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McMinnville pushes three priority projects as it prepares FY27 legislative asks
Summary
At a council work session staff outlined a long list of FY27 legislative initiatives and asked councilors to prioritize three projects: Northeast Gateway wastewater and stormwater upgrades, the Three‑Mile Lane pump station and conveyance system, and a low‑income neighborhood sidewalk accessibility project. Lobbyist Doug Riggs urged readiness and repeated outreach to legislators and committee staff.
Jody Christensen, the city’s Special Projects Manager, opened the April 14 work session by laying out the process used to develop McMinnville’s FY27 legislative initiative list and urging readiness: city staff want priority projects fully vetted with matching funds and capital project documentation so officials can answer questions from legislators.
“For January through March, that will be a process that is federal. . . . In January, that’s when the Oregon Legislature opens,” Christensen said, urging early preparation for appropriations and bond windows.
Doug Riggs, the city’s state lobbyist, summarized the short 2026 session as “packed, painful and productive,” noting swings in state revenue forecasts and identifying statewide funding themes—water, housing and transportation infrastructure—that informed the city’s project packaging. He pointed to state industrial site readiness grants and other programs that may align with McMinnville proposals.
Staff presented a long list of projects grouped into ten categories and recommended councilers focus advocacy on three priorities for FY27: the Northeast Gateway wastewater and stormwater upgrades (staff suggested a $1.5 million ask given the city match and design work underway), a pump station and conveyance system to serve the Three‑Mile Lane area and McMinnville Landing (staff estimated a $5–$10 million federal/state ask and recommended further refinement with Public Works), and a phase‑one lower‑income neighborhood accessibility program to address deteriorated sidewalks in places like the Bird Streets/Jordina subdivision.
Councilors pressed staff on details. Several asked how the sidewalk program would prioritize blocks and whether areas that lack any sidewalks would be eligible; staff said phase one targets historically identified street‑improvement neighborhoods and that the city can scale the program outward. On the pump station, staff and the public works director described the rationale for a variable ask: $5 million would cover core pump station work, while a $10 million ask could fund accompanying piping if larger state/federal funding was available.
Several councilors raised strategic points about legislative outreach and committee dynamics. Riggs warned that while some fiscal decisions once flowed through subcommittees, recent practice has centralized many decisions and staff recommended broad outreach to committee chairs and staff as well as continued relationship building with Representative Elmer and Senator Star.
Why it matters: the council will prioritize a short list of projects to concentrate limited advocacy time in Salem and with federal delegations; those priorities shape packaging and match strategies staff will carry forward. Staff said they will return refined cost estimates this summer and activate the coordination team to meet with legislators as appropriations conversations begin.
What happens next: Council signaled support for staff’s recommended priorities and asked staff to refine dollar figures and program match options so the city can begin direct meetings with legislative offices and federal contacts ahead of the long session.
