News

By Mayor Tim Knapp’s April 16 proclamation, May is Bike Month in Wilsonville. The designation provides an opportune time to recognize many City projects aimed at developing a more connected community for cyclists.

Wilsonville is committed to helping riders enjoy safe and convenient transportation within city limits; 73 percent of residents rated ease of bicycle travel as excellent or good in the City’s most recent community survey.

“As we continue to grow, we are very motivated to develop an infrastructure less reliant on motor vehicles to keep Wilsonville moving,” said Planning Director Chris Neamtzu. “Virtually every planning and engineering decision the City makes is considerate of providing cyclists and pedestrians with safe and convenient passageways.”

On Wednesday, May 9, at 6 pm, the City of Wilsonville’s Planning Commission will hold a public hearing to evaluate the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update (Case File # LP18-0003) and consider whether to recommend adoption of the amendment to the City Council.

The Parks and Recreation Master Plan provides a community-driven vision and long-range guide for Wilsonville’s parks, facilities and community programs.  This update to the 2007 Parks and Recreation Master Plan addresses deficiencies, amends goals, and identifies needs for future park development, recreational services, trails, and open space preservation.  Additionally, it prioritizes short-term and long-term needs and provides approximate costs of improvements and additions.  

Development of this plan was a collaboration between City staff and GreenPlay, LLC, a national consulting firm that specializes in facilitating, researching and developing master plans for park and recreation providers.

At the April 16, 2018, meeting of the Wilsonville City Council, the Council adopted on first reading the 2017 Water Treatment Master Plan Update, which provides a 20-year plan to ensure reliable delivery of high-quality drinking water to Wilsonville citizens and businesses. The plan identifies equipment repair and replacement schedules, details capital and operational improvements—
including seismic upgrades—and accounts for facility expansions to accommodate future growth. It also coordinates the City’s plant improvements with several projects that will be undertaken by the Willamette Water Supply Program as part of their plan to supply water to Hillsboro and Tualatin Valley communities.

The Council adopted a resolution to allow year-round fishing from the Memorial Park boat dock. Last year, Oregon State Marine Board grant restrictions prohibiting fishing from the dock expired, allowing Council to consider the an option recommended by Parks and Recreation staff.

At the April 2, 2018, meeting of the Wilsonville City Council, Mayor Tim Knapp delivered the 2018 State of the City Address, detailing Wilsonville’s ongoing efforts to develop a community that provides for people in all stages of life. The 30-minute presentation, themed “Creating a Complete Community,” reviewed progress toward Council goals. Mayor Knapp highlighted improvements to the transportation infrastructure, management of the city’s growth, identifying new opportunities to create high-wage jobs and affordable housing, environmental stewardship and providing new avenues for a connected, complete community.

“The ongoing goal, the overarching challenge, is how do we create a safe, desirable, aesthetically-pleasing community which nurtures and sustains all who are here,” Mayor Knapp said.

The City of Wilsonville’s Tourism Promotion Committee has awarded $44,000 in grants to assist seven local organizations in providing events and attractions that bring visitors to the Wilsonville area.

These awards come from two programs, both funded by lodging taxes paid by overnight visitors: $25,000 from the City of Wilsonville Community Tourism Matching Grant program and $19,000 from the Clackamas County Tourism Community Partnership Program (CPP).

“The seven organizations we are funding this year have successfully drawn visitors in past years to Wilsonville and Clackamas County,” said Parks and Recreation Program Manager Brian Stevenson, who administers the grant programs. “We’re proud to support community efforts to bring entertainment and cultural enrichment to residents and visitors alike. Cumulatively, these efforts make Wilsonville a great place to live and visit.”

At the March 19, 2018, meeting of the Wilsonville City Council, the Council held a public hearing and authorized a supplemental budget adjustment for the current fiscal year to account for changes in project cost estimates and reclassify certain expenses.

Major adjustments that total $3.6 million include reimbursing the West Linn-Wilsonville School District $1.4 million for infrastructure work related to improvements of Advance Road for the new Meridian Creek Middle School; $1.18 million for road construction projects in the I-5/Wilsonville Road interchange area; $437,000 for improvements to Boeckman Road; and $385,000 for Library remodeling improvements.

At the March 5, 2018, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council welcomed Soul’d Out, Wilsonville High School’s a cappella choir, for a live performance to commemorate the choir’s first-place finish at the International Championship of High School A Capella (ICHSA) Northwest Semifinal in January.

Declaring March 5-11 as Soul’d Out Week, Mayor Tim Knapp read a proclamation recognizing the choir’s success and congratulating the staff and students of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. Afterward, Council unanimously approved a grant of $3,000 to support Soul’d Out’s fundraising efforts to travel to New York City for the ICHSA Finals at Lincoln Center on April 20.

For the 20th consecutive year, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has recognized the City of Wilsonville Finance Department with the “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” for the fiscal year 2017-18 budget document.

The recognition from GFOA reflects the commitment of the City Finance staff to meet the highest principles of governmental budgeting standards. To qualify, a budget document must be rated proficient as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device; additionally, it must satisfy14 mandatory criteria within those four categories.

“This award demonstrates the care taken to effectively present and communicate the City’s budget to the community,” said City Manager Bryan Cosgrove.

The March 2018 edition of the all-city newsletter, The Boones Ferry Messenger, features reports and updates on a range of topics including the following articles and content.

At the Feb. 22, 2018, Wilsonville City Council meeting, the Council conditionally approved an intergovernmental agreement among Tualatin Valley Water District and the cities of Wilsonville, Hillsboro, Sherwood, Beaverton, and Tigard to form the Willamette Intake Facilities Commission, pending revision of a design issue.  The new commission jointly owns, operates and pays for Willamette River water-intake facilities, including the existing Wilsonville intake and a new facility funded by Tualatin Valley Water District and the City of Hillsboro. With this agreement, the City is scheduled to receive more than $17 million in benefits, including seismic upgrades at the Water Treatment Plant and funding of several right-of-way enhancement projects to be performed over the next five years in conjunction with installation of three miles of new water pipeline.

A construction project to modify the I-5 southbound on-ramp at Wilsonville Road is now underway.

This agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), approved by City Council at the Oct. 16, 2017, meeting, adds a third stacking lane to the metered on-ramp to increase vehicle capacity. The additional lane for the on-ramp is designed to accommodate more vehicles that seek to merge onto I-5 while decreasing traffic congestion at the I-5/Wilsonville Road interchange area.

“When completed, the on-ramp will accommodate about 25 additional vehicles during the evening rush hour,” said Mike Ward, civil engineer. “Provided the project stays on schedule, construction should be substantially complete by the end of May.”

Construction of the third stacking lane is to be completed during off-peak hours in order to minimize the inconvenience to motorists in and around the Wilsonville Road/exit 283 interchange.