All right.

Good evening and welcome to the May 26, 2026 Toalton City Council meeting.

I'll go ahead and call this meeting to order.

First thing on our agenda tonight is a Pledge of Allegiance, which will be led by Councilor Reyes.

I agree to the United States.

And to the public for religious individual.

That brings us to announcements.

Our first announcement tonight is a proclamation declaring June 2026 as Gun Violence Awareness Month in the City of Twalton.

And I believe we have some representatives from moms.

The mom's group come on up.

Welcome back.

Go ahead and turn your turn the microphones.

A little head with the little on your mic stand.

There you go.

Now we're on.

Good evening.

Mayor Bubenek, counselors, and all of the city staff and residents in this room and online.

My name is Mary Pat Hensel.

I'm your neighbor who wears orange and resides in Wilsonville.

I'm a gun violence survivor, a gun owner, a vocal public health advocate for safe firearm storage.

And this year I have the good fortune with my friend Sydney of accepting your 2026 Wear Orange proclamation.

This is my third opportunity to tell you why this means so much to me and for your community.

So you know it means I mean it when I begin by saying thanks.

When you proclaim that you are paying attention to gun violence, it means you are listening and that you are aware.

It means that the work I do with my colleagues at Bombs Demand Action and Every Town for Gun Safety to build awareness has traction.

It also means that we are partners in this effort, and that together we will amplify the message and build more awareness because no one will miss us when we wear orange.

In Oregon, the first wear orange was in December of 2015.

It was pouring rain.

I was there.

And at that time we were concerned with 96 people per day in the US who were killed.

Now it's 120 people a day in the US.

We must do much better.

Every stat.org research shows that in an average year, 644 people die, and 719 are wounded in Oregon.

76% of gun deaths are suicide.

As I said, we must do better.

Um are suicide.

So we must do a lot better.

In a few weeks, I'll go to Washington, D.C.

And when I'm there, I will be able to tell my colleagues and your legislators that you are publicly willing to recognize gun violence survivors and those who have perished, that you acknowledge those who live in your community with the hurt and the unrest that gun violence creates with domestic situations and in very difficult self-inflicted shootings.

Let me know if you want me to say more than this.

Start by asking them to wear orange on June 5th and through the weekend.

And I just want to say, my name's Sydney.

Um I just moved here from Texas last year, so uh I would not be doing this.

I would not be in a meeting like this uh if I was still there.

So I appreciate it.

Thank you guys.

Um yeah, let's keep let's keep working.

All right.

Well, thank you for coming tonight.

Council Reyes will read the proclamation.

And I share this every year when I read this proclamation, but I know that every time I share it, there's always someone that comes to me and say thank you for sharing that.

So I'm gonna share again.

If you heard my story before, um it's sorry if I repeat it, repeat myself, but um I am a victim of um I'm a survivor of not victim, a survivor of gun violence.

Uh September 11th, 1994.

I was 17 years old, and um a young man, maybe about 14 years old, who actually went to the same high school I went to, uh, shot me three times in my on my body, and I immediately um I remember the experience, and then I ended up, I remember going to the emergency room, and that's when I felt that someone was gonna take care of me there.

Um I was after that I entered into a 38-day coma.

So I don't remember what happened to me, but I survived.

After I woke up, I remember just my body being completely cut open, and they did a lot of surgeries, a lot of blood donations that were collected from the community that helped me.

So here I am after 32 years, and I wouldn't be able to stand here without people supporting me through many different ways, science, research, um, people donating blood, everyone that participated in 1994, so I can survive.

So I survived and um just want to say that to me I advocate for education, prevention, because it's hard to do it when you're when someone's already in that situation.

But if we can prevent and teach and educate how to handle um different kinds of uh weapons or even prevent them from um, you know just educating people that this to me will be very helpful to prevent a lot of uh violence that is out there.

Um we gotta learn from one another, and I think that's you know, learning from different um backgrounds also helps us appreciate one another.

With that, I'm gonna read the proclamation.

Whereas every day more than 120 Americans are killed by gun violence alongside more than 200 who are shot and wounded, and an and an average on an average, there are more than 18,000 gun homicides every year, and whereas whereas cities across the nation are working to end the senseless violence with evidence-based solutions, and whereas gun violence prevention is more important than ever as we see an increase in firearm homicides and non-fatal shootings across the country, increased calls to domestic violence hotlines and an increase and an increase in city gun violence, and whereas in January 2013, Hadaya Penentin was tragically shot and killed at age 15, and in June to recognize Hadaya Penintin's birthday, she was born June 2nd, 1997.

People across the United States recognize gun violence awareness and wear orange in tribute to Hydaya Pellanton and other victims of gun violence and the the loved ones of those victims.

And whereas the idea was inspired by a group of Hidaya's friends who asked their classmates to come commemorate her life by wearing orange.

They chose this color because hunters wear orange to announce themselves to other hunters when out in the woods, and orange is a color that symbolizes the value of human life.

And whereas by wearing orange in June, Tualetin will raise awareness about gun violence and honor the lives of gun violence victims and survivors.

And whereas we renew our commitment to reduce gun violence and pledge to do all we can to keep fire firearms out of the wrong hands and encourage responsible gun ownership to help keep our children safe.

Now, therefore, be be it proclaimed by the city council of the city of Tuileton, Oregon, that June 2026 is gun violence awareness month in the city of Tuileton.

This the community is encouraged to support efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human lives.

Introduced and adopted this 26th day of May 2026.

We have a proclamation that we're gonna go ahead.

Councilor Reyes.

Council Reyes will present you with the proclamation.

You gotta get the sign.

Thank you for coming tonight.

Our next announcement is a proclamation declaring June 2026 as Pride Month in the city of Twalton.

I see a few members of the idea committee, you guys want to come on up and write some comments before the proclamation.

Well, you school come on up and sit there.

All right.

So for Pride Month, I have Council President Pratt will read the proclamation.

Did you have comments out?

You're gonna up to you.

Oh, did you did you have any comments you'd like to make before?

Okay.

Okay.

Whereas the City Council's 2030 vision is for Twalton to be an inclusive community that promotes equity, diversity, and access, and creating a meaningful quality of life for everyone, which includes diversity of sexual orientation and identity, and whereas we recognize, support, and appreciate the invaluable contributions of the members of the LGBTQIA plus community, and whereas Pride Month is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, and whereas many LGBTQIA plus community members continue to face harassment and physical violence and are four times more likely to experience violent victimization than non-community members, and whereas we acknowledge the work of BIPOC LGBTQIA plus community in the pursuit of world-free of discrimination and violence based on a person's sexuality, and we recognize that BIPOC LGBTQIA plus individuals experience disproportionat disproportionately higher rates of harassment, discrimination, and physical violence.

And whereas LGBTQIA plus youth are almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared to straight cisgender youth, and each episode of LGBTQIA plus victimization, such as physical or verbal harassment or abuse increases the likelihood of self-harming behavior by two and a half times on average.

And whereas we remain steadfast in our dedication to eliminate the prejudices, prejudices, and discrimination faced by members of the LGBTQIA plus community, and whereas we believe that the rich diversity of communities in Twalton is one of our greatest strengths, and we seek to amplify the voices of the LGBTQIA plus community, including youth, allies, and student groups such as Twalton High School's Gay Strait Alliance and Hazelbrook Middle School's Aqua Club.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the City Council of the City of Twaleton, Oregon, that Twalton recognizes June 2026 as Pride Month.

The community is encouraged to respect and honor our diverse community, celebrate and build a culture of inclusivity and acceptance, and we invite you to participate in the Twalton Parade Festival on May 30th, introduced and adopted this 26th day of June 2026.

And that's from one to three at the Twalton Lake of the Commons.

Hi, good evening, everybody.

Sorry.

Okay.

Our proclamation, whereas the City Council's 2030 vision is for Twalton to be an inclusive community that promotes equity, diversity, and access in creating meaningful quality of life for everyone.

And whereas President Abraham Lincoln signed the emancipation proclamation on January 1st, 1863, declaring enslaved people as free, paving the way for the passage of the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States.

Whereas Texas was the last of the Confederate states to receive orders requiring the end of slavery with Union troops announcing that all slaves were free in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865.

And whereas June 19th has a special meaning to African Americans, and has been celebrated by the Black American community for more than 150 years.

And whereas June 1th celebrates the end of slavery and recognizes the high price black Americans have paid for civil rights and equal access.

And whereas Juneteenth is an occasion to remember and reflect on the significant ways that African Americans have enriched society through their contributions.

And whereas Twellton is a community that includes values and welcomes diversity in our community, and we believe that the rich diversity of communities in Twellyton is one of our greatest strengths.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the City Council of the City of Twalton, Oregon, that June 19th, 2026 is recognized as Juneteenth in the city of Twelleton.

The community is encouraged to respect and honor our diverse community, celebrate, and build a culture of inclusivity and acceptance.

Introduced and adopted this 26th day of May 2026.

And a lot of people don't know that.

And I want to say one other thing.

Yes.

She's gonna start doing what you about.

Here to introduce her is Analyya Jackson.

Welcome, Allie.

Anna Elia.

Good evening, Mayor Buvneck and Council President Pratt and Councillor Brooks, Gonzalez, Sacco, Hillier, and Reyes.

I first want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for the most incredible four years I've spent in any job.

Thank you.

It's been magical.

It's been fun.

And uh you've been so supportive, and I just want to thank you for that.

My last day is Friday, May 29th, just a few days from now.

And I have been training Allie since I hired her uh 18 months ago, almost two years ago.

Um I noticed that she had incredible skills.

And um, this is Ali Angverzat.

She will be interim CEO uh beginning on June 1st, Monday, June 1st.

So I wanted to make sure that she was introduced to you formally and to the city of Tualeton, and that I said my goodbyes formally.

Uh good evening, Mayor.

I think so.

It's got turned red.

It's not turning red here.

There we are.

It's a special touch.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor Bubnik and the city councilor.

I'm super excited to step into this position as the CEO for the Twalton Area Chamber of Commerce.

I'm excited to partner with all the local businesses and the city of Twalaton.

And our mission is to educate, promote, and advocate for small businesses.

So thank you for having me.

Any questions or comments for Allie or Annalia?

Council Brooks.

I just wanna say a big um thank you to Annalia for the four years of service for the stewardship and promotion, rebuilding our chamber after COVID, and integrating new ideas and programming into the chamber.

And I wanna welcome, even though we've known each other for quite a while now, you into your new position.

And know that you um have a special way of interacting with people and are gonna be a great leader for the chamber.

So thank you to you both.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, Council President Pratt and Council Ray.

Okay, well, yeah.

So Annalia, thank you for all you've been you've done so much in the four years you've been here, and it's great for our community, and um, we're gonna miss you, so good luck.

I won't be far away.

And then Allie, I I've just heard great things about you, so I'm looking forward to seeing you step in and keep our community going and our business community support.

Thank you.

Yeah, Analyya.

Well uh likewise what my fellow counselors are um are saying, but I also wanna say that I appreciate you and um I really enjoyed our conversations uh and and imagine Tualatin in the future, and I I hope that maybe Ali.

We will continue these conversations because we did have some great plans that I love to see about our businesses here and our city.

But Annalia, I'm gonna miss you a lot.

I wish you well wherever you go, and thank you for keeping our city and our business up out there.

And I really enjoyed the um annual event, the Gala.

That was a really great event.

Thank you.

Councillor Sacco or Hillier, do you have anything?

No, all right.

Counselor Well was it?

Uh thank you very much for bringing the chamber back.

I remember um in its state it was when it you first came and and all of our businesses, most of our businesses feel like they're being represented.

You are such a wonderful advocate for our businesses when it's hard or it's easy.

You've you've come to the council, you've brought the team, you've spoken on their behalf, and we've made decisions uh so much because of your influence to the council in the city and the business.

So thank you so much.

I'm I will be seeing you in the future.

Okay.

And Allie, thank you so much, and we look forward to working with you and and just call upon us when you need our help.

Okay, thank you.

All right, I just want to say uh thank you, Annalia, for everything you've done over these years.

Um I'll still be working with you for the next few months in your new position.

And same thing with Allie, I look forward to working with you uh for the remainder of my mayorship.

Um also continue to be a member of the chamber, of course.

But um looking forward to working with you and you uh grabbing a baton from Annalia and moving in uh to the chamber forward and putting your own personal stamp on it.

That same thing Annalina has done.

Thank you, Mayor.

You put it look like you're gonna say something, Annalia.

Oh no, I just wanted to say thank you.

I appreciate your comments so much.

Thank you very much.

All right, well, thanks for coming tonight.

Thank you.

Our final announcement tonight is a new employee introduction, human resource assistant Jennifer Nason being introduced by Deborah.

Welcome.

Thank you.

Maybe and members of the council.

My name is Deborah Ballard, and I am the human resources um manager and volunteer and risk manager as well.

It's my pleasure to introduce the news member of the human resources and volunteer services team, Jennifer Nason.

Jennifer is our new HR assistant and started here in human resources on May 4th.

Jennifer may look familiar to you as she has actually worked for the city since 2010.

She started as a temporary library page and was promoted to a temporary library assistant in 2011 and then moved to be a full-time library assistant in 2012.

Jennifer was named Twalleton's employee of the year in 2016.

In 2023, Jennifer moved to on call status to allow more time to care for her new family.

When she became ready to return full-time to work, she applied for our open position, and we recognized her proven ability to organize, capture details, and provide great customer service.

So we welcomed her to our team.

As our HR assistant, Jennifer will assist with recruitments, manage the HR document storage system, oversee the city's SharePoint pages, perform mail runs, and assist volunteer services with planning and executing their large events.

In her free time, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her children, reading colonial American history and traveling.

I know you will join me in welcoming Jennifer to Human Resources and Volunteer Services in this new role.

Thank you.

Jennifer, floor is yours.

Anything to say?

Um I just like to say I'm very grateful to be back in a full-time capacity for the city.

I think this is a great community to work for, and the all the employees in the city are wonderful.

And I'm very, very lucky to be employed here.

All right.

I want to thank you for coming back after you know attending to your family.

Uh it's fantastic to have a former um you know outstanding employee of the year to come back and uh work in our HR department.

Uh I wish you very well and you know um again it's uh with the growth of Twalton and uh envisioning you know future employee growth as the city gets bigger.

Um I think you'll be very busy and maintaining a SharePoint site as an IT guide.

That's a job in itself.

Good for you for doing that.

But again, thanks for coming back and uh looking forward to working with you uh in the months to come.

Thank you.

All right.

All right, so that brings us to public comment.

Public comment is an opportunity for anyone to address the city council on something that is not on tonight's agenda.

Please limit those comments to about three minutes.

I'll take folks who are in the room first.

Uh we have no one signed up, but you don't have to be signed up to provide public comment.

You can just come on up to the table and introduce introduce yourself and have your three minutes.

After that, we'll switch over to Zoom.

So is there anybody in the room who would like to provide public comment tonight?

Quiet group.

All right.

Anyone in Zoom?

No.

All right.

So we'll move on to the consent agenda.

The consent agenda are items that are considered routine.

They will be adopted by one motion unless someone on the council will like an item removed and heard separately later tonight.

Tonight, the consent agenda consists of five items.

Item number one, consideration and approval of the regular meeting minutes of May 11th, 2026.

Item number two, consideration of approval of a new liquor license application for La Senne Vietnamese grill.

Item number three, consideration of resolution 5957-26 for no parking sign on Southwest Wanapanag Drive.

Item number four, consideration of resolution number five nine five five eight-26.

Concurring with the vacation by Washington County of a portion of a public easement in the city of Twalton.

And finally, item number five, consideration of resolution number five nine five nine-26, awarding and authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement with diversified abilities for landscape maintenance services.

Uh, would any counselor like one of these items pulled from the agenda and heard separate later tonight?

Okay.

I move we adopt the consent agenda as read.

Second.

I have a motion and second to adopt the consent agenda is read.

Any discussions on those motions?

All favor in favor say aye or raise your hands in Zoom land.

Aye.

Abstain.

No's.

It's unanimous.

All right.

That brings us to special report.

Special report number one.

Welcome to Metro Councillor Garrett Rosenthal with his Metro update.

Uh thank you, Mayor Bubinick and uh Twalaton Council.

It's a pleasure to be here representing Metro.

Introduce Jeff K, my policy advisor, and uh Michelle Ruffin, who is the re regional community investment manager.

Regional and regional investment strategy.

Regional investment strategy manager.

Sorry, I didn't I have to we have a lot of titles and acronyms at Metro, as you know.

I'm pleased to be here, and as you know, I live just outside Tualaton, so it's a place I I hold special.

And we're just gonna most of you know what Metro does, but we're gonna try and summarize briefly and then have time for answering a few questions.

Um so first, let's see.

I guess I have a slide here.

Tualet City Council, that's me.

Um I represent the district is is uh seven cities and about 200 houses in uh uh Hillsboro, so technically Hillsborough too, but not really.

Uh next slide.

Where do I point it?

The button in the middle.

All right, yes.

That's just Metro at a glance, three counties, 24 cities, 1.7 million people, about 27 park service providers, large scale long-term projects and planning, transportation, housing, uh, housing's community services, garbage and recycling, parks, natural areas, the Oregon Zoo, the convention center, the Expo Center, and more.

Um, and I just want to mention we the election determined that we're gonna have a new council president, uh President Peterson uh changed jobs and went to the city of Lake Oswego, and um former counselor uh uh Juan Carlos Gonzalez won his election and uh is going to be appointed as into the interim, and then take full uh presidential powers in January as at the start of the term.

I just want to talk a little bit very briefly.

You know a lot of the stuff that's going on and some of the things that Metro's been involved in.

There's the Tuala Valley Highway Improvements, which we're still working on.

Uh that's important for the region, the Beaverton shelter, the home plate use services in downtown uh Beaverton, Cooper Mountain Natural Nature Park, which is a nature and a recreation park operated by Tualton Hills Park and Recreation District, viewfinder apartments in Tiger, the Bridge to Home Family Shelter, King City Community Park Forest Trail, uh Sherwood Urban, these are all shown at the numbers, urban growth boundary expansion, uh, and then more close closer to home.

There's the Plambeck Gardens, which is thank Mayor Bubenick for his leadership on that, which is recently built and is is occupied down on Boone's Ferry Road.

Um, the uh the Ice Age Tonkin Trail, uh, and then what this map also shows Graham Parks, but I also want to mention, of course, Metro's been involved in the Basalt Creek uh Parklands acquisition as well as the Tualaton River uh Dew Park acquisition, which is going to be an addition along the river.

And as people point out, Tualaton is the only city in the Tualetan Basin that is really right on the river.

So this is really important.

So I want to uh just mention those things.

Uh the future vision, one of the things that that you may have heard about, and this is coming up this year, is we are under requirements to have a future vision or to come up with a future vision plan every so often.

We hadn't done one since what is it, 1990, 18, 1998, not 1898.

Um that was a successful in many ways in in, but requires read.

As you know, the world has changed a lot since the year 2000.

So uh the future vision overview, it's a it's a year-long process to get a wide range of opinions from throughout the area, including the Tiwallatan area in all the cities, and get input from both a lot of community groups, including youth cohorts, to try and identify what is the future vision, the guiding principles that are gonna guide this area for the next 50 years.

It's a long-range thing, and it doesn't necessarily say what's gonna happen in the next 10 years, but it's meant to be a larger scale overview.

We're setting the table to collaborate with the cities, communities, and individuals to create a 50-year shared vision.

Uh it will set the course for policies and programs, not all of which will happen, of course, but but some of which will, and it'll guide things.

Uh the engagement is important.

There's a future vision commission, and there's a youth committee, and then there's other committees that are gonna be meeting throughout the summer.

Uh the next one, let's see.

Next slide.

I think it's got more future vision.

Yeah, this is the there's a future vision commission, the youth committee, the community engagement, all of these are gonna be weighing in.

They've been starting to meet, um, they've had some of their early meetings, and they're you know, basically sort of getting their feet wet and learning sort of how to develop a vision for the community.

One of the things I want to point out is this is from Tualaton.

In the community survey that went out and was answered by people from the Tualin area.

These are the this slide shows the priorities that were from the people in the Tualetin area.

And you notice a lot of them have to do with natural environment.

Affordability comes in very high, but then environment, green, walkable, natural, clean, and beautiful.

Those are all people in Tewalatan value the you know, the beautiful area that we live in, the trees, and it's it's lovely this time of year.

So this is an important thing.

I'm gonna just covers the timeline.

There's only two important things I wanted.

The first dark blue box that says regional community and value and engagement, that's something that we're doing now.

That's the important part at this point in time.

And then the final vision, if you notice it says April, May 27.

So that's the time frame.

The rest of the stuff is details, and you know you'll be quizzed on it later.

So uh and I think at that point I should turn it over to you, Michelle.

Sure.

Sure.

Um, I'm gonna use my notes.

Um, thank you for having us today, counselors and mayor gubenic.

And um, I'm gonna use my notes so I'm not as polished.

I'm gonna try to be as efficient as I can.

Um so I um I'm the regional investment strategy manager with Metro, and um the Metro Counselors have um they have three main priorities um in the coming years.

It's parks and nature.

They share these shared priorities too with Tualetin.

Parks and nature, housing, economic development.

So I'm gonna touch on two of those and then I'm gonna hand it past back to Councillor Rosenthal.

Um so the first one, speaking of beautiful green areas and parks.

Do you want me to go back?

Um, this is great.

Uh, again and again, if you ask people what they love about living here, you will probably hear folks say nature, right?

The beautiful green space, our beloved parks.

Um, it's a shared love of the greater Portland region.

So I wanted to highlight here that this is from the 2022 uh Parks and Nature Levy from Metros Parks and Nature Levy.

We have three program areas, and they're highlighted here.

Uh habitat restoration and land management, where we protect and restore over 20,000 acres of protected and restored lands, um, regional parks and um regional park operations where we host nature experiences, operate 34 parks, boat ramps, and cemeteries across the region.

Um, and where they're gosh, or over two million visitors per year.

I think it's 2.5, but it's I mean it's quite a bit.

Um, and community grants and community-driven grants and um investments in education, where we've granted over 190 million dollars in grants and local share funding.

Um let's keep going.

Thank you, counselor.

Yeah.

Um, so this is sort of it's just a quick snapshot of both Metro's bond measure and our local option levy as they work in tandem, right?

The bond for large-scale capital investments like land acquisition and the levy provides the day-to-day funding to maintain and operate these beautiful places.

Um voters continue to trust us with this very critical piece of our system.

So just sort of naming that again.

This sort of snapshot here from the levy.

This gives you a picture of what um the 2022 levy's funding goes to.

Uh, 40% over in levy investment or over in the um sorry, I'm losing myself here, goes to habitat restoration, 35% to regional parks operations, 15% to community-led investments.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna actually pivot from this to housing.

Um Metro manages a regional approach to creating new affordable housing and reducing homelessness.

Um thanks to voters who've uh passed two of the measures I'm gonna talk about.

Um 2018 affordable housing bond and 2020 supportive housing services.

Uh big extra points for people in this room if you've heard of those two things, right?

Um let's keep going.

I can't okay.

So this is a snapshot of the affordable housing bond.

Um communities across Greater Portland have struggled with regional housing affordability.

Um we have a regional housing affordability crisis that gets worse every year.

The housing bond in 2018 was passed by voters to support uh solution around this, and we've um worked collaboratively with cities and counties towards this.

So it gives you a snapshot of you know um six hundred over six hundred and fifty-two million generated by the bond for property acquisition and capital construction, over 5,379 um homes in production, uh 2,717 homes with two or more bedrooms, sort of gives you the snapshot of what's what's been built.

And we are projected to achieve over our goals of the initial what we thought we would build, which is great news.

All right, let's go to the next snapshot.

The next one is going to be supportive housing services.

Um for households facing housing instability, those additional challenges really needed and came from supporting supportive housing services passed by voters in 2020, um, which took a historic step to address this crisis.

So supportive housing services directly funds every like Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties to invest in local strategies to combat and prevent homelessness.

Um so again, it gives you a snapshot snapshot here over 1.2 billion raised by the SHS tax as of August 2025.

Um households placed in housing, 20,600 homelessness preventions, and again, it sort of shares where the investments are really going to and what we're seeing from it.

Um I guess the other thing I'll name with SHS because we're I think it's very clear we've had some growing pains at the first years of implementation.

Um largely overcome those.

The Metro Council has adopted a series of reforms to SHS, and um we have what we lovingly call as RPAC, right?

Um as an oversight committee that serves the governance of the funding going forward.

RPAC was recently established and they've had their first meeting or two, but they're gonna be tackling some of the real hard questions as how do we improve the system to make it more efficient, serve more people, and provide more services, and just make it uh a better system for everybody.

So I think now I will talk about uh the economic development.

Metro has gotten into the area of economic development.

One of the areas, particularly to Walleton realizes is that you have an industrial lands here.

But one of the real needs was there was not a really good inventory of industrial lands according to the sizes and adaptability of these lands and whether their limitations.

So Metro has embarked upon because Metro has the databases to regional lands inventory to support the to support the economy.

We also support grants, transportation investments, visitor venues, the Oregon Zoo, and more.

So we I mean, Metro is probably going to be more involved in economic development because we realize that this is something that we that's gonna be part of the future, the future vision.

Um the uh economic development, it as I mentioned, it's sort of a roadmap that's going to provide the cities with valuable information on what lands are available so they can go out and market the various industries or the the various groups if they want and say that these lands are available, these lands are shovel ready, these lands take a little bit of investment.

So there's a lot of stuff going on, and and of course, we're gonna be coordinating with the governor's task force on economic development.

This is a this is a big thing going forward and something that we'll be paying more attention to.

Uh it has other components.

Um the chambers of commerce, of course, are very important in economic development, and so you know, Metro will be working with chambers of commerce to identify the businesses and the types of businesses that are most appropriate, as well as perhaps even getting involved in helping the education system develop people who are ready for the jobs for the kind of new new uh careers that we want to create.

Um let's see.

The economic development sounds I think I covered that already.

So I don't know, just the next one is just uh comprehensive economic development strategy.

It's called SEDS, it's another acronym that we use.

Um and then the jobs ready lands program, which I've already discussed and mentioned.

And this is just briefly now.

One of the things that's gonna happen because this involves the legislature is we also have an annual legislative update, and this is really just a sort of an oversight of the timelines in which we're gonna be developing the legislative update.

And I just want to point out the three things in the middle.

Oregon traded sector industrial land supply, which is a very important area, and it is you know the area between Sherwood to Walleton and Wilsonville has some of the the best industrial land supply.

Agricultural industry in the Tri-County area is also important.

Agriculture is a big contributor to our economy, and then as you all know, the big controversy that came out of the last legislative session is the data center overview, and there may be things proposed that are going to provide make sure that data centers do not have untoward ecological damages or untoward energy usage, and as well as are appropriately located in areas, particularly in the western side of Oregon.

So I want to say a brief thing about the visitor venues.

We're doing some important things with the visitors venues, especially expo, then that should be all capitalized, but that's not a big deal.

So we're memorializing the historical and cultural significance.

As you know, this was Asian awareness, Asian American Awareness Month, and one of the important things was the internment center at the Expo Center during the lead up to the World War II or during World War II.

And so that's going to be memorialized.

It was also the Van Port floods, and a lot of people perished there.

So that's going to be memorialized, and it's going to transform the space, but it's going to transform the rest of the space into much more of a sports-centered kind of venue where we have a lot more regional sports.

We can bring people in for regional tournaments, basketball, volleyball, all sorts of sports, but probably even cornhole tournaments, although those have been held there already.

And then the Portland 5 Center of the Arts, as you know, this is a transition that's ongoing.

Metro has been managing the P the P5, including the Keller and the Schnitz for a number of years, and now that will be taken over within the next year, a little bit more than a year by the city.

It's continuing to operate.

It's a metro venue, and it's one of the biggest sources of bringing out of state income, and they're working very hard with travel Portland and so forth to bring out of state venues and conventions in, which brings in a lot of revenue to the state.

Because these are people that come from all over.

So that's enough on visitor venues.

I want to save a little time for I think that's the end side.

I didn't mention, and I I jokingly mentioned to a couple of people that we would remove the solid waste slides.

But uh they were removed without my knowing it.

But I do want to point out that in your packet, you do have two tables.

The uh solid waste metro manages the solid waste, and we have both wet waste facilities as well as um home use facilities as well as the hazardous waste control, as well as the kinds of things that we bring to the city, such as uh, you know, large scale, large scale throwaways or hazardous waste events.

But so there's two components as you all know.

There's the regional excise tax, and then there's the the waste fee.

The current budget proposal for the waste fee is to go up by 10 percent, and the regional fee is going to go up by 5 percent.

In your packet, you have two things which provide information on what the regional system fee, which is which is slated to increase by 5 percent, provides in Washington County, and also because to Walleton is a partially in Clackabus County, also for Clackhamus County.

It gives the kinds of things that is provided through the regional system fee, direct funding to the county, cleaned up dumped and garbage, which is through RID patrol, collection events served at a large household transitions, and those are going to continue waste reduction education, students served throughout the region and through the counties, and then information services.

The reason for the waste increase is that these are services that we will continue to provide, but the tonnage, as you all know, has dropped, and so we have there is less revenue.

So there are other cost-saving measures that are going to be implied that are going to be impacted.

Last year there was there were staff cuts where necessary.

This year we're gonna be reducing some hours on some of the facilities where they have not been efficient, where they're not efficiently used.

So there's efforts to control the costs, but we have to provide the services, and so the price will rise to some extent.

And I believe that amounts to about a 50 cent per month general user bin fee increase.

That's my understanding.

I I don't know the exact number.

But anyway, I think that sort of covers I wanted to make sure we talked about solid waste because I know it's a big concern to the cities.

So uh I think I'll uh finish and if you have any numbers on the the average increase per per bin.

Did you have that information?

I've got a big cheat sheet here with me.

I can find that, but we're also happy to follow up with you on that and continue this conversation.

So I'll turn it over.

Thank you very much for your time and your attention and happy to try and answer any questions or to get staff to get back to you.

All right.

Questions for Council Rosenthal.

Council President Pratt.

I'll start.

Here come the numbers person.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Well, yeah, that's my um I'll I'll start with you since you talked about that that pretend fee going up 10 percent, and um we just get a lot of utility providers and providers of services to our people, and they come and they say it's only so much a thing, but you know, 10 percent increases average wage goes up three percent.

So I just concerned these things build up for people and they can't afford you know, we can't afford to pay 10 percent more for everything when our salaries are only increasing three percent, even if they're small amounts.

It adds up and takes away, you know, any um flexible spending people have, which it gets less and less.

So it's just a concern, and I'm wondering, I know like Metro's kind gotten out of the pay at recycling business, and have have you looked at potentially getting out of this business in the future or getting out of the wet waste business.

That is being considered at least for the South facility.

We have a lot of investment in the uh central facility, partly through uh uh uh composted waste or I should say food waste and repackaging and it's a larger facility, but for the South facility, we realize that it is space limited.

And the we there is currently more tonnage capacity in the region for hauling the tonnage, you know, collecting it and and and sorting it and getting it out to uh Arlington or wherever it goes.

There is more capacity than than we have need at the certain point.

Eventually it would be nice to have a new facility someplace in the southern tier, uh particularly over in the east side.

But um so that to shall we say focus the use of the of the Metro South on individual and and and per you know haul whether it's hazardous waste and then individual hall kinds of things or you know, small scale haulers and things like that is something that we are looking at, but that decision has not been made yet.

That's fine.

And I'm gonna go back to the vision schedule then and um you you're starting, it looks like uh oh, you kicked off in March.

The regional values community engagement.

Right.

So how can I you give more specifics about how you're going about um community engagement?

Well, there is a commission, and the commission is meeting, and that was a detailed selection process to get, I think 23.

How many people on the commit commission?

Do you remember?

Oh I thought it was twenty-two.

It's twenty two, maybe twenty-two.

In in the twenties.

There was a large scale application.

We had over a hundred applications, and a lot of people were were s you know reviewed and selected.

I was not part of the selection.

That's one area.

Um we're gonna be going out to we've sent out this community vision information questionnaire, which I answered and I I added, and it's on the website, and we've been trying to tell everybody we can, you know, even when they don't really want to listen.

We've been telling them to go in and answer the questions and and look on the website.

Um I think there's other aspects.

It's gonna be um community event tabling.

I know that's happening.

Okay.

And I think that the survey got extended out through the end of May.

If I'm not, you know, I think that's right on the Metro website.

Yeah, yes.

Okay.

Yeah.

Okay.

So we can get some more info.

No, yeah, I just want to make it clear in case people.

I can get back to you on the number of respondents and the number of people that have that have been contacted so far.

It's quite a large number.

Okay.

And then um, it takes quite a few people just to do that one slide.

You remember showing the the key pref preferences for the for the towallet and and I don't know if it's just the city limits or the immediate toilet and area, but that takes a lot of people to develop a slide like that.

You don't do statistically, you don't do it on just you know a hundred people.

Right.

Well, that's good to hear.

That doesn't work.

And um then I I did go to the Cooper Mountain Nature Park, and I just want to commend uh Metro for putting park spaces near where people live so um people can appreciate nature close by and what you've done for our city too with the parks.

That's really nice.

We we like parks.

Yeah.

And we're and we still have the bond issue that was passed, which uh uh it's about a little over 50 percent expended, and we've we've gotten another four or five thousand acres.

That needs to be wrapped up by about 19 2031.

Um so we there is more per there are more purchases in the priority areas than that we still have on site.

But as you know, we we purchase properties, it's willing sellers, so we have to wait until people really are interested in selling.

Right.

Um I have two more quick ones.

The first one is um just a reminder to Metro that there is Metro outside of the Portland you know, city limits.

And then uh my last thing is um we're in 26 and 29 2029 is coming soon.

So um what's being done with um the idea of a new SHS.

I'm sorry, wouldn't ask that question.

The the safe harbor that expires in 29, correct?

The SHS?

Oh, the S yeah, the SHS.

Um, that was originally under consideration for going for an extension of that because it ends in 2030.

And uh have to really sort of if it's going to extend it, it has to do that a couple a year or two in advance.

Okay, so not much is being done right now.

It's it's being considered, it's being planned right now.

The the polling have been has been conducted to find out what people's concerns and what their preference is.

And I'll just state personally, when we started we really didn't have a great idea of exactly how to do this.

And so the first couple years were a very steep learning curve.

We have and that was also a period when when downtown Portland was at shall we say a bad reputation situation and uh a lot of bad press.

So it's it'll take some time for people to realize that we've been making successes, we've been making wise investments, and people have been saved and people have been helped off the streets.

Um we have to adjust some things, whether it's the tax rate to make it indexed for inflation, we may have to adjust the uh 7525 proportion because we realize there's a lot of people that are in danger of becoming homeless, but they're not technically chronically homeless.

So there's a lot of different populations to be served.

There's the youth cohort, which is hard to define.

They're sometimes homeless and sometimes not.

So there's refinements that are being made, but all the counties are now on board with a regional data system and with also the regional concept that this is a regional situation because people move around the region and people have different kinds of things.

So we're now also we I would say just recently we've started there's a training program that has been initiated by Portland Community College.

So all the people who are going out there and dealing with people on the streets and dealing with people who have help have at least a consistent training.

And now it had that hasn't reached everybody yet, but it is in process.

So these are the kinds of things we're we're working on.

It's it's not a perfected process yet, but it has been successive.

Um it hasn't completely solved the problem, but it's helped a lot of people.

Okay.

And my last comment is just to thank you because you're always accessible to hear our needs in our community here.

You're welcome.

Other questions for Council Brooks.

Thank you for the presentation and um and your work on the vision is exciting.

I remember when you introduced it at the meeting down at the zoo.

And I did bring those um cards back.

Um I think there's a scan.

People can scan their phone on the site.

I don't know if we have that slide.

Um, but people can um scan the questionnaire and fill it out.

Um and it's always really good to hear from people from Tualeton.

So as I feel fortunate to have worked under a couple different um metro counselors' leads.

Um, and I really appreciate the fact that you bring um the information, honestly.

Before it was a very rote presentation with not a lot of interaction, and um I never saw the kind of input that you that we've had and represent representation we've had from you, especially around our parks, um answering our questions about the garbage, etc.

Um, and then of course, my question is about the supportive um housing services, human services part of the supportive housing services.

So with the oversight committee, how is the balance between the leadership of government and the expertise of social service, mental health, trained people, education systems, etc.

Interacting with each other in the leadership role of this?

Well, that's a very good question, not a tough question.

I'll have to ask, it's a work in progress.

As you know, the the the regional policy oversight committee is mixed with elected officials and experts and people with lived experience or people who are working in the field.

It is now, I believe, come to the realization that we're going to need some either subcommittees of experts to provide a greater a greater input because I mean, with I think it's 17 people with the people that are on it and the elected officials, we don't always have all the experts we need on any given topic.

And so that is a problem that that is an issue that is being worked out.

Um and they have been required to within the next first two years make recommendations as to how their committee can be improved and and bring in more insight, more expertise and and more uh in some cases it may be just community involvement or maybe business involvement.

I don't I don't know.

It may be the real estate community that needs to weigh in a little bit more.

But they are charged with coming up with that recommendation or coming up with that evaluation within the first two years.

Okay.

Thank you for that answer.

I appreciate it.

And um I have I have uh other thoughts.

Um I um hopeful that it is deeply evidence-based work um that is done with community assessment expertise so that we can start targeting um not only getting the social service infrastructure and the providers that we need to execute these things, but also to focus monies on the easy lifts, uh the most effective lifts like eviction prevention, which is what our community continues to ask for again and again and again.

They also ask a lot for over sight with um there's a lot of great landlords, but education and um more work with identifying sort of bad actors in the landlord community.

Um, and we've struggled with that ourselves in our in our city, so I'm not saying that in a way.

Um and I appreciate that there's new educational opportunities for people that are in direct contact with people that are suffering from houselessness right now.

So I appreciate all your work, and I look forward to uh seeing what's next.

Oh, my last question is also we just had a discussion about increasing um how we increase green spaces, and just curious around the basalt creek area with the the trails and connections, just keeping an open mind around how that all works together and in contact with you guys as we move forward in that area of development.

Thank you.

Okay.

And I I will just comment there with that it it is one of the target areas, the the whole Tonkin Treek area, Tonkin Creek area, the Badlands, including the Coffee Creek wetlands and that whole environmental landscape that stretches to Allaton to Wilsonville to Sherwood.

It's an important area that uh we're continuing to make acquisitions.

Council Reyes.

Um my questions are um mostly about the fees that were for waste, and I know that you mentioned a few things, but you did just say that there were some reduction um done or layoffs, or I can't remember if you mentioned something about doing that presentation.

There were some layoffs, particularly in administrative staff last year.

This year there's going to be some reduction, and then one of the big uh cost savings is because there was a a bit of a I would say supervisory as well as an operational capacity at South Station.

The basically Metro is going to take over the uh South Station operations and supervision as of the first of next year.

We have also and have turned it over to the private sector.

We've turned over the paint recycling, which is a long-term project, very good red barn paint.

I've used it.

But uh we've just it it is something that is a cost factor and that the private sector can take over better.

So that's another cost reduction.

So that re removes some of the I should say some of the labor costs that we had.

You mentioned South Station.

Can you describe that to us?

What that what what are we talking about?

What area of the Metro?

Oh, South Station, it's uh South Metro, it's down in uh near the Home Depot in uh Oregon City.

It's right off of 205, and that's called Metro South.

And we have Metro Central, which is actually Metro North, but you know, I didn't name it.

So Right, just one people that are not familiar with um the Metro Councillor governance that they understand when you say South Station.

Yeah, it's it it's a little you're right, it's a little confusing, but it's it's uh down off 205 near um the Oregon City.

And it's operated as both a wet waste station as well as a self-hall station as well as a hazardous waste uh repository, so people can bring their hazardous waste, and that's been very effective, uh, but it's not cheap because it requires a lot of skill to handle all these wastes that come in.

And even with all those reductions, we you metro still approved a 10 percent increase.

Yes.

So you reduce and then you increase us to pay more.

Some of the some of the increases due to the general cost of inflation cost of labors and materials that have happened.

And that's about a third of it, I think.

I'm not exactly sure.

And the other half is due to the unexpected reduction, about a 15% reduction in overall waste that is being processed at the facilities.

And when we have less waste, we have less revenue.

So the cost cutting is in large, I should say the cost cutting and the reductions are in large part to try and manage that.

We had originally talked last year, the year before, two years ago, we talked about trying to keep things at 8%.

And this is a slight increase, but again, we didn't.

10% is a slight increase or eight percent.

8% was what we had been targeting as sort of the cost increase just because of operations needs.

Solid waste is one of those strange things that the more the more complicated society gets.

We we we reduce the waste and generate less revenue, but it costs more to deal with the waste.

So it's it it it's sort of a countervailing um currents there.

Uh but yes.

The reason why I say that I bring this up is because I want our community to understand because we do get emails and us as and people letting thinking that it's us Tuatin City, and we approving all this.

And so I need our citizens or our residents in Tualatin to understand where that comes from and why it's happening because we don't have the ability to um well as a city, we can't just go and uh acquire another waste management company other than Republic Services.

Am I correct?

Uh I don't understand.

I don't know.

We have Republic Services, right?

You have Republic Services.

And can we go to another, like say waste management company that says we would compete with Republic Services?

We can you have France.

There's no competitor for Metro.

Right.

I'm sorry, yes.

Yeah.

So there's no competitor for for Metro, right?

Uh out there, right?

Metro provides the facilities to receive the waste, we do not collect any waste.

And so that what you're talking about is the waste collection groups, whether it's Pride or uh the Republic or Waste Management or uh City of Roses.

There's about seven of them in the in the area.

We don't compete with them, we just regulate them to make sure that they all follow the same rules and operate according to good business practices.

But it is the cities that set the contracts with the individual haulers.

And that is not something that Metro regulates.

But you do um charge using charge us for those services.

We we charge you directly.

Well, we charge we charge directly to 5% the regional excise fee, and then we charge for any of the facilities that that take waste to our to Metro South or Metro Central, and that is the 10 percent increase.

And that is a private hauler that is then paying that extra 10 percent, and they will in most cases pass along those costs to the cities that they serve.

Right.

I'm just you know it's it's I don't mean to ask you or put you on the spa, I just want people to understand the the way it's working because um we would like uh I definitely feel the city or residents should have a say so or a voice when these um fees are being passed at Metro level because of all there's no there's not a lot of understanding of why their trash is now you know to collect their trash is gonna be I don't know ten dollars more or five dollars more and it does add up, even though you we think five, ten dollars is a little bit, it just keeps adding up in eventually that is gonna be another a hundred dollars or something that you know our citizens and residents here in Tualetin are getting um getting really uh it it's just it's a hardship for for them.

And I I and I think that that's that's why I bring it up because I the understanding of that it's very important for people to know why it's happening.

And there's hardly any communication from petrol to the resident.

Usually it's us here.

One of the and and I agree with you, uh, and up until about a year and a half ago, the communication was even worse.

And then at the behest of or at the argumentation of a lot of the cities and the mayors, we re-established the waste advisory committee, the solid waste advisory committee.

Now I'm not on that committee, so I can't tell you about all the things they discuss.

But my understanding is they provide a forum for the cities, the representations of the cities, to present their arguments and to try and clarify the situation.

And yes, it's it's not always easy to explain.

But I think uh Mayor Bubenick probably could explain it a little bit better than I am because I think he's sat in on more of those meetings.

Right.

Right, I understand that.

But when it comes to voting, it you also vote on that.

I do vote on that.

Yeah, you you're representing you're representing us in those meetings voting on B RB, you know.

And I and uh my base my vote both on both on our budget on the kinds of costs that we have, the kinds of efforts we're doing to control those costs, as well as on what is recommended by the regional waste or the solid waste advisory committee, which is represent which is represented by people in the region.

And you know, to a certain extent, I have to I have to take all of this information and say this is reasonable.

You know, can we can we continue to maintain services at this level?

And if we can't, then what do we have to do to to do that?

And is a waste is a uh waste facility fee justified or not?

And it's a balance.

It's always a balance between reduction in services, or I should say sometimes it's a balance between a reduction in some services, whether it's the uh uh educational camps or whether it's the uh solid waste facilities or the you know the hazardous waste events at various cities.

It's reduct it's a balance between those services and the cost that that we get.

We get two sources of revenue, which is the the waste for see waste facility fees and the excise tax, the the regional fee.

So I'm gonna end by saying because I do want to consider I know there's more questions out there, that if there are reductions in my mind at the level of your level, then um there shouldn't be any increase to the residents.

Um that's my opinion, because the uh the point of reducing is so you can maintain um the the fees low for us.

So it makes no sense that there's reduction, but then increase a 10%.

So that's my comment, and then I'm gonna let the mayor.

Thank you.

And I will pass that on.

Okay.

Uh I'm gonna go to Councillor Sacco or Hill Year.

I got Councillor Hill here has her hand up.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor Reyes, for handling that so well, because I think Councillor Rosenthal knows I'm pretty concerned about that.

I do appreciate that you mentioned the 50 cents per month, and I'm assuming that that's the tipping fee that we'll see passed on to us.

Is that is that what you anticipate?

Though you I appreciate you can't speak directly for others, but that's the tipping fee part, yes.

Yeah, that would be the the the per container per standard um residential container fee.

Remember the the metro fees uh are approximately one third of the the residential fee that you pay.

The rest is due to the private haulers, their their charges for labor for trucks for collection for distribution, travel, and transport, and so forth.

So Metro represents a portion of that, but not the entire portion.

And how much of the five percent regional system fee does Metro keep?

Well, we don't keep it, we spend it on the services that are in this thing, which I mentioned the regional services, which are um and I'll read them again, direct funding to to the counties, cleaned up dump and garbage, which is a RID patrol, collection events, uh waste reduction, and then general operation and maintenance.

I mean, you know, the basically administration.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, I I I didn't make that connection in my notes correctly, so thank you for clarifying that.

So in regards to that part of it, um, and the hazardous waste.

I know you've kind of moved uh around on that and the paint has been removed and certain things, but are you still collecting sharps containers?

That is a good question.

I I'd have to get back to you on that.

I'd really I'd really like to hear more about that and find ways to collaborate.

I hear from people all the time in our community, they're desperate for places for sharps containers to dispose properly.

So I'd really love to be able to work with you and your staff on finding ways to increase capacity of that in our community.

Is that something we could work on together?

Yes.

I I think it's an important thing.

I it's a it's a significant issue, and I've understood that it's uh something that's not well taken care of, and uh I will check into it.

And uh yes I will check into that.

I would agree.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Um I'm curious um around the SH oh excuse me.

I'm sorry.

We don't get back to them.

Yeah.

Um I was just informed that we go ahead.

I was just gonna say, I believe that we do collect sharps.

So I will I think we should get back to you though, on like what that collaboration looks like.

So I just wanted to know I think we do.

Yes.

Yeah, thank you very much.

I'd love to learn more.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Um I'm curious uh around the student health survey or student health survey, it's another acronym that SHS stands for in my work, sorry.

Uh the housing um funding and counselor Brooks, uh, thank you for your questioning.

That was uh along some of the questions that I had.

And so I I'd like to end or add on to that to ask what is the relationship, what would you say Metro's relationship is with the counties with the three counties around the supportive housing funding and and that whole project.

I mean, I I I appreciate you've noted that there have been a lot of kinks to work out in the process, but I'd like to know since we're too represent our community represents two of those three counties.

What is the relationship like and and um how do you see that moving forward?

Much improved.

Um the relationship is is pretty good.

There are still some kinks to work out.

Last year we agreed on a regional on everybody on the same regional information system.

We have pretty good agreement on most of the KPIs, key performance indicators.

Uh, we've been working directly.

There are still some particular complications in with uh Multnomah County and the city of Portland because they have a very a more complicated system.

Washington County and Clackamas County are a little bit easier because they didn't really have these programs before.

Multnomah County had these programs funded federally or from other state issues, and so meshing these these two programs has been somewhat more complicated.

And as you've read in the paper, there have been some concerns about um you know housing monies and things like that in Multnomah County.

But I would say it's on a it's on a good track.

Um again, there are still issues to be worked out.

The IGAs are going to be revised, but that's going to take some requirements or some direction from the regional policy oversight committee.

And so that should be happening in the next six months.

Yeah.

Okay, thank you.

And is that a policy committee that oh I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

Go ahead.

What?

I'm curious.

Is that a community involvement committee that community members can get on?

That policy committee?

The Regional Policy Oversight Committee, no, is it's an established committee appointed by the president of the Metro Council.

It's about 17, 18 people, and like I said, it would they were they were vetted to represent a wide range, and as counselor Brooks pointed out, perhaps they're a little understaffed in terms of expertise, but they include elected officials and people who are representative of the service providers, representative of the counties, representative of Metro and so forth.

But they're going to be readjusting their committee structure over the next year or so.

Interesting.

Okay, well, I'll follow that on your website.

Okay, thank you.

And I'm curious, I don't see anywhere for youth to apply as we think through the 2050 visioning or the 50-year visioning process, excuse me.

Um could you um in a follow-up supply information with us on how youth can apply for that?

I don't see anywhere on the get involved or any anywhere for youth uh to to apply to be part of that.

Or or are you telling us that that is already been selected?

I can speak to that a little bit.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff.

Um the youth committee has already been selected and has started meeting, although there's going to be more opportunities in the future for youth to be involved.

Uh, there's going to be a summit event this summer that's going to bring youth from around the region together, led by the youth committee to talk about this issue and to get their input for the vision.

Um, and as well, we're in our first phase of engagement with the future vision process.

Uh, but this is going to continue throughout the summer and into the fall, and there's a real priority for reaching youth voices as it is their future who's going to be most directly impacted when we're looking 50 years in the future.

So we can certainly share information with you about opportunities to connect with the youth committee and about the youth summit going on this summer.

I'd I'd appreciate that.

I um work directly with youth then in my day job, and I haven't seen any information from Metro.

And I guess I would suggest that I probably don't go to your website on the regular to look for information, and even as a city counselor, somehow maybe that if that came through on um I didn't see that.

So I did sign up to be on your email distribution list.

Maybe that will help.

But I guess my what I I'm trying to say is that I don't feel like it's easy for me, even as a city counselor to get information from Metro.

Um and I will do my part on how to do that better, but I'd also like to encourage you to maybe find uh improved ways to help engage help us engage our community when there are opportunities like this.

Because I do appreciate the work that you're doing.

I can see that it's good work, and I think that's really important.

And I'd like our community members to be able to be represented.

So thank you.

Thank you for the uh comment and the good point.

We'll pass it on.

Councilor Sacco, you have anything?

Right.

Uh while the sun's still up, I'm gonna move this along quickly so we get uh to Walton High School students.

Thank you for being so patient on this.

At least you're seeing what how city council works.

Um I already gave uh Councilor Rosenthal a couple heads up about what I'm gonna ask him about.

Uh you've been beaten up a couple times about the 10% rate increase.

I want to mention that the regional waste advisory committee asked Metro not to do the 10% increase.

They advised against that.

They also oppose the elimination of the funds for the business food scraps technical assistance program, and folks go, what the heck is that?

Uh years ago, Metro started the process, you know, thankfully, that any restaurant or food service facility that has over 250 250 pounds of food scraps a month would participate in this recycling program.

Uh they've gotten, and it's a requirement, it's not optional.

Um restaurants did get involved, did do this, but now with this latest budget, the technical assistance money for folks like at Washington County and City of Beaverton to give that assistance is now gone.

So now Beaverton, that staff position that gave the technical assistance, and my concern mainly is Washington County is no longer funded, and we all know what the budget situation in Washington County is.

So if we don't have county folks checking on compliance on Metro's policies, which they have not changed despite the rate increase, uh the withdrawal of funds, that well, Washington County representative will come in, find out they're not in compliance and not be able to help them with compliance because the position that used to help with that is eliminated.

Again, it's too late now.

Uh Metro uh council's already voted on this change, but just um a note of discontent on that vote.

Um Mayor Beatty sent in a fantastic letter in uh objecting, and she is our representative on our WAC along on for Washington County on the garbage business for um Metro.

The second thing I want to talk about is is the rate increase again.

RWAC said no, uh didn't agree with it.

A terrific stat that Mayor Beatty had was that since 2020 Metro has raised garbage rates 92 percent in six years.

You've raised garbage fees by 92 percent on our residents, and I trust her numbers because she's got way bigger staff than I do.

Uh, if it's wrong, let me know.

But I assume it's right.

And the last thing I'm gonna beat you up about garbage is that if your tonnage is going down, it's not gonna go back up.

So you guys need to figure it out.

If your tonnage keeps going down, Metro's in a you know, fantastic uh job of keeping things out of the landfills and out of garbage, it's just not gonna be there anymore.

So to Council Reyes' point, you got to figure out more budget cuts because you're never gonna see garbage go back up again.

Um so crystal ball says next year you're gonna be in the same position, and you know, I won't be here, but I'm assuming the next city council isn't gonna tolerate another rate increase when you know tonnage is going down.

So you need to start planning now.

Um switching gears uh for economic development.

Uh Christine Lewis, Councilor Lewis gave the presentation of the Metro Mayor's Consortium about economic development initiative at Metro.

And the resounding question to Councilor Lewis was like, why?

Why is Metro getting into this?

This is not a thing for Metro to do.

Metro is in charge of the UGB, and I applaud the biddable the buildable lands uh inventory.

We do need that, that's fantastic.

But what's Metro going to do that the state's not doing, the counties aren't doing what the cities aren't doing, and especially what GPI is doing.

You know, what is Metro's role?

To me, that's a TBD.

Uh to me, it's a duplication of effort.

Uh if they want to act as a convenient or be the point uh as I assume they're going to be on future UGB expansions for manufacturing industrial lands, have an actual real inventory of what we can use, that'd be fantastic.

So with that, I'll let you respond.

I hit you with a blast, but wanted to get all out because again, we got sunlight for our picture going down.

You may have to remind me of a couple of the questions.

I'll be able to do that.

So it's t the 10% increase, we beat you up about that.

Um the par the decrease of funding of the food scraps where the Yar WAC and Mayor Beatty asked for a partial funding, which wasn't, I guess, awarded at 40 to 50 percent, and then economic development.

My understanding on the as I mentioned on the 10 percent, and maybe I'm wrong, and I will recheck and I'll go back and and revisit this.

Um is that again, like I said, part of that is just the cost of living increase is three percent, and we went over the eight percent because of the unexpected large loss of of uh revenue from from the waste stream.

And so it and the it was a balance between how much services do you cut versus how much do you raise the increase and and you know you could say, well, we're just gonna cut services completely and not raise anything, or we're gonna raise it 15 percent and not cut any services.

My understanding, or I was convinced, and maybe again maybe I was wrong, that we we sort of sought a happy medium, we came close to the 8 percent, not as good as we would have liked, but but it also avoided cutting services.

I've had some comments from people from private haulers and stuff saying if you cut it at seven, if if you are not open till seven o'clock at night, we can't it just costs us a lot because we have to h keep stuff and and haul it around until the next morning.

So that's one thing.

The food scraps thing is a more complicated subject.

When when we initially gave out grants for the food scraps, it was intended to be a five-year program.

It was intended, it was never intended to be a long-term subsidized program.

It was intended to be as a startup setup and get people running so they get the cities so they can be in compliance and knew how to operate it.

We extended it for two years, so it's actually been going on for seven years.

Um and again, that was one of the cost-saving things.

There are still some grants available to the cities for this uh for the food scraps reduction programs to to monitor that, but it is not as much.

It's about one-fifth of the amount of money that was available before.

So uh regrettably, but again, this is one of those things that was not intended to be a long-term a long-term metro run program.

It was it it it was meant to be a city-run program, and all I can say is you have to argue with the county to be reasonable about their reviews and inter and they are facing some more problems.

My guess is they won't be doing as much uh checking.

Right.

I think they'll be doing the checking is the technical assistance is what's gonna hurt.

And then and and then your last was there another question on the economic development, why you're getting into the economic development.

Well, we were requested uh economic development.

We during the expansion of the Sherwood boundary area, there was a lot of a lot of discussion about the fact that we really didn't know how many parcels of the larger sizes were available and what their land readiness was.

And we heard a lot of discussion, particularly input from WEA West Site Economic Alliance, and we took that to heart and said, all right, we can do that, that's our data, we can do that, and it's something that's gonna be helpful.

And maybe we have maybe it'll identify gaps in the in the 100 to 200 acre range, or maybe it'll identify gaps in the 40-acre range.

I don't know.

But the you're right, we do not have a direct role in general economic development.

But as a regional convener, there are perhaps roles we can we can play, such as perhaps in you know in dealing with workforce issues that we can play in just in bringing people together, not in running it, not in developing the economic analysis.

Um that we can just help coordinate so that everybody in in the in the region, all the cities, there are small cities and big cities, some of them have you know different industrial bases, to give them all the sort of the same heads up so that they can all be playing at the same at the same level.

So uh right now we have some cities that seem to be a little bit more advantaged than other cities.

And uh I think that we need to be thinking about because uh the point of fact is some cities, and I won't name cities, develop a lot of residential land, but the residential land doesn't exactly pay for all the services that they need to provide.

But these people commute to other cities which have the land.

So there is a role for regional convening and regional balancing in that.

And so economic development is a complicated thing, and I don't think you can easily you can just sort of dabble in it.

I think you really have to have at least a comprehensive understanding of the problem.

No, I agree with you on the convener.

I could see Metro as a convener, but not spinning up a department that does economic development that competes with other economic development organizations, but it's a convenient, yes, because that's what your job is to convene things, not to spin up another program that is duplicative.

And and where there's I mean, Metro also has a very large database and a very large data capacity.

And so where data is important or where data can inform people, I think it's that's where we can be most helpful.

And you're right, I applaud the UGB thing.

I mean that's I know being on the board at WEA that was the ass along with Clackwith's County, and you guys reacted and said, Yeah, let's do that.

So that I do applaud.

Uh with that, I'll stop beating you up.

Uh any other questions.

Right.

Well, thank you for coming tonight.

You know, it's a tough room to come into.

I appreciate uh you taking the questions and taking you know some uh um really pointed questions.

I do appreciate it, Garrett, that you do this and do come and you do come quarterly.

Um and face the music.

I appreciate I appreciate the interaction and the involvement and the questions.

And uh this is the first of seven.

All right.

So now you're toned up for us because we're gonna be the same.

And I know some of them are gonna be equally tough.

Yeah.

All right.

Well, thanks for coming.

Thank you all.

All right.

I want to thank my sta thank Metro staff for coming with me.

They and I just have to say, they do all the hard work.

We sometimes make the decisions.

Hopefully, we get it right.

Maybe we don't always get it right.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

So with the sun going down, let's try to get the picture done now first and then do the presentation.

Yep.

All right.

So there's a whole the council, the kids will take a 10-minute recess.

We'll come back.

It's now 8 30, we'll come back at 8 at 840.

All right.

Uh recess is now over for our photo op with the in pipe.

Uh and these are the Towalton High School students that help do the landscaping around the in pipe.

Um mechanism that's outside of this building.

So Lindsay Marshall and the high school team.

Welcome.

I have to lean.

Hello, good evening.

Um, let's see.

Oh, there we go.

Andy's working on it.

So good evening again, Lindsey Marshall's uh public works.

And I am here with uh colleagues and friends from Twalton High School.

And so I'll just give you a quick how we got here, and then I'll turn it over to these guys to tell you about their experience.

Great.

So the project was to create a backyard habitat certified community demonstration sites, a mouthful, um, here at TCS, which we just went and saw.

So how we got here was we installed InPipe, our microhydro turbine that turns the water into energy, and we made a big mess in the process.

Basically, we destroyed much of the landscaping as we rolled over it to get um all of the pipe installed and then turbine up and all that kind of stuff.

So we said, okay, we've got a little bit of a mess.

We got to get this replanted.

And had an idea that we partner as a city with backyard habitat, the certification program.

Um it lines with our council goals, right?

To be an environmentally active sustainable community.

And so we had a backyard habitat come out and do a site evaluation for us from this the site of the building where you were on.

We actually went all the way around the building just to like see what we could maybe one day do in the future.

Um we started with just the part that was already disturbed from the in-pipe um installation, and I thought, okay, who could we partner with?

And so I've have been lucky to partner um with Toleson High School and the design core team uh for a couple years now, and they have actually uh put in their own backyard habitat certified uh space at the high school, and so they already know what they're doing, which is great.

And also goes to connect, you know, have a connected informed engaged uh community, which is another one of our council goals.

And so the specs here that so I went to the high school and said, Hey, here's the specs, here's what we have.

We've got you know these two sections of land, and we'd like you to design and then come and plant these sections of lands.

We use the backyard habitat site plan, the planting list of available natives, and then we have a budget and gave them guidelines, and the goal is to get certified um by backyard um habitat.

And so big shout out to the public works leadership team, of course, Tom Steiger and Parks and Kate Griffin, our volunteer coordinator for also helping make all of this happen for us.

And so what these guys did um was take all that information and put together planting plans.

Um so a group of us went over to the high school and they stood up and did an amazing job presenting to us and saying here's what we did, here's our designs.

They thought about all the plants that they would need or want.

They put it, they put together a budget.

And so we were able to take those plans and uh note to self don't do a big planting right after Earth Day because you'll be short on Friday of plants.

Good to think of in the future.

Um so we do what we could with the planting plans that we had and got to work.

So they came out a couple weeks ago, and Tom and Kate had everything uh set up to go, and so we planted the site that you just saw.

So they we had what 65-ish or so.

Uh got off two school buses and came and got to work.

They pulled up all of the old plants that needed to come out, the old irrigation system that we're gonna need to uh get replaced.

Um planted a whole bunch of new plants.

Um you can see the logs in here.

That was um from all of their planting plans had like nurse logs to increase insects and pollinators, that kind of thing.

Um just to go through kind of these quickly.

But these are this is them in action.

And if you had driven by that day, you would have seen 65 uh high schoolers in orange vests uh rip it up and planting our um our uh frontage right there.

So as you can see, it looks much better than it did, no longer quite a mess.

They did a great job.

And there's a group photo there at the end and our backyard habitat in restoration sign.

So I am gonna let these guys introduce themselves and then tell you about uh the project and their experience.

Wait, your name and then what I'm Jassiani Ferrara, and I was very honored to work on this project.

When I first received this assignment, I felt super excited because we actually got to work on something that might come to fruition and is something people will actually interact with and look at.

Whereas we usually work on pieces of paper that would get recycled or thrown away a couple days after.

And yeah.

Hi, I'm Hanaya Tommy.

I was also very excited to work on this project.

I love gardening.

I thought it was super exciting to like see your idea come to life and see like the impact it made on people.

We had someone come out who actually worked in this building, and she said she was super excited to walk by it and like she loves going on walks, and so she was very excited to see like how it like much prettier it was, and like very excited to see it.

Is it okay?

We'll hope it works.

Okay, my name is Lily Eswee, and I'm gonna be honest, when I first got this assignment, I was more intimidated than excited because the planting world is very foreign to me, but I was it was interesting to me be able to be able to have the opportunity and jump into it.

And I do need to give credit to Design Corps in this program for those of you that don't know, design is a program that's implemented to really ease that transition into freshman year and to teach us really important skills on how to be creative and design and to cultivate, and it's really really helped me in so many ways.

And I'm sad to say it won't be a program anymore for upcoming freshmen, but it has really helped my life in so many ways.

I become creative in multiple ways.

I feel so much more smarter.

I've connected with the community around me.

And if there is any way that we can re-implement programs like Design Core again for these upcoming freshmen, that'd be incredible.

It would really benefit them in multiple ways, especially because these newer generations, you know, a lot of us we don't want to do the hard work and all those challenges, as many of you know.

But design core and programs like this has really really benefited us in so many ways.

And all of you guys appreciate the Twalton community, and we appreciate everything that you do for us, and we we want to be able to continue to strengthen it in the future.

So if there's any way that we can continue to implement these programs that really benefit students both in the school and outside the school building, because I can tell you that 90% of the stuff we did in Design Corps have actually helped me with other external events, unlike a bunch of math problems we did, which we have no idea how to apply that in real life.

So I really want to appreciate Mr.

Roe, Mr.

Monk, and Mrs.

Beeler for all that they've given us and all the hard work and dedication that they put to this program.

And again, if there's any way that we can re-implement these, please let us know and reach out to us.

We'd love to do it again.

So I got it.

Hi, my name is Deegan Baldwin, and I am also a freshman design core.

And when this project initially landed on the table of me and my peers, I was excited.

I wasn't exactly intimidated because I because this is more of a later project that we were given in comparison to ones that we were given at the beginning of the year.

And I was very excited.

I was very excited to learn or utilize the new uh skills that I have gotten via Design Core, which is an amazing program as Lily went depth about.

Um I was really excited that me and my community or my peers could leave an impact to my community that will be there for generations to come.

And it's not just a thing where you're given a project, you do the project, you get a grade, you're done with it, you forget about it in six months.

This is a project that will last longer than us, most likely.

And that's why I'm excited to talk about it.

That's why I'm sure we are excited to talk about it.

I don't have much else to add.

I'm Dan Road.

I'm the biology teacher as part of the program.

And I'm just very proud of all four of these and the work that they put into the project and throughout the year.

And it's been really fun to see them develop and become uh deeper learners and connect what we talk about in the classroom to the community and to make some lasting impacts.

And I was just wondering if you all could just let counsel know a little bit about your design process, right?

You got the you got the plant list, you got the budget, you said here's the here's the bare dirt, and kind of how you thought about designing what you designed.

Well, we were set up for success because our teachers are so good, amazing, and we had a lot of resources we could look at.

We had the most helpful for me was this booklet in Mr.

Rote's room, and it told us all the plants and if they were like hardy and what they needed to survive and what they were good for.

And then we would go on a dock and look at the price for said plant, and then we could put it down and we would have to calculate everything.

And that is about what I went about, how does a design my planting plan.

I also looked a lot at how plants affected like the soil because I knew that's something that lasts long term, and something that definitely needs to be considered when planting plants, and also if it attracted wildlife.

And also my favorite thing is prettiness.

So I also made sure to put a lot of flowers because that's the thing that makes us happy and keeps us looking at it.

So I do like how um she said like we had a booklet and it said like all the plans that we could use, which was really helpful.

It did also set us up for success of like what we could use and the budget, it was huge.

Like we we no one went close to the budget, so it was it gave us a lot of room on like how much plans we could do and like how much we could do this space.

I feel like I do also like like the visually visually appealing part of it because like he doesn't like pretty plants.

I mean like flowers are gorgeous, and so I feel like it was it was like very exciting to see like it come to life like throughout like designing it as a group.

So yeah, I just really enjoyed it.

Okay, can you okay?

That's much louder than the first time.

Sorry, guys.

I didn't do that.

But I think specifically with design core, a lot of they tend to give us like papers with structures on how we can start the ideating process.

They give us like who like interviews specifically on like the target audience we want to benefit, and why we have like a mission statement and all of these ideas and how we can make it feel more organized.

And it's a very structured yet flexible way of helping us create this process and how we can create a biodiversity uh planting plan.

Again, the booklet.

Thank you, Mr.

Rote.

That was an incredible book.

And a lot of us were very interested in visual aesthetics, as well as also like to point out that even our other classes that might not have to do specifically with biodiversity helped us gain a much larger understanding on diversity in the first place, like our global studies, we were learning about global conflicts, and somehow our teachers are so incredible that they made it in a way that I could connect plants to war, which is incredibly impressive, and I really appreciate that.

But they made in a way that we really understand the importance of diversity, so that this project again isn't just about how pretty the flowers can look or how to make the soil the best quality, but how we can really really aid our environment, which is very much in dire need of a lot of support and help right now.

And again, it really helps us make like feel more impactful.

So these processes, these guidances, these structures, it's not as intimidating anymore, and it's helped us be a lot more creative, which I do denually that technology and social media has made it very difficult for us to be able to accept that process openly.

So design core has really really helped us gain more structure but more flexibility when we approach these projects.

So in addition to all the outstanding information that's been presented so far, one ideation process that I personally use when I was designing my project that we all offici um not officially eventually combined was I drove.

I'd we we are all driving now, I assume, uh, because we are able to get our permits.

And one thing that I would do is I would drive around.

I would drive around Durham to Walton Tigered, and I would see things that make me smile.

What's something that I enjoy or makes me smile or makes me look, even while well, not look for too long while driving, obviously.

But uh something that stands out, something that's a signature look.

And one thing that really caught my eye was uh Durham Elementary.

They have a big sign out front that says Durham is kind.

And when I was younger, I was able to set that up.

And that's a really key memory in my mind.

And I want people to experience that sense of kindness in the community, hope, and belong belonging.

And that's why that I personally made the sign, and that's why that I think that some of us were able to get some outstanding ideas and make it into a project.

Okay.

Before we turn it over, I just want to say thank you to all of you for taking on this project.

And it really does go to show what Council Rosenthal was talking about.

Jolton values environment and beauty and sustainability and all that kind of stuff, and that's what this kind of project does for us.

So thank you.

And the questions or comments for the students.

Council President Pratt.

Well, first I want to know did you learn uh I know some of you it sounds like knew how to plant a plant, but did you get instructions on how to plant properly?

Because it looks like you did.

I had no idea how to do half the stuff.

I'm gonna be honest, it was very hands-on experience, and I learned so much just from planting.

And I learned that you're not supposed to what is it called?

The rake?

Like you're not supposed to put it facing up because someone could step on it.

I didn't know that.

So I learned that.

I think goodness.

But I did learn a lot of hands-on experiences, which is a great experience for me.

So well, I just want to thank you so much.

I mean the you probably put in a lot more creativity than this group could have done.

Yeah.

And I hope like when you're the ripo age of 30, you go by there and see how beautiful, mature that is.

Thank you.

I was gonna agree with Lily.

It was a lot of hands-on, and but before we had had pre previous planting experiences, because we have a park at the high school that we are working on, and so our teachers were very good about teaching us safety rules and how to do it for the plants and keep them healthy and good.

Uh in addition for me personally, I will have I do landscaping a little bit in during summers for work here and there.

And it felt good that I knew some of the um the things to do and not to do, and it was a bit of a leadership role that I was having to endeavor was to help people not do the things that would effectively destroy the plants or themselves or others.

Um so it was just really interesting to well, I'm not gonna say a know it all, but know certain things to help as a community.

That's what Brooks.

Thank you all for your um creativity, energy, enthusiasm, cool ideas.

Um super excited both about the MPI project, which I hope you guys learned about as well, um, and the backyard habitat planting that you're doing.

I had one easy question first, like how long did it take for you to do your picture with all the students?

I can talk about this one for days.

Well, for I did the paper that was shown on the slide, and like you know, we so ask Mr.

Wrote, my rough draft was way too detailed for their first try.

And we did get a lot of inspiration on how to do it.

Obviously, there's a lot of miscommunication with my group, so certain papers did take a little bit longer than others.

But other than that, it was a great we had a lot of time for it, and they gave us a lot of instructions and guidance for the process, even though it might seem a little bit intimidating at first, but they gave us like regular papers and then large papers for the prototype, and then of course we got Lindsay and a bunch of extroverts come in, it was super cool to learn about their perspective and their teachings.

So the process felt a lot less intimidating, but communication is key, guys.

So let's communicate.

Yeah, you guys all seem like you're good communicators.

Um, and hopefully you'll come and see.

I'm curious if there's gonna be any kind of like opening for your park, planting when it's done, and maybe consider inviting some city counselors to your um opening.

And the other question I had was really for um the teacher.

Um it sounds like a really killer program.

Um and people sound really distraught about it going away.

So I'm just curious like is it a thing that grants and things like that could help make happen, or is it I am not privily to all of the uh background information that went into making the decision, it was made by our administration.

Um I believe primarily to constraints with the schedule.

Uh, but that's about all that I was informed.

This is the fourth year of the program.

Um so we're disappointed that it's not continuing.

It was uh I think pretty impactful and uh very exciting and uh enlightening as a teacher to work with the other the other teachers.

Um so hopefully someday it might be able to return.

They did all the modalities like this where you learn and also do and you learn in a more integrated way, which is pretty nice to counterbalance all the screen time and two-dimensional learning that's going on right now, which is fine to an extent, but the doing part is super important.

So I just really applaud you guys for getting out of your comfort zones and all you're like bold and excited and leaders.

Um and uh even self-presleaders, and you can show different ways they contribute.

And I will tell you, we brought the backyard habitat program into the city at the request of the um the residents that live here, so it's also something that you're doing that's of interest to our community, and I just really applaud your work and uh our public uh work staff for initiating it's such a cool thing.

Thank you.

That's a reason.

Yeah, I just want to say thank you for being so enthusiastic and also for um just making our city beautiful.

I'm also you know, I'm I want our city to look beautiful and appealing.

And um what you all experience together, the frustrations and then the um sometimes like confusion and one saying another thing and then the other one understanding something different.

That's kind of part of life, so I'm glad that you're learning this together.

But then in the end, um you stick together and you trust one another, you create this beautiful thing.

And I think that um that's a great lesson for for us and for everyone that um sometimes we will have disagreements or we'll be frustrated, but then the goal is to have this beautiful thing.

Um this that it's gonna benefit everybody else.

And I'm glad that it happened, you experienced it, you had a holistic learning.

So thank you for doing that and for sharing something of your talent to our the rest of our community.

And I hope you do come back and when you're our age and get to see it.

Thank you.

I I forgot to commend you for coming in under budget.

That's a big deal for the city.

Yeah, Councilor Gonzalez.

So thank you very much.

My degree in landscape is I'm a horticultural therapist.

That's my degree.

So as much joy that I see in your guys' eyes and how much fun you have, I would highly encourage you to pursue a career in landscaping architect design or horticultural therapy.

The opportunities are immensely, especially with the new advent of technology taken over laptop jobs.

AI will not take over when you move matter.

So I would highly encourage you if you really enjoy this kind of work.

You're not always the person digging the holes.

You're the person who is knows what to plant and what plant makes people feel good and what plants give you a pause, which is what nature is supposed to be is a good feeling.

So thank you.

Councillor Sacco or Hillier.

Okay.

Anything well, we've got library, so they're that we got a lot more to go.

And sidewalks.

Um I just want to again thank you.

You've heard it multiple times, but the enthusiasm is what I appreciate, and how much joy you got out of it and the learning.

It's frustrating to me to hear a program like this gets cut, where it's as you mentioned, couldn't get couldn't care about you know, two plus two equals extra five power versus this where you actually learn things, apply them.

Yeah, there's a space or math, but real world skills are uh in top demand.

Um did they have this program in Tiger or was this specific to Twilight and High School?

No, it was uh specific to Twalton.

Is this something the district developed or something new faculty did?

Andrew Bonica and Becky Bueller and myself, uh Andrew Bonnik, who's kind of the spearhead, but the three of us established and created the program.

It's been going for four years.

This is the fourth year, yes, sir.

I don't know if you guys were here yet.

I do have meetings with Dr.

Udo every once in a while, so can put a bug in his ear if it if it's you know, not the budget in time if they can figure this out.

I can't imagine it's that high.

But I know they're under some serious constraints, but you know, programs like this where you hear and see the results is you know the kind of things people don't mind paying for.

Right?

Anything else?

Again, thank you.

Thank you for your patience tonight.

Now you got to see what a city council meeting is like, and now you're all in for being a city councilor, aren't you?

Yes.

You can do landscaping and then come in here and do a three-hour meeting.

Thank you.

And your parents, thank you for your patience too.

All right.

Uh let's see.

You too.

Yeah, Lindsay, come on up.

You're up next.

Uh that brings us to General Business.

I am number one, consideration of resolution number five nine six zero-26, authorizing the city manager to award a contract for the sidewalk maintenance program backlog project.

Welcome, Lindsay again.

Hello, I'm back.

Okay.

So hello again, let's see, Marshall.

Uh public works.

And James.

Hello, James Scogan, Street Division Manager as of three months ago.

Welcome to cancel.

Um, so we are here to talk about our sidewalk maintenance program backlog project.

So we have come, I think we're here in September of last year to talk about this project and how we were gonna get it underway.

And so just a quick we'll do a quick recap of how we got here, and then we'll turn it over to James to say what we're doing next, what the next part of the plan is.

So as we know, sidewalks have an average lifespan of 25 to 50 years, so that boom in the 70s means we're kind of aging out or in reaching end of life there.

Um, and then this street trees also have a short lifespan in 20-ish years, and we also know that street trees cause a lot of sidewalk issues because the roots will grow up and they'll pop the sidewalk panels up, and then you get a big tripping hazard.

So sidewalks and street trees are the responsibility of the homeowner in Twalleton.

However, a lot of many uh homeowners and res property owners aren't addressing those sidewalk defects, often because they don't know that that is their responsibility sometimes, and often because it can get really expensive to repair panels and replace uh street trees.

So we uh council initiated years ago the sidewalk maintenance program, uh, but our funding is falling behind.

We've gone from a three-year cycle to a nine-year cycle around the city.

So that means we figure sidewalk and then we're not there back to check again for another almost 10 years, which is quite a while.

Um currently, the current iteration of the maintenance per sidewalk maintenance program.

We're looking at residential sidewalks only, right?

So we're not looking at commercial properties that have been damaged by street trees.

150,000 um budgeted every year at gone up was in 2018 to 2025, we jumped 100,000 because we came to say, hey, we need more money for this.

Um and that's addressing about 10 to 15 qualifying defects a year, so it's not everything.

And the criteria here for this program are sidewalk damage with street tree roots, so we're not looking at private trees.

Um we're looking at lifts over a quarter an inch, and that's what's gonna cause ADA tripping hazards.

Um again, the street tree cause and not in a driveway, because we're not gonna do driveway work.

Um so this nine-year cycle is a result of just general aging infrastructure as well as rising costs in number of defects and just kind of the end of life cycle.

So we're just gonna it's kind of just it's doing the backlog, hence the most creative name of our backlog plan.

How do we get to the actual plan itself?

We had a sidewalk assessment in 2024 where we um had someone walk the entire city and log defects.

Um, these were all different kinds of defects.

There were about two thousand just over two thousand defects that we logged in total, and this was separation and cracking and crumbling lifts, also.

So it was not just program qualifying defects, it was the whole city and all different kinds of defects.

And what we can we kind of slice and dice that data, and what we came to is that the qualifying defects for the sidewalk maintenance program were also the most effective to get to this backlog plan.

So those lifts over a quarter inch caused by a street tree, not in a driveway.

And so what we ended up with was about 325-ish properties, about 333 trees, just over a thousand sidewalk panels.

And so we uh we'll have a James will show you a map here in a second.

Um, we did the we moved it into two zones, so we kind of split that 325 down the middle and ended up with two zones that we're gonna do over a two-year project, two-year phase.

Um, and so this two years we're gonna do uh planting or a sidewalk uh fixing in summer, and then we'll plant the trees later in November, and then we'll do half, and then we'll do the next zone the next year.

So it's a two-year project overall, and our goal is to bring all these residential properties that have these sidewalk maintenance program qualifying defects back into compliance so that when we launch a new program, everybody will kind of be on a level playing field, having been able to get their sidewalk um addressed by this program.

So, as we were looking at how we would do a project of this size, because normally we'd go by zones, and it took that nine years, and so we were looking at you know not very many defects per year, and it was a significant amount of staff time to organize all this.

So we figured the use of a GC would be in our best interest.

So we were put it out to bid to have a general contractor do either sidewalk or street tree work, and then they would sub out the sidewalk or street tree work, either or and then the city would take on the messaging and the inspection portion of that.

So the messaging has been has already gone out to uh homeowners, and so we've gotten of the 158 letters, we've gotten as of this morning 72 responses, which is almost 50 percent, and it's much higher than our normal uh response rate for the program.

So we're excited about that.

We put in a an FAQ page to we mailed them letters with an FAQ page to kind of address those most common questions up front, and I think that's been helping drive the response rate up.

We're using our uh adaptive street tree list, um, one of our climate action plans, so everybody can choose their own tree.

About half the respondents so far have said the city can choose the tree, and so we'll get some diversity there, and then the other half people are choosing.

People are very excited about the little gem magnolia in particular.

Um we're also including root beers, root barrier solutions.

So we're gonna be installing root barrier to see if that will protect the sidewalk for longer and reduce the amount of impacts that we have later on.

And we're also looking at the use of low emissions concrete in this project, which is also a climate action plan action.

We're only gonna do the replacement of panels, we're not gonna do grind work in this pro in this program, only replacement.

Um we're gonna do our work according to the appropriate season.

So that's why it's it's a two-year project kind of split into four phases: that first sidewalk, then trees when it's raining, so we don't have to irrigate in the summer, and then sidewalk again and then trees in those wet months.

And so during this implementation period of getting these fixed, we will be working on our what is this look like in the future, our newly revamped programs will be coming um back with a proposal later on to say here I think this is how we should uh move forward with the sidewalk maintenance program with a cost share, that kind of thing.

So we'll be coming back um to talk about that.

There we go.

So we got our backlog map here.

Zone one would be the southernmost portion of Twileton that we'll be tackling, roughly 158 sidewalk panels and street trees.

That'll be commencing this summer of 2026.

Zone two, you can obviously see in blue, is a little more spread out.

It's all residential, of course.

We're not gonna be doing any commercial.

Um that'll be zone two in 2027 in the summer.

Uh stab seven of the dash uh excuse me, established a process for property owners who want to acquire about defects that were not included in this original scope of work.

Uh, this data is roughly two years old, so we're no we know there's gonna be issues.

Uh sidewalks are gonna be raised, things are gonna happen over the last two years, so we do have a process for that.

Uh if the residents submitted this defect quality staff will add them to the scope of work.

The goal of the backlog project is to complete all program uh qualified defects, pending budget, of course.

Uh 2025, we you know did all the legwork.

Unfortunately, I wasn't here.

Uh 2026 this summer, we'll commence the first round of sidewalks with the planting of the trees in the fall.

2027, we'll be checking in in the spring, kind of just do a quick check-in how things are going, uh, what we're gonna expect going forward.

And we'll do uh uh zone two for 27 that summer and then planting for fall 27, and then reconvening in 28 to transition to uh a new program, hopefully more of like a cost-sharing approach.

Uh the contract, there was one responsive and responsible was received from Paul Brothers Incorporated.

Uh the contracted amount was 1.47 million.

Again, this encompasses uh both years, not just one, it's the entirety of the project.

Uh the next steps uh by the end of 2027, bring all the residential properties within the sidewalk maintenance program, quality qualifying defects into compliance before moving to a cost share model in 2028.

Uh resolution uh to authorize the city and council to award the contract for the sidewalk maintenance program backlog to Paul Brothers Incorporated, and then we will return in spring 2027 to discuss the updated program and how everything has been going.

And that's it.

I'll answer uh questions the best of my abilities.

Again, it's still new to me here, so bear with me.

Questions for James and or Lindsay.

That's what Gonzalo.

So I have probably four questions.

Okay.

Sure.

So the first question is um you said you give the homeowners a choice of trees.

To my understanding, there hasn't been a choice tree selected that the city has approved.

Has the tree tree selections been selected?

And what is that what does that look like?

And I was I was on the impression that we were still developing that.

And if we're already giving homeowners tree choices, what trees are those?

Uh being off the adaptive tree list that was developed by Parks, and I'm pretty sure it was brought to council and approved.

And so it's a list of the I would say 40-ish trees that are within the three and a half to five and a half planter strip width.

So those when they uh get the form to respond to say, yes, I want to participate in that form, they're given that full list.

I think 40.

I think that that's about how many there are in that um size range list, and so we put all of those trees in that list and they were able to choose from those.

So I'm just for clarity.

I wasn't I I wasn't under the impression that we were gonna give 40 choices.

I thought it was gonna be four, five, six you know, thereabouts.

That is a lot of choices.

Okay, okay.

That's fine.

Um so the tree that you're saying that people will just basically said that the tree that is popular is the little magnola tree.

Is that correct?

And um so in just looking at the little magnology I'm familiar with that tree, you know, the the goal is to create less laborless time.

Okay.

So these trees grow 15 feet tall, and I hate to get into the weeds, but this is just because you mentioned the tree name species.

These trees grow wide as they're growing up, okay?

So that means they gotta be sheared off the sidewalk.

So that would be the wrong tree in my opinion in my professional experience.

Okay.

So I don't understand why we have so many tree choices.

In any designing firm will probably give you two, three design, three three to four options where we kind of steering the outcome.

You know, less intrusive, less invasive, less laborless, this.

Oh, just a list of 40 is just a lot for people who don't know what they're looking at.

They're gonna Google it, they're gonna see how pretty it is, and the pretty trees are more costly, more high maintenance.

Okay, so I I don't understand that rollout, and I wasn't aware it was to be rolled out in that way.

Um since we already have an RFP out there for trees and sidewalks, there's an average cost that you can you can you can what is the average cost of a tree removal and what is the average cost of a four-foot sidewalk panel?

That I couldn't honestly answer to you.

So we I don't have the answer.

Could you give it back to me on the I would, yeah, absolutely?

Because I in my mind, I know what an average cost of a tree from one that's 40 feet tall to one that's eighteen feet tall.

Yeah, which was what we're dealing with.

And I and I would know uh based on my expert in this field, I can say I know the cost.

Right.

So I would like to know what that average cost is, not the exact average.

And also the average average cost of four foot concrete panel.

Four foot panel.

Okay.

It's not up to me to decide, but I just want to get that number in my head.

Absolutely.

There's a budget in place.

And based on 150 homes that we have gonna hit.

And it's 150 and zone one, yes.

Then we we should have an a cost roughly.

Right.

And I would say a cost would be about two thousand about 17, 1400.

I would say probably about 2,200 to remove a tree for a foot tall, this caliper, and with a four-foot panel.

I'm thinking two panels per tree, roughly thereabouts.

Right.

I'm I'm curious what that cost would be, just because we have a number, we have tree costs, we have sidewalk panel costs.

Yes, yes, we can provide that.

We have it in the um cost sheet, and we also uh utilize it's you know, f I can get the exact numbers to you, but we had the uh so most of the panels uh per tree were about to, but we've had some houses on corners or where there are like 20 panels or something.

So the yeah, the curves are the curves are so expensive.

I know I know this.

Yep, yeah.

So we have our uh bid sheet that we have the number of panels and the number of trees and all that kind of stuff, but we can follow up with that.

And I was only asking because I I've been very interested in this program for a long time.

Um and also um I was under the understanding that that the tree that we're gonna be selected was still in in the works, but you're telling me here today that that tree has been finalized.

When I asked um just then some time ago, it they were still working through it, looking at uh sister cities and see what they got going on and so on and so forth.

I had not seen the finished product, so I'm curious very curious what that looks like.

So thank you, thank you.

Yep.

Other questions?

We see the two other counselors, please.

And then councilor as well.

Yeah, um you say you received 78 responses?

72 as of this morning.

Yep.

And um what are their can you share some of their comments about this?

Yeah, so we um so the forum asked them, you know, like we sent them a letter with their defect number and all those things.

So they submit all their information and there's a space for questions and comments.

And most people are pretty stoked about it.

They're like, this is great, we're so excited you're doing this, thank you so much.

Um of the 72 responses, we've had two uh homeowners opt out of participating in the program, and the rest of the homeowners have opted in to have the work completed.

So most people are pretty excited that this is happening.

Yeah, I'm excited as well.

I I'm just uh curious were there can you remind me again?

Um if it's gonna be fully uh a cost for both of the the city and the homeowner, or is this the grant that we talked about?

Or this program, the what we're doing right now for this project is still the city doing the fully full funding for this, and then as after this project, and everyone's kind of on level playing field, everyone's around the city's gotten their qualifying defects addressed, then we will look to move towards more of a cost share model.

And so we'll bring proposals forward to council to see which is the best route to go for that.

Okay, um is this also being um uh I I just when I was at this just because I was when I was at the casitas um rabbit cutting, somebody talked to me about the sidewalk.

And um, so I'm just wondering if there's also like is this also in Spanish for some of these Spanish speaking uh uh residents property.

Yeah, so that was um a little bit of RMS on that one.

So we didn't get the first letter translated, but we will be doing that for the next next round.

Okay, um and specifically to Las Casitas.

We um had the CDBG uh the community development block grant um project, I believe it was two years ago now that did uh the sidewalks in that neighborhood specifically.

Yeah, well, I was there at the ribbon cutting.

One of the neighbor one of the homeowners told me that there were still there was even one of the sidewalks had like um like sometimes they'll run water through there and they can hear the water, they can actually see water run through the sidewalk, like and I don't know if that's a city thing or is that their home, but I'm sure like they would see it in their bill if it was their home.

Um it's just he seemed like there was a lot of there's some work that and I and I they give them my card and ask them to contact me if they have any problems and I but I'm gonna reach out to them and see if they couldn't have them reach out to me.

We did the final punchless walkthrough with Abby not too long ago with that and didn't find any qualifying defects from the punch list side.

But if there's an issue like that, please bring it to my attention.

Yeah, they were okay.

I'll do that.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Councillor Hillier or Sako.

Any questions?

All right.

Oh my card out.

Motion.

Should I motion?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Nothing happens.

I know I motion that we adopt resolution number 5960-26 authorizing the city manager to award a contract for the sidewalk maintenance program backlog project.

Second.

I have a motion and a second to adopt resolution number 5960-26, authorized the city manager to award a contract for a sidewalk maintenance program backlog project.

Any discussions on those motions?

This is a roll call vote.

I'll start on Zoom first.

Council Hillier.

Hi.

Councillor Sacco.

Hi.

Council Reyes.

Yes.

Counselor Gonzalez.

I'm unsure because I'm I just didn't have the information.

And again, that's why I'm this concerned.

So I'm gonna say no.

Okay.

Council Brooks.

Council President Pratt.

Aye.

Chair votes I uh the resolution passes uh six to one.

Right.

All right, yep.

All right.

Uh item number, thank you both for coming up.

Thank you so much.

Yep.

Item number two, review of library cooperative intergovernmental agreements between the city of Twalton and Washington County.

Sherilyn.

More than likely Kevin.

Thank you, Mayor Bubenik and uh members of the city council.

So let's see, I gotta get myself set up here.

Bring my computer in case you have questions, which you most likely will.

Uh so um we're we were before you on April 27th.

Um while Andy's getting this um cued up.

Um we were before you on April 27th and went through extensive presentation.

You will remember that.

It was uh painstaking detail and discussion about those dot about these documents.

Um I transmitted or we transmitted your feedback to the county, feedback back to the county.

Tonight's goal is to work through the two documents and point out the highlights as well as what changed and um what has been incorporated and what's outstanding.

So we're going to start with the cooperative governance agreement, and then we'll move to the operating agreement.

So the governance agreement, if you'll recall, is the perpetual agreement.

So this is the one that's been in place since 2006 and has had very limited changes, no substantive changes except for adding North Plains and ALOA.

So there's been a lot of detail added in this document.

Oh, I need the um the mouse.

Okay.

Yes.

So you'll see here the red line.

Um so we pointed out several technicalities that were changed.

This happens to be one that Kevin pointed out, uh, so that was modified.

Um the all the whereas we didn't have any suggested changes, and there's been uh just minor minor uh changes made the definition sections.

Um we didn't have any comments or suggestions on the definitions.

The term of agreement I mentioned is a perpetual, there is no term, and um it would go into effect it um July 1st, presuming that's presuming adoption.

Uh section three, the governing body.

Uh, as a reminder, WCCLS is governed at the uh at the highest level by the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

They serve as the elected body, much like you serve as the elected body of the city of Twileton.

Um they are advised by an executive board.

So the executive board is made up of the 12 city managers or their designees.

So there are some assistant city managers that are part of the executive board, and um the executive board is advisory to the board of county commissioners.

Um for instance, um, very much like we here in Tualeton present a budget to you, and then you ask questions about it, and then ultimately adopt the budget.

Um that's the same that the the executive board uh provides recommendations to the board of county commissioners uh representing all of the member libraries under the non-voting members.

Um we ask for some clarification of uh the non-voting members and um whether their participation counted and like how how it how it worked, and so there was some modifications about the non-voting members that they're um they do not count towards the quorum, and they can participate in the discussion, but um they're non-voting.

Um the role of the executive board is outlined as we talked about on April 27th.

None of this was fully detailed in the existing agreement, so all of this is um additional detail to hold ourselves accountable.

So the responsibilities of the exec board are strategic leadership, oversight, and accountability for the cooperative, and then there's um a number of um three uh responsibilities under that, and then 4.5.2 um states that we're liaisons to the local organizations and the governing bodies, and then we're advisory to the board of county commissioners, the county administrator and the WCCLS manager, and then there's some detail under that.

Um schedule of meetings is outlined in the governance agreement, election of officers is also quorum voting.

Um in the original agreement that we brought before you on April 27th, um, it basically said that if you if a member couldn't attend, they could vote, they could send their proxy vote.

And we didn't suggest this change, but we do support it.

So you need to be in person to be there in order to vote.

Section five is the library leadership group.

This is the former policy group, it was called.

Again, this is not adequately detailed in the current IGA, and we are supportive of how this is detailed, the responsibility of the library leadership group.

And nothing was modified or suggested to be modified.

Again, it goes through schedule of meetings, election of officers, quorum, and voting.

I didn't point out on the exec on the exec board, but it is the same on the library leadership group is one vote per member, not a weighted.

We talked about that.

Then section six is the WCCLS role, and that is the department of the life of the county.

And so the role of WCCLS, the responsibility of WCCLS.

One modification that we suggested and they made is acquiring and maintaining the physical sites and equipment we suggested to add county operated physical sites, so it is very clear that that's their responsibility for county operated sites, not our site.

Continues to detail roles and responsibilities of WCCLS, which we were fine with and supportive of section seven is collective decision making and defines collective decisions as actions or recommendations that materially affect the cooperative governance funding and services, which we are supportive of that definition.

And then in sec in paragraph two, collective decisions shall be made using the governance structure established in the in this agreement, which we're also supportive of again the voting mechanism, you have to be there.

So that would require three-fourths of the 12 members to agree to termination.

So and that's for the governance agreement, not the operating agreement.

So we didn't have any issue with that language.

What is done?

Yeah, not just me.

I think the the Beaverton City Attorney also raised this issue that the liability and demnification provisions in this governance agreement was different than the one in the uh operating agreement.

We were looking for some uniformity, and I'm satisfied with section 13 of this agreement.

And the in the other agreement, that indemnification clause is most uh much like this one, and it uh it protects uh it a contractor that uh they're gonna be liable for their uh negligent omissions or actions, and that's kind of what we're looking for.

And with that, it gets us to the signature pages.

Um then the one attachment to the governance agreement is oh dear, sorry, is this decision-making matrix, which we talked about at on the April 27th that outlines what are collective decisions, which are um extensive, what are local decisions, which we agree with, and what are WCCLS decisions, which are limited.

Um that is the governance agreement.

Um it is pretty straightforward.

The um the changes that we requested were made, and um so the governance agreement uh we are supportive of this isn't uh I'm just looking for clarification on this question.

Um with the are there a lot of governance um agreements for the county that are city managers rather than elected officials.

It just seems to me like all the ones that I've been on have been elected officials, but that doesn't mean that I know all the bodies under operation in the county.

I don't know of any others um, but this is pretty unique.

Sure, and there may be one uh I know that in Bates's shop, there's a uh the the body user group.

Yeah, the broadband user group, I don't know.

That was had a similar structure for what you're talking about.

Yes, that's all that's all staff as well.

Uh-huh.

For our our the county infrastructure structure that for our broadband internet.

Yeah, that's the only thing that feels kind of weird to me is um I don't it's it's interesting to me to see a governing body that um excludes the electeds from the cities um and the trans, you know, it's just a different kind of transparency that electeds have.

So it just is curious to me, that's all.

And I don't know what other people think about it, but it just struck me as different than um, you know, it's like the old game, like which one of these things doesn't belong.

So it just like sticks out.

So I and I don't know how comfortable city managers, I mean I think there's an efficiency piece, but I also think I don't know how comfortable city managers are standing up to like elected that are county electeds might I don't know, it just seems like a it seems like an interesting position for city managers to be in.

That's all I'm and I'm not saying anything against city managers, by the way.

It's just seems weird to me for governance.

Yeah, okay.

That was um to your point that was brought up during the uh levy discussion that yeah, that several mayors ask the same question why there's no elected answer.

There was no answer.

That that is a good point though.

I mean, um I didn't think about it, but thanks for bringing that up because any it is a good point that we're not having any actual elected officials within these meetings.

So it's interesting.

Can I say the the one thing that bothers me too around the whole conversation?

The level of upset that people have that are involved with the library right now.

It's just there was like I can't see the community outreach that was done, and then you know if there's an elected person, you have the responsibility to get back to people in your community in a kind of different way, like you just don't get voted back in, right?

So that's just curious that's as curious to me as we're talking about it.

I just don't understand it.

It's yeah, and it that just seemed like a weak spot to start with.

So it just seems weird.

I'm I'm just gonna I'm sorry to add on to this.

And it's you know, I I see where city managers might have more insight in some ways, but where I see an issue is if it's like the mayor from each city or whatever, or city counselor, we're gonna we're gonna be talking to the commission where I think it it the commission um wasn't informed of a lot of this till the very end when we found out.

So that's where I think there might be an issue, but this is what they've chosen.

Um on the um the responsibilities, so it's like the um I'm sorry, the the WCCLS does the budgeting and resource allocation, but the methodology looks like the whole group.

So where's that sec?

Do you have a section?

It's the um decision making matrix.

Oh uh.

Yeah.

So it says WCCL's decisions, but then the collective decisions are the funding allocation methodology adjustments.

I'm just wondering like how much the WCCLS has in allocating those funds.

Like you have a matrix, do they have to follow that matrix, or do they have like some flexibility to you know, like say, okay, we follow this matrix, but then we have this extra amount.

Are they allowed to allocate monies to different you know, do they have how much decision making ability do they have for um how the funds get allocated to each city or they don't have any, so okay.

The WCCLS decision, so where it says their WCCLS budgeting and resource allocation, that is for the department budget.

Okay, not the allocation of cities or member libraries, yeah.

And then my other question is just to Kevin is um I know um there were things done by the WCCLS manager, like just including certain cities in discussions, and that's not how this is outlined.

This is outlined very well from what I can see, but if that's not if this isn't followed, what recourse do people have to um say it's wrong and you know change that?

Well, I think I think it is.

I agree with you, I think it's clearly laid out that that I know that was an issue uh maybe uh raised in the past, and uh both of these agreements, they have a a collaborative uh process that we can utilize if we believe that the agreements one or one or more of the agreements have been violated in some form or fashion.

And I do believe we have authority, either we can do it the the collaborative way or the non-collaborative way if we need to have a a legal solution, which I don't believe will be possible for what you're talking about to remedy that and ensure that the terms of this agreement is followed as written.

Okay, thank you.

So uh 6.1 The last sentence, and I can't find the fine feature in my acrobat here on the web.

Um the definition of what the WCCLS manager does as going to a council Pratt was just asking.

This is the only sentence I see here that describes her role.

Oh, I'm sure I'm saying her here, her or his role is this one sentence and um to council Pratt's council president Pratt's point, you know, I see nothing here about providing policy guidance, nothing.

That person is just to provide is a liaison, and that's it.

Not to um push policies or ideas upon member libraries, uh, given what's happened in the past.

Am I correct?

Those are my words, push and stuff, sorry.

Based on input that we've given given.

Yes.

Um I mean, so it the whole section of WCCLS roles and responsibilities, I I would say that it is like being a major department head.

So it like it's it's comparable to the police chief or the public works director.

Uh so to the extent that they have that that the manager director has responsibility for like policy development, like it's as a department head, but it's not of their department.

But not of the cooperative.

No.

Right, because I'm just saying he or she's role would be to liaison to the executive board.

Correct.

And the library leadership group, because based on decision matrix, all decisions and guidance, if you will, or advice would come from those two groups through her to the board.

Correct.

Stop saying her to that to that position.

It's a very good thing.

So that's that manager does not have that ability to disagree or push you know, dictate policy or decisions in opposition to what the executive board and library leadership group say.

Mayor, I agree with you.

I think there would be an argument that if the this person did engage in those actions, they would they would technically violate the plan language of section 4.4 and 4.5, right?

I think that's what you're getting into.

Council Brooks.

Well, my question is, I mean, that person would report to, I mean, there's an advisory board, but doesn't the reports the person report to the county commissioners?

This is where I have trouble again is like where is the integration of the communities of that each of these libraries serve.

So I believe the answer to or the partial answer to that, counselor, is that it's you, right?

So the local communities are in charge of the local library.

And uh, but the cooperative, which you know uh facilitates like the connection and the cooperative, is ultimately the board of county commissioners, but the running of the local library is your responsibility, it's not the board of county commissioners, right?

It's yours and mine.

I mean, so that's that's partially why I think it was set up as city managers and library directors, because that's how we're structured locally, right?

It's like I the city managers responsible for operations and the governing bodies responsible for policy adoption.

I I can totally understand that, and then and when it comes to shifting over collections of what's moving in and eventually becomes a building, and not the collection, and so if there's policy concerns around whatever in the library collection that the community has, but what's available to them, like is there a way that the city managers or do we have something that we create as toiletin to take care of that piece that we make sure that there's a bridge between this council and the city manager and the county?

That's to me, to your point is that's the role of the city council is with the city manager and making sure the city manager has clear direction on those kind of things from the council and represents the council's feelings versus the city manager's opinion on the subject at hand.

I part of it is you got to trust your city manager to represent if this is the way the county decides to go to represent the community and the city council.

No, I I yeah, well, there's and there's all variety of the.

Yeah, that's true.

I just think there's a piece around whatever it is, um, whether it's with this document or with our own policy of transparency in there, because you can have you know, there's some cities that go through city managers very quickly, you know.

We you just never know who you're gonna end up with and what kind of stuff people are facing.

We've seen people recently in the news be facing things.

So my whole thing is um like where is that piece of because I don't necessarily think the city council needs to watch all these meetings, or I don't even know if they're public.

Um but how do we have that information?

And my very big concern, just frankly, with the dynamics right now is uh a lot of times politically we're in a place of the little guy, and so I feel like it would be hard for a city manager.

I mean you're very established, but for a city manager that might be new or something like that, to like navigate disagreeing with commission.

The big libraries interests on you know, like behalf of the people where we're just you know, like people that would run for city council, so we'll say things that makes sense.

And it I just think that putting you in a position where you're in that you're like she said you're established, but is there a way we can recommend um you know also in addition to you?

I I know the the director of uh library directors in it, but I still feel like I I still feel the responsibility should be in an un like a city councilor or like another responsibility, so it could be you and a city councilor uh sure because of like she said we can be voted out if we if we're not doing and these are tax dollars that we're raising from the community, so I feel like there's gotta be uh someone that is responsible to the community that is um not in a position where their job relies on trying to not please the commission, but like be if you don't know any like like she said if you're new, then you're not gonna know what to recommend or advise to commissioners that are making decisions.

So I don't know if there's a if there's an opportunity to write something that would include uh a city official, like an elected official to be um also part of this advisory uh or something that kind of supports you not just as not just uh library director, but also a commission uh someone that's also running for election, so that way we're feeling responsible because I feel like your yeah, there's a lot of responsibility on you and your library director.

Um that's just my thought.

I'm just you know, brainstorming here.

It's like I said, it's been brought up before.

Uh it wasn't addressed in this document, but it has come up in mayor's discussions about elected representative being on this executive board.

I guess my question is like after we decide all this, if we create a liaison position or uh just a touch point of governance agreement.

This is our agreement.

Uh I would we can't create an advisory board to no we the city manager is the exact member of the executive team and the library director is the member of the leadership team.

No, no, I understand that, but I just mean as far as um working with whatever.

I I mean in a we do have the T Logic and the TLAC advises the library manager.

So we have citizens, you know, on the on the TLAC giving input to the library manager too.

So my my question goes back to this.

I'm sorry, the the WCCLS manager.

So there's this executive team, there's the one with the librarians, and then um, but does the WCCLS are they the one that reports to the county commissioners?

Are they the only one they're hearing from yes?

Okay, yes, yeah.

You're talking about the executive board.

Well, there's an executive board and then there's a WCCLS manager.

What I'm asking is who does the county commission hear from?

Just that WCCLS manager, because I think that's where my concern is.

It's not, you know, it's more that they're hearing from one person with one perspective, and I'm not sure that always, you know, no matter who we are, we're we have one perspective, right?

Right.

And we did try to outline a process for that in this where if um so Ford collective decisions, if it does it has to have a two-thirds vote, and then if there's not, if it does, if we can't achieve a two-thirds vote, then the WCCLS manager transmits all the information to the board.

So the WCCLS manager isn't supposed to be talking to the board in a vacuum.

Right.

Okay, that's really helpful.

And the just your you had a question, Counselor Brooks, about uh public meetings law.

Uh the public meetings law does apply to the I know to the executive board.

And if you look at the last couple sentences of section 4.4, uh the role of the executive board, uh, very clear, it advises and makes recommendations to the board of county commissioners, the county administrator, and the manager on issues pertaining to cooperative-wide funding, governance, and service delivery.

So I do not read that as giving the manager the ability to assurp the recommendations made by the executive board.

Those would have to be transferred to the county.

A wonky question, a little tangent here.

So on voting and quorum.

So if a issue came up and say a third of the library, a third of the city managers for some reason don't attend and don't send a designee.

Is it a two-thirds vote of the people who are in the room?

We pull up the fear, is all sudden three.

Some somehow the little libraries don't get the invite, and the big libraries are there and they got enough.

It's 4.8.

It's a majority of the members.

Well, you can't post that.

They can't conduct business without a majority of the executive board there.

Yeah, that's only 50% plus one.

But sorry, I have my hand raised.

Sorry, this counselor.

Can don't they have to have quorum period?

I mean, they have to have quorum.

Or they are they they can't have a vote.

Council Hero, you're you're correct.

Without without a quorum of the of the uh executive uh uh board there, no business can be conducted.

It's just like a city council meeting.

If there were if there were four people at the city council meeting and one left, if we're only three council members here, the meeting would have to stop immediately.

And what's quorum in this group then?

What's the number of library?

I believe is it 13?

So it's 12.

12, so that would be uh there's 12 okay.

There's a total of twelve.

So the quorum would be seven.

And does this have to be publicly announced or on their schedule for the county?

It has to comply with all the public meetings laws, including uh adequate notice and ability to uh attend the hearing, the meeting.

Can we attend virtually or is the like us officials and listen?

Yeah.

Anyone can attend.

What about a Zoom?

Say you can't go, but you can do by Zoom and you're not in the room.

Is it doesn't make things about Zoom.

Which the state says you have to be able to do.

Yeah, I I think it I think that that there is that law changed during the pandemic that allowed uh for Zoom meetings.

I don't know if they have any uh policies or procedures in place.

I I believe there's the ability to have bylaws.

Oh, okay.

So that would be in the bylaws versus the governance agreements.

Um I mean we're you know we're looking at every angle right now, and it ain't the positive angle.

Well, here's it says in the voting in the event that member is unable to attend the meeting, okay in which a vote is so if you're in Zoom, that you're attending the meeting.

And we do have virtual options and they're yeah for all of our meetings.

So counselor Sacco and Hillier, you have other we can't see you, so just shout out when you have a question.

Yeah.

Very well.

All right.

All right.

So on the governance, so on the governance agreement.

How do people feel about it?

So I hear that there's that there's a desire to have elected official involvement.

That is not how this is set up.

Right.

Um there has been uh discussion.

I I've heard that there was discussion about that, and I don't think it got traction.

Right.

Valley tracking.

Well, yeah, we're going to my whole thing is this is a different conversation on this contract.

Is I think if the body was having trouble, I mean, this is a thing to talk about policy wise in the city.

Would could we have a liaison?

Not that would vote.

Like I don't vote as a liaison to the arts committee.

I just hear the discussion and see if there's policy stuff that you know, and that would be somebody that would be able to report back to I mean, there's a way that you could do it that way through the city, not through them, not for them to be the voter, but just to improve transparency if there's a transition time or stuff that people are getting outraged about that, you know, there was gaps in communication or something like that.

That'd be do you understand what I'm saying?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

That would be the internal fix for the city.

Yeah.

So this is uh Cindy again.

Sorry.

Um, so we hear in our reports right now from the city manager that's something we added.

Is that something that is maybe a solution could be adding that in into our council rules and that that the city manager all needs to do that?

Um if that is who our that's what I'm saying.

I think there could be a conversation.

I don't think it should be today, but I think there could be a conversation about it within the council.

Are they both free or just Cindy?

Cindy Kristen is also frozen.

Yeah.

Did you touch things?

I think that that would be that would have to be a discussion with the entire cooperative.

Um like that couldn't just be a city of Twiliton solution.

Um like if there's recording in progress.

If there's gonna be a liaison from Toalaton, there's gonna be a liaison from others as well.

I and so I mean that would that would be a discussion of the cooperative, I believe.

For currently, though, could because you do council communications, could you couldn't you just communicate to us?

Oh, absolutely.

You had a meeting, this is what we covered just like we do in a country.

Council president, that's correct, and and to counselor Hillier's point, I do not believe that the council would need to direct or uh adopt amendments to council rules to make that happen.

That you've made that clear.

Sure.

And this is a different way, but with TLAC, so we have some council some committees that have council liaisons and some that don't.

So I don't know why everything has to be so uniform with that if it's just a communication issue and why it wouldn't be a council decision about how the council wants to communicate with the city manager on something like that.

So I still have questions about it.

I don't think that um I we need to discuss it right now, but I feel like I still have an open mind about uh what that looks like if there was ever a need.

So that makes sense.

Yeah, I'd say I just don't see that throw the pasta on the wall, see if it sticks about all three in the executive committee have an elected representative or not, and see what the other cities say when you next time you get together, it might go down tremendously or might gain some traction.

Yeah, that's the that's the thing I'm hearing the most here.

Well who recording to the right person, I like the recommendation.

Yeah, if you can bring it up, just get see what you hear.

Yeah.

Are we ready to move to the operating agreement?

That's the fun one.

There's just a couple sections in that that are all right.

Well, yeah, but the whole document itself is the one that it's not just the sections.

Are you sharing this?

Yes.

Okay, perfect.

And if you could leave them floating, that'd be great.

Perfect.

All right.

Um so the operating agreement tracks the levy cycle, as you'll remember.

So the current agreement expires June 30th of uh 2026.

So much like the governance agreement, we made a number of um comments, and I'll just kind of talk about those.

So we requested that added materials to the recitals because it just was access to books and community events.

So that was added.

Under the definitions, I get to 13.

And there are several sections that are like that are like 113 that reference county policies.

And we were concerned, a number of us were concerned that it referenced county policies, and if the county policy changed, it would change the agreement, but we wouldn't have any insight into that.

So what was added was contractors will be notified in writing if this policy is updated during the life of the agreement.

And so that's consistent with, I think there's five five where the this is clear where it's added.

In this inordinate expansion, um, we were a little concerned that the this limits the growth of how many licenses you can have, and um, but um we were a little worried that it was too broad and expansive, so um they added information technology related.

Um so it it narrowed um the definition of inordinate expansion, which was important to Bates.

Um the the next section is 1.25, which is also another policy, county policy 1.27 is the same as 1.13, where we just ask that we be notified.

Um down to section four personal identif information and confidentiality of data.

Oh, I think I passed it right here.

Um much of this was um requested by Bates and our risk management team.

Umcling, I think 4.3 data breach, um notices, and um Bates suggested some of this language uh with um inordinate expansion or whatever that was.

Yeah, do we have a is there a defin like if you have an expansion of our life, like we're small if there's some reason that we had more people or you know a need.

Is there a is there a um definition for what that means?

Yeah, it's 15% in um software licenses, Wi-Fi access points, or any other information technology related.

So um so 15% of your total uh yeah, okay, which should be sufficient for us.

Okay, according to the codes that totals, yeah.

If we get less, might be less sufficient.

Right.

According to current totals, right, okay.

Right.

Thank you.

Um I think we're at five.

I'm sorry, I'm gonna make you all sick.

Um yeah, I mentioned 4.3 that Bates was involved in this.

Um again, the information network service availability.

Um we wanted some language added that talked about uh notification and um estimated timelines for service restoration.

Um the network is a really big deal.

Um it it like without the network, we would be not the library.

Um and the and WCCLS is responsible for all of that.

So um it this is above my pay grade, so um uh Bates and his team uh looked at it extensively, and like I think we didn't have any other changes.

Uh we have duties and responsibilities for the network as well.

Um I believe Kevin had suggested material breach in several of these sections that they added.

Um get down to defaults that we're good with all of that.

Base service levels to be provided by WCCLS.

The collections.

So we are they have produced a memorandum of understanding.

It's a 14-page document that we are reviewing that clarifies many of the things that we have been concerned about, and I'm happy to I have it.

I'm happy to talk through it.

It allows for phasing.

It outlines community collections, ownership of community collections, our ability to buy community art collection, to have input into that.

And I'm happy again, I'm happy to go through that.

The biggest point which was a big give on their part from my perspective is allowing us to phase and to not do it right now.

Allow the four big ones to go first and work out the kinks, and allow us and Sherwood and anybody else that wants to phase come late at a later date.

We can do that.

Is the reason why we don't have it because it's not approved yet?

Or is it a draft?

It is a total draft, and we're our library folks are looking at it.

I met with them today.

We have another meeting next week.

Um just going through the what our concerns, it's gonna be a negotiation process, but it does outline a lot of the things that we have been concerned about.

I think it's just a really important piece.

It is.

Thank you.

Uh WCLS will continue to be fully responsible for the digital collection, which is also a big they have been responsible for the digital collection, and they will continue to be responsible for that.

Um we talked about all of this stuff last time.

There were no changes to what WCCLS is responsible for in the operating agreement.

Base service levels to be provided by contractors, so Tualetin, we didn't have any changes to any of this.

Um as we detailed last time, we fully meet all of the base service levels and exceed them, exceed them all.

But the base service levels were set that basically the county said we will pay everybody, the 12 member libraries.

We're bring up the base service level, and that is what we agree to pay for.

And then the locals, so Tualetin, we can pay for, we can contribute our own and can and can exceed those service levels, which we do, and we do pay more, you know.

The gen the toilet and general fund pays into the library to the tune of about $800,000, but the county agrees to pay for those base service levels.

All right.

Um more base service levels.

Um, there were some changes made about if we temporarily closed.

I think this was mostly directed at Tiger, who closed for three months, and it was a big deal, and so that was fresh in everybody's minds, so they made a few changes.

Um let's see.

So I'll just kind of go slow.

Annexation isn't a big deal for us.

It is a big deal for um Beaverton and parts of Tiger.

Um there it is a very big deal for for them.

And sure would appreciate it in a few years.

Oh, and Sherwood.

Yeah, we called it they haven't expressed as much concern over the annexation language.

Oh they haven't expressed as much concern over the annexation language.

They're still in court with the UGP expansion.

Oh let's see.

They've been very partner oriented with us with the boundary at the Basalt Creek.

So on section 15.

Oh, we had a question about the definition of safe harbor languages, and so they ended up changing it to just say that we will ensure that library card applications are available to users in multiple languages, uh, language option provided by WCCLS because we didn't know exactly what safe harbor languages meant.

So that was the change there.

And then of course we get to the funding.

We also talked about that funds received from WCCLS can't be used for capital improvements, um, new building construction, land acquisition.

Um we own our own building and our land, and that is consistent with um all of the libraries.

Um 16.3.1, the library funding allocation, um, that's outlined in exhibit C, and that was agreed to back in October, which set the baseline the floor for year one.

Then getting to projected revenue.

So this is the when we presented it to you April 27th.

Um this what struck out was not struck out, so it just said projected county general fund transfers are determined through the county's annual budget process.

So um they've added language that you can read there, but it says the county acknowledges the historical importance of general fund support in the success of library cooperative.

The county is committed to allocation of general fund in addition to the local option levy revenue to support base service levels with the understanding that projected general fund transfers are determined through the county's annual budget process.

It's stronger, it's definitely stronger than it was.

It is not a number.

It's mumbo jumbo.

It's mumble jumbo because the levy's covered the base level.

The levy is likely to cover the base level, so I think this is just fluffy.

Okay, so my other question around all this.

So for these these um these contracts, if there were something that they were to run into, then who amends these contracts can you maybe clarify?

Well, I mean, one of the things that you mentioned was the um the build out being on in front of everyone's mind for closing for three months.

So if something came up or were to be amended in these contracts in what we're looking at right now, what is the governing body that um amends these contracts?

And when can they can they be amended any time or are they fixed for yeah?

Thanks, counselor.

If you're looking at actually amending the language of the agreed the IGAs, that would go through the same process that their initial adoption would would require, which is council approval.

Okay, governing body approval from the all contractors.

Okay, so that would go not just to the city managers but back to the councils.

Yes.

For both of these contracts.

Okay, thank you.

Um I'm sure you have um uh comments and questions.

Let me I we don't have very much left.

Um, because that's that's the big one, the total projected revenue.

Um I'm sure you'll want to come back to that.

The shared reporting um we want that to be no less than annually having reports, and we wanted some guidance about what these reports will look like, and um instead of hashing through that um we agreed that we'll come up with that guidance no later than January of 27.

Um I want to get to the there's a cooperative process for addressing issues.

We talked through that a little bit.

Uh the termination language.

So um there's been one modification to this today, and that is to strike this right here.

Um so what the county board of commissioners is adopted today, we understand, is this language the county may terminate this agreement effective the end of any fiscal year upon 60 days written notice if sufficient funds are not available.

I'm sorry, I did the wrong thing.

Are not available that is what got struck county um our city attorney can opine about how he thinks that that can be read.

Um things it's a it's a bit vague.

So there was the last time I was in in front of you speaking to this particular provision, uh uh and mayor you also identified a big problem with that uh in the county's sole and reasonable discretion continuation of the agreement is not in the public interest, and then it gets into the uh non-appropriations language.

Uh we raised that objection at our last meeting with Washington County, and we asked them to explain that because that looked like a uh a way to uh just terminate the agreement unilaterally uh for convenience, which is not what obviously we would want, and the county explained that's not what they intended was a termination for convenience.

Uh they mentioned some uh besides non-appropriation, some catastrophic event, and I I believe we asked for well what would be an example of that, and they could not provide an example.

So they did agree to strike the language in red, and now I understand just from talking with Sherylyn today, uh that last sentence if uh that the agreement can be terminated if sufficient funds are not available.

They take out the non-appropriations language.

I I'm still thinking this over.

I don't think it that's a that may work to the contractor's advantage if uh they can only terminate the agreement if funds are not available that takes the decision making process from the board in their annual appropriations budgeting process, and it it's just states that funds are not available, and that speaks more to a type of catastrophic event, not just going through a a the procedural appropriation process and making those decisions.

I know that they and earlier and one of I think it's the governance agreement, it may be this agreement.

They talk about uh they still speak to the appropriations, but that's not to uh termination of the agreement, that's just that I believe to allocation of funding.

And so I I believe that this is not a um that maybe work to the advantage, this vagueness, maybe work to the advantage of the contractors.

I do have a message in to the county council that's working on this just so we understand and can clarify what that they mean, what was the intention behind this?

Because I I read this as termination if exactly what it says of funding is not available and not they specifically struck out the appropriations decision that the board of county commissioners would otherwise be able to make in the in the uh the previous iteration of this agreement do we have 60 days written notice if we don't have funding or how do the members what's the process for the members if they wanted to terminate their agreement?

That's in there.

That's an 18 point two um yes, 60 day notice to the same if we wanted to terminate, yeah.

Okay.

I I'm just wondering what sufficient funds means because the county has the commissioners have beyond the levy amount, they have all the um power to decide what amount of the general fund.

It doesn't even say general fund.

No, I'm just saying, yeah, I mean what is sufficient funds mean.

That's kind of vague.

It is very big.

We appreciate you looking for a definition on that.

I I'm not sure we do want a definition because like sufficient funds is super broad.

And like so if they're not if sufficient funds aren't available, I mean they've got funds for something.

Yeah, they have the levy funds.

No, we're talking general funds.

Oh, general funds.

All the funds.

I get it.

No, I'm confused now.

You're talking general, but I'm saying what is what's sufficient funds?

Is that just from the general fund?

Then they can terminate this whole notice if nobody knows.

It's so vague.

It is vague.

I understand what you're saying, Council President.

It it this could be interpreted as maybe there's not sufficient levy funds, but that doesn't make sense because the levy has passed.

Yeah.

So that's where we are.

Kevin's got a message in.

We advocated that they take the entire section out.

They were unwilling to do that.

So this is where we are.

So what's the question?

Um can I ask a quick question?

Sorry, this is Councillor Hillier.

Uh um to back to um Kevin's statement, and I think yours also, Sherlin.

Do you believe this puts us in a stronger position?

Should they terminate, you know, just because the term is so broad, it puts us in a in a in a position of advantage.

Is that what you're saying?

Or are you saying it puts us in a position of disadvantage to potentially um you know seek reparation from them?

Yeah, and thank you, Counselor Hillier.

And of course, we just saw this maybe a few hours ago, but uh just looking at I I generally agree that uh not that I know for sure that this is advantageous to either the a contractor or or the county, but given its vagueness, uh I believe that if we had a disagreement over section 18.1 that we certainly would have the ability to challenge uh the the county's position and and press our uh arguments to a uh appropriate trier effect if necessary.

Thank you.

That's that's what I thought I heard.

Thank you.

That is basically um the there's just minor stuff for the rest of it.

Um the indemnification and hold harmless was consistent.

Um that gets us to the signature pages, and then the appendixes.

Um the there's a map at the end, the service boundary methodology, which um we've talked a little bit about the on in April.

Um this sets the funding for year one, the base funding, um the allocation methodology is all laid out.

Um how we got there, um the insurance requirements for the not the three nonprofits, which I doesn't have anything to do with us, and then finally the map that um that shows I'm sorry.

No, no, got it.

Um shows toilet and service area.

So with that happy to convey anything further.

Um we do plan on having the final version in front of you um June 22nd.

That was my question.

When is when does the when did the commissioners vote on this thing that doesn't change anymore?

They did today.

So it's locked now.

Because again, uh you and I mentioned there are a lot of cities who don't think they're gonna be able to get this done in time.

Because they've you know basically gave us a month, and most city councils only meet twice a month, so it your honor it may force some of these contractors to hold special meetings or city county must and as mentioned um Commissioner Willie said, you know, some cities might get a little bit of grace next and the existing IGA.

While these cities get their uh the ability to analyze this and vote on it.

So I appreciate as long as that's what they agreed to.

And it wasn't just Commissioner Willie's position that specifically Cornelius would have an extra two months.

Well, hopefully, you know, we'll apply to other cities in the event.

Uh they don't have time to get this done by the end of June.

So we got an update from the uh the county that said um that the board passed it unanimously in their meeting tonight.

Any but no mention about Commissioner Willie's stuff he mentioned in the email.

So it passed.

Sorry.

So it passed with odd and these recommendations are already there.

Okay, great.

The board of county commissioners unanimously approved the IGAs and authorize staff to move forward with the signature process.

Okay.

And again, again, hopefully they'll have flexibility for cities that don't get it done in time because they didn't give us a lot of time.

So when the MOI is finalized, will you be e or MOU?

I'm sorry.

Sorry.

Mwa will you send it out to I know because we're skipping that meeting.

Yeah, the June 8th one.

Yeah, so I know that we have like one meeting.

So if there's any sticky stuff, it's gonna be difficult.

So I'm just curious if there's a plan to communicate that in the meantime.

I can certainly um keep you in the loop on that.

The I understand that they're they that those aren't tied, that they're not planning on having that MOU finalized by July 1st.

The goal would be by the end of July or the first or in August, but having the negotiations in place um so that those of us that have concerns like are have more surety that there's that that that there's something coming that will be signed.

Okay, well that's that doesn't that seems weird to me, but okay.

So you sign it before you really know what you're doing.

I feel like it just keeps coming up that way.

Yeah, and I think that it's a fair thing to say when we're negotiating that it keeps coming up this way, and it's a very difficult position to put a governing body in.

And I also don't envy the city managers being in a position like that either, by the way.

I think this whole thing seems a little weird.

Um my other question is before we meet the next time.

Will we hear from TLAC ourselves or get the reports that they have sent to the county?

Um, because I'm curious about how our community feels about this, and feel that we haven't anything that we would do like this, we would have such good public outreach.

And that's the piece to me that just feels extremely um just you know, as a social worker, I have to say the word like negligent.

I'm not a lawyer saying negligent.

But it it's neglectful of our community and helping to be transparent, and how are we supposed to explain?

Like we're agreeing with the contract that we don't even know what the MOU is because we're on a timeline that the county commissioners are inflexible about, and then um but we have to do it because we have an electronic thing, and we're gonna give them more power as time goes on, even though we're being treated like this, you know.

So that that to me is just a very challenging thing, and I also have trouble with there's nothing in this that talks about a need for community engagement in when changes are made and when decisions are made.

I think city managers are invested in that, and I would encourage the city managers that are on this to really show up for that conversation because that just does not feel right to me.

I mean, we are a government body and we're a democracy, and the community has a right to know, and there is a lot right now that people are dealing with with not having security and comfort in trusting their government, and then when you have city councils that have vague contracts, we're not disagreeing with that distract.

And then when you have city councils that have vague contracts, we're not disagreeing with that.

You know, it's difficult.

And we want to be good partners and have solid relationships and be able to explain them clearly to our constituents.

Absolutely agreed.

And we are keeping TLAC in, I mean having communications with them at their meetings.

Umlating the IGAs with the centralization process.

I mean it gets confusing, right?

But um I I do not disagree that community engagement about the centralization process is super important, and um advocating for involving our community in this in that process is our commitment.

It's not coming from the county, but I I think we want that.

I mean, we uh that's not their commitment.

Um but I I think we want that.

Right.

No, we want that.

It's obviously they're not their commitment, or we would have seen in community engagement before we got this far.

So I don't think it's their commitment, and I don't see them here.

All right.

Any other comments for Kevin and Sheridan to bring back.

So are the is the executive committee meeting again before or are you are you is any part of this body meeting before city council start taking a vote to say, hey, here's our last licks at certain things?

We don't have a scheduled meeting, but um we could I mean if if there are issues that um we could get one together for sure.

And this MOU is just gonna be progressing, yes.

So I I mean to me the most important thing is seeing where it's iteration right before we meet again because it'll you know at least give us a clue of okay.

I mean, this is just so odd to be voting on something where we don't have all the details.

But to me, it's it's two different things.

You got the IGA, I mean the operating agreement are the MOU on centralized collections.

Yeah.

I mean, if you decide screw this, we're we're not gonna be part of the cooperative, then you don't have to deal with the MOU and participate in it.

But if you're gonna be in the IGA, you say, Yep, hands up, we're in the IGA, and then we want to participate in the MOU.

And okay.

They're not to me if they're not tied together.

It's they did this on purpose, it's on parallel.

Yeah, I think it's just it's a squeeze.

It's just but I agree with you.

It's it's not a nice crappy project manager.

Everything I've said it's not um showing there's no cooperation here.

We're hearing co op we hear that said.

We hear that said from our county commissioners, and I'm not seeing it happen.

That's what's really difficult right here.

Three said no.

Yep, only two county commissioners were on our side on this, just be so folks know.

Three were against it.

And the fact that they wouldn't come talk to us, and you're put in that difficult position.

I don't think is very fair either.

All right.

Thank you.

So where are we?

I think we're almost we're almost there, folks.

It's almost Cindy time.

And City's probably asleep behind those glasses.

I am not sure.

I I have to wear them though, I'm sorry.

I know we know.

You look like a celebrity.

I think I just I said I think you're a witness protection.

I said I think you're a McMillan and wife.

All right.

That brings us to items removed from consent.

We had none.

Do we have any more council communications?

No.

All right.

Go ahead, say, I move to adjourn.

Second.

I move to adjourn.

Yep.

There we go.

Motion is second to adjourn.

All in favor say aye.

Opposed.

It's unanimous.

Have a good night.

Thank you.