Council signals support for continuing sister‑city ties but expects community groups to lead and resists taxpayer‑funded student scholarships

City Recorder Rachel Thomas briefed the council on the status of Newberg’s two sister‑city relationships: Asago City, Japan (established about 25 years ago, driven by middle‑school exchanges) and Poysdorf, Austria (established in 2006, with ties to the local wine industry).

Thomas said the Asago relationship has focused on middle‑school student exchanges managed by the school district; there is no formal community organization supporting it. For Poysdorf, she said a local sister‑city organization has handled exchanges and events but recent leadership retirements have left a gap; the city’s portion of hosting a recent Poysdorf visit was about $8,000, and travel to visit Poysdorf or Asago typically costs $3,000–$5,000 per traveler.

Thomas asked the council for direction on whether the city should continue committing staff time and annual budget for future exchanges. She estimated an annual city contribution of $10,000–$15,000 if the city were to fund staff time and event support for exchanges.

Council response: multiple councilors said they value the relationships but do not support using general taxpayer dollars to sponsor student travel or cover significant staff time. Councillor Mike said he would not support taxpayer‑funded student scholarships and suggested those costs are better handled by parents or fundraising. Several councilors said the Chamber of Commerce, Newberg Downtown Coalition and Taste of Newberg (or a nonprofit sister‑city organization) are better positioned to lead and fund exchanges; one councilor offered to participate on an ad hoc committee to support the relationships.

Several councilors urged keeping a small city budget allocation to maintain participation at a modest level for Poysdorf given its economic and tourism ties, but emphasized city staff should not carry the organizing burden. Thomas said staff capacity is limited and that the city’s small records/communications team can provide support but cannot run the exchanges alone.

Outcome: council gave informal direction that the sister‑city relationships should continue if community organizations step forward to lead and if staff time and city funds are minimal; no ordinance or formal funding decision was made at the meeting.

What’s next: staff will proceed with the council’s direction and, if the council wants formalized support or a specific budget allocation, staff asked for clearer guidance to return with a proposal.