Benny Westcott
A unanimous vote on July 12 tabled two proposed amendments to city council rules discussed by the Administration, Finance and Property Committee and submitted to the council for review.
The first would deny requests for a third telephonic/video conferencing session from councilors who’ve participated in two successive ones “except in case of an emergency, for health reasons or for an ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] accommodation.”
The second covered attire for public meetings and events.
“To promote the city council value of impartiality,” it read, “members of the council will refrain from clothing or paraphernalia which displays the name, likeness or logo of a political party or candidate, or demonstrates support of or opposition to a ballot measure or ballot question when representing the city and/or city council.”
Mayor Greg Mahler recommended a work session to discuss the matter further.
All council members, save the absent Lisa Gourley and Diane Gerson, were present for the meeting.
Councilor Angelita Sanchez expressed personal frustration with the proposals.
“I’m terribly troubled by this resolution that we’re being asked to consider at this time,” she said, “especially when I feel as though it’s being targeted at me, even though it may or may not be.”
She explained that she was the only councilor who served as a director for a statewide political action committee, and that she makes a significant number of endorsements.
“This is going to be greatly limiting me in that capacity,” she said.
Sanchez also raised the apparel issue.
“Last week, when I was late to a meeting,” she recalled, “I tried to call in telephonically, and the telephone wasn’t set up. So, I had to come in as I was, in my work clothes [Sanchez is president of Angel’s Rock N’ Roll Construction Inc. in Sweet Home], and who’s to say what’s professional or what’s business attire, because that is my business, and that is my profession, and that is what I wear.”
The meeting in question was a June 28 work session, at which Sanchez arrived in a hoodie, jeans and work boots.
“So, because I couldn’t get through on the telephone and chose to show up late in my work clothes and still be present,” she said, “you would want to make that troublesome or problematic, instead of me just not showing up at all. I think this is a gross use of taxpayers’ dollars to even consider these types of council rules.”
Trask, one of three councilors on the Administration, Finance and Property Committee, replied, “I don’t have a problem with you coming in here if you’ve got your work clothes on. I would never say that. If you’re late and you need to get here, I have no problem with that at all. That’s not what this is about. It’s just looking professional when you get here. It’s nothing personal.”
“I don’t wear shorts when I come here,” he added. “I don’t think I should.”
Mahler recalled a councilor joining an executive session virtually with a family member in the background. According to Oregon law, the public is not allowed to attend such sessions.
“It’s not open to the public, and this individual had the public present,” Mahler said. “So, I think some of this is coming from the past. I don’t think this is necessarily a target toward any individual councilor.”
Sanchez retorted that the proposed resolution included dress code and telephone use for work sessions and council meetings.
“If it was for executive sessions specifically and only, then that would be reasonable, because that is private information,” she said. “It just seems very exclusive and like it would make it more difficult for public participation, when there’s a limited amount of opportunities for the public to participate, let alone get elected to a city councilor position.”
Councilor Susan Coleman noted that the Administration, Finance and Property Committee had recommended the changes before the session Sanchez called into question.
“It wasn’t anything to do with last week’s meeting at all,” Coleman said. “It didn’t come into play because this was addressed earlier than that. The dress code issue was discussed because when you’re at the state Capitol’s House floor and you’re making decisions that pertain to the whole public, representatives and senators are not allowed to wear anything that supports a ballot measure or anything that promotes their party or agenda while they’re making decisions.
“We are voted in as a nonpartisan person to represent the city of Sweet Home,” she continued. “The dress code things were just about, when we’re making legislative decisions, to not be promoting something that’s a personal ideology, right at this meeting. It has nothing to do with any activity outside of here, because outside of here you are an individual, and you’re allowed to promote whatever you want to promote.”
Sanchez asked for more specificity in the amendment.
“We are always representing the city council no matter where we go,” she said. “There is no clarity as to just if you’re sitting on this dais during the council meeting, or if you’re out in the general public being who you are.”
In other business:
— The council voted unanimously to direct staff to draft an ordinance and ballot measure prohibiting psilocybin service centers and manufacturers in Sweet Home without a “sunset clause,” a statute or provision of a statute establishing a date on which an agency, law or benefit will expire without specific legislative action. Residents would be able to vote in the November general election to allow or prevent the ordinance.
In 2020, Oregon voters approved Measure 109, known as the Oregon Psilocybin Service Act, which allows for the manufacture, delivery and administration of psilocybin at licensed facilities. Oregon was the first state to pass such an act.
Psilocybin, often referred to as psychedelic mushrooms, is a federally regulated Schedule I drug. Preliminary data from clinical trials suggests that psilocybin therapies are effective for treating depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorders, smoking cessation and alcoholism. Experts caution, however, that such fungi can be very powerful and even deadly.
The city has the option to prohibit psilocybin service centers and manufacturers within the city limits, but any such prohibition must be referred to voters in November.
Measure 109 passed in Oregon with 55% of the vote. However, Linn County voted 55% against it, with Sweet Home at 59% in opposition.
Trask expressed doubt that the city would have the final say on the matter long-term.
“So, we say we don’t want it,” he said. “The state will override us.”
— The council voted unanimously to give City Manager Pro Tem Christy Wurster authorization to begin the recruitment process for a new finance director, following Brandon Neish’s resignation, effective July 29, 2022. (Neish has taken the same position for the city of Lebanon.)
In conjunction with the decision, the council unanimously approved a contract for services with Portland-based Matt Brown Consulting. Wurster said that Brown would serve as finance director in an interim capacity.
— The council unanimously approved a resolution extending the city’s workers’ compensation coverage to certain volunteer positions, such as public safety, the Beautification Committee and library aid volunteers. Other volunteers could also receive coverage.
Staff was unable to locate any prior resolution, after a consultation with the city’s workers’ compensation coverage carrier determined that the city should have an authorizing resolution on file and update it periodically as needed.
The city currently offers coverage to employees per Oregon law. Previously, the city has also extended coverage to police department volunteers and Beautification Committee members.
— The council unanimously reappointed Eva Jurney to the Sweet Home Public Library Board for a four-year term to expire July 12, 2026.
Jurney, an area resident for more than a decade, has already served on the board for six years. She’s also a member of Sweet Home Philanthropic Education Organization Chapter FA and serves on the Sweet Home Planning Commission. She was a registered nurse for 38 years and holds a master’s degree in nursing administration from the University of New Mexico College of Nursing.
“The skills I used in my profession are translatable to working on the Library Board,” she wrote in her application. “I understand and have had experience with budget/personnel management, policy and procedure writing and updating, and program planning for several different levels of nursing and ancillary personnel. All these skills are translatable to the functions of the library. And I love to read. I think reading skills and media literacy skills are extremely important for young people to have. I see libraries as having an important role in this skill acquisition and development for all ages. I would like to be involved in this endeavor for our community.”
— The council voted unanimously to approve a PA permit to allow the Downtown Lounge to play amplified music in its west parking lot from 8 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, July 28 and Sunday, July 31, and from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, July 29-30. This same event has been hosted for the past several years during the Oregon Jamboree.
— The council voted unanimously to certify that the city allow marijuana in Sweet Home, in order to receive a portion of the state’s marijuana funds.
— The council voted unanimously to table for further discussion a resolution establishing certain public information, records, research, services and miscellaneous city fees in accordance with the City of Sweet Home’s financial policies.