City Council recap of 12/15/14 special meeting

The West Linn City Council met in a special meeting Dec. 15 with the main item of interest being the approval of the Arch Bridge/Bolton Concept Plan.

Willamette Locks

First, the council approved a resolution supporting the reopening of the Willamette Falls Locks. The resolution urges the Army Corps of Engineers to reopen the locks to the general public, commercial, recreational and cultural marine traffic. The 141-year-old locks were deemed unsafe and were closed in 2011.

Former Fifth District Congresswoman Darlene Hooley presented the resolution to the council for approval.

“It’s really our heritage. It is something we need to be proud of,” Hooley said.

Lisa Naito, with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, thanked the council for its leadership and action supporting the resolution.

“It’s probably one of the signature historical sites in the state,” Councilor Mike Jones said of the locks.

The resolution passed unanimously.

CAG member appointments

Also during the meeting, Mayor John Kovash made appointments to vacancies in the citizen advisory groups.

The following appointments were made:

  • Citizens Budget Committee: Karen Hensley and Todd Jones
  • Committee for Citizen Involvement: Thomas Tucker and Pamela Clark
  • Economic Development Committee: Christine Steel, Josh Cheney, Troy Wolfe and Kazi Ahmed
  • Historic Review Board: Christine Lewis and Samantha Higbee
  • Library Board: Janet Dalgaard, Doug Erickson and Rebecca Cassidy
  • Parks & Recreation Board: Don Kingsborough and Steve Millage
  • Planning Commission: David Saxe, Bill Hill, Gary Walvatne and James Boyle
  • Public Safety Advisory Board: Chuck Boman, Arthur Gloer, Thomas Freedland, Grant Oakes and Dennis Richey
  • Sustainability Advisory Board: Bill Hohensee and Cecil Denney
  • Transportation Advisory Board: Riad Alharithi, Kim Bria, Kris Kachirisky and Craig Bell
  • Utility Advisory Board: Erik Miller and Amit Armstrong

ODOT Signs

The council also approved allocating a $9,500 match from the general fund for the purchase and installation of a Willamette Historic District sign on I-205. Clackamas County is providing the other $9,500.

“This (sign) is something very near and dear to my heart,” Council President Jody Carson said.

Arch Bridge/Bolton Plan

Wrapping up a year’s worth of planning, the West Linn City Council voted to approve a resolution for the Arch Bridge/Bolton long-range concept plan.

The concept document for the plan represents the culmination of many months of hard work by hundreds of people. Although the plan was assembled by a team of architects, planners, landscape architects, economists, and transportation planners, the work of the team benefited hugely from ongoing participation by the advisory committee, which met regularly and robustly discussed issues and recommendations contained in the plan.

But beyond that, the citizen engagement process used to develop the plan organically has been the critical component.

The plan divides recommendations into two groups. The first group recognizes the established areas north of the freeway and the second envisions the potentials inherent in the underutilized land and tangled transportation network south of the freeway.

Recommendations for the North Village Area:

1.    Complete improvements to Willamette Drive/ Highway 43 consistent with plans.
2.    Transform West Bridge Park, under the interstate freeway, to a true local park.
3.    Redevelop the former Bolton Fire Station into low-rise/higher density workforce/senior   
       housing.
4.    Encourage limited redevelopment in a few selected locations on parcels flanking
       Willamette Drive.

These four actions constitute the sum of what is believed to be appropriate for the area north of the freeway to give the area a renewed vitality and identity in the community.

Recommendations for the South Village Area:

1.    Create a new urban intersection.
2.    Convert the right of way of Broadway into a terraced park with parking underneath.
3.    The city should partner with a nonprofit to build workforce/senior housing on publicly
       owned property.
4.    Create a new Mill Street.
5.    Build a new central market square.
6.    Encourage multistory, mixed-use development in the core, including higher-density
       residential development.
7.    Encourage residential development of moderate density outside the core.
8.    Construct multi-use trails.

The plan also includes a number of implementation steps, including a phased set of actions and possible funding mechanisms.

“Tonight we are going to hear more about that plan but also about the process,” Mayor John Kovash said. “This planning process took a lot of ideas and whittled them down to a final project.”

City Manager said the concept plan is just the beginning of a long process. “If there are 100 steps in this process, we are maybe at step 10,” he said.

Before the presentation from the consultant, the council heard from some of the Arch Bridge Advisory Committee members.

Christine Steel, who is also the chairwoman of the planning commission said, “I heartily support the adoption of this plan.

Steel compared the city and its centers as pearls on a necklace, stating the Arch Bridge project will add another pearl to the necklace.

“I’m proud of this plan and proud of our city and our citizens to take steps to (plan) our future,” she said.

Advisory committee member Mike Watters said, “The committee has been a fun group to work with. The consultants have been receptive to our ideas … even mine.  This is the step that leads to a 20-year program. … I think this plan has something for everybody.”

Calling the process inclusive, advisory committee member Troy Bowers said all feedback was eagerly received.

“As a member of the advisory committee, I’m very pleased with the process,” Bowers said.

Jim Mattis, advisory committee, said: “The concept plan gives a realistic and feasible vision.”

After hearing from the advisory committee and the consultant, some of the city councilors commented on the process and the plan.

Councilor Jenni Tan said, “We have heard tonight that our citizens have been involved since the very first step. … We have been transparent and open and 80 percent of our citizens support this plan because it is the community’s plan. … This plan gives our community what they want and what they need.”

“For a couple of generations, West Linn has looked away from its rivers,” Councilor Mike Jones said. “This plan helps … makes us more aware of our heritage, of our water.”

The council then heard from the community. The council heard from supporters of the plan – people excited to see the area of the Arch Bridge revitalized. And, they also heard cautious support from people who asked for careful and deliberate planning going forward. And they heard from a handful of residents asking the council to delay voting on the resolution.

“This plan covers a relatively short portion of West Linn’s boundary with the river,” Kovash said. “There’s a lot of potential that we haven’t even talked about tonight.”

“I think we really worked hard at making this resolution,” Carson said. “This is the first step in the planning process.”

Councilors made several recommendations to amend the resolution:

Adding a principle based on the Willamette Neighborhood Association resolution that future development within the area should consider and take appropriate measures to enhance and honor the cultural and historic value of the area.

They also modified the name of the plan to call it a “concept” plan instead of a master plan, as well as adding a clause that states this plan does not establish a Metro Town Center boundary.

“If you fail to plan you are planning to fail,” Frank said. “This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. … The amount of outreach and citizen input … has been unprecedented. Never before has a project met this level. Never. It’s time to move ahead with approving this concept plan. Let’s be proactive together and create that heart of West Linn.”

Kovash said, “This is not the end. This is hardly the end of the beginning. … Let’s move forward.”

The resolution was unanimously approved.

Salary and Benefits for Management

The council approved and accepted a cost of living adjustments of 2.42 percent for management and non-represented employees (except the city manager), which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

The West Linn Charter delegates responsibility for setting compensation levels to the city council. Historically, changes to the compensation levels for management and non-represented employees occurs Jan. 1 of each year. The city of West Linn uses CPI-W for the Portland metropolitan area for calculating an appropriate COLA for city employees. The CPI-W for the 12-month period from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, was 2.42 percent.

Goodbyes

As this meeting is the last meeting for Councilors Mike Jones and Jody Carson, a reception was held to honor their service.

“We appreciate very much your contribution,” Kovash said, while calling Carson the title of “Wise Woman of West Linn.”

Councilors-elect Russ Axelrod and Brenda Perry will take their seats at the Jan. 5, 6 p.m., council meeting.