Clackamas County Coordinating Committee (C4)

Development Service Building
150 Beavercreek Road – Auditorium

Attendance

Members: Clackamas County: Paul Savas (Co-chair) & John Ludlow; Canby: Brian Hodson & Traci Hensley (Alt.); CPOs: Laurie Swanson & Marjorie Stewart (Alt.); Gladstone: Hal Busch; Hamlets: Tammy Stevens & Rick Cook (Alt.); Lake Oswego: Jeff Gudman (Alt.);Milwaukie: Dave Hedges; Metro: Carlotta Collette; Molalla: Glen Boreth; Oregon City: Betty Mumm; Sandy: Jeremy Pietzold;

Sanitary Districts: Terry Gibson; Transit Districts: Julie Stephens (Rural) & Steve Kautz (Urban); Villages: Bob Reeves; Water Districts: Hugh Kalani;

West Linn: Jody Carson; Wilsonville: Tim Knapp

Staff: Gary Schmidt (PGA); Jared Anderson (PGA); Ellen Rogalin (DTD)

Guests: Stephan Lashbrook (Wilsonville - SMART); Seth Atkinson (Sandy); Ben Eckstein (Cong. Schrader); Julie Wehling (Canby); Mark Ottenad (Wilsonville); Jaimie Lorenzini (Happy Valley); John Valley (Sen. Merkley); Alan Lehto (TriMet); Tom Mills (TriMet); Carl Larson (BTA).

DRAFT Minutes

Meeting called to order and chaired by Co-chairs Paul Savas & Lori DeRemer. Self introductions made. 16 of 23 voting members present. Quorum established.

Approval of December 2013 C4 Meeting Minutes 

Minutes from December 2013 C4 meeting approved without change.

The following C4 members were unanimously elected to serve on the Executive Committee for 2014, along with Commissioner Paul Savas (Co-chair):

Mayor Lori DeRemer, City of Happy Valley (representing Urban Cities) Mayor Brian Hodson, City of Canby (representing Rural Cities)

Director John Blanton, Clackamas Fire District #1 (representing Fire Districts) Chair Bob Reeves, Villages at Mt. Hood (representing Hamlets, Villages & CPOs)

President Terry Gibson, Oak Lodge Sanitary District (representing Sanitary & Water Districts)

Alan Lehto, Tom Mills and Steve Kautz of TriMet discussed ongoing efforts to create Service Enhancement Plans (SEP) throughout the TriMet service area. TriMet is in the process of engaging communities to create a shared, long-term vision for transit service to support current and future needs. Efforts to engage the “Southeast” portion of TriMet’s service district, which covers portions of Clackamas County, continue and are expected to result in the creation of an SEP in fall 2015.

Members noted that it is difficult to travel around the periphery of the region, since the system is geared toward moving people in and out of downtown Portland. Mayor Tim Knapp mentioned the need to improve transit options between regional centers and on the suburban edge. Alan Lehto noted that a goal of the SEP process is to create more “anywhere to anywhere” connections. A bigger emphasis will be placed on cross-town connections.

Stephan Lashbrook (SMART – Wilsonville), Julie Wehling (Canby Transit), and Julie Stephens (Sandy Transit) provided brief overviews of their transit districts and the services they provide to county residents. Teresa Christopherson (Clackamas County) also discussed a recent federal grant that helped expand the Mountain Express bus service to locations on Mt. Hood, including Government Camp, Timberline Lodge, and the Sandy Area Metro (SAM) bus service.

Stephan Lashbrook provided members with an update on the federal transportation funding environment. He discussed a letter from ODOT Director Matt Garrett to Rep. Greg Walden, which draws attention to the lack of adequate and sustainable funding for the federal Highway Trust Fund. Without congressional action, the Trust Fund is expected to exhaust its balances sometime this summer, which could require halting the federal program as early as 2015. The letter highlights the significant uncertainty surrounding federal transportation funding and calls on Congress to act quickly in order to prevent negative impacts to project planning and delivery in Oregon.

Stephan Lashbrook also discussed Transportation for America’s (T4America) Investment Plan.

The plan proposes steps to reverse the decline of the federal Highway Trust Fund, including calling on Congress to increase federal transportation user fees by $30 billion a year. This would eliminate the need for a subsidy of the Highway Trust Fund by the General Fund and increase the level of federal transportation investment.

Gary Schmidt gave an update on the County’s efforts to engage the community in a discussion of its road funding needs. Gary provided members with a spreadsheet noting the various groups in the county that have received a road funding presentation, and he also provided highlights from the Clackamas County’s 2014 Community Survey. The survey indicates that a majority of county residents believe their roads are in excellent or good condition and do not support paying more for maintenance.

Members noted a need for continuing education on road funding needs. Mayor Tim Knapp suggested a county/regional forum to educate elected officials in the county on transportation needs. If such a forum were to occur, Councilor Carlotta Collette recommends inviting engaged citizens and groups such as neighborhood leaders and planning commissioners. She noted the importance of engaging and educating residents at the neighborhood level and making the discussion relevant to each locality. Councilor Jeff Gudman discussed the importance of making clear to the public what projects will be funded with any new revenue raised.

Councilor Jody Carson, MPAC Chair, briefly discussed the status of the Climate Smart Communities project. A presentation on Climate Smart Communities will be given to members at the 05/01/14 C4 member.

Meeting adjourned.

1. Welcome & Introductions

2. Housekeeping

3. Executive Committee Elections

4. TriMet Service Enhancement Plan

5. Urban/Rural Transit Discussion & Federal Transportation Update

6. County Road Funding Update

7. JPACT/MPAC Update