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SHERWOOD CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 22560 SW Pine St., Sherwood, Or June 20, 2017
WORK SESSION
1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Krisanna Clark called the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.
2. COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Krisanna Clark, Council President Jennifer Harris, Councilors Kim Young, Dan King and Sean Garland. Councilor Sally Robinson and Jennifer Kuiper were absent.
3. STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Joseph Gall, Finance Director Katie Henry, City Attorney Josh Soper, Police Chief Jeff Groth, Administrative Assistant Colleen Resch and City Recorder Sylvia Murphy.
4. TOPICS:
A. Family Justice Center Project
Police Chief Groth introduced Hillsboro Police Chief Lee Dobrowolski and Judy Willey with the Family Justice Center of Washington County. He said this concept is long overdue in Washington County. Materials were provided to the Council, (see record, Exhibit A).
Chief Dobrowolski introduced Board member Joanne Lamaco. He presented a power point (see record, Exhibit B) and said the vision of the Family Justice Center (FJC) is to be a safe and welcoming place for victims and survivors of domestic violence. He said this a place where all the victims’ needs are met. He provided statistics on domestic violence cases through the County. He noted there are currently 95 FJC in the United States. He said the FJC should be open by December 1, 2017. He said Clackamas and Multnomah County also have FJC’s and they have learned from those facilities. He provided data of the effectiveness of FJCs and said the time is right for Washington County. He discussed the site selection of the FJC and said the beginning plan is a location in Beaverton on 158th and Walker which will cost approximately $20 a square foot. He said the location is along 4 bus routes and less than a mile from the MAX.
Ms. Willey discussed the 2017 budget for the FJC and said the annual revenue budget is $1,919,000 with $564,000 of in-kind services with the net revenue to be raised at $627,000. She recapped the in-kind services that will be provided at the facility. She discussed the ways they are raising $627,000 and said they are asking for 3 year commitments and have yet to receive a confirmed commitment from Sherwood along with a few other cities. She stated to date they have raised $398,000 and are still seeking $229,000. She noted that City commitments thus far have ranged from $5k-$25k annually for 3 years. She asked the Council to consider supporting the project.
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5. ADJOURN:
Mayor Clark adjourned the work session at 7:00 pm and convened to the regular Council session.
REGULAR SESSION
1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Clark called the meeting to order at 7:08 pm.
2. COUNCIL PRESENT: Mayor Clark, Council President Jennifer Harris, Councilors Kim Young, Dan King Sean Garland. Councilor Jennifer Kuiper via conference call. Councilor Robinson arrived at 7:35 pm.
3. STAFF AND LEGAL COUNSEL PRESENT: City Manager Joseph Gall, Assistant City Manager Tom Pessemier, Police Chief Jeff Groth, City Attorney Josh Soper, Finance Director Katie Henry, Police Captain Mark Daniel, Community Development Director Julia Hajduk, Public Works Operations Supervisory Rich Sattler, Community Services Director Kristen Switzer, Events and Arts Program Coordinator Leah Burgess, On-Call Recreational Assistant Mary Weggeland, Administrative Assistant Colleen Resch and City Recorder Sylvia Murphy.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda and asked for a motion.
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
MOTION: FROM COUNCILOR YOUNG TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR GARLAND. MOTION PASSED 6:0. ALL PRESENT MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR. (COUNCILOR ROBINSON WAS ABSENT).
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda and asked for a motion.
5. CONSENT AGENDA:
A. Approval of June 1, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes B. Approval of June 6, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes C. Approval of June 13, 2017 City Council Meeting Minutes D. Resolution 2017-043 authorizing the City Manager to sign a renewal Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the Washington County Emergency Management Co-operative E. Resolution 2017-044 Certifying the provision of certain Municipal services in order to qualify the City to receive State Revenues F. Resolution 2017-045 Authorizing the Mayor to sign an updated Urban Planning Area Agreement between the City of Sherwood and Washington County G. Resolution 2017-046 Appointing Donna Vande Kieft to the Library Advisory Board H. Resolution 2017-047 Creating a new special revenue fund, the Grants Fund I. Resolution 2017-048 Appropriating funds for the refinancing of Water Debt
MOTION: FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT HARRIS TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR KING. MOTION PASSED 6:0. ALL PRESENT MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR. (COUNCILOR ROBINSON WAS ABSENT).
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Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
6. CITIZEN COMMENTS:
Pat Dinan came forward and stated this is the third time he has come before the Council and he is disappointed by the lack of response, other than the response from the Mayor that she would not deal with this issue because it is not a City issue. He said this issue is concerning the Municipal Court and traffic violations and traffic crimes. He noted the City Charter says the Council is responsible for the actions of the Municipal Court and the Municipal Judge. He stated he would appreciate a letter stating that the Court is a qualified court of records. He said when he was in Court on June 3, he asked Judge Morris if he was a qualified court of records and he responded that yes the Court is and it is under ORS 153. He stated he wrote to Judge Morris the following week and asked the same question and he was denied. He stated he had two subpoenaed witnesses who were considered experts and Judge Morris refused to let him have witnesses to defend himself and said he would only accept legal licensed attorneys as experts. Mr. Dinan stated his rights were violated by not letting him defend himself and that has to be addressed by the City Council.
Michelle Boyle came forward and provided materials to the Council and said she spoke with the Council about tiny houses two years ago. She discussed how regulations in other cities have changed for tiny houses. She stated since finishing her tiny house she has been embraced by the tiny house movement. She listed the number of events she has attended and the publicity she has received. She said the tiny house movement offers a solution to the challenge of affordable and diverse housing. She stated Oregon HB 2737, which requires the Director of Consumer and Business Services to adopt construction standards for tiny homes, was approved by a margin of 56 to 2. She said the current zoning codes are being scheduled for review and suggested the City look at the Fresno code. She asked the Council to advocate and consider tiny houses on wheels as an option in Sherwood. She invited the Council to Tiny Fest on July 1 from 10 am to 6 pm at Parker Stables.
Eugene Stewart came forward and invited the Council and staff to the reopening of the Sherwood Senior Center. He asked the Council to have a visioning process for the Senior Center. He discussed the traffic in Sherwood and throughout Washington County. He said there needs to be a planning process for traffic expansion. He referred to Dundee and the Newberg bypass and said Sherwood may need to consider a bypass as well. He said the Senior Center event is at noon on July 3.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
7. PRESENTATIONS:
A. Mini Float – Mayoral Special Recognition and Thank You
Mayor Clark recognized Events and Arts Program Coordinator Leah Burgess, On-Call Recreational Assistant Mary Weggeland and Jason Burgess for creating and building the mini float that participated in the Portland Rose Parade which highlighted the Sherwood Wine Festival. Staff provided a presentation (see record, Exhibit C) and Mayor Clark said the float received the Parade Chair Award for Most Outstanding Use of Creativity. She discussed the countless hours they invested in building the float. She shared a story about the parade day and thanked them and everyone involved for their efforts. She thanked all the local business for their donations. City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 3 of 15 DRAFT
City Manager Gall said he tasked staff with this project on May 1. He said this is the 3rd year the City has had a mini float in the Rose Parade. He thanked all the volunteers and the team for their effort. He said next year is the City’s 125th birthday and that will be the theme for the mini float.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
8. NEW BUSINESS
A. Resolution 2017-049 Transferring budget expenditure appropriations between categories for Fiscal Year 2016-17
Finance Director Katie Henry recapped the staff report and stated the purpose of this resolution is to move expenditures to true items up at the end of the fiscal year. She noted the first category is concerning unanticipated expenditures and provided examples. She said the second category of adjustments is corrections which need to be made. She stated the third category adjustment is a methodology adjustment which involves changing from handling adjustments by transfers to an expenditure reimbursement.
With no questions from the Council the following motion was received.
MOTION: FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT HARRIS TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2017-049, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR GARLAND. MOTION PASSED 7:0, ALL MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
B. Resolution 2017-050 Adopting the Capital Improvement Project Plan for Fiscal Year 2017-18
Finance Director Katie Henry recapped the staff report and stated there have been no changes in what was presented to the Budget Committee. She noted the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a large document and the one year CIP is what impacts the current year and those projects are captured in the Capital Fund and the rest is a plan. She said the items need to be in the CIP in order to use the Capital Funds that are dedicated for the projects. She said the City’s financial policies require that a five year Capital Improvement Project Plan is adopted each year.
With no questions from the Council the following motion was received.
MOTION: FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT HARRIS TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2017-050, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR YOUNG. MOTION PASSED 7:0, ALL MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda and the City Recorder read the public hearing statement.
9. PUBLIC HEARING:
A. Resolution 2017-051 Adopting a Schedule Of Fees as authorized by the City Zoning and Community Development Code, establishing fees for miscellaneous City services and establishing an effective date
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Finance Director Katie Henry recapped the staff report, provided a presentation (see record, Exhibit D) and said the first category of fees includes an inflationary increase which amounts to 1.6%. She said the Council approved those fee increases in Resolution 2017-008 and they are incorporated in the Schedule of Fees. She referred to utility fees and said they needed to be raised higher than 1.6% but are capped at 2% and said those will be raised 2% in order to maintain adequate revenues and to finance the jobs of the utilities based on the recent fee studies. She said the third category are building fees which have a proposed 15% increase. She referred to the Fee Schedule and said in sections 1 – 5 there will be no increases in the general fees, a few small adjustments in Library fines and fees, police have either no adjustments or small inflationary increase, court has no increases and there are a few changes in Community Services. She stated Community Services has a few new fees and provided the example of street closures for festivals. She noted with the City taking on the Senior Center there is an entire section with new fees concerning that facility.
She discussed section 6, utility charges for services, and said that is the section that is subject to the 2% cap. She stated water and sanitary have the 2% increase, storm fees have a 1% increase and street fees are subject to the inflationary increase. She referred to sections 7 – 8 which is the SDCs and said they were approved this winter and there are no changes here and no changes to the engineering charges. She commented on sections 9 – 10 and said they have the largest percentage of increases in Building. She noted the last time the City increased the building fees was in 2008 and the building department is required by state law to be accounted for separately and cannot be subsidized by the General Fund. She stated some municipalities have elected to make it its own fund. She said as of the end of last year the building department was $300,000 in the hole. She stated the City needs to get the building department whole with some fund balance for operating before we can make it its own fund. She said there needs to be some fund balance in the good years when development is high to support the lower years. She stated this increase does leave Sherwood well within the neighboring jurisdictions. She referred to the graph in the presentation (see record, Exhibit D) and said this illustration is for a $400,000 home. She commented on Appendix A and said the main changes are for Clean Water Services (CWS) and stated they set their own rates and have requested that the City list the franchise fees separate and that it is passed onto the customer and it will show as a new fee in Appendix A.
Councilor King referred to the building permit fees which have not been updated since 2008 and asked if there is a new plan to review those fees more often.
Community Development Director Julia Hajduk explained that previously the fees were reasonable and the City had high SDCs at that time compared to other jurisdictions and the economy slowed down. She said with the economic upturn the City was bringing in more than projected and did not realize they were not recovering their costs. She stated the department is now intending to review the fees annually. She stated the goal is to make the building department self-sufficient and have its own separate accounting fund.
Councilor Young referred to the new street closure fees that have resident and non-resident rates and asked if it is a local business requesting the closure but the owner does not live in the City do they pay the non-resident rate. Community Services Director Kristen Switzer stated that special event permits are by the organization that fills out the paperwork so they would be consider a resident.
With no further questions from Council, Mayor Clark opened the public hearing.
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Eugene Stewart approached the Council and said the City needs to look at commercial building fees to make sure we are competitive. He said the City needs to look at the franchise fees. He referred to water fees and said the City should consider summer rates and special rates for seniors. He commented on the streets and alleys being dedicated for public use and the City does not own them so how can the City charge a fee for using the streets.
With no other public testimony, Mayor Clark closed the public hearing.
Mayor Clark referred to Mr. Stewart’s comments about the streets being for public use and asked if the City is proposing to charge for closing the streets where the cars cannot use it. Ms. Henry said for a special event the City is proposing to charge for the staff time that is required to close the streets, not the use of the street.
Councilor Robinson referred to the new street closure fees and asked if the overtime charges for the Police Department are considered. Ms. Henry said she does not know the details, staff has just set up the account to track the costs.
City Manager Gall commented that the new fee for street closures for festivals is more for the public works costs to close the streets, put the barricades up, etc. and does not take into account the police or other services. He said they compared the fees with other cities and did not want to make the festival cost prohibitive. He noted the fees will not fully recover the costs and if the City tried to fully recover the costs the fees would be cost prohibitive. He said this is more of a cost sharing.
Mayor Clark clarified that this does not cover police overtime. Mr. Gall said that is correct.
With no further Council discussion the following motion was received.
MOTION: FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT HARRIS TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2017-051, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR YOUNG. MOTION PASSED 7:0, ALL MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
B. Resolution 2017-052 Declaring the City of Sherwood’s election to receive State Revenues
Finance Director Katie Henry provided a presentation (see record, Exhibit E) and stated the purpose of the public hearing is to provide citizens with the opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed use of the distribution of State Shared Revenue in relation to the entire budget of the City for the fiscal year. She said the League of Oregon Cities looks at projected liquor revenue, cigarette taxes and highway funds and are applied based on population. She said Portland State University determined the population for the City is 19,145 and that is used to calculate how much revenue the City receives each quarter from the State. She said although liquor revenues are increasing, the highway fund revenues are decreasing. She compared these revenues with the rest of the budget and said it is housed within the Intergovernmental Revenues which is about $1.9 million. She said the State Revenue Sharing is only 21% of the Intergovernmental Revenues and cigarette tax is about $23,000, State Revenue Sharing is $220,000 and the liquor tax is about $330,000. She said for Street Operations, Intergovernmental Revenues makes up 65% and the entire amount is State Shared Revenue in terms of vehicle and gas taxes. She stated this makes up most of the budget for Street Operations. She said the purpose of the hearing is to determine what to use the State City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 6 of 15 DRAFT
Revenues for. She stated the City currently combines the State Shared Revenues with other funds and they are used to support public safety, administration, community services, facilities, etc.
With no questions from Council, Mayor Clark opened the public hearing.
Eugene Stewart approached the Council and said it is his understanding that the public should decide where the State Shared Revenues are spent and there is a lack of input from the citizens and the process needs to be improved.
With no other public testimony received, Mayor Clark closed the public hearing.
Council President Harris reminded the public that there are three Budget Committee positions open.
With no further comments from Council, the following motion was received.
MOTION: FROM COUNCILOR ROBINSON TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2017-052, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR KING. MOTION PASSED 7:0, ALL MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
C. Resolution 2017-053 Adopting the FY2017-18 Budget of the City of Sherwood, making Appropriations, Imposing and Categorizing Taxes, and authorizing the City Manager to take such action necessary to carry out the Adopted Budget
Finance Director Katie Henry recapped the staff report and provided a presentation (see record, Exhibit F). She said the goal of the hearing is to provide the citizens with a final chance to comment on the budget. She noted the Budget Committee meetings had very little citizen involvement.
Mayor Clark clarified that each Budget Committee meeting allowed for public comment opportunities.
Ms. Henry commented on the Citywide summary of revenues and noted that the largest amount of revenues come from utility fees and cannot be used for general administration. She said the second largest amount is from property taxes. She discussed the citywide summary of expenditures and said the largest expense is for personal services and said there is an increase in the budget due to PERS. She commented on personal services by fund and said a majority of the expenditures are in the General Fund. She referred to the materials and services category and said in the General Fund you don’t see an increase based on inflation and that is because the category was cut back to make up for the expense of PERS in the personal services. She stated that there were cuts made to the General Fund for deferred maintenance and travel and training. She said water, street and sanitary have increased with a number of scheduled projects. She discussed the one-time expenses in the budget that include a Senior Planner position dedicated to the Comprehensive Plan update, Neogov which is Human Resources software and the turf replacement at Snyder Park.
Mayor Clark said this is an abbreviated presentation of the budget process and said the Budget Committee held four meetings which can be viewed on the City website.
With no questions from Council, the Mayor opened the public hearing. City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 7 of 15 DRAFT
Eugene Stewart came forward and commented on the PERS increase and potential future layoffs. He said the Council needs to consider options and solutions to the problem. He said the City is several million behind and has to make up the lost revenue for that. He said he thought the City caught up at one point and now the City is in the hole again. He commented on deferred maintenance and said if a City facility needs a new roof, the City should consider installing solar panels for energy savings. He stated the savings would be significant. He thanked the City for funding the Senior Center.
With no other public testimony, Mayor Clark closed the public hearing.
Ms. Henry noted that the budget is imposing a tax levy. She said the budget is proposing the full amount of the tax levy and imposing the debt service levy. She said the citizens will not see a significant change on the taxes because the school bond levy will be imposed.
Councilor Garland thanked City Manager Gall and Ms. Henry for their work on the budget.
Mayor Clark commented that the budget process was done judiciously. She commented that Ms. Henry was prepared to answer all the questions.
Councilor Garland noted that Budget Committee Chair Meerta Meyer did a great job as the Chair.
Councilor Young commented on Mr. Stewarts remarks about PERS being in the hole again and said she is assuming he is referring to the PERS liability and stated that is not a debt that we owe. Ms. Henry said that is not a debt that the City owes but is required to report it on the government wide statements and it is a liability and the number fluctuates significantly. She said the amount of the liability is a number that the City will never have to pay out. She said it is paid over time and is an actuarial estimate. She agreed that there is an issue with PERS. Councilor Young clarified that every public entity is assigned a PERS liability number. Ms. Henry said every public entity that participates in PERS.
Mayor Clark said it is a number to keep in mind. Ms. Henry said yes and the City has to report the liability. She said it is not possible to fully fund the liability.
Councilor Robinson expressed gratitude to Ms. Henry for her preparation during the budget process. She said she was considering making a motion for a one-time expense out of the reserves and said it is not appropriate in lieu of the PERS increase and the deferred maintenance. She said had the budget been healthier for revenues she would have made the motion regarding the Comprehensive Plan update. She expects that once the City receives some significant revenues from sales of property there will be a Comprehensive Plan update in a supplemental budget.
With no further comments from Council, the following motion was received.
MOTION: FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT HARRIS TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2017-053, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR ROBINSON. MOTION PASSED 7:0, ALL MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
D. Resolution 2017-054 Authorizing the City Manager to sell or transfer real property located at 22895 SW Elwert Road to the Sherwood School District City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 8 of 15 DRAFT
City Manager Gall recapped the staff report and said the Sherwood School District (SSD) recently passed a bond levy in November 2016. He said the major component of the levy is to construct a new high school. He stated the SSD approached the City about purchasing property owned by the City along Elwert Road near Haide and Kruger for the new high school site. He noted the City owns 19.9 acres on Elwert and purchased the property in 2011 primarily for a transportation improvement project scheduled by the County for a roundabout. He said the City realized the County would need only 5 acres of the property for the transportation improvements and the City would utilize the remaining 15 acres. He said the land is not currently in the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and is directly outside the boundary. He stated the SSD is interested in purchasing the 15 acres to be added to the additional parcels they are negotiating with for the new high school site. He stated the negotiating process with the SSD began in December 2016 and the City had two appraisals done for the property. He said the appraisals are included in the packet. He noted the first appraisal is the value of the property outside the UGB and the second appraisal is the value of the property if it were inside the UGB. He stated the first appraisal valued the property at approximately $100,000 an acre and the second appraisal valued the property at approximately $500,000 an acre. He noted the Council directed staff to have both of the appraisals done in order to see what was at stake. He said state law requires that the City fully disclose the appraisals to the public. He commented on the negotiations with the SSD and said they have agreed to a price of $130,000 per acre for approximately 15 acres. He said the City is the first property owner to come to terms with the SSD and they are currently negotiating with three other property owners and the condemnation process has begun.
City Attorney Josh Soper stated that the City is required to disclose the appraisal information and hold a public hearing.
Mr. Gall stated that Community Development Director Julia Hajduk meets weekly with the SSD team for this project and the City has joined with the SSD to meet their aggressive schedule. He said the SSD wants to start construction next June and have the school opened by 2020. He noted this is only one piece of a very complicated puzzle and an important piece.
Councilor Robinson said she wanted to make sure that the City met the required publication for the meeting notice.
Mr. Soper said the City met the requirement and published the notice with the Tigard Times.
Mr. Gall thanked Administrative Assistant Jean Macaulay for her efforts with the Tigard Times. He noted the SSD is anxious to keep this project moving forward and meet their deadlines.
Mayor Clark said should the City choose to sell the land at this time can the SSD begin to start the building.
Mr. Gall said the SSD has a number of things that have to happen before they can start construction. He said the property for the high school site has to first come into the UGB and that process is ongoing and there has been at least one hearing that has been continued.
Ms. Hajduk stated they have had the second hearing and left the record open but closed the hearing. She said she does not know the deadline for submitting additional information. She guessed that within the next month the Hearings Officer will have all the information and hopefully make a decision. She said the Hearings Officer basically makes a recommendation to the Metro Council and then there will be a Metro Council public hearing and they are not expected to hold a hearing until late July or early August. City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 9 of 15 DRAFT
Mr. Gall said that one piece of the puzzle is to acquire this land, the adjacent land and bring the land into the UGB. He said the SSD will then come before the City Council to annex the property into the City limits. He noted that for annexation the SSD will need to have control of all of the properties at that time. He referred to the condemnation of the other properties and noted the only issue now is price. He said they are still negotiating a price and if they can’t come to terms the court will decide the value of the other parcels. He said the SSD will then work with the City on the land use process and ultimately building permits. He stated to begin construction by next June is very aggressive but doable.
Mayor Clark asked if selling this property moves the ball forward for the SSD if they still have the rest of the properties in condemnation.
Mr. Gall said yes because one of the parcels will be moving forward and the acquisition process will begin. He said the SSD has not come to terms with the other parcels but they will come to terms as the court will ultimately decide the value of the properties.
Mayor Clark clarified that the court will make a ruling on the value of the property and the SSD will need to acquire all of the properties before construction can begin.
Mr. Soper said that is a complicated question and there are different schools of thought on some of these questions. Mr. Soper said it is likely that the SSD believes that finalizing this sale will help the SSD move forward with the condemnation and give them leverage in negotiating. He said the question of how far along they have to be in the condemnation process before they can qualify for the annexation process is to be determined. He said the SSD may have to have ownership of all of the property as opposed to just some before they can move forward.
Ms. Hajduk clarified that from a land use standpoint there is precedent that says if you have started the condemnation process the parties can submit land use applications on behalf of those properties, but the question is whether or not that same precedent exists for annexation and specifically with the new SB 1573 which says you need 100% of all property owners.
Mr. Gall referred to the new annexation rules and said if the condemnation is not finalized who will apply for the annexation is still undetermined.
Mayor Clark said this is a difficult situation and stated everyone on the Council is excited about supporting the SSD and building a new high school. She said although the City purchased the property for the traffic issue it was also purchased as an investment. She commented on the appraisals and questions of the value where one appraisal values the land at $100,000 an acre and the other at $500,000 an acre and that is a big gap. She said there is hesitation and the option of letting the courts decide the value. She stated she is willing to sell the property for whatever it is worth but is questioning the actual value of the land. She said the City is wanting to be great partners and sell the property to the SSD but she needs to be fiscally responsible with the citizen’s tax dollars and investments. She said she is having trouble seeing the advantage to either the SSD or the City in guessing the value is $130,000 instead of allowing the courts decide the value for all the properties involved. She commented on her years of experience in litigation and said selling the land now is a perceived advantage and not a real advantage. She stated if this was a real advantage of a negotiating tactic for the SSD she would support it. She said she believes the other property owners are refusing to sell regardless of what the City does and are wanting to go through the condemnation process. She said she is not hearing from staff that there is an advantage. City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 10 of 15 DRAFT
Mr. Gall said he would like to hear from other Councilors.
Mayor Clark said she wants to hear from staff first as to what is the advantage.
Mr. Soper said the advantage, if there is one, is when the court is trying to determine the value of the property in condemnation, they will consider comparable sales of property. He said the SSD will presumably argue that this is a comparable sale and it will be up to the court to determine. He stated this sale will be a piece of evidence that they will introduce to try to argue the value of the property.
Mayor Clark clarified that it will create a comparable.
Mr. Gall said it is important for the Council to discuss the other reasons we are selling the property.
Council President Harris asked staff to explain condemnation.
Mr. Soper said the other term for condemnation is eminent domain which is when a public entity wants to purchase property for a public purpose and attempts to negotiate a price with typically the private property owner and they are not able to come to terms and the public entity will initiate condemnation proceedings in a court. He said both sides present evidence in court regarding the value of the property and the court will decide the value and the sale will proceed at that time. He stated public entities have the authority to exercise condemnation.
Mr. Gall added that the public purpose is to build a new high school which is need and the community voted for the bond measure.
With no further questions for staff, Mayor Clark opened the public hearing.
Eugene Stewart approached the Council and said the Planning Commission hosted on open house regarding the proposed high school site. He said he attended the open house and no one was in favor of the proposed site. He stated the site will take quite a bit of work to make it level and there was another site the citizens proposed. He said attendees were concerned about traffic and 800 parking spaces. He stated the open house was useless and the SSD is still moving forward and he has heard that the SSD staff and City staff are moving forward and it has not gone before the Planning Commission yet. He said the Council should wait and get the best value for the property. He asked if the SSD was going to answer the concerns that were raised at the open house. He referred to common sense and the need to make the right decision. He agreed there is a need for a new high school.
Susan Claus came forward and said she is a member of the Budget Committee and realizes how tight resources are in the City and does not think the City needs to do a favor for the SSD of creating a comparable for them and taking a discount. She referred to the difference between $100,000 an acre not in the UGB and $500,000 an acre in the UGB and said the City has the capacity to put it in the UGB. She said even splitting the difference is $250,000 an acre which provides more money for differed maintenance and the PERS responsibility. She stated it is still a pretty good comparable in this environment. She noted Sherwood prices are high and provided examples. She said Sherwood is a great place because we have made it a great place and we don’t have to take discounts because we want the school. She noted the school will happen and it is not a slight on the SSD and they are also trying to maximize their dollar. She stated the property was purchased with street funds and the City has to repay the street fund first. She said City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 11 of 15 DRAFT
the City should not reduce the accumulated value to benefit another party, even if it is the SSD. She said the SSD has $245 million dollars plus interest and this land is an insignificant amount of their dollars. She noted the City has to do what is best for the budget and said there is a lot of responsibility and it is staff that makes the town work and provided examples. She commented that this is our asset and the City needs money to maintain the service level.
With no other public testimony, Mayor Clark closed the public hearing.
Mayor Clark referred to Ms. Claus’s comments regarding the $245 million dollar bond and asked what the SSD general budget is.
Mr. Gall said the SSD current year General Fund is $50 million and the City’s current year General Fund is approximately $15 million.
Mayor Clark said she understands that 54% of voters were in favor of the recently passed school bond and 46% were against the increased taxation. She noted the SSD won the bond and will receive $245 million and they have a $50 million budget and the City has a $15 million budget and said for the City to give up the opportunity to be in the mix of being told by the courts what the value of the property is seems to be jumping the gun for a perceived ability for negotiation for the SSD. She said that is not enough for her and she is in favor of selling the property and wants to sell it for a fair price and does not think we know what that number is. She said that is her concern and she represents the citizens of Sherwood, not the SSD, and she is concerned that we have the cart before the horse. She said she supports selling the property but wants to wait to be told what it is worth. She said if it is less than $130,000 an acre that is fine. She stated we will sell it for the price the courts determine is fair.
Councilor Kuiper acknowledged the concerns Mr. Stewart had about traffic and the location of the school. She said she had similar concerns about traffic but they were addressed after discussing them with City staff. She referred to Ms. Claus’ comments regarding price per acre and said if the City receives $250,000 an acre the SSD would not be able to afford to build the high school. She said the SSD probably cannot afford much more than this negotiated amount. She said discussion numerating the issues and doing a quantitative tangible analysis of the pros and cons is being a good steward of taxpayer monies. She noted the other element has to do with qualitative analysis and a review of the non-tangibles. She said Councilors need to determine what they identify as a solid relationship between the City and the SSD. She noted that most of the population that voted for the bond measure also don’t understand how to delink between the City and SSD. She noted there is a very succinct delink there and there is a perception issue. She said it is time for the Council to show some leadership and noted the City acquired the property for $65,000 an acre and are doubling the money. She stated the SSD did look at multiple locations and there are certain things that could have happened better but they didn’t. She said we need to look at the intangible value we are giving to our students, the population and by making this decision tonight will buy dividends towards the work we have to do in the future and will show leadership.
Council President Harris agreed with Councilor Kuiper and added that doubling the money is a worthwhile investment. She said the idea of the SSD not buying the property and the property eventually coming into the UGB being worth a different amount does not mean we can sell it for that today. She agreed that the property would eventually come into the UGB but that could be from 1 to 10 years away. She agreed with Councilor Kuiper that the school would be unattainable if the SSD had to pay $250,000 or $500,000 an acre. She noted the $245 million bond included more than just building a new high school and provided City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 12 of 15 DRAFT
examples. She said the budget to build the high school is fairly tight. She does not believe that the citizens want her as their representative to get the most money she can out of the SSD and said they want her to be a partner with the SSD and get a fair value for the property and do what is right for the citizens. She stated selling the property for $130,000 an acre and doubling the money and keeping the SSD on track and on budget with the land acquisition is important. She supports selling the SSD the property and also stated that she would support donating the land to the SSD. She said people move to Sherwood for the schools and the Police Department and we need to invest in the schools and make concessions.
Councilor Garland referred to the value of the land and said just like selling anything the value is the agreed upon price that you can sell it for. He said there has been a lot of negotiations and both parties agreed to $130,000 an acre. He agrees that people move to Sherwood for the schools and the low crime rate and shared a personal story. He commented on the importance of working collaboratively with the SSD and coming to an agreeable price and moving the project forward. He said he supports the resolution.
Councilor Robinson said she agrees with Councilors Kuiper, Harris and Garland and her analysis is avoiding the cost of litigation which we would have to pay if we forced the SSD to go into condemnation with the City. She commented on the importance of being a good partner with the SSD and said we serve the same community of citizens although our roles are different. She agreed that people move to Sherwood for the schools and we need to support the schools. She commented on the need for two Student Resource Officers in the SSD. She said the City has doubled their money and asked what amount will go into the General Fund after the street fund is repaid. Ms. Henry said the amount is over $900,000 depending on the fees. She said the total sale will be almost $2 million and the City has to pay $1.1 million back to the Transportation Fund which includes interest. Councilor Robinson said a portion of those funds could be used to fund updating the Comprehensive Plan. She said the Comprehensive Plan is significantly out of date. She mentioned that if we play hard ball with the SSD there is a possibility that if they have to go to court with all of the property owners this could delay the project and not be able to start on time and will be unable to open the school by the projected date of 2020.
Mayor Clark asked Mr. Soper what the litigation costs could be. Mr. Soper said the SSD has not insinuated that they will condemn the City’s property specifically but it would be an option. He said costs would include expert witnesses, a condemnation expert and noted there would be some significant costs.
Councilor King stated that it would be breaking new ground to have one government entity against another entity. Mr. Soper said yes, there is no precedent in Oregon in terms of condemnation cases of a SSD against a City. He said the litigation costs could be $10,000 and above.
Mayor Clark said this is not the kind of litigation she is familiar with and is asking that since we are a willing seller it is just a matter of price and is including the City in the condemnation process necessary. Mr. Soper said the purpose of a condemnation case is to determine the price and the SSD could potentially include the City in case.
Councilor Young echoed Councilors Robinson, Harris, Garland and Kuiper with regards to doubling the money and being good partners with the SSD. She said trying to price a property on a hypothetical situation in the future is hard to pinpoint. She stated there is an appraisal of what the property is worth today and is in support of the resolution.
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Councilor King said it is frustrating and it would be easier to vote if the price were higher but he will support this resolution to sell the property now. He called the question.
Mayor Clark asked for a motion.
MOTION: FROM COUNCIL PRESIDENT HARRIS TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 2017-054, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR YOUNG. MOTION PASSED 7:0, ALL MEMBERS VOTED IN FAVOR.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
10. CITY MANAGER REPORT:
City Manager Gall stated the Council with have a work session on June 27 to interview two of the three applicants for operating the recreational center that is currently operated by the YMCA. He said the work session is open to the public and the Council will be interviewing the YMCA and Health Fitness. He said the third interview is with Tualatin Hills Park and Rec and will be in July. He said the agenda will be posted tomorrow and reminded the Council they have a URA meeting following this meeting.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda.
11. COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Mayor Clark asked Councilors to keep their comments brief. She said the Sherwood Wine Festival is this weekend and registration is open for Friday night. She stated she attended the Oregon State Police ceremony honoring the officers involved in the Officer Cederberg shooting and she thanked Chief Groth for hosting the event.
Council President Harris said the Senior Center will have the reopening on July 3 at noon with lunch being served. She attended the Police Advisory Board and said they discussed options from the Police Staffing Study.
Councilor Robinson said the next Park and Recreation meeting has been cancelled and been rescheduled to July 18 and will include a tour of the Cedar Creek Trail. She announced the Library Board has full membership again.
Councilor Young attended the Sherwood School Board meeting where they recognized 6 retiring teachers. She said they also recognized Connie Hansen for her years of service on the Board.
Councilor Garland attended the Regional Water Consortium Board and the Planning Commission meeting. He said the Budget Committee applications are due June 30.
Councilor King said he attended the Cruis’In’. He said July 11 will be his last meeting and the election for the position will be in November.
*Record Note: Councilor Kuiper exited the meeting.
Mayor Clark addressed the next item on the agenda. City Council Minutes June 20, 2017 Page 14 of 15 DRAFT
12. ADJOURN
Mayor Clark adjourned at 9:24 pm and convened to a URA Board of Directors meeting. See URA Meeting record.
Attest:
Sylvia Murphy, MMC, City Recorder Krisanna Clark, Mayor
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