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Agenda Item - 2024-03-05 - Number 06.1 - Approval of Meeting Minutes 6.1 O F �s� COUNCIL REPORT CIA2) Subject: Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes Meeting Date: March 5, 2024 Staff Member: Kari Linder, City Recorder Report Date: February 26, 2024 Department: City Manager's Office Action Required Advisory Board/Commission Recommendation ❑X Motion ❑ Approval ❑ Public Hearing ❑ Denial ❑ Ordinance ❑ None Forwarded ❑ Resolution ❑X Not Applicable ❑ Information Only Comments: ❑ Council Direction ❑X Consent Agenda Staff Recommendation: Approve minutes as written. Recommended Language for Motion: Move to approve minutes as written. Project/ Issue Relates To: NA Issue before Council (Highlight Policy Question): ❑Council Goals/Priorities ❑Adopted Master Plan(s) ❑X Not Applicable ATTACHMENTS 1. January 11, 2024, Draft Special Meeting Minutes 2. January 16, 2024, Draft Regular Meeting Minutes 3. January 30, 2024, Draft Special Meeting Minutes (Retreat) 4. January 30, 2024, Draft Special Meeting Minutes Respect. Excel'ence. Trust. Service, 503-635-0215 380 A AVENUE PO BOX 369 LAKE OSWEGO,OR 97034 WWW.LAKEOSWEGO.CITY ATTACHMENT 1 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING ? MINUTES January 11, 2024 aRrr�o� Mayor Buck called the special City Council meeting to order at 6:03 p.m. on Thursday, January 11, 2024. The meeting was held in-person at the Adult Community Center at 505 G Avenue. Present: Mayor Buck, Councilors Afghan, Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, and Corrigan Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager; Ivan Anderholm, Parks Director; Paul Espe, Melissa Kelly, Library Director; Megan Phelan, Assistant City Manager; Erica Rooney, City Engineer; Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director; Kim Vermillion, Administrative Assistant; Maria Bigelow, Adult Community Center Manager; Amanda Watson, Sustainability Program Manager; Guilian del Rio, Equity Program Manager; Shauna Calhoun, Budget Accountant; Paul Espe, Associate Planner; Quin Brunner, Management Analyst; Johanna Hastay, Planning Manager; Kris Artman, Assistant Fire Chief; Will Farley, Senior Associate Engineer; Others Present: Various members from the City's Boards and Commissions were represented 1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS Mayor Buck welcomed participants to the annual Boards and Commissions Summit. The Council had just learned the results of the recent Community Survey, and the City received high marks for overall leadership and trust in government. Those results were the direct result of the City's highly competent Staff and their responsive attitude towards community concerns. Not every community had achieved such high results, so it was a very special thing for Lake Oswego. It was also worth noting that all the areas the City Council, Boards, and Commissions had focused on showed the highest improvements since the 2021 survey, including quality of public safety; policing and behavior and mental health intersections; responsiveness to climate change; creating a welcoming and equitable community; and the effectiveness of the City's communication.Tonight continued the City's work, looking to areas for future improvement where the City could capitalize on its strength and create actionable policy to address areas of concern. A large reason for Lake Oswego's effectiveness as a community and local government was the way everyone worked together. The diverse group of people gathered tonight had worked well together through complex City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 4 January 11, 2024 issues while respecting differences of opinions and respectfully interacting with members of the public in stressful situations. City Manager Bennett thanked the members of Boards and Commissions for attending the meeting and for the work they did on behalf of the community. Those present reflected the values of the community, and all engaged productively with each other and Staff. The Council relied on Boards and Commissions for the work that they did. In the past, the City had provided members with a list of suggested topics for discussion, but this year the City wanted members to discuss what they perceived without prompting from Staff. In 2024, many Boards and Commission members were asked to serve not only on their own group, but also represent their Board or Commission on a special taskforce and worked to inform large city priorities and projects such as the Housing Production Taskforce, Parks Plan 2040, the Community Advisory Board, emergency preparedness, library visioning, and the Urban and Community Forestry Plan. Members had been sent a work sheet in advance of tonight's meeting and had been asked to think in advance about four areas: community strengths, challenges, opportunities, and obstacles. Each question would be discussed by each table for 15 minutes and then finally determine the top issue discussed at their table. The results of tonight's meeting would feed into the Council's goal-setting process which would take place during the Council's goal-setting retreat on January 20. After the Council set its goals, Staff would send the goals to Board and Commission members to keep them informed. Councilors would participate in the table discussions, but Staff would not participate unless information was needed. 2. BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROUNDTABLES Boards and Commissions members met concurrently in their assigned roundtable groups for 30-minute breakout sessions to discuss the following: • Community Strengths • Community Challenges • City Opportunities • City Obstacles 3. GROUP DEBRIEF City Manager Bennett thanked everyone for their participation and asked elected officials to identify the highlights of the conversations. Councilor Verdick stated her group had discussed affordable housing and the need to have affordable housing, especially for those who lived and worked in Lake Oswego. The table asked how the City could keep making Lake Oswego equitable for everyone and discussed affordable housing in terms of English as a second language and ensuring the City maintain conversations around diversity, and how to be a welcoming place for everyone and achieve the needs of everyone in the city. The table also discussed emergency preparedness and expressed they did not want the City to drop the issue. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 4 January 11, 2024 Russ O'Connor stated his table discussed diversity and multicultural, multigenerational opportunities in housing, and noted that those opportunities could be limited. The City should make affordable housing its long-term goal and take advantage of intermittent opportunities. The soon-to-be-built Habitat for Humanity was a great step for the community. Councilor Rapf said his table determined Lake Oswego's strengths were safety, quality of life, natural areas, and good community. People loved living in Lake Oswego, which was no surprise. For community challenges, the table circled around the affordability issue and added specificity by identifying maintenance of affordability for those who already lived in the city. How could the City ensure those people could continue to live in Lake Oswego and were not priced out of their homes by high property taxes. In city opportunities, the group suggested working with developers to incentivize the preservation of historic structures, neighborhoods, trees, wildlife, and the atmosphere. For obstacles, the group felt what really impeded the City's ability in many projects was the outdated perception of Lake Oswego by external groups that Lake Oswego was not diverse; that every resident was white and rich. Lake Oswego was an amazing place and sometimes more diverse than Portland from a percentage perspective. How could the City change that narrative and promote the great things and great people in Lake Oswego? The group also discussed tolling, which they were against. Will Farley stated their table agreed the safety and quality of life Lake Oswego gave to residents through its built environment, natural beauty, and its government, was a wonderful strength in the city. As for the challenges, much like other groups, it was discussed that the affordable housing options and the diversity was a challenge in the city. The group discussed how it was possible to integrate that diversity in the community. For opportunities, the group decided that identifying and fostering partnerships, whether it be with neighborhood associations, or the Parks Department, would protect the city's livability by getting everyone involved. The biggest obstacles identified were the availability of funding and state-mandated regulations. Councilor Mboup said his table found that Lake Oswego's strength was not diversity but community involvement; it was the city where everyone was involved. The challenge the city faced was in its infrastructure; everyone knew there was a problem. Lake Oswego was a city with the infrastructure of a village. The City had the opportunity to make Lake Oswego a 15-minute community so that residents could get to anywhere in the city without using a car, which would build a community for all. The current Council would not raise taxes, as some people were afraid they might, but the City had to prioritize limited resources. If projects were not on the Transportation System Plan (TSP), they could not be undertaken. Councilor Wendland stated his table had identified Lake Oswego's community engagement as a strength, which was demonstrated that evening. Each table had members from different groups, yet many had identified the same thoughts, which meant all were on the same page. The community was engaged and, for the most part, highly educated and well informed. The group had also identified affordable housing as an obstacle, but used the term, "attainable housing," to describe the challenge. Attainable housing shifted the conversation to seniors who may want a smaller home or someone who was new to the community and did not have a great deal of money. The change in vocabulary was a change in mindset. The table talked about diversity and the perceived lack of diversity in Lake Oswego. But the city had diversity, not only in ethnicity, but also in economics and education, which was one of Lake Oswego's advantages. The group also identified affordable/attainable housing as an opportunity. A theme running through all its City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 4 January 11, 2024 conversations was community building, taking advantage of the opportunity to get neighbors to talk to neighbors, and people to talk to people. Obstacles identified were land, money, and code. Councilor Afghan summarized his table's conversation, stating Lake Oswego was a beautiful city and a livable city, which was made possible by passionate, caring residents, capable city staff, decisive City Manager, and a City Council that had worked hard to make this vision; it was also made possibly by expensive homes around the lake that paid the income taxes spent on parks and recreational areas. That was a double-edged sword. The table agreed the City had to maintain and improve what it had and asked each other how that could be accomplished. There was a perception of exclusivity and bubble in Lake Oswego, and that perception was a reality for many people outside Lake Oswego. The City may be able to change that perception through diversity, equity, and inclusion. Perhaps housing for all or public transportation could change some of those perceptions, as well. Mayor Buck stated his table had identified being an engaged community as a strength and the challenge. Most of the community had the same shared interests, such as safety, welcoming, and accessibility, but sometimes people disagreed on how to get there, which was the source of many conversations for the Boards and Commissions, as well as Council. All agreed on the end goals, which was great, but not on how the city should get there. People differed on what they thought the outcome of different actions would be. The table also saw an opportunity to leverage Lake Oswego's great strengths as an integrated community with strong partnerships, and that was how it could address the city's biggest obstacle: housing affordability, which trickled down into all sorts of other aspects in the community from availability of workforce to young children coming into the school district. City Manager Bennett thanked everyone for coming. The conversations would be captured, packaged up, and sent to the Council as part of Councilor's goal-setting packages. She thanked the City Staff who organized the event and prompted Boards and Commission members who took part to provide feedback about the event to Staff. Councilor Rapf thanked City Manager Bennett. Councilors knew what other cities did regarding public comment and public involvement, and no other City Manager went this deep into community involvement and cared about it this much. 4. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the special City Council Meeting Boards and Commissions Summit at 7:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on {insert approval date} Joseph M. Buck, Mayor City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 4 January 11, 2024 ATTACHMENT 2 CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING ? MINUTES January 16, 2024 aRrr�o� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Buck called the regular City Council meeting to order at 3:05 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, 2024. The meeting was held virtually via video conferencing. 2. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Buck, Councilors Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, Corrigan, and Afghan Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; George Burke, Police Chief; Kris Artman, Assistant Fire Chief, Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director; Megan Phelan, Assistant City Manager; Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager; Erica Rooney, City Engineer I Public Works Director, Eddie VanBuren, Deputy Public Works Director; Jeff Munro, Parks Deputy Director; Katy Kerklaan, Citizen Information Specialist Mayor Buck recognized the current weather emergency and noted the Agenda had been modified to pass the resolution extending the state of emergency, hear an update on the weather event, and adopt the planned Consent Agenda. The storm was unlike others the city had seen, and the event was ongoing. One Lake Oswego resident had lost his life, and others had been displaced or suffered property damage. The Mayor extended his thanks to City employees, who had kept the roads open for emergency access and the water and sanitary sewer running, as well as the PGE employees who had worked hard in difficult conditions. There would be opportunities to debrief and improve from the incident, such as determining how to improve emergency coordination with the local school district and ensure the City had ways to access and serve its most vulnerable residents. Recently, the City had been focusing on local neighborhoods, and events like this made it clear why that work was important and needed to grow so that the City could ensure localized support to those in need. The Hunger Fights Organization had been in close contact with all the local families it served, making housing calls to the homebound and even moving some people to alternate shelters. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 January 16, 2024 There were many unsung heroes coming out of the event. The City appreciated all of those who were hunkered down, uncomfortable, and going without many day-to-day comforts, giving help to one another when they themselves had been without. 3. COUNCIL BUSINESS 3.1 Resolution 24-08, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego Ratifying and Confirming a Declaration of State of Emergency Relating to the Impacts of Severe Winter Weather. City Manager Martha Bennett stated the City was reluctant to extend the resolution, but the City had expended significant City resources on the event. If the event, after it concluded, did qualify for FEMA reimbursement, the City should ensure all the expenditures from the beginning of the storm to the end were qualified expenses, which was why Staff asked Council to extend the Resolution. Councilor Rapf moved to adopt Resolution 24-08. Councilor Verdick seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed,with Mayor Buck and Councilors Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, Corrigan, and Afghan voting `aye,' (7-0). 4. PRESENTATION 4.1 Impacts of Severe Winter Weather Information Update. Eddie VanBuren, Deputy Public Works Director, presented the Council report via PowerPoint, and reviewed the initial forecast, event timeline, priorities, and how priorities shifted throughout the event. The presentation included photographs documenting the severe weather event and damage, as well as a summary of the new forecast, recovery, and next steps. Director Van Buren thanked the leaders of the A and B Shift Operations Chiefs and their crews, the Staff who answered calls, the communications team, Parks Maintenance Staff, PGE, and arborist companies. Jeff Munro, Parks Deputy Director, stated the Department's top priorities had been employee safety and keeping people out of the parks. The Department was in the process of evaluating park properties and trees and securing contractors in conjunction with Public Works. He provided an update on conditions in city parks and reviewed via PowerPoint photographs documenting damage to trees and property. George Burke, Police Chief, recognized the work done by partners across the city, especially Public Works, and highlighted the work done by the Lake Oswego Communications Center (LOCOM). On average, LOCOM took 200 calls per day. That Saturday, there had been 135 calls; 99 percent were answered by live Staff within 20 seconds. Communications were put out through Everbridge, and the Department would continue to learn how to use that in the best way it could. The Department had performed many welfare checks during the storm. There were trees down, damage to homes, and safety concerns in some neighborhoods. The Department was preparing for the next stage, and working with partners such as the School District, staying in constant communication and giving updates on any roadways so the District could make the best decision moving forward about school closures. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 January 16, 2024 The Department was well staffed this evening. The majority of Command Staff were present, and most were planning to stay in the city overnight to ensure someone was available to take calls for service in case other Staff were not able to make it to work. Chief Burke provided an update for Kris Artman, Assistant Fire Chief, who was unable to attend the meeting. The Fire Department continued to work through some issues, such as being on generator power, and were responding to and triaging calls, prioritizing lifesaving efforts and public safety issues. Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director, expressed appreciation for the work of the Police, Fire Department, and Public Works. Behind the scenes, the Community Development Department had worked with Building Official Brian Don, and or planning, had not been out in the field, echoed commendation for police and fire staff, public works, working behind the scenes with building official Brian Dawn and Planning Manager Hastie to prepare for the recovery phase. When City Hall reopened, Staff expected a large number of calls and counter visits for people who needed permits for tree removal and building repair. Dedicated Staff in the Building Department would be available to address urgent or emergency calls or counter visits related to repairs. While the counter normally closed at noon, Saff would be available all day to ensure they could assist those customers. There would also be dedicated Staff in the planning Department to address emergency calls and visits regarding tree removal. No permit was required for residents to clean up a tree that had fallen to the ground. In the case of a tree that necessitated an emergency permit, such as a tree hanging over a house, soil heaving, or a tree that would fall imminently, Staff would advise residents to have the tree removed while documenting the emergency with photographs. Residents should do what needed to be done to remain safe and remove the tree. The Code did require a retroactive emergency tree permit, which was free, and required a simple application form and the documentation photograms. The application process could all be done via email at the City's dedicated email address: treeslakeosweqo.city. Residents should call to speak with Staff regarding trees that were storm damaged but not necessarily a hazard. The situation could potentially qualify for a variety of permit types, and Staff could walk residents through the process and make it as easy as possible. Those who needed urgent or emergency structural or plumbing permits could have the work started and then apply for permitting. Staff believed the Building Code required the permit application to be submitted within 3 to 5 days, depending on the type of work being done. The City urged residents to complete necessary repairs and call the Building Department so Staff could walk them through the permitting process. Staff addressed clarifying questions from Councilors as noted: • Katy Kerklaan, Citizen Information Specialist, stated she would coordinate with the Planning Department to provide information on tree permitting on the City's website, along with information regarding debris and cleanup efforts. The City had provided information on the website and all its information channels and had been actively using social media channels and the winter weather alerts page to post information related to the storm. While some residents had no internet available, the best way to get the latest information to residents was still via the website and social media channels. • Erica Rooney, City Engineer I Public Works Director, clarified there were two feeds at the river intake pump in Gladstone and two feeds to the Water Treatment Plant in West Linn. She understood that early in the event, Gladstone went down to one feed but there was no change City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 January 16, 2024 or affect to operations and the feed came back on. The Water Treatment Plant had been spared any issues at all. o During preplanning in anticipation of the whether event and in cooperation with its partners at Tigard, the City had preloaded its reservoirs more than it usually would at this time of year. The preloading came in useful because when power was lost at the pump stations, as was usual, there was a delay while generators were brought in. Preloading the reservoirs meant there was more than enough water and pressure to keep everyone with water and no issues were experienced at all. o The Water Treatment Plant system had been operating at full tilt. As mentioned in Mr. Van Buren's presentation, the night crew had gone to the pump stations to refuel the generators and check on them. A few generators failed and had to be changed out. Mayor Buck and Councilors thanked Staff for the presentation and for their hard work during the extreme weather. Councilors discussed the need to address Tree Code changes, undergrounding powerlines, and emergency management preparation during the Council's upcoming goal setting. It was important to continue to prepare for unpredictable weather due to climate change. Mayor Buck thanked all for their response as well as their work thinking ahead to the next days. City Manager Bennett commented that Mr. VanBuren had instituted an early November practice session, which helped the Departments prepare for winter. There would be an after action/hot wash and Councilors should communicate any topics they would like to consider. Staff would think about how the City could implement a contingency plan for a place for residents to get warm or plug in devices; there was concern from the community the City was not prepared for that. The City appreciated the community's patience. While Staff tried to make decisions in advance, the weather had been unpredictable. Staff would not decide about operations tomorrow until early in the morning hours, and the decision would be made based on the safety of the public and City employees. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT No Public Comment was provided. 6. CONSENT AGENDA 6.1 WO 273, Award a Public Improvement Contract for the Construction of Intersection Improvements at Jean Road and Pilkington Road. Motion: Move to authorize the City Manager to sign a contract with Knife River in the amount of$1,912,256. 6.2 2023 Council Goals Fourth Quarter Update. Motion: Move to accept the fourth quarter goals report. 6.3 Resolution 24-02, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Lake Oswego Authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement with the Riverdale Rural Fire Protection District Providing for the Continuation of Fire and Emergency Medical Services for Fiscal Years 2024-25 through 2028-29. City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 January 16, 2024 Motion: Move to adopt Resolution 24-02. 6.4 Approval of Meeting Minutes. December 5, 2023, Draft Regular Meeting Minutes Motion: Move to approve the meeting minutes as written. END CONSENT Councilor Mboup moved to adopt the Consent Agenda. Councilor Verdick 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). 7. ITEMS REMOVED FROM CONSENT AGENDA No items were removed from the Consent Agenda. 8. INFORMATION FROM COUNCIL There was no information from Council. 9. REPORTS OF OFFICERS There were no reports of officers. 10. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council meeting at 4:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on {insert approval date}. Joseph M. Buck, Mayor City Council Regular Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 January 16, 2024 ATTACHMENT 3 CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING ? MINUTES January 30, 2024 Go� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Buck called the City Council goal setting retreat to order at 12:33 p.m. on Tuesday, January 30, 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 Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, and Corrigan. Councilor Afghan was excused. Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Anthony Hooper, Deputy City Manager; Madison Thesing, Assistant to the City Manager; Weston Pay, IT Director; Shawn Cross, Finance Director; Erica Rooney, City Engineer I Public Works Director; Don Johnson, Fire Chief, George Burke, Police Chief; Melissa Kelly, Library Director; Jessica Numanoglu, Community Development Director; Kyra Haggart, PARKS Project Manager; Megan Phelan, Assistant City Manager 3. DISCUSSION OF COUNCIL POLICIES AND AGREEMENTS Mayor Buck noted the meeting was being recorded on Zoom. Community members and City Staff were present, and some community members were joining the meeting via Zoom. The video would be uploaded to the City's YouTube channel. City Manager Martha Bennett began by asking Councilors to reflect on City and Council accomplishments over the past year. Councilor responses were as follows: Mayor Buck: Helped to facilitate groundbreaking on the Habitat for Humanity project, and the wastewater project. Councilor Rapf: Rassekh Skate Park demonstrated collaborative work between the City Council and other parties. Councilor Corrigan: The City kept the Urban and Community Forest Plan on track. Councilor Wendland: LORAC groundbreaking, which was a 10-year project for the City and the School District. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 13 January 30, 2024 Councilor Verdick: The City's June Pride Day event, and improved communications about local governments. Councilor Mboup: North Anchor Project. City Manager Bennett noted that today's Council session would focus on discussing the goals and initiatives. In 2023, the Council pursued 20 initiatives and made substantial progress on 17. Over the past three years, the Council consistently achieved progress on 16 to 17 goals annually, so Councilors were asked to choose initiatives related to what they hoped to work on in the coming year. Via PowerPoint, City Manager Bennett reviewed meeting logistics, the City's mission and values, alignment of Council goals and values, the role of Council and Staff, and the Council's 2023 vision statement for a preferred future. Today, Councilors would discuss strategic goal areas that reflected where the City was headed in the next three to five years. The initiatives for each strategic goal were projects and/or policy choices that took between 12 and 24 months to complete. Staff described the voting tool, noting the tool was not so much a vote as a way to help Councilors organize their thoughts. Goals would not be adopted until they were brought before Council for final approval/adoption in a regular meeting. 4. DISCUSSION OF STRATEGIES GOALS AND INITIATIVES City Manager Bennett noted that in the past, Council had discussed suggested changes to almost all of the eight Strategic Goals, but this year changes were only suggested to three strategic goal areas. She continued the PowerPoint presentation, reviewing the strategic goals, proposed initiatives, and requested changes and addressed clarifying questions. Key comments, discussion points, and Council's vote in terms of level of support on the strategic goals and initiatives were as follows: Public Safety Strategic Goal — Ensure a safe, secure, and prepared community No suggested changes were proposed. Proposed Initiative: Continue implementation of the process to increase preparedness of Lake Oswego residents, especially seniors and people with disabilities, in the event of a disaster. (Slide 11) City Manager Bennett explained the initiative should not be combined with the Strategic Goal on combating climate change and strengthening the community's resilience because Public Safety was about emergency preparedness no matter the reason, while the climate change goal regarded work the City's needed to do to its own infrastructure. Councilors discussed the role of the 50+ Advisory Board be rebranded or expanded to involve a wider range of community members and provide a set forum for community partners to discuss emergency preparedness to help move forward the City's work. Councilor Wendland expressed concern that the work needed a home to sit in, but one at a more strategic level that involved all community partners. City Manager Bennett informed Council that the comments would be captured to inform the Staff creating the work plan on emergency preparedness. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 13 January 30, 2024 Councilor Rapf asked that the City keep in mind whether it was remaining nimble to the staffing needs of the Police and Fire Departments, though he was not sure it needed to be an initiative. City Manager Bennett explained the City did have that conversation during the budget process. The Council vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Strategic Goal — Support Business investment and job creation in Lake Oswego. City Manager Bennett noted the Council had a strategic goal around business investment and job creation for about five years, but this year, one Councilor had asked whether the goal was actionable by the City. Councilors agreed that recent news of two large companies indicating interest in moving to Lake Oswego was proof that initiatives undertaken by the Council on a strategic level and the work done by City Staff had a significant impact. City Manager Bennet read through the initiatives. Discussion of the initiatives was as follows: Initiative 1: Break ground on the North Anchor Redevelopment projects. The Council vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Update the Lake Grove Urban Renewal Plan and begin work on a plan to use urban renewal to support the redevelopment of Foothills Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 3: Implement the initiatives in the 2022 Economic Development Strategy Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 4: Develop a funding strategy for a longer-term contract with the Chamber of Commerce to implement a portion of the 2022 Economic Development Strategy; evaluate the possibility of the business license fee as a funding option. This was a new Initiative. • Mayor Buck wanted the Council to discuss increasing the business license fee because the fee had not been evaluated for five decades and was out of step with neighboring communities. Additionally, payment of the fee was not enforced nor was the fee invested back into the business community. The business community, through the fee, could fund the Council's work on economic development. • There was concern that increasing the fee would be problematic for small businesses and hurt the City's ability to attract small businesses. However, if the fee were invested back into the business community, an increased fee would strengthen the City's Strategic Plan. • The Council and Staff discussed the City's the contract for the three-year pilot program with the Chamber. An increase in the business license fee could serve as a funding mechanism to extend the program by the end of 2025. • Councilors agreed they wanted a funding strategy for the Chamber to be part of the overall economic development strategy and not a standalone initiative. Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 5: Create a long-term programming strategy for lodging tax dollars; develop an active and positive promotion strategy for Lake Oswego Businesses. This was a new Initiative. • City Manager Bennett did not believe the Council's authority over lodging tax dollars could be delegated to another body. The Council was the body responsible for compliance with state City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 13 January 30, 2024 law. The funds were programmed and had not recovered from the pandemic. However, there seemed to be an assumption that the City was sitting on a large sum of unallocated lodging tax dollars, which was not the case. She suggested this goal be addressed as part of the goal on fiscal stability and the Councilors agreed. • Mayor Buck said the Initiative did not seem necessary this year, but having some strategy around those dollars was something to keep in mind as the city added another hotel and the hotel business continued to strengthen. Councilor's votes varied from very low to medium support. Initiative 6: Discuss whether and how to allow new and emerging home-based sharing economy businesses (such as Swimply, Peerspace, Sniff Spot, etc.). This was a new Initiative. • City Manager Bennett noted the City had received complaints about Swimply, a service that allowed owners of private pools to rent the pools out through an online market. The issue involved whether this type of business went against the residential character of neighborhoods. The City's existing Home Occupation regulations addressed impacts to neighborhoods in terms of parking and noise. The standard was subjective, so the City did the best it could to permit businesses, but the regulations were designed for residents who wanted to permit businesses such as a home-based office or hair salon. • Councilor Rapf believed the market should be allowed to decide whether these home-based sharing economy businesses would be appropriate for Lake Oswego. • Community Development Director, Jessica Numanoglu explained that the City had put a moratorium of sorts on home-based sharing economy businesses because it was difficult to determine in a clear and objective way if a business altered the residential character of the neighborhood. In the past, the City had approved those types of licenses with conditions placed on the number of events, parking limitations, and steps to address impacts, but Staff had to make those limitations up and determine in each case what would impact residential character, which some found unfair because it was not in the City's Code. • City Manager Bennett added that despite the moratorium, there were still businesses operating. Unless the City received a complaint, the City was not proactively enforcing anything. • Staff briefly outlined some of the restrictions included in the City's Home Occupation Standards and noted that the standard people cared about was not altering a neighborhood's residential character. They described how the impacts of traditional home-based businesses differed from the impacts of non-traditional home-based businesses. The sharing economy businesses, many of which involved using space for events, had been the most problematic. However, Staff recommended the Council look at all of the Home Occupation Standards because the standards were subjective. • Director Numanoglu confirmed that around ten business licenses had been issued for sharing economy businesses over the past year, but the City did not know how many were operating without a license. The number of businesses could increase, which was why Staff brought the issue forward. • City Manager Bennett said Staff planned a study session for the Council on code enforcement. The City's emphasis was on code compliance, but that did not always work. She supported the concern of the Development Department on the issue, because at least in one case, significant Staff time went into trying to resolve an active neighborhood dispute. Councilor's votes varied from low to medium support. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 13 January 30, 2024 Strategic Goal — Foster a welcoming and inclusive community where all people have the opportunity to thrive and have equitable access to City services. Initiative: Continue efforts related to DEI, including prioritize equity in the delivery of City services: formalize a translation and interpretation policy; explore a partnership with Lake Oswego School District to host an annual event welcoming new residents to the city; and provide information on how to engage and ways to access services and programs. • Council discussion revolved around whether the item should remain a goal or if inclusion was already institutionalized, and if the goal was actionable. Mayor Buck stated the DEI goal intersected with all the City's work and needed to continue as a goal because it was important for the public to see it was a strategic goal fostered in day-to-day work. • City Manager Bennett reminded Councilors the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Board had proposed four bodies of work: how to include an equity lens in discussions about code enforcement and compliance; translation; welcoming new residents; and information for the public about how to engage with the City. Work planning would involve those four programmatic areas unless the Council proposed changes. The Council's vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Council took a break from 1:36 p.m. — 1:44 p.m. Strategic Goal — Combat climate change and strengthen the community's resilience to climate impacts. City Manager Bennett noted the goal had been in place for some time; one Councilor suggested dropping the first half of the goal since efforts to combat greenhouse gas emissions would be done on the federal and state level and the Council's focus should be on community resilience. Councilors discussed the purpose of the goal and agreed the goal should remain as is with the understanding that efforts to combat climate change took place at higher levels. The initiatives under this goal were reviewed and discussed as follows: Initiative 1: Integrate climate action and resilience strategies into City projects, such as capital improvement planning, housing policy, and City facilities and fleet decisions. • City Manager Bennett believed this Initiative would require Council leadership because there were dollars in play, particularly around Capital Improvement Planning (CIP). Often, determining appropriate investments that were climate friendly and climate resilient was not always obvious. Sometimes, the areas where the City had money available and the projects needed to become more climate resilient did not line up. For example, there were tens of millions of dollars in stormwater infrastructure missing in the community because of the way it developed over time. If the City wanted to build for climate resilience,that would likely involve more stormwater infrastructure than it conceived. • On City facilities and fleet decisions, Staff needed direction from Council to incorporate climate and sustainability; the City did not have a building or fleet policy right now but was in the process of developing one. The Council had already spent time on this type of decision in a variety of ways. During the wastewater plan conversation, it discussed the tradeoff between sustainability initiatives and cost. • Councilors discussed whether the focus of the Initiative needed to be more specific. There was debate about whether this goal should be a City Council goal or Staff goal. While the Council decided which goals to fund in the budget, it was up to Staff to implement the goals. Several Councilors suggested the Initiative needed to be included as a City Council because City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 13 January 30, 2024 if it were not stated, sustainability and resilience would not be a part of budget discussions and facility and fleet decisions. • City Manager Bennett understood some Councilors felt the policy should be baked into the City's DNA, but it was not. City Staff focused on service delivery outcomes and stretching every dollar; this Initiative added another and different priority. She suggested that Staff include more specific suggestions in their work plan proposals. • Councilors agreed with Staff's suggestion that the Initiative be modified to reflect Council discussion. The Council's vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Engage and educate residents and businesses on strategies to increase clean energy use and energy efficiency decisions. • Councilors questioned why this was listed as City Council goal since the City had Staff dedicated to community engagement. All agreed that the Council should spend time on developing and adopting a strategy to increase clean energy use rather than educating residents. City Manager Bennett agreed to modify the Initiative to reflect Council discussion. The Council's vote resulted unanimous very high support. Initiative 3: Adopt an updated Urban and Community Forest Plan. Begin implementation of any non-regulatory elements in the plan. Start the process for targeted amendments to the Tree Code after adoption of the Plan. The Council's vote resulted unanimous very high support. Initiative 4: Lead a process to accelerate the transition from gas powered lawn equipment for residents and private landscaping businesses. • Councilor discussion focused on whether the Initiative was needed, whether any action to mandate purchase of electric equipment could violate the City's own goals for equity and inclusion and considered feedback from some members of the community who favored restrictions. • City Manager Bennett proposed Lake Oswego put aside the Initiative until it had observed how the issue had played out in Portland. Leaving aside all other issues, Portland's market share in the industry was larger than Lake Oswego. The issue would take up a lot of Council time; there were many people who felt passionately about the issue, and the Council would have to carve out the time to hear them. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Initiative 5: Adopt and implement an EV charging strategy. • City Manager Bennett commented it was difficult to determine the role of the private sector versus the public market. As the market transitioned from one type of technology to another, the public sector often had to step in to accelerate private sector investment. This was a complicated issue, but not particularly controversial. • Councilor Wendland suggested the City let the market decide and suggested most new construction would be built EV ready. City Manager Bennett said the limitation on EV charging would be tied to what was available in the grid. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 6 of 13 January 30, 2024 Initiative 6: Update the development code to require Electric Vehicle Charging in new multi-family construction. City Manager Bennett commented the Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rulemaking required multifamily construction to be EV ready; it did not require the developer to install the chargers. Initiative 6 was not part of Initiative 5 because it was very specific to multifamily, and she did not believe the City's EV charging strategy would contemplate anything more for multifamily than the CFEC already contemplated. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Strengthen public trust in the city through continuous improvement, outstanding customer service, infrastructure investments, and fiscal stewardship City Manager Bennett noted a change had been made per Council direction in 2023 to focus the goal on public trust. She asked the Council to discuss Initiatives 2 and 3 and how they worked together. Initiative 1: Collaborate with the City of Portland to make a financially and environmentally responsible long-term investment in a wastewater treatment plant The Council's vote resulted in very high support. Initiative 2: Guide implementation of the Library Strategic Plan and evaluate opportunities to improve access to Library service. • The Council agreed Library Staff had shown ingenuity and creativity and developed many opportunities on their own with existing resources. Financial support was limited until there was a strategic plan put together, but the City would try to find money for small projects. Long term, the Council should be explicit it did not envision more than one library in the City. The City should seek ways to enable library access for all residents without building an additional facility. One suggestion was to offer a shuttle service. • City Manager Bennett responded that the Adult Community Center (ACC) did run a van system that included a stop at the library, but that service was not available to students or young people. The Chamber of Commerce had a goal to look at a community circulator service, and a circulator service was a part of the City's advocacy with TriMet as that agency did its service enhancement plan. In addition, the library was looking at a book mobile to enable service delivery all over the city, not just the west side. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Initiative 3: Develop a strategy for an all-ages and all-activities community center on the west side of town that would include event and meeting spaces, public services, and may include library services. Collaborate with the Lake Oswego School District and other stakeholders as part of the project. • Councilors agreed a long-term strategy was needed for community engagement work in an accessible location, but there were funding limitations. Building a comprehensive community facility might be an area to leverage a partnership or use an urban renewal tool. Councilor's votes varied from low to very high support. Initiative 4: Conduct a longer-term strategic review of the City's finances, including revenues, expenditures, and capital funding. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 7 of 13 January 30, 2024 • City Manager Bennett reminded the Councilors they had postponed this from last year so it would be done during an off-cycle year rather than during a budget year. • Councilors Wendland and Rapf felt the Initiative was important to give Councilors a good idea of what the financial picture was so the Council could make more informed decisions. • City Manager Bennett noted she made a commitment to the Budget Committee that they would undertake the work in an off year and look at revenue and expenditures to determine trends and vulnerabilities. She did not believe it would happen without a Council goal. Further, understanding long-term trends would inform Council discussion on follow-up items about financing and the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). Councilor's votes varied from low to very high support. Initiative 5: Begin a needs assessment and community engagement process to rebuild the South Shore Fire Station. • City Manager Bennett noted the station's living quarters were not earthquake resilient, but the equipment bays were. In addition, the recent community survey indicated there was public support and interest in making sure the station was resilient. • Councilor Verdick shared that during a recent tour of the station, she was appalled by the bathrooms. The issues impacted equity and safety and went beyond whether the station was seismically sound. She did not think it could be put off much longer. Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 6: Work to improve the perception of Lake Oswego in the state and region. Similarly: Develop a citywide branding and communications plan to strengthen both the City and the Community's image. • Council discussion revolved around whether those outside the city had a negative perception of Lake Oswego and whether Staff time should be spent researching the issue. Two large companies had recently indicated interest in moving to the city, which meant those companies had looked deeply into the city's culture. If the Initiative involved organizational rebranding, that should happen from the top down rather than department-by-department. • City Manager Bennett clarified the Parks and Recreation Department had contracted with a consultant to undertake a rebranding exercise, which suggested there could be an opportunity now for the City to do the same. Councilor's votes varied from low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Invest in Lake Oswego's high-quality parks, natural areas, and recreational amenities. Initiative 1: Guide delivery of the Lake Oswego Recreational and Aquatic Center (LORAC) and Golf Course and oversee the launch of operations of these facilities. • Councilors questioned whether guiding the LORAC was a necessary goal since the County's process for the LORAC was already underway and there was nothing more for the Council to do. The LORAC would still be built if Councilors voted very low support for the goal and Councilors did not want too many goals. • City Manager Bennett encouraged the goal since the facility would cost $40 million and increase the Operating Department. The goal should not take a lot of Councilor's time. However, the Council would not look good if something went wrong and the project had not been identified as a goal. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 8 of 13 January 30, 2024 The Council's vote resulted in unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Develop a funding strategy for Rassekh Park Phases 2 and 3. Councilor's votes varied from medium to very high support. Initiative 3: Adopt Parks Plan 2040. The Council vote resulted in very high support. Initiative 4: Update/Adopt/Implement the Luscher Area Master Plan. • Kyra Haggart, PARKS Project Manager, reviewed City work with Clackamas County regarding Luscher Park over the past year. The County had adopted amendments to its Development Code so the City of Lake Oswego could now submit a land use application that would amend the Comprehensive Plan. Preparation of that major application represented about one year's worth of work by City Staff. Following that submittal, the County would then adopt the Luscher Area Master Plan as a County Park Master Plan Document, allowing the City to implement the uses in the Master Plan. • The City had about $2 million in funding from the Metro Local Share program for use on capital investment or design for trails projects as part of the program. City Staff had submitted Luscher access and parking projects for potential funding; both projects ranked highly among the seven projects the community were asked to help prioritize. • The projects were permissible, but the City had to go through the land use application process before it could spend the dollars on capital investments. The land use application process included a Comprehensive Plan Amendment, Historical Overlay Modification, and a development permit. • If Council chose this Initiative, Staff would need support during the community engagement process because part of the development application work involved ensuring that Lake Oswego residents as well as residents in Stafford Hamlet were comfortable with the work proposed. • City Manager Bennett clarified Lake Oswego had $2.2 million from Metro in the Local Share and the funding was provided on a reimbursement basis so the City had to have cash to complete the projects. There were restrictions in the Metro Bond that applied to how Local Share dollars could be spent. For example, on the Willamette River Greenway Project, there was a restriction in the Metro Bond that said Lake Oswego could not spend their dollars on property the City condemned. Since the City had condemned the last two easements, Local Share dollars would only partially fund that project if the Council picked it. As the next step, Staff would go to the Parks Board and then to Council to identify projects, parts of which had been preapproved by Metro. • A funding strategy would be necessary to complete the projects, which Staff was working on. Some of the projects were included on the list for Parks Plan 2040, and the projects put forward for Metro Local Share funding were projects with community support. Rassekh Phases 2 and 3 were not eligible for Metro dollars, which was why those were listed as a separate initiative. The top three projects were parking at Luscher and West Waluga and the West Waluga boardwalk. • Council discussion focused on equally prioritizing projects in Rassekh and partially funded Local Share projects. • City Manager Bennett suggested the Initiative be modified so Councilors would vote on prioritizing and developing/adopting a funding strategy for partially funded parks projects (e.g., Willamette River Greenway, Rassekh, West Waluga Trail). City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 9 of 13 January 30, 2024 Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Improve Transportation connections, mobility and safety for all travelers and all types of trips in Lake Oswego. Initiative 1: Continue construction of sidewalks and pathways, focusing on safe routes to schools. • City Manager Bennett noted some Councilors had suggested the work include connections to parks and shopping, and the Initiative would involve work for the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB). In the past, Council had been very clear the construction of sidewalks and pathways should be focused on safe routes to schools. • Councilors discussed whether the Initiative should continue to be focused on schools. The Safe Routes to Schools program was evergreen and the City had already raised the levy for construction costs, so the goal may not be necessary. However, the goal would maintain the City's strong partnership with the school district and there had been feedback in the community about connections to parks, which also considered children. • City Manager Bennett observed the Council's focus had shifted away from pavement quality to pedestrian facilities. The Street Fund was a limited resource, and the Council should articulate a focus during its goal setting process to express a policy preference. The City would address both pavement quality and pedestrian facilities, but the Staff built the budget based on Council's goals. • Councilors agreed the Initiative as worded helped to ensure the Budget Committee and others prioritized projects in the right way. The Council's vote resulted unanimous very high support. Initiative 2: Adopt a transportation framework plan for Stafford/McVey. • Mayor Buck commented that the City should do something with the plan because it cost $60,000 to $70,000 to develop. Councilor's votes varied from very low to medium support. Initiative 3: Undertake two pedestrian safety studies— McVey and Lake Grove —with actionable items in 2024. City Manager Bennett noted that a year from now, Staff would propose a goal around updating the Transportation System Plan (TSP), so as Councilors thought about this Initiative, they should consider whether they wanted to undertake area-specific studies separate from the overall TSP. Councilor's votes ranged from medium to very low support. Initiative 4: Adopt the "20 is Plenty" speed program for residential/local streets. • City Manager Bennett said the City had the authority to enact"20 is Plenty" under state law, but Councilors should consider the proliferation of signs on residential streets and the public's expectation that the City would issue more tickets. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Initiative: Increase investments in road rehabilitation for local, lower traffic streets. • City Manager Bennett stated that if the Council picked this Initiative, Staff would push a more global conversation. On a Staff level, arterials and major collectors were always prioritized for City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 10 of 13 January 30, 2024 investments. Residents of streets that had not seen investment for 50 years may not think this was the best use of funds. Councilor's votes varied from very low to very high support. Strategic Goal — Conserve the community's character, sense of place, and quality of life by planning for change and growth. • City Manager Bennett noted the goal was worded when the City was dealing with House Bill 2001 and wished to ensure Middle Housing was incorporated in a way that was consistent with the community's feelings about residential neighborhoods. However, one Councilor had suggested the current challenge was about ensuring an adequate supply of housing. • Councilors and Staff discussed whether the goal should be changed to reflect current housing challenges or remain as worded to give the City flexibility in addressing policy needs. The goal included but was not limited to housing. Additionally, keeping the goal broad would make it easier for the Council to address long range planning issues. Councilors agreed the goal should remain as worded, though the body of work in the coming year would address housing specifically. Initiative 1: Continue work on key housing initiatives, the housing production strategy, guiding the HACC/Metro project on Boones Ferry Road, and support for other non-profit led housing projects. • City Manager Bennett noted that most of the work necessary to achieve this Initiative is mandated by State law. Councilor's votes varied from high to very high support. Initiative 2: Comprehensive review of the City's development codes and process to make process more efficient and predictable and less expensive. • City Manager Bennett asked the Council to delay this Initiative because Staff expected there would be more housing mandates made at the State level during the short session and Staff had limited capacity to work on long range planning while updating the Code. • Councilors agreed to delay the Initiative, though it was important. City Manager Bennett believed Staff also wished to undertake a comprehensive review given what it knew about the current process, it was just a question of when. Councilor's votes varied from very low to medium support. Proposed Work Plan Items: Address the need for shelters to be part of the City's emergency plans, including day- shelters. • City Manager Bennett said Staff planned to address this because during the last power outage, residents asked the City to open shelters and schools for warmth. There were many reasons the City was not able to do so, but Staff wished to determine what the work program would look like. Currently, if there was a major emergency the City looked to the Red Cross to provide shelter, but they would only open shelters if people were displaced. The City was not yet equipped to open an overnight shelter, but Staff could investigate that if Council wished. It would be easier to look at day shelters. Opening shelters was part of updating the City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 11 of 13 January 30, 2024 City's Emergency Operations Plan, and Staff did not anticipate a great deal of Council time was necessary unless a new program was needed. Councilors agreed. Coordinate with the State to update laws around e-mobility, especially electric bikes, and electric mopeds. • City Manager Bennett noted Mayor Buck had been working on a statewide approach with Councilor Nguyen. Realistically, any approach needed to be statewide because the devices were regulated by the state, not the City. She did not feel it was an issue the Council needed to spend time on. Councilors agreed. Council took break from 3:36 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. 5. DEBRIEF AND WRAP UP City Manager Bennett went over the resulting priorities of the goals and initiatives. Council had identified 17 top Initiatives for 2024 goal setting as follows: preparedness, North Anchor, the four sub projects under DEI, a revised/revamped facilities and fleets policy, adopt a strategy to increase clean energy use; wastewater; LORAC; the Urban and Community Forestry Plan and Tree Codes; PARKS plan; Urban Renewal; economic development strategy; funding strategy for Rassekh Park; housing initiatives; develop a strategy for some kind of presence on the west side; and a Chamber of Commerce Funding Strategy. Councilors were asked to identify three or fewer of the remaining items to include in its 2024 goals. City Manager Bennett advised the Transportation Advisory Board would take the lead on adopting "20 is Plenty."There would be a community engagement process and Council would be the body to enact the program. Councilors agreed to include the adoption of"20 is Plenty" and the strategic financial review, and directed the Sustainability Advisory Board to continue to research and monitor any action Portland took to restrict gas-powered lawn equipment as well as their code and implementation measures, then bring the issue back to Council for consideration in 2025. City Manager Bennett said the results would be sent to departments or key Staff who would help develop work plans. The goals would be brought to Council for adoption before the work plans were brought back for review in the first quarter report. Some of the questions Councilors asked today about specific initiatives would be covered in the work plans, some of which would be very detailed and some of which would be high level because Staff needed to research the scope of the project first. Councilors complimented Staff on the goal setting process, which they thought went smoothy. The Boards and Commission input into the process was helpful, and it was also helpful to have the results of the community survey before goal setting. 6. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council special meeting at 4:16 p.m. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 12 of 13 January 30, 2024 Respectfully submitted, Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on {insert approval date}. Joseph M. Buck, Mayor City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 13 of 13 January 30, 2024 ATTACHMENT 4 0 .*To CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING ? MINUTES January 30, 2024 aRrr�o� 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Buck called the special City Council meeting to order at 4:33 p.m. on Tuesday, January 30, 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 Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, Corrigan, and Afghan (via video conferencing) Staff Present: Martha Bennett, City Manager; Ellen Osoinach, City Attorney; Kari Linder, City Recorder; Anthony Hooper, Deputy City Manager; Stefan Broadus, Director of Special Projects Others Present: Kyle Rhorer, Vice President, Carollo; Jill Jamieson, President, Illuminati Infrastructure Advisors 3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 4. COUNCIL BUSINESS 4.1 Wastewater Treatment Facility Project. Anthony Hooper, Deputy City Manager, introduced members of the team and the people who would take over from him after he departed to take a job with the City of San Diego. He presented the Council report and provided a brief overview of the history and the current stage of the project. Staff requested the Council approve a reimbursement of $7.2 million in Preliminary Services Costs to EPCOR, and recommended the City end its relationship with EPCOR to explore a competitive procurement process to look at possibly removing private finance portion of the project and do a design/build/operate/maintain (DBOM). Kyle Rhorer, Vice President, Carollo, reminded Councilors Carollo Engineers had worked with the City on the project since 2018 and thanked Deputy City Manager Hooper for his leadership on the project and discussed next steps. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 1 of 5 January 30, 2024 Item 3 in the Staff Recommendation discussed a competitive proposal method, but the Council was not making a decision tonight. There were two primary differences between the current approach and the DBOM method: • The DBOM method was absent of private financing. It would be financed using public instruments, which were generally a more cost-effective way to build infrastructure. • The current process with EPCOR was a collaborative or progressive delivery method, and the City worked with the design/build/finance entity on an open book basis to develop the price collaboratively, which was one reason it had taken time to get pricing. The DBOM model was a fixed price model. The City would get a guaranteed price for the remaining design and construction of the project as well as a guaranteed first year operations cost and some other financial promises. If the City chose to go with the DBOM model, there would be pricing immediately after the next procurement as opposed to another collaborative process. It was the team's hope that much of the $7 million already spent on design could be used. Most RFP solicitations and technical bridging documents were designed to around 30 percent under a DBOM process. The DBOM team would finish the design enough to provide guaranteed pricing. In this case, the design was developed to almost 90 percent—more than what was needed to do a DBOM. Reuse of the design was contingent on the ability to reuse the technology and approach proposed by EPCOR. Carollo was confident that, with the technical bridging documents, it could promote the AquaNereda technical approach as something that was suitable for the compact footprint on the site. Carollo's national wastewater expert agreed it was a good application and the company was hopeful the market felt the same way. However, if the new DBOM team did not favor the AquaNereda approach, there was a chance some redesign would have to be done. There was a market for the DBOM approach. The model had been in place for a long time and the market knew and was comfortable with the model. There were two types of competitors that were likely to make proposals for the project. A handful of international companies could propose to do everything under their own umbrella or, since this was a smaller project, teams of companies could come together as a single contracting entity to bid. Part of the effort to explore the process would include a market sounding, and when the Carollo came before Council again it could offer information on what the market looked like. It was an attractive project, so there were no concerns about interest. Deputy City Manager Hooper introduced Stefan Broadus, Director of Special Projects, who would take over the project. Director Broadus stated it has been an honor and a privilege to manage the City's capital program and he was excited to take on the wastewater project. Councilors unanimously expressed gratitude to Deputy City Manager Hooper for his work in Lake Oswego and wished him well in his new position in San Diego. Comments from Councilors and clarifying responses from Staff and consultants continued as follows: Mr. Rhorer clarified he believed international firms would be interested because there were very large international design/build/operate integrators, including one in the United States. There were not a lot of turnkey greenfield opportunities like this in the market, but it was a popular model in Europe. It made sense for smaller communities to think of this turnkey process so they did not have to start their own wastewater utility to build a single-purpose wastewater plant. It was an City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 January 30, 2024 attractive, marquee project with an interesting environmental and city planning element. The market sounding would reflect whether the project was as attractive as he believed. Councilor Wendland wished to make it clear the City had a good relationship with EPCOR but the Council wished to change directions because EPCOR had asked for an unreasonable return on its money at the expense of Lake Oswego and Portland ratepayers. The City's Assistant Attorney Evan Boone had ensured the contract signed with EPCOR offered offramps that allowed the City to depart with EPCOR in a dignified way without risk of future litigation. The Council was ending the relationship with EPCOR to ensure the City achieved the best value for its ratepayers and servicing, and to make sure the project worked well for the next 30, 40, or 50 years. The decision was not taken lightly, but both Lake Oswego and Portland were comfortable moving forward in breaking with EPCOR. Mr. Rhorer confirmed Lake Oswego could build and operate the facility. It could also seek proposals to bridge the completion of the design and the construction with an extended commissioning period or small operations period in order to train Staff. There were many models that would allow Lake Oswego to transition to a municipally operated facility. The DBOM model identified in the Staff report was just one of many variants open to the City. Deputy City Manager Anthony Hooper clarified the $7 million payment to EPCOR reflected the total amount due the company. Portland was responsible for 31 percent of that total, and Staff was currently in talks with Portland about the payment. Portland was on board with the decision to separate from EPCOR. Deputy City Manager Hooper noted that with the DBOM recommendation, the City would hire firms to finish the design from 90 to 100 percent. Owning the design going forward to construction was important for accountability purposes. If the market was not responsive, the City could potentially contract to finish the design with the existing architecture and engineering firm and then bid it out in any number of ways, including in house operating maintenance. Mr. Rhorer added that if the City did select the DBOM approach, there was more than enough design for the technical bridging documents that would enable completion of the RFP solicitation. The proposals the City received would include a price for the construction and a price to finish the design. While there were some DBO projects that went all the way through without 100 percent designs, he did not recommend the City do that; the design should be finished to 100 percent. Deputy City Manager Hooper stated that Staff's request tonight was to authorize a payment to EPCOR of about$7.2 million and then give direction to Staff to start exploring options for the next phase. Staff would return to the Council with those options for further discussion. Jill Jamieson, President, Illuminati Infrastructure Advisors, confirmed that the City had all the rights conceived of to access the subcontractors and use them under the existing terms and conditions. The team would return to Council to discuss the pros and cons of the different approaches such as future risk and future budgeting, but that would happen at a later date. Mr. Rhorer clarified that all of the present design was centered around AquaNereda technology. There were some parts of the site development that were reusable, but the progression of design had started with AquaNereda because of the site's footprint considerations. The other option was MBR (membrane bioreactor), but the design had considered early on where the tanks would go. AquaNereda was not EPCOR's technology; it was a licensed and proprietary technology that EPCOR needed approval for to use as an application on the Lake Oswego project. Another firm could use the technology as well. City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 January 30, 2024 Deputy City Manager Hooper noted EPCOR had not operated AquaNereda before; this would have been the first time for them. The company did have demonstration plans and training programs. There were five existing plants in the United States; it was an emerging market. There were a lot in the development right now in the U.S. Mr. Rhorer noted that the solicitation document and the technical bridging documents would be strongly voiced, without being biased, to express the City's expectation that AquaNereda was advantageous for the City and a company's DBOM solution was expected to involve the efforts done to date. Carollo did not believe that was unreasonable, and the market would have the opportunity to be responsive or offer an alternative. An alternative may include MBR, which would leave the DBOM only performance requirements for the facility and they would have to design the facility on their own dime to cost it. Deputy City Manager Hooper added that the team would do market sounding to inquire as to whether or not they would use AquaNereda as their proposed technology. The 90 percent design had already been basically approved by Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). For a team coming in, the innovative design with technology already approved by DEQ meant a lot of the project had been de-risked. Deputy City Manager Hooper confirmed AquaNereda was an energy efficient option. MBR used four times as much energy AquaNereda. Mr. Rohrer agreed with the Deputy City Manager's comments regarding DEQ's approval. AquaNereda could handle the city's peak flows and had the ability to treat everything with secondary standards. The City would not have to build select treatment or anything like that for storm events. Ms. Jamieson noted the City could establish a baseline for AquaNereda in any procurement document. The document could allow for alternative technical concepts, but companies had to make the case the alternatives were in the City's best interest. If no one could do AquaNereda, then the City may wish to consider design/bid/build. Lake Oswego had detailed designs and access to the designers, and the process was laid out to give the City that flexibility. The market would respond if they were willing and able to do AquaNereda, but if not and no alternative technology made sense, the City still had the opportunity to go back to design/bid/build. Mr. Rhorer acknowledged the unprecedented high inflation over the past three years had escalated costs, but Carollo's construction group had observed prices softening to more reasonable levels for raw materials, trade labor, steel, cement, and concrete. However, the City did have the ability through the solicitation document when requesting pricing to have a shared risk profile on inflators for the design/build cost. If the City pursued a DBOM, its proposals would have two elements. The first was a fixed design/build price which would be a guaranteed price to finish design and construct the facility. The risk of inflation from the time the proposal was submitted to the time the facility was constructed was on the bidder, unless the City wanted to share that risk which may be advantageous because it prevented pricing of risk. For the second element, operations and maintenance agreement, the City would request the first-year fee and ask the bidder to guarantee an annual inflation number. The company could propose to adjust the fee based on the CPI and the Portland Metropolitan Area or propose charging the CPI unless the CPI delta became more than five percent, in which case it would ask the City to share it. There were many ways to share the risk transfer of inflation. While there was no way to insulate the City from the risk completely, a two-year period for the contract meant the exposure for construction commodities and trade labor was somewhat limited just by the duration of the construction. There were ways to mitigate that exposure. Ms. Jamieson noted there was always some level of possibility for price increases. The real question was whether there was a value offset. As noted earlier, one of the driving forces behind City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 January 30, 2024 separating EPCOR was that the cost of private finance added about $82 million to the overall price tag. The team felt going out with a new procurement would secure a cost that was less than $82 million on a facility that cost $168 million overall. The lifecycle cost on the facility was not just inflation—it was offsetting the private financing costs in part through the use of public financing. The buffer offered by private financing would ensure that even if prices go up three percent, the City's overall costs would still be reduced versus the original approach with EPCOR. Under a competitive environment, there were opportunities to reduce some of the other elements such as markups on design/build costs and maintenance and operating costs that were bid a long time ago. Putting the project back out to market meant there was a possibility of savings that would result in a lower overall project cost going forward. Mr. Rhorer added that the open book collaborative, progressive process with EPCOR was a great model, but inherently weak in terms of getting cost/price competition.. The procurement process was very transparent, but the actually competitive nature of it did not exist as it did in a DBOM model. With fixed pricing, the industry expected a solicitation document to ask bidders for a guaranteed, fix/design/build price to finish the design and construct the facility. The City would make an adjustment based on CPI, which was fair and reasonable. He cautioned owners to ask for a price without inflators because they would pay irrespective of what happened with inflation. Deputy City Manager Hooper commented that under the current negotiation, it was difficult to know whether the City had the best possible deal. If market forces were introduced, the City would know what the market would bear and would have a price tag. There was some certainty introduced through the proposed procurement process that could be good for the City. Mayor Buck moved to Authorize the City Manager to provide notice to EPCOR Foothills Water Project (EFWP) that the term of the preliminary services agreement has been completed, and approve reimbursement to the EFWP for$7,171,092.12; and Direct staff to explore competitive procurement methods, including special procurement and alternative contracting methods for final design, construction, operation and maintenance of a new wastewater treatment facility. Councilor Wendland seconded the motion. A voice vote was held, and the motion passed, with Mayor Buck and Councilors Wendland, Verdick, Mboup, Rapf, Corrigan, and Afghan voting `aye', (7-0). 5. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Buck adjourned the City Council special meeting at 5:23 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Kari Linder, City Recorder Approved by the City Council on {insert approval date}. Joseph M. Buck, Mayor City Council Special Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 January 30, 2024