April 4 City Council meeting: Facebook post ethics and efforts to develop a pump track dominate the evening’s discussion

 

On April 4, the Oakridge City Council held a debate-heavy meeting in which they discussed Councilors’ rights concerning Facebook usage, the Tree Planting Festival’s teen court and plans to potentially construct a new bicycle pump track.

Midway through the meeting, the council disclosed information about an incident involving two separate Facebook posts on a semi-private Oakridge chat forum group that potentially posed an ethics issue for the City Council. 

A citizen poll was made on an invitation-only Facebook page

One post, made by Councilor Dick Tarman concerning this article from Strong Towns about optical narrowing of streets, had comments made on it by four councilors. Another by Councilor Dawn Kinyon, in which she made a poll about lane reductions on Highway 58, had comments made by 5 councilors. According to Oregon law, this means that the posts could be considered a public meeting in a forum that is not available to all members of Oakridge, posing a possible ethics issue. 

“Initially, the reason that councilors weren’t as concerned is that we felt that decision was done and put to bed and it wasn’t on the agenda,” said Councilor Christina Hollett in regard to Kinyon’s post.

In response, the council decided to disclose information about these posts to the public through discussion in the Council meeting. However, the disclosure quickly turned into debate on how councilors should be using social media and how their activity relates to public discussion between councilors. 

Private firewalls restrict the public’s availability to view

“You’re talking about public transparency yet you are behind a private firewall discussing city politics,” said Mayor Bryan Cutchen, with the “firewall” referring to the Facebook forum. “If the councilors want to refrain from discussing city politics behind the private firewall that’s fine. However, they don’t do that. There is a public Oakridge forum for political discussion, so let’s just use that if you’re gonna start discussing political issues that come before the council,” Cutchen said.

This led to some rebuttal from those in attendance of the meeting. “It is not my belief that it is the place of the mayor to dictate how the Oakridge chat forum is run or how the forum settings are done,” Said public commenter Kristyn Dodge. “If he is in fact concerned about an open forum where anyone can join and have the same information, I would suggest that the mayor or a city employee start an official public Oakridge group that is attached to Oakridge’s official Facebook page.”

City closes the proverbial barn door after the horses are out

It was eventually decided that transcripts of the Facebook posts would be entered into public record and made available for the public on the Oakridge city website.

City considers moving forward with pump track in the OIP

Another point covered in the meeting was the approval to accept a $5,000 donation from Travel Lane County to put towards a study grant for a new fully paved pump track to be built at the east end of the Oakridge Industrial Park near the cell tower. The amount would count for a 20% match of the $25,000 total of the grant. $9,000 dollars of the grant would be used to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of the track’s potential construction.

 “We can see this project not only benefiting tourists, of course, but it’s something you can take your kids and families to,” Said Connor Nolan, a speaker from Travel lane County. “You can have it as a hub for people to hang out, enjoy the day. You know, practice their skill set as they want to eventually get better and move on to the more experienced and tougher mountain bike trails outside city limits.”

Tree Planting teen court gives presentations at council meeting

Time was also reserved during the meeting for the teen court of the Tree Planting Festival to make an appearance. In recognition of this year’s 71st annual festival, Five members of the court spoke before the council, providing personal stories as to their experiences living in or near Oakridge and why they feel the Tree Planting Festival is beneficial to the city.

“From watching the parade go by as a kid to now actively participating in the festivities, the annual Tree Planting event has always been a highlight,” said Erik Meske, a member of the court and senior at Oakridge High School. “Witnessing our community together to celebrate and make this special event happen fills me with pride and joy, and this year, I’m excited to be a part of it in a way I’ve never experienced before.”