The Monday, Dec. 18 City Council meeting began with Corvallisites entreating the council to do something about a resolution concerning the Middle East, and then the meeting moved to where folks can sleep right here at home. And then towards the end, the mayor circled the meeting back to the Middle East.
As no small aside, the evening also included city service fee increases, the appointment of a Special Counsel in the Ellis matter, and a decision to contract a new City Attorney.
City Council and the Middle East: Toward the end of the meeting, Mayor Maughan announced he will be introducing a motion – probably next month – calling for peace in the Middle East. He also said, “I stood out in from of the courthouse with pro-Palestinian protesters.” He also said, that while he hasn’t agreed with everything the protesters are saying, he does agree that the city should support peace.
He also said he had encouraged a group of constituents to approach the City Council with a resolution.
And, that’s What they’ve Done: A number of Corvallisites have petitioned the council to pass a resolution that in part states, “that the City of Corvallis calls for an end to Israeli apartheid and the occupation and blockade of Palestinian land by Israeli military forces,” and, “the City of Corvallis advocates for the self-determination, liberation, and equity of all Palestinian people.”
The petitioner’s resolution calls for the city to align itself with those calling for a ceasefire without conditions, and states the Israelis are committing “ethnic cleansing, and genocide.”
A couple weeks back during the council’s Dec. 4 meeting, several attendees came out against the resolution during the public comment period. By contrast, petition supporters outnumbered opponents at this latest meeting.
At the last two Council meetings, both supporters and opponents of Palestinian and Jewish heritage credibly reported encounters with hate within our shared community. One of the reports included sexual violence.
The Mayor also said he does not agree with everything in the resolution that’s been submitted, but that he believes the council should pass something advocating for peace.
Special Counsel for Ellis Expulsion Hearing: City Councilors will get legal counsel from a Special Counsel appointee during Councilor Ellis’ January 16 expulsion hearing. And, we wish there had been a better way to write that last sentence.
Here’s what’s happened: The City contracts with a private law firm for City Attorney services – and that law firm requested the appointment. Making the request on behalf of the firm, Brewer & Coulombe, was David Coulombe.
Councilors Charlyn Ellis and Paul Schaffer voted against making the appointment, with the other seven councilors voting in favor. Ellis said she has still not been informed of who the complainant is – and the debate over hiring a Special Counsel became especially heated between Schaffer and Maughan.
Essentially, the Mayor stated he views the complainant as the City Charter, and Schaffer views the hiring of a Special Counsel to represent the complainant as prejudging Ellis.
In Case you Missed it, Here’s how this Started: Ward 5 Councilor Charlyn Ellis sought and received a motion from the City’s Climate Action Advisory Board, or CAAB, to motion the City Council for support staff the Board believes it needs. Ellis is also the CAAB chair.
Volunteer run City boards like these are often supplied with staff support that compile agendas and maintain minutes – and as CAAB would like, to chase down information about challenges and opportunities.
Anyhow, pursuant to the motion passed by the CAAB, Ellis later motioned the council to approve the support and direct the City Manager to keep the Council informed about progress making a hire.
Apparently, there was at least one complaint that Ellis’ actions constituted a violation of the City Charter, which prohibits Councilors from influencing or discussing specific hires with the City Manager.
To date, nobody has come forward to say Ellis discussed the matter with the City Manager or attempted to influence him in any way. Currently, she only appears to have made a suggestion to the CAAB, and then motioned for the Council to take make a decision.
Homeless Resting and Sleeping: As anticipated, Councilors voted to make permanent the City Manager’s authority over determining time, place, and manner regulations on the acts of sitting, sleeping, or lying down in or on public property. It was an authority that had been temporary until now – and it essentially impacts houseless folks.
The vote was 8 to 1, with Ward 3 Councilor Hyatt Lytle voting no, stating that she believed Willamette Park should have the same exclusion as other parks in school buffer zones. Lytle said people going to the park get there by walking through the Lincoln School zone.
City Fees Hiked: Also as anticipated, Councilors voted to hike a number of service fees, here’s the increases:
- Water utility rates by 4%
- Wastewater utility rates by 3%
- Stormwater utility rates by 3%
- Transportation maintenance fee rate by 3%
- Sidewalk maintenance fee by $1.00
- Urban Forest Management Fee by $0.30
- Police Service Fee by $1.35 per Residential Meter Equivalent
- Fire Service Fee by $2.50 per Residential Meter Equivalent
- Low-Income Assistance Fee by $0.28 per Residential Meter Equivalent and increase the qualified credit to $53.50 per month.
These increases go into effect February 1, 2024.
New City Attorney Firm Selected: Councilors voted to select Beery Elsner & Hammond LLP to replace the current firm contracted to supply City Attorney services for Corvallis. The new firm hails from Portland, the partners at the current firm will be retiring next year.
We Asked about Costs: We emailed City of Corvallis Public Information Officer Patrick Rollens for the specific costs and rates for the successful firm’s bid, and for the amounts of the three competing bids?
In response, we received an email from City Recorder Alex Downing saying, “The bids won’t be publicly available until after the procurement process is fully complete. Also the contract dates, costs, and rate will not be available until the contract is negotiated and executed.”
“The Council gave the following direction yesterday: Councilors Lytle and Shaffer, respectively, moved and seconded to issue a notice of intent to award a contract to Beery, Elsner, and Hammond LLP for “Core” and “As Requested” City Attorney services and to authorize the Council President and City Manager to enter negotiations for a contract to be executed after the protest period expires.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the name of Corvallis’ Climate Action Advisory Board. We appreciate the alert reader that reached out.
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