City Council

City Council Meeting Minutes ___________________________________________________________________________________________ THURSDAY, JULY 17, 2025 – 6:00 PM COLUMBIA CITY, CITY HALL – 1840 SECOND STREET CITY OF COLUMBIA CITY, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON AGENDA ITEM 1 CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: CONVENED: Mayor Alex Reed called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:00 pm. COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Mayor Alex Reed Council President Rob Forman Councilor Gordon Thistle Councilor Lyle Bluhm Councilor Connie Quick COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None ALSO PRESENT: Kim Karber, City Administrator/Recorder Micah Rogers, PW Superintendent ATTORNEY PRESENT: None A quorum was present, and due notice had been published. AGENDA ITEM 2 PUBLIC HEARINGS: None AGENDA ITEM 3 CITIZEN INPUT: 3.1 Tyra Schroder, 3225 Tahoma Street: Tyra spoke regarding the trespass issue she had with her neighbor. She stated that they were told they needed to get a lawyer but later discovered ordinances with citation options that could have been issued from the City. She stated the community has rights and being told the right information could have saved a lot of headaches and money. They obtained a lawyer and had to follow through because the neighbors’ water line was on their property and they could not move forward with what they wanted to (fence) until that was resolved. Kim stated she was unable to speak on the trespass issue and Chief Bartolomucci was not present to address it. Tyra stated she strongly believes they were the victims and did everything they were told but that written citations and fines could have curtailed the situation. She again stated that there is a process, the community has a right to know what the process is and should be able to follow that process and come down to City Hall to be heard. Mayor Reed agreed that it is important, and he is sorry they had to go through all that. Tyra stated they appreciated what was being done now and they are getting the information they need. 2 Regular City Council Meeting July 17, 2025 AGENDA ITEM 4 COUNCIL REPORTS: 4.1 Audit Committee: Chair Forman reported that we received a letter from the State Audit Division regarding the fiscal year 2024 audit, but they are not requiring a revised report. Kim added that a copy of the letter was sent to our new auditors, so they were aware and have it on file. Chair Forman also reported that the September meeting will need to be moved to a different date, and he will work on that. 4.2 Hazard Committee: Chair Quick reported they are working on getting ready for the Emergency Prepare fair at the Columbia City Celebration. She also stated they need more people on the committee to fill the vacancies and there is one application turned in. 4.3 Parks Committee: Chair Bluhm reported that the July meeting was cancelled, as the Parks Master Plan continues to be worked on. The next meeting is scheduled for August. Kim reported that there was a total of 236 surveys turned in and the results are currently being compiled. 4.4 Streets Committee: Chair Forman reported that we heard we did not get awarded the SCA grant. A lot of the projects we had scheduled for the year were dependent on the grant. A meeting will be held on August 6th to discuss next steps. Kim stated she had requested where the City ended up in this year’s rankings and how we were scored. They had sixty-nine grant applications and picked twenty-two of the projects to fund at a cost of $5.3 million. 4.5 Water & Sewer Committee: No report. AGENDA ITEM 5 CONSENT AGENDA: 5.1 Bills paid with check numbers 35526 through 35563 during the month of June 2025. 5.2 Expense vs Budget Report for the month ending June 30, 2025. 5.3 Minutes of the June 18, 2025, Regular City Council Meeting. 5.4 Activity Report from the City Administrator for the month of June 2025. 5.5 Activity Report from the Public Works Superintendent for the month of June 2025. 5.6 Activity Report from the Chief of Police for the month of June 2025. 5.7 Revenue Analysis Report for the quarter ending June 30, 2025. 5.8 Appointment of Logan Mackenzie Gilbert-Renner to the Hazard Committee. THE COUNCIL APPROVED THE CONSENT AGENDA BY UNANIMOUS ROLL CALL VOTE. AGENDA ITEM 6 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None AGENDA ITEM 7 NEW BUSINESS: 7.1 Amendment Number Seven to Intergovernmental Agreement between Columbia County, Oregon and City of Columbia City, Oregon. MOVED (QUICK), SECONDED (BLUHM), AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE AMENDMENT NUMBER SEVEN TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN COLUMBIA COUNTY AND COLUMBIA CITY FOR THE WORK CREW. 7.2 Council Bill No. 25-1009: A Resolution Adopting an Endorsement Guideline Request Policy for the City of Columbia City, Oregon. MOVED (BLUHM), SECONDED (FORMAN), AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO 25-1009. 3 Regular City Council Meeting July 17, 2025 7.3 Council Bill No. 25-1010: A Resolution Authorizing Execution of a Contract Between VanKoten & Cleveland LLC and the City of Columbia City, Oregon for Attorney Services. MOVED (THISTLE), SECONDED (QUICK), AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO ADOPT COUNCIL BILL NO 25-1010. 7.4 Review of Request from Chief Bartolomucci for a Street Closure for the Annual Columbia City Celebration on August 9, 2025. MOVED (FORMAN), SECONDED (THISTLE), AND CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY TO APPROVE THE STREET CLOSURE FOR THE COLUMBIA CITY CELEBRATION ON AUGUST 9, 2025. AGENDA ITEM 8 OTHER BUSINESS: 8.1 Newsletter Article. Rob reported the article seeking volunteers is complete and he submitted it for the August newsletter. 8.2 Columbia City Mini Mart. Kim passed on an update from Helen that the Mini Mart had applied for a signage permit. Shivam told Helen that he has talked to our engineer and is in the process of fixing the drainage issue. The City will not be moving forward with approving the signage permit until the outstanding violation of the stormwater drainage issue is taken care of. Micah added that when the ‘A’ Street improvements were done they added a stub off the new storm drain line into the Mini Marts driveway at the property line so they had the option to directly hook-up to the regular storm drain. 8.3 Abatement. Kim reported that public works ended up having to abate the property that Council approved at the June 19th meeting. AGENDA ITEM 9 ADJOURNMENT: 9.1 There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 6:36 pm. APPROVED: _______________________________________ Rob Forman Council President ATTEST: ___________________________________ Kim Karber City Administrator/Recorder