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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApproved Minutes - 2024-10-15 o�tiA E O s� CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES V October 15, 2024 OREGO� 6. CALL TO ORDER, CITY COUNCIL Mayor Buck called the regular City Council meeting to order at 3:33 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. The meeting was held both virtually via video conferencing and in-person in the Council Chamber at City Hall 380 A Avenue. Present: Mayor Buck, Councilors Corrigan, Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Councilor Rapf was Excused. Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Quin Brunner, Management Analyst Others Present: Michael Jordan, Interim City Administrator for the City of Portland; Shoshanah Oppenheim, Transition Project Manager for the City of Portland; Melissa Earlbaum, Executive Director of Clackamas Women's Services; April Everist, Program Coordinator at A Safe Place Family Justice Center, Clackamas County Sheriff's Office 7. PRESENTATIONS 7.1 City of Portland Ms. Oppenheim, Transition Project Manager, City of Portland, introduced members of the project team and presented, via PowerPoint, information on how the City of Portland was implementing the 2022 voter-approved Charter reforms and transitioning Portland from a commission to a Mayor/Council form of government. The presentation summarized new roles and responsibilities for elected officials, the separation of legislative and executive functions, the move to ranked choice voting, and the change from citywide elections to elections for geographic districts, along with the schedule of changes following November's election. Ms. Oppenheim noted there were 118 candidates for City Council, which was expected since all of the Council seats were open and uncontested. Mr. Jordan resumed the presentation with a summary of organizational changes and implementation timeline, noting the changes were not required by the Charter but were necessitated by the change in the form of government. The changes would take time, but the hope was that the City of Portland would be more responsive and accountable than it had been in the past, a better player regionally, and a better partner to other jurisdictions. Lake Oswego City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 October 15, 2024 was encouraged to continue its relationship with Portland and not be inhibited by the new organizational structure. Mr. Jordan responded to questions from Councilors as follows: The Chief of Police would oversee only the Portland Police Bureau, while the Public Safety Deputy would oversee Portland Police, Fire, Emergency Communications, and Emergency Management. The Mayor would appoint and could unilaterally remove the Chief of Police, with City Council confirmation required for appointment. Hopefully, the City Administrator and Deputy City Administrator would be able to oversee Public Safety on a day-to-day basis. The unusual structure reflected the Charter Commission's belief in professional city management's direct accountability to the citywide-elected Mayor for Police Bureau activities. The Mayor could remove the City Administrator unilaterally, or the Council could do so with a nine-vote supermajority. The team was determining regional board representation. Many positions required elected officials, and with only one citywide-elected official, the Mayor would need to coordinate with the Council-elected Council President to determine which Councilors could fill these roles, such as MPACT or JPACT. They were reviewing current liaison roles, noting some positions did not require elected officials and could be filled by Mayor-appointed leadership. The Mayor would appoint the City Administrator with confirmation by City Council. Mr. Jordan would not be a candidate for the City Administrator position but would advise the Mayor that selecting the City Administrator was their most important first-term decision and should involve multiple stakeholders and a robust process to set the stage for the appointee's success. Councilors expressed hope that the transition would help Portland recover its reputation since Portland's success or failure impacted the surrounding region. Ms. Oppenheim said Portland's new Councilors would welcome guidance from Lake Oswego's Councilors as well as the opportunity to form elected-to-elected partnerships and collaboration. 7.2 Proclamation — Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Mayor Buck read the Proclamation declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness month, and encouraged residents to join in the observance and learn more about they could do to help end domestic violence. Ms. Everist provided information about A Safe Place Family Justice Center's services, partner organizations, and statistics. Ms. Earlbaum provided information about Clackamas County Women's Services, a partner of A Safe Place Family Justice Center, and reviewed the Service's mission, operations, supports, and statistics. 8. PUBLIC COMMENT • Chris Durkee, Palisades Neighborhood Association Land Use Coordinator, read into the record his written public comments regarding a recent grant awarded for the playground at Rassekh Park and thanking the Staff of the City's Parks and Recreation Department for their work and collaboration with the PNA. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 October 15, 2024 • Jeff Gudman, Oswego Heritage Council Chair, invited Councilors to the OHC exhibit, The Side of Better Government: Voting and Civic Engagement in Lake Oswego, which was scheduled to open the following week. 9. CONSENT AGENDA 9.1 2024 City Council Third Quarter Goals Update. 9.2 Resolution 24-46, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego Approving a Collective Bargaining Agreement Between the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1159, and the City of Lake Oswego. END CONSENT Councilor Mboup moved to adopt the Consent Agenda. Councilor Afghan seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Mayor Buck and Councilors Corrigan, Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf voting `aye', (7-0). 10. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA No items were removed from the Consent Agenda. 11. CONSENT AGENDA— Councilors Only 11.1 Resolution 24-45, A Resolution of the City Councilors of the City of Lake Oswego Approving the Appointment of a Member to the South Shore Fire Station Task Force. Councilor Wendland moved to adopt Resolution 24-45. Councilor Corrigan seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Councilors Corrigan, Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, voting `aye', and Mayor Buck abstained (5-0-1). 12. STUDY SESSION 12.1 Business License Fee Structure. Mr. Brunner presented the Council Report via PowerPoint, outlining the Chamber of Commerce contract and proposed fee structure. The analysis showed increasing the business license fee could adequately fund the Chamber partnership without overly burdening businesses. Staff sought Council's feedback on the analysis' conclusion and whether the alternative fee structure met their revenue expectations for the program. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 October 15, 2024 Councilor questions were addressed by Staff as follows: Mr. Brunner advised that Liz Hartman, the Chamber's Executive Director, had provided feedback on the proposal and she believed the business community would probably be comfortable with a higher fee increase that would better support the relationship. City Manager Bennett clarified that the proposed fee structure aimed to fund the Chamber contract due to the Council's specific goal to explore the Business License Fee as a funding source, though Council could reconsider this direction. The Business License Fee had not increased in 13 years. A modest increase would fund the Chamber contract, with future increases possible for additional programming. She advised against long gaps between increases, as smaller, incremental raises were easier to absorb than large ones. City Manager Bennett stated that Staff's proposed fee increase would be included in the Master Fees and Charges Resolution, coming to Council in November for December adoption and July implementation. If the Council wished to have larger fee categories, it should propose something specific. Staff's proposal did not consider any changes to the way the program was operated. If Councilor's wished to consider changes offering multi-year discounts, Staff would need to analyze the impact to the program, including the financial implications. Mr. Brunner said there was a clear definition of homebased business in the City's Code and the City had a licensing tier for self-declared home-based businesses, with about 570 licenses in that category. City Manager Bennett said the Business License Fee was a tool to help the City enforce its land use regulations. Community Development Director Numanoglu could better answer questions about which businesses were required by Code to have a license. Councilors expressed support for increasing the business license fee, with interest in examining Oregon City's model, which included separate categories for home-based businesses at lower rates. Support was also expressed for considerations for nonprofits, and premium charges or exemptions for certain businesses. Council discussion emphasized the need for funding in the next year. Discussion centered on incorporating funding into broader 2025 goals for business development and retention, noting the city's current economic development structure and potential partnership opportunities with the Chamber of Commerce. Councilors agreed with Mayor Buck's suggestion to direct Staff to bring back a tiered Business License Fee Structure based on Oregon City's model as follows: home-based businesses at$100 annually, 1-25 employees at $200 annually, 25-50 employees at $350 annually, and 51-plus employees at $450 annually, with potential multi-year or auto-renewal discounts. Given Lake Oswego's composition as primarily a small business community, more than 80 percent of businesses would fall in the $200 range. City Manager Bennett stated Council would have a study session on Master Fees and Charges followed by consideration and adoption two weeks later.The Finance Director's report at the study session would include whether the proposed fee structure would generate sufficient income. Revenue collection would not begin until July 1, allowing funds to be earmarked and not budgeted pending further Council discussion regarding business retention. City Attorney Osoinach advised that though the item was a study session, there had been some deliberation and some direction to Staff to bring back a legislative proposal so it would be wise for Councilors who were in the class of business owners to declare so now. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 October 15, 2024 Councilor Mboup declared he had a nonprofit and did not pay the Business License Fee. Mayor Buck stated he had business licenses. Councilor Afghan declared his wife had a home business license. 13. INFORMATION FROM COUNCIL Councilor Mboup provided information on the Youth Leadership Council's recent visit to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Mayor Buck thanked Kim Vermillion from the City Manager's Office for her work in coordinating field trips to City Hall. 14. REPORTS OF OFFICERS City Manager Bennett advised that only one qualified firm responded to the Wastewater Treatment Plant project RFQ, affecting the procurement process. The Council approved honorarium was for firms qualifying for full proposal submission, not RFQ responses. The honorarium would be modified, as well. City Manager Bennett would attend the League of Oregon Cities' Annual Conference in Bend. There were many sessions on artificial intelligence (Al) and discerning appropriate and safe uses of generative Al in government was an interesting topic in government right now. There was a national group of governments investigating the useful applications of Al that did not have ethical, legal, or other financial limitations, and used it in such a way that built public trust in government rather than destroying it. 15. ADJOURNMENT, CITY COUNCIL Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council meeting at 4:56 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 261A;-)51111,1,---- Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on December 17, 2024. oseph . Buck, Mayor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 October 15, 2024