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Approved Minutes - 2024-01-02 o s� CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING F MINUTES January 2, 2024 OREOO� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Buck called the regular City Council meeting to order at 5:33 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2, 2024. The meeting was held both virtually via video conferencing and in- person in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 380 A Avenue. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Buck, Councilors Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, and Corrigan Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director; Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager; Kyra Haggart, Project Manager, Parks Department; Kim Vermillion, Administrative Assistant Others Present: Matt Evans, Chamber of Commerce; Jason Morado, ETC Institute (via video conferencing); Matt Hastig, MIG (via video conferencing) 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Buck led the Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. ELECTION OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT Mayor Buck moved to elect Councilor Mboup for the Lake Oswego 2024 Council President. Councilor Rapf seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Mayor Buck and Councilors Corrigan, Wendland, Mboup, Verdick, Rapf, and Afghan voting `aye.' (7-0). 5. PRESENTATIONS 5.1 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Proclamation. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 9 January 2, 2024 Mayor Buck declared January 15, 2024, as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the City of Lake Oswego. The full text of the Proclamation was available on the Council's website. The community was invited to attend the MLK Day Celebration at the Lake Oswego High School auditorium on Sunday, January 14, at 2 p.m. 5.2 Awards for the 2023 Unsung Heroes Mayor Buck noted the City was in its 23rd year of celebrating selfless service with the Unsung Heroes Award. Over the years, the award has recognized 85 outstanding volunteers for their impactful, behind-the-scenes efforts that have helped make Lake Oswego a wonderful place. The 2023 Awards were presented to: • Jan Rimerman was honored in absentia for her work as an active volunteer with the Festival of the Arts and Lake Oswego Library. Ms. Rimerman curated shows at the Lakewood Center Festival of the Arts and Denton Gallery and helped to coordinate the art show portion of the Lake Oswego Reads program, including recruiting artists and facilitating a traveling art exhibition exhibit of art to nine libraries across the state. In a written statement, Ms. Rimerman shared her impactful volunteer experience assisting with the Rain Spark Gallery 10th Annual Lake Oswego Community Treasure Hunt. • Charles Aubin was recognized for his 20 years of volunteer service to Parks and Recreation events, as well as service to the Meals on Wheels Program, Oswego Arts Festival, local food pantry, and service to multiple organizations outside Lake Oswego, including Tryon Creek State Park, Tualatin River Keepers, Portland Audubon Society, and the Oregon Humane Society. Mr. Aubin shared that the most rewarding experiences he had were at the Adult Community Center. Serving there was a rewarding and fun activity. • Ophilia Lu was the youngest recipient of the 2023 Unsung Heroes Awards and was recognized for 250 hours of volunteer time to the Chinese Youth and Women Development Organization, and her work to foster stronger connection between that organization and local entities. Ms. Lu, a junior at Lake Oswego High School, also served as a member of the City's Youth Leadership Council, and volunteered with Vision Envoy, a youth run branch of the Lions Club. Ms. Lu commented that one of her most rewarding volunteer experiences was assisting at the Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast. Mayor Buck thanked those who served on the selection committee and everyone who nominated the Unsung Heroes. 5.3 Chamber of Commerce Annual Report Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director, stated that December 2023 concluded the first year of a three-year contract between Lake Oswego and the Chamber of Commerce. The contract aimed to strengthen the Lake Oswego business community through community partnerships, education and training, and marketing to business and visitor prospects. The Chamber had a scope of work in three main areas: business information collection and dissemination; business education and training; and business outreach and engagement. This evening's presentation by the Chamber would highlight the organization's accomplishments over the past year and share data and information collected. Matt Evans, Economic and Business Research Analyst, Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce, presented the Chamber's report, providing data on the size, number, type and location of businesses in Lake Oswego, and summarizing the information contained in the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 9 January 2, 2024 Council packet, which included updates about business investment and job creation, businesses education and training, outreach and engagement. As City Councilors went through the City Satisfaction Survey, they might observe areas that could be added for the Chamber and City to consider as part of the 2024 grant work, along with any additional areas of focus under the 2024 agreement. The Chamber looked forward to continuing its partnership with the City. Councilors thanked Mr. Evans for the presentation and expressed gratitude for the Chamber's partnership with the City and all the Chamber did to support local businesses. Councilors expressed a desire to make the Chamber's business training programs, some of which had a cost, accessible to more businesses. Mr. Evans and Director Numanoglu addressed clarifying questions from Councilors as follows: • The survey referenced in the report asked businesses if they had any contact with the City, aside from applying for a business license, and the responses were very positive. People felt like the City listened when they came forward with a problem, and Staff worked with people to solve problems. The survey helped identify a sign problem a member on Boone's Ferry road was having. The Chamber worked with the Planning Department to determine the process to get the sign approved and installed. That situation would not have happened if the Chamber had not done the contracted work on behalf of the City. • For 2024, the Chamber planned to look more closely at the problems established businesses may face that a new owner may not, and how to provide training in those areas to help businesses get through those problems. • The Chamber was grateful to continue working with the City under the contract, however Mr. Evans' time was limited by the amount of money available to provide for his salary under the contract. It would be wonderful if the Chamber had more Staff and resources, especially around outreach. The Chamber would like to have more one-on-one discussions with businesses around Lake Oswego to find out about what problems businesses were having. • The Chamber wished to know how it could help the City as it did with the recent Stormwater Inspection Program. The Chamber hosted meetings with local businesses to help them understand the complex program and gave businesses the opportunity to talk with City Staff. Through that process, the Chamber discovered the program could use more publicity so businesses understood what would happen under the program and which businesses would and would not be affected. • The Chamber had great communication with Staff and felt free to ask questions of anyone at any time. They would like to see more frequent communication all the way around. • The Chamber tried to emphasize the positive with ribbon cuttings and business openings for members as well as nonmembers. • The City was in the process of renewing the contract with the Chamber for 2024. The scope of work under the contract would not change. While it followed the economic development strategy and plan that did not mean the Chamber was limited to just that work. The contract would not be expanded if the City or the Chamber provided support to one another throughout the year, but the City would provide assistance where it could. • Many businesses and organizations had had a difficult four to five years. Credit for the Chamber's success and strength through that time was due to the Chamber's Board and its CEO Liz Hartman for the tremendous amount of smart work during that period to maintain a presence. Mayor Buck commented that people came to Lake Oswego from all over the region, and there was an opportunity to work together to promote businesses. Tourism meant a lot to the local economy, not just heads in beds, but also daily visitors. The City had disbanded the Tourism City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 9 January 2, 2024 Advisory Board this year, so there may be an opportunity to work with the Chamber to put tourism dollars to good work and tell a positive story about Lake Oswego. Mr. Evans responded that part of his charge was the Visitors Bureau, which was a small effort at the moment, but the Chamber was thinking about ways to bring more visitors to Lake Oswego. Plans were underway for a Lake Grove Wine Walk in May, which would be advertised outside the area. The event, an expansion of the event held downtown in the fall, would feature only Oregon wines, and the Chamber was hoping to get people in for overnight stays. 5.4 2023 Community Survey Results Ms. Thesing introduced the team from the City's consultant, ETC Research, which was contracted by the City to conduct a statistical valid survey to measure satisfaction with the City's programs and services and gauge the community's support for potential policy initiatives. The survey was intended to be a snapshot of where the City was today, where it could improve, and a roadmap of where the City may want to go next. The survey was the second with ETC and marked the first year the City could benchmark against its survey from 2021. Staff did not request any Council action; the presentation was meant to provide insights and information, especially leading into the Council's goal-setting session. Jason Morado, Director of Community Research, ETC Institute, presented the Council Report via PowerPoint and highlighted the purpose and methodology of the survey and key findings, as well as a summary of results. Councilors found the results of the survey, in which 97 percent of respondents reported feeling that Lake Oswego was an excellent or good place to live, reflected the work of City Staff and the goals the City Council had chosen to emphasize. They asked how to reach the people who did not feel satisfied with the City, and whether questions should be changed in the next survey to provide more specificity to areas of concern identified by respondents, such as climate change. Mr. Morado and Staff addressed clarifying questions from Councilors as follows: • About 40 percent of respondents owned their own business, worked from home, or worked in Lake Oswego while 44 percent commuted to work outside of the city. It was not clear whether those numbers were like the demographics collected two years ago, but they may be consistent. • The results presented were for the recently closed, statistically valid survey. The publicly accessible portion of the survey was being launched and promoted in Hello LO and the LO Down, so there would be a second batch of survey results from the general population opt-in to compare to the statistically valid survey. • In 2021, the statistically valid survey had 609 respondents and the publicly accessibly portion had more than 400 respondents for a total sample of just over 1,000. • The survey was very thorough and was a mix of standard questions ETC asked in other communities across the country, along with customized questions specific to Lake Oswego, which was typical of how surveys were set up. ETC could not think of questions that were missing, but that could be kept in mind for the next survey. However, this survey was at its limit for the number of questions that could be asked. If new questions were added, other questions of a similar type would need to be removed. • The survey questions did have a range of specificities and Council mapped the priorities indicated against existing goals. In terms of climate action, Council had an existing Climate Action Plan, and the Sustainability Advisory Board (SAB) made recommendations to Council about priorities in the Climate Action Plan. The Council needed to decide whether those City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 9 January 2, 2024 recommendations were responsive to the Community Survey Results, which were generalized. The Council should determine what priorities within its adopted plan should be prioritized based on the survey results. • The Community Survey was a public opinion survey meant to give the City a sense of what people cared about. A real dialogue with the community about climate change, the library, or bonds for streets or the fire station, would involve more public education. The questions on the survey were informed by where people were right now and not what the City had done to educate the public about a topic. • The survey elicited residents' perceptions and for some issues, such as climate change, at a very high level. The next survey could ask more specific questions about climate change if that was considered more important than another topic. There were times when entire surveys were about one topic, such as surveys for Parks and Recreation Departments that asked detailed questions about different types of programs and facilities. For the purpose of this survey, the questions about climate change were designed to a high level, general perception. The survey could always go more in depth on any question, but then part of the survey would have to be in areas that were not as important to learn about. • In the past six to eight months, the cities surveyed by ETC overall had a decrease in satisfaction compared to two to three years ago, which made the increase in satisfaction results for Lake Oswego impressive. • ETC would put together a list of other high-performing communities with similar characteristics and concerns for benchmarking and best practices purposes. Councilor Wendland suggested that the City create a definitive plan with its partners at the Lake Oswego School District to share the good survey results to attract young families to the city. The statistics showed that Lake Oswego was growing older, so the City should do what it could to bolster its marketing. Councilor Rapf noted that people's first connection to the city was through commerce, so Council should continue to focus on commerce. The way to reach the few people who were not quite satisfied and create a positive impact on individual members of the community was right outside the front door: streets, roadways, pathways, sidewalks. Page 38 of the report indicated residents would prefer the City put its capital resources toward streets, roads, and pathways. Mayor Buck commented that all the areas of significant satisfaction increase since 2021 were centered around Council goals and the work the City had been doing in the areas of public safety, the intersection of public safety and behavior health, economic development, social services, and the promotion of equity and climate change. The results spoke to the efficacy of the work Council was doing in those areas. The Council had chosen areas that resulted in a positive response from the community, and it communicated its goals well. 6. PUBLIC COMMENT Gary Vuchinich testified that on November 6, an 8-inch waterline owned by the City broke and flooded his home resulting in a $32,000 cleanup bill and an estimated restoration cost between $120,000 and $130,000. The City had not accepted responsibility for the damage, and Mr. Vuchinich was retired and did not expect the expense. He expected the City to take responsibility. One hidden danger of living in Lake Oswego lurked 4.5 to 5 feet underground: the City's water system. In his area, the water system was 54 years old, and the neighborhood had experienced previous waterline breaks in 2013 and 2019. He was not sure what to do if the City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 9 January 2, 2024 water line broke again because the City had given him no assurances that the water line was safe other than saying the lines usually lasted 80 to 100 years. The employee who came out to supervise the repair of the November break shared that he dealt with two water line breaks per month. Mr. Vuchinich asked for the Council to accept responsibility. If they did not, why would anyone want to live, or build, or conduct business in the city knowing how bad the infrastructure was? This could happen to all the members of the Council. All the Councilors lived in Lake Oswego and could suffer the same damage. Would they want the City to walk away, saying the City was not negligent and not responsible for the damage? 7. CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 Approve a Contract Award for 9-1-1 Phone and Mapping Equipment Replacement. Motion: Move to authorize the City Manager to sign a contract with Motorola Solutions, Inc., for 9-1-1 Phone and Mapping Equipment Replacement, for $579,966.33. 7.2 Resolution 24-01, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego Approving the Council Liaison and Committee Assignments for 2024. Motion: Move to adopt Resolution 24-01. END CONSENT Councilor Rapf moved to adopt the Consent Agenda. Councilor Corrigan seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Mayor Buck and Councilors Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, and Corrigan voting `aye,' (7-0). 8. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA 9. CONSENT AGENDA— Councilors Only 9.1 Resolution 24-04, A Resolution of the City Councilors of the City of Lake Oswego Approving an Appointment to the Library Advisory Board. Councilor Wendland moved to adopt Resolution 24-04. Councilor Rapf seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Councilors Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, Corrigan voting `aye,' (6-0-1). Council took a ten-minute recess. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 9 January 2, 2024 10. STUDY SESSION 10.1 Parks 2040 Project Update. Kyra Haggart, Project Manager, Parks and Recreation, introduced the City's consultant from MIG and noted the preliminary results of the citywide survey demonstrated residents' satisfaction with the Parks and Recreation Department. High satisfaction levels were achieved through forward-thinking and thoughtful, long-range Parks and Recreation System Planning. Matt Hastig, MIG, presented the report via PowerPoint and summarized the status of the Parks 2040 process, key takeaways from community engagement, a proposed revised classification system for Parks and Recreation facilities, mapping related to access and proximity as well as index equity mapping to demographic gaps, and reviewed strategic framework elements and next steps. Mr. Hastig and Staff addressed clarifying questions from Councilors as follows: • The results presented represented the statistically valid survey, though there was not a lot of difference between the results of the two survey components. MIG had compiled a report that compared the results from the two components of the survey and found that the differences were between one to five percent, though a few were greater. Most often, the difference was within the margin of error for the statistically valid survey. • The plan included a three-pronged needs assessment for facilities, recreation amenities or programs, and facilities maintenance and operations. The maintenance and operations assessment did not include the Lake Oswego Recreation and Aquatic Center (LORAC) because MIG did not have data regarding how the City planned to maintain that facility. MIG could look at what other jurisdictions did in terms of maintenance level for those types of facilities, but in general the report included what the City was already doing and how it could continue to enhance and improve. • The report did include staffing and associated costs for new facilities, such as the LORAC. • A maintenance cost projection for the LORAC had been completed, but it was not encapsulated in the Park Plan 2040; it was more of a one-off operational plan and projection. The City used the firm Ballard and King to prepare a projection of the maintenance costs for the LORAC. That projection was based on similar facilities throughout the United States. The IGA with the School District called for the City to analyze actual numbers after two years of operations and make any adjustments to the IGA or return to Council for adjustments to resources. • Staff could ensure there was a more obvious connection between the operations plan for LORAC and the Parks Plan 2040. The LORAC operational plan and forecast could be added to the Parks Plan in an appendix for that specific facility. • Staff believed there was always room for improvement in public engagement, and only one- third of the planned public engagement for the plan had been undertaken. The bulk of community engagement would take place over the next year, when the City would begin to seek specific recommendations to help meet the needs of marginalized communities. Staff had done a good job of trying to initiate those relationships in order to garner feedback and earn trust. • The term "access to essential services" came out of the Parks Plan 2025; the plan that guided the City's Parks and Recreation Department since its adoption in 2012. The term sought to identify the services people needed within walking distance of their home such as places to exercise and for children to play, quick access to playgrounds, and access to City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 9 January 2, 2024 nature. Trail connectivity was added as a new essential service based on feedback Staff heard via outreach. The term meant the key parts of parks and recreation facilities that people wanted to access quickly. • Staff had heard from parents about the need for more playgrounds and for more inclusive playgrounds that offered universal play for children of all abilities. • Many parks were a combination of classifications. The forced choice questions on the survey were intended to get at people's priorities. The survey results showed 43 percent of respondents wanted access to nature, and 41 percent want to conserve nature, which Staff understood to mean the City needed to be careful in how those two priorities were balanced. • The benefit of having the different categories was in benchmarking Lake Oswego to other communities. The 2025 classification made it difficult for Staff to benchmark externally, and the new classifications were simpler and more traditional. Councilor Wendland stated that out of 7,982 acres, only .001 was available for parks. A goal of a park within '/4 mile or a 10-minute walk was not achievable if no land was available for parks. The City must be careful about its messaging and not overpromise. In addition, some people did not feel parks were an essential service. What Staff described as access to essential services was a good explanation of the resident's desires to be able to exercise and have a place for kids to play. The city had a great parks system, but there were opportunities for more playgrounds which were an important element in attracting young families to Lake Oswego. • Mr. Hastig noted Parks Plan 2025 identified geographical gaps in parks service and found most areas of the city were walkable to parks, though some places, especially unincorporated areas, did have some gaps. But walking to parks did not necessarily mean the park had the benefit the community was looking for. Being able to identify the four essential services and having the classification would help Staff determine other types of gaps and look in more detail at how the parks function specifically to what the desires of the community were. 11. INFORMATION FROM COUNCIL Councilor Afghan stated that he and Assistant City Manager Phelan teamed up to educate several homeowner and neighborhood associations about the Emergency Preparedness Plan and found some big gaps. Tomorrow night, they would meet with the Mountain Park Homeowner Association, which had the largest population to educate them on easy ways to get their residents to the next level of emergency preparedness. Mayor Buck said new Council Boards and Commissions liaison assignments had been made and meetings started in January. 12. REPORTS OF OFFICERS City Manager Bennett reminded the packet of prework for Council's goal-setting session would come out on Friday. Councilors were asked to return the packet on January 16. The packet included the report on last year's goals, community input, recommendations from the executive team, and reports from the boards and commission on their top thoughts for the Council. She reminded that Council's diet was 15 to 18 initiatives for next year, noting likely more than half were carried over being such large, multi-year initiatives that prompted further projects and plans. She also reminded the Boards and Commissions Summit would take place on January 11 at the Adult Community Center (ACC). City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 9 January 2, 2024 13. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council meeting at 7:51 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Yk44dJ'9 Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on February 6, 2024. Joseph . Buck, Mayor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 9 January 2, 2024