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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/21/2026 - Minutes 1 MEETING DATE/TIME: Wednesday, Jan 21, 2026, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. MEETING LOCATION: Tigard City Hall, Town Hall Members Present Marinda Bottesi Stacey Ghoddusi Stephanie Godfrey Ali Haddadi- Vice Chair Jeremy Hajdu-Paulen Israel Jacquez Shaila Kotadia Caitlin McKinley -Chair Sunshine Navarro Shively Connie Ramaekers Maria Rue Not Present Rachel Roundy City Team Present Yi-Kang Hu, Mayor Kelsey Anderson, Police Public Information Officer Jeanne Peloquin, Tigard Public Library Community Engagement Coordinator Nicole Hendrix, Team Liaison Meeting start: 7:00 pm Welcome (Caitlin McKinley, Chair) Caitlin welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted the committee’s special guest, welcoming the Mayor. The Mayor shared that he is visiting each of the boards and committees to thank them for their service and to gain awareness of what the various boards do. City of Tigard Committee for Community Engagement Minutes 2 Member Updates, “What Are Your Celebrations, Concerns, or Curiosities Regarding the City?” (All) Celebrations: MLK Days of Service – family opportunities and partnership with Tigard Turns the Tide, Connections made through Mayor for the Vietnamese community, Town Hall for Safe Parking went well, shoutout to Megan Cohen. Concerns: The presence of ICE in the community. Curiosity: Enforcement of time, place, manner ordinance of homeless. Nicole will follow up next meeting with answer. Liaison Update Announcements & Meeting Recap (Nicole Hendrix) Nicole shared featured news that included the appointment of Councilor Anderson to City Council and will be the primary liaison for CCE this year. The Committee’s bylaw recommendations were approved by Council in December, allowing CCE to meet monthly moving forward. Nicole also thanked the committee members for completing the survey that was sent out earlier in the month in response to Council’s interest in board and committee current state. The Council also decided to move back from drones to fireworks in response to community feedback and budget considerations. CCE will be more involved in planning special events in the coming months. Lastly, Nicole highlighted the success of MLK Days of Service and shared a Save the Date for State of Our City on April 13. Nicole also shared that in response to committee questions about level of participation in agenda items that come before them, she will be adding a level of involvement category to each agenda item. She will be using the International Association for Public Participation’s outline of: Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, Empower. Library Operations (Jeanne Peloquin) Jeanne shared information on the upcoming library building closure due to the HVAC replacement. Express library services (Storytimes, tech help, select collections, etc.) will be available at City Hall beginning February 6 through May 1. Jeanne also reminded that digital services, such as eBooks, New York Times All Access, LinkedIn Learning, etc. are available. She shared various ways that we are communicating these temporary changes 3 and asked CCE to share any potential gaps in information sharing and to share information with their communities. Members asked if the city was proving physical signage – Jeanne said there will be large A- frame signs at the Library and City Hall to direct people to services. Sunshine offered to promote this information in the Tigard Turns the Tide newsletter – Jeanne will share info with Nicole to give to Sunshine. Nicole flagged what she has heard is that there is a gap in community spaces in Tigard and asked committee members to keep an eye and ear out on available spaces. Members asked about the library services Monday-Thursday, Jeanne noted that there will be a gap because Library will only be open Friday-Sunday and they are open to being at partner locations if people have any recommendations during the weekdays. Staff also noted the internal communication and awareness needs for frontline staff to be able to answer questions on Monday-Thursday if people come to City Hall looking for Library services. Nicole will share slides and the list of public meeting spaces that the Library has. Building a Better Tigard (Kelsey Anderson) Kelsey presented the upcoming May 2026 bond measure for the new facility for emergency responders. She noted that the feedback from CCE in the summer was to focus messaging more on how it directly impacts community versus emphasis on existing conditions/experience for employees. Her presentation focused on how a new facility will better serve community through having an emergency operations center, keeping training for officers in Tigard which allows for them to remain close in case of emergencies, trauma informed interview rooms, secure evidence storage, create efficiencies which allow for cost savings, caring for equipment that serves the community, etc. The total bond package would be $150 million. There will be an independent committee to conduct ongoing audit of bond to ensure money is spent as voters intended. There is also a current Voices Panel of community members to have input on this project through this process. Committee members asked about whether this would create opportunities for more jobs in Tigard. Mayor Hu noted construction jobs in making the building and Kelsey shared that there would be better retention and recruitment of officers with a facility that could accommodate them appropriately. Members also appreciated how much clearer it was than the last presentation they received on how it directly impacts community. There were questions about advertising and the emotional appeal vs other impacts or considerations like the Library closure. 4 Kelsey noted that the long-term capacity and safety concerns have been considered in the design. More information on this topic will be provided later. Members commented that endorsements from the Chamber of Commerce, TTSD, and other large companies will be beneficial. If the bond does not pass in May, this project will remain a priority for the city. A 25-year property plan study is currently in progress. Additionally, Ali emphasized the importance of including a study of measurable outcomes in the presentation to the community. The city plans to engage in community outreach to assist with the visioning process. Members suggested fundraising options such as selling bricks or charging businesses for advertising on city-owned vehicles. Kelsey will explore these possibilities. Election of Chair and Vice Chair (All) According to CCE’s bylaws, the election for chair and vice chair takes place during the first meeting of the year. There will be no new members introduced at this meeting. Nicole expressed her gratitude to Ali and Caitlin for their service in 2025. As a quick reminder, the primary responsibility of the chair includes facilitating the meetings and collaborating with Nicole to set the monthly agenda. The vice-chair serves as a backup, participating in the agenda-setting process and stepping in as the facilitator when the chair is unavailable. Members can either self-nominate or nominate others, and the election will be decided by a majority vote. Caitlin initiated the nominations for the chair position. Members nominated Shaila, Stacey, and Ali. Caitlin also offered to serve as backup for the position if there were no other candidates. Members unanimously voted for Ali; he was appointed as Chair for 2026. Ali accepted the position. Next, Caitlin called for nominations for the vice chair. Members nominated Shaila and Israel, both of whom declined. Stacey expressed her interest in becoming vice-chair if there were no other nominees. Members unanimously voted for Stacey; she was appointed as Vice-Chair for 2026. Staci accepted the position. Meeting Minute Review & Action, September Minutes (Chair, All) Caitlin called to approve the minutes, and the November minutes were unanimously approved as written. 5 Community Topics/ Agenda Ideas (Chair, All) Concerns about safety related to ICE activities in our neighborhood, as well as the ripple effects of the Minneapolis shooting incident, have been acknowledged. CCE's concerns were communicated regularly by Nicole to the mayor and the city council. Nicole will invite Chief to answer questions about ICE. A new webpage titled "Sanctuary State" has been created. It features a video where Tigard's police chief and the mayor address these important issues. Members are encouraged to visit the webpage and share information with their communities. Members inquired whether city leaders and the police chief could hold public forums to foster meaningful and candid dialogue with the community. Sunshine suggested that, as a community engagement committee, we should begin considering ways to ensure the safety of our community members. For instance, we could draft safety protocols to distribute to neighbors. We can also support communities targeted by ICE by helping alleviate their fears about being in public. Caitlin encourages members to email Nicole with any other topics of concern. Adjournment Meeting ended at 7:50 pm