Council debates CORA advisory committee makeup after staff outlines candidate categories; Latino representation added

TUALATIN, Ore. — During the April 28 work session the council reviewed staff plans for a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to advise CORA design and planning and several councilors raised concerns about how members were chosen and whether the roster included representation for Spanish-speaking residents.

Staff described the CAC as roughly a 12- to 13-member body that will advise two council representatives (the city manager named Councilor Sacco and the mayor as primary representatives) and an alternate. The CAC will include representatives from several local groups and stakeholder categories (idea committee, arts advisory committee, youth member, chamber of commerce, business/property owners, and others). Sid, staff working on the project, told council the idea committee and other stakeholder groups would nominate representatives and that staff had identified potential volunteers for some slots.

Council members pressed staff on process and representation. Councilor Gonzales said the Hispanic/Latino community's population share merited an automatic slot: "I do share concerns with, Councilor Reyes because the Hispanic community is 15% of the Tualatin population and they were not given first priority. ... We should be automatic on that list, and we're not."

Councilor Reyes said the omission would have persisted without a councilor raising it: "If I had not brought it up today, this would have continued without even thinking about it. Like, to me, that is unacceptable that it wasn't even on the forefront."

Staff response and next steps Sid and other staff agreed to add a category to ensure Latino business/community representation and to solicit volunteers through outreach such as an upcoming presentation to the Latino business networking group. Staff also told council that while the CAC will be an advisory body chosen to represent categories, the final membership list will be returned to the council as an update and staff expects additional public engagement opportunities during the two-year design and planning process.

Why it matters: Councilors emphasized the CAC will shape downtown design choices and that the membership composition affects whether the committee reflects the city's demographics and community interests. Several councilors asked staff to return with a formal update on the CAC makeup and planned outreach.

Ending: Staff will add a Latino outreach slot, recruit volunteers and provide council with an updated CAC roster and timeline. No formal appointment votes were taken at the April 28 meeting.