Springfield City Council — April 20, 2026

0:04 I'm going to call the Springfield City Council work session to order with roll call. >> Mayor Van Gordon >> here. Councelor Weber here. Councelor Mo >> here. Councelor Rodley >> here. >> Councelor Buck >> here. >> And councelor Stout >> here. >> All right. We have two items this evening. The first one is the Springfield History Museum Advisory Committee interviews. and with Mattie the staff person. >> Hello council and uh Mayor Van Gordon. I am Maddie McGra. I'm your museum curator and we have um two interviews scheduled for tonight. I'm going to read this has been a long process so I'm going to give you guys the background again. Um the museum committee had three vacant

0:50 applica vacant positions as of December 31st 2025. One museum committee member reapplied and was directly appointment appointed. Two applications were received for the remaining two vacant positions. One applicant was interviewed and approved at the March 9th, 2026 work session and a third applicant had this committee as his third choice and then was added for interview by council. And so tonight on the schedule we have two interviews and I believe only one of our interviewees is here currently. >> Have we contacted the uh second person? Are we expecting them? >> We have contacted them but um I haven't heard anything back. >> Okay then we will start with the first interview and see where we go from there.

1:35 >> All right. So I'll introduce you to Michael Agalar. Good evening, council. >> Hello. Thank you for having me. >> Welcome uh to city council. Um why are you interested in serving in the museum committee? >> So I am new to Springfield, Oregon. I moved here from Salt Lake City, Utah uh to accept a role uh in nonprofit work back in December. Uh previous uh when I was in Salt Lake City and in Utah, I was pretty actively engaged uh not only in local nonprofit work uh but in local government. And I find that um that's

2:21 where that's where local government and then as a result of that local boards and commissions uh of which the Springfield uh museum uh would be a part of. just so happens that in my professional history I've worked uh for a few museums. Um so I have a soft spot and uh a very kind of I have some experience in that space. And so as I was looking at the opportunities um available for service because I'm new to town and I'm trying to get my feet wet and I've come to love Springfield in my very short period of time. I decided that because I have the experience in Salt Lake City, both working in nonprofit, both in building and

3:07 sustaining relationships in government and then working as a result of that in the museum world, that this opening being as it is, I could I could add I believe some value uh to the work that needs to be done. So that is why I'm interested. >> The Springfield Museum has a rotating exhibit space. One of the roles of the committee is to make recommendations for exhibits and programs. Can you give us an example of an exhibit you might recommend? >> Uh yeah, currently so I would I would love to do a deep dive on uh the the archive of rotating exhibits, but there is a current um there's a current So I'm a professional fundraiser. Might like that, you might not like that because you never know. I'm going to ask you for money. Um, but Union Pacific is

3:52 currently res requesting uh solicitations for funds um up to I believe like $30,000. Uh Springfield is listed listed as one of two cities that could apply for funding uh through their community ties program. Eugene is the other one uh in um that that could apply. So there's $30,000 on the table with Union Pacific that there could potentially be a partnership there. I would think that an an exhibit around the history of the railroad here in Springfield um or a revamped uh exhibit on the history of the railroad or the future of the railroad um would be a wonderful opportunity for us and one that we could collaborate on with Union Pacific to secure funds to make that happen.

4:38 >> And how do you think the work of the Springfield History Museum improves our community? I think museums in general uh they they allow individuals to take a step into the past to know and and this kind of I mean I don't I don't mean this to sound very cliche or cheesy because I know everybody's like oh you need to know the history to understand the future. Having worked in the museum spaces um for a significant portion of my life, I truly believe that by immersing yourself into culture, you're able to more fully understand the world around you, make more informed decisions, um and understand people more fully. Uh it it opens your eyes. And so for I think Springfield, not only our

5:23 residents or the residents of Springfield, but those who choose to visit us as a destination city, they have the opportunity to have their eyes opened to the wonderful impact that the that this city has had not only on Oregon or on Lane County, but on um on uh America as we we're celebrating 250 years as a as a country. Um, so I think that that's what is truly an opportunity of of value for this organization. >> All right, that was the last question. >> Great. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, >> Councelor Rodley. >> I just since um Maddie is coming up, I'll ask some clarifying questions. If I remember correctly, and I didn't go back

6:08 and look, um the person who didn't show tonight also didn't show the last time. That's why we kicked this ahead so that we could Okay. >> Yes. >> Um and then there was another person that we interviewed last time, I think, who was >> Marta. >> Yes. >> Bridget. Bridget. >> Thank you. People would know cuz I wanted to make sure I've got everything in the thing. So we they were willing to interview last time in addition to tonight. Okay, that's all I needed. >> Okay. So, could you help us? How many appointments do we need to make? Is it one or two? >> I think it's just one for tonight. Yes. >> And so then effectively um it's between

6:53 uh Bridget and Mr. Aguular. >> Yes. >> Okay. Does anybody have want to start with their preferences? Councelor Buck. Um, you know, I I I really appreciate how difficult you guys keep making these uh decisions on us. Um, and I and I appreciate very much um Bridget brings to the table. I think my vote would be my inclination would be for Mr. Agular based on, you know, his experience and um enthusiasm and bringing a fresh perspective. Um so that would be my inclination. >> Anybody else? Uh councelor Stout. >> I'm also with Mr. Agular. I'm a huge

7:39 rail fan. Love the idea. >> Councelor Rodley, >> I'll go with Mr. Aguular as well. >> All right, Council Weber. >> Uh Mr. Aguular for me, too. Miss Aguular really presents himself well. I wish I could do that, but I'm I'm for him. >> All right. Well, uh I think it's Mr. Aguular. And will you uh set it up on the next regular meeting so we can confirm it, please? Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next thing is wastewater and storm water user fees for fiscal year 2026 through 2027.

8:39 Good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh my name is Matt Stouter. I'm the environmental services director for the city of Springfield. And with me is Jeff Pascal, city's community development director. I think we have a PowerPoint. There it is to uh walk you through and then we're open for conversation and discussion. Um, so here tonight to present the annual user fee uh proposal for council consideration. I wanted to acknowledge Jeremy and Tatiana and DPW for their work in helping us put this together. In fact, we'll get started. It's always I did that for Megan last week. There we go. I Okay. Um, we'll walk through with you the uh overview on revenue goals, a

9:25 little bit about our our discharge permits, talk about the systems that we uh are going to be going over tonight, uh our programs, and then the challenges associated with those programs, and then get to the ultimately uh the rates, which everybody wants to talk about. Um the revenue goals for these programs really, this is what funds our operations and maintenance programs for the city. Uh it funds the majority of our capital improvement programs. Uh this these funds from user fees help us meet our our user uh our regulatory obligation regulatory obligations with our discharge permits. Um they help us uh maintain our capital reserves and then also maintain our fiscal health and credit rating. I'd note that um user fees are the sole source of our operations and maintenance work uh and

10:11 they represent about 90 to 95% of the of all revenue that we get um year to date. Okay. Um, these systems are large complex systems. I have to put these on to read. Uh, so we have two components to the wastewater system. We have the local conveyance component that the city of Springfield owns and operates. Um, and we have a regional MWMC component, uh, owned by MWMC, which is made up of Springfield, Eugene, and Lane County. Uh, there's over 250 miles of pipeline in Springfield in the wastewater system. We have approximately 16 pump stations. All that gets pumped and conveyed to the regional plant at 410 River Avenue in Eugene. On the storm water side, we have um an ever growing system. We have 182

10:57 miles of pipes, uh 6,500 catch basins or greater than 6,500 catch basins. Those number keep in keep increasing. Uh lots of water quality structures. Um lots of surface waterways, numerous outfalls that discharge to the rivers and other waterways. Uh and then a lot of miles of curb to sweep. So the point here is that um systems are large and complex. They I wrote down here we have a an asset value in the regional system of over $500 million and probably more than that in the local systems. And so when you start thinking about um cost of fixing these systems, replacing these systems as they age, um we're talking about very large complex high dollar systems.

11:44 Uh there's challenges associated with maintaining these systems and in essence meeting our discharge permits and what we call the basically paying for clean water. Um you'll see them on your PowerPoint here. Uh fixed operating cost, the ever ever aging infrastructure, uh regulatory the regulatory discharge permits, the things we've been talking about. I wanted to note um there's been a few things recently that's been taxing us here. Um sustained high level cost inflation is impacting not only personnel services but things like materials and services, chemicals we need to purchase for these systems. Um there's been significant financing volatility at the federal level and at the state level that's been causing us challenges. And then the regulatory uncertainty with the pending discharge permits especially on the storm water system is something that

12:30 we're seeing. Um, and then of course there's everchanging federal policy that um, any is anyone's guess as to where we might be heading and that seems to be going back and forth on a year-to-year basis. So, with respect to our discharge permits, uh, we have two uh, storm water permit was issued to us in 2023. It was issued to everybody uh, all the the phase 2 general permites in 2021. in Springfield along with several others pushed back on some of the unreasonable expectations in that permit previously and were successful in litigation to get a discharge permit that we were actually able to meet. Um it came with a reduced timeline. It came with a three-year timeline instead of a 5-year timeline and it expired uh midway through 2024.

13:16 It was put on administrative extension by DEQ as they work to um give us a new permit. We briefed you last week on that new permit process. We expect the new permit to be issued um around the around July of 2026 depending on how long DEEQ takes uh to respond to comments in the public review draft. That permit has a number of um concerning elements in it. It's um an ever ratcheting down of requirements. Um there's a number of things that are going to require the city to um that is going to require us to do that are going to come in the form of additional FTE requirements, additional time needed, additional dollars needed for um meeting these mandates. Some of which are going to be directly beneficial to water quality and some of which aren't. Um I won't

14:01 elaborate on that since we talked last week. The wastewater permit um is issued to chiefly to MWMC uh but Springfield and Eugene are also named on those on that permit and it was a permit issued to us in 2022 late 22. Um we're expecting a renewal in 2027 and that lays the framework essentially for our wastewater operations and wastewater programs. Here listed here is a a group of of programs that are funded with user fees. So basically anything that really impacts DPW on the storm water wastewater side are funded with user fees. So our operations and maintenance programs, our education and outreach programs, uh the capital program, anything to do with development and post

14:47 construction and and construction site runoff activities is funded with these fees, development review, um those sorts of things in our building and customer service. So, um, with that, I'll turn it over to Jeff and he can talk to you a little bit about some of the factors associ affecting our rates. >> Yeah, thank you. Um, as Matt had mentioned, one of our factors is our assets. We have a large asset, as you saw in the wastewater system, um, several hundreds of miles of pipe. Um, as an example, that aging system identified through the wastewater master plan adopted by the council in 2024. Um there's 130 mi of concrete pipe that we still have in the system that's anywhere from 45 to 80 plus years old. And so that's a factor that's part of our INI

15:34 contribution. And so one of our goals that we've been working through is starting to get through that um system of aging pipe. Um the other is just fixed and rising operational costs. Um one thing to note and it will be discussed later but um our fees are generated based on flow. Um we push water conservation which is great. However um with that we see pressures on revenue and then um but yet inflation pressures still on our materials and services. In addition we still have some ongoing debt service obligations and then as Matt mentioned the increasing regulatory um obligations.

16:23 Um so again um factors that guide our rates and what we use to set those or recommend what that rate recommendation is. Um the wastewater master plan again adopted by the council in 2024. As part of that wastewater master plan we also presented a strategic financial plan with those goals of kind of maintaining a healthy fund which we do have and meeting all of our obligations and maintaining the city's assets um and then meeting that regulatory um compliance. One kind one idea is these are not planned. The rates are not that the rates are planned not reactive. And so we're trying to keep that incremental and just making sure that the the system the funding mechanism is healthy.

17:10 Um so here you see this is just a comparison regionally. It's a point in time. Um it's a survey done in the end of December and what it shows is based on the rates that uh were adopted by the council as part of the FY26 budget where we compared to our regional um other re uh other agencies within the region and and the city's kind of uh city of Springfield's kind of right in the mi middle just below the average. Um one thing that drives it is every city has their own drivers but they do have regulatory requirements. The blue uh represents the regional MWMC fees and the green is Eugene and Springfield. And it comes up every year at least at at some level. Um Springfield's local rate. Why is it so much more than Eugene's? And that's in part because we had to take on

17:55 additional debt requirements with the wet weather flow management plan requirements that happened um 15 years back or so. >> Um moving on to storm water. And so as before we get into the um rate comparison in in the recommended rates for storm water um and wastewater um just like to highlight uh very similar to the wastewater system on what drives our rates. It's that regulatory requirements that expand um with the updated um MS4 permit which we anticipate the end of this fiscal year with implementation next fiscal year. Um and so that's going to require additional program investment over time. Um second the system maintenance needs again same thing aging assets. We also

18:42 have the addition where we have a lot more um green infrastructure. So um swailes, ponds, that sort of thing for clean water. One thing I think some folks think is we build those and we just kind of plant them and forget them. But they do take routine maintenance um to maintain and keep functioning to clean that water. Um and third, if you'll in the materials, you'll note that um there is the proposed realignment of the street sweeping services program. So that program is currently funded 50/50 between street fund and stormwater fund and the portion in the street fund is approximately 300,000. Um given the fund pressures and the um declining revenues or flat revenues in the street fund, it's been

19:27 recommended as part of the FY27 budget to move that whole program into the um storm water fund. And so that is having an effect on the rates when you when we're adding $300,000 to the storm water um fund. Um, similar to the wastewater, this is the uh rate comparison and where um how we compare to other agencies within the region. Um, as you can see, we're we're um we're just above the average for the FY26 um adopted rate. I don't know if it's good or bad, but if you look back at past years, Springfield

20:12 was much further to the left on that graph. And although we've had rate incre rate adjustments each year, um ours have been lower than other communities and we've actually shifted to the right. Um when you're bounded by two rivers like we are and have the mandates we have from the the state, um it cost a lot to provide these storm water services. >> And then so what you see here is this similar to the material you have in your packet. So the recommended rate adjustment for FY27 budget is 5% in the local wastewater services and 5% in the local um storm water services. Um and the total impact is about $2 or is $2.31 on the average um residential bill.

21:03 Um, in addition to the local rates, we wanted to just brief the council on what the MWMC board did at the April 10th meeting of the board of commissioners. Uh, they took action to direct staff to move forward with a 5.5% adjustment on the regional side. Um, based on a number of factors, um, you'll see here on the table that, uh, the propo where the proposed rate is at, um, it recom it represents about a$184 adjustment to the typical residential household. um council will be able to discuss that further and hold we'll hold the public hearing on May 18th to determine whether to implement that in Springfield. And with that, um we're ready for any questions and conversation that the council might have. >> Questions? Uh councelor Buck? >> Um just clarification on on the rate

21:50 that's being proposed. So when we look at the regional and and and the other, so you're, you know, both would be um assessed to household. So it wouldn't be just the $2.31. It would be the $184 and the 231. >> Correct. >> Correct. So it's not combined. >> Yeah. And then I guess the second question that I have is one of the things that um I don't want to to find ourselves down the road is hey you know we're leaving ourselves short kind of you know creating a a deficit for ourselves or a hole that we're that we're digging for ourselves. So when I think about these rates, you know, I guess the question that comes up for me is given the aging

22:35 structure, given all of those things, are we setting ourselves up for um kind of a cliff down the road where it's like, okay, now we have a major expense and and how are we going to deal with that? >> Um well, I'll address those in parts. So, first on the wastewater system, I would I feel very comfortable saying um as part of the master plan and that strategic financial plan, we've kind of taken all of those factors, you know, looking at inflation, looking at our infrastructure um and and future needs and and the rates in that strategic financial plan. Well, if for for the counselors who were here when we put everything in there and said what would it take to build the whole um wastewater or wastewater master

23:22 plan in 20 years as that plan said it was like a 10 years of a like 11% rate and I think when we discussed that here it was like that's probably not reasonable. So, we looked at how we space out some of those expansion projects, thinking that some of that cost is going to be recouped through developers, and we kind of like we settled on a rate that was above what we figured annual inflation would be, but below that 11% to make sure that we're setting ourselves up for success in the future. So, I feel comfortable saying on the wastewater system by sticking to that plan, we have a plan to address aging infrastructure. We have reserves to address any emergency thing. um in the storm water. Um one reason you're seeing a 5% this year over what was projected last year to 3% is we haven't

24:07 done that fine tuning or gone through and done that detailed dive into the storm water system and the storm water finances. And so we're in the midst of that. We're we're our goal is to have that strategic financial plan ready to bring to the council and use for starting in the FY28 um budget planning. Um, however, you'll see by adding that additional 300,000, that's pretty much equivalent to what we anticipated with the rate recommendation last year and adopted rate of the additional revenue being. So, with that was still some unknowns. It wasn't comfortable with just going with a 3% and recommended five and then next year we'll have a a firm strategic financial plan that we can bring to the council and show us the road map for the next, you know, 10, 15, 20 years.

24:53 Councelor Rodley, >> you um and I I don't really have questions. I'm just gonna have some messy statements and I know that we're not voting on this tonight so we have some time to talk about it. Um I I feel a little bit differently in that when I look at a 5% rate increase this year, next year, next year, next year, that is not insubstantial um for the average person. And I think of how people are being impacted by inflation and expenses and I think about the fact what you said is that you know this is all paid for by user fees which is you know that that puts the the onus that puts the burden on just everyday

25:38 folks. Um, so I'm not It's gonna take some work to get me there because I I just 5% this year, next year, next year, next year. I I just I I just don't think that it's the time to do that. And I completely understand as someone who was up in Salem advocating for the transportation package last year, which would have helped to mitigate some of these things and the fact that folks are are so um you know, everyday people are so against paying the taxes to do this to just then shift it over onto a fee. I don't know what the answer is. I'm just saying that I am not there as to where I want to increase it by 5%. >> Thanks. Okay. Uh, thank you. Um, one of

26:23 the questions that I had is what I keep hearing is the bidding environment substantially better than it has been, you know, because the construction's effectively down. So, when I think about this thought this question about 5%, have we incorporated more favorable bidding conditions to build projects in the wastewater system? We are starting to program that. So while we have projected 5% I can honestly say it could get better right if we show that our reserves are building faster than we thought um right now we don't have quite enough data for that um and in looking ahead to some of the large projects we have and potentially speeding those up but yes we are taking that into account on the storm water system we're not there with our kind of big deep dive

27:10 into the storm water system fin um financially and so we're not quite there to make any of those sorts of predictions. >> I think responding to some of the comments, one of the concerns that we've had and we've we've attempted to communicate to the state and federal government is that for example with MWMC system um 75% of that regional plant was funded federally um back in the 80s. That money is gone. Um and it's all on the backs of the rateayers now. Um, and with I don't not in with the current administration, they're even looking at uh cutting more programs like WIFIA and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. And so we are continually lobbying and working towards pushing um Congress to to and the state legislators to make

27:55 those that keep that funding whole uh because that's going to be helping us in the future. And right now we're we're looking at maybe 2 to 3% na nationally um to fund these systems where it used to be a much higher proportion. Um it it may be something when we come to you in executive session and talk about the the uh the storm water permit and the unfunded mandates. It may be uh another a further way to communicate some of that information. So it's something that's um definitely on our minds and is is not easily solved, but um I appreciate you raising it. >> Uh Council Weber, >> I appreciate Councelor Roley's concerns. Um rates are going up on everything everywhere right there. there's it just seems to be like there's nothing that's not going up right now. Um I think

28:41 long-term projection would be helpful understanding that things can always change up or down, you know, make things better, make things worse. Um I it it is hard to continue to raise costs on our on our residents, but at the same time, it's a reality that we're facing. You know, where does the money come from? If there are creative solutions out there, um, you know, I'm all for looking at those, but but it is a reality that we're we're facing. >> Councelor Stump, thank you. Um, I've already in the MWMC meeting certainly raised my own uh concerns about the rate increases, though ultimately it was through a lot of discussions that we had to have and just to to make a painful

29:27 choice on behalf of the rateayers. So I I am supportive of the rate increase but oh just barely. Um something that's important to me is when we um when we're talking about asset value of systems like we have to understand also the liabilities that we have when we build a road a road has a useful life of maybe 10 years maybe 30 years. And so now we've built ourselves a liability. We have to either destroy the road you know clear vacate the rightway on that or we have to rebuild that road. And so we have a clear liability sense on there. When we're presenting a system with an assets of $500 million, that's all well and good and we can maybe even borrow against that, which I find to be incalculably foolish on a financial level. Looking if I am a small city on a

30:13 separate level, I'm really interested in the liabilities that we're facing to say we have to replace, you know, $100 million worth of pipe within the next 10 years. in looking at that financial projection. I think that's an important piece of data as we're digesting all of this to say, do we choose to let these pipelines crumble or do we choose to let to restore them and pay for them? So, I know it's a big a bit of a philosophical 30,000 foot question, but I think it's just something I want to bring to this discussion when we have it next year. Thank you, >> Council Buck. Um I I appreciate um you know all all the comments that were made and and I I guess I just want to clarify if we're going to go down the road of of

30:59 you know some some rate increases and and and we we certainly may have to. I just want to make sure that we don't do that and get down the road and and realize, you know, we now have a cliff we have to to jump off of financially. Um I I think that being realistic about what what our um financial liabilities are as as councelor Stout mentioned and and how we get there is is what I'm most interested in. So I if the financial reality is we need rate increases um that's great. I just want it to come with a strategy so that we don't run into a cliff cuz we've we've in other areas we're running we're having to deal

31:45 with that and uh that's just that's that's my position. So I'm supportive but want to make sure we're doing responsibly. >> Thank you. Could you clarify for us just this with this this kind of critical point the rate increases are to meet our regulatory requirements on our federal regulatory requirements for both storm water and wastewater. Right. >> Correct. I mean I think yes and to councelor Buck's point I mean we're and councelor Stout's point we're on a replacement schedule for a wastewater system of like 500 years. We know the systems aren't going to last that long. Um but replacing it's it's very costly to replace these systems. And so with the continuing um mandates coming down from the state that's eating into our

32:31 our capacity to do replacement and the the DEQ's position essentially is we have the ability to control rates and so it it really is not an unfunded mandate. But I I don't know that we have that same position, but maybe not. But I appreciate you sharing that. >> Uh, Nancy, and then we'll come up to Council Mo. >> Thank you, mayor. I just wanted to ask staff to circle back to a point that they went over briefly, but I think is um salient in this discussion, which is INI, which stands for inflow and infiltration. For those um that may be listening or is that aren't familiar with of that concept, could you briefly describe ini and why that's important and how that factors into rate structure? >> I I can take a crack at that. Sure.

33:16 Thank um so infiltration and inflow when you have miles and miles of pipe of varying age essentially those pipes as they age develop cracks. Um we are fortunate or unfortunate depending on how you look at it to live in an area with a climate that we do. It rains a lot. The ground water is high. As the groundwater table comes up, pressure builds, water comes into those pipes and it's then being conveyed to the reg. It has to be conveyed, pumped and treated at the regional plant. Um our our so we basically we do abatement of that in the local systems to try to slip line and do other other means to to limit intrusion of water into the pipes. Um our base flows at the plants are around 20 million gallons a day and from Eugene Springfield in in the summer and then

34:01 when it rains hard in the winter we we see upwards of 200 230 million gallons a day. So a big peaking factor a 10 to1 peaking factor um that costs money to convey treat that sort of thing. And so um that's kind of one of the issues that we're facing and why it's important to be replacing andor um maintaining the systems. That's wrong. >> Turn my mic. I'm got to turn my microphone. Very short sentence. It's key to everything. It's unfunded mandates. It's just killing us. And I don't know what to do about it. It's But uh that's one of the big problems we have. All right. I I think you're hearing us just continue to be concerned about the expense that we continue to uh pass on

34:46 to our citizens. And it's not the work that you folks are doing. It's the cumulative work over a lot of different requirements because we're this is all the same set of folks that we're we're talking about. Um I keep coming back to the single most important thing that we're looking for in the long term, right? Is just stability around the rates and a probably 10 years ago we started you started bringing us the like a 5-year forecast. You've done that successfully for a long time to show us that question that counselor Buck brought up which is we don't want to create cliffs for ourselves. 0% 0% 9% is a terrible plan. Now we're in this sort of high inflation environment, high regulatory environment, and you're showing us kind of what's coming down uh coming down at us. And I think the

35:31 challenge that we're giving you is we appreciate the stability, but it would be nice to look for ways to, you know, uh work that number at least down to the rate of inflation, if not just a little bit below it. that's not going to clearly happen this year. We got too much stuff going on. But from as we start thinking about uh what our future years are, just continuing to look at those out years and looking for stability and places where we can uh find ways to uh slow down the rate of increases would be meaningful. >> Does anybody have anything else? Nancy, >> sorry, just to clarify, um, the INI

36:16 issue is important because it's something that you don't really see. It's part of our our infrastructure and as that ages, it's going the problem gets worse. So, it becomes more expensive when we aren't replacing those pipes. And unfunded mandates are what they are, but we it doesn't take away from the deferred maintenance that we still have to do with with the pipes underneath us that we all just kind of assume are going to work all the time because that's what we kind of hope happens. So, just putting that to your attention. And if and correct me if I you know didn't win my engineering uh merit badge today but there's a significant amount of the system that is on the private side that w you know that is probably uh not being repaired as quickly as as possible too right there.

37:01 It's not just the public system it is the one that sits on our residences that is creating this INI issue. It's both. Yeah. Yeah. But there's a large there's a fairly substantial portion in the public system. But t what tends it tends to >> if you correct the public system, the water tends to migrate upwards. Not always. Um and you still have some issues to deal with. But we were seeing when we were investing more heavily in INI abatement. We were seeing flows at the plant um on a annual basis and on a on a winter basis uh maintained. They weren't we weren't seeing higher peaks. We've noticed in the last three to four years, we've been seeing higher peaks. Um, so on the regional when I put my regional hat on, I'm concerned about we we spent $100 million in 2006 to expand our capacity. Um, and that was on the

37:48 backs of the rateayers and we don't want to be faced with that situation again. >> Yeah. And one thing we are starting to do that for people who are interested in those engineering problems and data, we're starting to collect well we have been collecting um flow information before we do a project in a basin. um and flow. And we're starting to collect flow data after we complete a project to kind of see what impact the project had when we kind of tighten those pipes up and then to see kind of what that impact may be from the residential lines at least to have that data to see how effective um this the solutions we're coming up with are. >> All right. Thank you. Is there any more questions? All right. I think we're ready to for

38:33 you to bring it forward to a public hearing and get it scheduled. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That was our last item. Um I'm going to join join the work session. We're going to reconvene at 7:00 for the regular meeting. Everybody, there's still a couple of seats up front if you're looking for a seat or and I can see some gaps um around the edges if you're looking for some place to sit down. And I appreciate everybody coming out today. Um, I'm going to call the regular session of the Springfield City Council to order with roll call. >> Mayor Van Gordon >> here. Councelor Weber >> here. >> Councelor Mo here. >> Councelor Bradley >> here. >> Councelor Beck >> here. >> Councelor Stout >> here. Thank you. Uh, please join me for the pledge of allegiance.

39:27 To the flag of the United States and to the republic, there are two times designated for public testimony this evening under public hearings and business from the audience. If you're attending in person, please complete the request to speak card located at the front of the council chambers and turn them into the city recorder. If you're joining us online with a tablet, smart smartphone, or computer and wish to speak at either of those times, please use the raise hand feature in Zoom. The order of public testimony is as follows. Anyone in

40:12 person in the council chambers and then anyone who has raised their virtual hand. First item, please. Mary, you have four proclamations this evening. And the first item is May is bike month proclamation and this is your item. >> Thank you. And I uh appreciate everybody's patience with this. I've got four items and I will read them very quickly as we go into April and May. It's a it's a very uh busy uh recognition moment. So we're going to have folks in here take a picture and then we'll get on to the public testimony. The first one is that May is bike month. Whereas the bic the bicycle is an economic, healthy, and convenient form of transportation and an excellent tool for enjoyment of Springfield scenic beauty. And whereas through the month of

40:58 May, Springfield residents can experience the joy of biking and support the local economy by biking to nearby shopping and dining. And whereas the city of Springfield and safe routes to schools are promoting a greater public awareness of bicycle operation and safety improvement safety to improve health and safety for everyone on our streets. I, Sean Van Gordon, mayor of Springfield, proclaim May 2026 as bike month in Springfield. And I challenge Springfield residents to get out and ride on our regional paths to visit or visit a local business by bike during the month of May.

42:43 All right. The next one is National Public Works Week and this year is the motto is rooted in service empowered by the community. Whereas public works professionals focus on infrastructure facilities and services that are vital to sustainable and resilience resilient communities as well well as public health high quality of life and wellbeing of the city of Springfield. Whereas these infrastructure facilities services cannot be provided without the dedicated efforts of public work prof work works professionals who are engineers, managers, employees at all levels of government and the private sector responsible for building and improving and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment systems, solid waste systems,

43:28 public buildings, and other structures. Whereas the 2026 marks the 66th annual public works week sponsored by the American public works association. Therefore Ian van Gordon designate May 17th through 23rd 2026 as national public works weeks

44:53 Hey, do we have the building safety folks here, too? Okay. Oh, it's packed. I just wanted to make sure you were here. All right. So, the next one is the building safety month proclamation. And whereas the city of Springfield is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential roles of our homes, buildings, and infrastructure both in everyday life and when disasters strike. Whereas our confidence in the resilience of these buildings that make up our community is achieved through the de devotion of vigilant guardians, building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, trades people, design professionals, laborers, plumbers, and others in the construction industry. Whereas modern building codes include safeguards to protect the

45:39 protect the building from buildings from hazards such as hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, wildland fires, floods, and earthquakes. And whereas building safe building safety month is sponsored by the international code council to remind the public about the critical role of our community's largely unknown protectors of the public safety, our local code officials. Whereas each year in observance of building safety month, people all over the world are asked to consider the commitment to improve uh building safety, resilience, and economic investment. I, Sean Van Gordon, mayor Springfield, proclaim May 2026's building safety month, and I encourage our community members to join us as we participate in building safety month activities.

47:14 It's going I promise this is the National Library Week 2026 proclamation which is April 19th through 25th 2026. Whereas libraries spark creativity, fuel imagination and inspire lifelong uh learning offering a space where individuals of all ages can find joy through exploration and discovery. And whereas libraries serve as vibrant community hubs connecting people with knowledge, technology, resources while fostering civic engagement, critical thinking, and cultural enrichment. Whereas the libraries provide equitable tools such as access to books, digital tools, innovative programming to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, have the support they need to learn and thrive. Whereas libraries partner with schools, businesses, and organizations to

48:01 maximize resources, increase efficiency, and expand access to essential services, strengthening our community. Whereas libraries nurture young minds through story times, uh, STEM programs, literacy initiatives, fostering creativity, and the love of learning that lasts a lifetime. Whereas libraries protect the right to read, think, explore without censorship, standing as champions of intellectual freedom and free expression. Whereas libraries, librarians, library workers across the country are joined together to celebrate National Library Week under the theme find your joy. I, Sean Van Gordon, mayor mayor of Springfield, proclaimed the 19th through the 25th as National Library Week. During this week, I

48:46 encourage all residents to visit their library, explore its resources, and celebrate the ways that libraries help our communities.

50:14 Next item, please. >> Next item is the consent calendar. >> I move approval of the consent calendar. >> Second. >> Could you call the vote, please? >> Yes. Councelor Weber, >> yes. >> Councelor Mo, >> yes. >> Councelor Rodley, >> yes. >> Councelor Buck, >> yes. >> And councelor Steth, >> yes. Thank you. >> Motion passes. Five yeses, zero nos. Next item, please. Next item is public hearings. You have one public hearing this evening. That's the payroll tax ordinance. This is a first reading and no action is required. Nathan Bell is here for this item. >> All right. Before we begin this evening, I'd like to take a moment to outline the protocol and expectations for public hearings. First, I want to thank everyone for being able being here and taking the time to participate. Public input is an essential part of our decision-making process and we value the

50:59 opportunity to hear from our community. We have one public hearing this evening. payroll tax ordinance first reading. Tonight's public comment period is specifically dedicated to that topic in this public hearing. I ask that all remarks stay focused on that item before the council to help us maintain clear a clear and productive record that ensurees everyone uh's time is respected. If you wish to speak and have not yet signed up, please complete a request to speak card and handed to the city quarter. Speakers will be called in the order in which they've signed up. Once your name is called, please come forward to the microphone, state your name for the record, and then begin your remarks. If you're online, you will need to raise your virtual hand. Each speaker will have three minutes to address the

51:44 council. We ask that speakers and audience members maintain a respectful conduct through the public hearing portion of this evening. That means no interruptions, applause, verbal reactions, positive or negative, while others are speaking. This ensures that there's a fair and safe space for every participant. Offensive language or disruptive behavior is not tolerated or permitted. Um, with those guidelines in place, we look forward to hearing from each of you, and we're going to turn it over for the staff report first. All right. Uh, good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh, Nathan Bell, finance director. Uh, the item in front of you this evening is a request to conduct a public hearing and a first reading for a payroll tax ordinance. Uh before I turn it back to you, I think uh there's some items worth uh noting. Uh the payroll tax ordinance in your packet this evening uh closely aligns with the

52:31 recommendation that was made by the fiscal stability task force. Uh that was for the lowest possible rate that would generate approximately $2.3 million. Uh the rate uh in this proposed ordinance is.1% or onetenth of 1% paid by both the employer and the employees. It would generate approximately 2.45 four or five million in first year of the program. So close to that uh target goal. Um the task force also wanted to be simple to understand and administer. I think uh we were successful uh in that. Um limited exclusions that was a little more challenging. Uh it does include some exclusions. Um um primarily it excludes uh health insurance premiums as well as flexible spending account um

53:16 contributions. um but they won't have a significant impact on um the revenue generated from the program. Uh and then lastly, uh strong guard rails. Uh this uh payroll tax ordinance includes uh guardrails uh with a rate that's established by a council adopted ordinance. Uh which means it can only be changed by another council adopted ordinance. Uh no rate increases for a minimum of 3 years. Uh annual reporting uh to both the public and the council. uh revenues accounted for in a separate fund. So this is going to allow for greater transparency uh and uh formal review uh after three years for the uh efficacy of the program. Um I think one other thing I want to note on this is and it was talked about in the fiscal

54:01 stability task force but we haven't talked about it a lot since. Uh one of the considerations of the fiscal stability task force uh was to for the city to uh expand its revenue sources. Uh right now as it relates to public safety uh we've sort of put all our eggs in one basket which is the property tax uh tax basket uh with our permanent rate in the general fund as well as uh two levies uh and all of it under the uh constraints of measure five and 50. uh this payroll tax uh actually diversifies our revenue sources and uh I think what also is nice uh with it is that expands um the uh group that contributes towards paying for our public safety services and just to illustrate that for the employee employee portion of this tax uh

54:46 for Springfield workers or Springfield employees uh only 25% of them live in the city of Springfield uh that means 75% of those folks come from outside city limits That means they benefit uh from the public safety services but they aren't contributing to uh towards those services. Uh this gives us a mechanism uh where those folks can contribute to uh services that they benefit from. Uh so with that any questions for me? >> Does anybody have any questions? Okay. Could you clarify one point for us too? If if you're a Springfield resident that works in Eugene, would you get have to pay both taxes? >> No. Uh, so you wouldn't be subject to it because you're not working within Springfield city limits. >> Okay, great. Um, before I open the

55:31 public hearing, I I want to just chat about uh and maybe Mary Bridget, you can help me here. This public hearing is specifically about the rate. I know I've got some library library cards that are have got have addressed concerns around payroll rates. So I think if you want to be heard specifically to the payroll rate, now is going to be the place that you want to you want to come forward and speak. Do you have any more advice for us? >> Yeah, I think you can just go through the cards that you have that are specific to the payroll tax and at the end of that testimony um just query the audience if there are people who would like to speak to the payroll tax instead of general business from the audience. >> Perfect. Thanks for the help on that one. Thank you, Nate. I'm going to call folks up two at a time. Since we're

56:18 going to use both microphones, you're going to state your name for the record and then you will have three minutes. Uh my first I'm going to open the public hearing. Uh my first two uh cards are Steven Schmunk and Libby Smith. Sorry, mayor counselors, thank you for your personal time you invest in Springfield. I'm here because many residents and employers are concerned that the task force's recommendations of a new payroll tax moves Springfield in the wrong

57:04 direction at a moment when our economic foundation is a fragile uh is already fragile. Over the past decade, Springfield has faced steady increases in statedriven administrative mandates. Their planning requirements, climate rules, equity mapping obligations, and land use code changes. These are not locally chosen priorities per se. They originate from state agencies pursuing broad progressive policy agendas and require specialized consultants. The fiscal stability task force report itself acknowledges this growing reliance on consultants and the state provides little reimbursement for these mandates. At the same time, Springfield continues to carry rising personnel costs, especially accelerating pension obligations. A a payroll tax does not

57:50 address these structural drivers. It simply shifts the burden onto employers and workers who who are already under pressure. The city has discretionary spending in areas such as the library and the museum. These are valued institutions, but they are also among the few areas where the Springfield has real flexibility. Before asking residents and employers to pay more, the city should evaluate these programs and let voters decide whether something like a library levy has support. Labor layered on all t on top of all this are broader statewide economic climate. Businesses are facing rising regulatory requirements, compliance burdens and labor costs. Many employers feel that the policy environment is becoming increasingly difficult for commerce and job creation. And we are seeing that job

58:38 creators and working families are leaving Oregon and adding to a local uh payroll task risks accelerating that trend. Attacks on wages sends a wrong signal at a time when Springfield needs to retain and attract jobs. For these reasons, I urge the council to reject the payroll tax recommendation. Springfield payer taxpayers don't need another tax on employers and families struggling in the Oregon economy. Thank you. >> Thank you. Love you. >> Good evening. >> Could you could you hit the hit the button? It'll go green. Thank you. >> Here we go. Good evening, Libby Smith. Thank you for your time, mayor and counselors, and all you city staff to be here this evening. Uh my name is Libby Smith. My husband and I own a business

59:24 in Springfield. He can't be here tonight because he's coaching our son's baseball team. We already wrote a letter to the mayor, counselors, and city manager, mainly about the negative impacts that proposed city uh pay payroll tax would have on our business. But I also want to come and speak about the personal impacts of the proposed payroll tax. My husband and I are raising three young children, and I can say personally that every dollar counts, especially to those of us trying to raise children or who have dependent. Most schools have had to drastically cut back enrichment programs and school sponsored sports, which has impacted our kids. These dollars that you're considering taking from us are the ones that allow us to pay for music lessons, dance classes, or to put our kids in sports programs or send them to summer camp or for someone to help pay

1:00:09 for their dependent care. It costs hundreds of even thousands of dollars a year uh in some cases to participate in these activities or to pay for dependent care. Um think about the single parents where every single dollar counts and they may or may not receive any other support or assistance. They may have to choose between necessities or extracurriculars. Even single a single person oh excuse me every single person and family is struggling to pay for rising housing costs which in general have become unaffordable. astronomical grocery bills and utilities, expensive gas, and skyrocketing health care costs, unaffordable daycare and dependent costs, to name a few. This will hurt us all. Any extra money you take can be the difference in someone affording to

1:00:54 remain independent or needing assistance. Your vote to pass this tax could be making people choose between healthcare or simply paying their bills. Our employees have already been hit with a PFMLA tax in the last several years, and that has hurt us as well. We have yet to even have an employee use that program, but we all pay for it. So do my husband and I. A new tax will absolutely make our business less viable and less attractive to potential employees. We even risk losing employees if this passes. We have already had to reduce staff and cut back hours based on some current economic challenges. This will only increase our burden. We need you to take a deeper look inside before you go outside seeking more tax dollars from citizens. Look at the library fund. Look at parks and wreck and city maintenance operations. Look at your own city staff

1:01:40 and see where you can make necessary cuts. Focus on efficiency. The public library is not a necessity. Schools have libraries and the majority of people are more concerned with access to internet than access to the public library. Reduce operational hours if necessary. Consider making the library or wamlain a predominantly volunteer program where wherever possible and where you could offer free memberships or discounted books to those who volunteer. Citywide extracurriculars are not necessities. Being able to afford a roof over your head and healthy food and medical bills are necessities and these will be negatively affected by this proposed tax. >> Thank you. >> Uh the next two cards I have are Paige Walters and Kai Fireside.

1:02:41 Mayor Van Gordon and members of the Springfield City Council. For the record, my name is Paige Walters. I serve as the senior director of advocacy and economic development for the Springfield area Chamber of Commerce. On behalf of the chamber, I want to thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on the city's proposed payroll tax. The chamber does support the ordinance as it's drafted. In December, we outlined key principles to guide any payroll tax proposal, simplicity, predictability, transparency, and clear guardrails for accountability. The ordinance before you reflects a meaningful alignment with those principles, including the shared rate structure, a dedicated fund, a defined period maintaining the initial rate, and a commitment to public reporting and review. We also appreciate the city council and staff's engagement with the business community, and the incorporation of that feedback into the proposal before you. Our support, however, is grounded in one key condition. It must be paired with a

1:03:27 sustained focus on long-term economic growth. A payroll tax can help address immediate fiscal needs, but it's not a long-term solution. A city that can fund essential services is critical, but the level at which we set this tax will directly shape our economic competitiveness. That's why maintaining a measured approach, including the current rate, matters. Long-term fiscal stability will depend on expanding Springfield's economic base, supporting business investment, facilitating job creation, and ensuring the city remains competitive and attracting and retaining employers. A strong and growing economy increases revenue and reduces reliance on additional tax mechanisms over time. At the same time, businesses in Springfield are already navigating a layered and growing cost environment. You've just heard from a couple of them tonight. Within that context, even

1:04:13 modest cost increases matter, particularly for small businesses operating on narrow margins. Any new tax should be implemented carefully to avoid unintended consequences like reduced investment or slower job growth. We've also heard concern about the potential for future rate increases. The ordinance's three-year guardrail provides important stability, and maintaining that commitment will be critical to building trust. As you move into upcoming budget discussions, we encourage a continued focus on cost containment, clear prioritization of core services, and long-term strategies that strengthen the city's economic base. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. >> For the record, my name is Kai Fireside. I know some people here are advocating for this text to not exist at all, but it is absolutely necessary that we

1:04:59 utilize this revenue stream to keep our city running. Furthermore, 0.1% is simply not sufficient. It dwarfs when compared to Eugene or other similarly sized cities. Some people have asked for a 0.01 percentage point increase. And I just wanted to run through some math so that we understand how small that is for any individual contributing, but how big an impact it would have on the city. So 1% is one penny per dollar. It's one out of 100. 1% is one penny per $10. That is one out of a,000 pennies. And 0.01% would be one penny out of every

1:05:44 10,000 pennies. We're asking for one 10,000th of the thing. And we are asking that you contribute that money to the library, which is an absolutely vital service that has already lost its teen program. It is apparently library appreciation week, but we're looking at a library that's only going to be open five days. So, next year, library appreciation week will be a 5-day thing and not a six or seven day thing. In the past 10 years, more businesses have opened than closed in the state of Oregon. We are not unfriendly towards business. We we need this income and the three-year

1:06:29 stagnation is absolutely ridiculous. The economy is so unpredictable. You you cannot tie your hands for the next three years that way. I think that's ridiculous. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, Timmy English. Thank you, Mayor Rangordon and counselors and city staff. I wasn't going to testify tonight, but then I was encouraged to. My name is Tammy English Drew. I represent Ames Mobile Nursing. I am a small business owner that we founded nine years ago in Springfield. Costs are rising. Everyone knows that. We've talked about it tonight. But I

1:07:16 trust that the mayor and the task force have put great thought and analysis into this payroll tax proposal and I'm trusting that with the guidelines that have been set forth. I'm just here to tell you I do support a payroll tax. Thank you. >> Thank you. That was my last card. Neil, do we have anybody online with wishing to testify? >> Uh, we have one hand. It's Beth Halverson. Beth's hand has been up since the beginning of the meeting. So, we'll just check to make sure this is the item you would like to speak to. And you should be able to unmute your microphone. Beth, >> hello. Yes, I am here. I don't know if you can also see me or if I can show my video or not, but if it's just um the audio, that's great. >> We can hear you. Do you want to speak to

1:08:02 the payroll packs? >> Yes, I do. >> Okay, then go go go right ahead. State your name and location in the city for the record. >> Absolutely. Um I am Beth Halverson. Um I live on Fifth and East Street. I can't remember if that's W two. My apologies. Um I just wanted to thank you all for giving context for tonight about the payroll tax. I want to thank all the comments as well. Um, and I I'm very keenly aware that we have some very difficult costs to cover and very very tight budgets. And I'm fully in support of the payroll tax. I know that I'm speaking from a place of privilege because I can I I know every dollar counts with every one of my good friends and with a lot of the clients that I work with in mental health. And I am

1:08:48 fully respecting that. I definitely see that. And I also think that similar to some of the other comments, we need way more than the 0.1%. I would love to do the 02% and I would love to consider if it's an opportunity to look at um having income um levels where we have different amounts of payroll tax depending on how much um income someone has coming in because I absolutely believe that higher earning people should be able to shoulder more of that expense than some of the younger families um or some of the people that don't have the same privilege afforded to them. I am fully in support of making sure that we have all of the funding that we need. Not just because I love the library and I think that it's an incredible important service, but also because I am aware, as

1:09:34 you all mentioned in the first portion of our evening meeting tonight, there are so many expenses. We have so many huge problems. And that is assuming that we don't have a natural disaster coming and hitting Springfield this summer or this next winter. the amount of expense that is going to continue to come just means that we have to have the funding to do it. I don't want to pretend to know what it's like to be in y'all's shoes. And I know that that there's this recognition that Springfield that doesn't want to do this. I get it. They don't. But we need leadership that is going to help explain why they need to why we need to as a community make sure that we can pay to keep everything running. why we as a community need to do these hard challenging tasks and really help sell it to them so they

1:10:20 understand because when you provide context like you did at the beginning of the evening tonight that allows us to know the why and I think Springfieldians would absolutely understand the why if you guys would spend some of the energy helping them understand why. So that's all. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do we have any more hands? >> No other hands for this item. >> Okay. Before I close the public hearing, I recognize there's a lot of folks here for the library, but is there anybody else that wants to speak specifically to the payroll tax? Okay. So, we're going to bring both of you up at the same time. Come on up. You're going to state your name for the record. Um, when you are done, Allison is going to need another card from you. So, we're going to do the paperwork in reverse order, but you guys are pros.

1:11:10 >> Thank you. My name is Mary Harwood and I did come here to speak initially about the library but also about the payroll tax. So I've just adjusted my comments a little bit. I do support the premise of a payroll tax. Many of my co-workers live in other cities and work here in Springfield. I'm a teacher for Springfield public schools. Sharing the tax burden with people who earn their living in this lovely city makes sense to me. My concern is that the proposed tax isn't going to benefit the community enough to make this a wise move. Why have a tax increase that does not cover the expenses that the city actually needs to maintain services? Adding a payroll tax while reducing library services, for instance, is in effect providing this community with less benefit for more cost. That math doesn't work. Consider

1:11:56 establishing a rate that will allow you to maintain essential public services like the library. Pivoting to a payroll tax that continues services has the potential to convert those like many of us here tonight opposed to library cuts into advocates for the proposed tax. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. My name is Nick Aguo and um I just wanted to say that you've heard public testimony tonight about taking dollars away from families to pay for extracurricular activities to go to things like private music lessons. What they've proposed to you is to cut programs that are for all members of the community, including the library, which provides extracurricular activities. Their concern for private

1:12:41 extracurricular activities and summer camp shouldn't take away money from services for all people who can't even afford summer camp in the first place. The city is stronger when we pull our resources together to provide services for all. Thank you. >> Thank you. If All right, that is the last set of cards. Um, if you could fill out one more card. Oh, I think you're in the business from the audience. Did you want to speak about the payroll tax? If you want us to consider your input for the payroll tax, why don't you come up and No, no.

1:13:26 Okay, come on. I we we were expecting this. These topics are really closely closely aligned. So, same plan is you'll re you'll read your name and uh and location for the record and then you'll fill out an extra card for Allison. Go ahead. Yeah, >> thank you so much uh for your flexibility and for helping us out. Um my name is Kristen Cur and my opinions are mine, not of my employer, which is the city of Springfield. I've worked for libraries for nearly 20 years in various communities communities and in different roles. But I came to Springfield almost 14 years ago and I made my home here. I bought a house, gave birth to three beautiful children. I volunteered with my church, the PTO scouts, neighborhood

1:14:12 groups. Like all of you here tonight, I'm invested in the Springfield community and it's National Library Week. Librarians will tell you that we wear a lot of hats. We excel at being creative, adaptive, responsive in the services provided to communities, usually with small budgets. What sets SPL apart is just how small. In FY24, we had one-third less funding per capita than the median in Oregon. Our staffing was less than half the average. And yet, you've heard from our community over the past few months, about the quality of services we provide. Any day, 51 people walk into the library each hour, which is above the state average. Our expanded study rooms are almost always booked. Computers and printer are busy. Teen leadership workshops are full. And FY25, despite being closed one month for

1:14:57 renovations, 15,132 people attended our programs. People come downtown, they come to the library, and they spend money here. Despite being staffed at 44% of the medium for Oregon, in two years, the library has had a 21% cut in staffing levels. We now have one person for every three staff at the average Oregon public library. You can't run our library this way. This level of cut will drastically reduce the level of service and quality of life for Springfielders, reducing the number of people who come downtown, who feel welcome, who want to live here. We're responsible fiscally. We make tough decisions, but our approach for too long has been making cuts. We're the little city that could, and we're proud of that. We know how to be frugal. We can talk about how frugal we are. But we can't just run an organization, a business, a scout troop on cuts alone.

1:15:43 You must increase revenue. Even my daughter who sold 1,500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year knows that. And yes, Thin Mints are that taste better in your mouth than taxes, right? But funding a troop and funding local government both require setting the revenue goal at a level that will cover costs and then to gain support talking to community le uh members, sorry. The mayor's fiscal stability task force did the initial work of setting great goals and gaining supports, but as a community member, I'm concerned that the proposal you're voting on is not setting us up for stability. The task force suggested a 0.1 to a 2% payroll tax. Yet, you're voting on the lowest number in that range. With projections showing a city budget shortfall as soon as the third year of implementation for a city that's been as frugal as possible, this can't be the answer. I understand there's a

1:16:29 lot of complicated pieces. Let's stop relying on making cuts as stop gap measures. I implore you to set the city revenue goals at healthy levels. Let's invest in a welcoming community and a vibrant future for Springfield. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Taylor Harwood. I live in W 3 and my address is on file. I work at the Springfield Public Library, but I'm here tonight speaking on behalf of myself only. I urge the council to implement a payroll tax at a sustainable rate. The proposed rate of 0.1% is insufficient to fill the budget gap. It doesn't include muchneeded deferred maintenance for city buildings and it means cutting two library staff and closing the libraries doors an extra

1:17:15 day every week. This comes after the library had to reduce open hours last year due to staffing. Springfield residents working in Eugene already pay Eugene's payroll tax, which is more than four times Springfield's proposed rate. A modest increase to the proposed payroll tax could maintain city staffing and keep the library open six days a week without burdening taxpayers like myself. Funding the payroll tax at an amount that will sustain city operations is the fiscally responsible and equitable solution. A small targeted increase to the payroll tax of just 01 or 02% will allow the library to continue to thrive as a space for everyone. The proposed cuts to the library will reduce

1:18:01 our ability to provide community resources and excellent service to our services to our patrons. We won't be able to spend as much time helping each person. We won't have teen programs. The librarian who was laid off under the proposed cuts, had her last day last week. We are now observing her job duties in addition to our regular work, just like we did for the position cut in 2024 and again last year for the vacant position due to be cut this July. We rely on dedicated volunteers to keep the library running, the equivalent of 2.7 full-time staff. When I started working at the library three years ago, we were already staffed well below the statewide average by population, and there were 14 full-time library staff. Today, we're down to 11. If a couple people call in sick, we

1:18:47 struggle to operate the library. We can't sustain the level of service we had just two years ago. What will happen the next time the budget needs trimming? Thank you all for devoting your time and your energy to make Springfield a better place. Let's work together for a pragmatic solution that looks to the next 10 years, not just the next three. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That was my last card. Um I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing and this is the first reading. There's no action. Mary Bridget, do we do we need to do anything else or if anybody's got questions about like detailed questions, now would be a good time for them or should we just wait to deliberate until it's scheduled for the second hearing? >> You could uh wait to um ask your

1:19:34 questions for the uh second hearing would be fine. >> Perfect. Thank you so much. Next item, please. The next item is business from the audience. >> Okay. I've got instructions for this, too. Um, before we get started, we have 20 minutes for this item. I have I have 24 cards. Um, so if the council's good, I would say maybe we run we check in at 45 minutes and see where we're where we're going. We do have an item that other people are here for this evening. Okay. We had to get the paperwork uh done. Um

1:20:19 before we begin this evening, I'd like to take a moment to outline the protocol expectations for business from the audience. First, I want to thank everyone for being here and taking the time to participate. Public input is is an essential part of our decision-making process and we value the opportunity to hear from our community. If you wish to speak and have not signed up, please complete the request to speak card and hand it to the city recorder. Speakers will be called in the order in which they signed up. Once your name is called, please forward uh come forward to the microphone, state your name for the record, and then begin your remarks. If you are online, you will have to raise your virtual hand. Each speaker will have 3 minutes to address the council. We ask that all speakers and audience members maintain respectful conduct through the business from the audience. Uh this means no

1:21:04 interruptions, no applause, no verbal reactions, positive or negative, while others are speaking. This ensures a safe and fair space for everybody. Off offensive language or disruptive behavior will not be permitted. With those guidelines in place, we look forward to hearing from each of you. I'm going to call you two cards at a time to and then we'll go back and forth between the two of you. The first two people are James Longer and Jim Couples.

1:21:53 Uh, good evening, mayor and members of city council. I'm here because I submitted a letter to the agenda on behalf of why I think Caliakland is the right choice for the ward for appointment. But instead of reading that letter verbatim, I'd rather just talk to you for a couple of minutes on the reasoning behind that. So, when you're looking at qualifications, I truly believe that Cali stands out. She's put in the time on the planning commission, which means she understands the work that's going to be come before this body. She knows the decisions and the responsibilities that come along with uh that role. Not every applicant can say this. Some people the first time that they've stepped in this room has been regarding this appointment to this body.

1:22:38 And I think that's important. But I also think that this appointment is more than qualifications. It's about who gets to sit at this table up here and who gets to make decisions because the reality is that most of the people who end up in positions on city council, they tend to come from the same pathways. They have the financial flexibility to participate and they're wellconed with professional groups like the Chamber of Commerce or social groups like Rotary. And those are both great groups. They help our community. But I also want to remind you that that's not the deciding qualification for a city counselor. If you're choosing on the basis of who you're friends with or who you're in those groups with, it lessens the office

1:23:25 and credibility. And if you do the opposite and choose the best qualified person, it does the opposite and it builds credibility towards your office. When the same well-connected and financially insulated candidates are chosen again and again, you have a council that doesn't reflect the community that it serves. Right now, about 45% of Springfielders rent instead of owning their own homes. It's 45%. There isn't a single renter here on the council. That's a huge gap in perspective, especially when housing is consistently said as a major issue and you don't have that lived experience that's making decisions on the city council. And I

1:24:11 believe you're all trying to do your best, but I also think there's something that comes from life experience and living it and being there in the now that's important. Anyway, I just want to say there there's one other thing that I think is important and that's um Callie's a veteran like me and we talk a lot about supporting veterans, but this is a chance to actually back that up with action. So, I want to just restate I think Cali is the appointee with a different experience and perspective and one that is strongly missed not only on this council but on more public bodies. Thank you. Thank you. >> Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council

1:24:56 members. I'm Jim Loinger of Ward Six. I have hired, trained, and worked with many dozens of young women and men over the past 50 years as business executive, business owner, and on as leader of over 20 community-based nonprofit boards and commissions. A lot of good talent came and went, but I'd be hardressed to remember any of the expert any with the expertise, wisdom, leadership, savvy, and deep experience as candidate Cali Acklland has. For the past decade, Cali has been involved with a wide range of endeavors requiring initiating, planning, budgeting, training, leading, and business operating. Along with this impressive path, she has been honored and recognized and with rewards for her

1:25:42 skill and for her active leadership. Also evident is her strength in environmental sustainability, housing and rental justice, small business development, and community building. And attractively, Cali is a candidate from the millennial population who will add a new important dimension to the Springfield Council. Most impressive is the very beginning of her career as a naval crypto cryptologic linguist dealing with classified intelligence and initiating and leading the development of a training program that qualified 20 plus interpreters for a high priority operation. I have worked closely with Cali at the library over the past six months and have been impressed with her initiative, participation, and leadership well beyond those of just a

1:26:28 community activist as some prefer to see her. I believe she would be an outstanding, active, and prepared city council member. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next two cards I have are CJ Man and Peggy Dame. Good evening. I am CJ Man, Ward for neighborhood activists, a 50-year renter and candidate for the vacant spot on the

1:27:13 council. I am the person in the commercial growing up to be my parents. I am that person that will strike up a conversation with literally everyone. Just ask the people at my neighborhood grocery store, laundrymat, gas station, library, parks, pools, playgrounds, pharmacy. I make good use of my interactions. I want everyone to feel safe and sane. I ask them how they're doing and I give them my kindness and caring and appreciation. I came to this appointment process to represent all the neighborhoods I've lived in in the past 40 years. I have lived in four of the six wards and have family living in the other two. I've lived in Washurn, Game Farm Village, Mid, and Central Springfield, plus 35

1:27:59 years on the block I call home. Words are artificial boundaries on a planner's map. All neighborhoods have pockets of under reppresented people who need to share their lived experiences in order to help shape policies that affect our everyday lives. I believe that true representation must reflect the community's demographics. Our needs are based on the struggles we face every day. Under represented people need to be heard and have their opinions and insights respected. Representative governance can have its drawbacks. It can lead to power concentration. It can lead to prioritizing the interests of special groups and ignoring the needs of the general public. I hope tonight that the

1:28:45 underrepresented, the disenfranchised, and those who feel like they cannot come here, that if they were brave enough to immerse themselves in civic engagement, they fear they would be unheard. And I hope to be the conduit to that percentage of our residents. I hope that the final decision reflects the need of to add a diverse perspective to the council. If the council does not believe that my 40 years of community engagement equates to my appointment, I will be sad. Not for me personally, but for the marginalized neighborhoods, the communities of color, and for our town. >> Thank you, >> Mayor Ben Gordon and Springfield City Councilors. My name is Peggy Dame. I

1:29:31 would like to highly recommend Ally Ackan for the current interim city councelor position. She loves Springfield and is committed to making it a livable, vibrant community for families and businesses. She has the work ethic, problem solving skills, and very likable personality that makes committee work both productive and enjoyable. It seems to me that in most city councils, the expectations for members should be less on ideology and more about character, relationships, and practical judgment. They need to be trustworthy, responsive to their constituents, pragmatic, community-minded, and collaborative. I believe Calie has all of these qualities. Some of the qualities have perhaps come from her background and varied work history. Someone already

1:30:16 mentioned her being a veteran in the US Navy, having served four years. She's patriotic and has developed many work skills during her time in the military where she translated combatant communications, drafted intelligence reports, and trained interpreters. And even while in the military, she earned commenation for excellent leadership and Navy volunteer of the year. She's an Oregonian and grew up in a small town north of here. She knows what small towns need to be livable and productive communities. While she has lived in Springfield for only the last three years or four years, she's already shown her commitment to being an integral part of Springfield for her volunteer work on the Planning Commission, the Eugene Tenant Association, the Live Healthy

1:31:01 Lane Group, and is now applying for the city council. Calie also understands small businesses. What better way to learn fiscal responsibility than starting and operating your own small business? Cali owned and operated two small businesses for over five years. She managed budgets, supervised employees, and was involved in promotions and sales. Finally, she's been able to balance multiple demands in volunteer positions and work while also being a student at Lane Community College in general studies and political science and has just recently been accepted at the UFO. And in spite of all of her activities and busy schedule, she's always approachable and a pleasure to work with. Overall, I'm very impressed with Callie's character, work ethic, and interest in making the world a better place for all of us. I wish you

1:31:48 the best in your search for a new counselor to help you finish up your 2026 years. Springfield residents deserve a caring and productive community. Cali Acklland would certainly help you as you work together with your citizenry to make Springfield the best city it can be. Thank you. >> The next two cards I have are Michelle Postol and Amanda. thank you. Mayor Van Gordon, councilors, good evening. My name is Michelle Postal. I'm here before you this evening to respectfully request that you appoint Cali Akan to the open city councelor

1:32:34 position. My career was in marketing and administration for nearly 40 years. I've worked for a large national company, a medium-sized Oregon company, and a family-owned newspaper in Grants Pass. I was in management since 1986 until I retired in 2013. I had the privilege and the chore of interviewing, hiring, and yes, sometimes firing employees. I learned how to choose the best candidates. I often interviewed candidates three or more times because I wanted to see their more relaxed, authentic self because making a mistake in hiring has consequences, but hitting the mark has rewards.

1:33:21 I've known Calie for a couple of years now and I have to say I'm I was impressed with her from the first time we met. We've worked together on a committee for the last year and she has been the lead of that committee. She's always prompt, thorough, responsible. I've admired her ability to lead our group of three who are old enough to be her grandmothers. She has demonstrated attention to detail, integrity, enthusiasm, followth through, and excellent communications with us. As she has told me many times, Cali possesses a sincere passion for this community. Your community, her community. I see it. You must see it in her

1:34:06 enthusiasm and her sincerity. Cali is a United States Navy veteran who served her country well. She's a volunteer in service to Lane County, a student with a strong work ethic, and an employee who serves others. Now, Cali is asking for the privilege privilege to serve constituents by helping to address current issues while preparing Springfield for the future by supporting smart strategic growth and development. If I were hiring, I'd hire Calie. My experience and my instincts tell me she's the right person for this position at this moment. Take her fresh outlook,

1:34:51 her intelligence, her talents, and put them to work for Springfield. I know a winner when I see one, and Cali is a winner. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Should I go? >> Hi, ladies and gentlemen. >> Hello. Is that >> Yep. >> All right. Hi, ladies and gentlemen. Um, a couple weeks ago, I came here with a proposal for a police oversight committee that would be run by civilians, preferably volunteers, to avoid corruption. I called the uh city manager's office to request that this get like pushed further because I think it's absolutely necessary. There is a child trafficking problem here and in

1:35:37 Eugene. I've had to make multiple police reports about the same stuff happening in the same places on repeat. And I don't make this stuff up. My reports contain video evidence, thermal imaging, uh, blood stains, missing person's reports, vehicles with mismatched license plates. Um, there's a quiz on the Department of Homeland Security website you can take for like if you're able to recognize human trafficking or not. I get 100% on that quiz and I'm studying criminal justice. Um, and I was basically told by the Springfield Police Department that I would be arrested if I continue to report this. As a citizen, I have a right to report suspicious activity. And not only do I have a right to, I feel it's my duty because as a community, we need to look out for each

1:36:23 other. We need to look out for each other's safety, especially those of the people that can't speak for themselves. And a lot of times they don't because people that are in these trafficking situations, they're groomed, they are threatened. Fear is instilled in them to teach them not to talk, not to speak about certain things. So, if I see something that seems off to me, I feel an obligation to speak about that. And they've tried to weaponize crisis response against me, which I find disturbing because I'm going to play for you a clip. And this is from Jonathan Lockwood, who works for Kim Dasher's office. You don't have to take my word for any of this stuff, okay? But basically what he's talking about is the state is profiting off CPS pulling kids out of their homes, putting them in these residential facilities, and you're

1:37:09 going to hear what happens there, but they're getting sexually abused. They're being made to make first responders uniforms. So maybe that's why they don't want me reporting it. I don't know. Um, and I'm going to play this clip for you. And the last thing I'm going to say on my end is I feel like you guys owe not only me but this community a response on this this issue. Sorry. When I was working on the state's so-called foster care system, state custody system, child trafficking system, where hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars is being profited on the backs of those kids. Oregon was taking kids out of homes. the secretary

1:37:55 for the department under Kate Browns sat across the seat from me in Senator Thatcher's office who I was working with and told me you act like you were just taking kids out of homes and I looked at him and I said that is exactly what you're doing and I said you will address the senator with the rest of your questions. That's what they were doing. They were sending kids across state lines into psychiatric facilities with human rights violations, including a rape room with blood smeared across the wall. Kids getting Next two cards I have are Fabian Gomez Fernandez and Mike Coralof.

1:39:01 Uh counselors, mayor, staff, I would first like to thank you all for the opportunity to speak in front of all of you today. Uh I am here tonight to stay here for the record. >> Oh, sorry. Uh my name is Steven Gomez Fernandez. I a resident of Ward 4. Um thank you all for your time. Uh, I'm here today to show my strong support for Calli Akan for the Ward 4 council seat. In the short time I have known Cali, she has left a tremendous impression on me. I have seen firsthand her ability to ensure that every voice is heard in conversations. I've also seen her ability to ensure that I've seen her ability to ensure that questions are asked that not only spark the most lively and fruitful

1:39:47 conversations I have ever been a part of in meetings, but I've also seen her get information from expert matter professionals, weigh the pros and cons of every single piece of data that reaches uh the packet that we read and make a decisive, thorough, and proactive decision in every single one of these choices. For these reasons and many more, she has gained the respect and admiration of many Springfield residents, me including, and this is why I would like to again advise you guys to please appoint Cali for the C4 uh word position. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh I'm Mike Quuea. I reside in ward 2 up

1:40:34 on Kelly but um I'm coming here again to ask you to support Kellyan for the ward 4 vacancy. There is no better candidate for this position. She brings a substantial resume as a veteran, a small business owner, and is knowledgeable about city government, budgeting, housing, and land use. She brings a perspective as a younger person and a renter that we don't have on the council. She studies all the information that's presented by staff is always prepared for discussions and actively seeks out information and takes the time to fully understand the issues that are facing the cities the city. I have been

1:41:19 particularly impressed with her work on the planning commission, especially when dealing with the state mandates for housing, transportation, and environmental regulation. I think that she's a really good example of a young leader in our community. And I would actually be honored to see her on the council. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Uh the next two speakers are Timothy Murvas and Clive Fireside. Good evening. Uh, Mayor Van Gordon, uh, councilors,

1:42:05 thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. For the record, my name is Timothy Morris and I'm here representing myself. Uh I am here today to join the chorus of support for Cali. >> Could you state your address or location in the city for the record too, please? >> Uh I am a resident of Eugene. Um yes. Um but I am here today to speak in favor of Cali Ackland and join the chorus of support for her. Um I will be brief. Uh Cali has done her work in talking to community members uh asking questions and sharing her vision for what the city could look like. Um, and in these conversations, Cali, uh, uh, in conversations with Cali that I myself have had in, uh, with community members with Cali and with leaders across

1:42:50 Springfield, there is a common thread that continues to come up each and every time. And Cali is asking this question, how do we make Springfield better for everyone? This is who you want by your side. a partner who supports vulnerable communities, a small business owner and veteran who has already given much to Springfield, and a well-informed leader who truly cares. I urge you to support uh and vote to appoint Cali Acklland to be on your side. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> My name is Kai Fireside. I live inside Ward One. As you deliberate tonight over who to appoint to the open council seat, I ask that you consider the community. Of the applicants, there are two who I regularly see volunteering in our

1:43:35 community and I stick my nose in a lot of community business. But CJ man is someone that I see everywhere and every time I run into her, she greets me warmly by name. Whether that's at city hall or the Wildish theater, she is out there in the community volunteering her time. The other applicant is of course Kelly Ackland and you've heard a lot about her tonight, but the fact that she shows up for the community means that she values us and values cannot be taught. These two women are the applicants who truly value this community and one of the two of them should sit in that empty chair. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, I have Amelia and Evelyn Pyre.

1:44:22 And then My name is Ollie and I am 7 years old. I wanted to speak today because the library is very important to me. I like to go to the library and a lot of kids grown-ups and even teenagers do too. Friends meet, kids read, and children play. The library teaches us things just like a school does. Story time is very, very popular, too, and my friends would be hope broken if you took it away. Please, it is very important that you don't take money away from the library.

1:45:10 >> Hi, my name is Alyn and I am 5 years old. I am here to talk about the library and the librarians. I think we need to get librarians back because the librarians help us the library and help kids learn to read and do other fun things like crafts and games. The library. The librarians are important to me. I would feel sad if the library got rid of story times. I I like when when the librarians read books to us. Please keep our library safe.

1:46:05 I'm going to give a one time exception to clapping for the kids. The next two cards I have are Ariel Sexton and Hava. >> Mayor, city council. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak. My name is Hava Cronin. I am a Eugene resident. I'm here to share my support and enthusiasm for Cali Acklland for Springfield City Council. I worked in Springfield for Head Start of Lane County for 15 years. During that time, I was a member of the G Street Oasis steering committee where I had the pleasure to work with then

1:46:51 counselor member Shawn Van Gordon. That program continues to this day serving Springfield's most vulnerable families with children. I retired from Head Start in January. The last three years of my career, I was the housing specialist. This is where my connection with Cali begins. I first met Calie through the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association call line. As a housing specialist, I called CEDA on a regular basis for information and guidance. Cali was often on call and was extremely helpful with tenant landlord laws and information relevant to the client needs. CEDA plays a vital role for tenants in our community being the only free resource for housing information support. Their data collection is invaluable for city planning and policies related to housing

1:47:36 issues. Callie's commitment to her work as the tenant support specialist with CEDA while being a college student is commendable. Her resume, which I'm sure you have seen, is replete with community focused expertise. Her expansive employment and volunteer experience includes leading the Save the Library campaign here in Springfield, managing a smart reading program, energy, ensuring voter integrity with the League of Women Voters, and owning two small businesses, and being appointed to the Springfield Planning Commission. And this is just a partial list. Tally also served our country in the United States Navy, translating highly sensitive communications under pressure for counterterrorism purposes. Through these work and volunteer positions, Cali has

1:48:22 demonstrated the following skills: business administration, detailed analysis, personal management, and planning skills. And that is just a partial list of her qual qualifications for a seat at the Springfield City Council. Our news is filled with how politicians are out of touch with the people. We see that daily on a national level. Local politics must be different. We need policy makers who serve the community at large and focus on the most vulnerable amongst us. Cali has that real world experience. So necessary for making good policies. Cali brings incredible qualities to anything she undertakes. The council needs representations from a younger generation, someone who is a veteran and also a renter. I truly believe that Cali will be a great asset, communicator, and

1:49:08 collaborator for the Springfield City Council. Thank you. Hi, my name is Ariel Ston and I am a resident of Springfield. I am here today to speak about our library, which is very fitting considering it's National Library Week. I'm hesitant to wait for the budget meeting next month because you are already making changes without us. Mr. Mayor, I will use some of your own words to describe the importance of the library. Whereas libraries serve as vibrant community hubs connecting people with knowledge, technology, and resources while fostering civic engagement, critical thinking, and cultural enrichment. Libraries empower job seekers and entrepreneurs by providing access to resources that support job growth and economic success. Those are great words, and they are true

1:49:54 words, but from what we can see so far, they seem like just words. Cuts have already been made, and a librarian has already been fired. All will the city manager receives a raise. What is yet to come? Please prioritize the library and implement a small 01% increase to the proposed payroll tax. Also, I want to add my name to the list of people here asking you to please appoint Cali Aan toward four. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next cards I have are Mary Harwood and Diane Peterson.

1:50:47 Mayor Van Gordon and members of the city council. My name is Diane Peterson and I'm a resident of Springfield. I'm here to express my strong support for the appointment of Cali Aklland to the Springfield City Council. Cali stands out for her consistent commitment to treating everyone, fellow council members, city staff, and the public, with respect, politeness, and professionalism. In every interaction I've observed, she approaches people with care and a willingness to listen, regardless of political differences or personal relationships. I see this as a common thread throughout what I've learned about her work. Her background reflects both community involvement and thoughtful leadership. As a small business owner, she created a zerowaste store that became a welcoming community space. She organized events supporting

1:51:32 local entrepreneurs and artists, hosted nonprofit meetings, and brought people together around shared goals. Her work earned recognition from a local city council for sustainable practices, showing her ability to build respect across perspectives. In her current role as a tenant rights specialist, Cali focuses on education and empowerment. She helps people understand their rights and engage constructively in civic processes. Her approach is collaborative. She listens, supports, and equips others to participate with confidence and dignity. Through her service on the planning commission, she has demonstrated the ability to weigh diverse perspectives and contribute thoughtfully to decisions shaping Springfield's future. Combined with her military experience, she brings

1:52:17 professionalism, discipline, and the ability to work effectively within complex systems. Across all of her work, Cali consistently shows a belief in treating people with dignity, and making space for every voice. She comes prepared, listens carefully, and knows how to disagree respectfully while maintaining strong working relationships. As a Springfield resident with two young children in Springfield public schools, this appointment matters to me. Cali has the qualities needed to serve all Springfield residents and to continue moving our community forward together. I strongly urge you to appoint her to the Springfield City Council. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. Thank you for your time and the opportunity to speak. My name is

1:53:02 Mary Harwood. I won't reiterate all of the numerous reasons that the proposed library cuts are poor governance and bad ideas generally. I want to talk about process. Process is the highway system of democracy. It gets us where we need to be. The stops along the way are carefully planned. There are laws about how fast we can go and when we can pass and when we must slow down. The point of public comment is so that you will know about how the community feels regarding say proposed budgets and rules, the signs on the roadside to point in the right direction, if you will. You are deciding how our tax dollars are going to be spent. The problem with the city's process is that you are not listening.

1:53:48 Have you heard from anyone who is in favor of proposed cuts to our library? We've been asked to trust the process. The process appears to be to wait until it is too late to do anything about it and pretend that there was nothing else that you could do. Why waste our time if you never planned for any other outcome? Deflecting responsibility and accepting predetermined outcomes are not the same as having no options. You alone are responsible for this decision. Not the city management which has already begun to implement the budget cuts proposed cuts 2 and a half months before the proposed budget cuts are supposed to take place and weeks before formal public comment and voting will take

1:54:34 place. Taking action before voting makes the public comment process pointless. For the council to passively allow this to happen is the same as giving your wholehearted approval. If you act or do not act, both are decisions. It is not too late to change course. These cuts are not inevitable. Many alternatives were shared with you tonight when you listen to um comments regarding the payroll tax. Please consider these alternatives. Would anyone here who supports a well-funded library please raise your hand? Thank you. Council, you may not you may or may not be reading the great books that the library provides, but you can

1:55:20 at least read the room. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next two items uh cards I have are uh Cadence Williams and James Anderson. James Anderson. I live in Springfield, Ward 4. So, just uh to rehash everything, just to uh summarize everything, recently you

1:56:05 decided to close the Springfield to parts of the Springfield Library and Museum right around the time you decided to give city manager Nancy Newton a big raise and she's making over $200,000 a year now. Well over. Um I've been informed. I was wondering if you could confirm for me. I've been told that the city is planning on installing a huge fitness center right here in city hall. Maybe you can confirm for for the community whether that's true while you're making cuts to the library. I've also been told that city manager Nancy Newton's breakroom area is getting brand new stainless steel appliances while the old appliances are still

1:56:50 functional. That's just what I was told. Maybe you can confirm for the for the community. Mayor Sean Van Gordon, your mayor's fiscal stability task force uh consisted of approved costs of hiring not one but two advisory companies to manipulate the task force. Uh Eco Northwest and Funk Levis were hired. Uh Funk Funk Levis on their website states that they offer marketing services and PR. How much did you approve to pay for these two uh advisory uh committees? Um again, I'm going to remind the community that the city the city charter states that the council has the power and the

1:57:37 duty to hire and fire the city manager and the city attorney. I think you should answer to the community and um and see what they want they want you to do. You're supposed to serve us. >> Hello. Uh, my name is Cadence Williams. I live and work in Ward 4. Um, and I am here to emphatically endorse Cali Akan to city council. Um, I've worked directly for her on several different projects and observed on a daily basis the leadership, the integrity, the

1:58:23 discipline and community- based thinking that I believe is critical for the role that you are looking to fill for our city. Um, Cali grew up in Kaiser, Oregon, actually only an hour north of us here in Springfield. Pretty similar city dynamic of a bigger city capital next to us as the smaller city to the side. Um, you can look back to as young as 15 years old to see a demonstration of her relentless grit and care for others when she started her first business, Grab a Gown, which was a shed in her backyard converted into a affordable formal dress rental shop with thrifted and donated items. Um, after serving in the Navy, as many people mentioned, um, she then launched Hippie Haven, a zero waist store and community space. Her commitment to sustainable

1:59:08 business and operations earned the store an award and I saw firsthand how she supported other small businesses through mentorship and practical help. Kell's uh approach to tenant advocacy is equally pragmatic and empowering. Um since October 2024, she has worked at CEDA as a tenant um support specialist coaching tenants on self- advocacy and connecting people to services without judgment. Um the perspective and firsthand knowledge is direly needed on our council as almost half of our residents are renters including myself. Um her ongoing studies in political science with minors in sustainable business and climate studies reinforce her hands-on experience that she is already bringing to the table. Um Callie's priorities in housing justice, small business development, and community building aren't abstract to

1:59:53 her. These have been part of her daily life for years. Um, I've watched her organize volunteers for various causes, run voter registration drives, support youth development programs, and contribute to Lane Community uh, health improvement plan. She leads by example and brings people together around realistic and compassionate solutions. Um, in my opinion, no other candidate demonstrates the same lifelong commitment to serving others. Um, active patriotism, genuine leadership, visionary outlook, and determination to get things done. as a student, a veteran, and a renter. She would bring a fresh and much needed perspective to the council, something that is unrepresented among yourselves and the candidates alike. Um, and I think you'd be

2:00:39 hardressed to find another allrounder capable of juggling the nuances of policy and people management needed for such a position like this. And my word would suffer losing such a paragon for our city. Uh, thank you for coming to my TED talk. >> Thank you. Uh, the next two cards are Ruth Seager and Taylor Harwood. >> Good evening. My name is Ruth Seager and I live in Eugene. I'm here tonight to support Cali Acklland like a whole bunch of people in the room, which is fun to see. Callie is interested in your vacant

2:01:25 ward four position on the city council here in Springfield. Calie is hardworking, she's honest, she's reliable, and she's effective. I met Cali for the first time just about a year ago. We volunteer together now at a nonprofit nonpartisan organization here in Lane County. And upon joining, Calie stepped right up to take on some work that was uh in need of some serious leadership. She has outperformed my expectations in a large way. She's done so with efficiency, uh, collaboration, and abundant kindness. She works well with others. She is a good listener.

2:02:10 She is conscientious about time management in scheduling both herself and others. She stays on task. She excels at comprehensive followup. I can say without any hesitation that Cali would be a terrific asset to the Springfield City Council and in my opinion she is one of Lane County's emerging next generation leaders. I refer you to the letter I submitted on March 2nd for additional information and I thank you so much for the opportunity to be here tonight. >> Thank you. >> Hi again. My name is Taylor Harwood. to live in W three and my um I'm speaking tonight on behalf of myself and not my

2:02:56 employer. I recommend that you all appoint Callie Acklland to the vacant ward for a seat. Her impressive resume, character, and work ethic will allow her to hit the ground running and get to work for Springfield. I appreciate her intelligence, leadership, and passion for Springfield, as well as her kindness, and most of all, her hard work and followthrough. I also appreciate that um there might be someone on the council of my generation, especially as someone who was born and raised in Springfield and works here and really cares about the community. As a renter myself, I really value her experience supporting tenants and as a renter. I've actually had to use um the CEDA as a resource and I really appreciated that it was there for me.

2:03:42 Housing is essential for a healthy community and this council can show that it's a priority by picking Cali Akan to represent Springfield. Thank you all for your time. >> Thank you. Um we are at the end of 45 minutes. Uh Neil, how many hands do we have up? So we can just do a quick checkin. >> Currently we just have one. >> Okay. So I have one, two, three. I have five more cards. So, are is everybody comfortable continuing? Okay. Um, why don't we go to the online queue to make sure we get them in and then we'll go we'll return back to the cards.

2:04:27 >> All right. Online we have Dan. Hi, Stan. And Dan, you should be able to unmute your microphone. >> Okay. Can you hear me? >> We can. >> Great. Hello, my name is Dan Hston. I live in Ward 2 in Springfield and and thanks for your time tonight. So, I'm going to read a quote real quick. Uh quote, "The Springfield City Council is committed to fostering an environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. Springfield is a diverse community, and we celebrate diversity of culture, background, experience, and thought," unquote. So, this language originates from the Springfield City Council's statement on the council's website. And these are, you know, they're powerful

2:05:12 words, but only if they're embraced as more than just a feel-good check the box action with no follow through. And so, it's within this context that I wish to express my enthusiastic support for the appointment of Cali Acklland to the Springfield City Council. Tonight, I see an opportunity to address these lofty aspirations of inclusion by adding a voice on the council that more accurately reflects the community's diverse population. And that voice is Callie's. Like approximately 45% of our Springfield friends and neighbors, Callie's a renter. If she were to join the council, it's my understanding that she would be the only council person who does not own a house. In other words, she would be the only renter. Her voice would give that segment of the population nearly half of our community,

2:05:58 the agency it currently currently lacks, and the insight this governing body desperately needs. Callie would also better represent the median age of Springfield residents, about 37 12 years old, that again is absent from this elected board. her youth, her energy, and her connection to the experiences of living in a time of extreme economic hardship would be invaluable and provide much needed change. While she is young, she is not inexperienced. She's a former small business owner, a Navy veteran, and most importantly, a tenant rights specialist with the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association and a member of the Springfield Planning Commission. In the time I've known Calie, I've been

2:06:43 impressed by her tenacity, her courage, her professionalism, and perhaps most importantly, her willingness to actively listen and learn. I think it's obvious by the many comments tonight. It's been incredible. Actually, um I'm not alone in these feelings. So, summing up, if the council seek seeks to live by the lofty aspirations it purports to embrace, you will appoint Cali Ackland. Thank you. Thank you. Nothing even in their hands. No other hands. Okay, then we're going to go back to the cards. Uh Tasha Cardona and Sean Daniel.

2:07:39 >> Good evening. My name is Sean Daniel and I live in Ward 2. I appreciate the chance to talk tonight. So, thank you. Uh, I just like to express my support for the appointment of Calli Akan to the Springfield City Council like so many others. Um, in getting to know Calie, uh, I've seen how she puts community service front and center and how she's responsive to questions and concerns from community members. Cali uh understands what it's like to be a business owner as others have said and she understands the effect that a business can have on the community in thinking about community also as others have alluded to. Um she brings that important perspective as a renter to the council. Um and her work as with the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association shows how she can uh take

2:08:24 complex legal information and make it accessible to everyday folks. She answers questions with patience and clarity. And as again, as others have stated, she treats everyone with dignity. Callie's service on the Springfield Planning Commission shows how her ability to listen carefully uh to testimony and make recommendations knowing that these policies decisions uh affect people's lives. Uh they affect our homes, our businesses, our neighborhoods. And finally, Cali has extensive experience as a volunteer uh by supporting young students and families as a coordinator for the smart reading program, as a cadet leader mentoring youth through military style training, as a museum dosent sharing local history, and as a community outreach

2:09:09 coordinator teaching non-violence. So, for all those reasons, I know Callie would serve the people of Springfield well, and I recommend that you appoint her to the the council without delay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hi, I'm Tasha Cardona. I live in Springfield in Ward 3. Uh I 10 years ago I chose to live in Springfield really very intentionally. Um and I'm really proud to be a community member and to have built a life in a community here. One of the main reasons I felt at home in Springfield is because I could see and experience a society with a robust middle class. I could see the effort

2:09:55 made into making our downtown beautiful and investing in public safety, um, new school buildings like Hamlin Middle School where my daughter will be going be a sixth grader next year. Um, and investing in our infrastructure. I live off of 14th and um I appreciate the new road and sidewalks. So I just really appreciate um living in a city that invests in its community. So that's why I felt compelled to express and I have in uh previously and will continue to do so my deep concern when I learned of the catastrophic budget cuts made to the library. I've heard the argument everyone's taking cuts, departments are taking cuts. I understand we have, you know, a

2:10:42 fiscal cliff and it's a big problem to solve. Um, but when we look at the numbers, that argument falls apart. Um, roughly a roughly $300,000 cut to the library represents something of about 10 to 15% of the total budget. So, this really fundamentally changes what the library can offer. Um, meanwhile, reduction to, for example, police funding, which of course this isn't about library versus the police. In fact, investing in a library is really beneficial to um a healthy police force. Um but of course that's our largest line item budget and their budget cut was 1 to 3% um depending on the numbers that you cut. So um that is not a shared sacrifice to fix this budget uh

2:11:27 shortfall problem. um that is five to ten times deeper proportionately to uh the library and it's being applied to one of the most impactful um services that we have. I mean there's data that is endless to show the reduction in poverty which means reduction in crime and then we are also all going to be facing the major cuts to Springfield public schools. Um, I've heard of closing schools on the table, uh, cutting um, vice pres, uh, principles to elementary schools on the table. Those are catastrophic cuts. And so, this is the time we actually need to increase our library funding and provide those services. Um, I also appreciate the statement that someone made of how

2:12:12 just kind of deeply um inappropriate and um lacking in empathy it is for city officials to have their salaries increased while our librarians are getting laid off. Thank you. >> Thank you Kristen Cure and uh Nick Auru. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Uh Jojo Breastlin. Okay. So, it looks like Nick, you are going to be the last one. >> Good evening. My name is Nick Aguo and I am representing myself and a resident of Springfield. I'm here today as a proud resident of this community to speak in

2:12:58 support again of Cali Aklland's appointment to our city council. I've had the priv privilege of knowing Cali for some time now and I can tell you with confidence she is exactly the kind of person that should be a part of this council. I'm here to talk to you about her extreme attention to detail and professionalism and her work supporting low-income residents. I'm delighted to see how many other people came here to share examples of this from so many different places. It's abundantly clear that Cali is the strongest candidate to fill this position. Cali approaches every challenge with deeprooted ethics. Integrity isn't optional in public service. It's the foundation with Cali. This community can trust that every decision she makes will be guided by what is right for citizens, not just what's easy. Callie doesn't just show up uh sorry, Cali doesn't doesn't just show up. Um she's fully committed, fully

2:13:44 engaged, and fully invested in the people around her. Callie's work has given her a deep understanding of the support systems and social services as a tenant educator providing information on local services. She's a genuine firhand understanding of the challenges facing residents of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, not from a distance, but with real empathy and practical knowledge providing education and support to our community. We know how hard it can be to get people involved, and today is just a small example of what Cali can do. What more could you ask for in a counselor than someone with such intimate knowledge of support for those who need it the most? What more can you ask than someone who can inspire so much confidence to come into this room and speak today? This council deserves someone who is detail- oriented, principled, passionate, and deeply connected to the needs of all our residents. Cali is that person, and

2:14:30 everyone on this side of the room can see it, and I hope you do, too. >> Thank you. That was the last card that I had. Was there any council response? Okay. Um, the one we still have two items before we get to W four, so please be patient with us. The one recommendation I would have especially for folks that are here about library funding, the schedule for budget committee is up online and it's got the process and that will be the place where we will both take public testimony and deliberate about what we want to do at that point. All right, next item please. Next item is ordinances. Ordinance number one is the annexation of territory to the city of Springfield Park and Recreation District. Annex 1.94 acres of R1

2:15:18 residential property located at map 18-02-05-24 tax lot 061000 withdrawing the same territory from the Willenzi Springfield Rural Fire Protection District. Mark Rust is here for this item. >> And council, while uh Mark is coming up to get settled, this also would be an opportunity to report any additional exparte contacts that you may have had since the hearing uh at the last regular session and this day. This is for the annexation item. If you have nothing to declare, you can just move forward. >> We don't need to go down the road. Okay. I'm not seeing anybody have additional items. Hello, Mark. Good evening, councilors and mayor. Um, Mark Rust with current planning for the city of

2:16:04 Springfield. I have nothing further to add. The only reason this wasn't on consent tonight was so you had the opportunity to declare any additional exparte context. So, our recommendation is the same as it was at the hearing two weeks ago, and that is for adoption. >> All right. Thank you. I think we're ready for a motion. I move to adopt an ordinance annexing certain territory map 18-02-05-24 tax slot 061000 to the city of Springfield and Wamalain Park and Recreation District withdrawing the same territory from the Willenzie Springfield Rural Fire Protection District adopting a severability clause and providing an effective date. >> I will second that. >> Could you call the vote please?

2:16:49 >> Yes, Council Weber. Yes. >> Council Mo. >> Yes. >> Councelor Rodley. >> Yes. >> Councelor Buck. >> Yes. And councelor Stout. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Motion passes. Five yeses, zero nos. Next item. >> Under business from the city manager. Item number one is the fiscal year 2027 community development block grant or CDBG annual action plan. Aaron Field is here for this item. Good evening, mayor and council. Um, I'm here tonight uh seeking your approval of the fiscal year 2027 community development block grant annual action plan.

2:17:34 As you know, each year the city is entitled to receive an allocation of CDBG funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD. In order to receive these funds, the city must develop an annual action plan describing how it plans to allocate funds to address local community needs. The proposed uses of funding must align with allowed uses within the CDBG grant program as well as with local community needs and strategies that were identified in the 2025 Eugene Springfield consolidated plan. As we talked um at the last work session on February 23rd, the annual action plan activities need to align with the strategies in the consolidated plan. Um but they can only be CD those are only CDBG funded activities. The

2:18:19 council does a number of other strategies in your work beyond the CDBG funding that also align with those strategies. For fiscal year 2027, Springfield is projected to have a total of about 550,000 in CDWBG funding available. And as part of our community participation process, um the council's community development advisory committee has met twice and held two public hearings. They met on January 28th. They met again on April 8th. Um in between that, we came uh to council for your direction on putting out the draft action plan. that action plan was put forward for 30 days. We received two public comments. Those public comments are included in the packet. Um those

2:19:04 comments were addressed at this community development advisory committee meeting on April 8th. Um and the committee has put forward a recommendation for allocation. Um to sum up, um the CDAC is recommending allocation for this year's action plan for three activities. one um for the home repair program about 362,000. Um as you know the home repair program helps fund lowincome homeowners with needed home repairs and maintenance to address issues of health, safety, and accessibility. Homeowners must earn no more than 50% of the area median income. Um, the CDAC is also recommending that the CDBG funds go toward supporting the

2:19:50 human services system. This is the city's contribution of CDBG funds to the Lane County Human Services Division. Um, and finally, the CDAC is recommending that the grant also support the administrative and planning of staff that goes into um administering the grant. Um, I'm available if you have questions. >> Councelor Rley, >> no questions. I promise I will not pick on you about wanting more of this and more braided of that. Um, I just wanted to say that um, I appreciate you, Erin, as you know, because we've been working on this for a while. And, um, I also appreciate that we've started to tell the story of the home repair program and how impactful that is to people's lives. And for folks who don't know, like this the city of Springfield doesn't

2:20:35 necessarily do human services, but we're part of a regional human services and councelor Weber and I sit on the human services commission and this is our contribution to that and I always am trying to get more and you are constantly reminding me that there is a cap and then I want to go to Washington and fight HUD to get more money to do that. Um but and the this funding for folks also is this is like unencumbered funding because when we contribute this to the human services um kind of collective then it can be used in all sorts of ways. It's very different than grant funding which is tied to specific things and so it's it's like gold. I think that there was something in here

2:21:20 from Kate Bud who probably will say that that money is like gold. So I am glad that we get to continue to do this. I will probably continue to pick on you, just not tonight, to try to get more of that to contribute to human services or more money from other places. But I just wanted to say that for folks to know that that this is this is hard money to come by. It hasn't grown much and we try to do the most good for the people who are most impacted um with this funding. So, thank you. >> Anybody else? I think we're ready for the motion. I move to approve the fisc year 2027 community development block grant annual action plan and authorize the city manager to execute all documents needed to give effect to the city's agreement

2:22:06 with the US department of housing and urban development for these funds. >> I will second. >> Could you call the vote, please? >> Yes. Councelor Weber, >> yes. >> Councelor Mo, >> yes. >> Councelor Rodley, >> yes. >> Councelor Buck, >> and Councelor Stout? >> Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. Five yeses, zero nos. Next item, please. >> Any other business from the city manager? >> Just very quickly, I also want to echo councelor Riley's uh sentiments about Aaron's work with um the CDBG plan. It's really hard to administer these federal programs. And it seems like the uh paperwork and red tape gets increasingly more each each time. And so, Erin, thank you for that. Uh the work that you do directly makes people's lives better in our city. And I'm very proud of that and

2:22:51 proud of your work. So, thank you. >> The next item is business from the city attorney, the ward for interim counselor deliberation and decision. And Mary Bridget is here for this item. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm here to uh facilitate the next item, which is the deliberation for the Ward 4 vacancy. I have a few procedural matters before uh you get going on the deliberation. One has to do with the uh public comment in the packet. For this um vacancy, we tried to collect public comment and then include that in the packet and that would be written comment that came in to councilors or the city

2:23:36 manager's office. It should be reflected in the packet. If it's not in the packet, um I do want the public to know that it did get forwarded to the council. So, if they didn't make the cut for getting published in the packet, those u materials did still get to the decision makers. Um, also before you start your deliberations, I'd like to have a conversation about voting. So, you um can get that part of it out of the way to before you move on to your discussion. So, this item tonight for a um filling award vacancy requires a vote of four. There would be five votes. It's an uneven number. So, the mayor would not vote in this because it would not be breaking a tie. Um, I laid out some voting methods in the memo. Um, and I thought we could

2:24:22 just go through those now. I do recommend that you arrive at and make a decision about what kind of method you want to do for voting. That doesn't mean you're forced into voting right away. You have plenty of time to deliberate this item. But in the effort of transparency and clarity for the folks and yourselves, I think it would be good to have a discussion about voting and sort of get that off the table. Um there were four voting methods in your uh packet. The first one is um the one that I would recommend and it's a successive ballot with elimination. So in this one, you wouldn't be doing motions or nominating folks. It would just be and I think for this what I'd like to do is I'd like to call the vote and then Allison and Neil will tally. So we're sort of dividing up which is a little

2:25:07 different than what we would do. Um but with this one I would just start like on one end call them out work out this way. Then we would tally those votes and you would have if you don't get to four votes if you get to four votes you can make your appointment. If you don't get to four votes, then what you can do is um eliminate or remove um any candidates who did not get um who got lesser votes or no votes and then you just keep you could have more discussion or you could keep voting. The second method is a little more normal about how you um typically do your business and it has um motions and seconds. So, it's familiar, but it can get a little cumbersome when you're trying to have um when you have multiple candidates um for one office.

2:25:53 So, that's one reason why there's some drawbacks with that one. The third one is a two-stage voting. You know, sometimes what council will do is they'll take a vote um similar to the first method where I just said that we would list out people. The candidates with the two highest um then become essentially the two that you vote for. So then you they would be like your pool. That may um not work as well. It may not be um the council may not want to get to two candidates so quickly. Um so that's something to keep in mind. The fourth one I included is a modified rank choice voting. I don't know that I would recommend that um at this point. I'd come up with that earlier in the process. Rank choice voting is getting more popular. So I thought it would make it an option. It might be something more

2:26:39 appropriate for uh like a BCC appointment. But in that one, um, you actually write out a written ballot of all of your choices. Since this is a public meeting, we'd have to read it and then we would go through the rank choice, um, voting process. If you want to do that, we'd kind of have to get set up and do a little recess when you're ready to vote. But I did want to have that available for folks. So, if you want to start talking about voting and have any questions, I'm ready. >> I don't know that we need to make any cutting edge uh, democracy technology this evening. Councelor Rodley, >> thank you. I appreciate all that. Could we do and just to be fun like could we do a modified of the right choice? Could we do which we've done in the past is say here's my top two like one and a two as opposed to a one and to five. >> I mean

2:27:25 >> get us into a a more narrow. Yeah. >> Um I think then that would be I would recommend you do the two-stage voting. Um and what we could do on that one is when we're calling we could have people say they're one and two. Is that what you're saying? >> That's what I'm saying. And then that would be your pool out of that. And then also keep in mind, yes, you I think you could do that. Um, and keep in mind if we start if you start voting and you get stalled out, then we can back out and look at process again. Like this is your show. >> I don't know if anybody else wants to do that. >> I just want us to go down the line. >> Council, >> I prefer the simple clean number one method. Okay.

2:28:11 >> Okay. Anybody else? >> Um I I I I guess I'm um kind of with uh with Corey uh here. Um Council Rodley. Um I I feel like that uh that method with the top two really speaks to what we've heard from the community >> being put on the spot. Um I would actually join with councilors Rodley and Buck on this one. >> Okay. >> Okay. So we need somebody the city attorney is going to want that in the form of a motion. So can councelor Bradley can you uh for a motion? You could just be do option option three.

2:28:56 >> I move on. >> Oh I turned it on. You turned it off. I move that we in our deliberation voting we list our first and second choice on the first round. I second. Okay. Um before I I ask for somebody to call a vote on this, Mary Bridget, could you clarify if we if under this voting does the who you list first matter? I just or we just trying to pull them. That's a good that's a good point. I don't think it does matter. I think you're just getting a pool of two candidates that you vote on further. >> If that's my that's my understanding, council. Yeah,

2:29:41 >> I I'm kind of seeing head nods that we're all working under the same assumptions. Okay. So, I don't know who's going to call the vote here. >> Well, I could I could do it since I think so. Okay. Okay. So, we have a motion on the floor to do a um a modified two-step stage voting where the council when they're called when their vote is called um they'll name two people. Is there a second? And there was a second. Councelor Buck, I'm sorry. Okay. And I'll go ahead and start to count the vote and I'll just start here. Councelor Buck. >> Um well, I'm in favor of uh looking at uh Cali Aan just motion the process. Just need a motion to do the process. Just yes or no? >> Yes.

2:30:27 >> Councelor Stout. >> Yes. >> Councelor Weber. Yes. Councelor Bradley. >> Yes. And councelor Mo. Okay. Now, um I will be quiet and you or unless you have a question can deliver. >> I just wanted to speak to the process before we do the vote. Go for it. If I can do that. >> Um I wanted to um there's a few things I want to say about the process. First and foremost, I would like to thank Allison for tracking all of the emails. It was, you know, some we got them to personal emails. They came in all the different ways. I know that I saw some of those emails probably 10 times as we were all trying to be as as um transparent as possible. So, I really appreciate Allison and the city manager's office trying to keep them as tidy as possible

2:31:13 for us. Um, the other thing I want to say is I was not here for the interviews and there were community members who did notice that um, and had opinions and feelings about that. I had surgery that morning. So, um, and was unable to get here in time, but I did watch all of the interviews the next morning first thing. So, and I will I'm I'm probably not the only one who feels like we had such an incredible pool. It's very exciting in Springfield. Often we have people who run for offices or are appointed without and not not to pick on councelor Buck, but you know a one person, you know, so it it just makes the democracy and the process so much better to make this very

2:31:58 difficult to choose. So it was great to watch all of those. Um I also want to say which I think is interesting and I just want to say it out loud in the times that I have been on council and we've had input. I don't know that we have ever had so much input from Eugene that Eugene had such strong opinions about who we put on our city council. I'm not sure how Eugene would feel if we had strong opinions about who we put on their city council. So, I found that to be a very interesting new development. I don't know it's a a predictor of the future or just unique to this, but mostly I just really appreciate staff for trying to keep us in on task as we move through this. So, thank you.

2:32:46 >> All right. Anybody else want to make comments? So, the the plan looks like you're going to give your top two. We're going to narrow the pool and then we're going to deliberate some more if people have other things they want to say. Okay. I think we're ready. >> Okay. Are you ready? All right. Okay. I'll start the first vote. Uh, councelor Buck. >> All right. So, okay. We're nominating my top two this time. Okay, I got it right. So, um, my top two are Callie Acklin and Luke Mallister. >> Thank you, Councelor Stout. >> My top two are Miss Quadro and Mr. Mallister. >> Uh, based on community feedback alone, Cali Acklland and Luke Mallister would be my two choices. Councelor Bradley, my top two are CJ Man

2:33:34 and um, Kelly Ackland. Cali Aland and Cayman. >> Okay, give me just a minute here to confer with the people telling. We can see the top two

2:34:36 Okay. The um tallies are four for Kellyan, three for Luke Mallister, and two for CJ man, one for Cuadros. >> Okay. So, that would mean that we would effectively uh talk about Cali and Luke next. Um before we do that, I want to thank Jill for applying like your commitment to this community. It it really has been noticed. Um as as we've read additional material um and then CJ who is the everpresent volunteer, your commitment through Will Amlain and on the Wildish theater. I noticed that and I appreciate it. >> Yeah. Go ahead. And I would just like to say to CJ that I have been honored to vote for you twice for this position. So, um, and the

2:35:22 other thing that I was going to say in the process is please run. Like this is this appointment is just through November. So, if this is something you're passionate about and as somebody who probably never could have gotten appointed to city council and had to run for it, please run if it's something you want to do, then just come on out and we'll do it. >> Okay. Now that councelor Rodley brought that up while we're getting organized, you make sure you check the calendar. It's like August when you have to file. So, okay. Um, do councelor Brock, go ahead. Um I just I I want to say that you know one of the things that I appreciate is the community really um asked us to invest our time in in looking at this not only through letters, phone calls,

2:36:10 um other communications. Um and and so did and so did the candidates themselves. You know, taking the time to meet with all of us how and get a sense of what's it like to be on this side and do I really want this? because that was my question. If if we appoint you, are you sure you really want to be part of this? And um I was able to ask that question to my top two and they both said, "Yeah, yeah." So, and I appreciate that. I think we could have uh picked probably three or four really good candidates out of this pool. And so, thank you, Springfield, for all of your feedback. This was not easy. Okay, M Bridget, do we need to select a

2:36:57 different voting method or can we or can we just go down the road? >> If you're ready to vote, I can just um we could do a vote now unless there's further um discussion or deliberation >> to add or people ready to vote. Give us their top selection. >> I think we're ready. >> Okay. All right. I will start working on the on my left. Uh, councelor Buck, name the candidate that you would like um to vote for. >> Um, it's very hard for me. Um, because I want them both. Um, I think probably based on all the feedback I would have to say Callie.

2:37:44 >> Councelor Stout, >> my vote is for Luke. Councelor Weber. >> My vote is also for Luke. >> Councelor Rodley, >> Kellyund, Councelor Mo, >> Kelly. >> That's a three votes for Kellyland and two votes for Luke Mallister. As I mentioned, this is a vote by the charter that requires four votes. So, impass now. You could have further conversation now or um provide me with direction of what you like to do. >> Well, we can't stall till November. So, we got to make a decision somehow. Does somebody want to jump in here about either the logic about why the person they had was first or Council Weber? Uh, so as councelor Buck mentioned, we have I know several of us

2:38:31 have met with um with both Cali and Luke. Um, I've watched planning commission meetings. I've read every recommendation that has been sent written uh submitted through email and I've considered many conversations with community members who shared their thoughts outside of that venue. Um I know a lot of people in the community they they call they stop you you know wherever in Rotary at Wamelene event wherever I am in the community and I'm sure I'm not the only one that has that experience up here. Um, so just meeting Calie and talking with her. Um, she's done a lot for the community. I know her her heart is in the right place. She has this interest in serving

2:39:16 Springfield. Um, I don't quite yet feel like she's ready to sit behind this um on this side of the the room um for six years. I have and I I understand that people don't necessarily agree with this, but I do know Luke. I have watched him for 6 years grow into the leader he is today. He didn't start there. He has taken six years to really work through a lot of different situations and become the person he is. He is a small business owner. He he really does invest his time in this community and his money in this community. Um he cares about this community a lot and I I just want everyone to know that. I've watched him navigate challenging situations

2:40:02 personally and professionally with humility, with grace, with curiosity, and with respect for differing viewpoints. He has a genuine desire to find the best possible outcome, and his professional experience, volunteer service, and fresh fresh perspective will be valuable in the discussions that we're facing in the near term. >> Uh, councelor Buck. Um, for me this this was really tough because I I definitely see all of the qualities that Cali brings to the table. Um, and I hear the support from the community. Um, and maybe what's not presented in the public view. You've seen it in the packets and things like that. But it's also, you

2:40:47 know, I think there's a strong argument for Luke as well. um his work on the Mama Foundation, building up a foundation that essentially wasn't functional and he was instrument in instrumental in making that functional yet again. Um creating partnerships not only with our team Springfield but with the uh business community through the chamber. Um they really spoke highly of his work and his ability to listen to all sides. Um, and so I'm I'm pretty conflicted here because I think both of them bring a lot to the table and I think different aspects of the community are really are really supporting both Luke and Calie. And so I don't think we have an easy decision here. I don't

2:41:32 think I don't know that there's a right or a wrong here in my head. Um I I think that it's really hard. I could support either of these candidates. Um, I wanted to make sure that both of them are considered tonight. Um, and so those are the things and I also want to say that I see the same things from Cali when she asked for feedback. What can I do differently? I gave her some feedback and then she implemented it. And so I think that really speaks strongly of of a person that's willing to take feedback even when it it means I have to change change course. So for me, I support I could support either of these candidates really easily and I I feel like I support both of them. >> All right. Anybody else want to jump in?

2:42:19 >> Okay. Um I think that one of the things that for me was a consideration in thinking about Luke is um we we already have very strong Rotarian representation on this council and thinking about having diversity of perspectives and as someone who for the majority of their adult life was a renter um probably longer than some other folks have been renters um it is I mean it is a perspective and I appreciated that about um when we had um councelor Pittz is that was a would come up when we would talk about that. So I do appreciate that perspective. So I think that's part of it for me is that there's there's this fine line between we want this work is very relational and

2:43:06 so we need people that have relationships and who are very grounded in Springfield. Um and it's helpful to have to diversify that as much as possible which is why I'm supporting Cali Did you have anything you wanted to add, council? >> Um, let's get moving. I'm Kelly. >> Okay. Uh, councelor Weber. >> Uh, just in response to councelor Rodley. Um, I don't know how the Rotary factors into this. I mean, that's just an organization people serve in. It's a place to to become a me, you know, part of the community. Every Rotarian does that in a different way. They're involved in different spaces. they, you know, they become,

2:43:51 they become people of really value that value community service in a huge huge way. Um, and and that's really the only kind of crossroad I see there. Um, I also was a renter for many many many many many years. I have a son and daughter who both rent. So, I do think that we have that viewpoint on this council and an appreciation for what it means to be a renter and how many like how challenging that really is in today's world. I I don't think we're missing that perspective. All right. I think we're going to try this again and see if if uh see where we're seeless anybody wants to

2:44:37 add anything else. >> Okay. Okay, let's let's try it again. >> Okay, let's try it again. All right, I'm starting the second vote. Councelor Buck, >> I I will say I was um a little surprised to hear Councelor Rodley say that um Rotary is a negative um for her. Uh so I think um that kind of nudged me a little bit. I'm going to vote for Luke this time. Okay. Councelor Stout, >> Luke, >> Councelor Weber, Luke, Councelor Rodley. And I would just like to clarify since we're all getting tired that Rotary is not a negative. It's just I'm

2:45:22 interested in balance. I think it's fantastic that folks are involved in Rotary and Wives Club and Girl Scouts and all of the things. Um, I'm still voting for Cali. Councelor Mo. >> Kelly. >> Okay. This vote is three for Mallister, two for Acklland. Uh you could do more discussion. Um you can back out and try a different process. Um or you can provide me with direction what you'd like to do. >> I think it depends on I'm looking at people to talk about how hard um how hard they're dug in here, right? Because we got to figure out a way through this. Our responsibility is to choose somebody. Um the two perspectives that I would offer having done this a minute is

2:46:09 uh look I was 31 when I joined the council like I don't like young folks can make uh make pretty great counselors. I do think we are missing a bet right like that is something this this community uh community uh values and then I think the last point that I would think about is just asking people to think broadly around what completes us as a team and I'm not describing who I who I want or not want you know and if we keep going I'll I'll get more in involved in that but I think the question becomes how what rounds us out as a group and if we and I would ask you as a group to think about how dug in you

2:46:54 are because if we can keep doing this and repeating this vote for a very long time but we got to figure figure out a way forward. It we're not obligated to stick with these two. We could go back to somebody else if that could get if that could get us to four. Does anybody want to jump in here? I guess the only thing that I'll say is um out of out of the five of us, I think I'm the least dug in here. I feel like I see I I I see um merit both ways and I'm pretty conflicted. So, I'm putting that out there. Not that that makes me a great decision maker at the moment here.

2:47:39 >> And and remember this very important fact. This isn't about getting one person to like you got to get to four here, right? So, we got to figure out how we can get like how we can get to four. So, I think what what we should do here is let is let Mary Burg call it again. And if we're still stuck, then I think we back up and have questions. We talk about the other two candidates we walk past and see if somebody could get to get to four around around there, like Yeah. around around a second choice. Um, does that work for folks? Okay. So, I will call uh the vote again between the two candidates, Acklland and Mallister. Councelor Buck.

2:48:25 >> Um I'm going to stay with Luke for right now. >> Councelor Stout >> Luke. >> Councelor Weber. Luke. Councelor Rodley. Kelly. And councelor Mo >> Kelly. >> Okay. So, uh, now, um, as the mayor discussed, we can back out of this voting method. You can have further conversation about all of the five candidates and then just tell me when you're ready to do a vote and I can do the vote with the same method where I just call. >> Thanks, friendly. >> Okay, this is exciting. Um, if we were to pull off the top two and go to a second choice, I think my first second choice would be CJ.

2:49:13 Let's see. I know you broke the whole you broke the whole system. Oh, >> so um before we start calling out names here, um I think people got to jump in to see what the what they think is a way forward, right? Again, we're not making creating obligations for yourself. We're not going to stumble into appointing somebody by accident. But if we can't if if you're so dug in that we're not going to move on the top two. I think the question I have is is there somebody on the bottom? Is there a third person that who's your third person? And can we and maybe and maybe we can have Mary Bridget just ask for your third person and kind of and just take a temperature check to see if maybe there's a path there. >> Okay. Okay. So then now I will call the vote uh in the same order asking for um

2:50:00 what Mayor Van Gordon has termed as a third person. So not one of the two top candidates. Uh councelor Buck. >> I just want to clarify Mary here. I'm voting for someone other than Luke and Callie because they're our top two. So the next one >> Yes. And I want to be very clear on this. I'm just asking for who per people's third person is so we can talk about that person. This if somebody stumbles into four here, right, we are saying they're not going to get appointed. >> Correct. I would um I would think of this as like a straw man uh ballot where um like you said, you're just taking the temperature to see if there's a c if one or two candidates emerge that are different than the other two. >> I'm I'm just going to trust the I don't understand, but I'm going to trust the process here and I'm just going to make

2:50:46 my vote. Um, so my if I was going down to number three, I would probably look at CJ man. >> Okay. Stout. >> Hard pick, but I'd still stick with uh Miss Cuadres, >> Weber, >> Jill, Cuadro, >> Bradley, >> CJ, ma'am, >> Mo. >> I don't have a third person, but Jill would be that. Okay. So, that's um by my count two uh for the straw um person ballot uh two two for man, three for quadr. Is that right? My mouth right there. Okay.

2:51:35 >> Having the six counselor would be really convenient here. >> See how important it is full counsel. >> Councley, >> I could support chill. Yeah, I think it gets one vote. >> Yeah, >> I mean, you know, as a as a number three, I could support Joel, too. >> Okay. So, I'm checking with with Steve. So, I think I think we have we have a couple of choices here. I don't want people to right to force people off their top two picks so we can stop and talk about the top two or if people are comfortable that they could get around Jill for their number one pick so we get to somebody um we can do that too. So I will I would

2:52:20 recommend we don't have Mary Bridget call anybody right now because we're going to get ourselves stuck again. But instead sort of talk talk a little bit about what path you want to take, right? Because if people are comfortable with going with a with a third person that we could get to four or if you want to spend more time trying to hash out this this other question between uh between Luke and Cali. I know people are getting tired. I knew this was going to be a long one. Anybody? Okay. Council Weber. >> So, I just want to remind everyone again that this is an appointment and the

2:53:07 voters do get to decide this ultimately in just a few short months. Um, whoever chooses to put their name in the hat there and run for, you know, run the campaign and do all the things. Um, ultimately will be selected by the the community. Um, so just kind of throwing that out there as we're considering what our next move is. >> Okay. But we also need you guys to weigh in about what you think the next move is because unfortunately for everybody I don't get a vote here and we're not taking public participation. But I appreciate Thank you though, Counc. I'm curious and you know

2:53:52 um I guess I'll direct this at you, Mr. Mayor. Um uh since you're not voting on this, I wonder if there's a way we could discuss if some if you know what it would take to move somebody. We have four counselors that you know seem to have strong feelings here and I really appreciate that. Um, and I'm wondering if that's maybe a tact to go. I don't know if that's a good idea or not. That could be an incredibly bad idea. I'm just asking the question of you. >> Uh, no. I think people opening up and talking about how to work their way through this would be perfectly appropriate. Um, right. Because here's somebody's going to have to make a decision here. And I would I would tell

2:54:38 you, well, here here's my advice. our number one responsibility to the public is to get to somebody here, right? Like coming away and not having having selected anybody is a huge mistake. Um, so we have to figure out how to get at least four people comfortable with some sort of decision, but it's going to require you guys sharing your thinking and being willing to kind of jump in and move around. Council Weber I want to go back a minute to the um the amount of public comment that we have heard for both Cali and for Luke. A lot of it was repeated tonight. Those are um those are folks that we've heard from

2:55:24 before through the written avenue. Um so I just want to keep that in mind that that they're not necessarily new voices. Some are, but not all of them. Yes, some are, but not all of them. Um Mr. Mallister also received a lot of really strong support and um I think really good character references from the community. So the community perspective is here and I think we need to appreciate that. >> I'm looking for councelor Rodley >> and I completely agree with councelor Weber. I think having the community perspective has been very very robust.

2:56:10 Um, and I we also got several letters for Jill, I would say. So, that's real, too. Um, and I also appreciate councelor Weber talking about the fact that this is like a a six-month appointment or a, you know, so for somebody to run for this is also fantastic. And it'd be great to see three or four people run for the seat as well as try to go for an appointment. Um, so I I just wanted to just second that and say that the community involvement has been fantastic. >> All right. Anybody else want to jump in here? So, I think we I I'm looking for feedback on two pass. Do you want to vote on your your top two again or do or can people

2:56:55 rally around a third choice here? duty here is to vote for one and I still only vote for Kelly. >> Okay. What about the side? The difficulty about this decision is not I mean yes it's the candidate but the difficulty is really are we in some way giving a leg up to the candidate who wants to file in the fall and I think that's the biggest concern I have is to

2:57:40 say okay in some way by choosing an appointment do we in fact give a leg up to somebody um so um if our council and this is this is one of those things where I've had to learn how to work together with this group and I've my respect for my colleagues has grown tremendously. Um that s that said I am more comfortable um is saying like yes I do have my top choice and I have my reasons for that and that's all well and good but I also very much appreciate and like Miss Cuadros in as an appointment especially if it's we're still talking about this is to get us so that we have six members because we don't function as well without six. It's very hard if any of us need to miss any time on council unless

2:58:26 we have six there. So, if we're still at an impass um and we can consider Miss Cuadro as a viable candidate, I would be supportive of her. Um that's this is more just me thinking out loud. So, um, you know, I think that, um, I I I wholeheartedly support, you know, some of the things that have been said by um, Councelor Weber as well as Councelor Rodley and Councelor Stout that um, ultimately this isn't really about our decision. This is about what the voters say in November. And I

2:59:11 really, really do encourage all the members, all the people who took the time to apply to run. Um that having been said, I also feel like the community has given input, you know, on this um for for the for in large support for two candidates. And so so for me um I struggle a little bit with picking a third. No, I if if the reason is and I'm and I'm unclear, so help me if I'm getting this wrong, but if we go to choice number three because we we can't agree

2:59:56 on choice number one and two, but that's who the community is is is really advocating for. So, I I'm a little confused with that. >> Uh that's a great question. Um to councelor Stout's point, right, whoever we select is probably going to have a leg up if they want to run in November because they will effectively run as a like a a semi-incumbent. My point I is that our responsibility ultimately is resides outside of outside of the political considerations about what happens at the ballot box. That is the public's responsibility to deal with. um we have rules and a process to make sure that we can care for the public's interest which is to fill up a vacant council seat up until this point.

3:00:43 So what I'm asking that you consider is outside of what who your number one choice is. Our duty still remains to the public that they need somebody to sit in the W four spot and it's going to take four of us to get there. Well, for you guys to get there, um, to be able to do that. And when I bring up a third option, it's to, uh, take everybody's temperature to say if everybody could get to a third option, then that gets us to four. That meets our responsibility to the public. If we could negotiate around the top two people and find somebody to get to four, then that's what we should do. But that the idea that we would leave the seat open or do something else um wouldn't make any

3:01:28 sense. So go ahead, councelor Rodley. >> And I really appreciate the question that you're asking, councelor Buck, because um you know it's this is such a perfect example of like compromise in real time, right? Which doesn't always feel great. Um and it also it's like how do we how do we meet our obligation? How do we do our very best and be willing to find ways that we can, you know, we can come to a decision together? So, I appreciate that question and just kind of asking us to dig into that. Okay. So, uh we feel stuck, which is fine. Um I think if people don't have

3:02:14 anything else to say, then maybe we try voting again and see if that triggers some conversation. Um, it is getting pretty late. Uh, so I think we we need to consider that. But, uh, go ahead, Councelor Buck. >> No, I'm just trying to get your attention. Council >> St. Council Stone. Um, this is tricky. Um, so I I think why don't we uh call the vote? I mean I'm going to withdraw my request to speak and then we'll see how the next vote goes and then I may chime in.

3:03:01 >> All right. >> So am I calling a vote a real vote? >> We're calling a real vote. >> Asking for what people's number one preferences, right? We're not asking them to rally around a third person. We're just asking them to state the straight up who they want to fit in for. Okay. All right. I will start again with councelor Buck. I again I I feel like um you know where I was at before was was Luke and I I don't feel like I've I've the discussion really hasn't moved me um back to to Cali based on on our deliberations. So

3:03:46 Luke >> Stout >> Luke >> Weber Luke Rodley Cali >> Mo >> Kelly >> Okay. So, I I ran for the state representative office in 2022, and one of the worst experiences, one of the most wonderful experiences of my life was sitting down with Betsy Johnson, who I loved as a governor candidate, and I still do today. She was exceptional. But one of the worst things that ever happened to me in that process was that I got a call from one of the Republicans saying, "You

3:04:31 shouldn't have shown up with Betsy Johnson at an event." And I was very concerned at that moment and I felt very compromising. I discussed this with my wife and I said, "Huh, so that's how we become all cogs in the machine." And I hated that moment and I hated myself in that moment. and I promised myself never to do that again. One of my deep concerns about Miss Acklland is perhaps her advocacy with the library has come at the behest of another political figure in town. That's certainly her choice, but it's also there. That said, let's just bring that into the open. That is a big concern to me.

3:05:17 But do I think she would be an exceptional candidate? Absolutely. If I heard her voice come through more clearly. The person that would presented herself at the planning commission appointment seemed very different with all of the subsequent um conversations that we had and all the continuous library comments. It was very concerning because what I felt was happening on the count planning commission level was that I had voted for somebody who is different than who was appearing before us week after week after week to support the library. I am a library supporter up here. I love the library. My kids go to the library all the time. It is a painful thing to look at this in and out. And trying to balance this in and out every single

3:06:03 week is so hard. So, I would be willing to support Cali if I simply had a promise from her. And I know this is a bit rhetorical, to bring more of her own voice forward. In the words of Fred Rogers, it's you I like. Not the things you wear, not the way you do your hair, but it's you I like. the way you are right now, the way down deep inside you. Not the things that hide you, not all your friends, but what's deep inside you. It's you that I like. Thank you, >> Council Ro. >> Oh, you tell some of us have been at this since I don't I I start work at seven. So, um um I I appreciate that. I

3:06:51 appreciate the vulnerability and you sharing that. And I think that one of the challenges is many of the decisions we make up here are are governing decisions. This is inherently a political decision, which doesn't feel great. And we've all got those emails from people. We've all probably I've heard more than many of if you do this and don't do that. So, um, so I I really appreciate you being vulnerable about that. I'm going to share I'm I'm going to match you with that and say for me, I I do not consider myself to be an activist at all. You all have worked with me and a lot of folks come here as activists and I think it is very helpful for people to get to see what it is like to have to make decisions on the other side of the table because when you are

3:07:36 on that side you can be 100% right. you can have, you know, you can be so right and when you get on the inside and learn all of the things that go into it like you're talking about with the library and I think it is helpful to have people to um be able to make that bridge and maybe they can and maybe they can't. And so I think for me part of my experience with Cali is I think it's helpful if someone gets to see what it looks like on the other side to have to navigate and negotiate with people that don't necessarily think that you're right. >> Thank you. >> I'd just like to thank uh councelor Stout for breaking the the vulnerability

3:08:22 mold here. Um, one of the things that really stood out for me during the interview process was uh the fact that Calie, what felt like to me every comment or um guidance or direction or different aspects of the conversation we had were basically repeated back to me. And I could also identify probably which counselors helped with the other uh the other components of her her responses. So what I'm saying here is I need to be able to trust the person that sits up here to be the real their real self and to be able to um to

3:09:10 make decisions from a p a place of neutrality. We have some big decisions coming ahead of us and and I just I just really don't feel like that is where she is right now. >> Councelor Buck. >> So my vote right now is for Luke, but if in fairness, I mean, you know, speaking to your point, Councelor Stout, Cali reached out. She said, "Hey, can I meet with you?" and I said, "Send me an email." Every time I saw her for a couple months, I'm like, "Hey, where's my email?" I got my email and she met with me. It's really hard to say, "Hey,

3:09:55 I've gotten feedback that this is how I might be seen. Is that how you see me?" And I said, you know, there's that aspect to you. I don't think that's all of you. She go, okay, well, what is it that I can do to broaden that perspective? We had a conversation about that and and then you know I watched what's going to happen here and she implemented that feedback not just with other not just with confir um conversations but truly in in how she kind of approached things. I saw a shift in her that kind of reflected who Calie is. And so I have a fair amount of faith that you know when Cali tells because what I told

3:10:41 Cali was I need in a counselor up here is somebody who will speak their mind have their own perspective but we have to work together as a team and if you can't trust your team members if you can't trust that when they're having conversations in town that they're not supporting that not only the community but their team members that that's a real issue and and Calie understood that and she spoke to that. So I mean there is that piece that I think that we all hear from a lot of different perspectives and I think you know there's a fair I have a fair amount of confidence that Cali will listen to a lot of different perspectives and I also

3:11:27 think that through library advocacy she's probably damaged some relationships in various aspects of town but I also think she's willing to take the feedback to try and repair those things. Um, and it's a it's a fair point that Luke has not damaged to my knowledge. Um, I I don't know. I haven't heard it heard of that. And those the relationships in some of those same areas, but again, I've seen him work to make sure that he's fair and balanced as well. Um, and so I think when it comes to would I trust Cali to be Cali and not speak for anybody but Springfield?

3:12:12 I think probably she I mean I I believe she would and and I have seen evidence that she can. Um, so if that is a consideration, um, I think there's a possibility that she that she really has that capacity. And again, it's it's it's hard to vote for somebody that, um, maybe you've seen two different sides of and you're not really sure who that person is. But I think when when you talk to her and you say, "Hey, where where are you really at on on any given subject?" I I think there's some honesty there. And so again, I I think that it's hard I I to sway one way or the other for me because I see the the merits of

3:12:58 both. But when it comes to integrity, I I've seen evidence that that Callie is willing to stand behind hers. >> Okay. I'm going to say two things. Uh first of all, thank you folks for uh diving in and talking about some of the real issues. And thank you to the public for just being patient as we work our way through, you know, our uh our thoughts and our opinions and our take. And I can't even imagine how awkward it is for the candidates to have, you know, sit here while we while we talk about, you know, uh you guys. But please just be patient as we work through this. Um, we can do two things. Uh, Mary Bridget's

3:13:46 probably going to tell us that we don't we don't have to be bound by a process here that it's a political appointment and we could do whatever we want. Would it help to bring one of them or two of them up and ask them more questions? Uh, councelor Buck, >> you know, I really appreciate Councelor Weber and Councelor Stout talking about their concerns. Kind of like to hear that from Mo and and Rodley, if you're willing to on Luke, what what would you need to what would you need to speak speak to? Because we're asking candidates to come up. I mean, I I mean, I think that's a hard thing to do. >> It is. It is a hard thing to do, right? We got to keep working the problem until we figure out a way way forward. I'm

3:14:31 gonna we're gonna stall for station identification and let councelor Weber go. >> Not sure I remember now what I was going to say. Getting a little rummy. I I do remember now. Sorry. Um, I still need to be able to believe that the person that we put up here with us is being an au their authentic self. Yes. Um, counselor Buck, I do believe she that Kelly did take our feedback. Um, but again, I felt it was just repeated to us in a in an interview process. I don't I haven't seen it in action yet. That's where I'm I don't know that that she can or can't

3:15:16 take that feedback and and and be that trusted person for me. I just because I haven't had enough time to witness it. I can say that I have known Luke for 6 years. We're not best friends. We don't hang out all over you. Like we don't hang out. We don't we don't share space in in many ways. We we share common interests. We share a desire to serve this community in the best way possible and make the best decisions for uh the citizens that live here. I do know that that is Luke Mallister because I've seen it. >> Thank you. Do either one of you want to jump in here? You guys got >> One thing about got to get the

3:16:02 microphone here. One thing about Cali when she was being interviewed, she talked about her experience in the Navy and how that trained her thinking to look at situations differently than it normally did. And I'd like that because I'd like to have that capacity up here in the council for somebody to look at something different than we can and help us think pro problems through. So that's why I I select Cali. >> Okay. Um, and I just want to say to you all that after sitting through this, running for office will be a breeze. Honestly, you can listen to people talk about you. Um, I think that to to and I appreciate the call the call out because, you know,

3:16:47 we've talked to I've talked about what I appreciate about Cali. I will say I did meet with Luke as well and for me the difference was in my initial conversation and I really only had one conversation with Luke. he didn't even really seem to understand what the role of a city counselor was. And so it was it was it was much more of a vibe kind of a conversation, whereas I realized that, you know, Cali comes at things with like much more of a directness of like here's what I want to do and here's what I want to work on. So I came away from that conversation being like I I don't even know if he knows what he's getting into. Um, and it didn't come across as like this this strong like desire or need to do it. It felt to me more like other people were like, "You should do a thing." Um, and

3:17:34 so it's it's no it's no it's no negativity. It's no particular judgment. It was just a difference in um how serious Cali was taking it um at least in the conversation with me. And again, I didn't have six years of working with Luke and I haven't had six years of working with Cali. It was just the going from the conversations um the way they they reacted and interacted with me. Callie's was much more serious. >> I appreciate that, Council Rodley. Um I think there is a difference in in styles here for sure. Um I will say that I don't think that makes either one of them unprepared. Um,

3:18:19 I just I just know that I again I'm just going to go back to the trust issue for me and I I just don't I'm just not there yet with with trusting that that Cali is going to show us her authentic self up here. >> So, I'm going to weigh in onto this because we're throwing around this term authenticity quite a bit. Um, Kelly didn't strike me as inauthentic at all. So, like my take like I my take on the on the conversation that I had is I've known many young professionals um and sometimes um when you know they want to do a great job, they want to take coaching, right? It and uh it wasn't I

3:19:04 didn't get the impression that what I saw was anything short of her authentic self. I did get the impression as somebody was growing into their professional career that they were uh that she was looking for and taking taking a lot of the coaching in and hadn't hit that point where she kind of just filtered out what was useful and what was not. But I did not read it as inauthentic at all. Okay, we're still at the same spot. Okay. So, does anybody have an opinion on how like we can bring people up, we can we can talk about uh we can talk about other issues.

3:20:03 Okay, since we're thinking outside the box. We are thinking outside the box. There is no box anymore. >> So trains has left the station. So um and I assure the public jokes get better the longer this goes on. So I'm I'm wondering maybe Sean if you could ask the candidates if they want to come up and speak because not I mean we've said a lot of different things and and maybe they maybe they do, maybe they don't. I don't know. But I'd like to consider their feelings. >> Okay. Go ahead, Council W. >> I I just have to when um Mayor Van Gordon was appointed to this pos to his position, I applied for this vacancy. I didn't win it that night. The council selected somebody else who honestly I thought was less prepared for this role.

3:20:51 Um because to I and I think it's fair to say that nobody really knows really really knows like you can you can you can observe and you can know what the the semantics of this role are but really sitting here and facing public criticism facing public um input on any and many things while it's um it's a privilege for us to sit up here and hear that and I know it probably feels like sometimes we're just Well, I know sometimes I'm just exhausted. Like right now, I'm exhausted. Um, but nobody really knows what that feels like to to take that to take that and and and own it every single week or conversation or um issue,

3:21:39 right? It's it's a lot. And I I do think that it's important that folks know that um and that there is another path forward. Again, I wasn't selected that night. I was confused by that to be perfectly honest. But it is the it's the council's decision ultimately and ultimately the the decision is made by this body to fill a spot that we um with somebody that we feel will help us get through this short period of time. I still feel like our budget discussions coming up would really um would really benefit from a fresh perspective, one that hasn't been saturated in all of the different

3:22:25 conversations we've been having over the last few months. Somebody who might see something a little bit differently that something that we've missed, something that we're, you know, we're just so absorbed in, we don't we don't see it anymore. Um, and I and again that takes me back to Luke and I and his experiences in all of the places that he he lives his life in and he's, you know, he's got a lot of lived experience and past experience that has brought him to the person that he is today. And I just again I I really feel like a fresh perspective would be very helpful here. >> Council, >> well, you know, I I I appreciate thinking about that. that if I was thinking about a fresh perspective as someone who's not like saturated in this the stuff and hasn't been a part of it then I go back to Jill as somebody

3:23:13 that seemed very prepared and did a good job at the interview and has had other people recommend them and I would like I said I could go with Jill I mean we could call like seven different votes but we're going to end and in the in the same spot. >> Councelor, does that mean you're changing your your position to, you know, look at at Jill as your would you'd be willing to look at Jill as your vote? >> I would be willing to look at Jill as my vote.

3:24:10 All right. So, Mary Bridget, if we if we decide to punt this conversation till like that is an that is an option. Is that correct? >> That's correct. That is an option. You can uh come back for um continued deliberation. Um you could arrive at a new voting method. Um, like you said, this is a political process and you are the ones that determine the qualifications and the process. So, if there's something that you think the process is lacking or other information, we can figure out procedurally how to get you there. >> So, I think Go ahead, Councelor Buck. I guess I just want to remind um all of us here that are are voting, myself included, that

3:24:55 by putting this vote off and by not and by not finding a way to compromise and make a decision here and get it figured out tonight, we put that whoever gets appointed in a in a tougher spot. We have budget like in 20 minutes and we have a lot of other things that are coming at us. We have a summer break and then just kind of jumping into it in the fall. And I feel like um one of my one of the things that I look look at very hard is we benefit right now from two two people on council yourself and and Cory Lley that could not that very

3:25:42 possibly might not be here next year. if you guys win your elections, we might lose your experience. And that means by putting off that candidate, they don't I mean, that's that's time that they don't get to benefit. And they only get about 6 months if you guys win as it as it is and less than that. So, I would really urge us to find a way to compromise tonight to to get this to November so the voters can decide um because that's what we have to do. And um I I don't know what that looks like for for folks, but I mean I feel like it's unfair to put this off because what's already being asked of whoever we appoint is to get up to speed with the budget,

3:26:29 which is a big big deal in a very short amount of time. rather >> I 100% agree with you in terms of it's it's our job to make decisions and some of them are hard and we just work it until we figure it out. So I appreciate that. >> Okay. So, I think what we should do, like I don't think this is going to go anywhere until we hear from them again. If I'm just really listening between you folks, um, and I'm looking out at them and to see if, you know, not if they're would be willing to come up and maybe answer some additional questions. And I know, Go ahead, Councelor Weber. >> That's not going to help change my mind. >> Bringing Calli and Luke back up here isn't going to help me change my mind. I

3:27:16 I'm very clear that you're very well dug into where where where you're at. But >> well, let me let me finish. >> Sure. Go ahead. >> But I would be willing to to compromise with my fellow counselors and and and bring Jill into this. I I think that she presented herself very well. Um, she, you know, I think she understands as much as anyone can >> until they actually sit here what the role of a of a counselor is and and how some of those um decision-m opportunities can uh impact, you know, just the community and and and that real world impact, right? You don't really know it until you're sitting here. Um, so I could go down I could

3:28:03 support Jill. >> Okay. So, why don't we try voting here because I'm why don't we try don't and we're and we will and I think considering all available candidates that you have, right? Like I understand people are going to have to make some compromises. We're not going to get perfectly where pe where we want and I understand people are tired. So, don't please do not cave because you're tired and just want to go home. If you're going to compromise, you know, make sure it's it's uh that it's moving us forward. But I would say if people are okay, we would take votes on

3:28:50 all three ca like all three candidates and see if we can get there. Is that good? >> How many votes did it take to get the speaker of the house elected? I told you our jokes got better. Um, all right. MB, could you call? >> Okay, I will start to call the vote. Councelor Buck. >> Um, I I guess where I'm at, if I'm I'm just being authentic on it. This is, you know, I'm I I'm willing to compromise and and and vote for for Cali, but I'm not the the public has just made it really clear in so many testimonies who what they're

3:29:35 what they're telling us. And so, um, I can support Kie, I can support Luke, and I like Jill very much, but I feel like if I'm listening to the public, that's not where, um, I I've spent hours looking at emails and listening to different conversations and every time I get coffee, somebody mentions one of the two of them to me. So, that's where I'm at. I could support Cali, >> Council Stout. >> Uh, I could support Jill. Councelor Weber, >> I could support Jill. >> Councelor Rodley, >> I can support Jill. Councelor Mo >> Kelly.

3:30:26 >> Uh, Councelor Buck, I would just offer that the testimony that we have is only a sampling of where the public is. And the real art to this work is to infer um you know where all 60,000 of our residents are it you got that's the hard weight. >> Um do you guys want to vote again? >> Not really but okay. Let's do it. >> Okay. So uh we'll do another vote with the three candidates. Councelor Buck. Um, well, given given the feedback that this is a a city of Springfield decision and we have to make a decision tonight, I can support Jill. >> Stout. >> I can support Jill >> Weber. Jill Rodley.

3:31:11 >> Jill Mo. >> Wow, what a turnaround. I guess I'll have to vote for Jill. >> Okay, that's five votes for candidate Jill Cuadros. >> Okay, congratulations. Uh, I will wave the role and let people applaud because I know people are tired if they feel the need to. Um, could you talk to us about the next steps? >> Sure. So, the next step is for uh the interim counselor for Ward 4 to be sworn in. That's tenatively planned for April 27th. >> Um, and um we'll contact uh Miss Cuadro about the details about that. We can start the training and talking with her ahead of time and we'll get that rolling. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you.

3:31:56 I guess no further business from the city man or city of TR. >> I think we are done. We're adjourned.

0:04 I'm going to call the Springfield City Council work session to order with roll call. >> Mayor Van Gordon >> here. Councelor Weber here. Councelor Mo >> here. Councelor Rodley >> here. >> Councelor Buck >> here. >> And councelor Stout >> here. >> All right. We have two items this evening. The first one is the Springfield History Museum Advisory Committee interviews. and with Mattie the staff person. >> Hello council and uh Mayor Van Gordon. I am Maddie McGra. I'm your museum curator and we have um two interviews scheduled for tonight. I'm going to read this has been a long process so I'm going to give you guys the background again. Um the museum committee had three vacant

0:50 applica vacant positions as of December 31st 2025. One museum committee member reapplied and was directly appointment appointed. Two applications were received for the remaining two vacant positions. One applicant was interviewed and approved at the March 9th, 2026 work session and a third applicant had this committee as his third choice and then was added for interview by council. And so tonight on the schedule we have two interviews and I believe only one of our interviewees is here currently. >> Have we contacted the uh second person? Are we expecting them? >> We have contacted them but um I haven't heard anything back. >> Okay then we will start with the first interview and see where we go from there.

1:35 >> All right. So I'll introduce you to Michael Agalar. Good evening, council. >> Hello. Thank you for having me. >> Welcome uh to city council. Um why are you interested in serving in the museum committee? >> So I am new to Springfield, Oregon. I moved here from Salt Lake City, Utah uh to accept a role uh in nonprofit work back in December. Uh previous uh when I was in Salt Lake City and in Utah, I was pretty actively engaged uh not only in local nonprofit work uh but in local government. And I find that um that's

2:21 where that's where local government and then as a result of that local boards and commissions uh of which the Springfield uh museum uh would be a part of. just so happens that in my professional history I've worked uh for a few museums. Um so I have a soft spot and uh a very kind of I have some experience in that space. And so as I was looking at the opportunities um available for service because I'm new to town and I'm trying to get my feet wet and I've come to love Springfield in my very short period of time. I decided that because I have the experience in Salt Lake City, both working in nonprofit, both in building and

3:07 sustaining relationships in government and then working as a result of that in the museum world, that this opening being as it is, I could I could add I believe some value uh to the work that needs to be done. So that is why I'm interested. >> The Springfield Museum has a rotating exhibit space. One of the roles of the committee is to make recommendations for exhibits and programs. Can you give us an example of an exhibit you might recommend? >> Uh yeah, currently so I would I would love to do a deep dive on uh the the archive of rotating exhibits, but there is a current um there's a current So I'm a professional fundraiser. Might like that, you might not like that because you never know. I'm going to ask you for money. Um, but Union Pacific is

3:52 currently res requesting uh solicitations for funds um up to I believe like $30,000. Uh Springfield is listed listed as one of two cities that could apply for funding uh through their community ties program. Eugene is the other one uh in um that that could apply. So there's $30,000 on the table with Union Pacific that there could potentially be a partnership there. I would think that an an exhibit around the history of the railroad here in Springfield um or a revamped uh exhibit on the history of the railroad or the future of the railroad um would be a wonderful opportunity for us and one that we could collaborate on with Union Pacific to secure funds to make that happen.

4:38 >> And how do you think the work of the Springfield History Museum improves our community? I think museums in general uh they they allow individuals to take a step into the past to know and and this kind of I mean I don't I don't mean this to sound very cliche or cheesy because I know everybody's like oh you need to know the history to understand the future. Having worked in the museum spaces um for a significant portion of my life, I truly believe that by immersing yourself into culture, you're able to more fully understand the world around you, make more informed decisions, um and understand people more fully. Uh it it opens your eyes. And so for I think Springfield, not only our

5:23 residents or the residents of Springfield, but those who choose to visit us as a destination city, they have the opportunity to have their eyes opened to the wonderful impact that the that this city has had not only on Oregon or on Lane County, but on um on uh America as we we're celebrating 250 years as a as a country. Um, so I think that that's what is truly an opportunity of of value for this organization. >> All right, that was the last question. >> Great. Thank you so much. >> Thank you, >> Councelor Rodley. >> I just since um Maddie is coming up, I'll ask some clarifying questions. If I remember correctly, and I didn't go back

6:08 and look, um the person who didn't show tonight also didn't show the last time. That's why we kicked this ahead so that we could Okay. >> Yes. >> Um and then there was another person that we interviewed last time, I think, who was >> Marta. >> Yes. >> Bridget. Bridget. >> Thank you. People would know cuz I wanted to make sure I've got everything in the thing. So we they were willing to interview last time in addition to tonight. Okay, that's all I needed. >> Okay. So, could you help us? How many appointments do we need to make? Is it one or two? >> I think it's just one for tonight. Yes. >> And so then effectively um it's between

6:53 uh Bridget and Mr. Aguular. >> Yes. >> Okay. Does anybody have want to start with their preferences? Councelor Buck. Um, you know, I I I really appreciate how difficult you guys keep making these uh decisions on us. Um, and I and I appreciate very much um Bridget brings to the table. I think my vote would be my inclination would be for Mr. Agular based on, you know, his experience and um enthusiasm and bringing a fresh perspective. Um so that would be my inclination. >> Anybody else? Uh councelor Stout. >> I'm also with Mr. Agular. I'm a huge

7:39 rail fan. Love the idea. >> Councelor Rodley, >> I'll go with Mr. Aguular as well. >> All right, Council Weber. >> Uh Mr. Aguular for me, too. Miss Aguular really presents himself well. I wish I could do that, but I'm I'm for him. >> All right. Well, uh I think it's Mr. Aguular. And will you uh set it up on the next regular meeting so we can confirm it, please? Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next thing is wastewater and storm water user fees for fiscal year 2026 through 2027.

8:39 Good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh my name is Matt Stouter. I'm the environmental services director for the city of Springfield. And with me is Jeff Pascal, city's community development director. I think we have a PowerPoint. There it is to uh walk you through and then we're open for conversation and discussion. Um, so here tonight to present the annual user fee uh proposal for council consideration. I wanted to acknowledge Jeremy and Tatiana and DPW for their work in helping us put this together. In fact, we'll get started. It's always I did that for Megan last week. There we go. I Okay. Um, we'll walk through with you the uh overview on revenue goals, a

9:25 little bit about our our discharge permits, talk about the systems that we uh are going to be going over tonight, uh our programs, and then the challenges associated with those programs, and then get to the ultimately uh the rates, which everybody wants to talk about. Um the revenue goals for these programs really, this is what funds our operations and maintenance programs for the city. Uh it funds the majority of our capital improvement programs. Uh this these funds from user fees help us meet our our user uh our regulatory obligation regulatory obligations with our discharge permits. Um they help us uh maintain our capital reserves and then also maintain our fiscal health and credit rating. I'd note that um user fees are the sole source of our operations and maintenance work uh and

10:11 they represent about 90 to 95% of the of all revenue that we get um year to date. Okay. Um, these systems are large complex systems. I have to put these on to read. Uh, so we have two components to the wastewater system. We have the local conveyance component that the city of Springfield owns and operates. Um, and we have a regional MWMC component, uh, owned by MWMC, which is made up of Springfield, Eugene, and Lane County. Uh, there's over 250 miles of pipeline in Springfield in the wastewater system. We have approximately 16 pump stations. All that gets pumped and conveyed to the regional plant at 410 River Avenue in Eugene. On the storm water side, we have um an ever growing system. We have 182

10:57 miles of pipes, uh 6,500 catch basins or greater than 6,500 catch basins. Those number keep in keep increasing. Uh lots of water quality structures. Um lots of surface waterways, numerous outfalls that discharge to the rivers and other waterways. Uh and then a lot of miles of curb to sweep. So the point here is that um systems are large and complex. They I wrote down here we have a an asset value in the regional system of over $500 million and probably more than that in the local systems. And so when you start thinking about um cost of fixing these systems, replacing these systems as they age, um we're talking about very large complex high dollar systems.

11:44 Uh there's challenges associated with maintaining these systems and in essence meeting our discharge permits and what we call the basically paying for clean water. Um you'll see them on your PowerPoint here. Uh fixed operating cost, the ever ever aging infrastructure, uh regulatory the regulatory discharge permits, the things we've been talking about. I wanted to note um there's been a few things recently that's been taxing us here. Um sustained high level cost inflation is impacting not only personnel services but things like materials and services, chemicals we need to purchase for these systems. Um there's been significant financing volatility at the federal level and at the state level that's been causing us challenges. And then the regulatory uncertainty with the pending discharge permits especially on the storm water system is something that

12:30 we're seeing. Um, and then of course there's everchanging federal policy that um, any is anyone's guess as to where we might be heading and that seems to be going back and forth on a year-to-year basis. So, with respect to our discharge permits, uh, we have two uh, storm water permit was issued to us in 2023. It was issued to everybody uh, all the the phase 2 general permites in 2021. in Springfield along with several others pushed back on some of the unreasonable expectations in that permit previously and were successful in litigation to get a discharge permit that we were actually able to meet. Um it came with a reduced timeline. It came with a three-year timeline instead of a 5-year timeline and it expired uh midway through 2024.

13:16 It was put on administrative extension by DEQ as they work to um give us a new permit. We briefed you last week on that new permit process. We expect the new permit to be issued um around the around July of 2026 depending on how long DEEQ takes uh to respond to comments in the public review draft. That permit has a number of um concerning elements in it. It's um an ever ratcheting down of requirements. Um there's a number of things that are going to require the city to um that is going to require us to do that are going to come in the form of additional FTE requirements, additional time needed, additional dollars needed for um meeting these mandates. Some of which are going to be directly beneficial to water quality and some of which aren't. Um I won't

14:01 elaborate on that since we talked last week. The wastewater permit um is issued to chiefly to MWMC uh but Springfield and Eugene are also named on those on that permit and it was a permit issued to us in 2022 late 22. Um we're expecting a renewal in 2027 and that lays the framework essentially for our wastewater operations and wastewater programs. Here listed here is a a group of of programs that are funded with user fees. So basically anything that really impacts DPW on the storm water wastewater side are funded with user fees. So our operations and maintenance programs, our education and outreach programs, uh the capital program, anything to do with development and post

14:47 construction and and construction site runoff activities is funded with these fees, development review, um those sorts of things in our building and customer service. So, um, with that, I'll turn it over to Jeff and he can talk to you a little bit about some of the factors associ affecting our rates. >> Yeah, thank you. Um, as Matt had mentioned, one of our factors is our assets. We have a large asset, as you saw in the wastewater system, um, several hundreds of miles of pipe. Um, as an example, that aging system identified through the wastewater master plan adopted by the council in 2024. Um there's 130 mi of concrete pipe that we still have in the system that's anywhere from 45 to 80 plus years old. And so that's a factor that's part of our INI

15:34 contribution. And so one of our goals that we've been working through is starting to get through that um system of aging pipe. Um the other is just fixed and rising operational costs. Um one thing to note and it will be discussed later but um our fees are generated based on flow. Um we push water conservation which is great. However um with that we see pressures on revenue and then um but yet inflation pressures still on our materials and services. In addition we still have some ongoing debt service obligations and then as Matt mentioned the increasing regulatory um obligations.

16:23 Um so again um factors that guide our rates and what we use to set those or recommend what that rate recommendation is. Um the wastewater master plan again adopted by the council in 2024. As part of that wastewater master plan we also presented a strategic financial plan with those goals of kind of maintaining a healthy fund which we do have and meeting all of our obligations and maintaining the city's assets um and then meeting that regulatory um compliance. One kind one idea is these are not planned. The rates are not that the rates are planned not reactive. And so we're trying to keep that incremental and just making sure that the the system the funding mechanism is healthy.

17:10 Um so here you see this is just a comparison regionally. It's a point in time. Um it's a survey done in the end of December and what it shows is based on the rates that uh were adopted by the council as part of the FY26 budget where we compared to our regional um other re uh other agencies within the region and and the city's kind of uh city of Springfield's kind of right in the mi middle just below the average. Um one thing that drives it is every city has their own drivers but they do have regulatory requirements. The blue uh represents the regional MWMC fees and the green is Eugene and Springfield. And it comes up every year at least at at some level. Um Springfield's local rate. Why is it so much more than Eugene's? And that's in part because we had to take on

17:55 additional debt requirements with the wet weather flow management plan requirements that happened um 15 years back or so. >> Um moving on to storm water. And so as before we get into the um rate comparison in in the recommended rates for storm water um and wastewater um just like to highlight uh very similar to the wastewater system on what drives our rates. It's that regulatory requirements that expand um with the updated um MS4 permit which we anticipate the end of this fiscal year with implementation next fiscal year. Um and so that's going to require additional program investment over time. Um second the system maintenance needs again same thing aging assets. We also

18:42 have the addition where we have a lot more um green infrastructure. So um swailes, ponds, that sort of thing for clean water. One thing I think some folks think is we build those and we just kind of plant them and forget them. But they do take routine maintenance um to maintain and keep functioning to clean that water. Um and third, if you'll in the materials, you'll note that um there is the proposed realignment of the street sweeping services program. So that program is currently funded 50/50 between street fund and stormwater fund and the portion in the street fund is approximately 300,000. Um given the fund pressures and the um declining revenues or flat revenues in the street fund, it's been

19:27 recommended as part of the FY27 budget to move that whole program into the um storm water fund. And so that is having an effect on the rates when you when we're adding $300,000 to the storm water um fund. Um, similar to the wastewater, this is the uh rate comparison and where um how we compare to other agencies within the region. Um, as you can see, we're we're um we're just above the average for the FY26 um adopted rate. I don't know if it's good or bad, but if you look back at past years, Springfield

20:12 was much further to the left on that graph. And although we've had rate incre rate adjustments each year, um ours have been lower than other communities and we've actually shifted to the right. Um when you're bounded by two rivers like we are and have the mandates we have from the the state, um it cost a lot to provide these storm water services. >> And then so what you see here is this similar to the material you have in your packet. So the recommended rate adjustment for FY27 budget is 5% in the local wastewater services and 5% in the local um storm water services. Um and the total impact is about $2 or is $2.31 on the average um residential bill.

21:03 Um, in addition to the local rates, we wanted to just brief the council on what the MWMC board did at the April 10th meeting of the board of commissioners. Uh, they took action to direct staff to move forward with a 5.5% adjustment on the regional side. Um, based on a number of factors, um, you'll see here on the table that, uh, the propo where the proposed rate is at, um, it recom it represents about a$184 adjustment to the typical residential household. um council will be able to discuss that further and hold we'll hold the public hearing on May 18th to determine whether to implement that in Springfield. And with that, um we're ready for any questions and conversation that the council might have. >> Questions? Uh councelor Buck? >> Um just clarification on on the rate

21:50 that's being proposed. So when we look at the regional and and and the other, so you're, you know, both would be um assessed to household. So it wouldn't be just the $2.31. It would be the $184 and the 231. >> Correct. >> Correct. So it's not combined. >> Yeah. And then I guess the second question that I have is one of the things that um I don't want to to find ourselves down the road is hey you know we're leaving ourselves short kind of you know creating a a deficit for ourselves or a hole that we're that we're digging for ourselves. So when I think about these rates, you know, I guess the question that comes up for me is given the aging

22:35 structure, given all of those things, are we setting ourselves up for um kind of a cliff down the road where it's like, okay, now we have a major expense and and how are we going to deal with that? >> Um well, I'll address those in parts. So, first on the wastewater system, I would I feel very comfortable saying um as part of the master plan and that strategic financial plan, we've kind of taken all of those factors, you know, looking at inflation, looking at our infrastructure um and and future needs and and the rates in that strategic financial plan. Well, if for for the counselors who were here when we put everything in there and said what would it take to build the whole um wastewater or wastewater master

23:22 plan in 20 years as that plan said it was like a 10 years of a like 11% rate and I think when we discussed that here it was like that's probably not reasonable. So, we looked at how we space out some of those expansion projects, thinking that some of that cost is going to be recouped through developers, and we kind of like we settled on a rate that was above what we figured annual inflation would be, but below that 11% to make sure that we're setting ourselves up for success in the future. So, I feel comfortable saying on the wastewater system by sticking to that plan, we have a plan to address aging infrastructure. We have reserves to address any emergency thing. um in the storm water. Um one reason you're seeing a 5% this year over what was projected last year to 3% is we haven't

24:07 done that fine tuning or gone through and done that detailed dive into the storm water system and the storm water finances. And so we're in the midst of that. We're we're our goal is to have that strategic financial plan ready to bring to the council and use for starting in the FY28 um budget planning. Um, however, you'll see by adding that additional 300,000, that's pretty much equivalent to what we anticipated with the rate recommendation last year and adopted rate of the additional revenue being. So, with that was still some unknowns. It wasn't comfortable with just going with a 3% and recommended five and then next year we'll have a a firm strategic financial plan that we can bring to the council and show us the road map for the next, you know, 10, 15, 20 years.

24:53 Councelor Rodley, >> you um and I I don't really have questions. I'm just gonna have some messy statements and I know that we're not voting on this tonight so we have some time to talk about it. Um I I feel a little bit differently in that when I look at a 5% rate increase this year, next year, next year, next year, that is not insubstantial um for the average person. And I think of how people are being impacted by inflation and expenses and I think about the fact what you said is that you know this is all paid for by user fees which is you know that that puts the the onus that puts the burden on just everyday

25:38 folks. Um, so I'm not It's gonna take some work to get me there because I I just 5% this year, next year, next year, next year. I I just I I just don't think that it's the time to do that. And I completely understand as someone who was up in Salem advocating for the transportation package last year, which would have helped to mitigate some of these things and the fact that folks are are so um you know, everyday people are so against paying the taxes to do this to just then shift it over onto a fee. I don't know what the answer is. I'm just saying that I am not there as to where I want to increase it by 5%. >> Thanks. Okay. Uh, thank you. Um, one of

26:23 the questions that I had is what I keep hearing is the bidding environment substantially better than it has been, you know, because the construction's effectively down. So, when I think about this thought this question about 5%, have we incorporated more favorable bidding conditions to build projects in the wastewater system? We are starting to program that. So while we have projected 5% I can honestly say it could get better right if we show that our reserves are building faster than we thought um right now we don't have quite enough data for that um and in looking ahead to some of the large projects we have and potentially speeding those up but yes we are taking that into account on the storm water system we're not there with our kind of big deep dive

27:10 into the storm water system fin um financially and so we're not quite there to make any of those sorts of predictions. >> I think responding to some of the comments, one of the concerns that we've had and we've we've attempted to communicate to the state and federal government is that for example with MWMC system um 75% of that regional plant was funded federally um back in the 80s. That money is gone. Um and it's all on the backs of the rateayers now. Um, and with I don't not in with the current administration, they're even looking at uh cutting more programs like WIFIA and the Clean Water State Revolving Fund. And so we are continually lobbying and working towards pushing um Congress to to and the state legislators to make

27:55 those that keep that funding whole uh because that's going to be helping us in the future. And right now we're we're looking at maybe 2 to 3% na nationally um to fund these systems where it used to be a much higher proportion. Um it it may be something when we come to you in executive session and talk about the the uh the storm water permit and the unfunded mandates. It may be uh another a further way to communicate some of that information. So it's something that's um definitely on our minds and is is not easily solved, but um I appreciate you raising it. >> Uh Council Weber, >> I appreciate Councelor Roley's concerns. Um rates are going up on everything everywhere right there. there's it just seems to be like there's nothing that's not going up right now. Um I think

28:41 long-term projection would be helpful understanding that things can always change up or down, you know, make things better, make things worse. Um I it it is hard to continue to raise costs on our on our residents, but at the same time, it's a reality that we're facing. You know, where does the money come from? If there are creative solutions out there, um, you know, I'm all for looking at those, but but it is a reality that we're we're facing. >> Councelor Stump, thank you. Um, I've already in the MWMC meeting certainly raised my own uh concerns about the rate increases, though ultimately it was through a lot of discussions that we had to have and just to to make a painful

29:27 choice on behalf of the rateayers. So I I am supportive of the rate increase but oh just barely. Um something that's important to me is when we um when we're talking about asset value of systems like we have to understand also the liabilities that we have when we build a road a road has a useful life of maybe 10 years maybe 30 years. And so now we've built ourselves a liability. We have to either destroy the road you know clear vacate the rightway on that or we have to rebuild that road. And so we have a clear liability sense on there. When we're presenting a system with an assets of $500 million, that's all well and good and we can maybe even borrow against that, which I find to be incalculably foolish on a financial level. Looking if I am a small city on a

30:13 separate level, I'm really interested in the liabilities that we're facing to say we have to replace, you know, $100 million worth of pipe within the next 10 years. in looking at that financial projection. I think that's an important piece of data as we're digesting all of this to say, do we choose to let these pipelines crumble or do we choose to let to restore them and pay for them? So, I know it's a big a bit of a philosophical 30,000 foot question, but I think it's just something I want to bring to this discussion when we have it next year. Thank you, >> Council Buck. Um I I appreciate um you know all all the comments that were made and and I I guess I just want to clarify if we're going to go down the road of of

30:59 you know some some rate increases and and and we we certainly may have to. I just want to make sure that we don't do that and get down the road and and realize, you know, we now have a cliff we have to to jump off of financially. Um I I think that being realistic about what what our um financial liabilities are as as councelor Stout mentioned and and how we get there is is what I'm most interested in. So I if the financial reality is we need rate increases um that's great. I just want it to come with a strategy so that we don't run into a cliff cuz we've we've in other areas we're running we're having to deal

31:45 with that and uh that's just that's that's my position. So I'm supportive but want to make sure we're doing responsibly. >> Thank you. Could you clarify for us just this with this this kind of critical point the rate increases are to meet our regulatory requirements on our federal regulatory requirements for both storm water and wastewater. Right. >> Correct. I mean I think yes and to councelor Buck's point I mean we're and councelor Stout's point we're on a replacement schedule for a wastewater system of like 500 years. We know the systems aren't going to last that long. Um but replacing it's it's very costly to replace these systems. And so with the continuing um mandates coming down from the state that's eating into our

32:31 our capacity to do replacement and the the DEQ's position essentially is we have the ability to control rates and so it it really is not an unfunded mandate. But I I don't know that we have that same position, but maybe not. But I appreciate you sharing that. >> Uh, Nancy, and then we'll come up to Council Mo. >> Thank you, mayor. I just wanted to ask staff to circle back to a point that they went over briefly, but I think is um salient in this discussion, which is INI, which stands for inflow and infiltration. For those um that may be listening or is that aren't familiar with of that concept, could you briefly describe ini and why that's important and how that factors into rate structure? >> I I can take a crack at that. Sure.

33:16 Thank um so infiltration and inflow when you have miles and miles of pipe of varying age essentially those pipes as they age develop cracks. Um we are fortunate or unfortunate depending on how you look at it to live in an area with a climate that we do. It rains a lot. The ground water is high. As the groundwater table comes up, pressure builds, water comes into those pipes and it's then being conveyed to the reg. It has to be conveyed, pumped and treated at the regional plant. Um our our so we basically we do abatement of that in the local systems to try to slip line and do other other means to to limit intrusion of water into the pipes. Um our base flows at the plants are around 20 million gallons a day and from Eugene Springfield in in the summer and then

34:01 when it rains hard in the winter we we see upwards of 200 230 million gallons a day. So a big peaking factor a 10 to1 peaking factor um that costs money to convey treat that sort of thing. And so um that's kind of one of the issues that we're facing and why it's important to be replacing andor um maintaining the systems. That's wrong. >> Turn my mic. I'm got to turn my microphone. Very short sentence. It's key to everything. It's unfunded mandates. It's just killing us. And I don't know what to do about it. It's But uh that's one of the big problems we have. All right. I I think you're hearing us just continue to be concerned about the expense that we continue to uh pass on

34:46 to our citizens. And it's not the work that you folks are doing. It's the cumulative work over a lot of different requirements because we're this is all the same set of folks that we're we're talking about. Um I keep coming back to the single most important thing that we're looking for in the long term, right? Is just stability around the rates and a probably 10 years ago we started you started bringing us the like a 5-year forecast. You've done that successfully for a long time to show us that question that counselor Buck brought up which is we don't want to create cliffs for ourselves. 0% 0% 9% is a terrible plan. Now we're in this sort of high inflation environment, high regulatory environment, and you're showing us kind of what's coming down uh coming down at us. And I think the

35:31 challenge that we're giving you is we appreciate the stability, but it would be nice to look for ways to, you know, uh work that number at least down to the rate of inflation, if not just a little bit below it. that's not going to clearly happen this year. We got too much stuff going on. But from as we start thinking about uh what our future years are, just continuing to look at those out years and looking for stability and places where we can uh find ways to uh slow down the rate of increases would be meaningful. >> Does anybody have anything else? Nancy, >> sorry, just to clarify, um, the INI

36:16 issue is important because it's something that you don't really see. It's part of our our infrastructure and as that ages, it's going the problem gets worse. So, it becomes more expensive when we aren't replacing those pipes. And unfunded mandates are what they are, but we it doesn't take away from the deferred maintenance that we still have to do with with the pipes underneath us that we all just kind of assume are going to work all the time because that's what we kind of hope happens. So, just putting that to your attention. And if and correct me if I you know didn't win my engineering uh merit badge today but there's a significant amount of the system that is on the private side that w you know that is probably uh not being repaired as quickly as as possible too right there.

37:01 It's not just the public system it is the one that sits on our residences that is creating this INI issue. It's both. Yeah. Yeah. But there's a large there's a fairly substantial portion in the public system. But t what tends it tends to >> if you correct the public system, the water tends to migrate upwards. Not always. Um and you still have some issues to deal with. But we were seeing when we were investing more heavily in INI abatement. We were seeing flows at the plant um on a annual basis and on a on a winter basis uh maintained. They weren't we weren't seeing higher peaks. We've noticed in the last three to four years, we've been seeing higher peaks. Um, so on the regional when I put my regional hat on, I'm concerned about we we spent $100 million in 2006 to expand our capacity. Um, and that was on the

37:48 backs of the rateayers and we don't want to be faced with that situation again. >> Yeah. And one thing we are starting to do that for people who are interested in those engineering problems and data, we're starting to collect well we have been collecting um flow information before we do a project in a basin. um and flow. And we're starting to collect flow data after we complete a project to kind of see what impact the project had when we kind of tighten those pipes up and then to see kind of what that impact may be from the residential lines at least to have that data to see how effective um this the solutions we're coming up with are. >> All right. Thank you. Is there any more questions? All right. I think we're ready to for

38:33 you to bring it forward to a public hearing and get it scheduled. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That was our last item. Um I'm going to join join the work session. We're going to reconvene at 7:00 for the regular meeting. Everybody, there's still a couple of seats up front if you're looking for a seat or and I can see some gaps um around the edges if you're looking for some place to sit down. And I appreciate everybody coming out today. Um, I'm going to call the regular session of the Springfield City Council to order with roll call. >> Mayor Van Gordon >> here. Councelor Weber >> here. >> Councelor Mo here. >> Councelor Bradley >> here. >> Councelor Beck >> here. >> Councelor Stout >> here. Thank you. Uh, please join me for the pledge of allegiance.

39:27 To the flag of the United States and to the republic, there are two times designated for public testimony this evening under public hearings and business from the audience. If you're attending in person, please complete the request to speak card located at the front of the council chambers and turn them into the city recorder. If you're joining us online with a tablet, smart smartphone, or computer and wish to speak at either of those times, please use the raise hand feature in Zoom. The order of public testimony is as follows. Anyone in

40:12 person in the council chambers and then anyone who has raised their virtual hand. First item, please. Mary, you have four proclamations this evening. And the first item is May is bike month proclamation and this is your item. >> Thank you. And I uh appreciate everybody's patience with this. I've got four items and I will read them very quickly as we go into April and May. It's a it's a very uh busy uh recognition moment. So we're going to have folks in here take a picture and then we'll get on to the public testimony. The first one is that May is bike month. Whereas the bic the bicycle is an economic, healthy, and convenient form of transportation and an excellent tool for enjoyment of Springfield scenic beauty. And whereas through the month of

40:58 May, Springfield residents can experience the joy of biking and support the local economy by biking to nearby shopping and dining. And whereas the city of Springfield and safe routes to schools are promoting a greater public awareness of bicycle operation and safety improvement safety to improve health and safety for everyone on our streets. I, Sean Van Gordon, mayor of Springfield, proclaim May 2026 as bike month in Springfield. And I challenge Springfield residents to get out and ride on our regional paths to visit or visit a local business by bike during the month of May.

42:43 All right. The next one is National Public Works Week and this year is the motto is rooted in service empowered by the community. Whereas public works professionals focus on infrastructure facilities and services that are vital to sustainable and resilience resilient communities as well well as public health high quality of life and wellbeing of the city of Springfield. Whereas these infrastructure facilities services cannot be provided without the dedicated efforts of public work prof work works professionals who are engineers, managers, employees at all levels of government and the private sector responsible for building and improving and protecting our nation's transportation, water supply, water treatment systems, solid waste systems,

43:28 public buildings, and other structures. Whereas the 2026 marks the 66th annual public works week sponsored by the American public works association. Therefore Ian van Gordon designate May 17th through 23rd 2026 as national public works weeks

44:53 Hey, do we have the building safety folks here, too? Okay. Oh, it's packed. I just wanted to make sure you were here. All right. So, the next one is the building safety month proclamation. And whereas the city of Springfield is committed to recognizing that our growth and strength depends on the safety and essential roles of our homes, buildings, and infrastructure both in everyday life and when disasters strike. Whereas our confidence in the resilience of these buildings that make up our community is achieved through the de devotion of vigilant guardians, building safety and fire prevention officials, architects, engineers, builders, trades people, design professionals, laborers, plumbers, and others in the construction industry. Whereas modern building codes include safeguards to protect the

45:39 protect the building from buildings from hazards such as hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, wildland fires, floods, and earthquakes. And whereas building safe building safety month is sponsored by the international code council to remind the public about the critical role of our community's largely unknown protectors of the public safety, our local code officials. Whereas each year in observance of building safety month, people all over the world are asked to consider the commitment to improve uh building safety, resilience, and economic investment. I, Sean Van Gordon, mayor Springfield, proclaim May 2026's building safety month, and I encourage our community members to join us as we participate in building safety month activities.

47:14 It's going I promise this is the National Library Week 2026 proclamation which is April 19th through 25th 2026. Whereas libraries spark creativity, fuel imagination and inspire lifelong uh learning offering a space where individuals of all ages can find joy through exploration and discovery. And whereas libraries serve as vibrant community hubs connecting people with knowledge, technology, resources while fostering civic engagement, critical thinking, and cultural enrichment. Whereas the libraries provide equitable tools such as access to books, digital tools, innovative programming to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background, have the support they need to learn and thrive. Whereas libraries partner with schools, businesses, and organizations to

48:01 maximize resources, increase efficiency, and expand access to essential services, strengthening our community. Whereas libraries nurture young minds through story times, uh, STEM programs, literacy initiatives, fostering creativity, and the love of learning that lasts a lifetime. Whereas libraries protect the right to read, think, explore without censorship, standing as champions of intellectual freedom and free expression. Whereas libraries, librarians, library workers across the country are joined together to celebrate National Library Week under the theme find your joy. I, Sean Van Gordon, mayor mayor of Springfield, proclaimed the 19th through the 25th as National Library Week. During this week, I

48:46 encourage all residents to visit their library, explore its resources, and celebrate the ways that libraries help our communities.

50:14 Next item, please. >> Next item is the consent calendar. >> I move approval of the consent calendar. >> Second. >> Could you call the vote, please? >> Yes. Councelor Weber, >> yes. >> Councelor Mo, >> yes. >> Councelor Rodley, >> yes. >> Councelor Buck, >> yes. >> And councelor Steth, >> yes. Thank you. >> Motion passes. Five yeses, zero nos. Next item, please. Next item is public hearings. You have one public hearing this evening. That's the payroll tax ordinance. This is a first reading and no action is required. Nathan Bell is here for this item. >> All right. Before we begin this evening, I'd like to take a moment to outline the protocol and expectations for public hearings. First, I want to thank everyone for being able being here and taking the time to participate. Public input is an essential part of our decision-making process and we value the

50:59 opportunity to hear from our community. We have one public hearing this evening. payroll tax ordinance first reading. Tonight's public comment period is specifically dedicated to that topic in this public hearing. I ask that all remarks stay focused on that item before the council to help us maintain clear a clear and productive record that ensurees everyone uh's time is respected. If you wish to speak and have not yet signed up, please complete a request to speak card and handed to the city quarter. Speakers will be called in the order in which they've signed up. Once your name is called, please come forward to the microphone, state your name for the record, and then begin your remarks. If you're online, you will need to raise your virtual hand. Each speaker will have three minutes to address the

51:44 council. We ask that speakers and audience members maintain a respectful conduct through the public hearing portion of this evening. That means no interruptions, applause, verbal reactions, positive or negative, while others are speaking. This ensures that there's a fair and safe space for every participant. Offensive language or disruptive behavior is not tolerated or permitted. Um, with those guidelines in place, we look forward to hearing from each of you, and we're going to turn it over for the staff report first. All right. Uh, good evening, Mayor and Council. Uh, Nathan Bell, finance director. Uh, the item in front of you this evening is a request to conduct a public hearing and a first reading for a payroll tax ordinance. Uh before I turn it back to you, I think uh there's some items worth uh noting. Uh the payroll tax ordinance in your packet this evening uh closely aligns with the

52:31 recommendation that was made by the fiscal stability task force. Uh that was for the lowest possible rate that would generate approximately $2.3 million. Uh the rate uh in this proposed ordinance is.1% or onetenth of 1% paid by both the employer and the employees. It would generate approximately 2.45 four or five million in first year of the program. So close to that uh target goal. Um the task force also wanted to be simple to understand and administer. I think uh we were successful uh in that. Um limited exclusions that was a little more challenging. Uh it does include some exclusions. Um um primarily it excludes uh health insurance premiums as well as flexible spending account um

53:16 contributions. um but they won't have a significant impact on um the revenue generated from the program. Uh and then lastly, uh strong guard rails. Uh this uh payroll tax ordinance includes uh guardrails uh with a rate that's established by a council adopted ordinance. Uh which means it can only be changed by another council adopted ordinance. Uh no rate increases for a minimum of 3 years. Uh annual reporting uh to both the public and the council. uh revenues accounted for in a separate fund. So this is going to allow for greater transparency uh and uh formal review uh after three years for the uh efficacy of the program. Um I think one other thing I want to note on this is and it was talked about in the fiscal

54:01 stability task force but we haven't talked about it a lot since. Uh one of the considerations of the fiscal stability task force uh was to for the city to uh expand its revenue sources. Uh right now as it relates to public safety uh we've sort of put all our eggs in one basket which is the property tax uh tax basket uh with our permanent rate in the general fund as well as uh two levies uh and all of it under the uh constraints of measure five and 50. uh this payroll tax uh actually diversifies our revenue sources and uh I think what also is nice uh with it is that expands um the uh group that contributes towards paying for our public safety services and just to illustrate that for the employee employee portion of this tax uh

54:46 for Springfield workers or Springfield employees uh only 25% of them live in the city of Springfield uh that means 75% of those folks come from outside city limits That means they benefit uh from the public safety services but they aren't contributing to uh towards those services. Uh this gives us a mechanism uh where those folks can contribute to uh services that they benefit from. Uh so with that any questions for me? >> Does anybody have any questions? Okay. Could you clarify one point for us too? If if you're a Springfield resident that works in Eugene, would you get have to pay both taxes? >> No. Uh, so you wouldn't be subject to it because you're not working within Springfield city limits. >> Okay, great. Um, before I open the

55:31 public hearing, I I want to just chat about uh and maybe Mary Bridget, you can help me here. This public hearing is specifically about the rate. I know I've got some library library cards that are have got have addressed concerns around payroll rates. So I think if you want to be heard specifically to the payroll rate, now is going to be the place that you want to you want to come forward and speak. Do you have any more advice for us? >> Yeah, I think you can just go through the cards that you have that are specific to the payroll tax and at the end of that testimony um just query the audience if there are people who would like to speak to the payroll tax instead of general business from the audience. >> Perfect. Thanks for the help on that one. Thank you, Nate. I'm going to call folks up two at a time. Since we're

56:18 going to use both microphones, you're going to state your name for the record and then you will have three minutes. Uh my first I'm going to open the public hearing. Uh my first two uh cards are Steven Schmunk and Libby Smith. Sorry, mayor counselors, thank you for your personal time you invest in Springfield. I'm here because many residents and employers are concerned that the task force's recommendations of a new payroll tax moves Springfield in the wrong

57:04 direction at a moment when our economic foundation is a fragile uh is already fragile. Over the past decade, Springfield has faced steady increases in statedriven administrative mandates. Their planning requirements, climate rules, equity mapping obligations, and land use code changes. These are not locally chosen priorities per se. They originate from state agencies pursuing broad progressive policy agendas and require specialized consultants. The fiscal stability task force report itself acknowledges this growing reliance on consultants and the state provides little reimbursement for these mandates. At the same time, Springfield continues to carry rising personnel costs, especially accelerating pension obligations. A a payroll tax does not

57:50 address these structural drivers. It simply shifts the burden onto employers and workers who who are already under pressure. The city has discretionary spending in areas such as the library and the museum. These are valued institutions, but they are also among the few areas where the Springfield has real flexibility. Before asking residents and employers to pay more, the city should evaluate these programs and let voters decide whether something like a library levy has support. Labor layered on all t on top of all this are broader statewide economic climate. Businesses are facing rising regulatory requirements, compliance burdens and labor costs. Many employers feel that the policy environment is becoming increasingly difficult for commerce and job creation. And we are seeing that job

58:38 creators and working families are leaving Oregon and adding to a local uh payroll task risks accelerating that trend. Attacks on wages sends a wrong signal at a time when Springfield needs to retain and attract jobs. For these reasons, I urge the council to reject the payroll tax recommendation. Springfield payer taxpayers don't need another tax on employers and families struggling in the Oregon economy. Thank you. >> Thank you. Love you. >> Good evening. >> Could you could you hit the hit the button? It'll go green. Thank you. >> Here we go. Good evening, Libby Smith. Thank you for your time, mayor and counselors, and all you city staff to be here this evening. Uh my name is Libby Smith. My husband and I own a business

59:24 in Springfield. He can't be here tonight because he's coaching our son's baseball team. We already wrote a letter to the mayor, counselors, and city manager, mainly about the negative impacts that proposed city uh pay payroll tax would have on our business. But I also want to come and speak about the personal impacts of the proposed payroll tax. My husband and I are raising three young children, and I can say personally that every dollar counts, especially to those of us trying to raise children or who have dependent. Most schools have had to drastically cut back enrichment programs and school sponsored sports, which has impacted our kids. These dollars that you're considering taking from us are the ones that allow us to pay for music lessons, dance classes, or to put our kids in sports programs or send them to summer camp or for someone to help pay

1:00:09 for their dependent care. It costs hundreds of even thousands of dollars a year uh in some cases to participate in these activities or to pay for dependent care. Um think about the single parents where every single dollar counts and they may or may not receive any other support or assistance. They may have to choose between necessities or extracurriculars. Even single a single person oh excuse me every single person and family is struggling to pay for rising housing costs which in general have become unaffordable. astronomical grocery bills and utilities, expensive gas, and skyrocketing health care costs, unaffordable daycare and dependent costs, to name a few. This will hurt us all. Any extra money you take can be the difference in someone affording to

1:00:54 remain independent or needing assistance. Your vote to pass this tax could be making people choose between healthcare or simply paying their bills. Our employees have already been hit with a PFMLA tax in the last several years, and that has hurt us as well. We have yet to even have an employee use that program, but we all pay for it. So do my husband and I. A new tax will absolutely make our business less viable and less attractive to potential employees. We even risk losing employees if this passes. We have already had to reduce staff and cut back hours based on some current economic challenges. This will only increase our burden. We need you to take a deeper look inside before you go outside seeking more tax dollars from citizens. Look at the library fund. Look at parks and wreck and city maintenance operations. Look at your own city staff

1:01:40 and see where you can make necessary cuts. Focus on efficiency. The public library is not a necessity. Schools have libraries and the majority of people are more concerned with access to internet than access to the public library. Reduce operational hours if necessary. Consider making the library or wamlain a predominantly volunteer program where wherever possible and where you could offer free memberships or discounted books to those who volunteer. Citywide extracurriculars are not necessities. Being able to afford a roof over your head and healthy food and medical bills are necessities and these will be negatively affected by this proposed tax. >> Thank you. >> Uh the next two cards I have are Paige Walters and Kai Fireside.

1:02:41 Mayor Van Gordon and members of the Springfield City Council. For the record, my name is Paige Walters. I serve as the senior director of advocacy and economic development for the Springfield area Chamber of Commerce. On behalf of the chamber, I want to thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on the city's proposed payroll tax. The chamber does support the ordinance as it's drafted. In December, we outlined key principles to guide any payroll tax proposal, simplicity, predictability, transparency, and clear guardrails for accountability. The ordinance before you reflects a meaningful alignment with those principles, including the shared rate structure, a dedicated fund, a defined period maintaining the initial rate, and a commitment to public reporting and review. We also appreciate the city council and staff's engagement with the business community, and the incorporation of that feedback into the proposal before you. Our support, however, is grounded in one key condition. It must be paired with a

1:03:27 sustained focus on long-term economic growth. A payroll tax can help address immediate fiscal needs, but it's not a long-term solution. A city that can fund essential services is critical, but the level at which we set this tax will directly shape our economic competitiveness. That's why maintaining a measured approach, including the current rate, matters. Long-term fiscal stability will depend on expanding Springfield's economic base, supporting business investment, facilitating job creation, and ensuring the city remains competitive and attracting and retaining employers. A strong and growing economy increases revenue and reduces reliance on additional tax mechanisms over time. At the same time, businesses in Springfield are already navigating a layered and growing cost environment. You've just heard from a couple of them tonight. Within that context, even

1:04:13 modest cost increases matter, particularly for small businesses operating on narrow margins. Any new tax should be implemented carefully to avoid unintended consequences like reduced investment or slower job growth. We've also heard concern about the potential for future rate increases. The ordinance's three-year guardrail provides important stability, and maintaining that commitment will be critical to building trust. As you move into upcoming budget discussions, we encourage a continued focus on cost containment, clear prioritization of core services, and long-term strategies that strengthen the city's economic base. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. >> For the record, my name is Kai Fireside. I know some people here are advocating for this text to not exist at all, but it is absolutely necessary that we

1:04:59 utilize this revenue stream to keep our city running. Furthermore, 0.1% is simply not sufficient. It dwarfs when compared to Eugene or other similarly sized cities. Some people have asked for a 0.01 percentage point increase. And I just wanted to run through some math so that we understand how small that is for any individual contributing, but how big an impact it would have on the city. So 1% is one penny per dollar. It's one out of 100. 1% is one penny per $10. That is one out of a,000 pennies. And 0.01% would be one penny out of every

1:05:44 10,000 pennies. We're asking for one 10,000th of the thing. And we are asking that you contribute that money to the library, which is an absolutely vital service that has already lost its teen program. It is apparently library appreciation week, but we're looking at a library that's only going to be open five days. So, next year, library appreciation week will be a 5-day thing and not a six or seven day thing. In the past 10 years, more businesses have opened than closed in the state of Oregon. We are not unfriendly towards business. We we need this income and the three-year

1:06:29 stagnation is absolutely ridiculous. The economy is so unpredictable. You you cannot tie your hands for the next three years that way. I think that's ridiculous. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, Timmy English. Thank you, Mayor Rangordon and counselors and city staff. I wasn't going to testify tonight, but then I was encouraged to. My name is Tammy English Drew. I represent Ames Mobile Nursing. I am a small business owner that we founded nine years ago in Springfield. Costs are rising. Everyone knows that. We've talked about it tonight. But I

1:07:16 trust that the mayor and the task force have put great thought and analysis into this payroll tax proposal and I'm trusting that with the guidelines that have been set forth. I'm just here to tell you I do support a payroll tax. Thank you. >> Thank you. That was my last card. Neil, do we have anybody online with wishing to testify? >> Uh, we have one hand. It's Beth Halverson. Beth's hand has been up since the beginning of the meeting. So, we'll just check to make sure this is the item you would like to speak to. And you should be able to unmute your microphone. Beth, >> hello. Yes, I am here. I don't know if you can also see me or if I can show my video or not, but if it's just um the audio, that's great. >> We can hear you. Do you want to speak to

1:08:02 the payroll packs? >> Yes, I do. >> Okay, then go go go right ahead. State your name and location in the city for the record. >> Absolutely. Um I am Beth Halverson. Um I live on Fifth and East Street. I can't remember if that's W two. My apologies. Um I just wanted to thank you all for giving context for tonight about the payroll tax. I want to thank all the comments as well. Um, and I I'm very keenly aware that we have some very difficult costs to cover and very very tight budgets. And I'm fully in support of the payroll tax. I know that I'm speaking from a place of privilege because I can I I know every dollar counts with every one of my good friends and with a lot of the clients that I work with in mental health. And I am

1:08:48 fully respecting that. I definitely see that. And I also think that similar to some of the other comments, we need way more than the 0.1%. I would love to do the 02% and I would love to consider if it's an opportunity to look at um having income um levels where we have different amounts of payroll tax depending on how much um income someone has coming in because I absolutely believe that higher earning people should be able to shoulder more of that expense than some of the younger families um or some of the people that don't have the same privilege afforded to them. I am fully in support of making sure that we have all of the funding that we need. Not just because I love the library and I think that it's an incredible important service, but also because I am aware, as

1:09:34 you all mentioned in the first portion of our evening meeting tonight, there are so many expenses. We have so many huge problems. And that is assuming that we don't have a natural disaster coming and hitting Springfield this summer or this next winter. the amount of expense that is going to continue to come just means that we have to have the funding to do it. I don't want to pretend to know what it's like to be in y'all's shoes. And I know that that there's this recognition that Springfield that doesn't want to do this. I get it. They don't. But we need leadership that is going to help explain why they need to why we need to as a community make sure that we can pay to keep everything running. why we as a community need to do these hard challenging tasks and really help sell it to them so they

1:10:20 understand because when you provide context like you did at the beginning of the evening tonight that allows us to know the why and I think Springfieldians would absolutely understand the why if you guys would spend some of the energy helping them understand why. So that's all. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do we have any more hands? >> No other hands for this item. >> Okay. Before I close the public hearing, I recognize there's a lot of folks here for the library, but is there anybody else that wants to speak specifically to the payroll tax? Okay. So, we're going to bring both of you up at the same time. Come on up. You're going to state your name for the record. Um, when you are done, Allison is going to need another card from you. So, we're going to do the paperwork in reverse order, but you guys are pros.

1:11:10 >> Thank you. My name is Mary Harwood and I did come here to speak initially about the library but also about the payroll tax. So I've just adjusted my comments a little bit. I do support the premise of a payroll tax. Many of my co-workers live in other cities and work here in Springfield. I'm a teacher for Springfield public schools. Sharing the tax burden with people who earn their living in this lovely city makes sense to me. My concern is that the proposed tax isn't going to benefit the community enough to make this a wise move. Why have a tax increase that does not cover the expenses that the city actually needs to maintain services? Adding a payroll tax while reducing library services, for instance, is in effect providing this community with less benefit for more cost. That math doesn't work. Consider

1:11:56 establishing a rate that will allow you to maintain essential public services like the library. Pivoting to a payroll tax that continues services has the potential to convert those like many of us here tonight opposed to library cuts into advocates for the proposed tax. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. My name is Nick Aguo and um I just wanted to say that you've heard public testimony tonight about taking dollars away from families to pay for extracurricular activities to go to things like private music lessons. What they've proposed to you is to cut programs that are for all members of the community, including the library, which provides extracurricular activities. Their concern for private

1:12:41 extracurricular activities and summer camp shouldn't take away money from services for all people who can't even afford summer camp in the first place. The city is stronger when we pull our resources together to provide services for all. Thank you. >> Thank you. If All right, that is the last set of cards. Um, if you could fill out one more card. Oh, I think you're in the business from the audience. Did you want to speak about the payroll tax? If you want us to consider your input for the payroll tax, why don't you come up and No, no.

1:13:26 Okay, come on. I we we were expecting this. These topics are really closely closely aligned. So, same plan is you'll re you'll read your name and uh and location for the record and then you'll fill out an extra card for Allison. Go ahead. Yeah, >> thank you so much uh for your flexibility and for helping us out. Um my name is Kristen Cur and my opinions are mine, not of my employer, which is the city of Springfield. I've worked for libraries for nearly 20 years in various communities communities and in different roles. But I came to Springfield almost 14 years ago and I made my home here. I bought a house, gave birth to three beautiful children. I volunteered with my church, the PTO scouts, neighborhood

1:14:12 groups. Like all of you here tonight, I'm invested in the Springfield community and it's National Library Week. Librarians will tell you that we wear a lot of hats. We excel at being creative, adaptive, responsive in the services provided to communities, usually with small budgets. What sets SPL apart is just how small. In FY24, we had one-third less funding per capita than the median in Oregon. Our staffing was less than half the average. And yet, you've heard from our community over the past few months, about the quality of services we provide. Any day, 51 people walk into the library each hour, which is above the state average. Our expanded study rooms are almost always booked. Computers and printer are busy. Teen leadership workshops are full. And FY25, despite being closed one month for

1:14:57 renovations, 15,132 people attended our programs. People come downtown, they come to the library, and they spend money here. Despite being staffed at 44% of the medium for Oregon, in two years, the library has had a 21% cut in staffing levels. We now have one person for every three staff at the average Oregon public library. You can't run our library this way. This level of cut will drastically reduce the level of service and quality of life for Springfielders, reducing the number of people who come downtown, who feel welcome, who want to live here. We're responsible fiscally. We make tough decisions, but our approach for too long has been making cuts. We're the little city that could, and we're proud of that. We know how to be frugal. We can talk about how frugal we are. But we can't just run an organization, a business, a scout troop on cuts alone.

1:15:43 You must increase revenue. Even my daughter who sold 1,500 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year knows that. And yes, Thin Mints are that taste better in your mouth than taxes, right? But funding a troop and funding local government both require setting the revenue goal at a level that will cover costs and then to gain support talking to community le uh members, sorry. The mayor's fiscal stability task force did the initial work of setting great goals and gaining supports, but as a community member, I'm concerned that the proposal you're voting on is not setting us up for stability. The task force suggested a 0.1 to a 2% payroll tax. Yet, you're voting on the lowest number in that range. With projections showing a city budget shortfall as soon as the third year of implementation for a city that's been as frugal as possible, this can't be the answer. I understand there's a

1:16:29 lot of complicated pieces. Let's stop relying on making cuts as stop gap measures. I implore you to set the city revenue goals at healthy levels. Let's invest in a welcoming community and a vibrant future for Springfield. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Taylor Harwood. I live in W 3 and my address is on file. I work at the Springfield Public Library, but I'm here tonight speaking on behalf of myself only. I urge the council to implement a payroll tax at a sustainable rate. The proposed rate of 0.1% is insufficient to fill the budget gap. It doesn't include muchneeded deferred maintenance for city buildings and it means cutting two library staff and closing the libraries doors an extra

1:17:15 day every week. This comes after the library had to reduce open hours last year due to staffing. Springfield residents working in Eugene already pay Eugene's payroll tax, which is more than four times Springfield's proposed rate. A modest increase to the proposed payroll tax could maintain city staffing and keep the library open six days a week without burdening taxpayers like myself. Funding the payroll tax at an amount that will sustain city operations is the fiscally responsible and equitable solution. A small targeted increase to the payroll tax of just 01 or 02% will allow the library to continue to thrive as a space for everyone. The proposed cuts to the library will reduce

1:18:01 our ability to provide community resources and excellent service to our services to our patrons. We won't be able to spend as much time helping each person. We won't have teen programs. The librarian who was laid off under the proposed cuts, had her last day last week. We are now observing her job duties in addition to our regular work, just like we did for the position cut in 2024 and again last year for the vacant position due to be cut this July. We rely on dedicated volunteers to keep the library running, the equivalent of 2.7 full-time staff. When I started working at the library three years ago, we were already staffed well below the statewide average by population, and there were 14 full-time library staff. Today, we're down to 11. If a couple people call in sick, we

1:18:47 struggle to operate the library. We can't sustain the level of service we had just two years ago. What will happen the next time the budget needs trimming? Thank you all for devoting your time and your energy to make Springfield a better place. Let's work together for a pragmatic solution that looks to the next 10 years, not just the next three. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> That was my last card. Um I'm going to go ahead and close the public hearing and this is the first reading. There's no action. Mary Bridget, do we do we need to do anything else or if anybody's got questions about like detailed questions, now would be a good time for them or should we just wait to deliberate until it's scheduled for the second hearing? >> You could uh wait to um ask your

1:19:34 questions for the uh second hearing would be fine. >> Perfect. Thank you so much. Next item, please. The next item is business from the audience. >> Okay. I've got instructions for this, too. Um, before we get started, we have 20 minutes for this item. I have I have 24 cards. Um, so if the council's good, I would say maybe we run we check in at 45 minutes and see where we're where we're going. We do have an item that other people are here for this evening. Okay. We had to get the paperwork uh done. Um

1:20:19 before we begin this evening, I'd like to take a moment to outline the protocol expectations for business from the audience. First, I want to thank everyone for being here and taking the time to participate. Public input is is an essential part of our decision-making process and we value the opportunity to hear from our community. If you wish to speak and have not signed up, please complete the request to speak card and hand it to the city recorder. Speakers will be called in the order in which they signed up. Once your name is called, please forward uh come forward to the microphone, state your name for the record, and then begin your remarks. If you are online, you will have to raise your virtual hand. Each speaker will have 3 minutes to address the council. We ask that all speakers and audience members maintain respectful conduct through the business from the audience. Uh this means no

1:21:04 interruptions, no applause, no verbal reactions, positive or negative, while others are speaking. This ensures a safe and fair space for everybody. Off offensive language or disruptive behavior will not be permitted. With those guidelines in place, we look forward to hearing from each of you. I'm going to call you two cards at a time to and then we'll go back and forth between the two of you. The first two people are James Longer and Jim Couples.

1:21:53 Uh, good evening, mayor and members of city council. I'm here because I submitted a letter to the agenda on behalf of why I think Caliakland is the right choice for the ward for appointment. But instead of reading that letter verbatim, I'd rather just talk to you for a couple of minutes on the reasoning behind that. So, when you're looking at qualifications, I truly believe that Cali stands out. She's put in the time on the planning commission, which means she understands the work that's going to be come before this body. She knows the decisions and the responsibilities that come along with uh that role. Not every applicant can say this. Some people the first time that they've stepped in this room has been regarding this appointment to this body.

1:22:38 And I think that's important. But I also think that this appointment is more than qualifications. It's about who gets to sit at this table up here and who gets to make decisions because the reality is that most of the people who end up in positions on city council, they tend to come from the same pathways. They have the financial flexibility to participate and they're wellconed with professional groups like the Chamber of Commerce or social groups like Rotary. And those are both great groups. They help our community. But I also want to remind you that that's not the deciding qualification for a city counselor. If you're choosing on the basis of who you're friends with or who you're in those groups with, it lessens the office

1:23:25 and credibility. And if you do the opposite and choose the best qualified person, it does the opposite and it builds credibility towards your office. When the same well-connected and financially insulated candidates are chosen again and again, you have a council that doesn't reflect the community that it serves. Right now, about 45% of Springfielders rent instead of owning their own homes. It's 45%. There isn't a single renter here on the council. That's a huge gap in perspective, especially when housing is consistently said as a major issue and you don't have that lived experience that's making decisions on the city council. And I

1:24:11 believe you're all trying to do your best, but I also think there's something that comes from life experience and living it and being there in the now that's important. Anyway, I just want to say there there's one other thing that I think is important and that's um Callie's a veteran like me and we talk a lot about supporting veterans, but this is a chance to actually back that up with action. So, I want to just restate I think Cali is the appointee with a different experience and perspective and one that is strongly missed not only on this council but on more public bodies. Thank you. Thank you. >> Good evening, Mr. Mayor, council

1:24:56 members. I'm Jim Loinger of Ward Six. I have hired, trained, and worked with many dozens of young women and men over the past 50 years as business executive, business owner, and on as leader of over 20 community-based nonprofit boards and commissions. A lot of good talent came and went, but I'd be hardressed to remember any of the expert any with the expertise, wisdom, leadership, savvy, and deep experience as candidate Cali Acklland has. For the past decade, Cali has been involved with a wide range of endeavors requiring initiating, planning, budgeting, training, leading, and business operating. Along with this impressive path, she has been honored and recognized and with rewards for her

1:25:42 skill and for her active leadership. Also evident is her strength in environmental sustainability, housing and rental justice, small business development, and community building. And attractively, Cali is a candidate from the millennial population who will add a new important dimension to the Springfield Council. Most impressive is the very beginning of her career as a naval crypto cryptologic linguist dealing with classified intelligence and initiating and leading the development of a training program that qualified 20 plus interpreters for a high priority operation. I have worked closely with Cali at the library over the past six months and have been impressed with her initiative, participation, and leadership well beyond those of just a

1:26:28 community activist as some prefer to see her. I believe she would be an outstanding, active, and prepared city council member. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next two cards I have are CJ Man and Peggy Dame. Good evening. I am CJ Man, Ward for neighborhood activists, a 50-year renter and candidate for the vacant spot on the

1:27:13 council. I am the person in the commercial growing up to be my parents. I am that person that will strike up a conversation with literally everyone. Just ask the people at my neighborhood grocery store, laundrymat, gas station, library, parks, pools, playgrounds, pharmacy. I make good use of my interactions. I want everyone to feel safe and sane. I ask them how they're doing and I give them my kindness and caring and appreciation. I came to this appointment process to represent all the neighborhoods I've lived in in the past 40 years. I have lived in four of the six wards and have family living in the other two. I've lived in Washurn, Game Farm Village, Mid, and Central Springfield, plus 35

1:27:59 years on the block I call home. Words are artificial boundaries on a planner's map. All neighborhoods have pockets of under reppresented people who need to share their lived experiences in order to help shape policies that affect our everyday lives. I believe that true representation must reflect the community's demographics. Our needs are based on the struggles we face every day. Under represented people need to be heard and have their opinions and insights respected. Representative governance can have its drawbacks. It can lead to power concentration. It can lead to prioritizing the interests of special groups and ignoring the needs of the general public. I hope tonight that the

1:28:45 underrepresented, the disenfranchised, and those who feel like they cannot come here, that if they were brave enough to immerse themselves in civic engagement, they fear they would be unheard. And I hope to be the conduit to that percentage of our residents. I hope that the final decision reflects the need of to add a diverse perspective to the council. If the council does not believe that my 40 years of community engagement equates to my appointment, I will be sad. Not for me personally, but for the marginalized neighborhoods, the communities of color, and for our town. >> Thank you, >> Mayor Ben Gordon and Springfield City Councilors. My name is Peggy Dame. I

1:29:31 would like to highly recommend Ally Ackan for the current interim city councelor position. She loves Springfield and is committed to making it a livable, vibrant community for families and businesses. She has the work ethic, problem solving skills, and very likable personality that makes committee work both productive and enjoyable. It seems to me that in most city councils, the expectations for members should be less on ideology and more about character, relationships, and practical judgment. They need to be trustworthy, responsive to their constituents, pragmatic, community-minded, and collaborative. I believe Calie has all of these qualities. Some of the qualities have perhaps come from her background and varied work history. Someone already

1:30:16 mentioned her being a veteran in the US Navy, having served four years. She's patriotic and has developed many work skills during her time in the military where she translated combatant communications, drafted intelligence reports, and trained interpreters. And even while in the military, she earned commenation for excellent leadership and Navy volunteer of the year. She's an Oregonian and grew up in a small town north of here. She knows what small towns need to be livable and productive communities. While she has lived in Springfield for only the last three years or four years, she's already shown her commitment to being an integral part of Springfield for her volunteer work on the Planning Commission, the Eugene Tenant Association, the Live Healthy

1:31:01 Lane Group, and is now applying for the city council. Calie also understands small businesses. What better way to learn fiscal responsibility than starting and operating your own small business? Cali owned and operated two small businesses for over five years. She managed budgets, supervised employees, and was involved in promotions and sales. Finally, she's been able to balance multiple demands in volunteer positions and work while also being a student at Lane Community College in general studies and political science and has just recently been accepted at the UFO. And in spite of all of her activities and busy schedule, she's always approachable and a pleasure to work with. Overall, I'm very impressed with Callie's character, work ethic, and interest in making the world a better place for all of us. I wish you

1:31:48 the best in your search for a new counselor to help you finish up your 2026 years. Springfield residents deserve a caring and productive community. Cali Acklland would certainly help you as you work together with your citizenry to make Springfield the best city it can be. Thank you. >> The next two cards I have are Michelle Postol and Amanda. thank you. Mayor Van Gordon, councilors, good evening. My name is Michelle Postal. I'm here before you this evening to respectfully request that you appoint Cali Akan to the open city councelor

1:32:34 position. My career was in marketing and administration for nearly 40 years. I've worked for a large national company, a medium-sized Oregon company, and a family-owned newspaper in Grants Pass. I was in management since 1986 until I retired in 2013. I had the privilege and the chore of interviewing, hiring, and yes, sometimes firing employees. I learned how to choose the best candidates. I often interviewed candidates three or more times because I wanted to see their more relaxed, authentic self because making a mistake in hiring has consequences, but hitting the mark has rewards.

1:33:21 I've known Calie for a couple of years now and I have to say I'm I was impressed with her from the first time we met. We've worked together on a committee for the last year and she has been the lead of that committee. She's always prompt, thorough, responsible. I've admired her ability to lead our group of three who are old enough to be her grandmothers. She has demonstrated attention to detail, integrity, enthusiasm, followth through, and excellent communications with us. As she has told me many times, Cali possesses a sincere passion for this community. Your community, her community. I see it. You must see it in her

1:34:06 enthusiasm and her sincerity. Cali is a United States Navy veteran who served her country well. She's a volunteer in service to Lane County, a student with a strong work ethic, and an employee who serves others. Now, Cali is asking for the privilege privilege to serve constituents by helping to address current issues while preparing Springfield for the future by supporting smart strategic growth and development. If I were hiring, I'd hire Calie. My experience and my instincts tell me she's the right person for this position at this moment. Take her fresh outlook,

1:34:51 her intelligence, her talents, and put them to work for Springfield. I know a winner when I see one, and Cali is a winner. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Should I go? >> Hi, ladies and gentlemen. >> Hello. Is that >> Yep. >> All right. Hi, ladies and gentlemen. Um, a couple weeks ago, I came here with a proposal for a police oversight committee that would be run by civilians, preferably volunteers, to avoid corruption. I called the uh city manager's office to request that this get like pushed further because I think it's absolutely necessary. There is a child trafficking problem here and in

1:35:37 Eugene. I've had to make multiple police reports about the same stuff happening in the same places on repeat. And I don't make this stuff up. My reports contain video evidence, thermal imaging, uh, blood stains, missing person's reports, vehicles with mismatched license plates. Um, there's a quiz on the Department of Homeland Security website you can take for like if you're able to recognize human trafficking or not. I get 100% on that quiz and I'm studying criminal justice. Um, and I was basically told by the Springfield Police Department that I would be arrested if I continue to report this. As a citizen, I have a right to report suspicious activity. And not only do I have a right to, I feel it's my duty because as a community, we need to look out for each

1:36:23 other. We need to look out for each other's safety, especially those of the people that can't speak for themselves. And a lot of times they don't because people that are in these trafficking situations, they're groomed, they are threatened. Fear is instilled in them to teach them not to talk, not to speak about certain things. So, if I see something that seems off to me, I feel an obligation to speak about that. And they've tried to weaponize crisis response against me, which I find disturbing because I'm going to play for you a clip. And this is from Jonathan Lockwood, who works for Kim Dasher's office. You don't have to take my word for any of this stuff, okay? But basically what he's talking about is the state is profiting off CPS pulling kids out of their homes, putting them in these residential facilities, and you're

1:37:09 going to hear what happens there, but they're getting sexually abused. They're being made to make first responders uniforms. So maybe that's why they don't want me reporting it. I don't know. Um, and I'm going to play this clip for you. And the last thing I'm going to say on my end is I feel like you guys owe not only me but this community a response on this this issue. Sorry. When I was working on the state's so-called foster care system, state custody system, child trafficking system, where hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars is being profited on the backs of those kids. Oregon was taking kids out of homes. the secretary

1:37:55 for the department under Kate Browns sat across the seat from me in Senator Thatcher's office who I was working with and told me you act like you were just taking kids out of homes and I looked at him and I said that is exactly what you're doing and I said you will address the senator with the rest of your questions. That's what they were doing. They were sending kids across state lines into psychiatric facilities with human rights violations, including a rape room with blood smeared across the wall. Kids getting Next two cards I have are Fabian Gomez Fernandez and Mike Coralof.

1:39:01 Uh counselors, mayor, staff, I would first like to thank you all for the opportunity to speak in front of all of you today. Uh I am here tonight to stay here for the record. >> Oh, sorry. Uh my name is Steven Gomez Fernandez. I a resident of Ward 4. Um thank you all for your time. Uh, I'm here today to show my strong support for Calli Akan for the Ward 4 council seat. In the short time I have known Cali, she has left a tremendous impression on me. I have seen firsthand her ability to ensure that every voice is heard in conversations. I've also seen her ability to ensure that I've seen her ability to ensure that questions are asked that not only spark the most lively and fruitful

1:39:47 conversations I have ever been a part of in meetings, but I've also seen her get information from expert matter professionals, weigh the pros and cons of every single piece of data that reaches uh the packet that we read and make a decisive, thorough, and proactive decision in every single one of these choices. For these reasons and many more, she has gained the respect and admiration of many Springfield residents, me including, and this is why I would like to again advise you guys to please appoint Cali for the C4 uh word position. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Uh I'm Mike Quuea. I reside in ward 2 up

1:40:34 on Kelly but um I'm coming here again to ask you to support Kellyan for the ward 4 vacancy. There is no better candidate for this position. She brings a substantial resume as a veteran, a small business owner, and is knowledgeable about city government, budgeting, housing, and land use. She brings a perspective as a younger person and a renter that we don't have on the council. She studies all the information that's presented by staff is always prepared for discussions and actively seeks out information and takes the time to fully understand the issues that are facing the cities the city. I have been

1:41:19 particularly impressed with her work on the planning commission, especially when dealing with the state mandates for housing, transportation, and environmental regulation. I think that she's a really good example of a young leader in our community. And I would actually be honored to see her on the council. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Uh the next two speakers are Timothy Murvas and Clive Fireside. Good evening. Uh, Mayor Van Gordon, uh, councilors,

1:42:05 thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. For the record, my name is Timothy Morris and I'm here representing myself. Uh I am here today to join the chorus of support for Cali. >> Could you state your address or location in the city for the record too, please? >> Uh I am a resident of Eugene. Um yes. Um but I am here today to speak in favor of Cali Ackland and join the chorus of support for her. Um I will be brief. Uh Cali has done her work in talking to community members uh asking questions and sharing her vision for what the city could look like. Um, and in these conversations, Cali, uh, uh, in conversations with Cali that I myself have had in, uh, with community members with Cali and with leaders across

1:42:50 Springfield, there is a common thread that continues to come up each and every time. And Cali is asking this question, how do we make Springfield better for everyone? This is who you want by your side. a partner who supports vulnerable communities, a small business owner and veteran who has already given much to Springfield, and a well-informed leader who truly cares. I urge you to support uh and vote to appoint Cali Acklland to be on your side. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> My name is Kai Fireside. I live inside Ward One. As you deliberate tonight over who to appoint to the open council seat, I ask that you consider the community. Of the applicants, there are two who I regularly see volunteering in our

1:43:35 community and I stick my nose in a lot of community business. But CJ man is someone that I see everywhere and every time I run into her, she greets me warmly by name. Whether that's at city hall or the Wildish theater, she is out there in the community volunteering her time. The other applicant is of course Kelly Ackland and you've heard a lot about her tonight, but the fact that she shows up for the community means that she values us and values cannot be taught. These two women are the applicants who truly value this community and one of the two of them should sit in that empty chair. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, I have Amelia and Evelyn Pyre.

1:44:22 And then My name is Ollie and I am 7 years old. I wanted to speak today because the library is very important to me. I like to go to the library and a lot of kids grown-ups and even teenagers do too. Friends meet, kids read, and children play. The library teaches us things just like a school does. Story time is very, very popular, too, and my friends would be hope broken if you took it away. Please, it is very important that you don't take money away from the library.

1:45:10 >> Hi, my name is Alyn and I am 5 years old. I am here to talk about the library and the librarians. I think we need to get librarians back because the librarians help us the library and help kids learn to read and do other fun things like crafts and games. The library. The librarians are important to me. I would feel sad if the library got rid of story times. I I like when when the librarians read books to us. Please keep our library safe.

1:46:05 I'm going to give a one time exception to clapping for the kids. The next two cards I have are Ariel Sexton and Hava. >> Mayor, city council. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak. My name is Hava Cronin. I am a Eugene resident. I'm here to share my support and enthusiasm for Cali Acklland for Springfield City Council. I worked in Springfield for Head Start of Lane County for 15 years. During that time, I was a member of the G Street Oasis steering committee where I had the pleasure to work with then

1:46:51 counselor member Shawn Van Gordon. That program continues to this day serving Springfield's most vulnerable families with children. I retired from Head Start in January. The last three years of my career, I was the housing specialist. This is where my connection with Cali begins. I first met Calie through the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association call line. As a housing specialist, I called CEDA on a regular basis for information and guidance. Cali was often on call and was extremely helpful with tenant landlord laws and information relevant to the client needs. CEDA plays a vital role for tenants in our community being the only free resource for housing information support. Their data collection is invaluable for city planning and policies related to housing

1:47:36 issues. Callie's commitment to her work as the tenant support specialist with CEDA while being a college student is commendable. Her resume, which I'm sure you have seen, is replete with community focused expertise. Her expansive employment and volunteer experience includes leading the Save the Library campaign here in Springfield, managing a smart reading program, energy, ensuring voter integrity with the League of Women Voters, and owning two small businesses, and being appointed to the Springfield Planning Commission. And this is just a partial list. Tally also served our country in the United States Navy, translating highly sensitive communications under pressure for counterterrorism purposes. Through these work and volunteer positions, Cali has

1:48:22 demonstrated the following skills: business administration, detailed analysis, personal management, and planning skills. And that is just a partial list of her qual qualifications for a seat at the Springfield City Council. Our news is filled with how politicians are out of touch with the people. We see that daily on a national level. Local politics must be different. We need policy makers who serve the community at large and focus on the most vulnerable amongst us. Cali has that real world experience. So necessary for making good policies. Cali brings incredible qualities to anything she undertakes. The council needs representations from a younger generation, someone who is a veteran and also a renter. I truly believe that Cali will be a great asset, communicator, and

1:49:08 collaborator for the Springfield City Council. Thank you. Hi, my name is Ariel Ston and I am a resident of Springfield. I am here today to speak about our library, which is very fitting considering it's National Library Week. I'm hesitant to wait for the budget meeting next month because you are already making changes without us. Mr. Mayor, I will use some of your own words to describe the importance of the library. Whereas libraries serve as vibrant community hubs connecting people with knowledge, technology, and resources while fostering civic engagement, critical thinking, and cultural enrichment. Libraries empower job seekers and entrepreneurs by providing access to resources that support job growth and economic success. Those are great words, and they are true

1:49:54 words, but from what we can see so far, they seem like just words. Cuts have already been made, and a librarian has already been fired. All will the city manager receives a raise. What is yet to come? Please prioritize the library and implement a small 01% increase to the proposed payroll tax. Also, I want to add my name to the list of people here asking you to please appoint Cali Aan toward four. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next cards I have are Mary Harwood and Diane Peterson.

1:50:47 Mayor Van Gordon and members of the city council. My name is Diane Peterson and I'm a resident of Springfield. I'm here to express my strong support for the appointment of Cali Aklland to the Springfield City Council. Cali stands out for her consistent commitment to treating everyone, fellow council members, city staff, and the public, with respect, politeness, and professionalism. In every interaction I've observed, she approaches people with care and a willingness to listen, regardless of political differences or personal relationships. I see this as a common thread throughout what I've learned about her work. Her background reflects both community involvement and thoughtful leadership. As a small business owner, she created a zerowaste store that became a welcoming community space. She organized events supporting

1:51:32 local entrepreneurs and artists, hosted nonprofit meetings, and brought people together around shared goals. Her work earned recognition from a local city council for sustainable practices, showing her ability to build respect across perspectives. In her current role as a tenant rights specialist, Cali focuses on education and empowerment. She helps people understand their rights and engage constructively in civic processes. Her approach is collaborative. She listens, supports, and equips others to participate with confidence and dignity. Through her service on the planning commission, she has demonstrated the ability to weigh diverse perspectives and contribute thoughtfully to decisions shaping Springfield's future. Combined with her military experience, she brings

1:52:17 professionalism, discipline, and the ability to work effectively within complex systems. Across all of her work, Cali consistently shows a belief in treating people with dignity, and making space for every voice. She comes prepared, listens carefully, and knows how to disagree respectfully while maintaining strong working relationships. As a Springfield resident with two young children in Springfield public schools, this appointment matters to me. Cali has the qualities needed to serve all Springfield residents and to continue moving our community forward together. I strongly urge you to appoint her to the Springfield City Council. Thank you for your time and consideration. >> Thank you. >> Good evening. Thank you for your time and the opportunity to speak. My name is

1:53:02 Mary Harwood. I won't reiterate all of the numerous reasons that the proposed library cuts are poor governance and bad ideas generally. I want to talk about process. Process is the highway system of democracy. It gets us where we need to be. The stops along the way are carefully planned. There are laws about how fast we can go and when we can pass and when we must slow down. The point of public comment is so that you will know about how the community feels regarding say proposed budgets and rules, the signs on the roadside to point in the right direction, if you will. You are deciding how our tax dollars are going to be spent. The problem with the city's process is that you are not listening.

1:53:48 Have you heard from anyone who is in favor of proposed cuts to our library? We've been asked to trust the process. The process appears to be to wait until it is too late to do anything about it and pretend that there was nothing else that you could do. Why waste our time if you never planned for any other outcome? Deflecting responsibility and accepting predetermined outcomes are not the same as having no options. You alone are responsible for this decision. Not the city management which has already begun to implement the budget cuts proposed cuts 2 and a half months before the proposed budget cuts are supposed to take place and weeks before formal public comment and voting will take

1:54:34 place. Taking action before voting makes the public comment process pointless. For the council to passively allow this to happen is the same as giving your wholehearted approval. If you act or do not act, both are decisions. It is not too late to change course. These cuts are not inevitable. Many alternatives were shared with you tonight when you listen to um comments regarding the payroll tax. Please consider these alternatives. Would anyone here who supports a well-funded library please raise your hand? Thank you. Council, you may not you may or may not be reading the great books that the library provides, but you can

1:55:20 at least read the room. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next two items uh cards I have are uh Cadence Williams and James Anderson. James Anderson. I live in Springfield, Ward 4. So, just uh to rehash everything, just to uh summarize everything, recently you

1:56:05 decided to close the Springfield to parts of the Springfield Library and Museum right around the time you decided to give city manager Nancy Newton a big raise and she's making over $200,000 a year now. Well over. Um I've been informed. I was wondering if you could confirm for me. I've been told that the city is planning on installing a huge fitness center right here in city hall. Maybe you can confirm for for the community whether that's true while you're making cuts to the library. I've also been told that city manager Nancy Newton's breakroom area is getting brand new stainless steel appliances while the old appliances are still

1:56:50 functional. That's just what I was told. Maybe you can confirm for the for the community. Mayor Sean Van Gordon, your mayor's fiscal stability task force uh consisted of approved costs of hiring not one but two advisory companies to manipulate the task force. Uh Eco Northwest and Funk Levis were hired. Uh Funk Funk Levis on their website states that they offer marketing services and PR. How much did you approve to pay for these two uh advisory uh committees? Um again, I'm going to remind the community that the city the city charter states that the council has the power and the

1:57:37 duty to hire and fire the city manager and the city attorney. I think you should answer to the community and um and see what they want they want you to do. You're supposed to serve us. >> Hello. Uh, my name is Cadence Williams. I live and work in Ward 4. Um, and I am here to emphatically endorse Cali Akan to city council. Um, I've worked directly for her on several different projects and observed on a daily basis the leadership, the integrity, the

1:58:23 discipline and community- based thinking that I believe is critical for the role that you are looking to fill for our city. Um, Cali grew up in Kaiser, Oregon, actually only an hour north of us here in Springfield. Pretty similar city dynamic of a bigger city capital next to us as the smaller city to the side. Um, you can look back to as young as 15 years old to see a demonstration of her relentless grit and care for others when she started her first business, Grab a Gown, which was a shed in her backyard converted into a affordable formal dress rental shop with thrifted and donated items. Um, after serving in the Navy, as many people mentioned, um, she then launched Hippie Haven, a zero waist store and community space. Her commitment to sustainable

1:59:08 business and operations earned the store an award and I saw firsthand how she supported other small businesses through mentorship and practical help. Kell's uh approach to tenant advocacy is equally pragmatic and empowering. Um since October 2024, she has worked at CEDA as a tenant um support specialist coaching tenants on self- advocacy and connecting people to services without judgment. Um the perspective and firsthand knowledge is direly needed on our council as almost half of our residents are renters including myself. Um her ongoing studies in political science with minors in sustainable business and climate studies reinforce her hands-on experience that she is already bringing to the table. Um Callie's priorities in housing justice, small business development, and community building aren't abstract to

1:59:53 her. These have been part of her daily life for years. Um, I've watched her organize volunteers for various causes, run voter registration drives, support youth development programs, and contribute to Lane Community uh, health improvement plan. She leads by example and brings people together around realistic and compassionate solutions. Um, in my opinion, no other candidate demonstrates the same lifelong commitment to serving others. Um, active patriotism, genuine leadership, visionary outlook, and determination to get things done. as a student, a veteran, and a renter. She would bring a fresh and much needed perspective to the council, something that is unrepresented among yourselves and the candidates alike. Um, and I think you'd be

2:00:39 hardressed to find another allrounder capable of juggling the nuances of policy and people management needed for such a position like this. And my word would suffer losing such a paragon for our city. Uh, thank you for coming to my TED talk. >> Thank you. Uh, the next two cards are Ruth Seager and Taylor Harwood. >> Good evening. My name is Ruth Seager and I live in Eugene. I'm here tonight to support Cali Acklland like a whole bunch of people in the room, which is fun to see. Callie is interested in your vacant

2:01:25 ward four position on the city council here in Springfield. Calie is hardworking, she's honest, she's reliable, and she's effective. I met Cali for the first time just about a year ago. We volunteer together now at a nonprofit nonpartisan organization here in Lane County. And upon joining, Calie stepped right up to take on some work that was uh in need of some serious leadership. She has outperformed my expectations in a large way. She's done so with efficiency, uh, collaboration, and abundant kindness. She works well with others. She is a good listener.

2:02:10 She is conscientious about time management in scheduling both herself and others. She stays on task. She excels at comprehensive followup. I can say without any hesitation that Cali would be a terrific asset to the Springfield City Council and in my opinion she is one of Lane County's emerging next generation leaders. I refer you to the letter I submitted on March 2nd for additional information and I thank you so much for the opportunity to be here tonight. >> Thank you. >> Hi again. My name is Taylor Harwood. to live in W three and my um I'm speaking tonight on behalf of myself and not my

2:02:56 employer. I recommend that you all appoint Callie Acklland to the vacant ward for a seat. Her impressive resume, character, and work ethic will allow her to hit the ground running and get to work for Springfield. I appreciate her intelligence, leadership, and passion for Springfield, as well as her kindness, and most of all, her hard work and followthrough. I also appreciate that um there might be someone on the council of my generation, especially as someone who was born and raised in Springfield and works here and really cares about the community. As a renter myself, I really value her experience supporting tenants and as a renter. I've actually had to use um the CEDA as a resource and I really appreciated that it was there for me.

2:03:42 Housing is essential for a healthy community and this council can show that it's a priority by picking Cali Akan to represent Springfield. Thank you all for your time. >> Thank you. Um we are at the end of 45 minutes. Uh Neil, how many hands do we have up? So we can just do a quick checkin. >> Currently we just have one. >> Okay. So I have one, two, three. I have five more cards. So, are is everybody comfortable continuing? Okay. Um, why don't we go to the online queue to make sure we get them in and then we'll go we'll return back to the cards.

2:04:27 >> All right. Online we have Dan. Hi, Stan. And Dan, you should be able to unmute your microphone. >> Okay. Can you hear me? >> We can. >> Great. Hello, my name is Dan Hston. I live in Ward 2 in Springfield and and thanks for your time tonight. So, I'm going to read a quote real quick. Uh quote, "The Springfield City Council is committed to fostering an environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. Springfield is a diverse community, and we celebrate diversity of culture, background, experience, and thought," unquote. So, this language originates from the Springfield City Council's statement on the council's website. And these are, you know, they're powerful

2:05:12 words, but only if they're embraced as more than just a feel-good check the box action with no follow through. And so, it's within this context that I wish to express my enthusiastic support for the appointment of Cali Acklland to the Springfield City Council. Tonight, I see an opportunity to address these lofty aspirations of inclusion by adding a voice on the council that more accurately reflects the community's diverse population. And that voice is Callie's. Like approximately 45% of our Springfield friends and neighbors, Callie's a renter. If she were to join the council, it's my understanding that she would be the only council person who does not own a house. In other words, she would be the only renter. Her voice would give that segment of the population nearly half of our community,

2:05:58 the agency it currently currently lacks, and the insight this governing body desperately needs. Callie would also better represent the median age of Springfield residents, about 37 12 years old, that again is absent from this elected board. her youth, her energy, and her connection to the experiences of living in a time of extreme economic hardship would be invaluable and provide much needed change. While she is young, she is not inexperienced. She's a former small business owner, a Navy veteran, and most importantly, a tenant rights specialist with the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association and a member of the Springfield Planning Commission. In the time I've known Calie, I've been

2:06:43 impressed by her tenacity, her courage, her professionalism, and perhaps most importantly, her willingness to actively listen and learn. I think it's obvious by the many comments tonight. It's been incredible. Actually, um I'm not alone in these feelings. So, summing up, if the council seek seeks to live by the lofty aspirations it purports to embrace, you will appoint Cali Ackland. Thank you. Thank you. Nothing even in their hands. No other hands. Okay, then we're going to go back to the cards. Uh Tasha Cardona and Sean Daniel.

2:07:39 >> Good evening. My name is Sean Daniel and I live in Ward 2. I appreciate the chance to talk tonight. So, thank you. Uh, I just like to express my support for the appointment of Calli Akan to the Springfield City Council like so many others. Um, in getting to know Calie, uh, I've seen how she puts community service front and center and how she's responsive to questions and concerns from community members. Cali uh understands what it's like to be a business owner as others have said and she understands the effect that a business can have on the community in thinking about community also as others have alluded to. Um she brings that important perspective as a renter to the council. Um and her work as with the Springfield Eugene Tenant Association shows how she can uh take

2:08:24 complex legal information and make it accessible to everyday folks. She answers questions with patience and clarity. And as again, as others have stated, she treats everyone with dignity. Callie's service on the Springfield Planning Commission shows how her ability to listen carefully uh to testimony and make recommendations knowing that these policies decisions uh affect people's lives. Uh they affect our homes, our businesses, our neighborhoods. And finally, Cali has extensive experience as a volunteer uh by supporting young students and families as a coordinator for the smart reading program, as a cadet leader mentoring youth through military style training, as a museum dosent sharing local history, and as a community outreach

2:09:09 coordinator teaching non-violence. So, for all those reasons, I know Callie would serve the people of Springfield well, and I recommend that you appoint her to the the council without delay. Thank you. >> Thank you. Hi, I'm Tasha Cardona. I live in Springfield in Ward 3. Uh I 10 years ago I chose to live in Springfield really very intentionally. Um and I'm really proud to be a community member and to have built a life in a community here. One of the main reasons I felt at home in Springfield is because I could see and experience a society with a robust middle class. I could see the effort

2:09:55 made into making our downtown beautiful and investing in public safety, um, new school buildings like Hamlin Middle School where my daughter will be going be a sixth grader next year. Um, and investing in our infrastructure. I live off of 14th and um I appreciate the new road and sidewalks. So I just really appreciate um living in a city that invests in its community. So that's why I felt compelled to express and I have in uh previously and will continue to do so my deep concern when I learned of the catastrophic budget cuts made to the library. I've heard the argument everyone's taking cuts, departments are taking cuts. I understand we have, you know, a

2:10:42 fiscal cliff and it's a big problem to solve. Um, but when we look at the numbers, that argument falls apart. Um, roughly a roughly $300,000 cut to the library represents something of about 10 to 15% of the total budget. So, this really fundamentally changes what the library can offer. Um, meanwhile, reduction to, for example, police funding, which of course this isn't about library versus the police. In fact, investing in a library is really beneficial to um a healthy police force. Um but of course that's our largest line item budget and their budget cut was 1 to 3% um depending on the numbers that you cut. So um that is not a shared sacrifice to fix this budget uh

2:11:27 shortfall problem. um that is five to ten times deeper proportionately to uh the library and it's being applied to one of the most impactful um services that we have. I mean there's data that is endless to show the reduction in poverty which means reduction in crime and then we are also all going to be facing the major cuts to Springfield public schools. Um, I've heard of closing schools on the table, uh, cutting um, vice pres, uh, principles to elementary schools on the table. Those are catastrophic cuts. And so, this is the time we actually need to increase our library funding and provide those services. Um, I also appreciate the statement that someone made of how

2:12:12 just kind of deeply um inappropriate and um lacking in empathy it is for city officials to have their salaries increased while our librarians are getting laid off. Thank you. >> Thank you Kristen Cure and uh Nick Auru. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Uh Jojo Breastlin. Okay. So, it looks like Nick, you are going to be the last one. >> Good evening. My name is Nick Aguo and I am representing myself and a resident of Springfield. I'm here today as a proud resident of this community to speak in

2:12:58 support again of Cali Aklland's appointment to our city council. I've had the priv privilege of knowing Cali for some time now and I can tell you with confidence she is exactly the kind of person that should be a part of this council. I'm here to talk to you about her extreme attention to detail and professionalism and her work supporting low-income residents. I'm delighted to see how many other people came here to share examples of this from so many different places. It's abundantly clear that Cali is the strongest candidate to fill this position. Cali approaches every challenge with deeprooted ethics. Integrity isn't optional in public service. It's the foundation with Cali. This community can trust that every decision she makes will be guided by what is right for citizens, not just what's easy. Callie doesn't just show up uh sorry, Cali doesn't doesn't just show up. Um she's fully committed, fully

2:13:44 engaged, and fully invested in the people around her. Callie's work has given her a deep understanding of the support systems and social services as a tenant educator providing information on local services. She's a genuine firhand understanding of the challenges facing residents of lower socioeconomic backgrounds, not from a distance, but with real empathy and practical knowledge providing education and support to our community. We know how hard it can be to get people involved, and today is just a small example of what Cali can do. What more could you ask for in a counselor than someone with such intimate knowledge of support for those who need it the most? What more can you ask than someone who can inspire so much confidence to come into this room and speak today? This council deserves someone who is detail- oriented, principled, passionate, and deeply connected to the needs of all our residents. Cali is that person, and

2:14:30 everyone on this side of the room can see it, and I hope you do, too. >> Thank you. That was the last card that I had. Was there any council response? Okay. Um, the one we still have two items before we get to W four, so please be patient with us. The one recommendation I would have especially for folks that are here about library funding, the schedule for budget committee is up online and it's got the process and that will be the place where we will both take public testimony and deliberate about what we want to do at that point. All right, next item please. Next item is ordinances. Ordinance number one is the annexation of territory to the city of Springfield Park and Recreation District. Annex 1.94 acres of R1

2:15:18 residential property located at map 18-02-05-24 tax lot 061000 withdrawing the same territory from the Willenzi Springfield Rural Fire Protection District. Mark Rust is here for this item. >> And council, while uh Mark is coming up to get settled, this also would be an opportunity to report any additional exparte contacts that you may have had since the hearing uh at the last regular session and this day. This is for the annexation item. If you have nothing to declare, you can just move forward. >> We don't need to go down the road. Okay. I'm not seeing anybody have additional items. Hello, Mark. Good evening, councilors and mayor. Um, Mark Rust with current planning for the city of

2:16:04 Springfield. I have nothing further to add. The only reason this wasn't on consent tonight was so you had the opportunity to declare any additional exparte context. So, our recommendation is the same as it was at the hearing two weeks ago, and that is for adoption. >> All right. Thank you. I think we're ready for a motion. I move to adopt an ordinance annexing certain territory map 18-02-05-24 tax slot 061000 to the city of Springfield and Wamalain Park and Recreation District withdrawing the same territory from the Willenzie Springfield Rural Fire Protection District adopting a severability clause and providing an effective date. >> I will second that. >> Could you call the vote please?

2:16:49 >> Yes, Council Weber. Yes. >> Council Mo. >> Yes. >> Councelor Rodley. >> Yes. >> Councelor Buck. >> Yes. And councelor Stout. >> Yes. Thank you. >> Motion passes. Five yeses, zero nos. Next item. >> Under business from the city manager. Item number one is the fiscal year 2027 community development block grant or CDBG annual action plan. Aaron Field is here for this item. Good evening, mayor and council. Um, I'm here tonight uh seeking your approval of the fiscal year 2027 community development block grant annual action plan.

2:17:34 As you know, each year the city is entitled to receive an allocation of CDBG funds from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD. In order to receive these funds, the city must develop an annual action plan describing how it plans to allocate funds to address local community needs. The proposed uses of funding must align with allowed uses within the CDBG grant program as well as with local community needs and strategies that were identified in the 2025 Eugene Springfield consolidated plan. As we talked um at the last work session on February 23rd, the annual action plan activities need to align with the strategies in the consolidated plan. Um but they can only be CD those are only CDBG funded activities. The

2:18:19 council does a number of other strategies in your work beyond the CDBG funding that also align with those strategies. For fiscal year 2027, Springfield is projected to have a total of about 550,000 in CDWBG funding available. And as part of our community participation process, um the council's community development advisory committee has met twice and held two public hearings. They met on January 28th. They met again on April 8th. Um in between that, we came uh to council for your direction on putting out the draft action plan. that action plan was put forward for 30 days. We received two public comments. Those public comments are included in the packet. Um those

2:19:04 comments were addressed at this community development advisory committee meeting on April 8th. Um and the committee has put forward a recommendation for allocation. Um to sum up, um the CDAC is recommending allocation for this year's action plan for three activities. one um for the home repair program about 362,000. Um as you know the home repair program helps fund lowincome homeowners with needed home repairs and maintenance to address issues of health, safety, and accessibility. Homeowners must earn no more than 50% of the area median income. Um, the CDAC is also recommending that the CDBG funds go toward supporting the

2:19:50 human services system. This is the city's contribution of CDBG funds to the Lane County Human Services Division. Um, and finally, the CDAC is recommending that the grant also support the administrative and planning of staff that goes into um administering the grant. Um, I'm available if you have questions. >> Councelor Rley, >> no questions. I promise I will not pick on you about wanting more of this and more braided of that. Um, I just wanted to say that um, I appreciate you, Erin, as you know, because we've been working on this for a while. And, um, I also appreciate that we've started to tell the story of the home repair program and how impactful that is to people's lives. And for folks who don't know, like this the city of Springfield doesn't

2:20:35 necessarily do human services, but we're part of a regional human services and councelor Weber and I sit on the human services commission and this is our contribution to that and I always am trying to get more and you are constantly reminding me that there is a cap and then I want to go to Washington and fight HUD to get more money to do that. Um but and the this funding for folks also is this is like unencumbered funding because when we contribute this to the human services um kind of collective then it can be used in all sorts of ways. It's very different than grant funding which is tied to specific things and so it's it's like gold. I think that there was something in here

2:21:20 from Kate Bud who probably will say that that money is like gold. So I am glad that we get to continue to do this. I will probably continue to pick on you, just not tonight, to try to get more of that to contribute to human services or more money from other places. But I just wanted to say that for folks to know that that this is this is hard money to come by. It hasn't grown much and we try to do the most good for the people who are most impacted um with this funding. So, thank you. >> Anybody else? I think we're ready for the motion. I move to approve the fisc year 2027 community development block grant annual action plan and authorize the city manager to execute all documents needed to give effect to the city's agreement

2:22:06 with the US department of housing and urban development for these funds. >> I will second. >> Could you call the vote, please? >> Yes. Councelor Weber, >> yes. >> Councelor Mo, >> yes. >> Councelor Rodley, >> yes. >> Councelor Buck, >> and Councelor Stout? >> Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. Five yeses, zero nos. Next item, please. >> Any other business from the city manager? >> Just very quickly, I also want to echo councelor Riley's uh sentiments about Aaron's work with um the CDBG plan. It's really hard to administer these federal programs. And it seems like the uh paperwork and red tape gets increasingly more each each time. And so, Erin, thank you for that. Uh the work that you do directly makes people's lives better in our city. And I'm very proud of that and

2:22:51 proud of your work. So, thank you. >> The next item is business from the city attorney, the ward for interim counselor deliberation and decision. And Mary Bridget is here for this item. >> Good evening, Mayor and Council. I'm here to uh facilitate the next item, which is the deliberation for the Ward 4 vacancy. I have a few procedural matters before uh you get going on the deliberation. One has to do with the uh public comment in the packet. For this um vacancy, we tried to collect public comment and then include that in the packet and that would be written comment that came in to councilors or the city

2:23:36 manager's office. It should be reflected in the packet. If it's not in the packet, um I do want the public to know that it did get forwarded to the council. So, if they didn't make the cut for getting published in the packet, those u materials did still get to the decision makers. Um, also before you start your deliberations, I'd like to have a conversation about voting. So, you um can get that part of it out of the way to before you move on to your discussion. So, this item tonight for a um filling award vacancy requires a vote of four. There would be five votes. It's an uneven number. So, the mayor would not vote in this because it would not be breaking a tie. Um, I laid out some voting methods in the memo. Um, and I thought we could

2:24:22 just go through those now. I do recommend that you arrive at and make a decision about what kind of method you want to do for voting. That doesn't mean you're forced into voting right away. You have plenty of time to deliberate this item. But in the effort of transparency and clarity for the folks and yourselves, I think it would be good to have a discussion about voting and sort of get that off the table. Um there were four voting methods in your uh packet. The first one is um the one that I would recommend and it's a successive ballot with elimination. So in this one, you wouldn't be doing motions or nominating folks. It would just be and I think for this what I'd like to do is I'd like to call the vote and then Allison and Neil will tally. So we're sort of dividing up which is a little

2:25:07 different than what we would do. Um but with this one I would just start like on one end call them out work out this way. Then we would tally those votes and you would have if you don't get to four votes if you get to four votes you can make your appointment. If you don't get to four votes, then what you can do is um eliminate or remove um any candidates who did not get um who got lesser votes or no votes and then you just keep you could have more discussion or you could keep voting. The second method is a little more normal about how you um typically do your business and it has um motions and seconds. So, it's familiar, but it can get a little cumbersome when you're trying to have um when you have multiple candidates um for one office.

2:25:53 So, that's one reason why there's some drawbacks with that one. The third one is a two-stage voting. You know, sometimes what council will do is they'll take a vote um similar to the first method where I just said that we would list out people. The candidates with the two highest um then become essentially the two that you vote for. So then you they would be like your pool. That may um not work as well. It may not be um the council may not want to get to two candidates so quickly. Um so that's something to keep in mind. The fourth one I included is a modified rank choice voting. I don't know that I would recommend that um at this point. I'd come up with that earlier in the process. Rank choice voting is getting more popular. So I thought it would make it an option. It might be something more

2:26:39 appropriate for uh like a BCC appointment. But in that one, um, you actually write out a written ballot of all of your choices. Since this is a public meeting, we'd have to read it and then we would go through the rank choice, um, voting process. If you want to do that, we'd kind of have to get set up and do a little recess when you're ready to vote. But I did want to have that available for folks. So, if you want to start talking about voting and have any questions, I'm ready. >> I don't know that we need to make any cutting edge uh, democracy technology this evening. Councelor Rodley, >> thank you. I appreciate all that. Could we do and just to be fun like could we do a modified of the right choice? Could we do which we've done in the past is say here's my top two like one and a two as opposed to a one and to five. >> I mean

2:27:25 >> get us into a a more narrow. Yeah. >> Um I think then that would be I would recommend you do the two-stage voting. Um and what we could do on that one is when we're calling we could have people say they're one and two. Is that what you're saying? >> That's what I'm saying. And then that would be your pool out of that. And then also keep in mind, yes, you I think you could do that. Um, and keep in mind if we start if you start voting and you get stalled out, then we can back out and look at process again. Like this is your show. >> I don't know if anybody else wants to do that. >> I just want us to go down the line. >> Council, >> I prefer the simple clean number one method. Okay.

2:28:11 >> Okay. Anybody else? >> Um I I I I guess I'm um kind of with uh with Corey uh here. Um Council Rodley. Um I I feel like that uh that method with the top two really speaks to what we've heard from the community >> being put on the spot. Um I would actually join with councilors Rodley and Buck on this one. >> Okay. >> Okay. So we need somebody the city attorney is going to want that in the form of a motion. So can councelor Bradley can you uh for a motion? You could just be do option option three.

2:28:56 >> I move on. >> Oh I turned it on. You turned it off. I move that we in our deliberation voting we list our first and second choice on the first round. I second. Okay. Um before I I ask for somebody to call a vote on this, Mary Bridget, could you clarify if we if under this voting does the who you list first matter? I just or we just trying to pull them. That's a good that's a good point. I don't think it does matter. I think you're just getting a pool of two candidates that you vote on further. >> If that's my that's my understanding, council. Yeah,

2:29:41 >> I I'm kind of seeing head nods that we're all working under the same assumptions. Okay. So, I don't know who's going to call the vote here. >> Well, I could I could do it since I think so. Okay. Okay. So, we have a motion on the floor to do a um a modified two-step stage voting where the council when they're called when their vote is called um they'll name two people. Is there a second? And there was a second. Councelor Buck, I'm sorry. Okay. And I'll go ahead and start to count the vote and I'll just start here. Councelor Buck. >> Um well, I'm in favor of uh looking at uh Cali Aan just motion the process. Just need a motion to do the process. Just yes or no? >> Yes.

2:30:27 >> Councelor Stout. >> Yes. >> Councelor Weber. Yes. Councelor Bradley. >> Yes. And councelor Mo. Okay. Now, um I will be quiet and you or unless you have a question can deliver. >> I just wanted to speak to the process before we do the vote. Go for it. If I can do that. >> Um I wanted to um there's a few things I want to say about the process. First and foremost, I would like to thank Allison for tracking all of the emails. It was, you know, some we got them to personal emails. They came in all the different ways. I know that I saw some of those emails probably 10 times as we were all trying to be as as um transparent as possible. So, I really appreciate Allison and the city manager's office trying to keep them as tidy as possible

2:31:13 for us. Um, the other thing I want to say is I was not here for the interviews and there were community members who did notice that um, and had opinions and feelings about that. I had surgery that morning. So, um, and was unable to get here in time, but I did watch all of the interviews the next morning first thing. So, and I will I'm I'm probably not the only one who feels like we had such an incredible pool. It's very exciting in Springfield. Often we have people who run for offices or are appointed without and not not to pick on councelor Buck, but you know a one person, you know, so it it just makes the democracy and the process so much better to make this very

2:31:58 difficult to choose. So it was great to watch all of those. Um I also want to say which I think is interesting and I just want to say it out loud in the times that I have been on council and we've had input. I don't know that we have ever had so much input from Eugene that Eugene had such strong opinions about who we put on our city council. I'm not sure how Eugene would feel if we had strong opinions about who we put on their city council. So, I found that to be a very interesting new development. I don't know it's a a predictor of the future or just unique to this, but mostly I just really appreciate staff for trying to keep us in on task as we move through this. So, thank you.

2:32:46 >> All right. Anybody else want to make comments? So, the the plan looks like you're going to give your top two. We're going to narrow the pool and then we're going to deliberate some more if people have other things they want to say. Okay. I think we're ready. >> Okay. Are you ready? All right. Okay. I'll start the first vote. Uh, councelor Buck. >> All right. So, okay. We're nominating my top two this time. Okay, I got it right. So, um, my top two are Callie Acklin and Luke Mallister. >> Thank you, Councelor Stout. >> My top two are Miss Quadro and Mr. Mallister. >> Uh, based on community feedback alone, Cali Acklland and Luke Mallister would be my two choices. Councelor Bradley, my top two are CJ Man

2:33:34 and um, Kelly Ackland. Cali Aland and Cayman. >> Okay, give me just a minute here to confer with the people telling. We can see the top two

2:34:36 Okay. The um tallies are four for Kellyan, three for Luke Mallister, and two for CJ man, one for Cuadros. >> Okay. So, that would mean that we would effectively uh talk about Cali and Luke next. Um before we do that, I want to thank Jill for applying like your commitment to this community. It it really has been noticed. Um as as we've read additional material um and then CJ who is the everpresent volunteer, your commitment through Will Amlain and on the Wildish theater. I noticed that and I appreciate it. >> Yeah. Go ahead. And I would just like to say to CJ that I have been honored to vote for you twice for this position. So, um, and the

2:35:22 other thing that I was going to say in the process is please run. Like this is this appointment is just through November. So, if this is something you're passionate about and as somebody who probably never could have gotten appointed to city council and had to run for it, please run if it's something you want to do, then just come on out and we'll do it. >> Okay. Now that councelor Rodley brought that up while we're getting organized, you make sure you check the calendar. It's like August when you have to file. So, okay. Um, do councelor Brock, go ahead. Um I just I I want to say that you know one of the things that I appreciate is the community really um asked us to invest our time in in looking at this not only through letters, phone calls,

2:36:10 um other communications. Um and and so did and so did the candidates themselves. You know, taking the time to meet with all of us how and get a sense of what's it like to be on this side and do I really want this? because that was my question. If if we appoint you, are you sure you really want to be part of this? And um I was able to ask that question to my top two and they both said, "Yeah, yeah." So, and I appreciate that. I think we could have uh picked probably three or four really good candidates out of this pool. And so, thank you, Springfield, for all of your feedback. This was not easy. Okay, M Bridget, do we need to select a

2:36:57 different voting method or can we or can we just go down the road? >> If you're ready to vote, I can just um we could do a vote now unless there's further um discussion or deliberation >> to add or people ready to vote. Give us their top selection. >> I think we're ready. >> Okay. All right. I will start working on the on my left. Uh, councelor Buck, name the candidate that you would like um to vote for. >> Um, it's very hard for me. Um, because I want them both. Um, I think probably based on all the feedback I would have to say Callie.

2:37:44 >> Councelor Stout, >> my vote is for Luke. Councelor Weber. >> My vote is also for Luke. >> Councelor Rodley, >> Kellyund, Councelor Mo, >> Kelly. >> That's a three votes for Kellyland and two votes for Luke Mallister. As I mentioned, this is a vote by the charter that requires four votes. So, impass now. You could have further conversation now or um provide me with direction of what you like to do. >> Well, we can't stall till November. So, we got to make a decision somehow. Does somebody want to jump in here about either the logic about why the person they had was first or Council Weber? Uh, so as councelor Buck mentioned, we have I know several of us

2:38:31 have met with um with both Cali and Luke. Um, I've watched planning commission meetings. I've read every recommendation that has been sent written uh submitted through email and I've considered many conversations with community members who shared their thoughts outside of that venue. Um I know a lot of people in the community they they call they stop you you know wherever in Rotary at Wamelene event wherever I am in the community and I'm sure I'm not the only one that has that experience up here. Um, so just meeting Calie and talking with her. Um, she's done a lot for the community. I know her her heart is in the right place. She has this interest in serving

2:39:16 Springfield. Um, I don't quite yet feel like she's ready to sit behind this um on this side of the the room um for six years. I have and I I understand that people don't necessarily agree with this, but I do know Luke. I have watched him for 6 years grow into the leader he is today. He didn't start there. He has taken six years to really work through a lot of different situations and become the person he is. He is a small business owner. He he really does invest his time in this community and his money in this community. Um he cares about this community a lot and I I just want everyone to know that. I've watched him navigate challenging situations

2:40:02 personally and professionally with humility, with grace, with curiosity, and with respect for differing viewpoints. He has a genuine desire to find the best possible outcome, and his professional experience, volunteer service, and fresh fresh perspective will be valuable in the discussions that we're facing in the near term. >> Uh, councelor Buck. Um, for me this this was really tough because I I definitely see all of the qualities that Cali brings to the table. Um, and I hear the support from the community. Um, and maybe what's not presented in the public view. You've seen it in the packets and things like that. But it's also, you

2:40:47 know, I think there's a strong argument for Luke as well. um his work on the Mama Foundation, building up a foundation that essentially wasn't functional and he was instrument in instrumental in making that functional yet again. Um creating partnerships not only with our team Springfield but with the uh business community through the chamber. Um they really spoke highly of his work and his ability to listen to all sides. Um, and so I'm I'm pretty conflicted here because I think both of them bring a lot to the table and I think different aspects of the community are really are really supporting both Luke and Calie. And so I don't think we have an easy decision here. I don't

2:41:32 think I don't know that there's a right or a wrong here in my head. Um I I think that it's really hard. I could support either of these candidates. Um, I wanted to make sure that both of them are considered tonight. Um, and so those are the things and I also want to say that I see the same things from Cali when she asked for feedback. What can I do differently? I gave her some feedback and then she implemented it. And so I think that really speaks strongly of of a person that's willing to take feedback even when it it means I have to change change course. So for me, I support I could support either of these candidates really easily and I I feel like I support both of them. >> All right. Anybody else want to jump in?

2:42:19 >> Okay. Um I think that one of the things that for me was a consideration in thinking about Luke is um we we already have very strong Rotarian representation on this council and thinking about having diversity of perspectives and as someone who for the majority of their adult life was a renter um probably longer than some other folks have been renters um it is I mean it is a perspective and I appreciated that about um when we had um councelor Pittz is that was a would come up when we would talk about that. So I do appreciate that perspective. So I think that's part of it for me is that there's there's this fine line between we want this work is very relational and

2:43:06 so we need people that have relationships and who are very grounded in Springfield. Um and it's helpful to have to diversify that as much as possible which is why I'm supporting Cali Did you have anything you wanted to add, council? >> Um, let's get moving. I'm Kelly. >> Okay. Uh, councelor Weber. >> Uh, just in response to councelor Rodley. Um, I don't know how the Rotary factors into this. I mean, that's just an organization people serve in. It's a place to to become a me, you know, part of the community. Every Rotarian does that in a different way. They're involved in different spaces. they, you know, they become,

2:43:51 they become people of really value that value community service in a huge huge way. Um, and and that's really the only kind of crossroad I see there. Um, I also was a renter for many many many many many years. I have a son and daughter who both rent. So, I do think that we have that viewpoint on this council and an appreciation for what it means to be a renter and how many like how challenging that really is in today's world. I I don't think we're missing that perspective. All right. I think we're going to try this again and see if if uh see where we're seeless anybody wants to

2:44:37 add anything else. >> Okay. Okay, let's let's try it again. >> Okay, let's try it again. All right, I'm starting the second vote. Councelor Buck, >> I I will say I was um a little surprised to hear Councelor Rodley say that um Rotary is a negative um for her. Uh so I think um that kind of nudged me a little bit. I'm going to vote for Luke this time. Okay. Councelor Stout, >> Luke, >> Councelor Weber, Luke, Councelor Rodley. And I would just like to clarify since we're all getting tired that Rotary is not a negative. It's just I'm

2:45:22 interested in balance. I think it's fantastic that folks are involved in Rotary and Wives Club and Girl Scouts and all of the things. Um, I'm still voting for Cali. Councelor Mo. >> Kelly. >> Okay. This vote is three for Mallister, two for Acklland. Uh you could do more discussion. Um you can back out and try a different process. Um or you can provide me with direction what you'd like to do. >> I think it depends on I'm looking at people to talk about how hard um how hard they're dug in here, right? Because we got to figure out a way through this. Our responsibility is to choose somebody. Um the two perspectives that I would offer having done this a minute is

2:46:09 uh look I was 31 when I joined the council like I don't like young folks can make uh make pretty great counselors. I do think we are missing a bet right like that is something this this community uh community uh values and then I think the last point that I would think about is just asking people to think broadly around what completes us as a team and I'm not describing who I who I want or not want you know and if we keep going I'll I'll get more in involved in that but I think the question becomes how what rounds us out as a group and if we and I would ask you as a group to think about how dug in you

2:46:54 are because if we can keep doing this and repeating this vote for a very long time but we got to figure figure out a way forward. It we're not obligated to stick with these two. We could go back to somebody else if that could get if that could get us to four. Does anybody want to jump in here? I guess the only thing that I'll say is um out of out of the five of us, I think I'm the least dug in here. I feel like I see I I I see um merit both ways and I'm pretty conflicted. So, I'm putting that out there. Not that that makes me a great decision maker at the moment here.

2:47:39 >> And and remember this very important fact. This isn't about getting one person to like you got to get to four here, right? So, we got to figure out how we can get like how we can get to four. So, I think what what we should do here is let is let Mary Burg call it again. And if we're still stuck, then I think we back up and have questions. We talk about the other two candidates we walk past and see if somebody could get to get to four around around there, like Yeah. around around a second choice. Um, does that work for folks? Okay. So, I will call uh the vote again between the two candidates, Acklland and Mallister. Councelor Buck.

2:48:25 >> Um I'm going to stay with Luke for right now. >> Councelor Stout >> Luke. >> Councelor Weber. Luke. Councelor Rodley. Kelly. And councelor Mo >> Kelly. >> Okay. So, uh, now, um, as the mayor discussed, we can back out of this voting method. You can have further conversation about all of the five candidates and then just tell me when you're ready to do a vote and I can do the vote with the same method where I just call. >> Thanks, friendly. >> Okay, this is exciting. Um, if we were to pull off the top two and go to a second choice, I think my first second choice would be CJ.

2:49:13 Let's see. I know you broke the whole you broke the whole system. Oh, >> so um before we start calling out names here, um I think people got to jump in to see what the what they think is a way forward, right? Again, we're not making creating obligations for yourself. We're not going to stumble into appointing somebody by accident. But if we can't if if you're so dug in that we're not going to move on the top two. I think the question I have is is there somebody on the bottom? Is there a third person that who's your third person? And can we and maybe and maybe we can have Mary Bridget just ask for your third person and kind of and just take a temperature check to see if maybe there's a path there. >> Okay. Okay. So then now I will call the vote uh in the same order asking for um

2:50:00 what Mayor Van Gordon has termed as a third person. So not one of the two top candidates. Uh councelor Buck. >> I just want to clarify Mary here. I'm voting for someone other than Luke and Callie because they're our top two. So the next one >> Yes. And I want to be very clear on this. I'm just asking for who per people's third person is so we can talk about that person. This if somebody stumbles into four here, right, we are saying they're not going to get appointed. >> Correct. I would um I would think of this as like a straw man uh ballot where um like you said, you're just taking the temperature to see if there's a c if one or two candidates emerge that are different than the other two. >> I'm I'm just going to trust the I don't understand, but I'm going to trust the process here and I'm just going to make

2:50:46 my vote. Um, so my if I was going down to number three, I would probably look at CJ man. >> Okay. Stout. >> Hard pick, but I'd still stick with uh Miss Cuadres, >> Weber, >> Jill, Cuadro, >> Bradley, >> CJ, ma'am, >> Mo. >> I don't have a third person, but Jill would be that. Okay. So, that's um by my count two uh for the straw um person ballot uh two two for man, three for quadr. Is that right? My mouth right there. Okay.

2:51:35 >> Having the six counselor would be really convenient here. >> See how important it is full counsel. >> Councley, >> I could support chill. Yeah, I think it gets one vote. >> Yeah, >> I mean, you know, as a as a number three, I could support Joel, too. >> Okay. So, I'm checking with with Steve. So, I think I think we have we have a couple of choices here. I don't want people to right to force people off their top two picks so we can stop and talk about the top two or if people are comfortable that they could get around Jill for their number one pick so we get to somebody um we can do that too. So I will I would

2:52:20 recommend we don't have Mary Bridget call anybody right now because we're going to get ourselves stuck again. But instead sort of talk talk a little bit about what path you want to take, right? Because if people are comfortable with going with a with a third person that we could get to four or if you want to spend more time trying to hash out this this other question between uh between Luke and Cali. I know people are getting tired. I knew this was going to be a long one. Anybody? Okay. Council Weber. >> So, I just want to remind everyone again that this is an appointment and the

2:53:07 voters do get to decide this ultimately in just a few short months. Um, whoever chooses to put their name in the hat there and run for, you know, run the campaign and do all the things. Um, ultimately will be selected by the the community. Um, so just kind of throwing that out there as we're considering what our next move is. >> Okay. But we also need you guys to weigh in about what you think the next move is because unfortunately for everybody I don't get a vote here and we're not taking public participation. But I appreciate Thank you though, Counc. I'm curious and you know

2:53:52 um I guess I'll direct this at you, Mr. Mayor. Um uh since you're not voting on this, I wonder if there's a way we could discuss if some if you know what it would take to move somebody. We have four counselors that you know seem to have strong feelings here and I really appreciate that. Um, and I'm wondering if that's maybe a tact to go. I don't know if that's a good idea or not. That could be an incredibly bad idea. I'm just asking the question of you. >> Uh, no. I think people opening up and talking about how to work their way through this would be perfectly appropriate. Um, right. Because here's somebody's going to have to make a decision here. And I would I would tell

2:54:38 you, well, here here's my advice. our number one responsibility to the public is to get to somebody here, right? Like coming away and not having having selected anybody is a huge mistake. Um, so we have to figure out how to get at least four people comfortable with some sort of decision, but it's going to require you guys sharing your thinking and being willing to kind of jump in and move around. Council Weber I want to go back a minute to the um the amount of public comment that we have heard for both Cali and for Luke. A lot of it was repeated tonight. Those are um those are folks that we've heard from

2:55:24 before through the written avenue. Um so I just want to keep that in mind that that they're not necessarily new voices. Some are, but not all of them. Yes, some are, but not all of them. Um Mr. Mallister also received a lot of really strong support and um I think really good character references from the community. So the community perspective is here and I think we need to appreciate that. >> I'm looking for councelor Rodley >> and I completely agree with councelor Weber. I think having the community perspective has been very very robust.

2:56:10 Um, and I we also got several letters for Jill, I would say. So, that's real, too. Um, and I also appreciate councelor Weber talking about the fact that this is like a a six-month appointment or a, you know, so for somebody to run for this is also fantastic. And it'd be great to see three or four people run for the seat as well as try to go for an appointment. Um, so I I just wanted to just second that and say that the community involvement has been fantastic. >> All right. Anybody else want to jump in here? So, I think we I I'm looking for feedback on two pass. Do you want to vote on your your top two again or do or can people

2:56:55 rally around a third choice here? duty here is to vote for one and I still only vote for Kelly. >> Okay. What about the side? The difficulty about this decision is not I mean yes it's the candidate but the difficulty is really are we in some way giving a leg up to the candidate who wants to file in the fall and I think that's the biggest concern I have is to

2:57:40 say okay in some way by choosing an appointment do we in fact give a leg up to somebody um so um if our council and this is this is one of those things where I've had to learn how to work together with this group and I've my respect for my colleagues has grown tremendously. Um that s that said I am more comfortable um is saying like yes I do have my top choice and I have my reasons for that and that's all well and good but I also very much appreciate and like Miss Cuadros in as an appointment especially if it's we're still talking about this is to get us so that we have six members because we don't function as well without six. It's very hard if any of us need to miss any time on council unless

2:58:26 we have six there. So, if we're still at an impass um and we can consider Miss Cuadro as a viable candidate, I would be supportive of her. Um that's this is more just me thinking out loud. So, um, you know, I think that, um, I I I wholeheartedly support, you know, some of the things that have been said by um, Councelor Weber as well as Councelor Rodley and Councelor Stout that um, ultimately this isn't really about our decision. This is about what the voters say in November. And I

2:59:11 really, really do encourage all the members, all the people who took the time to apply to run. Um that having been said, I also feel like the community has given input, you know, on this um for for the for in large support for two candidates. And so so for me um I struggle a little bit with picking a third. No, I if if the reason is and I'm and I'm unclear, so help me if I'm getting this wrong, but if we go to choice number three because we we can't agree

2:59:56 on choice number one and two, but that's who the community is is is really advocating for. So, I I'm a little confused with that. >> Uh that's a great question. Um to councelor Stout's point, right, whoever we select is probably going to have a leg up if they want to run in November because they will effectively run as a like a a semi-incumbent. My point I is that our responsibility ultimately is resides outside of outside of the political considerations about what happens at the ballot box. That is the public's responsibility to deal with. um we have rules and a process to make sure that we can care for the public's interest which is to fill up a vacant council seat up until this point.

3:00:43 So what I'm asking that you consider is outside of what who your number one choice is. Our duty still remains to the public that they need somebody to sit in the W four spot and it's going to take four of us to get there. Well, for you guys to get there, um, to be able to do that. And when I bring up a third option, it's to, uh, take everybody's temperature to say if everybody could get to a third option, then that gets us to four. That meets our responsibility to the public. If we could negotiate around the top two people and find somebody to get to four, then that's what we should do. But that the idea that we would leave the seat open or do something else um wouldn't make any

3:01:28 sense. So go ahead, councelor Rodley. >> And I really appreciate the question that you're asking, councelor Buck, because um you know it's this is such a perfect example of like compromise in real time, right? Which doesn't always feel great. Um and it also it's like how do we how do we meet our obligation? How do we do our very best and be willing to find ways that we can, you know, we can come to a decision together? So, I appreciate that question and just kind of asking us to dig into that. Okay. So, uh we feel stuck, which is fine. Um I think if people don't have

3:02:14 anything else to say, then maybe we try voting again and see if that triggers some conversation. Um, it is getting pretty late. Uh, so I think we we need to consider that. But, uh, go ahead, Councelor Buck. >> No, I'm just trying to get your attention. Council >> St. Council Stone. Um, this is tricky. Um, so I I think why don't we uh call the vote? I mean I'm going to withdraw my request to speak and then we'll see how the next vote goes and then I may chime in.

3:03:01 >> All right. >> So am I calling a vote a real vote? >> We're calling a real vote. >> Asking for what people's number one preferences, right? We're not asking them to rally around a third person. We're just asking them to state the straight up who they want to fit in for. Okay. All right. I will start again with councelor Buck. I again I I feel like um you know where I was at before was was Luke and I I don't feel like I've I've the discussion really hasn't moved me um back to to Cali based on on our deliberations. So

3:03:46 Luke >> Stout >> Luke >> Weber Luke Rodley Cali >> Mo >> Kelly >> Okay. So, I I ran for the state representative office in 2022, and one of the worst experiences, one of the most wonderful experiences of my life was sitting down with Betsy Johnson, who I loved as a governor candidate, and I still do today. She was exceptional. But one of the worst things that ever happened to me in that process was that I got a call from one of the Republicans saying, "You

3:04:31 shouldn't have shown up with Betsy Johnson at an event." And I was very concerned at that moment and I felt very compromising. I discussed this with my wife and I said, "Huh, so that's how we become all cogs in the machine." And I hated that moment and I hated myself in that moment. and I promised myself never to do that again. One of my deep concerns about Miss Acklland is perhaps her advocacy with the library has come at the behest of another political figure in town. That's certainly her choice, but it's also there. That said, let's just bring that into the open. That is a big concern to me.

3:05:17 But do I think she would be an exceptional candidate? Absolutely. If I heard her voice come through more clearly. The person that would presented herself at the planning commission appointment seemed very different with all of the subsequent um conversations that we had and all the continuous library comments. It was very concerning because what I felt was happening on the count planning commission level was that I had voted for somebody who is different than who was appearing before us week after week after week to support the library. I am a library supporter up here. I love the library. My kids go to the library all the time. It is a painful thing to look at this in and out. And trying to balance this in and out every single

3:06:03 week is so hard. So, I would be willing to support Cali if I simply had a promise from her. And I know this is a bit rhetorical, to bring more of her own voice forward. In the words of Fred Rogers, it's you I like. Not the things you wear, not the way you do your hair, but it's you I like. the way you are right now, the way down deep inside you. Not the things that hide you, not all your friends, but what's deep inside you. It's you that I like. Thank you, >> Council Ro. >> Oh, you tell some of us have been at this since I don't I I start work at seven. So, um um I I appreciate that. I

3:06:51 appreciate the vulnerability and you sharing that. And I think that one of the challenges is many of the decisions we make up here are are governing decisions. This is inherently a political decision, which doesn't feel great. And we've all got those emails from people. We've all probably I've heard more than many of if you do this and don't do that. So, um, so I I really appreciate you being vulnerable about that. I'm going to share I'm I'm going to match you with that and say for me, I I do not consider myself to be an activist at all. You all have worked with me and a lot of folks come here as activists and I think it is very helpful for people to get to see what it is like to have to make decisions on the other side of the table because when you are

3:07:36 on that side you can be 100% right. you can have, you know, you can be so right and when you get on the inside and learn all of the things that go into it like you're talking about with the library and I think it is helpful to have people to um be able to make that bridge and maybe they can and maybe they can't. And so I think for me part of my experience with Cali is I think it's helpful if someone gets to see what it looks like on the other side to have to navigate and negotiate with people that don't necessarily think that you're right. >> Thank you. >> I'd just like to thank uh councelor Stout for breaking the the vulnerability

3:08:22 mold here. Um, one of the things that really stood out for me during the interview process was uh the fact that Calie, what felt like to me every comment or um guidance or direction or different aspects of the conversation we had were basically repeated back to me. And I could also identify probably which counselors helped with the other uh the other components of her her responses. So what I'm saying here is I need to be able to trust the person that sits up here to be the real their real self and to be able to um to

3:09:10 make decisions from a p a place of neutrality. We have some big decisions coming ahead of us and and I just I just really don't feel like that is where she is right now. >> Councelor Buck. >> So my vote right now is for Luke, but if in fairness, I mean, you know, speaking to your point, Councelor Stout, Cali reached out. She said, "Hey, can I meet with you?" and I said, "Send me an email." Every time I saw her for a couple months, I'm like, "Hey, where's my email?" I got my email and she met with me. It's really hard to say, "Hey,

3:09:55 I've gotten feedback that this is how I might be seen. Is that how you see me?" And I said, you know, there's that aspect to you. I don't think that's all of you. She go, okay, well, what is it that I can do to broaden that perspective? We had a conversation about that and and then you know I watched what's going to happen here and she implemented that feedback not just with other not just with confir um conversations but truly in in how she kind of approached things. I saw a shift in her that kind of reflected who Calie is. And so I have a fair amount of faith that you know when Cali tells because what I told

3:10:41 Cali was I need in a counselor up here is somebody who will speak their mind have their own perspective but we have to work together as a team and if you can't trust your team members if you can't trust that when they're having conversations in town that they're not supporting that not only the community but their team members that that's a real issue and and Calie understood that and she spoke to that. So I mean there is that piece that I think that we all hear from a lot of different perspectives and I think you know there's a fair I have a fair amount of confidence that Cali will listen to a lot of different perspectives and I also

3:11:27 think that through library advocacy she's probably damaged some relationships in various aspects of town but I also think she's willing to take the feedback to try and repair those things. Um, and it's a it's a fair point that Luke has not damaged to my knowledge. Um, I I don't know. I haven't heard it heard of that. And those the relationships in some of those same areas, but again, I've seen him work to make sure that he's fair and balanced as well. Um, and so I think when it comes to would I trust Cali to be Cali and not speak for anybody but Springfield?

3:12:12 I think probably she I mean I I believe she would and and I have seen evidence that she can. Um, so if that is a consideration, um, I think there's a possibility that she that she really has that capacity. And again, it's it's it's hard to vote for somebody that, um, maybe you've seen two different sides of and you're not really sure who that person is. But I think when when you talk to her and you say, "Hey, where where are you really at on on any given subject?" I I think there's some honesty there. And so again, I I think that it's hard I I to sway one way or the other for me because I see the the merits of

3:12:58 both. But when it comes to integrity, I I've seen evidence that that Callie is willing to stand behind hers. >> Okay. I'm going to say two things. Uh first of all, thank you folks for uh diving in and talking about some of the real issues. And thank you to the public for just being patient as we work our way through, you know, our uh our thoughts and our opinions and our take. And I can't even imagine how awkward it is for the candidates to have, you know, sit here while we while we talk about, you know, uh you guys. But please just be patient as we work through this. Um, we can do two things. Uh, Mary Bridget's

3:13:46 probably going to tell us that we don't we don't have to be bound by a process here that it's a political appointment and we could do whatever we want. Would it help to bring one of them or two of them up and ask them more questions? Uh, councelor Buck, >> you know, I really appreciate Councelor Weber and Councelor Stout talking about their concerns. Kind of like to hear that from Mo and and Rodley, if you're willing to on Luke, what what would you need to what would you need to speak speak to? Because we're asking candidates to come up. I mean, I I mean, I think that's a hard thing to do. >> It is. It is a hard thing to do, right? We got to keep working the problem until we figure out a way way forward. I'm

3:14:31 gonna we're gonna stall for station identification and let councelor Weber go. >> Not sure I remember now what I was going to say. Getting a little rummy. I I do remember now. Sorry. Um, I still need to be able to believe that the person that we put up here with us is being an au their authentic self. Yes. Um, counselor Buck, I do believe she that Kelly did take our feedback. Um, but again, I felt it was just repeated to us in a in an interview process. I don't I haven't seen it in action yet. That's where I'm I don't know that that she can or can't

3:15:16 take that feedback and and and be that trusted person for me. I just because I haven't had enough time to witness it. I can say that I have known Luke for 6 years. We're not best friends. We don't hang out all over you. Like we don't hang out. We don't we don't share space in in many ways. We we share common interests. We share a desire to serve this community in the best way possible and make the best decisions for uh the citizens that live here. I do know that that is Luke Mallister because I've seen it. >> Thank you. Do either one of you want to jump in here? You guys got >> One thing about got to get the

3:16:02 microphone here. One thing about Cali when she was being interviewed, she talked about her experience in the Navy and how that trained her thinking to look at situations differently than it normally did. And I'd like that because I'd like to have that capacity up here in the council for somebody to look at something different than we can and help us think pro problems through. So that's why I I select Cali. >> Okay. Um, and I just want to say to you all that after sitting through this, running for office will be a breeze. Honestly, you can listen to people talk about you. Um, I think that to to and I appreciate the call the call out because, you know,

3:16:47 we've talked to I've talked about what I appreciate about Cali. I will say I did meet with Luke as well and for me the difference was in my initial conversation and I really only had one conversation with Luke. he didn't even really seem to understand what the role of a city counselor was. And so it was it was it was much more of a vibe kind of a conversation, whereas I realized that, you know, Cali comes at things with like much more of a directness of like here's what I want to do and here's what I want to work on. So I came away from that conversation being like I I don't even know if he knows what he's getting into. Um, and it didn't come across as like this this strong like desire or need to do it. It felt to me more like other people were like, "You should do a thing." Um, and

3:17:34 so it's it's no it's no it's no negativity. It's no particular judgment. It was just a difference in um how serious Cali was taking it um at least in the conversation with me. And again, I didn't have six years of working with Luke and I haven't had six years of working with Cali. It was just the going from the conversations um the way they they reacted and interacted with me. Callie's was much more serious. >> I appreciate that, Council Rodley. Um I think there is a difference in in styles here for sure. Um I will say that I don't think that makes either one of them unprepared. Um,

3:18:19 I just I just know that I again I'm just going to go back to the trust issue for me and I I just don't I'm just not there yet with with trusting that that Cali is going to show us her authentic self up here. >> So, I'm going to weigh in onto this because we're throwing around this term authenticity quite a bit. Um, Kelly didn't strike me as inauthentic at all. So, like my take like I my take on the on the conversation that I had is I've known many young professionals um and sometimes um when you know they want to do a great job, they want to take coaching, right? It and uh it wasn't I

3:19:04 didn't get the impression that what I saw was anything short of her authentic self. I did get the impression as somebody was growing into their professional career that they were uh that she was looking for and taking taking a lot of the coaching in and hadn't hit that point where she kind of just filtered out what was useful and what was not. But I did not read it as inauthentic at all. Okay, we're still at the same spot. Okay. So, does anybody have an opinion on how like we can bring people up, we can we can talk about uh we can talk about other issues.

3:20:03 Okay, since we're thinking outside the box. We are thinking outside the box. There is no box anymore. >> So trains has left the station. So um and I assure the public jokes get better the longer this goes on. So I'm I'm wondering maybe Sean if you could ask the candidates if they want to come up and speak because not I mean we've said a lot of different things and and maybe they maybe they do, maybe they don't. I don't know. But I'd like to consider their feelings. >> Okay. Go ahead, Council W. >> I I just have to when um Mayor Van Gordon was appointed to this pos to his position, I applied for this vacancy. I didn't win it that night. The council selected somebody else who honestly I thought was less prepared for this role.

3:20:51 Um because to I and I think it's fair to say that nobody really knows really really knows like you can you can you can observe and you can know what the the semantics of this role are but really sitting here and facing public criticism facing public um input on any and many things while it's um it's a privilege for us to sit up here and hear that and I know it probably feels like sometimes we're just Well, I know sometimes I'm just exhausted. Like right now, I'm exhausted. Um, but nobody really knows what that feels like to to take that to take that and and and own it every single week or conversation or um issue,

3:21:39 right? It's it's a lot. And I I do think that it's important that folks know that um and that there is another path forward. Again, I wasn't selected that night. I was confused by that to be perfectly honest. But it is the it's the council's decision ultimately and ultimately the the decision is made by this body to fill a spot that we um with somebody that we feel will help us get through this short period of time. I still feel like our budget discussions coming up would really um would really benefit from a fresh perspective, one that hasn't been saturated in all of the different

3:22:25 conversations we've been having over the last few months. Somebody who might see something a little bit differently that something that we've missed, something that we're, you know, we're just so absorbed in, we don't we don't see it anymore. Um, and I and again that takes me back to Luke and I and his experiences in all of the places that he he lives his life in and he's, you know, he's got a lot of lived experience and past experience that has brought him to the person that he is today. And I just again I I really feel like a fresh perspective would be very helpful here. >> Council, >> well, you know, I I I appreciate thinking about that. that if I was thinking about a fresh perspective as someone who's not like saturated in this the stuff and hasn't been a part of it then I go back to Jill as somebody

3:23:13 that seemed very prepared and did a good job at the interview and has had other people recommend them and I would like I said I could go with Jill I mean we could call like seven different votes but we're going to end and in the in the same spot. >> Councelor, does that mean you're changing your your position to, you know, look at at Jill as your would you'd be willing to look at Jill as your vote? >> I would be willing to look at Jill as my vote.

3:24:10 All right. So, Mary Bridget, if we if we decide to punt this conversation till like that is an that is an option. Is that correct? >> That's correct. That is an option. You can uh come back for um continued deliberation. Um you could arrive at a new voting method. Um, like you said, this is a political process and you are the ones that determine the qualifications and the process. So, if there's something that you think the process is lacking or other information, we can figure out procedurally how to get you there. >> So, I think Go ahead, Councelor Buck. I guess I just want to remind um all of us here that are are voting, myself included, that

3:24:55 by putting this vote off and by not and by not finding a way to compromise and make a decision here and get it figured out tonight, we put that whoever gets appointed in a in a tougher spot. We have budget like in 20 minutes and we have a lot of other things that are coming at us. We have a summer break and then just kind of jumping into it in the fall. And I feel like um one of my one of the things that I look look at very hard is we benefit right now from two two people on council yourself and and Cory Lley that could not that very

3:25:42 possibly might not be here next year. if you guys win your elections, we might lose your experience. And that means by putting off that candidate, they don't I mean, that's that's time that they don't get to benefit. And they only get about 6 months if you guys win as it as it is and less than that. So, I would really urge us to find a way to compromise tonight to to get this to November so the voters can decide um because that's what we have to do. And um I I don't know what that looks like for for folks, but I mean I feel like it's unfair to put this off because what's already being asked of whoever we appoint is to get up to speed with the budget,

3:26:29 which is a big big deal in a very short amount of time. rather >> I 100% agree with you in terms of it's it's our job to make decisions and some of them are hard and we just work it until we figure it out. So I appreciate that. >> Okay. So, I think what we should do, like I don't think this is going to go anywhere until we hear from them again. If I'm just really listening between you folks, um, and I'm looking out at them and to see if, you know, not if they're would be willing to come up and maybe answer some additional questions. And I know, Go ahead, Councelor Weber. >> That's not going to help change my mind. >> Bringing Calli and Luke back up here isn't going to help me change my mind. I

3:27:16 I'm very clear that you're very well dug into where where where you're at. But >> well, let me let me finish. >> Sure. Go ahead. >> But I would be willing to to compromise with my fellow counselors and and and bring Jill into this. I I think that she presented herself very well. Um, she, you know, I think she understands as much as anyone can >> until they actually sit here what the role of a of a counselor is and and how some of those um decision-m opportunities can uh impact, you know, just the community and and and that real world impact, right? You don't really know it until you're sitting here. Um, so I could go down I could

3:28:03 support Jill. >> Okay. So, why don't we try voting here because I'm why don't we try don't and we're and we will and I think considering all available candidates that you have, right? Like I understand people are going to have to make some compromises. We're not going to get perfectly where pe where we want and I understand people are tired. So, don't please do not cave because you're tired and just want to go home. If you're going to compromise, you know, make sure it's it's uh that it's moving us forward. But I would say if people are okay, we would take votes on

3:28:50 all three ca like all three candidates and see if we can get there. Is that good? >> How many votes did it take to get the speaker of the house elected? I told you our jokes got better. Um, all right. MB, could you call? >> Okay, I will start to call the vote. Councelor Buck. >> Um, I I guess where I'm at, if I'm I'm just being authentic on it. This is, you know, I'm I I'm willing to compromise and and and vote for for Cali, but I'm not the the public has just made it really clear in so many testimonies who what they're

3:29:35 what they're telling us. And so, um, I can support Kie, I can support Luke, and I like Jill very much, but I feel like if I'm listening to the public, that's not where, um, I I've spent hours looking at emails and listening to different conversations and every time I get coffee, somebody mentions one of the two of them to me. So, that's where I'm at. I could support Cali, >> Council Stout. >> Uh, I could support Jill. Councelor Weber, >> I could support Jill. >> Councelor Rodley, >> I can support Jill. Councelor Mo >> Kelly.

3:30:26 >> Uh, Councelor Buck, I would just offer that the testimony that we have is only a sampling of where the public is. And the real art to this work is to infer um you know where all 60,000 of our residents are it you got that's the hard weight. >> Um do you guys want to vote again? >> Not really but okay. Let's do it. >> Okay. So uh we'll do another vote with the three candidates. Councelor Buck. Um, well, given given the feedback that this is a a city of Springfield decision and we have to make a decision tonight, I can support Jill. >> Stout. >> I can support Jill >> Weber. Jill Rodley.

3:31:11 >> Jill Mo. >> Wow, what a turnaround. I guess I'll have to vote for Jill. >> Okay, that's five votes for candidate Jill Cuadros. >> Okay, congratulations. Uh, I will wave the role and let people applaud because I know people are tired if they feel the need to. Um, could you talk to us about the next steps? >> Sure. So, the next step is for uh the interim counselor for Ward 4 to be sworn in. That's tenatively planned for April 27th. >> Um, and um we'll contact uh Miss Cuadro about the details about that. We can start the training and talking with her ahead of time and we'll get that rolling. Thank you. >> All right. Thank you.

3:31:56 I guess no further business from the city man or city of TR. >> I think we are done. We're adjourned.