Resident raises fairness and feasibility concerns about CET award to Spark housing program

During the public‑comment portion of the Aug. 4 Newberg City Council meeting, resident Sonda Martin urged the council to rescind the award of Community Enhancement Tax (CET) funds to a program called Spark and asked for clearer program criteria and financial analysis. Martin said she objected to the Affordable Housing Commission’s decision to disregard minimum threshold criteria and argued that the council appeared to favor a plan the mayor supported. She raised possible conflict‑of‑interest questions about future employment and property conveyance and asked whether participants—if their incomes rose above program limits before completion—would be disqualified or otherwise excluded. Martin described the program as requiring a proposed $2,200 monthly fee and said she had run mortgage and income calculations showing that households making 80% of area median income (AMI) would not be able to qualify for mortgages on the city’s median‑priced homes. She also asked how program screening would treat LGBTQ and Muslim families, given private‑stakeholder religious affiliations noted in program materials. Martin asked the council to “rescind the award, make Spark present a program that meets criteria, addresses the bad math, and answers the question about the curriculum and the fairness.” Her prepared remarks and supporting calculations were submitted to staff as written material. Council members did not take formal action on the CET award at the Aug. 4 meeting; Martin’s comments were entered into the public record for consideration.