City Council - Regular Meeting

The July 7th work session.

It's going to be a really interesting briefing tonight, so I'm looking forward to it. Before we get into it, though, I want to say that there have been several disruptions during City Council work sessions lately, and I want to begin by setting an expectation for everyone. We will not tolerate disruptions that preclude the Council from being able to conduct its business. Disruptions have an impact on everyone in this room and online. those who cause disruptions will be asked to leave the room and watch the work session from the auditorium or leave the building altogether this is a first warning for all attendees and any person who disrupts the meeting will be provided with one individualized warning any further disruptions will result in that individual being asked to leave the room and watch the work session from the auditorium or leaving the building And now I'd like to turn the time over to City Manager Robbie Hammett.

Thank you, Mayor. Good evening, Council. Tonight we are going to be presenting on the sanitary sewer and stormwater utility fees. This is the first of two work sessions. In two weeks, we'll do a similar presentation on the transportation utility fees. I wanted to prepare you all for that. And as a reminder, a few years ago, we combined the timing of these work sessions so that we can talk to the council about all of the rates at the same time. It helps when we make adjustments for the public so they can see that all at once rather than what it used to be scattered throughout the year. So with that, I will say there's about 20 slides that we'll get through. If you can hold your questions to the end, there should be plenty of time at the end, but I think hopefully most of the slides will answer a lot of the questions. And with that, I'll turn it over to Allison.

Good evening, councillors and mayor. Thank you so much for having us here today. We're excited to talk to you today about the storm and sanitary utilities, as well as their rates and all the funding sources associated with them. We have a presentation for you tonight that we're hoping will be about 20 minutes. And if you would, we kindly ask that you save your questions till the end, and then we can have all the questions at the end to try and make this efficient tonight. But we know you have a really crowded agenda and we don't want to impede on further progress. But if needed, we have the after work session if it rolls over to that.

And Allison, we're not making any decisions. This is just a briefing, right?

Correct. Okay. This is just a presentation on storm and sanitary sewer. And I know that you're all very interested in it. So I'm expecting there to be a ton of questions.

Thank you.

But thank you so much. I'm Allison Birxing. I'm the Utilities Division Manager for the Public Works Utilities, which is inclusive of storm and sanitary sewer. And I'm joined tonight by my colleague, Teresa Galvin, who will be able to answer a lot more questions regarding finance and IMO. As a reminder, we have a lot of utilities in the city. And tonight, we're just going to focus on the sanitary and surface water management or stormwater utilities. And as Robbie alluded to, you'll hear more about transportation in a later work session. So, in general, when we're talking about utility planning, we have 2 really guiding documents that help us get to the rate study or the rates that you're adopting later on this year. So, 1st is called the master plan and the master plan talks about all of the things that go into funding utility, including our programmatic operational costs. and our capital improvement plans for replacing old and aging infrastructure, as well as adding new infrastructure to our utilities. The master plans are typically refreshed once every 10 to 15 years, and our master plans for the storm and sanitary utility have been done within the last five years. We also have what's called a rate study, and the rate study takes the costs that are developed in the master plan that are inclusive of the capital outlook and the programmatic costs and projects what the revenue sources should be for completing those master plan objectives within the timeframe alluded to in the master plan. When we're talking about our rights, we're looking at the utility fees and the system development charges. There are some other small fees that are included in those revenue sources, but largely it's funded by the utility fee. The utility fees are then adopted every two years, even though the rate study is for every five to six years. And so tonight we're going to be presenting to you what we're asking for the adoption to be for the next biennium's rate study. But this is, again, as everyone's alluded to, step one of a very long process. So this is just the early briefing. And just as a reminder as to what the sanitary and storm sewer are. So the sanitary sewer in Hillsboro is anything that you flush down the toilet, you drain your tub, you drain your washing machine. Those things go to our sanitary sewer. We have a separate storm sewer, so that collects all the rainwater, the snow, and the runoff. The storm sewer is collecting all the rainwater and the snow runoff and then moving it through the pipe system, and then treating it in those vegetative facilities that are kind of depicted down there in the bottom, or in an alternative method, and then releasing it to the environment through an outfall. So those are kind of the four components of the storm system. In the sanitary sewer system, we're looking at largely just those pipes and the manholes. The treatment and the moving the water under pressure is all done by our partner, CWS. So as I alluded to, we work in conjunction with our partner, Clean Water Services, or CWS, to support both the sanitary and storm utilities. In the sanitary system, they're responsible for doing all of the growth-based master planning, the treatment of the sanitary sewer before it's released back into the environment, and moving any of the large amounts of sanitary sewer that are under pressure, so those really big pipes over 24 inches or anything that's under pressure. so we don't do any of the mechanical work in our sanitary system. We do the gravity sewer pipes that are less than 24 inches in our manholes. We also plan to replace those manholes and gravity pipes, so we have a master plan that looks at the life cycle costs of those pipes, and that's what was adopted recently. The storm sewer's a bit more complicated, and we have... Clean Water Service is mainly doing our permit work for us on the storm sewer utility. They also do water quality in the sensitive areas and the vegetated corridors to support both the storm utility and the sanitary utility. But within Hillsboro, we're responsible for collecting, moving, treating, and releasing the storm water. We also have a master plan that kind of dictates where our growth needs are in the next 10 to 15 years. Storm sewer is a little bit newer of a utility and the master plan and evolving timeline has, or evolving regulation has changed over time. So we'll see a lot more deviation in stormwater over time as we would sanitary sewer. So again, talking about the, oops. One too many. So talking about those master plans, the stormwater master plan was adopted in 2021, and it largely includes kind of those programmatic things like water quality rehab and cleaning out the pipes and then working on those retrofits of the outfalls. But it also has our capital improvement projects that are inclusive of flooding and growth, protecting the stream, updating things for the current regulation. including the new stormwater detention policies. And we can talk about those in greater length at a different time if that's applicable, or I can answer questions as well. But the Sanitary Sewer Master Plan, we did just do a presentation on a couple of few councils ago, and that was adopted this last year, even though it was completed in 2024. And it kind of details some of the replacing the aging infrastructure projects. including the manhole rehabilitation program that takes a lot of those manholes that are over 100 years old and either replaces them or aligns them so that they don't crumble and cause backups in our sanitary sewer. So the sanitary sewer does have some requirements by our permit of how often we have to clean it. So every eight years we have to look at it with a camera and that's called our CCCD inspection. And then every four years, regardless of whether it's clean or dirty, we're out there cleaning the sanitary sewer pipes. But we also have a lot of areas in the city that have what we call fats, oils, and greases in them. We have to buy... the permit have a program that prevents fat soils and greases from causing backups in our sanitary sewer. So we do have a program for that. And we do have a program to rehabilitate the aging infrastructure, including any of the pipes that are failing or any of the manholes that are failing. But in general, we have about 289 miles of pipe and 7,300 manholes that we're responsible for. The storm sewer, once again, is a little bit more complex. And we do still have those performance standards that are regulated by the permit of things that we have to do every year. So we have to clean sumped catch basins once every year and unsumped once every six years. We have to do street sweeping 12 times a year. There's a number of things that we're required to do. But as you can see, the nature of this work is very seasonal. So we have vegetative maintenance that's done twice per year, water quality repairs that need to be done periodically. And so it's a very complicated utility to manage. We have about 314 miles of storm pipe and 481 water quality facilities, along with 552 outfalls that we're responsible for. So this is that rate study that we presented to the council back in 2024. And this includes the current and proposed rates for 25-26, which are adopted currently. But it also shows those projected rates for 27 through 30 that were done by the rate study. Our rate study was completed by FCS Consulting Group. And they looked at our revenues, projected revenues, and our costs from those master plans and projected out what those rates should be based on the level of service that was decided for the master plans and the rate study at the time. And we are showing this to you now just to level set where we are because we are going to ask for less than those projected rates, knowing that there's currently not a lot of uh, appetite and the rate payers for higher increases. And we were looking really hard to find different ways we could be more efficient. So in doing so, we took that prior rate study and tried to extend it out so that we were showing what our options would be if we took that CIP of the master plan and extended it out 10, 15, and 20 years. And with those options, now we did take the master plan and make sure that it was in today's dollars or in the projected dollars of today when we were doing this analysis. And we... then decided, or we looked at whether the risk of the utility would be compatible with these projections or not. So obviously with extending out the master plan projects, we are incurring more risks that there could be failures in our utility. But based on our analysis, we believe that the system will be okay to operate for the next 20 years in this scenario. We also understand that those projects will be more costly the longer out we push them, but we understand that today there's a great need for cost savings. So with balancing those two ideas, we are comfortable with that 20-year horizon or that 5% rate increase to keep the utilities functioning, meeting all of our regulations and keeping the level of service of having zero backups as our target for sanitary sewer. And when we're looking at our comparables to the other utilities near us, we do still fall right kind of in that middle horizon of all of the other utilities around us for sanitary sewer. This is inclusive of CWS as they charge people who are not in Hillsboro. So that's why you're seeing CWS on there. We do have a CWS component to our bill as well. Similarly, in stormwater, we were able to do the same analysis. Now, I'm going to talk about glencoast whale on the next slide, but glencoast whale is called out because of the size of the scope of the... the pro the, the project, uh, it is quite expensive and it has been on our CIP for the last about 30 years. Uh, and we've been trying to figure out ways to fund it and we were, um, lucky enough to apply for it and get a grant that only requires, um, a smaller match. Uh, and so assuming that we did do that smaller match grant, we wanted to make sure that we were able to still complete the remainder of the master plan projects, um, with this rate increase. But the first option there does have just the master plan in 20 years without the Glencoe Swell. So again, as I talked about that Glencoe Swell is a really old rail crossing. So it takes the Glencoe Swell underneath Connell, which is a street in Hillsborough. And it moves the swale from the Jackson School neighborhood across the Connell Boulevard, or Connell Road, excuse me. And the box culvert that you're seeing on there is a wooden box culvert. So it's literally made of rail ties. And we think that it was built in about 1904, but it's unclear. And so it's, potential for failure is a little bit higher than the rest of our system due to its age and material type. And that's why we have really worked to find funding sources for it, even though it's really expensive. It also kind of sits right on top of a water mean. So if it failed, there's a potential for a lot of loss of water and some other issues with other utilities as well. There's a gas line and some sanitary sewer. So it failing could be a true problem for a number of utilities, but it is stable right now. There's no need to run out and worry. They built it well in the 1900s, but we do keep an eye on it and we are excited to potentially talk to you more about this FEMA grant in the coming months as well. as we learn more about it. When looking at our storm sewer bill, we again are kind of in that middle quadrant of the storm sewer. Our storm sewer is a little bit harder for us as compared to other cities because we don't have a lot of fall. So Hillsboro doesn't have any hills in it. I like to say that every time because I think it's funny. When you don't have fall or like hills to move the water, it requires a lot bigger pipes. Bigger pipes mean more money. And then as we have more large pipes and more large facilities, because we're kind of at the bottom of the drainage basin, everything does cost a little bit more and we have some older infrastructure that we're working to kind of repair. But that being said, we are doing our very best to do efficiency studies and find the best ways to do these so that we are doing it with the least amount of dollars so that we can find. So you might be saying, oh my, well, how much is this gonna look like on my full bill? So we took the proposed rate increases from Clean Water Services, as well as what you'll hear about from our transportation partners and our water partners and put them on a full stack comparison of what the typical bill looks like today and what it would look like in two years from now based on these rate increases. And so a total rate increase for your utility bill in year one would be about $4.18. And in year two, it would be $6.57. So a 2.8% and 4.3% increase, respectively. And this is inclusive of that CWS rate increase that was just adopted in July. Okay. We also did want to highlight that we do have the utility bill assistance program that helps people who are unable to pay for their utility bills. And we also wanted to kind of again, show what that bill is going to look like for those who aren't as familiar. There are a lot of lines on this bill. So the ones that we're talking about tonight are those kind of highlighted in green lines. The sanitary sewer is inclusive of both the city of Hillsborough and the CWS fixed charges and the usage charges. So the average use we combined because of line items facing on the bill, but the that that average use is for both us and cws and then the fixed charges are detailing and then the surface water management is our stormwater utility fee and that's that 19 dollars so today we're just here to talk to you about kind of that proposed and um get kind of the feedback on whether you want us to continue on with the mindset of that 20-year horizon which is what we're most comfortable with as far as extending out the CIP. And then you'll also hear from our transportation utility next council. And then once we get that kind of feedback, we would pursue engagement with the public to explain that those rates increases are coming. Public input would be available at the October 13th open hearings. And then... there would be a presentation of the Finance Committee on October 13th, and then the open hearings in November, and a re-implementation in JMR. So that is my presentation, and thank you so much for holding your questions till then.

Thank you, Alison. Are there any questions? Councillor Embry?

All right. Why... I noticed that... that as far as going for a DEQ local agent status, why is it, what's the reason?

Yeah, so the local agent status provides us the ability to move the permitting through the, there's two different types of stormwater permits. There's the 1200C construction permit and there's the 1200C in construction permit. Getting the local agent status takes away the redundancy of us and CWS doing the same work. So if we're doing the bulk of the plan review, we can then take that 1200 C directly to DEQ ourselves. If we don't have the agent status, we are taking it to CWS and then CWS is taking it to DEQ on our behalf, which is adding an additional two to five weeks to the timeline for development.

And does it, Does it reduce the amount of work between, so does it, do you think it equates to any reduction in rates?

I think that would be hard to detail out. I can look into that further, but I would assume if it is, it would be minimal. I would assume we do four of these 1200 c permits a month um and so that's about maybe equating to about eight hours of staff time between our two agencies so if it is it would be fairly de minimis um when you're looking on the scale of rates that we're looking at and then um a couple more so uh what was what was done last time i missed that so was where did the council uh say go ahead with the

10-year or the 15-year?

Yeah, sorry, I didn't do a good job of explaining that. The rate study showed the six years, and then the council adopted the first two years. So the remaining was just the projection, and that was not adopted.

Yes, yes, but the master plan here, now you're saying, you know, you want us to maybe give you sort of the go-ahead for either the 10 or the 15 or the 20-year? What has the downfall done before?

The 10-year has been the traditional. The master plan does not necessarily detail out the horizon. It just details out how much work there is to do, and then the rate study can detail out the horizon, and the prior rate studies were 10 years.

Thank you.

Councillor Allcare and then Councillor Sogato online.

So the last time we raised rates, when was that?

We had a re-increase each year at the biennium.

So I'm recalling, though, the last time we raised rates, we got a lot of backlash from community about the rates. And then we convened again and changed our minds about the rates that we were gonna charge. That's what I'm recalling.

You may be thinking of the water rates, Councilor O'Kear, that would have been the Utilities Commission, but I think on these, we got very little feedback over the past couple of years about these rate increases from the community. I'll try to remember if there was another increase that you might be thinking of, but for these, I think there was limited, very limited feedback from the community

Can you help me understand why Forest Grove is so much less expensive than Hillsborough for water rates? And possibly explain why Lake Oswego is so much higher.

I can attempt to. So this is the stormwater. Is that the one you wanted to look at or the sanitary sewer? Okay, yes, for stormwater. So in general, our rates are calculated by looking at the cost of our utility, which is inclusive largely of our operators, as well as our capital improvement projects. Forest Grove being a much smaller utility has fewer operators in it, and they also have a smaller system in general. So they're looking at a utility that doesn't have as much backlog maintenance. Like I said, with the stormwater infrastructure, it's a relatively new utility. So as the utility has grown over the years, it's grown with its problems. And the problems keep compounding year after year. If you have a smaller utility, those problems compound at a slower rate because there's just fewer pipes, there's fewer vegetated facilities, and they also are able to have just generally less people to maintain them. When we're looking at our larger utility, we're also, again, being really flat and kind of at the bottom of that watershed. We're looking at a lot of different challenges that Forest Grove isn't necessarily facing due to their size and the flows of their stormwater. Lake Oswego has a different take on utility maintenance based on their level of service of their community is my understanding, but I couldn't tell you exactly what their rate is inclusive of. They are the one that we are including on here because they're regional, as is Gresham, but they are not part of the Clean Water Services co-implementers group, so I'm less familiar with their utility.

Councilor Segato and then Councilor Sinclair.

I had to step off for a minute, so I apologize if you covered some of these things. I have about four things I want to touch on. Can you share which customer class has the biggest impact on the stormwater system as a percentage of total impact?

It would be hard to answer that question because impact is not a typical word that we would use. Could you maybe talk a little bit more about that?

Yeah, let me ask a different question. It's my understanding that we charge stormwater by the gallon, right, that's processed by the account?

We charge it based on equivalent service unit, so based on the amount of impervious area that a customer has.

Yeah, and so for the water utility, we have different customer classes. We have residential, and then we have industrial. Do we have that for the stormwater? Is everybody charged kind of in the same class, quote unquote?

I apologize. It's equivalent dwelling unit for stormwater and everyone is charged the same based on equivalent dwelling unit. So that's a loaded question. So let me unpack it a little bit. We are partnered with Clean Water Services. So their rates and charges and our rates and charges are married. And we've an agreement with Clean Water Services that we will keep the same calculation for equivalent dwelling unit for each of the utilities so that we don't have different places within the region charging things in a different way. So everyone in the Clean Water Services co-implementers jurisdiction uses the same methodology. And that is based on what we call an equivalent dwelling unit. So that's essentially one single family host is charged the same amount of impervious area. Now, when you develop something like a Fred Myers or an Intel or what have you, we calculate how much impervious area each of those facilities is. And we charge them based on the number of equivalent dwelling units. So like a friend Myers is being charged a lot more than one single family house there.

Thank you. I get it. Yeah, I get it. So I see. So there's no different, there's no different classification like there is in water. So the question doesn't make sense. So thank you for that, but that's helpful in understanding how you charge it. Cause I don't think those details were in there. And then also, A request, something that could be helpful for ratepayers to understand where the money is going. The county has this graphic that shows a dollar bill, and it kind of sections off, you know, this goes to staff, this goes to rent or whatever. If there's a way to do that for our utilities, I think that would be really helpful for people to understand all the costs associated with it, right? So that's just a request. And then also, I would like to just understand more about the types of funding that go into funding these types of infrastructure projects. So I get the rate payers take on some of that cost, but we also have a lot of taxes that are related to infrastructure. So are there other kind of a stack of taxes that we pull from for these types of projects or just specifically rate payers that cover the cost on this?

So we have what we call SDCs, system development charges for each utility. System development charges pay for growth in the utility. And then we have the rates are divided into our operating costs and our capital costs. And so when it comes to the additional fees that we collect that are revenue sources for these particular utilities, those are the lion's share of the fees. So any work that we do is typically Done with those 2 fee sources now, we are working in partnership with our development community and when they put in development, they are responsible for upgrading the system to make sure that the capacity is sufficient for any. changes that they're making to the system. So if someone comes in and develops something that is going to cause our storm system to flood, they're required to do a downstream analysis and then upgrade the system prior to development, and they're not allowed to develop until that time. So generally, our rate payers are just paying for decaying infrastructure, and the system development charges are paying for growth. That's typically how we're structured.

Oh, thank you for that distinction. And then One last question. You mentioned that there's a meeting in September. What type of input are you looking for from the community at that meeting?

I think that at that time that would be times to share whether they're receiving adequate service. If there's things that they would, obviously our hands are somewhat tied on our requirements for the permit conditions. But if there's things that we can make effective change on, we are always open to hearing about that. We are doing our very best to keep costs low because we've been hearing from the public on that. You can see that in the reductions that we're already making. I'm very sympathetic to that. Being a repair myself, I want to keep those low as well. But I understand.

I would just ask and request that we communicate the expectation clearly to the community and share that this is an information sharing session and not a community input because I could see a community member seeing a public meeting like this and say, well, I'm going to go speak up against increasing fees. Well, that's not what the meeting's about, right? So let's just be very clear about that. That's my only request on that. We want to set the expectation and not have false expectations. So thank you for the presentation. That was the last thing I have.

Okay. Councillor Sinclair and then Councillor Harris afterwards.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation tonight. I have a handful of questions. One of the questions I have is... So industrial use and commercial, those are categorized?

We do have a category of commercial and industrial in our software billing software. Is that correct? So I can tell you the percentage of commercial customers we have versus residential customers versus industrial customers. We currently have 34% commercial and 29% commercial. residential and maybe Michelle can shed some light on that.

So in utility billing, we have customer...

Please intro yourself, Michelle. Oh, sorry. No, it's okay.

I thought you all know me. Michelle Waring, Chief Financial Officer, and utility billing is a division within our finance department. So in utility billing, water is the only one that has customer classes. For all the other rate... No, I shouldn't say that. For sanitary sewer and surface water management, there is a rate that all customers pay for So for sanitary sewer, there is a base charge and then there's a sewer use charge. The base charge is one EDU equivalent dwelling unit. So a house has one. For all the other ones, it's based on all their plumbing fixtures. So if you have a lot, you're going to pay a lot. And then the sewer use is based on either your winter water average or Or for a lot of our industrial customers, it's an annual average because we don't have a meter on what's going into the sewer system. And then on stormwater, it's one equivalent service unit. And so a house is one. And then impervious surface that they measure becomes multiple ESUs. So the more impervious service they have, the more they pay. But as far as on the sewer side, there's also considered an industrial class that Clean Water Services does. I'll let you talk about that piece. Maybe you know about that piece better.

Yeah, because that's one of the questions I had. Thank you, Michelle. Is it Clean Water Services that sets the classification?

For sanitary sewer? Yes. Yes. So for sanitary sewer industrial discharge, it is Clean Water Services that determines whether the discharge in the sanitary sewer is classified as industrial. And that's based on their code as it relates to the pollutants and type of strength of sanitary sewer discharge that they would be discharging.

And since we mirror what they do, with sewer, then we also would categorize, classify as soon as they do, correct? Like we've been talking about data centers down the road, as we create more regulations, will that happen simultaneously?

We don't do a customer class in that way. The industrial program is something totally separate. The Clean Water Services manages, and they charge a bill. for those industrial customers in their program. So our job is to charge for domestic use. So in whatever you pick, in Intel, Fred Meyer, we are the sanitary sewers about the stuff that's going into domestic use, going into the sewer system. The industrial side, the Clean Water Services, all their industrial stuff that we are not billing for. That's theirs. But that's completely treated separately? I don't know.

It's billed separately. All of the sanitary sewers treated the same with a treatment plant. But it is billed separately. And then they have a whole team of folks that go out and sample that and look at the discharge locations and the discharge pipe size. There's a lot of things that go into that. including how often they're allowed to discharge, when they're allowed to discharge, because the wastewater treatment plant operates differently if there's a big glug of water in it versus during the day or at night. So they work really hand in glove with industrial discharge customers. I will say that currently I don't believe that data centers qualify as an industrial discharge customer in the clean water services arena because they aren't discharging that much wastewater.

So they would categorize it, classify it as commercial?

Currently, I believe they are, yeah.

But it is the same treatment?

It's the same treatment. Yeah, all of the wastewater is commingled into one pipe and then goes to the wastewater treatment plant and receives the same treatment.

And so if, like Councilor Salgado was saying, if we are hoping to have a breakdown of those uses for our rate payers to understand, that doesn't happen unless Clean Water Services gives the green light.

I fear we might be convoluting two different thoughts.

Len is based on the treatment and the chemical treatment of the water and then the billing of the water. I think we can break down the billing. I don't think we can break down how water is treated, if I'm understanding the question correctly.

They are two separate subjects. It's one system, but there's two separate. I kind of mix that from they're one system, but yet we're also dividing up how our ratepayers pay for that system to be treated.

Yes, yes, yeah.

So what I'm saying is to get it itemized on a ratepayers bill, since Clean Water Services identifies the classification, do they have to improve, because you said that data centers potentially are commercial, do they have to give that classification to move that forward onto the ratepayer to understand the itemization?

Does that make sense what I'm saying? I know what you're asking. So they're two totally different programs. So on our utility bill, we're not going to ever distinguish customer classes except for water use, drinking water use, because the rate that we charge for sanitary sewer is the same for all customer classes. What drives the amount that's being charged is how many EDUs they have for sewer or how many ESUs they have for surface water management. At this point, Clean Water Services has not designated any different rate charges. And then their program, their industrial program that they monitor, that they bill those customers who have to go into the program and do all the stuff that they do, don't understand their program enough to speak intelligently on it, is they bill it and it's a totally separate rate that's in addition to what they're already paying for the domestic that we are billing. Does that answer your question? And I can go offline. Okay. All right. Sorry to go down the rabbit hole.

And my last question, if I may.

I was just going to add, so in speaking with Rahim, who is now over at Clean Water Services, obviously, they are actually working on some frequently asked questions about data centers specifically. I'm not sure where it's at, but it'll be a lengthy number of questions that I think will hopefully get to what you're saying. It's harder for us to maybe answer those, but they're going to come up with some technical questions or FAQs that hopefully we'll be able to share with the council in the coming weeks.

Okay. And then the last question I have is about treatment for stormwater. Is that part of that treatment process, considering temperature?

Temperature is a pollutant in stormwater. So, yes, we do try and treat for it the best we can. It is not currently... It's super well treated with our current standards, but we do what we can as far as best available technology for temperature. And then the slide that I showed with what Clean Water Services does, which is inclusive of those vegetated area enhancements, that is for the temperature reduction. So they are working more on the temperature reduction side in their programs. And that goes hand in glove with the unique permit that we are able to have with Clean Water Services that combines both the stormwater and the sanitary sewer into one permit so that we can get credit for the temperatures that we're doing for both stormwater and sanitary with these vegetated corridor enhancements and sensitive areas. And they're able to do a lot more with the money. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Councillor Harris.

Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. Excuse my voice. I'm trying to recover from a cold here. A couple of questions. You've testified a couple of times that you have to do things at certain years, like cleaning, inspections. When you say have to, is that a federal law? Is it a state statute? Is it best practices? Is it an insurance requirement? Why do you have to?

Yeah, that's a great question. I'm sorry I glossed over that. So we are bound by the Clean Water Act at the federal level. And then that is then further implemented with the NPDES permits or the, what we have is what's called the One Water Permit that Clean Water Services has. And then within that permit, they detailed out what's called the permit standards. And then we are required to, or the performance standards, excuse me, and we are required to meet those performance standards to be in compliance with the permit, which is regulated by the Clean Water Act.

Okay, second question here is, looking at the current rates charged for stormwater and sanitary and looking at your charts, just a quick look at it. It looks like Hillsborough is the highest of the clean water services districts in the clean water service district. Am I missing? Is that correct or not?

And so those are based on last year's rates. So we are anticipating other utilities to go up as well. But at current, we would be one of the highest.

Yeah, if you take out the white, if you're just looking at the orange.

Mm hmm.

Right. And that's, I think, on both of those charts, right? Remember? Yeah, yeah. So next question is, let me go to my notes. Oh, so from what I could tell, again, because there's several different rates shown in here and different calculations, it looks like just the City of Hillsboro's portion, not Clean Water Services portion, it looks like you're looking at a 5% rate increase? Correct. All right. So I've talked about this a few times. This is more of a meta opinion, not directed towards this presentation directly, but I'm really concerned about an affordability issue in this city. Social Security COLAs went up 2.8% this year. They've historically gone up two to two and a half percent. Wage increases are about 3.2 to 3.5% every year. So every time I see a four or 5% increase in utilities, when you don't just have one utility. A homeowner has several utilities coming in. And if they're all in excess of what expected wage increases are, more and more of a paycheck is going to go towards utilities and towards the city. And I just have a real concern about stacking all these 5% increases on top of each other if someone's on Social Security or even a wager getting a 3.5% raise. And that's just a concern I have. Now, with the electrical rates maybe going down a little bit, maybe a homeowner can afford a little bit higher rate to take care of the Glencoe Swale or whatever. But I just think that we need as a city to be really aware of how these rates stack upon each other. Because if you will, it's only a buck 20 a month. Well, yeah, but there's five and they got cable and they have all this stuff. And then if it's an extra buck 20 every year for 10 years, all of a sudden that becomes pretty significant to people. And I guess I'm sort of preaching to the entire room here, not just you. But I just have a real concern about this. And so I'd really, really like it to see a proposal saying 3.5% increase, which is the average wage increase for this year, for 2026, and see how that penciled out. I would prefer that. Obviously, I'm not your boss, but I'm just putting it out there as an ongoing concern. I'm gonna be raising it every time we have rate issues on every single utility, so just for your information.

Thank you. Councillor Harris, if I could add, thank you for that feedback. This goes back a few years. I think Councilor Allcare, maybe Mayor Pace was involved in this and Councilor Sinclair. We kind of retooled our utility assistance program a few years ago. And it's something that, in fact, this came up, I want to say last month with you all as well, kind of relooking at that. And so that is something we're doing. We see the need every year going up. We have a budget. I think our budget a few years ago was $50,000. We doubled it to $100,000. We're already past that, which we're going over that which is okay because that means we're helping more people so we certainly see the need and i think there's ways we can respond through programs like our utility assistance program that can help obviously that doesn't help everybody but it does help our most vulnerable and kind of lowest income earners that that are struggling the most with those rates we'll continue to look at that as want to make sure that the council knows that that's something we continually monitor

And I did want to get back to kind of that full stat slide just to show that we are looking at 2.8% in the first year as the full stack increase for the utility bill increase in that. So each utility kind of averaged out to try and keep that as low as possible. And we worked together on that to try and make sure that we were doing that as mindfully as we could.

Thank you, Councillor Case.

Yeah, just a kind of a follow up to what Councillor Harris was saying, and what Robbie was alluding to as well, but I think it would be helpful for all of us to have kind of a overall, this is every bill, this, you know, this is every fee, every service that we charge, and then maybe the last, I understand, 20, you know, 20, 20, 20, 21, maybe even 22 had some challenges, but like, can we get that full list? I know we have the levy coming up for renewal next year too. And so kind of looking at, at every piece and averaging out where we're as back to counselor Harris was like, I think that'd be really helpful. Cause I think we hear these in pieces and this is super helpful to have all the water sewer storm water altogether. But I think that might be helpful for all of us to have that information. I also know I'm really visual. So like, I freaking love this slide. Thanks, Allison.

Yeah, I know this came up at the last meeting as well from one of the counselors. So we are going to work on that to kind of show a history of what these rate increases look like. It's hard to you can see how many components there are. So it's hard to show it in a way that's easy to understand. But we have staff looking at that. And then there's also some charges that are complicated. For example, Highlight, right? It's a voluntary program, so probably wouldn't go on here. But if someone used Highlight, then it would go on here. So there's some charges that don't fit nicely, you know, like this does. But we'll thank you for that, and we'll continue to work on trying to get that for the council.

I also think there's a balance between, you know, the rates, as you're talking about, but also what needs to get done. Because the cheapest repairs to the Glencoe Swale are going to be now, today. And the longer we wait, the more expensive it gets. And so it's just something else to keep in mind and something to balance. I see Councillor Sinclair and Councillor Allcarrier have a comment. Councillor Sinclair, you want to go ahead?

Thank you. A question I have to maybe add on is when we're talking about accessibility to the subsidies for our most vulnerable communities, I'd like just to see a report on metrics from these community-based organizations. to know how many people and how many households we are serving in trying to provide resources.

We could do that. I think there's a couple of ways we can go about that because we actually know, we use those three community-based organizations, Community Action, Salvation Army, and Centro. Thank you, and Centro. And what they do for us, I know some of you already know this, but they qualify the individuals because that way they're the ones with the personally identifiable information. They already have it. That way we're not requiring people to come to us and give us all that information. But then they do give us, you know, who qualified. And so we know how many households we serve. So we can get that pretty easily for the council.

That'd be so great because I'm hearing an increase in the community of a lack of accessibility and communication with the CBOs in getting their needs met because we're all strained now. And it's just becoming harder.

Yeah, so, um, so for fiscal year, 2526, which we just ended, we helped 1190 unique customers. So, obviously, with the program. they there's amounts so for if you're in a household one to four you get three hundred dollars um and it's a rolling 12 months for when you apply so that equates to about two bills so we'll be looking at this and we'll probably be coming back to increase these amounts um and so the total amount of revenue for gone was 190 679 so the program is being used more And we do meet our utility bill manager talks to the CEOs on a regular basis. And we meet with them annually to talk about the program. How's it going? They have, I think it's September. We plan to meet with them. And last time we met with them, they were the ones that talked about the tiered. Support that we give and so that's why we went to the 1 to 4, the 5 to 8 and the 9. Over before it was just like 1 flat rate, regardless of your household size. So we do meet with them, but they're right there. They only have so much staffing also, and they're strained and they have other programs that they run. And so we work with our customers the best we can. And we give them the time to work with the CBOs. And if we know they're in the process of working with them, then we don't discontinue water service or things like that.

Great. Okay, we have about eight minutes until we move or until we actually start the meeting. Yeah, I was just going to say we have about eight minutes. Counselor, I'll carry.

Can you go back to your proposed rates with the white bars? 10, 15, and 20 years. No, the other one where you're proposing... Not that one.

The sanitary one?

Yeah.

Okay.

So on that, you... in white, you're asking us to consider 10, 15, or 20 year? And you've incentivized that as we get a break if we choose a 20 year? Is that what?

I would say that we are recommending the 20-year because the utility can withstand that risk. We believe the utility can withstand that risk profile currently. It will mean that the overall cost of those repairs will go up over the next 20 years.

And what would impact that would change it? If we were to choose the 20-year, what would impact that? Could something happen and that rate would go up?

Yeah, if we had some sort of catastrophic failure in the system, then we would be at a larger risk for needing to go borrow money to fix it potentially, and that would cause a rate increase, or other bigger rate increases could be caused by... as the system starts failing at a more rapid rate and then the construction costs increase at a rapid rate, then yes, we would potentially be looking at further rate increases that would be greater than if we would choose the 10-year today. So I think I'm answering your question, but if we choose 10-year today, the bang for the buck is probably a bit better. as far as what infrastructure we're going to be able to repair because today's dollars are typically going to be cheaper than tomorrow's dollars. And the infrastructure is less failed today than it will be tomorrow. So as the infrastructure fails further, those rates will gradually increase. So when choosing the 20-year today, we will be saving money. But the utility as a whole will be more expensive for a longer period of time.

Can you give an example of a catastrophic event? I'm thinking far into the future where maybe we're going to have an earthquake in the ocean, but can you give us one that hits a little closer to home that we should be concerned about?

Yeah, so if we had a large, large storm, like the 1996 floods, we'd be looking at that Glencoe culvert could collapse. And then you'd be looking at roads that would be flooded, this potential storm and drinking water lines could kind of collapse. I'm not being super hyperbolic, but a little bit hyperbolic, could collapse causing additional flooding to nearby residences. And no water, right? And no water for firefighting potentially. as well. So a major risk to life, health and safety is a possibility in that location in particular. But as far as the liability to the utility, we'd be looking at if our utility caused some of those damages to homes too, we'd be looking at paying for those as well. So those are like the potential disaster scenarios that we are trying to avoid by doing this deferred maintenance now.

Thanks. Thank you so much. Alison, thank you so much for the briefing. Teresa and Michelle, thanks for the assist. Really appreciate it. And let's move into the auditorium for the council meeting.

Thank you, everybody. If we could have all the councillors come up, please.

This meeting is being recorded.

I'll move this in a minute. Thanks. Okay, welcome everyone to the July 7th, 2026 city council meeting. Thank you for joining us this evening. For translation services, please use the QR code on the poster on the left hand side of the room or on the front page of the agenda. Before we get started, I just wanted to make some announcements. There have been several disruptions during city council meetings lately, and I want to begin by setting the expectation for everyone. We will not tolerate disruptions that preclude the council from being able to conduct its business and hear from the community. Those who cause disruptions will be asked to watch the meeting from the conference room across the hall or leave the building. This reading right now is deemed as a first general warning to all attendees. So anyone who disrupts the meeting afterwards will be provided with one individualized warning. Mr. Brown, you now have a second warning, so. All right, so anyone who disrupts the meeting will be provided with one individualized warning, as you just saw I did with Mr. Brown. And any further disruptions will result in that individual being asked to watch the meeting from the conference room or leave the building. Mr. Brown, that is your third warning. Security, can I ask you to see Mr. Brown out? Thank you very much. To keep the space welcoming, inclusive, and accessible for everyone to avoid disruption, we ask that all comments be shared respectfully. To begin this meeting, I invite you to join me in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag and the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Amber, may we please have a roll call?

Mayor Pace?

Here.

Councilor Elker?

Here.

Councilor Sinclair? Here. Councilor Case? Here. Councilor Salgado?

Here.

Councillor Anvery? Here. Councillor Harris?

Here.

Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Brown, I'm asking you to leave the room, please. Yeah, you want me to leave the room. I do, yes, because you continually disrupt the meetings and you've been warned. Why is that? Security, can we have him escorted out, please? You're also not supposed to be eating food inside the auditorium, thank you. We'll pause the meeting.

Just to clarify,

Because I was being disrespectful. They didn't like what I was saying, how I was saying, what I was saying. They are gonna call the police. They would commit violence against me while preaching peace. Y'all are seeing this for yourself. They don't like what I have to say, so they're gonna try to keep me from making public commentary. I've been picked out because they don't like that I interrupted them. Why am I interrupting you?

Maybe because you're lying to our clogging faces. by selling us out 17 data centers in secret? What is that? How is that transparency? It's more than 17 data centers. Oh, but I'm wrong. I'm wrong.

OK. Our first presentation is a proclamation celebrating Disability Pride Month. And I'd like to invite Jessica Stark and Rochelle Schoenthal to join me at the podium, please. Thank you. uh... whereas pride month is celebrated in july to commemorate the passing of the americans with disabilities act which was signed into law on july twenty six nineteen ninety and was historic milestone in advancing disability civil rights Whereas the purpose of Disability Pride Month is to honor and acknowledge the experiences, history, strengths, contributions, and achievements of people with disabilities. And whereas over one in four individuals in the United States experiences a disability intersecting all races, ages, ethnicities, genders, socioeconomic status, religions, and sexual orientations. Whereas disability is a diverse identity encompassing individuals with physical, intellectual, developmental, sensory, invisible, acquired disabilities, and more. And whereas experiencing a disability is a natural part of human diversity, and people with disabilities have unique perspectives, strengths, and lived experiences that enhance and define Hillsboro. Whereas Disability Pride Month is a time for people with disabilities to celebrate their authentic identity and for others to understand how they can continuously support, empower and learn from the disability community. Whereas the more Disability Pride Month is celebrated, the more residents of Hillsboro can combat ableism, reject negative perceptions, stigma and discrimination. And whereas Disability Pride Month is an appropriate time to recognize Oregon's public policy accomplishments, on behalf of people with disabilities and to also identify the improvements to public policy that are needed to fully include all of Oregon's residents with disabilities. Now, therefore, be it resolved that I, Beach Pace, Mayor of the City of Hillsboro, do hereby proclaim the month of July to be disability, Pride Month in Hillsboro. Excuse me, Ms. Lopez, if you interrupt again, we'll ask you to go. So I'd like to say that again. I do hereby proclaim this month of July to be Disability Pride Month in Hillsboro, and I encourage and urge all citizens to join in this observance. Thank you. Thank you.

Would you want to say a few words? Here's the proclamation. Thanks for coming.

Okay, moving to public comment now. Persons wishing to speak will be recognized at this time. If you are here in person and wish to speak, please fill out a yellow card and give it to the staff that are collecting them, or you can give it to the city recorder, but actually give it to staff. Staff, could you raise your hand? So if you need to give a yellow card to staff, you can give it to Michaela right over there. When you are called on, please use the microphone at the public comment table in the center of the room right there. The microphone is live when the green light is on, and you will need to tap the purple button at the base of the microphone to turn on the mic. We have one person registered to speak virtually, and the deadline to register has now passed. This is called public comment. because it's time dedicated for you to inform the city council about your views. This is not a time for the public to address the audience or the general public. Please direct all comments to council. Each person will have up to three minutes. If you exceed those three minutes, we will ask you to step down. I will tell you when your three minutes are up, plus you'll see the timer above council. If you refuse to stop your presentation, it will be deemed as a disruption and you will be asked to leave. If you feel you have to publicly express support for a comment or a viewpoint, we ask that you do so quietly in a non-disruptive method, such as snapping your fingers, a thumbs up, or what's known in ASL as clapping, but you just go like this. So it's quiet, but the person who's testifying can still be heard. Clapping or calling out or making any verbal outbursts not only interferes with people's ability to hear clearly in the room, but it also disrupts the audio for those attending virtually. So please do not disrupt in a way that would disrupt the audio or the proceedings going on in the room. Again, to keep the space welcoming and inclusive and accessible for everyone to avoid disruption, we ask that all comments be shared respectfully. And tonight we are pleased to hear from you, and we'll begin hearing from our virtual testifier, which is Andrew Allen. Andrew, you have- Three minutes, and Ellie R is on deck.

Mayor Pace, I don't see that Andrew Allen is logged on.

He's not on, okay, great. Well, not great, but he's not here, so we'll move on. Okay, so Ellie R, if you could come up, thank you. And Andres is on deck, so Andres will be after Eli, excuse me, not Ellie, Eli, sorry about that. Okay, you have three minutes.

Good evening, Mayor Pace and Councillors. My name is Eli. I live near Maine in Cornelius Pass. I'm here to testify today because this community has lost a member by the name of Connor Navarro. Today, I testify in solidarity with Connor's mother, Charlie Navarro, about pedestrian and bicyclist safety. On June 23rd, he was struck by a vehicle and killed while riding his bicycle home near East Main and Northeast Century Boulevard. I only live two blocks. from where it occurred, and I ride my bike through that intersection at least once a week. I passed his memorial on my way to this meeting today. Connor's death was completely avoidable, and the city has let him, his mother, and our community down. Main, Northeast Cornell, TV Highway, Cornelius Pass, Northeast Brookwood are multi lanes, some parts up to five lanes with effectively zero feet, let alone miles of protected bike infrastructure. The only exception is the north end of Cornelius near Intel. There are protected bike lanes on Northeast Sorry, Northeast Jackson School Road, where the new built homes cost 900K, and the speed limit is only 30 miles per hour. But the busiest five roads in the city, which reach up to 45 miles per hour, all the cyclists have is a white lane of paint to tell the cars where they can and cannot go. Pedestrian crashes account for 3% of all traffic crashes in the metropolitan planning area. 22% of all pedestrians hit by a vehicle will die or experience a life-altering injury. Washington County has the highest percentage of fatal pedestrian crashes in the metro area. The nightmare occurred right where the Century Boulevard expansion will go. It will unnecessarily increase noise pollution, traffic, and expand a dangerous intersection into a four-way. This puts community members, especially children, at risk. We demand the following immediate actions. Within 30 days, lower the speed limit by five miles on Main and Century Boulevard, and install rapid flashing beacon signals at the intersection. Within 12 months, install protected bicycle lane infrastructure and smart signal detection for approaching pedestrians and cyclists. Abandon the Century Boulevard expansion and defer the $43 million budget to implement these safety measures, not only on Main and Northeast Century Boulevard, but also along Cornell TV Highway, Cornelius Pass, and Northeast Brookwood. You could redirect funds from the $95 million budget for the Hillsborough Police Station into something that would actually keep the citizens safe. City, Councillor President Harris and Councillor Sinclair, you are on the Transportation Committee. We can make this happen without breaking the bank. We don't have to build protected bike lanes that cost 500K per mile. Installing colored bollards or cement bike lane separators are a cheap and effective measure we could take. We must make this city safe for our cyclists and pedestrians. Thank you.

Next speaker is Andres, and after Andres is Melanie Bond. Andres, come on up. Okay, Andres, you have three minutes and your clock is over there.

Hello, Hillsborough City Council. I wanted to start by congratulating all of you for showing up in person. You guys are really setting the bar high. I want you to mentally backtrack through the past few public comment sessions. Does any moment from these past few months make you honestly think, honestly to yourself, Yeah, my constituents think I'm doing a good job. Yeah, people are fine with more data centers. Looking at how you've treated this genuine crisis, it seems like you don't care. While the people you lead are screaming at you to stop killing the city they know and love. You are all truly a sorry excuse for a city council and you should be ashamed of yourselves. For me and all my friends who want to start a family, settle down and build a life here in Hillsboro like I know all of you have, how are we supposed to tell our future kids that our elected officials constantly lied and stole our opportunity to wake up every morning to the landscape and community that by then will be nothing but a memory? The only reason that people aren't more upset is because you have done such a fantastic job of hiding these projects and muddying the waters when it comes to data centers. Do you really believe that if you're doing the right, honest thing, you need to sweep it under the rug to protect your political career? I truly used to have faith in you. I really did. But all you have done is thrown away every single Hillsborough citizen's trust by revealing the absolute joke that you all are. Do the thing that lets you sleep at night. Thank you.

Thank you. Next speaker is Melanie Bond, and after Melanie is Garrett Fleanor. Welcome, Melanie. You have three minutes and your timer is over there.

Okay, thank you. To the Hillsborough City Council and Washington County residents, I'm here this evening because I'm frustrated and disheartened by the behavior of local and state politicians, including many of the ones in this room over the last several years. CONSTITUENTS ARE BEING ROUNDLY IGNORED AND DISMISSED, PARTICULARLY WHEN IT COMES TO THE EXISTENCE OF DATA CENTERS AND DATA STORAGE CENTERS, THE RISING SURVEILLANCE STATE IN DIRECT VIOLATION OF OUR FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS, AND THE PROLIFERATION OF AI IN GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND CORPORATE BUSINESS PRACTICES. LONG STORY SHORT, THIS COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR You're not listening to the voters who elected you into office. We implore you all to not only stop building data storage centers, but to work toward decommissioning the ones that exist. I'm flabbergasted by your willingness to ignore what's best for the people you were elected to work for. It's so bad that these data centers have become a multi-partisan issue. And for the first time in long decades maybe, conservatives, moderates, centrists, liberals, and leftists are all coming together to try to figure out how to get data storage centers out of our communities. I want to stand here and list all the reasons why these centers are horrible for our land, our water, and our livelihoods, but you already know. And you just don't seem to care, which is shocking and really frustrating. These data storage facilities are a blight on our community. They don't create jobs. They don't bring business into our towns. They generate noise, air, and water pollution that is disrupting entire ecosystems on this land. And yet some of you seem more than happy to let billionaires who own them stomp all over us in the name of capitalism. This has to stop. There are people here this evening, well, I know that Indivisible Washington County and Jenny Ross were planning to submit an action plan with immediate first steps toward mitigating the damage that has been done by these data centers. I'm begging you to listen to them, to us, and to work with us toward a better future for everyone. Thank you.

Next up we have Garrett Fleener and then we have on deck Matt Ellenberger.

Hello Mayor, Councillors, friends. My name is Garrett Fleener and I'm the first Vice Chair of the Washington County Democratic Party. I'm here tonight on behalf of the party to speak on the topic of the Sky Harbor appeal. In June, our party voted with an overwhelming majority to oppose the Sky Harbor project and support the appeals that are now before you. Councillors, the Sky Harbor project will increase the number of private billionaire owned jets that will be flying in and out of Hillsborough. These private jets are the most inefficient and polluting mode of travel, and Sky Harbor wants to build a parking lot for them. This will affect the whole county. The approach and takeoff paths for these jets crossover our neighbors and friends in Tualatin, Tigard, Beaverton, Aloha, North Plains, and Helvetia. This has regional impact, and I want to call your attention to the fact that the decision that you will make when you consider the appeal will affect all of the residents of this county, not just Hillsborough. Hillsboro doesn't have a 10,000 foot wall around the city limits. The pollution, both noise and exhaust from these jets won't be contained inside the bounds of the city. If such a wall existed, Sky Harbor would not want to build a hanger at the Hillsboro Airport in the first place. You all have a responsibility, not just to your residents that will be impacted by the cost and fallout of this project, but also to the rest of the county. When we come to testify in support of the Sky Harbor appeal on the date that you all set tonight, you will hear from many people from around our county who are not residents of Hillsborough. Please listen to them. Treat them as your own residents. This project affects all of us, but the nature of our government system has made you all the decision makers. So we must come to urge you to support the appeal and deny this project. Thank you for your time tonight, and I look forward to speaking with you again on this topic when you consider the appeal in August.

Matt Ellenberger, and on deck we have Susie Logue. Okay, Matt, you have three minutes, and your timer's over there. Hey Matt, hit the button so your mic is on. Good. And can we please, thank you, can we please, okay, the timer's been restarted, so go ahead.

Awesome, so my name is Matt Ellenberger. I live at the intersection of East Main and Century. As the gentleman started with today, that's where Connor Navarro unfortunately lost his life on June 23rd. Investigators with the Washington County Crash Analysis Restriction Team, they confirmed speed was a factor in his death. The driver failed to obey a traffic control device. It was not a freak accident, predictable result of a road built to move cars fast through an area full of neighborhoods and families. These families have students, runners, cyclists, all live within this area, and residents commonly refer to the road as a freeway due to the disregard for safety in this area. His death was not the first incident at this intersection. There's been many incidents over the years. Dating back in 2014 is a recent one that I recall where A car at a high rate of speed at 4 o'clock in the morning struck the concrete wall next to where Connor was hit, ejecting two passengers that I found at 4 o'clock in the morning as I jumped the concrete wall behind our home. One woman was laying bleeding face down in a bush. I had to adjust her head to make sure that she could breathe. The other gentleman had a broken pelvis and was laying in a different part of the bushes. The driver attempted to flee and we had to hold him there as well until police arrived. There's been other incidents at this intersection where we've had to break windows, cut seat belts, witness the tops of cars be pulled off to extract individuals who've been trapped. This was not a surprise as many incidents have happened here and these are only ones that I described to you where I've actually been home. I'm not a trained first responder. I didn't volunteer to be one when I moved to Hillsboro in 2015. Out of moral obligation to help others in a way that I would want someone to help me, I've done what I can. In the instance of Connor, there was nothing that I could do. Fortunately, I knew this day would come and we faced the situation. Hillsborough police estimated the driver was traveling as fast as 70 miles per hour at the moment of impact through a signaled intersection surrounded by schools, homes, and families on a road posted nowhere near that speed. That's not a lapse in judgment. That's what happens when a road is engineered to make that speed possible in the first place. Connor's mother has said it plainly, this is a known problem intersection, the city let her down. We've all been let down at this intersection. We're not asking for a study that sits on a shelf, we're demanding that the council commit to a redesign of East Main and Century that prioritizes human safety over vehicle throughput. Narrow lanes, protected infrastructure, proper measures that protect human life and make it physically difficult to drive 70 miles an hour through a residential intersection. No city, no council, no state, no individual will ever go on record to say that they prioritize traffic patterns or convenience over human life. However, without action, it will be a clear priority that the priority of the council is not the safety of our community or our children. Condolences, apologies, sympathy, don't bring Connor back.

Thank you, your time is up. Now we have Susie, and on deck we have Nita Pecos.

I'm trying to push the green button.

You're live? All right, great. Thanks for asking, though. And then your timer is up there. Thank you very much. We're there.

All right. Good evening. My name is Susie Logue, as you said. I also live right off Main Street with my husband and my two young children. I'm a registered nurse. I work up at OHSU, and my husband's a Hillsborough firefighter sitting right back with me. About four years ago, at the very same intersection where Connor Navarro was killed, I had my own near-miss. A driver ran the red light, sorry, my emotions are quite on the surface, and came within feet of hitting me and my 12-month-old in a stroller. The wind from the speeding car whipped my hair across my face, blew our blanket right off our lap. He didn't even tap the brakes as he sped by. I estimated at the time the driver was likely going close to 60. Chokes me up still thinking about it, especially knowing my husband's crew responded on Connor and maybe he would have responded on me and our daughter. That was not my only near miss on Main Street, but it's the closest and most terrifying. As a former ER nurse at Hillsboro Medical Center, OHSU emergency department and Dornbecher Pediatric ICU, I've seen the devastating aftermath of the high speed reckless car accidents. I've sat with parents as they tearfully said goodbye to their brain dead children. I've been in the OR helping to harvest organs from a bicyclist who was simply on his way to work on an ordinary day when a speeding reckless driver took his life. And out of respect for Connor and his family, I won't go into every graphic detail tonight, but I've seen it all, and arguably my husband has seen worse as he goes on the victims that don't make it to me at the hospital. We witness the human cost up close nearly every day, and everyone who lives off Maine has these same stories. I'm sharing these personal and professional experiences tonight to respectfully ask the city, just as I did back in 2019, to start aggressively working on real speed calming measures and safety improvements along the corridor from Corn Pass to Brookwood, but especially from Century to 53rd on Main. Without them, Connor won't be the last life lost. I also want to say that I am a woman of action and I don't just want to complain, I do want to help. I'm happy to serve as a citizen on any type of planning committee, traffic safety work group, grass roots, door to door. Doesn't matter if I'm pregnant, I can walk, or in any other capacity the city needs. I thank you for your time.

Thank you. Next up we have Nita Pecos, is that correct? Pecos, yeah. Pecos, and on deck we have Simone C. Okay, I think I'm on, right? You are on, and your timers are there or there? Could we restart those please? Okay, thanks, yeah, full time, go ahead.

All right, thank you. I'm needing to collect myself because this is a little bit emotional for all of us. My name is Nita Pecos. I'm a resident of Hillsboro. I am joined by my neighbors and friends tonight. We are friends of the Navarro family who recently lost their son and brother to a reckless driver speeding down Maine. One of our kids did not come home. I sat with Charlie the night of the accident as police detailed. I was at the accident scene and I saw his body lying there. I would like to ask the city and county to partner with us. Just echoing what Susie Lokes just said, we are here to help. We want to help. And we want to find ways to improve this area. The county has designated this area from Cornelius Pass Road to Brookwood as arterial. I'd like to understand the designation since this is a stretch of road that is primarily serving homes, neighborhoods, and heavily visited parks like Noble Woods and Hidden Creek. I'd like to understand what's possible to avoid another situation when one of our kids does not come home. Thank you so much for your time and consideration of my request. Mayor?

Mayor?

Yes.

Connor's mother is here. I think it would be respectful if we could give a minute of silence for Connor.

Yeah, thank you, Councillor Allcare, for the recommendation. Let's have a moment of silence for Connor. Could we have a minute put up? Or I'll just keep time.

His mother is standing out there, so maybe somebody can invite them to come into the room. Thank you.

Ms. Navarro? We'd like to have Councillor Allcare graciously recommended that we have a moment of silence in honor for your son. And we'll begin that moment of silence now. Thank you. Next up we have Simone. And on deck we have Antonia Lopez. Simone, welcome. You have three minutes and your time. Please do not clap. Jody, thank you. Just it interrupts. Thank you. Simone, you have three minutes and your timers are on your left and right. Thank you very much.

Council, Mayor, I'm here because Connor Navarro can't be. Mayor Beach-Pace, you were absent for more than a month, while issues of data centers were blowing up around your ineffective city council. Your first meeting back, you appeared remotely, along with most of council, except for Kipland and Olivia. That night, we were all here trying to deal with the fallout from Christian Salgado's behavior. That night, Connor Navarro, while we sat here, died in the street being run over from a reckless driver. He died not very far away from the sign for the Century Boulevard expansion. Washington County says that this project will enhance access, improve transportation connections, and support future growth. That's what City View's mailer promised. But future growth for whom? Connor was 19 on a bike ride at night. He died in front of the sign promising improvements, your improvements, your future growth. He was killed at the intersection you designed for cars, not for him. The family held a candlelight vigil for Connor. Only one elected official came, that was Kerplin Sinclair. No other city councilor, no mayor, not even Elizabeth Case, who's apparently a neighbor. But Councillor Case and Mayor Beach-Pace did show up in person for the groundbreaking of the $90 million police station. The mayor's wife, Commander Gincy Pace, was there holding the ceremonial shovel for cameras and for the optics. So let me get the priorities straight. No time to stand with Connor's family in the dark, plenty of time to smile with a shovel for a $90 million building. And speaking of money, the same city views page brags about three community programs supporting small business. Two of them are Centro and Adelante Mujeres. They teach, train, and loan real small businesses. The third is Washington County Chamber of Commerce. You give them city money as a small business, so what's the deliverable? How many Hillsboro storefronts did they save, or is this just a blank check for some people who lobby you? You fund the chamber, you fund a $90 million police station, you fund enhancements on Century Boulevard. Connor Navarro didn't get an enhancement, he got a memorial on a sidewalk. At his vigil, we were asked to join in singing a song countless mothers have sung to their own children. I was given this candle at that memorial. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away. Please don't take my sunshine away.

Next up we have Antonio Lopez and on deck we have Mike McTiernan, or Mike McTiernan. Ms. Lopez, you have three minutes and your timers are on your left and right, please.

Darvo stands for deny, attack, reverse victim, and offender. It's a tactic used by abusers to avoid accountability. Institutional Darvo is the same tactic only implemented by institutions and or government. Institutional betrayal is what this community has been subjected to. The people sitting behind me are not an angry mob. They continue to. The community came to this council months ago asking for transparency. They came with a plethora of questions they needed answered. We requested a town hall instead of transparency and a town hall. We were given a closed session where independent journalists were denied access. City leadership hid behind we cannot respond during public comment and made public comment the only avenue for the community to be heard. You ignored our efforts to be heard. We have been forced to engage in leadership on social media where you get to choose who you bless with your responses or who will some of you out route abuse in an effort to change the narrative. You deny any wrongdoing. We have been forced to show approval or disapproval from the audience with first clapping or booing only to be chastised and threatened that meetings will be adjourned. The neglect and lack of care and outright betrayal by the city leadership has forced us at times to disrupt and voice our opinions from the audience. Then you attack, labeling us disrespectful, angry, disruptors, agitators, pushing that narrative with the help of local media, completing the DARVO process, reversing victim and offenders. The people in this room are not an angry mob. Disruptors, agitators are being paid. They are your constituents who put their faith and trust in you to have their best interests at heart only to be betrayed by you, to be ignored by you. They are the victims of institutional betrayal. They are your victims. You had an opportunity to turn this around and pivot had you actually cared. Instead, you gas lit, continued to ignore, and some of you outright abused the community. We are in crisis. We have realized that we have to show up and you have activated us. You've opened our eyes and we will never look away again. These are people that would have never met each other in the real world. It's because of your betrayal and your lack of care, so you don't get to change the narrative. You don't get to reverse and make yourselves the victims when they are just responding to being victims of institutional betrayal by you. Because to you, your positions are nothing more than a step in your pipeline coming from the Chamber of Commerce to whatever your political goal is. To us, this is our lives. You better get to understanding that you're no longer working in a vacuum.

Your time is up, thank you very much. And now we have Mike McTernan, and on deck we have Barbara Nelson.

Is it still on?

It is on, the green light is on, and your timers are on your left and right.

Great, thank you. I'm here to discuss the Sky Harbor project, a private jet hangar that's being built at the Hillsboro Airport and the appeals being brought against it. Just like a few weeks ago when we were here to discuss the data centers, we once again find the city on its back feet. Once again, we as citizens are forced to discover, object, and then offer the city solutions to problems they should have anticipated, problems they should have stopped in their tracks. In this case, we have a proposal for a private jet hangar. This will increase air traffic, decrease air quality, and increase noise disturbance over all parts of our city. Why do we need this? Who does that benefit in this city? There were no environmental studies done. There were no determinations on whether this would increase noise or reduce our air quality. Our city has some of the worst air quality in the region, and we are thinking about building something that will only make that worse, instead of dealing with that problem first. Again, the city's elected officials and its staff are abdicating responsibility, claiming there's nothing they can do, allowing deadlines to pass, and demanding nothing from the Port of Portland. The airport and the Port of Portland are using our city as a dump. They've been poisoning our city with lead for decades. The response to citizens' complaints about this dangerous poisoning being dumped at our city have been dismissive at best and obstructionist at worst. I myself have been fighting with the port for years, and I have seen almost nothing happen on this front. Do we truly believe that the Port of Portland has our city's best interests in mind? Do we believe they have the time to build a private jet hangar, but no time to make any movement on getting leaded fuel out of their planes? Not only are we facilitating more development at their airport without studies or mitigations, but we're relying on their assurances that they're going to follow our rules and laws. I applaud the private citizens who brought the appeals against this planning decision, and I urge the council and its staff members to do everything it can to stop this egregious development from continuing. Do not let this opportunity pass to do something for the city's people. Step up and do the right thing. Thank you.

Next up is Barbara Nelson and on deck is Dirk Knudsen. Barbara, you have three minutes. Your mic is on and your timers are on the left and right. If you can see them. Thank you. Yeah, sure.

I find it ironic that we sit here tonight after a weekend of celebrating this country's 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A document that was written out of necessity because the government had become too powerful. And they forgot who they represented. And I've sat in many of these meetings, and what I've witnessed from most of you, is contempt the sheer fact that you sit above us and look down on us is a metaphor in and of itself the fact that you have the power to sit from the comfort of your own home not even show up and face the public and then you cut the mic when someone says something where you don't like the words or the content of their testimony The fact that you took nearly 25 minutes to agonize over how to reprimand a fellow council member that harassed and encouraged others to make threats and vile comments on his Facebook page towards a citizen. And the fact that you have a city manager, right here, that has a compensation package north of $300,000 a year. and a track record of deception and non-transparency. Yet, year after year, you renew this contract with a raise. And the fact that nearly every voice, written or spoken, has been against the proliferation of data centers, and you continue to promote signed contracts and award tax breaks. Shame on you. And I find this confounding, disturbing, and reprehensible. And I find this to be direct violation of your oath of office. Now, I don't expect my words or the testimonies of all the others tonight will make a difference. But I believe, and I do believe when you go home, you're going to take a sigh and you're going to say, gosh, we had to endure another night of testimony from the angry mob. And that's how we think you see us. But I want my testimony on record, that with the exception of Councilor Olivia O'Care, which has talked to me personally, and Councilor Kipperlyn Sinclair, who has approached me personally, the rest of you have forgotten who you serve. Thank you.

Next up is Dirk Knudsen, and then on deck is Sandra, and then Jana. So we have, Mr. Knudsen, you have three minutes.

Thank you, Mayor. I'm so sad for Connor. I actually know his family a little bit. He lost his dad to brain cancer, as you may know by now, not too long ago. And he should have never lost his life. I live near there. We had an airborne car almost kill my son and I right where Connor died. And so what we did for Alter Wiener, when he died up by Orinco Station, we need to do tenfold for Connor. I don't know if it's naming the bridge, I don't know if it's ten scholarships to kids who can become great human beings that graduate from Hillsboro schools, but we need to do something. And that westbound traffic is a death trap, and it has been. So we can do that, I know we can do that. On the data center front, I think I'm the first person that came here and talked about them four or five years ago, and here we are. And I'm terrified about the North Hillsboro urban renewal area. And it's difficult to understand what we've done. We created a huge urban renewal area so we could borrow tax increment financing to the tune of $370 million. That gets paid back with whoever shows up to Huffman and all the great streets we built. Guess what? They're not going to pay any taxes. And you know what happens when those taxes don't come in? that 370 million dollars in interest will run i don't know what the balance is you guys probably don't either but we spent 150 no they don't we spent 150 plus million on land and beach you said we spent 120 million on infrastructure during the senate bill 1586 to get that area ready for expansion but we're in a tough spot if semiconductors don't come And you keep giving Enterprise Zone that money to pay that debt's coming out of the general fund. So you better all get up on top of this and have Robbie and the staff look at it. The economists that did the modeling on the 2023 revision for the North Hillsboro Industrial District did not count on the city of Hillsboro buying 30 of the parcels that could have paid those fees back, those monies back. And they're now all sitting at zero because property taxes aren't charged to cities. So we're in a trap, and if we don't get out of this trap, and if Mike Rogoway's right today that semiconductors are dying in Oregon, and those businesses don't show up with real jobs, we're screwed. And you won't be here, but whoever's here is going to be listening to people saying, why are you cutting parks to pay a debt on a $370 million tax increment financing thing so we could go play developer? This is a very dangerous situation. It doesn't need to be politicized. Get on top of it. This is numbers and math and economies. Thank you. Tonight you're going to hear about data storage facilities through the work you're doing. That is not what we need to restrict. AI computing is the new name. Data storage is the old way. If we restrict data storage, we're doing absolutely nothing. So make sure staff and all of you work on the broad definition of what it is we're trying to get our hands around. Thank you.

Next up is Sandra, and then we have Jana on deck, and then Mr. Brown, but he is not with us. So after Jana is Jody Clark. All right, so Sandra, you have three minutes, and your timers are up there.

First of all, I want to say I'm so sorry for your loss. That's a young life that should have never been lost. And I really am truly sorry about that. And then Pace, you clearly don't care about us, do you, Pace? You were just up here smiling about naming July Disability Month. And you've given a warning to someone suffering from a disability for clapping. And you're just, you don't care about us. And I'm sure you'll do the same when it comes to Latino Heritage Month and actively kick out people of color for literally begging to be heard. And you're so performative and I am so sick of it. So sick of it. I really want the people of Hillsboro To notice and be careful of a pattern and nothing will ever change if you ignore this. Local leadership has established a pipeline from the Chamber of Commerce to whatever the person of the Chamber of Commerce political aspiration is. All of these people get put in leadership and they've all come from the Chamber of Commerce and they're all the same as Beach Pace. if you want change if you want real change watch for who beach pace rob harris sava ambry elizabeth elizabeth case and janine solman endorse and do not vote for them remember They've sold us out for data centers and care about their own pockets. They've done nothing for people suffering from trauma from violent arrests being seen in our backyards, in your backyards. And I can only imagine this pattern will continue if you choose to vote for these people. How are we as a community supposed to have any trust in these people if they only see Hillsborough City Council as a stepping stone? How are we supposed to trust anyone who is endorsed by your mayor who does not listen to us? It's clear that every public servant that has come from the Chamber of Commerce is only here to serve themselves, their own political aspirations, and their own pockets. Also, there was a detention that happened today in Hillsborough. Our people are still suffering and you still do nothing. Not even acknowledge that a person from Hillsborough was detained and taken violently. Do you hate us? Do you hate brown people, Pace? Because that's what it's starting to look like. And I am so tired of it. Really tired of it.

Next up is Jana, and I would ask why people are testifying to please not clap, because it does interfere with our ability to hear the person testifying. And it interferes with people's ability online to hear. It actually cuts the audio when you clap, so. That is not true. I've seen the council online and that is not true. This is an outburst. Please do not comment. This is your second warning. Mrs. Lopez, Ms. Lopez, this is your third warning. Can we please have Ms. Lopez?

No, we gave you one warning. This is my second warning.

No, it's actually, I gave you one from the podium. Can we ask her to leave, please? Thank you. I want you to take back your reporting and leave this to my second warning. Janet, if you could hang on one second, please.

Mayor, I think we should acknowledge how many warnings?

It's three warnings, and I said that in the beginning.

She's disputing that it's two. Can we get some clarity about how many warnings were issued?

Yeah, the first warning was to everyone. The second warning was from the podium there when I was reading the Disabilities Act. So this is the third, and she's being asked to leave.

Did you give her specifically the first warning, or did you give the entire room the first warning?

I gave the entire room the first warning. The second warning was specifically to Ms. Lopez.

So I think that counts as only one warning for her. I just want to acknowledge how many warnings she got.

She got three warnings. Thank you. Please hold, Jenna. Ms. Lopez, if you could please leave. Thank you. On deck we have Jody.

May I please acknowledge that this is a new process for us and I did not, I genuinely did not hear that that was three. But again, this is a new process for us. This once, can we give a leniency to this? And our mayor will make the new safety policies clear. And we do need to adhere to them. I want everyone to come here and feel safe and also feel heard. Can we please, this once, give a leniency

Ms. Lopez, you now have two warnings. If you outburst again, you will be asked to leave, or we'll just stop the meeting, if you'd like that. All right, Jana, you have three minutes.

Data centers, airport expansion, Century Boulevard expansion, cuts to our schools, but we can give 90 million to a police department. Well, when I call the police department, when I almost get run over walking my grandson to school, they tell me that they don't have enough people to take care of something like that. Like a flashing light and almost getting run over in a school zone. Last November, you said that you would start a committee. to work on ICE. You've started a committee. How many months does it take to actually get them doing anything? It's been months. Nothing has happened. I think you need to look back at who's been managing this city. You, Robbie Hammond, not doing a very good job. Steve Calloway, who back in 2017 got these enterprise zones going, it's been ten years. What changes have you made to that? You're going back ten years to set the stage for today. And now you have all these people out here complaining when you should have been doing your job and looking at a ten year old project and saying, is this the right thing to do? has had Century Boulevard expansion on his mind for years, multiple years, 20, 30 years, I don't know. He's changed the zoning to make it easier to make Century Boulevard happen, even though people have been complaining for years and years that Main Street is dangerous. There's absolutely no reason why Century Boulevard needs to go through. There's four schools there. You're putting all of those children at risk. And I know for a fact that the police department won't do anything when something happens to those kids because they don't have enough manpower, because they got 90 million to build a police department. I've spoken to you, Ms. Pates, a couple times, and both times you've told me your hands are tied. Well, untie your damn hands and start doing your job. We've requested to have open sessions, town halls, emergency sessions, and you do nothing. Untie your hands, do your job.

Next up is Jody Clark Lampa, and on deck is Mari Park. Jody, you have three minutes, and your timers are on your left and right.

I wasn't going to speak tonight. I didn't wear my Recall Beach paste shirt. I was going to sit here and listen to what was going on. But you blew it away, Beach. You talk about respect, you don't respect us. How long have we been coming here telling you what our concerns are and we get a city views crap thing that doesn't have correct information? No wonder we keep coming back. No wonder we have to raise our voices. No wonder we're giving bad glares, which you I apologize to. I gave you bad glares the other day. I did. I'm not going to do that anymore. But you, you should be mentoring her. on how to be a good counselor. Obviously, that's way out of bounds for you. Okay, so lack of respect. You're not paying attention to us. You're never getting back to us unless it's in something like this that you've determined how it should be written, what information, wrong or right, should be in there. We're tired of it. We want the respect back. that you're insisting for these meetings. We come, we speak, we're not heard. We're not responded to. And you've told us that's all right because you don't have to respond to us. Some way you should be responding to us. Yeah, it takes weeks to months to get any response and then it's, oh, it's in here. The potential moves. for the data centers, the possible actions, nothing is being done. They're all potential impossible. How long have we been asking for help? And maybe you should just stand up and say, we're not listening to you. We don't care how you feel. Oh my God, I'm sorry, that wasn't a slander or anything. Um, anyway, and Jana, you stole my no-tied hands. If I hear that one more time, we'll find something to untie those hands. You don't know. I came in here tonight to not put people down. I'm spending my energy right now building up some people who want to run, to be on our council, who want to listen to us. I know this is hard for you. I know this is hard. You need to be listening to us. And the needs to be listening to us. If we can't get counselors in here who want to support us, we'll have to take it another direction. Your choice. Another thing is I watched a clip or a reel or what?

Your time is up.

Thank you so much for the time.

Next up is Mari Park, and then after Mari, we have Steve Wheeler is on deck, and then Mickey Barnes after that. Okay, so we have Mari who's up now. Mari, you have three minutes. Your timers are on your left and right.

All right, hello Mayor Pace and Councillors. Many of you know me, I've worked with you before. My name is Mari Park and I previously served on the Hillsboro Yak. Just a couple blocks from my home is the intersection of East Main Street and Northeast Boulevard. I pass by this intersection almost every day. It's also where my friend Connor Navarro was recently struck and killed. by speeding car while training for a triathlon. He was only 19. He was kind, witty, hardworking, and full of promise, and his death has devastated so many in our community. What makes it even harder is knowing the intersection has long been recognized by those who live nearby as a dangerous one, and neighbors have raised concerns about speeding here for years. And now the community has lost another. As someone who lives nearby, I've watched cars speed through this intersection. One of the first things I was told when I got my driver's license was to be careful at that intersection. And at a run with Connor freshman year, I had to change the route specifically so we could avoid the intersection. Sorry, that would later take his life. And with the Century Boulevard extension moving forward, this concern becomes even more urgent. The project will create a major new connection through Hillsboro, bringing more people, vehicles, and activity to the corridor. Should the project go through, which I'm sure it will, we need a commitment of enhanced pedestrian and cyclist crossings. and areas before an increased traffic. Increased traffic makes an already dangerous situation even worse. We need changes on a road that allows vehicles to travel at such speeds to kill someone on impact. Every investment in safety is an investment in preventing another family from experiencing the loss that Connor's family now carries. He should still be here, and everyone should still have him. And I hope that we can honor his memory, not only with words, but with action that protects everyone that will use this intersection. Connor will be missed, but he shouldn't have to be, because those broke can and should do better. So thank you for your time.

Next up, we have Steve Wheeler, and then behind Steve is Mickey Barnes, and then behind Mickey is Jacob Roloff. Steve, you have, just press the center button there, and when the light turns green, you're on, and you have three minutes, and your timers are on your left and right. There you go. Try again. There you go, you're on. I do the same thing with my cell phone.

Okay. I'll thank you for your service to our community. Elected representatives at the local and state levels work part time for a modest stipend. Yet you must deal with highly paid lobbyists representing Fortune 500 companies on matters that impact community resources and finances and people's lives well into the future. For an average citizen, this data center issue seems to have sprung up overnight into contention that has cost the seat of at least one elected representative It seems that suddenly Hillsborough and the state of Oregon have approved citing at least 18 huge data center facilities on what has been prime farmland. And indirectly handed tax breaks to the billionaires, investors who are clamoring to make trillions from artificial intelligence research and development. While data centers have been built for some years, there is now a rush to build thousands more across the country because it is federal policy that the US out-compete China in this new technology that has huge potential for many fields of human endeavor, from medical research to advances in military applications to surveillance of all of us that may threaten our freedom. Data center investors want to cash in on federal money earmarked for technology that is seen as vital for national defense. Yet artificial intelligence also poses threats to the American workforce as jobs that can be done by computers displace people. And what are those people going to do for a living? Should the government help displaced workers, especially since they helped finance the technology that took their livelihoods? With forethought and careful planning, massive job disruption may be mitigated and working Americans can be spared painful transitions. Raise your hand if you have high confidence in the current administration to get that right. We need a moratorium on new data center construction to gain time to consider how this new technology will impact all of us. how it should be regulated, what safeguards should be in place to protect vulnerable people? Or do we want to blindly rush forward while corporations like Google, Meta, and Microsoft are losing lawsuits or making large settlements over AI applications that are- Your time is up.

Your time is up, thank you very much. Next up is- Mickey Barnes, thank you for being here. And Jacob Roloff, you're on deck. And after Jacob, we have Teresa. But first, right now, we have Mickey. So Mickey, you have three minutes. Your timers are on your left and right.

Okay, thank you. Mayor Pace, members of the council, thank you for this opportunity to offer testimony. I appreciate being able to be here. Though Oregon Land Use Goal 1 requires cities and counties to include the community in all phases of land use decisions, this did not happen with the Sky Harbor Hanger proposal. In Washington County, there is not now, nor has there ever been a community-based airport advisory committee. In addition, meetings related to the Sky Harbor proposal excluded neighborhood notification and inclusive community involvement. The only way left to gather information is through public records requests. Towards this end, I asked the planning department to provide all communications between Dan Diaz, his designees, the Port of Portland, and Sky Harbor. This afternoon, just before I left, I was informed that the provision of this information will cost me $2,500. They want to charge $7 per email. Now, I am involved in appealing the planning commission's decision. In order to prepare for an appeal, we need information. Information that was not given to us in advance of this decision. So I come here before you today asking the council to waive this fee. I do have a website, Oregon Aviation Watch. I will provide the information so it's open to the public. It will not be hidden away in any way. So that is my request and I thank you.

Next up we have Jacob Roloff, and on deck we have Teresa Say, and then after that is Pam Code.

Okay, Jacob, you have three minutes. Good evening, Councillors. I have spoken here many times about data centers, and I probably will many more times. The specific problems and impacts are profound and multiple, and crucially, the fight against them is not a fight against progress or of technology generally. Fundamentally, it's about the ability of people who live in an area, a county, a city, to determine the structures of everyday life in their area. We have data centers going up here near schools, near waterways, Weibel Creek, SNROs, and near residentially dense areas. Farmland, if not explicitly used for the structures, are subject to their externalities in solar farms and best installations. And even if they were placed in the desert, far away from anyone, and they are in some places, the fundamental value of those ecosystems outweighs what society and our city is receiving from this explosion in development. The emergency in our city is not industrial land availability, it's climate change, resource scarcity, topsoil loss, housing, and democratic degradation. The resistance against this development is not stupid, aimless, blind, or even uninformed. I consider myself a Luddite on the data center issue, and I encourage others to own that label. Luddites were not stupid agrarian cultists who destroyed and opposed machines of progress for nothing. They held principles and proposed alternative forms and speeds of development oriented to the people that lived there. I'm going to quote from this book. Luddism opposed not machinery per se, but the aggressive deployment of machinery hurtful to commonality. The Luddite movement was not about technology, it was about workers' rights. Luddism started as a tactical strike against technologies of control by withholding labor, but had exploded into a greater expression of the rage against the system where the privileged few with access to the right levers could lift themselves up at the expense of the many by breaking the machines. We must not allow mankind to be sacrificed to improvements in mechanism. These workers did not understand it was their duty to lay down and die because they were no longer useful to industry and state. Meanwhile, the factory owner response was similar to the responses we see from data center operators and new packs representing them and city councils that prostrate themselves for them. They were outraged, these companies, at the notion that they might be compelled by force to accommodate the requests of the working people whom their investments were affecting. And so it's simply far past time, proper time, to reorient our government, local and otherwise, toward the needs and desires of people who live here, regardless of the cudgels surely held over some of these electeds by these extremely rich investment and developer companies. A colonel at the time during the height of the Luddite activity said, the country is in a most perturbed state. A profound understatement and a description that becomes truer every day for our country and city. Once again, I must repeat that the city's response to and encouragement of this development despite public disapproval has been utterly pathetic.

Next up we have Teresa and then Pam Code after Teresa. Okay. Teresa, welcome, you have three minutes and your timers are on your left and right.

Sorry, I didn't have a chance to print so I won't be able to look at you, sorry. It's okay. Okay, hi, my name is Teresa C and I live in Jones Farm since the beginning of 1999. I'm here because on May 27th of this year, the Hillsborough Planning Commission approved the Sky Harbor Hangar Project at our General Aviation Hillsborough Airport. One, without an environmental impact study, and two, without notifying the citizens of Washington County. Either one alone violates the Hillsborough Airport Master Plan. Mayor Pace, we've met before, and the council members, this is our first meeting. And on Sunday, I briefly looked at the City of Hillsborough web page to see who you were. I'm not picking on you, Elizabeth's case, but on your spot webpage, I agree with what you said. Hopes and goals for serving on the council to make sure we consider how we make choices today will affect, I'm sorry. Hillsboro in five, ten, fifty years from now. Unfortunately, that is where my agreement ends. That goal has not been followed. I feel that the city of Hillsboro and Washington County had no plans. Hillsboro and Washington County have crowded, dense residential neighborhoods right next to industrial aviation use. That guarantees conflict. There is noise pollution. air pollution, both of which makes people and wildlife sick. That is well documented. Many studies have been done to prove that. You can easily find that information by just Googling it at your local library or simply go to quietcommunities.org and oregonaviationwatch.org. Well researched articles have been posted for the public's viewing since 2011 for So ignorance is not an excuse. Good planning, good planning separates residential areas from industrial ones and connects them with real transit. So people can go home to quiet, clean air, and that's not what we have. It started with former Mayor Jerry Willie colluding with Port of Portland to expand the airport without real planning. Mayor Pace, we did not need to continue this lack of planning for the families who live here. The noise problem and lead pollution coming from the Hillsborough Airport has impacted all of us, actually Jones Farm since 2013. mainly from flight training of prop planes and helicopters. I am very angry that Hillsboro is even considering Sky Harbor to build hangars to house 30 private Lear jets and store 40,000 gallons of jet fuel so near our Brookwood libraries where families visit daily. Your time is up. Okay, thank you.

Next up is Pam Code. Pam, you have three minutes. Your mic is already on. And your timers are on your left and right.

Thank you, council member. I'll care for the calling for the moment of silence earlier. I'm here to talk about the Century Boulevard main issue. Not planning on talking today, but here I am again. thoughts on what we've heard so far. People who are not first responders should not have to encounter tragic situations based on proximity to where they live. If receivers that were used in noise studies for the construction of the road of the extension can be classified as residential all around where that intersection is, that road should be treated as such. As far as the city is able to And then also the city should call for and expect to receive more allowance and control over the construction of our infrastructure. I understand that the county has a lot of say and so does the state, but I think our city has a right to ask for more. even if other cities don't. I think that all of us here are people of action. We should come together around the road issues and no longer let long-running assumptions about what a safe road is go untested. And we should also revisit what counts as a safe road. We don't need to reinvent the wheel or tear out entire roads to improve road safety, especially at this intersection. And those kinds of improvements can start with a driving environment. There needs to be more happening than just changes to how the intersection is monitored, although that is appreciated. Infrastructure is not just signs, lights, and paint. There needs to be the kind of physical changes that were described earlier. So candidates in these upcoming elections who speak to these kinds of issues productively and provide us with a vision such as, as I said, physical changes more than just lights and signs like what's there now showing people their speed limit, those candidates will gain traction. This is certainly an issue that's going to be a mainstay through the next election. Citizens are also getting smarter about how they can get involved, such as by urging the council and transportation committee not to automatically pass road and land use plans. So hopefully we'll be seeing more plans just not just passing right on through we have a right to challenge and question before passing things i we as in the city um and lastly you know we're getting smarter by finding out that there are vacancies coming up on the washington county planning commission at the end of the year that citizens can run for and hopefully be a part of

Okay, that concludes public comment. Moving to item four, consent agenda. There is only one item listed on the consent agenda. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

Sinclair, so moved.

Thank you, do I have a second?

Second case.

Is there any discussion?

Yes.

Councillor Sinclair.

Mayor, I'd like to ask that the council, in the hearing testimony today, I'd like to request that we do waive the public records fee, both for Barnes and for Richmond. I'd like this council to take that into consideration.

Okay, is there any other discussion?

Yes, I would like to understand why the request for both the appeals to be de novo is being asked. So I would like to, if staff is here, I would like to understand that.

Yeah, and we should also answer Councillor Sinclair's question about waiving a fee as well. Do we have any response to that?

Members of the council, Chad Jacobs from the city attorney's office. I believe planning staff is here who can maybe answer this better than I can, but I can try to start with a de novo question. Under the code, the council has an opportunity to decide whether it wants to hear the appeal on the record or de novo. On the record means that you can't take any new evidence, that you just take it based on what was presented to the planning commission, and that's all you can consider as part of the process. De novo allows basically a whole brand new hearing, and that allows for opportunity for new evidence to come in. allows for other people to testify and so it's a more inclusive process and so historically the council has always chosen to do a de novo review just because it opens it up for more testimony and allows you to consider all the evidence and sort of base the decision not just on the record but on all this new evidence and so that's why staff typically recommends a de novo hearing but ultimately it's the council's decision as to whether or not you want to do it on the record or de novo

So why would an applicant specifically request on the record?

An applicant may request on the record for multiple reasons, and I don't want to sort of guess why an applicant would or wouldn't in a particular situation. But, for example, if they believe that the record is complete and supports the, you know, for example, if the Planning Commission approved a proposed project and the applicant feels that the record is complete to support that decision, they may not want new evidence coming in. But that's, you know, that's why the decision is really for the Council to make, and the Council gets to decide if it wants to do the de novo hearing or on the record.

Does that answer your question, Councillor Anne-Marie?

No, I didn't know that, but I don't know why for this specific one it's been recommended. Is it just a general record? Do we never do on the record?

I don't recall any on the record. Historically, there have not been a ton of appeals to the council. Historically, staff has always made a recommendation for de novo hearings. It also allows, to the extent that there's any deficiencies in the record, to allow for that correction of the record as well. It's just the process that we've always recommended at the staff level, and ultimately it's the council's decision if you want to do something different. But as I've talked about, because it allows for more opportunity for public input, allows for corrections of the record, for all those reasons staff typically does recommend de novo. But under the code, the council can choose either or. I feel like I'm not answering your question, so is there more that you're looking for? No, that's all right.

That I understand, and I did read the packet. And I'd ask Robbie that I would ask that, and if staff be present. And so I don't know where staff is.

Dan is here. I'm not sure that I fully understand what else you're asking other than what Chad provided. Can you ask your question again, counselor?

Yes, sorry. Those were just definitions. So I do understand and I do understand the reason because that was the reason that was written. I do specifically want to understand why for this particular one when the application asks for on the record, there was some talk about it's more complex to run it that way. I just, I don't understand why we can't have it the way the applicant is asking.

Leslie is here. Leslie, would you mind coming and answering? Leslie's our planning manager that's been working on this.

Thank you, Council, and my name is Leslie Hamilton, Development Services Planning Manager. If you could repeat the question.

Yes, absolutely. So when I was reading the packet, one of the applications was requesting an on the record hearing. But the recommendation was that we do both as de novo and So I want to understand that better. I understand it's more inclusive, also that it may be easier to do it that way because we want to do both of them at the same time. But I just feel that if the applicant is asking for on the record, why wouldn't we do it that way?

Right. The applications, when they submit their appeals, they do have some written comments in there, which way they're requesting. I don't recall off the top of my head which each one was. There's some criteria that they address. We can certainly follow up with you on that, but I don't have it in front of me. And then to the points that I think the city attorney made, it is more inclusive for the most part. Okay. Does that answer your question? Okay.

No, it's fine. It's okay. I think it's just my understanding is that we've never done on the record ones, and they're always de novo, so maybe it's just precedent. And they are more inclusive, otherwise people will not be able to give testimony to those. So it is more inclusive, that I do understand. But I just wanted to get into a little bit more detail as to why we are doing it and if it's just, yeah, because it's not what they asked for.

Yeah. The other unusual thing is to get two appeals on the same item. So yeah, in some very new water here, I think. All right, thank you.

Okay, I'd like to get back to Councillor Sinclair's question. Could you ask that again, please, Councillor Sinclair? You want to waive the fees?

Real quick, and now I'm going to make it more complicated.

Yeah, great.

Yeah, because I'd like to address Councillor Anvery's comments. I appreciate that you asked that, actually. Robbie, with Barnes and Richmond both being here, is it possible to ask if there was a confusion on what they're asking for? Can we ask what their preference was and why?

um i'm sure we can i think and just to be clear i think chad mentioned this as well if the council prefers to do on the record i think we can you have the authority to do that it just goes back to we believe as um in the past in this current process that is just more open it allows the council to hear everything that everybody has to offer as opposed to just what was asked in the planning commission so we've always felt to staff that that's the better approach when we have two competing or two appeals from the same item It might cause confusion if you have one that's on the record and one that's de novo, so it just makes more sense to have them both the same process. So that's why, in our opinion as staff, it made sense to do a de novo hearing again.

Councillor Harris? Correct me if I'm wrong, Mr. Jacobs, but if it looks like the Barnes Group was requesting on the record, from what I could tell, it says the Barnes et al. Appellant Group is requesting on the record of appeal. If that's the case, we're going on the record that is built. And if that's the case, any emails from Mr. Diaz would not be relevant and admissible if it's on the record, which case the Freedom of Information request and the fee would be a moot point. Is that accurate?

That's correct, yes.

So we may want to clarify before we make the decision to go on the record with the appellant if that is truly what they want to do given that information, given that fact.

So to be clear that if we went with a de novo hearing, then the applicants would not have to pay those fees, is that correct?

No, I think what, sorry, go ahead, Chad. So what I'm saying is if it's on the record review, then the only thing we look at is what's currently on the record from a planning department. These emails are not part of the record. They're not coming in. There's no reason to ask for them. There's no reason to either impose or waive any fees. If Ms. Barnes and her group want those emails to get to your request, it would have to be a de novo review. That would give them an opportunity to get the emails and then submit them as part of the de novo hearing.

Is that correct, Mr. Jacobs?

Yes, it is. Okay. All right, any further discussion on Councillor Sinclair's point?

Yeah, I just have a question. So this is just something that the council can ask for? The council can agree to and ask for this?

Yeah, we can either do de novo hearing or we can have on the record, so yes.

So I think that we should. Because it feels like we're making this a bigger burden than it needs to be if all council needs to do is just ask for this on their behalf. Why make the public go through a burden and expense? That doesn't seem fair to me in a process We're representing them, we're asking them to come. They are showing up, they're giving their input, they're asking for our support. This is not the time to shut down that conversation. This is the time to think about maybe we ought to consider what it is that we can make less burdensome for people who want to come and talk and tell us what's wrong. I feel like that finance is an extra barrier for people when it doesn't have to be.

Councillor O'Carroll, on that point, I think that's why staff recommends a de novo hearing, because we want that ability for people to come and talk and share thoughts, because if it's an on-the-record hearing, the Council can only consider what was already previously shared with the Planning Commission. They can't consider any new input. That's why, as staff, we recommend it be a de novo hearing on both of these appeals.

And I appreciate that, but that just tells me how much harder it is to get information and communicate with the planning commission, council, and community.

Yeah, I think there's two issues, right? The first is whether or not there's a de novo or on the record hearing, which, again, the council can make that determination. Staff's recommendation is a de novo hearing. We can also talk about the records request. And there are ways we are certainly happy to work with them. The challenge with the records request that happens is when we receive... certain words that they want us to use a search for. Sometimes if it's very broad, it brings up thousands and thousands of emails that may not be relevant at all, but we still have to review all of those. We'd be happy to sit down and figure out maybe there's a way to narrow that scope so we can figure out exactly what they're looking for in the timeframe. We'd be happy to do that and bring that cost down and do whatever the council wants. I just want to give background as to why sometimes those numbers get so high because the searches are very broad sometimes.

And I think that's an appropriate way to respond to our taxpayers and people who voted us in to represent.

Okay, I see Councillor Salgado wants to make a comment and Councillor Sinclair. So Councillor Salgado, go ahead.

Yeah, two comments. On a personal note, I never understood charging. Thanks for the explanation, Robbie, but I never understood charging public or documents. I do have a question about... Receiving two appeals, that seems a little inefficient to me. Are they two distinct different appeals for different reasons? Why is that allowed? It seems really inefficient. Can someone help me understand why that's a thing that we're dealing with?

I don't know. I guess we can't really speak on behalf of the applicants as far as why they're doing two separate appeals. It's kind of unique. Dandies can offer more.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. For the record, Dan Dias, Economic and Community Development Director. So part of the reason why we have received multiple appeals is anybody who participates in the land use process has what is called standing, which gives them the ability to appeal a decision at the local jurisdictional level, in this case, from one of your advisory bodies. uh... multiple parties can participate have standing and if they have concerns or issues with the decision they have that right to appeal and they can either coordinate in jointly firing up file an appeal or they also do have the ability to file individual appeals which is the case before us with sky harbor uh... i want to follow up a little bit on on lessee's response earlier into councillor andrews question while imma do my best to summarize uh... the purpose of the appeals, and with all due respect to those that are appealing it, I hope I summarized those appropriately. It is staff's general understanding that one of the appellants requested an on the record in part to keep the appeal consideration before the council limited to those pieces that have already been discussed, in part to focus it to what had been submitted previously. That is not staff's indication, that is just a summarization of what we understood was in their appeal filing document. Whereas one of the other parties said that they would request a de novo hearing in the appeal, in part because, as Chad and others have noted, they were seeking to potentially be able to bring in additional information and considerations into that conversation. And so, staff took in both of those appeals, has sought to respond to the public and to package those for your consideration given your agenda item this evening. And just to reiterate what Mr. Jacobs has said, it is ultimately your call to set what of the two hearing types you want to have on the appeal. But I'll just reiterate what Robbie or Mr. Hammond and others have shared too is the reason why staff had recommended to go with the de novo hearing is that it does allow a more inclusive and more open process for you to hear the arguments for the appeal, to hear the defenses of the decision and of the application. and then for you to render the decision against the the standards and the criteria in our code so i hope that helps answer a couple of the questions and tie that back together and counselor i hope that also addresses your most recent question okay so uh and counselor sinclair you had a comment as well

Yeah, Mayor Pace, I'd like to request clarity to the applicant who filed the appeal prior to us voting so that we're adhering to what they requested.

So you want to hear from them? Yes. I'm fine with that. So we have Mickey Barnes, right? Hey, Mickey. So the question before you is, why on the record? And does DeNova work for you?

We went with on the record, on the vice of our attorney. The reason was that, yes, in many ways it does seem like a good idea to keep the record open. And from a personal point of view, I thought great, we could bring in more information. But on another level, it means the applicant can bring in last minute studies, say they've checked off the boxes. And I mean, the reality is we're outgunned. We're up against numerous billionaires in this game. So that was the reason. Now, keeping that in mind, our attorney said that The council will probably go de novo, and I'm okay with that. So rather than create this conflict, I don't think it's necessary. We're okay with de novo, but I think we do have to be prepared with the applicant adding new information to that file.

Okay. So I'm hearing from you that you're okay if we go with de novo. I'm okay with it.

I'm okay with it, yeah.

Okay. Yeah. Councillor Sinclair?

Yeah. So, Mickey, this is your choice. Ultimately, we vote on it as a body. But do you want this to be on the record, or do you want de novo? That's what I'm asking for.

I'm asking for clarity from you as the applicant. Well, Council Harris brought up the fact that if I want that information request, it would not count, which I think that was a good point that I hadn't thought about, and I thank you for bringing that up. I think we don't need a lot of friction on this point. I think DeNova's just fine. Okay. And I appreciate your attention to it, but it does not need to be a conflictual point, yeah. Okay. So I appreciate the attention you're giving to it.

Sure.

Thank you so much.

Okay, thank you, Mickey. Councillor Sinclair, did you have any other questions?

No, just following back around to us waiving the fee for the public records.

Okay, Councillor Harris, so the topic we're talking about now is waiving the fee. Yes. So let's not get off that topic because Councillor Sinclair has been very patient. So Councillor Harris, are you commenting on this?

I was I was gonna say that I'm I think the de novo it sounds like the Barnes group is fine with that if that's the preference that's fine with me and I think that before we vote to waive an entire fee we'll let the city work with the Barnes group to find out if they can narrow this down to come up with a reasonable fee and cost for the for the expenses if it's not reasonable and the barnes group wants to raise the issue again with us i'm more than happy to listen to them at that point i think the hearing's not until august so we should have time to do that so rather than taking a vote on waiving the entire fee i would like to basically give some just instruction to staff to work on this with the public can i ask yeah counselor case can i ask a clarifying question on how our public records fees work is it

you know, up to 500 pages is this much per page? Because I think she kind of mentioned it was like $7 a page. And I know this is a conversation to have with Amber.

We have a process and a fee schedule. So the first 30 minutes of any public records request, that's not a routine record. Routine record being online or in some sort of packet. The first 30 minutes is at no cost and then we charge a rate and it's a tiered rate depending on what level of staff is reviewing a record request and we provide a cost estimate before we proceed if the requester has approved it. With email, public records request is a little bit different because they're not as easy to gather. We don't have like a real easy email archiver system. So I actually have to provide two cost estimates. The first one being for IS to let's say we have a record request with in a certain time frame with certain keywords with certain employees involved or external folks. I get that information and is lets me know it will take let' s say 20 hours to download those emails under that scope and then once we have those emails I have to because at that point in time when I' m first estimating I don' t know how many emails will be restored at that point so let' s say I provide a cost estimate it' s going to take this much money for 20 hours to restore once they' re restored I provide a second one because it could be it could be 2,000 emails. It could be 20,000 emails. And so that's the second cost estimate. It's like, how long is it going to take? And it's kind of a detailed process. But you have to take out the emails, review them, PDF them, print them, depending on the number of staff that has to review or Chad's time to review certain emails. And so that's where we come up with the cost estimate. So yes, the email recovery public records requests take a little bit more time and money.

Does that answer your question? Thank you, that does. Then I would be in support of staff working to get a better understanding of what's needed, but based on the amount of time and intensity of that need, I would vote no on waiving the fee.

Okay, Councillor Selgado?

Yeah, I would like the staff to consider using, I know AI is a hot topic, but we have co-pilot at the City of Bilborough. And I've used that on Outlook. And it does a really good job of doing the search. So I think this is a really good use case for AI. It could really save us a lot of time and energy and serve the public and meet them where they need to be. So that's the only thing I wanted to add.

OK. Thank you. All right. So. I have a comment. Counselor, I'll carry.

So I'm retired now. I don't get paid for work. I get a stipend coming here, and yeah, I teach at PCC. But I just want to say that if something is part of your job, why are we charging money for that? If it's part of your job, why are we concerned about how many hours it's going to take to do the job? I HAVE AN EXPECTATION ABOUT THAT. AND IF IT'S GOING TO BE LIKE THAT DIFFICULT AND SO MUCH, I MEAN, WHEN YOU DO IT, GIVE US A BREAKDOWN OF ALL THE COSTS INCURRED FOR THIS. BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE IT. I'M JUST CONCERNED ABOUT THAT. because we have made it so difficult for people to communicate with us, even with the Planning Commission, on this issue and others. I would also like to think if we can figure out how to bring costs down, maybe we can find ways to also open better means of communication for people to talk to us about the things that they need. And to provide some more transparency in future so somebody else wants to ask for public records, they know what they're going to have to expect. But if we're going to give a precedence by keeping costs down, finding ways to keep costs down, we need to do that with every request.

Okay, so we have Councillor Sinclair who's asked that the staff work with the group. Councillor Harris has asked that. Councillor Case has asked that. And Councillor Sergato, you have another comment. Go ahead.

Yeah, you know, I was just inspired by Council Obcare's comment. I think this is a good opportunity to rethink how the City of Hillsborough does their work and how we serve our community. I think this is a really good example of something that's very easily fixed. Public records requests should be easily accessible by the public. The tax dollars already go to the salary. to the paper, to the ink, to everything involved as part of it, right? So maybe this is an opportunity for us to do something a little different at the City of Hillsborough. And maybe even consider adding this to each job description, right? Keeping a record of all your communications for every project. I have worked at the county, I have worked in corporate, I have worked in non-profit. One of the best practices to do in project management is keep a log of all your communications for every project. And it really excites me to hear that that's not a practice we have at the City of Hillsboro because that's a best practice. You need to have a record of all your communications so that when things like this happen, it's as easily as printing a folder, right? So I don't know if we need to update the job description for every position to say, this is part of your responsibility. You are responsible for keeping the record of everything you do, everything you communicate, because that is your responsibility. So when people ask for it, You should be able to deliver that in a PDF. I think that's a new standard we need to set up the city of Hillsborough. And I would encourage everybody to support that. And I don't know who needs to leave this because my ideas don't get a lot of movement. So whoever is the one moving things here, I think that's a really great idea to be able to kind of fix something that's really simple for our public.

Thank you. Okay, so right now we have a motion and a second. The discussion was about working with the Barnes Group to work on the fees. That's what we have right now. Are there any other comments? I don't see any. All right, may we please have a roll call?

Councillors, Al Kerr? Aye. Case? Aye. Anvery? Aye. Sinclair? Aye. Harris? Aye. Salgado?

Thank you. We have a majority of those voting yes, and the motion passes. Moving on to the second reading, item 7.2, Hillsborough Comprehensive Plan Amendment 003-26, Synopsis East. Consider the Planning Commission's recommendation to approve an update to the Hillsborough Comprehensive Plan map to change the designation from industrial to station community planning area on a portion of two lots. Ordinance number 6519 is available. Do I have a motion to adopt ordinance number 6519? So moved case. Thank you, do I have a second?

Second, Annemarie.

Thank you, is there any discussion? May we please have a roll call?

Councillors, I'll care.

Nay.

Case? Aye. Avery? Aye. Sinclair? Aye. Harris? Aye. Salgado?

Aye.

Was that a nay or an aye?

Nay.

Nay, thank you. We have four votes voting yes, so the ordinance number 6519 is adopted. Moving to item 8.1, new business. Zone change 003-26 synopsis east, consider a recommendation from the planning and zoning hearing board to approve a zone change on property approximately 4.54 acres in size from station community business park to station community residential medium density. Order number 33 is available. Do I have a motion to adopt order number 33? So moved, case. Thank you, do I have a second? Second, Ann Marie. Thank you, is there any discussion? May I please have a roll call?

Councillors, Alker?

No.

Case? Aye. Anfrey? Aye. Sinclair? Aye. Harris? Aye. Salgado?

Nay.

Thank you. We have four voting yes. So order number 33 is adopted. And moving to item 8.2, data storage and energy storage code amendment. Consider approving an order initiating updates to the community development code related to data storage and energy storage. Order number 35 is available. Do I have a motion to adopt order number 35? So moved case. Thank you. Do I have a second? Second, Sinclair. Thank you. Is there any discussion?

Yes.

Go ahead. Yes. Councillor Sinclair, go ahead, and then Councillor Salgado.

Yeah, I reached out to staff in preparation of this agenda item. And I appreciate the city's efforts to bring this forward to create greater definitions. But I requested, how will the new code specifically define a data center and energy storage? I requested that these definitions explicitly rely on megawatt density and cooling processes rather than just building use. And then in addition to that, I inquired about regarding part two of the order. Will our new energy storage definitions adequately capture the massive localized utility footprints of battery energy storage? That was a tongue time for me. Sorry about that. This is important to me that we get the definitions right as we move forward.

Okay, so I understand that this is a motion to make an amendment to this. So what you're asking for would be further down the road?

Yes, it will be further down the road by making my expectation clear on record what my expectation is.

Thank you. Is there any other discussion? Councilor Anne-Marie.

Yeah, just same. We want to make sure that these are larger definitions and not narrow. So same, yep.

Okay, thank you. And Councilor Segarro?

Yeah, I just had a couple of questions. So number one is I hope that they are using the information we submitted at the council to kind of help inform some of the things because You know, a lot of us submitted things on water and electric electric use. Um, so I just want to call that out and put it on the record. Um, and then also. I want to understand the timeline a little bit and see if there's anything that the council can consider as an interim measure as this is getting kind of determined. I know there's a lot of things. Underway, but that's another question I had, um, or, you know, want to open up that conversation.

Councilor Salgado, thank you for the question. So this is the first step of the process that we have to follow to go through a code amendment. At the next council meeting, we have a work session scheduled on July 21st, where we will then go through a lot of these details that Councilor Sinclair and others have talked about. That's where we'll get feedback from the council. approve of what staff is recommending if you want other things. So we'll make sure you get all of that feedback. There's also kind of clocks that need to start ticking. That's why we're doing this now, so we can get those clocks rolling. But this is just that first step. And so council will have plenty of input as we go through this process.

Yeah, thank you. And so my request is that, you know, the work that me and my fellow counselors did to, you know, research this issue and we brought information to the staff, I would just like for them to include that before they come and ask for our feedback at our work session so we're not repeating the same things over again, right? That's my only ask is, we already submitted a lot of documents. Please just consider those, put them into your review so that when we come to the work session,

don't ask us about water use and electricity use right like you kind of already know what we're saying on that um so thanks okay may we please have a roll call counselors i'll care all right case aye anvary hi sinclair aye harris hi salgado

Okay, order number 35 is adopted. Moving to item 8.3, possible censure of Councillor Salgado. Consider approving a public censure and associated remedial actions against Councillor Salgado based on the concerns outlined by council during the June 23rd, 2026 meeting. Resolution number 2927 is available. I'll turn the time over to our city attorney, Chad Jacobs, to review procedures for this.

Mayor, Council, again, Chad Jacobs from the City Attorney's Office. So tonight, you basically have three options before you that are outlined in the staff memo. Your first option is to determine that there wasn't a substantial violation of the rules and not move forward at all. The second option is to determine that maybe you need further information and would like an investigation or additional review of the situation. And then the third option would be to move forward with a finding that there was a substantial violation of the law, or the rules, I'm sorry, and issue some sort of public censure and oppose related remedial actions. The draft resolution in your council packet is based on your conversation at your last meeting. That resolution can be amended. It was just basically drafted based upon your input, but does not have to be the final document if you decide to move forward. Procedurally, the way this process needs to work in order to protect due process rights and follow your council rules is that we provided notice to Councilor Salgado at your last meeting about what your concerns were. We need to now provide him with an opportunity to respond to that. I know that he submitted something in writing, but he also should have an opportunity to orally provide a presentation if he wants to do so. After that, then the council will deliberate, and you guys can discuss those three options that I just mentioned, and then you will decide how you want to proceed. As you're going through that process, I'm happy to answer any questions or help walk you through any particular step. Thank you, Chad.

I appreciate that. Okay, Councillor Salgado, would you like to respond to Council's June 23rd, 2026 discussion and proposed actions?

Yes, I would like to read the statement I submitted.

Okay, so you have 10 minutes to do so.

Okay, go ahead.

Okay.

I want to start by acknowledging that June 16th was a difficult meeting, and I regret that the evening escalated. I have already apologized for my part in that escalation. I also take seriously the responsibility I have as one counselor to help preserve order, decorum, and public trust. At the same time, I need to respond to both the process and the record. The notice I received does not fully identify any council rule that expressly prohibits a counselor from recording with a cell phone. It relies on a broad forum and group agreement language and then attributes motives to me, including that I was antagonizing, taunting, or instigating members of the public. I disagree with those characterizations. If council is going to impose a formal public reprimand or additional remedial actions, I believe the findings should be based on specific facts, specific rules, and an accurate record of what occurred, not assumptions about my intentions. I am also concerned that the notice and proposed resolution appear to rely on a sequence in which a recess was called. I came off the dice and the meeting later had to be adjourned because of my conduct. I dispute that characterization and request that council review the official video and transcript before adopting findings. I'd approximately leave between second 40 and second 50 of the official June 16 meeting video that's available on the City of Hillsborough YouTube channel The presiding officer appears to adjourn the meeting. If the meeting was adjourned, not recessed, then council should identify the procedural authority used to restart or continue the meeting, and whether the proper process was followed. I am not asking council to ignore the concerns raised. I am asking council to make sure the record is accurate before adopting final findings. If the presiding officer adjourned the meeting, that is materially different from a recess, and it affects the factual basis for the proposed resolution. For those reasons, I respectfully ask Council not to adopt the resolution tonight. At a minimum, I ask Council to continue the item, direct a neutral review of the meeting record, and provide me with specific written findings and a meaningful opportunity to respond before any final discipline or remedial action is imposed. Respectfully, Councillor Christian Salgado.

Thank you, Councillor Salgado. Okay, so before us we have resolution number 2927. We've heard Councillor Sogato's response. Do I have a motion to move forward with resolution number 2927?

So moved. All care?

Okay, we have a motion from Councillor Allcare. Do I have a second?

Second case.

Second case. Is there any discussion? No. Councillor Harris?

I have a question for Mr. Jacobs. Excuse me. The legal point. councilor sagada was making is that there i did say adjournment rather than recess initially we have not yet finished the agenda obviously so i don't know if the adjournment may have been out of order in any event it was within short period of time i retook the seat and said this is a recess not an adjournment does that does that affect the argument councilor sagada was making can you undo the word adjournment or what's the situation How would you respond to that argument?

Sure, Councilor Harris, members of the council. So as you may recall, that is exactly what happened as you described it. And as then I informed you that as the presiding officer, you don't have authority to actually adjourn the meeting on your own, which is why you sat back down and said this is just a recess and not an adjournment. I think that was made very clear to everyone on the council, including Councillor Salgado. That's why after he left, he came back into the meeting because he knew it was just a recess. It was clear there was just 10 minutes. And even though that was clear at that point in time, he's still engaged in the actions that were outlined in the memo and in the resolution. So I don't think that the fact that you made that procedural error in calling for an adjournment and then correct yourself really affects the outcome of what happened. Because ultimately, after the recess, the council was trying to restart the meeting, but because of the actions that occurred during the recess, could not do so. And so that's really what you're focused on tonight. Thank you. Okay, any other questions?

I'd just like to make a comment that, It was confusing which way we're gonna go, but that was not a night of clarity in this auditorium. So I'm gonna give you a pass for saying recess and adjourn. I think that despite that, there were several things that continued to happen. that support why I'm voting yes on this resolution. We can continue to talk about those, but I don't think that's a very helpful way to go forward. But we can. I'd be happy to engage that, but I don't think we need to.

Okay, so right now we have a motion from Councillor Allcare and a second from Councillor Case. We've had discussion. Councillor Salgado, I see you have your hand up, but I don't think it's appropriate for him to be, is it possible that he can comment here?

It's really up to you all. If you want to hear from him again, you can certainly do that. You gave him his opportunity to respond. Legally, to allow him to respond further certainly provides more opportunity and due process for him. So I don't mind you doing that, but you're not required to do so.

Okay, Councillor Salgado, if you want to make a comment, go ahead, and then we'll move on.

Yeah, a couple of questions. So who has the authority to adjourn the meeting, number one, because I was calling for adjournment of the meeting because I did not feel safe. So who has the authority to do that, right? And number two, the reason why this is significant is because it's my understanding that the council rules are only applied during a council meeting. So if the council meeting was adjourned, the council rules do not apply. That's the last thing I'll say.

Okay, so we have a motion on the table from Councillor Allcare. We have a second from Case. We've had discussion. This is again to adopt resolution number 2927. May I please have a roll call?

Councillors Allcare? Aye. Case? Aye. Ann Marie? Aye. Sinclair? Aye. Harris? Aye. Salgado, but he's not.

Right, okay, resolution number 2927 is adopted. I'll now turn the time over to city manager Robbie Hammond.

Thank you, Mayor. Just a couple of quick things I wanted to share with the council and the community this evening. First off, I think we have several firefighters in the back. I wanted to highlight that This past month was the first time that we've awarded, in partnership with the Hillsborough Portland Community College, two scholarships for the paramedic education program to graduates of the Liberty Fire Science Program. Kaya Parker, a graduate of Liberty High School, and Nate Pratt, a graduate of Glencoe High School, are our scholarship recipients. We're really proud of this moment. This is a good way to get kind of a good pipeline going. Paramedics, paramedics are highly sought after and hard to find. And so this is an opportunity to train people from our own community that hopefully will then be able to come and work as Hillsboro Fire and Rescue employees. And second, our community is filled with people who have very different lived experiences and are connecting to a shared sense of belonging in Hillsboro. And we want to aim to capture that shared connection in a lasting way that visualizes what community togetherness means. To celebrate the city of Hillsboro's 150th anniversary, everyone in Hillsboro is invited to be a part of a community-wide shared experience, which is called the Picture Mosaic Project. Thousands of photos, one community. You can submit your photos now through October 31st on the city's website. Thank you.

Thank you, Robbie. So we'll now move on to council comments. Council members have up to three minutes if they have any comments. It is not required that you comment at this time, but if you'd like to, you can. This is something we all discussed and we wanted to add. So the council should not engage in any deliberation or debate over any comments or topics raised during the portion of the agenda other than expressing general support, for or adding a topic to a future agenda if the majority of council supports moving an item forward then that item will be referred to the city manager for scoping do any counselors wish to provide comment counselor all care you have three minutes

Yeah, I would like to ask our city manager to provide some clarity over who develops the agenda and who decides to change the agenda. And I think that's important because tonight public comment time was supposed to happen at the end of the meeting, but then it got changed. I sent an email asking why did that happen and who made that change. And then the next thing I know there was an email that sent out that we're going to move it back to the way it was. I would just like to make sure that we as a council are aware of who is creating that agenda because if I have people in the community upset with me about that change, I don't know how to explain it. So Robbie, would you mind providing an explanation about the agenda and who has the rights to go ahead and change it?

We can definitely provide that as a quick summary. In the city charter, it shows that the city manager manages the agenda. In tonight's case, what we're looking to do and what we've done in the past is we used to have a public comment at the end of the meeting. We moved it to the beginning of the meeting a few years ago. What we're trying to do is make it more efficient, especially for people that are here for certain items on the agenda. So by having public comment at the beginning of the meeting for people that want to comment on the agenda items, and then another public comment period at the end for people that wanted to talk about other things this is a common practice in a lot of other cities there was confusion on it today and so we we need to do better about explaining that to the council and seeing if that's something the council wants to continue to pursue that's why we went back to what it is today and moved everything to up to the beginning

And I would like to thank you for that. And I would like to recommend that we stick with the way that public comment is set up now. And I'm recommending that because of the way the past few months have been with city council meetings and public comment and the frustration that people have brought into this auditorium. I would just ask that you not make that change again. at least without consulting us on what we think about that, especially when we have to answer for you. Thanks.

I see Councillor Salgado wants to make comments and then Councillor Sinclair. Councillor Salgado, you have three minutes.

City of Hillsborough City Charter Chapter 3, Section 9. The mayor presides over and facilitates council meetings, preserves order, enforces council procedures, and determines the order of council business. That same section also dictates that the council president acts as a mayor in the mayor's absence. My question to everyone in the room, because obviously Mr. Jacobs is not seeing this from my side, if Councilor Harris didn't have the authority to adjourn the meeting the first time when he said adjourn, what gave him the authority the second time when he adjourned the meeting, when the meeting was actually adjourned? And I hope you all see what you're seeing in front of you right now. This is not fair, this is not equitable, and this is definitely personal.

Okay, Councillor Sinclair.

Thank you. Having the opportunity to hear our community is a vital part of creating community culture within our neighborhoods and within our city and having that connection with one another. I am highly proud that our public continues to show up and share their perspective within our community. today I'm also proud that our city staff changed the agenda. I'm very grateful for that. To hear a mother who's lost her child and that she would have had to wait to the end of a meeting There's nothing belonging about that. We are here to serve you, the residents of our community. And it is important that you take priority and us hearing your perspective when you take your time as working families to come up to the dais. And that's a bold thing to do, to share your perspective out in the open. And I want to thank you for consistently showing up. And specifically to the Navarro family. deepest condolences. I do not have enough words. I do not know how that mother was standing. She is showing up to advocate for her child and being the president of the Transportation Committee. I take that role deeply serious. I can do better. We collectively as a committee and a council can do better and I promise that I will work harder to be more effective.

Thank you. Councillor Case.

Thank you. Yesterday I sent a letter to the council about supporting the Hillsborough Fire and Rescue with prioritization of staffing for a second ladder truck. They have submitted a letter that we put in the written testimony tonight under public comment for those wanting to play along with the online game tonight. So tonight I wanted to recommend we prioritize planning for truck nine and a future ladder company staffing within Hillsborough Fire and Rescue. I recommend this now as the actual staffing of a truck takes some time. Planning, recruitment, training, and professional development necessary to successfully place a second truck company into service. there's a lot of lead time for it. This has currently been planned for the next biennium, but we are seeing need to bring this in earlier to provide a better service time to our city. For example, last week or a couple weeks ago, there was a fire on 17th and Oak. Two people were pulled out and the truck was in place because the truck was at their correct location, which was in a two and a half mile radius. Because of that, they were able to get straight to the house, cut a giant hole in the window, extricate, complete, all within 16 minutes. Currently, where the ladder truck is located, it would take 15 to 20 minutes to get to South Hillsboro. So adding a second truck to South Hillsboro at Station 9 is clearly necessary. We've also learned that one of the backup stations, Aloha Station, is relocating, and so the backup in South Hillsboro is now going at the end of the year. And so now it'll be even a larger backup down in South Hillsborough to have additional support down there. So another thing is our ladder truck also handles all vehicle extraction in the city, which I did not know, I know. And so that makes it unavailable if there's any multi-story building or house fire or residential or industrial as well so tonight what i am requesting of council is that we ask robbie to have staff look into the funding options available to make this happen on a faster timeline than we had originally expected so that we can start hiring and training to ensure we're ready to go when the truck is delivered in the summer fall of 2027.

Okay, thank you, Councillor Case. If any other Councillors want to support that, please email Robbie. Again, we need a majority, just like in the past. For this to move forward, we need a majority in order to add this to the agenda and move it forward. Councillor Harris, did you have a comment?

Yes, thank you. This council has adopted some of the most legally enforceable and expeditious path to regulate data center construction and tax incentives for data centers. Between April 17th, when we first agreed to review a pause in data center construction, and this June, this council has completed a review of current policies of the city and regulations and the problems they raised. We've heard from expert staff and the public. We've agreed on broad new policies, including a moratorium on data center construction and land use code amendments. We've directed our staff to develop code amendments that would implement these new policies. And we've ordered staff to take the statutory steps necessary to implement this plan. Today we took the next step by adopting a code resolution for those text amendments. In addition, of course, the legislative moratorium on data center applications for enterprise zone tax abatements has taken effect and will be in effect for the next 11 months. Excuse me. But last week, someone brought to my attention data centers could still be eligible for tax abatements in Hillsborough through the state strategic investment program or the SIP program. That's a small but possible window and one we should close. While a data center SIP has never been approved in Hillsborough, the SIP program has been utilized by data centers in other parts of the state. Importantly, those data centers that use SIPs were very large facilities owned by traded sector multinational corporations that have most of us the most concerned. Luckily, the SIP program is not as statutorily prescriptive as the enterprise zone program and is not a land use matter. We can address our concerns about data centers getting SIP tax abatements through a simple resolution. Therefore, I'm proposing that our next meeting we consider a resolution providing that the city of Hillsborough adopt a six month renewable moratorium on any strategic investment program agreements that provide tax benefits to data centers. I know of no data center SIP agreements, and any SIP would still have to be approved by the county in any event. But my proposal is to send a message to the developers, the county, the state, and the public that we are closing this small window that may exist because it could undermine our ongoing efforts to review and update our local regulations on data centers and tax incentives here in Hillsboro.

Thank you. If you want to support Councillor Harris' resolution to adopt a six-month moratorium on data centers using SIP, please email Robbie. Again, there needs to be a majority in order for that to become a resolution.

I have one question related to dentist centers.

Sure. Go ahead, Councillor.

We were told, I'm not sure how many sessions ago, but I'd like to know tonight, when is council going to have access to reviewing the applications When are we going to see copies of those? Because we were told that we would be able to see those a few work sessions ago.

Councillor, I'll carry a couple of parts to the answer. So the first is, if you recall the last meeting, I shared that moving forward in the written city manager report, I'm going to be including a section in there that has a few parts. And so if you go to the agenda today, you'll see under the city manager report a written city manager report. As part of that, there's three new sections. There's a part about ice activity, because we want to make sure we're, and that was your suggestion, that we're notifying the public if we know of any ice activity that's taken place over the past couple of weeks. There's a second section in there that will talk about any new enterprise-owned applications, and there are some. They're not data center, but they're listed. If you look in the city manager report, there's titles of the companies. They're primarily semiconductor manufacturing. We tried to do kind of an explanation of what type of companies those are. And then the third is actually data center development agreements. And so while we know that we've known for a while that there are some data centers that are in that process, we listed the two newest ones that are on there as well. So you can click on that link and you can see all the detail about that development review as well.

Is that the whole agreement or is that a summary?

Well, the data centers show the development agreement. On the Enterprise Zone, those actually were just submitted, so they're still going through the whole process. They're brand new within the past, I would say, week or two weeks. So if you want more information on those, we can get that. We'll figure out how to share that with you. It's in the process right now.

And, you know, I'm kind of confused, so it would be good to get some clarity on how many data centers we're talking about. How many applications? How many have been approved? How many are in a process? I'd like to know that answer.

Okay.

Okay, so moving to advice and information, we have a few items there. A copy of clean water services rates and charges notification is included in the agenda packet. Residents interested in running for city council can file now through Friday, August 21st at 5 PM. And as always, community members who want to be informed and and engaged on city council matters can sign up to receive happening in hillsborough email newsletter and the spanish language updates are also available through a crescendo windows email newsletter uh... please note that the city council will be moving to to executive sessions the first is under or s one nine two point six six zero two f TO CONSIDER INFORMATION OR RECORDS THAT ARE EXEMPT BY LAW FROM PUBLIC INSPECTION. AND THE SECOND EXECUTIVE SESSION IS UNDER ORS 192.6602H TO CONSULT WITH COUNSEL CONCERNING THE LEGAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF A PUBLIC BODY WITH REGARD TO CURRENT LITIGATION OR LITIGATION LIKELY TO BE FILED. No action may be taken in executive session, and if action needs to be taken, the council will do so in regular session. And with that, the city council meeting is adjourned, and we'll begin executive session at 9.35. Thank you. In room 207. Thank you.