City of Oregon City

The meeting commenced with the call to order, followed by recognition of attendees and the flag salute. A significant portion of the session was dedicated to discussing the Arbor Day Proclamation, detailing plans for planting over 80 trees throughout the city on March 14th in partnership with Friends of Trees and the Oregon Department of Forestry. Public comment included a resident's request regarding road maintenance and deterioration on Amanda Court. The agenda also featured a detailed quarterly update on the downtown courthouse project, including geotechnical findings indicating the building sits on basalt outcropping, the identification and salvaging of historical elements (such as law books, plaques, and vault doors) prior to demolition, the ongoing abatement of asbestos and lead paint, and the development plans for the adjacent Liberty Plaza, which now incorporates a large stormwater retention facility. The presenter also outlined completed milestones, upcoming presentations, prevailing wage determinations, a public hearing scheduled for the Clackamas River Greenway, and the progress of demolition and salvage work on the property closed on February 13th.

The meeting featured presentations from Portland General Electric (PGE) representatives regarding their service territory, capital infrastructure projects, and community engagement efforts. Key discussion points included updates on the Oregon City Operations Building project, which is proceeding toward a land use hearing in April 2026. PGE detailed wildfire mitigation efforts such as system hardening, converting wooden poles to ductile iron, enhanced power line safety settings, and the deployment of remote sensing cameras utilizing AI to detect smoke, which have proven valuable for early wildfire warnings. They also reviewed customer assistance programs, including income-based discounts, payment plans, and coordination with Energy Trust. Furthermore, they educated the committee on outage preparedness, emphasizing updating contact information for alerts, creating outage kits, and registering medical devices dependent on electricity. The PGE outage map and mobile application features for tracking outages were also demonstrated and encouraged for community leaders.

The primary focus of the meeting was the presentation of a financial update for the Oregon City Enhancement Grant Program, covering activities through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, and projections for 2025-2026. Key discussions involved the current cash balance, revenue trends (noting a conservative projection of declining dumping fee revenue), and the status of awarded grants, including carryover funds. A significant portion of the session was dedicated to determining the appropriate level of grant awards for the upcoming 2026-2027 fiscal year, with committee members debating between awarding the projected revenue amount (approximately $400,000) or adopting a more conservative maximum award limit (e.g., $325,000 or $350,000) to maintain a financial cushion due to anticipated declining tonnage. The committee also discussed the best practice for publicizing the available funding, debating whether to announce a fixed maximum limit or a range to manage public expectations.

The session featured a land use training presentation by the city attorney, focusing primarily on Certified Local Government (CLG) issues and State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) requirements. Discussion covered the separate nature of historic preservation codes versus land use laws, and the role of the Historic Review Board (HRB) in advocating for historic resources and conducting quasi-judicial determinations. Procedural requirements, including the 120-day final decision deadline, the right to continuance, and the prohibition of ex parte contacts, were reviewed. Government ethics, including conflict of interest standards and gift limitations, as well as public meeting laws concerning serial meetings and deliberations by quorum outside of noticed meetings, were also addressed.

The meeting commenced with the welcoming of a new board member, Christine Bowman, who was recently appointed. Key discussions focused on operational matters including library director reports on financial estimates from Plus County, which indicated higher library district distributions than anticipated, and the presentation of $75,000 novelty checks from the foundation and friends groups for the outreach vehicle during an upcoming city commission update. The board also discussed the status of a county task force initiative with no reported updates. A significant portion of the meeting addressed the potential elimination of overdue fines to align with cooperative goals and improve access, noting that five other libraries in Blackmiss County have already eliminated them. Discussions detailed current loan periods, renewal policies, and the process for determining when an item is considered lost without fines in place. Additionally, the board reviewed a proposal from the Oregon City Rotary Club to install a Rotary Peace Pole in Library Park, detailing the languages to be inscribed and noting that park staff is supportive, although the proposal requires approval from the parks and recreation advisory committee. The board expressed general support for the peace pole initiative.