Oakridge Council Meeting December 7, 2023

By JOY KINGSBURY/for The Herald  —  Councilor Michelle Coker was excused, Councilor Mellissa Bjarnson attended virtually, as is her habit.

Citizen admonishes Council over B&B taxation policy discussion

Dan Barclay, Oakridge citizen, made public comment on the Council’s short term rental discussion. He informed council that Lane County Transient Lodging Tax has replaced Transient Room Tax Marketing Plan. He told council that “Motels and hotels [being] the same kind of business as short-term rentals is ridiculous. Another comment I overheard was that lodging tax was collected from tourists. The largest amount of tax collected is from ordinary persons who have nothing to do with tourism.” Also, he said that if hotels and motels are the same kind of business as Air BnB’s, it’s like comparing McDonald’s hamburgers with a prime rib dinner.

Jeanne Sellison, a Library Board member asked Council to consider appointing Lauri Patty, and Jeri Reed to the Library Board, with Councilor Tarman as their Board’s liaison.

Trudy Hammond, Oakridge citizen, told council she is getting close to hosting community service members. If there is a any progress in that program, Trudy would like to be informed by the City, so she can line up work for those complying.

OPD holiday activities

The Oakridge Police Department has dubbed December 14th a “Shop With a Cop” day.  This program has been very successful in the past.  Please participate and make your donation at the Police Department.  December 9th was the parade of lights with a Charlie Brown Christmas movie, refreshments, and fun at Greenwaters Park.

Councilor Tarman has been asked about how many places have water service outside of city limits? Councilor Chrissy Hollett added that she would like to know whether they are residential or business service?

Councilor Hollett asked that Mr. Barclay email his comments to Councilors since it is apparent he has done some research on the subject of a tax on Air BnB’s.

Library Board get additional members

The Motion to appoint Councilor Tarman as liaison to the Library Board was approved.

Three applicants to two open positions on the Library Board were considered. Lauri Patty, who Councilor Hollett thanked for  applying to the position three times previously, thanked Lauri again for the enthusiasm she has shown for the position. Lauri Patty was appointed to the Library Board.

Jeri Reed was also appointed to the Library Board.  She is experienced at fund raising and has some ideas to support the library. She has also had experience with Head Start, and she has done fund raising auctions in the past.

Council went into Executive Session to negotiate real property transactions.

After reconvening, Council agreed to continue negotiating on the offer for Oakridge Industrial Park Lot 22.

Travel Lane County Visitors Guide will charge $3,335.00 for an Oakridge ad.  Funds will come from the Transient Room Tax fund.  The City sells ads to local businesses at $190.00 for a space in the guide.  Council approved the expenditure.

Council considers ad in Oregon Business guide

An Oregon 2024-2025 Economic Business and Development Guide along with Site Selection will be published this year and will offer two-year ads.  Oakridge can purchase the front page space for $7500.  City Administrator, James Cleavenger supports the purchase and showed Council how the money would be allocated and paid.  He feels this to be a good opportunity to get the word out about Oakridge to businesses who may want to locate here. Funds for the page to be provided from the Oakridge Industrial Park Fund. Council approved.

A Scenic Byway Committee to designate the Aufderheide as a Scenic Byway has asked the City of Oakridge for a letter of support toward this effort.  Council approved the support and will write the letter.

Forest collaborative and Forest Service present strategic plan

Sarah Altemus Pope, facilitator for the Forest Collaborative gave a presentation on the Forest Service project which will implement a program to plan strategy to protect East Oakridge Forest Land. Union Pacific Railroad and Seneca Corporation are supportive of the plan. According to Sarah, the aim is to increase landscape fire resiliency especially in greater Oakridge/Westfir and on High Prairie. The Forest Service will plan to harvest stands which will help curtail wildfires. The Forest Service would like to hear input from the community to know what the local citizens priorities would be.

There will be an open house held on the project for the communities’ feedback. The Landscape Planning Committee will meet Dec. 18th, 1:00 p.m. at the Oakridge Industrial Park office bldg.  Fire Safe Council will meet Tuesday, January 2nd, 11:00 a.m. at the OIP office building to provide input for wildfire risk reduction.

Reconsideration of Council’s resolution on committees was on the agenda. Councilor Kinyon suggested tabling the item to the second meeting in January.  Council agreed to Table the Item.

Councilors discussed their upcoming Christmas Party and the planning for that was underway.

Oakridge Economic Advisory Committee, (OEDAC) will apply for a $50,000 grant from the Department of Energy for a feasibility study for hydro as a power source for the Oakridge Industrial Park.

Economic summit at OIP focuses on competing for businesses

An Oakridge Economic Summit took place with a meeting of the city and several other entities on Wednesday, the 13th for a tour of city facilities, lunch at the Pub, then complete the tour after lunch. The meeting began at the OIP office building. Feedback from other entities were very helpful. Two Oakridge Councilors were invited to attend the tour. This summit was to be a chance for cities to present all the projects they are working on and to learn about grants that may be applied for as well as other measures they may take in support of their projects.

Supplemental budget discussion moves forward

The first Supplemental Budget was taken into consideration for approval, mostly being housekeeping items.  Sales of property and the amphitheater’s necessary repairs were discussed.  Council held a public hearing on Supplemental Budget No 1.  There were no comments from the public during the Public Hearing. Motion to approve the first reading of the Supplemental Budget for fiscal year 23-24 was approved. Councilor’s Dawn Kinyon and Chrissy Hollett abstained. Hollett declared a conflict of interest since her Husband is employed by the City. Councilor Bjarnson also declared a conflict of interest due to her involvement with the Fire Department.

Councilor Tarman attended the Parks and Community Services Committee meeting on December 13. The committee discussed the Banner Bank Park weatherization, the amphitheater, contract update, the Willamette Activity Center, and the support letter request for the Aufderheide Scenic Byway.

James Cleavenger attended the Public Safety Committee meeting. He said they discussed the hiring process for the Police Department and old business, and, he said, “Nothing earth shattering.”

Councilor Kinyon reported the Charter Review Committee has not met.

On the Library Board report, Councilor Kinyon said the fund raising auction was a very successful event.  $2,000 was raised for the Library to add more books.

WAC committee hopes to fund staff

Sarah Altemus Pope reported on the WAC Funding Committee. They will find funding to hire a staff person to staff the committee for the next few months. They took a tour of the WAC and are looking for local committee members.

Councilor Hollett told council that Sacred Heart University Hospital has closed and this is having a big impact on EMT and ambulance patient waits. Last week, the “wall wait” was over an hour with six persons from the Oakridge F.D. just waiting to be done. This limits the number of medical facilities they can transport patients to. “I wish there was more to do to keep them from closing.” She said.

More citizen discussion on motels vs B&Bs

There was an additional public comment by Dan Barclay, citizen, and motel owner. He told council that Transient Lodging Tax for motels has been going on for six decades. Motels are licensed, registered, zoned commercial, and pay taxes along with an increased water rate.  Air BnB’s are largely unlicensed, built as residences, with lower water rates. 96% are not licensed by the City. Council is concerned about the loss of revenue. Council has not practiced oversight on Air BnB’s. There is a considerable increase in the number of these lodgings who have withheld revenues from city coffers because they can.  The solution is not to raise the tax to 16%, which would be the highest in Lane County compared to incorporated cities which have lodging taxes of 11 to 11.5%.

Barclay went on to say, “I personally want to thank Admiral Cutchen for acknowledging Pearl Harbor Day with a suggested moment of silence. Let’s have an actual moment of silence to commemorate the day.”

Oakridge City Council meetings are open to the public and take place each first and third Thursday of the month at 6:30 at Oakridge City Hall.  A sign up sheet for public comment is available at the door.  A hybrid method of attending is available and there are instructions for doing so on the City Website.