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Residents press council on communication lapses, power-line notice and water advisories
Summary
Multiple residents told the council they had poor or late notice about a utility/power-line project and a boil-water advisory; speakers urged improved emergency alerts and better follow-up on long-standing quality-of-life issues and enterprise-zone impacts.
During two public-comment periods on Dec. 3, several Umatilla residents raised concerns about the city’s communication and notification practices for utility projects and emergencies.
Kathy Payne submitted a written letter read into the record and criticized a recent 6.5-mile, high-voltage transmission project notification timeline and limited resident notice, saying many affected households received only short notice before planning hearings. Payne raised water-quality communication concerns and urged the city to develop a robust emergency-communication plan that reaches all residents rather than relying on social media.
Other residents at the meeting and online echoed those concerns and called on the council to track long-standing quality-of-life issues (sidewalks, crosswalk safety, trail lighting) more visibly on agendas and as "old business." A resident who identified herself as Alicia Romero said her household was affected by a boil-water advisory and said she had no social media and therefore received no timely notification; she asked for direct calls or text-message alerts to reach households without online access.
Councilors and staff responded that the city offers email subscription notices on the website and distributes QR codes in welcome packets for new residents; staff said a new system called SafeWatch will be presented to council for consideration in January and that QR codes and resident packets already link to meeting materials. The council also noted internal procedures and the Wednesday-before deadline for placing items on agendas and committed to quarterly promotion of the subscription system and continued improvement of notification methods.
Speakers tied their comments about transparency to recent land-use and enterprise-zone decisions and to a general desire that the council follow up publicly when issues are raised.
