Local business owner urges investigation of city event grant handling, alleges delays and errors

Cyrus Zimani, an Oregon City resident and business owner, used public comment time on May 7 to ask the commission to investigate handling of a small community event grant and to clarify grant procedures after what he described as inconsistent staff responses and paperwork errors.

Zimani said he had managed the elevator lighting project and later applied for a city community event grant for a car show. He said city staff told him at different times that only $4,000 remained in the grant fund, that his application had not been received and then later had to be resubmitted, and that staff provided incorrect insurance language that caused further delays. He said the commission's earlier concerns about vendor payments created a public perception problem and that he had to personally guarantee funds to keep the event feasible.

Zimani asked the commission to: investigate the conduct and statements of the city staff member he identified as "Mr. Graham," establish fair and transparent procedures for community event grants, remove a repayment clause in the car show grant, and affirm that speaking about these issues at the meeting would not jeopardize future applications.

Mayor and staff responded that the commission had conditionally approved the application, that some required items had been missing from the original submission and that staff would follow up. The mayor said staff had spoken with other applicants and had not had difficulty, and asked Zimani to follow up with staff.

Commissioners did not vote on any action during the public comment; they acknowledged the complaint and signaled staff would follow up.