Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good morning everyone. I will now call the word of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners business meeting on 05/07/2026. County administrator Gary Smith would you do us a favor and call the roll.

Yes thank you chair good morning commissioners. First staff support today county council is assistant county council Jeff Munns, clerk to the board Andrew Geraci roll call. Commissioner Sabbath

present.

Commissioner Helm here. Commissioner Schrader. Here. Commissioner West. Here. Chair Roberts.

Here. Thank you, Gary. If you can, would you please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Again, good morning, everyone, and thank you so much for showing up. We have a large turnout which we appreciate. First up is public communication. Testimony is limited to three minutes per person and as always I ask your comments to be respectful and courteous. As a reminder, you can email submissions for public communication at bccclackamas dot us and they'll be accepted as a part of our public record. I'll take in person testimony first and I'll turn to our clerk who is wonderful at helping us moderate the in person and virtual testimony. Andrew?

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a reminder that if you're attending this meeting in person today and wish to comment during general public communication, fill out a blue card and deposit in the box that can be found by the center doors. I'll call your name, you'll come forward, you'll have three minutes. Please remember to introduce yourself. First, and apologies if this is a mispronunciation, Tate Sheffer. Tate Sheffer, please come forward.

Greetings. Good morning.

My name is Tate Schaefer. I wanna draw attention today. I emailed this last week, but the audio wasn't working. So I wanted to draw attention today to the upcoming preventable loss of about 30 childhood educator jobs and childcare for 70 some families in Wilsonville, not to mention a thirty four year history of providing nationally recognized high quality childcare. I am one of the affected parents.

Siemens, we used to be under graphics, historically for thirty four years provided the financial backing for that program. They have announced as part of downsizing and selling most of their Wilsonville campus that they are going to cease support of that program at the June. They told parents this in March, the March. So they give us about three months, which is

if you have kids, you know that's not long enough to get on

childcare lists for summer or for even next year. Wait lists generally are a year or longer. There is not capacity to absorb 70 kids a day within this area, so we don't want to lose that program. Parents are working to establish a nonprofit to replace the program and preserve the jobs and that child care capacity. We have seen successful public private partnership efforts in Bandon, in Condon, even in Yamhill County.

So I'm bringing this issue before you today because I would like Clackamas to take advantage of we've got a short like I said, this is June, so we have a very short window to try to save this gem of a resource that is well loved and treasured by the community to preserve those child educator jobs and support the local workforce and of course all of your constituents. I know budgets are always difficult and contentious. We mentioned just last week that you guys were 4 and a half million dollar deficit. So I know that that's going to be difficult. But because of the extremely short timeline we have, we cannot even get time to do the normal grant funding cycle that would normally help us.

Right? And so we need we need something faster than even normal philanthropy, other types of things could support. So I would ask that each one of you visit the website. It's savethecdc.com to find out more about this and find a way for Clackamas to provide support and maybe emergency bridge funding to keep this program alive.

All right. I'm gonna ask a favor of you. Sure. If you could stick around. I know all my colleagues are very passionate about this issue. And they all have, I think, something to say. I want to go through the other public testimony, and then we're going to come back to yours. So if you'd be so kind to stick around just a little bit, we want to talk about this more. Sure. Okay? Alright. Thank you very much. So if you

guys can just wait till we Next,

Steven Hunter. Steven Hunter, please come forward. You'll have three minutes.

Good

morning, commissioners. I'm looking forward to item number two on your agenda. Someday I hope to be able to join that group. My name is Steven Hunter. I live in Wilsonville, Oregon, Clackamas County. And my information is on file. Thank you commissioners for your time. My name is Steven Hunter, resident of Wilsonville, Clackamas County. Contact information on file. Today I ask you to view the Wilsonville City Council meeting held on Tuesday, May 5.

Meetings are archived on the city's webpage and YouTube channel. Tuesday meeting was another example of the abuse of authority by the mayor of Wilsonville towards an elected city councilor. The rancor was so severe that two former elected city officials were inspired to publicly comment and call this mayor out for his abuse. The controversy was based on an appointment of a citizen to the budget committee, of which there were seven applicants. One counselor requested to debate further the selection process and choice of candidate and was prohibited from doing so by the mayor in an aggressive and unprofessional manner.

This is not the first time this mayor has ruled with an iron fist. Previously, his management style resulted in the resignation of a sitting elected council member. I couldn't help but observe three other members of the council seemed unwilling to disagree with the mayor. Is this out of fear of retaliation, or do they truly agree the best candidate was chosen? This mayor is also intimidating the citizens of Wilsonville.

While claiming the importance of democracy, this mayor belittles those wanting to vote on a popular ballot measure regarding the direction of development in the city. I request you consider this information as a plea for help. If any of you have a professional relationship with mayor O'Neil, please meet with him. Counsel him on the principles of leadership. Mentor him on how to fairly represent all the citizens of Wilsonville and fellow counselors, not only those that agree with him.

Wilsonville is being ruled as a monarchy. I understand your reluctance to involve yourselves with the business of a city within Clackamas County. However, mayor O'Neil is becoming a stain on Wilsonville and a stain on Clackamas County. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next, Michael Calgano. Excuse me if that's a mispronunciation. Please come forward. You'll have three minutes.

My name is Michael Calcano, 1915 Southeast Jefferson in Clackamas County, 97222. Commissioners, good morning. I come before you today. First off, just to say thank you. Thank you for your civil service to our community.

We live in a wonderful place and in large part, your leadership helps steer us to an even better one. So that's where I wanted to start off today by saying. The second thing I wanted to share is that I'm a small business owner here in Clackamas County. My wife and I, we started a business about two years ago and we now employ about eight people. And I know that's not huge numbers but as a employer in our community, we hope to grow that number and provide more jobs and continue to serve the customers that we serve.

And I believe part and parcel to creating a great place to live certainly is a great business climate but also livability for the folks who who live here. And my community, the customers that we serve and the employees we have, know, we sure care a lot about Milwaukee Bay Park. And we are sure excited that the Milwaukee City Council has presented an agreement to the commissioners and we hope to see progress on this issue. And we know that this impasse has been really tricky. It's dragged on for quite a long time and I think that the time is now to ensure that we make investments for the future to continue to make Clackamas County a world class place to run a business, to serve customers in many different walks of life, and to provide great services to the residents and visitors who come to our community.

So I know that I know that it's an election year, and I think that people and constituents who participate in that election, they understand, and I think they reward the elected officials who understand when there's a time for posturing and there's a time to perform the to the best of our ability and be pragmatic leaders. And I think that there's a really great opportunity here to make some progress and to deliver for the people of Clackamas County. Now, I was raised in boring Oregon and my upbringing was anything but boring because my dear mom would drive us to the North Clackamas Aquatic Center up from Boring. That's not a close drive. So let's let's not pretend that the pockets of Clackamas County exist in, you know isolated bubbles.

Clackamas County residents like to drive and go to different places in the County that are beautiful and scenic just like Milwaukee Bay Park. So, thank you for your time. Thank you for listening. I appreciate it.

Alright. Thank you for Yeah. Coming

Next, Jennifer Murphy. Jennifer Murphy, please come forward. You'll have three minutes.

Good morning, commissioners, chair, and staff. Thank you for being here and for all that you invest in our thriving communities in Clackamas County. I know it's a big task, and you show up for our residents in all the ways you are capable. Thank you for the time this morning. My name is Jennifer Murphy, and I come to you as the representative for the board of the Historic Milwaukee Neighborhood Association.

I am a resident of Milwaukee. I'm simply sitting here in front of you today to thank you for your care and investment and support for what our community needs to move forward on Milwaukee Bay Park. And this is very important to our residents and our small businesses and our community and our county to create assets and gathering places where people can come together and feel like they belong in our community. Thank you for your time and your dedication and work.

Thank you.

Thank you. Patricia Torsten, Patricia Torsten please come forward you'll have three minutes.

Hi. My name is Patricia Torsten. I'm from Malala, and you have my address. I've been here before speaking for senior citizens, older Americans. We are still in such dire need of support for our senior centers all over.

We have people that are retired, that were baby boomers, and a lot of the ladies did not work. They stayed home while the husband supported them, and they don't have the Social Security that the men have. And a lot of them, the savings is being used up. So many of our citizens are living on less than $1,000 a month. Without the senior centers helping with the congregate meals, with the supplemental electric bills and things that they provide and the knowledge of the different resources that are available, they couldn't survive.

People are food banks are donating to the senior centers to help out, to help supply people with things, but there's so many of them out there that don't even know we exist, and we're trying to get the word out so we can help more. But we need more finances to the centers to help. So I appeal to all of you that are getting older also that you're all gonna be there someday, and I hope that there'll be somebody there to help you. But if you can see your way through and get money from the state, federal, whatever, to help support these senior centers and their mission to help seniors. It's appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

This is a final call. If you are attending this meeting in person, have not yet spoken, wish to do so to please fill out the blue card and deposit in the box that can be found by the center doors. Mister chair, seeing no other members of the public physically present who wish to comment during general public communication, with your assent, I'll now move to those attending virtually. If you're attending this meeting virtually wish to comment during general public communication, this is your opportunity to please raise your hand, and I will call on you in the order that I see. Mister Dave I'll call on you. You'll have three minutes.

Good morning commissioners. My name is Dave Cadwalader and I'm a resident of Milwaukee. I wanted to begin with a message of gratitude. Sixteen months of negotiations between the city of Milwaukee and North Clackamas Parks and Recreation District is no small thing. President Kennedy once said, let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate. That's exactly the spirit both sides brought to this process. The Milwaukee City Council voted unanimously last month to authorize signing these negotiations into a new agreement with the county. They believe in this deal. The community believes in this deal. I moved here five years ago with my family, and Milwaukee Bay Park was genuinely part of our decision to put down roots here.

But what we learned since is this is not just a great park for people in the neighborhood. It was how many people visit from all over the region. Families who had driven to get there, people making a day out of it, people starting in the park, and then exploring Downtown Milwaukee and supporting local businesses. This is already the most visited park in the entire North Clackamas Park system, and it belongs to everyone in this county. So the plans for what it pick what what it could become if phase three is completed, an amphitheater, a splash pad, a nature play area, more trees and gathering spaces, these plans have been ready since 2019, and the community has been waiting ever since.

These agreements finally chart a path to making it happen with construction potentially beginning before the 2027 and a completed park that could be done in 2029. I want to enjoy that park with my kids while they are still living under my roof, and I'm excited about what it means for this whole county, more visitors to boost local businesses and a destination that Clackett County can be proud of for generations. Commissioners, the waterfront is waiting. The families are waiting. A decade is long enough. I hope you'll sign these agreements, and let's get this done. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Next, Laura Jenks. Laura Jenks, I'll mute you. You'll have three minutes.

Alright. Thank you so much. Good morning, commissioners. I had hoped to be there in person today, but got a cold. So my name is Laura Jenks, and I'm speaking as a resident of Milwaukee as well as chair of the Milwaukee Parks and Recreation Board.

And I'm gonna be echoing what Michael, Jennifer, and Dave have said. I am urging you to approve and sign the updated IGA between the city of Milwaukee and NCPRD. These agreements represent sixteen months of thoughtful negotiation and real compromise from both sides. They create a path forward for the long awaited improvements, to Milwaukee Bay Park, which really is a regional asset of the district. It is not just for Milwaukee.

Like Michael said, people travel to this asset. As well as for continued stewardship of the community spaces like the Milwaukee Community Center. Like Patricia shared from Malala, this is not just a community center. This is a place where seniors gather, so it's also important. Our community has already spent years engaging in the vision for Milwaukee Bay Park.

Families, children, and residents have been waiting a long time to see these plans become reality, and signing these agreements will allow fundraising, final design work, and construction to move forward with hopeful completion happening by 2029. My son will be 10. I've, I moved here about six years ago and had hoped for this this park to be done and be playing with it with my son already, but 10 when he's 10 would be good. No agreement is perfect. We all understand that, but this is a balanced partnership that reflects shared responsibility and shared investment in our community, our community of Clackamas County.

I respectfully ask you to help move this project out of a stalemate and into action. Thank you for your time this morning. Thank

you. Next, Abigail Eberhardt. Abigail Eberhardt, I'll mute you. Please remember to introduce yourself, and you'll have three minutes.

Hello. My name is Abbeo Eberhardt. I am coming to speak to you guys today as a student who attended your meeting last week, in regards to a health policy class that I'm currently taking. Commissioner Holm brought to our attention last week about the TriMet cuts that are coming to Clackamas County. I see that it's later on your guys' agenda to talk about this as a letter to governor Kotex regarding the impact that this will have in electing the district director's district vacancy that's still over, and I read that letter.

I think it's really well written. I do urge all of you guys in Clackamas County, however, to take this from a health care standpoint. I think that TriMet needs to be conducting a health, analysis about the impact that this will have on our rural residents and how that will impact their drivability to appointments and to ensuring that these rural citizens can still receive the care that they have. I think that it's something that is well within our rights, especially as our board of commissioners to ask for that to be happening. I used to work at Clackamas County Health Centers, and the impact that that could have alone on our citizens could be huge.

I know that we, as health centers, provide bus passes. And if that's something that's no longer gonna be offered, it could it could be really detrimental to a lot of aging citizens, a lot of citizens who are younger who rely on that transportation to get to appointments when their parents can't take them. So I think that that's something that could either be discussed or added to the letter, but I think that it's really important that we come from this as a health care standpoint, not just taking a stance of opposition. So thank you for your time.

Thank you. This is a final call. If you're attending this meeting virtually, then I had the chance to do so, to please raise your hand and I will call on you in the order that I see. Mr. Chair, I see no other members of the public either physically or virtually present wish to speak during general public communication today.

All right. Thank you, Andrew. What I'm going to do is now close the public communication portion,

but I

want to open it up for my colleagues. So I know there's really three issues I heard today that I think everybody might want to comment on every single one of them. So from childcare, Milwaukee Bay Park, and then all the senior centers. I think I saw Commissioner Savas' light come on first. So Commissioner Savvas.

Yeah, I too would like to talk about actually four different things that have come up here today. And I think they're all incredibly important. And in a way, they're also kind of linked in their own unique way. So Mr. Schaefer? Yeah. So Mr. Schaefer's concern so you can just nod your head. My assumption is Siemens is a private company, offered childcare. It's not only going to eliminate the childcare but also layoffs in closing, correct? Okay. So assuming that all the people that are being laid off are going to be laid off the same time as the childcare stops? Okay.

Thank you. Don't you would you be willing to come back up again? Sir?

I thought

we're talking way too far away from this. There's lobbying questions that way.

Now that you're up here, you can speak. So I'm assuming that all those folks probably haven't have jobs left or haven't found jobs, new jobs to replace. Maybe some have. But again, don't have no idea. But I know this is a something that we've been working on as a commission. And I know my colleagues, especially Commissioner Schrader, has been very passionate about this issue and finding ways to work with workforce development and encouraging businesses

Hey, dad, I don't want to be here.

To do just what Siemens has done, is that provide childcare at their private facility for the benefit of their employees. So I hope that as the laid off employees find work, that they ideally can find work at a firm that offers some kind of day care or day care adjustment. But I do understand that there's not enough capacity out there for day care period. So even if you had the resources, that trying to get your child care for your family is gonna be very challenging, so I understand that. I just want to make those, skip the clarification. So thank you, Chair, I yield back on this one, but I do want to comment on the other ones, but we'll just do one at a time.

All right, thank you. Commissioner Hill.

Yeah, a couple questions, Mr. Schaefer. So if it's my understanding that they're allowing you to use the space and through 2027? Yeah. If you can find a way to cobble together a childcare program?

Right. Yeah. I mean they're not they have a lease. They're I mean they're committed through September 2027 on the lease that they have regardless of what happens. And so they've said, you know, if we can set up a non profit and we'll cover liability and utilities, know, so on and so forth. Then they will let us use that space rent free through the end of their lease. And then we're working with Siemens Real Estate on what might happen after that.

And can you repeat the save the what you said it was?

Save the CDC, the Childhood Development Center.

Female CDC. Okay, very And then I would like if staff could do a little research into the Bandon and Condon locations where you said there was a public private partnership

Male Yeah.

Programs. I would like to know what those are about. So think we could do a little research into this, so we could come back at a later date. I know it also takes a long time to get a nonprofit started. So, a grueling process on purpose, but I applaud you for taking that step to try to take care of this huge problem. All right, thank you.

Thank you. I think it's Commissioner West.

Go to Commissioner Schroeder first.

Commissioner Schroeder.

Commissioner Schroeder Well, thank you for coming today because childcare is near and dear to my heart. And I'm wondering if you've talked to our early care and education folks here, our hub for early childhood, you know, education and centers. We are working

to a lot of people.

Like Danny Stamm.

Yeah. We talked to Danny. We just had a meeting. We mentioned Clackamas Workforce Partners. We had a meeting with Brett Brent Okay. Just earlier this week. We've met with senator Dinaram Misslam and senator Walters on child care caucus. We've had contacts with the governor's office. City of Wilsonville is very Matt Lorenzen, their economic development manager, has been very helpful for us. We're talking to Portland State University. We had a meeting with George Fox coming up. We've got a meeting with we've had a meeting with Carrie at Delk. We've had we've talked to Business Oregon. We've got a meeting coming up on Friday. So, yeah. So, everybody that we can get a hold of, we're trying to try to involve and get help.

Because one of the things, as Diana mentioned, that we did act with Clackamas Workforce Partnership is we had a forum including economic development of how this helps employers. So we actually have our economic development department working with our folks from human services in the early learning hub about the importance of childcare, and where we could look at locating, you know, centers and things like that. There's a lot of different policies. I could list a whole bunch that allows that to happen. But one of the things I've been intrigued, and Diane, you spoke about it, is what could we do for a public private partnership?

And that's what Siemens was, in a way. Yeah. We've been trying to do

a model

of I do agree that since we have the work going on between economic development now and our human services folks, I see Adam Freer in the back there now, one

of

our folks who works in that arena, that we should really continue our efforts to explore this and see what we can do to help you. Okay, so I think that coming here was really helping to spotlight the critical needs that families have in order to prosper. They have to have adequate childcare.

And if businesses want their employees to come back after starting a family, they also need childcare.

You. Mr. West, go ahead. Are you done, Martha?

Yeah, I'm done.

Yeah, thank you for highlighting this. This has been an issue the board has made a priority in trying to deal with the health care desert we have in Clackamas County. It's really hard when we see a lot of businesses shuttering the doors, refusing to invest in Oregon, or moving out in general. This impacts working families directly. On top of it, it's hard if we don't have a lot of projects going in development and building and growth.

It's even hard to have those workforce opportunities for people to be employed. This hits at all levels of our local community, and we recognize that. I'm curious about, are you guys it looks like you're looking you talked about going to a nonprofit model where parents maybe co op can come together to run a I'm interested in learning more about how that works in the framework. Maybe that's a conversation we have offline. And then is there any other models that you've seen through your conversations where there's been a solid local partnership with local governments and with these type of nonprofits that you're working through?

And then do you know what your funding ask is for sustainability moving forward? And all of this could also be done offline. I'm just kind of curious about the nuts and bolts and the framework that you guys are building.

Yeah. I mean, we've put together a budget model. We've the intent is to preserve I mean, we're not gonna get all of them, obviously, but to preserve as many of the teachers and as many of the currently enrolled kids as we can and just sort of transition from what was into what will be. The Siemens will tell you that they were funding this. So on top of tuition that parents pay Mhmm. That they were funding us to the tune of a $3,000,000 deficit a year. I'm not sure how they got that number. We are currently somewhere right around a million that we need to try to fill in with support from businesses, from philanthropy, from wherever we can can fill in those funds. Yeah. And we've talked to partnering with businesses and

Yeah.

Mhmm. I can give you more details.

Yeah. And I can get those offline. And I I think it'd be interesting to see where we can be novel and creative in helping you guys get there. I know we have that shared interest here. Totally hear where you're at. Were alarmed and concerned the moment we heard that that really storied program was closing that was attached to Siemens that took care of their employees and their families in such a practical way. And that was a real benefit also from beyond that into the community when kids are taken care of and families are taken care of in that manner. So we are very interested in figuring out how we can be good partners with you all, at least I know I am. I think that you've heard that from everybody on the board. So thank you for highlighting that again today.

This is the start of it, right, to get there. And hope that you continue to be in communication with us, because I know that that will help us move forward. So thank you for coming today.

Yeah, I mean, to be clear, the child care supports Siemens employees, but also the community.

Yeah, totally. It has a community impact in a massive way. Yeah.

Just a couple of comments. First of all, I want to applaud you for all the work you've done coming forward today, taking your time. Many of us are parents of kids. I had three kids and I know the whole childcare issue and trying to get them to where they need to be, the cost, and it is complicated. I think that what I heard from my colleague, Commissioner Helm, and I agree with that, is perhaps Gary could we have some staff help kind of look into what some of those options are and perhaps bring those back. See you're running in 10 different directions reaching out to everybody but if we could maybe have some staff look at this is that a nod from folks? Gary, go ahead.

They already have. They've been working on this for over two months. Our county early learning hub through health housing human services, all the things he's mentioned, the Clackamas Workforce Partnership and our economic development division. To be respectfully and to be frank, do you want to give money? There is no money from the county to give unless you want to reallocate your general funds. You hear me say this all the time. But beyond that, looking at structural changes or support from the business community or the state, our staff's working on that in partnership with you all. So that's happening right now.

That's a quick question. Okay.

Well, I think it might help for us is perhaps getting an update of kind of the things we've done at

another Yep.

If we can kind

of have that come back.

Yeah, we've been working

I think that coordinating for

a while.

If there's, as we kind of say anything outside the box that we might be able to do, we know that I know Martha's led NACA on the national level. It's both a state and national issue, it's childcare. And it's important to us because it is really an economic driver, having people be able to work in a safe place to take their kids. So it is important to us. But thank you so much for coming. And I was going to move to the next topic. That all right,

Paul? Sure.

Okay. Thank you.

So with that, thank you again. And maybe we'll take the next one as Milwaukee Bay Park. You want to talk about that?

Yeah, sure. So I'll just start out by saying that we have been and we still consider ourselves negotiating the contract. It came as a surprise that Milwaukee City Council signed the agreement because there is no final agreement as of yet. However, I'll give the city credit for, I believe as I interpreted it, that they would assign some authority to the city manager to negotiate the rest of it. So if that's the case, that's still underway.

So we are negotiating that. I do want to say what connects here more than anything else is that it's the economics of the district. The district's in severe financial straits. And it was just about a year ago when we, not in this room but across the way, in a much bigger room, filled the room with people concerned about the cuts to NCPRD and how that would affect the Senior Milwaukee And community so therefore, that's top of mind. And we'll just continue to work out those details, and we're trying to figure out how do we rescue the district and how we fund all these things.

So with that said, there's really a more of all these years, a more deliberate approach concern about the finances of the district and how we navigate that. And I think those are going be the sticking points going forward. So I don't want to say it's this or that, but we're still weighing out the impacts to senior citizens. And NCPRD is the only parks district in the state. Actually, only one we know of that operates a community center.

Typically, community centers are operated and funded by cities. So that's a burden that is weighing on the district heavily and will weigh on any agreements going forward, just the economics of it. So it's as simple as that. And we, again, we're hoping to see some we're in budget season, so we're hoping to see the budget from the district and how we manage keeping the community center in Milwaukee open.

All right. Any other comments? The only thing I want to say is, first of all, thank you for coming. This is very important to us as a board, and to try and find some resolution. And I know that as soon as I took office, this was the top thing from the beginning. We've been working on it. Gary and staff can attribute that we are putting a lot of time and effort. We're trying to really find common ground. We want to move this forward. We know that Milwaukee Bay Park is a little gold mine there, it's a beautiful spot on the river.

Those that live in the unincorporated area, as well as the city, will benefit from it. And I think it's pretty loud and clear that we hear that the citizens want to move forward on that. So I just want you to know that we're working diligently on it, and I'm optimistic, and want to thank you for coming today to share your concern and your input about this, and we very much appreciate that. So thank you all for coming on that. Now the next thing I want to shift to, I love Patricia, by the way.

Thank you very much. You are an amazing lady, and you continue to rally for seniors. And I value that so much. We, as the county and Health, Housing, and Human Services, our fastest homeless population are seniors. We see this as an issue, and I know we're working diligently on it.

Before you leave today, I'd like you to maybe leave your phone number up here so I could give you a call and have some ideas. But I so much hear this as a concern in Malala. Some of the issues I have not forgotten what you said the last time you were here about the housing. And we are looking at that. And a lot of conversations as we're building forward construction, I'm constantly kind of bringing that to the forefront as, hey, we need more senior housing. We need more senior housing, and trying to dedicate some of that to make sure we're meeting that growing population. So on that topic, Paul, did you want to mention on this one, or is it another one?

Well, could, but I have my line out for the next one. I do want to thank you. It was good to see you down in the lobby earlier, and good to see you again. And again, I think the economic pressures with the government all around are more intense than they've ever been. So and we also know, and my colleagues have heard this and believe it and said it, that the biggest demographic falling into homelessness right now are senior citizens, and that is really weighing on us very heavily.

Everywhere we look right now, it's how we manage this and how we, I mean, we're going to, there's going be some give and take. So we're hopeful and I'd like to learn more about the funding for the Molalla Community Center. I know each one of those is funded a little bit differently with other funds coming in, but primarily they're usually ran by cities to some degree. But I know the Malala one's a little bit unique as well, as they all are. But thank you again for coming. And if you could you probably left your phone number. I'd love to connect with you afterwards. We have her phone number

on the card, Commissioners. We'll give it to

All right.

Thank you. Commissioner West, go ahead.

It's unfortunate that Oregon ranks last in the nation for those that want to retire. This is the hardest state to retire in. We are putting an immense amount of pressure on those that are 55 and older on fixed incomes in this state. Those are policy decisions that are hurting real people and making them more vulnerable. It's hard at the county level to be the bulwark against that. We're trying to be a firewall against the bad ideas that make the state unaffordable for our seniors. We are looking at those things we can do at the local level to reduce those costs. Things like fighting tolling here at the local level makes it much easier for you to be able to get to your doctor's appointment without being hit with an erroneous toll. We stopped that here in Clackamas County. Please vote no on measure 120.

Those transportation taxes are going to be a hit on families. They're regressive. That hurts seniors. I wish the state legislature would pass a freeze on property taxes for seniors. I wish they'd finally do that like they did in the state of Maine, which has the largest senior population per capita in the nation. We have to do more to protect the livelihood and the affordability of our seniors. And someone who lives here, in their family generation after generation, should feel like they can retire here also. Unfortunately, specific policies have made that very difficult for seniors. I want to let you know that this board is committed to pushing back against that the best way we can at the local level. Your testimony was important.

It's an important testimony that we need to get out there more often. And thank you for coming before us today and letting us know what's happening in Malala.

Yeah, you. Wonderful. All right. Before I move on, is there any other comments from commissioners on anything? All right. So I'll turn to Gary. Again, thank you all for coming today. Gary, what do you have next?

First is a presentation today. Commissioners approval of a proclamation to declare May 2026 as Older Americans Month in Clackamas County. Presenting is Denise Swanson, Deputy Director of Health Housing and Human Services and Dan Hoshen, who is Chair of the County's Aging Advisory Council. Welcome, and go ahead, please.

Thank you, Gary. Good morning, Chair Roberts and Commissioners. I'm Denise Swanson, Deputy Director for Health, Housing, and Human Services. And I'm joined today by Dan Hoshin, who is the Chair of the Social Services Aging Advisory Council. Also with us in the room are Tracy Garrell, our Social Services Director April Bundy, aging services supervisor members of our Clackamas County Aging Services staff and valued partners from our community senior centers who help us deliver these important services.

Older Americans Month raises awareness of the many contributions older adults make to our community, while also highlighting key aging trends and reaffirming the county's commitment to serving our older residents. This year's themes, Champion Your Health, emphasizes prevention, wellness, and personal responsibility as cornerstones of healthy aging. It encourages older adults to take an active role in their health, advocating for themselves, accessing preventative care, and making informed decisions that support their independence. Clackamas County is home to more than 425,000 residents. In 2022, individuals aged 65 and older made up 19% of that population.

Adults aged 60 and older represent the fastest growing segment of our community, increasing by 55% between 2010 and 2022. And by 2050, residents aged 65 and older are projected to make up 25% of the county's population, significantly increasing the demands for services and supports. Clackamas County Social Services provides critical programs both directly and in partnership with the organizations that are represented here today. These services include community connections, nutrition, information and referral, evidence based health promotion, and transportation. In the past fiscal year alone, more than 200,000 meals were delivered to homebound older adults, and additional 50,000 meals were served at senior centers across the county.

250,000 meals. Our senior centers and aging and disability resource connection team also assisted nearly 6,000 residents with information and referral services. And for those who are watching today, I just want to let you know that you can contact the Aging and Disability Resource Connection of Oregon, ADRC for short, at (503) 650-5622. We've got their brochures and cards with us as well, (503) 650-5622. At this time, we respectfully request that the board officially recognize the month of May as Older Americans Month in Clackamas County, and invite Dan Hoshin to read the proclamation out loud.

Thank you, Dan.

Thank you. The proclamation, whereas May is Older Americans Month, a time for us to recognize and honor Clackamas County older adults and their immense influence on every facet of American society. And whereas, through their wealth of life experience and wisdom, older adults guide our younger generations and carry forward abundant cultural and historical knowledge. And whereas older Americans improve our communities through intergenerational relationships, community service, civic engagement, and many other activities. And whereas communities benefit when people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds have the opportunity to participate and live independently.

And whereas Clackamas County must ensure that older Americans have the resources and support needed to stay involved in their communities, reflecting our commitment to inclusivity and connectedness. Now, therefore, as the board of county commissioners of Clackamas County, we do hereby proclaim May 2026 as Older Americans Month. We call upon all residents to join us in recognizing the contributions of our older citizens and promoting programs and activities that foster healthy aging, connection, inclusion, and support for older adults. Right.

Thank you. Any comments by my colleagues or commissioners? Go ahead, commissioner Soares.

Yeah. I just I just reflect back. My all four of my grandparents immigrated here in 1915, 1920, they had the greatest influence on my life, my grandparents. So I'm seeing this as The point I'm trying to make, the connectivity between some of the topics that came up here, even with regards to childcare, is that our my culture of my family was such that we had multiple generations living in the home. So not only could the family take care of our grandparents,

but the grandparents could help take care

of the kids, and it was a mutual kind of a thing. And we've some of that's still here in the country, and families that are respected for their culture, or have the ability to do that. But I also appreciate your group, because one of my friends who's no longer with us was on that aging council as well and served for many years. And he also made an impression upon me as far as bringing to me the attention that the growing population of senior citizens in Clackamas County having, of all the counties, having one of the greatest percentage populations of senior citizens and growing than any other county in the state. I think Washington County might be coming close now.

So it weighs on us, and I just want to make that mention, kind of all these things tie together. But thank you for being here today, and I wholly support this proclamation.

All right. Thank you. Commissioner Schrader.

Yeah, I just want to also add, like Paul, I grew up in a family where our grandmother lived with us. And so, we had that intergenerational influence as well, as well as multiple aunts and uncles. You know, it was very common in Italian American culture that families lived next to each other, and they always took care of other people's children. As it helped, you know, my grandmother was vital to the day, you know, she left us, you know, and passed away, and was a big influence in my life, particularly in the area of public service. Because I think she ran practically every spaghetti supper in Corpus Christi Church in Porch, New York, and was a wonderful, vital, strong woman.

So, thank you for this today, as a senior citizen myself.

Alright. Thank you very much. Would a commissioner like to make a motion then at this I

move to approve the proclamation.

Second.

Alright. Commissioner West has moved to approve the proclamation. Commissioner Hillem a second of that. Any further discussion? Seeing none. Clerk, will

you please call the poll? Commissioner Schrader?

Aye.

Commissioner Savas? Aye. Commissioner Helm?

Aye.

Commissioner West? Aye. Mr. Chair? Aye. Motion passes. Five to zero, mister chair.

Well, thank you very much. And at this point, we'd like to have some of the guests come join us up front, and we'd sure love to have a picture with you. And come on up front.

So all staff that Denise mentioned earlier, anyone anyone in the room that considers yourself an older American, please come forward. Anyone in the room, do consider yourself an older American.

Dan Johnson starts to come up.

Alright. Gary, what do you have next for us?

Thank you. Next is a public hearing. A second reading of ordinance zero six dash two zero two six to amend Clackamas County Code chapter 7.03 road use. There are no county general funds involved. Dan Johnson, director of transportation and development, will present. Go ahead, please, Dan.

Thank you so much. Chair Roberts, commissioners, we're here for the second reading regarding proposed change to our section of our code dealing with illicit road uses. Essentially, chapter 7.03. Just for your information and the community's information, to comply with the federal Clean Water Act, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, DEQ, issued the county and other jurisdictions a municipal separate storm sewer system permit called an MS4 permit. DEQ most recently reissued that permit back in 2021, and it required some adjustments to detect and eliminate illicit discharge or pollutants.

We also have what's known as a TMDL permit, which is a total maximum daily load related to mercury in the Willamette Basin, which had a similar requirement. So essentially, we are here for the second reading to adopt provisions within our code that prohibits its uses within the waterways that we control for storm systems. We have answered a number of questions at the first reading. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have for the second reading as well. So with that, I'll turn it over for any questions.

All right. Thank you. Any questions from my colleagues? Not seeing any. At this point, I'll open the public hearing on this item. Clerk, will you please help us moderate that comments?

Yes, Mr. Chair. If you're attending this meeting in person and wish to comment on this specific item only, this is your opportunity to please fill out a blue card and deposit in the box that can be found by the center doors. Mister chair, seeing no members of the public physically present wish to comment on this specific item, with your assent, I'll move to those attending virtually. If you're attending this meeting virtually and wish to comment on this specific agenda item, this is your opportunity to please raise your hand.

This is a final call for attending this meeting virtually wish to comment on this item to please raise your hand. Mr. Chair, see no other members of the public either physically or virtually present wish to come on this specific item today.

Alright. Thank you, Andrew. At this point, I'll close the public hearing, check with commissioners to see if they have any questions. Seeing none, may I have a motion to read the ordinance by title only, please?

I move we read the ordinance by title only.

Second.

Alright. Commissioner Savvas has moved to read the ordinance by title only. Commissioner Schrader is second of that. Any further discussion? Seeing none. Clerk, will you please call

the poll? Commissioner West? Aye. Commissioner Helm. Aye. Commissioner Schrader. Aye. Commissioner Savas. Aye. Mr. Chair. Aye. Motion passes. Five to zero, Mr. Chair.

All right. Now I'm gonna ask you to read by the title only.

Yes, Mr. Chair. Ordinance zero six dash two zero two six is entitled an ordinance amending county code chapter 7.03, road use. That is the ordinance's title, mister chair.

Thank you. Alright. Colleagues, is there a motion to approve the ordinance now?

I move we approve ordinance zero six dash two zero two six. I'll second, chair.

Alright. Commissioner Schrader's moved to approve ordinance zero six dash two zero two six. Commissioner West has seconded that. Any further discussion? Seeing none, clerk, will you please call the

poll? Commissioner Savas? Aye. Commissioner Helm? Aye. Commissioner Schrader? Aye. Commissioner West?

Aye. Mister Chair? Aye. Motion

passes. Five zero, mister chair.

Alright. Thank you. Gary, what do we have next?

Thank you. Next is a board discussion item, approval of a letter to governor Kotak regarding the TriMet board of directors district seven vacancy. There is no fiscal impact. There are no county general funds involved. You discussed this briefly at Issues on Tuesday this week.

Commissioner Savas requested that the board send a letter to the governor regarding a Clackamas County vacant a a vacant position on the Tri Med Board of Directors representing Clackamas County. You agreed to push that item to today so we could post the draft letter online for the public to review. There's only one version of the letter, and that all that was posted online, and it's before you today. Staff requests you review the letter one more time, make any other edits you wish, and ultimately decide if you wish to send the letter, and if so, to make a motion to approve that. Over to you for any questions you may have or discussion.

Chair, I move that we approve the

letter. Second.

All right. There's a motion to approve the letter by Commissioner West, seconded by Commissioner Savas, and open it up for discussion.

All right. Chair, just want to thank my colleagues and the staff who all looked us over and worked on this. Did a great job on the letter. I know that one of our public comments, Persis Abigail, I believe, brought up the issue about TriMet and transit. I was in Corvallis yesterday for an ODOT leadership chairs, modalac meeting.

So we had people representing transit, bike, ped, roads, freight, you name it. And transit had come up quite a bit because it's definitely an integral part of our transportation system. And it's interesting in several parts of the state where transit is really serving a majority of the population very well. And unfortunately, we are this region is in contraction right now with our ability to serve. And Clackamas County, for my twenty eight years since I sat on my first TriMet Committee or transit committee, we have been advocating for practical solutions and more service.

And it's twenty eight years later, and there's not much to show for any of those recommendations that have been made yet. We're getting closer, I think, when it comes to discussion about some of those solutions. But right now, I think we're having I'm having discussions. I was in Metro last week, and this was the topic, really, not the not the vacant position, but transit itself was a big topic. We sat with some regional leaders and the Metro Councilor talking about this.

Had our second meeting last week. I've been in transportation meetings every day, including tonight. So this is a hot issue, and again, I, I endorse the letter, but I do want to let people know we're working really hard on this transit challenge. We're getting emails from people that are losing service and they don't know how they're going to cope with that. They bought their home because it was close to transit, and when they find out that line's being eliminated, that really puts them in a situation of despair and how they overcome that.

We have over 200,000 people in Clackamas County that don't, by the technical terms of access, do not have access to transit. That's half our population and more more over 120,000 of those people are actually in TriMet's service district. So this is not as much a rural issue, it's more of an urban issue. And yet there's been new money assigned as a result of HB 2017 with STIF dollars and those have not come to fruition. And I am constantly advocating for a model that looks more like the Wilsonville model with smart, which is very effective.

And it's a lot cheaper per person. So we're hoping to, again, meet that need. And I will tell you that senior citizens, back to that, this all ties together. A lot of senior citizens sometimes don't have the ability to drive any longer. And so they find themselves in a new place where now they live what they want to live. They want to live their life in their home that they built or the home that they own, and they want to continue that, but they have no means of getting to the doctor or getting to an urgent appointment. So this is, again, as seniors are and economics are becoming a crisis, this is it's imperative we address this as soon as possible. So I'm hoping that Clackamas County can have a stronger voice and a and a seat at this table in District 7.

All right, thank you. Commissioner Helm.

Yeah, I just, a couple questions and maybe I don't know if this is directed to Dan or not. Do we have any idea why we have not been included in this? I mean if we have it says District 7 seat has been vacant for six months and we've missed eight board meetings. I'm just wondering is there something we don't know that we should know? No? No? Cause there's been like a real lack of communication about it, correct? Okay, thank you. Sorry for the back of the room nods here. I am very I can't even tell you how concerned I am about Tri Med.

I mean, the more I learn, the more appalled and probably concerned I get. But we need representation. I don't know how we make that happen. I'm not sure if this is the right letter. It's very firm. You're very firm. I'm a little more a little more soft about it. But I don't know. I I I just I'm just concerned that there's stuff we don't know and why we're not at the table.

Thank you Commissioner.

Commissioner West? Yeah I'm concerned that a lot of these appointments to this very important board for Tri Med that has a massive impact on transportation is not about merit or qualifications, about individuals getting to work and making sure that people are getting these essential services. I think it's a political appointment often, and it's about who you know and politics. I think it is clear that we have a crisis with our public transportation and our access to that specifically in Clackamas County. This has been going on for many, many years.

I feel the same as you a little bit, Commissioner Helm. It is a little firm. However, the urgency in which we are in today did not happen overnight. I do feel like it's a professional letter. I'm supporting the letters written today. I don't have more time to continue to wordsmith this. I think it gets the job done. I do support Jeff Goodman, hopefully getting that appointment. He knows the county. He is incredibly qualified.

He is respected in a very bipartisan way and is going to be a good arbiter and have good judgment on representing the county in this capacity. Abigail, think it's Eberhardt, am I right? Gave a compelling testimony today virtually. I want to recognize that. As a nurse and somebody in healthcare, is a major component to the transportation piece.

Smart does a good job getting seniors to Meridian Park to make they can make it to their appointments effectively and efficiently, that nobody is stranded, they get back home, they will even go straight to the door. It is not just by bus, is not just by rail, but there is other avenues of getting these individuals transported. I know that our smaller transportation agencies have been able to be creative in this way. I think it is expandable. I think it is replicatable. TriMet has not been a good partner in this, but a lot of people that rely on this as seniors to medical appointments and to other essential appointments. It's students. It's the working class to get to work. It's those that have chosen, for whatever reason, don't have a vehicle. We have limited lines.

We have limited access. You can eliminate a line in Portland, walk two blocks, you get another line to get where you need to go. That doesn't exist in Clackamas County, even within the metro boundaries of Clackamas. This is urgent. There needs to be some writing of the ship. Are some things that have gotten, no pun intended, but maybe off track with the TriMet. We need to get those things back on track. Need it to be sustainable. We have to rebuild public trust. More essentially, people need to feel safe on a TriMet, bus or rail system or MAX or anything.

They need to feel safe again in our metro area. To be honest, many people just don't. There's a lot to fix there. I support this letter. I hope that the governor hears us and also appoints Jeff Goodman. So I'll be supporting this today when we vote.

Thank you. Commissioner Schrader.

Yeah, I just have a question. It is kind of firm, which makes me a little nervous. But my understanding is that there is going to be an appointment made in June when the session I don't know, Gary, have you heard that? Or what was the that's what my understanding is. So do we need a letter at this point in time is what I'm asking.

Yeah, guess might add to that. That one of the things I did is actually called Kelly Brooks because I was trying to find out. I guess I want to make this clear, is the transportation policy person. And part of which is, think the intent of the letter is finding the point that we want a decision made. I mean, I wholeheartedly agree that.

There's a lot of issues going on, which I completely support with my colleagues. I think the issue I had was a little bit on the tone, and that's where wanting the staff just to tone it down a little bit with the same intent. But I also was just like, okay, where is it at? So, I mean, I picked up the phone this morning and called and tried to get an answer to that. The fact is, was told it is moving forward.

The decision is going to be made in June during legislative days. That I was told that they had some concerns expressed to them about some of the applicants and their commitment. And one of the issues was is that they wanted to make sure that that person that is assigned to that is very critical that they're there, and they show up, and they participate, and they have a background in that area. So, now, are there some other things going on? I don't know, probably.

I did talk to Dan after your suggestion, and Dan did tell me. He goes, No, I think a letter going forward is a good thing. And so, I'm in support of the letter. I just, as we talked about, was I think we're in this quagmire a little bit, because I want us all to be in sync. And I think a little bit has kind of thrown us a little bit kind of debating this issue is a little bit, just because of the process. And that's one of the things I really want to encourage us, is to try as hard as we can to stick with the process. And Gary, I might just have you touch on that a little bit, because this is where I think we're kind of differing on some opinions. So Gary, can you just talk about that?

Yes, and Cheryl, you gave me a heads up on this. I went and found your board rules that you the prior board approved of how you conduct business, and the section five notice and agenda says, that notice for all board meetings, including staff reports and materials, will be posted seventy two hours before each meeting, which is three days. However, you have a minimum of twenty four hours notice, if agendas change or the board requests information to be added, at least twenty four hours notice before you post any items online. So in this case, that did happen. Commissioner Zavas brought a proposed letter idea.

Although he handed you a copy, you all agreed to wait till today. So that was more than twenty four hours, which you had a chance to review it. We can we can quibble about process. Ideally, you would have said, as a board, we should send a letter to Tri Med, and then staff would write it, bring it back to you. You have a chance to wordsmith it offline, then we come back to you and give you a version. That didn't exactly happen, but close enough. But all to say is, I'm hearing there's concerns about tone. We're at eleventh hour here, so you could either ask us to edit on the spot, you could give it back to staff to bring back to you Tuesday. I mean, few more days may not make a difference, but it's up to you how you wanna proceed. But just following your board rules, ideally, would have given at least three days notice of a letter or materials for an agenda.

And so I kind of think since there's not going to be a decision made till June, I mean I think that a short delay and just tweaking that to make sure everybody's in alignment with it would not be necessarily a bad thing. So I think that and I did a bad job because I don't know who turned their light on

for the commissioner themselves.

Ahead. I thought I'd give this some context, Chair. So and it always strikes me. I gotta sometimes people are watching our meetings. Maybe they don't have the full context. So I wanna just build on why why this letter is here. And this is not our first letter. I want the public to know that. Right. I when we cut the ribbon at the Clackamas Village, I was able to pull the governor aside and I asked the governor and shared with the governor, I really need to talk to you about transit and TriMet. We've got some challenges. Now that we cut that ribbon, what, last year?

Yeah.

Right? So I was hoping to hear back from our office. Our staff and other people I know have communicated. The mayors have communicated. The last letter we sent was in conjunction with the mayors of Clackamas County.

So we're we're all, like, on And I'm just telling you, the conversation is very dynamic. And what I learned Monday, which is kind of part of this urgency, what I learned Monday is that not only did we not have a seat at the table for eight meetings, but they're going have a retreat before June with no one at the table, no one at the seat. It seems to me that if there is a person that they want to appoint, they can at least invite that person to be in the room. Maybe not be able to vote, but a retreat, you don't vote in anyhow, but it seems to me there's opportunity. I mean, I wouldn't want to have an organization with this kind of a crisis and have a seat in a region because it's a regional it's a Clackamas County seat.

And not have Clackamas County at the table at a retreat. You're not going have another retreat for a year. So that's why the urgency is there and the timing is there. So if I would have learned about it sooner, would have brought it to you all last week, but I didn't learn about this till And the other meeting with TriMet with TriMet there in the room with Metro was on Thursday. So it was after our business meeting.

So I couldn't even bring to you what came out of that. So there's this is a very dynamic situation and I think that's what compels us to act more urgently and have a tone of which we're asking for action. You know, we could add language that says, you know, please invite someone to be at the retreat, but there again, that's not the governor's role, that's TriMet's leadership role. Should they postpone the meeting? I don't know. But I'm hoping that the message here, and I know that Trent, our lobbyist, has been in trying to get into communication with at least identify who it may be. Has not, Ms. Brooks has not shared that with him. So I want let you know there are conversations that happen that that's why I feel this is appropriate.

Who's it, Commissioner West? Okay. Me. Okay, go ahead, Commissioner West. Thank you. I didn't go.

No, it's okay. Just a couple of things. So number one, wanted to also acknowledge Abigail Everhart for her comments this morning. Keep in mind, I'm new on these committees. It's transit and transportation itself is just so complicated.

How there are so many layers, And Commissioner Savas is trying to teach me. Dan and Jamie are trying to teach me. Many people are trying to give me all the information I kind of need. What I am looking at, and where I express my concerns, and my alarm, is when I do attend the meetings, is the lack of, I will say, honesty about how the numbers are kind of put out there as bad, and yet they're moving forward with a lot of these things. Now, part of the problem might be, I don't want to call myself an agitator.

I usually am not an agitator. I like to listen for my opinion based on the information I've been given. But I almost feel it's intentional that we're left out of this. Because we are not, I would say, friends of TriMet. Because we have been asking for a seat at the table, for our fair share, for us to be looked at as a large county with a lot of rural geographical areas.

And don't want to say that and I can't be in the heads of Tri Med, obviously, but I just am hoping that they're going to choose someone who is neutral, but up to speed on what's going on in TriMet. And that will represent our entire county and not someone who's going to rubber stamp their programs and stuff. I just cannot tell you how much it worries me, how many cuts we're going to be getting here in the county at all levels. So I I'm again, I'm looking at alternate means of transportation for our citizens to get people around, especially those in the rural areas to get to their doctor appointments and grocery shopping. So we're trying to be a little out of the box thinking here.

This really concerns me. This not being part of this for so long seems intentional. So if somebody can convince me otherwise, I wish they would.

Thank you very much. Commissioner West.

Thank you, Sheriff Roberts. Guess how I got to the point where I was okay with this letter was because there has been so much previous communication and the governor at any point could could appoint the person necessary to do a good job to fill that seat. This didn't happen overnight. I know many of our mayors and our local city governments are also feeling the same urgency and frustration that we're feeling on this dais in Clackamas County. A lot of our local governments, I would say the majority of them, would probably feel the same sense of urgency that we feel today with the lack of appointment and movement for representation from the third largest county in the state.

I think it does strike out. It's professional, but it does show urgency and please show action. By the way, I think it's good because we're showing leadership and we're on the record with this letter to the governor's office to to advocate for this. And I I think that this does reflect how people feel. We just heard from Abigail. She feels it too. Abigail feels that same sense of urgency. She read the letter. She wanted to add some stuff about where there's an impact on people's health care and access to care and how this hurts vulnerable populations. I think that maybe we should send another letter showing the negative impacts to that.

I think another letter to address Abigail's issues and others about the populations that are being negatively impacted is a second letter that I think people would want to highlight. This one speaks specifically to the representation that we are asking for our neighbors and our community. We don't take this tone lightly. We don't want to take even an urgent tone. We want to be team players.

With the legislature and the governor's office like we have in so many issues to solve real local problems. But we are running out of time and options to do that. So there is a little bit of let's get it done type of tone in this letter. So I'm still going to, with a little bit of pause and hesitancy, still say yes to this letter. Chair, I completely hear you also at the same time. Commissioner Schroeder, I really do. It's a little bit of a balancing act. I know. That's where I'm falling on it.

I have a question. Do we know who else has applied for the position? I know I think very highly of Jeff Goodman

I don't know.

Too, but we don't know.

I don't know. I heard names float, but I don't know if they actually applied. Right? We know Jeff. Couple names.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. But Jeff Goodman is one is one for Okay.

So why should we not specifically mention him?

He is

he is.

He is on the

last part. No. What I what's what I'm saying is maybe we

Shouldn't.

We just see or are you afraid that they will pick?

Well, we we got the letter on record from us and the mayors. So we want to be consistent with that, I believe. The other thing I'll mention is that I've been inclined several times to ask to send a letter to TriMet. And maybe we could, if you all want to, send a letter to TriMet saying, Could you please pause your retreat until we get that seat appointed? That's an option for you to think about. But we have sent very little to the TriMed board.

And

I think now that this is rising to the percolating level of urgency and cuts, I think that we need to be more engaged with the Tri Med

Board. Can

I comment, Martha?

No, that's it. I think

that, see that's what I mean. I think we're all, we're coming up with all good points. I mean, like one of the points that you made, which I agree with, which is, could we be a part of the retreat? Because I do think that is important. It's coming up in May, there are no selections until June. And having somebody at the table, you know. So, again, that might be something that should be in the letter, right? Or maybe it should go to Tri Med, I don't know, or both. And that's where I would kind of lean more on staff of saying, Okay, look, kind of what we see as the best strategy to kind of address this. So, as I've said, I agree with the intent that we're trying to get them to move forward.

I do, I know that there was a previous letter sent regarding Goodman, but I also kind of have that echo that concern as well, who else is applied? And there might be a better candidate, I don't know. So I I think just of those kinds of concerns I have and so we're kind of at this point. Gary, any suggestions?

You can just call for the vote and be done with it. I will advise you this, if your message is to the governor, it's already been delivered because the chair called the governor's transportation advisor. If your message is to the community that you're taking action, then you should send a letter.

I think this does both because we have been It feels a little bit blue in the face. It's like asking my kid to make his bed, right,

or to

clean his room. I've been asking and and asking and that room is not clean and that bed is not made. And so here's a little bit of the urgency that all parents this county at once feel. Not that we're the parent, but like it feels a little bit like that. And I think all of the above and I think we're mirroring what our cities and Lake Oswego has been advocating for and feeling also. We've been good partners with Lake Oswego specifically. And I don't think we're getting out over our skis. We're not the only ones here. And there's been so much communication up to this point.

One other thing I'll I kind of set up but I'll just actually emphasize a little bit. I I would say that TriMet's challenges are today are unprecedented. They're in a crisis mode. I you know, if you all wanna have staff, and I would trust staff to add a line to that saying, you know, you know, about the retreat, you know, that there should be you know, or this retreat should be postponed. But be because of this crisis, we don't want a Clackamas County representative left off.

I will I'd be okay with that that ad. Uh-huh. You know, that alone, yes. But I I think that both, know, number one, getting that message across to make sure it gets to the governor as well as to the public to know. But all eyes and energy are on this. I didn't just on transit, I mean, on Tuesday, I I missed your the afternoon meeting with the the mayor of Portland. Where was I? In a three hour meeting about transit. Mhmm. I've spent a lot of time this week on state meetings and transportation, and transit comes up everywhere.

Yeah. It's a hot issue. I'm your representative. I'm asking for this letter. If you all want to amend it or have, again, have staff add a thing about the about about the I think that would A mean member being absent with regard to retreat, I'm game. Yeah. So I would I would would be happy if the motion maker would amend that to add that.

I'll amend the motion to add that that line.

Okay. And I would second that. Okay.

Alright. So I have a motion on the table, amended motion by that Commissioner we'll accept the letter with an addition to rescheduling the retreat and or assigning a Clackamas County representative as I understand it. It's been seconded by Commissioner Savas and Can

I ask one more thing?

Yes sir.

Once we approve this is the intent that all five of us sign it?

I think so.

So yes, but would also include do I need to do I need to make that in the motion also?

It doesn't need to be part of the motion, but we would like guidance if all of you are signing this or not.

Okay. Is everybody okay. Yeah. We're all okay. I know we've had a robust conversation. Don't we're about to call the vote.

Alright. So I think we're Andrew, you would call the poll for

us. Commissioner Schrader.

Aye.

Commissioner Helm.

Aye.

Commissioner Sabbath. Aye. Commissioner West?

Aye. Mister chair?

Aye. Motion passes. Five to zero, mister chair.

Would all would all five of you like to sign the

letter? Yes. Mhmm.

That's fine. Okay.

Can staff just make the edit and we're done or do you want to see it one more time?

I just

Would you please include the word imperative? It is imperative imperative that a Clackamas County representative be either at the retreat. I I I think to not be included in this is a huge problem. Huge.

So could we see it one more time? I'd like to see it one more time. Can we do that? If you

do, would be next Tuesday.

I would like to send it. Is that too late?

I can see it and have you all send it at the same time. I'd like to see the final version, but please send it today.

We'll share with you the final version, but if any of you make an edit, it will come back to you Tuesday.

I don't want

Because you don't you

can't serial vote on email.

Okay. Well, I guess we just

Alright. We'll share with you the version before it goes out, but it's going out today.

I trust you.

Okay. Very good. May we move on? Yes.

Let's move on.

Thank you. Next is the consent agenda for the Board of County Commissioners. But before we move on, I believe, Chair, you'd like to make a little statement, please, on page seven.

Yeah I wanted to remove colleagues. Is this the appropriate time to say this? Health D3 it's the Health Housing and Human Services If we could pull that up.

You highlighted on the screen. Yeah. There it is.

Okay. All right. So to be clear, let's see here. Before we read the consent agenda, Martha's pointed out she'd like to pull D3 for further discussion. That's the Health Housing and Human Services Organization assessment. We'll vote on the rest of the consent agenda and then we'll how about we return and discuss items specifically any concerns that sound good Gary?

Yes yes.

So I'll have the clerk read the consent agenda without item d three. It's probably the most expeditious way of doing that.

Consent agenda for the board of county commissioners. Item a, elected officials. One, approval of previous business meeting minutes for the board of county commissioners. Two, approval of an amendment with Clackamas Children's Center for forensic evaluations, victim focused support services, and coordinated investigation assistance. Amendment value is $26,494.01 for one year. Total agreement value is $52,988.02 for two years. Funding is the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission justice reinvestment program. No county general funds are involved. B, tourism, one. Approval of an interagency agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation for creation of historic highway state trail maps.

Agreement value is $20,000 for ten months. Funding is through state transit lodging tax. No county general funds are involved. C, transportation development. One, approval of Principal River conservation area review and floodplain development permit for installation of indigenous artwork at Barton Park by Clackamas River Basin Council. Application has no fiscal impact. No county general funds are involved. D, Health, Housing and Human Services. One, approval of revenue agreement with HealthShare of Oregon for community based public health services for Medicaid members. Agreement value is $870,416 for one year.

Funding is through HealthShare of Oregon. No county general funds are involved. Two, approval of the 2026 Community Development Action Plan, including applications for the Community Development Block Grant, Home Investment Partnership Grant, and Emergency Solutions Grant funds. Total application value is $3,214,330.03 for seven years. Funding is through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. No county general funds are involved. Mr. Chair, that concludes the Board of County Commissioners consent agenda.

All right. Any of my colleagues wish to remove any other items from the consent agenda? Seeing none, may I have a motion?

Chair, I move to approve the consent agenda as read.

And I will second that.

Commissioner West has moved to approve the consent agenda as read. Commissioner Schrader seconded that. Any further discussion? Clerk,

will you

please call the poll for us? Commissioner Savas. Aye. Commissioner Helm.

Aye.

Commissioner Schrader.

Aye. Commissioner West? Aye. Mister Chair? Aye. Motion passes. Five to zero, mister chair.

Alright. Now let's return to the h three s item that was pulled. Yes.

So this is now a board discussion item for item what was D3 on the agenda, which is approval of a personal services contract with Health Management Associates to conduct an organizational assessment and fiscal sustainability analysis. The agreement value is $249,500 for two years. Funding is through $124,750 of interest income and $124,750 of budgeted county general funds. If I may invite up to this table Denise Swanson, Deputy Director of Health, Housing and Human Services, and Philip Mason Joyner, also Deputy Director of Health, Housing and Human Services, answer any questions you may have. I will share with you, as I have individually prior to this meeting, representatives of the Clackamas County Employees Association, who I meet with the leadership regularly as the county administrator, shared concerns about the funding stream for this.

One, because there are some layoffs coming up from H3S. You know this, commissioners. And could this money be spent to save some staff positions rather than an assessment? And that could this work not be done internally in house rather than hiring a consultant? So I shared that with you and I think it's worth discussing before you make a final decision. A staff can answer that question, but I guess I would pause if you have questions or concerns first, Commissioners, and then staff and I can answer them.

Why can't we do this internally? Would just be my question.

Thank you Commissioner Schrader. Again Denise Swanson, Philip Mason Joyner. I think that we do not have the organizational capacity to do this. And frankly, to do an assessment of our operations is good business as the largest department in the county. And we want an objective assessment to be looking for inefficiencies, look at how our structure is focused and really to prepare futuristically for the storm that is happening to us currently that we are in with layoffs and what is coming in the next couple years.

And so that is why it makes sense to have an objective look of experts that can look at our financials, at our structure, and really engage our staff overall and see how we can best function from an organizational development perspective.

And I guess my other question is two years seems a long time.

Yeah, we have within and Philip jump in anytime, sorry.

Yeah, Philip.

We do have a phased approach. So we know it's going to take time to start to gather information. We're very committed to engaging all of our staff, including the EAA. We're going to have an advisory council. We have a set position for many staff members across our department and an EAA representative to look at the structure. And so we'll have phases. So by June year, in preparation for the next budget, we'll have made some changes. But we want to be very intentional and thoughtful about this work.

Are there any other? Those are my questions. Does anybody

else

Commissioner have a West has a question.

Thank you.

It's my understanding that EA potentially wants to be able to find funding to save some of the 18 positions that OHA is having us cut. These cuts are coming from the state level. OHA is the funding for those positions comes from OHA and that funding is is going to be no longer available. Understanding correctly?

In the fall of last year, Commissioner West, we had workforce reductions within a couple of our divisions within the department, but primarily in behavioral health due to funding from Care Oregon. Okay. This spring, four of our divisions out of our six are impacted with workforce reductions. And it's a variety of factors. It's flat federal and state funding, but also significantly increased costs that we're all experiencing, making it where we're pinching pennies in order to continue to provide services at the same level.

And a lot of our programs are, of course, our biggest costs, our personnel, and it gets to a point where we're not able to financially sustain these positions. So that is the reason for the current positions, workforce reductions. And really, intent of this assessment is really because we're going through this, it continues to happen. We want to be in a proactive posture and not in such a reactive mode that we've been in the last year, where we can really help this department. Know, I've been with H3S for fourteen years now.

Besides the creation a couple years ago of our housing and community development division, the operations of our department have primarily been the same the fourteen years I've been here. And we need someone who can come in and open up the hood of the car, take a look at our how we're administering our programs, our finances, how can we be more efficient, sustainable, have more quality improvement. We're a good department. We wanna be great. That's the spirit of all this.

We also know that our employees are our biggest asset. This in January, we met with the officers of the Employees Association and had a hour long conversation. Mary Rumbaugh, our department director, joining us in that conversation. We also had two virtual webinars with all HRS employees were invited to learn about this assessment, try to demystify it, try to answer questions. There is anxiety, there's worries with this project. I hear that. There's also a lot of stress and anxiety with workforce reductions happening. So we're holding all of that. We understand, feel wholeheartedly as leadership of the department that this is the right thing to do for our staff, for our organization, and for the community.

Thank you for that answer. I guess, do you I have two questions, and they're going to piggyback each other. Do you believe that spending the $124,750 in two years so you do it twice for a total of $249,500 over a two year period. Do you believe that that will find efficiencies and greater savings than the $250,000 that we're initially spending? Do you believe overall it's a net positive to go through this assessment and for inefficiencies and cost savings?

Go ahead. Well, think it's a worthwhile investment. That's why we're here proposing and asking for your approval of it. You know, we had over 20 firms apply for this opportunity. Some of them are significantly higher dollar amount than this proposal. We feel confident about the quality. They've done over 300 county level assessments across the country. Feel really good about this firm that we're gonna get meaningful results, and our hope is that we will find more efficiencies. We will find better ways to do our business that will be more financially viable for the department and for the county. So, yeah, that's is absolutely our hope.

I heard there is an ask that instead of spending the 2 and $49,500 over two years that there would be an effort to maybe save one of the 18 positions that is being laid off. Am I understanding that correctly? Has that been proposed?

That was brought up when we did a webinar with staff. But the reality is that these one time dollars are not going to save a position.

A position.

Right?

Yeah. So, That's not a reality. But would we potentially be able to save more positions with the streamlining through this? Do you feel like we get enough streamlining, enough information from this assessment to be able to potentially fortify real positions for working people?

Well, is certainly the hope. We don't know. I mean, the reality is we don't have a strategy for how to deal currently with what's happening to us, right? So we need we need to have a strategy. And in the words of the late great John Wooden, right, having not having a plan is a plan to fail. We have to have a plan. We really have to strategize about this. And I think it's just a best business practice for us to be looking at how we can do our business more efficiently, more effectively. And it's a great opportunity for us to engage our employees in that because they really know the work best.

One last question. These general funds, which are super precious and limited. Is there a different way to fund this? Does not tap into the very precious general funds and the limited general funds that we have? Have we looked at other funding models?

Yes. So we have actually, this is made up of two different funds. Our interest income, which our policy in our department says that that must be used for the good of the entire department. So that's funding half of this. And then the other half is from County General Fund we could certainly look at using interest income which we also use to do professional development and training for our staff and things like that that really benefit everyone but we could look to do a switch out of those funds if necessary

And I just had the HRS director's office gets utilizes a small amount of the HRS allocated general funds for that. As Cindy said, professional development training opportunities that benefit the whole department. So, could do that. I think we allocated it to slice it this way, so that way we continue to do some other important projects in department. Of course, could If the concern is using allocated general fund dollars for this, we could look at that. It just means other things may not it may have to get adjusted in order

Yeah. To

just think every time I use general funds like this and there's any conversation around, we should ask that question. But I thank you for answering my questions and for explaining that clearly to the public. Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah. Alright. Commissioner Hill.

Thank you, Denise. Thank you, Philip. So I expressed my concern about the cost on Tuesday. It seemed a big number. Right? And I do understand it's a two year process. But I also applaud you for trying to get ahead of this. And it's one of those, you know, sometimes you have to spend money to make money, or spend money to save money. And the overall savings may be so good that you are saving jobs later. All right?

You said that's the hope, right? You identify the inefficiencies, and you can streamline where possible. So, also so part of me is going, if you could just like fund it through the interest income, I'd love to see the other budgeted county funds go to help, you know, the childcare program, or something that we're trying to give a safety net to other programs in the county. So, if that's an option, I would rather it came out of the interest income versus our general funds. But but I understand what you're doing, and I I you do need to get ahead of it because we don't know where this is going.

That's right.

And it's been a rough a rough couple of years, and there's more changes to come. So getting a handle on it now is a really smart thing to do. Absolutely. Yeah, thank you. Thank you.

Commissioner Saubis.

Yeah, I think this argument that staff's making here, or the case that staff's making is that it's compelling. I can relate to it. I support it. And the other thing I'll add to this is that, you know, outside eyes and outside experiences brings ideas and other models, and I think that's another value set that ought to be and I think you've said that, and I think you assumed that, but I just want to just state it more clearly. And I think having some independence is good, not unlike our auditor's office, right?

So there are times when even maybe even the internal auditor might say, you know what? We ought to farm this out for better independence, right? So I think that this is the right thing to do. But I do want to go back to just a little story here. When I won my election in 2010, before I was sworn in in December, I was brought into the room by some county commissioners and staff on H3S, and I learned about we call it funding cliffs, right?

We have a grant, we have a program, and the state cuts the funding and so some employees are hired on a temporary basis. So it was like an awakening that, oh my gosh, we have a lot of have a lot of grants and and it's and though someone on that may not understand that might say oh the county's cutting these positions well actually it's the state that's cutting these positions right? It's not us. So I think us trying to recalibrate as a county to better serve the public and find ways to make the service more valuable and the sustainability of the department and the services we offer is important. So I understand the concerns, but I really do. I think the arguments to approve this are compelling.

Did you have a comment, Martha?

Yeah, I just wanted to double check that what you're saying with this money, it's not going to result in how did I say this? It's not enough to keep cuts from happening no matter what.

No, no, Commissioner. It's not.

No. That's part of the issue, I think, that people worried. That's what I'm picking on. That's what they're really worried about. Nancy Yeah. It wouldn't

Doctor. It is $124,000 a year. And really what our hope is that we can get in front of, you know planning for what is going to be as Commissioner Savas said financial cliffs that are upcoming and so this really helps us I mean we have as you know from the budget process our budget is $500,000,000 with about $10,000,000 a county general fund. So this really helps us to plan for what is happening through a lot of our grant funding our state funding our federal funding as well. So we can't promise that there won't be cuts in the future but we certainly need to be prepared to weather the storm.

And this has really been consistently happening from both the federal and the state level.

Yes, unfortunately so. For the last year, yeah. Okay.

Just a couple quick comments. I think that, first of all, I completely agree with the assessment, I kind of look back at 2010, I remember going through some tough economic times as a sheriff, right? And we did, at that time, really did some assessments to try and get ahead of it. And I think it's not just looking at the cost of things, necessarily, but it's also where you have people deployed, right? And so, for example, we had a deputy assigned to crime prevention. Well, he's very expensive. I'd rather have him taking nine eleven calls. We moved an on sworn end to save some money. Deputies at the jail are trained you know, facility security. Why couldn't they help on the courthouse?

And so we made structural changes to kind of fill the holes in other areas to make sure that we're responding to 09:11 calls. So I really see some of that as assessments. Are you really have those high paid positions in the right positions or could you move things around? Then I think the other important issue is too is if you have to do make additional cuts, how do you do that and where would that come from. So having that upfront look ahead.

I did hear Commissioner Helm kind of make another good comment and that is could it be on the interest income And I don't know if my colleagues are you wanna if they do that, I think we'd wanna know what the impact is because you had talked about some other things, know, if you take it there, you're gonna maybe cut training. So if if you did that, I I think it'd behoove us to know what would be the impact before kinda making that decision. So would you entertain perhaps having them come back looking at the interest income and what those impacts were or is there a real time sensitive matter on this? Guess Gary and that'd be my first question.

How time sensitive is this Denise and Philip?

Well we would like to get going sooner than later because of the two year piece and being ready for the next budget cycle. I think that I can say with confidence having spoken to our director earlier today that we will make the switch if that is the desire of the board and we'll just we'll figure that out. This is an important investment for all of our staff and for our department so and that is what the interest income is for and not saying we can use County General Fund for other positions that just doesn't make sense but we'll just we'll make some changes in our budget.

All right. Let's share some questions. Think Mr. West

was first.

Thank you for your urgency. I mean, I'm getting it. Thank you for delivering that. Here's the problem that we're having is that you've already had such limited general fund. You're already facing cuts from every direction. We pull the string over here. Will that interest income coming in, that impacts some other service that's already allocated for it. There are no easy decisions here. There is no magic money pot where we can just be like, this doesn't impact anything or anybody. I hear that you want to move forward with this.

And I trust my colleagues and their thoughts on this, I'm willing to go with the team here. We're a good team. We're pragmatic people. I hear that pragmatism coming from you. I already know what it's going look like if you had to come back and tell us what would happen. We would say, oh my god, those services are super important, too. That's what's going happen.

Okay. That answered my question.

So I'm going to go Gary and then to Paul. Go ahead, Gary.

I'm going to ask staff to make this entirely funded by interest income and not general fund. And I hope that will give you some comfort and then approve this today, please, is my suggestion.

Go ahead, Paul.

Well, I was going to say something similar, and that is that I'm ready to move forward to get the process underway. And if there's another way of funding it or mode you can always bring that back but initiating this I think is probably more imperative than anything. If it's a funding issue we can tweak it later on.

So Gary do you think we just have a motion then to prove it to move forward and you look at the funding

options? I prefer we give clarity to staff today, is you would approve this and change the last line, funding is through funding is entirely through interest income, no general funds involved. Okay.

So moved.

Second.

Commissioner Savas has moved to approve item D3 to be funded totally by interest income. Commissioner Helmut seconded that. Any further discussion? Yes.

Go ahead. So here's my problem. With general fund, I know there's no program impacts. I'm tired of having my programs impacted. They're essential programs. If you do this with a different funding source, we're impacting programs. That's our constituents' lives. We say, Let's go to interest like it's a magic pot of money that doesn't have a ripple effect throughout the entire organization. That's my concern. I have not been alleviated that concern.

Commissioner, forgive me, they addressed that. The interest income is entirely internally focused on staff that impacts the entire department. It is not externally on service to the public.

Right. It's not on general fund.

It's not on, yeah.

So, it's it's like staff training, staff professional development. It's all internal to the department. The interest use of interest income.

Right.

You're not impacting external services.

Is that true that we look for a different funding source, we're not going to have an impact to actual program services that we are delivering currently?

That's correct, Commissioner. What we'll have to do is make some changes to other things that we were going to fund with the interest At certain things?

Well yeah of course. Okay.

Thank you.

Right I think we're at a point clerk would you please call the poll.

Commissioner Schrader.

Aye.

Commissioner Helm.

Aye. Commissioner West.

No. Commissioner Savas. Aye. Mr. Chair. Aye. Motion passes four to one Mr. Chair.

I like your original proposal.

Very good. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioners. Thank you.

All right. Gary, go ahead.

Next is county administrator update. That is me. I like to share the great news of our county employees. Today, I want to recognize our staff from Transportation and Development that received an award from the Portland Chapter of WTS International, which I believe stands for Women in Transportation International. Dan is not in

the room.

All right. This is the premier transportation group and forum in the Portland region and in Oregon. Our staff received the Innovative Transportation Solutions Award for the Sunrise Corridor Community Visioning Project. As you know, this project challenges just tackles the challenges and opportunities with the Sunrise Corridor Growth Project economic development and transportation related. The award is given to a project initiative or policy that demonstrates innovation, leadership and impact in transportation.

It is a great honor and celebrates the success of our project as well as the innovative approaches we use with community involvement and community collaboration. The lead on this project is Jamie Stasney, the Transportation and Land Use Policy Manager in Transportation and Development. She accepted the award on behalf of Clackamas County at a gala celebration a few weeks ago. And also our Health Housing and Human Services staff were involved in this project. So congratulations to Jamie and the entire team who worked on this really, really impressive project, the Sunrise Corridor Community Visioning Project. It received statewide recognition. That was my update today. Thank you, commissioners.

All right. So, next, commissioner communication. I'm going to start with Martha.

Well, I am in the process right now. One of the things that's happening at the national level that I'm getting involved in is the Mid county caucus because one of the issues that they found is that you've got large urban county caucus and you've got all these rural action caucuses. And so I'm working to get on that committee because we are one of those middle sized, medium sized county, four twenty five. So I'll be sending that in today. And you know, I have to cut the words back because I didn't realize how much I have been involved in the national level with NACO, so I'll have to take a few things off.

But I just wanted to give you folks a heads up that yes, I am planning to do that because you know, mid sized counties have different we all have the same issues, but the size and scale and scope of them are quite different. And I just think it would behoove us to be a part of that new thing. I'm also continuing to work with the women of NACO on their youth program. And I'm part of their nominating committee,

so

I'm pulling that together as well. And as well as performing all the duties I do here as a county commissioner. So that's all I've got today. Thank

you, Martha. Commissioner Savvas.

Yeah, thank you chair. As I kind of alluded to earlier today, it's been a transportation heavy week. Commissioner Helm and I, going to the Sunrise, we led a meeting with four of our state legislators who their district covers that section of the Sunrise Corridor Phase 2. We had a great meeting with that and members from City of Happy Valley, council and others. So it was a good meeting trying to work basically whether we call it a coalition or we call it a what was the other term?

Kitchen cabinet. Kitchen

Yeah, kitchen cabinet. So I think we, again, they learned a lot about the project and elements of it. There's four different ways or four different approaches and different costs for each approach or section of the phasing with regard to that project. It really is, to me, the most imperative thing. And I think one of our citizen members there has led the charge, said the same thing afterwards.

Safety is the huge issue. There's kids across the street that go to school. There's kids on the other side of the street that live there. And there's also recreational opportunities with the Clackamas River and other aspects. So it's a shame when a very, very unimproved part of our urban growth boundary adjacent or included in the city is a two lane road with no sidewalks extremely dangerous and kids are darting across the street to dodge the traffic.

That was important Later that afternoon, we had our staff transportation meeting, and again, I learned about the Tri Med situation with the retreat. Had, again, back to back transportation meetings, two at the state level this week. The big one last week on Tri Med at Metro Council, or at Metro, not the council, but at Metro. So big topics. One thing that came up, I'm not bringing this up for any political reason, but I just came up at a candidate forum and Commissioner Schrader was there, Commissioner West and Commissioner Helm were there.

And an issue came out of that with a misunderstanding about tolling. I'm not gonna talk about the misunderstanding, but I am gonna say that, that was a big vote on 05/10/2021, and it set a tone and a concern across the region. And this came up yesterday in Corvallis with the state members of the OTC about tolling. So it's the impacts in hindsight, I have zero, zero regret. I actually am I feel reinforced that what we did was the absolute right thing to do, especially when I look at what those financial impacts would have done to families who seriously cannot afford that.

It was running away in a way that was the rates, the tolling rate would have been so expensive per household. And that was what, again, the reasons, part of the reasons, as well as diversion and safety, which is a huge topic. And I'm mindful, I said this yesterday, Clackamas County, with no help from anywhere else, is building a $20,000,000 roundabout on Stafford Road because of the added impacts of 205 being plugged up and the spillage on that. And that was the project that was going be told. And tolling would have made that worse.

Because people would have avoided the tolls. So it wasn't that tolling was a solution for I-two 05 or safety. It would have exacerbated the safety issues and added economic impacts to families. So it's been a heavy week and I will just leave it there and yield back.

All right. Commissioner West.

Thank you for that, Commissioner Sovos. That 05/10/2021 meeting was a pretty important public meeting. Commissioner Sovos was the only commissioner understand or to have the principled stance to say no to the framework of tolling. In that meeting, if you look at what the staff prepared, those dash eight amendments were chock full of tolling language. It clearly was the implementation of tolling here in Clackamas County.

Shortly after the Board of County Commissioners, except for Paul's office, voted to support the governor now the governor, she was Speaker of the House then, asked for big counties to support that legislation and those dash eight amendments that became House Bill, I think, 3,065.

3,055. Well,

then it became 3,055, right? Yeah. Yeah. So it got rolled up into a big ominous transportation bill known as 3055. And then we were told when I was elected that tolling was inevitable. And at that point, Clackamas County publicly voted to support the legislature and Speaker Kotak in moving forward with tolling. I got elected. I was told it was inevitable. I was told that we just have to make it not so painful. I was told the board's position was we have to play nice in the sandbox because we don't want to lose other funding.

I was told that we're going to roll over and do what Speaker Cotek and what the legislature asked. The one consistent commissioner that has always been a stalwart against this, that was not asleep at the wheel or was not trying to play both sides, was Commissioner Savas. And that's just the fact. You can watch the meeting, and you look at the staff prepared documents on what they voted for, what that motion was. You know, we got elected. Elections happened. The board changed. And we decided to stand up for a local community. Tolling was stopped because we had an election. It was stopped because we stopped it at the local level.

Majority of this board made up right now were the commissioners that helped stop tolling in Clackamas County, Commissioner Schrader, Commissioner Sovis and myself. That wasn't by accident because that would have been detrimental to the livability of our community, not just the ability to function and get around, but also with the reality of just the cost, the affordability cost would have been just painful for the residents of Clackamas County. So we galvanized 16 cities. We went through the NEPA process. We created a 40 page document that articulated these real local concerns at the local level.

That was the evidence and the data that the Clackamas caucus needed. So then we started to see legislators in Clackamas County started to get on board with Clackamas County. But that fight was led at the local level. Tolling was, we told, about to be steamrolled and implemented whether we liked it or not. But it was the majority of this current board and the previous board that actually stopped it.

We did not vote for it. We did not play nice in the sandbox. And it was to the benefit of our community. I really also want to speak to I have been trying to advocate and promote Clackamas County moving forward with a safety buffer zone for harm reduction services and needle exchanges around schools and commercial daycares here in Clackamas County, and trying to lead that pragmatic effort moving forward. I know right now, Multnomah County is actually discussing this, and they are going to be looking at it and maybe voting on it later in May.

And I just believe that child safety in school zone areas or where there's a heavy activity of minors and their activities taking place, walking to school, going to parks, playgrounds, they need a little more heightened protection. And we need to find that balance between providing services and that balanced, pragmatic approach in taking care of young people and making sure their spaces are also safe. And we need to reduce the litter. We need to reduce the litter that we have seen throughout the metro area of needle litter and visible drug impacts in our own communities. That broken window theory matters.

We need clean communities. By no means are we trying to stop or inhibit the ability for people to get services, but we also need to have these needles not littered throughout our public spaces. And then we have to balance public safety with these services. We all want to have a compassionate approach to deal with individuals without enabling them that are having these issues around substance use disorders. I am hoping that we will move forward and have a local approach to this in Clackamas County, a local solution to this, and we can be a leader in the metro area.

Would be easier that we want to get pushed back. I am still pushing forward. I know our staff is still working on it. I know other local governments are looking at this because the state bill failed and may come back in the long session. But I believe we need to be it is responsible to put these buffer zones around these types of spaces that impact our children. Chair I will leave it at that.

Thank you. Commissioner Hill.

Yesterday, Commissioner Savas and I attended the last CCSO work group meeting. That was our fourth and final prior to the upcoming budget week. I just want to give a shout out, A, to you for convening all of these people. So this was Commissioner Savas, me, it was staff, it was part of our budget committee, it was part of the union. It was a great group of people.

We had really good, intense conversations. And my question at the end of the day, or at the end of the meeting yesterday was, so are there going to be any surprises during budget week? Are we going to do it? Do we know everything we need to know going in? And the big takeaway is, last year, Patrick was new, right? He was only three months into it. I think everything is getting a little more smoothed out. I don't think we're going to have the contention we had last year. I think it's going to go so much smoother than it did. So it was a really good group.

And I any time we are faced with things like this that are very complex, I learned how complex the sheriff's department is, it's not like all the other departments. There's just so many moving parts that that can't be pinned down. I mean, it it's just it's very complicated. So I learned a lot, and I think it's going be very helpful going forward when we're doing the budget. So that's it, Chair.

Wow. Well, good. I'm glad that was so beneficial. And just a couple of quick announcements. And trying to encourage individuals to participate in the Clackamas County Parks survey. The parks Clackamas County Parks has 15 parks, four undeveloped properties, and nearly a thousand acres of public land. And that includes two forty two campsites, 11 picnic shelters, seven water access sites, and access to spring water trails. So planning for the future,

I think

you're actually on this work group, correct? And just want to encourage folks to complete the brief survey. Andrew has that up there. So looking, obviously, all the time for public's input and engagement. And one of the other things that was brought to my attention, and I kind of went, oh my gosh, you know, it's the first thing.

And it has

to do with ODOT is closing part of I-five in September. Now, I know this is a big heads up, but it's a significant closure. The closure date is planned for September 11. It will include all southbound lanes of I-five near the Rose Quarter, and it will be for five weeks. So that is a dramatic impact on freight, travelers.

So I know a lot of businesses probably will start now planning to try and figure out how to reroute, obviously taking 205 when they But I just want to make sure that that announcement. And you can actually go to www.i5rosequarter.org/contact. And Andrew's got that up for you to see. And the next thing I'm always excited to recognize that, take this opportunity to recognize and thank nurses, including our own Commissioner West. This week is National Nurses Week, and nurses really do make a difference in the lives of patients and families every day.

I think for any of us that ever been in the hospital, you know, that nurse that is helping you, sometimes I think they know more than the physicians. I don't know. I feel very fortunate when you have such an amazing nurse that is caring and compassionate. So I know many, many nurses. I have a friend by the name of Mary Ricks who spent her entire career as a nurse, then came back after retirement and continued to serve in our communities.

And I see many nurses doing that. So they really have a heart for people, and just want to thank all the nurses out there for their incredible work they do. It's very important work. And particularly another group of nurses and CNAs I value so much, those that take care of seniors, and really have a heart for helping seniors, and a shout out to those. So, with that being said, a lot of business going on, we're working hard and on behalf of the board, it's been a long day, but thank you for joining us and we are adjourned.