The regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:35 p.m. Mayor Young delivered the invocation and led the flag salute.

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:

Mayor Cheryl A. Young

Councilor Marian Calnon

Councilor Bill Guy (arrived 7:36 p.m.)

Councilor Gary Hudson

COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT:

Councilor Bob Schmor

ALSO PRESENT:

Micah Olson, Public Works Superintendent (arrived 7:39 p.m.)

Leahnette Rivers, City Administrator/Recorder

ATTORNEY PRESENT:

None

A quorum was present and due notice had been published.

AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: To gather testimony relating to an update to the City of Columbia City System Development Charge (SDC) for the Transportation System.

Public Hearing opened.

Leahnette Rivers explained that the methodology report for the City's current Transportation SDC was developed in 1991 and adopted in 1992. She said the Council expressed an interest in updating the report several years ago, but funds were not available to complete the work. She said the City hired Don Ganer & Associates, Inc., through a competitive selection process about a year ago to update the City's transportation SDC report. Leahnette explained that last November Mr. Ganer attended a meeting of the City Council and reviewed a draft Transportation SDC Methodology Update Report and Rate Study in detail with the City Council. She said he later made some minor changes to the report and provided the City with the final report, which is dated November 22, 2002. Leahnette said the City provided notification to interested parties about the updated report 90 days prior to this public hearing, and advertised the hearing in a legal notice on two separate occasions in the local newspaper. She said we also provided information to our citizens about this hearing through our newsletter.

Don Ganer provided a brief overview of the Methodology Update Report and Rate Study to the Council and members of the audience. He explained that the report provides a lot of background information about the legislative authority, and about the guiding concepts and approaches that were used in developing the methodology. He said in preparing the methodology they looked at the anticipated increase in the number of vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian trips through the year 2016. He said they used the City's capital improvement plan and the transportation system plan as the basis for all of the costs and projections contained in the report. Mr. Ganer explained that Table 3.2 on page 9 of the report shows the City's transportation project list as follows:

• Details of the project
• Cost of the project
• What portion of the project is expected to increase capacity
• What portion of the new capacity is expected to serve growth
• What portion benefits motor vehicles
• What portion benefits bicycles and pedestrians

Mr. Ganer said the total SDC eligible amount of the City's transportation project list is $2.2 million, which is equal to $219 per new person trip-end, resulting in a maximum Single Family Dwelling unit SDC rate of $3,466.

Mayor Young read a letter dated February 17, 2003, from Wayne Weigandt regarding the proposed increase in the Transportation SDC charges. In the letter, Mr. Weigandt expressed concern about the Council's consideration of adopting a new SDC during this meeting at the close of the public hearing. He said this appears to be a fast tract, hurry up approach to an important decision. In addition, Mr. Weigandt expressed concern about the economic impact of this proposed SDC. He questioned the projects listed in the capital plan and the projects costs associated with those projects, and suggested that the formulas used in the study are wrong. He submitted transportation SDC fee information for the cities of Scappoose and St. Helens, and suggested that Mr. Ganer's study appears to go through all of the exercises that are needed to comply with Oregon law, but misses the mark on the reality of new development impacts on the community.

Don Ganer explained that the methodology approach he used in the study is an approach that has been recommended by the Homebuilder's Association, and it actually was used in a successful lawsuit the Homebuilder's Association filed against another city. He said the Homebuilder's Association used this methodology approach as an example of how it should be done. He said the cost estimates are up-to-date and each project has been carefully examined to determine what portion of the project is capacity increasing. He said the methodology approach contained in the study is a very solid, defensible and fair approach.

Leahnette Rivers said the updated report presents the maximum amount that the City Council can impose as a transportation SDC fee. She said the study presents a recommended rate model showing the maximum fee that the City may impose, but does not make a recommendation about how much of that fee the Council should impose. She said the amount to impose is a policy decision to be made by the City Council. She said it is difficult to compare one community's SDC fees with other communities because SDCs are based on capital needs, and those vary from city to city. She also noted that other communities tend to have more commercial and industrial uses to help share capital improvement costs. She also noted that since 1992 the transportation SDC fee in Columbia City has been $250 for an in-fill lot, and $0 for a subdivision lot. She said the majority of the development in Columbia City since 1992 occurred in subdivisions, and the City did not collect any transportation SDC revenues from those subdivisions. She said the City Council may decide to adopt an SDC during tonight's meeting with the emergency clause, as shown on the agenda. She said the City Council was looking at updating the transportation SDC prior to 1999. She said funding was not available until this last year, and it has taken a year to complete the study. She said we continue to get further and further behind as time goes by in terms of funding our capital projects. Leahnette said we have received a substantial amount of federal funding to help with the replacement of the "L" Street bridge, but a local match of $300,000 is also required. She said SDC revenues can be used as part of our local match for the "L" Street bridge project.

Mayor Young asked why the recommended SDC rate for a mobile home within a park is different than the rate for a single-family residence.

Mr. Ganer explained that the trip numbers govern this, and the relied upon trip-generation studies show that the average daily trips for a mobile home within a park is less than the average daily trips for a single family residence. He noted that mobile homes outside of a mobile home park are charged at the single family residence rate.

Councilor Hudson said the SDC rates should relate to the needs of a community. He said the Scappoose rates are very low, which may simple mean they have not been updated for many years. He said the money needs to come from somewhere to complete the projects that are needed, and if the SDC funds are not available when it comes time to complete a project, then the funds will come from taxes or fees or some other source.

Public Hearing closed.

AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: Shirley Mann, Librarian for the Columbia City School and Community Library, spoke to the Council about recent library activities. She provided the Council with a graph showing the circulation patterns of the library, showing that the activity levels have grown steadily since the library opened in 2000. She said, on average, the library has five to seven new families come in monthly to obtain library cards. She said 170 items were checked out of the library last night, and it has become the community center and meeting place of this community. She said their computers are constantly being used by all ages, and story time is a popular monthly activity.

Mrs. Mann said they would like to conduct a survey to find out what people are wanting from their community library. She asked if the Council had any ideas about what they should include in the survey.

Leahnette Rivers suggested we have an opportunity to review the draft survey and then recommend additional items if we have any. She said we could also include the survey in the City's newsletter.

Mrs. Mann said that would work really well. In closing, she said the library is growing constantly, and there will eventually be a time when the current facility will not be enough to meet the needs of the community.

Councilor Calnon asked what types of books should be donated to the library.

Mrs. Mann explained that they will take all types of books, and if they can't use them, they will sell them and use the proceeds to purchase new books.

The Mayor and Council discussed the facility needs of the library at length with Mrs. Mann, and thanked Mrs. Mann for work in the library.

7.1 Council Bill No. 03-269; Ordinance No. 03-581-O: An Ordinance adopting System Development Charges for the Transportation System; declaring an emergency.

Mayor Young said we have been looking at updating our transportation SDC fees for a long time. She said she would be comfortable with moving forward and adopting new fees under the emergency clause tonight.

Councilor Calnon asked what Councilor Schmor's feelings were about the SDC update.

Leahnette Rivers said she talked with Council Schmor about the SDC update today. She said he told her he believes we need to move forward with adopting new fees, and he would leave the amount of the fee up to the Council Members attending tonight's meeting. She noted that he voiced no objections to the rates he saw in the report.

Councilor Calnon said the new rate would result in a very large increase over the current rate.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.

Councilor Hudson said he wanted to insure that we reviewed the rates annually, and wondered if we should include that in the adopting motion.

Leahnette Rivers assured Councilor Hudson that she would flag her calendar to trigger an annual review.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (GUY) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 03-269 WITH THE EMERGENCY CLAUSE.

"M" Street Extension: The Council reviewed a letter dated January 15, 2003, from Russ and Joan Thackery regarding the "M" Street extension. In the letter, Mr. and Mrs. Thackery complained about the width of the "M" Street extension. They said the Planning Commission granted a variance to reduce the street width to 20 feet, and the street was built to a width varying between 15 feet and 15 feet 10 inches. They said they complained during the construction of the street, yet City staff allowed the developer to reduce the street width to 16 feet. They said on several occasions they could not leave their house because the street was blocked, and the City's "no parking" signs are unenforceable. They said they tow a boat with a Suburban and the 16-foot street width is difficult to use. They said they pay an enormous amount in taxes and do not even have adequate access to their property. They noted that currently the street only serves two houses, but eventually it will serve six. They said the street is unacceptable, and demanded that the City do whatever is necessary to provide them with 20 feet of street width, as originally promised to them when they relinquished their easement.

Leahnette Rivers explained that the Council discussed this item briefly in January, but an in-depth discussion had been postponed until the City's file containing the records relating to the "M" Street extension were returned to us from our attorney's office in Portland.

Leahnette explained that the Planning Commission granted a variance to street width requirements when the developer partitioned the property. She said he would have normally been required to develop a local street, consisting of a pavement width of 32 feet (two 10-foot travel lanes and two 6-foot parking lanes) and two 5-foot sidewalks. She said the applicant applied for a variance to develop the street to the width of an alley (16 feet of pavement) instead of a local street. She said the Planning Commission granted a variance to allow 16 feet of pavement, and 2-foot gravel shoulders on both sides.

Leahnette explained that during the construction of the project, the City Engineer and Public Works Superintendent talked with the contractor and determined that curbs would be better than gravel shoulders. She said there were issues with the grade of the street and drainage containment. She said the curbs would also protect the pavement from erosion, and eliminate maintenance issues related to the gravel shoulders. She said staff (the City Administrator/Recorder, Public Works Superintendent and City Engineer) approved a design change, and required the installation of curbs instead of the gravel shoulders. She noted that the curbs were more expensive for the developer to install, and City staff thought it would be in the best interest of the City due to the additional benefits previously mentioned.

Leahnette explained that in a typical subdivision development, this type of change would have been considered minor and would have been permitted at the staff level. However, she said this was not a normal development. She said it was the development of a street to specific standards that had been specified by the Planning Commission in granting a variance, and staff should have referred this change to the Planning Commission for approval. She said the error was on the part of the City staff, not the developer, in not referring this change back to the Planning Commission for approval. She said the developer completed the improvements in a manner that received approval from the Public Works Superintendent and City Engineer.

Mr. and Mrs. Thackery suggested that one method of resolving the problem would be for the City to vacate a portion of the unused Second Street right-of-way in exchange for receiving an addition 2-feet of property along the south and west sides of "M" Street, and install a mountable curb and gravel shoulder along one side of the street that would result in a total road/curb/gravel width of 20 feet. Otherwise, they asked that the curbs be removed and the 2-foot gravel shoulders be installed as originally approved by the Planning Commission.

The Council discussed this matter at length with Mr. and Mrs. Thackery and staff. Councilor Hudson said he thinks we need to make Mr. and Mrs. Thackery as whole as we can. He suggested we get together with our engineer to discuss this situation, and discuss the street vacation issue with our City Attorney to make sure we are not setting a precedent, or causing heartbreak and problems when it comes to trading right-of-way. It was the consensus of the Council that staff be directed to look into the costs associated with each of the resolutions recommended by Mr. and Mrs. Thackery for review and consideration by the Council at a future meeting.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (CALNON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO EXTEND THE MEETING TO 9:30 P.M.

4.1 Parks Committee: Chair Calnon reported that rhododendron's were planted in Harvard Park, and fence posts will be purchased for Datis Park.

4.2 Water Source and Development Committee: Leahnette Rivers said the reservoir project will go to bid on March 10th, and bids will be opened on April 10th, for award at the City Council meeting on April 17th.

4.3 Streets Committee: No report.

4.4 Sewer Committee: No report.

4.5 Other Reports: None.

5.1 Approval of the Minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of January 16, 2003.

MOVED (GUY), SECONDED (HUDSON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY BY ROLL CALL VOTE TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.

None.

Request for Street Light: The Council reviewed a request from Barbara Jones to install a street light between 2100 and 2130 The Strand, as described in a memo from Leahnette Rivers dated February 19, 2003. Councilor Guy asked whether or not the neighbors in the area are in favor of a street light installation. It was the consensus of the Council that a street light installation be approved, provided that none of the neighbors object, and provided that the applicants pay for the installation costs.

Morse Brothers Application Materials: Leahnette Rivers said she has copies of additional staff reports, citizen input, and applicant rebuttal related to the Morse Brothers applications, and the information is available for review at the City Hall.

SDC Credit: The Council reviewed a request for a credit towards the Transportation SDC fees as presented in a letter dated February 19, 2003, from Wayne Weigandt for street improvements related to Pacific Terrace II. Leahnette Rivers said she has forwarded this request to our City Engineer for review of the cost estimate prepared by Mr. Weigandt's engineer, Jim Smith. She said she will bring this matter back to the Council after the City Engineer has determined that the improvements are fairly stated and the cost estimate is fair and reasonable.

PERS Rate Order Challenge; Council Bill No. 03-270; Resolution No. 03-777-R: The Council reviewed information provided by the League of Oregon Cities in a memo dated February 17, 2003, regarding an opportunity to participate in an appeal of the PERS rate order. The memo explained that the League has retained the services Mersereau & Shannon, LLP, to file appeals of the 2003 employer rate orders for any LOC member cities that elect to participate for a single flat-fee of $150.

MOVED (HUDSON), SECONDED (CALNON) AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO. 03-270.

Policy Goals and Objectives: Leahnette Rivers asked the City Council to review their current Policy Goals and Objectives and make necessary revisions, deletions and additions to reflect their desires for the coming budget year. The Council discussed last year's goals with staff at length.

Subdivision Name: Leahnette Rivers said Bob Fredrickson, developer of the subdivision on the property previously owned by St. Helens, has asked that the City come up with a name for his subdivision. Council Members said they would think of names for consideration.

Thank You: Mayor Young read a letter of thanks from Ann Jennings dated February 16, 2003, for authorizing use of the Community Hall by the Girl Scouts as a cookie distribution site.

Morse Brothers Applications: Mayor Young said she will be attending the County Planning Commission Meeting on the Morse Brothers applications on Monday, February 24, 2003.

There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

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