Newberg City Council Recap | January 21, 2025

Video Stream

Overview

The Newberg City Council meeting covered city operations, financial planning, and infrastructure projects. Council approved an enterprise zone expansion and discussed tax increases, fleet management, and outsourcing landscaping. A resident urged a tree ordinance for accessibility. The meeting ended with a supplemental budget update.

Attendance

• Mayor Bill Rosacker
• Councilor Jeri Turgesen
• Councilor Mike McBride
• Councilor Peggy Kilburg
• Councilor Robyn Wheatley

Absent

• Councilor Elise Yarnell Hollamon
• Councilor Derek Carmon

City Manager’s Report | November

City Manager Will Worthey provided an update about happenings around the city’s departments. He noted a rise in public information requests and a drop in town building development.

Public Comments

Newberg Resident Brandon Slyter appeared before council to talk about a tree ordinance in Newberg as the city continues to grow. He cited ADA accessibility as another reason as to why council should prioritize a tree ordinance. Council discussed how residents can provide complaints about damaged sidewalks because of trees, and what might happen if a homeowner cannot afford sidewalk fixes.

New Business

Before attending to agenda items, Mayor Rosacker said councilors received a request proposal that had his name on it, and there were items on there that he did not agree to. He requested they disregard the proposal. 

Mayor Rosacker requested an update about a new finance model taking cost of living adjustments (COLAs) costs into account. City Manager Worthey said that with current staffing and the debt reduction plan, they may need to request an increase in taxes to meet those benchmarks. 

Worthey then elaborated on service issues with the current red light and speed camera technology provider, as well as a delayed contract with a Student Resource Officer.

City Fleet Management Plan

Public Works Superintendent Preston Langeliers provided an overview of the City of Newberg’s fleet maintenance strategy, detailing how public works decide when to replace a vehicle. Langeliers proposed a methodology that would ensure the City of Newberg is getting the best out of its fleet while maximizing the financial return of the vehicle.

City Landscaping Plan

Langeliers provided an update about the City of Newberg landscaping responsibilities. Public Works is recommending hiring a landscaping company, which he asserts would be less expensive than hiring in-house. He provided an overview of the landscaping projects the city is responsible for. The mayor and councilors discussed the financial implications of the landscaping outsourcing.

Planning Division Update and 2025 Work Plan

Jeremiah Cromie and Clay Downing discussed the planning department and goals. The discussed the 2024 projects still in progress and then the projects they plan to approach in 2025. Councilors discussed HB3395, relating to emergency shelters. Mayor Rosacker asked about the plan for street trees, which the planning department said they’d add as an action item for the coming year.

Modification of Newberg Enterprise Zone

James Dingwall provided a description of the enterprise zone in Newberg. He continued to talk about the boundary change and how the change can impact Newberg’s ability to entice larger businesses to newly zoned areas. Councilors voted unanimously to approve resolution 2024-3957, modifying the boundaries.

Data Center Potential at WestRock Mill Site

Before moving on to the next agenda item, Mayor Rosacker said he was approached by Business Oregon about the WestRock Mill Site and potentially soliciting a data center to be built on the land. Local company DCI was interested in building on the site previously, but due to limited traffic access, they decided against it. Council has discussed a data center in the area before, but due to a low number of jobs it wasn’t considered. Rosacker said it would be a high-value tax incentive. Council directed staff to investigate the cost of a power study for the area to see if the site could host a data center. 

Supplemental Budget #2

Finance Director Kady Strode provided an update on the supplemental budget mostly considering capital improvement updates from the past year.