OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Cornelius City Council Meeting - October 6, 2025: Parks Master Plan, Library Funding, and Policy Decisions

City Council — Monday, October 6, 2025
BodyCornelius, Oregon
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, October 6, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:39:49

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

Welcome everyone to the Cornea City Council meeting for Monday, October 6, 2025.

0:14

First thing up this evening is our work session.

0:18

First thing on the work session is the parks master plan update.

0:24

Barbara Fryer, community development.

0:26

Looks like you have guest and guest.

0:38

Good evening, Mr.

0:39

Mayor and Council.

0:40

Tonight I have with me Steve Dew from the consulting firm conservation technique.

0:49

And he has worked very hard on this project along with consultants from JLA public involvement.

1:02

And he's going to be here tonight to go through and give you a brief overview of the parks master plan and ask for any comments that you might have.

1:15

And we will come back before you, or I will come back before you with a an ordinance sometime in the spring.

1:27

Good evening, mayor, members council, city manager.

1:30

Again, for the record, uh Steve, do you conservation techniques?

1:33

Um, as Barbara noted, we have a brief presentation just to walk you through.

1:38

Is it this one or the executive summary of the and I want book report credit, a hundred and seventy-five page presentation?

1:51

All right.

1:51

Is it me or I'm hitting this button, nothing's happening?

1:55

Please hold computer.

1:56

Please hold.

1:58

Perfect.

1:58

Thank you.

2:00

Okay.

2:00

All right.

2:01

Uh so tonight just walk you through a few highlights of the plan.

2:06

So a little about the plan overview, its purpose, uh, what we heard from the public process, a little about the structure of the plan document, granted its length.

2:16

And uh touching briefly on goals, policies, and capital project investments.

2:22

And there we go.

2:24

Um so just as a refresher, the purpose of the parks master plan really is to serve as the city's 20-year guide and strategic plan for all things parks recreation.

2:36

So it is intended to help guide and manage and enhance the city's recreation opportunities for parks, for facilities, open spaces, trails, and uh do it in such a way that uh brings the community together through public engagement, public process.

2:53

One aspect of having a master plan is not only does it uh provide for guidance for future investments, but ultimately it is a tool for the city to pursue partnerships and potentially other grant dollars and other funding options.

3:11

So a little about what we heard from the public process.

3:15

Uh the process to hear from the community included a community survey, um, an online open house, and uh several tabling events at city uh city hosted events.

3:29

Um that feedback, nearly everyone who took the survey, 97% feel that parks and recreation opportunities are either essential or important to the quality of life in Cornelius.

3:40

Uh some of the top priorities that came through all of the public process were expanding trail opportunities, um upgrading the city's playgrounds and adding water play options, uh providing for a community center across the street, and um expanding recreation options in general, such as uh skate park, maybe a second dog park, picnic shelters, places for folks to gather, and sport fields or exercise equipment.

4:11

Some amenities of interest are noted in the in the chart to the side uh that really highlight uh what we heard from the public.

4:22

So access to water and water play, whether it's water play at a splash pad or uh water via the Twelveton River and access to the river with improvements to uh having safe and reasonable access to uh Twalton River Council uh Council Creek.

4:41

Um providing for community center uh farmers market or spaces for folks to gather, picnic areas, etc.

4:50

Um eighty-two percent of respondents visit parks on a frequent basis monthly.

5:00

And some of the things we heard about why people don't visit more often, it includes things like not having the right amenities or not knowing what's offered or using facilities provided by others, whether it's Hillsboro or Forest Grove.

5:15

So this feedback really helped frame what we saw from our site assessments of the park system and opportunities for improving and enhancing over time to fill some of these gaps that the community says they have interest in.

5:30

So with regard to the overall plan and plan structure, basically it follows a fairly traditional plan document, uh municipal plan.

5:41

Whereas the front end of the plan, the first few chapters provides for the context, the process, and the inventory.

5:48

So a little about the community profile, a little about the engagement process and uh park system classifications and inventory.

5:56

The middle section of the plan really is the heart of the plan.

5:59

It's the needs assessment.

6:00

And the needs assessment here is broken into specific chapters dealing with parks and open space, trails, recreation and events, and also a chapter on operations, just to call attention to the fact that the city has finite resources for maintenance and uh growth in parks and recreation will uh trigger the potential need for additional resources to help maintain that over time.

6:27

For each of these chapters in the needs assessment, it includes uh a discussion of what we heard from the community via community feedback, as well as recreation trends, and those trends are either regional, state, or national trend data.

6:40

Um, and it helps formulate some of the improvement ideas and recommendations that are noted within each chapter.

6:48

The last section of the plan really is the goals and the recommendations.

6:52

So a chapter on goals and policies and a chapter on implementation strategies, which includes a capital improvement plan or the master project list that will help again guide the next 20 years of investments in the city.

7:06

With regard to goals and policies, I just want to step you through how those are structured.

7:12

Uh we we broke them into guiding principles and then goals under that and then policies under that.

7:19

So the first guiding principle is about leading for the future, and those goals include things related to community engagement, uh collaborative partnerships, and sustainable funding to have the bandwidth and the framework to hear from the community and work on those relationships over time to help make improvements.

7:41

Some of the policy language includes topics related to communications and outreach, whether it's the website or active engagement with the community through a process like this.

7:54

Also coordination between the board, the commission, and council when it comes to things related to parks and recreation, and then ultimately updating uh the park system development charge or other funding options uh to review in the future.

8:11

The second principle is about maintaining and investing in the existing park system, so making sure you have a safe, well-maintained and proactively managed park system, so taking care of maintenance, and then also having uh your open spaces protected and managed for future generations.

8:31

So policies in this area again relate to safety maintenance, um, ADA accessibility, site development, uh tree management, as well as coordination with other public agencies, whether it's metro or other partners.

8:46

Third principle is about expanding recreation access.

8:49

Here it is about available, accessible, and varied recreation, um, also addressing programming and connectivity.

8:59

So connectivity between parks, neighborhoods, and other amenities.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████15%
Public Engagement█████████████13%
Education█████████9%
Library Services████████8%
Parks and Recreation███████7%
Youth Programs███████7%
Public Facility Naming███████7%
Street Naming Policy███████7%
Budget Equity Analysis█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Cornelius City Council Meeting - October 6, 2025

The City of Cornelius held a work session and regular council meeting on Monday, October 6, 2025, starting at 6:00 PM. The work session covered the Parks Master Plan update and Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) funding. The regular council meeting included a public hearing on a supplemental budget, adoption of several policies, appointment of a Youth Advisory Council member, a presentation from the Youth Advisory Council, a legislative update from State Representative Susan McLain, and a proclamation for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Urban Renewal Agency board also met to elect officers and approve a supplemental budget.

Work Session: Parks Master Plan Update

  • Barbara Fryer (Community Development) and Steve Dew (Conservation Technique) presented a 175-page Parks Master Plan serving as a 20-year guide for parks, recreation, trails, and open spaces. Public engagement included a survey, online open house, and tabling events.
  • 97% of survey respondents said parks and recreation are essential or important to quality of life. Top priorities: expanding trails, upgrading playgrounds, adding water play (splash pad), a community center, and more recreation options (skate park, second dog park, picnic shelters, sports fields).
  • 82% of respondents visit parks frequently (monthly). Barriers to use included lack of desired amenities and lack of awareness.
  • The plan includes guiding principles (leading for the future, maintaining existing system, expanding recreation access, growth and development, celebrating local culture) and a capital improvement list totaling $39 million in current dollars (inflated to $56 million). Key projects: community center and plaza, splash pad, greenway trail improvements, trail connections.
  • Council members expressed support. Councilor noted potential for volunteer/ Eagle Scout projects similar to the dog park. Councilor appreciated the public input and community center vision. Councilor valued the demographic data showing the city is aging but still has high household sizes. Staff will return with an adoption ordinance in February or March 2025, after Planning Commission review.

Work Session: Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS) Funding & Governance

  • City Manager Peter Brandham and Library Director Maria Aguilar provided an update on a 20-month study to revise the funding allocation methodology for the 16 libraries (9 cities, 3 non-profits). Current allocation based on use (checkouts) creates inequities; busier libraries with more local funding get more.
  • Proposed new methodology bases funding on population within defined library territories, aiming to establish a base level of service. For Cornelius, the proposed allocation would increase from $611,293 to $1,086,433 (a 78% increase), which staff called a step toward equity.
  • Washington County is placing a replacement local option levy on the November 4, 2025 ballot, increasing the rate by $0.15 per $1,000 assessed value.
  • A councilor expressed concern about Aloha (unincorporated area) receiving a large increase without a city contribution. Next steps: further county board meetings, member library vote (needs 2/3 approval), then formal recommendation to the county. New IGA to be negotiated spring 2026, effective July 1, 2026.

Urban Renewal Agency Board Meeting

  • Elections: Board member Lopez was elected Chair and board member Godines was elected Vice Chair for a one-year term, effective immediately.
  • Consent Agenda: Approved unanimously.
  • Public Hearing – Resolution 2025-07: Supplemental budget for the Urban Renewal Agency, including adjustments to working capital, interest revenue, and expenses for Grande building debt service, staffing, grant match for Pottersignal market improvements, and professional services. No public comments. Passed unanimously.

Consent Calendar (City Council)

  • Approved by unanimous vote. (Specific items not read aloud, but included routine approvals.)

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Rachel Schutz (Executive Director, Family Justice Center of Washington County) and Megan Arbo (Development & Communications Director, Domestic Violence Resource Center) advocated for the proclamation. They noted Domestic Violence Resource Center served over 3,500 survivors in Washington County in the past year, and emphasized the impact of federal funding cuts. A councilor shared positive feedback from a referral. Council expressed appreciation.

Recognitions & Presentations

  • Outstanding Performance Certification for Water System: City Manager Brandham presented the award to Ryan Howell (Public Works Operations Manager) and Will Hartman (Operations Lead) for meeting stringent criteria from Oregon Health Authority including no violations in 5 years.
  • Civic Education Leadership Award: Itzel Sayago received the League of Oregon Cities award for reviving the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), now 14 members. YAC members present at the meeting.
  • Youth Advisory Council Update: Members Adrian (Co-Chair), Christina (Secretary), Marisol (Social Media Officer), and Maeli (Vice Chair) reported: 14 members from 4 high schools, 325+ volunteer hours. They conducted a QR code pilot at parks and recommended against investing in QR codes, suggesting community boards with bilingual info instead. They hosted Flicks at the Park (4 Fridays) with scavenger hunts. Upcoming projects: Mural Project ($7,000 artist stipend, plus $2,000 for materials, seeking sponsors). They reported 342 QR scans at events. Council encouraged exploring partnerships (e.g., Library Foundation, local artist Arturo).
  • Oregon Legislative Update: Rep. Susan McLain (HD 29) summarized 2025 session achievements: HB 2299 (deep fakes bill) signed; transportation funding bill (HB 2025) passed after special session; education funding challenges due to federal cuts. Mayor Delane raised the need to adjust the urban growth boundary for 575 acres north of town and industrial land development. Mayor noted continued growth exceeding state averages. Rep. McLain committed to ongoing discussions.
  • Appointment to Youth Advisory Council: Ricardo Sayago was appointed to Position 14 through December 2026 (or until graduation). Motion passed unanimously.

Discussion Items

  • City Council Vacancy Recruitment Timeline: City Recorder presented timeline for filling vacancy: applications open Oct 6-22, interviews at Nov 3 work session, appointment and swearing-in at Nov 3 regular session. Council discussed whether to swear in immediately or allow onboarding. Consensus was to conduct interviews, appoint, and allow onboarding, with swearing-in at the December 1 meeting. Staff will provide training materials.
  • Resolution 2025-48: Supplemental Budget #1 for FY25-26. Adjustments included transfer from Urban Renewal for Grande building debt service, grant match for market improvements, wildfire grant for fire department, WCCLS allocation increase, professional services, and contribution for TV Highway Transit/Safety Project. Passed unanimously.
  • Resolution 2025-49: Library Meeting Room Policy Update. Updated language to be gender-neutral, added fees for Drake Learning Center, addressed unanticipated situations. Passed unanimously after noting a minor copy-and-paste error.
  • Resolution 2025-50: Records Management Policy. Replaced 2008 policy, expanded to cover modern formats (email, social media, etc.), established retention and destruction procedures, supported implementation of ORMS. Passed unanimously.
  • Resolution 2025-51: Public Facility Naming Policy. Staff proposed criteria similar to park naming, including a clause that no facility be named after a past or present city employee. Council expressed concern that this could preclude future recognition like the Rob Drake Learning Center. After discussion, the item was postponed to next month for revision to allow council discretion for exceptions.
  • Resolution 2025-52: Street Naming Policy. Established formal criteria for naming new streets: numbered north-south, alphabetical east-west south of Baseline (tree names), alphabetical north of Baseline (non-living individuals or living persons with extraordinary contributions, but not past/present city employees). Includes process for variance via Public Infrastructure Advisory Board. Passed unanimously.
  • Resolution 2025-53: Utility Billing Relief Program Adjustment. Increased maximum assistance from $300 on 2 bills to $450 on 3 bills within a 12-month period. Funded by ARPA dollars ($35,000 remaining, must be used by Dec 31, 2026). Passed unanimously.
  • Remaining Food & Beverage Items (G, H, I, J, K): Motion to postpone to next month passed 2-1 (Councilor Lopez opposed).

Key Outcomes

  • Elected Lopez as Urban Renewal Agency Chair and Godines as Vice Chair.
  • Approved Urban Renewal Agency Resolution 2025-07 (supplemental budget) unanimously.
  • Approved City Council consent agenda unanimously.
  • Approved FY25-26 Supplemental Budget #1 (Resolution 2025-48) unanimously.
  • Adopted updated Library Meeting Room Policy (Resolution 2025-49) unanimously.
  • Adopted new Records Management Policy (Resolution 2025-50) unanimously.
  • Postponed Public Facility Naming Policy (Resolution 2025-51) for revision.
  • Adopted Street Naming Policy (Resolution 2025-52) unanimously.
  • Approved revision of Utility Billing Relief Program (Resolution 2025-53) unanimously.
  • Appointed Ricardo Sayago to Youth Advisory Council.
  • Proclaimed October 2025 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
  • Established timeline for city council vacancy: applications due Oct 22, interviews and appointment Nov 3, swearing-in Dec 1.
  • Remaining agenda items (food and beverage fee adjustments) tabled to November 3 meeting.
  • Meeting adjourned at approximately 9:10 PM after extending by 10 minutes.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome everyone to the Cornea City Council meeting for Monday, October 6, 2025. First thing up this evening is our work session. First thing on the work session is the parks master plan update. Barbara Fryer, community development. Looks like you have guest and guest. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and Council. Tonight I have with me Steve Dew from the consulting firm conservation technique. And he has worked very hard on this project along with consultants from JLA public involvement. And he's going to be here tonight to go through and give you a brief overview of the parks master plan and ask for any comments that you might have. And we will come back before you, or I will come back before you with a an ordinance sometime in the spring. Good evening, mayor, members council, city manager. Again, for the record, uh Steve, do you conservation techniques? Um, as Barbara noted, we have a brief presentation just to walk you through. Is it this one or the executive summary of the and I want book report credit, a hundred and seventy-five page presentation? All right. Is it me or I'm hitting this button, nothing's happening? Please hold computer. Please hold. Perfect. Thank you. Okay. All right. Uh so tonight just walk you through a few highlights of the plan. So a little about the plan overview, its purpose, uh, what we heard from the public process, a little about the structure of the plan document, granted its length. And uh touching briefly on goals, policies, and capital project investments. And there we go. Um so just as a refresher, the purpose of the parks master plan really is to serve as the city's 20-year guide and strategic plan for all things parks recreation. So it is intended to help guide and manage and enhance the city's recreation opportunities for parks, for facilities, open spaces, trails, and uh do it in such a way that uh brings the community together through public engagement, public process. One aspect of having a master plan is not only does it uh provide for guidance for future investments, but ultimately it is a tool for the city to pursue partnerships and potentially other grant dollars and other funding options. So a little about what we heard from the public process. Uh the process to hear from the community included a community survey, um, an online open house, and uh several tabling events at city uh city hosted events. Um that feedback, nearly everyone who took the survey, 97% feel that parks and recreation opportunities are either essential or important to the quality of life in Cornelius. Uh some of the top priorities that came through all of the public process were expanding trail opportunities, um upgrading the city's playgrounds and adding water play options, uh providing for a community center across the street, and um expanding recreation options in general, such as uh skate park, maybe a second dog park, picnic shelters, places for folks to gather, and sport fields or exercise equipment. Some amenities of interest are noted in the in the chart to the side uh that really highlight uh what we heard from the public. So access to water and water play, whether it's water play at a splash pad or uh water via the Twelveton River and access to the river with improvements to uh having safe and reasonable access to uh Twalton River Council uh Council Creek. Um providing for community center uh farmers market or spaces for folks to gather, picnic areas, etc. Um eighty-two percent of respondents visit parks on a frequent basis monthly. And some of the things we heard about why people don't visit more often, it includes things like not having the right amenities or not knowing what's offered or using facilities provided by others, whether it's Hillsboro or Forest Grove. So this feedback really helped frame what we saw from our site assessments of the park system and opportunities for improving and enhancing over time to fill some of these gaps that the community says they have interest in. So with regard to the overall plan and plan structure, basically it follows a fairly traditional plan document, uh municipal plan. Whereas the front end of the plan, the first few chapters provides for the context, the process, and the inventory. So a little about the community profile, a little about the engagement process and uh park system classifications and inventory. The middle section of the plan really is the heart of the plan. It's the needs assessment. And the needs assessment here is broken into specific chapters dealing with parks and open space, trails, recreation and events, and also a chapter on operations, just to call attention to the fact that the city has finite resources for maintenance and uh growth in parks and recreation will uh trigger the potential need for additional resources to help maintain that over time. For each of these chapters in the needs assessment, it includes uh a discussion of what we heard from the community via community feedback, as well as recreation trends, and those trends are either regional, state, or national trend data. Um, and it helps formulate some of the improvement ideas and recommendations that are noted within each chapter. The last section of the plan really is the goals and the recommendations. So a chapter on goals and policies and a chapter on implementation strategies, which includes a capital improvement plan or the master project list that will help again guide the next 20 years of investments in the city.

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