City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

Are we ready?

All right, being 6 o'clock, I'm going to call the Coos Bay City Council meeting at order. Would you all rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance, please?

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.

Good evening and thank you. Councilor Niebergall is online, and we'll start with public comments. No public comments, so we'll go into our consent calendar. Council, how would you like to proceed with the consent calendar?

I'll make a motion to approve the consent calendar as presented. Second.

It's been moved and seconded to approve the consent calendar as submitted. Any comments or discussion? Hearing none, I'll call for the question. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, it passes. We're going to go down next to action items. First item is consideration to amend the city's fee schedule to establish the vacant and blighted property program fees. And this would require that we adopt a resolution. This has been before us a couple times. And we adopted the ordinance, which, if you want to reference, is at our diocese this evening. And also, then the fee schedule is in our packet. And Nicole, you can go ahead and give us an update of where we're at and how we got here. Please.

OK. So thank you. So I think you already kind of shared that we had presented at a previous meeting the ordinance. taking a little bit of time to do some research around the state and see what others are doing. That was passed and it is actually effective as of now with our 30-day implementation period while we wait for those to be live and active. We also had presented previously a fee structure that kind of hit middle road and with that discussion we kind of understood that we wanted to maybe try something with a little bit more heft initially. So what's coming before you tonight? is that version. We're still landing on a registration fee, which is going to be the same across the board. We did move into a model of looking at residential, commercial, industrial kind of separate. Those buildings have each different purposes in our communities, valuations, all of those impacts to the areas that they are within. So we kept those separate. You'll see different amounts in each of those categories, but our property registration stays flat across all of those types. We have had some conversations around a lot of what ifs, and we're really thankful that we were able to work with you on an ordinance that has some flexibility that allows discretion amongst staff for applying the ordinance and then i would also offer that some of the buildings that or properties that will fall within this code section will also likely have another code section that will apply and if and when that occurs we'd be looking at all code sections that might apply. While these fees are here, it is possible there might be another one if there's a really challenging case that applies in multiple code sections. If I didn't cover something.

You mentioned something about register. If it's vacant building, they have to register? And how are we going to know if they're going to register? I mean, is it incumbent upon them to come saying, I've got a vacant building, I need to register?

A part of that, for sure. We're looking at other ways we might know about that. One is working with our partners at the water board, right? They know when water service is turned on and off. So if there's a way they can give us some details on a somewhat regular basis so we can be watching those ones that are vacant. We historically have had a property registration. It was more around what we were calling zombie homes in neighborhoods that came about from the homeless work group. It's just been kind of stagnant over the last few years, mostly as we had some shifts in our code enforcement and then as we've reestablished it under the police department and code compliance. So the registration is a really important piece for understanding what's out there and how we address those properties. So it will be somewhat self-reliant, but I think over time we'll also get a feel of how we learn about these properties too.

But you have some documentation already that establishes that these are already in violation before we even – the ordinance is already in place, but the fee is scheduled, right?

Yeah, we do have some properties that we have been documented working with over the last several years. And so we're probably going to treat that as part of our case file as we move forward with those.

Probably or will?

I think it's our intention to do that with a couple of known ones, especially in the downtown core. Thank you very much.

Yeah, I was just curious if you could give us, give the public a little bit more information about what we consider like blight and some... We're having in some of those known areas and whether or not this applies to just commercial or residential. Sure.

So our intention is to understand the use of properties in the community. So when they're vacant, that's one thing, right? We want to make sure if you have property here that you're an engaged owner, property owner. And then blight is a whole other thing. And blight and nuisance can kind of run hand in hand. So this ordinance itself does already speak to what some of those elements of blighted property. Those can just be simple things as you've not secured your structure so people have access to those. They can be broken windows. They can be severe deterioration. It can be overgrown vegetation. So we've given some ideas of what that looks like, but what we're hoping is, over time, people will start to understand what it means to be a property owner here and how you keep them. It doesn't have to be in pristine condition, but it should fit in well with the environment in which that property exists. So that's the hope, at least, that this will help us with that. In the downtown core, of course, we want those buildings in use, and there are opportunities to not just bring back retail, but potentially second floor housing. I think we've identified that for decades through the urban renewal to help develop housing in the downtown core. So we'll be approaching those likely as not just vacant, but blighted because they've been not in use for quite a bit of time.

Okay, and this applies also to homes where we've had some Ongoing issues with some of those same issues. Yes same.

So there we have a you know, the code is for property without definition of type the fee schedule does define that by residential commercial and industrial and

Nicole, the only other question I had was I thought that Councilor Niedergaal at a past meeting wanted to have Nate review this again just to make sure that we were in compliance and there wasn't any risk with this ordinance. Was that conducted?

So the ordinance already, he had been through that, and so what I had him look at since the last meeting is the fee schedule. If he had any concerns about potential legal issues there and he was comfortable with the way we had set it up. Okay, thank you. Yeah.

Sarah, did you have a question?

Yes. A clarifier. So if we're looking at the fee schedule under commercial or mixed use, I see the annual renewal is $250. And then the vacancy for 12 to 24 months is $1,000. So that's a one-time fee. between 12 and 24 months of vacancy, let's call it 24 months. So they would pay the 250 annual renewal and the $1,000. If they've been, yeah.

that in that first year potentially in a commercial that would be the possibility yes they would renew hopefully they've already registered with us and we've been working on you know how can we help you we have many organizations who can help put a commercial property back in use so hopefully in that first period when they register we're going to be working with them upon renewal they're gonna have that renewal fee and they could have a vacancy you've you've sat there empty too long it needs to be put in use

And when would the chronic noncompliance penalty of a thousand per occurrence happen?

So that's actually, there's a chronic section in the code. Let me get there. That actually speaks to what we consider that. And I think it's like a number of touches in a certain period of time. Sorry, should have highlighted. The things I think you'll ask...

I guess my point continues to be that I still do not think that this is a strong enough stick. I don't think that $1,250 is going to move the needle for a property that's vacant for 24 months.

So chronic nuisance in the code is a property that repeatedly generates an excessive number of police calls or code violations over a specified time frame. This equates to three or more contacts within a 120-day period. And then I think we referenced this last time, but if not, apologies for that. We have within 8.55.120 reference that each day a violation continues after notice may constitute a separate violation. So in the instance where we see that it's chronic and we have that 2,000, it could be a daily charge if there's non-responsiveness to change.

So that's the flexibility that you were saying.

And that may gives us that, you know, how willing are you? Have you showed up and you have an interest in working with us on a compliance agreement in which you say, I'm going to do these things on this time frame? And we see that progression? Great. We'll work with you a little differently. If you're not participating, we're probably going to treat that a little differently.

Nicole, have you heard from any property owners that are aware of this?

The only one that I've had direct contact with is the owner of the Fletcher building. And while he doesn't love that this is what it's come to, he does recognize that it can be a tool for property owners who maybe are stuck in a situation to move something forward, especially if you're in litigation.

Can I jump in with a question?

Go ahead. Yes, Jacob.

Yeah, I'm wondering, since I think Councillor Stevens and probably Councillor Matthews both feel that the stick isn't maybe strong enough. I'm wondering if we could get a report in, say, three or six months to hear if there's been any impact from this ordinance.

Yeah, that's absolutely an option. And then just as a reminder, again, if there's another code section that a particular building would apply to, we'd be approaching it from both, failure to comply under both code sections.

You know, I think we've discussed this fee schedule multiple times. And I think this is a good start. And remember, we can change this fee schedule. Changing the ordinance might be a little bit more complicated and take a little bit more time. But the way this is stated that I understand, this could cost a property owner potentially, thousands upon thousands of dollars if they don't comply and do move the needle or try to remedy the problem. Am I correct? That's correct. I mean, we're talking thousands of dollars, because every occurrence after so many times, it's going to start adding up. And a nuisance gives a lot of flexibility. If you remember, we also used the nuisance clause, which was not in here, with the Devereaux Center. as something that they weren't in compliance with, which is separate from this, but it also could be implemented, right? Mm-hmm, correct.

Sorry, I agree with everything you're saying. I do think that, I think I want to remind us that we did have the conversation also about, it wasn't just about blighted buildings in the downtown area, it was that we wanted a vibrant downtown. And to have a vibrant downtown, we needed to have businesses in buildings. And so I don't know if, to Councillor Stevens' point, $1,500 moves the needle in terms of trying to continue to make a more vibrant downtown with more business. And I don't know if, Councillor Stevens, that was part of your concern, but I feel like $1,500 does not do it. Or I think it's $2,000. Forgive me. $2,000 doesn't do it for me.

No, I totally understand. But we're not talking just that fee. If you start talking the occurrences, if I understand this correctly, if you get into these chronic ones or these other ones that are administrative, you're talking $1,000 a day per occurrence. I mean, you're talking $20,000, $30,000 a year in fines or more. Am I correct? Am I understanding that correctly?

Theoretically, every day could be $30,000 a month, right?

Yeah, or $30,000 a month.

And then the other thing that we did talk about last time, which is included this time, is if it's within our urban renewal areas, right, that's a tool that could be used to help these folks put their properties back in use. There's a weighted piece to that. If you're choosing not to even engage with that opportunity, there's a 20% that's proposed here, 20% increase for being within that area.

And for some reason, if we feel this is not a big enough hammer, I guess, or tool, then I think that we can adjust it. And coming back, as Jacob said, and doing analysis and seeing where we're at. You know, and I want to tell the public, you know, this is not something that we took lightly. There are buildings that we have tried to facilitate. Anderson, which used to be the Lemon Tree Bakery. There's a problem with that one. Also, another building downtown that we offered urban renewal funds for, and they rejected it. And so these are the buildings, and these are the type of out-of-state individuals that are not helping the downtown, and they're being a detriment. And it's affecting not just the community, but the community The downtown looks and being unoccupied also the other businesses, which is hurting. So Unfortunately, this is a tool that we've had to take it's not something that we took Just to do but we felt it was necessary to move forward with it. So hopefully this will Get people on board to start doing things with their property instead of just doing nothing When you're talking about vacancies

There are some properties that have upper floor vacancies that have been vacant for a very long time. Are you saying that this applies to the entire building or just? Main floors, I mean, can you talk about that?

Yeah, so that, again, that's another great piece of the code that you guys agreed with us to move forward on is that may and could is throughout this. So we could definitely address, we want to use some uniform lenses to look at things through, but it's going to be case by case. Each one is going to be a little bit differently approached. We can look at the whole building, what's in use, what's not in use, and approach from that perspective. And maybe the second floor in use for housing isn't an opportunity now, but could be if brought attention to. So I think we're going to have to do a lot of engagement with property owners. This is this is gonna take a bit of time. Of course. We've got a couple probably right up front We want to start addressing immediately but over time You know some of them may just not have a good enough awareness of what's available to put their properties in into good use and those that do It might be time for them to reconsider ownership, right? If they're just not gonna be the folks who want to be that engaged in the community. It could be that time too. So I

I just, the only reason, I'm really struggling with this. I think it is a tool and it is a hammer. It's maybe not what we want. I would much rather go in at a level where we can move up if we need to in the penalties than say, We've got to take it back a notch. I mean, I don't know. I think we need to see what's going to happen with this proposal. And our staff has come to us with this set and hopefully has had conversation with property owners that are going to be impacted by this. Because I would much rather get compliance from all parties coming together and saying, we understand that we have an issue and we need to deal with it. But at the same time, we want you to come on board and say, this is worth working toward.

And if it doesn't then let's move to the next level, but we've already done that in my opinion on some owners I mean, there's some that maybe that fits the criteria and I think that'll be something works true But there are property owners out there right now that we've tried to work with and try to help and they've totally ignored us and there as far as I'm concerned there's slum lords taking advantage of the situation and people and and put people out homeless on the street because of their actions. And I think that's totally uncalled for. So that's what forced us to do this. And the staff doesn't have to be hard-nosed on this. They can be lenient if necessary. That's why we have the ordinances made. So it doesn't have to be per occurrences.

Well, I don't have a problem with what's proposed. What I'm saying is going in and saying we want more applied to this.

Oh, well.

I don't I I think let's see what happens with what we've got in front of us.

It's been recommended by staff Yeah, and I think this is a start but you know, I think it could be adjusted with Cindy you had a comment

I just, if this council decides that it wants to stick with the current structure, I would like to review it at a minimum every three months to see where we're at.

Yeah, we'll need at least a 90-day period, because in the code it says we're going to give you a 30-day notice. Hey, we're putting you on notice. You're failing to meet these code sections. And you have 60 days. So we're going to need that 90-day window to see even how effective the ordinance is to work with, let alone how we apply those fees.

Yeah, I agree. We need to review this every few months.

And I think we need to do it on a continual basis. So for at least a year, we are looking at this and keeping this top of mind, and that will allow us to see if it's working. And if it's not working, then we come up with a bigger stick.

Sarah?

I'm going to agree with that.

Jacob? I agree. All right, so I want to get Chief Chapman to give an input here. Code compliance is going to be underneath your department on this. And so I'm sure you're going to be the one that is overseeing a lot of this. And so thoughts?

No, that is correct. And I think we've put a lot of time and effort into it. We've had several staff meetings. We have had meetings with not only my department but with the other departments that this ordinance is going to affect. And I think it's a great starting point. I think really we're going to have to evaluate. I think you guys hit on all the key points. We're setting it up from the start. That way we can track it very well. We can provide these reports back to you guys. And we can kind of just monitor and gauge. Because we've also reached out to other cities and kind of took a look at what they're doing and tried to figure out what is going to work best for our community. And I really think we're at a good starting point. And there is different angles that the code compliance officer can work to elevate fines if we need to, and also apply a reasonable discretion to the enforcement as well. And that's, I think we're in a good spot.

Okay. Thanks. Any questions for the chief? All right. Hearing none, we're at a point where if it is acceptable, we need a motion to accept or to adopt the resolution 26-28.

I move to adopt Resolution 26-28, establishing vacant and blighted property program fees. Second.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt Resolution 26-28 in reference to the vacant and blighted property program fees. Any other comments? Hearing none, I'll call for the question. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, it passes. Thank you. Next item is consideration to adopt Resolution 26-29, authorizing application to the Oregon Business Development and Regional Infrastructure Fund Planning Grant. Mouthful. Nicole?

It is a mouthful. Thank you. So we were recently made aware of some infrastructure funds that will kind of filter through the regional solutions teams. A portion of those are divided up amongst all of the various regions, and then a portion of those will be held back and help either fill in gaps or select additional projects. So in our region, just as kind of a reminder, our regional solutions rep is Jessica LaBerge, and she represents Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, and Josephine. And that's broken down into at least a couple of regions, one being the South Coast. The South Coast has all regions have an advisory council that develops priorities for their area. So this funding piece is intended to kind of help elevate some of those priorities to actually being met. And they're offering up application opportunities for us to all ask for. Put forth our highest and best. What we are putting forth is the relocation of city stops, a feasibility kind of planning level for our property that is off of Ocean Boulevard up behind Cascade. I think we've had some kind of preliminary conversations around that. our ask would be to just do that right do the planning for us is that property the right place is it going to handle the right you know on what part of that property is it best to build come up with some costs related to the construction of that which then we can move forward into next steps applying for funding for something else. I did have a conversation with Jessica LaBerge regarding this project and what she thought about its competitiveness, and it is meeting one of our South Coast Advisory Committee's goals, which is resiliency. If we have the city shops in a better place where we can be responsive after a large event and out of the flood pain, that does create a resiliency piece for us. So she did think, and we're also asking for a reasonable amount of dollars to help support that work. She didn't feel like it would be competitive, so it's a possibility. So that's a piece of this process requires a resolution to show that the elected body has support for the application.

Any questions for Nicole about this? More than she gave the report on? Okay, hearing none, can I get a motion to adopt Resolution 26-29? So moved. Second. Okay, it's been moving second to a death 26-29 all in favor say aye Aye any opposed hearing that passes. Thank you Next item on the agenda is consideration to award construction contract for the plant one handrail guardrail project Jennifer

Thank you. The Plant 1 upgrade was completed earlier this year. Plant 1 is located just a block off Highway 101, north of the Red Lion, south of Coos Bay Boulevard. During the design process, we had to do some value engineering. because the cost estimates came in over budget. So one of the items that we had to remove from the scope was the repair and replacement of the hand-wound bar grills plant-wide. So because the Plant One project came in under budget, now we can really look at bringing back that scope. We've done that, and we've taken a look at the 100 spot repairs that were included in the original scope, and we've determined that at this time, really, we can replace plant-wide all of the railing and then just have it last for another 40 years plus, and it would be cost-effective. So we bid the project. Two bids were received, with 4K Contractors, Inc. submitting the low-responsive bid. So for the budget implications, the Plant One Handrail guardrail project will be funded by two funding sources. So as we talked about, we have this Plant One loan from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. That loan was for $24 million. So that base bid, that original scope of work with those 100 repairs, that'll come from that, and it will not increase the loan amount. And so that'll be for an amount of $327,718. So then the alternate bid, that additional scope of work that we added, will come from the fund 29 water quality capital projects for plant one. So this amount will be $116,514, which includes a 15% contingency. So with that, I can answer any questions.

Can you talk about the difference between the base bid and the... A million dollars difference.

Yeah, so the whole entire project is going to be a total plant-wide replacement. The base bid was just the original scope that we had to remove, and it was the areas throughout the plant, there was about 100 total, that were just corroded. They just needed a complete replacement. We could not... We had to do something about it. We did remove it from the scope, hoping to find another funding source, because during the design process, Um, but it was just identified early in the project as areas that needed attention sooner rather than later. Did that help? Yes. Thank you.

You know, I know that this 533,000 seems, uh, absorbent or a lot, but I've been out there and I can tell you there's a lot of handrail and, uh, by the visuals, you can tell that it really needs some upgrading. So I'm glad we're able to do it. Any other comments or questions for Jennifer on this project?

Thank you for the pictures. Appreciate it. It helps paint the picture a lot better.

If not, I need a motion to award the construction contract for Plant 1 on the handrail guardrail project.

I'll move to award the construction contract for the Plant 1 handrail guardrail project. To 4K. Sorry, did I miss something? Thank you to 4K contractors for the amount not to exceed $533,232, which includes a 15% contingency. Second.

It's been moved and seconded to award the contract for the handrail on Plant 1 and guardrail project. Any other comments, discussions? Hearing none, I'll call for the question. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Hearing none, it passes. Next item, review and approval of the recommended legislative priorities for the League of Oregon Cities. Nicole.

Yes, thank you. Each year, well, every two years, actually, the League of Oregon Cities puts together several policy committees. They've broken that up into seven distinct areas. And those groups have representatives from folks across the state, all in municipal government roles. And collectively, they put forth a set of priorities that they are recommending that the LLC use in the upcoming legislative session. That then is what is compiled into the voter guide that LLC puts out for each community to put forth their five recommended priorities. And we submit our votes online, and that's what the LOC uses in the next session. So reviewing this voting guide, talking about it in-house with staff, we've come up with five recommendations that we would encourage LOC to strongly support and do the lobby work that we appreciate them doing on our behalf. Those five are the 2027 transportation package, and that's specific. specific to street sidewalks, things like that, nature of transportation. The infrastructure funding, and that helps support water and wastewater, stormwater systems. Strengthening economic and workforce development. We can acknowledge that without workforce, there is no further economic development, so we need to have some focus on improving our workforce across Oregon, both in Quantity and quality, make sure we're covering the needs. Emergency communication system resources. This is a huge thing to make sure that we're able to communicate in times of real challenge. So across the state we have some less than optimal systems. And finally, land availability and land use streamlining, which will help all of these communities put their developable land into use quicker and with a little bit more local ease. that's what we're recommending of course as you can see there were a number of priorities and we would certainly take any feedback if you wanted to swap any out we have until the end of September to make our vote known to the League of Oregon cities so Kelsey have any questions about this or would you like to adopt this now or you want to wait a little bit and review the suggestions by LLC

My only comment is just that we know that we're headed into a really tough budget season. And I feel like there's a strategy around initiatives that don't take funding. For example, like reductions of Some changes within Administrative rule that I think are gonna get better traction in this upcoming session And so I don't disagree with any of your priorities. I just feel like the reality is there's not There's there's not a lot of money that is going to fund many like I just I don't I think it's Potentially exercise and futility given the budget so I Uh, trust that the league of Oregon cities has some dynamic lobbyists that are helping the league of Oregon cities to think through that. But I, I just think. we're gonna have a better chance at creating maybe opportunities for regulatory changes or changes within some of the regulations that the state passes down to cities that impedes development. Some of those things I think are places for opportunity in the upcoming session. Things that are attached to funding, I'm not sure they're gonna go anywhere.

Do you have some suggestions for what you'd swap out?

I don't.

No. Do you want to look at them some more? When do we have to submit this?

No. I mean, again, I trust that the League of Oregon Cities has some great lobbyists that are also Understand that and we're gonna help League of Oregon cities come up with strategy again.

I don't disagree with any of these things I just think that we're also faced with the reality of that so we have time This is not they don't ask us to submit until September 25th so there is time to be more thoughtful about Reviewing these and seeing if there's something that fits of course There were several that we as a group collectively thought would be great. When I tallied the numbers, these were the five with the most collective votes amongst our department heads. But I agree. There are other things that could impact our costs that we could put forth. And I also understand that the state's going to be in the same boat, right? Where do we find cash? Some of these are directly cash asks.

Nicole, do you know why League of Oregon cities isn't taking up issues related to PERS, since that is like the elephant in the room?

Yeah. Yeah, I don't have an answer for that, because it comes up every time. I mean, if I was in not this season, I wasn't in the finance and tax group. But I have been, and that's a topic, right? Like, PERS needs reform. We just walked through a path with the possibility of doing some pension bonds to relieve our unfunded liability. But the advisor we're talking with is like, the market doesn't make sense right now. So you guys have a huge unfunded, there's no relief. You are where you're at.

I'd like to hear their response to that. Why isn't that on this list as an option?

that's what's impacting every city that's that's what my question was too it seems but but that could be a legislative thing that's work that they're working on I don't know but maybe that's the question we need to ask is the legislature going to take that up anyway so these are some other priorities I don't know you know we have any cities come up in October 6 15 16 17 and you know I would encourage anyone that goes to that to ask

I ask all the time, and I get, well, there's not much we can do, or we're not going to get the traction on it, or we can't get the votes, and so they don't want to proceed with it. I mean, there's always a reason not to, and I understand that, but at some point, there's no options here for every city, so I don't know what it would take to move that.

And if it's not our priority, why should it be the legislature's priority, right? Like, this should be coming for the land-guarding cities.

I agree. I totally agree.

um so can we write in our own can we choose one that's not on the list we can certainly you know put that in our response and then make it you know a hot and heavy pursuit to make sure that that gets focused i do think there is this kind of challenge when you get at least from my perspective i don't know this directly and it's maybe an unfair assumption but it is a tough decision to impact people's retirements, right? And it's also tough when that retirement's yours. And the folks who would be making those changes are impacting their retirement. So it's a tough sell, I think, to some of them. I'm sure it is.

In one of the sessions that I did attend, they said every time they've tried to fix it, they've actually made it worse, and it is one of the most complex retirement system in the nation in the nation yeah and so everybody's afraid to tackle it because it's like how do you get to that point and i mean we have a perfect example social security right there's a wage cap yeah you don't pay into social security after you make a certain amount same purse

Your average taxpayer does not make, I mean, I could go on for hours. I am absolutely, I have a list, and I'm probably like the least they ask to sit on these finance committees now, because there are many things in government that shouldn't apply, and I won't put them all out here, but PERS is one of those things. We have a model. Social Security works great. Is it solvent? No, it's not solvent. There's probably some other issues, but we could at least start there.

Yeah, and that would be thoughtful. There's a perfect example. It could be thoughtful about the retiree program that exists. But at some point, a cap over a certain amount, whatever it is, $200,000, $300,000, that's going to take care of 99.9% of the employees, or 99. It's those other ones that are making way over that, and we're supplementing those per cost. So anyway, you're right.

And taxpayers who don't make that much money are supplementing.

But I appreciate that you're saying, here's the problem and here's the solution. And I know, but we're not getting anywhere with it. Right, yeah. Yeah.

All right, so let's do this. Let's postpone this to the next council meeting. And so I would advise or encourage the council to look over this, come up with some suggestions, even if it's outside of the table of contents that's been suggested by League of Oregon Cities. And there's nothing wrong with putting PURs on there, and I would suggest about it. And we have some, and Nicole has all the answers on it. But anyway, I think it's something that we can discuss. Is that all right with everyone? Yeah, that sounds great. All right. Okay, then that, Jacob, you all right with that?

right so we're at city manager's report all right thank you um i'll be short on the first topic because i'm sure someone will add a lot more depth to it but a reminder blackberry arts is this weekend uh commissioners we called me uh this morning just to say thanks for all the great work that's happening in this city he called out specifically mingus park is It's just busy all the time. There's people out there using it. It's just a real gem. So I think it's, you know, we spend a lot of time hearing from folks who are just not quite as satisfied with their living environment, and I just wanted to share. That was a really nice thing to start out this early morning with. We have been having some Marina conversations over, of course, the last six weeks or so as we've been dealing with the challenge down there and trying to figure out how best to manage that. That's ongoing. We met as a group last week. We will meet again next week. We're going to come to you at a future time and have those conversations. How can we do better with this great asset? What would we prefer to see there? What are some things you could see us maybe doing a little different? I'll just give you a heads up with that. That's coming. We initially planned to bring that to you next week at the work session, but we dug up some new weeds when we had last week's meeting. So we're going to need a little more time to find some answers to some of those things. So it's going to get postponed a bit. And then just finally wanted to share, we got a quick update from the consultant who the mayor and I just happened to, he ran into the consultant for the UGB work today and he stopped in, he's in town yesterday and today and was having kind of group meetings with folks who could be impacted by a shift in where our UGB line is at and just gave us some feedback on how that's going so far. Great getting some really good comments to add to that overall process. So seems timelines going great and Obviously some folks who had some good, you know thoughts and things there But just to share that that works going even though we don't see it happening.

So That's what I have And he if just to follow up a little bit he felt that Potentially this could be finalized in February, which would be wonderful. Yeah Council comments Jacob

Yeah, I'll keep it short, but I'll echo what Nicole said about the parks. I've had a lot of family and friends who've come to visit Coos Bay this summer, and we've taken them out to both John Toppitz, as well as Mingus, and we've gone to the waterfront as well. And it's really fun to show it off because they look so spectacular. So thanks for all the great work and look forward to showing it off further.

Thanks Jacob. Lucinda?

No comments this evening.

Stephanie?

I was just going to expand a little bit on the Blackberry Arts Festival that's this weekend. Saturday from 9 to 6, Sunday from 10 to 4, and this is a juried art festival. It's very unique and has been going on for 40 plus years in this community. It's free, family friendly. And the Coos Bay Downtown Association hopes that people will come down and visit. We've heard from several vendors who are excited to be in the city. One of them is coming from Indiana. Yeah, so this draws vendors from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond. And so we're pretty excited about that. Just make sure you leave your pet at home if you can. Or... Don't take them down the central area of Central Avenue. They are full. They are packed with vendors, and there will be a lot of people there.

Sarah? Two really quick things. One, just appreciation to the behind-the-scenes that got us to the place for the vacant and blighted property. I know there's been a lot of staff meetings about that, so appreciate you doing that. Second thing, I'm curious if we can get an update on the number of Airbnbs registered. I know we had, a couple years ago, put a cap of 75. I'm wondering what's the number to date. That's all for me. Thanks.

Uh, so I want to thank, uh, staff or public works for changing and rearranging the garbage cans. It finally got done and I appreciate it. Uh, I think it's, it's going to work better. Um, I haven't seen a stack up. So what happens with all the boats down there or ships? I mean, what are the, we were taking care of the garbage. Now, what are they doing? Are they taking care of their own? Cause they can't stuff that garbage can like they used to. Along the site, okay, and then what's the status on the roof on the pavilion? I know that we were gonna move forward on that Great and so the other thing I had about a month ago I asked about a municipal code for topping trees You can we review that or is that going to come forth for the discussion? I?

I will forward you an update. Okay. So we have done that. We did some kind of reaching out to other communities across the state. One that you are in several times throughout the year. And it is just not a, it's not a practice people do to top trees. It's not good for the health of the tree. And very few communities allow, nor do they have any like best practice around. And then speaking to some arborists, they kind of have that same feeling. And then the tree board, of course, weighed in that that's just not something that they're comfortable with allowing.

So this did go before the tree board?

I think discussion-wise. I'm not sure that it had a full meeting. Nothing formal. Yeah. Just some feedback from a few members.

Okay. So anyway, it's still being discussed? Is that what I'm saying? Are you going to send me something or what? Or the council?

Well, we can certainly bring it to the tree board and get a formal advisory. No, that's fine.

If you can send me what you have, that would be appreciated. And the council, I think, also. Yeah. Okay. All right. The Mingus Park stage and gazebo, I know they need some attention. And I don't know, I know funding is an issue. Do we have any plans for funding these projects? I know it's something that they're going to keep deteriorating unless we do something.

No, we agree. We've identified this. We actually had a walkthrough with our grant coordinator. She's looking for grants. If there is a partner, I know that the Concerts in the Park people have reached out, but just not really gained any traction there. We are looking for funding as far as the grants go. We're actively doing that.

Okay. All right. So it's on our radar? It is. It is. All right. And I just want to thank staff. You know, we, as a council, ask for visuals so we can interpret the projects better, and that's been happening. And I just want to thank staff, because it makes it a lot easier for me to look at these projects and understand them with the visuals that we've been getting. Last thing, I just also want to remind everyone about the Blackberry Arts Festival is Saturday and Sunday, and I understood that all the booths were taken. There's no spots available. I think Stephanie referenced it, and so I will go down there definitely having some blackberry pie, and I hope some people will join me. Anyone? All right. And with that being it, I'll adjourn the Coos Bay City Council meeting, but we have a Coos County Urban, not Coos County, Coos Bay Urban Renewal meeting following, and Stephanie's going to be running that.

And we are going to go ahead and just call the meeting to order. And our first item on the agenda is public comments. And there are no public comments. Is there anybody in the audience that didn't sign up that wants to speak that is here for something that's not already on the agenda? All right. Then we will move to the consent calendar. How would the agency like to proceed?

I'll move to approve the consent calendar as presented.

Do I have a second?

I'll second.

Okay, we have a motion and a second to accept the consent calendar. Any discussion? All those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion carries. Our next item is consideration to approve improvement grant requests for 310 South Broadway. And that is the American Mattress building on 101. And Nicole?

Yeah, so I will start us out. And I think Mike Vaughn's here to add any clarity, round it out, share some renderings, all of the things to make sure we present well here. So the building owner has met with us and has an interesting an improvement grant award for essentially getting a mural added to the south-facing side of that building, so traffic coming into downtown Coos Bay from the south will get to see that. They'll also be doing some window replacement, pressure washing, and just the prep work necessary to do a mural there. The mural itself is kind of a timeline, but again I'll let Mr. Vaughn speak to that since that's his artistic rendering. And the project is Estimated at 25,000. There is, I know he's worked to get a couple of local folks who are interested in very specific elements being added to the mural. There's some financial support from those folks. And this is the first request for the downtown area this year. So you do have some funding available.

All right. Mike Vaughn is here, and you are the artist. Did you have anything you wanted to share with the agency? Sure.

Do you need any of this?

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. Sorry. What's going on here?

I'd like to see. Okay.

As you can see

There is a timeline up at the top. I felt that the America's Mattress sign was a bit of a distraction to the artwork that was 95% of the wall, and that the America's Mattress sign is not going to come down. I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't suggest that. So I matched that four feet from the top a bit of a ribbon or a banner all the way across that says, from the west end, the left end, it says Oregon Territory, 1848, in what's called Wild West font, like wanted poster font. And then the state of Oregon is 1859. It will be exactly the same colors as the Oregon flag, and the font will match our Oregon flag as well. Marshfield, 1853. Wild. Shortly after we became a state, shortly after we were the Oregon territory. And we'd been, um, pulling logs and lumber out of here ever since. So in, in some way, this is a historical legacy to our, our natural resource and the industry that we've always had here. And we still do, um, just in case a car going north doesn't know what we do here. by looking around, usually there isn't a barge full of logs going up the bay. Or there's a log truck every five minutes, which is cool. Then Coos Bay, 1945. So there's a timeline there set to let people know that we've been here a good long time. And this is what we do here. It's our identity. It's our legacy. We still have lots of people working in the woods. and And one sawmill out on North spit Southport and so this is a depiction mostly of an activity that that you if you're not here on the day it gets a goes up the bay then you don't you don't see anything like this and like other murals that i've done here that it depicts scenes that when there's a ship at the dock loading chips it stays there for three or four days and it's gone for a couple weeks and you don't see it so you know i did those murals to indicate what we do here in case the ship wasn't here when you went by Then one of the food trucks is another towboat. So towboats have been here. My grandfather came here in 1900. He operated towboats, took over Louis Simpson's mill. 50 years later, sold everything to Weyerhaeuser. But they operated tow boats and log rafts and so You know, it's some it's it's an activity that you don't usually see from the highway And of course, they're just pilings left no more no more log rafts So this is a modern-day version of getting the logs to the mill. This is how we do it today I've been a big fan of Vincent van Gogh. And in the mural at the food trucks here on Front Street, my master was a man named Hokusai, a Japanese woodblock printer. He did that big wave. And so I did my best to honor him with that beautiful wave, which Mount Fuji is in the back, and all of those prints that he did, 36 of them had Fuji in them. And the little guys in the boats under this dangerously awesome chaotic wave were you and me in between peace and tranquility of the mountain and the chaos of the waves. So I didn't realize it, but that was kind of his message. Um, about halfway through it, I got it like, oh, so it's a, it's a beautiful story. If you, you know, if you study it or look at it long enough, any, any questions about any, anything that's been submitted, uh, through, I do have a, just one question.

I'm wondering about the assessment of Marshfield. Cause I think there's.

incorporation documents that are like 1874 right right it was it was founded uh in 1853 and then it became a city later yeah so i'm just wondering about that confused whatever you want to do there whether it's the founding of marshfield we somebody from connecticut or Massachusetts, I think, named it after Marshfield, Massachusetts. And so this person, it took him a while to get it official, I guess.

What's the year that you're saying?

I think, I mean, I want to go pull the documents, but I think it's 1874.

Yeah, we'll make it right. Okay. Whatever you think, founding or actual...

There is a rationale for settlement, right? Settlement of this timeframe, but the official knowledge of this city was when it was incorporated.

As a municipality. Yeah.

The only problem I have with the timeline, Mike, is we're missing the first people that were on this landscape. We start with the Oregon Territory, but there's no nod to the indigenous people that were here originally. Yes. I like what you're doing. I just don't know maybe if the timeline, maybe you take out the timeline. Maybe it's if we want to talk about...

I would love to include the indigenous people's occupation.

Yeah, I just, I don't know how you'd fit it on here. And definitely you'd want to consult with tribes, but that's the only thing I'm thinking is it's missing from the timeline.

Well, when was this? Well, 2,000 years ago or what? I don't know.

I think there's 12 million or 12,000 years ago is a site in this area.

When two men dove into the bay and brought mud up and made land, well, that's the mythological story. But I would love to include that, definitely. And it wouldn't take a whole lot to do that. If you can come up with something where the tribe can come up with something.

That would be something you want to consult with the tribes on, so I would refer to them.

That would be great. Yeah. Cool.

So can you help him with a connection for their cultural person?

I believe he already has one, Dr. Jared Schmidt, and so I would reach out to Dr. Jared Schmidt on that from the Coquille tribe. Preserve. Um, from the Coquille tribe. I think you've met Dr. Jared Schmidt. I don't know what the Confederated tribes of the Kusla, Romka, and Siusla Indians. I might suggest, uh, Jesse Beers, uh, handles the cultural piece for C.T. Colussi.

I listened to that, uh, that podcast of Jesse Beers. It was about an hour long or so. Oh my God. Very cool. Yeah. And, and Jared said, you know, the there's, there's tribal occupation of different sites on the bay by different tribes. I did not know that. And so, um, you know, it's, you have to be very careful what you do and get consensus. And I'd, I'd love to get that together. Okay.

Thanks. Well, if you don't mind checking into that, um, What we're considering today is the allocation for that. How does the agency want to proceed?

I have a procedural question on that, or I guess like a process question. I'm thinking about the next action item we have, and I'm wondering, say we were to fund this in its entirety, a mural was painted. What guarantees... Are there that the next property owner, if the property was sold, that they wouldn't just paint over the mural that was funded?

It happens.

It does happen. But is there any sort of guarantee that we have or have made in the past with funding activities like this?

That would probably be on the deed. You know, on the deed of the property by the property owner.

So we haven't had those sorts of requirements added to anything. I think that we only have one other... building that we've, at least in my time with the city, that we funded the mural on that could be painted. Now, we did the concrete work there several years ago on 101. The retaining wall. I mean, I don't know that that would get repainted, right? There's not a purpose to repaint a retaining wall, but a building could get repainted. We just haven't had that in the past.

Yeah, that one the city owns, so...

Well, if it's an issue, I guess you could ask, well, because this owner of the building has approved this mural. Yes. And so I guess you could put in the agreement that this would have to stay for a period of time, whatever that may be.

And I'm not necessarily saying that we want to do that. I'm just curious, like, do those exist in... Do those exist?

I think it depends on the agency and what they want to do I mean if that's something that's important for them to do then I think you could probably ask the owner to sign an agreement that that won't happen I guess I will clarify that we may have done something with the pre Fontaine murals so we can certainly look back at those because those were a pretty significant investment and see if we have an arrangement with that building owner and

I can get behind supporting this. The only thing I would want to make sure is, A, I'd like to see the final rendition after you've talked to both tribes, or rendering, excuse me, before we actually say go or provide the funds. So to make sure this council approves of it, we've done that. I think we have history of that with a piece of art in Coos Bay before, making sure that it was approved by council before the painting began.

Well, as you know, we have a weather window, and I'm anxious to start. I'd love to start this week.

Fullness of time, and I can guarantee you it's going to take longer than a week to talk to the tribe. So for me, it's the fullness of time, making sure we get this right.

Well, I would suggest that I promise that whatever you come up with will be what it is, that that's what we'll do. Because it won't be going up on there until the mural is completed. covered behind it. So that's one of the last things to happen. It'll be a month or more before that happens. So if we could have some language that says this, this must be worked out, uh, before it actually gets applied to over the mural, because I don't want it to be a banner. I want the clouds and sky to be the background of the lettering.

So what you're saying is. You're looking for approval tonight because you need to work within that window before the weather turns bad. And it's going to take some time to get to the tribes, but you're willing to state or something that that is included. But that piece is coming last on it.

Probably late September.

Additionally I see the total project cost is $25,000 there's been $10,000 secured, but you're asking for 12 5 So I'll clarify that the staff report is the like that's the tradition of the program right it's 50% match up to $25,000 so the whole project is already at your program like norms, although those norms have been surpassed in the past.

So the request is $12,500, correct?

That's that's within the range of the program. I think Mike would say he'd like this funded in full But that's following the $15,000 because only $10,000 has already been secured That's our understanding is folks related to the the log part and the tug part Yeah, those are fourth dollars are not in this in this grant proposal those those are to produce their

From a private entity to produce those images Exclusively so that you won't see that in in this document.

So what's the request?

if you I don't know. Do you have the contract in front of you?

It's $12,500.

That's what it says. That's in the staff report.

That's the staff report. That's not the actual request. That's what I'm trying to get at because we do have a history of providing more than the 50% for requests. And so my question is, what is the unfunded amount of the request?

Well, if you look at the contract and all the contractors and the paint and the painting and the pressure cleaning, That all, and some of the design work, which is graphic creativity, or graphic arts and creative arts on my part. There is some of that there. But most of it is for the utilitarian aspects of getting this wall prepped and painted with a finish coat. The mural is the finish coat. The primer, you have to have a primer, and that is done. So my work is the finish coat, and that paint is a part of this grant.

So if I understand what you're saying you estimated cost of projects is 25,000 It's really not 25,000 because you're saying it's 35,000 because you're telling us that 10,000 is for the tugs right also the law so it's really 35,000 but it's not I can't count any money or my time before this grant starts and

Right. I mean, I can't count money that has been donated to the project before this contract is secured.

So the total project cost $25,000, Mike? Or is it more?

Well, my time putting into this, about three months at least, is part of the private donations to prepare this whole project.

So what's the cost of the project, the total cost?

It would, like you say, it would be $35,000. So it's $35,000. So it's not $25,000. But that's not what I'm asking the city for as a grant. This works out by the square foot to be comparable to any of the other murals I've done for cost of prep and construction.

But you understand the grant process here, because you've been sitting here on this side and awarding these contracts in the past, and it's $25,000, and we usually allocate 50%, right? I mean, we've made exceptions, but that's how it usually is scheduled.

But my understanding is he wasn't asking for more than 50%.

He's asking for $25,000. Yes. Yeah.

Yes, he is. Yeah. What you have in there is what the program allows. You guys have chosen to forego those rules and meet someone's, yeah.

Uh-huh.

I mean, we have the agency has the option to, but what is scheduled is what the staff is suggesting at 12,500 to meet the criteria that we have established at this point.

And there hasn't been a, I mean you have funded fully projects, you've also funded partial. I don't know that target to recommend, so I'm recommending the program default. In the request but the total project is 25 Nicole.

We have a hundred and fifty thousand dollars remaining for Yes in this fiscal year.

This is the first request we are less than a month into this year and we just put in a nuisance abatement With the with the carrot being that we can Help these property owners Money could go very fast Just something to consider

I'm not sure I could do this for less and come out with any wages.

Is there any other discussion? How does the agency wish to proceed? Jacob?

Yeah, I'm just thinking ahead of phrases. I'm wondering, personally, I would like to have a full rendering after consultation with the tribes before funding something because I would want their input. So to me, and it sounds like we're still maybe a little confused on price and what the ask is. So can we push this to a future URA when we have a little bit more clarity?

I'm in the same boat with Jacob only because it's unrealistic. It's been my experience that it's unrealistic unless than a month to ask two governments to consult with their committees on consultation. It's going to take longer than that, and that's why I use the term fullness of time. So I think we need to see a complete rendering before I personally would want to approve it.

I can have that tomorrow.

guess I'm curious how tied you or America's mattresses to the top part again like if we just removed that then that would I mean it just seems like there's a great that's a lot that was my proposal get rid of the timeline so just if we get if if I would be fine moving forward tonight if we just agree that we're gonna get rid of the timeline on the top so the so the sticking point is

Even in a month you may you may not have what you need from from the tribal governments So the suggestion is rather than having that timeline across the top for the territories Just remove that piece that's $2,400 basically Art science would do that.

That's the contract.

Okay, I

I mean, I think that's up to you, Mike. But that's what's being proposed.

It's not the money issue. It's that you're probably going to, if you want to move forward to get it within your time frame of meeting the weather constraints, you're either going to continue on and not get the funding tonight, or you're going to have to remove it altogether.

I agree.

Is that what you're suggesting? I feel like there's going to be a lot of opinions about this. And I think it's going to do more harm. Because murals are such a great thing to celebrate. And you do such a great job with your art. And we want to see more art in the city. But I can just see the comments, because there's a lot of debate here. I if you if you in America's mattress, I'm sorry. I do not know the owner's name page Or beat them. Thank you if they're okay with removing the timeline.

Well, I'll tell you yeah, that's Affirmative. Okay, then I would I would be in favor of moving forward tonight now Would there be a chance of doing it at some other date when things do get resolved or if it's a good idea? And we have some consensus on that. I And tribes have been consulted and there's because it's gonna be last anyway My mural it Started in September and finished in January so we occasionally get periods of good weather My understanding if you look at the bid art science is producing this part up here.

Yeah 24

But I think from it's not painted on it's it's no it's painted I think I think what this what this council has said is just remove it Yeah, if you want the funding from this agency remove it I get it and then and then we just move forward and you would be awarded potentially a A dollar amount to finish it.

I think that that's what we're we're saying here this evening I think it's gonna be really complicated and it's gonna skew what I presented here and that's what Sarah counselor Stevenson, you know, sir DeNova suggested So for your basic best case scenario, it's just remove it and paint the mural.

Yes. Yeah, and that would be 25 minus 2400 whichever I mean, I don't know. I mean that that's that's the amount that cost to do that so that we

I mean, ultimately, this is a reimbursement grant, so we're going to get documentation that says these costs were, you know, incurred.

So, Mike, you understand that you won't be awarded this money or given this money until the project is completed, right? Yes, totally.

All right.

Because I know there's been some issues in the past, but I just want to make sure that you're aware of that, right? Yeah, yeah. Okay. I mean, that's how we set them up now.

I know. I'm with it. All right. And it's going to be, you know, it's going to be the starving artist. But, hey, you know.

But you're getting the $10,000 for those private individuals to get started, right? Okay.

Can I make a motion?

Well, I'm working on that now because that's what I'm living on. Sure. Okay.

I'd like to make a motion to approve the improvement grant request of up to $23,700 of eligible expenses subject to the submittal of any remitted permits, flood plant and structural, and the removal of the timeline up top. Second.

All right. We have a motion to approve up to $23,000. $23,000. $23,000. $23,000. Yeah. OK. with the removal of the timeline and all of the stuff that was in between those two things. And second, any discussion? All those in favor, say aye. Aye. All opposed? Sorry, Jacob. All opposed? Motion carries.

And I will work on that if you want on that Retainment of the mural on a building up on sale. Is that something you're concerned with?

Okay, we can look to just to have some background. We'll look and see what happened with the Prefontaine murals.

Yes Yeah, there's been some issues in like in Texas where the I think it was the Olympic Committee painted over a mural that there's now a lawsuit for it. And like, oh.

Yeah. We'll go ahead and look at that ourselves just to inform ourselves on that process.

Yeah.

So just be in communication.

I don't understand that that's an essential piece of what they've approved. We'll just do that for our information.

So when can I begin?

You can begin tomorrow.

Okay.

Yeah.

Wonderful.

All right. Thanks, Mike. Good seeing you. Thank you.

Thank you.

You can hang on to those. Thank you.

All right. Our next item on the agenda is the discussion regarding previous awarded improvement grant for 1200 Newmark Avenue in Empire.

Yes. Thank you. So during your January 2026 agency meeting, you made a motion and it was approved to support the rehabilitation of the property and relocation of Primal Property Management into the property at 1200. Newmark Avenue the property was currently occupied by the compass outreach group and they have been over the last several months been working on relocating their operations and because of that the property owner was unable to carry forth with his rehabilitation uh intention and since that point has been in communications with a local non-profit who has interest in finding a building the friends of coos county animals is looking for a facility that they can open a low-cost spay neuter vaccination kind of clinic for our community we know that that's we're underserved in in regard to vet services here locally so The owner is here tonight to kind of talk about what that could look like if you had interest in foregoing that improvement grant to him and then potential to consider focus applying in the future for a similar thing to get that facility into a way that they can use it, which would be a variation from what it is currently. we've kind of had some preliminary questions in regards to zoning and things like that to make sure that that's even an option and All things clear from those angles.

So really just a discovery conversation what the agency might be interested in Simon Alonzo is the property owner and Could you give us a little more information?

Yes. So first off, sorry the project has taken so long. The Compass-Devereaux just vacated maybe a month ago, month and a half ago. They have located to a new rented building over in North Bend. operating a different model but it took me some time to to get them out um uh gracefully and so during that process actually like less than a month ago i was approached by focus because i'm on their board one of our fellow board members said you know we need to have a clinic we actually approached the old um snipped building which just sold they were unwilling to sell And there wasn't really many other buildings that fit the criteria. And I initially told them, heck no. I told the city this is what I'm doing and this is what I'm doing. I thought about it some more and I thought, well, if I just talk to you guys and see if you're interested in it, That was what I kind of wanted to do. I'm still willing to complete what I was initially coming for. But on the flip side, I feel like this was also a good idea because getting businesses to move in Empire, they are also committed to removing the fence, which is my goal very soon is to get that fence down because it's becoming a graffiti magnet now. So that's why I'm here just to talk to you guys about and see if you're interested in the clinic. We have run the numbers on it. The nonprofit's been in business for 20 years. I know, I actually brought it up to Nicole, that I think that property taxes will be a consideration. The board is willing and committed able to commit to not applying for the waiver on property taxes for that property. But I don't know how to do it. I don't know how to commit to you formally that the board would do that. That's obviously the board's job to do. I don't know if I have any more information, any questions.

So if they move forward on this and we're in agreement, which I don't have a problem with, will they be applying for the grant?

Nicole and I talked about some options for that. I think that's what we decided is the best case scenario. They are trying to figure out a way to purchase the building from me. And to clarify, I would be selling it to them at a slight loss. I wouldn't be making any money on this deal at all. But if they can't, then I would still be the building owner, and I would have to carry it for them until they're able to, which I'm willing to do. So I don't know how we want to do it.

Yeah. I mean, my recommendation would be is if that's a path you're interested in considering, that we get something formal in writing from Simon that says he would like to withdraw his grant application. And then the focus team would begin talking with the city on an application. the urban renewal agency, but the agency staff members on an application to come at a future date for you to review, have an idea of what maybe, you know, some potential renderings, whatever changes might happen, what their operation plan is, you know, kind of all the things around what it would look like for them there. And they come to you at a future date.

And this was something that they, to be upfront, they had planned on building out a clinic in a different location, actually in North Bend. So they would want the urban renewal dollars to help them kind of solidify it because it would obviously be expensive to build out. So there's a final decision to be made on their part as a board, but the board is very interested in proceeding with it.

I think it's a great use for that building, and I think Focus is a great resource in our community. I'm in favor.

Thank you. And they are a nonprofit, so if they purchase that building, You alluded to that a little bit.

Yeah, so, well, even if, from my understanding, even if I rent to them at a low rate, they could get a property tax waiver. I feel that they should pay property taxes because if you guys are awarding money, I think we should. So I don't know a way that we can, and the board is in favor of that, to clarify, but I don't know a way to, like, I guess on the city's part, I would like to formalize that agreement, so that way there's some commitment from us to you.

We do have those arrangements with other organizations. Those are like a payment in lieu of taxes called pilot, and we just have a contractual arrangement for that.

Oh, perfect.

Okay. Great. I think it's a great use. Anybody else have anything?

And I think the ask will come in less, so it would save the agency some money.

True. I mean, it's still, I mean, any, I'd love to see you still take another project on out there. Oh, we will.

We are always taking on another project.

Yeah, I imagine.

Okay, so it sounds like you kind of have a process and a way to get to where you need to be and where they need to be so that they can come back to the agency.

Thank you. To be transparent, it probably will be me on behalf of the board because they, but I'll be back.

Different hat.

Yes, different hat. Thank you. Thank you.

All right. Appreciate you taking time to come in today, both of you, and sitting through our council meeting. And that is all of the action items that we have. So with that, we will adjourn.