City Council Approves Annexing and Taking Ownership of County Roadway
At the Jan. 18, 2018, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council took three major steps simultaneously to advance preparations for development of the Portland-metro regionally significant Coffee Creek industrial area of high-wage employers in Wilsonville.
The Council approved on second reading the annexation into City limits of 4.9 acres of roadway located in the northwest industrial area of Wilsonville. Approximately one mile of existing rural and unimproved county roads were annexed, including Garden Acres Road, Cahalin Road and Clutter Street.
In conjunction with annexing the existing roadway, the Council adopted a resolution seeking to transfer the road authority from Washington County to the City, which would then take ownership of the roads for improvements.
The Council also authorized the acquisition of approximately 102,000 square feet or 2.3 acres of right-of-way and easements from 14 property owners on 34 separate tax-lots that border Garden Acres Road, which stretches a half-mile from Ridder Road north to near Day Road.
Finally, the Council renewed a five-year intergovernmental agreement between the City and other local and state governmental agencies that are members of the Oregon Public Works Emergency Response Cooperative Assistant program. The City’s participation in the program formalizes the exchange of equipment, supplies and personnel among government agencies during emergency response or recovery efforts.
Under Mayor’s Business, the Council confirmed the reappointment of several volunteers to City boards and commissions, including:
Reappointment of Arthur Park to Budget Committee for a second term from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020.
Reappointment of Gerald Greenfield to Planning Commission for a second term from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2021.
Reappointment of Fred Ruby to Development Review Board Panel A for a second term from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019.
Reappointment of Samy Nada to Development Review Board Panel B for a second term from Jan. 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2019.
Under City Manager’s Business, the Council approved sending a letter to Oregon legislative leaders opposing potential legislation in the “short” February session of the legislature that would remove public-review processes to allow the Oregon Dept. of Aviation to ‘supersite’ an extension of the Aurora State Airport runway in Marion County. The Council directed staff to work with Clackamas County to oppose legislation that preempts public participation in the land-use process and results in increased urban-level activity in a rural location lacking municipal governance, adequate infrastructure and surface-transportation facilities.
During Communications, the Council heard an update from Nina Carlson, Government & Community Affairs Consultant, of NW Natural describe the utility’s efforts to move to a “low-carbon future” that reduces overall carbon-emissions by 2035.
During work session prior to the meeting, Council heard a number of reports from City staff. Public Works Director Delora Kerber presented a recently completed inventory of street trees in the city that showed 24,208 trees of 274 different species border 79 miles of Wilsonville roadways; the tree inventory will help the City to better manage and plan for the selection of trees in the future. Finance Director Susan Cole and Police Chief Rob Wurpes presented on the costs and benefits of various scenarios for the use of “red-light cameras” to capture driver violations of traffic-control devices. The Council decided to pause this initiative to install red-light cameras since a new traffic law-enforcement officer is scheduled to start in March that may result in decreased traffic infractions that impact public safety and traffic flow.
Community members can watch a replay of all or a portion of the City Council meeting on Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 30, Frontier Ch. 32 or on the City’s video-on-demand service at www.ci.wilsonville.or.us/WilsonvilleTV
