CASCADE LOCKS — The Cascade Locks City Council met, one member short, and with one member absent, in chambers for its last meeting of the fiscal year on June 24.
First up was an OLCC special events permit application submitted by Albert Nance, owner of Buddy’s Barcade, LLC. Nance had requested a temporary OLCC permit to sell beer and wine for two special events occurring on July 4 and Labor Day. Council discussion, led by Councilor Butch Miller, initially focused on Nance’s failure to check one of the boxes, its unclear map, the limited food service provided alongside the alcohol sales, and its purpose. Miller said he’d received “open carry” complaints, referring to folks having open containers of alcohol outside of permit-approved limits. He further objected to disturbing the nearby tenants. Councilor Denise Emmerling-Baker echoed the concerns about the neighbors.
Nance, who was present at the meeting, then stepped up to publicly address the council’s concerns. He apologized for any lacking details, then testified that he had the neighbor’s approvals, that he had more than the minimum number of hot food items required by OLCC, and that the beer and wine sales were specifically tagged as a fundraiser for the Hood River Adopt-a-Dog program. Nance said that HRAAD representatives would also be onsite promoting pet adoption and answering questions. The two special event OLCC permits were approved with the Councilors Emmerling-Baker, Eric Keller, Pete Happy and Mayor Cathy Fallon voting aye, and Miller voting nay.
The council then focused on filling the empty seat vacated by Tamara Farrell’s resignation in May. Two qualifying citizens had submitted applications. The discussion opened with public comment, notably by resident Cody Steelman, who advised the council of his personal concerns about applicant Bernard Seager. Though the concerns about Seager were somewhat vague, a threat made to the council was less so, with Steelman saying, “I’m more dangerous to you on the outside than on the inside.” When Keller asked for a point of order that a threat had been made towards council, Steelman inaudibly argued, resulting in Fallon asking for a five-minute recess to regain order. Steelman, frustrated with the process, stated, “I’ll deal with it online.”
Post-recess, the council attempted to move forward in filling the vacant council seat. The two applicants were the aforementioned Seager and resident Courtnee Keilman. Both applicants were noted to be very involved with the community in many positive ways; Seager, however, had specific experience with municipal finances and budgeting. Happy pointed out that, considering the dire condition of the city’s finances, Seager might be the better candidate. Some were concerned that Seager’s schedule would impede his in-person attendance at meetings.
With five seated councilors, a majority is required to approve a new member. Councilor Sean Crompton was absent. Neither applicant received the three votes necessary for approval, meaning that the council will go through the same process at its next meeting. The vacancy remains open, and applications are still being accepted.
Two new committee appointments were more easily resolved. Matthew Leisiunger and Miranda Auditsh were unanimously approved for the Architectural Review Committee and Budget Committee, respectively.
The council then approved a renewal of the EMS Levy, which expires this December. City Administrator Jordon Bennett was instructed to work with City Attorney Ruben Cleaveland to get the levy renewal on the November ballot.
Cascade Locks Historical Museum Executive Director Janice Crane was up next with a request for funding for the museum. The Community Fund, from which it must come, had a balance of $4,700; the fund was not included in the 2024-25 budget. Happy was concerned that any unnecessary spending must be done very thoughtfully, citing the city’s “dire fiscal situation.” Keller countered saying those funds were specifically earmarked for “community improvement,” and the museum qualifies. After a reminder from Crane that the museum is a city asset, the council owns it and all its artifacts, council first failed to approve a $4,500 appropriation, but did approve $2,500 in funding for the museum, with Happy the only nay vote.
After months of work, the Charter Review committee presented its final charter revisions, which had been vetted by Cleaveland. Lengthy discussion followed. Keller expressed concerns about inconsistency in how council seats were supposed to be filled; Miller proposed a series of work sessions to further analyze the proposed changes, meaning it would not be approved until 2026 since the charter must be approved by voters. Emmerling-Baker pointed out that the Charter Review Committee had spent a great deal of time on the revisions, and that there was some critical language revision needed sooner; Fallon and Councilors Keller and Happy concurred. Keller further argued that the charter review had been thoughtfully completed, reviewed by the legal department and should be adopted now and sent to voters this fall. He pointed out that the city budget was in desperate need of the updated System Development Charges in the revised charter.
With a vote of four councilors needed to approve the review, Crompton absent, and Miller requesting additional time to study it, the charter review was not approved.
The final resolution was to make Juneteenth a city holiday. Juneteenth, or the 19th of June, 1865, was the day slaves were freed in the United States. In discussion, Miller expressed “mixed emotions,” saying, “You have Black History Month. You have Kwanzaa. And now you want to have Juneteenth. Veterans have one day.” Sensing the lack of consensus, Fallon asked for Juneteenth to be added to a future meeting for discussion.
The Cascade Locks City Council’s next meeting is on July 8 at 7 p.m.
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