OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

West Linn City Council Special Meeting and Work Session - October 7, 2024

City Council & Planning Commission — Monday, October 7, 2024
BodyWest Linn, Oregon
SessionCity Council & Planning Commission
DateMonday, October 7, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 37:50

Transcript — Verbatim
0:05

I'll call to order the special meeting of the Westland City Council.

0:10

It's Monday, October 7, 2024.

0:13

First order of business is to first item of business is to approve the agenda.

0:18

I would entertain a motion.

0:20

Please I move to approve the agenda for the October 7th City Council special meeting and work session.

0:29

Second.

0:30

Okay, it's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda for the October 7th Western City Council special meeting and work session.

0:38

Any discussion?

0:40

Seeing none, go ahead and call the roll, please.

0:43

Councilor Bonington.

0:45

Yes.

0:47

Councillor Bright.

0:48

Yes.

0:49

Council President Baumgarner.

0:51

Yes.

0:52

Councillor Groener.

0:53

Yes.

0:54

And Mayor Billostowski.

0:55

Yes.

0:56

Thank you.

0:57

So the motion passes, and then we move to public comment.

1:01

Anything?

1:03

There are none.

1:04

There are none.

1:05

Okay, thank you.

1:06

The next item is Mayor and Council reports.

1:10

Reports from community advisory groups.

1:14

Councilor Groner, go ahead.

1:16

Okay, I was at an arts council meeting the other night.

1:22

There is now an arts uh exhibition at the library.

1:27

Um and there's about 20 paintings there.

1:29

I urge everybody to take a look.

1:31

It's local artists.

1:32

Uh there's also been some progress on the front of uh having some art on the bicycle kiosk on um uh Well Map Falls Drive.

1:42

Uh they are asking for some money basically to have artists do renderings of the proposed art, which involves some serious time on the part of the artists, and so they should be compensated for that.

1:56

Um so that's the um arts council.

2:00

Uh also I was at a Sunset Neighborhood Association meeting, and the big issue there was crosswalks, uh primarily on sunset.

2:09

I'm wondering why it's I doubt that it's that expensive to paint some lines on the road and to put some signage up saying it's a crosswalk.

2:18

That can't be that expensive.

2:19

But a lot of people have to cross sunset in order to get to school, and it's understandably a lot of parents are fearful about that.

2:27

So I'm wondering if we can't do something about it.

2:29

That was a major issue at the neighborhood association meeting.

2:33

Thank you.

2:34

Good report.

2:35

Any councillor Bonington, would you like to report?

2:37

Yeah, the same exact two things.

2:39

I went to the the art exhibition yesterday and I was at that sunset meeting.

2:42

It's worth noting that there's another one at the fire hall tonight at 5 p.m.

2:48

Uh public works is going to be there to discuss with uh whoever from the neighborhood association wants to talk about it.

2:55

So thank you.

2:58

Councilor Bright.

3:00

Yes, I attended uh planning commission meeting and they um moved forward with the recommendation we that we will hear about later on the climate-friendly equitable communities.

3:11

So we will be talking about that, I believe, in November.

3:16

Um also attended the South Park Water Board as as did the mayor and the council president, um, and they did an update on their local contract review board rules.

3:30

Thank you.

3:31

Good reports, everybody, council president.

3:33

You do you have anything?

3:34

Uh thank you.

3:36

Yes, um, just as a note, I think that's that CFEC work session is next meeting, but maybe it's on the attendative agenda just but anyway.

3:48

Um I attended the um joint policy advisory committee on transportation at Metro Offices last meeting.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural██████████████████████████26%
Personnel Matters████████████████████20%
Animal Welfare███████████████████19%
Public Safety███████████11%
Public Engagement███████████11%
Wildlife Management█████5%
Arts And Culture████4%
Legal Process████4%
Summary of Proceedings

West Linn City Council Special Meeting & Work Session – October 7, 2024

The West Linn City Council convened a special meeting and work session on Monday, October 7, 2024, at City Hall. It approved two resolutions related to employee compensation, issued three proclamations, began discussion of a draft ordinance restricting the feeding and attracting of wild animals, and postponed legislative priorities and the city manager's report to later meetings. All votes on the agenda and resolutions were unanimous (5-0).

Agenda Approval

  • Council President Mary Baumgardner moved to approve the agenda; Councilor Leo Groner seconded. The motion carried 5-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made during the formal public comment period.
  • Later, during the work session, West Linn resident Jennifer Whittington spoke about an ongoing neighborhood nuisance involving a neighbor feeding feral cats, which she said attracted skunks, rats, and crows. She thanked the council for responding and expressed concern about selling her home because of the problem.

Mayor and Council Reports

  • Councilor Groner reported on the Arts & Culture Commission, including a new library art exhibition and a request for funding for artists to create renderings for the bicycle kiosk on Willamette Falls Drive; he also noted Sunset Neighborhood Association concerns about crosswalks on Sunset.
  • Councilor Bonnington noted the same issues and said Public Works would attend a Sunset Neighborhood Association meeting that evening at 5:00 p.m. at the fire hall.
  • Councilor Bryck reported that the Planning Commission advanced a recommendation on Climate Friendly Equitable Communities (CFEC) and that the South Fork Water Board updated its Local Contracting Review Board rules.
  • Council President Baumgardner reported on the Metro Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation, Willamette Falls Trust/Locks Authority efforts to reopen the locks in 3–5 years, and the TVF&R Community Academy; she praised first responders for their response to a major fire.
  • Mayor Bialostosky noted that the League of Oregon Cities needed a voting delegate and that Council President Baumgardner volunteered.

Proclamations

  • Mayor Bialostosky read a proclamation declaring October 2024 as Dyslexia Awareness Month, noting that about 116,000 Oregon public school students may be affected by dyslexia or related learning disabilities.
  • Councilor Bryck read a joint proclamation with Oregon City declaring October 28, 2024 as Oregon City–West Linn Rivalry Day, marking the 104th football rivalry renewal.
  • Council President Baumgardner read a proclamation declaring October 28, 2024 as National First Responders Day, citing 4.6 million career and volunteer first responders in the U.S.

Business Meeting: Resolution 2024-09 – AFSCME Collective Bargaining Agreement

  • Finance Director Lauren Breithaupt presented the three-year agreement with AFSCME, effective July 1, 2024, following negotiations from April to September.
  • The contract includes 5% COLA in FY25, 4% in FY26, and 3.5% in FY27; an increased VEBA account; 2% longevity pay for employees with 15 years of service; a 0.5% deferred compensation increase in July 2025; increases in Public Works standby pay of 15% on workdays and 20% on non-workdays; and a modified PPE reimbursement program.
  • Breithaupt stated the agreement is approximately $60,000 under budget. Councilor Groner remarked the margin was narrow. Mayor Bialostosky thanked staff and union members for their work.
  • Motion to adopt Resolution 2024-09 carried 5-0.

Business Meeting: Resolution 2024-10 – Management and Non-Represented Compensation

  • Breithaupt explained that management and non-represented employees waited for AFSCME negotiations to conclude to avoid pay compression, and the city manager recommended matching the AFSCME COLA and benefits: 5% FY25, 4% FY26, 3.5% FY27, longevity pay, VEBA contributions, and 0.5% deferred compensation in July 2025.
  • A new pay range for the Captain position was created to address compression, resulting in 13.5% pay differentials between Sergeant and Captain and between Captain and Chief. A Sergeant's union contract was expected the following week.
  • The package is approximately $64,000 over original budget projections, requiring mitigation during the 2027 biennium budget process. Councilor Bryck noted vacant positions could provide some budget flexibility; Breithaupt agreed and noted projections were set about a year and a half earlier.
  • Motion to adopt Resolution 2024-10 carried 5-0.

Work Session: 2025 Legislative Priorities

  • This item was postponed to the October 21 work session because lobbyist Doug Riggs was not present.

Work Session: Amending Municipal Code Chapter 5 – Attracting and Feeding Wild Animals

  • Police Chief Peter Mahuna and Community Services Officer Nichola Higbee presented a draft ordinance prompted by community complaints about a neighbor feeding feral cats, which attracted skunks, rats, and large numbers of crows.
  • Chief Mahuna said the ordinance would be complaint-driven; enforcement could be difficult if the feeding occurred in constitutionally protected backyards, and citations could require neighbors to testify in court. He estimated about six similar situations existed in West Linn.
  • Council discussion included whether to list squirrels as wild animals. Councilor Bryck suggested adding squirrels; Council President Baumgardner noted squirrels could be contentious; Chief Mahuna said listing squirrels would allow enforcement if a complaint involved them.
  • Council consensus was to send the draft ordinance to the city attorney's office for legal review and comment, with the suggested addition of squirrels.

City Manager Report

  • The council priorities update was postponed because the city manager was ill; it will be rescheduled.

Key Outcomes

  • Agenda approved 5-0.
  • Resolution 2024-09 (AFSCME CBA) approved 5-0.
  • Resolution 2024-10 (Management/Non-Represented Compensation) approved 5-0.
  • Three proclamations issued: Dyslexia Awareness Month, Oregon City–West Linn Rivalry Day, and National First Responders Day.
  • Council directed staff to send the wild-animal feeding ordinance to the city attorney for review and to include squirrels.
  • 2025 Legislative Priorities discussion was moved to October 21, 2024.
  • City Manager Report was postponed; Councilor Groner requested a staff response on Sunset crosswalks by the next meeting.

Meeting Transcript

I'll call to order the special meeting of the Westland City Council. It's Monday, October 7, 2024. First order of business is to first item of business is to approve the agenda. I would entertain a motion. Please I move to approve the agenda for the October 7th City Council special meeting and work session. Second. Okay, it's been moved and seconded to approve the agenda for the October 7th Western City Council special meeting and work session. Any discussion? Seeing none, go ahead and call the roll, please. Councilor Bonington. Yes. Councillor Bright. Yes. Council President Baumgarner. Yes. Councillor Groener. Yes. And Mayor Billostowski. Yes. Thank you. So the motion passes, and then we move to public comment. Anything? There are none. There are none. Okay, thank you. The next item is Mayor and Council reports. Reports from community advisory groups. Councilor Groner, go ahead. Okay, I was at an arts council meeting the other night. There is now an arts uh exhibition at the library. Um and there's about 20 paintings there. I urge everybody to take a look. It's local artists. Uh there's also been some progress on the front of uh having some art on the bicycle kiosk on um uh Well Map Falls Drive. Uh they are asking for some money basically to have artists do renderings of the proposed art, which involves some serious time on the part of the artists, and so they should be compensated for that. Um so that's the um arts council. Uh also I was at a Sunset Neighborhood Association meeting, and the big issue there was crosswalks, uh primarily on sunset. I'm wondering why it's I doubt that it's that expensive to paint some lines on the road and to put some signage up saying it's a crosswalk. That can't be that expensive. But a lot of people have to cross sunset in order to get to school, and it's understandably a lot of parents are fearful about that. So I'm wondering if we can't do something about it. That was a major issue at the neighborhood association meeting. Thank you. Good report. Any councillor Bonington, would you like to report? Yeah, the same exact two things. I went to the the art exhibition yesterday and I was at that sunset meeting. It's worth noting that there's another one at the fire hall tonight at 5 p.m. Uh public works is going to be there to discuss with uh whoever from the neighborhood association wants to talk about it. So thank you.

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