PROCLAMATIONS
Mayor Lueb proclaimed November as Native American Heritage Month. Oregon State Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Indigenous Studies, Dr. David G. Lewis, presented slides on a brief history of the Atfalati Tualatin Kalapuyans of the Tigard area. Grand Ronde Tribal Secretary Jon George accepted the proclamation and presented each councilor with a traditional gift of a beaded necklace. Mayor Lueb proclaimed the week of November 17-23 as Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and November 30th as Small Business Saturday. Tigard Chamber CEO Megan De Salvo accepted the proclamation on behalf of the 3400 small businesses in Tigard and invited everyone to shop at a local small business the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
PUBLIC COMMENT
One person spoke about the need to include diverse housing types that include affordable housing, in the River Terrace 2.0 development planning. A person called in regarding concerns about homeless individuals impacting livability at the nearby Knoll apartments. Another caller asked about the Tigard Homeless Point in Time Count number differing from Supportive Housing Services in Washington County homeless numbers.
Tigard Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Engel gave updates on upcoming events and programs. The Tigard Chamber has been selected to host the National Civics Bee next spring. To qualify and be eligible for cash prizes, 6th, 7th and 8th grade students need to submit a short essay identifying a problem, challenge or opportunity in their community and share ideas for contributing to its improvements, including who they would work with to bring their solutions to life. The Chamber website and social media pages list details. The Farmers Market is closed for the season and will return in May. Mr. Engel thanked the community for their support of the 75+ vendors. The Holiday Tree Lighting will be on December 6th at Universal Plaza.
Police Chief McDonald reported on recent incidents receiving attention in the media including a car thief who damaged several police vehicles as he tried to evade police in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The suspect was later arrested. The body-cam footage was widely viewed, and the Chief commended the officers involved for using their training to handle the matter in a way that protected the public and resulted in no injuries.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
City Manager Rymer thanked the Police Chief and Department for their focus on training. He noted that elections in Washington County went smoothly and expressed appreciation to the Washington County Elections Division. A new process began with this meeting. Council agenda item questions to staff and responses received prior to a council meeting will be entered on a document that will be posted to the online agenda and publicly available by 4 PM the day of the meeting.
CONSENT AGENDA
Council, acting in their role as the Local Contract Review Board, approved a budgeting software contract with Carahsoft for Questica budgeting software. The total for the five-year contract is $407,920.35 and expected recurring cost savings from Tyler module cancelations are $80,000 annually plus $50,000 savings from professional services in the first year.
SUPPORTING HOUSING SERVICES ANNUAL REPORT PRESENTATION
Washington County Department of Housing Services Strategies Initiatives and Relations Manager Stingh and Strategic Projects Supervisor Adams gave a presentation on year three of the voter-approved ten-year Supportive Housing Services program, highlighting successes and challenges. Washington County housed 2941 people with investments from the SHS measure, 4400 people remained housed with eviction prevention and rental assistance, and 90 new shelter pods were created. Upcoming are a Beaverton year-round shelter opening in December and Tigard’s Just Compassion Resource Center openingin the spring. A copy of the presentation and annual report are in the agenda packet for this meeting.
RIVER TERRACE 2.0 UPDATE – CLIMATE GOALS, HOUSING PLAN, ANNEXATION
Council received a summary of first phase tasks and engagement for the River Terrace 2.0 Community Plan. A Community Advisory Committee (CAC) has met three times, and a Housing Advisory Committee held their first meeting to discuss a housing mix for the area. Climate resilience goals and actions were introduced for Community Plan areas of influence: Housing & Development, Water Systems, Natural Systems, Transportation and Parks. The proposal is to annex properties alongside the planning work, keeping Washington County zoning and phasing in city taxes. Council consensus was to support a proposed annexation incentive to exempt property owners not developing prior to 2028 from all city property taxes in the first year, 50% of city taxes in year two and not to impose the full tax rate until year three.
LEGISLATIVE PUBLIC HEARING: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TIGARD MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 10.28 REGARDING PERMIT PARKING
No public testimony was received. An ordinance to begin a pilot downtown parking permit system, starting with employees of businesses and authorizing the city manager to adopt parking permit rules was not considered. There will be further discussion on this topic at the December 3rd council meeting.
PUBLIC HEARING: CITY MANAGER RECRUITMENT HIRING STANDARDS, CRITERIA AND POLICY DIRECTIVES
No public testimony was received. HR Director Gomez gave a slide presentation covering hiring standards and criteria, search firm qualifications, draft timeline and staff recommendations. Council approved the hiring standards as presented.
