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08/16/2017 - Minutes City of Tigard Committee for Community Engagement Minutes AR . MEETING DATE/TIME: Wednesday,August 16, 2017; 7 p.m. MEETING LOCATION: Red Rock Conference Room, City Hall 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard OR 97223 Member Attendance Status Jeremy Audritsh Y Basil Christopher Y Cathy Olson N David Hanna N Dolly Specht Y Amelia McCreery Y Kristen Fitzpatrick Y Miranda Wood Y Connie Ramaekers Y Joseph Lyons Y Lexi Hallum Y Anne Kinnaman N Pending Committee Members: Thomas Lauritzen Y Christine Rehse Y Yamini Naidu Y Other Attendees: -Rudy Owens,Communications Strategist,Staff Liaison to Committee - Sharon Gavin,Communications Manager,City of Tigard -Betsy Ruef, Community Engagement Assistant, City of Tigard - Councilor Marc Woodard -Marland Henderson,resident 1. Welcome and introductions. 2. Welcome Review of draft minutes from June 14,2017. The committee,having reviewed the meeting minutes from June 14,2017,approved the meeting minutes. 3. Welcome and introductions to recommended new committee members:Thomas Lauritzen,Christine Rehse,Yamini Naidu (the City Council vote for the appointments taker place Sept. 5, 201/7). Committee for Community Engagement Meeting Minutes Final— 8/16/2017 Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-718-2758 1 www.dgard-or.gov IPagelof5 The group welcomed the pending applicants. In his comments,Christopher said he liked the changes taking place and where the committee was heading. 4. Update from Betsy Ruef, Community Engagement Assistant,on the city's ongoing community engagement efforts with the city's Latino and Spanish-speaking community. Ruef said she first noticed that many Spanish-speaking customers had difficulties accessing city services. Some had concerns about their current status in the community.Ruef said some members of that community didn't feel welcome. She learned the local Hispanic community wanted to know why,as did other city staff. Ruef designed a trust-building"date" so both sides could learn about each other. She worked with the Tigard High School student group called MECHA. For her first event, she got buy-in from all city departments (Public Works,Police,Library, Central Services). She wanted a safe space and decided to have an open house.All of the departments were on board. They met in a neutral place, safe space—at the Library. There have been multiple events since the first Open House in December 2016—open house in March 2016,Latino Festival in September 2016,open house May 2017,Latino Festival September 2017. She mentioned challenges:racism,criticism,resistance. Some businesses asked the city,why was there a business open house for just Latino businesses? She mentioned the benefits:vulnerable residents protected from scams,trust capital,better police-community relations, celebration of cultural identity and community members from different backgrounds. McCreery wanted more details about the Latino Festival in September. Ruef said she expected the festival to draw even more attendees than in 2016. Specht asked if her/the city's vision was beyond just Latinos.Would it include Asian Americans?She described her efforts in past years that were not successful,and she became involved in cultural networks in Beaverton and the Asian Pacific Network. Specht wants more multicultural information about the city. Ruef suggested in the future they will be looking at multicultural events and sponsorships. Hallum also asked if the city was focused on only Latino engagement or multicultural engagement.Ruef said the Latino community came together to promote ongoing efforts and are supportive of a bigger umbrella,with more participants. Naidu suggested that the current Latino festival could be expanded to a multicultural event and asked if that would receive more community support. Committee for Community Engagement Meeting Minutes Final— 8/16/2017 Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-718-2758 1 www.dgard-or.gov JPqge2of5 Rehse commented if the city did festivals for different groups it potentially could create divisions,not build unity. Ruef answered that for the Latino festivals, she worked with a committee or local residents who make many of the event-planning decisions. Owens provided a summary from the most recent U.S. census of the racial/ethnic makeup of the City of Tigard and described how Seattle did many different cultural events year-round under an umbrella called"Festal"and Kent,Washington did one large,multicultural event. The group had a general discussion of Tigard's diversity.Hallum said for Parks&Rec events, staff and volunteers generally see great diversity among participants. Gavin,Communications Manager and co-presenter that evening,mentioned Beaverton's success having world maps allowing people to use pins to show their place of origin. Christopher asked about other city efforts,asking how minority communities get their voices heard. Owens mentioned the community roundtable,police outreach,Council outreach, Library events,neighborhood engagement every summer,and Parks&Rec events. Ruef also said the city's outreach during the last three years was the most she has seen as a longtime city employee. 5. Update from Sharon Gavin,Communications Manager, on the city's ongoing efforts to inform and engage residents in discussions of Tigard's challenges with funding city services and future funding for city facilities. Gavin provided an overview of the city's current fiscal landscape. She said revenue was not meeting all of our expenses. Expenses grow 4 percent annually,compared to revenue at 3.5 percent.The city will have to look at potential cuts. She said our property taxes don't even fully fund our police department.Not enough people are getting this information.That is why the city is trying inform and educate residents about the budget. Gavin provided an overview of the city's recent and ongoing efforts: monthly Mayor's Corner columns with a budget focus, surveys of residents,community outreach events. Overall, residents like what they see and hear. She said a challenge facing the city was residents'overall level of satisfaction with city services; satisfied people won't get involved if they are satisfied. Gavin gave an overview of some of the recent community engagement events: table discussions at events like farmers markets and ice cream outreach,Parks&Recs events,a series of talks in July and August called"Budgets and Brews."Staff meet with groups,where they could be guest speakers. Gavin said the city tried to make it more fun. Gavin also described the creation of the new Levy and Bond Advisory Task Force. It was taking a"deep dive"into what the future funding paths may look like. She said she wanted to know what this group recommended. Committee for Community Engagement Meeting Minutes Final— 8/16/2017 Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-718-2758 1 www.dgard-or.gov JPqge3of5 Fitzpatrick said as a renter,discussions of property taxes did not resonate with her. She asked for clarification on the larger city goal. Gavin said for now,it was to educate people about the city budget. Gavin said the city may wish to discuss what city services might be at risk.This would be about residents'values. Fitzpatrick said with information presented,it was hard to gauge how big of a shortfall we have. She said,tie it to something tangible. Hallum praised the Police Department's open house tour (on June 3).The tour let residents see what the city was dealing with: a leaky roof,not enough space for officers. Gavin noted that since 2008,the city's population grew by 8 percent,yet the city had the same number of staff since 2008. Wood asked,why wasn't growth covering expenses? Show that.Wood recommended the city be clear what it would cut. She also said communications needed a sense of urgency. Lyons said he like the handouts because they showed him what he gets as a citizen.They promoted a sense of civic pride and showed what the city was doing for you.Lyons said just showing city revenue as property taxes only would not connect as much. Several other committee members said they liked the handouts provided by Gavin. Naidu suggested revising the handout showing what residents pay in fees/taxes. She suggested using a message of, "What the city is doing for you."She proposed a list of what budget cuts might mean and not to make it too overwhelming. Ramaekers said when asking for money,do pros and cons.Make it clear what could be lost. She recommended reaching out to the Summerfield community. McCreery asked how much the city was proposing to increase in property taxes. Sharon said the current discussion pegged the amount at$1 in 1,000 in assessed value. She added that right now,the city had the second-lowest property tax rates in the county for cities its size. Christopher said when comparing itself to other cities regarding taxes,a comparison should also show amounts to bond measures and levies still being assessed. It was not fair to look at property taxes alone. McCreery said when communicating with older residents,note that benefits can help their grandchildren. Christopher asked about the services provided for taxes paid to the county. Owens mentioned shared county roads, services by the Washington County Sheriffs Office.The county also provided 911 services and social services. Audritsh suggested the city could come forward with a levy asking for less than$1 per$1,000, perhaps starting at$.25? Committee for Community Engagement Meeting Minutes Final— 8/16/2017 Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-718-2758 1 www.dgard-or.gov 1Pqge4of5 Specht said right now, she wasn't sure of everything that was paid for by the city. Specht said in her north Tigard neighborhood,the culture was mistrustful and she was trying to change that. She said homeowners there did not believe renters contributed to the tax system.Lyons replied that renters do pay proportionally through their rent to the owners. 6. Update by Rudy Owens on CCE idea for additional voting drop box(es). Owens shared feedback from the City Recorder that Washington County Elections felt more boxes placed in the communities would defeat the purpose of the state's vote by mail system. The office maintained that mail was already accessible and that drop-off boxes should not be the main collection point for county ballots. Additional ballots also create staffing challenges for cities and the county,with a current system favoring mailed ballots. More boxes would also mean more people needed to monitor them on election night,which was another cost. 7. Comments and input from around the table. CCE members shared mostly favorable comments.Lyon said he liked the recent concert in the park. He was proud to be involved. Councilor Woodard said he was pleased with the committee's work so far and that contributions by committee members will help the city make better decisions. The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30 p.m. Committee for Community Engagement Meeting Minutes Final— 8/16/2017 Cityof Tigard 1 13125 SW Hall Blvd.,Tigard,OR 97223 1 503-718-2758 1 www.dgard-or.gov IPage5of5