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McMinnville council approves police-station design work, waives graduation fees and refers sanitation software to full board
Summary
Council approved a contract for police-station design, waived recreation-center fees for Project Graduation, passed routine consent items, and committees recommended a mower purchase and a trail-grant application for further action. A proposed stormwater utility ordinance failed after extended debate.
The McMinnville City Council on May 8 approved several administrative items and accepted committee recommendations across parks, sanitation and capital projects.
Key actions: Council approved Resolution 2026-19, authorizing AEI Architects and Planners to develop design and construction documents for the previously approved police-station site. City staff clarified this step does not obligate the city to accept construction bids or financing; it authorizes only schematic and bid-ready documents.
The council also approved a routine consent agenda (including minutes from the Feb. 10 meeting) and unanimously waived recreation-center fees for the Class of 2026 Project Graduation event scheduled for May 15, 2026.
Committee referrals and recommendations included a Parks & Recreation committee recommendation to replace an aging mower with a Scag Turf Tiger (price quoted in committee as $14,006.24; a prior budget amendment set aside $12,000 with an identified gap of $2,624), and a recommendation from the parks committee to take a Recreational Trails Program grant application to the full board to fund Bigby River Trail improvements. The trail improvements were budgeted in committee discussion at about $125,000, with staff saying the grant would cover roughly $100,000 and a 20% match (~$25,000) could be met with in-kind labor and equipment.
The Streets & Sanitation committee discussed new route-optimization and customer-communication software for sanitation operations; staff cited a one-time cost of about $13,000 and recurring fees discussed in committee. That committee voted to send the purchase to the full board for approval.
A staff presentation clarified the McMinnville Electric System (MES) is seeking revenue bonds to finance a new substation; city staff explained state law requires the municipality where the utility resides to be the legal issuer of such revenue bonds but that MES — not taxpayers or the general fund — will be responsible for repayment.
Several departmental reports and recognitions closed the meeting, including progress on Rocket Park pavilion installations and a broadband-ready grant to add public Wi‑Fi access points at the Milner Center complex.
What’s next: Routine follow-up and budget-cycle review were discussed; the stormwater utility ordinance debated earlier in the meeting failed on a council vote and may return after legal review and further fiscal analysis.
