Meeting Minutes
March 15, 2004
The meeting was called to order by President Dean Suhr at 7:05 pm with eleven members in attendance.
Dean explained that one of the board’s goals is to work with other neighborhood associations, and also asked that members advise the board of any outstanding issues of interest since the board doesn’t always know everything that’s going on.
Treasurer’s Report
Approximately $1200.00 remains in our budget for this year.
School Board
The school board heard public comments regarding the high school remodel at its last meeting. Much emotion was expressed regarding preserving history. The board members explained that the requirements for open spaces and electrical systems cannot be met without bringing the building down. Members are encouraged to give further input since the plan is not finalized yet.
The school district does not often sell property and does not have a process in place. There was some discussion about how to use the money generated by selling the Dollar Street property, including buying more property, capital improvements and operations.
Swimming Facility
RSNA member Jane Hickman gave a short presentation on the proposed public swimming facility. Originally West Linn wanted to team with Lake Oswego for the project but Lake Oswego is not close to being ready now. A feasibility study was done in West Linn and $625,000 was set aside for a pool. The City Council has now considered using that money for something else. The school district is considering donating the Parker Road property for the pool. There will be a ballot measure in May to determine if the citizens want to spend money on a future general purpose bond to construct and operate the facility. At our next meeting Jane will have a copy of the actual ballot measure.
New Planned Development
Regarding the proposed Renaissance development off Bridgeview, Gary W. has been in contact with the city and has some drawings. He is concerned about the position of the rainwater detention ponds.
Tree Ordinance
The public testimony hearing went until 2:45 am. The City Council took comments into consideration at their work session and responded proactively and revised the ordinance. More public testimony will be taken at the next City Council meeting. The Council may vote at that time or defer voting to a later date, depending on feedback received at the next meeting.
John Ellison
Police Chief John Ellison has been visiting and speaking to the neighborhood associations. It has been about one year since the liaison program was put into place. The Police Advisory Committee was put in place to facilitate citizen involvement with the police. The committee advises and provides feedback; each neighborhood association has a member plus there are four at large members.
The West Linn Tidings has published some derogatory material about Chief Ellison, mostly from disgruntled former employees. The department has changed its hiring and recruiting policies to get the right kinds of officers that are good matches for West Linn, according to Chief Ellison. The department gives consideration to reserves now.
Identity theft is West Linn’s biggest crime; the police department spends a lot of time on this. Police departments in some other cities spend no time on identity theft. The average loss to a victim is $1500.
Police funding – the general fund pays for all but twelve officers; a serial levy pays for the twelve remaining plus ammunition, cars, uniforms, etc.
Other
The board will be asking members to complete surveys on Rosemont sidewalks and Rosemont Ridge Middle School congestion. The next meeting is April 19th.
Minutes prepared by Holly Crawford, RSNA Secretary
