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Junction City council approves street closures, policy changes and infrastructure contracts; several measures passed unanimously
Summary
At its March 11 meeting, the Junction City City Council approved event street closures, amendments to police policies, and multiple public works contracts and appointments; several votes were unanimous. The council also directed staff to proceed with a city engineer RFP process by consensus.
The Junction City City Council took a slate of formal actions on March 11, approving event street closures, policy amendments for the police department, multiple public works contracts and a mayoral appointment to the library board.
Votes at a glance
- Minutes: Motion to approve minutes of Feb. 11, Feb. 20 and Feb. 26 meetings. Mover: Councilor Seneca; seconder: Councilor Weishburn. Outcome: approved (recorded as in favor).
- Street closure — Scandia Run (Aug. 16, 2025): Motion to approve non‑exclusive use of city streets and closure from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mover: Councilor Leach; seconder: Councilor Weishburn. Outcome: approved.
- Street closure — Function Projection (May 30–31, 2025): Motion to approve non‑exclusive use of city streets for the annual Function Projection as conditioned in attachment B and contingent on Oregon Department of Transportation approval. Mover: Councilor Thomas; seconder: Councilor Seneca. Outcome: approved.
- Library board appointment: Mayor appointed Shauna Rich to a term through 06/30/2028; council approved (mover: Councilor Weishburn; seconder: Councilor Leach). Outcome: approved unanimously.
- Vehicle take‑home policy amendment (Policy 706): Motion to adopt an amended take‑home vehicle policy for the police department as distributed at the meeting. Mover: Councilor Hancock; seconder: Councilor Seneca. Outcome: approved.
- Digital evidence storage and retention policy amendments (multiple policies including body‑worn camera retention): Motion to adopt amended digital evidence retention policies to align police practice with state law. Mover: Councilor Thomas; seconder: Councilor Jamieson. Outcome: approved unanimously.
- City engineer RFP: By consensus the council authorized staff to publish a request for proposals to select the city engineer; staff said the RFP will allow firms to bid on the entire scope or on individual disciplines (water, sewer, storm, streets, general engineering).
- Sixth Street slurry‑seal (public works contract): Motion to award the slurry‑seal project for Sixth Street to Pave Northwest, not to exceed $85,810, and authorize the public works director to execute the contract. Mover: Councilor Werschburn; seconder: Councilor Leach. Outcome: approved.
- Manhole repairs (Underground Tech): Motion to award manhole repair/epoxy coating work to Underground Tech not to exceed $27,200 and authorize the public works director to sign the necessary documents. Mover: Councilor Leach; seconder: Councilor Seneg hen. Outcome: approved.
- Sewer line replacement (12th–13th Avenue): Motion to award the sewer line replacement contract to H & J Construction in an amount not to exceed $46,981 and authorize the public works director to sign the necessary documents. Mover: Councilor Hancock; seconder: Councilor Forsburn. Outcome: approved.
- City auditor selection: Motion to accept the proposal from Senceba LLP to perform the city financial audit for fiscal years 2024–25 through 2028–29 and direct the city administrator to sign the contract. Mover: Councilor Leach; seconder: Councilor Jamieson. Outcome: approved unanimously.
Context and notable discussion
Vehicle take‑home policy: Chief Waddell told council the amendment is intended to align the department with industry practice and to allow controlled take‑home assignments for on‑call supervisors. He said the intent is not permanent assignment for senior staff but to enable timely responses to major incidents: “The intent is not to give the deputy chief a take home car permanently,” Chief Waddell said, adding on‑call staff will generally be required to live within a defined response time.
Digital evidence retention: Chief Whitehead told council the department must update storage and retention practices to comply with state law and called evidence review a “super heavy lift” given the current backlog of items. "State law says we have to delete certain things and we actually have to retain certain things," he told council.
Public‑works procurement: Director Kevin reviewed competitive bids for the sewer line replacement and explained bids varied widely because larger firms often break out work into more line items. Staff recommended the lower bid from H & J Construction based on prior experience and confirmation of scope.
Why this matters
Taken together, the votes authorize near‑term repair and maintenance work, formalize police policy updates, preserve the calendar of community events and set procurement actions that will affect the city’s capital delivery and audit schedule. Several of the public‑works awards are funded from the city’s capital funds and were presented as budgeted items.
What happens next
Staff will begin contract execution for the approved public‑works projects and return any items that require further council action. The city administrator was directed to sign the auditor contract with Senceba LLP as approved, and staff will post the city engineer RFP.
