City Council

City of Durham CITY COUNCIL MINUTES March 18, 2025 A. OPEN REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. Mayor Joshua Drake opened the meeting at 7:32 PM at Durham City Hall. B. ROLL CALL OF COUNCIL MEMBERS. Councilors present: Mayor Joshua Drake, Councilors Gary Paul, David Streicher (Zoom), and Sean Lee (Zoom). Councilors absent: Council President Leslie Gifford Staff present: City Administrator Jordan Parente and Administrative Assistant Kait Garlick Visitors: Residents JR Tarabocchia and Mark Schrimp; Kristin Leichner Representing Pride Disposal; Marissa Grass representing Oregon Metro C. COUNCIL MINUTES. Councilor Paul moved to approve the minutes of the February 25, 2025, regular City Council meeting. Councilor Lee seconded the motion. The vote passed (4-0). MO 031825-01 D. Mayor Drake read the CALENDAR OF MEETINGS. ➢ Tuesday April 1, 2025, Regular Meeting of the Planning Commission at 7:00 PM ➢ Tuesday April 29, 2025, City of Durham Budget Meeting at 6:30 PM ➢ Tuesday April 29, 2025, Regular Meeting of the City Council at 7:30 PM E. PUBLIC FORUM. None. F. PLANNING COMMISSION UPDATE. City Administrator Parente gave the Council an update on the last Planning Commission meeting, which included approval for the removal of five trees across two properties. The Commissioners also reviewed a sign permit application for a sign that had previously been approved. However, they ultimately denied the application and requested that the applicant revise the base design before re-submitting. G. INTRODUCTION OF METRO COUNCILOR ROSENTHAL. Councilor Rosenthal was regretfully unable to attend the meeting. H. ORDINANCE 269-25 AMENDING EXHIBIT “A” OF DURHAM’S SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT FRANCHISE AGREEMENT WITH PRIDE DISPOSAL COMPANY – FIRST READING. At the first reading of Ordinance 269-25, the Durham City Council considered updates to the city's Solid Waste Management Franchise Agreement with Pride Disposal Company. The proposed amendments are intended to modernize the agreement and clarify several provisions. Key changes include removing the permit requirement for trash compactors, strengthening recycling requirements to align with neighboring cities, and refining language around the role of competing waste haulers. Kristin Leichner, president and co-owner of Pride Disposal Kristen, a representative from Pride Disposal, was present to answer questions. Councilor Streicher inquired about why Durham has historically combined their municipal solid waste ordinances and franchise agreement into a single document when many other cities separate them. Several other Councilors expressed interest in splitting the ordinance from the franchise agreement to improve clarity and follow the standard model used by cities like Sherwood and Tigard. 1  Additional issues discussed included the City's current 4% franchise fee, which is lower than Sherwood’s 5%. Councilor Streicher suggested evaluating whether an increase might be appropriate, though Pride noted this could lead to higher rates for residents. The Councilors also looked at the ordinance’s penalty structure, which allows for fines of up to $1,000 per day per violation. Clarification was requested about whether these fines were intended for unauthorized haulers, residents, or Pride itself. The Council considered whether the policy should better align with other cities, such as Sherwood’s flat $500 fine. Liability insurance requirements were another topic of interest. Durham currently requires $1 million in coverage, while Sherwood mandates $2 million. Pride confirmed that it already carries $2 million in liability insurance and would have no objection to updating the agreement to reflect that standard. As the discussion concluded, the Councilors voiced support for making revisions before the ordinance’s second reading. These revisions included separating the ordinance from the franchise agreement, increasing liability coverage to match regional standards, potentially adjusting the franchise fee after evaluating its impact, and clarifying penalty language to ensure fair and appropriate enforcement. Ms. Leichner thanked the Council for their input and extended an open invitation to tour Pride’s main processing facility or join a ride along with collection crews. I. APPOINTMENT OF MAYOR AND ALTERNATE TO WASHINGTON COUNTY COORDINATING COMMITTEE. The City Council chose to leave this appointment vacant for now and will revisit this appointment at the next regular meeting on April 29, 2025. J. ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT. ➢ A revised lease agreement was sent to the landlord for review, with Council-requested changes including first right of refusal and a 60-day termination clause. The agreement will be signed by the end of the month. ➢ After City Planner Keith Liden announced his full retirement planned for this year, the City will transition planning duties to Alice Cannon Planning, a boutique firm led by a seasoned regional planner. Alice has prior experience with Durham and will assist with projects like the floodplain ordinance. A hand-off meeting with Keith and Alice is scheduled for the following week. ➢ Replacement signs for the off-leash area have been ordered and will be re-installed with stronger bolts to deter future theft. ➢ Recently, several residents have expressed concern over changes made to the draft Tree Ordinance after legal’s review. A town hall meeting will be scheduled for early May to gather community feedback and answer questions. The City Attorney will be invited to help explain ordinance changes. The first reading of the final ordinance will be at the regular City Council meeting on May 27. ➢ Councilor Streicher inquired about the status of an email sign-up feature being added to the City’s website. City Administrator Parente informed the Council that a program had been selected, and an IT professional will be engaged to embed the feature into the website in the coming weeks. ➢ There is a blood drive scheduled at Whole Foods for April 7, from 9 AM to 3 PM. ➢ A gratitude celebration for retired councilors Chuck Van Meter and Keith Jehnke is scheduled for April 19, from 2 PM to 4 PM. ➢ SOLVE is hosting another weed pull at the Treed Lot on Saturday, April 26. Durham’s annual bulky waste pickup is also scheduled for Saturday, April 26. K. FINANCIAL REPORTS. Approval of the Financial Reports for January and February 2025, along with the vendor checks and EFTs for February 2025, was deferred until the next regular meeting on April 29, 2025. 2  L. COUNCIL COMMENTS & MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATIONAL ITEMS. Mayor Drake recently attended a Metro networking mixer for elected officials, most of whom were newly elected. There is potentially a mixer being planned for our local region, possibly at the CWS treatment plant in Tigard. Mayor Drake also had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Washington County Sheriff Caprice Massey at Washington County Jail. A future date will be scheduled for Durham’s elected officials to attend a presentation and receive a tour of the jail. M. ADJOURN. Mayor Drake adjourned the meeting at 8:36 PM Approved: __________________________________________ JOSHUA DRAKE, MAYOR Attest: _______________________________________________ JORDAN PARENTE, CITY ADMINISTRATOR/RECORDER 3