City Council - Regular Meeting

17.

If anyone is here to speak tonight, please make sure you come up and sign up.

Still not going up. All right. What's good? Yeah. Yeah.

[clears throat]

Good I know them all. Hello. Okay. There it is.

Good. Good morning. No, good after Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the January 12th, 2000 How's this? Okay, we'll start over. Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the January 12th, 2026 regular city council meeting. As you can tell, uh we've made some last minute arrangements so we could accommodate everybody. We hope you're comfortable. And if you're interested in in speaking, please

How's this? Okay. Um, we're going to ask you to sign up if you're interested in speaking tonight. And, uh, many of you have already signed up. That's fine. And we are limiting remarks to four minutes. So, plan accordingly. Uh, with that, I'd like to ask the city clerk to please call the role. Councelor McLaclin here. Councelor Renan, present. Councelor Randall present. Councelor Richardson present. Councelor Ring present. Mayor Mace present.

I'd like to at this point we're going to do the pledge of allegiance. I'd like to call on city councelor Rod Ren to please lead us in the pledge. Please stand if you're physically able. If not we understand. Hats removed. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you, Council Ronda Ren. Uh number four is approval of the agenda. I understand we're going to be uh slightly amending the agenda tonight. So, uh, we'd like to take item 11 A and we're going to move it up right after item six. Okay. Can I have a motion to approve the agenda as amended?

Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the agenda as amended. and Mclofflin will second. It's been moved by council and seconded by council Mclofflin to amend the agenda as amended. Is there any discussion? Those in favor, please say I. I.

Any oppose? Motion carries. Thank you. Okay, I'm going to stand up for this one. Um, tonight we are honored to honor the 2025 26 the Dallas soccer team girls who took second in the state. That's the first time. They finished with a record of 171. They concluded the finest season ever by reaching the final finals for the first time in school history. Senior midfielder Elias uh completed her prep soccer career as a senior. The first team in our league and junior twin sisters Liliana and Ariana Gonzalez are second team sophomore midfielder Bryce and senior midfielder Jackie McGrady both in second second teams for the Riverhawks and the guys juniors Alandre Sirez Esco and center back Kyle By each were mentioned for honorable mention. So, on a personal note, I want you uh I my daughter played a lot of soccer, so I've seen a lot of soccer games. Just out of curiosity, how many of you were at the boys soccer game, the last one in River at the quarterfinals when they played North? Was anybody there? Several. Yeah, that was probably the most heartbreaking loss I've ever seen. We were up one to nothing all the way through the game. And with two minutes to go, North Carolina scored a goal to tie it at a one to one. So then we went into overtime. Then we went to the second overtime. Still tied number one to one. Third overtime. After third

overtime, they decided to go to penalty kicks. That's the rule. I don't know about you guys, but I can't think of anything dumber than suddenly a championship game were penalty kicks. But that's what they had to do. So the Dallas lost 3 to2 on the penalty kicks. So here I am at the semi-final game watching the girls play Scapulus in the semi-finals. Girl scored first, Scap scored next, tied it at 1 to1 all the way through the second half. And I'm looking at the clock thinking, here we go again. It's going to go to overtime and then it's going to go to penalty kicks. And I don't think I could stand it. But what do you know what happened with 4 seconds to go in the game? One of the Gonzalez twins, I think Gonzalez scored with 4 seconds to go and the Dallas lead with 4 seconds. I've never seen anything like it. So, So, at this point, I'd like to ask the coaches, uh, see Kobe Tong, come on up and the JV coach, Emanuel, is he I understand he's here, too. There he is. I'm going to ask Kobe to say a few words about the team, and then we're going to hand out certificates of recognition to all the girls. After Colby says a few words, I'd like to ask the girls to come on up. So, go ahead, coach.

And also, uh, assistant coach Rebecca Roth is here, too. So, please come up. Well, thank you for coming tonight. And, uh, as as uh, Mayor May said that it was an exciting season. The girls as a whole went, as she said, 17-1. Uh, score outscored opponents 96-6 on the season. So, we scored 90 more goals than we gave up this year. We had 13 clean sheets. Um, and finished five of five of the 18 games by halftime with the with the mercy rule. And all those all those stats are great, but as a coach, what makes this team so fun uh to be around is that they're they compete and they work hard. And I really think that that is what we want to teach here in the Dallas. and they really embody the community where they when that whistle blows they play hard, they play together and they play unselfish. And as coach or coach has Mayor May said, they play all the way till the end of the game. And that's not the first time that they've that the team has pulled off a game with less than 30 seconds to go. Uh but it it was definitely one of the most important and um they really are fun. They, like I said, they work hard and stick together and play unselfish, beautiful soccer. So, those of you uh who are around, even though the season's over, please come out and support next year because uh they'll play fun and hard and they do a great job representing the community and being great role models for the younger group. And on top of all that, the team carries a 3.56 GPA. So, not only are they great soccer players, they're great students. So you want me to

let me just read the one certificate here. Okay. Uh we're going to give certificates of recognition to the three coaches and to the girls. Uh this one is to uh coach Tom in recognition of your outstanding leadership and dedication as coach to the 2025 the Dallas High School girls soccer team. Your commitment to student athlete development, teamwork, and competitive excellence contributed to a historic season for the Riverhawks. Under your guidance, the team earned its third consecutive Tri Valley Conference Championship, completed league play undefeated with an 8-0 record, and finished the season with a 17-1 overall record. The team also advanced to the 4A class 4A state championship match, marking the first state finals appearance in school history. The Dallas City of the Dallas commends your leadership, professionalism, and positive impacts on the students and the community. On behalf of the mayor, city council, and the citizens of the Dallas, please accept our sincere appreciation and congratulations. Coach Darcy, I'll get you. Okay. Okay. Um, can we ask the girls to come on up? Don't be shy. This certificate of recognition is very similar to what I just read, so I'm not going to repeat it. Uh, suffice to say that obviously we mention the members of the team as opposed to the coach. So, the first one is Uttza Torres Esco.

It's okay to take pictures. Natalya Elias, Alandre, Olivia Pra. Olivia was also in the play Annie with my granddaughter. Just April Win. Pa Dominguez, there's uh I think three or so are playing basketball uh tonight. Wouldn't be able to make it. Uh Ariana Gonzalez, I want to make sure that she's the one that scored with 4 seconds to go. Laya Garcia, Katie Cavo, Jackie McGrady, Sienna Mandrean, Clara Garpiti, Liliana Gonzalez. Is Ka Doni here? Oh, there you are. Right here next to me. Okay. And there's two I know are not here. They're they're on the basketball team. Will Ziggenhagen, right? and Bryce Navy.

How about one last name for the soccer team? Thank you very much. We've come across kind of a crunch contradiction here. And now that we've honored a group of young ladies who obviously have high ideals and goals on what they want to accomplish with their lives, let's talk about the flooies.

They're right here in the free row. Fort Dal's Fuzzies and Friends are a historic themed group formed to promote the Dow's rich history. Their work shows that the spirit of history is alive in the Dallas. For 15 years, they greeted cruise ship his passengers on the riverfront, offering a fun, theatrical, and memorable introduction to the city. Their colorful 1920s, 1940s inspired dress, brought the past to life, and delighted visitors. Beyond welcoming guests, the flimsies promoted local businesses, participated in community events such as the Fourth of July parades, and contributed to media projects, including KGW's Rod on the Road and historical documentary. Their energy and creativity highlighted the Dallas history and culture to residents and visitors alike. Though their smiles, humor, and hospitalities, the families strengthen connections with visitors and ship crews, enhancing the city's reputation as a welcoming and vibrant community. Their efforts also help boost local tourism by creating lasting memories for thousands of passengers. The city council thanks the Fort Palies and friends for 15 years of dedication, heart, and fun. Their legacy of service, community engagements, and living history will be remembered and appreciated for years to come. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your service. We have a letter that we would like to give each of you that is very consistent with what I just read. So, if you all come up and be recognized and have Linda, I think I asked Linda to say a few words. Come on up, ladies. Thank you, mayor. I remember a time not so long ago when we were very familiar with the mayors.

Not this one. [laughter] It was 15 years ago. I would like to thank uh Madame Mary here for dreaming up this fantastically fun idea. and her ever humble and always always willing to inspect husband, Inspector Dennis. Ask me later what he inspects. He makes sure things run smoothly. We've really enjoyed being part of this wonderful community and welcoming people here to the Dowels. We represent the wild and woolly times of the Dows. It's been a very fun and interesting ride. We've met some fantastic people, had a lot of fun, and it's it's sad to hang up our spurs, so to speak, but uh it's wonderful to be honored for being allowed to be part of this fantastic community. Thank you.

Thank you, ladies. You can have a seat and you're welcome to stick around. [laughter] I'm looking to hear a few familiar faces. Big guy. Linda, are you freelancing again? I've got to do something now that we're done.

Okay. Okay. [snorts] Okay. Item six, audience participation. During this portion of the meeting, anyone may speak on any subject which is not later appear on the agenda. Those of you that are here for the resolution 11A regarding federal immigration enforcement activity that is on the agenda. So if you've signed up to speak, we'll ask you to you will speak at that time. Citizens encouraged are encouraged to ask questions with the understanding that the city can either answer the question tonight or refer the question to the appropriate staff member who will get back to you within a reasonable amount of time. If a response by the city is requested and that response is not immediately provided, the speaker will be referred to the city manager for further action. It's my understanding that no one else has signed up.

Uh Amy, no, I'm not talking the mic a little bit further away. The people on Zoom here, I'll bring this up to you. Okay. A little bit away. How How's this?

Okay. Okay. Um, with nobody else signed up, we're going to move to item 11A, which is uh considering a resolution regarding community impacts associated with heightened federal immigration enforcement activity. I like to turn uh what we're going to do is have a staff report and then we will ask those that which wish to speak for up to three minutes will come forward and then the council will deliberate. So, with that, I'll turn it over to our city manager, Matthew Cleaves, for the staff report. Mr. Cleaves.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Uh as noted, this uh action item is consideration of resolution 26-002, a resolution acknowledging community impacts associated with heightened federal immigration enforcement activity, reaffirming the city's commitment to accessible municipal services and lawful city operations, and directing the city manager to pursue certain community support actions. At the regular city council meeting on December 8th, 2025, the council heard public comment from multiple speakers expressing concern about community impacts associated with federal immigration enforcement activity with a large number of additional individuals presenting in support. Um, I wanted to acknowledge that the city, while the city does not control federal enforcement actions, the speakers requested that the city consider a public statement or other action demonstrating support for our community, for children and families, and those impacted by these activities. Some of the context for this staff report I wanted to open with again is that the city cannot prevent or control federal enforcement activity and publicly accessible areas, but we can respond to those local impacts expressed by our community. Some of those uh some of those items expressed by our community are fear, uncertainty, misinformation, and confusion. All of which can affect access to services, community stability, and public safety. and that the city can have a role in maintaining clear and consistent and lawful city operations and we can explore partnering and and coordinating with community partners and service providers as well as explore other action. As many of us know, the city the state of Oregon has a statewide sanctuary law and other related restrictions governing use of local government resources and certain information handling in the context of

federal immigration enforcement. And so our focus this this evening and with our resolution is to remain consistent with that applicable law while exploring some of those local action local actions that can support our community. In crafting this resolution following the December 8th, 2025 city council meeting, we uh staff met with representatives from the Next Door Inc. One community health, community citizens such as Omar Perez. We looked at what other cities have been doing and exploring throughout the state of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. I had conversations with the city manager, the city of Hood River. We gathered materials from Mid Columbia Economic Development District, specifically related to the operation of our public transit system, the link bus. We had internal listening sessions with uh a Latino employee affinity group. And we conducted some outreach to both Norcore and the city municipal judge. And so through this work, staff crafted the resolution that's included in your packet this evening. And I'd like to give a brief overview of what's included in that resolution. First and foremost is a statement of concern. This is a council statement acknowledging community impacts and reaffirming the city's commitment to accessible municipal services and lawful city oper operations while also working to set accurate expectation about city authority and limitations. There's a commitment for communication and information sharing, including addressing any confusion or misinformation that the city can. Uh a direction to continue this effort um and to improve fact-based public communication and internal coordination among city operations and the available resources that we have during this time. The goal here is to reduce information misinformationdriven calls and any resulting confusion and using reasonable language access access measures as appropriate so we can communicate what

we know as best we can and as widely as we can. The third item is exploration of potential financial partnerships with a specific focus on impacts that children and families may be experiencing. Specifically, we're looking at exploring these partnerships with the Next Door andor One Community Health and that this focus is on supportive services that these families and these children may need. The last item here was a focus on staff training and internal readiness. This is ongoing but is additional direction to both myself and city staff to support internal communication and training so city staff understand the protocols for sensitive questions and requests and they have consistent guidance for operational issues during this time. Just it's just as important that city staff are informed about what the city of course does and does not do and so that they can assist in interacting with the public. The resolution directs the city manager to provide the council with a written update within 30 days of adoption should it be adopted this evening and I can present that update at a regular city council meeting either as a discussion item or during my regular city manager report. This resolution has no budget implications. It does not appropriate funds or authorize any any expenditures. It directs us to explore some of these options and any expenditure of funds would come back to city council either as part of that update or as our regular approval process. And with that, staff's recommendation is to adopt resolution 26-002 as presented. I'm happy to answer any questions that the council may have. Thank you.

Okay, with that we are going to uh go through the list of people. We have 14 people signed up. I'd ask you to come forward, come to the table, use the microphone, try to hold it a little further away than I was holding it, and give us your name and your place of residence. And we'll start with Janet Amada. Good evening. Thank you, city council, for having me again. My name is Janet Hamada. My residence is Hood River, but I work in the Dallas, and I'm the executive director of the Next Door. So, thank you very much for listening to our concerns last council meeting in December and for taking as much time as you did to look into almost everything we asked for. and uh that was evident in the staff report. So, thank you specially to city manager Matthew Cleaves. Um I read the resolution and I am very much appreciative of the statements in it and I would highly recommend that you that you approve it. I also am here to answer any questions and um and will be because my organization is named in it and so I fully know that I'll I'll be called again to tell you what kind of services the next door can help to support and as if for those who weren't around at the last meeting I specifically was just talking about children and how this is impacting our children both our immigrant family, children, and those

who are their friends. So, I really my concern is only deepened. Um, and I I really appreciate when one of our cities really takes the chance to look into the issue and to respond accordingly. This is an issue that is instilling fear and isolation and depression and anxiety in amongst our kids who were dealing with that before and just this is just compounded. So, thank you very much. Thank you. Does uh anybody on the council have any questions for Janet since she's named in the resolution?

Thank you, Janet. Mary Joe Commer. Hello. Good evening. Um, city council members, manager, mayor. My name is Mary Joe Cmerford and I am a recently retired teacher at the Dallas High School four months. I have worked in the North Wasco School District for 18 years and I come today to advocate for the Latino students in our community and to encourage you to approve this resolution. When I first started teaching in the Northwest Gull School District 18 years ago, our Latino population of students was 33%. Today, that percentage is closer to 48%. Which is to say that nearly half of the student body in our community come from Latino families. At the high school, with the increase of Latino students, we have worked hard to help these students be as successful as possible. My colleagues and I have opened up and encouraged these students to take highlevel honors and advanced placement courses to prepare themselves for college. We have a huntos program and a fellowship program with the migrant ed graduation specialist to support families in achieving these goals. We have an aspire program mentoring students in their college application process. And the good news is we have seen great success in our Latino graduation rates, in the percentage of students going to college, and in the past 5 years we have witnessed them shooting for the stars with three of our Latino students accepted into Ivy League colleges. They represent the Dallas very well.

I'm setting the scene for today. It's important that we go forward, not backwards. Within this same group of students, they are managing the fear of ICE taking their parents away. Underneath the surface of these inspiring students is a great deal of trauma. What high school senior should be both filling out college applications and having to make a plan if their parents are taken away? I was talking to a high school senior from a Latino family recently and I was asking him how was he doing. He said that they were doing their best to keep focus on school were also h helping to manage the fear in their family. They were the ones doing errands for their parents and keeping watch for when it's safe for their parents to go outside. They said it was scary and then they said something to me that I thought was very telling. He looked around the room. 20 seconds.

Okay. And he said that in the community, no one's talking about it. We talk about it in our family, but no government officials, no one outside is talking about it. I'm encouraging you to talk about it. These are your constituents. Nearly half the families in our schools. No matter where you stand in immigration reform or the politics of this moment, our Latino students should not be bearing the weight of this on their shoulders. It's not their jobs. We I implore you, our elected officials, to make public to these students and families that you have their backs, that you stand behind them in these difficult times. Leadership demands this. We need to be the grown-ups in the room. Lisa George How's the sound?

By the way, Tree Wilka, you're on deck. Just Good evening, city councilors, city manager, mayor. My name is Lisa Abuesley George and I am the executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Columbia Gorge Community College. I want to speak with you tonight about how our employees and students are being affected by the situation with ICE in the area and across the country. First, a little background. Back in 2001 on September 11th, I had just dropped my kids off at school when we heard about planes flying into buildings. Now, I am an Arab American. The first thing that went through my mind was, "Please don't let it be Arabs." And of course, just a few minutes later, we heard it was. I immediately immediately made plans to get my little children to a safe place with people who would hide them if they needed to. We were scared. Our country later went to war. This matter is serious. I heard later that day that other family members did the same. They made arrangements to hide their children and family members. I was a student at the time and it almost caused me to drop out. The fear that fear is real and here we are again. At CGCC, we've heard from faculty that when the option is available, students are choosing to take their classes online. And when that option is not available, students are

asking for it. This is especially true when college faculty develop trusting relationships with students experiencing that fear. And our faculty are great. They develop th those relationships. But you know what? That's a lot of students and a lot of fear and a lot of potential for dropout. CGCC faculty and staff are hearing that students are feeling this impact daily. Students are asking for new options so that they don't have to worry about themselves, their family members, and their parents. Even with the most up-to-date info about what to do if ICE shows up at the college, faculty and staff are experiencing uncertainty on how to keep our community safe.

You have 20 seconds. Okay. We as a community need more. We need guarantees that city police will not work with ICE. We need guarantees that they will not work with ICE either formally or informally. That ICE is not welcome on city property to stage operations and that they will be asked to leave if they do so. and that the full weight of city authority will come down if ICE even thinks about overstepping their already expansive so-called legal power here. Can you can you wrap it up, please?

Thank you. That's it. Thanks for your work on this matter and thank you for caring for our community. Okay, Trey, welcome. And Emily Whitfield is on deck. Good evening. It's tree Roachcha with a ch. Sorry about that.

Yeah, roa doesn't have an h in it. I get it all the time. Um I came to this community um in 85. went to the high school and there was a handful of us. I recently have gone into the high school and there is such a huge population from when I was there to now years ago when my kids were in the high school. I have a lot of kids here tonight um that I helped graduate that struggled a lot and today I see them in fear for their own kids and their own lives and their parents. Um, I'm a teacher in instructional design. Um, and I have been tutoring and helping the Hispanic community for a long time and I see a lot of my students struggle right now. I just want to come in and share an experience that I had. I also work within the orchards um, for many years. And [clears throat] last August, some laborers had stopped at the stop sign at at top of Union and 14th, the three-way. They were heading west. A car came up Union and smashed head on into them. Was not their fault. The police showed up and there was investigation. And I did not want to talk about this last time because there's already fear. But after this week's event, there's even more fear. Not shortly after, within 10 minutes, I showed up. Who called them? Who notified them? Why were they there? How did they know there was Hispanics involved in this crash? It's something that I want to know because I want to protect my community, my Latinos. It's not fair that they

can't even go to the store, come home from work without being in fear of something they didn't even do. And here comes ice. And they slowly drive around. They pull over. They get out and they proceed to puff up their chest and walk around the accident just waiting and intimidating. And imagine kids what they're learning to fear officials. And that's not what we want. And after this week, it's even worse giving ICE power to hurt people with immunity. And that's not fair. And I want to see ICE go if it takes whatever it takes to protect my community and my Latinos. I really do. Thank you.

Thank you. Okay, after Miss Whitfield, we have Tom and his last name starts with a C and I can't read the last name. So Tom, you're up on deck. So Miss Watson, Miss Whitfield, I mean, sorry.

Yes, thank you. Okay, we didn't call world, excuse me, we didn't call World War I or two those names when they were happening. History rarely announces itself in real time, but we recognize it later by the damage it leaves behind. On Saturday, January 10th, the vice president, JD Vance, said the officer who shot Renee Good had absolute immunity and that the administration was willing to go doortodoor. That same day, videos emerged of ICE officers kicking in doors in St. Paul as they were doing exactly that. Anyone who has studied history or simply watched a Nazi movie knows the danger in that kind of language and policy. In addition, the federal government continues to lie about and obstruct the investigation of Miss Good's killing and now in retaliation is trying to cut off federal funding to an entire state. This is not happening in a vacuum. These events are currently and will continue to affect people we know. I myself went to Cornell College, an esteemed liberal liberal liberal art school. And the brother of one of my closest classmates was arrested on Saturday in Minneapolis and held in an ICE detention facility simply because he was driving home from a rally the same way as ICE officers. They broke out his front windows and left his car in the middle of the street. This is not hypothetical. This is happening right now in our communities. 404 media has reported that ICE has purchased two new surveillance weapons, one of which allows them to surveil entire city blocks at a time without warrants. And if you think they won't look at your data or come into your home simply because you're a law-abiding citizen, please think again. The federal government will break its own laws whenever it's convenient for them. There have also been reports from Venezuelan soldiers that the United States has used debilitating debilitating sonic weapons that rendered them unable to move and caused various uh ailments. These are not rhetorical tools. These are real capabilities already being used. So

this is not alarmist rhetoric or fear-mongering. It's simply speaking about current events as they are happening in real time. At the same time, trans activists are being labeled as domestic terrorists by the Department of Homeland Security and in turn having their information wiped out of the passport system, trapping them in this country while also telling them they are not welcome. This is not security. This is punishment. So, in the wake of these tragedies, and while we are witnessing increasing federal overreach daily, why hasn't the DAS, the mayor's office, or the sheriff's department put out a statement on this overreach? If I can't appeal to either your morality or your respect for the rule of law on this, maybe I can appeal to you and your voters's pockets. Because when Hood River is next door and publicly pledging its support for its citizens, why would any tourist spend money in or come to the Dells?

I only have 20 seconds. Mhm. Okay. I want to be clear about what I'm asking. Are you willing to pass a resolution affirming this city will not cooperate with illegal federal activity and all other federal overreach that puts our residents at risk? Are you willing to provide a clear public explanation of your public safety policies, what local law enforcement will and will not participate in, when they will step in, and under whose authority? Thank you.

Tom, get the answer to those questions later. Yeah, you can. We'll take that. Give that uh to the city clerk. Give that to the city clerk. Your statement. Oh, I clerk.

Okay. Is Tom's with a capital C here? I guess he changed his mind. Okay. Uh Roman Perry Thirsten. Dan Spots is on deck. My name is William Perry Thirsten. I'm from Mororrow, Oregon. Um, I'm probably going to go on screen grain here for most of you all, but it's a simple thing that I found. I've been lucky enough to travel around a few, okay? I've been lucky enough to travel around quite a different different countries around the world. Not as much as the lady next to me, but every time I went to a different country, I had to follow certain procedures to get into that country. I used to teach a class in in Vietnam on uh tutoring students to come to the United States. You don't just come to the United States. They had a five-minute interview that now cost them $200 to do that. Most of my uh students were ones that were coming over here with student visas. Now what I'm trying to say here is it's called the United States of America. Well, what is it that holds us and supposed to protect us? And that is our laws. Laws can be changed. Laws are not emotional. And yeah, I I could tell you one way or the other that I I don't blame people for wanting to have a better life. We all want that. But there's rules that need to be followed before you come into this country. It's not only to protect jobs and this sort of thing, but also there's health issues. There's a lot of things. The financial situations. We have people in this country right now that can't afford housing, can't afford food. And you see what's going on in Minnesota. I talked to some people from Minnesota a couple three weeks ago. I

drive a transit bus and I was lucky enough to talk to a couple councilmen. All I'm trying to say right now, I don't understand sanctuary cities. I don't understand the the the terminology. I'm not going to tell you I know everything about everything. I do not. I know no more than what I see on the news, which is really what I could say everybody here other than the first ones. All I know is what I see in the news. And that's depending on what station. But I don't understand sanctuary cities. If we're going to be a United States of America, we need to be united and not argue and calling people names and you know searching for the middle ground for the middle ground because you can fluctuate from middle. You can't from the right or the left. And I feel for anybody that is over here and they haven't got documentations that the country has allowed this. I can say there's a little bit of fault right there. And this all started back in 1914. Look up your look up your history.

Mr. Thirstston, you got 30 seconds. What's that? You have 30 seconds.

Well, I think I've about said it, actually. And I appreciate it. Thank you for the council. Uh, and this is my first time of being on a in a uh I've met Rod before a long time ago, but uh anyway, thank you. I appreciate it. Dan spots and Leslie Mramore is on deck. Good evening mirror mayors and counselors. My name is Dan Spot, 17 Sparrow Lane, White Salmon, former resident of the Dallas and the Dallas city councelor, position 2, 2008 to 2017. For disclosure, I serve on the one community health board, but I am not here in that capacity tonight. This evening, and to start every council session, you recited the pledge of allegiance, ending with the phrase liberty and justice for all. Those words are being tested today. We see federal agents driving unmarked cars, no identification, follow and arrest local residents for what? We don't know because they don't have court warrants yet are paid by our tax dollars to detain, jail, even deport our Latino friends and neighbors in violation of the Fourth Amendment. We've been down this road before. From 19th century discrimination against the Chinese to Kuklux Clan rallies in the 20th in the 1920s to internment of 130,000 Japanese Americans across the West Coast in 1942. We seek can find easy scapegoats in times of crisis and social change. Now Latino immigrants and their US-born children are a convenient distraction

from unresolved economic challenges. wealth disparity, collapse of the middle class, unaffordable housing and health care, job loss through technological change and industrial offshoring. People are arbitrarily pulled from the street, their places of work, their schools, their homes. No warrants, no due process in cynical violation of the United States Constitution. And for family members remaining, no idea what has become of their husbands, their wives, their fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. This is intolerable. It is illegal. It is immoral. I urge you as elected counselors to heed the words addressed to you on December 8th. Silence is complicity. Inaction is acceptance. Aquescence is enabling. I encourage your support of Council Resolution 260002. While it does not fully address the concerns you've heard, it's a good start. It demonstrates support for all of your constituents. It puts you on the right side of history when so many others have chosen otherwise. And someday when goodness and decence prevail, decency prevail as they shall, we can then all join in reciding with the clear conscience, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Lesie Mar. There she is. Deborah Luchi, I hope I pronounced that correctly. She's on deck.

Good evening, counselors. I live in White Salmon, but I work here in the Dells. My name is Lesley Naramore, and I'm the executive director of Mid Columbia Community Action Council, which serves all of Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman counties. I will be very brief, but I did want to take a moment to voice my support for the resolution before you tonight in regard to recent local ICE activity. Earlier this evening, I was reading an article in the New York Times regarding community impacts here in the Dells. I have seen those impacts myself and throughout my staff and community that I serve. They are devastating. People are afraid and this fear affects every facet of their life for something that they can't help, the color of their skin. I'm really glad to see that you are looking at an actionable item tonight and I hope that this will be just a first step. I hope that you will continue to hear the community and that you will continue to take action because it's not only this community who is watching. As the New York Times article showed, it's concerned citizens throughout the US. History is watching. We are all watching. I hope that you will do the right thing and provide support and affirmation to those citizens who have and who continue to make this community the wonderful place that it is. Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay. Deborah Luchi, did I pronounce that correctly? Yes. Well done. All right. Um, also on deck is Tim. I can't read the last name, but it's starts with SH. So Tim, if you're here, you're you're up next. Shuttle. Can you hear me? Well, yes. In the back.

I'm Deborah Luchi. I'm a resident of the Dallas and I congratulate the council on actually looking into this resolution. However, I do think that the resolution is only a start. Given the activities recently in Minneapolis, ICE and CBP are out of control. They are a danger to public safety. All right? No one No one is safe. They will break out your windows and they will kill you no matter who you are. What I want to see is the city council stand up for all of us. All of us. And I want the police department to stand up for all of us. And I want to know how they're going to do it and how soon it's going to get done. Because if we don't do something soon, we will be like Minneapolis and the next person to die will be one of us. 70 people have already been shot by law enforcement. I was going to say goons, but you know. All right. 70 people have already been shot. That's enough. It's one is too many. And it needs to stop. It needs to stop now. And our city leaders need to stand up for us because I am tired of these federal officers violating the rule of law. I am sick and tired of it.

Tim Shel Jed Lee is on deck. Thanks, Matthew. Can you hear me? Yeah.

Um, my name is Tim Sheel. I've lived at 3511 Sandland Road at the Dallas. I've been a citizen in the Columbia Gorge for 55 years. I started when I was 19. I worked on a an apple farm up in Parkdale. Um, immigration was not they weren't called ICE or CPB. They were just the Migra. Um, occasionally they would show up in the neighborhood and all of my co-workers would disappear for a day or two and slowly come back. So, we heard the stories about what happened to them. What's happening now is an absolute unprecedented reign of terror.

Yes. My immigrant ancestors go back to before the American Revolution. I am the eighth of 11 generations of immigrants. The 11th generation were born in the last two years in the city of the Dallas and they're the wrong color. Ice has been seen outside of our schools, our daycare centers, and our markets. They're everywhere. They come unannounced. They don't have marked cars. They don't have ID. They wear masks. They hide. They run away. My grandsons go to OCDC five days a week. ICE was seen in their parking lot taking photos. The next day, I was at OCDC at 5:00 a.m. I sat there for two hours waiting for something to happen. ICE was in town. They didn't come back there. They came over near Watonka.

Tim, you got 30 seconds. Thank you. I'm asking every one of you to validate or approve the resolution as written. It's a good start, but we need to see action and we need to see what those words translate into. And I hope they do. I hope we come back in 30 days and we have a good report about what you're going to do. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Jed Lee and William Lennox is on deck. Hi, I'm Jedi Lee. I live here in the Dallas. I'm from Portland, Oregon. That's where I was raised and I grew up, but my great grandpa's great uncles were Moers. Anyways, uh this is not good enough for me. I want to see action to protect the Latino community from fear. I want to see action from all of you. Last time I was here, I read from passages from the Bible and the words of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and uh in Hebrews, they command you. They they instruct you. They suggest to you that you are kind to the immigrants, to the alien. And they say for the people that suffer, for the people that are in fear, for the people that are being tortured, that you should behave as if it was happening to yourself. So this is what I am asking you right now. Are you fighting for these people as hard as you would fight if it happened to yourself and your family?

I'm and I want an answer. I WANT TO KNOW HOW IT IS THAT YOU'RE FLIPPING TABLES. I WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU'RE EDUCATING THE PEOPLE BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE ARE UNEDUCATED. THEY ARE HIDING THEMSELVES BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO BE DOING WHAT THEY'RE DOING. IT'S AGAINST THE LAW. IT'S AGAINST MORALS. IT'S AGAINST ETHICS. IT'S AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION. IT'S AGAINST the word of Christ. And I want to know how are you behaving in a way that is equivalent to the way that your community feels. I will submit my question with your clerk and I will be expecting an answer. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Lennox and uh our final speaker is Omar Perez. You're on deck.

Good evening. Uh, my name is Bill Lennox and I've been in the community for a number of years and I've worn many different hats, many different hats in the community and it's good to see so many people here. One of my hats was in law enforcement. I spent uh nearly 30 years in law enforcement. I worked in town. I worked overseas. But the most important thing that I really want to convey is that local law enforcement, our state law enforcement are not the people behaving in the way that we're saying by our federal agents. This is like many people have said and I would agree is an abomination. It's a reign of terror on communities. This is not the way law enforcement officers are trained in themies. It's not the way they go out and serve the community. If you see that kind of behavior, of course, you're going to report it to the powers that be. But what I am reflecting on is that I would like to see from our city as many people have done today is to speak louder to be clearer about your position about uh against some of the behavior that we're seeing and have a better presence by law enforcement advocating for the fact that this is not the proper way to enforce our laws. You can enforce laws. We agree that laws are important, but you have to do it with humanity, with humaness, with a way of approaching people without judgment initially. And what we're seeing at this particular point is an totally unjust blanket way of approaching people just by the color of their skin or even in this case most recently by their behavior by showing them that they may have unhappy with their behavior. So, please reflect the fact and hear what you're hearing tonight. I know you are. And the fact

that you're here, that you offered this venue to allow people to speak shows your kindness and your openness. Continue to do that. Continue to reflect the community that you're serving. I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Perez. Good evening, mayor and city council members of the Dallas Oregon. Thank you for taking the time to listen, for considering the concerns we raised when we last met about a month ago. As you know, a lot has happened in that time and we continue to feel deep concern around recent events affecting members of our community, particularly our Latino neighbors. I want to describe two incidents that have caused fear and confusion. First earlier this month, a couple driving through our city was followed by federal immigration agents for three blocks and then detained as they were arriving home to their 7th month old baby. After some time, the mother was eventually allowed to return home. But to this day, there has been no public information from the city acknowledging this event or explaining what happened that day. Later that same week, multiple people called to report that someone near the Denny's restaurant was acting like an immigration agent, blocking the only exit for vehicles and asking people for their documents. This behavior is understandably alarmed community members

and increased fear, especially within our Latino community. These incidents have really compounded anxiety, particularly in light of national events, including the recent fatal shooting in Minneapolis of a US citizen by a federal immigration agent during an enforcement operation, which has sparked widespread protest and debate about federal immigration enforcement policies and community safety. I'm here today to reiterate the simple request we brought before you last time. Please communicate more intentionally with our Latino community. We need transparency, support, and trust, not silence. We want to feel safe in our own city. We want to know that city leadership hears us, stands with us, and will act to ensure every resident feels secure and respected. Change is needed, and it's needed now. And we urge you to take steps that build trust, protect everyone's rights, and reassure all residents that our city is a place where we are safe and included. Thank you. Okay, with that, um, we have before us, uh, a resolution 260002. I'd like to ask any member of the city council if they have any questions for the staff.

Uh, Council Richardson. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. question for our city manager. City manager Cleaves, could you articulate for kind of one and all the role of local police, what we can do, what we uh will do with regard to interactions with federal law enforcement or specifically ICE uh by policy, what's our policy? What are we up to? Does anybody hear a question? Okay.

Uh thank you, Council Richardson. I will give a a high level response and uh not to put our police chief on the on the spot, but if I say anything wrong, chief, please correct me. Um, in a nutshell, the city of the Dallas Police uh does not assist and is not informed of ICE operations that may be taking place in our community. Um, we may respond to calls in the area if there is like an accident, a fender bender, something like that. Um but we do not assist or aid um ICE activities uh in our community. That that being said, we also do not prevent them from happening. So the you know these federal activities uh the federal agents at that again that that federal level we do not aid nor do we obstruct. Follow up if I could. This is for me as much as anybody. If there is a person legitimate or not legitimate, who's claiming to be a federal officer uh and acting in a way that causes alarm, will our police respond? Is it appropriate for bystanders or for a person feeling threatened to call for local police to at least observe? I think overall the the position of of the city and again the police department is that we always want people to feel comfortable and safe contacting our department. If we're unaware of an incident that is occurring, we can't react to it one way or another. So again, was with any calls that we have, we always encourage people to contact the police department so we can respond appropriately.

Okay, thank you. Last question uh along these lines anyway. U is it do we have a policy of any kind one way or the other for whether our officers will or will not contact the feds in the event of their sort of their routine duties. If they come across a fender bender, are they allowed, encouraged, discouraged? What is the policy do you know with regarding to uh contacting the feds? So, so again, and uh if there's more specificity that the police chief may be able to to offer, but again, in in in general, in response to your question, counselor, the police department and the police officers that we have do not provide that information. We do not inquire about immigration status, and that's not something that we would share uh with uh ICE agents.

Good. Just for the record, I want I want to say were that contemplated by somebody I feel that would be extremely harmful and damaging to our local operations. So, I want to strongly encourage us to be very clear that we don't be very clear with our officers and our staff that we don't do that.

Thanks. And I think what I'd like to do is take the opportunity to add that um we do have uh a web page on our website that does answer a lot of these broad questions about the city does and does not do, what the police department does and does not do. And the police department um has robust uh ongoing training and guidance that's provided by our our tenure officers and by our captain and our chief. Um that's an ongoing effort that we take place that we um uh pursue on an ongoing basis. Um, that being said, again, the resolution included in your packet uh this evening um doubles down, if you will, on that commitment and making sure that those resources and training is provided so that there is a good understanding of again what Oregon sanctuary law uh means and how it's applied uh along with all the other police training that we undertake on an annual basis.

Okay. And just to clarify with regard to sanctuary law, that is a state law. It's not a city decision. Correct. All right. Thank you for the question and thank you for the answer and uh any other questions on the part of the city council. Any comments? Council Ring. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I'm maybe this is a more of a question, but are there other resources that we've identified other than the next door uh and MacA uh that might be of benefit uh to the community, one community health.

So the re the resolution specifically names uh the the Next Door Inc. and one community health macak mid Columbia community action council is a partner and uh we'll actually have an action item later this evening on the agenda that we'll get into a little bit. I think the the direction from the resolution is to first explore those potential partnerships specifically with the next door uh and one community health. Um however you know as I provide an update to city council if there are other opportunities I'll be be certain to to flag that but wanted to keep our effort focused with these two organizations first. Thank you. Other questions or comments? I just have some comments, Mr. Mayor.

Council Randall.

Thank you. I support this resolution. I think it strikes a good balance between our humanitarian values and respect for the rule of law. It acknowledges our duty to serve our community, but also our limited authority to prevent certain outcomes with regard to federal law enforcement. Federal law is the supreme law of the land and states cannot nullify or make their own immigration laws. Immigration laws can only be enacted by Congress through the democratic process. And to repeal them, you would have to go through that same process. Uh rule of law guides everything we do on the city council. We have a very capable city attorney who keeps us within boundaries of the law to make sure that everything we do here is within uh can withstand legal scrutiny and judicial review. So, I think this uh is a good good resolution that strikes that that balance as I say. So, I support it.

Thank you, councelor. Council, uh just a clarification and maybe Ben was asking this. I didn't quite hear it all, but I'm looking at my friend Janet Hamada out there. Um when we talk about one community health and u and uh next door uh a discussion about whether we can help financially or whatnot, will that be handled through the normal grant process as we go into uh budgeting or will that be separate from that? Well, we right now we have groups that apply through a process. Will this be aside from that or part of it?

Uh thank you councelor Renion. Um I think that'll frankly be part of the discussion. I think one component of that so so first and foremost the next door inc can certainly apply through the city's regular funding process and that could be something that uh is pursued depending on what we might be looking at. Um however that process is not as timely as one may hope and so I think part of the conversation with the next door and and again potentially one community health may be to look at a funding decision that's sooner and outside that process.

Thank you. Other comments or questions at this point? If there's no other questions and uh discussion, I would entertain a motion to pass the resolution.

Mr. Mayor, I'm going to give a comment if you would if I didn't miss my opportunity and then I would be happy to make a motion. I just want to if I may uh briefly acknowledge thanks to the staff for working on this. I feel it's as council Randall has said it's a good balance. It's a good start. It's thoughtful. It's um outside the usual area of responsibilities, but these are unusual times. I want to uh give thanks to our speakers for being here tonight. It's not uh always easy to come up and speak in public, especially in front of such a large group. So, thank you for coming out tonight and sharing your thoughts. And I want to acknowledge just speaking for myself the u fear and deep stress of many of our kids. I want to acknowledge that again speaking for myself this resolution is um it's very modest. It's rather a small response a very modest response uh to very big issues to federal overreach to violence. It's not enough in that sense, but it's something that we can do here in our city. And so, it's a good start and I support it. And if you don't mind, I would make a motion that we move to adopt resolution number 26-2 as presented.

I'll second it. It's been moved by councelor Richardson and seconded by councelor Randall to adopt resolution acknowledging community impacts associated with heightened federal immigration enforcement activity reaffirming the city's commitment to accessible municipal services and lawful city operations and directing the city manager to pursue certain community support actions. All those in favor of the resolution, please say I. All right. Is there any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. I'd just like to say in closing that uh a lot of times as the mayor uh I look at myself as trying to build consensus to pass certain things. Um, I was committed to working very hard to see that this passed. I did not have to work that hard. Um, I'm very happy with and very proud of the city council for passing this unanimously. I'm also very proud of this community and all of you that showed up. You spoke with passion and commitment and also respected the decorum of what these meetings are supposed to be about in the public. So, thank you all very much for coming. Thank you for your participation. And with that, we'll take a 10-minute recess.

to please come up. Yes.

Thank you. Where'd everybody go? Hello. Hello. Oh, we still got a few people here. Hey, for everybody in the room, uh my name is Tom Worthy. I'm the chief of police here in the city of the Dallas like this. Oh, I'm sorry. Uh in the city of the Dallas. And I've been here for 5 years now in April. And one of the most uh gratifying things about this department is the ability to build the team. And when I came here and the mayor was on the interview panel, I told him, I'm not coming here to be average, that we want to be exceptional. That we want to be great and we want to serve our community in a manner of community policing. And if anybody's not familiar with that term, what it means, community policing is us standing with our community with our hand out saying, "Shake it for community safety. Shake it for public safety and be a partner with us, the police department, in the safety of our town." So in building that team, we look far and wide for the correct candidates. Candidates who have the heart for service with compassion, kindness, and professionalism. And with that in mind, I want to introduce you to our newest officer, Shawn Hernandez, who joins us from Hood River County Sheriff's Department, a three-year police officer, certified, trained, ready to hit the streets, joining our team as of last week. Everybody give Shawn a welcome. [applause] That's what I came here to say, but I'll stick around afterwards if anybody has other questions. Thank you,

Sean. Welcome aboard.

Sorry. Thank you for welcome aboard, Sean.

Next time that's on me. Sorry. Okay. Um, city manager report. Mr. Clees.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. A few items for you. Uh, over the last uh since we've last met, I appeared on KODL radio station twice. Uh, in December, our finance team began working on our annual audit and while this is somewhat later than usual, our auditor has no concerns. Um, we have filed an extension request just to be on the safe side of things. Uh, but we'll be moving forward and I'll keep the council updated as needed. We've also started preliminary budget work and a survey to to solicit input from our staff on our strategic plan has been distributed and will close later this month. and I anticipate bringing back our city council strategic plan and goal setting document in February. Uh last Friday, several staff and I attended a Wasco County emergency operations plan exercise focusing on evacuations. And during the recent rain event, we had a couple incidents. First and foremost, we had a rockfall incident at the Wix Water Treatment Plant. We had a very large boulder slide down the hillside and through part miracle uh part part luck, I guess, which might be the same thing. Uh there was no injuries and min minimal damage to the facility and I wanted to pass along my compliments to the public works team in responding to that incident and taking some mitigation efforts. Um there's still some more work to be done in that area but wanted to provide an update to council. The city hall roof also suffered uh um an impact due to several leaks. Uh temporary repairs were made and a full replacement is underway under our emergency procurement. Um uh those were the two incidents from the recent rain event. Um also our elevator is being serviced at city hall with uh plans to modernize the elevator overall. This is part of our capital improvement plan looking at uh all different city facilities. We have four elevators that are all 30 years old or older, I believe. And I just wanted to remind uh the council that many of these larger capital projects, elevator

replacement, elevator modernization, HVAC replacement up at the library, uh replacement of uh uh various roofs that we had or roofs that we have are uh supported by our consistent transfers into our capital fund and maintaining those transfers into our capital fund is critical to meet these needs. Um, I attended the swearing in ceremony for our new lateral police officer introduced by the chief a moment ago. And later this week, we have an exciting meeting with Northern Wasco County PUB uh and the city's public works team and representatives from the finance department, the assistant city manager and myself. The PUD has recently undertaken some major capital infrastructure planning and construction efforts and is continuing to plan for the future. And we are anticipating similar type needs and efforts such as replating our Wix water treatment plant and the transmission lines. And so we're organizing this meeting as we thought it was beneficial to get our two organizations together to discuss and learn from one one another. And that will take place later this week on Wednesday. That's my city manager report and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you have.

Any questions for the city manager? Okay, we'll move on to uh council reports. We'll start on my left with councelor Richardson. I'm going to pass tonight, Mr. Mayor. Councelor Ran,

on uh December 16th, I attended a Q live meeting held at Northern Wasco County PUB on the 22nd of December, a briefing with the mayor, city manager, and city attorney, and one other city councelor. I can't remember who it was. I think it was Scott Randall, but [laughter] maybe um on the on the 6th of January, I spoke to the Dell's Lions Club on veterans issues both locally, statewide, regionally, and nationally, and uh was wellreceived. We're looking for volunteers for our veterans museum located on the main floor of City Hall. We're closed for the winter with that museum, but uh it will open again in the spring. In the meantime, uh I want all the counselors to know the museum is open by appointment. Anybody in the community, citizens, families, groups that would like to tour the museum, contact myself or Jean Maxwell and we'll make sure uh you get a a special tour of the museum. That's all.

Councelor Randall.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um gosh, we haven't met since December 8th. So on December 10th, uh I attended the household hazardous waste steering committee meeting. Um and on that day, I also received notification of my appointment to the League of Oregon City's water and wastewater policy committee. Um they solicited it solicited applications in October for various committees on several issues like um housing, energy, infrastructure, transportation, so forth. Um these committees will analyze their uh respective topics and recommend policy positions and strategies for the league. We'll meet virtually starting in March and I'll serve a two-year term. On December 17th, I attended the Historic Landmarks Committee meeting uh via Zoom where they approved a request to remove and replace a non-contributing structure, a detached garage. Uh December 22nd, attended a briefing with uh city manager, city attorney, human resources director, and the mayor and council ring. And on January 8th, I logged into the chambers uh virtual community affairs forum where we had guest speaker Nate Stice with the government's North Central Regional Solutions Team. And that's my report.

Thank you, Councelor Ring. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um on December 22nd, I also uh attended a meeting with the mayor, city manager, assistant city manager, uh and I think it was councelor Mcloin. It was Yeah. Um and there was no sister cities uh meeting this year or this last month because of the holiday and urban renewal did not meet as well. Councilor Mclofflin

on Friday I have an airport commission uh meeting at 7:30. Uh KOD coffee break. I was on several times with the mayor in the past months. Um today we met uh Mayor Maize and I met for a short meeting just to discuss and prepare for tonight and uh 36G district. I will be the governor of the Lions International Eastern District of the Lions and we're planning a convention here in the Dallas April 10th and 11th at the Granada Theater. Uh and I did attend the briefing with uh councelor Ring as it was a briefing session and that's my report. Thank you councelor. As far as my report goes on December 16th uh councelor Mclofflin already mentioned we were on the KODL coffee break with El Wen. On December 18th, the city manager and I attended a ceremony at the Columbia Gorge Food Bank, uh, where they accepted $20,000 donations from various governments, local governments and nonprofits in the Dallas, including the city who gave $2,500 toward the food bank. On the 23rd, I did a radio interview with KACI and Mark Bailey. Also on that same day, I participated in a podcast with Robin Denning and uh Scott Hegy and I were guests of Robin and we were talking about some of the misconceptions uh regarding Google in our community. I thought we were did a good job of clearing up some of those misconceptions. Excuse me. Finally, I did several interviews with our director of public works, Dale McCabe, regarding Representative Cliff Ben's introduction of a bill in Congress to transfer 150 acres of forest land to the city to allow us to expand our

reservoir consistent with our 2024 water master plan. Uh so with that, uh that concludes my report.

Uh thank you, Mr. Mayor, but I would be remissed since councelor Randall mentioned it, but uh I was uh appointed to the League of Oregon C's finance, taxation, and economic development policy committee. I didn't know you applied either, so we should uh stay in touch. That is a two-year term as well. Thank you. And I have one more year to serve on the board. So, okay. Um C item nine is the consent agenda. Items of a routine and non-controversial nature are placed on the consent agenda to allow the city council to spend its time and energy on the more important items and issues. Any counselor may request an item be pulled from the consent agenda and be considered separately. Items pulled from the consent agenda will be placed on the agenda at the end of the action items section. Tonight we have three items on the consent agenda. Number one is approval of the December 8th regular city council meeting minutes. Secondly is authorizing the surplusing of a police radar trailer. And third is a resolution concurring with my appointment of Jared Gasson to the plan commission and Bet Steltzer to the urban annual agency board. Do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda?

Mr. Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented. will soon. It's been moved by council ring and seconded by councel Michael to approve the consent agenda. Is there any discussion or questions? All those in favor, please say I. I. I. I.

Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you very much. Item 10A is a general ordinance amending the city's comprehensive plan and municipal code to implement a hearings officer system. update the planning commission's roles and procedures and revise housing design and definition standards for clarity, consistency, and compliance with state law. And to present this exciting item for the city council's consideration is our director of community development, Josh Chandler. No, I'm sorry. Is our city attorney Jonathan Cara? Okay, I'm open for two.

Mr. Mayor, we have a script I'd like you to follow. I I pulled it up for you on my iPad. I don't see it printed, although it's in this red.

It's in this red folder. Amy hid it from me. Okay. Seriously, now is the time specified for the city council to conduct a legislative public hearing to consider the following matter. Consideration of zoning ordinance amendment application number 111-25 and comprehensive plan amendment application number 57-25 adoption of a general ordinance number 26-1424 and ordinance amending the comprehensive plan and title 10 of the amen of the Dallas municipal code to implement a hearings officer system updating plan commission roles and procedures and revising housing design definitions and standards for clarity, consistency, and compliance with state law. This hearing requires the council to consider explanation of the relevant criteria, standards, policies, and laws, a statement of basic facts relied upon in rendering the decision, and the evidence in the record. The criteria on which the council will base its consideration of this matter are found in the city's comprehensive plan, the Dallas municipal code, title 10, and the staff report. Anyone who wishes to testify must be recognized by me before testifying. When I recognize you, please proceed to the microphone and state your name and mailing address for the record. The hearing is also required to be recorded. Generally, the public hearing procedure will go as follows. Prior to the public hearing, we will begin with a staff report and any questions the council may have for staff. Next, I will ask for testimony from anyone who wishes to offer relevant testimony or ask relevant questions on this matter limited to more no more than three minutes per testifier. After all public testimony, the staff will have an opportunity to respond. When this process has been concluded, I will close the public testimony and the council will deliberate toward a decision. To expedite the hearing,

counselors may ask questions of persons as they testify, and I may exclude or limit cumulative, repetitious, or immaterial testimony consistent with the city council's rules. During the hearing, some important standards apply. First, if you testify, please address your testimony to the applicable criteria or other criteria which the person believes applies to the decision from the comprehensive plan or the Dallas Municipal Code Title 10. Second, failure to raise an issue with enough detail to allow the counselors and the parties an opportunity to respond to that issue prohibits an appeal to the land use board of appeals on that issue. And third, failure to participate in this public hearing either orally or in writing preludes appeal to the land use board of appeals. Those are the rules. Are there any questions? Seeing none, I have a question for the council. Do any members of the city council wish to make any conflict of interest disclosure or abstain from participating or voting on this matter because of possible financial gain resulting from the legislative action?

No. Everyone is saying no. Okay. I am now opening the public hearing. May we please have the staff report.

Thank you, Mr. Chandler.

Thank you, Mayor Mays, Counselors. Joshua Chandler, Community Development Department. As mentioned, we are discussing zoning ordinance amendment 111-25 and comprehensive plan amendment uh 57-25. Um, this impacts all properties within the urban growth boundary. I won't dig into the long title again, but this is consideration this evening of general ordinance number 261424. Can everybody hear me? Okay. Any feedback? All right. So, the purpose of these amendments um modernizing the community development department's um operations, clarifying the roles between current planning and long range planning, improving our overall efficiency, legal compliance and predictability of applications, and aligning with the Dallas municipal code, the comprehensive plan and procedures. Yes, the ordinance is a very long name and I will touch on that here in a little bit as we get further into this presentation. Uh so overall we are clarifying planning functions in planning. There is current planning and there's long range planning. Current planning those are your development applications, building permits, compliance, long range planning, that's policy work, code amendments, housing growth strategy. That's what we're doing this evening. We are having a discussion on long range planning because it is a code amendment. Uh so the policy goal here is um really shifting the quasi judicial actions away or review away from the planning commission to a hearings officer and refocusing the commission on legislative and policy matters. Uh so in our process here you know in 2025 some of this information has already been discussed with council on 2025 staff proposed some updates to modernize the department. Um in doing so there was like I said the distinction between current planning and long range

planning. Uh this developed into a two-phase approach. The first phase was discussed at the November 24th 2025 meeting. This was a code amendment that just that touched on uh title 11 and that was really um tweaking the uh planning commission roles and responsibilities. One of the biggest changes was reducing meetings once per month. Currently uh previously they were at two um and this was adopted November 24th and it went into effect January 1st of this year. Uh phase two is what we'll be discussing this evening. Um, this is really the establishment of a hearings officer that was discussed back in April with the with the council as well as the comprehensive uh comprehensive plan amendments to the Dallas municipal code. Um, excuse me, comprehensive updates to the Dallas municipal code and the comp plan. Uh, so just a disclaimer here, uh, the phase 2 code amendment package, it is larger than usual mainly because it integrates the hearings officer provisions across multiple sections. So when we put codes together, if we are changing one sentence of a larger code section, we include that entire code section to show you the overall impact of how that one sentence removed may look. So um we will touch on all the main points this evening. Uh but I know you know we've already had a long evening here. So I will do my best to to breeze through these the best I can touch on all the high points and try to keep our questions to the end. and then hopefully we can get through and and we'll uh package this up quickly this evening for you. So noticing for this um this um code and amendment process was submitted to the department of land conservation and development which is required 35 days before all code amendments are proposed. Uh there was notices for the planning commission meeting um uh December 3rd those were posted in the newspaper. December 11th our planning commission meeting packet was distributed. My

apologies I didn't include this in here, but on December 18th, right before uh Christmas vacation, we had a planning commission meeting to discuss these. Uh the 31st of December, we noticed this meeting in the paper and then this packet was distributed January 5th. So, as I as I mentioned, we're going to touch on the high points here um all the way through this code package. The one of the biggest changes and is something that is really impacting the entire title 10 is the switching switching from the planning commission overseeing land use applications to a hearings officer. Um this is a uh independent a hearings officer is an independent land use professional. We have budgeted for one. It would effectively is going to be an individual that uh is hired when an application comes. So, this is not an individual who was on staff with us. These meetings will be scheduled as needed, and it's really going to, like I say, shift the planning commission and have more of a focus on um on code amendment processes. Uh, city council will still retain the final um appeal authority. So, in the event that an application is appealed by the director's decision, that appeal is heard by the hearings officer. that hearings officer decision can then be appealed to city council. So, city council does have the final say on land use applications here in the city of Dallas. uh procedures, some other changes that we added in here. Like I said, the bulk of this is touching on the implementation of the hearings officer. But as we went through the rest of the code, we decided to, you know, add in some of this those low lowhanging fruit, some code amendments that we have known needed to be done, some that have maybe risen to the top in in recent years, in recent months. Um but but overall staff has been working, you know, for for quite a few years now. I've been with the city for about seven and a half years. We have an ongoing list of those

code amendments, those tweaks that need to be made, those those stumbling blocks that we run up into putting a code amendment package together. It's a it's it's a big process. So, overall efficiency, the goal here was we're already opening up the code to do a code amendment process for the hearings officer. We were going to add some of this lowhanging fruit. And um touching on some of those, we clarified application and hearing procedures. Uh we uh tweaked some of the um timelines for um noticing. So these requirements now before a hearings officer meeting um it's going to be a 20-day notice before that meeting. Currently those notices are 10 days. And then also the appeal uh to file an appeal. You actually have 12 days uh to file an appeal. This is consistent with state law. Both of these are in fact. Um also some definition changes have been made. of course, introducing the hearings officer, touching on affordable housing, um residential care facilities. I'll talk a little bit more about that. Marijuana related uses, and then kitchen and cooking facilities. This has been a this has been a um issue with with many communities around the state. Um really try to identify what makes a kitchen. um seems you know seems like a basic things basic conversation here but a kitchen is ultimately what identifies a dwelling unit. So having a clear definition of what a kitchen is we can clearly designate how many dwellings or if a proposed you know remodel is coming into a house we have a clear line now of what actually makes a kitchen facil or what actually makes a dwelling through this definition. Awesome. So housing adjustments and affordable housing. Um this we are implementing kind of a tiered approach to our adjustment process. Currently we have an administrative and a quasi judicial adjustment process. This is to make you know minor changes to a

development proposal talking setbacks, heights, things of that nature. So the state implemented uh Senate Bill 1537 which is actually in a it's a mandatory housing adjustment route. So it is required by state law. We've added into our code and basically added an additional tier to the adjustment process. Um this is basically now it's going to be um we like I said we have an administrative and a quasi judicial administrative process. This will be adding in like a ministerial process. So there's some requirements that you have to meet to be able to be allowed to um approve this adjustment. So we are adding that into our code easier for staff. A lot of times, you know, the state is is constantly moving with a lot of these changes all the time, but it's easier for our staff to be able to look into our code to have the guidance on how to process an application, then dig into OS and try to figure it out. There's some delays that can occur when we do that. We did experience that recently. Uh the Chen Chennowith Loop housing project over on Chennith Loop Road that was effectively uh permitted outright uh by state law. Um, but it took a little bit because it didn't quite fit into the Dallas municipal code and the box for that property. So, it took some back and forth, you know, working with our legal team on this to find out that yes, is it it is an allowed use. Putting that type of provision into our code is easier for staff, cuts down on um overall review time. Um, the other addition here is um the addition of affordable housing into residential and mixeduse zones. This is another thing that is um affordable housing is permitted outright in um in all zones, all non-industrial zones effectively. So we added affordable housing with that definition as I talked about earlier specifically into our permitted use section. Uh and a development comes in, they may not fit

right into the box on the zone that they're wanting to go into. Now staff can look at that permitted use section and they can see that affordable housing is clearly listed there. Uh so use and class classification updates uh we have added in the residential care facilities are now allowed in low density residential zones. This is consistent with state law. Currently those facilities are allowed in high density and medium density zones. So, this is basically the same as those zones now, and it's also, like I said, consistent with state law. Um, we've clarified and consolidated permitted and conditional use tables. One thing about reading our code is is overall readability. Just as much as we want to make it easier for the customer, we want to make it easy for staff as well. Our current um our current use tables are really kind of broken up in a really funky way. Specifically, when you get to marijuana and transitional housing, uh you'll read through our list. It'll have all the list of all the different uses that we allow. Then you get to the first medical marijuana section and then it's a breakdown in our permitted use section of all the requirements for for medical marijuana and then it jumps back into a professional office. So, if you're not looking at the code, not familiar as as I am with it, um I'll just preface this as it's an overall cleanup. Um when we talk about marijuana and transitional housing sections, there is no change to what the city already allows. We are just extracting the text from our permitted use tables and putting them into brand new sections. So now you read through the permitted use section, you get to transitional housing and it says see section X and that will guide the reader and staff to that section where everything is located. We're also

introducing the uh the SIC code which is um it's a standard pretty elaborate code of of listed uses compiled through through years and years through professionals um and it provides a consistent objective framework for use determinations. So ultimately, every zone really at the bottom of every permitted use um list in our in all all of our zones, there's always a line that says other uses as determined by the director. That can be pretty subjective at times. And the SIC is a guide that we can now turn to and we can try to find which if a if a use is proposed to the city and it doesn't quite fit into our box, we have the SIC code that we can go and we can relate to and to try to find the most closely related use to see exactly where it's going to fit in our zone um in in each of the zoning districts. This is used um one example of the city of Medford uses the SIC and it is codified into their code. Uh parking streets and transportation standards. Uh this codifies the mandatory parking waiverss in downtown and the CBC2 zone. So downtown um there is a section of our code that says parking may be waved if a development is located in the CBC2 zone or if it's located in one of our established um parking districts. Um when you read back through in the 80s these parking districts were established those properties were specifically exempt from parking. So they're listed in the same section of the code as CBC2 is. So, what this is doing is it's it's removing the language the the um subjective um language there and adding in ultimately if a development is listed in the CBC2 zone, it is exempt from parking. Um this aligns with the comprehensive plan and

trying to to develop and redevelop our our downtown area. um it replaces that discretionary parking exemption and it's just an it's an outright um it's an outright exemption for those types of developments. Our downtown Dow's very old um developed before the um development of the automobile. So, it is actually you do run into some roadblocks when you're trying to redevelop in our downtown to try to meet the um somewhat aggressive parking standards that we have applied for various uses. Also, [clears throat] we're updating the street standards matrix to align with the 2017 TSP. This probably should have occurred in 2017, but what we're doing now is we have basically two separate street matrixes. the one that's uh aligned in the TSP, which is what we actually rely on. And then there's also the matrix that's currently in the code. When we talk about matrix, we're talking about widths of streets, widths of sidewalks, things like that. So, we can rely on the 2017 TSP. We're basically bringing that table into our code. Um, and ultimately, as you'll see as we go through these, this is a lot of cleanup. I'm I'm providing probably even more detail than some other cleanup deserves, but I just wanted to provide this information for you. Um, so some we're also looking at, you know, site design, safety, and construction flexibility. Um, we are now going to be allowing a 6-ft fence in the front yard of a school if it is located in a residential zone. So most of our schools are located in residential zones, but our code does not allow fences over 4 ft in height in a residential zone. So meaning many of the schools, I assume this school as well probably has a fence that exceeds the height in the zone. Ultimately with this change is bringing some co bringing a

lot of schools into compliance. you know, it's increasing safety, um allowing that additional height, uh permitted outright. There's also a local school here that is actually seeking some um a pretty large FEMA grant to put um fencing all around their property, and this was actually one of the sticking points. They weren't actually able to get that fence project moving because our code doesn't technically allow uh a 6-ft tall fence. So this this helps out all of our school properties and is it is just specific to schools in these residential zones. Um we need to that also um this code section also maintains vision clearance and neighborhood compatibility. Um and then we're also expanding excuse [clears throat] me the allowance for layown yards. So lay down yards are effectively construction yards that are used with an approved development site. So, for instance, the Federal Street Plaza is going to be using the Tony's site uh for a layown yard. Currently, lay down yards are not permitted in the CBC zone. So, in order to effectively have these construction sites in these areas, um we need to amend the code slightly. So, basically, lay down yards will be allowed in all non-residential zones. [clears throat] Uh so, the comprehensive plan amendments are really in line. The biggest changes we're implementing the hearings officer throughout. So these are the changes that will be made very minor changes to the comprehensive plan overall. Uh the timeline here we had a we had a planning commission meeting December 18th. Then there was uh this evening January 12th the city council hearing. Um February 2026 is when we will be coming back to the planning commission to uh make some updates to the planning commission bylaws. These are very very basic as well mostly for this implementation of the hearings officer.

February through March we'll go through the hearings officer selection process have an internal selection team to do that. And then the goal is by April 16th, it's the it's the uh third Thursday of that month, uh we will be implementing the hearings officer and if we have any land use applications, the hearings officer will hear that application for the first time. And as mentioned, we have u in this last budget, we've budgeted $10,000 um in four hearings officers in the event that we need to hire someone on um to hear one of our applications that come in. Um and and as I mentioned, these are going to be meetings that are scheduled when an application comes in. So they are not going to be your ongoing meetings the third Thursday. So, council's alternatives here. I cut out the rest of that very long title, but um move to adopt general ordinance number 26-1424 as presented. There are also some other options up on the screen. And with that, I am happy to answer any questions.

Okay, we're not going to be deliberating until a little later here. Um, does anybody on the city council have any questions for the staff at this time before we move to the public testimony? Really quick question. Council Ring, Director Chandler, I wanted to check and see if there's any any applications that are pending that we know that this may impact positively or negatively.

There there are no applications currently and the fallback will always be the planning commission. Um, so we've built into this code that in the event that maybe we were unable to hire a hearings officer or a hearings officer leaves and we have a month and an application comes in, the planning commission will always be the fall back on that. Thanks,

Mr. Mayor. Can you hear me? Okay. I just wanted just to double check uh or not double check but to sort of double down on uh what our uh community development director just said. Um and this is true just generally in in Oregon land use. Um but the rules in effect at the time that an application is um uh deemed complete they govern the rules throughout the entire process for that application regardless if they change mid-stream unless of course the applicant would like to uh use new rules. And so, uh, I guess that's something that we should always try to remind council of when it comes to a land use, um, ordinance update because I can totally see how that that could be, um, a negative consequence for our community. And so, the law has considered that as well. So, if that's helpful,

any other questions for the staff? I have one. The plan commission met on December 18th. Can you summarize the reaction to what you've proposed and specifically on the hearings officer?

Yes. So that evening was met with a a ceiling falling in with the with the leak. So there was quite the event there. Then we ran into some technical issues. It was um delayed maybe 20 minutes. Um but pretty quick. It was a pretty quick meeting. Um I had I had worked with them and we had a discussion. Our planning commission knew that this was coming down the pipeline. and we had a pretty detailed discussion on these back in October. Um, so that's always the plan is before we bring the proposal forward, we're going to have a detailed discussion with them. Uh, so they were very familiar and I think um, no questions were asked. It was a pretty quick process overall and it was approved unanimously.

Great. Okay. Any other questions by the city council? Okay. Does anybody from the public wish to offer testimony relevant to this issue or ask relevant questions on this matter for up to three minutes? If so, please state your name and address for the record and come forward now. Anybody last call? Okay. Let the record show that no one from the public wishes to offer relevant testimony. Would staff uh uh excuse me, do the counselors feel that they have enough information to make a decision?

Yes. Okay. I'm here. I'm seeing a lot of heads nod. Is the council ready for deliberations? Any comments they'd like to make before we vote? Okay. I'm hereby closing the public testimony portion of the meeting and the public uh the public hearing is now closed. Now we will proceed with council deliberations. Is the council ready for a motion? Yes. Would councelor Mclofflin like to make a motion?

Yes. Mayor Mays, I move to adopt resolution number 26-002 as presented. I really did get the wrong one, didn't I? All right. All right. Here we go. I move to adopt general ordinance number 26-424. Good. uh an ordinance amending the DAO's comprehensive plan and title 10 of the DAO's municipal code to implement a hearing officer system, update planning commission roles and procedures and revise housing design and definition standards for clarity, consistency, and compliance with state law based upon the findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth in the agenda staff report by title only as presented.

I'll second it. It's been moved by councelor Mclofflin and seconded by councel Randall to pass general ordinance 26-1424. Would anybody like to have the ordinance read in its entirety? No. Seeing nobody take me up on that offer, I would ask the city clerk to please read the uh the uh u ordinance by title only.

General ordinance number 26-1424, an ordinance amending the Dallas comprehensive plan and title 10 of the Dallas municipal code to imple implement a hearings officer system, update planning commission roles and procedures and revise housing design and definition standards for clarity, consistency, and compliance with state law. based upon the findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth in the agenda staff report. Thank you, Miss City Clerk. Any other questions or comments before we vote? All those in favor of the motion, please say I. I. I.

Any opposed? Motion carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Thank you, Josh. Great. Thank you. Finally, we have item 11B, which is consideration of an ordinance repealing a resolution and amending the Dallas Municipal Code to add a chapter related to the city's utility subsidy program. Mr. Cleaves.

Uh, thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um since uh April 10 uh 2002, the city council has uh authorized and the city has run a discounted utility rate program for low-income seniors and lowincome disabled persons who hold accounts for the city's water and sanitary sewer service. Um this program has been run in partnership with Mid Columbia Community Action Council and I want to thank Leslie for sticking with us to the very end this evening in case the council has any questions about this program. The program uh has historically been implemented through a combination of council actions um administrative practices and the service agreement that we have with Macak to oversee this program. And uh in the essence of time this evening uh in a nutshell, this general ordinance really intends to align these directives to be clear and consistent moving forward and to have them memorialized as a general ordinance. Um this enhances transparency and accessibility. It preserves council's control over the benefit levels and tiers. It aligns the code with our current administrative model. It improves that consistently and it maintains consistent treatment across city build utilities. Um the ordinance addresses how the program applies to the city build water, sewer and storm drainage charges. Specifically, the storm drainage charge discount as framed in TDMC chapter 3.24. Um for low-inccome water and sewer discounts are in place. Um we met with the uh executive director for MacA to review this ordinance and how it aligns with the current uh agreement we have with them for the model and uh they didn't have any issues or concerns. Um this is an existing program as noted. We currently have 128 users of the program and the annual discounts range between 30 and $50,000 a year. Um, increased program awareness may result in a higher participation um, and that benefit to our community members in need. Um, however, with a resulting cost. Um, so I want to make sure council is aware. This

is something that we've already incorporated in the budget. There's no anticipated changes. But if and as the program increases, it does decrease the revenue to these respective infrastructure funds. That being said, staff's recommendation is to uh adopt general ordinance number 26-1423 as presented by title OEI and we'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Thank you. Is there anybody in the audience who would like to comment on this issue? Please thank you for being

for those of you who didn't hear Miss Namore complimented our city manager on this issue. So, thank you for your comment. Anybody else? Would anybody uh is there a motion to uh to uh pass this ordinance? Council Randall. Mr. Mayor, I move to adopt general ordinance number 26-1423 as presented by title only. Mclofflin will second.

It's been moved by councelor Randall and seconded by councelor Mclofflin to pass ordinance 26-1423. Is there any other uh comments or questions? Is there anyone that would like to have the ordinance read in its entirety? No. No one is taking me up on that. So I would ask the city clerk to please read the ordinance by title only. General ordinance number 26-1423 repealing resolution number 14-008 and amending the Dallas municipal code title 3 utilities to add chapter 3.28 utility subsidy program.

All those in favor of the ordinance uh please say I. I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Is there any other business to come before the city council? I just have one comment. Um I mentioned about how um I thank the u people that participated in our in our discussion about the uh immigration issues and I also thank the city council. I neglected to thank the city staff for all their hard work, specifically Matthew and Jonathan. So, um, thanks to you two guys for all the work you put in on this issue and made it go as smoothly as it did. And thanks to our police chief who is always there on the on the front lines. And with that, with my makeshift gabble, I