City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes ___________________________________________________________________________________________ THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014 CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF COLUMBIA CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON AGENDA ITEM 1 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: CONVENED: Mayor Cheryl A. Young called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Mayor Young delivered the invocation and led the flag salute. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Cheryl A. Young Councilor Josh Fromm Councilor Nell Harrison Councilor Sally Ann Marson Councilor Larry Preston COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Micah Rogers, Public Works Superintendent Michael McGlothlin, Chief of Police Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder ATTORNEY PRESENT: None A quorum was present and due notice had been published. 1.1 Inauguration of Nell Harrison to the City Council. Mayor Young said Nell Harrison has been an active member of the Parks Committee for many, many years and has served on the Planning Commission. Nell introduced some of her friends and neighbors, Frank and Cathy Hupp, Marian Calnon, Gary and Durell Kearsley, and Leslie Fuller, who were present in the audience. Leahnette administered the Oath of Office to Councilor Harrison. AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: None. AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: Jim Lichatowich of Columbia City spoke to the Council about the proposed Resolution in support of the Regionally Significant Industrial Area Designation for the Port property. He said supporting the application will have important long term effects on the environment and livability of the Columbia City community. He said it will determine what kind of environment our grand children and their children will live in. He said due to the importance of the decision, the Council owes it to the citizens of the community to discuss the reasoning behind the decision before the decision is made - in an open forum that 2 - Regular City Council Meeting May 1, 2014 allows the exchange of ideas between the Council and the citizens. He suggested the Council assure the citizens that all values are going to be considered in any future industrial development. He cautioned that Senate Bill 766 gives industrial projects expedited review, effectively minimizing environmental and livability considerations. He urged the Council to consider that the Port authorized an ethanol plant that never produced ethanol, tried to push dust spewing coal trains on our community, and authorized oil trains carrying highly explosive Bakken crude before emergency response plans and adequate response equipment were in place. He urged the Council to table this item to allow time for the Council to fully explain the rational for this action. Paullette Lichatowich of Columbia City said everyone along the river will be affected by the industrialization of the Port property if the Council supports certification under Senate Bill 766. She said the Port of St. Helens plans to include Port Westward in this application, which offers 2,000 acres. She said under the certification, the Land Conservation and Development Commission in Salem will be administering the land use of the certified sites, and citizens within the communities will not know what is happening without first submitting their names to receive notifications. She said long term, this will not be good for Columbia County. Brady Preheim of St. Helens said the Council was about skinned alive for proposing a new overlay plan, and that would have been a minor adjustment compared to what certification under Senate Bill 766 will bring. He said certification will eliminate the City’s control over the area, and members of the community will really be angry. He said Columbia City is a unique town, and the residents of this community won’t want this. Tammy Maygra of Deer Island asked the Council to table their decision on Senate Bill No. 766 and urged them to not follow the Port’s lead on this. She said $180 million in tax payer funds was used to construct the ethanol plant, and we are all still paying for that. She said the safety issues that need to be addressed cannot be addressed if this is adopted - all of the proper things must be in place before this is adopted. She said we need new standards in place before this is adopted, and the City needs to look after the citizens if the Port won’t. She asked the Council to look into this further and get more citizen input. Robert Campbell of Columbia City said Senate Bill 766 does limit local control, and it resulted from a knee jerk reaction to the economy. He said it limits local control, and prevents public hearing, limits the basis for appeals, expedites the process to just 63 days, bypasses the Land Use Board of Appeals, and notices will only go to people owning property within 100 feet of the site. He urged the Council to table this matter and discuss it further. AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS: 7.2 Council Bill No. 14-721: A Resolution in support of Regionally Significant Industrial Area Designation for the Columbia City Industrial Park. Councilor Preston said he has many of the same concerns previously expressed by members of the community. He said he has reviewed Senate Bill 766 several times, and it is his understanding the City will give up the ability to manage the industrial property if we sign off on this. He said a governor appointed board of five officers at the state level will be provided with the decision making authority, and they will be making those decisions based upon what is best from a regional or statewide perspective. He said he does not think we should give up that authority because the impacts of the activities from the industrial site on our community are much more important to us than they would be to a group of state officials that are basing their decisions upon what is best for the region or the state. Councilor Preston suggested we table this matter for now, and ask our City Planner to look this over and come back to us with her explanation of how this law will work relative to our planning and approval responsibilities, and discuss it again at a future meeting. Councilor Marson and Mayor Young agreed. 3 - Regular City Council Meeting May 1, 2014 MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO TABLE THIS ISSUE AND REQUEST A REPORT FROM THE CITY PLANNER FOR FURTHER STUDY AND DISCUSSION. AGENDA ITEM 4 COUNCIL REPORTS: 4.1 Parks Committee: No report. 4.2 Water and Sewer Committee: Micah said we lost an estimated 500,000 gallons of water during the recent water main break on Sixth Street, which consisted of a 15-foot split in the ten-inch main. 4.3 Street Committee: No report. 4.4 Audit Committee: No report. 4.5 Hazard Mitigation Planning Group: No report. 4.6 Other Reports: Councilor Marson said due to the bomb threat at the Courthouse this afternoon, the Solid Waste Committee Meeting ended prematurely. AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA: 5.1 Activity reports for the months of February and March 2014 from the Public Works Superintendent. 5.2 Appointment of Shelly Sandford to the Planning Commission. Item 5.1 was corrected to reflect only the monthly report for March 2014. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS AMENDED. AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUISNESS: 6.1 Council Bill No. 14-715; Resolution No. 14-1116-R: A Resolution amending the rental agreement, rules, regulations and rates for the Columbia City Community Hall as adopted by Resolution No. 11-1007-R. Leahnette said the Fire Marshall has reviewed the rules contained in the agreement and has no changes to recommend at this time. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-715. 6.2 Second reading of Council Bill No. 14-718; Ordinance No. 14-680-O: An Ordinance amending the Columbia City Comprehensive Plan as adopted by Ordinance No. 03-585-O. Leahnette noted that a correction to Council Bill No. 14-718 was distributed to Council Members earlier. She said the correction applies to Section 3, with the addition of the following language to the last sentence, “as amended at the April 17, 2014 Council Meeting following the public hearing.” The Council completed the second reading of Council Bill No. 14-718. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-718. 4 - Regular City Council Meeting May 1, 2014 6.3 Second reading of Council Bill No. 14-719; Ordinance No. 14-681-O: An Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 03-586-O, the Columbia City Development Code. Leahnette noted that corrections to Council Bill No. 14-719 were distributed to Council Members earlier. She said the corrections consisted of the following:  Amend Item 7.96.040 A to strike the language referring to the Village Center Overlay so that it reads, “buffering and screening a minimum width of twenty (20) feet shall be required between any non-residential use which abuts a residential use when the residential use is located in a residential zone.  To Section 7, add the following language to the last sentence, “as amended at the April 17, 2014 Council Meeting following the public hearing.” The Council completed the second reading of Council Bill No. 14-719. MOVED (PRESTON), SECONDED (MARSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-719. 6.4 Second reading of Council Bill No. 14-717; Ordinance No. 14-682-O: An Ordinance declaring the City’s election to receive State Revenues. The Council completed the second reading of Council Bill No. 14-717. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-717. AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS (continued): 7.1 Council Bill No. 14-720; Resolution No. 14-1117-R: A Resolution authorizing a transfer of appropriations within the General Fund during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013. MOVED (MARSON), SECONDED (FROMM) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 14-720. 7.3 Engineering Budget Augmentation: Budget Augmentation for the Water System Improvements Project as submitted by Kennedy/Jenks Engineers & Scientists. MOVED (FROMM), SECONDED (PRESTON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE ENGINEER’S BUDGET AUGMENTATION REQUEST. AGENDA ITEM 8 OTHER BUSINESS: Police Department Update: Chief McGlothlin said a female caller claimed there were two pipe bombs in the Courthouse building earlier today, so both buildings were evacuated and thoroughly searched. Comments from New Council Member: Nell vowed to do the best job that she can in her new position, and welcomed input from the citizens she represents. Committee Appointments: Committee Appointment updates were discussed, and will be re-visited during the next meeting. AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm. to a Town Hall Meeting in the Community Hall. 5 - Regular City Council Meeting May 1, 2014 APPROVED: _______________________________________ Cheryl A. Young Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________________ Leahnette Rivers City Administrator/Recorder