City of Newberg

Key discussions during the meeting included the City Manager's report for December 2025, which detailed community engagement, progress on groundwater treatment and River Street engineering, the NURA tax ID acquisition, and a sewer surcharge event on Femwood Road due to rainwater infiltration. Public comments addressed ICE operations, ADA accessibility, and police department support. Presentations covered the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue update on the Station 20 rebuild, detailing construction timelines and new facility features, and the Newberg Workforce Housing Consortium update on the Housing Innovation Village Experience (HIVE) project. A public hearing resulted in a recommendation to Yamhill County to approve a three-lot partition of a parcel on NE Zimri Drive. Continued business involved discussing support for sister city relationships and the establishment of the Connect Newberg nonprofit to coordinate activities without city funding. New business included approving a minor ordinance change to recognize PASER data in the municipal code for road repair decisions. Finally, Councilor Derek Carmon was elected as Council President for 2026.

The special session meeting included an executive session conducted to consult with counsel regarding the legal rights and duties of the public body concerning current or likely litigation. Following the executive session, the Council business involved the consideration and approval of Resolution 2026-4011, which accepted the settlement agreement resolving the case of Newberg Crestview, LLC v. City of Newberg.

The City Council meeting included a City Manager Report highlighting the work of the STRIVE Committee, the recent opening of Hawaiian Brothers, and engineering documents for Station 20. A significant announcement was the receipt of an $850,000 grant for water treatment plant basin covers. Public comments addressed sidewalk repair options, fiscal management, accessibility barriers, and maintaining decorum. Key presentations involved the Police Department receiving accreditation renewal from the Northwest Accreditation Alliance and an update on the Storm Water Masterplan Phase II, which informed a proposal to change the update frequency from every 5 to 10 years. New business involved the approval of Resolution 2026-4006 to initiate the stormwater master plan update, resulting in fiscal savings. The Council also deliberated on proposed rule changes regarding public comment decorum, ultimately deciding to maintain general public comment while adding decorum standards, and supported a project to review and update the city code, which contains many outdated provisions.

The meeting commenced with the election of officers, resulting in Roger Kuhlman being elected as Chair and Russell Johnson as Vice Chair. Key discussions focused on the introduction of new commissioners and staff, and the approval of the consent calendar, which included approving the minutes from the October 13, 2025 meeting. Staff reports covered updates on the recently implemented online traffic citation process and the status of new red light cameras, including details on software implementation and revenue sharing with the vendor. The commission discussed public outreach strategies and reviewed the Traffic Safety Active Issues Log, which tracks issues prioritized for engineering review by Keller Associates, with expected reports by May. Specific engineering issues addressed included faded curb paint on Highway 99 and the status of the Fernwood at Brutscher pedestrian crossing project, which is now a capital improvement project. New business featured a presentation by the City Recorder on the newly adopted City Council, Board, Committee & Commission Guidelines 2025, covering rules on quorum, debate, and public comment procedures. Staff also presented on the commission's purpose under Newberg Municipal Code 2.15.400 and reviewed the 2025 Work Plan. A new process for approving draft minutes involving commission review before final staff/chair approval was also established.

The agenda for this meeting includes a review of the City Manager's Narrative Report for February 2026. Continued business items slated for discussion and potential action are the approval of the 2026 Safety Manual, an update on Council Goals for March 2026, the Technology Device Responsibility Agreement, and proposed updates to the Council Rules. New Business items include consideration of the HB2001 Waterline Improvements and I-4 Alignment Project contract, and recommendations related to a Rate Review.