New Polk County community mediation director urges volunteers, court referrals as program seeks stable funding

Mary Moll, the newly appointed executive director of Community Mediation Services, told the Polk County Board of Commissioners on April 28 that the nonprofit provides confidential, voluntary and free mediation to Polk County residents, focusing on neighborhood disputes, eviction avoidance and restorative dialogues.

"We are a confidential, voluntary, and free service to any community members in Polk County," Moll said, describing the program as a third-party neutral that helps keep disputes from escalating to law enforcement or court action.

Moll said the service handles "less than 100 cases in a year" and that the volunteer pool is small: herself and two other volunteers at present, with Marion County's Neighbor to Neighbor offering supplemental volunteers if demand increases. She described the program's current "chicken-or-egg" challenge: it needs volunteers to handle more referrals but needs more referrals to justify additional volunteers.

The program gets many referrals from manufactured-home-park contacts, which Moll identified as a primary source, and she said the organization receives juvenile-department referrals for restorative dialogues. She said code-enforcement offices sometimes refer neighborhood disputes when enforcement options are limited.

Moll outlined outreach steps she is taking to raise awareness: meetings with local civic groups (including Kiwanis, Rotary and Lions clubs), visits to school districts and retirement communities, a social media presence on Facebook and Instagram with conflict-resolution tips, and a plan to distribute refrigerator magnets with contact information at local businesses.

On funding, Moll said most revenue is grant-funded. She named Resolutions Oregon (associated with the University of Oregon School of Law) as a primary funder, said the county provides a grant that "sounds like will be less than it has been in the past," and reported a recent award from the Oregon Community Foundation that helps secure funding for the current year. Moll said the organization's largest expense is staff salary and that she could not provide an exact budget figure at the meeting but agreed to send profit-and-loss and budget documents to the commissioners.

Commissioners encouraged continued outreach and recommended referral partnerships. One commissioner suggested contacting retiring Lieutenant Bittick, who is expected to take on code-enforcement duties; Moll agreed such referrals would be useful. Moll also said she is working to secure court referrals and hoped to meet with Judge Hill to arrange pre-eviction referrals similar to practices in Marion County.

Votes at a glance: The board moved and seconded approval of the meeting agenda and later approved the minutes for April 21, 2026; both motions passed by oral unanimous vote.

The meeting concluded after the community mediation presentation and a brief round of follow-ups; Moll said she would provide requested financial documentation to the board.