[0:15] All right, good evening everyone. It's
now 7 o' to our city council meeting for
[0:19] Monday, August 17th, 2026. For all of
you that are able to please rise for the
[0:24] pledge of allegiance
[0:28] to the flag of the United States of
America
[0:33] for it stands nation
[0:39] for all.
>> All right, city council members, if
[0:44] we'll all turn our mics on and up so the
audience can hear. Um, Miss Hogan, roll
[0:51] call, please.
>> Council member Dowy
[0:54] » here.
>> Council member Houston
[0:56] » here.
>> Council member Friend
[0:57] » here.
>> Council member Michaelelsson
[0:59] » here.
>> Council member Brown
[1:00] » here.
>> Council member Ray
[1:02] » here.
>> Council member Burke has called out this
[1:04] evening.
>> Motion to excuse. Council member Burke.
[1:08] » I have a first for Miss Dowy and a
second for Mr. Brown. Miss Hogan.
[1:14] » Council member Dowy.
>> Yes.
[1:17] » Council member Houston. Yes.
>> Council member friend.
[1:20] » Hi.
>> Council member Michaelelsson.
[1:22] » Hi.
>> Council member Brown.
[1:24] » Hi.
>> Council member Ray.
[1:25] » Hi.
>> All right. JJ is excused tonight.
[1:39] » All right. Just a reminder for everyone
to please silence their cell phones. And
[1:44] now we'll move into citizen
communications for items not on the
[1:47] agenda.
[1:54] That's really throwing my game off
there. Who's is that?
[2:00] » It's not. Is it me? All right. Um, hi.
My name's Molly Malinowski. I haven't
[2:06] met most of Well, think about half of
you. Um, I've lived in Woodland since
[2:11] 2014. I am the listing agent for the
Donald's 150 acres down there on Wayland
[2:17] Road. So part of the discussion that you
know everybody's having about the
[2:20] development down there. I'm the listing
agent for that. Um Donald's are close
[2:25] personal family friends of mine. Um so I
make no
[2:30] um excuses about wanting the best thing
for them. Um also as a realtor, like
[2:35] that's part my job. Um I'm not going to
sit here and and say otherwise, but I I
[2:41] just wanted to kind of introduce myself
to you guys. I was had the opportunity
[2:45] to speak with Melissa, Jason. I was
hoping to get you on the phone. I know
[2:50] Gabe, we've had a couple conversations
about this situation and I just wanted
[2:53] to like show face. This is who I am. I'm
happy to have all the conversations
[2:59] about it. Um, ask all the questions.
I've been working on it for over a year
[3:03] and a half. I've learned a lot. I've
gained a I feel like a very good
[3:07] education between Kalitz County. Travis
has been extremely helpful and
[3:13] educational. Um, had a few chats with
Riley, so
[3:18] um, I don't want to sound arrogant, but
I do feel like I've learned a lot, so
[3:22] I'm happy to answer any questions that I
can. Whatever I can answer, I will find
[3:26] out. I wanted to read a little bit from
your guys's comprehensive plan update
[3:32] from less than a year ago. You guys
wrote in emissions and goals sections
[3:36] that Woodland will experience continued
population growth, greater diversity,
[3:41] higher citizen expectations, and
increased demand for essential public
[3:46] services. These challenges will be met
through the innovative use of
[3:50] technology, internal process
improvement, creative programs, and
[3:54] careful planning. So obviously you guys
know what your jobs are as as the city
[4:00] council is to plan for growth. Um, and
so that's all I think the conversation
[4:06] really needs to be centered around is
there's no two ways about the fact that
[4:11] we have a major interstate splitting our
town and so growth is inevitable. And I
[4:17] think that it's just the conversations
need to be had about how to do that
[4:23] smart. And I think that both my sellers,
the developers, at least the ones I'm
[4:29] working with, are all about how can we
make this work for everybody? Um, that's
[4:37] really all I wanted to say to you guys
today. Plan to be back as much as
[4:41] possible. So, I will stick around and if
anybody doesn't have my number and wants
[4:45] my number um for this purpose, I am
married so easy.
[4:51] I would be happy to share that with you.
Nice.
[4:56] » Appreciate that, Molly. Questions or
comments from council?
[5:05] Anyone else? I don't have anyone else on
the agenda here for items not on the
[5:11] agenda. So, if there's anyone, Miss
Butler,
[5:21] » Donna Butler. So, um, as we just heard
about the comp plan and needing to plan
[5:26] for growth, the city did that. We've had
developments on the west side. It's
[5:32] true. I mean the east side. And there
are a lot of homes that have not sold
[5:37] and properties. And so we've covered
that for now. And um and I'm glad that
[5:43] Molly wants to make it work for
everyone. Um everyone I've talked to is
[5:48] not interested in big developments in
the bottoms. And I I just would like a
[5:52] clarification if I understood this
correctly that
[5:57] the developer wanting to develop in the
bottoms is the same developer that has
[6:04] developed the
right there on Lewis River that we're
[6:08] going to start with apartments and then
>> the sandbox.
[6:14] » Is that what you're referring to?
>> I I I'm just wondering if this it's the
[6:18] same developer. And I don't know anybody
that I've talked in this town that's
[6:22] happy about that development. And so I
would just say that and I think like it
[6:26] was covered pretty well last time that
now is not the time with our traffic. Um
[6:31] this could be put on hold and just see
what comes down. So thanks.
[6:36] » So to touch on that development if you
remember um back I want to say it was
[6:43] 2023 because I think I was running back
then
[6:48] that it was going through it was housing
development then it was if they didn't
[6:54] get the lot sizes and the help me if I'm
wrong here Travis um variances it was
[7:02] going to then be the apartments and
that's why for the time there was a sign
[7:05] that said 268 apartments were there. Um
and then council at a later meeting gave
[7:11] them a variance um slight variances and
then that's where they were able to
[7:16] develop call it roughly 75 homes in
there now. But yes, that is the
[7:22] developer.
[7:25] » I just wanted to make one quick
correction. um that developer only owns
[7:31] one of the multiple pieces of property
and I want to say they own like in the
[7:35] neighborhood of 15 acres
>> you're talking about now down on the
[7:40] » on the bottoms
>> correct yes absolutely
[7:42] » so they are one of the multiple
developers
[7:47] good point
>> okay any questions or comments on that
[7:51] piece
miss shop
[7:56] » I am still totally against houses down
in the bottoms. With the infrastructure
[8:02] the way it is, we can't get in or out of
town. When there's an accident, you're
[8:08] backed up on the freeway. During the
flood, we couldn't get out of town. We
[8:13] had to go up the river and cross over at
Jacks and go down Vancouver Clark County
[8:18] side. I am totally against it until they
do something about their infrastructure.
[8:25] » Thank you, Michelle.
[8:35] Hold on here. Hold on.
[8:55] increase your rates by 7%.
[9:13] Any other comments from council?
[9:18] I just I wanted to make clear that um we
are all in agreement that not right now.
[9:25] That was something that Melissa kept
saying. Um these houses are not going to
[9:29] come up out of the ground. And um so
yes, 100% not right now. I live on Park
[9:36] Street, so I I I am going to be just as
impacted if not more so than some of you
[9:41] guys. And so I completely agree. I also
want to like nobody's excited about
[9:47] this. The things that we love about
Woodland um I would hope wouldn't change
[9:52] because I think the things that we love
about Woodland is the fact that it's the
[9:55] people and the people that we know and
the people that we love and we get to
[9:59] control our circles and keep our circles
small if we want to. Um
[10:04] I don't disagree that traffic is an
issue. Neither do the developers and and
[10:08] yes, this is a sad thing. I grew up on
160 acre wild rice farm farming pigs 72
[10:15] miles from the closest freeway. I know
what a small town is. My graduating
[10:18] class was 58 people. It still holds the
record to this day as the largest class
[10:22] since 1920. So I know small town. I
understand small town. This has never
[10:28] been a small town in my opinion. The
second that the freeway came through
[10:32] that that wrote the fate. PDX is 25
minutes from us. So, closest hospital
[10:38] where I grew up, hour and a half drive.
You have an emergency, good luck. Um,
[10:44] it's not like that here. And so, I think
the sentiment that I also wanted to
[10:49] convey from my sellers is, yeah, we're
all in agreement, guys. We're all going
[10:53] to be crying some tears and mourning the
loss of
[10:57] what once was. However, I do have four
children that I would love to be able to
[11:03] afford to live in the town that they
grew up in. And right now, the way that
[11:07] things are going, that's not a
possibility. Basic economics tells us
[11:10] supply and demand is what drives the
market. The demand is high, the supply
[11:15] is low. If we increase the supply, it's
it's going to give us a shot at maybe
[11:20] bringing back what was a starter home,
which doesn't really exist right now.
[11:25] » Um,
>> can I challenge you on that? So, there's
[11:28] 300 new homes going in.
>> What has that done to supply and demand
[11:32] and the price?
>> Great question.
[11:34] » So, you're saying is.
>> Yeah. So, I here I'll give you I'll give
[11:38] you a real life example of what I think
is like a tangible effect of that. So,
[11:42] Dr. Horton has a home right now,
three-bedroom, two-b small backyard for
[11:47] 3.90. I had a listing there on
Meadowwood, no backyard. I was trying to
[11:51] sell for$425. I had to cancel the
listing. the things that are driving
[11:55] down. If I if I'm looking at a house and
I've got a house from 1953 that they're
[11:59] asking for 50 or I can go get a brand
new house with a 10-year roof warranty,
[12:03] a 10-year foundation warranty for 390.
What do you think I'm going to choose?
[12:07] They also have the best rates. So,
although we're all we are calling it the
[12:10] sandbox, I'm I'm assuming that's what
we're talking about.
[12:13] » I I don't there's a place for it.
There's a need for it. It is driving the
[12:19] those prices down. Like any of us that
have sat on a listing for six months
[12:23] know that this new construction is and
so I hear what you're saying like six
[12:29] these homes we're talking if they're
selling for $600,000 how is that going
[12:32] to bring back a starter home? Well, I'm
going to tell you my house was built in
[12:35] 1943. And so if I have there's a
$500,000 brand new home, guess what? My
[12:40] house is going to have to be pretty
cheap to be able to bring in an an
[12:45] asking price. Yeah.
>> Well, and ask ask the people that are
[12:48] living in there. Most of them, I
believe, young couples that couldn't
[12:52] afford. I know my kids can't
[12:57] » to be able to get into something under
400,000.
[13:01] » Yeah. So, it's it's I think it's like I
don't want to misconrue or misrepresent
[13:06] my sellers or even myself. This is a sad
thing and I think it's okay to be sad
[13:12] about it. Um, and I and I I just think
it's Gabe I feel like has had the
[13:19] approach of like, yeah, this kind of
this kind of sucked.
[13:22] » Um, but I do think that it's it's
something that needs to happen and needs
[13:26] to be done, right? Sorry.
>> I think what's alarming is the amount of
[13:30] homes. 1,153
homes is substantial and that is where I
[13:35] think everyone kind of goes,
>> whoa. Yeah,
[13:36] » it's a lot. It's alarming. I think that
being so again I think pressing the
[13:42] narrative of like they're not going to
come up out of the ground. We're talking
[13:46] about a 10-year process and the fact of
like at the end of this year in December
[13:50] of this year, again, I might be
mistaken, but from what I understand,
[13:54] Kitz County is putting out their
comprehensive plan. They are going to
[13:58] allocate 10,000 homes countywide. Of
those 10,000, Woodland's going to be
[14:02] expected to provide 2,000. As are you
are you? Unless I'm totally off. Am I
[14:08] off?
>> So that's the expectation. We can't meet
[14:13] it. We can't meet it. And I'm not saying
it needs to be met tomorrow.
[14:17] » Um but it's this look at a map. We know
our limitations. We are not going to go
[14:22] any farther up Lewis River. We are not
going to come up Green Mountain Road.
[14:26] Looking at a map that train track
provides the perfect dividing line. And
[14:30] as you it has been unzoneed. That area
has been unzoneed. It has not been
[14:34] agriculture. Yes, it's been used as
agriculture, but it's not been zoned for
[14:39] agriculture for a long time. And so that
that train track provides that perfect
[14:44] » dead stop. And I can tell you right now,
those farmers on that ground are going
[14:48] to fight tooth and nail to keep that in
a
[14:51] » um so
>> so I want to challenge her something.
[14:54] Again, I'm not trying
>> No, I this is what I wanted. I wanted to
[14:57] have a conversation
>> because again, an investor
[15:01] » pumping $15 million into land
I can go invest in the stock market
[15:07] today
>> very conservatively and make four or
[15:10] five%.
>> Sure.
[15:11] » Are you going to put $15 million and
you're telling me we're going to sit on
[15:14] it for 10 years and we won't see homes
for that long?
[15:17] » No, I think the first wasn't the first
projection for 300. That was the first
[15:21] » It is. It's 300.
>> Um 200.
[15:23] » So that's why when we I mean
>> this is where my conversation is. I'm
[15:28] happy to have dialogue but let's
>> you know be realistic about what we're
[15:32] seeing here and not thinking that, oh,
there won't be houses here.
[15:37] » We only have three months of inventory
for home. If we were to stop listing any
[15:41] houses right now, three months from now,
there would be no more houses to sell.
[15:45] » Lord willing, the market will go down.
>> Yeah.
[15:50] » Yeah.
>> Agreed. So,
[15:52] » so yeah, call me.
[15:58] » Excellent. Thank you, Molly. Any other
comments or questions from council?
[16:02] » I think we need to to hear the the
developers out because people are
[16:08] coming. The population is growing above
us and below us. It's going to happen.
[16:14] So, do we want to be in charge or do we
want the county in charge?
[16:18] And it takes a while to generate the
kind of growth that investments
[16:23] generate.
You know, like the S&P 500 averages
[16:27] between 8 and 10%, but that's when you
look back after a period of time. The
[16:32] S&P 500
8% per year or 10% per year. It's up and
[16:36] down as a lot of you know. So to close
our minds as a city at this point is way
[16:43] too early because the growth is going to
happen. So from my perspective,
[16:49] I want to hear them out because we're
going to grow and if we want businesses
[16:54] and our
I'll put it gently, our downtown doesn't
[16:59] exist.
In fact, the highest amount of commerce
[17:05] that's anywhere near downtown comes from
Ace Hardware.
[17:11] Uh, you know, so
we need to keep looking at this. In my
[17:16] opinion, it might be too soon to be
like, yes, let's charge forward because
[17:20] we don't know enough. But to say we
don't want to know more, we don't want
[17:23] to belly up for a conversation. I think
that that's too close-minded. And I
[17:28] think that puts us in a bad position
from the perspective of inevitable
[17:31] growth.
>> I would like to throw out appreciate the
[17:36] comments. Um, when you talk about Callis
County and City of Woodland, just as a
[17:41] reminder, the legal issues that happened
here in 2002, 20 or 2022, 2023 over this
[17:50] same area of property, um, where the
county sued the city of, you know, where
[17:58] steps were being made to, um, expand the
urban growth boundary. So, just want to
[18:04] be careful there. something you want to
say, Travis? Got it. So, okay. Just a
[18:10] reminder for our community.
Okay. Anything else?
[18:17] » Come on.
[18:20] » You're fine.
[18:25] » It's a small change of topic, but it is
a big deal in our world. School starts
[18:29] next Wednesday, and we're really
excited. Um, so we've created a new
[18:33] landing page for new families. if you're
new to Woodland, where everything's kind
[18:36] of all in one place as far as getting
set up for um transportation,
[18:41] um finding information out about your
schools, um school supply lists, all
[18:45] that good stuff. We've kind of created a
new landing page. You'll see back to
[18:49] school um signs throughout the community
with a little QR code that'll take you
[18:52] there. So, if you're a new family in
Woodland, um hopefully that'll help you
[18:55] get registered and set up for next week.
Um we talked about our school budget
[19:00] last Thursday. That was our workshop.
it's going to be approved uh or go
[19:03] before the board for approval next
Thursday. So, if you're engaged in those
[19:07] topics, we welcome you to that. And uh I
did get the uh the legal uh memorandum
[19:12] of understanding today from the city
lawyer regarding the SRO. So, we're
[19:16] moving forward with that partnership and
appreciate your continued support and
[19:19] partnership on that. Um just haven't had
time to read it through because I just
[19:23] got it, but um we're moving forward full
steam ahead. Excited about the school
[19:27] year. Last year our focus um we spoke a
lot about excellence in education. Um
[19:33] we're building on that this year and
we're going to be talking a lot about
[19:36] parent partnerships. So as you see Riley
reports and updates from the school
[19:40] district those two topics will be the
things that you'll be hearing about. So
[19:44] that's it.
>> Appreciate you coming up. Just so clear
[19:49] understanding here with the ILA. So it
hasn't come to council. We send it over
[19:54] here. They review it approve it back.
[20:05] Okay.
>> Questions on that? Anyone?
[20:10] » Thank you.
>> Anyone online or in the room for items
[20:14] not on the agenda?
[20:25] Just one quick to address um councelor
Brown's comment about hearing out and
[20:31] learning more. They were here at the
last council meeting and they presented
[20:35] they gave us all the information and all
their plans. I feel like we've heard
[20:38] them out well and there were 10 citizens
that spoke against it for now. The
[20:45] overwhelming feeling was it's premature.
Let's wait and see what happens with the
[20:50] interchange. Is our traffic going to
improve? Are they going to get it right
[20:54] with the roundabouts? Are we still going
to have a big problem? And so to spend
[21:00] time with further discussion on this
right now, I think it's not a wise use
[21:05] of time. There's other issues to
address, but everyone know like, hey,
[21:08] this may be something we're going to be
revisiting. It may be something. And as
[21:12] far as those numbers for housing,
that was just the number that Khaled
[21:17] County state mandated that Kitz County
come up and they just ran picked this
[21:21] number said hey Woodland let's put it
all in Woodland but that could be
[21:25] challenged and um so anyway just know
that it's not like hey let's just wait
[21:32] and see.
>> I hear you. May I may I address that
[21:35] comment?
Um, in my opinion, they didn't show us
[21:40] every single bit in and out of their
plan. They showed us,
[21:44] » I guess, a significant amount of the
early phases of the plan.
[21:49] » And when it comes to roundabouts, when
it comes to exit 21,
[21:53] » it takes money, it takes resources,
>> right?
[21:55] » Infrastructure, it takes resources. So
we definitely definitely heard last week
[22:00] that we received over 30 million in
traffic impact fees from this project
[22:05] which is money that goes toward
infrastructure. We also heard from them
[22:10] they'd be willing to pay for part of the
infrastructure in the project. So I
[22:14] don't disagree about the premature part.
>> Yeah.
[22:17] » But I do disagree about brick walling it
and making it stop.
[22:21] » Right. And I didn't hear economic
growth.
[22:24] » Right. And there were just a few that
were need to
[22:28] And there were just a couple
>> sorry I just want to say there was just
[22:33] a couple that were brick walling it.
Most people said let's let's look at
[22:36] this in the future. So let's just put
this on the back burner and see.
[22:41] » Okay. Thank you.
>> I just want to ask a question Travis.
[22:46] If they give us numbers and then approve
people to develop down in the bottoms
[22:52] without it being annexed into our city
limits,
[22:57] it will not count. It will not count for
our numbers. It would count for city or
[23:01] for county numbers. Correct. And then we
see no benefit as far as our parks, our
[23:06] schools, anything if they do that. And
so when they these come down in
[23:12] December, they'll have county numbers,
not individual city numbers as well,
[23:18] right? So if they have an astronomical
number, they could go and approve this
[23:24] to come develop in the bottoms without
us even saying yes. Logistically,
[23:29] correct?
>> Right. Okay. So, I just wanted to
[23:33] clarify that that I think my biggest
concern is I don't want them to get
[23:38] county approval and us miss out on all
of the opportunities for schools and
[23:42] everything else that we are still going
to take the impact of. And if then we're
[23:47] going to be hit as citizens within our
city and they're not going to have to
[23:51] pay for it. We are. And I don't want my
taxes going up for something we're not
[23:56] bringing in because we're we're afraid.
I don't want our city's size to double.
[24:00] That many homes were almost doubling our
city size. I absolutely agree with that.
[24:04] But with mandates coming down from the
state, we also are not going to be
[24:09] eligible if we're not trying to work
towards it for some of the grants we
[24:12] apply for as well, I believe. Is that
correct, Riley? Travis,
[24:18] that will affect our point system.
>> Yes, we do get deducted points for not
[24:23] being GMA compliant.
>> Okay. So, I mean, I'm not in agreement
[24:29] of it, but I am playing a little bit of
devil's advocate that our city needs to
[24:32] realize the whole picture and not just
the we don't want this many people.
[24:35] Like, there will be repercussions to us
as a city if we don't look at the
[24:40] opportunities and really open our eyes
up to it and we just shut the door on it
[24:45] or push it too far down that this county
says, "Yeah, you can go build there."
[24:49] And then we've lost out because we've
pushed it too far down the road. So, we
[24:52] just need to think of that also before
we say a hard no because that's where I
[24:58] stand is that you can't push it too far.
>> So, I would recommend have conversations
[25:04] with the three county commissioners,
understand where their position on this
[25:07] all is. Um,
>> and I do know where their position is
[25:10] » and they've all been very vocal, right?
So, again, I won't speak for them, but I
[25:14] recommend that you reach out to them
with my
[25:17] » that um if we did
GB wouldn't that put us back in control
[25:23] if we did what she was talking about. So
put the ball in our court we did do
[25:30] go ahead like just say okay we are going
to go for this expansion and then
[25:36] doesn't mean we have to necessarily move
on it right away but it puts the ball in
[25:39] our court. I just want to make sure I'm
understanding that correctly.
[25:43] » That is correct. So, um, at the
presentation last time I pointed out
[25:47] that theoretically there's going to be
four steps that you could engage in. One
[25:51] is, um, county updating their
comprehensive plan, city updating its
[25:58] comprehensive plan, then potentially
doing a developers agreement or some
[26:03] kind of coordination agreement with the
property owners, whether that's the
[26:09] developers or current owners. And then
the fourth would be an annexation
[26:15] um piece by piece as it comes out of
that agreement that you've negotiated.
[26:20] » So it might be in our best interest to
look at expansion just so we can
[26:24] maintain control
[26:41] here.
I'm just getting I'm just asking these
[26:43] questions. I'm not saying yes or no
either way. I just want to have this
[26:47] express for the community to hear and so
that we're all clear on what that means.
[26:51] So that's
[27:02] any other questions or comments?
[27:09] Come on.
[27:17] When it comes to the mic, my friend
>> when it comes to impact fees that we
[27:21] would receive from this kind of a
project,
[27:25] the city gets those impact fees. I was
under the understanding that this whole
[27:30] traffic situation, exit 21, is a state
thing that we're waiting on state
[27:36] dollars and stuff. So, correct. Is there
is that an app? Is that really a state
[27:40] project, we will need state funding.
We will get impact fees after the houses
[27:47] are built. We don't get them beforehand.
And so as those dollars come in, I mean,
[27:53] the next administration, city council
can say, "Hey, we'll contribute to the
[27:57] roundabouts and exit 21 if they want.
I don't know why
[28:02] we would want to use our city dollars to
pay for that." But again, that's a whole
[28:06] another conversation. But you're
correct.
[28:08] » Okay.
[28:16] It's a matter of shortterm versus
longterm. So if we know that that money
[28:20] is coming into the city, then we can
make plans based on what we expect in
[28:24] the future. So, it isn't so much direct
in terms of the traffic impact fees
[28:29] right now, but the fact that we do know
we receive those funds and that we've
[28:33] got a developer that's got quite a bit
of muscle in terms of their ability to
[28:38] develop. If they don't develop these
homes, they're going to develop
[28:40] industrial soiven
[28:49] they've done several projects in the
area. Again, I'm not saying I'm for this
[28:53] necessarily,
but the fact that we've got future $30
[28:56] million coming in, the fact that we've
got a well established developer that
[29:00] might in fact have a lot of experience
working,
[29:05] we could potentially use that from a
relationship management perspective to
[29:09] our benefit for the city. And so I feel
like we just need to keep our eyes open
[29:14] here and really what is being presented
until it's an absolute
[29:21] You know, supply and demand says why
would you say no?
[29:27] are going to grow too. So maybe we won't
have to leave town as much to go get
[29:31] resources
[29:35] except for Domino's Pizza.
[29:56] put another workshop down for that.
Anything else on this?
[30:03] » All right,
moving into
[30:07] agenda approval.
>> Motion to approve agenda.
[30:10] » Second.
>> I have a first from Miss Dowy, a second
[30:13] from Miss Michaelelsson. Questions or
comments about tonight's agenda?
[30:19] » Council member Ray.
>> Hi,
[30:21] » Council Member Brown.
>> Hi,
[30:22] » Council Member Michaelelsson. Hi,
>> Council Member Friend.
[30:25] » Hi,
>> Council Member Houston.
[30:27] » Hi,
>> Council Member Dowy.
[30:28] » I
>> All right, moving into reports of
[30:31] standing committee's public safety.
>> Um, yes, we met tonight at 5:40. Um, in
[30:37] attendance was chief council member
Brown, Council Member Houston, and
[30:41] myself. Um, the first topic was National
Night Out, but although a lot of
[30:47] surrounding areas canceled theirs due to
the smoke, we kept going and it was a
[30:52] success. And
were donated by Walmart and were raffled
[30:55] off. So, that was another big hit. Um,
let's see. Also, we did not meet last
[31:02] month. So, I have an update on numbers
um between 6:15 to date. Um, they have
[31:10] responded to 1,864 calls to service. Um,
during that period, they have made 82
[31:16] arrests, averaging just over two and a
half arrests a day. Um, we currently
[31:22] have two open positions and we'll be
hosting oral boards on September 10th um
[31:28] for those two positions and
school starts next week and officer
[31:32] Ketta has transitioned to his SRO
schedule for the coming school year so
[31:36] that's exciting and we adjourned at 550
>> questions or comments about public
[31:43] safety
[31:56] I'm Richard. Uh, you talk about the
arrests that have been made over the
[32:02] last time or whatever. Are these actual
arrests that are being taken up to Kelso
[32:07] or these just pullovers? And how you
doing?
[32:17] Yeah, we try to be nice when we arrest
people. So, we always ask them how
[32:20] they're doing.
>> Um, no, it's a combination of like
[32:23] suspended drivers, DUIs, um, you know,
domestic violence, all all the normal
[32:28] stuff. But not every one of them gets
booked in jail to be honest. Suspended
[32:32] driving a lot of times their jail won't
even take. So, they're issued a
[32:34] citation, goes to the courts, they still
have to appear, it still counts as an
[32:38] arrest. But, yeah, it's just a
combination of all those things.
[32:42] And we always ask how we do
>> because that sounds like quite a few
[32:45] arrests here in Woodland.
>> It is I've been hearing this over and
[32:49] over and over.
>> So I was kind of interested is these
[32:52] actually arrests or these you know pull
over and you know
[32:57] » Yeah. It like I said it's a combination
on the right or something.
[33:01] » Yeah. I mean if it's a traffic violation
you happen to have a warrant for your
[33:03] arrest or you're suspended yet usually
ends in an arrest. But it it's also
[33:06] busier during the summer months. Um it
typically slows down because Criminals
[33:11] like to stay warm and not be out when
it's raining and snowing.
[33:16] » Okay. I just was want to make sure we're
not checking a box for something. No,
[33:21] » they are actually arresting people.
>> Yes.
[33:23] » Okay, perfect.
>> Thank you, sir.
[33:30] » Any other comments or questions on
public
[33:35] human resources?
>> Uh, tonight human resources committee
[33:39] met with Mayor Council member and myself
6:05 p.m. Um there is one position open
[33:46] with the city and that is for payroll
position um that is currently open. They
[33:52] will be looking at the first batch of
resumes on August 31st.
[33:56] And um there's also the two police
positions that council member Daddy has
[34:02] already mentioned. Um right now it looks
like they're just entry level
[34:06] applicants. So that's a very very short
meeting.
[34:12] It ended at 607.
>> Any questions on those positions?
[34:20] » All right. Finance
>> uh finance committee met tonight. In
[34:24] attendance were Council Member Houston,
Terry Smith, and myself. Also, a very
[34:31] short meeting. A few updates. The uh
annual Washington State Auditor's Office
[34:36] audit will start at the end of this
month. We are beginning budget
[34:40] preparation and we'll have more to come
on that next month in September.
[34:44] And we have three active payroll audits
through various agencies happening.
[34:49] We're complying with all the requests on
those. Also noted from ours was the open
[34:53] payroll clerk position. If you are
interested in applying it posted on the
[34:56] website and you're welcome to do so
at 65
[35:03] questions on finance.
[35:07] All right. reports of advisory
committees
[35:11] chamber report
[35:14] in
[35:18] » oh reports of city council my apologies
>> um yes I would like to announce that
[35:23] council member Ray is celebrating a big
50th birthday today so happy birthday to
[35:29] him
um also I just um have heard nothing but
[35:34] great things about um warm summer nights
and all the different and the movie
[35:40] selection just how wonderful it was. So,
good job to DWR on that. Um, also
[35:47] something new, um, the seniors are
having the opportunity to paint parking
[35:51] spots at the high school this year. So,
if you go to the football games or
[35:54] you're over at the high school, it is
incredible. We already have 40 spots
[35:58] that have been started um with some more
um starting maybe tomorrow night. Um, so
[36:05] we're super excited about this
opportunity. The kids are thrilled. Um,
[36:09] very creative. So, if you're ever in the
area of the high school, drive through.
[36:12] It's the parking spots closest to the
football field. So, um, it's really
[36:17] great opportunity for the kids and it's
a new tradition we hope to be starting.
[36:21] So, to say that and everybody, good luck
getting back to school.
[36:32] » Congratulations. Any
other
[36:58] meeting?
[37:02] Any
[37:13] other items from
[37:17] all
[37:20] chamber will the Chamber of Commerce
lunchons continue once monthly on the
[37:24] second Tuesday of each month at noon. So
the next scheduled lunchon will be
[37:29] September 8th, Tuesday. Sign up for the
email blast on the chamber website at
[37:34] woodland woodlandwamber.com
or send keith woodlandwamber.com
[37:40] email. Um the golf tournament is this
Thursday. If people would like to golf
[37:46] chamber holiday bingo is planned for
December 10th. Please reach out for
[37:50] sponsorship opportunities and please
contact the Woodland Chamber if you have
[37:54] any grand opening ribbon cutting or
other promotions. They're always looking
[37:58] for new members and ideas to work
together to encourage, promote, and
[38:01] preserve economic wellbeing and quality
of life in our community.
[38:15] If you are interested in golfing,
reach out to the chberica.
[38:26] Come on up.
[38:40] » Good evening. Adonica Simpson with DWR.
Um, we have really great things to
[38:46] report. Uh the Woodland Welcome Center
has continued to do uh really well. Uh
[38:53] we had a few slow days because of the
smoke that blew in. We noticed a little
[38:56] bit of a lull there, but um we're
continuing to really have a lot of
[39:02] interest from our local people. We had
165 locals for the month of July and
[39:08] then 72 tourists. Um
the local folks are coming in and
[39:14] enjoying getting all kinds of different
information that we have on hand
[39:18] including uh events that are coming up
which we continue to share. Uh we're
[39:24] promoting all of the local nonprofits.
So if anybody is um doing anything
[39:28] special, we make sure that we're aware
of that. Uh make sure we can direct them
[39:32] when they come in. Um it's just gone
really really well and everyone's very
[39:38] pleased. Uh we I had several come in
today and they were getting information
[39:43] for Mount St. Helens and as they're
going out the door, you know, they're
[39:47] always saying, "Boy, this was a really
good stop." And it's just nice to hear
[39:51] that, you know, um hopefully I can get
them to start leaving the Google reviews
[39:55] and all the things to help with the
numbers. But um we're seeing it
[40:00] firsthand and it's really positive. So
we have seen folks from u Michigan,
[40:05] California, Las Vegas, the Ukraine,
Arkansas, Arizona, Minnesota, New
[40:12] Zealand, Argentina, and Pennsylvania for
just a few that I pulled off of our
[40:17] sheets for just the month of July. And
then we have a um United States map on
[40:23] the wall and we have pins and they go
and they put their pins in where they're
[40:27] from. So, it's kind of fun. They
interact with us that way. Um, but the
[40:32] center continues to get new products in
from our vendors. they're uh doing
[40:37] really well. They're very surprised when
they come in and they need to restock
[40:41] their goods and um so it's it's really
it's really just a great feeling to see
[40:47] people um appreciating the help with
just all kinds of different information.
[40:53] Um today I helped sell a a discovery
pass because all of that's online now,
[40:58] but I just pulled out the laptop and
took care of it for her. And so there's
[41:02] always a way to help people one way or
the other. And that's really what we're
[41:06] doing. Um,
hot summer nights. Uh, really thank you
[41:13] for the compliments. Our volunteers just
have worked so hard. Everything really
[41:19] lined up beautifully. Uh, we're kind of
blown away. It really just it just went
[41:26] so much bigger than we even anticipated.
Um, we doubled our numbers from last
[41:32] year. So, in a total of the five weeks,
we had 2,10 people come. And it's just
[41:40] incredible to see that. Um, it was
mindblowing to sit there and see all
[41:47] these folks enjoying um the lake, uh,
the vendors, the music, uh, just
[41:55] everything. And then we were able to
watch people come down from downtown
[42:01] bringing the food that they had
purchased from up there. So, you know,
[42:05] there's choices there, but we have to
remember that these numbers are people
[42:09] that are coming and perhaps getting gas
on their way to the movie. Um, you know,
[42:14] they're buying things locally before
they get there. And, uh, and then just
[42:19] to see the enjoyment in all the famil
family's faces. Uh, the last movie was
[42:25] the Goonies. And it was really cool to
see just all the people remembering and
[42:32] sharing stories and uh the children of
course have no idea what the Goonies is,
[42:37] but it doesn't matter. They're running
around playing in the bubbles and all
[42:40] the other, you know, things that we have
going on. So, we've really built up a
[42:44] lot of activities before the movie so
that there's really no lull in the whole
[42:49] afternoon. And I think that really has
helped. the advertising's gone well and
[42:55] um it was just amazing to see we had
just under 500 people on that last
[43:01] Friday and that was the opening day of
the fair. So to have something like that
[43:06] compete with the fair and have those
folks local um is pretty pretty awesome
[43:12] and affordable for people. So it was
really cool. I just want to say, Donica,
[43:16] as a vendor there and my kids being
there that we're so sad it's over. Like
[43:21] we've been looking [laughter] forward to
every Friday just like the our entire
[43:25] household is bumped and it's over. It
[laughter] was so cool. It was so fun.
[43:29] So, thank you for everyone's hard work,
your team.
[43:32] » Yeah, it is. It is. It's It's uh
definitely a lot of work. And if
[43:38] anyone's interested in volunteering,
we're um a lot more organized about our
[43:43] volunteers now. we have a location, you
know, we work out of the welcome center,
[43:47] so it's just a lot easier to organize
and take care of the planning um and the
[43:53] staging for these events. So um if
anyone has any interest in that's just
[43:59] one example of what we do. So, we're
already gearing up for um Halloween and
[44:04] then Winterfest and uh and then of
course continuing to work with the
[44:10] welcome center to make sure it's meeting
as many needs as possible. So, we do
[44:15] have a lot going on and but we have a
lot of fun and we just really
[44:20] um appreciate the opportunity. So, it's
a good deal.
[44:24] » Excellent. Questions, comments for
[44:30] Excuse
[44:39] the mayor. Um, really quickly, upcoming
events. There's a planning commission
[44:43] meeting at 700 p.m. This is Thursday.
Labor Day will be closed off on
[44:48] September 7th, city council being moved
to Tuesday night, September 8th, 7 p.m.
[44:54] right here. And then there will be a
public hearing on the 15th regarding
[44:58] Island Air Drive at 10 a.m. on
September 15th and then the 21st will be
[45:03] our second city council meeting
um reports tonight really quickly. There
[45:09] was a public records request that came
in to the city um here after our last
[45:14] council meeting and I just want to touch
on it really briefly um because it was
[45:18] kind of directed kind of towards me. I
had said that I had met with the
[45:22] developers for dinner and I look at it
this way and say, "Hey, I'm an open
[45:27] book. I'll be happy to have a
conversation here." So, it was who paid
[45:31] for the dinner, what conversations, and
the whole nine yards. And the irony here
[45:36] is we previously have had expense or
public records requests come in and they
[45:41] were, you know, extenduating, you know,
continuous and there was conversation
[45:46] around and now it's all of a sudden,
hey, let's go. So, I thought I would at
[45:50] least share with the community what my
involvement has been. So, on June 23rd,
[45:57] I had a missed call from Mr. Luke Sassy
for 30 seconds. He was wanting to
[46:01] introduce himself and see if he could
get together for a dinner or breakfast.
[46:05] On the 26th, he left me another 32
second voicemail message asking if he
[46:11] could get together with me. I returned
his call on the 26th of June at 6:28
[46:18] p.m. that four minutes introducing
myself and said, "Hey, let's meet for
[46:22] breakfast."
That same night, he sent me a text
[46:26] message back that said, "We couldn't
swing to get together the next morning,
[46:30] but maybe we could do it another day."
On the 28th, two days later, I sent a
[46:37] note to him, a text, and said, "How
about working tomorrow, uh, Monday at 5
[46:43] or 5:30?" He sent me a call. didn't
leave a voicemail that same night, but
[46:48] then that night at 9:53, he said, "Good
evening, 5:00 p.m. tomorrow night. Would
[46:53] work great." I sent a text back at 4:51
a.m. and said, "Perfect. I'll see you at
[46:59] the Oak Tree tonight, the 29th for
dinner at 6:20 or at 11:31 a.m. that
[47:07] same day." He said, "Sounds good. I will
see you there." When it comes down to
[47:11] the dinner,
here is my City Bank credit card.
[47:17] I paid $5269
[47:21] for that dinner where there was myself,
Sam, Houston, Aaho, Luke, and Ty, and
[47:26] Riley. The $5259
paid out of my own pocket was for Riley
[47:32] and myself. I'm not And Molly sitting
there kind of laughing because people
[47:36] who know me know I will not let people
pay for me and I will not pay for anyone
[47:41] else. And I will not use a city credit
card or city funds for anything. Nothing
[47:47] against this here because she could
laugh. This is how I roll.
[47:54] » And I said no. So I just would like to
have that out there. We will put this
[48:00] public records request there. But I want
people in the room, people online to
[48:05] know that is how Mr. Dinhardt rules and
my
[48:13] me
[48:26] and I guess I should have said what
happened at that dinner. I sat down. I
[48:29] came 15 minutes late and Riley's
laughing and Molly is probably laughing
[48:32] because she heard. I sat down and said
just so you know this short meeting
[48:36] because I'm not in favor of this and I
don't know what's in this for me and the
[48:39] city of as a resident. So I apologize m
I mean you and I I appreciate you. I
[48:46] appreciate our dialogue you know on
various things throughout the community.
[48:50] So
>> I'm thankful for your transparency as
[48:53] well. When I was running cannabis to be
up here um he
[48:59] offered to buy for me and was like this
is my personal not use city funds unlike
[49:04] well I don't need to say it don't know
so I appreciate that
[49:08] » so that is my mayor's message tonight I
appreciate you going through my journey
[49:14] with me for five minutes [laughter] but
with that we will move to our unless
[49:18] there's somebody who has a question
about it
[49:23] [laughter]
I had a salad with dressing and he had a
[49:28] chili cheeseburg
>> [laughter]
[49:30] » I have
[49:34] » that night.
>> Great question.
[49:37] » I'd like you to go through a poly on
that one because I'm I guarantee I did
[49:40] not have that.
[laughter]
[49:43] » So, all right,
>> moving into consent items.
[49:48] » Motion to approve consent items.
>> Uh, any questions or comments from our
[49:53] meeting minutes from the last meeting?
I have a first from Miss Dow, a second
[49:58] from Mr. Houston.
[50:02] » Council member Friend.
>> I.
[50:04] » Council member Houston.
>> Hi.
[50:05] » Council member Michaelelsson.
>> Hi.
[50:06] » Council member Dowy.
>> I.
[50:08] » Council member Ray.
>> Hi.
[50:09] » Council member Brown.
>> Hi.
[50:11] » All right. Moving to the action items.
Approve vouchers August 1st, 2020.
[50:17] » Second.
>> I have a first from Mr. Houston and a
[50:20] second from Mr. Friend. Just a comment
on uh Couple of the items in there,
[50:26] checks this month. There is a check to
the city or to the Woodland schools for
[50:31] $153,000
for impact fees. We are a pass through.
[50:36] We don't collect We collect those, but
then passing through $88,000 of that is
[50:41] related to the apartments
on street. So, I just wanted people to
[50:45] have visibility to that.
Any questions or comments on any of the
[50:50] payments or the vouchers?
[50:55] Council member Brown.
>> Hi.
[50:58] » Council member Ray.
>> Hi.
[51:00] » Council member Michaelelsson.
>> Hi.
[51:01] » Council member Dowy.
>> Hi.
[51:03] » Council member Houston.
>> Hi.
[51:04] » Council member friends.
>> I.
[51:06] » All right. The time is now 7:50. We'll
move into workshop retooling our code
[51:11] enforce code enforcement updates.
>> Travis.
[51:22] Thank you very much. As you mentioned,
the planning commission will be meeting
[51:26] this Thursday and we've been working um
for I don't know about the last year on
[51:31] various code amendments and this one is
right. So, they will be making a um
[51:36] they'll be having a workshop make a
recommendation for you at the next
[51:40] available meeting and essentially the
highlights of this were dealing with
[51:45] code enforcement. We wanted some
clarification for our code enforcement
[51:49] and some of the items that are clarified
are um hours of construction activity
[51:56] making sure that it's perfectly clear
the hours of operation for hours of
[52:02] construction and noise during the week
and that there can be no construction
[52:07] activity that creates noise on Thursdays
and Saturdays with permission only. So
[52:12] it's Monday through Friday, Saturday
with restrictions, Sunday prohibited. Um
[52:18] we also discussed a significant amount
of um setting penalties, the rates of
[52:26] penalties and that the current rate is
generally $25 for each violation each
[52:33] day and that how slowly that adds up in
the case of egregious violations. And so
[52:39] they are um they like the idea of doing
a graduated scale of The first 30 days
[52:46] is one rate, then it increases for day
31 through 60, and then day 61 through
[52:53] 90 is a higher higher amount. And that
the code specifically says we can start
[52:59] leaning on day 91. So that way, if
somebody is just ignoring our notices
[53:05] and it's getting more and more
expensive, the more they refuse to uh
[53:10] take action. Um and this none of the
changes proposed um will affect how we
[53:18] are handling code enforcement. So the
code enforcement officer makes every
[53:24] effort they can to negotiate and create
a solution without going to a notice and
[53:30] order. That's kind of our last step in
the process and that's when the penalty
[53:34] starts. So it won't affect how that
occurs.
[53:38] Generally those are the big ticket items
that are going to um change.
[53:46] » Do you want to touch on code enforcement
versus
[53:50] doing this? I mean because I think this
is a win you want to touch on.
[53:56] » Sure. So um one of the things that we
did do um that is policy want for guys
[54:02] like me and that is clarifying exactly
what is the development code for the
[54:08] purposes of code enforcement because we
do not do vehicular stops. We do not do
[54:15] parking in the street or any kind of
enforcement. Those are police duties.
[54:21] But if it's storage of vehicles in
yards, in front yards, backyards, how
[54:26] long they can store material and what
when it becomes a nuisance for the
[54:32] property is where we deal with. So um
we've clarified exactly what codes. So
[54:39] building codes, subdivision code, zoning
code, um and the various land use codes
[54:45] have been clarified as a result of this.
It doesn't get into any kind of
[54:51] misdemean.
[55:19] This is for
commercial.
[55:31] » I I assume that whatever's decided by
planning commission is going to come
[55:34] forth with an action item for us to
review.
[55:41] » I just want to say I appreciate
um and how quickly she takes action.
[55:48] there's enforcement that and then she
gives you a response um of what she
[55:53] found. So, I just appreciate that
because I know that's not always been
[55:57] the case around here. And so, if any of
you find anything in your community that
[56:01] you want to take forth that to know that
it's actually getting resolved or you'll
[56:05] have some kind of resolve from it. I
appreciate that.
[56:13] » Any other comments or questions from the
community members coming out of the
[56:24] All right, with that we will now 7:56 we
will leave workshop and go into our
[56:30] meeting
>> motion to end meeting
[56:31] » time is now 7:56. Have a great evening
everyone.
[56:35] » Anyone wants cupcakes or cookies feel
free to come up and grab some.