City Council - Regular Meeting

Grants Pass has a real robust fire system, and Cave Junction even has a real robust fire system. I remember in training, places like Wolf Creek did struggle. And even if there's honestly paperwork and stuff that goes behind the maintenance and permitting of this vehicle, I think it would be wiser to donate locally to Rogue River or Wolf Creek or somewhere where, or even our local hotshot crews like Grayback or ODF or Bear Trigger. I think they would get a lot more use out of it, especially since we do have big fires here. And I get Mexico also has problems, but this is America, not Mexico. This is Oregon, and we have issues in our own state. So, like, as a question, what did we originally purchase this fire truck we're donating for? How much did we buy these two new fire trucks for? Can an American citizen, like someone like me, pitch up an offer for it? Or is it just we're doing this, and we're just going to take what's considered a negligible expense, $10,000 or $12,000, but, hell, I'd take $10,000. It just seems like something that we could allocate our resources in a better way for our local communities. Even if it doesn't go straight to Grants Pass or Cave Junction, there are places like Rogue River or Wolf Creek that struggle. I'd like to see it go somewhere where it still benefits Oregon instead of them having to buy a half-a-million-dollar truck later, you know, because they're going to need a truck. 2012 you said this was, 2008. It's still brand new. That'll work good. That's all. Thank you.

Public comment portion is still open. Anybody else from the audience? Come on up. State your name and stick with topic.

Sure. Thank you very much.

You can pull the mic down for speaking to it a little better. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Good evening, everybody. My name is Arturo Vil. I am a teacher at Grand Swass High School. I also am a member of the Sister City Committee. And I have been a member of the Sister City Organization for about 15 or so years. And I am very proud of that. I'm very proud to be U.S. patient and also to have this connection to our clan. And throughout the years that I have been a member of the sister city, I can tell you that there is a tradition of Grants Pass donating stuff to our sister cities. We had a relation with a sister city in Russia, and when the hospital was dismantled, we donated the equipment to and made a huge difference to that community. And we have the ability And with that ability, I would say also the joy of being able to do something really good that will really benefit a community that is our sister. Excuse me. A city manager could be mentioned. Recently they came here. We have this wonderful interaction and we discovered so many things that we share. among those the birds exchange, which is something that really is an exemplary example for us. So I just hope that you will consider all these facts in addition to what was exposed and will consider voting yes. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Anybody else from the audience want to comment in regards to this council action item? right seeing none uh we'll bring it back to council for further discussion and or action and you do have a motion potential motion on the screen but we'll open for deliberation seth yeah i'm going to make a motion to adopt the resolution authorizing city manager for the donation sale of a fire truck and miscellaneous fire equipment to

the municipality of Vatlan de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico.

All right, there's a motion on the dais to approve the resolution. With a second from Kathleen, any further discussion? Indra.

Yes, it's a wonderful gesture to donate for the goodwill of a community that's not doing well. But I also feel like our community and our state is not doing well. And even though it's only 10,000 or 12,000 to give away, we have people in our community that can't pay their mortgage or their bills. And we could give 10,000 to them. I mean, it's just, to me, I just think we need to take care of our people locally. And I would love to give money away or give these items away. And I don't know if they can be used again. And we heard that possibly they can't in our area. But I would like to know more. Could they possibly be used in our poor communities out there in our rural areas? And if not, I think Auctioning it and bringing money back to the city when we're just spending spending spending would be a good idea and it's nothing against The people of Mexico or giving it I think it would be a great gesture But I think we need to look out for our finances as well. Thank you Thank you any further discussion Rob do you have anything to add?

Rick, do you have anything to add? Okay, seeing no further discussion, I'll go into a roll call vote. Seth?

Yes.

Kathleen?

Yes.

Victoria? Yes. Eric?

No.

Indra? No. Rob? No. Rick? Okay, I got four to three yes. So resolution passes. Thank you very much. Okay, next on the agenda tonight is a resolution approving commercial activity at Riverside Park and a fee waiver for the 2026 Medicine Show Revival Event. And it looks like Brad will lead us in a presentation.

Thank you, Mayor, members of the council, members of the public, Brad Clark Community Development. This is your second request for this activity in Riverside Park. Their first year was last year. It's called the Medicine Show Revival, and they are proposing a commercial activity and a fee grant waiver for their 2026 Medicine Show Revival event. As outlined in the application form, they have a number of different things at the event. They have music and educational workshops. There's retail. There are food vendors. The event itself is free. They are estimating on their application I think about 150 attendees. Municipal code 6.46, commercial activity in parks. This is where it requires the commercial activity permit to come before the council. There are the fees that are listed totaling $295.50 and they are asking for a 100% waiver of that amount. A few event details that Banjo Youngblood, who is the applicant, put into their application that's family friendly, about 150 folks, live music, no alcohol. So here's a layout of this east end of Riverside Park that they're proposing to use. So here's the new half shell on the softball ball field. And then Vista is just off to the right here. So they're proposing basically to use the same field area that is used during Boatnik for their event with a few other activities happening in the parking lot. As mentioned, cost is $295.50, so if you approve a fee waiver entirely, that money would be waived and not come to the city parks. Call to action is tonight. Their event is proposed for next month. The alternatives are there. You can approve the request. Approve the request with all or part of the fees. You could deny the request, and there's a potential motion for you.

Thank you, Brad. Do we have the applicant present if there's questions?

I think we have a representative tonight.

Okay. Thank you, sir. Bring it back to council for questions. Rob, do you have any questions?

Rob, press star six again on your phone.

Okay. Rick, do you have any questions?

No.

Thank you. Eric, do you have any questions?

No.

Andrea, do you have any questions? Seth? Kathleen?

I'm kind of wondering what kind of themes are going to be with this event. It wasn't a lot in the application last year. It seemed like they put more in there. Do you have any? more idea about what they're going to offer? I attended last year, and it didn't seem to me that there was 150 people there. And it was a very select population of our residents. So I'm just kind of wondering what they're going to do different this year.

Yeah, the only information that I have, since my staff talked to them, there may be a little bit more verbally, but I did not get that information, but On page seven of your packet tonight is the written explanation and it just says we will be having live music in the park, ideally in the new band shell and hosting education workshops throughout the day. We will be having a community meal around 6 p.m. followed by a motivational speaker. The aim of the event is to finalize a nine day celebration for community resilience and some sense of ceremony to bring people together. We will have True Juice there selling juice, as well as many educators and community resources tabling. So that's as much information as we have is what they explain. So that's from an application standpoint, usually about as much as we, you're right, I think some applicants give us a little bit more deal, but there's not much else.

Any further questions? Victoria, you got any questions? Further questions? Indra?

Did we grant a waiver last year? I don't remember.

Yes.

Thank you.

Any further questions? Kathleen?

I'm just noticing that it says live animals. Do we have any idea what that is?

I do not. Art exhibit, live animals concert, performance athletic. No, I apologize, I don't have it. I see where they did tick that part of the application in terms of an event category. Um, so obviously any municipal code has to be complied with, with the event, regardless of whether, you know, you approve this or not tonight, we, we, we do enforce that. And there are, um, various rules on the equestrians and other things that could damage the, you know, the sod and things like that. But, um, I'm not aware of any others, unless the chief is in terms of, you know, other types of animals that, that may or may not be permitted, but they would have to follow the muni code.

Okay. Council have any other questions? All right. Seeing none, thank you very much, Brad. And at this time, we'll open it up for public comment in regards to this council action item. If anybody from the public wants to weigh in on before the council makes a decision on this, now's the time. Seeing none, I'll bring it back to council for further discussion and or action.

Yes. I think since it's so easy to give other people's money away and so but when we waive these fees to the parks we're giving our taxpayer dollars away that people pay to the city because it's not free to run these events they use electricity there's park cleanup and so a lot of these are coming forward to ask for fee waivers and we're just i don't think we can just give them every time and especially when they're having vendors that um are paying them to be there so they're actually making some money i probably not a lot but some off of it and someone who doesn't even go to the event is is paying for that and i don't think that's right again since we waived it last year i think once you get going in the second or third year it should be

uh not dependent on the city to pick up fees either so i'm going to be a no on this any further discussion and or action rick has a question rick go ahead i would be in favor of looking at the damage waiver i think which is 75 is the minimum and i didn't know if the rest of council would want to at least do that thank you rob did you have any discussion points

Any other council member have anything for further discussion and or action? So at this time, if nobody wants to further discuss or make a potential motion. Oh, sorry, Andrea, go ahead.

Yes, I'll make a motion to deny both requests.

Okay. So there's a motion. Wait, wait, wait, wait.

Tell me what the two requests are. Is one just to have the activity and one is for the waiver? Correct. Okay. Sorry. I would make a motion to allow them to have the commercial activity in the park, but to deny waiving the fee.

Okay. So there's a potential motion on the dais to approve the activity in the park but not waiver or deny the waiver request and ask for full fees for the use of the park. Is there a second? Last call. Is there a second? We have a potential motion on the floor to approve the action in the park. but deny the waiver of fees for the park use. And I would be looking for a second.

Rob, remember, press star six to unmute yourself.

Can you hear me, Rob? Are we having a little technical difficulties on his end?

He's still muted. He's still muted, and I can't unmute him. He has to do it himself.

Okay. All right. Rob, if you do, I know we're having technical difficulties, maybe text in Karen or give us a call, see if you need to weigh in. I would, Seth.

would you make a friendly amendment i mean i would agree with rick we could require the what is that the damage waiver or the damage and then wave the remainder so i don't know that's a question for you no i won't accept that

Okay, last call. We have a potential motion on the dais to approve the commercial activity within the Riverside Park, but not waive or deny the waiver of the park fees in full. I'll be looking for a second. This is the last call. And if I don't get a second, the motion will die. Okay, I do not get a second for your motion, so the motion dies. I will bring it back to the council for further discussion and or action. Seth?

I'll make a motion to allow them to have the commercial activity in the park and waive all fees except the damage waiver.

Okay, so there's a potential motion on the dais to approve commercial activities at the Riverside Park. and to approve the waiver of fees excluding the park deposit or security deposit however you just distinguish that uh be looking for a second to that potential motion kathleen this is rick rick go ahead i'll second it if nobody else has okay okay we have a second for that potential motion so the motion is to approve the commercial activity in riverside park and to waive the park fees except for the security cleanup deposit. Any further discussion? Indra.

I have a question. On that security cleanup deposit, if it's cleaned up, they get that all back, right? Correct. Okay. So basically they're getting the full amount back.

Yep. But it ensures the fact that they actually do clean up and they don't walk away with and leave the responsibility up to our staff. Any further discussion? Okay, seeing none, I'll go into a roll call vote. This motion is to approve the activity in the Riverside Park and to approve the fee waiver except for the security cleanup deposit. Seth, how do you vote? Yes. Kathleen, how do you vote?

Yes.

Victoria? Yes. Eric? Yes. Indra? No. Rick?

Yes.

Rob. Okay, sorry, we're still having technical difficulties with Rob, so I don't know how he's voting. So we'll go with everybody who's present. So I got five to one motion passes to approve the commercial activity and to waive the park fees except for the security cleanup fee. Thank you very, or deposit, thank you. All right. Moving on down the agenda next in to tonight's agenda is public comment. This is an opportunity for the public to address the city council on items not related to a public hearing or council action items for the council. The intent is to provide information that is pertinent to the city's jurisdiction. Each speaker will be given three minutes to address the council as one body, not two individuals. At the conclusion of public comment, council will have an opportunity to respond. This meeting will proceed in an efficient and courteous manner. Citizens and council members will be allowed to state their positions in an atmosphere free from slander, threats, and other personal attacks. Signs or placards, outbursts of applause, campaigning for public office or other disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. If you have a question regarding any government-provided service or a current city policy, please contact the city manager's office and attempt to resolve the matter. All right, so I have a number of cards here. And first off, we have Mike Pelfrey online. Are you still online, Mike? He's not. Okay. All right. How about Fitch? Come up. You got three minutes. Restate your name, please. And you've been duly warned. Please do not disrupt and... Do not interrupt me.

Do not violate my constitutional rights. I warned you. My name is Mr. Fitch. Return residence. I warned you. I warned you that your retaliation, your abuse of authority, your weaponization of the courts would bring federal consequences. You were warned time and time again. All of you knew. And all of you kept going. The coerced and retaliation actions of City of Grants Pass included City Councilor Eric Slagle filing a stalking order against protected activity, proving exactly what Joel King said later publicly. You don't care how many lawsuits you put City of Grants Pass into. That statement says everything. You treated redress as stalking. You treated criticism as a crime. You treated protected activity like something you could punish because you got exposed. Eric Schlegel's stalking order came first. Joel King's public statement came later.

But together, don't interrupt me. It's not appropriate.

But together, they expose the same truth.

You were warned in the very beginning. Please cut his mic. You can be escorted out of the building. You can escort me now, and I'll put it on the... That is absolutely fine. You were also warned that you can't single out a single person. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. You have a beautiful evening. Next up, we have Steven. Steven Nelson? Come on up, Steven. Restate your name, and you've got three minutes, sir.

Steven Nelson. It's been a long time since I've been here. It has been a long time since I've seen you, sir. Yes, it has. Glad you're back. Thank you. So the city of Grants Pass has a problem with straight pipe motorcycles causing very high... noise issues, and it's entirely illegal for straight pipes. Straight pipes meaning a motorcycle without a muffler. So the damage that can be done to bystanders is hearing loss and a multiple other types of health issues, including heart issues, birth issues, brain issues, and on and on. High levels of noise is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. These people are totally illegal what they're doing. If I were to do a straight pipe on my truck, I could be cited. Why are they allowed to do this? I have a proposal before the city it would be a three strikes in your outlaw the first stop by a police officer is a warning and a period of time to contract to con to correct the problem the second violation stop would be a citation but also a time to correct the problem the third stop by a police officer would be impounding the motorcycle. I really feel this is not unreasonable. These people are causing a health issue in our city by the very noise that they cause. It's juvenile, asinine behavior, and they should not be allowed to do it. So I'm asking the city to implement a law to prevent this. And I know I will probably get a backlash from some people in the community, possibly the city would too. I don't care. This needs to be done. Thank you.

Thank you, sir. All right, Bob, you're up, bud.

Something simple, Bob McGuire from Lifetime Grants Pass. So what's the regulations on these new e-motorcycles? They're terrible. They're out in the Redwood area. They're all over the place. There are kids riding up and down our subdivision above Albertsons. They're in and out of traffic out Redwood Avenue. They're just everywhere. And it's usually the same kids, but EVEN THE ADULTS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE DOING 35, 40 MILES AN HOUR ON THEM. AND THERE'S GOT TO BE SOME KIND OF NEW LAW THAT'S GOT TO BE AGAINST THEM BIKES BECAUSE THEY'RE CUTTING BEHIND PEOPLE OR TRYING TO BACK OUT OF THEIR DRIVELY. AND THEY'RE ON THE SIDEWALKS. SO I'M JUST A LOT OF COMPLAINTS AND I'M JUST BRINGING IT UP. SO ANYWAY, THANKS.

THANK YOU, SIR. Byron Robertson.

Good evening, Councillor Byron Robertson, Grants Pass. I hate coming there to always voice frustration and complaints, but a couple of months ago I had a meeting with Mr. Kubik and I've had meetings with Mr. Kennedy to voice my frustration over how things and lack of leadership and the inefficiencies that we have to deal with as a business dealing with the city grants pass. And it continues. I didn't have enough paper to actually write everything I need to say tonight and three minutes doesn't even come close to covering it. But I'm gonna give a quick example. We're trying to close out a job up on Conklin. It's now been one month since I've heard from anybody. Actually, sorry, two weeks ago I talked to Jason. But as far as dealing with the issues on that job, to close out that job, it's been a month since we've substantially been complete. We're trying to close it out. The reason we can't close it out is because a department head, a supervisor, made a decision as a personal preference to install certain manholes in their own, preference instead of to the standard. So now we find our manholes are untestable. We have to test them to close out the job. Have not had a resolution. I have an email from June 24th from my engineering tech, Mr. Bates, that says the issue has been passed up the chain. To date, there's been no resolution. Here's where it comes into play. I have a bond on that job. It's close to $2 million. I need to close that bond out to start my warranty period. I need to get that bond off of my books so I can continue to bid other jobs. So in turn, it costs me money. So instead of starting my bond a month or a month and a half ago, and we're truly substantially complete, the warranty period won't start until I get this thing, which extends my bond out further than it should be, cost me money. So it reduces my bonding capacity. I can't potentially bid other jobs, cost me money. I have five other large projects going right now at the same time. If I have to go back and do some corrections on this job, I have to pull people off those jobs, it's gonna cost me money on those jobs. So the theme here is the lack of inefficiency and the lack of decision making is gonna eventually cost me money. And I brought this up before and I brought it up to Jason, I brought it up to Mr. Kubik and I brought it up to anybody who'll listen. The lack of decisions cost me money. whether it's positive or negative, every day I make a decision. If we make a mistake, we'll fix it, it costs you money. When the city drags their feet, kicks the can down the road continuously, not only on this job, but so many other issues, it costs somebody money. And unfortunately, it's usually us, the taxpayers or the business people that try to work for you and provide projects for you. Thank you.

Rika.

Rika Brown, Grants Pass. A massive willow still grows. A massive twisty willow still grows next to my pond. With the hot weather, it is sucking more water. I have to keep a hose trickling into the pond after I play catch up by opening the valve fully first thing in the morning. The rest of my yard is being watered by impact sprinklers as needed and misters running in the heat of the afternoon and through the night when it spreads further. Our backyard is well watered. Our front yard has not been watered enough and has to be sublimated. My daughter's family of four lives with me. I pay the mortgage, she pays the utilities and the escrow. This month she began getting worried about paying the city services bill, as our utility bill is now called. She thinks we should cut back on water, but can't think of what to cut. A watered yard with misters is cooler and safer than an unwatered yard. We do a lot of laundry as well. We wash dishes once daily. People shouldn't have to cut back on water's comfort, safety, and hygiene to pay the water and sewer bill. Nor should any other city service be on our utility bill. The only reason they are on it is so the city can charge whatever it takes to pay the utilities overhead, police and firefighters, streets and sidewalks, while avoiding votes on what used to be called taxes, not fees. We the people are tired of this whole package of lies.

Excuse me.

Yeah, I'll talk to the team tomorrow. I know of the issue. We'll get you a full memo on the book for you all and the community. We're taking it very seriously.

Thank you. That's all I have. Thank you. Any other questions?