Consortium authorizes staff to negotiate Boardman IGA for West Glenn engineering; public calls for transparency

The Clean Water Consortium authorized Managing Director Jared to negotiate an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the City of Boardman to provide engineering services for the West Glenn water extension, with the condition that Jared return to the board at the next meeting with a defined scope of work and a not-to-exceed contract amount for approval.

Board members emphasized caution about moving ahead before Boardman completes its own process; trustees approved a motion that the managing director may negotiate the draft IGA but must present a scope and cost estimate at the next meeting for formal approval. The motion passed by voice vote.

During public comment, resident Jonathan Tollman urged the board to commit to objective standards for water planning and not to allow water access or timing to be used as leverage in unrelated conditional-use or permitting matters. He also asked the board to require disclosure of any confidentiality or nondisclosure agreements that might create a perceived conflict of interest.

Kristen Anderson Ostrom, executive director of Oregon Rural Action, asked for clarification about the managing director’s contacts with counsel concerning inclusion in the AWS settlement and requested specifics about what actions were taken, noting some defendants oppose the settlement and expressing concern about trust and transparency.

Board members said the IGA authorization is intended to advance negotiations — not to bind the consortium to an engineering contract — and that any agreement with Boardman will return to the board for final approval, including contracts exceeding the managing director’s $25,000 authorization limit.

The board also amended and adopted rules for public comment to allow the chair flexibility to invite public comment at regular meetings unless special circumstances require otherwise.