City Council

Willamina City Council Regular Meeting Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. Minutes taken by Deputy City Recorder Krystal Stevens Location of Meeting: West Valley Fire Station 825 NE Main Street Willamina, OR 97396 Present at Meeting: Mayor Ila Skyberg Council President Rita Baller Councilor Vickie Hernandez Councilor Barry Wilson Councilor Craig Johnson Councilor Jennifer Pederson Councilor Karl Klym Public Works Director Jeff Brown Library Director Sarah Frost City Manager Bridget Meneley Finance Manager Scott Clark Deputy City Recorder Krystal Stevens Absent from the Meeting: None Guests Not Limited to: Paul Daquilante News Register Community Members Greg & Debbie Poupard Jeff Rosenberry Public Works Kit Johnston Yamhill County Commissioner Wendy Veliz PGE via Zoom Mayor Skyberg called the meeting of the City of Willamina City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. on August 8, 2023. Deputy City Recorder Stevens took the roll and a quorum was present. An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov Flag Salute AGENDA ADDITIONS, DELETIONS, AND CORRECTIONS - City Manager Meneley added Wendy Veliz from PGE as item number one under Presentations and the PGE Franchise Agreement as item number one under the Agenda. This was amended throughout the meeting and Ms. Veliz joined the meeting at 7:00 PM. PUBLIC INPUT – None CORRESPONDENCE – None PRESENTATIONS – 1. Finance Manager, Scott Clark- Finance Manager Clark said the financial statements he provided are first draft and he is still expecting some billings for June attached to the water project for $350,000 to add in which will not be problematic. Work is being done to prepare for the upcoming financial audit. CONSENT AGENDA Mayor Skyberg called for a motion to approve the items on the Consent Agenda. MOTION: Council President Baller moved to approve the Meeting Minutes from the July 11, 2023 City Council Regular Meeting. The approval of the Meeting Minutes from the July 25, 2023 City Council Work Session was moved to the September Council Meeting to allow additional time for the Council to review the information provided in the meeting packet. REGULAR AGENDA 1. Rules of Council Procedures Deputy City Recorder Stevens explained the work and research that went into the editing of the City Council Rules of Procedure chapters four thru six. She asked for any critique the Council may have to offer. The Council had no recommendation for corrections. An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov 2. Letter of Engagement – Fiscal Year Audit 2022-2023 City Manager Meneley referred to the letter included in the council packet. She explained the need for the services of Richard Winkel of Dougall Conradie LLC for the completion of the City’s annual audit. Richard Winkel has worked with the City for four years consecutively and this will be his fifth. MOTION: Councilor Hernandez moved to engage Richard Winkel to complete the City’s audit and allow staff to supply him with the information needed to prepare for the City’s annual audit. 3. First Amendment – Meneley Agreement Mayor Ila Skyberg explained that City Manager Meneley’s original employment agreement did not contain the annual cost-of-living adjustment that the rest of the City employees receive. The City attorneys confirmed that it should have been included in her employment agreement and upon Council approval, her employment agreement may be amended to add the annual cost-of-living adjustment. MOTION: Councilor Hernandez motioned to approve the amendment of City Manager Meneley’s employment agreement to include the annual cost-of-living adjustment. 4. HB 3115 – Work Session Follow Up Discussion City Manager Meneley opened the discussion for Council to offer input on next steps in addressing House Bill 3115. There was discussion concerning the topics of fire danger, regulating open fires in city parks, and the idea of creating an ordinance addressing open fires on public property. It was discussed how little information is available for cities to use moving forward with handling homeless camping, and the benefit of waiting to see how other municipalities handle it. This may provide some trial and error to work from. It was mentioned that the City of Willamina does not have a current visible issue with homeless camping and as a small municipality, there are many other things that require the use of the City’s resources at this time. There was discussion about being proactive in the process of creating a well thought out ordinance and the time it will take. The camping ordinance created An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov  by the City of Medford was referred to as an example of how to model one for the City of Willamina. There was a lot of thought put into the making of Medford’s camping ordinance. Their process involved several community meetings with multiple groups represented at their meetings such as law enforcement, first responders, community members, social services, and people experiencing homelessness. In doing this they created the best ability for their city to have a strong defense in court when they are challenged for enacting an ordinance that could be considered not reasonably objective. Upon enactment of their ordinance, their City was sued. MOTION: Councilor Hernandez moved to do nothing and/or pause in regards to House Bill 3115, to be revisited as necessary. Councilor Pederson seconded the motion. Motion carried with a unanimous vote. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS (Items that require no Council action) 1. Chamber Liaison – Mayor Skyberg Mayor Skyberg said she attended an EID meeting to celebrate Rolly Hauser, who is no longer the owner of Coyote Joes as of August 1, 2023. Rolly did so much that people don’t realize, such as funding the gazebo, running the bark dust sale, Bridge the Gap, and serving an annual Christmas dinner. He was presented with a plaque from the City from City Manager Bridget Meneley. 2. Yamhill County Transit Authority Board Member – Councilor Johnson Councilor Johnson said that the board postponed their meeting and will meet next quarter. He said fares are still free. 3. Library Board Liaison – Councilor Hernandez Councilor Hernandez said that the Library Board is recessed for the summer and will have their next meeting in September. MAYOR’S REPORT Mayor Skyberg reported that she attended a Love Our Library fundraising committee meeting, a Sheridan Chamber of Commerce meeting held at the Willamina Free Methodist Church, and a comedian in the park for the Library’s Summer Reading An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov Program. She also attended a meeting regarding the railroad crossing in downtown Willamina. At that meeting were two representatives from ODOT, a community member, and city employees. She reported that ODOT will be able to do a temporary fix. Public Works Director Brown added that ODOT will hopefully be working on the crossing in the next few months to fill potholes until they have the funds to install a permanent fix. INFORMATIONAL REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICERS 1. City Manager – ODOT Small City Allotments Program City Manager Meneley discussed the Small City Allotment Grants that the City applied for with the assistance of the engineers from Keller Associates. The amount of funds that were applied for was over $500,000. Public Works Director Brown specified that the funds will be used to redo the mid-section of Hill Drive, from the sharp corner at the bottom up to midway where there’s a rough area. In addition they are heavily looking into ADA ramps at 3 rd Steet and Oaken Hills and 4th Place and Oaken Hills. City Manager Meneley also spoke about National Night Out. She hated to miss it and thanked her amazing team for being so supportive through her emergent situation. She also spoke about her Walking Wednesdays and said she’s had two or three people coming to speak to her about the city. She said she thinks people are excited to have another environment to approach her instead of the usual avenues such as the city hall or city council meetings. City Manager Meneley asked the Council if any of them remember how a petition for a traffic change has worked in the past. She explained that a community member wants to do a petition to add a stop sign at an intersection and they called city hall to inquire what steps to take. It was discussed that in the past people have collected signatures and brought them to council, which has been followed by traffic studies and then it has been handed over to Public Works Director Brown. 2. Library Director Library Director Frost recapped National Night Out and extended thanks to everyone. She said approximately one thousand people attended. She said not as many hot dogs were used this year because the Sheridan Rotary was also giving away free nachos. An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov  There is a meeting to review the event on Monday August 14, 2023. She discussed the success of the Summer Reading Program for the year which had attendance “through the roof”. She also said the library has submitted a letter of interest to apply for a grant through the Oregon Community Foundation that would be used for improving internet and technology accessibility. Library Director Frost discussed that the Love Our Library fundraising group has an accountant volunteering time and services to help with the process of getting their 501c3 status reinstated as a non-profit. The library also hosted YCAP on August 7, 2023 for a dinner and conversation regarding being proactive on challenges of poverty in our community. One important take-away from that meeting is that next year the library will be doing intentional learning opportunities that will be beneficial and relevant to community members such as financial wellness education. 3. Public Works Director Public Works Director Brown said he will be offering a tour of the water project every month before and after the scheduled council meeting. Before the meeting he will be at the West Valley Fire Station at 4:45 p.m. and the tour takes about a half hour. He reported that the water project is coming along as planned and they may even be a little ahead of schedule. There was a question if community members can take the tour of the water project and it was stipulated that the city would have to consult their attorneys. He said he needs help from the Council to decide what wood stain to use on the nearly completed new bathrooms at Oaken Hills Park. He said the next step is to start working on the drainage for the park, they have the parts to put in a drainage swale. They are currently just waiting on American Ramp Company for a timeline. The outer part of the pump track will be put in this fall and the asphalt will be done in the spring. He said the City has purchased some pole mounted radar signs that can be moved around town, they cannot be put on the state highway. They work on a Cloud based system and officers can work with them to track people going up and down a hill. He also discussed brush and briars cutting that has been done at Oaken Hills Park and at the trail around Huddelston Pond. He said 260 letters were sent out to households in the community regarding backflow testing. An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov 4. Wendy Veliz PGE - Wendy Veliz explained the presented PGE franchise agreement to the Council. She said it needs to be signed to renew it for another ten-year period. It is an updated version of the same contract as the last one. She said that Willamina has been wonderful for PGE to work with. Willamina is near a high-risk fire zone and because of this has received significant investments such as undergrounding projects and bringing in equipment making it possible to turn off power almost immediately when needed. City Manager Meneley has helped expedite getting PGE permits to get their work done this year in time for fire season. City Manager Meneley specified that the proposal is to extend the current franchise agreement for thirty days in order to give enough time for both PGE’s executives and the City’s legal team to approve it. Changes and updates to the franchise agreement reflect PGE communications, safety regulation, Oregon Public Utility Commission Tariffs, and National Electric Safety Code. The amount PGE pays the City of Willamina is what the Oregon Public Utility Commission allows PGE to collect from each community. It is 3.5% of PGE’s gross revenue brought in from the city. This is consistent for all franchise fee payments within their service area. PGE also has the ability to enact an additional privilege tax of 1.5% of their gross revenue that they would collect on our behalf and then distribute to the City. Wendy specified that the majority of cities they service have enacted it and collect a total of 5%, but Willamina has not. If Willamina was to choose to add it to the customer’s bill, the customers will receive a notice that articulates that the City has made the decision to enact that tax. Some cities have chosen to enact the privilege tax and use the funds received for a specific project within their community. MOTION: Councilor Hernandez motioned to extend the current franchise agreement for thirty days providing time to look over documents and move forward with the actual agreement. Council President Baller seconded the motion. Motion carried with a unanimous vote. 5. Sheriff’s Report (provided in Agenda packet) 6. Code Enforcement (provided in Agenda packet) An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov COUNCIL COMMENTS 1. There was discussion about the 1.5% tax from PGE. It was decided that it would be revisited at the next council meeting. 2. Councilor Klym discussed the railroad petition table that the Council had at the National Night Out. They collected sixty-five signatures and will send the letters and signatures to ODOT. ADJOURN MOTION: Councilor Hernandez motioned to adjourn the meeting at 7:26 p.m. Councilor Pederson seconded the motion. Motion carried with a unanimous vote. The meeting was adjourned at 7:26 p.m. by Mayor Skyberg. Time and Date of Next Meeting The next City Council Regular Meeting will be held on September 12, 2023 at 6:00 p.m. West Valley Fire Station 825 NE Main Street Willamina, OR 97396 Information regarding the above meeting(s) and Zoom access information can be found on the City of Willamina website at https://www.willamina.oregon.gov Minutes submitted by Deputy City Recorder Krystal Stevens _______________________________________________ Minutes approved by Mayor Ila Skyberg _______________________________________________ An Equal Opportunity Employer 411 N.E. “C” Street, Willamina, Oregon 97396-2783 Telephone: (503) 876-2242 / Fax: (503) 876-1121 www.willaminaoregon.gov