City Council

. ^. Mayor Council President Councilors aTOOF,Wood John C Miner Jairo Rios-Campos Lynnea Amend Mark dark DaraTan /lJ WOODVILLAGECITYCOUNCIL MINUTES JANUARY23, 2024 PRESENT MayorJohnC Miner, CouncilPresidentJairoRios-Campos, CouncilorsLynneaAmend, Markdark and DaraTan, CityAttorneyJeffCondit, CityManagerGreg Dirks, DirectorofPublicWorksJohn Niiyama, Director of Finance Seth Reeser, and interested parties. ABSENT None CITIZEN COMMENTS (NON. AGENDA ITEMS) Minernotedthatthelastweekwasoneoftheworse storms in EastCountyhe'sseenand asked Dirksto comment on the storm response. Dirksnotedthatstaffreceivedseveral commentsaboutthe City'sresponseto the storm orlackof. We failedinthe response.Althoughwehavea smallerteam rightnowandthiswasa challengingstorm in terms ofchangingforecasts, keepingourfacilitiesfunctioningduringthefreezingtemperaturesand responding to private water breaks, there were a number of self-inflicted issues that hampered our response. Notjustasthingsstartedtothawattheend oflastweek, buteven yesterdayduringmeter readingtherewerethingswecould havedone. Therewerestill intersectionsandshadedareasthathad ice. Hefaileddueto a lackofleadershipand responsethathamperedthecommunity'sexpectations.We sayweare hereto serve, andwedidn't, and heownsthat. Therewerea lotoflessonslearnedandthings that we need to change. Some of the changes will be fairly immediate and others will take some time, includinglanguageand collective bargainingagreementsandjust makingexpectationsclear. Wewill learn from this, bouncebackanddo betternexttime and he hopesthecommunitywill allowus thattime to responddifferently. Heapologizedforthe response. Minercommentedthatthere'snota cityin EastCountythatdideverything right. Staffwill discussthe issues and present to Council what changes will be made and what can be done better. GaryMoorestated he sentseveralemailsto Dirksand Minerabouthisunhappinesswiththe response. He appreciatesDirkscomments andownershipofthe issues.The roadsbyhishousewereterrible and madeit difficultto reachhismom andget hiswifewho'sa nurseto work. He'spretty happyasa WoodVillage resident, butthe responseto thestormwasvery problematic. Heaskedwhohe to contactin future. Niiyama responded to contact him or Dirks and added we would do a better job in the future. Dirks added that even if City Hall is physically closed, we are still able to answer the phones. CityCouncilMinutesJanuary23, 2024 | Page 1 Dirksaddedthatstaffreceivedcalls regardingourunhousedpopulation on Sandyand Halsey.Withthe HopeTeamwe'vetried to take a verycompassionateand understandingapproachand haverelied on the Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) to be the main source and provider of resources. There are several tawsthatdictatewhatwecanandcan'tdo, buttherearethingswecandoto elevate. Weare workingto getsomethingon the ground in EastCountyto addressthese issues. He hada conversation with Commissioner Stegmann and will be meeting with the Hope Team later this week. Amend speakingas a communitymembertalked aboutwarmingshelters andhowdifficultit isto staffthem. As a County employee, she was paid while working at the shelter, but most ofthe staff is volunteer based. Shelters are life saving and it's important that volunteers get paid to work there. The level of mental illness, sicknessanddrug issuesattheshelterswasan intenseexperienceandthe shelterresponsewhile amazingstill needswork. Duringthefreezingtemperatures, thesheltersservedaround3000people county-wide. She also supports and encourages a ceasefire in Gaza. COMMUNITY MEMBER OFTHEYEARAWARD PRESENTATION Miner presented the 2023 Community Member of the Year award to Jim Mott for his years of service and support to the community. Amend commented that Jim has consistently shown up for the community and cares about his employees. Rios-CamposaddedthatJimhasalsobeena greatsupporterofPlayEast. dark notedthatMarydarksendshercongratulations. Tan thanked Jim for his service to the community. CONSENTCALENDAR A. New OLCC Liquor License . 2 Amigos Mexican Restaurant Upon motion by dark, secondedbyTanandpassing5-0,the ConsentCalendarwasapproved. METRO UPDATE Metro Councilor Ashton Simpson presented the Metro update. He is a proud East County resident, Air Force veteran, community activist and advocate. Prior to serving on the Metro Council, he was the ExecutiveDirectorat OregonWalksanda communityassetplanneratthe Rosewoodinitiative.Key priorities include transportation and safety, particularly pedestrian safety and micro mobility, jobs and workforce development, resiliency and preparedness, and ensuring access to greenspaces for all East Countyresidents. Asa Metro Councilor, heservesontheJointPolicyAdvisoryCommitteeon Transportation (JPACT),theVisitorDevelopmentFundBoard, GreaterPortlandInc.,theZooFoundation Board,the NaturalAreasCapitalPerformanceOversightCommittee, andthe Urban FloodSafety& Water Quality District (UFSWQD) Board. He is committed to building relationships, following up and providing informationspecificto WoodVillageinterests. Metro'smainfunctionis garbageand recycling.They doubledthe RIDPatrol crewsto 6 in the lastyearandtheypickedup880tonsofgarbageand reducedthe City Council Minutes January 23, 2024 | Page 2 responsetimeto oneday.SinceCOVID,more people have been dumpingtheirhouseholditemsouton the street. The RID Patrol continues to work on this problem through both clean-up and enforcement. The website(ridpatrol.oregonmetro.gov) hasa reportingtool anda performancedashboardtotrackthestatus. Metro also managesthe urbangrowth boundary.Theymetwithstakeholderslastfall formethods developmentand an assessmentofbuildableland inventory. Sherwoodhassubmitted a requestto expand theirurbangrowthboundaryforhousingandemployment. ThissummerthedraftUrbanGrowthReport containingregional population, householdandemploymentforecastswill beopenforpubliccommentalong withcity expansionproposals. Affordablehousingison paceto exceedconstructiongoalsand nearly 1000 apartments in District 1 have opened in the 2 years since the bond and 2600 apartments in process. The originalgoalwasto build housingfor 12,000people andtheynowexpectto serve morethan 14,000 people. The auditors will report on the supportive housing services program at the Metro Council meeting this Thursday at 10:30 am. Multnomah County has made some progress addressing homelessness in this region.Thereare nearly 1, 100shelterbedsinthe Countyfundedby Metro, bothnewandthoseoriginally slatedforclosure. The program hashelpedneariy15,000people avoidevictionand homelessnessand hasplaced morethan2700people into permanenthousinginthe County. Regionwidetheprogram has helped nearly5800people into housingandopened 1700shelterbeds. The2024RegionalTransportation Plan (RTP) was approved by the Metro Council in December. The plan guides investment in all forms of travel including driving, walking, hiking, and transit. Thanks to community support and the 2008 zoo bond, thezoo hasimprovedtremendouslybutthere is still more improvementneedsforanimalhabitats,visitor accessibility and sustainability. The staff are currently completing a new campus plan that envisions the next advancementfor those items and core infrastructure at the zoo. He offered the Council a tour behind the scenes of the zoo and the Council was interested. He added that some of the animal habitats are still in thesameconditionaswhentheywerefirstbuiltin the 1950s. Metrois examiningthefeasibilityof making the ExpoCentera facilitythatcan hostsports competitions. Thiswouldsupporttheeconomyandsupport the indigenouspopulationbyblendingthehistoryandculture ofthearea. Rios-Campos mentioned that he had worked with Simpson on some small projects and would like to continuetheworkfocusingon openspacesand recreation. He notedthattherehaveonlybeen 2 affordable housing developments east of 181st in the last 22 years. He added that Council has made the Co-op model for mobile home parks a priority and suggested that Metro considers that for future housing bondsaspartofthe solutionto affordablehousing. Simpson responded that the affordable housing program does need to stretch further into East County. Theyarestill gatheringfeedbackforanotherpotential housingbond, and hewill connectRios-Camooswith the housing director for further discussion. Tan asked how the areas are determined for affordable housing development since the map showed a concentration in Portland. Simpson responded he believes that was a process in partnership with the local jurisdictions and will send additional information on the process. Amend commented there are safety concerns on transit due to drug issues and violence and that should be part ofthe transportation safety discussion. CityCouncil MinutesJanuary23, 2024 | Page 3 Simpsonagreed itwasconcerningandthatpartofsafetyisn'tusuallydiscussedalthoughit'soutside Metro's purview. darkcommentedthatSimpsonwasdoinga goodjobfillingCouncilorCraddicks position. Miner asked how Metro defines affordable housing. Simpsonrespondedthat it's30%ofmedianarea income. Miner asked how that applies for different family sizes. Simpsonrespondedthatfamilysizeistaken intoconsideration. Minerreinforcedthe Co-opmodel andsuggestedMetro andthe Stateshouldfocusmoreon peoplealready in affordable housing. Simpsonnotedthatshouldbe partofthe nexthousingdiscussion. Dirks thanked Simpson for intentionally reaching out to East County cities. PARKSCOMMISSIONINTERVIEWS& APPOINTMENTS Dirks noted the second applicant for the Parks Commission had a conflict and will be in later. Miner welcomed Trudy Tolliver and stated the interview process would consist of each Councilor asking a question with a decision madeat the end. Tolliver stated she has a lifelong history in this community and has lots of time, interest, and experience. She has served on several boards, most recently on the Portland State Universities Alumni Association. As the ExecutiveDirectorofthe Portland FannersMarket, sheworkedcloselywith Parksdepartmentstaff. Early in her career she worked for TriMet for 16 years and has a strong commitment to public service. She has a BS in geography and urban studies along with a master's in business. She loves nature and wants to make sure we have a great park. Listening is important along with trying to understand other's point of viewandensuringeveryoneis heard.Sheis a bigpicture personandlikesto seta clearvision. It's importantto havefull knowledgeandto understandtheshort-and long-term impactswhenmaking decisions. Crime, theft, and general lawlessness seem to be the most important issues facing the community. Over 40 years she has worked in organizations where she was able to make a positive influence to improve the public's experience and sees this as another opportunity. Upon motion by dark, seconded by Amend and passing 5-0, Tmdy Tolliverwas appointed to the Parks Commission. Dirks noted she would be contacted for an orientation. RESOLUTION04-2024:MULTNOMAHCOUNTYCROSSWALKIGA Niiyama presented the Multnomah County crosswalk IGA. The city received a small city allotment grant of $250, 000from ODOTfor theflashing beacon crosswalk at Wood Village Blvd. ODOTrequires an IGAwith the County to maintain the crosswalk after it's installed. City Council Minutes January 23, 2024 | Page 4 Rios-Camposwhenthe Countyisgoingto actonthe intersectionat ParkLnand lookat realigningthe entranceoffGlisan. Headdedtherewasa hugeaccidentthereduringthe ice storm. Niiyama responded that him and Dirks meet monthly with County transportation and have been advocating forthat. The Countyis currentlyassessingthe area, specificallyGlisanandWoodVillageBlvd. Dirksaddedthatthere'sa newprogram calledSafeStreetsandtheCounty'sapplyingfora grantto really evaluate certain system components. The intersection at Park Ln is a perfect example oftrying to mitigate beforethere is a seriousissue. He addedthatwesubmittedforspeed reductionforbothWoodVillageBlvd and Arata Rd. Upon motion byTan, secondedby Rios-Camposandpassing5-0, Resolution 04-2024wasapproved. HOLIDAYMEAL DRIVES Dirks presented the background on the holiday meal program. The program started in 2020 in response to COVID.Itwasa success, so a second holidaymeal wasaddedthefollowingyear. In2022,wepartnered withthe EastCountyFood Pantryforthe turkeydriveand ranthe holidaymeal in houseprovidinghamand a gift card for the sides. While there were some issues with the turkey drive, it seemed worthwhile to work out the kinks and have the food pantry run both meal programs for 2023. This had the dual purpose of savingstafftimeand helpingto establishthefood pantry. Staffmetwiththefood pantryto clarify expectationsand needsforthe events. Thediscussionswentwell, andwe provided$10,000forboth events. Therewerea lotofissueswith both eventsincludingthe sign-upprocess, confirmations,reminders, andlast-minutechangesto theagreed upon sidedishesandtheyfailed in some critical areas.The events did not meet expectations or our level of service and still required significant staff time. About 20% of our community haveSNAPbenefitsand movingforwardweneedto makesure ourcommunitymembersare served first. The question is how to meet the food insecurity needs ofthe community and what role we should play. We used to be fairiy involved in lunch programs and there are other food pantry programs that we could partner with, Amendsupports budgetingforfood insecurity, specificallysummerlunch programs. dark noted that the events were better when done in house. Rios-Camposcommentedthatwe successfullyestablisheda relationshipwitha communitygroupduring the initialin-houseeventsandthere mightbea wayto usethatgroupto runthe events, Theydida great jobwithoutreachandhavea lot ofconnections. Miner noted that the change two years ago was to reduce stafftime and to build the capacity ofthe food bank. Movingforwardwe needto thinkaboutstaffcapacity.Thestaffreport mentionedengagingthe community to see what works and what they need. Dirks responded that we don't know whatthe actual needs are, and we could ask the community about continuingtheholidaymeal programorexpandingthefood pantry. Miner agreed that would be important information to determine howto move forward. Councilagreed. CityCouncil MinutesJanuary23, 2024 | Page 5 PARKS COMMISSION INTERVIEWS& APPOINTMENTS CONTINUED Miner welcomed Christine Bierman and stated the interview process would consist of each Councilor asking a question with a decision made at the end. Bierman stated that she spends a lot of time in the park and is very into outdoor activities. She would like to give back and help as much as possible. She served on the parks group in Estacada and on the recreationand parksadvisorytaskforceforGresham. Leadershipisserviceandcollaborationand requires effort. Beinga respectful listener, makingsureall voicesare heardand understandingindividual personalities and communications styles is important to group decision making. The biggest issue facing the communityis climatechangeandtheenvironment. ShehasbeeninvolvedwithSOLVfora numberof yearsandisworkingon a projectto remove invasiveivyfromthe park. Asa ParksCommissionershe wouldbefocusedon anythingthatbringspeopletogether, in particulara learningcenter. Upon motion byAmend, secondedbyRios-Camposand passing5-0, ChristineBiermanwasappointedto the Parks Commission. Dirks noted she would be contacted for an orientation. DIRECTOROFPUBLICWORKSREPORT Niiyamapresentedthe publicworksreport recapping2023.Therewere344 codecompliancecasesforthe year, andweimplementeda "ThankYou"postcardto acknowledgecommunitymembers. The highlightof the year was the three Halsey crosswalks. Right now, the public works crew is a little short-handed, but we are recruitinga utilityworkeranda parksandfacilitymaintenanceworker. DIRECTOROFFINANCEREPORT Reeser presented the finance director report. Revenues are on track compared to this point last year. Therearetwo importantdatesonthe budgetcalendar,thefirst budgetcommittee meetingonApril 25thand the budgetadoptionmeetingon May28th.Both meetingsrequirea quorum. Rios-Campos asked if we had a full budget committee. Dirks responded the budget committee is not full and staff have some ideas to fill the positions, possibly with some Parks Commission members. Rios-Camposasked Dirksto send Councilthe budgetcommittee requirementsanddescriptionsotheycan talk to community members that might be interested. CITYMANAGERREPORT Dirks presented the city manager report. Metro is opening a community cleanup grant program, and we will beapplyingforit sowecan reopentheyard debrisprogramto helpclean uptheneighborhood. NiiyamaaddedthatMultnomahCountyhasaskedall thecitiesfortheirstorm related coststo see ifthey can geta FEMAreimbursement. Inadditiontothe debrisremoval, therewasdamageto theflag polesand a pump crackedatSheaLS. CityCouncilMinutesJanuaiy23, 2024 | Page 6 Dirksnotedthatfireconversationsarecontinuingat the staffandelected levels andthatwill bea bigtopic atthe upcomingCouncilretreat. Thethreecitiesmetyesterdayto discussfireandagreedon nextsteps moving forward. The sewertrunkline project is still in process aswewrap up the scope forflow monitoring. We have received numerous public comments about homelessness andwill be elevating the issue with the County. Miner commented that the two key places are Sandy and Halsey. Dirks added that it's also a safety issue as no onewas checking on them during the inclement weather. CITYATTORNEY REPORT Condit noted there were changes to public meetings laws during the last legislative session. The Ethics Commission's enforcement authority was expanded to the entire public meetings law. Any complaints do haveto befiledwithusfirstsowecan addressthembeforetheycanfilewiththe EthicsCommission.They codified the rule from the court cases that says you can't have serial meetings outside ofa public meeting. Nowthatit's statute andenforceablebythe EthicsCommission,beverycarefulwhentalkingto your colleagues not to come to a decision outside of a public meeting. Every public body with a budget of more than 1 million must have annual public meetings training set up by the Ethics Commission. MAYOR & COUNCIL COMMENTS Miner commented that you can'tfixthings unless you recognize whatwentwrong. He appreciated Dirks's courage to take responsibility forthe response to the inclement weather and added that showsthe true characterofa leaderto beforthrightandtransparentaboutthe issues. ADJOURNMENT With no further business, the Council adjourned at 8:16 pm. Joh C. Miner MAYOR ATTEST: /y ^ CFTY RECORDER CityCouncilMinutesJanuary23, 20241 Page 7