Tualatin City Council Meeting - April 27, 2026
Tualatin City Council Meeting - April 27, 2026
The Tualatin City Council met on April 27, 2026, to address multiple proclamations, receive updates from community partners, discuss eviction prevention strategies, and review proposed intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) for the Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS). Key concerns centered on library funding, centralized collection, and county commitments.
Consent Calendar
- The consent agenda, including approval of April 13, 2026 minutes and late liquor license renewal, was adopted unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Emily Yonker (Tualatin Library Foundation Treasurer) spoke on behalf of the foundation board, stating unanimous opposition to the WCCLS IGA as currently drafted. She argued that the agreement would remove local control over material selection and that accountability would remain with the city despite decisions made by the county.
Proclamations
- Mental Health Awareness Month (May 2026): Gary from NAMI Clackamas presented. He noted that average time between symptom onset and seeking help is 11 years, primarily due to stigma. One in five adults experiences a mental health issue annually. NAMI offers free classes, support groups, and peer support. Council adopted the proclamation.
- National Police Week (May 10-16, 2026): Chief Pickering highlighted that 111 names will be added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial this year. Proclamation adopted.
- Public Service Recognition Week (May 3-9, 2026): Stacy, HR director, announced city employees would be recognized daily with tokens of appreciation. Proclamation adopted.
- National Prevention Week (May 10-16, 2026): Jeremiah from LEAP (Local Education and Prevention) outlined activities: Mental Health Rocks, Mandala Poetry, and a Mental Health Rally. Proclamation adopted, with a note that an estimated 5,058 people in Tualatin are affected by mental health or substance use disorders.
Special Reports
- Borland Free Clinic Update: Executive Director Jordan reported that the clinic, one of only two free clinics in the Portland metro area, served over 500 unique patients in 2025, with roughly one-third from Tualatin. They provided over $300,000 in free medical care. Jordan warned of potential Medicaid enrollment drops due to federal changes (work requirements, redetermination every six months) and noted that primary care wait times in the Portland metro are double the national average. He emphasized the clinic's reliance on county and city support.
Discussion Items
- Eviction Prevention Discussion: Megan Cohen, homelessness city-county liaison, presented on the current landscape. Funding for eviction prevention has been cut by 50% or more across all sources. Currently, rent assistance is largely unavailable except through Community Action for existing clients. Tualatin has invested in outside agency grants (e.g., Just Compassion, Family Promise) and a utility bill assistance program. Enhancement options include: continuing legislative advocacy, expanding outreach via library/police, increased involvement in metro/state decision-making, and focusing outside agency grants on eviction prevention or creating a new dedicated fund. Council expressed interest in concrete cost-per-dollar metrics and better data on youth homelessness.
- Library Cooperative IGA Review: City Manager Sherlin presented extensive details on the proposed governance and operating agreements with WCCLS. Key points:
- The current levy expires June 30, 2026, and a new IGA is required to access funds.
- The new IGA defines service boundaries, a funding allocation formula based on service population, and requires a two-thirds majority vote for collective decisions.
- Centralized collection project aims for July 2027, with potential system-wide savings of $2 million. Tualatin's collection budget is ~$200,000 annually.
- Tualatin's base allocation is ~$2 million (a 5% increase over current).
- Risks include: county general fund transfer is not guaranteed beyond year one (45% of total funding), and the termination clause allows county to terminate for convenience in its "sole and reasonable discretion."
- Council and staff raised concerns about: lack of community outreach, undefined "collaborative process" for centralized collection, potential loss of local control over materials, and the need for a stronger dispute resolution process.
- City Attorney Kevin noted the operating agreement provides no mediation for alleged breaches and the county can terminate individual contractors, which could chill dissent.
- Council expressed reluctance to sign without clearer answers, but acknowledged necessity to secure funding.
Key Outcomes
- The four proclamations were adopted unanimously.
- The consent agenda was approved.
- The recommendations from the Council Committee on Advisory Appointments (Anthony to Budget Committee, Steven to Arts Advisory Committee) were approved unanimously.
- No formal action was taken on the library IGAs; staff will compile council comments and return to the county by May 1. A work session may be scheduled to further discuss concerns.
- The eviction prevention discussion will be followed up with a detailed cost-per-impact analysis.
- Mayor announced the State of the City event on May 19, 2026, from 5:30-7:30 PM at the Grand Hotel, with free heavy hors d'oeuvres and beverages.
- Council noted upcoming County Chair debate on April 29, 2026, at Perlow as an opportunity to advocate for library funding commitments.
Meeting Transcript
Recording in progress. All right. Good evening, and welcome to the April 27th, 2026, Twalton City Council meeting. I'll go ahead and call the meeting to order. First item on our agenda tonight is a Pledge of Allegiance led by Councillor Gonzalez. One nation. Underground. All right, that brings us to announcements. And our first announcement tonight is Mental Health Awareness Month proclamation. And we have Gary from NAMI Outreach and Development. Uh from Clackmas County. Welcome, Gary. Thank you. I appreciate that. Sure. That was a really uh call-up. There you go. There's a button. Okay. Well, and thank you very much for inviting us today. Um this, as you probably know, is Mental Health Awareness Month. And we're here to tell you a little bit about what we're doing as uh NAMI Clackamas. I presume you're all familiar with NAMI Clackamas because in front of you you have a bag which has things in it. Number one, one of these. This is everything you ever wanted to know about NAMI Clackamas. Inside, there's a crisis communication card, which is things to say and places you can refer people to if you run into someone in crisis. Also inside is our um uh special theater night flyer. We have a very special theater night with Clackamas uh repertory theater that's a fundraiser for us, and on the back of it is a listing of a little bit about what you're supporting, which are some of our support groups. And last but not least, you also have in there a genuine NAMI clackamas stress ball. Now that guy is guaranteed to remove all stress and anxiety in 30 minutes or less, or you get your money back. So keep that in mind. So I'm gonna run you real real quickly through the basics about NAMI so you know what we're up to and uh what we're doing. Uh so first question I have though is someone want to answer or throw out an answer of the average time between the time that someone suspects they might have a mental health issue and the time that they actually go and seek help. What do you think it is? Years, okay, how many? Five years? Okay. Well, you're not really close. It's 11 years. Okay, now we know that that's not access, even though it's difficult. We know that's not cost, even though it's costly. What we know is that it's stigma, first and foremost. And how do we how do we take care of that? We change the conversation, we talk about it. Okay, we bring it up, uh, we start the conversation, especially if it's appropriate. We ask the question, are you okay if we find someone that we think is in crisis or is having some difficulty? And what that we also want to change our language uh around referring to people as their disease, that's not what we do. They're not schizophrenic or bipolar, they have that disorder. Sooner we can separate people from their disease, the better we're able to participate in their recovery. Okay, so with other language around suicide.
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