McMinnville board adopts city code codification and approves recommendation for $30 million electric bonds

The McMinnville Board of Mayor and Aldermen at its regular meeting approved two major items: final adoption of a codified city code (Ordinance 2025‑20, second and final reading) and a resolution from the Board of Public Utilities recommending the issuance of $30,000,000 in electric system bonds.

Ordinance 2025‑20

The codification and revision of the McMinnville municipal code was approved on its second and final reading. Council members asked staff about several specific changes, including whether the city judge retained authority to sign arrest warrants and whether limits on beer permits or liquor licenses were addressed. Staff said they were not aware of any prior city‑judge authority to issue arrest warrants and noted the codification removed certain civil penalties where constitutional limits applied; the only explicit change highlighted between presentations was an update to make clear there is no local cap on beer permits. Council members voted in favor on the second reading by voice vote.

Resolution 2025‑57: Electric bonds

During action on resolution 2025‑57, utility staff presented a multi‑year plan to upgrade the city’s electric substations and transformers. Staff said the city’s two substations—built in 1964 and 1974—have exceeded typical transformer life spans and have contributed to reliability problems, citing outages tied to aging equipment. Staff reported the utility must order transformers now—lead times of years—to meet a multi‑year construction schedule that places completion of a new substation and transformer installations across fiscal years 2027–2030.

A staff presenter said MES (the local municipal electric system) needs the bond capacity because the project scope expanded after a system study and cash funding was no longer feasible. The Board voted to accept the Board of Public Utilities’ recommendation to issue $30,000,000 in electric bonds; the motion passed by voice vote.

Votes at a glance

- Ordinance 2025‑20 (codification of city code): second and final reading approved by voice vote; no cap added on beer permits; staff noted removal of certain civil penalties due to constitutional limitations on city court jurisdiction. - Resolution 2025‑57 (Board of Public Utilities recommendation to issue $30,000,000 in electric bonds): motion to accept recommendation passed by voice vote; staff described multi‑year transformer and substation replacement plan and long material lead times.

Both actions passed at the meeting and will be implemented according to the city’s standard ordinance enactment and utility financing procedures.