Tourism committee calls advisory role ‘confusing’

CASCADE LOCKS — The Cascade Locks City Council held its regular meeting on Oct. 27, opening with a joint work session with the city’s tourism committee that revealed some confusion between the two entities.

The role and function of any city committee is to advise the council on policy, but the Cascade Locks City Council disregarded the advice of the tourism committee in 2023. The snub resulted in the resignation of many of the committee’s members.

After two years of rebuilding, the committee is again fully served by volunteers, though they sought clarity on their role and responsibilities. The museum’s executive director provides tourism support and is a contracted paid role, currently assumed by Committee Chair Janice Crane. She arrived to the work session with a presentation, and the council had received a list of recommendations from tourism staff prior to the meeting.

Crane repeated her call for a paid, full-time position to provide tourism support, something already included in the city’s budget. Though Crane is a contractor, she is treated more like an employee, with ongoing, increasing expectations, according to her testimony. Committee members echoed that their role seems to be unclear, and they have been given little responsibility. Crane cited understanding and expectation gaps as plaguing the relationship between the committee and the council. Some committee members said they thought they’d be allowed to do “more hands-on promoting” of tourism for the city.

The council appeared to listen warily to the committee’s suggestion, with Councilor Tiffany Pruit asking for future communications to come directly from the committee and not from tourism staff. The work session did not offer any clear directive on hiring a tourism director.

Meeting reports

The city’s new wastewater treatment plant operator, Treatment Equipment Company (TEC), was on hand to discuss the management of the city’s system. TEC President Chris McCalib, who tasked with streamlining the service contract where possible, praised the city’s facility, discussed his vision, and provided a glimpse into the necessary ongoing repairs for the system.

In the presentation to follow, BPA Power Account Executive Kevin Mozena reviewed options for the city to continue contracting for load-bearing electricity. The councilors discussed the pros and cons of different pricing and structure; in the arrangement most recommended by Mozena, councilors found they could face a dramatic monthly savings under the new plan. They expect to bring the contract back for a vote at the next meeting.

Defining ‘consensus’

After months of analysis, the council unanimously passed Ordinance 467, officially creating a new Downtown Zone to help solidify and unite its downtown parcels.

The next topic on the agenda was to define consensus as it applies to this council’s procedures. The council failed to reach consensus over what “consensus” means, but clarity was achieved.

Previously requiring consensus for many applications, they had defined it vaguely as “no one strongly objects.” Consensus is typically defined as “all agree.” This definition, and the use of it applied liberally to council matters, has meant that a single vote can stop a popular action, decision, or policy. For example, it has made it difficult to get anything added as a discussion item on the meeting agenda, thus giving that power solely to the mayor and city administrator.

The council opted to use the terminology “majority directive,” defined as a majority of votes by those who are present at the council meeting. A simple majority of the council would always have to be four of the six, but a majority directive allows the council to hold a vote without 100% attendance. Pruit voted against this change, advocating strongly for a simple majority of council, present or not, and Councilor Marianne Bump abstained, though no reason was given.

Lastly, Mayor Brenda Wood faced opposition after suggesting a local resident give the council a report to “inform us of what our electrical system looks like.” City Administrator Jordon Bennett strongly objected, citing the fact that this person was not a city employee and the council should avoid “having a non-employee give an update” on a city-run department. Several councilors suggested this person should simply make a public comment.

The mayor then called for a motion to adjourn and the matter was left unresolved.

The next meeting of the Cascade Locks City Council is set for Monday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.