By GARY CARL/For The Herald- The Oakridge City Council held a Special/Work Session on Monday December 6th, 2021. Mayor Kathy Holston presided with all councilors present on Zoom.
Mayor Holston read several letters submitted as “Public Comment” admonishing the council to endeavor to meet face to face at council meetings. Comments were also received in support of the current City Administrator, Bryan Cutchen, who has resigned as of February 2022 citing a working relationship lacking trust and respect…with the current City Council. Excerpts from the letters submitted appear below:
Sarah Altemus Pope, author of one letter stated that “it is unfair and disrespectful to the citizens to not see and know for a fact that you are paying attention at all times.” She went on to say: “I trust that each councilor believes they are acting in good faith in doing your jobs, but ultimately, as a whole, you have led Oakridge to a point of friction and gridlock. … You are not elected to be critics or watchdogs; you were elected to lead.”
Another letter from Pam Wright stated … “Those Facebook polls are flawed… With social media, the loudest voices win, but that doesn’t mean they are speaking for the majority. Those loud voices were not hired or elected to make tough choices for the rest of us and they should not be relied on to make decisions. The city councilors were elected for their good decision-making qualities, not to be ventriloquist dummies.”
Brenna Chrisman, yet another letter writer said: “I have personally worked with Bryan Cutchen on several occasions, and he has always been very organized and great to work with… To lose Bryan Cutchen would be detrimental to Oakridge and I can guarantee it will be reflected on upcoming ballots.”
The council took up several matters
The Corner Bar & Grill, under new ownership, made application for a liquor license through the OLCC & in that regard they are requesting the city council’s approval for their application.
The council voted unanimously in favor of approving the Corner Bar & Grill application.
With the council’s approval, an item not on the agenda was introduced by the City Administrator. Mike Ripley, organizer and promoter of cycling events has requested a letter of support from the City of Oakridge for a world championship qualifier race. This event is to be held in August of 2022 and is expected to bring a large number of cyclists to Oakridge.
The council voted unanimously to authorize the City Administrator to issue a letter of support for Mr. Ripley’s event.
There was a spirited discussion among the council regarding whether they should meet in person or continue to convene via zoom in a remote setting. All councilors expressed opinions, but no consensus was reached and the Mayor set the matter on the agenda for the regular December 16th meeting.
Lastly, the matter of replacing the City Administrator
Finally, the council discussed the methodology for selecting a new City Administrator. Councilor Kinyon expressed her opinion that it wasn’t necessary to overlap Administrators. She felt our current Administrator could depart before a replacement was hired. She stated that in the medical field where she had been employed, it was standard practice to not overlap executives.
It was the general consensus of all councilors that they wished to be involved in the selection and hiring process for a pro-tem CA, if they agreed to select a pro-tem, and for the selection and hiring of the permanent CA whenever that occurred. They all indicated they wanted to be involved in drafting the new CA’s application.
Although the city’s website indicates that the City of Oakridge is accepting applications for a Finance Director, there was no discussion regarding that matter. Presumably, the current CA will be attempting to fill this position prior to his own departure in February 2022.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:20 p.m.
Gary Carl is a graduate of Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. He later graduated from the University of Oregon Law School and practiced Law for several years before being appointed Justice of the Peace for Lane County. He is a former Oakridge City Councilman. Gary retired in 2012 and lives in Oakridge with his best friend and companion, Lynda Kamerrer.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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