How Good Governance is Finally Helping North Plains Residents
Our City Council has accomplished a lot, particularly in cleaning up messes left behind by Councilors, administrators, and staff focused on massive growth, not North Plains resident’s needs.
City Councilors De Forge and Weber recently saved a $1 million grant that the city almost lost because of mismanagement by former City Manager Bill Reid and his staff.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted this money to clean up the city-owned Glencoe property. Reid (who was hired by the former Council led by Russ Sheldon and Teri Lenahan) and the city’s former planner claimed that they were doing work under this grant—right up until their last days. But as soon as they left, we discovered that this was false.
Top Oregon EPA officials contacted North Plains City Council to let them know no work had been performed on this grant and no funds had been requested. Despite multiple attempts to reach out, EPA had received no communication from city staff for 15 months. This baffled EPA staff because this was the first time a city failed to use their funding. They asked the city still want the money. If not, they would take it back.
Fortunately, Councilors De Forge, Weber and former Interim City Manager Ross Schultz assured the EPA that they would use the funds as intended - to clean the most blighted part of the city. City Council is doubling down on the Glencoe property at Monday’s meeting. Councilors De Forge and Weber should be applauded for negotiating in an emergency to keep funds that the former city manager almost lost.
Jessie Mays is FINALLY being repaired
You might notice that the Jessie Mays building is finally being repaired. But repairs like this could and should have happened under the former City Council managed by Russ Sheldon and Teri Lenahan.
Former City Manager Bill Reid lost tens of thousands of dollars in public works funding because he was non-responsive to grantors. Reid applied for about $20,000 for AV improvements at Jessie Mays, but when the grantor reached out to him to finalize the paperwork, Reid didn’t reply for four months. We lost the funds.
Reid also had to return over $30,000 for tech upgrades to the Kindel Center because he didn’t use the grant. Reid then refused to give the money back to the grantor for 6 months, causing the grantor to consider legal action against North Plains. Reid was singularly focused on forcing a 550+ acre expansion to the extent that he neglected a City Manager’s basic duties.
Councilor Don Weber has been especially focused on getting public works funding, which includes restoring the grantors’ confidence in City Council now that Bill Reid is gone. Now with a professional serving as Interim City Manager and Councilors dedicated to community services and responsibility, we are seeing progress on Jessie Mays.
Data Center moratorium: Your input is needed!
The City Council will be considering a data center moratorium at their meeting tomorrow, Monday, 9/21. The call for a data center moratorium is being led by Councilor Anna Warrington and most Councilors seem supportive. We ask you to give comment in support:
In writing emailed to info@northplains.gov and/or
Verbally at the meeting at 7:10pm.
If in person, fill out a yellow card when you arrive at Jessie Mays.
If by Zoom, email the City Recorder at info@northplains.gov by 3:00 pm on Monday and provide your name, address, email, phone, and a general topic.
Watch or testify on Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81572897204?pwd=AdDUI3UGvOJDjUgy4LybYbK51TMDou.1
Meeting ID: 815 7289 7204
Passcode: 058780
Friends of Smart Growth exists to make sure that your tax dollars and our natural resources are used on city programs that benefit the community, not on unneeded sprawl that benefits only a few developers and land speculators at your expense.
We do this work openly with elected officials who share our core values, who you can see plainly on our website. And we do it not only for the benefit of North Plains, but for the state. For example, we’re advancing legislation inspired by the misdeeds of North Plains’ former staff and the former Lenehan/Sheldon City Council to require cities to: perform audits, not spend tax dollars on promoting candidates or PACs, and not obstruct Councilors from calling special meetings. We are an organized 501(c)(4) and report our campaign contributions and expenses with full transparency.
Contrast our approach to the misinformation group “real friends” of North Plains that works on behalf of special interests to help them make money off of sprawl at your expense. The “real friends” are very likely funded exclusively by those special interests, but we don’t know for sure because they aren’t organized as an entity and don’t publicly report their funders.
To support Friends of Smart Growth and our slate of candidates who value good governance, community services, responsible growth, and stewardship of tax dollars, you can meet our candidates for City Council: Anna Warrington, Melody Axe, and Don Weber at upcoming events.
