City Council Approves Funding for Construction of Long-Awaited 5th St./Kinsman Rd. Extension
March 2, 2021 — At the March 1, 2021, meeting, the Wilsonville City Council approved a $10.8 million contract with Moore Excavation to advance construction of the 5th Street/Kinsman Rd. extension, a high-priority project in the 2013 Transportation System Plan that extends both roadways and adds new roadway amenities, including bridge crossings and an upgraded railroad crossing.
Completion of the 5th St./Kinsman Rd. Extension project will provide additional connectivity in south Wilsonville with a new route between Old Town and Kinsman Road that parallels Wilsonville Rd. and provides an alternative to the Wilsonville Rd./Boones Ferry Rd. intersection. The two-year project is scheduled to begin in April.
Additionally, the Council granted annual property-tax exemptions to five multi-family facilities — Autumn Park Apartments, Charleston Apartments, Creekside Woods LP, Rain Garden LP and Wiedemann Park — that provide 366 residential units of affordable housing. These exemptions allow the facilities to provide lower-cost rent to families, seniors and individuals meeting income qualifications.
During Mayor’s Business, Mayor Julie Fitzgerald received the Council’s backing for a letter to be sent to Oregon House Rep. Courtney Neron and other Wilsonville legislators in support of funding the next phase of the I-5 Boone Bridge and Seismic Improvement Project to reduce traffic congestion and withstand a major earthquake.
During Communications, representatives from Oregon State University’s College of Agriculture and the Clean Power Cooperative shared a presentation on the Solar Harvest project, a field-scale research station designed to allow researchers to study the impact of solar power on local agriculture.
At the work session held prior to the meeting, the City sought the Council’s feedback on bylaws being drafted to guide the work of the City’s future Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. Until April 5, community members may apply to serve on the DEI Committee, which is to identify and address systemic barriers to inclusion within the City’s practices, processes, regulations, events and other initiatives.
Engineering staff shared summary data from a recent transportation performance monitoring report, reviewing progress toward safety performance improvements, new multi-modal connectivity and other goals as well as recommendations for continued progress.
The next meeting is scheduled to be held virtually on Monday, March 15, 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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