Newberg City Council Recap | February 5, 2024

Editor Note: Welcome to the first Newberg City Council recap!

I’ve heard from a solid collection of readers that they’d like to know what is going on at City Council and having a quick, overview of each bi-monthly (every two weeks) City Council meeting. I’m usually tuning in in order to understand more about what’s going on with the city, so I figured I would give this a shot for the community.

The format is going to shift and change as I figure out the best way to report this information, but I’ll start with providing brief overviews from each major topic from the meeting, and then provide additional context if needed.

Many of these will turn into full stories, so don’t expect too much detail here. But the general overview should be helpful to stay in touch with happenings at City Council.

These stories are incredibly resource heavy — each meeting goes from two to three hours. Not to mention, they happen the night before the email goes out so it pushes the envelope. If you want to help keep this going for your community, please consider contributing on a monthly, recurring basis or one time.

See full meeting agenda.

Attendance

• Mayor Bill Rosacker
• Councilor Elise Yarnell Hollamon (District 1)
• Councilor Peggy Kilburg (District 2)
  • Acted as president while Mayor Rosacker was under the weather with a cold.
• Councilor Molly Olson (District 3)
• Councilor Robyn Wheatley (District 4)
• Councilor Mike McBride (District 5)
• Councilor Derek Carmon (District 6)

City Manager’s Report

Newberg City Manager Will Worthey provides a monthly report from the City Manager’s Desk.

• Worthey provided updates on several Public Works projects for the beginning of the year, some of which was a result of the ice storm in January:
  • A new crosswalk with light signals on Elliott Road
  • The read meter conversion projects that is now closed with one final conversion
  • An upcoming Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of pollutants report for 2023 that will be delivered by March 31, 2024, and new seals that will be place around storm drains that will remind citizens that all drains lead to waterways to help reduce dumped pollutants.
  • Discovered sink hole at the intersection of N. Meridian and E Crestview in Newberg, which was filled and compacted the void and repaired the street with no further damage.
  • Repaired a blocked rain drain at the library
  • Discovered and removed large chunks of concrete from sanitary sewer manhole
  • Removal of a fallen tree from the public right of way at S. 5th and E. Center Streets.
• The Corral Creek transient camp was dismantled by ODOT personnel. While the camp is in Sheriff jurisdiction, ODOT purchased the land while construction the bypass. The site had become a “village of trash, debris, human waste, drug paraphernalia, and hazards to the environment,” according to Worthey’s report. The next phase of the OR19 bypass will go through the property.
• The city’s Community Engagement department finalized a new employee handbook while dealing with the January ice storm. The city also launched a new Instagram account, which will help distribute information.

The January Ice Storm and City Hall Flooding

Read the full story on Newsberg

After City Hall flooded during the ice storm, city services were up and running within six days thanks to swift work from the city staff. According to Worthey, nearly half of the electronic devices were damaged beyond repair in the flooding. Newberg’s Information Technology (IT) department is salvaging as much equipment as possible. Local dental supply company DCI offered storage space for Newberg City Hall materials during repairs.

Although not connected to the ice storm floods, the Newberg Public Library also experienced a small leak in the staff room, which required a portion of a wall. But no print material was damaged in the leak.

City Hall is estimated to be 12 weeks from opening, according to Worthey.

Water Plant Damage

The January ice storm also damaged three actuators at the Newberg Water Plant. Replacements have been ordered, with an estimated 6 – 8 week delivery time. The Newberg Water Plan will operate at 50% capacity on the remaining, undamaged actuators — which Worthy said should not be a risk considering limited water use during winter.

Should the actuators not be repaired before summer, the plant can run without them but would require 24-hour staffing plans leading to massive overtime and budget adjustments.

Read: Newberg Presents New Water Treatment Plant

SDC Reform Ordinance Changes (First Reading)

The Newberg City Councilors and Mayor heard the first reading of more business-friendly System Development Charge (SDC) model, proposed by a special SDC committee in November.

Read: Committee Recommends Business Friendly SDC Model to City Council

Aubrey Nichols, Executive Director of the Newberg Downtown Coalition, and Bubba King, Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce President, both offered words in support of the new SDC structure. Newberg resident Robert Soppe said he was undecided, citing concerns around how transportation SDCs are calculated.

Councilor Molly Olson made a motion to table the decision until next city council meeting while they review the proposed SDC structure. The motion passed unanimously.

Supplemental Budget

Resolution 2024 – 3916, regarding a revised supplemental budget, was passed unanimously.

Resolution 2024 – 3917

A resolution to initiate a project electing to use the Sequential Urban Growth Boundary Review Process and submit a proposed work program for approval by the Department of Land Conservation and Development was approved unanimously.

Enterprise Zone Redesignation

Interim Community Development Director Clay Downing proposed meeting with Business Oregon to redesignate the Newberg Enterprise Zone, which would incentive new and existing businesses by offering up to 100% exemption on property taxes normally assessed on new capital investments and job creation for up to three years. The exemption can extend up to four to five years if higher income jobs are created.

City council moved to direct staff to coordinate with business Oregon to redesignate the Enterprise Business Zone, passed unanimously.

New Customer Service Policy

As part of City Council’s goals to publish customer service standards with measurement, City Manager Worthey presented the first part of a customer service manual, with a clause that empowers the City Manager to revise on an ongoing basis. Passed unanimously. Worthey said a second part of the manual would be presented at the next City Council meeting.

Council Business

• City Councilor Mike McBride requested an update on the Newberg Paper Mill, a 220 acre former industrial campus that was once the location of the WestRock Paper Mill. Councilor McBride is wondering about progress on the development. Worthey said he would start pulling information for next meeting.
• Councilor Molly Olson said she and City Council would seek clear answers on sheltering and care in Newberg. She expressed concern about emergency shelter availability when Community Wellness Collective will run out of money in June. Yamhill County Action Partnership (YCAP) is developing an emergency shelter (ADP Shelter), but its opening has been delayed. Mayor Rosacker moved to invite YCAP to answer questions regarding the shelter.
• Councilor Yarnell Hollamon thanked earlier public commenters for their bravery expressing concerns over a homeless person who had been ejected from an emergency shelter and vandalized their property, and professed urgency to create clear lines of communication with other organizations to prevent potentially dangerous issues from happening again in the future.