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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Minutes - 03/10/2026 City of Tigard City Council & Town Center Development Agency CITY OF Tigard Business Meeting Minutes March 10, 2026 1. Business Meeting A. Call to Order—At 6:30 p.m. Mayor Hu called the Tigard City Council and Town Center Development Agency meeting to order. B. City Recorder Krager called the roll. Present Absent Councilor Shaw x Council President Wolf (remote) x Councilor Anderson x Councilor Ghoddusi x Youth Councilor Hellhake x Mayor Hu x Councilor Robbins x Councilor Schlack x C. Pledge of Allegiance— Mayor Hu asked everyone join him in the Pledge of Allegiance. D. Call to Council and Staff for Non-Agenda Items—There were none. 2. Public Comment A. Public Comment—Written: None B. Public Comment— In Person: None C. Public Comment—Video: Jeff Darland spoke about concerns with new development not paying its proportionate share of water infrastructure and existing residents having to carry the burden. He asked the Council to authorize the use of development fees to pay debt service, direct city staff to figure out the overpayment by ratepayers, begin the planning on how to make amends and start a corrected rate study this year. He requested this be done before commissioning any new projects related to water. Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — March 10, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 1 of 5 3. City Manager Report Acting City Manager Tritsch announced two items. A Joint Town Hall with Mayor Hu, Senator Neron Misslin, Representative Bowman and Representative Rieke Smith will be held at the Public Works Auditorium on March 14, from 2:30-4:00 p.m. The "If I Were Mayor" student contest is open for submittals and is an opportunity for young people in Tigard to reflect on leadership and share ideas. Details are on the city's website, and the entry period ends March 29, 2026. 4. Adopt 2026 Federal Legislative Agenda Assistant to the City Manager Hendrix presented the staff report identifying federal legislative items from an initial Council discussion in December: Project specific funding for a Public Safety Facility and 72nd Avenue Corridor improvements, Support of the Reauthorization of the Transportation and Infrastructure Bill, and Affordable Housing. Councilors agreed with adding some items mentioned by Councilor Shaw including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) support, Community Fueling Infrastructure Program, railroad crossing elimination, tax- exempt municipal bonds, opposition of changes to FEMA and to cuts for programs for Tigard's most vulnerable population including Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP benefits. Tigard's zip code was mentioned but was a lower priority to some councilors. Mayor Hu suggested a few edits to the Public Safety Facility Planning paragraph in the Legislative Agenda document provided by staff and recommended the first sentence be replaced with, "Tigard is committed to maintaining reliable public safety and emergency response services under both normal conditions and during major emergences." He recommended using "energy efficient" instead of the vague adjective "green" in the third sentence. Assistant to the City Manager Hendrix will bring forward an edited list to Council for consideration at a May meeting. Mayor Hu announced that the next agenda item is a Town Center Development Agency item and convened the TCDA Board. 5. Town Center Development Agency (TCDA) Cinema Site Discussion Redevelopment Manager Farrelly gave an update on the cinema site and asked for TCDA Board direction on whether to begin a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for the redevelopment portion of the cinema site. The goals are to provide the Tigard Triangle's first neighborhood park, build out street and trail infrastructure, restore Red Rock Creek, including new stormwater and sewer facilities; and redevelop a portion of the property. Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — March 10, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 2 of 5 Community Engagement activities included a survey on desired park features. Top responses were walking and biking trails, playground, and picnic areas with tables and shelters. When asked what else the Tigard Triangle community needs most, the leading responses were entertainment options (Music, Movie/Theater Venue, Makerspace, Art Gallery, Arcade, etc.) and food options (Restaurants, Food carts and Farmers Markets). Developers were also interviewed to get their assessment of the market and response to the city's goals for the property. Youth Councilor Hellhake noted that the Tigard Youth Advisory Council (TYAC) discussed what they'd like to see in a park and their top three were a dog park, skate park and installation of outdoor fitness equipment. Suggestions from the TCDA Directors included exploring land trust options for home ownership, affordable housing, a community center and ensuring the TCDA has control over what is developed if mixed-use is built. Four scenarios for TCDA consideration were: 1. Redevelopment First, 2. Joint Development of the Park and Private Development, 3. Develop the Park first or 4. Develop the entire site for public use. Staff's recommendation was Scenario 1 and the TCDA Board unanimously agreed with that option, which will clearly separate the projects and allow park design work to begin while an RFQ is issued to select a private developer shortlist, with a June-September timeline for the selection. Mayor Hu reconvened the City Council for the next agenda item. 6. Review of Youth Councilor Position (Requested by Councilors Schlack and Robbins) Acting City Manager Tritsch introduced this item and highlighted that it was a review of the overall program and not intended to be specific to anyone. Any changes made would not go into effect until the next cycle. Assistant to the City Manager Hendrix gave a slide presentation and said Council direction was requested on Youth Councilor eligibility and whether to establish measurable goals for a one-year pilot refinement to the program, or to sunset the Youth Councilor role in favor of a broader civic education initiative. Youth Councilor Eligibility A question arose from a community comment about what youth are eligible to apply for the Youth Councilor position. Currently they must be a resident of Tigard entering their junior or senior year at the time of application, attend a school serving Tigard residents and have and maintain passing grades. Councilor Robbins suggested expanding Youth Councilor eligibility to include students living in unincorporated areas. An example was given of a student who lived in an unincorporated neighborhood, had attended Tigard elementary schools, felt part of the Tigard community, but currently did not attend high school in Tigard so was ineligible to apply. Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — March 10, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 3 of 5 Councilor Schlack asked if unincorporated area students are eligible to be on the Tigard Youth Advisory Council (TYAC) and Youth Councilor Hellhake confirmed that TYAC allows participation from members living in unincorporated Tigard if they attend a school in the Tigard-Tualatin School District (TTSD). Councilor Schlack said he is opposed to non-residents having representation on the Council but was fine with them being on TYAC. Councilors Robbins, Anderson and Ghoddusi were in favor of extending Youth Councilor eligibility to students who live in an unincorporated area but attend a TTSD high school. A majority, Councilors Schlack, Councilor Shaw, Council President Wolf and Mayor Hu were not in favor of extending eligibility to non-residents. Youth Councilor Purpose Mayor Hu asked the Council if they wanted to consider additional goals for the program next year or eliminating the position. Youth Councilor Hellhake said it was important and has been a great program but felt there should be additional focus on supporting civic engagement in schools. Councilor Anderson recommended keeping the program and adding a requirement that they report back to their peers. Councilor Schlack said he did not feel the program achieved the goal of amplifying the voices of younger residents. He expressed concerns about non-elected, advisory positions serving directly on an elected governing body and said, "Council decisions carry real consequences for Tigard residents, from setting residential fees to appointing a mayor, and anyone given the privilege of deliberating towards those decisions at Council meetings should be accountable to voters." Councilor Schlack added that if community members want more young people on Council, they should elect them. An 18-year-old registered voter and resident of Tigard could run for office. He said he struggled with maintaining an age-based advisory seat on Council after the Council recently expressed skepticism about providing age-based positions for seniors on other city boards and committees. Council President Wolf said she supports a Youth Councilor position as it is non-voting and the accountability is different. Councilor Shaw said having been on the Council since 2020, she did not believe access was equitable and the funding goes to just one individual. She said given budgetary constraints, the staff support and resources would have more impact on education if they were given to the TYAC. She added that senior citizens also do not have a voice and asked why there would be a special seat for youth on Council but not for other age groups. Councilor Ghoddusi supported making more structured goals and perhaps setting up community-based college credits, possibly from Portland Community College. He noted that someone 55 and older can run for council but those under 18 cannot. Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — March 10, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 4 of 5 Councilor Robbins supported keeping the position and offered to work on ideas to advertise more with the schools. She suggested using this next year to explore other successful programs. Councilor Shaw said despite robust communication with the schools, the city has struggled every year to have anyone apply, and there was one year when no one applied. Mayor Hu said youth involvement is valued and we need to figure out the best way to get it. Councilors Anderson, Robbins and Ghoddusi and Council President Wolf expressed support for keeping the program. Mayor Hu proposed a subcommittee to discuss more successful recruitment and to develop program goals and measurements for evaluation next year. Acting City Manager Tritsch recommended a 4-6 week focus to develop and refine the program and explore details on marketing and recruitment. Councilor Shaw noted that the staff recommendation for the agenda item summary was to sunset the program. Council President Wolf said it was a great opportunity for an individual but recognized there are limited resources. She changed her recommendation to move forward based on the staff recommendation to sunset the program and focus the resources on TYAC. Mayor Hu said he wanted to encourage youth engagement in a meaningful way but for the reasons identified by Councilor Schlack, Councilor Shaw and Council President Wolf, he agreed with them, making a majority of Council voting to eliminate the Youth Councilor program. 7. Non-Agenda Items— None. 8. Executive Session—None Scheduled 9. Adjournment—There being no further business, Mayor Hu adjourned the meeting at 7:41 p.m. • Carol A. Krager, City Reco er Attest: Yi K g Hu, May Date Tigard City Council Meeting Minutes — March 10, 2026 City of Tigard 113125 SW Hall Blvd., Tigard, OR 97223 www.tigard-or.gov I Page 5 of 5