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City Council Meeting

A tight agenda covered social-service needs, referendum litigation, and the mechanics of future meetings as council positioned itself for a busy spring of workshops and budget prep.

Highlights

  • 🥫 North Plains Community Food Bank (Laura Jean) asked council to engage on a $2 million capital request she is pursuing with Sen. Weber. The food bank has grown from 34 households in 2022 to 269 (753 people) and now regularly connects seniors, veterans, and unhoused neighbors to housing, mental-health, and benefit services.
  • 🗳️ Council deferred minute approval to Feb 18 so members can review corrections, then scheduled a March 16 governance retreat focused on charter expectations, council-manager roles, and tighter voting-process clarity.
  • 🏙️ The ongoing Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) “relook” effort was paused; council directed staff to schedule a March 3 work session with the RAC, Planning Commission, and consultants before spending more on outside work, and asked for a roadmap outlining what rescinding Ordinance 490 or other supporting documents would entail.
  • ⚖️ Council voted 5‑1 (Read opposed) to accept a $72k settlement offer from petitioners in the referendum lawsuit, dismissing the city’s appeal and capping potential exposure to treble attorney-fee awards.
  • 🌳 Parks & Recreation bylaws were sent back to the board for code-alignment edits, typography fixes, and clearer absence rules before returning to council.

Business & Discussions

  • Settlement deliberation: Council weighed the risk of continuing the appeal (estimated exposure up to ~$107k if the city lost) against the $72k ask. The majority concluded paying now best protects taxpayers and allows both the city and North Plains Smart Growth to move on; staff will process payment and dismissal paperwork.
  • UGB next steps: While some members wanted to rescind Ordinance 490 immediately, the body ultimately voted to table substantive action until the March 3 work session, which will include RAC findings, mapping feedback, and any recommended supporting-document rescissions so new councilors can evaluate the full record.
  • Governance & voting rules: Councilor McCall-Wallace cited confusion over abstentions and plurality votes in January meetings. The body agreed to cover charter requirements, council rules, and the city-manager form of government during the newly scheduled March 16 retreat (Sunday, Jesse Mays), with the city attorney facilitating OGEC-mandated public-meetings training the same day.
  • Budget calendar: Bill Monahan will bring a budget-process schedule (and likely an early budget-committee kickoff) by Feb 18 or Mar 3 so new councilors can digest baseline financials before April hearings. Staff will also provide more granular budget documents ahead of committee work.
  • AV accessibility: Councilors raised complaints about hybrid audio quality; staff outlined a plan to pilot extra microphones/cameras now while reserving the recently returned $60k Oregon Employment Department payment to cover larger Jesse Mays upgrades (with a MAC grant reimbursement application to follow).

Follow-Ups

  • City Manager & Attorney
    • Finalize the settlement agreement, remit payment, and file the dismissal to close the referendum case.
    • Prepare March 3 materials summarizing RAC findings, concept plans, and the process for rescinding Ordinance 490/HNA/Economic Analysis documents.
    • Draft the March 16 retreat agenda (charter/council rules/OGEC training) and circulate logistics to council.
  • Parks Board
    • Rework bylaws for code consistency and clarified attendance/removal language, then re-submit for council adoption.
  • Budget
    • Publish the proposed scheduling memo, including any early budget-committee orientation, and provide baseline financial snapshots for council review.
  • Facilities/IT
    • Test supplemental webcams/microphones with willing residents, scope the larger AV investment using the $60k refund, and prepare the MAC grant request once bids arrive.