Dundee Council Seeks Further Review of Alder Street Assessments After Objections

DUNDEE, Ore. — The Dundee City Council heard objections during the Dundee City Council meeting on Sept. 15 to $60,357.86 in proposed assessments for improvements along Southwest Alder Street, then said it wants staff, engineers, and the city’s attorney to review the concerns before making a final decision.

Councilors discussed Oct. 20 as a target date for returning to the issue. The city has until Nov. 3 to make a final determination, according to a city staff report.

The hearing covered final assessments for the Alder Street Local Improvement District, established in August 2021 to help pay for improvements benefiting three properties. A local improvement district, or LID, is a financing tool cities can use to charge property owners for public improvements that provide a special benefit to their properties.

The proposed assessments are $18,789.64 for Tax Lot 601 at 876 SW Alder St., $15,283.67 for Tax Lot 1101, and $26,284.55 for Tax Lot 1103 at 580 SW 9th St.

The Alder Street work was part of a larger construction project that also included 9th Street improvements, and final billing was approved Dec. 31, 2024. The city engineer’s updated report puts the final cost at $524,141.50, more than double the $251,690.11 estimated in 2021, because of a higher-than-estimated contractor bid and roughly $53,500 in change orders. Those increases did not involve assessable sidewalk, curb, or driveway work, so they were not included in the assessments, which total less than the $75,690.39 estimated in 2021, according to the report.

Owners of two of the three properties filed written objections.

Jessica Cain, an attorney representing Michael Sherwood and Linda Lausmann, argued that the project expanded beyond the improvements originally contemplated when the LID was created and that the city should have expanded or reassessed the LID when the scope grew.

“This project became a much larger project that benefitted many more properties than the three that were originally assessed, and they all received it for free,” Cain said.

Sherwood, who owns the property at 876 SW Alder St. with Lausmann, said the added improvements were beneficial but made the original LID boundaries outdated.

“The four people up the street from me had the same exact benefits, the same exact things done in my house, uniform, all the way through, and they have no payment, and I have over $18,000,” he said.

Sherwood also disputed the treatment of concrete driveways and stairs serving accessory structures on his property, saying previous conversations with city officials indicated the city would be responsible for that work. He also asked the city to address a mailbox he said was damaged during construction and cost $350 to replace.

Chris Woods, who owns the property at 580 SW 9th St., also objected to his proposed $26,284.55 assessment. Woods said he did not discover the potential assessment when he bought the property. City staff told Woods that a document recorded against the property in 1998 showed a construction deferral agreement and waiver of remonstrance rights for future street and utility improvements. Woods questioned why the assessment came so long after construction was completed.

“We wouldn’t have bought a house,” Woods said. He described the assessment as an unexpected financial burden. 

City officials said they would investigate the concerns raised by both property owners, including the driveway and stair work, the mailbox, and the timing of the assessment on the 580 SW 9th St. property.

Councilors also questioned whether work benefiting Alder Street properties had been properly divided between the LID and other funding sources. City staff said the project grew more complicated when improvements were combined into a larger construction project, and councilors involved at the time recalled that the city sought to combine smaller projects because construction costs were rising and small projects were drawing few bids. City officials said some stormwater, water-line, and other underground work was added because it made more sense to complete it while crews and equipment were already on site.

“We haven’t made any final decisions at this point,” Mayor David Ford told Woods. “The purpose of asking is to hear the concerns, so we can have a discussion with the council and with our attorney, with our administrator and with our engineering firm, to figure out what is reasonable.”

Discussion Turns to Street Funding

Councilor Michael Caruso said the city should consider creating another source of money for road improvements rather than relying on LIDs for every project.

“I would really like to see the council move in a different direction, other than just imposing an LID every time that we have a project like this,” Caruso said.

Ford also addressed the larger 9th Street project.

“9th Street was not a particularly well run project,” Ford said. “It was way over the cost. There were a lot of overruns.” Ford also said there had been communication problems and verbal commitments to property owners that “didn’t really materialize.”

The council discussed whether additional properties could be added to an LID after construction. City Attorney Ashley Wigod said that is not the typical way an LID is created but that there are opportunities to revise LIDs after construction. Councilors also asked staff to research the legal implications of the gap between final billing and the proposed assessments, and of properties that received improvements but were not included in the LID.

Also at the Meeting

City Attorney to Leave

Wigod announced that she has accepted a position with the city of Beaverton and will transition out of her work with Dundee by Dec. 1. Her firm, Wigod Law, is expected to work with the city to identify replacement legal counsel.

Wine by Joe Wastewater Update

City Administrator Courtney Patterson updated the council on Wine by Joe‘s wastewater treatment system, saying the winery’s biofilter was not operating but was expected to be operational in October. A city sample collected at the facility Aug. 26 showed a biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD, level of 4,751 milligrams per liter, she said. Dundee considers wastewater with more than 300 milligrams per liter of BOD to be a prohibited discharge.

Patterson said the city could not guarantee that the winery’s current operations were preventing an impact on Dundee’s wastewater system. Councilors questioned why the biofilter was not operating.

Joint Planning Commission Meeting Planned for Oct. 21

The council and Planning Commission plan to hold a joint meeting Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. to discuss city planning priorities and potential development code changes. Councilors also discussed the possibility of allowing buildings up to four stories in some circumstances. Some raised concerns about the potential fire-safety implications of taller buildings and whether the city’s fire response equipment would be adequate.

Fire District Considers Another Funding Vote

Councilors discussed recent conversations with the Dundee Rural Fire Protection District about possible changes to how fire services are funded. The district is considering another ballot measure, and the city is discussing potential funding and tax implications.