This meeting featured updates from the City Court, a detailed presentation on the Kellogg Creek restoration and modernization project with the City Council leadership team, and a dialogue with PGE leadership regarding grid capacity and rate impacts. Key discussions centered on the logistical challenges of the Kellogg project, specifically regarding sewer line relocation and shared-use path flooding, as well as city concerns over utility rate increases and data center cost allocation.
Court Update (Judge Graves & City Court Staff)
Kellogg Creek Restoration Project Update
PGE Leadership Presentation (Larry Beckdal & Heidi Bell)
Okay. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's the line. All right. Starting relatively on our agenda. Um we'll start with um Mayor Graves and our court update. Um they win. Um, not often. Not often. But it is nice to have those names kind of in the back pocket for when it does come up. And that was one that we just hadn't had on our list. So we'll be able to use them for the current defendant that needs the assistance, but we also have the name going forward. And then a couple of the my other categories changes or things coming up at court. We started as a court of record not too long after I became the judge, so probably 2015, which means our equipment and our processes for recording hearings are the same from then, them, excuse me, from then. And see for the record, folks are changing to a cloud-based service now. Which will be uh, I think a vast improvement for how the recordings are all held at this time. And so we'll be looking at switching over that cloud-based service, uh, hopefully sometime in the next next year. And along with that, we will hopefully have an equipment update as well, since of course we've had the same equipment for 10 years. Um, but that'll come down to what it what it looks like cost-wise, what needs to be updated, what we can still keep up. But that's the ongoing conversation to make sure that our recording equipment is what we needed to have it in place. I guess I never thought about it, but your equipment is different than Willamette Falls equipment that they use for uh recording our meetings. Yes, our equipment is called it's called for the record, and everything we have equipment-wise comes from them. And then, of course, the computer program is from them as well. And is it in the same room where Willamette Falls is set up, or is it something you set up and take down every time? Mary gets to set it up and take it down each course. Wow, okay. Okay, wow. Is it is it just all about 10 years old? Is it just audio or is it video as well? It is just audio. That's what I thought. Yeah. Uh I think having the cloud storage will be probably the nicest upgrade. Um, not having to start store everything locally and search locally. Um, other update for the court was that we're in the process of hiring for a new position, which will be um some much needed relief. There was, of course, a COVID dip in cases, and now we are on the trajectory of back up, which means that the work at the court is moving back up as well and workload. So I'm told job description has been submitted to HR and the timing is based on HR's response as far as approving that description and then getting out a posting, but that should hopefully be happening in January. I can share that that has now been reviewed. Class comp was completed today, should recruit in early Jan. We were calling it a deputy court, I think the term we've landed on is court specialist and the law court manager, but this was made possible by the public safety fee. So thank you, counsel. Yes, and it's much appreciated to share the workload a little bit in the court because Mary's fielding calls and emails, and then of course, also being present in court each time we have a court session and processing all the cases as they come in, attorney requests, um, defendant requests. So she is fielding a lot of information. Um like I said, also being in court, uh dealing with each court day and scheduling those sessions as well. So much needed relief is coming in. Um and then the only other thing that I had heard of for the court, which uh I'm certain everyone in the room there knows more than I do, is the possibility of credit card fees um coming to the court and being added on to defendants um cases and payment plans, things of that sort. Um obviously that'll be a change in the court system to add those in. Um, but I'm sure everyone else there knows probably the process to how we landed there and if that is uh for certain coming or if it's still in the in the thought process. I've been voted and approved by council. Implementation has been rocked.