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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSSN021014CITY OF CENTRAL POINT City Council Study Session February 10, 2014 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER Mayor Williams called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. II. ATTENDEES Mayor: Hank Williams Council Members: Bruce Dingler, David Douglas, Kelly Geiger, and Rick Samuelson were present. Allen Broderick and Ellie George were excused. City Manager Chris Clayton; Community Development Director Tom Humphrey; Parks and Public Works Director Matt Samitore; Finance Director Bev Adams; Police Chief Kris Allison; and City Recorder Deanna Casey were also present. III. BUSINESS A. Discussion of Amendments to CPMC 10.04.112 Parking Ordinance Police Chief Allison explained that she has been approached by several citizens to enforce the 72 hour parking limit on city streets. There is a loop hole in the code that allows citizens to move a vehicle every 72 hours but still store them on city right of way. The proposed Ordinance change would add the recommended language below: 10.04.112 Mobile home, motor home, camper, van car, trailer or truck parking— Prohibitions It is no defense to subsections (A)(1) or (A)(2) that the vehicle or trailer described therein has been moved from one place to another, so long as it is left on a street, alley or other municipal property for more than a cumulative seventy two consecutive hours. This act is defined as intentionally moving a vehicle or trailer a limited distance and re -parking the subject vehicle or trailer to appear as through it is being used in violation of this section. For purposes of this subsection motor home, motor truck, truck trailer, manufactured dwelling, and manufactured structure shall include any of the vehicles defined in ORS Chs 446 and 801. For the purpose of this section, trailer shall include: boat trailer, camping trailer including what is commonly known as a "fifth wheeler," horse trailer, utility trailer or any other vehicle or conveyance designed to be connected to and drawn by a motor vehicle or recreational vehicle. By including this language in the Municipal Code it will allow the CSO to issue citations to those citizens who only move these vehicles around every few days to avoid a citation. The CSO will have the ability to make a judgment call for each issue. If a relative is having family or friends stay a week, that can be approved by the CSO as long as there are no safety issues. Council Study Ses's'ion February 10, 2014 Page 2 She provided an option that would prohibit parking recreational vehicles on the public right of way but the Council was not in favor of banning it all together at this time. It could be an option to look at down the road if this does not close that loop hole. Conclusion: Council directed staff to proceed with the recommended changes to the Municipal Code to allow enforcement of this law and removing the ability for citizens to move the vehicle to another spot in the public right of wayjust to avoid a citation. B. Oak Street Review Mr. Samitore presented a report from Southern Oregon Transportation Engineering, LLC regarding data collected for the possibility of making Oak Street a through street without stop sins. He explained the count data and the issues that may happen at 2"tl and Oak and 4` and Oak if 2ntl and 4`tl were required to stop. There would be a possibility of traffic backing up to Pine Street. There is an option to change the stop signs at 7`tl and Oak, making Oak the through street and making traffic on 7`tl stop. There doesn't seem to be enough traffic on 7`tl for it to cause a backup issue onto Pine Street, but there is an awkward curve at that location that could cause a challenge. There was discussion of a 4 way stop being installed at Oak and 3'tl Street. This would slow traffic in front of Noah's Arc and make it easier to judge traffic speed for vehicles backing out of the diagonal parking spaces. Conclusion: Staff was directed to research the option of a 4 way stop at 3'tl and Oak Street, and switching the stop direction on 7`tl Street. They agree it would not be a good idea to make Oak Street a through street at this point. More review can be conducted once the Pine Street updates have been completed and traffic signals have been moved. C. Downtown Light Report Mr. Samitore stated that he is happy the Council wanted to test the solar lights that were recommended for some of the downtown streets. The lights were tested on 3 r Street between Pine and Manzanita and they do not project enough of a radius to do thejob we were expecting. He presented a map of the areas in the Downtown that need attention to lighting at some point in the future. He would like to hire a technical firm to do a study on the best way to proceed when we are ready to make the Pine Street improvements. Conclusion: Council agreed that the solar lights were not the proper fit for what is needed downtown and agreed that the city should hire a consultant to prepare a study of what is needed and present a report to council to decide on a policy and procedure for the Downtown design standards to increase safety along the down town corridor. This would also provide for a uniform look when construction is proposed in those areas. Council Study Ses's'ion February 10, 2014 Page 3 D. Street Utility Min/Max Cap Discussion Mr. Samitore explained the back ground and reasoning for the cap on the street utility fee. At the time the fee was approved there were a couple of businesses that came to council complaining about the amount of money they would be spending. He presented a spread sheet showing the 20 businesses that would be impacted by removing the cap from the ordinance, and what that same business would be paying in any of the surrounding cities. If Central Point were to remove the cap it would bring the fee into line with Talent, Phoenix and Eagle Point. In most cases it would be lower in Central Point. The same fee would be much higher in the City of Medford. The original ordinance was set up with a three year sunset. The council extended the sunset clause after the initial three years. It has been three years since that extension. He explained that the sunset clause was put in place in hopes that the State would increase the gas tax and the street utility fee could go away. Sadly that has not happened and it does not look like they are going to change the current structure. Conclusion: Council was in favor of removing the Cap and the sunset clause. It isn't reasonable for the City to think the State will be able to help with our transportation maintenance needs any longer. The intent was good on the part of the Council in the beginning, but we will need to find our own sources to fund these items. These changes will not solve all our street infrastructure needs but it will help maintain what we have for the time being. E. Reports Police Chief Kris Allison updated the Council on the Medford Teachers Association Strike. The substitute teachers are staying in Central Point hotels and being bussed to the schools in Medford. There may be Teachers Union Members may be picketing around those hotels from time to time. Central Point has adjusted police officer schedules to make sure there is enough coverage to take care of any issues if they were to occur. Community Development Director Tom Humphrey updated the Council on events with the local businesses in regards to the boot camp training. There will be more hands on marketing campaign coming to Central Point. Mr. Geiger stated that he was very impressed with the program and can see where it will be very helpful to Central Point businesses. IV. ADJOURNMENT The Study Session was adjourned at 7:01 p.m.