the field. The addition is we're expecting a similar number of code complaints uh year code cases. And so I'm trying to trying to figure out, you know, how how much uh administrative time per code complaint. And then you throw everything else in there. And And so uh 0.75 was my best guess. So, are you increasing or you Are you increasing with a new person or you increasing the hours of an existing person? Uh uh potentially the hours of an existing person. Um and I believe, and Jeff can probably speak to this a little bit better, that we've reorganized internally um and we'll potentially add a uh another FTE uh to CMD as a whole,

27:25 thereby relieving some of that pressure from our current administrator. That's all I had in questions. So, yeah. Can explain it to you. Jeff Paschal, Community Development Director. Um so, to the question of how we're going to add 0.75 FTE to the community development or to the code enforcement is internal restructuring. So, we have the FTE already authorized and approved through the budget. Um we have a couple of positions that we still haven't gotten through the hiring process yet. Um but looking at how to change up some roles of some folks, combine some roles that are more similar, and and just how can we become more efficient with those staff?

28:10 And Jeff can Just for you guys to clarify, you're not asking us for permission to add FTEs, right? No, that'll Again, like I said, it would be within the current FTE we already have approved in the FY25 budget. Right. But from a policy perspective, right? Even though we're talking about all the elements, that's the city manager's. She's making the call. Correct. Okay. And that was more uh for for the rest of us to just gauge about what we're agreeing to. We're not agreeing to add FTEs because Nancy would make that decision. All right, I've got Does anybody have other Go ahead, Alan. So, I I had a question. I was reviewing the session from uh February 20th and it came back to us I believe recovery was mentioned recovery percentages for like when somebody when

28:56 there's a fine what they're able to recover is only about 10% of the actual amount fine. Is that correct? Uh the it's For the current system of current standards yes it's approximately 10%. So I'm curious what what do you expect to that to jump up to cuz I'm hopeful that you know whether it's either if it's a property manager man property matter but property infraction why wouldn't it be a relatively streamlined process to get from the infraction that you're having the administrative person take care of right into a lien or if it's a if it's another violation immediately turn it in over to collections if they're not interested in paying it right away. I just has that has that collections question come to your way because if the fine is valid

29:41 the fine should be paid and I'm not interested in a 10% return cuz I think the average was about $100 per infraction and if you're doing 10 infraction infractions per day and you're doing 260 working days per year my mental math is saying okay the maximum you could recover is 260 26,000 cuz we're only recovering 10 10% of this. 26,000 is a very low number to recover. So I'm just curious if you could speak to how might we increase our recovery percentage because I think that would be a really valuable thing if we're spending the money and the time on on the person doing the work so yeah how much should see an increase in that and likewise if it's a property infraction I'd be very happy to see a lot of liens against properties in Springfield so that when they do change hands it's a lot easier

30:27 to recover those funds. I think the the larger return is going to come off of liens. These chronic nuisance properties where you're getting you know anywhere from 10 I think the highest one I've had is about 110 or 115,000 dollars. Um there needs to be some alignment in who is being cited. And the short answer is it depends. If if the responsible party is the one that's being cited and is the property owner, there's very few code enforcement cases where that's the case and where that's recoverable. Um the there are significant amounts that

31:12 we should pursue and that we're going to pursue largely speaking. However, the the process is new to code enforcement. It it wasn't a historical process that we used and through abatement we've been able to figure out that internal process and we've successfully I think we're number five or number six of our abatement where we've I think we've got the gears rolling pretty well. Um in terms of a um more of a recovery of day-to-day citations or tickets if you will. I expect there to be an increase proportionate to the fine amount. So what I mean is if you know there's a

32:00 small or maybe a low hurdle violation occurring, our current model is that we issue a $500 ticket for the first offense, $1,000 afterwards. And it's about every three weeks that we would issue that that citation. In between there there's maybe one or two inspections that occur at a time of about $100 per inspection or so to to our staff. If we're able to address those directly up front with two or three inspections and recover $50 for the time spent. Um we're actually going to see that money. When we go to court and we set these large fine amounts um really difficult to recover those through the folks that uh, were issuing these citations to uh, sometimes.

32:46 Um, and payment plans as little um, as $25 or $50 a month are very common. Um, and so when you get into a six-figure uh, type um, violation it's um, uh, I don't know. It It's like trying to clear the ocean with a spoon. All right. Thank you. Appreciate that. I hope Yeah, I hope that helps. Beth, I just uh, sorry. I wanted a little clarification on the homeowner tenant situation. Sure. So, if if the tenant is in violation, cars on the yard or something, then you notify the first person you notify is the property owner, correct? Not Not the tenant or you try to do that simultaneously? We do it simultaneously.

33:31 Okay. And do you let the uh, homeowner know that you've made contact with the tenant? Uh, by by letter, yes. By by letter. If we have a phone number or some some other sort of uh, communication, we'll uh, use that as well. Okay. And is there a certain amount of time I would assume for them to respond to you by if you send a letter and you don't get any response, is there another letter sent to the homeowner? Uh, there is four uh, it it depends on the severity of the the issue. Um, uh, typically there's a an initial warning. Um, our our current process is one, two, three notices, uh, warning, final warning, notice of violation, and then we'll issue the citation. We're trying to pair that down for a a quicker response. And is the citation to the homeowner

34:16 then or the tenant? Now, if you've made contact with the tenant but not the homeowner, is I'm just trying to get clarification, I guess, how that part works. Um, we always try and cite the responsible party and so that's determining who's causing the violations or allowing them to to Um, and and so predominantly if that if we're talking about a um a rental situation, that's almost always the renter. So, I just was thinking I would hate to see the homeowner possibly not responding, maybe they live out of area, and or they've changed addresses or something to that effect, and not being able to get a hold of them, and then the tenant not paying, and it leading to a possible lien on the house. Is there a path that that doesn't happen, I guess, because of Absolutely. Okay. Um, uh so, a lien happens 6 months to a year after the actual uh fines are are

35:03 levied, and and they're not collected. Uh it takes quite a bit of time. Sure. So, no, there's there's almost zero chance of of a property owner getting um a lien against their property for a tenant violation. Correct. Thank you. That's what I I know. Thank you. All right, anybody else? Okay. Um, a couple, I I guess, of comments of uh like, this is progressing very nicely. I think we're ready to take it to a public hearing, and start down that adoption uh process. The two areas that I don't know if it's a question or it's a concern, but from a policy perspective, there's a lot of discussion about using uh fines that we

35:48 were that we recover to fund the program. And one of the things I think's really important is to sort of separate those things, so that we're not explicitly adopting a policy where we're saying, "The way we're going to fund the pro this program is by finding fines from people." Right? We we're choosing to have a program, you know, we're recovering dollars from that, and then, you know, how the program gets funded is budgetary is is a budgetary issue. Uh uh yes, so, uh none of the the the fines or or any um amount recoverable go directly to salaries or anything like that. That's used as um seed money for future abatement projects. Um uh so, um you know, we we we've got to front the money for any contracting services and that's in a special 204 account.

36:35 Okay. The other question that I had that was brought up is you mentioned that some of these it is clearly still a complaint driven process and we're probably going to ask you this 50 more times before it's done about the importance of it being complaint driven. But you did bring up that that some of those complaints come from PD, right? They're you know, engaging with folks and you know, they notice stuff that is that is sort of health and safety related, right? Which is good. Is my question is when you think about complaints coming from other parts of the city which probably includes fire as well. Are we seeing the whole range? Are they sort of just giving you the hey, this is the health safety like if it's

37:20 explicitly health safety danger. But if the lawn to to lawn, right? Like we're not we're not generating those types of complaints. No, not not lawn. These these are health and safety complaints. Um Okay. I can't think of any that that aren't that that are they're all and fairly immediate. Yeah, so the way I would think about it is is if we have city employees out there, they're they've interfaced with the public over something that's happened and then they're looking at it and saying this is so dangerous. I really need to you know, I really need to report it for public safety. Mhm. Okay, perfect. And I'm assuming you are still getting some it's not just PD that it is giving you those types of concerns, right? Every once so you're getting a amount of fire as well.

38:06 That's correct. Okay, good. Good. Perfect. So, then what are our next steps? So, you're good to go to a public hearing. What are we doing from here? January 22nd, we're we're scheduled to bring it forward. If there's no clarification on code language or anything. Um that's that's what I'll present. Uh we also have a we've been working with uh some staff about uh outreach or an education component to this as well. Um and I think we're ready to pull the trigger on that fairly soon. Uh so I don't know if that should come prior to that uh public hearing. I'm assuming I'm assuming it would. I would assume so too, but that might be a different different you know, conversation internally. Okay. Perfect. Any other questions before we

38:51 wrap up? All right. Thank you. We're going to I'm going to adjourn the work session. We will reconvene at 7:00 for the regular session. I'm going to call the Springfield City Council regular session to to order with roll call. Mayor Van Gordon. Here. Councilor Weber. Here. Councilor Mow. Councilor Rodley. Here. Councilor Blackwell. Here. Councilor Doyle. Here. Councilor Stout. Here. Thank you. Please join me in the pledge of allegiance. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty

39:45 There are two times designated for public testimony this evening under public hearings and business from the audience. If you are attending in person, please complete the request to speak card located at the front of the council chambers and turn it into the city recorder. If you're joining us online with a tablet, smartphone, or computer and wish to speak at either of those times, please use the raise hand feature in Zoom. The order of the public testimony is as follows. Anyone in person in the council chambers, and then anyone who has raised their virtual hand. First item, please. First item here is the consent calendar. I move to approve the consent calendar. Second. Councilor can you call the vote? Yes, Councilor Webber. Yes.

40:30 Councilor Oh. Yes. Councilor Rodley. Yes. Councilor Blackwell. Yes. Councilor Doyle. Aye. And Councilor Stout. Yes, thank you. Motion passes, six yeses and zero no's. I would also like to note that it was included the proclamation for the election results. So, I'm not sure if we did that in the wrong order. It's a All right. Next item, please. Um next item is business from the audience. I don't have any cards. Do we have any hands in Zoom? Yes, we have one hand um and that is for Jason Profit and Jason you should be able to unmute your microphone.

41:16 All right, Jason. You're on. Okay, so two two quick things. Uh first I want can you please state your name for the record and your location in the city? Yeah, Jason Profit uh Corey Road. Okay, go for it. Um Arch uh our ambulance service is being contracted up to Vancouver, Washington. They do not accept debit cards uh to make the payment to it. I don't understand why we can't keep that service in Lane County somewhere. Walk into the counter and make the payment. Uh it sounds like it sounds like they've changed companies. The last company was able to take a debit card.

42:07 And my next item is uh I support the Christmas parade. I think that's a really good family deal. That parade was 10,422 in overtime. I think that's great for the city employees for Christmas money. But I can't understand why it takes 30 days to get South 3rd patched. And uh It's we're going on a year that there's still snow break on South 4th. Probably take take the crew maybe 2 hours to clean that snow break up. And then uh I still have some of subs cut up wire down here very very end of quarry. You know, it it's kind of remote. Not a lot of people come to here.

42:52 But I would like to keep it picked up and cleaned. So, that's that's all that's my my two cents worth. I'd like to see the billing for the ambulance come back to Lane County. And uh I like I said, I support the the Christmas parade but I can't understand spending that money and not be able to get the holes in the road patched and Christmas or ice ice storm stuff picked up. Is that it, Justin? That's it. Thank you. Do we have anybody else with their hand raised? No other hands for this item. All right. Is there any council response

43:38 for the public testimony? I will ask the question about the debit card. That seems odd to me. Uh go ahead, Nancy. I can briefly speak to this issue. Um at least for the city of Springfield, we did some um efficiencies in our ambulance billing services and um we do use an external uh agency for that um as a cost-saving measure. So, yes, the provider was changed for that. As far as the details of using a debit card, I would have to look into that specifically, but I can confirm that we as a resource savings changed the provider. Yeah, could you maybe ask them about that one and just let us know. Go ahead,

44:24 Corey. And you're talking about the the billing service, right? So, just wanting to clarify that that's not that the that the ambulance company is out of there, but it's the company that's handling the billing, which can be somewhat complicated. Yes, Counselor Ali. Thank you for that clarification. Ambulance billing is separate entirely from Eugene-Springfield Fire and our provision of ambulance services. Oh, Jeff Nelson just walked into the room. So, Jason, the sub issue needs to go to the sub board for to resolve that. But, Jeff, their general manager, just walked into the room, so we're just going to take a second and share the feedback. Um, up on Corey Road, there's still

45:11 uh damaged wire from a fall on from a fallen power pole, and that's what the public testimony was about. But, if Jason, if you want to email the sub board or email sub, they should be able to help you with that. Next item, please. Next item is business from the City Council. Item number one is Mayor and Council Committee assignments in the order um and Allison Polio, these are your items. Well, they gave me a responsibility that said I had to share the assignments this year. I tried to give them all to Beth, but they said I couldn't do that. Um, in front of you, you've got the list. I did make one typo in the original version of that. So, um, this is our opportunity to see if we don't

45:57 have to do anything with this, but if you have questions about my thinking, my logic, or if that's a corrected assignment, um this would be a good time to bring it up. The other two things I want uh everybody to keep in mind is this uh if you have a committee that you were not that you were not assigned to through through me. So, like Corey has that LOC committee. If you can let somebody know so I can put it on this list. Um Mike was on a on LOC committee last year. Um I sit on a state board that we've got to put on here. It would help the entire city to have that one complete list of all the committee assignments that you have. So, take a look. Does anybody have questions about the committee assignment

46:42 list? Go ahead. The only thing I would ask is that um there's some way to tie the assignments to our calendar because like the historic commission that I'm on, it's kind of a weird one though. It's like every other month on a Thursday at 4:00 and somehow it just kind of like fell off of what I do and they had said, "Oh, well, you know, there's not really a lot for you to do." and then I kind of so overwhelmed at first that I sort of like let that go and I'd really like to get back on track to doing that and so I was going to reach out to Tom, but it'd be nice if we could have those on the calendar. I put them in my phone, but like, you know, the sub board is, you know, this particular Wednesday and and then planning commission is every, you know, first and third and like that kind of thing. So, it'd be really helpful.

47:27 So, Council Adair, we can certainly um have our staff prepopulate your individual uh council um calendar to reflect uh your new committee assignments and this is a good time to do it. New year, so yeah. Thank you. That was my one ask, too, would be with the new assignments is to to uh to send them out. Um other things about uh committee assignments to uh keep in mind. Um the one the one committee assignment um that I know is coming that we haven't got the ask for. At some point this year the county's going to have an ambulance task force. So I would expect the request for somebody from our our council to come up for that as well.

48:17 All right. Also, Nancy, before we switch topics, finance and judiciary, right the legislative council committee does a has a pretty good rhythm to meet. Finance and judiciary has been one that we've struggled with the last year because it's sort of turned into a meet an ad hoc meeting. If you can just prompt like make and just choose a day like and just have us meet from that from that that point on. Certainly, we will get that in a time certain and we'll follow up with you Mayor to make sure that that works with your calendar as well. Well, I'm not on the committee so don't follow up with me about it. Oh. All right. I stand corrected. But Yeah. Like this is the finance side I guess.

49:11 Yes, let's go with that as an answer. All right, any other questions about committees? Okay. We change topics again. Um a lot of committee changes. If this doesn't if we get a month into this or 2 months in and it doesn't work with your work schedule or personal schedule, please let me know and we'll we'll get it moved around. All right. Any other council business? I've got a couple of other things, but I want to open this up. Nothing? Go ahead, Corey. I raised my hand cuz it's habit, but also um I just wanted to say that and a lot of it will be coming before this council and I know that some folks haven't seen it before, but we did a lot of work around housing um with the Home Governance Consortium

49:56 in December. I was in many a meeting around and Aaron's not here to attest to that. Um but, there's some exciting projects. We still have some um an RFP out for a piece of property that we have here in Springfield. So, fingers crossed around that. Um and all of that will come before you. But, it's just I just am just continually excited and I know we're not moving fast enough, but we just are increasingly seeing these projects and finding the funding and being able to put together the funding to for affordable housing. So, it was um a lot of work in December after we were supposedly all on break. However, it was really exciting and I'm can't wait for you all to see that. Thanks.

50:43 All right, the one item that I had was the Finance Stability Committee, which is the mayor's committee on financing, is going to start meeting the 15th of January, and then it's going to go either eight or nine meetings from there. So, it's going to meet every Wednesday um from that point until they're finished. At that we should be as a council getting a report from them at that and that will be the basis of a forming that the finance strategy. My one ask, and then I'll open it up for questions, um Nancy's going to send out the material every week or have somebody send it out to your accounts that covers all the material that that this committee's seen. Um it should include the roster and answer some additional questions that you might have. The other the other ask that I have

51:28 would be, hey, go through the material, ask plenty of questions. Um I'm not planning on attending. I'm asking you guys not to go to it. We're asking for an unfiltered opinion and you know, where and that will give us an opportunity to really just sort of step back, let the committee do its work, and then come to us with their best recommendations. Does anybody have questions about this? All right. Go ahead, Coy. You missed your my my left head tilt. I have another question, and I already shared this with you, but I just wanted to share it with the rest of the council that um I I really appreciate that we're going to be informed as this is moving forward, and I hope that the general public is also going to be informed of the the kind of story of how this is happening, because I think it's one I

52:15 appreciate the democratic process of getting the feedback from folks from all over the community, and I I want when we get to the whatever the recommendations are going to be, I want people to see that it's been this very transparent public, hopefully really robust and involved process, because I I just I think we really need the problem-solving around it, and I hope that folks are paying attention as we move through this. So, thank you. All right. Last call for council business. Next item, please. Any business from the city manager? Yes, just a couple of things. Um first of all, tonight I just want to congratulate our our new uh councilor member, councilor Stout, and also our reelected council members. Thank you for your service to this community, and I just want to remind our city that our

53:02 city council put in a lot of time and dedication to the operation and making difficult choices for the good of everybody in the city, and they do this as volunteers, and that is very unusual, and you know, I think sometimes people forget because they do their job so well that in fact they don't get paid for that. So, I just wanted to do that reminder. Also, uh with respect to the mayor's um financial stability task force, you know, I'm really excited about this project. I want to thank the members of our community that have volunteered to uh give their time and their expertise. I feel like we have a very well-rounded group of individuals that are all very committed to our community and and making good choices. You know, I've been asked, "Hey, is this

53:49 all pre-baked? Do you just have us something that you want us to rubber stamp?" Is it And the answer to that is unequivocally no, it is not. This is us asking our members of our community and then vetting it forward to you, the council, on what our future is as we move ahead. And so, I just wanted to reassure the public there there is no pre-described outcome. This truly is a thoughtful process. And I for one believe that when we have a difficult situation, we can call on members of this community to come together and come through, and we can do hard things. And so, that's been my message. Thank you. Thank you. Next item, please. Next item is business from the city attorney. There's one item. City Council President appointment, and that's Mary Bridget Smith.

54:34 Uh Mayor and Council, this is the time in the Council's calendar where you select a Council President. This is the person who runs the meeting when the Mayor is absent. Also, generally does the motions, and then has a hand in setting the agenda. It's a 2-year position. So, this process for this is the Councilors can make nominations. It's a nomination doesn't need a second, so nobody has to second it. And then, once you're close the nominations, then you can vote. If there's more than one nomination when Neil calls the vote, just say the name of the person that you um want to select to be Council President. If there's only a nomination for one person, we'll just vote like you normally vote. Does that make sense process-wise and

55:20 next steps? Any questions? Is there an opportunity for discussion before the vote? I I missed that. Sorry. Yeah, we're going to We can discuss and then get into into and then where the council is. You guys want to discuss something? First meeting First meeting back. We'll get better at this. All right. Anybody want to jump in? Mr. Mayor. I'd like to nominate after after reviewing the council actions and the meetings and paying attention for the last year or so,

56:05 reviewing a lot of things, I'd like to nominate Council Michelle Weber to the position of president. All right. Anybody else or any discussion? Go ahead. Does Michelle now have to accept that position? Yeah, this would be the I'm just Who's curious? Good question. First time Yeah, this would be the time for the person to either say, you know, yay or nay. Like I don't want to do it or I don't have capacity or I do. But yeah, that's a good point. We've had that happen before. Curious. Yeah. All right. Would you like me to weigh in then? Yeah, that would be nice. If if the council and if this that's what the council thinks

56:50 is the best decision for moving this council forward for the next 2 years and for our community, I'm honored to to be considered. All right. Anybody else? You you brought you brought this question about discussion up and All right. I just um I had uh the um Mary Mary Bridget sent me the description of kind of what the council president does and like what their duties are and it's it sounds like that they kind of represent and help when it comes to the agenda, kind of like what they feel the council I don't know. I mean, I'm I'm still a

57:36 little bit vague on what they're doing besides reviewing the agenda and stepping in for you. Like, I don't know, do they represent like the rest of us on the council and make sure that we are informed of stuff before the agenda? Do they inform you of like, "Hey, I think maybe you might hear something from Steve or Victoria about this one particular item, so you might you know, and and let staff know that maybe they should be prepared." I you know, I don't know, what do they do? Well, do you guys want to offer a technical answer before I, you know, add with the with the sausage making? Sure. So, the technical answer would be according to the operating policies and procedures, the council president will, let me see if I have this right, has has a say in items that can be put on

58:23 the agenda. I think if the mayor wants to put something on the agenda, then the council president has the opportunity to weigh in or provide feedback about that. Um, you know, I've seen I mean, just kind of getting off technical now, I've seen council presidents approach their jobs in different ways over the years, so it really depends. And I think it depends on the mayor and the city manager, as well. I appreciate that. Thank you. And I just want to say too that out of all of the councilors here, um, Councilor Weber is the only one that expressed an interest to me like personally, and so, um, I think that's important. So, thank you for being willing for being willing. And and I'll and I'll offer some context, right? Like, there's very few times that my my role is different than

59:09 the like is the council's. We're different we're different bodies. And I always tell people that, um, well, everybody finds the their own way to do be be council president, but I think the two important things that I would have considered is, hey, who's going to represent broadly your interests, right? Because if, you know, either in a pinch or in council leadership, right? Like that question you just brought up, which is, "Hey, you know, how who's going to represent my concerns?" That that comes up. And then, you know, if for some reason I'm not here or can't make something, that person is the first person that would step into that role or have the first option to step into into that role. And in the um you know, when it's And those are I guess two important ways to think about it. And then,

59:54 you know, as I I traditionally I traditionally have kind of relied on whoever's on the council president just for, you know, advice and to bounce ideas off of and and things like that. All right. Anybody else? All right. Neil, would you call the vote, please? Yes. Councilor Weber. Myself. Councilor Moe. Yes. Councilor Rodli. Yes. Actually, sorry. Can we just procedurally stop? So, we have a nomination on the uh floor for Councilor Weber to be the council president. So, we can clean this up a little bit and or make it a little easier. Um if there's a motion uh that Councilor Weber is the president, and then Neil can call the roll like he normally would. Is that okay?

1:00:40 Yeah. I know. Well, it will get better. I promise you. Put that in the form of a motion. I move to nominate uh Michelle Councilor Michelle Weber to the position of council president. Yes. All right. I need a second now. Second. All right. Neil, could you call the vote, please? Yes. Councilor Weber. Yes. Councilor Moe. Yes. Councilor Rodli. Yes. Councilor Blackwell. Yes. Councilor Doyle. Yeah. And Councilor Stout. Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. Six yeses, zero noes, and that would make Councilor Weber the council president. Thank you. Uh Are there any more items? All right. Thank you, everybody. Good night. Uh we are adjourned.