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Minutes - 06/18/2001 Spec Mtg SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 18, 2001 TAPE READING 0001 DATE. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, CITY OF WOODBURN, COUNTY OF MARION, STATE OF OREGON, JUNE 18,2001. CONVENED. The special meeting convened at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Jennings presiding. 0007 ROLL CALL. Mayor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Councilor Jennings Bjelland Chadwick Figley Me Callum Nichols Sifuentez Present Present Present Present Present Absent Present (7:03 pm) Staff Present: City Administrator Brown, City Attorney Shields, Public Works Director Tiwari, Public Works Manager Rohman, Community Development Director Mulder, City Recorder Tennant Consultants Present: Terry Moore, ECO Northwest; Greg Winterowd , Winterowd Planning Services 0049 Mayor Jennings stated that this special meeting has been called for the purpose of receiving the Woodburn Economic Development Strategy which is the second phase of the Economic Development study. Administrator Brown stated that his staff report provides the background on this study along with the direction being considered based on the Council's vision of the City's economic future. This involves creating more opportunities for people to work in the community in higher paying jobs rather than commuting outside the community which broadens the housing opportunities that can be provided to the residents in our community. It will assist in making the City more competitive and attractive to the kinds of businesses that will allow the City to meet that type of economic future. Terry Moore, ECO Northwest, stated that they are close to completing the economic element of the City's Comprehensive Plan which is necessary to meet state standards as part of the Comprehensive Plan update. In May 2001, the Council provided the economic vision from which the economic strategy is developed. Since then, they have met with staff and the State for technical review of the economic development strategy and are now in the process of responding to those comments. He reiterated that the Economic Opportunity Analysis looks at facts about the economy and the Economic Development Strategy provides for Council vision on which direction to take, issues involved in Page 1 - Special Council Meeting Minutes, June 18,2001 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 18, 2001 TAPE READING accomplishing that vision, and strategies to be pursued in the future. He summarized the vision outlined in the Economic Development Strategy with the main components being (1) encouraging economic development and growth, (2) avoid becoming a bedroom community, (3) attract businesses that provide higher wage jobs, and (4) provide diversity with good services and amenities for a wide-range of household and business types. To achieve the vision, businesses will need buildable land, water and sewer services, better transportation service, and skilled workers. The City policy would then be to take action to provide these services at competitive prices in order to attract new businesses to Woodburn and help businesses that are already in Woodburn to expand. The key issues breakdown into the following five categories: (1) Land Use - with the main issue being availability of suitable sites; (2) Infrastructure and services; (3) Workforce - with the main issue being increasing the skills of Woodburn residents and assist in finding suitable workers; (4) Business development - with the main issue being supporting existing firms and offering competitive and effective incentives; and (5) Coordination - with the main issue bing working effectively with other economic development organizations. He stated that, within the report, each of the issues describe the policy, why the City would want that policy, when the City would have to implement that policy, who would do it, how much it might cost, and how you would know if you achieved your goal. He briefly outlined the sub-categories within each of the key issues that are provided for within the report. In regards to land use, it was noted that the Council would need to review zoning designations and, if applicable, expand the Urban Growth Boundary. This issue would also involve providing land for a range of housing types and the adoption of an urban renewal district. In regards to Infrastructure and Services, sub-categories include (1) improving key intersections and corridors, (2) providing adequate water, sewer, and stormwater service, (3) constructing new facilities as needed, (4) implementing the Parks and Recreation Comprehensive Plan, and (5) maintaining efficient public services. Since the City does not have primary responsibility for education of workforce, this issue focuses on working with those organizations to make sure they recognize what the City's objectives are with respect to developing a training package that would help retain existing firms and attracts other firms. A series of policies associated with business development include supporting business expansion, encourage higher wage jobs, and encourage development of social and cultural amenities. Another economic policy relates to financial issues and it is suggested that the Council look not only at capital costs but the on-going maintenance costs. Additionally, the City needs to ensure adequate and fair financing for infrastructure including transportation funding and creation of a renewal district. Lastly, the coordination issue would provide for the development of a City inter- organization team and coordinate with other organizations to develop strategic partnerships. Due to the large amount of work required to follow through with the Page 2 - Special Council Meeting Minutes, June 18,2001 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 18, 2001 TAPE READING economic strategy, he recommended that the City hire an economic development specialist since City staff already has a full workload and this program will take a considerable amount staff time. He also stated that this study integrates with various studies in the land use plan and updates will be made accordingly over the next year. 1578 Mayor Jennings questioned if the County will reallocate the population forecast and increase the Woodburn population since St. Paul has recently pulled back their population forecast. Mr. Moore stated that local jurisdictions have the ability to adopt policies that might provide for more or less growth than what has been its historical fair share. If the Council adopts the policy before them, they are encouraging more growth within the community which may result in a larger share of employment than what has been accounted for in the past. Mayor Jennings also stated that the School District also received a large grant for distance learning and he questioned if that would fit in with the workforce issue. Mr. Moore stated that distance learning would work as part of the coordination factor with the schools doing the workforce training. Councilor Bjelland stated that, even though the City does have some updated documents, population projections for many of these plans will be seriously understated which is justification for re-examining some of the projections of population and employment as it relates to the periodic review process. The data suggests a need to expand the Urban Growth Boundary to support the projections which may involve going back to the County to see if Woodburn should receive a higher population projection. He also felt that the City needs to continue working toward the improvement of the I-5/Highway 214 interchange in order to become more attractive to industry. In the future, the City may also need to look at a southern by-pass which involves coordination with the County and State. He also felt that the City needs to build an inventory of sites that the City should have in order to accomplish its growth plans which will help drive the land use decisions that the City will need to make in the future. 2257 Mayor Jennings stated that the City is working on the issue of appearance and image. He also stated that the Mayor's coalition is trying to get the Salem Economic Development Corportion (SEDCOR) to change its name since SEDCOR would like to serve the entire geographic area but people tend to associate SEDCOR with Salem rather than the communities to the north. He also suggested that the Council be very careful with potential financial incentives to bring industry into Woodburn as it relates to delaying tax payments and/or waiving development fees. Councilor Mc Callum stated that he had attended a SEDCOR meeting last week and was told that Woodburn is one area businesses would like to locate in, however, Woodburn does not have enough land to provide for the industry development. One of his interests is quality of life in Woodburn and he questioned how much weight is placed on this issue Page 3 - Special Council Meeting Minutes, June 18,2001 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 18, 2001 TAPE READING by the business decision makers. Mr. Moore stated that quality of life issues is important to development, however, it is difficult to have a quality of life without having economic resources. The reports he has seen on how households make location decisions include the amount of space they can get, lot size, and quality of schools. The businesses care about the location in that (1) there is a trade off for them in how much they have to pay employees and (2) what those employees have to pay for indirectly through other amenities. 2896 Councilor Me Callum questioned how workforce training is merged into this process in order to attract businesses to the area. Mr. Moore stated that Woodburn is located between Salem and Portland which provides a variety of sources to obtain workforce training, however, a policy could be established that addresses the availability of more localized training specific to the types of industries that the City is trying to attract. This policy would give businesses additional assurances that the City is committed to help create the labor force for the business. Councilor Mc Callum also stated that he was pleased to see that the report made reference to training managers which could result in partnerships with 4-year colleges to assist students in obtaining training. Councilor Figley stated that she felt that the document fairly represents the issues that need to be addressed by the Council. She also expressed her opinion that the document accurately describes the Council's vision. Councilor Sifuentez stated that her concern is the transportation piece since improvements are necessary before further development can take place. She also mentioned that the Oregon Youth Authority has a program in which they have partnered with Western Oregon University to train staff which results in a 4-year degree for their employees. 3659 Councilor Chadwick reiterated that transportation improvements are necessary. In her opinion, a second interchange is required somewhere in the vicinity of Woodburn to help relieve traffic congestion. Mayor Jennings stated that he did not believe that Woodburn would ever see a second interchange within the City's Urban Growth Boundary. He suggested that the second interchange be left in the Transportation System Plan, however, it not be site specific in the plan. In his opinion, the Council seems to be committed to expanding the Urban Growth Boundary and the steps necessary to pursue this expansion are outlined in the document. Councilor Bjelland stated that the key is coordination with all of the parties involved in this process and working at it in a non-confrontational approach. The City is in a position to move forward since the two major barriers before the City are lack of available land and transportation. Mayor Jennings stated that communication is a necessity in order to gain support and, in his opinion, City staff is a major contributor to the City's improved communications Page 4 - Special Council Meeting Minutes, June 18,2001 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 18, 2001 TAPE READING between the County, Fire District, School District, and numerous state agencies. He also suggested that the City have an informal meeting to discuss expansion possibilities and invite representatives from the cities of Donald, Mt. Angel, Gervais, St. Paul, and Aurora to gain their input on this issue. 4220 FIGLEYIBJELLAND... accept the report and direct staff to begin the steps to implement the report. The motion passed unanimously. 4326 ADJOURNMENT. FIGLEYIBJELLAND... meeting be adjourned. The motion passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. APPROVED '~..~ RIC ARD JENNING MA OR ATIEST (1~ ~J Mary Ten ant, Recorder City of W oodbum, Oregon Page 5 - Special Council Meeting Minutes, June 18,2001