I will be presiding this evening on behalf of Mayor Who and just appreciate you all being here this evening, whether in person or online.

And with that, uh City Recorder Crager, will you please uh call roll?

Councillor Shaw here.

Council President Wolf.

Here.

Youth Councillor Helleck.

Here.

Counselor Goodesi.

Present.

Mayor Who?

Absent.

Uh Councillor Robbins.

Here.

Counselor Schlack.

Here.

Okay.

Well, everyone rise and council mute your mics and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Okay.

Do we have uh to council and um uh interim city manager uh trich any non-agenda items this evening?

None from us, Council President.

All right.

Okay, at this point we will move forward with public comment.

Um while public comment is not a dialogue, um either council or staff will follow up to address any of the issues brought um forward this evening.

Um the call-in number is 503-966-4101, and those wishing to make general comments by phone should call now to get into the queue.

Anyone wishing to speak on agenda item nine, the legislative public hearing on Tiger Municipal Code 7.80 regarding camping, should sign up on the public hearing sign-in sheet at the front of the room, or you'll be called up to speak during the public hearing.

Um with that um there were three written public comments that we received by Monday at noon, which is our deadline regarding proposed changes to our camping ordinance.

Um then uh we request sorry, I'm a little rusty at this.

It's been a little bit.

Um we request that those general comments not related again to camping should sign up on the public comment form.

I have those.

Um we have one person um signed up uh to give uh public comment in person.

Uh so we will continue um with that.

You have two minutes to give um your public comment.

And uh the person signed up is Jessica Williams, I believe.

Please come forward.

Thank you, Jessica.

Hello.

Can you hear me?

Um, City Council members.

My name is Jessica Williams, and I've been a resident of Tiger since 2019.

I am a mother with two school-aged children, and I have come here today to speak to you all about the outrageous and horrendous actions of ICE in our community.

Our community, including the children in our area, are sad and scared by all that has been occurring.

I strongly oppose the actions of ICE, and I would like the City of Tiger to make the change to a sanctuary city and do more to protect our residents.

Oregon is a sanctuary state, and it aligns with the beliefs of our city that everyone is welcome.

Our school has had to cancel evening events due to fear of ice.

Our community is scared.

We are scared for our family and friends.

People should feel safe in their neighborhoods, and I would like you to take a moment to imagine what it would feel like to not be able to leave your home to provide basic needs for your family.

And even if you do leave out of necessity, you and your children are terrified that you might not come home.

We are talking to our children about what to do if and when ICE comes around.

This is something I never thought I would be explaining to my six-year-old.

Masked unidentified men are terrorizing our community, and more needs to be done to protect our city.

Every day we are shocked and upset by the stories of these men calling themselves federal agents, kidnapping people in our neighborhood with no regard to them as people other than the color of their skin.

I highly value our diverse community and want to protect them.

There's only so much I can do as a citizen, and I would implore the city to act against these abductors, frightening and taking our friends and neighbors with no regard for our humanity.

Thank you.

Thank you, Jessica.

At this time, we will move on to public comment uh via phone-in or video.

Mr.

Vang, are there any callers in the queue for phone or video testimony?

No callers.

There are no callers at the moment.

Just checking in.

Mr.

Vang, did you hear me?

Yes, currently we have no callers.

I'm not checking it.

We have no callers at the moment.

Thank you, Mr.

Vang.

Oh, is my mic back?

My mic's much louder now.

So thank you very much.

And we will move forward with the city manager report.

Thank you very much, Council.

Robert, if you wouldn't mind putting up my slide, great.

Thank you very much.

So this is an opportunity for us to celebrate getting to connect with one another.

What a wonderful time of year where we're able to uh spend time with our neighbors and community.

These are just a few of the events uh that have happened in the past few days.

Um we want to appreciate all the folks that came out to the tree lighting, the menorah lighting, as well as the holiday celebration hosted by Meals on Wheels people at the Tigerd Senior Center this week.

Uh upcoming, there are numerous events throughout our community.

Uh the senior center will also be hosting a New Year's at noon on New Year's Eve at the Tigerd Senior Center around the corner.

Um and uh let me also take this opportunity uh to say how much uh we appreciate all of our community um coming together to support one another uh during the season and at all times of the year.

Um uh wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday, and that's all for me.

Thanks.

Thank you, Acting City Manager Tritch.

Um at this point, we will move on to the consent agenda.

The consent agenda is used for routine items and may be adopted with one motion.

Information on the consent agenda items has been posted with the meeting packet online.

So the consent agenda this evening includes the uh consideration for resolution number 25-42, a resolution in support for a housing infrastructure financing program grant application.

Is there a motion?

Council President, I move to approve the consent agenda as presented.

Second motion um was made and seconded.

Is there any discussion?

Uh Council President, I do have one question for housing planner Miller.

Um I can ask the question now, or I can wait for you to whatever works.

Um I'm just quick question.

We um discussed the housing plan uh earlier um this year, and I just wanted a quick reminder if this was part of that housing plan or if this is uh an additional thing, um, an additional policy that the city is pursuing.

Hi, buddy.

Good evening, everybody.

My name is Trinity Miller.

I'm the housing planner for the city of Tiger.

In relation to your question, yes, this is a part of the housing work plan.

We identified opportunities for grant funding for infrastructures.

Um gap funding for infrastructure, and this would be a program that strongly aligns with that goal.

Thank you for the reminder.

Appreciate it.

I appreciate the question, uh, Counselor Schlack.

That was great.

So um at that, um all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Aye.

Those opposed.

Uh okay.

Motion uh passes unanimously.

Um and that closes um our consent.

We'll move forward to the committee for community engagement annual report.

Welcome.

All right, good evening, Council President and Council.

My name is Nicole Hendricks.

I'm the assistant to the city manager, and I'm also the staff liaison for the committee, Committee for Community Engagement, also known as CCE.

We might be saying that later for ease.

And I'm excited to introduce you to Caitlin McKinley.

She's been our chair for the last year for the committee.

She's done a fabulous job, and she is going to do our annual report that we do each year according to our bylaws.

Um, also just want to shout out a couple members, uh, committee members in the audience, Connie and Shayla.

Sheila's here too.

So it's a 15-member committee, and you'll get to learn a little bit more about what we've done the last year.

So Caitlin, I'll hand it over to you.

Thank you so much, Nicole.

First of all, I just want to say thank you for making the time for us, and we're excited to share everything we've been working on this year.

We can move ahead to the overview kind of of what we'll cover tonight.

We're just gonna look at a little bit of touch on a little bit of uh who we are, um, a little bit about what we did and a little bit about looking forward to next year.

Um as you can see, we currently have 12 members, um, and they're each involved in different areas of the community, and we're all from different neighborhoods, um, so we really lend a really diverse voice and a selection of experiences to the committee, um, which is really valuable, I believe.

Next slide.

Um, as you can see, you know, you can read all about us.

Um, but we meet several times a year and meet with a wide array of city employees to help guide them with their projects.

Um, we also bring a lot of feedback to the city and what it is we're hearing being said within our own communities and where we can make suggestions to where the city might be able to improve on communication.

Next slide.

Um here's an example of uh how we've tracked our suggestions and how they specifically align with the council's goals.

That's been a really big focus for us this year is is that alignment.

Um, this is kind of a new method of tracking, and we found it to be really helpful to keep our priorities in order.

And you can kind of see it's a little small, but we have um each of our members will come forward with maybe a question or a comment about a certain event or suggestion for the city, and so we've got them all categorized by type and then also um their status and how they exactly align with the city's goals.

And the next slide.

So this is another way of um tracking.

Um you can see up at the top um the different types of feedback that we're tracking, and um you know, we you'll notice we work a lot in category three, which is live work and play.

Um most of those are suggestions or questions that we have gotten, you know, from feedback from our communities.

Um we definitely invite the city to utilize our committee more in other areas, which will increase our our opportunities for feedback.

Next slide.

Um, here you can see a snapshot of the types of feedback that we've brought a resolution to and umes that are still being worked on.

And again, this is kind of just something we we look at every meeting and update as new suggestions come in, as resolutions come in and so forth.

And next slide.

So in 2025, um again, we kept to the main core, like four goals of the city council.

Um we first with our create housing opportunities for current and future residence goal.

Uh we worked with the houseless task force just to discuss uh about the project, whether or not we need another task force.

Um, and this is something that our committee feels a lot of passion for.

Um, a lot of our members are very interested in helping with the housing goals of the city moving forward.

Um we also looked at the community development hub, and it's it's a really important addition to the website to help make these services accessible, and we were uh excited to be able to offer some feedback and suggestions for how to get the word out about this new tool.

And next slide.

Um as it pertains to economic opportunities for the second goal.

Um, we did a little bit of discussion of River Terrace 2.0, and we did get a presentation on that.

Um, the topic of economic opportunities within the city and River Terrace 2.0 particularly are definitely of interest to our group, and um, we're looking forward to learning more and working more with the city on that uh next year.

But um we we absolutely have more opportunity to help in these areas, as you can see.

We only really touched on one economic uh subject for the year.

Next slide.

Uh and for the uh cultivating Tiger is a great place to live work in play goal.

Um, that's where most of our work is done.

Um we did a lot of work with the equitable engagement uh team last year, and we were really happy to kind of watch it come through to fruition this year and work with them on their final presentation.

Um it was really a major part of our work, and um you know, we're excited to hopefully have the opportunity to continue working with them.

Um another large part of our work is on the uh community events and and planning of those and outreach.

Um these are really important to the community, and we really love seeing them grow and um succeed year over year with our our suggestions.

So next slide.

Uh the um next goal is pertains to community services, and um the Tigered Service Request Portal was um really cool to see.

Uh we we got to see uh sort of the preview of it before it was implemented and give some feedback about uh certain things that could be adjusted.

Um and it was really neat to see then after it had launched and see how the community members are using it and how um we can possibly make it easier for the community to use it, get the word out about it more because it's it's a really great tool.

Um we touched a little bit on the facility moderniz project.

Um our community is really interested in this project and how we can help make the facts known to the community about the cost and importance of the project.

Um we were presented with it, it was a fairly new presentation, so we didn't have a lot of the information yet.

So it would be great if we could work on that some more and get more info and give more feedback.

Uh next slide.

Uh looking towards 2026, um, we're excited, as I mentioned, to continue with the equitable engagement uh team, um, community events and community development projects.

Um, but we really want to know like how our committee can be better utilized by more teams within the city.

Um we may have more meeting opportunities in 2026, and we're eager to expand our assistance to the city.

And uh finally, I'd like to thank you all for your time and attention.

And on behalf of all CCE members, I thank you for the opportunity to serve our community.

And with that, if you have any questions or comments.

So um, if we could bounce back to the prior slide with the questions, I think it just helps to have them up.

Um, and as a prior liaison to CCE, um, just appreciate all the time investment excited for you all to um add the additional meetings and to offer up how you can uh impact uh more in 26, and I think that's fantastic.

And with that, I'll uh see what questions council members have.

Councillor Shaw.

Great, thank you, and thank you so much for the presentation.

Um, I've had the opportunity to sit in a couple of the CCE and uh really appreciate the discussion you all have.

When you mentioned community event planning, you mentioned specifically Pride and Juneteenth and LTGary, and I'm curious if also you participate or work on um the Balloon Festival or possibly even the July 4th event.

Is that opportunities you've had in the past, or is that just more just seeing if you've been engaged?

Yeah, um, we have discussed a little bit of July 4th uh activities.

Most of that came from the committee as feedback to the city rather than the city coming to us for feedback and recommendations.

Um, we would love to get involved in more events.

I don't think we've ever really touched on the the um hot air balloon festival um as it you know as making recommendations and things to the organizers, but we'd love to.

Okay, so I have a couple of thoughts about this.

Um, first on the equitable engagement implementation.

Um, I'm excited to see that you know, really jump into the execution phase, and I know that council certainly has roles in that, but I think um roles, let me uh articulate my words.

Um, but I think that's a really fantastic opportunity to really understand how we do that well, how we execute into the community so that all those um kind of um goals or what those next steps are could start to be realized.

So I really encourage a deeper dive in that, and then really excited for the opportunity.

Um, you know, personally, I'm sure all the counselors feel the same way to talk more about the bond, about the facilities project, the needs, how do we get out to communities?

I see Jessica sitting there, and she and Maddie are working so hard to connect with community members.

So, how do we do that better across the city?

And I'm really excited to do that well as well.

Uh so those would probably be my top priorities as we head into 2026 personally.

So thank you very, very much.

Thank you.

Hey, anything else?

Oh, yes, Councilor Robins.

Thank you.

Sorry for going last.

I had to gather my thoughts.

I wanted to say thank you so much to everyone on the committee who's here.

Um, you guys put in a lot of work and also just your heart and soul, I think, into trying to improve engagement and keep keep those connections open between the public and city and council.

I really appreciate that.

Um I also really appreciate the the ability to get to be the liaison.

And I know I um took that from counselor shaw, I think when I joined, and I it's a great committee to get to be part of.

Um I would echo council president's uh idea that we should uh use your assistance to help engage with the the bond measure because that is one of our major priorities for the year.

Um, how we can reach out to people, how we can phrase the message, also giving your committee the information that it needs to be able to spread the information about why we need this and what the benefits will be.

So just to give feedback, um, let us know what you need as well to best do that.

And um also I was just thinking regarding the the major events that you also help on, and and we talked a tiny bit about 4th of July.

You know, we had feedback earlier this year that we spent an awful lot of money on the 4th of July, and you know, costs for Juneteenth and stuff, things are going up, and and some of it when you look at the amount we spend versus how many people attend, that maybe we have to cut back on some of those things.

So, assistance, I think, with messaging on why we're doing that.

So nobody feels like we're cutting one particular group or um, is this the right date for this particular celebration?

Maybe we choose a different event.

That would be very helpful too.

And then as far as what other departments I will, I think we should defer to staff, and maybe they can get back to you in the near future through Nicole.

So there's always work to do.

Sounds good.

Thank you so much.

Counselor Schlatt.

Thank you, and thank you so much for the presentation.

And I um echo the kudos of my colleagues.

Um just for reflecting on the three questions you have.

I know that um in around February, I think the council is scheduled to have a much broader conversation about boards and committees, and I think that some of these may get fleshed out a little bit more.

What's the place of CCE and the roles and responsibilities of policymaking and recommendations at the city of Tiger?

Um, so I just wanted to add that um I appreciate you all um sort of coming forward with those questions now.

And I just wanted to add that I think it's a broader question for the council with all of our committees at this time.

So um I think it's an ongoing conversation.

And if you have any feedback in general, we'd love to hear it.

Thank you.

Good.

Thank you both.

Um, and with that, we will move uh directly into the CCE bylaw um update, which will allow the committee um and set that for a monthly uh meeting.

Um assistant city uh assistant to the city meeting.

I get uh please update us.

Thanks again.

So, yes, on behalf of the committee, I'm here as their team liaison to ask the council to consider a resolution amending their bylaws to change their meeting frequency.

So we polled the members back in the fall and found that a majority of them felt that we didn't have enough time during meetings to cover everything.

Oftentimes the depth of discussion couldn't go where we wanted it to because we were too too busy trying to fit in all the items that we wanted to talk about.

And given that we currently only meet six times a year for an engagement committee, that's very difficult, and we miss opportunities uh to be more involved in different uh engagement projects throughout the city, and so this will allow the group to be more involved, to be more engaged and have that time to discuss more fully.

And so, in that at the November meeting, they had more discussion and voted unanimously to bring this forward to council to consider.

So that is the report, and I'll hand it back over to you for questions.

Any questions before the motion?

Counselor Schlack.

Thank you.

So I just want to make sure I'm understanding this because we just got a question about um sort of requesting additional responsibilities or work that CCE can do.

Is this mainly to spread out the current level of work that CCE is getting to allow more time for those discussions, or is this in order to create space for more?

I think it's a little bit of both.

So right now we do need more space for the current projects, but also the ability to be more nimble so that when things come forward, we're not booked already six months in advance, and so people can't come to the committee because our agendas are already booked out.

So it's a little bit of a balance between what we've discussed and also bringing new things forward.

Sure.

Thank you.

Okay.

Yes.

Counselor uh Gaduzi.

Um question, I mean, that seems fine, but it does say in the current bylaws of the committee shall meet at least six times a year.

So it doesn't really preclude you from meeting 12 if that's what you wanted.

Yeah, I think the the language right after that is it it kind of suggests roughly every other month, and so we just wanted to be really clear that we would like to meet monthly.

Thank you.

Counselor Schlei.

Thank you, Council President.

Yeah, I um I'm fine with um making this adjustment and sort of to echo what I I just said about that February discussion.

I know standardizing bylaws across committees and meeting cadences, term lengths, all that sort of stuff is something that the council will be discussing uh early in 2026.

So um while part of me wants to say, let's just wait until that discussion, I don't feel strongly enough to say you all shouldn't meet at one extra time before that discussion happens.

So um that's where I'm at on this.

Okay, I'll take a motion.

Uh council president, I move to approve resolution number 25-4-3, a resolution of the city council amending the bylaws of the committee for community engagement to change the meeting frequency.

Second the motion.

Motion was made and seconded.

Is there any discussion?

Okay.

Will the youth counselor uh give an advisory vote?

Aye.

Okay.

Um thank you.

And all those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed.

Motion carries unanimously.

Thank you very much.

Nicole.

Um okay.

Next on our um agenda is building a better tigered project funding and bond package discussion.

Finance director, King and Acting City Manager Trich.

Good evening, Council President and members of council.

Uh thank you for having us tonight.

Uh my name is Eric King, and I'm the finance director.

Uh so we'll start off with some introductions and I'll uh let my uh uh those joining me tonight introduce themselves.

Great, thanks, Eric.

Uh good evening.

Um Duncan Brown with PFM.

Uh we are the external independent financial advisor to the city in connection with its debt issuance and management.

Uh and I'm here to talk a bit about general obligation bonds.

Hi, all I'm Gulgen Urr, longtime bond counsel to the city.

I work at a law firm called Hawkins Delafield and Wood.

And this uh the slides do not involve me, so it'll be Eric and Duncan.

But if you have any questions on the legal ramifications or authorization for bonds, I'm here to answer your questions.

Great.

Uh if we can move on to the next slide, please.

Uh so for our presentation today, uh, we are going to be asking uh for council direction on three key topics.

Um and then we also have an uh as part of the agenda to go have an overview of the um uh about general obligation bonds um and providing some education around that.

Um and so I'll turn it over to Duncan for the uh the piece about general obligation bond.

Uh and then um yeah.

Uh so before we get started though, uh I do want to recognize the complexity and the impact of the discussion and what we're asking for today from council.

Uh the last time the city went through a general obligation bond was in 2011, and that was for the parks bond.

Um so for many of you, this might this may be the first time going through a general obligation bond.

Uh so as we're going through this presentation, if there's any information that's missing or that would be helpful to help you make your decisions um or to provide us guidance, uh, we are open to that level of feedback as well.

Uh and with that, um, if we go to the next slide, please, and then I'll turn it over to Duncan to um to over general obligation bonds.

Great.

Uh thanks, Eric.

Um I I'm hoping to cover a few kind of key points here.

Uh we'll spend a few minutes talking about just what are what are bonds, what are general obligation bonds specifically, how do they work in Oregon?

Uh we'll talk a little bit about the process and timeline for uh taking uh general obligation bond measure to uh to the voters, and then also uh the process of actually selling those bonds.

And then we'll talk a little bit uh about some structuring and timing considerations, kind of the the the points that that Eric just mentioned about um kind of what kind of decisions need to be made before uh bringing something to uh to voters.

I would encourage, and I do have a lot of appendices.

I always have a market update, so I'm happy to happy to talk about that kind of stuff, but but not expecting to unless folks would like to.

And I would invite questions along the way.

I'm also happy to pause at the end and dive into these topics a bit uh more in depth.

So I'll go to the next slide and maybe just start with a little background.

So when we talk about bonds, we're really just talking about borrowed money.

Um sometimes we use other terms like loans or financing agreements or notes and bonds.

They're all fundamentally borrowed money.

A bond is a loan.

Um when we're selling bonds, um, large amounts of bonds, we're generally selling them uh in the public bond market to a variety of different investors, and those investors are your lenders.

Um typically uh governments like to try to issue bonds on a tax exempt basis.

So the interest on those bonds is exempt from federal and state income taxes.

And because of that, that benefit, uh that tax benefit for the investor, the interest rate on the bonds is less than it would be otherwise.

That's not a requirement, but it is something that we typically like to take advantage of if we can because that results in lower interest rates for uh for municipal bonds.

So that's just something to kind of keep in mind as we we talk about all this.

I'll go to the next slide, slide five, um, and talk a bit about general obligation bonds specifically.

The city has issued other types of bonds more recently than the 2011 uh transaction that that uh that Eric mentioned.

You've issued uh water revenue bonds for the city's water utility.

Um the uh town center development agency has issued urban renewal revenue bonds.

Umligation bonds are unique uh for a few reasons.

One is that they require voter approval, so 50% plus one voter.

Um, and they come with uh a new source of repayment.

So unlike other types of debt where principal and interest need to be repaid from existing resources, general obligation bonds come with a property tax levy authority attached.

And that authority is outside constitutional limits, it's unlimited as to rate or amount.

Um so most issuers of general obligation bonds use that property tax uh that that uh that that levy uh authority to uh to levy property taxes and make payments on the general obligation bonds.

That's not a requirement, and so there are circumstances where borrowers uh cities uh or other issuers of of general obligation debt will use some other source to make payments on uh on general obligation bonds.

Um, but that is one of the main uh appealing factors uh for GO debt, as we sometimes call it.

Um and you cannot use uh that levy for any other purpose but debt service, so only for paying principal and interest, not operations or anything else.

So I'll turn to slide six.

Um a general obligation bond measure is brought to voters, voters are being asked to authorize a maximum principal amount or face amount of of bonds.

So that's typically in, well, it can be very small, it can be very large, um, depending on the community.

Um voters are also asked to uh authorize a maximum term for those bonds.

So that might be 20 years or 30 years, um, and that term limit uh applies to each series issued under that authorization.

Um we also provide estimates of the impact on taxpayers, um, the expected levy rate or estimated levy rate uh the that that will um uh be effective as a result of uh the uh general obligation bond measure passing.

That's an estimate, it's not binding, it's not a commitment.

Um so that's not what voters are that's being provided as information for voters, it's not what voters are being asked to approve.

So I'll turn to slide seven.

Um this is just a rough outline of the steps leading up to uh a bond election, and specifically the May 2026 uh uh election.

Um so in order to uh submit a uh a ballot measure for consideration on May 19th of next year, uh the council would need to adopt an election resolution and publish notice of receipt of the ballot title no later than February 27th.

And Golgan, if you have anything to add on this, since this is your specialty.

Perfect.

That's all the validation I need.

So that's why we're here right now.

And that's planning, drafting an election resolution, you know, putting all those pieces together to bring something to council in in the next couple of months.

And that would that would permit voters to consider uh something uh next May.

I'll turn to slide eight.

And this is uh just sort of for reference what happens after an election, and presuming a positive outcome, um there are many steps that have to happen between that that uh that election date and then uh any bond issue that that um uh is authorized under that um that election.

Bond issue typically typically takes about three months from start to finish.

So if the city were to take measure to voters in May and voters were to say yes, uh it could be in the bond market um as early as sometime in August, just to give you kind of a rough sense of timing there.

Much of the work after the election takes place at the staff and uh advisor level, um preparing uh application to credit rating agencies, uh preparing a disclosure document, which we call the preliminary official statement.

Um, but uh the council would be asked to authorize uh the bonds, even though you would authorize uh an election resolution and and ask voters for their approval, you would still subsequently need to approve the bonds um uh under that that authorization.

So there's multiple steps uh where council would be asked to kind of uh weigh in and and and uh authorize any financing.

I'll go to slide nine.

Um this kind of gets back to uh the the items that uh Eric mentioned as far as um decision points and and uh uh areas of guidance.

Um most general obligation bonds are somewhere in the 20, and and most you know long-term financing for municipalities generally is in the 20 to 30 year range.

Uh the bond market uh is generally accepting of terms up to 30 years.

Um regardless of what term the year the uh the bond measure takes, um municipal bonds can generally be refinanced after year 10.

So whether it's a 20-year term or a 30-year term, year 10 is when you get that that opportunity to refinance.

Um there are a couple of ways to structure bond issues.

Um uh some general obligation bond issuers will sell debt with payments that increase a little bit year over year, with the uh the intent of creating a roughly uh uh equal levy rate each year.

So as assessed value goes up, um debt service goes up as well, and the idea being that you kind of kind of sort of get to an approximately level uh uh levy rate.

That's not really possible because you can't predict exactly where those things will go.

Um, but that's pretty common, especially for school districts, and that is what the city did uh back in 2011.

Uh you can also sell general obligation bonds with level annual payments, and so as assessed values go up, the the effective rate goes down a little bit because the payment stays the same.

Uh I think an important consideration, and Eric, I think you'll speak to this in a little bit, is um as you're considering any general obligation bond measure is whether there is any other financing uh attached to the overall funding plan.

So whether the general obligation bond measure is the sole source of financing or whether there is any other sort of non-voted debt uh included as well.

Um and a related consideration is if a general obligation bond measure is part of the is the financing package, is the intent to make those payments exclusively with property tax revenues or with a mix of property tax revenues and uh other other sources such as water rate revenues.

I'll turn to slide 10.

Uh and there's a lot of text here.

Some of this isn't actually all that relevant necessarily at this point in time, but I do want to flag that there are there are limits to general obligation debt.

Um the city is well below its current debt limit, uh, which is about 270 million dollars right now.

other other sources um such as water rate revenues I'll turn to slide 10 uh and there's a lot of text here some of this isn't actually all that relevant necessarily um at this point in time but I do want to flag that there are there are limits to general obligation debt um uh the city is well below its current debt limit uh which is about 270 million dollars right now uh that's three percent of your real market value um and the timing of of general obligation bonds is is pretty um particular um I mentioned August as a possible sale date if for a May election and that's not just a random date on the calendar we have to be pretty intentional about when bonds are sold relative to the property tax cycle so we can't be too too late in that cycle or too far ahead of that cycle um in order to kind of get the the levies to line up with the sale of the bonds I'll turn to slide 11 and just walk through just some illustrative examples of um some of the choices um and we looked at four different alternatives uh these are again preliminary estimates so subject to change but looked at uh uh uh bond sizes of 130 million dollars to 150 million dollars over 20 and 30 year terms um we're assuming here two series of bonds staggered by a few years so under each of these in uh scenarios there's there's a two series of bonds um and we're targeting uh an increasing levy uh increasing debt service payments so targeting a roughly level levy rate so dollar uh dollars per thousand of assessed value uh the log the longer unsurprisingly perhaps the longer the term the higher the interest rate so a longer term financing comes with a higher interest rate um the longer the term actually the the greater the total debt service so I do want to flag that scenarios B and D that total debt service is actually incorrect should be 291 million and 335 million dollars so the longer term alternatives have more payments over more years so there the total cost um uh to the city would be greater over the life of that debt but the longer the term me I'm sorry yes I could you just repeat those numbers again because I was trying to do the math because I was like I don't think that's right.

So it was 291 million and what was the other one?

It was 335 million for scenario D.

So for uh correctness safe sake can we get that corrected on the slide deck that's posted to the public?

Thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah and my my apologies.

I know there's a lot of moving parts here so I hate to hate to introduce more confusion.

So the longer the term the more the total cost but the longer term alternatives also have slightly lower annual payments because those payments are spread out over a longer period of time and so a longer term uh would also result in a lower estimated levy rate um because again those those dollars are spread out over a longer period of time.

20 and 30 years I think it's important to note those are uh this is intended to sort of illustrate a concept there's no magic you know you you can choose 21 years or 27 years or 19 years uh you know there's not these are not binary choices and I think um that's the end of my prepared remarks but I would be happy to uh dive into some of these concepts or hand it to Eric to talk a bit about kind of the the polling and and the next uh the next section thank you Nick and before we shift to that I do want to check in and see if there's questions from council on Duncan's presentation.

Okay so Duncan I just have um two quick questions.

So and maybe Eric this is for you the 130 million versus the 150 is that a suggestion because we would use other revenue tools or that the refinement of the cost might be 130.

So thank you for that question.

So going back to our presentation I believe that was in September.

So we had first initially presented a range between 130 million to 150 million so that is where we came up with that scenario.

One of the later slides we'll get to later today we talk about the risk um and the uh contingency factors that we are planning for so we are very confident in the 150 million dollar figure to deliver the the facility and the deliver on the project uh that being said uh since we uh the the 130 million um is a lower confidence number and so that that's the reason we had presented a range um and that could you know present a scenario where uh there could be a need for additional other revenue sources uh but it it's uh again these are just estimates at this point um and the second one um can it excuse me for my ignorance or not understanding this my background is more on school bonds um so large issuance multiple projects multiple years so what I was curious about is the issuant dates of 26 and 29 and because I thought the the work had to be done within that three years to keep the tax exemption in what we have been saying is if the bond passes in May we would you know do the the golden shovel um in 26 and hopefully a ribbon cutting in twenty eight so it seems like the work is done so we would be issuing in 2020

Um so large issuance, multiple projects, multiple years.

So what I was curious about is the issuance dates of 26 and 29, and because I thought the the work had to be done within that three years to keep the tax exemption in what we had been saying is if the bond passes in May, we would you know do the golden shovel um in 26 and hopefully a ribbon cutting in 28.

So it seems like the work is done.

So we would be issuing in 29 seems late to me.

So I was curious about that.

Yeah, I I that's a great point, and and I think that's actually that that is correct.

I think these would be you know subject to a further refinement, and if that is the case, then that second bond issue would either uh move up in time or potentially combine be combined into a single uh single issue.

But bond series under the same authorization.

Yeah, that's a great point.

Okay, thank you very much.

Okay.

Uh Counselor Sean, then counselor Robbins.

And thank you very much, Eric.

That was really helpful.

And I know we talked earlier about the 130 million versus the 150 million, and it makes me think if um hopefully this doesn't happen if we were to go into somewhat of a COVID or tariff situation again, that would exponentially raise the cost.

So really having the 150 million ensures that we can cover the the cost because it includes contingencies.

Is that correct?

That's correct.

Uh based on some of the uh the I mean we have brought on a uh our CMGC consultant as well as we have our project director and uh the the consent uh of the project team is that the 150 is a uh high confidence figure allowing for things like unknowns such as tariffs.

Uh I would say a a global pandemic might not be something that we're planning for, though.

Um that doesn't happen.

Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation, all the numbers.

I really appreciate it.

Um I know even at my work we're doing a construction thing that we've been working on for a couple years, and in a meeting today we were told, oh, we need more money, so we have to go back and get more money because the tariffs are costing everything more.

Um making everything cost more, I'm sorry.

Um, but then the tariffs were just ruled to be illegal.

So say we don't we get some money back, right?

What happens if we don't spend the whole 150 million?

Do we pay that money back sooner and the levy rate comes down?

Is my first question.

And then my uh so let's do that one first.

Well, I I'm gonna take this a little bit and then ask Gulga to chime in as well, because I think that's a that's a great hypothetical question.

I if I I will say that depending on when that when that when this uh scenario happens in sort of the life cycle of the bond, if it's be the the city would not be obligated to issue the whole the full authorization.

So if this happens early on, you could say, well, in order to deliver the project, we don't need to sell the full 130 or 150 or whatever the number is.

If it happens after those bonds are sold, I think that's a different question.

Um do you have any.

I guess is there a prepayment penalty, right?

Like when you buy your car and pay it off early.

Yeah, and um so I mean just reiterate Duncan's is the most elegant solution, right?

That what we're what you're asking voters is the right to issue up to X amount, but you don't have an obligation to issue the full amount.

Okay.

So you can always issue less, which will save you the most money, because then you're not incurring any interest.

If you do issue an amount and then you find that you have extra money left over, call me because you'll be the first person in that boat that I've worked with in 25 years, which would be great.

Um but you legally are required to use the proceeds of geo bonds for projects.

So the only thing you can use those proceeds for if there are no projects available, is to pay down the the borrowing.

And depending on the timing and how the deal is structured, there are various ways to do that.

You can prepay, you can defease, you can just set aside money and pay down the levy each year.

It'll really depend on the facts.

Okay.

And my second question is since we're looking at doing this in two series of bonds, one next year and then one in 2029, does is it all going to be approved in May of this year?

Okay, yes.

And then what does that look like in 2029?

Like what does it look like in 2026?

Are you know you have the average levy rate of maximum is 0.87.

So does that mean that in 2026 or 27 it goes you get that full 0.87, or does do you do half of that and then half in 20?

I just want to know what people are looking at in their bills, right?

What do they see in the property tax bill?

Yeah, that's a great question.

I guess I I would first say that I think again, if if the construction window is is shorter than that 2029, that's that's not, I don't think we're presenting that as here is the plan.

Um so again, this could be potentially combined into a single series of bonds.

There are sort of some pros and cons of taking one versus two bytes at the Apple.

Um if if it is set if it is uh the authorization is split into two series of bonds, so single vote, but two series of bonds sold you know a year or two apart.

Um and the direction is to try to target an approximately level uh levy rate, then REAC would just structure the first series of bonds with higher payments in the first couple of years and then sort of wrap the and then drop down to accommodate that second series of bonds.

Um I actually have an uh if we go if we go to like slide 17, I can kind of show what that looks like.

Again, this is I don't want to put too much stock into a into a hypothetical example, but we can structure that dark blue series here is that first series of bonds, that light blue would be the second series of bonds, and so you just kind of layer them on top of each other so there's not this big spike in the tax rate with the two series of of bonds being layered on.

And that's all arranged in advance in the plan with whoever buys the bond package.

Right.

That's that's the that's the charge of of the this team that you see in front of you.

Um then theoretically, the just this gradually increasing, but the levy rate doesn't increase, correct?

Under this scenario, no.

I mean it the levy rate is an estimate because again, it it's not possible to be 100% to forecast that completely accurately.

Right.

Once we pass and we take the money, then the levy rate is set, right?

And our payments might go up, or is it the other way?

It's a little confusing, and so I think everyone would have.

No, it these are all great questions.

The debt service, so the the payments on the bonds would be finalized when those bonds are sold.

Okay.

So the investors are agreeing to a specific repayment stream, which cannot be altered by them.

Um it can be refinanced by the city down the road.

Um and then the resulting levy impact will depend on exactly what happens to assessed values both citywide and then for particular property owners.

Um just pretend that my neighbor's house has the exact same assessed value for five years, which I know is unreasonable, but let's just say that.

Will their tax payment be the same every year or will it change for this levy?

If go ahead.

If if you don't mind me jumping in on this question, I think it would be safe.

I think it would be easier to explain this if we assumed a 3% growth uh on assessed value.

So the way the financing is structured is so that our payments on debt services going to increase by about 3% per year, so that their rate only increases also by 3% per year, and that it's not going to spike um uh due to high higher payment terms in the future.

Now, if we if the debt service was the same over like the 20-year period, the the taxpayer on the assessed value, since their assessed value is going up by 3%, their payment actually goes down on property taxes.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you.

See how easy that was.

Thank you.

You did great job.

You should do this.

Eric's got council speak down.

Um other questions?

Um okay, Eric, go ahead.

All right.

So um I sorry I don't have the page numbers right in front of me.

If we could go back to uh page 12, please.

All right.

So I did want to share some data points from polling results over the last two polls.

Uh so there was a poll conducted back in November 2024.

Uh, and then uh there's actually a um a mistake and date up there.

So that September is actually the May 2025 poll results.

Um so just again, apologize.

We'll we'll edit this in the final version or uh on the uh on the public uh document.

Um so for the November 2024 2024 poll, um, so just some a few data points there.

Um this is a note on the slide, but I just want to add some more additional context.

Uh so we tested 150 million dollar bond, and at the start of the poll, there was a net 45% support and a net uh 39% um opposed.

Uh but then at the end of the um uh the survey after explaining the needs of the bond, um the support had increased to 53 percent.

Um as part of this poll result too, we did test the 20-year versus the 30-year term.

But from a statistical standpoint, to me, it was explained that it's it there's no real notable difference between the two.

And then going ahead to the May 2025 results.

So at the beginning of the poll, again, kind of the same same way as the November poll, there was we tested the 150 million dollar um figure uh for support, and it was at 45% support and then 39% opposed.

And then again at the end of the poll, the um the support increased to 47%.

At this time we at the May poll, um we didn't we did not test the bond terms at this time.

Uh however, we did poll for um whether or not respondents would support a utility bill increase to pay for the project.

Um and uh generally speaking, the there's 43% opposed to increasing utility bills versus 30% that supported that.

If that could be changed to the May 25, um I would appreciate as well.

Thank you.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Uh next slide, please.

Oh Councilor Goodisi?

Clarified question for this one where it says the 47% supported and then the 43% opposed.

Did the 43% that oppose support a 120 million dollar bond, or they oppose the bond altogether?

That was opposed to the bond altogether, I believe.

Um was the question of a 120 million dollar bond or 30 asked at that time?

Uh the lower figure was not asked uh for the poll.

Um to the next slide, please.

Uh so back in September we did have hold a project open house uh held at the uh uh the community center at the library.

Um and so uh at this event uh we had a um uh a sample of what the project could look like, uh what the facility could look like and different booths.

Um and so with uh our team, so the finance team had a booth uh at this event as well, and we had uh done a dot poll um to survey responses between a 20 and 30 year term.

Um the event was attended by uh approximately 60 people or so based on the respondents uh for the poll.

Um it's a it's a limited sample size, admittingly, uh with 21 responses, but with uh slightly with a leaning towards the 20-year term.

Um but more importantly, um some of the things that we heard uh from uh some of the people that stopped by the booth, uh, some of the themes, uh particularly those that supported the 20-year bond, um, was that um they were interested in having lower interest costs and paying off debt more quickly.

Um and then one other comment that we heard was that shorter duration could create opportunities for earlier access to capital in 20 years, um as there would be uh an opportunity to ask again if that was if there was a need.

Um and then for the 30 year um overwhelming overwhelmingly the response was um considerations for affordability.

Uh next slide, please.

Uh so uh uh again, so this was the this is the uh diagram that I was referring to earlier about where we are in the process in terms of how we're evaluating risk um for the for the cost of the project.

So we are still left of that center dot um in terms of how we are forecasting and estimating the cost of this project.

So um we have a lot of project contingency um in this um in the uh estimated budget um when we're talking about the 150 million dollar amount.

Um and again, as we have once we get the GMP, we'll have uh more confidence in the actual number um and we'd expect the contingency to go down and uh further refinement in our cost estimates for this project.

So uh any questions on this one since we uh there were a few questions earlier.

Okay, okay.

Uh next slide, please.

Um so just to uh wrap up, um so uh there's a lot of information that was presented to council.

Um and so we have uh a few key areas of guidance um that we're asking for from council.

Uh so the again just to reiterate those questions.

The the first question is um does council support the bond amount of 150 million dollars and does council have preference for the bond duration?

And then lastly, does council support funding the project all through a GO bond?

Um one thing that we have not covered uh is actually uh whether or not uh should any portion of the project be funded by um those that are in the tiger water service area, uh including Tiger Water District, King City, and Durham that are not property taxpayers.

Um with that uh open to any questions.

Um and uh if there's any questions that help you in your decision making, uh we we are also happy to come back and provide more uh information too.

Okay, with that, then I think um Dr.

King, if you'd like the questions addressed, I can start with you, Counselor Gaducy, and we can um uh trying to be mayor who here efficiently and quickly uh walk through that, but I want to give you each an opportunity to respond.

Thank you.

We just have a little bit of information what it would look like if we had part of it funded by the Tiger Water District, Kane City in Durham.

Uh that's an excellent question.

So uh there uh um so I'll say just this is not um concrete yet in terms of um there's a lot of legal implications that we would have to consider um in terms of what's feasible.

Um but just off the cuff um idea would be through uh water rates.

Um I know earlier we had talked about um whether or not voters would support um water rate increase.

Um but um the the only way to pass on costs to to those district uh to those jurisdictions would be through utility rates, um as they are part of the tiger water service area.

So an example would be a portioning up uh part of the project um to be paid through water rates, uh which would include thing uh possibly a water revenue bond, or it could be paid through a geobond as well.

Um could there be an additional assessment then for the Tiger Water District Kings City and Durham?

So I I think that's one of the the legal points that I I don't have the answer to.

Yeah.

So council, by IGA, all of the uh areas in the water service area have to have the same rate.

So we could not attach separate rates or separate assessments to those cities.

Um in terms of looking at portions that could possibly be funded by others, would the EOC be the primary thing that we would be we would be building that would support King City and Durham?

I I think if we're talking about what would be equitable for for those jurisdictions would be the portion of servicing um the the water portion of the building.

Um so um we are uh primarily service water service providers in those jurisdictions, so that's um again, that's only a portion also of the public work side of the building.

So it'd be um if and we would have to run through a few different scenarios, but that that's where I would think would make the most sense.

And then if we were to support the bond amount of 130 million and it went over, what would we have to do as a contingency plan?

Well, first I think I would I would call our financial advisors and see what our options are.

Um there would potentially uh um uh and we would have to have that conversation of what other funding sources uh we have um within our um either city reserves or if there are the grants or potentially another bond issuance at that time.

Um if we're talking about what sort of debt could be issued without voter approval, that would be like a revenue bond.

And so if if that were to be the case and um you know there could potentially be a request, uh but again, these are all theoreticals.

Uh if if if we're to go with the 130 million dollar bond and it came if 20 million over budget, um we there would have to be a number of different scenarios that we'd have to explore.

Any other ideas?

Counselor Sats.

Thank you.

So you're you're looking for sort of just direct answers on these four questions.

Is that what you'd like, Director King?

Uh yes.

Okay.

Yes to 150 million, I'm undecided on the bond duration, because I there's just a lot that goes into this.

Um I can understand the policy benefits on both sides, but um my increasing concern um is ensuring the passage of this bond measure if uh may if the May election is our um date.

Um just understanding that affordability is a very key concern.

The flip side of that is uh of course if we have a longer term bond that is uh a lower amount that people have to pay, uh they're gonna have to pay it for a lot longer.

So it's it's you're not gonna escape it.

It's just what's more palatable and manageable for people's day-to-day lives.

And um well, part of me from a policy perspective is really attracted to the 20-year bond.

If I have to make a a yes or no decision on one, I would be voting 30 year bond, just considering the climate that we're in right now.

Um we need this project, uh we need this bond measure passed, we need to get this project done.

And I think that's a more viable path to ensure the success of that project in that bond measure.

Um and then it comes to uh the surprise of no one that I would love to explore whether a portion of this project can be funded by the Tigrid Water District, King City in Durham.

Um they are all folks that um use public works as part of you know their water utility service provider.

So it would be awesome to find a way to um to leverage that, but uh I have no objections to if that's not feasible to funding at all through a Go bond.

So I think that covers all my bases.

Thank you.

Thanks, Councillor Schlack.

Counselor Caducy, did you want to give specific responses?

Yes, I would prefer the 130 million for 20 years, and if we can go through others to fund it, that would be great.

Thank you.

Um I'll go ahead and go and then just keep going down the um, Councillor Caduce.

If I could clarify the figure in the range was the 130 year time and 130 afterwards, I said I see 20, 130.

Thank you.

So 130 on 20 years, though.

Did I hear that?

Yeah.

Okay.

Um I um thought that counselor uh Schwack said it very um uh succinctly and clearly, and I support um his logic on all fronts.

Um and I don't take uh the added interest lightly by any stretch, but I do uh echo that um the uncertainties of where we are, what's possible and this facilities uh project is just critical.

Um it's not gonna get cheaper.

Uh we need to get it uh passed and palatable to our community, and it is so necessary as I once again walked through the police department last night and public works, so just really um more motivated than I already was to really communicate that, but support um uh the 150 and the 30.

And am very curious about that component of the water piece that could um be leveraged by our um users.

So with that, um uh and I will look to um our youth counselor to give input.

I also agree with the 150, because you mentioned that in the crazy world where if there was any extra, it could go towards paying off the debt, correct?

So I feel like that is good and safe.

And I agree with the as pretty as 20 years looks.

It's just it's a lot more difficult to commit to and say and feel stable in.

And I'm just what would it look like on um utility bills and taxes if it was if there was a portion funded by Tiger Water District?

I am just curious how that would look for everyone else.

Uh I think off the cuff that would be difficult to answer.

Uh we'd have to run some financial analysis.

Um I mean, if we were to say we could run a different number of scenarios.

So one could be a scenario of uh what a portion of this building would be for water, and then we could um estimate that construction costs and then give an example of what would the impact be on rates uh to fund a portion of that on a similar size bond issue.

Um so that could be probably a that would probably be the most comparable thing that I would look at.

Um but again, um we would uh as there are many other financing options for this bond, there are many different options for for from a utility rate standpoint as well.

That is just one example.

And to that point, I was just recalling from our revenue discussion, we have a rate studies that come up regularly.

Do you recall offhand when the next water rate study is if anyone from the public works team is online, they can correct me if I'm wrong.

Uh but I believe we're engaging in the water rate study in 26.

Because if effectively, if we went off of the water rate example, there will be a portion that is on the property tax, which is the line share of it.

And then we would have to uniformly increase water rates in order to get any revenues from those areas.

And so that which you know we have feedback on from the public.

So anyway, thank you for letting me uh speak twice.

So in that I want to make sure, so we're not gonna be penalizing anyone and having them pay in essence twice, both from the property tax perspective and a water bill perspective, correct uh if if we were to explore the if a portion to be funded by Target Water Um for the in the Tiger Water service area, um the the bond amount should be reduced a proportionate to that amount that would increase that be that would cause an increase on utility bills.

That would that would be what I would expect.

Okay, because I would not be in favor of those who are tigered residents having to pay twice.

So with that, I too would be supportive of the 150 million.

Um I'm always one who believes in paying it off more quickly, it's less expensive, but for the same succinct reasons from Council President Wolf and Councillor Schlack, um, I would be amenable to the 30-year, and I would be interested in exploring a portion to be funded by others as long as it's not a negative impact.

So there's not a double dip or double tax.

Thank you.

Um I also would support 150 million just because with rising prices and just what I saw at work today where they need another 30 million or something, it um insane.

It that we should just ask for the top amount.

If we don't spend it all, great, but at least we have that option.

Um I also for the same reasons of supporting a 30-year bond.

I realized that the survey results were kind of half and half, and there was quite a few responses saying um it's smarter in the long term, less interest, we can go back and get more money later.

But what I'm hearing day to day in the neighborhood in the community is I opened my tax bill and it's too high, right?

It's it's higher.

People are can so I I think if we want this to be able to pass, we should go for a more affordable number.

If in 10 years things are looking brighter, we can refinance at that time and and do something more economically responsible.

Um also you know, it just kind of spreads it out for for everybody a little bit more because 30 years is a long time out.

Um I also believe that we should include the people in the the water advisory board districts, you know, the Tigered Water District, King City and Durham, in particular because they get their water from us, and that's a large part of public works.

Also, it's my understanding that while the city of Durham has its police coverage through Tualeton and King City has its own police coverage.

We actually all share kind of, and it's not like a tigered police officer won't go help you if you're right over the border, you know, whoever's fastest.

So they would also benefit if we had a more functional, safer police department and and police facility.

My one concern is um because we've heard a lot recently from our renters or people advocating for rental protections and the rental registry, is that typically property taxes are paid by the property owner.

If that owner owns a rental property, of course they they will take that into account with their rent, but the water bill is paid by the renters.

So that may be better because for the owners they're paying less and the renters paying some, but but it is shifting the burden from somebody who owns property in Tiger to somebody who's living here but renting.

So it's just something to think about.

It might only be a five or ten dollar a month increase, I think, but um that that could still be difficult for some people.

Thank you all.

Do you have what you need, Director King?

Uh yes, I believe I have what I need, and then so just as a just tack on as a follow-up, then uh at a future council meeting, uh we'll uh come back and uh provide a few different scenarios uh related to um the tiger water district uh or the tiger water service areas and what those what that could potentially look like.

Um and there'll be uh um a lot more discussions around bonds uh over the next couple months.

Okay.

Thank you all very much.

Um I think with that we will move um to our next item, which is the council direction on fiscal year 27 social services and community event grants.

And with that, Director King remains.

Uh good evening again.

Um again for the record, uh Eric Kang Finance Director.

Um I do have a slide um deck for this portion of the agenda.

So if we could wait for that while we're waiting for the slides to come up, uh I just want to share a little bit about the uh social service and community events grant program and the timeline and why we're here uh to discuss this today.

Um so typically the grant applications uh for this program open up in January and they get awarded through the grant subcommittee.

Um and for the funding and um the results of the funding decisions get um decided through the budget process and they are funded in the following fiscal year.

Uh so um so grants um that would be applied for in January would be funded effectively July 1st, uh 2026.

Uh so if we move on to the next slide, please.

And so the uh objectives for today uh is to receive direction from council um looking for direction on the programmatic direction um for the grant program uh as well as direction on priorities that uh uh such of the categories that the the grants fund.

Uh next slide, please.

Uh so I do want to start off um uh talking about some of the challenging uh fiscal headwinds um that Tiger is facing.

Um so looking at our operating budget um for Tiger, uh we are currently um during our preliminary estimates, we're showing uh approximately a six million dollar uh budget gap.

Um and over the course of the next several months uh we'll be refining these numbers and figuring out ways to close that gap.

And we do have a more much more in-depth conversation um scheduled next month on January 20th um to go over um some of these uh uh to discuss the financial headwinds.

And so um so that that is a cont one of the contexts of why we're having this conversation.

And so the first question um uh that we are looking for direction on is whether or not we should continue the social service and community events grant at the current service level.

And so if you go over to the next slide, please uh there are a few different scenarios um uh that we we were looking into.

Um so the first scenario, uh this kind of gives you an example of what our current state is uh if we were to fund at the current service levels, um, about just under 300,000 is funded through the general fund and about 50,000 from uh from transient lodging tax.

Um on the option two, if we were to consider reduce if council were to give direction to reduce funding, um, there would be uh a uh scenario where we could maintain the TLT funding um since that is separate from the general fund.

Um but then there's also a council resolution um where 20% of the local marijuana tax revenue uh would still go towards this program.

Um that is an obligation set by a previous council, but there's not a uh like a regulatory legal obligation to do so.

Um and then option three would be to temporarily pause our program until uh funding outlook improves.

Um if you go to the next slide, please.

Uh so that was the first question around um programmatic direction, and then considering the um priorities uh for the program.

Uh so the the ones that are listed above there, there are five categories um that the social services portion of the grant program has focused on.

So those are the housing, houselessness, uh, affordable after school, educational programming, health care, hunger, um, and immigrant and refugee resources.

Um so we are asking for direction on whether or not these categories still resonate with council.

Um yeah, so that's on the um so just moving on to the next piece.

Um on the community events grant portion, um, the the programmatic priorities are primarily for economic, artistic, and cultural benefit to tiger residents and businesses.

Um so as we're talking about some of the priorities, uh we we have heard from council um uh that there's a potential desire um to modify some of these priorities.

Uh I think we've also had different conversations in the past about um uh I I know hunger is already up there um as one of the priorities, but you know, there's considerations for um uh uh the uh community members are impacted by federal immigration enforcement.

Uh there's consideration for things like um um like eviction prevention, uh those are some of the things that could be um thrown in into one of the into these programmatic categories.

Uh so if we go to the next slide, please.

And so uh so again, just to reiterate the question, uh does council want to continue with these same priorities uh for the upcoming grant cycle uh and and and do these still resonate with council.

So the the two uh two questions that we're asking uh for council direction on are uh the programmatic direction and then what whether or not these priorities resonate.

Sorry, I just have a quick uh clarifying question.

Um the fireworks or the drone show, I'm sorry, that is while it wasn't part of this process was um TLT dollars, is that correct?

That is correct.

So uh pre um I believe um the Tiger Fourth of July fireworks show ended in 23.

Um at that time that was run by a um a nonprofit.

And so there was a grant made to the nonprofit to do the firework show.

Um and then once um that organization no longer continued, we took on the firework the firework show, which turned to the drone show, uh, but it is TLT funded um and not part of this um process.

Okay.

Uh thank you for that, because it helps when I think about what that um impacts it's it's a specific fund.

Um okay, so um direction around um what are our funding options and whether we should have the same program priorities.

Uh actually, Council Robbins, I'll start with you and work the opposite way.

Um first I have a quick question.

What is our estimated TLT funding income for this year?

You know, we have the the marijuana tax of 31,703.

Um what do you think the TLT will be?

So I know we we uh I believe uh there was a presentation just a few weeks ago on the forecast, but I don't have the number directly off the top of my head, but as a rough estimate, it's somewhere around 700,000 annually.

Um about 30 percent of that goes towards the general fund.

Um I can't remember, was there another part to your question, Counselor?

Oh that that was it.

So I mean, so that kind of sounds like so 700,000 for TLT, 30 percent goes to the general fund, and that's all we can do, right?

We can't increase that.

So that's like 200, 250,000 going to the general fund.

So then 450,000 left.

Um and we're still getting our strategy coming soon.

Um but the TLT dollars that we awarded last year was just under 50,000.

So it seems like we can fund all of these things using the TLT dollars for the community events.

Um because it that's only 50,000, and then however much we pay for 4th of July, um, which I think we're probably gonna reduce that, but it you know, so we think we still have the money for that.

Um whereas the social oh I guess so then there is the 50,000 for community events that we spent 52,000 that are not TLT.

And um that's a shame because some of those are are important, I think.

But um, but then this community social services grants, you know, we're estimating for fiscal year the marijuana tax to be about 31,000.

And last year we gave 220,000.

So that's like a cut of 200,000 of what we would spend on social service grants this year.

Um so I'm really torn because on the one hand we don't we may not have the money, but at the same time, we're cutting money from people who need this money.

So um so um so I without knowing more about future budget, I would recommend I would agree with cutting it 20 percent.

Is that what the option was?

Um, it says at least 20 percent of the local marijuana tax.

Correct.

So the the option two, if we could go back to I believe slide um three or four.

Am I making this way too hard?

Yeah.

Uh so the the the I think you're referring to option number two, which is a reduction in funding.

So um so one of the options I that was presented here is to maintain the TLT funding, so that um as you stated earlier, the the $50,000 from TLT that's already existing, and then uh 20% of um the local marijuana tax revenue, um, which again would be about the $30,000 amount.

Um I can't remember exactly off the top of my head, but yes.

31,703.

Yes.

Um is there any opportunity to go back to the legislature or go back to the governor and say, can we have a one-time um carve out or permission to use more of our TLT funds for social services?

Is that completely off the board or out of my mind?

Or I wouldn't say you're out of your mind, but the timing is is challenging given that this was a topic discussed during the last uh legislative session and it's uh almost certainly not being introduced in the short session.

We might revisit in 27.

Okay.

Okay.

I I think um I I know this is a difficult conversation to have.

Uh one of the things uh as far as context that I would just share um from a fiscal challenge standpoint, you know, Tiger is not alone in what we're facing.

Uh other jurisdictions are um seeing significantly higher uh budget deficits, and um so cities like Beaverton have discontinued their grant program because of the fiscal challenges of that they're facing.

Um in terms of where we are positioned in the region.

Um I I I believe Tiger actually has the highest number of grants um in Washington County that we provide to for nonprofits.

Okay.

So then I would go for option two, some form of option two of reducing funding but still keeping it and perhaps reassessing our priorities based on current current situation.

Um thank you.

Yeah, I mean obviously I think all of us would want to continue with option one, but um given that uh fiscal responsibility and that we will see reduction in revenues between our city hall, Salem and DC.

Uh illustrates that we must do something.

Um given that um option two, but um I would not want at all to uh reduce the community event grants awards.

So I think that's vital to our community, and so I'd want option two to also include community event event grant awards, it could be reduced, but I think then it's up to the grants subcommittee to decide where those dollars go.

So I would say I would amend option two to include the community events um grant awards.

Uh and willing also potentially to talk about option three, but I don't think we're at that timing yet.

Thank you.

Youth Councilor Howitt.

I think that I am just gonna say the exact same thing that counselor Robins said.

Um and I think just going with option two and reassessing what are they called?

Priorities, thank you.

Would just be the best option for right now.

Um yeah, I I I think I'm gonna uh hit repeat on option two.

I mean, I don't know if there's a way to look at some of the events.

I mean, I think it's clear that they know whether their audience is you know um aligns with TLT criteria on the 50 miles.

Um I don't know if there's um some that uh that maybe do hit that.

Um if tigered safe grads go outside of 50 miles, does that count in reverse?

I'm just kidding.

Um because they usually go to Zalem, right?

Um but I actually would specifically like to see uh, and I think this should be the budget subcommittee because um I think their participation would be great to refine the list um and get sharp.

So we're not just reducing small amounts across everybody, but get really sharp about fundamental needs.

Um not that all these aren't hugely important, but maybe really refined focus.

And then proud that Tiger has contributed so much to our community.

Um, but um also recognize the gap we have.

So thank you.

Uh Counselor Shay.

Thank you.

Um Council President Wolf.

And um this one um stings a lot to talk about because this is where I cut my teeth as a budget committee member.

I remember um then counselor wolf and me just as a regular volunteer budget committee member in Red Rock coming up with those priority levels and coming up with the the process.

You were you were there, Eric.

You remember all of this, yes.

So near and dear to my heart, but you know my response, what I view my responsibility as as a city councilor is to maintain our core services to our residents in spite of fiscal headwinds.

And I also take really seriously the fact that uh as a city counselor, I'm partially responsible for over 350 uh employees at the city of Tiger.

Um I'm also someone as the council knows well when it comes to funding matters that um will always try to act as proactively and decisively as possible.

So I would actually pursue option three to ensure as much flexibility in our general fund as possible because of the uncertainty in our situation.

And because as counselor Shaw pointed out, it's not just local funding that we're seeing restrictions in.

It's restruction uh restrictions at the state and federal level as well.

And we just don't quite know, I think how this is going to shake out, not just next fiscal year, but the fiscal year after.

That's just my style, though.

Uh I'm totally fine with with option two and seeing what we can do to try and keep um all elements happy, but I would pursue option three for the reasons I stated.

Counselor Schlack, uh Counselor Gaducy.

Thank you, Council President.

Um I would pursue option two.

I feel the community event grants awards are vital to our community life.

So things like the Towalton River Keepers, the Safe Grass, a Downtown Alliance.

Um they're key to keeping our city what it is.

So I agree with Councillor Shaw.

Thank you.

Uh thank you.

Uh and then if we could uh move on to the um again, um slide number.

I think two slides or slides five, please.

Um whether or not these uh priorities still resonate with council.

Okay, I'll start since I've been ping ponging on both ends.

Um I mean I recognize these actually aren't issued until July 27.

Um so we don't know where we'll be at that point.

Um 26.

I um I'm just sorry.

Sorry.

Um but um I mean for I'm this goes back again to um and I know you need direction, Eric, but I really would like um those that have served on the budget committee on the subcommittee to give input as well.

I I think they have to shrink.

I immediately um jump to hunger um immigrant refugee resources.

Um I think as a city we do a lot for housing and houselessness already through a variety of resources, whether that's human resources.

Um so I'm just trying to think if we look at those and and I I didn't go line by line, what is a unique contribution that's meaningful and a priority for our community um and um streamline that list.

So that's where I am.

And with that, um counselor Schlack and then youth counselor Halleck, and we'll work our way up.

I was just gonna say three of the members of that subcommittee are here tonight.

Um Counselor Shaw, Councillor Robinson, myself.

So um, you know, I I was gonna say just I and I don't have a clean mapping of how all these services sort of you know what chunk of the pie they take, but um you know, health care and affordable um after school educational programming are probably the two smallest chunks.

We have a lot of money that would go to housing uh and houselessness services, how you know, in that very broad sort of universe of what that covers.

Uh we had a large increase in hunger before the SNAP benefits were paused.

And then, of course, I I know uh immigrant and refugee resources, as we saw with um public comment today is something that um many community members are concerned about.

So on one hand, I'd say just cut it down to hunger immigrant refugee resources and housing and houselessness, but I don't know how much of a dent that realistically makes with the sorts of grants that the um subcommittee has been awarding for the last several years.

Yeah, I think I everyone's just saying everything that I want to say.

I don't have anything else to add.

So just imagine I just said the exact same thing that counselor Schlack just said.

Very efficient.

Thank you, Counselor Helling.

Uh Counselor Badusi.

Um I feel that six months from now the world is going to be different, so it's hard to really create absolute set priorities.

That said, this seems like a reasonable set.

I do have to, you know, counter what Councillor Schlack said, having spent decades in school in health care.

I think those two things are very important as well.

So with respect, counselor, I'm not saying that those aren't important.

No, well, you're saying things like that on the public records.

So unfortunately, I need to counter them.

I'm not saying that as the person who was here years ago helping set those priorities.

I'm just saying if we're trying to reduce the list, those are the two that would have the least amount of dollars associated with it already.

Again, that doesn't really change the fact that if we have to cut things, we're gonna have to cut houselessness hunger and immigrant refugee services.

So fully support uh those efforts.

Um but I'm just gonna say no, I'm just there we are.

It's a public meeting.

Um counselor Shaw.

Thank you.

Uh I don't see any priority changes for the priority events for the priority social services.

I think if we indeed are seeing a downturn, um, having now been on the council a number of years on the subcommittee, um, I think we will see an increase in hunger.

I think we'll see an increase in those who aren't gonna need health care, um, whether they're uh young, young or older, um, between because we've funded different organizations like breast friends, but if you lose your job, you use oftentimes you use lose your health care.

So that's a concern.

Um so if we're looking at basic necessities, I would say the health care, the hunger, uh, immigrant refugee serv resources we did here today.

Also do believe we have a number of resources out there, but I do think that's important.

And so I'd narrow it down to those three.

Thank you.

Not and recognizing they're all very important, but given the financial situation.

I agree.

Um for me, the top priorities are hunger, um health care, because I'm in healthcare and we're seeing tremendous cuts.

One of our you know, local hospitals in Portland announced its closing in a couple weeks with the changes in um insurance benefits that's coming up with the ACA and cuts to Medicaid and everything, it's um it's gonna be very difficult for people.

So I do think that that is a priority.

And also the um, you know, I wanna say that everything will be resolved by next summer, but I think the immigrant and refugee resources that we have, which also bleeds over into schools because kids aren't going to school, people can't go get groceries, all those kinds of things.

So that that is a priority for me to look at when the time comes.

Um I believe that the city does a lot with housing and houselessness, so I would put that lower on the list.

I know when we were in the the committee last year, there was lots of requests for um services for houseless, and if we can, you know, we have just compassion here now, which does a great job providing a lot of services, so perhaps we need to um kind of draw some things together or streamline some things.

And and we had discussed that last year too.

So um just our little committee, and so those are my priorities.

So Director King, do you have direction?

I mean, you got direction, and they were kind of all over the map.

So when it really comes to presenting, you know, kind of a um zero-based budgeting kind of idea.

Are you do you have enough to kind of put that in motion?

Uh so we don't need a motion.

Uh so we've re so I have some feedback which is helpful for me today.

And so I think what um my suggestion going forward is that we synthesize this and um kind of come up with a matrix of where some of the categories are scoring the best, and then we'll return back um at a future discussion.

Um likely um at the next budget committee or or the following.

Um I realize we're bumping against a quick timeline.

It would be from the community-based members of the budget committee for to reach out and get their feedback as well.

I'd appreciate that.

So um okay.

Uh thank you very much.

And I think with that, um we will move to our legislative public hearing, ordinance amending time, place, and manner.

Um, and I don't know if I need to um I will open the public hearing.

Um at this point, um, I will um offer up anyone wishing to testify on this agenda item uh should have signed up on the testimony form at the front of the room.

Um there is a time limit and the time will be shown on the screen.

Um City Recorder Craig, we have anyone sign up.

And then actually at this time, I believe that we move to the staff report and then move into public comment.

So with that, um I welcome City County Houselessness liaison Cohen to give the staff report.

Welcome.

Good evening, City Council.

My name is Megan Cohen.

I am the City Count County Homelessness liaison for the city of Tiger.

And this evening I'm here to just give you a brief report before we uh go into public comment.

Um the topic is uh changes to our time, place and manner ordinance.

Um with that, I'm just gonna dive in.

Next slide, please.

Okay.

So this evening we are here for a public hearing on time place manner ordinance changes.

Um I just want to provide a reminder that this is one tool in our toolbox uh to respond to homelessness.

We have multiple other strategies to respond.

Um this is not uh the only way that we do that, uh, but we are focused on this ordinance and this strategy this evening and uh would like to look at the specific changes uh that are proposed to this ordinance.

Um as you can see, this uh is part of um an ongoing conversation that we've had.

Uh we, as part of the ordinance, provide an update every six months and look at changes, uh, review any changes that are needed to the ordinance.

Uh so we began doing that uh in August.

Um of course we have a much longer list uh prior to this of other changes we've made to the ordinance.

But starting in August, uh we had a conversation about uh exploring some time place manner changes.

Uh since then, we also had a presentation in October to solicit more specific direction on uh the changes that we wanted to see that you all wanted to see um in the ordinance.

Um this is part of um responding to the needs of our community and looking at what changes are needed in that ordinance.

Uh again, once we um if we decide to make changes this evening, uh we will still be reviewing and revising that ordinance um on the six-month basis as we move forward as well.

So just a reminder that I think as we look at these changes to allow time for the implementation of those changes and time for those to breathe before we may consider some other changes uh that are needed to implement on top of or in addition to that as well.

Um I also want to recognize uh that uh with the ongoing time place manner uh ordinance.

Um this is currently right now one iteration of multiple iterations of camping that we've seen in Tiger.

Um we've seen many different iterations, even before having a lot of the existing services that we have now.

Um I think the goal of um this ordinance, in addition to sort of responding to the state requirements that we have to allow camping, are to minimize the unintended consequences and the and reduce livability for all of our community members, both housed and unhoused.

Um so trying to do the best we can to ensure that our businesses can thrive, that folks have a safe place to stay, um, and that we're able to uh enforce and respond uh to the ordinance as charged.

Um just a quick uh situation report.

Right now, um, you know, we're we're experiencing uh recurring atmospheric rivers, which I feel like is a new term for me to say in the last couple years.

Um entering cold wet season.

Um we will uh have inclement weather shelters uh that will be activated when they hit the Washington County thresholds.

Um so there will be an option other than that.

Unfortunately, shelters are still at capacity with very long wait lists.

Um, and so there is this sort of time in between where folks are looking to camp.

We have seen um a huge improvement uh in the number of items that are outside on of the public works lawn area.

Um that has been just a combination of response from our street outreach team uh and our police working to address individual uh issues there.

Um they've uh engaged with folks there, and I think it also shows that the only sustainable solution we have to fixing any of this is to get folks into shelter and in housing.

Um and when that happens, we see um major change in what that looks like outside in our community.

Um so I'm really happy to report that there's um we've had several folks get into shelter, um, get into uh other types of supportive programs, um, and we've seen a reduction on the camping on the lawn as well.

Uh next slide, please.

Okay.

So we are uh have a list of proposed ordinance changes here.

Um a couple of the notable ones there are changing the hours for allowed camping from uh 7 p.m.

to 9 a.m.

to 7 p.m.

to 8 a.m., um which was feedback that we received from council.

Um and the other change is changing the sidewalk clearance that's required from 36 inches to 48 inches.

So you'll note that there.

Um a few of the other items here are sort of cleanup language.

So uh things uh like the note about safe lot.

Um we don't anticipate having the um safe parking site at City Hall permanently, but I do want to note that um safe parking sites.

There's sort of a uh exception language for the city hall safe parking site there that this would remove, but safe parking sites would fall under the definition of a homeless service site, so it would continue to be subject to the 500 foot uh no camping buffer that's applied to homeless service sites in general in there.

So just wanted to clarify that.

Um we have also um done a few things to clarify the uh sort of allowed camping area on the public works lawn.

So um have changed some language to reflect that and add uh additional prohibited properties for camping that are public properties that weren't formally listed in there.

So you should see those listed out.

Um and I'll be happy to um answer any additional questions that come up about that.

Next slide, please.

Uh there are a couple other supporting programs or services that we are doing alongside the ordinance change as it relates to camping.

Um that includes um prohibiting the use of the public works lawn during the day.

Um, so that would be prohibited use for everybody during those hours.

Um we have installed a split rail fencing that uh is along the landscaping.

You may have seen that out there on the public works lawn, and also to clearly designate the sort of defining line of where people can camp on the lawn, um and that is being enforced.

Uh and then um coordinating scheduled trash service along with street outreach to help folks consolidate their items, especially during the wet weather, a lot of things get ruined and really wet.

So helping folks uh reduce and consolidate those items and also get other um you know dry uh warm items uh as needed to replace those.

So those are a couple of the supporting programs and services.

I do want to note that as we um have been in this process, we have engaged with service providers with the chamber uh and other stakeholders to really identify um what is needed moving forward.

We have heard that really we're looking at what's the least bad option.

Um, you know, looking at uh having camping that's in an area where we're able to provide service to folks, we're able to have consolidated police response where we're able to clearly communicate rule changes to the folks that are camping outside, is a benefit to us over perhaps uh folks um in our neighborhoods outside of our businesses and having um that be less consolidated.

Um, and I know that has been a topic of discussion in the prior meetings that we've had about this, and that has been reiterated as we continue to ask about the proposed changes that are in front of us tonight.

Um that is the end of my presentation.

Thank you so much, Megan.

Uh questions, counselors.

Counselor Gaducy.

Because Mayor Who's not here, I'm gonna ask and be a stickler about some of the verbiage about the proposed changes on exhibit A.

Uh section D9.

The way that it's written, and I know you don't have it up and you don't have it memorized, but so I'm gonna read it out loud.

It says the changes to add except for camping on the lawn of the public works property, and that's the proposed addition.

It says a campsite must be limited with a spatial footprint of 12 feet by 12 feet.

And with that exemption, it implies that in that property you could have something larger than that 12 feet by 12 feet.

I understand that the intent is to allow the campsites to be within the 20 feet of other campsites, which is a part that's later on in that area.

So just a clarification on that.

That's correct.

It would apply to the to both pieces of that, the exception language.

Yeah.

So in this case, is the intent that the campsite can be larger than that 12 feet by 12 feet in the lawn of the public works area?

So it's not that it would be larger, but that uh we don't have the ability to block out 12 feet by 12 feet, so it might be a different dimension, but actually a smaller footprint.

So it's just the it's the challenge of not having marked spaces is what it's designed to get at.

So Robins, you want to ask that on your mic?

Why does it say accept?

Because it says except for camping on the lawn of the public works property, a campsite must be limited, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So that makes it sound like if you're going to camp somewhere other than public works.

The intent of the language as written.

So originally when designing the 12 feet by 12 feet and the 20 between campsites, it was thinking about individual camps throughout the city of Tiger.

Um we have this uh camp uh you know designated camp spot on the public works lawn now.

Um and we are not able to um it the intent of that language does not match what is happening on the lawn.

So having campsites that are going to be closer together because we are asking people to camp um on that location and recognizing that we are not managing it as a managed campsite as well.

Um but we don't allow camping anywhere other than on public works lawn, right?

So should we have a designation at this point of what the size of a campsite that we actually aren't allowing?

Should we have that in here?

Or should we say that when camping on the lawn of the public works property, a campsite must take up no more than a hundred and forty-four square feet, which is approximately 12 by 12 or some other variation thereof, which I realize people can't go out and measure 12 by 12, but this does make it sound like we're still letting people camp in other places.

We do still allow within the bounds of time place and manner uh camping on public right-of-way as it would fit into the restrictions.

Um we have not uh prohibited it on uh public right of way as a uh complete prohibition.

I thought we had, I had thought that was a whole reason we have the camping at public works, is because this way they won't be on the right-of-way.

And I know I'm going out of turn, I'm sorry.

Um actually it was a question that I had to, Counselor Robin.

So I think we're all uh I'm not gonna speak for either counselor, but I was confused by that as well because um it I didn't think we that it was implied that others could part or camp.

Um so um so just a point of order here on so we're it's okay that we ask questions about the presentation and then deliberation later.

Okay.

So I just wanted to make sure we were doing that correctly.

Um so I feel that this question is really important on how we resolve um uh what we approve later.

So um I'm confused as well.

I don't know if fellow counselors are confused about what's allowed um for campers to be in the right-of-way, because I thought we really and I recognize it's happening, but I I'm I want to make sure what's in written as the ordinance doesn't necessarily just because it's implied practice that makes sense.

Counselor Schlack, help me out.

Well, yeah, to that to that end, I don't this is just my lapse of memory, perhaps.

I don't specifically remember a ban on public right-of-ways, but that could have occurred before I joined the council on July 2024.

What I can say is that we ended up with the current situation where camping was allowed on city on multiple city properties, library, city hall, and public works.

We then had an emergency ordinance in the summer of 2024 and the rollout of the safe lot program at City Hall, which led to the current ordinance that we have now to which basically allowed a portion of that lawn by sort of negative space of how the law was written for camping to allow there.

So my understanding with these reforms is that they are in that vein of whether or not the council wants camping to be allowed on city property, not holistically with right-of-way.

So that's just my narrative of what I've experienced since I've been on for uh join the council 18 months ago.

I can clarify a little bit because I use the language designated campsite.

We have not designated a campsite per se.

We have created, you know, prohibitions on certain city properties.

Public works was not prohibited as a property, nor was public right-of-way within, again, the exception.

So like 500 feet from a school, homeless service site, et cetera.

Um we have had camping on both of those public right-of-way and um on the public works lawn.

Um so those rules uh clarify how that would work on the public works lawn specifically.

So I'm so help me, Maine.

So section 7.80.020 prohibited camping.

It is unlawful for any person to camp in or upon any right-of-way or city property unless specifically authorized by this chapter or by local emergency declaration.

So is there a section that I need to jump to that defines that?

So what that section does is it generally prohibits camping except as in compliance with this chapter.

And so in compliance with this chapter is things like the vision clearance area, like not blocking sidewalks.

So it is within those parameters that camping is allowed.

Like a lot of legal lease.

Okay, so I'm gonna cut to the chase.

What I want to be really clear about is we talk about um, I think some of the chamber feedback, business feedback.

If we have this conversation about right-of-way parking, I don't want to or uh camping, excuse me.

Um, there are certain areas I think that folks don't want to um have campers returned that that was a challenge in certain spaces.

So now I feel like it's a gray zone.

And so I'm confused about how you designate that this is an okay right-of-way versus this is not an okay.

So I'm really trying to understand that.

Thank you, um, City Attorney Raw.

So I would add that one other uh consideration for this is remember this ordinance was drafted at a time when Boise versus or um Martin v.

City of Boise was uh good case law still.

And so that case said if there is available shelter, then cities can ban.

If there is not available shelter, then cities cannot prohibit camping.

So that is the basis under which this was written.

And every other time place manner code in Washington County in the state of Oregon was written like that.

That case has since been overruled by the Supreme Court.

So this is a little bit out of date.

Thank you.

In terms of whether the availability of shelter is a trigger still.

We have talked about it internally, and ideally we would like to get to a point where the availability of shelter is not a trigger just because that's not binding case law anymore.

But we've also talked that consistency with neighboring jurisdictions is something that we think is really important, as do our neighboring jurisdictions.

So admitted that it's a little bit old, but that's the justification.

So where does House Bill 3115 fit into this?

Um related, but not um so House Bill 3115 says that any regulation of sitting, sleeping, lying, camping has to be objectively reasonable.

It doesn't define what objectively reasonable is, and there are several lawsuits around the state right now trying to shape what is objectively reasonable.

So until we have guidance uh from that case law or guidance from the legislature, um, we don't know how to define objectively reasonable.

And so we do it the way we're doing it by saying if we allow camping on public works lawn, that that is a site that is reasonably safe, we can provide services to there are certain benefits that that is objectively reasonable.

There are other cities like the city of Pendleton that has prohibited all camping everywhere, and they are currently in litigation over that uh ordinance.

So there is a a continuum of legal risk.

The more we ban, the more we uh court a lawsuit under 3115.

I'm gonna be quiet for a little bit and let other counselors chime in.

I also just want to note again the change to the sidewalk clearance as well.

So depending on the width of the sidewalk that may effectively make camping impossible on um many of our public right-of-way areas uh in Tiger Slack.

Um so I just have some general um sort of homelessness response policy remarks I'd like to make.

Would this be the appropriate time to make it or should I wait until the deliberations towards the ordinance since this is kind of a a gray area, it's related, but um I'd like to put them on the public record.

Do you have a preference, city manager or city attorney?

Um I'd say go ahead because we're still I think having the conversation.

Sure.

Yeah, so I'll I'll um sort of separate any remarks I have that are specifically to this ordinance to to keep it within public hearing.

Um but you know, the the way I look at how we've gotten to the proposal tonight is that at the end of the day, the council has repeatedly reaffirmed that a key policy priority for our homelessness response is overnight camping on some area of city property.

That's just sort of the bottom line.

And I recognize I said my piece on that on October 28th, and I accept that that's still the majority viewpoint of this council.

And uh recognizing that there are some ideas I have for our homelessness response going into 2026 that I just wanted to share, and the council's uh fully uh able to shoot any of these ideas down, but I just wanted to share them and see what sticks.

So since we have repeatedly reaffirmed that we want camping, overnight camping on city property.

I think it's totally fair then for the council to ask that a um that that use case be considered as part of our 20-year facility system plan because no one has told me that 20 years from now this is not going to be a use case or that we shouldn't consider it.

And if we're saying that a portion of city property needs to be designated for this, then I would like to make sure that that is done, that that is considered as part of that process moving forward.

So that way it's done intentionally and deliberately, as opposed to sort of just cutting out portions of property as we go as as I sort of explained with my my 18 months on the council.

That's point one.

Um point two goes back to a topic that we had in October 2024 where I feel like we had a discussion with CCE and chart, and we also are left thinking, uh having our own interpretations of what happened.

But I would love to see in 2026 as part of our board and committee discussions that we're having, an evolution of chart into an actual advisory body with seats for business owners, local business owners, for social services providers, and for community members.

I'd love for it to be public meetings that are held maybe quarterly or as needed from there, but quarterly feels spaced out enough for now.

And um they can help advise publicly on time place manner and also on um the the camping situation on city property.

I think that is that was my expectation from that conversation last October, and I would like to restart those.

Of course, there is um staff involvement and costs associated, but I'd love to have that consideration going into 2026.

Um my third point is sort of a subpoena of that is just really putting on the schedule that uh we want we're we should review camping on city property every six months as part of our time place manner review that we have every six months, calling that out explicitly.

Uh the fourth point is to restore the homelessness uh budget unit that we used to have.

I think when I was first either an alternate or I think actually voting member in 2023, we had a separate homelessness budget unit in our budget, and then it was folded into strategic initiatives, which made sense organizationally, but I think a lot of people are curious how much how much uh money is going into our homelessness response and potentially um staff time.

So I'd love to see that revived just for transparency reasons.

I don't know the feasibility of it from a budget perspective, but I found it really helpful back in the day to say, oh, what's our homelessness response?

Okay, let's turn to that page in the budget.

And I remember even asking, like, where did that go?

Oh, it's in strategic initiatives now.

So uh that's point four.

And then point five um is is really sort of an ongoing question.

I recognize that our TIFF districts have a lot of social service provided in them.

And I've in my mind, at least as a policymaker, I feel like the social services we're trying to provide and uh the business opportunities that we're trying to provide are not fully reconciled.

I'm not saying they can't live together, but I don't have a clear pathway forward of how they currently do.

On one end of Burnham, we have Main Street where we're trying to have that thriving downtown environment.

On the other end of Burnhamon Hall, we have overnight camping, and there is some friction that is developing.

So I'd love to see as part of the TCDA board separate from council, maybe or or working with that separate entity specifically, some way of coordinating these policy objectives.

Um, just because I, like I said, I'm not saying they can't coexist, but I feel like that hasn't been explicitly called out.

And I think, you know, something that's come up a lot with our council goals is we have a lot of great ideas, and then how they all modulate into a cohesive vision and and strategy um sometimes gets a little choppy, and that's one specific area.

So those are my five ideas.

Let thank you for letting me talk for a little bit.

Thank you.

I love ideas, Counselor Schlack.

Okay.

Counsel, do we have additional specific questions at this point before we move forward?

Are we good?

Um so thank you very much.

Um Megan.

And what we will move forward to at this point is back to public testimony.

We received three written comments that were received before the deadline.

Um obviously addressing um the ordinance and uh city uh recorder.

Um, okay.

Uh Craig uh handed me uh two that are here for uh public in-person comment.

Um so uh we will remain or retain the two minute um amount of time.

Uh Michael Austin, we'll start with you, and then followed by uh Kim Marshall.

Hi everybody.

Uh really appreciate my thank you.

Uh hi, everybody.

First off, I really appreciate the uh discussion on the social services grants as well, too.

Because I mean, as you mentioned Schlack, those are all things that you all developed, and those are all really high priority things, and really difficult to decide on what we need to do with that.

So I thought that was a great discussion deliberation.

So I just wanted to mention that.

Um, you know, I just wanted to talk about time, place, and manner as well, too, um, just quickly again.

And I think you all know I'm with Just Compassion, the deputy director over there as well, too.

Um, I think you know that we support the idea of having TPM on there.

Um majority of it is for resources specifically.

Um we looked at not only from the services that we can provide at just compassion onto the lawn as well too, but we also recognize the PD and the work that they can do on public works as well too.

Um they have a space, I know you're talking about um public rightway right now as well too, but it's a space where PD can tell people where to go camp, right, instead of camping in front of a business.

They can send them somewhere specifically, and then they know that in the morning, just compassion and our street outreach team and our shelter can be there to support them in finding next steps and navigating those things specifically.

Um, you know, and I just also wanted to just kind of end with um just the success of it.

I mean, I know we don't do a great job of just compassion, and I'm gonna say that's partially on me on showing our successes that we have, but we've had many individuals who've been on that lawn who have had severe mental health um crises, who have been able to access our resources, utilize what we have with like Sequoia Mental Health coming in and providing those things, getting them back on their feet, individuals that I know specifically who have fallen out of housing who have now housed because that resource has been available.

So I really appreciate you all deliberating this and understanding those things as well too.

And I'd just like to really think about it from all, you know.

We agree with the community response as well too.

Like what I don't want to see is if we lose that, could people, and I believe they will go out into our community and sleep in front of businesses and in front of other people's houses, and we don't want that as well too, and we think that's a great place for them to be as we can provide them services.

So thank you, everybody.

Thank you, Michael.

Uh Kim Marshall.

Good evening, Council Kim Rashadle.

I'm the executive director of Project Home is Connect.

And I don't have a full full out thought, so which probably means I'm gonna speak from the heart, which probably means I'm gonna cry, which you might be used to.

Um I just always want to thank you for your dedication and time into this and and and really all the things, all the ideas you just had that you gave Megan, thank you.

That really thoughtful and um and we really appreciate it because at the end of the day, this issue is about people, right?

And I think sometimes we get into policy mode and we get in in into the higher level places and we lose that touch point of the people that we're so privileged to serve.

Um, just compassion and uh Project Homeless Connect and um our friend Megan at the chamber and how they intersect, our wonderful friends at the library, and then I know um Chief is in the back and the wonderful PD here in Tiger.

So I'm gonna start with that.

I just urge you to think through consequences, and if you need more um uh information about what this could look like, just compassion, project homeless connect, new narrative, um, family promise.

We'd all be happy to speak into it is what projections we could give as we talk about reduction in social services grants.

How is that gonna affect those agencies and what is that gonna look like as we talk about our priorities here at the city and where homelessness might fall in that, and if if it doesn't fall as a high priority, what is the effect on that?

Um and then the other thing that I I just need to call out as kindly as I can is there isn't a threshold of the city has done enough when it comes to this issue.

Because we are talking about people on our streets, we are talking about men, women and children sleeping on our streets, sleeping in cars on our streets.

So there isn't a threshold where the city gets to say, you know what, we've done enough.

Because we haven't.

I owe, and I've been working on it, Councillor Wolf and Councillor Shaw, a diagram of what's happening in our continuum of care across the county.

And Tiger is showing up, but not necessarily more and above and beyond other cities.

Um and and again, I can give more detail into that, and I will share that when I have it.

Thank you for giving me the time.

And again, I appreciate all the hard work and the deep discussions you have.

Thank you, Kim.

Um, with that, uh, Mr.

Vang, is there anyone in the phone uh in queue or anyone um signed up to give video testimony?

There are three callers in the queue.

Uh three callers in the queue.

Mr.

Vang.

Can you hear me?

Um there are three callers in the queue.

Um very good.

Um so thank you.

And then if you um want to line those up and continue using the two-minute marker, that would be great.

Thank you.

The first caller is um Anna Murphy.

Mr.

Vang, could you repeat that name, please?

Anna Murphy.

Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening.

I urge the council to reject any language that allows temporary suspension or weakened enforcement of existing rules.

Provisions that cause enforcement even under an emergency clause undermine public trust and signal that adopted policies may not be applied consistently.

I'm not aware of any public health or safety issue that would warrant suspension of enforcement.

Consistent direction for tiger police to enforce the ordinance more directly and accountability for those camping are essential.

The solution is not to change the rules to accommodate those who are not following them.

Extending the amount of sidewalks that must remain unobstructed with the positive.

That, however, enforcement currently seems limited to measuring clearance and issuing reminders.

Private property should not be stored on public property, except in clearly authorized locations, such as a bike rock.

Rules must be applied consistently to be effective.

Accessibility, public safety, and livability depend on enforcement that's even unpredictable.

Tiger residents have engaged in good faith, asking the city to adopt policies and enforcement protocols that work.

Effectiveness requires consistency.

I asked the council to demonstrate its commitment to accountability and public trust by enforcing a clear time, safe and manner ordinance.

As indicated tonight, this one provides too much gray area.

Thank you.

Thank you, Anna.

Mr.

Vang, you can proceed with the next caller.

The next caller is uh Lindsay Borhe.

Thank you.

Hi, good evening, Mayor.

Good evening, Mayor Wolf and elected council members.

Um I hadn't planned on these initial comments, but um compelled to um comment on them given the discussion that just took place.

Um, and then if I have time, I'll share feedback on time place manner, which I feel is less important than the feedback, which hopefully um will be polished and maybe not as direct as um as it feels uh it's a little bit frustrating to have just heard the discussion.

Our community expects real leadership on this topic.

It was really alarming to hear that there is confusion amongst our elected mr.

Vang, did we lose Lindsay?

Still shows that she's connected.

Okay.

And then certainly bring her back.

Um I don't know if she's just in a hard spot um right now, uh, but we can continue to the third caller and then certainly bring her back.

Thank you.

The third caller is Megan Hamilton.

Good evening, counselors.

My name is Megan Hamilton, and I am a tigered resident.

I want to speak about the time, place, and manner ordinance and its inconsistent enforcement, particularly on public works properties.

On multiple occasions, I have personally observed tamping and storage of personal property on public work sites.

So it's clearly and that's clearly conflicts with the time, place, and manner standards currently on the books.

These sites include areas critical to infrastructure, safety access, and city operations.

Yet consistent enforcement does not appear to be occurring.

I want to be clear.

This is not about criminalizing whole house homelessness, it is about transparency, safety, and trust in city governance.

When an ordinance exists but is selectively or inconsistently enforced, it creates confusion for residents, city staff, and those living unsheltered.

It also raises concerns about liability, worker safety, livability, and equitable application of the law.

If enforcement has been intentionally paused due to an emergency suspension or an internal policy decision, I respectfully ask that this be clearly stated, documented, and communicated to the public.

If enforcement is still the policy, then I urge the council to ensure it is being applied consistently across all city properties, including public works facilities.

Rules that are not enforced are not neutral.

They undermine confidence.

As I asked for clarity, consistency and accountability as we move forward.

Thank you, Councillor Schlack, for your proposition to open chart to the public.

I think this would help with transparency and accountability greatly.

Thank you for your time.

Mr.

Vang, did Lindsay come back?

Hi, this is Lindsay.

I was here the whole time getting some live updates from our team to try to understand what you heard and didn't hear.

Can I get clarity so that I can get my time back and Lindsay let's just allotted Lindsay?

Let's just start over.

Thank you.

You're good to go.

Okay.

Thank you.

Mayor Wolfe and elected members of council.

I have prepared some feedback on time place manner, but feel compelled to uh comment on the discussion that took place.

Um it won't be as polished because I had to formulate this in real time.

Our community really expects full leadership on this topic on the topic of homelessness.

It was alarming for me to hear that there's confusion amongst our elective leaders and staff and even the the attorney around where camping is and is not currently permitted in the city.

Um the talk the quote was quote, we are doing it the way we are doing it, um, which is clear as mud.

And it's irresponsible at this point to have that l little of clarity amongst our leaders on this topic.

Um I can tell you uh with relative assuredness that our community expects that camping is only happening right now at Tiger Public Works, and it doesn't visually appear to be going very well.

The belongings that are along the sidewalk daily are an issue.

Um there is a lack of understanding around the current rules and how they're enforced and if they're enforced and how consistently plenty of folks are driving by and noticing that the current rules are not being enforced.

Um I don't know understand how changing those times is going to impact anything.

Um it's just really frustrating to hear that our leaders don't have clarity and and that there's not a strong direction around how we can meet the needs of our homeless neighbors, but also um respect the larger community and the wishes, the the really reasonable wishes that we maintain um safety and and livability.

So I really implore our leaders right now to quickly come to clarity, um, certainly on where camping is allowed, but beyond that, clarity around what it's going to look like and how we are going to ensure that this does not um become a larger issue than it is right now.

I can't believe nobody mentioned, no one on council, nobody mentioned what a mess it is.

Just the visual appearance of it.

That matters.

So Lindsay, um I think from us.

Lindsay, I appreciate your time.

Um, and I know that you were scripted before, and I appreciate you sharing um your reflections, uh, but your time is complete.

And um, but I do appreciate the feedback.

So thank you.

Okay, so with that, I do think that is the three uh callers.

Um at this time, um we will close the public hearing.

Um and we will move forward for consideration of ordinance number 25-08.

So I mean, the next step on our agenda is uh, yeah, City Attorney Rahala.

Council, thank you.

Um so I do want to correct a misconception that was stated uh in the public comments.

So the suspension language is not meant to arbitrarily uh suspend enforcement.

The situation that that was supposed to address uh was a situation that we had last year with the spacing uh measurements that they were uh part of the area on the public works lawn became completely flooded, it was a mess, um, and it was just unsafe for anybody to camp there, and was also damaging the city uh property by continuously allowing camping there.

And so what this section is designed to do is in situations like that, where there's a specific threat that or a specific risk that we could move the campaign to a different area, for example, not suspend enforcement of anything else, but just suspend enforcement of these um spacing limitations, the distance limitations without having to come back to council for a new ordinance.

So that's what it was designed to address.

Um, likewise, if there was a situation where there was a water main break or something on the public works lawn, we could temporarily close camping on public works to fix that and allow for the repair.

So it might be to allow camping in a different area, it might be to uh prevent camping altogether, but it would be in response to a specific emergency, not just a uh perceived convenience.

So I did want to address that additionally.

I have been noodling Councillor Gedussi's uh question earlier.

And in that subsection nine, I would propose that council move the reference to except for camping on the lawn of the public works property to precede, and I know you don't necessarily have the language in front of you, to precede the uh clause about a campsite may not be within 20 feet of another campsite, as opposed to the beginning of that sentence.

So as revised, that sentence would read, or that paragraph would read a campsite must be limited within a spatial footprint of 12 feet by 12 feet or 144 square feet, and except for camping on the lawn of the public works property, a campsite may not be within 20 feet of another campsite.

I think that addresses the point that he was getting at the council.

I just want to see if I'm understanding the uh proposed the suggested amendment um to ensure clarity.

So that section would read a campsite must be limited within a spatial footprint of 12 feet by 12 feet or 144 square feet, and a campsite may not be and comma, except for camping on the lawn of the public works property, comma.

A campsite may not be within 20 feet of another campsite.

Correct, yes.

Thank you.

Okay, so uh we will move forward um to see if there's a motion.

Would um a motion to make that amendment need to happen before we have a motion on the overall ordinance.

So council could move to approve the ordinance as amended.

Okay.

I move to approve ordinance number 25-08 as amended.

Need a second second.

Any further discussion?

Yes, Councillor Shaw.

Thank you very much.

I'm not gonna take the opportunity to suggest what I'd want to see in 26, uh, though I pronounce I uh appreciate Councillor Schlack doing so, though I'm concerned about making it a permanent facilities plan because that means it's permanent camping in the public works, and I don't think that's something we want to do.

Um I do support the proposed ordinance with the amendment.

Thank you.

City attorney Holly, because that was going to be one of my comments in the previous discussion you know you and I had had about the emergency suspension.

Uh so I appreciate you clarifying both for uh the council but also for our callers.

Um with that um I'm supportive of the balance between the community safety, the business viability, as well as human dignity not going backwards because we did have camping that was invisible for those, and I think I'm the one who's on the council the longest.

It was in a number of places in Tiger.

It was just well hidden.

And it impacted our downtown businesses and impacted our businesses on 99.

It was unsafe for those who were in those conditions.

It was unsafe for our business community.

And also it wasn't fair for our first respondents or our police to have to go throughout the whole city to determine what kind of resources individuals needed.

It's not an ideal solution to be a public works is the best one we have.

We do have emergency suspension.

The time has been changed.

I think that answers some of our issues we have with our business community.

And again, we are working towards a solution.

So with that, I would be willing to support the proposed ordinance changes with the amendment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Councilor Robinson, did you want to comment?

Thank you.

I know I've already said a lot tonight and it's late.

I have been thinking a lot about this and thinking about the comments from our last meeting when we were talking about this stuff.

I do believe that it's my understanding that our infrastructure that we have regarding houseless people and knowing where people camp in the parks and on the trails is much better.

We have a very strong relationship with a park ranger who could enforce some of these things.

If at some point in the future our police and getting more support from the county so that we could enforce this more, I would be interested in talking about changing our camping policy or possibly ending or being more in line with surrounding areas where they say camping only on public right-of-way.

That's not possible right now, but it is something that I think we should consider in the future.

I just want to say a quick thing.

I think none of us said anything about what it looks like at public works during the public hearing part because that was only supposed to be talking about this ordinance, not not anything else.

We were just talking about the ordinance.

Certain things about this frustrate me, like the fact that someone can be using drugs or having a mental health crisis and have been excluded from our no-barrier shelter, and yet they're still going to be camping on public works.

And I really said that's that's a very one-sided attitude, and that everyone needs a place to live, but it's also very frustrating regarding the safety and comfort level of our employees at public works who are going in and out every day from very early and maybe don't feel safe when they're walking in after when it's still dark out.

Um it's also very difficult for our limited police force to be able to enforce everything and be everywhere at once.

And I know you know I'm sending an email, there's our tent, you know, and that's taking work, that's taking attention away from the other things the police should be doing.

This is a very, very difficult, frustrating situation for all of us.

Okay.

So the only thing that um I would like to suggest, and I know that we come back and re-revisit this often for a variety of things, but once we get past the short session to see if there have been any um uh statutory changes, um, I would like to revisit this to clean it up and give clarity to those pieces.

And I do appreciate the opportunities to have honest uh inquiry and get answers to points that didn't seem clear.

It does seem like as it's written, um, downtown uh campaign has improved, so this maintains what we have, and I know that our officers are very diligent about watching that, and again, the expanded uh um space on sidewalks will probably additionally assist in that.

Um so I'm fine moving forward with the amendment, uh, but I really do want to revisit and clean up any language that is uh no longer applicable and any impact that might come out of the short session.

Um with that, um I will um ask the city recorder to read the number and title of the ordinance ordinance number 25-08.

An ordinance amending Tigered Municipal Code Chapter 7.80 related to camping as amended.

Will the city recorder please conduct a roll call vote starting with youth counselor for an advisory vote?

Youth Councillor Helleck.

I councillor Shaw.

Yes, Council President Wolf.

Yes, Councillor Godesi.

Yes.

Councilor Robbins.

Yes.

Councilor Schlack.

Yes.

Okay.

Uh ordinance as amended, number 2508, has been adopted by unanimous vote of the council.

This evening there are no non-agenda items and there is no executive session scheduled.

So with that, um I will uh adjourn the meeting and good night, Tiger.