City Recoups COVID-19 Expenditures, Approves Three Contracts and Continues Equity Conversations
July 7, 2020 — At the July 6, 2020, meeting of the Wilsonville City Council, the City Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with Washington County that allows Wilsonville to recoup $62,000 that was distributed by the City’s economic development staff to local Washington County businesses impacted by COVID-19.
Washington County has received reimbursement funding via the federal CARES Act, and is reimbursing the City for COVID-19 small business relief grants and the purchase of gift cards to boost local businesses in Washington County.
Additionally, the Council approved three new contracts:
- The Council approved a $3.89 million contract with Stantec Consulting Services to begin design work on a future project to expand the capacity and seismic resiliency of the Willamette River Water Treatment Plant.
- The Council approved a $2 million contract with Knife River Corporation Northwest to complete scheduled street repair and maintenance. The project rehabilitates or reconstructions portions of Elligsen Rd., Day Rd., Parkway Ave. Main St. and Burns Wy. Construction is scheduled to begin in August.
- The Council approved a $1.5 million contract with Scott | Edwards Architecture, LLP, for the design and construction documents for a future facility on Boberg Rd. that would consolidate Public Works functions at this location and expand the accommodations for Wilsonville Police Department at the existing Police/Pubic Works Complex.
A supplemental budget adjustment of $49,600 was approved to cover an increase in personal services expenditures after newly-approved union contracts. The additional expenditure is mostly mitigated by a 2.86% reduction in the City’s PERS rate, effective July 1, 2020.
A brief ‘virtual graduation’ ceremony recognized the members of the 2020 Citizens Academy, who completed a three-month program providing an introduction to local government in Wilsonville.
For the majority of the meeting, the Council, City staff and concerned citizens continued the ongoing discussion about achieving police accountability and racial equity in Wilsonville.
The City Manager showed a brief video summarizing more than a century of systemic racism, which demonstrates many of the current inequities that exist between Black and white communities everywhere. Several residents provided citizen comment, expressing a desire to participate in community events with police, elected officials and residents to continue the dialog and advance policies and practices that promote equity.
During work session, lobbyist Greg Leo summarized recent State laws adopted to ensure safer policing, Wilsonville Police Chief Rob Wurpes shared specifics about how Clackamas County police policies and procedures hold up against the #8cantwait campaign seeking police reform.
The next scheduled meeting of the City Council is Monday, July 20, at 7 pm; a pre-meeting work session begins at 5 pm.
Community members can watch all City Council meetings on cable (Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 30, Frontier Ch. 32) or on the City’s YouTube channel: ci.wilsonville.or.us/WilsonvilleTV.
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