ESTACADA CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

ESTACADA CITY HALL, COUNCIL CHAMBERS

475 SE MAIN STREET, ESTACADA, OREGON

MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2008 - 7:00 PM

 

CALL TO ORDER BY PRESIDING OFFICER                                                                          

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm.  Mayor Austin led in the pledge of allegiance. 

 

Present:  Cr. Kay Nelson, Cr. Becky Arnold, Cr. Michele Conditt, Cr. Brent Dodrill, Cr. Norm Ernst, Cr. Richard Hartwig, Mayor Bob Austin, CM Randy Ealy, CR Denise Carey.

 

Council President Election – Cr. Conditt nominated Cr. Nelson.  Cr. Hartwig seconded the nomination. Being no further nominations the council unanimously selected Cr. Nelson as council president.

                            

CITIZEN AND COMMUNITY GROUP COMMENTS                                                       

 

Dorothy Sahr, Estacada Garden Club, interested in the Wade Creek Park and encouraged the council to purchase the lot adjacent to the park for the skate park.  They offered to help but they won’t be able to raise the total amount.

 

Jane Troeh, 250 SE Ginseng, expressed her gratitude for all those that helped develop phase I of the Wade Creek Park. She agrees that the city should purchase the lot adjacent to the park for further expansion. 

 

Kim Ruttridge, 580 SE 4th Avenue, is concerned about gang activity in Estacada. 

 

CONSENT AGENDA                                                                                      

§         Approve March 24, 2008 Council minutes

 

Cr. Nelson moved to approve the consent agenda.  Cr. Arnold seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

GUEST REPORTS                                                                                         

 

Clackamas County Sheriff – Craig Roberts, Sheriff, gave an overall update of things going on at the sheriff’s office and some statistics.  They have implemented a couple of new task forces, added 68 new positions this year, and responded to 75,000 calls.  They also opened another jail this year but still need more beds for the population.  He stated that one of the critical issues facing society today is internet crime.  The Sheriff’s office has developed a team to work on this issue.  Sheriff Roberts stated that gang activity is also a problem.  There needs to be education and a joint effort of the school and city to control this problem.  Lt. Matt Ellington stated that there had been a spike in graffiti late summer but has gone down since individual has been identified.  The responsible person was arrested but will be released in 2 days.  Part of his parole will be that he is not allowed in Estacada or close to the schools. 

 

Cr. Dodrill asked Lt. Ellington to describe the benefit of having an SRO in the school.  He stated that the kids will start to know and trust the SRO and may communicate with the officer more and more about issues of this kind.  It is a very proactive situation. 

 

EHS Campus Safety – Larry Pursel worked with gang students for three years as a home for paroled gang members.  He stated that gangs are teenage young men led by an adult.  Mr. Pursel stated that working together is the key and stated that the gang activity is not only happening at the school.  He said that the white population does not understand the American/Mexican family.  He sees racism rising in our community.  He says the kids and parents are good people in this community but something has to be done while the problem is young to prevent it from growing.  The community needs to step up and get their hands around this issue and work together to not let it take over the community. 

 

DEPARTMENT & COMMITTEE REPORTS                                                                  

 

Code Compliance Officer – Lance Weinard reviewed the information in his quarterly report.

 

City Manager – CM introduced Allen Headrick who is job-shadowing CM Ealy.  He thanked everyone for their support.  CM reviewed his written manager’s report. Cr. Arnold asked if employees picking up the extra workload are getting compensated.  CM stated that Mr. Headrick is working on a new pay structure and evaluation of jobs. 

 

Mayor Austin updated the council on some of the meetings he has attended recently. 

 

COUNCIL BUSINESS                                                                                               

 

Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) Forms – Mayor Austin commented on the new forms that need to be postmarked by tomorrow, April 15th.  The council discussed some of the requirements of filing.

 

Road Dedication – Oakview Drive – Devey Estates – postponed until April 28th.

TGM Workshop Debrief – CM Ealy presented the final report to the council. Cr. Arnold thanked Whitney signs for the business signs on Broadway.  She has donated the signs and it makes the downtown look great.

 

Ordinance Series of 2008, No. 004 – An Ordinance relating to solid waste management and resource recovery, extending the term of an exclusive franchise to Dan Walker Disposal Service, Inc. to June 30, 2008, or until a new franchise has been negotiated and said franchisee is prepared to proceed, whichever occurs first, and amending Ordinance Series of 1997, No. 10.

 

Cr. Arnold moved to adopt Ordinance Series of 2008, No. 004 – An Ordinance relating to solid waste management and resource recovery, extending the term of an exclusive franchise to Dan Walker Disposal Service, Inc. to June 30, 2008, or until a new franchise has been negotiated and said franchisee is prepared to proceed, whichever occurs first, and amending Ordinance Series of 1997, No. 10.  Cr. Nelson seconded the motion.  The motion passed unanimously.

 

The Ordinance was available in writing one week prior to the meeting so the Council declared the ordinance adopted after it passing unanimously.

 

An ordinance amending and adding sections to Chapter 2.28 of the Estacada Municipal Code relating to the Estacada Public Library and Library Board.

 

Mayor Austin stated this is the first chance to review some minor changes relating to the library board portion of the city code.  He stated that the Library Board will be reviewing the proposed changes also.

 

The Council had no changes or comments regarding the proposed changes.

 

Budget Committee Appointment – Thomas Sager and Dennis Weber have both applied for the vacancy on the budget committee.  Mayor Austin asked for a show of hands. 

Thomas Sager – Cr. Hartwig, Cr. Nelson

Dennis Weber – Cr. Arnold, Cr. Dodrill, Cr. Ernst, Cr. Conditt, Mayor Austin

 

Mr. Austin appointed Dennis Weber to the budget committee with consent of the council.

 

Budget Calendar – CM reviewed the budget calendar and asked the council to note the dates for the meetings. 

 

 

 

CITIZEN AND COMMUNITY GROUP COMMENTS                                                                

Debbie Ingamells, 21004 S Springwater Road, asked the city to consider purchasing the adjacent property to the new Wade Creek Park for park expansion.

 

Dennis Weber thanked the Council for their vote of confidence in his budget committee selection.  He stated that the agenda says the council chamber is handicapped accessible and he has a hearing problem and cannot hear a lot of the meeting.  Mayor Austin stated that the speaker system is not set up in the new room but the city is working to get that complete.  Mr. Weber stated he is the treasurer of the Estacada Library Board and is concerned that the council and the City Manager are considering the changes in the proposed ordinance.  He thinks the Library Board serving as an oversight is a good thing.  He stated the board has considered the changes and the only one they are really concerned about is the change on approval on expenditures. 

 

Danny Scott, 393 Regan Hill Loop, stated that Mayor Austin and/or CM Ealy are present at almost every board meeting and he thanks them for being involved.  He commented on the article in the Rural View and how a few parts in the story disturbed him because he felt they implied that the school district was trying to sweep the problem under the rug.  He tried to contact the author of the story but could not track her down.  He feels an SRO would really help the problems around the school and town.  If anyone knows who Kate Showalter is he would like to contact her to discuss the article.  He knows the school district is concerned about the problem.

 

Marissa Neldner, owner of the Rural View, stated that Kate Showalter is a pen name for someone that has kids in the district that does not want to be identified.  They tried to produce an unbiased view of the issue and to report the truth of the issue. 

 

Amy Fritz, 341 SE Regan Hill Loop, feels that there are members of the school board that have tried to sweep this under the rug and take it head on.  She just wants the school board to admit there is a problem, however small, and that it needs to be addressed.

 

COUNCIL REPORTS & COMMENTS                                                                          

 

Cr. Dodrill asked about police services and funding for an SRO in the schools.  CM stated he would like council input on options.  There will be a council workshop before the next meeting for discussion on this topic.

 

Cr. Nelson would like to wait and talk about the A&E Market property during budget. She thanked the Mayor, CM and Lisa Brookshier for the wonderful summit on Saturday. 

Cr. Conditt stated that this year’s budget will probably be the toughest since she has been on the council because of all the community’s needs.  She felt this was like a town hall tonight and was glad that the sheriff’s office feels the issue is being resolved and that the steps that have been taken by the school district and the city are effective.  She reminded everyone that this is a small town and it is so easy to feed the rumor mill and urged everyone to be cautious about what they hear and what they repeat.  She does not like hearing attacks on people that are volunteering their time to serve the community.

 

Cr. Hartwig likes the community involvement demonstrated tonight.  He is happy to be representing this community and likes working with every organization. 

 

Cr. Arnold agrees with Cr. Conditt on the upcoming budget.  There are so many needs for the community to weigh to balance the budget.  Cr. Arnold is bothered by not having the name of the author of the article.  She feels that if a person can’t stand up for what they say or write, they should keep it to themselves. 

 

Mayor Austin thanked every for coming.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSION – ORS 192.660 (2)(e) – Real Property Transactions                    

 

Mayor Austin announced that the council would adjourn into executive session under ORS 192.660(2)(6) which allows the Council to meet in executive session to meet in executive session to conduct deliberations with persons designated by the governing body to negotiate real property transactions.  He asked everyone to leave the room except those representing the media.  There were no members of the media in attendance. 

 

All the council and staff listed above were present along with City Attorney Cindy Phillips and Alan Headrick. 

 

Mayor Austin opened the regular meeting. 

 

ADJOURNMENT OF MEETING

 

          The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 pm.