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Detailed meeting minutes will be available at next month’s City Council meeting.
DECLARATION OF ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST
- none declared
EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES – APRIL 3, 2024
- unanimously approved
REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES – APRIL 3, 2024
- unanimously approved
SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES – APRIL 16, 2024
- unanimously approved
PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT / MINUTES
- request for amendment to draft meeting minutes – hearing comment entry
MAYOR’S REPORT
- attended Strategic Planning & Visioning seminar (Newport)
- attended North Coast Regional Solutions meeting
- interviewed members from both Klosh Group and HMK for the Owner’s Representative Services RFP
- interviewed member of [Geosciences] for the Water Modeling RFP
- attended Necanicum Watershed Council (NWSC) talk re: sea level rise along the Oregon coastline
- attended the annual LOC Conference and Coastal Mayor’s Coalition (Klamath Falls)
- reviewed FEMA coastal flood insurance changes
- met with Chad re: the RFP’s, annual LOC conference, and ongoing City business
- spent a lot of time on the Post Office
- thanked Karynn and Kim for all of their hard work
COUNCILOR REPORTS
- Councilor Devereaux feels the Post Office is a federal issue
- Councilor Fackerell met with Chad re: a bench update and thanked the City and its helpers for the [Earth Day] Clean Up Day event
- Councilor Kloepfer attended a County goals input meeting led by CREST, and has been researching and talking with people about wetlands because she is worried about the property between 1st and 2nd along the Neacoxie
- Councilor Gould spent a lot of time talking about the Post Office with residents and elected officials, attended a County Commission meeting, wants to keep momentum going and continue the push for a zip code and street delivery, also attended the Strategic Planning meeting, is attending an LOC Regional meeting in St. Helens on May 3rd, and gave a reminder for the Firefighter Ball on May 25th
CITY OFFICER REPORTS
POLICE CHIEF
- Chief Gregory will release stats when available (n/a 1st of the month), Officer Mares doing well spending time on duty in Seaside and is still scheduled to take his first solo shift June 1st
FIRE CHIEF
- Chief Como was absent – stats to follow (n/a 1st of the month)
- from Captain Sweet: shout-out to Division Chief Andi for completing new firefighter training resulting in newly trained firefighters for Warrenton, Astoria, Gearhart, and others; Gearhart is looking at four new volunteers and annual calls are still up
TREASURER
- noteworthy revenues included County ARPA funds for the fire department and quarterly marijuana taxes
- a State Revenue Sharing revenue account was added for “If I Were Mayor…” winner donations (account# corrected)
- staff reviewed expenditure accounts during the budget process – goals include transparently merging accounts, keeping account descriptions uniform across departments, and eliminating unnecessary accounts
- expenditure transfers made to keep accurate historical data were noted
- an appropriation resolution will be needed, and is often standard operating procedure
- some end-of-year salary distribution adjustments will need to be made
- next Budget Committee meeting is Tuesday, May 14th
CITY ATTORNEY
- keeping an eye on Grants Pass camping ban federal case, now with the U.S. Supreme Court
- also keeping an eye on a California case where the outcome could affect our CDC’s – a transportation fee assessed on a double-wide mobile home
- received calls from Governor Kotek’s office re: the PSU Population impacts based off of [his] presentation – a DLCD representative has also reached out
- re: annexation discussion on the agenda – important for people with an expectation of services in growing Gearhart remember the size of Gearhart’s budget, and that conversations on ways to increase revenue may need to occur; City staff under pressure and very busy
CITY ADMINISTRATOR
- attended the annual LOC conference and talked water, PSB, and population estimates
- Public Works working on chlorinator and plant maintenance
- water conservation is good for Gearhart – water rate review during the budget process
- code enforcement cases, no violation citations – 6 active, 5 closed
- increased elk sightings, Seattle writer contacted the City for his story, some members of the collaborative had a brief update
VISITORS
- MELISSA EDDY – TRAILS END PARK LIVE MUSIC PERMISSION REQUEST
- motion unanimously approved
PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS – WRITTEN & ORAL
WRITTEN PUBLIC COMMENTS MENTIONED
- Deanna: concerned with Seaside Municipal Airport tie-down request
- Senate Bill 1576 summary re: recreational immunity for improved trails and a temporary re-opening of trails
ORAL PUBLIC COMMENTS RECEIVED
- Shannon: planning an invasive species removal day in June, also attended the CREST-led County meeting – would like to see Gearhart continue to monitor, would like a larger public discussion on the water rights expansion, and spoke with Noah of the NWSC re: his culvert grant and other possible projects along the creek to fit the grant
ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS
ORDINANCE #943 – AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CITY OF GEARHART ZONING ORDINANCE SECTION 3.2 MEDIUM DENSITY RESIDENTIAL R-2 ZONE
- second reading unanimously approved
- ordinance in effect in 30 days
OLD BUSINESS
POST OFFICE / ZIP CODE UPDATE
- Post Office contract signed April 26th with no interruption in service
- zip code request response in 30 days
NEW BUSINESS
DISCUSSION – ANNEXATION OF UNDEVELOPED PROPERTIES IN THE CITY’S URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY DURING THE DEVELOPMENT APPLICATION PROCESS
- one Palisades lot beginning development – precedent could be set to annex future lots based on this first house
- looking for guidance from Council via consensus to draft conditions and language if Council is interested in a possible Palisades lot annexation after the home is built
- consensus unanimous
DISCUSSION – 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION
- traditional parade through town with hot dogs at the fire station
- discussions with neighboring/affected agencies to coordinate efforts
- sign campaign will re-occur
- seeking a Countywide approach where beaches are concerned – Gearhart resources (police, fire) need to be available for Gearhart
- Councilor Gould requested a letter from Council for State and County agencies looking at the beach on the 4th as a Countywide problem where Gearhart is happy to assist where we can
- volunteer groups for clean up after
- all agencies short-staffed – Chief Gregory recommends continued conversations
- Attorney Watts and Administrator Sweet were instructed to draft a letter for distribution explaining the repercussions of underage drinking in Gearhart, and the probability of multi-agency response
- (re-visiting Gould’s letter request) Sweet requested more meeting time with partners before drafting the letter to agencies
COUNCIL CONCERNS
- no concerns
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