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Council moves to begin ordinance drafting to sunset Bike & Ped and Discover Newport committees
Summary
City staff recommended sunsetting the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and the Discover Newport committee after low participation and unclear roles; council signaled consensus to move to draft ordinances formalizing the changes and fold duties into other advisory groups and staff reporting.
City staff told the Newport City Council they will draft ordinances to sunset the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and the Discover Newport committee and return for formal council action.
The recommendation follows a committee structure study, a survey and subsequent staff work. Staff reported the BPAC last met with a quorum in February 2025 and that Discover Newport’s members’ terms expired at the end of 2024; only three applications were received to reconstitute Discover Newport, not enough for a quorum. Staff briefed council on options to fold BPAC responsibilities into existing boards such as the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee, Library Advisory Board or targeted ad hoc task forces when project‑level expertise is needed.
Why it matters: The changes would alter how the city solicits and uses volunteer expertise for bicycle, pedestrian and tourism issues. Councilors and staff emphasized finding alternative ways to capture volunteer expertise — for example, short‑term task forces tied to specific projects like the South Beach Loop Path improvements or earlier engagement during design phases — rather than maintaining standing committees with persistent quorum issues.
Public comment: David Thompson, who identified himself as a Newport resident and a former chair of Deschutes County’s bicycle and pedestrian committee, urged continued support for a successful BPAC. Thompson said Newport’s current committee lacks a clear connection to staff and therefore “doesn’t have anything to work from” to make implementable recommendations; he said he understood the committee’s working group recommendation to disband it based on its present performance.
Staff next steps: City staff asked for council consensus to proceed; councilors indicated support and staff said they would draft ordinances and return for formal adoption. Staff noted the ordinances would take effect roughly 30 days after adoption and that neither committee has a dedicated budget.
Provenance: Background and public comment on the committees are recorded during the public‑comment and committee‑discussion portions of the meeting.
