City Council Adopts First WIN Zone to Support Twist Bioscience’s $70 million Capital Investment in Wilsonville
August 17, 2021 — At the August 16, 2021, meeting of the Wilsonville City Council, the Council approved the adoption of the Twist Bioscience Wilsonville Investment Now (WIN) Zone, a new 4.4 acre site-specific Urban Renewal Area at the Parkway Industry Center (26600 SW Parkway Dr.). This economic development agreement, the first established under WIN administrative rules adopted last year, provides property tax rebates to incentivize new capital investment and family-wage jobs in Wilsonville.
Twist Bioscience, a California-based biotech firm, expects to invest $70 million in capital improvements and create 200 new jobs in within its first year of operation in Wilsonville. A presentation from the company highlighted its work to produce synthetic DNA that is (among many uses) supporting safe and effective research to combat the coronavirus.
The Council also approved a resolution that authorizes the City Manager to execute an agreement with Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. to provide preconstruction services for the Willamette River Water Treatment Plant Expansion project. The project is to expand the plant’s capacity from 15 million gallons per day (MGD) to 20 MGD to meet projected growth in Wilsonville and Sherwood.
Additionally, the Council also adopted a resolution allowing NW Natural Gas to install and maintain high-pressure gas delivery equipment at SMART Transit to accommodate the City’s growing fleet of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles.
The Council approved the sole-source selection of Friends of Trees, paving the way for a one-year contract that enables the non-profit to partner with the City on a project to replace trees lost to the February 2021 ice storm, both on public rights-of-way and in residential neighborhoods.
During Mayor’s Business, the City Council approved Mayor Julie Fitzgerald’s recommended appointments to the Kitakata Sister City Advisory Board, Srurthy Menon (through 12/31/23) and Kevin Stewart (through 12/31/2021).
During Communications, government affairs staff and consultant shared a summary of the most recent State legislative session and its impacts on Wilsonville.
At the work session held prior to the meeting, Engineering staff and consultants sought the Council’s feedback on preliminary recommendations for several design elements that would shape the look and feel of the I-5 Pedestrian Bridge and Gateway Plaza.
Planning staff shared a draft of policy and code updates connected to the Middle Housing in Wilsonville Project and sought the Council’s feedback on draft parking guidelines and other elements of the updates in advance of a September public hearing with the Planning Commission. The Council is scheduled to consider adoption of the updates in October.
Public Works staff shared costs estimates to mitigate effects of a recent City Hall water leak, and also detailed plans to make customer service and safety improvements within public lobby areas in conjunction with the repair work. Staff will request a budget amendment at a future meeting to fund the project.
Because of the Labor Day holiday, the next regular meeting of the City Council is to be held on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 7 pm; a pre-meeting work session is scheduled at 5 pm.
Community members can watch all City Council meetings on cable (Xfinity Ch. 30, Ziply Ch. 32) or on the City’s YouTube channel: ci.wilsonville.or.us/WilsonvilleTV.
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