BEAVERTON CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 17, 2005
CALL TO ORDER:
The Regular Meeting of the Beaverton City Council was called to order by Mayor Rob Drake in the Forrest C. Soth City Council Chamber, 4755 SW Griffith Drive, Beaverton, Oregon, on Monday, October 17, 2005, at 6:31 p.m.
ROLL CALL:
Present were Mayor Drake, Couns. Catherine Arnold, Betty Bode, Dennis Doyle, Fred Ruby and Cathy Stanton. Also present were City Attorney Alan Rappleyea, Chief of Staff Linda Adlard, Finance Director Patrick O'Claire, Community Development Director Joe Grillo, Engineering Director Tom Ramisch, Operations/Maintenance Director Gary Brentano, Library Director Ed House, Human Resources Director Nancy Bates, Police Chief David Bishop, Program Manager Scott Keller and Deputy City Recorder Catherine Jansen.
PROCLAMATIONS:
Mayor Drake proclaimed October 2005 SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) Month. He said he had been a SMART Reader for ten years and any program that helped children develop their reading skills was very important. He said he was happy to support SMART Month.
PRESENTATIONS:
05184 Presentation of Solid Waste and Recycling Program
Auxiliary Services Program Manager Scott Keller presented a PowerPoint slide show on the City's Solid Waste and Recycling Program. He explained the Oregon legislature established recovery goals for the Region and the current goal was to reach a 64% recycling rate by 2009. He said in 2004 the City's recovery rate was 55%. He said to reach the 64% goal; the Region was focusing on three recycling areas: Commercial Recovery; Construction and Demolition; and Organics (commercial food waste).
Keller said the City was working with its seven franchised garbage haulers to meet this goal. He said in 2004 the haulers collected 86,000 tons of material in the City, which was an increase of 9,000 tons from the previous year. He said 40% of that tonnage came from the residential sector; 31% from commercial and multifamily businesses; and 29 % from commercial drop boxes.
Keller reviewed the Think Inside the Box campaign that provided recycling to businesses, including multifamily businesses. He said staff conducted over 1,500 business visits and distributed over 5,500 recycling boxes. He said one out of two commercial businesses participated in the campaign; the other 50% already had their own recycling program. He said this coming year the emphasis would be to reach multi-tenant property managers, where garbage services are managed by a central property manager.
Keller said this year they worked actively in the multifamily sector. He noted 50% of the City's 80,000 residents lived in multifamily dwellings and they worked to reach the tenants directly. He said they distributed 12,000 red recycling Tote Bags, made over 715 site contacts and distributed 20,517 tenant education packets. He said they had a positive response to this program. He said no new services were added to the residential sector in the last two years and he reviewed the current residential services. He said the City had the best service levels at the best cost in the Region. He said a few jurisdictions had lower rates, but they did not have weekly yard debris; a couple of jurisdictions had the same services as Beaverton but their monthly rates were higher.
Keller reviewed the proposed improvements to the Residential Recycling Program. He said the first proposed improvement was to have a Roll-Cart Recycling Program in place by March 1, 2006. He said this would be more convenient for residents, more efficient for the haulers, it would improve the quality of recycling by keeping paper dry, and it would increase the volume of recycling. He said the roll cart would be the 60-gallon size for commingled recycling. He said glass would go in one of the current curbside bins, rather than in the roll cart. He said a substantial resident education campaign would be launched in February and March, prior to distribution of the carts. He said the second substantial improvement to the program was to add plastic tubs (i.e., yogurt and cottage cheese containers) to the recycling mix. He said they were working with the haulers to add this service by March 1, 2006.
Keller concluded by saying the City was working to maintain its high level of cost-effective customer service, to increase its recycling rate to meet State goals and to monitor organics (food waste) programs so that they can be implemented when the time comes. He said they would continue to focus on the commercial sector and would add new recyclable items to the commingled collection when the markets allow. He added there were several items on the Consent Agenda for this meeting that would help fund various aspects of this program and set the recycling rates and franchise fees.
Coun. Doyle asked if the commingled cart would be a 60-gallon cart and if the frequency for glass collection would change.
Keller confirmed the commingled cart would be the 60-gallon size. He said they were looking at monthly collection for glass recyclables because on an average week, only one of eight to ten residents put out glass at the curb. He said for cost effectiveness, monthly glass collection was best.
Coun. Doyle asked if the numbers indicated only about 10% of the people in Beaverton recycle glass.
Keller said that was correct.
Coun. Doyle asked if there was any estimate of how often people include the plastic yogurt tubs in their recycling.
Keller said there were no estimates on that; it would be commingled with the other products.
Coun. Arnold asked if there were other areas that use the commingled containers.
Keller said Salem has done this for two years, and West Linn and Lake Oswego have used this system for the last year. He said Tigard would move to that system on January 1, 2005. He said they all advocated for a strong education program to limit contamination. He said for the last year DEQ and Metro studied contamination levels in recycling and the biggest issue was not garbage; it was the inclusion of items that people wished were recyclable, such as the plastic tubs. He said the education program would focus on those issues.
Coun. Arnold asked if there was any way to determine level of use of the red recycling bags handed out at multifamily units.
Keller replied they were in the midst of finalizing a study that was funded by a Metro grant concerning the recycling levels at the apartment complexes. He said it should be done by the end of November.
Coun. Doyle referred to the Regional Goal and asked if that was a percentage of what is supposed to be able to be recycled.
Keller replied that was correct.
Coun. Doyle asked if people recycled the glass, would they reach that goal.
Keller explained there was much less glass available than in the past. He said if glass recycling increased it would increase the recycling rate a bit, but not the needed nine percent.
Coun. Doyle asked if the shortcoming in hitting the goal of 62% for 2005 was from the single family and multifamily sectors.
Keller replied the shortcoming was from the commercial sector. He said the greatest need was in getting businesses to recycle more and getting more construction debris out of the waste stream.
Coun. Arnold asked what the constraints were in commercial recycling.
Keller replied said it was often lack of knowledge as to what is recyclable or lack of space; they do not have the space for the containers.
Coun. Stanton asked if cardboard and metal would go with the other commingles.
Keller replied everything but glass could go in the commingle cart including cardboard and metal. He said it was the same as what currently goes in the commingle bins. He said the processing facility has a series of conveyor belts and mechanisms to sort the material automatically.
Mayor Drake thanked Keller for the presentation.
VISITOR COMMENT PERIOD:
There were none.
COUNCIL ITEMS:
Coun. Doyle thanked everyone who helped organize the Walk for Unity on October 16, 2005. He said the Walk went well; about 500 people were there and it was impressive. He said this was a significant event for the City and those who organized it should be commended. He referred to an event two weeks earlier where a few people showed up to protest a play that was being put on at Southridge High School. He said he chose to not participate in that protest. He said he thought the Unity Walk was the place where he could make a statement as to how he thinks the world should operate. He said he hoped the press would note what happened at the Walk, as it was a 100 to 1 ratio over the Southridge event that received considerable press. He said the Walk represented people from all walks of life; it was moving, and it showed how people conduct business in Beaverton. He said that was the example he wanted to set for his family and community.
Coun. Arnold said this Saturday, October 22, 2005, the Washington County Historical Society was holding its annual fund raiser. She said through this event they usually raise 25% of their operating fund. She said invited everyone to attend.
Coun. Stanton said she was selling tickets for a one-day Charity Shopping Day at the Meier & Frank department store on October 25, 2005. She said she was selling the tickets on behalf of the Good Neighbor Shelter; she said every non-profit organization in the County was selling these tickets. She said if anyone wished to go they could get tickets from her or their favorite charity.
STAFF ITEMS:
There were none.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Coun. Bode MOVED, SECONDED by Coun. Doyle, that the Consent Agenda be approved as follows:
05185 Liquor License Application: Greater Privilege - Courtyard by Marriott; New Outlet - Tienda Y Carniceria Palacios, Shabsara Restaurant
05186 A Resolution Establishing Rates for the Collection of Solid Waste (Resolution No. 3832)
05187 A Resolution Increasing the Franchise Fee for Commercial Solid Waste Collections (Resolution No. 3833)
05188 A Resolution Adopting an Intergovernmental Agreement with Metro Regional Government for Implementation of the Annual Waste Reduction Plan (Resolution No. 3834)
05189 A Resolution Adopting an Intergovernmental Agreement with Metro Regional Government for Multifamily Recycling Education and Outreach Funding (Resolution No. 3835)
05190 A Resolution Adopting an Intergovernmental Agreement with Metro Regional Government for Recycle At Work Program (formerly known as Commercial Technical Assistance Program) (Resolution No. 3836)
Contract Review Board:
05191 Authorization to Enter into a New IKON Color Copier Rental Agreement
Coun. Stanton thanked staff for their hard work in negotiating the extension of franchise fee agreement with the haulers. She thanked the haulers for participating in the process. She said she was looking forward to receiving the carts for commingled recycling. She said she was not sure people realized how much land has been saved in Oregon by recycling yard debris. She said people should be congratulated for thinking about recycling and the haulers need to be congratulated for figuring out how to make recycling happen.
Question called on the motion. Couns. Arnold, Bode, Doyle, Ruby and Stanton voting AYE, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously. (5:0)
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
05192 An Ordinance Amending Beaverton Code Chapter 4 by Adding New Provisions Relating to Sanitary and Storm Sewer Maintenance Charges (Ordinance No. 4371)
Engineering Director Tom Ramisch said Coun. Stanton submitted a set of written questions that covered the items he was going to discuss in his staff report. He said the written answers to those questions had been given to the Council (in the record - Memorandum dated October 17, 2005 to Linda Adlard from Tom Ramisch) so he would forego the staff report and answer Council questions.
Coun. Stanton asked what other jurisdictions were using a construction cost index? She said the written answer given to her question (bottom of page 2) did not say if the annual cost indexing was for cost of living inflation or construction cost inflation.
Ramisch said to the best of their knowledge, all the indexing formats used the construction cost indexing as published in the Engineering News Record (ENR). He said the City was not the last agency to be doing this. He said the other agencies were doing it primarily for their System Development Charges (SDC). He said there were few jurisdictions that have a sewer and storm surcharge. He said that was covered in the work session in August. He said there was some confusion in the minutes about the difference between inflation indexing for sewer and storm charges, and SDCs; the format followed the SDCs.
Coun. Stanton said her question was about the surcharge and the answer given was about the SDCs. She said for her the answer to her question would have been "no other jurisdiction is doing a surcharge." She said this was a mixing of apples and oranges. She asked if the SDC indexing to construction costs was done last spring.
Ramisch said the water SDC indexing was started in 2002; he said the agenda bill that approved that was attached to the memorandum answering her questions.
Coun. Stanton repeated the answer to her question should concern the surcharge only. She asked again which jurisdictions use a construction cost index instead of a cost of living index for surcharges.
Ramisch replied the only other jurisdiction that has a sewer surcharge was Forest Grove. He said he did not believe Forest Grove's charge was tied to any index.
Coun. Stanton said the answer to her question was that no other jurisdiction used that index.
Coun. Stanton asked if the City was creating an automatic increase based on inflation of construction costs, did staff have any knowledge of what the percentage increase has been for the construction cost index as compared to cost of living, for the last five or ten years?
Ramisch said staff had not researched that information.
Mayor Drake said the answer to that question could be determined by looking at what Washington County has done with the Traffic Impact Fee (TIF). He said he believed the TIF was linked to the construction cost index and annually the County Commission makes a determination on the TIF based on that index. He asked the Finance Director if that was correct.
Finance Director Patrick O’Claire said he was not aware of what inflation index the County uses, but it was adjusted July 1 of each year. He said he could get that information.
Mayor Drake said he was sure it was the construction cost index. He said the TIF has been above the regular cost of inflation over the past few years because of the cost of construction materials (steel, concrete); the cost of construction has been higher so the construction cost index has been higher.
Coun. Stanton asked when staff presented this to the public, did they go to service clubs or the Washington County Public Affairs Forum to get a broader business view.
Ramisch said they did not. He confirmed they went to the five Neighborhood Association Committees and the Beaverton Committee for Citizen Involvement.
Coun. Stanton said in reviewing the documents submitted, she could not find anything that talked about what happens after the rate increase for the first two years. She said it was not clear that the inflation increase was tied to the construction costs index instead. She added the information was not included in the article in the Oregonian and she was not sure if it was in the Valley Times. She said her concern was that the information that went out to the public was not as clear as it could have been. She said she thought the construction cost index was higher than the cost of living index.
Mayor Drake said Utilities Engineer David Winship included that information in his presentation to the various groups. He said he did not recall if the press attended the meeting in August, but the presentation was on Cable Access Television. He said, in fairness, the City staff does not write the articles for the newspapers.
Coun. Stanton said at the August meeting she did not connect the construction cost index rate to this surcharge, only to SDCs. She said in reading the materials from that meeting she did find that information. She said she would support this action because she wants the improvements done so the sewer system will be safe. She said it was critical to her that everyone understands what is being done and why. She said she was not saying anyone was trying to sneak something through, though it might be perceived that way
Mayor Drake said he disagreed with Coun. Stanton's assessment because this was presented in August by staff. He said Coun. Stanton may have missed the delineation and the press did not write about it, but Winship did mention the indexing and the inflation. He stressed this was not hidden.
Coun. Stanton said she was not saying it was hidden but it could have been clearer so everyone would understand what was being done. She explained the difference between the SDCs (charges assessed to developers at the front end of construction for water, sewer and storm systems) and the surcharge (a back end charge to everyone on their monthly utility bills to replace the City's aging sewer system). She stressed these were two different types of funds and she wanted to be sure the public understood the funding, and what the City was planning to do and why.
Mayor Drake opened the public hearing and asked of public testimony.
Henry Kane, Beaverton, said Winship addressed the Beaverton Committee for Citizen Involvement last month and what he said was not the same as what was reflected in the proposed ordinance. He said the ordinance was unclear and it should list the charges. He said he did not understand calculations based on the number of Dwelling Unit Equivalents (DUE) on the property. He questioned what Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU) were. He said the cost of living index was the Federal standard and that was what should be used to adjust rates for inflation. He said he did not agree with the Section 4.06.030 that states the user charge shall be $2.00 per month or such other amount as the Council may determine from time to time. He said the City Council should not have a blank check on setting this amount. He said the City should state how much money it receives from Clean Water Services, how much revenue the new charge would create, and what would be done with that revenue. He asked Council to direct staff to prepare a report with this information.
Nora Pecca, Beaverton, said she read the Oregonian article about the rate increase and had a few questions. She asked how many years the $1.00 rate increase be added.
Mayor Drake said it would be added for two years only. He said the inflation index is now being added to the storm drain service charge that began eight years ago.
Pecca noted the article said this would generate $528,000 per year. She said that seemed like a small amount of money to her. She questioned how much of the system the City would be able to replace with such a small amount generated each year.
Mayor Drake said that funding would get the City closer to closing the gap in what needs to be replaced over the long term. He said additional funds would be coming from Clean Water Services.
Pecca said she did not object to the $1.00 increase but it was not making sense to her as it was not generating much revenue. She said she thought phasing in the rate increase over two years was commendable.
Coun. Stanton explained to Pecca that her earlier concern was that the $2.00 rate increase, after the first two years, would be adjusted yearly by the construction cost index. She said the biggest cost was construction materials and this would allow the City to stay even with construction costs. She said if she wanted more detailed information, Mr. Winship could provide that to her.
Mayor Drake asked Mr. Winship to speak with Ms. Pecca.
Coun. Arnold thanked Pecca for coming and asking her questions. She said it was great to hear from her.
There was no further public testimony.
Mayor Drake closed the public hearing.
Coun. Bode MOVED, SECONDED by Coun. Doyle that Council approve the proposed draft ordinance to enact a sanitary sewer service charge and direct staff to bring this ordinance back to Council for first reading.
Coun. Arnold referred to Kane's comments and explained that businesses have toilets and other fixtures and use the sewer system. She said Equivalent Dwelling Units are used to determine what is equivalent to what would be in a house. (Note: That equivalent is applied to businesses to determine the service charges.)
Coun. Stanton said she would prefer to encumber a rate increase of $5.00 per month because that was what was needed to cover the needed replacements. She said the rest of the Council preferred the smaller incremental rates to help others in the community who are fiscally constrained. She said she would have preferred to see the information presented differently. She said would support the motion though she did not support how it was presented.
Coun. Doyle said he would support the motion. He said he was not at the August meeting but he did read the material and the slides from the presentation. He said he understood the construction index was being used. He said he felt staff and the Council were making progress on this project and it was important that this be done.
Question called on the motion. Couns. Arnold, Bode, Doyle, Ruby and Stanton voting AYE, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously. (5:0)
RECESS:
Mayor Drake called for a brief recess at 7:42 p.m.
RECONVENED:
Mayor Drake reconvened the meeting at 7:42 p.m.
05193 A Public Hearing on A Resolution Extending Solid Waste Franchises (Resolution No.3837)
Chief of Staff Linda Adlard said the proposed resolution allows the extension of the solid waste franchise agreements with the City's sevens haulers for three and one-half years. She said the City Code allows this to be considered at the middle of a franchise period, which this was. She said this gives the dealers some comfort in the expenditure of capital for the recycling program. She asked if there were any Council questions.
There were no Council questions.
Mayor Drake opened the public hearing and asked for testimony.
David White, Beaverton, said he was the Regional Representative for the Oregon Refuse and Recycling Association, a state trade association located in Salem. He said the Association represents haulers throughout the state. He said he was proud to tell the Council that all the haulers in Beaverton were members of the Association and they worked well with the Association. He said as part of his duties he represents the haulers within the region which was why he was testifying at the hearing.
White said he agreed with staff that the City has an outstanding program. He said the haulers were proud of their role in establishing that program and they were committed to its maintenance. He said roll carts for the collection of recyclable materials was cutting edge throughout the country. He said they were trying to get this program implemented throughout the region and it was to Beaverton's credit that the City was at the front edge of accomplishing this. He said this program addresses many of the industries concerns in terms of efficiency, employee safety, cost effectiveness and customer service. He asked to clarify a comment made earlier in the discussion that ten percent of people were recycling glass. He said it was not that ten percent of people recycle glass. He said on any given week day, ten percent of the people on the route were recycling glass. He said it was not necessary to collect glass every week from every house, as there was not that much glass out there. He said it was more efficient and cost effective to collect it on a monthly basis. He said they support the franchise extension and look forward to working with the City in the future.
Mayor Drake thanked White for his comments. He said he has found that the haulers respond very quickly whenever a service problem occurs and fix the problem. He complimented staff and the haulers for exploring adding yogurt and cottage cheese containers to the recyclable materials. He said this community was very conscious about environmental issues and this was a great way to proceed.
Coun. Stanton asked what happens when the gallon milk jugs were not thoroughly rinsed out.
White replied the contents become rancid and smell. He said this was not a contaminant that damages the plastic recycling process, but it is a sanitation issue for the workers. He said the preparation of the materials was still important. He urged everyone to continue to rinse the containers.
Coun. Doyle thanked White for the clarification about the glass recycling. He congratulated staff and the franchisees for the agreement. He said the franchisees should be congratulated for earning the extension. He said the program had worked well and the haulers were doing an excellent job.
There was no further testimony.
Mayor Drake closed the public hearing.
Coun. Stanton MOVED, SECONDED by Coun. Ruby, that Council approve Resolution No. 3837 to extend the term of the franchise for the solid waste haulers doing business in the City of Beaverton for three and one-half years, with the new ending date of June 30, 2012.
Coun. Stanton said it was valuable to know the haulers can provide a new higher level of service and the City can extend the agreement to allow the haulers to depreciate their investment so it is not an economic burden. She said this was a win/win situation all the way around.
Coun. Arnold thanked Waste Management for always doing an excellent job in her area. She also thanked them for participating in an environmental/nature celebration a few weeks ago at Cooper Mountain Elementary School.
Question called on the motion. Couns. Arnold, Bode, Doyle, Ruby and Stanton voting AYE, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously. (5:0)
ORDINANCES:
Second Reading:
City Attorney Alan Rappleyea read the following ordinances for the second time by title only:
05182 An Ordinance Amending Provisions of Chapter Five of the Beaverton City Code Relating to Abatement Procedures and Liens (Ordinance No. 4369)
05183 An Ordinance Annexing Two Parcels, and Associated Right-of-Way, Located at 10845 SW Walker Road to the City of Beaverton: Expedited Annexation 2005-0008 (Ordinance No. 4370)
Coun. Doyle MOVED, SECONDED by Coun. Stanton, that the ordinances embodied in Agenda Bills 05182 and 05183, now pass. Roll call vote. Couns. Arnold, Bode, Doyle, Ruby and Stanton voting AYE, the MOTION CARRIED unanimously. (5:0)
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council at this time, the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
______________________________
Catherine Jansen, Deputy City Recorder |
APPROVAL:
Approved this 24th day of October, 2005.
__________________________________
Rob Drake, Mayor