AGENDA
6:00 p.m.
Medford City Hall, Medford Room
411 West Eighth Street, Third Floor
Medford, Oregon
- State Lobbyist – Cindy Robert
MINUTES
6:00 p.m.
Medford City Hall, Medford Room
411 West Eighth Street, Third Floor
Medford, Oregon
The Medford City Council Study Session was called to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Medford Room of Medford’s City Hall on the above date with the following members and staff present:
Mayor Gary Wheeler; Councilmembers Clay Bearnson, Daniel Bunn, Chris Corcoran, Dick Gordon, Tim Jackle, Eli Matthews, Kevin Stine, Michael Zarosinski
City Manager Pro Tem Bill Hoke; City Attorney Lori Cooper; Executive Office Manager Lynette O’Neal
State Lobbyist – Cindy Robert
Cindy Robert, Owner of Rainmakers, LLP and the City’s State Lobbyist, spoke regarding the short session, the various bills and noted that minimum wage was a major topic of discussion.
Minimum wage
- California’s increase impacts Oregon
- Compression is an issue
- None of the pending ballot measures have been officially withdrawn
- Tiered system based on the cost of living index. However, after 2022, the rural counties will always be $1.00 below the minimum wage of the rest of the state and urban counties average about $1.25 above the minimum wage of the rest of the state
Renewable Energy
- As of 2020 PG&E cannot use coal in their portfolio, Ms. Robert believed it was a certain percentage
- As of 2040 PG&E will need to have 40% of renewable resources
- Passing the coal to clean legislation may prevent the “carbon cap” in our state
Housing Package
- Homebuilders, realtors, developers and the City of Portland all worked put the package together
- Inclusionary zoning change; League of Oregon Cities wished to leave the pre-emption
- Builders would like to build affordable housing outside of the Urban Growth Boundary
- Not close to services in metropolitan areas; two pilot programs were created to test viability
- Construction Excise Tax
- 1% construction excise tax
- Law indicates local control of affordable housing programs
- Does not modify the excise tax for schools
Additional topics discussed
- Toxic air and diesel fume topics may be coming up for discussion
- Holly Theatre received $1 million for restoration
- Charters of various cities require a vote for annexations; SB 1575 now prohibits the use of city‑wide annexation voting
- Removed sunset on Medford/White City annexation
- Emergency medical responders bill passed
- Brownfields coalition
- Prevented revisions to UGB legislation
- Eugene’s proposed increase of the State’s percentage of the Transient Lodging Tax to go to the World Track & Field sponsorship; a study group was created to consider how the program works
- Briefly discussed marijuana
- The two-year residency requirement was removed, because sales are considered interstate commerce
- Outlined the various failed legislation topics
- Provided update on Connect Oregon
The meeting adjourned at 6:58 p.m.
Lynette O’Neal
Executive Office Manager