The record · Transcript
Council Session — 2026-01-12
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Session summaryEditor-reviewed
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee convened on January 12 (the transcript records the date as Monday, January 12, at 9:32 a.m.; the stored record lists the session as 2026-01-12), with roll call and a statement of conduct read at the outset. Minutes from a November 10 meeting were adopted by unanimous consent. The committee then heard a presentation on a technical ordinance realigning city code with state statute regarding authority to rename city streets, followed by discussion and a vote, with outcomes recorded in the vote ledger. A second ordinance concerning code exemptions for a proposal to rename a portion of Southwest Jackson Street to Southwest Rose Hill Street was presented, including historical background on the Native American Student and Community Center and the individual honored by the proposed name. Public testimony was heard from Portland State University students, staff, and community members, followed by committee discussion and another vote, with outcomes recorded in the vote ledger. After a recess, the committee held a discussion on transportation funding options, referencing a PBOT report, potential revenue tools including a transportation utility fee, capital improvement planning, bonding possibilities, and connections to TriMet and climate-related funding. Additional topics raised included street safety, tactical urbanism, and pothole repair, with plans to continue discussion at a meeting scheduled for January 26.
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0 Good morning. I'd like to call the meeting of the transportation and infrastructure committee to order. It is Monday, January the 12th at 9:32 a.m. Diego, can you please call the roll?
1 Good morning. Smith. I Koyama Lane here, Morillo here.
Procedural episode · turns 2–10
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2 Green here.
3 Clark. Here.
4 Claire, can you please read the statement of conduct?
5 Good morning, and welcome to the meeting of the transportation and infrastructure committee. To testify before this committee in person or virtually. You must sign up in advance on the committee agenda at Portland council agenda slash transportation and infrastructure committee, or by calling 311. Registration for virtual testimony closes one hour prior to the meeting. In-person testifiers must sign up before the agenda item is heard. If public testimony will be taken on an item, individuals may testify for three minutes unless the chair states otherwise, your microphone will be muted when your time is over. The chair preserves order disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others testimony or committee deliberations will not be allowed. If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given. Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting. Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass. Additionally, the committee may take a short recess and reconvene virtually. Your testimony should address the matter being considered. When testifying, please state your name for the record. If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent. And finally, virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the clerk calls your name. Thank you.
6 Thank you claire. Colleagues, we have four items on our agenda today. Actually I'd say about 3.5. The first is we have a technical code change on the city street renaming authority. Then we're going to consider a real street renaming proposal from PSU. And then with the time we have left today, I would really like to have a discussion about the PBOT transportation funding report and transportation funding ideas, and that's a continuation from our December conversation. If there's any time left, let's have a discussion about committee priorities. But we can also take that up later. But first, we need to adopt the minutes from our meeting in November. The November 10th meeting of the committee. Do I have. Yes. Any objections? No. Great. So the minutes are approved by unanimous consent. Great. So let's ask diego, can you please read the next item?
7 Item two amend renaming city streets code to realign with Oregon. Revised statute 227.120 by delegating decision making authority to city council to approve or deny street naming. Excuse me. Street renaming proposals. Amend code chapter 17.93.
8 Thank you. Diego. Diego, this is a technical ordinance that's related to street naming. We need to change the city code to re delegate to the council the authority to rename city streets. As I understand it, this was an erroneous change that happened during the charter amendments. So we'll ask dca, dana paul and her team to walk us through this with a presentation. Good morning.
9 Good morning, chair Clark and members of the committee. My name is paul, for the record, and I'm the deputy city administrator for public works service area.
10 Can you move that mic just a little bit closer to you? Thank you.
11 Is it better? Councilor Clark. Yes. Great. Today we have two ordinances to present to you related to the renaming of city streets. And oops. Next slide please. Thank you. Our agenda reflects our overall plan for presenting both ordinances to you. It's been years since the last major street naming effort, and this may be your first interaction with our street naming code. So we want to start by providing you some history about renaming streets in Portland, and an overview of the criteria and processes for renaming city streets outlined in chapter 17.93. Then we will present the two ordinances, starting with ordinances proposing technical amendments to street renaming code, followed by the ordinance seeking code exemptions for the Portland state university's active street naming renaming application. Each ordinance will be read, discussed and voted on separately. Next slide please. There has been significant community interest in renaming city streets to honor prominent people and or to remove names of people whose actions are not aligned with community values. The most recent example was a successful community community driven effort to rename southwest stark street to southwest harvey milk street. This street renaming was championed by former commissioner Dan saltzman office and approved by council in 2018. There is also an important balance reflected in our street renaming code. While street names can and should evolve to reflect community values, the process must also account for real operational, financial and other impacts. Chapter 17.93 exists to ensure that changes are both community supported and responsibly implemented. Changing street names impacts residents and businesses abutting the street, and addresses must be changed to reflect the new street name, as well as any accounts tied to them. Additionally, businesses must incur costs such as for updating marketing materials that bear the street name, and on the city side, dedicated staff capacity is needed for PBOT to process the street renaming applications and to coordinate implementation with other city bureaus such as the bureau of technology services, bureau of emergency communications, as well as Portland permitting and development bureau. Additionally, PBOT ongoing resource constraints have impacted the bureau's ability to process street renaming applications. I also want to let you know that external agencies can also be impacted, such as TriMet, who may need to update signage to for transit stops due to street due to a street renaming. And with that, I'll turn it over to PBOT director millicent williams, who will walk you through the criteria and process for how the city evaluates street renaming requests and why those steps matter for transparency, consistency, and public trust.
12 Thank you, donna paul. Good morning, chair Clark and members of the transportation and infrastructure committee. For the record, my name is millicent williams, and I'm the director of the Portland bureau of transportation. Chapter 17.93 outlines the requirements for renaming city streets and is intended to ensure that a street renaming has appropriate support and is implementable. Street renaming are no small feat and have in the past generated impassioned community response. Pbot staff have been in the bureau when major street renaming efforts have taken place. Know that there is often not community alignment on a proposed change, and extensive community outreach is involved. Renaming southeast 39th avenue to southeast cesar chavez boulevard as an example required significant staff capacity, community organizing, and outreach. Next slide please. The preliminary step for an applicant seeking to rename a city street is to demonstrate conformance to specific criteria for selecting a new name. City streets may only be named after a prominent person who has made positive contributions to our country, and or our local community, is a real person and has been deceased for at least five years. When selecting a street, the street proposed renaming may not be changed if its name or if the street itself is of historic significance. The street must be entirely within Portland city limits, and the name of any street must be the same for its entire length, not just portions. Our city code code also limits us to processing one street naming application at a time, and implementing one street name change per year for a major traffic or district collector street. Next slide please. This slide shows a high level overview of our process to rename the streets. Can you go back to the last slide? As I mentioned, applicants must first demonstrate conformity to our street renaming code criteria for selecting a new street, a street name and street. They must then demonstrate support for the proposed street renaming, either by collecting at least 2500 signatures from Portland residents, or by documenting support from at least 75% of abutting property owners. Other supporting documents are also required. After the completed application is provided to the city, then it is our responsibility to steward the renaming process. These steps include notifying businesses and neighborhood associations in the affected area, and convening a three person historic panel who have the expertise to review and determine the appropriate appropriateness of the proposed name, compliance with our selection criteria, and historic significance of the street. The historian panel passes on their recommendation to the planning commission, who will hold a public hearing on the matter. Excuse me. The city will conduct a postcard mailing survey of each legal owner and each legal address abutting the street, notifying them about the upcoming planning commission public hearing regarding the proposed street renaming, and request their input on the proposed name change after their public hearing. The planning commission provides their recommendation to the city to approve or deny the application through council action. Not captured on this slide is the implementation work that follows approval for of a street renaming that PBOT coordinates with other bureaus such as pa or Portland. Permitting and development. The bureau of emergency communications and the bureau of technology services. As you can see, there are many steps in our street renaming code process a considerable amount of coordination that needs to happen with several parties and robust community involvement. And I would dare say that these six arrows represent probably 50 to 60 steps within each in terms of staff involvement. Due to ongoing resource constraints, PBOT has been unable to budget for staff time to community initiated street renaming proposals, and in 2023, we temporarily paused the processing of applications. Next slide. However, we are here today because the formal council, former council, directed us to make an exception to our policy for a unique street renaming case with enormous community support. On October 30th, 2024, commissioner Mingus maps formally the commissioner in charge of the Portland bureau of transportation, brought forward a resolution that declared council's support for Portland state university's university's proposal to rename a portion of southwest jackson street to south west rose hill street after respected indigenous elder rose hill, who we will learn more about later. The resolution also directed the newly formed public works service area to make an exception for this proposal and assign the necessary resources to process psu's application. Now, I will turn it over to PBOT. S policy resources and partnerships coordinator cynthia castro, who has been guiding PSU through our street renaming process. And we'll talk about the code amendments that are necessary and timely for wsu's active application. Cynthia.
13 Next slide please. Thank you, director williams. Good morning, chair Clark, vice chair, Morillo and councilors, it's a pleasure to be here with you today. For the record, my name is cynthia castro and I am PBOT policy resources and partnerships coordinator. As was mentioned, chapter 17.93 outlines the requirements for renaming city streets. For our first ordinance, we are seeking council approval to make amendments to chapter 17.93 that will delegate decision making authority to council city council for renaming city streets in alignment with state law and our Portland zoning code. The legislation also updates the current name of our planning commission and clarifies authority of our city traffic engineer. Next slide please. During the citywide effort to update city code to align with our new form of government in the fall of 2024, chapter 17.93 was amended to place decision making authority for renaming city streets with the city administrator rather than city council. In my work to help PSU navigate our street renaming process, I discovered a discrepancy between this new city code and state ors. Next slide please. In order to maintain alignment with state ors around street renaming as well as current city zoning codes, we need to amend the current code to reestablish city council as the authority. The state citation and zoning code citation are highlighted on this slide. Next slide please. And presented on this slide are the proposed amendments under the review of application and public hearing section of chapter 17.93. Next slide. There are other code amendments that are needed that we also want to address through this ordinance. First, the planning commission is still referred to as the planning and sustainability commission. In our code, an amendment is needed to reflect the current title of the planning commission. Throughout chapter 17.93, responsibility is given to the city engineer. However, the responsibility and oversight for and responsibility for oversight and implementation of chapter 17.93 lies with our city traffic engineer requiring a code change to correct. I want to thank sandra wood, principal planner with the bureau of planning, sustainability, and our acting city traffic engineer, anthony boucek, who who both helped with this ordinance and are here to help answer questions. And that concludes our presentation.
14 Thank you very much for the presentation. I have to say that I appreciate the history, but also I had no idea how complex this is. You don't just go slap up a new name on a sign that it's much more involved. And now I understand partly why it's taken so long to get to this particular street. So I appreciate that you made an exception in this situation. Diego, do we have anyone signed up to testify on this?
15 No one has signed up.
16 Okay. Thank you. Colleagues, I see one hand up. Do we have some questions or comments? Councilor. Koyama Lane.
17 I want to thank mayor wilson and for bringing this forward and for working with you all with PBOT, with the dca. Want to appreciate the years of engagement with PSU and the community and the commitment that it's taken to get this ordinance. It feels very appropriate that we honor it with rose hill by renaming the street, especially considering her role in the in wsu's native American student and community center, which is a beautiful community resource here in this district. And I need to say that renaming a street is a meaningful and visible step towards being an anti-racist city, which is one of our city's core values. Names matter. They reflect who we honor, what we remember, who feels welcome in our public spaces. And at the same time, I also want to be clear that this work cannot stop just with renaming. If we are truly committed to being anti-racist, we must ensure that symbolic actions like this are paired with sustained, substantive efforts to address inequities in our policies, practices, investments, and council actions. This vote is an important step, but I do hope my colleagues agree that it is only one step, and we must continue pushing ourselves to go further. Thank you.
18 Thank you, councilor. Councilor Green.
19 Thank you. I just want to acknowledge the complexity that's involved in this. I know it's not just a simple thing to do, and it does take a lot of staff time. And so just want to say thank you for that. And thank you for the long term engagement with all the stakeholders involved and your doggedness. As my colleague said, this was a really important thing to take up and not lose focus on. So going to be really excited to to to vote on this. And I'll just say that councilor Koyama Lane and I have been working together to try to to actually move forward on, you know, policy changes that might have more meaningful roles for tribal engagement. And I, I look forward to doing that work, continuing that work in this year. But I'm really proud to be a district four councilor and say yes to this today because this is very much in my district. So thank you.
20 Thank you for that. Councilor Green, any other comments? Questions for the witnesses? Seeing none, I would accept a motion. Okay. That was fast. Thank you. So we have I think it was councilor Smith moved the ordinance and it's ordinance document number 2026007 to the full council with a recommendation to pass. And councilor Koyama Lane gave us a second. Is there any further discussion on this topic? Okay. Seeing none, will the clerk please call the roll? Smith I.
21 Koyama Lane I Morillo.
22 A wholehearted I thank you.
23 Green. I clerk I with five eyes. The motion carries and the ordinance document number 2020 607 will move to full council with a recommendation to pass.
24 Terrific. Thank you so much. And thank you for all the background, the history. And diego, can you please read the next item.
25 Item three exempt certain code requirements under city code. Chapter 17.93 renaming city streets for the proposed renaming of a portion of southwest jackson street to southwest rosehill street.
26 Thank you diego. So our colleagues at PSU are here today with us with a proposal to rename the portion of southwest jackson street to southwest rosehill street. We've already mentioned that the renaming honors a very well respected indigenous elder. It was rosehill who helped establish pisa's native American student and community center that's located on what is currently called southwest jackson street. I just have to say that I was there. I remember when it was opened and actually had spoken at different events there many, many years ago. I've been told that it's a tribal custom to place it way before the name of someone who has passed as a sign of respect when speaking about them. So again, I'm going to hand this off to dca, donna paul and our panelists to tell us more about this proposal.
27 Good morning again, chair Clark and councilors, for the record, my name is paul and the dca for public works. As mentioned earlier, this next ordinance also concerns our street renaming code and is necessary to progress su's application to rename southwest jackson street. This ordinance is intentionally narrow and specific, and it reflects both council's prior direction and the circumstances surrounding this proposal. Next slide please. This is the agenda for representation. We referenced su's proposal to rename southwest jackson street and will start by giving you more background information, followed by an overview of the code exemptions for this proposal being sought through this ordinance. We will then conclude with invited speakers, public comment, and committee discussions as per the ordinance. We want to be clear about how this proposal fits within our broader street naming framework and why legislative action is needed at this stage. Next slide please. As we shared in the previous presentation on October 30th, 2024, former commissioner Mingus maps brought forward a resolution declaring council support for su's proposal to rename southwest jackson street to southwest russell street and directing the new, newly formed public works service area to make an exception to PBOT street renaming pass. Given the unique circumstances of this case and the enormous community support council unanimously approved the resolution in front of a large crowd of supporters, including native American community members, PSU students, and faculty. Psu president and kurt downtown neighborhood association representatives and rose herself, who you can see seated in the front of the photo. And I had the privilege of being there that day and meeting at rose hill council's action recognized not only the level of community support, but also the limited geographic scope of the request and its direct connection to a specific cultural and institutional context. Since the passage of the resolution, PBOT has been guiding PSU through a street renaming process. The work is ongoing and it is what brings us here today. Today's ordinance represents a necessary legislative step to allow that work to continue in a way that remains aligned with the city code and council's previous intent. Next slide please. This is a map that shows the three city blocks currently named southwest jackson street, that PSU is proposing to be changed to southwest rose hill. The map also shows the university's native American student and community center, which is located on southwest jackson street. With that, I will now turn it over to cynthia carmena gomez from PSU, who will give you the background about the community street renaming effort. Before we discuss the specific legislation before you today.
28 Good morning. Chair Clark, vice chair Morillo vice president Koyama Lane councilor Smith and councilor Green. For the record, my name is cynthia carmena gomez and I am of yaqui descent from northern mexico. I serve as the director of local government and community relations for Portland state university, and I'm also the project steward for the renaming effort of southwest jackson street to southwest rose hill. For years, students and elders have had to enter a space designed for indigenous healing and success on a street named after andrew jackson, the architect of the indian removal act of 1830. By finalizing this change, we are not just updating a sign, we are aligning our city's physical geography with its stated values of equity and historical truth. Two blocks of the three block stretch, which we are asking to rename, is located within the city of Portland state university's campus, abutting the native American student community center. The native American student and community center is a gathering space that celebrates and empowers student success through culturally relevant programing, academic support, and intergenerational community engagement. Preserving and perpetuating intertribal connection for native American alaskan native pacific islander students and our allies through tradition, ceremony, and storytelling. Next slide. This renaming effort was a year long advocacy campaign led by indigenous staff, community members and students. While the city previously paused street renaming applications due to capacity constraints, the council's decision to make an exception for this three block section was the right one. It recognizes the unique significance of this location and the profound impact this change has on the indigenous community, renaming southwest jackson to southwest rose hill street is an important step in making our city a place where everyone can feel they truly belong. Next slide. Renaming the city street after it rose hill is a deeply fitting tribute it way. Rose hill was a cultural keeper and former native American student and community center student coordinator, who served as a vital mentor to generations of native students. She was a driving force behind the vision for the native center, advocating for its creation from the 1980s until it became reality in 2003. It rose hill's life work has been about cultivating a sense of belonging and representation in a city that sits on the traditional homelands of the Multnomah, kathlamet, Clackamas and many other indigenous nations. It is exciting when our public spaces reflect the leaders who have worked to preserve and perpetuate these cultures. Thank you for your commitment to this historic transition. And now I will turn it over to cynthia castro, which I have so much gratitude for all of the work that she's done to help us get to this point. And supporting and wrapping herself around our community. It's been quite a process, and we just want to honor her, her time. Yes. Thank you. Next slide.
29 Thanks, cynthia. And thank you for those kind words. It's been a pleasure working with you all as well. For the record again, my name is cynthia castro and I serve as PBOT policy resources and partnerships coordinator coordinator. I've been working alongside cynthia, another member of wsu's renaming workgroup, as well as our city traffic engineer and other relevant city staff to complete the steps in our street renaming process. The legislation before you today is a critical step in this process. Wsu's proposal does not conform with requirements specified in three subsections of our street renaming code, which are cited here. Through this ordinance, we are seeking council approval to waive these requirements to allow wsu's proposal to move forward. Next slide, please. Director williams provided you a high level overview of the steps in our process to rename city streets. In our previous presentation. The star on this slide indicates where PSU is in the process for renaming southwest jackson street. The city street renaming application has two parts. Psu submitted the first part of their application, which requests evidence that the proposed new street name meets our selection criteria. In this application, PSU included rationale for seeking exemptions to criteria that the proposal does not meet, as well as other code requirements. Our city traffic engineer reviewed wsu's application and determined that the rationale provided by PSU was sufficient to support the exemptions before you. Today, however, council approval is still needed to formally exempt these requirements and are necessary to continue progressing this effort. With council approval, PSU will continue their effort to complete the second part of the application process, which includes gathering at least 2500 signatures from Portland residents to demonstrate public support, or signatures of at least 75% of the abutting property owners along southwest jackson street. Next slide. This code section code subsection requires that city streets may only be named after a prominent person, and specifies that this prominent person must have been deceased for at least five years because it way rose hill passed away this October, the the selection criterion is not met, as cynthia shared, the decision to rename southwest jackson street was determined through a community driven process, allowing the community to immediately honor and recognize the work of rose hill, as PSU shared in their application rationale it way rose hill's recent passing has made her life and work top of mind for native students and community members. Furthermore, renaming the street now provides an immediate opportunity to celebrate it. Rose hill and her significant contributions to the community at large and the PSU community, including her advocacy to create the native American student and community center. Next slide. This code section code subsection requires that the name of any street must be the same for its entire length, and that renaming only portions of a street is not permitted. The scope of wsu's proposal is limited to three city blocks of southwest jackson street, from southwest fifth avenue to southwest park avenue. However, southwest jackson street also exists in the southwest hills neighborhood. Therefore, an exemption is needed since wsu's proposal does not include changing the name southwest jackson street in its entirety. As was mentioned in our previous presentation, renaming a street impacts residents and businesses on the street. Limiting the renaming to this segment reduces the cost and administrative burden of changing the name for all property owners along the entire length of the street within city limits. This exemption request follows the precedent of renaming a portion of southwest stark street to southwest harvey milk street, unanimously approved by city council in 2018. Next slide. The native community has requested that the name of rose hill not be displayed alongside jackson due to the harmful historical association with the indian removal act. However, city code directs PBOT to post the current sign and new sign together for five years, unless a petition is submitted to the city administrator from a majority of abutting property occupants, requesting that this period of time be shortened. Recognizing that some amount of transition time may be needed for impacted residents and businesses on southwest jackson street. For city staff who need to implement the changes, first responders and others. A shorter dual dual signage period of six months is being proposed. In my process, I consulted public safety bureau's implementing bureaus and the us postal service about their proposal to dual posts for six months, and they were all supportive. This concludes our presentation.
30 Thank you very much. I appreciate the clarification, because that was something I was going to ask about the five year period, but it's reduced down to six months. That's what I hear you saying. Yes. Right. Okay, great. Diego, we have actually two panels. So let's invite up the next panel. Francesca, frederick, tabitha whitefoot and maybe a student. Thank you for being here today. We're looking forward to hearing from you.
31 Okay.
32 Hello, councilors. And hello, everyone. For the record, my name is francesca frederick. I'm a second year student in the PSU, OHSU school of public health and the student life committee chair for the associated students of Portland state university, also known as aswsu. My experience with the students and community at the native American student community center, also known as the nasc, is second to none. I am not native American myself, but I have found a home and a strong sense of belonging amongst these beautiful people. This building has housed generations of culture, traditions and acceptance and has become well known throughout the greater Portland area and throughout the country. From honor day to community meetings, you can see the love and care that has been passed down from generations. I believe that these values that are represented by these individuals should also be reflected in the name of the street that this building stands on. This renaming is more than a symbolic gesture. It's an act of recognition. It way. Rose hill, an honored member of the native American community, saw a need and advocated for it until it came into fruition. As a student herself, she saw that other student groups had spaces to meet, connect, and show support through their own higher education journeys on campus. So why not provide this for her own people? Oftentimes, the dedication and sacrifice get overlooked by the end goal, but I think that it is just as important, if not more. She has proved that students and their voices can be change makers, and that passion and grit can get you far. As a student myself, I can greatly resonate with this, especially now during the state of our world. We need to be uplifting stories that are similar to our own, showing those who feel overlooked, that their own experiences are what makes up history. Every day, all of us encounter all sorts of different names on mail, maps, signs, and daily routines. When we see streets, we see all the history and stories that come before us. Names hold power, and by choosing a name that honors native Americans and their experiences, we can create a visible and impactful reminder of the people whose land we live on. And those stories deserve to be a part of our shared civic memory. Thank you for your time and consideration.
33 Hello. Good morning. My name is daniella england. I am a junior at PSU. I am a political science major. I am also acting as a senator and a student advocacy committee chair member for aswsu. Today I would like to speak to you not just as a student leader, not as a citizen of the city of Portland, and even not as an old employee through the city, but as the voice to many of those who feel like they have no voice. Many people here, and those who are watching us online, they would ask, is just a name on a street? What's the importance? What's the big deal? But if you allow me to and keep an open mind, I want to provide another perspective on such a matter. I personally hold no ancestral ties to this land or to the native communities, but I do have the great honor and pride to say that both my ancestors and I of northern mexico called them our distant cousins, and that is related to all the tribes in the country, both recognized and unrecognized. And just like any family, some practices are different from each other, but the foundation and principle is the same. We understood the power of a name. See, for many people a name that you might be given. You might be named after a grandmother, your father's favorite movie, or even a random name through a book. But for me and many people, these indigenous communities and name is so much more than that. It ties us to our homeland, tells us who our people are, teaches us to be brave, and is often the guide for our destiny. It reminds us that we are one with mother and father, or as a general public would know, the sun, moon, and mother earth, and there's an equal give and take to that. We're all part of that. But where a name can give one power, connection and motivation, it can also represent destruction, death and corruption. This is what jackson street is to me and to many other people. It is not just a dividend street with a random name. It is an invisible wall that is constant reminder of such heartbreak and generational trauma that will not release their clutches, often. Indigenous person's neck. When we think of andrew jackson, we think of the indigenous removal act of 1830, where tribes were, of course, with false promises off their lands, many to walk thousands of miles with no food, water. Not the right to belong to a tribe. Names were taken away, braids were forcibly cut, languages were forbidden, and children being forced into reform schools. These were the conditions that we know of that the people experience in history classes. And we often think of these and just that. But we often forget that it set the foundation to what we see in a lot of our society today. Today, jackson and his views that created the mindset of that anyone who was not of pale colored skin, steeped in our current reality. I see it in the 5600 indigenous women that are missing in this country, not represented and just casted off as drug addicts, sex workers or runaways. I see it in the death of a 14 year old emily pike from the apache tribe. Or the. The suicide rates within indigenous communities are disproportionately greater than any other community at 91%. By extension, jackson also set the foundation for the african slave trade for the cruel working conditions that the chinese endured in the mines, and the concept that mexicans were no better than dogs. That being said, if we were to have a name in front of the community center, our community center, let it be the name that is known for peace healing, not that of a tyrant. Let it be name after iwi hill, an elder who advocated for her community, helped countless young indigenous students to reconnect with their culture and healed us by teaching us the culture and history that was stolen. Let us let this be a safe space for everyone who has felt oppressed, a place where you're seen, and a place where you can feel such an impactful presence of the land. Knock down the invisible wall and let the ancestors who were trapped by such a wall finally be set free, finally free to be part of mother and father. To close my statement, I would like to include a personal statement from my dear friend and PSU student who wanted to speak here today but could not attend. Her name is krista nuno and she wanted here to contribute her support to such a matter. Krista, who proudly represents the yaqui community, has taken many indigenous classes and constantly visits the community center herself. Her statement comes from what she has learned as a student, and it is short but sweet, but most importantly impactful. And I would like to read it to you if that's okay, by remaining by renaming what remains, there's an opportunity to uplift with this representation for the community and generations to come. Gentle actions as such may remind us of the collective spirit that surrounds the weight of the name. There's a power in the name. There is power in the land and power in the people of now and who came before. Thank you so much.
34 Thank you.
35 Mic check. My name is tabitha whitefoot. I'm a member of the yakama nation. My dear friend and I were very close. She was an educator, councilor, advocate, and mentor. As grandmothers. These were traditional roles with and with experience and knowledge. We tried really hard to create a system that cradled our students to the point where they could become active members of society, and especially in at home at the native American student and community center. Our first cohorts have become an amazing group of human beings. They love each other like cousins, but. They also we have created a we have a chief now. We have people who are leaders in the community. We have people who are working in. Media. And one of our filmmakers has actually was awarded the. Genius award two years ago. We're proud of our students, but we're more proud of the love they have for one another because we created a home place for people that were a bit scattered. The nasdaq on the PSU campus was the fulfillment of a longtime dream of the native American community. It had gone on for for decades. We have been honored to meet the students and communicate, to build resilience and connection throughout their lives. Change is significant in terms of the name for a number of reasons. It honors someone who came through the ranks to have bachelor's degree, master's degree, professional recognition. When we were still the pair of us. Statistically significant. It's not at those days it wasn't normal for tribal members to become where we were able to actually change some of the notions that were going on, and especially in these times, is we're related. We need to give everybody the chance to be safe in their voice, worrying about my own grandchildren because they are brown skinned and black haired is a constant worry, and I think we all need to embrace that. It is pride that brings us together and creates resilience. I consider my good friend a legend. She did so many great things, but I also think that we need to continue to show, to lift up for youth and for other people in the community that we are also part of this society. We are part of the 21st century and that we have made differences. And so I hope that we can, you know, not just change the name of a street, but also change the story that goes on at Portland state as well as in Portland. Thank you very much.
36 Thank you all three for such moving testimony. We really appreciate you being here, and I appreciate you ending on a positive note as well. But thank you for sharing the gravitas of this moment. I think we all up here feel it and we really appreciate you. Thank you so much. I think we have another panel of speakers. Yeah. Thank you again.
37 Thank you so much.
38 Welcome. We have three more people coming to the dais. Thank you for being here today. I'm not sure which one of you wants to start.
39 I can go ahead. Are you. Go ahead. Yeah, I can go first. Good morning. Councilors. My name is trevino. Brings plenty. I am miniconjou lakota, enrolled in cheyenne river sioux tribe. I am currently the native American student services coordinator at Portland state university. Also member at large with our PSU, aaup. So I work with native American students, alaska native students. And so my goal in working with students is making sure, if not within 4 or 5 years, they graduate at least what we see with other numbers with native American students 7 to 10 years. So hopefully we try to get them to graduate in, at least complete this task that they came to PSU to do. And I am also a PSU alum, and I have worked with rose hill as a student as well as I was what was called the umass student underrepresented minority scholarship recipients. So I was able to complete my degree at PSU. Of course, I took the longer route as working with first-gen students. Sometimes life happens and you know, I was able to complete my degree. And so that that time working with rose hill as well, you know, again, to know what it means to be a college student, what it means to be first generation, what it means to be low income. What does it mean to be native American pursuing this effort in an urban setting, at an urban institution? All the things that, you know, as a first generation experience has. My parents were supportive of pursuing this education, but they didn't know how to navigate the system. And that's where folks like myself and attaway rose hill come into play, where we can give them the tools to help navigate the system. There. The complications of the alternate reality that is a student, you know, not everyone gets the opportunity to pursue that. So the rare opportunity that we do have native American and alaskan native students and I get to work with them, help navigate wayfinding through PSU. I honor that relationship with them and hopefully illuminate them and possibilities and creating their narrative as they graduate from Portland state university and pursue their life. What they're going to do. And with that, too, I reflect back on the moments of getting the building I didn't when I was a student. The building wasn't there. We were actually student group located in the subbasement or with the other students, out of sight, out of mind for a lot of the institution. But we, the students there advocating for the building being constructed. I remember helping out with going to what is affiliated tribes of northwest indians and doing a resolution to get support from them to get the building going. So the collective effort and part of that with elders, with people who worked at PSU, with students, that collective effort really created what the building is now. I graduated when the building was open, so I didn't get the opportunity. But now, you know, narrative is important, right? So part of my conversation, engagement with students is helping them build that narrative, instill that internal monologue that they have, that they can do what they came to do. And we try to set a timeline for what that is. But, you know, life happens. But know that that relationship that we have with students is there. And if they pursue other things outside of PSU after they graduate, they still have that connection back to their. A good example of that as well. Now working at PSU and doing the role with attaway, rose hill has done so. I have those shoulders to stand on to help me, guide me through making sense and working with students and understanding the complexities of being native American right now. That's my role. So that narrative development that we have for our students and envision themselves graduating, the complications and stress that goes along with being a student, I help them through the process on the day to day. And so that's really important in building that relationship and building that narrative with that. You know, we often think about vicarious trauma through narrative, right? So in this process of changing the narrative for the name of the street there at Portland state outside the native American student community center, we can do what may be in the narrative conversations I have with students of vicarious healing in that process. So now going from what is the indian killer of andrew jackson, we can say that has been there. But here's the effort of the community here at Portland state and along with everyone else, native and non-native, to make a change and change that narrative. Thank you.
40 I can go okay. Good morning, chair Clark and council committee members. My name is xavier de stickler, and I'm the vice president of the downtown neighborhood association, a student of urban planning and architecture at Portland state university, and a person of mixed race and indigenous heritage. Needless to say, I'm very excited to be here today. I'm representing the downtown neighborhood associations enthusiastic and ecstatic support for renaming southwest jackson street to southwest rose hill street, presently named for president andrew jackson. Jackson street in the downtown downtown, travels east from southwest park avenue to fifth avenue path, passing Portland state's native American student and community center. It is the opinion of the dna that it is unacceptable and improper for our city's cornerstone space, for members of the native American community to be on a street, the name of which honors a man who was instrumental in perpetuating systemic violence against first nations people. Honor, respect and tolerance of genocide or its perpetrators here or anywhere in the world has no place in our community or in the year 2026 period. Portland street names are integral to its sense of identity and sense of place, and to be memorialized in a street is a signifier of a positive contribution to our community. It's a place of honor, with the life and vibrancy that each street fosters, the legacy of its namesake becomes more and more dignified. Some of Portland streets are titled for great people, many after merely propertied men, but for the vast majority it could at least be argued that they left a positive impact on our city. For president jackson, slave owner, white supremacist killer, this is simply not the case for rose hill an educator, a guide, a creator, a champion of knowledge and community. This is emphatically the case. It was rose hill left Portland better than she found it. I only had the privilege of meeting it a few times as part of this initiative, but when I did, I was struck and taken aback. No matter how long your interaction with rose, she exuded an unbelievable kindness, a sense of compassion and comfort. It is something of a cliche to say someone positively touched every person they knew. But with rose hill, I can tell you that was definitively the case for her. For others, her love for her, for others, for her community, her students. It was palpable. You only need to look to her legacy. The successful construction of the native American student and cultural center, the students she shepherded to graduation to see her effect. By contrast, andrew jackson was a man who embodied tremendous imperial violence, colonial hatred for native peoples, and brutishness in his personal affairs, much of which ended in bloodshed and death. I can only describe the idea of replacing the name of a man with such a legacy, with that of a woman who embodied love, charity and dutiful advocacy for native people as just, prudent, necessary, and being in the spirit of exactly of what we hold dear as portlanders. This segment of public right of way is only three blocks long, and renaming will affect only a few properties, but will result in a tremendously positive symbolic impact to the downtown area, the PSU community, and our native neighbors. We urge the transportation and infrastructure committee to forward a due pass recommendation to full city council, so that city staff may continue work in completing this initiative. The dna further calls upon all members of city council to support this change. When it comes to full council, let's be clear this is a grassroots, community led effort which has the strong backing of the downtown neighborhood association and the downtown community. I want to make that clear. By moving forward these ordinances, you will help create a place in our central city that is for everyone, that will honor the people who have been here since time immemorial and are still here, and that can create a place that we can all be proud of. The Portland of tomorrow is one that elevates voices and missions of people like it way rose hill. And with these votes that tomorrow can start now. Thank you for your time and consideration.
41 And I. Can, kenny kunesh, Portland state university park. Good morning, council members. My name is modesto and I am the executive director for tribal relations at Portland state university. I am here today in support of necessary code exemptions required for the street name change from southwest jackson to southwest rose hill street, rose hill place names are not neutral. They are powerful markers of what society values and whose history it chooses to celebrate. Over the past 20 years, the native American community that has had opportunity to utilize the native American student community center has repeatedly expressed concern over the name of the street. I believe that concern remained quiet only as the community waited for the right time to introduce the needed changes, and I believe it's the right time in the right place now for native American students, the environment they navigate daily directly impacts their academic success and mental well-being. Offensive or colonial street names serve as daily racial microaggressions that decrease the students sense of belonging. A street named after a person who is also known as indian killer, does have an impact on all of us. Many current place names on our figures associated with genocide and forced removal of our people, such as this name, and maintaining these names forces the native community to remember the hatred of these acts, replacing names that memorialize historical trauma with language or names that honor the native American community, allows for communal healing, and will help native American students feel welcome. Renaming the street is not an act of erasing history, but an act of reclaiming or reemergence of it, allowing our history to come back to life. We have an opportunity to build a future that right past wrongs, even in the smallest way. I ask you all to support this name change with the required code changes, to ensure that our public spaces reflect the dignity and history of the native American community here in Portland, and provide our Portland state university community a supportive environment. Thank you for your time and commitment to a more inclusive Portland with the. That is all.
42 Thank you so much for your testimony today. Thank you for coming. Thank you for giving us information, context, and also for sharing more about rose hill and her relationships and her impact. Diego, has anyone signed up to testify from the public?
43 No one has signed up.
44 No one has signed up. Thank you. With that, colleagues, I would like to entertain your comments. Councilor Morillo.
45 Thank you, chair Clark. First of all, I just want to say thank you so much to all of the community members, the organizers, the people who came here to testify today to remind people of the importance of this. I'm a paraguayan immigrant. A lot of people know that. But people don't know anything about paraguay. And what they don't know is that the vast majority of paraguayans are mestizo, which means we are mostly guarani and spaniard. And we had a dictator that was installed in the united by the united states there, who was a dictator for 30 years. He was of german descent, and he did everything he could to wipe out the guarani people and to remove our culture and language. He did not succeed. The vast majority of paraguayan people speak guarani, and it was actually impossible to make a stop because we're a very stubborn people. And I'll tell you my favorite word in guarani. I don't speak it fluently because I moved to the us when I was four, so I never got to learn it. But my mom would say this one a lot to me, and I like it a lot. So it's jambo, which means stop pretending to be a dummy when you're like, doing something that you know you shouldn't be doing and you're pretending like you don't know what you're doing. That's my favorite word. So now you all have that one too. But I think, in all seriousness though, what people said I was a first generation student that went to PSU as well. The the difficulty that it is to be a student in that space and to not feel like you are supported and to not have people that understand your experiences makes it very difficult. And so having the native American center, having a place where people feel loved, cared for and heard is incredibly important. And I know more than I know, just as well as all of my colleagues and the folks here today that who we choose to memorialize and why and how and who we erase is indicative of what we value and cherish in this society. And I am so grateful for all of the work that was done to change this street name. This probably should have been done a long time ago. I want to specifically thank cynthia castro for all of the work that she did to make this happen. You have been absolutely tenacious for years pushing this project forward, something that should have been easily done, but that the bureaucracy made it incredibly difficult to do. So I just want to say thank you for all of the work that you did in conjunction with community to make these changes. We are really at a at a crossroads in this country of whose voices we uplift and honor, who we memorialize, and the lines in the sand that we are going to draw. And I see that our fights are united. We must stand in solidarity with one another at this time, because we have more to gain by coming together than by being apart. And I will be honored to support this. Thank you so much for being here today. This is the first of many steps that the city of Portland needs to take to address this history, and to make a different future for the indigenous portlanders that live here. So thank you very much.
46 Thank you. Councilor Morillo councilor Green.
47 Thank you, chair Clark. It's a pretty emotional item, and I didn't expect to feel that way today. But for me, I think it's emotional because I'm also an alum of Portland state university. And during my time there, I remember there being a really robust and active civic consciousness among the student body. And that doesn't happen on accident. And so I want to say I want to draw a linkage here in case folks don't see it, because I see it, this very powerful testimony that I heard from the Portland state university leaders and those involved with the institution in a sort of administrative sense, is the direct outcome of the work. That way rose hill did and invested in that institution. And so there's this lineage through time there. And so I think it's really fitting that we we honor that with a name change here. And there couldn't be a better name change to change it from jackson to this better leader. It's not it's not a random name change. It's very much an intentional. You know, change in in the way that we go forward for these students. And Portland state university students are very important constituency in district four. And while we oftentimes think about business owners or property owners and their voices matter to no question, we need to remember that there are very important priorities for our community members in our districts that are not always as visible. And so I think what this committee has done today is really uplift and daylight. Some of these other priorities that don't don't often see the light of day. And so I'm really proud of what we've heard today, and I'm really proud of the work that these PSU leaders have done. And thank you so much to cynthia for making sure this didn't get dropped, because a lot can happen between a change of government and that that really speaks to the intentionality behind all of the different actors in this play. And so there's going to be a lot of things that I'm not going to be proud to necessarily support at this dais. But this is one of the this is one of my, my joyous moments. I'm, I'm so I'm I'm so ready to vote yes on this. Thank you.
48 Thank you. Councilor Green. Councilor Koyama Lane.
49 That was really powerful testimony. Thank you to all of you that took time to come here and spend your morning with us. That was really incredible. And I know that it takes takes a chunk out of your day, and it means a lot that you're all here. I also need to take a moment to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to cynthia castro from PBOT. You know, like councilor Green mentioned during times of transition, when elected officials change or when the whole city, you know, government form of form of government changes, things can get easily lost. And cynthia really, really made sure that did not happen here. What I've heard is she's been absolutely instrumental in carrying this effort forward, making sure it stayed on track through the transition. And just we're we're so lucky that she's come to PBOT from commissioner Mapps maps team. Our bureau of transportation is so lucky to benefit from her persistence care follow through on this effort and and in so many others. So it's been extraordinary. I wanted to lift her up and the whole team. Thank you so much. Excited to vote for this.
50 Thank you, councilor Smith. Thank you.
51 Thank you, thank you all so much. It feels weird. No one sitting at the table to not be able to talk to someone. But this is very important. And the the actual challenge to get to this point is a part of the struggle as well. The name jackson may be associated with controversial views and engaged in practices that are not aligned with our contemporary values. Changing the street name to rose hill, it demonstrates our ability and our commitment to inclusivity and respect for all community members. And the name rose hill evokes positive imagery and natural beauty, which can enhance the area's appeal. And this is going to for sure promote community pride and visitors who explore and engage in the neighborhood. Now they'll know what that means and how important it is to make sure that we have those positive images up. I believe that this name change to rose hill could attract more visitors and local businesses that will create opportunities for economic growth in the area and with with attractive names and with the history behind it. It is something that we can celebrate at community events and activities. So it is it is my. Great honor to be able to say I will be supporting this, this new change. It is important, it's critical, and you all who lend your voices this morning were very, very powerful. I'm so proud to say that I represent all of you here in the city of Portland. Thank you so much.
52 Thank you, councilor Smith. I'd just like to say a couple of things and refer back to mr. Briggs. Brings plenty testimony as well. I'm also a first generation student in my family, and there's a lot more we could say about the pain that was caused by president jackson. I know he was responsible for the return, the resurgence of the ku klux klan, which we're still suffering from. The testimony today was very moving. Everyone that came here today and all of your collective long term effort, all of you to make this happen, I really appreciate it. I think for all of us up here, it's a very emotional moment. But I wanted to address one comment that mr. Briggs plenty mentioned, and that is vicarious healing. And I feel it today that vicarious healing. I think we need more vicarious healing, not just in our nation and in our community, but on our city council as well. We need that vicarious healing. And I thank you all for bringing that up today, I appreciate that. It is a very emotional moment. And thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Everyone who came and spoke today and everyone who's been working on this for years, it's been a long time coming. So with that colleagues, I would ask for a motion to send this ordinance to the full council with a recommendation to pass. So moved. Okay. Let's say that I think that might have been a tie between councilor Smith and councilor.
53 Morillo and Morillo. Go ahead.
54 Let's say that councilor Morillo has moved the ordinance document number 2026 008 to the full council with a recommendation to pass. And councilor Smith has seconded that motion is there. I don't think there's any more discussion comments. Will the clerk please call the roll?
55 Smith I.
56 Koyama Lane I.
57 Morillo I.
58 Green, I Clark. I with five I's the motion carries and the ordinance document number 2020 6-008 will move to the full council with a recommendation to pass.
59 Thank you everyone. Before everyone leaves, I would like to do something that we have not done here in this committee before. I would like to ask for a ten minute recess that we come back here, resume our meeting at. I think it's 1148 11. I mean, 1040 at 1050 so that we have a chance to compose ourselves and maybe chat with some people in the audience. Great. We will return. I'd like to call the committee back to order after our recess. After a very moving morning. An excellent morning, colleagues. Oh, diego, I think you need to read the first. The next item, please.
60 Item for committee member discussion on transportation funding resolution report and committee priorities for 2026.
61 Thank you. Diego. Colleagues, I kind of wanted to pick up where we left off in December at our last meeting when we were presented with the PBOT report. I know that we've been mulling over it on our own, thinking about it, rereading it, and I know that I have some more questions, and I I'm hoping that you do too, or concerns some thoughts that we want to put on the table before we discuss this at our next meeting on the 26th, and start really digging in on the specifics at that meeting. I'm hoping we have a more robust report about the funding options and addressing some of the issues and concerns that will raise today. So and then if we have additional time, which we have until 1130, I'm open to also sort of brainstorming issues. We have a few items on the agenda. Councilor Morillo and I have discussed some future meeting topics. I know we're going to talk about TriMet at our next meeting. Kind of take a deep dive into there situation, but with that, I'm open to hearing what you have to say or questions you have. I don't know, should I just go ahead and start with my own or okay, I'll just prime the pump here a little bit. And I know we have folks from PBOT in the room, obviously, and dca is here as well to listen to these concerns. I don't think that we're expecting any kind of answers today. Just we really appreciate your being here just to listen to us and and our we may have a dialog as well. I don't feel like we need to do the hands up thing. I think we can just do some freewheeling give and take here. That's fine with me. I know that I have asked for more information. I don't know that my colleagues know this, but I've asked for great, I we went ahead and got started without you. Sorry. I have asked PBOT for more information. You remember the chart that we've received that shows the PBOT cuts over the last seven years, the budget cuts and the position cuts with some more information on what those positions were. Were those frontline positions? Were those management positions? What who actually got cut over the last 7 or 8 years from that chart? I and I've talked to some of our other colleagues on the council, and that issue has come up as well. I'm also, I think we've already said this, that we we need to know more about each of the four options and what kind of resources they would actually raise for us, at what levels. Some some ideas of what that means, particularly, I think, in the ones that we know the least about the other three, other than the tough 1 or 2, we need to start identifying who those stakeholders are that are going to be impacted by each of those four ideas that were selected as out of the 20 as the top possibilities. Who are the stakeholders? How do we contact them? I think some of them are already aware that we're talking about these options. A quick link I do not have a can anybody give us a quick link is can you give us a quick link okay okay. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Councilor Green. I see you're contemplating. Yeah.
62 Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity for the kind of free flow discussion here I think. I think it's pretty I think it's incumbent on the city to act in the space that the state has left a vacuum around for a variety of different reasons, which we don't necessarily need to. I guess we may need to hash that out, but I think I'm primarily interested in figuring out how do we move forward with some of those recommendations on the the best feasible time frame? Because I, I understand that any of those revenue packages that we may advance would not likely generate the revenue to address our sort of upcoming budget year impact, but it helps us develop our sips. It helps us plan and do that integrated asset management work that we've been asking for. And so, you know, and I think the I think the transportation utility fee is something that I'm prepared to support to come before council. And I know that it's going to be an uncomfortable conversation about the costs to ratepayers. But but we need to have that conversation publicly. And I'll just say that, you know, generally a fee like that is regressive. And I don't like regressive impacts when it comes to the income distribution. However, if you ignore the benefit side of what you get for that fee, then you also we can recognize that the lack of infrastructure falls most acutely on some of our poorest portlanders like, you know, councilor Smith, you know, your your advocacy for district one, sidewalks and paving and all all the things is a direct response to that recognition that some of the poorest portlanders don't have basic infrastructure as do as do some constituents in our district as well. You know, southwest Portland, where we where we lack infrastructure, is also home to a high density of immigrant communities. And so, I think, you know, I'm prepared to make the case that when you look at the the costs and the benefits together, that that might be a net neutral impact to, to this question of it's regressive or not. And so I would like to see that move forward and have a conversation about how we can get that going as fast as possible. Who is on first, who leads that? Does it need to come out of this committee? Are we waiting for the mayor to bring it forward? Those those are the things that I that I would like to know. The other piece is I want to kind of bring out into the public some of the conversations I've had privately or just, you know, whisperings in the hall around potentially approaching the the climate investment plan amendment process with a lens towards using some revenue to support TriMet through some sort of an iga. And I want the experts who know a lot about that to be able to talk to this committee, because in my view, the biggest threat to our climate goals is backsliding and losing ground on ridership, which is a potential doom loop, if you will, for transit. If because like once people switch away from riding a bus and they decide to get that car, they're never going to go back to riding a bus. Or if they do, it'll take pretty herculean effort to do so. And so that then feeds on itself in a doom loop sort of situation. And so I know that our chief sustainability officer, vivian satterfield, has some expertise and some thoughts on on that and maybe some of the limits there. I know that my colleagues in the climate committee have also probably talked about this too. And so that's an integrated piece that I, I hope that we can look at together.
63 That's excellent. I really appreciate that. I appreciate your candor as well. And I also feel abandoned by the federal and state government, and that we're kind of on our own here, going to have to help ourselves or raise our own revenue. I like your idea about the TriMet as well, and maybe we can discuss that at our next meeting also. And clearly, transportation, I think, is the biggest contributor to to climate impact as well. So that that's really important. Councilor Morillo.
64 Yeah, I was just going to let folks know, since the discussion has been brought up at this week's climate committee on Thursday, we're going to be discussing different options for about 15 million of pcf dollars that are available, whether or not we should keep using them for housing, infrastructure and making that more climate friendly or, you know, things like what? What if we invested it on the bus? This is an open discussion. No decisions are being made. So no one should feel alarmed. It's just a discussion that is being had. And I think the the TriMet question is definitely one I believe vivian is going to bring folks to talk to us about, you know, TriMet youth pass and things like that, although we really do need to look at the numbers because it could be quite a sizable chunk if we don't do it carefully. And we want to make sure that while we are balancing as as a transit user that desperately needs some of the bus lines that are getting cut, we need to balance the need to protect PCEF and its integrity and what it was meant for. And also look at some of these emerging issues. Given that the federal and state legislature did abandon us on public transit issues as a transit rider, I told my team they'll probably never see me on time again. So, you know, hopefully we can get that figured out somehow. Thanks.
65 Do you mind if I ask you a question about that? 15 million, the PCEF. What money is that? Is that interest or is that where is that coming from?
66 We're going to cover that in the climate committee so you can attend.
67 I have to attend. Okay. All right. Listen. All right. Thanks, councilor.
68 I'm going to attend. And so if you want to just ask me, okay?
69 Okay. Super councilor Koyama Lane.
70 Thank you. I don't think folks will be surprised that a priority for me is making sure that we're continuing to make sure our streets are safe, and that we're working to prevent serious injuries and fatalities. I think many of you know that one of my constituents, gray wolf, an 87 year old, was killed on her daily walk up to mount tabor on cesar chavez. She was known to many as a mental health counselor. Before that was a school teacher. She also was a restaurateur who co-owned and and cooked and baked at two Portland restaurants, genoa and bread and ink. She also raised three children. Sometimes folks pay extra attention to vision zero when it hits close to home, and I'm just imploring us that we don't give up. We don't wait to be focused on this and activated until it is does hit close to home. I have a monthly constituent coffee, and on Saturday, one of my constituents, darlene sherman, showed up and gave me permission to share. So she's been a vision zero advocate. She's also an incredible volunteer. And when she was on her way to volunteer at the clinton triangle, where she was, she does some sweeping just this past November, she said I could share that she was hit by a car as a pedestrian on southeast woodstock and 72nd, she was in OHSU with for seven fractures in her pelvis and a fracture of her left tibia. She's had surgery. She had to go to rehabilitation I got to visit her in December. And this is this is very real. This is happening to our neighbors to our constituents. We need to make sure we're protecting our constituents. That includes family members, elders, kids. I'm excited for what is coming out of the community, so you'll know that soon. If I haven't spoken to you already, that bike bus has a piece of legislation, a resolution that I'm helping them move forward with that is around just really getting more information. I think this is a place where we can be moving forward in this time. It's around a pilot to figure out how do we actually lower the adt or the average daily traffic. And this is specific on some of our our routes to schools and have been appreciative of the leadership from PBOT in this. Also, you know, another area that I have as a priority is tactical urbanism. You know, although it's not a revenue generator, it tactical urbanism does potentially offer some innovative ways to improve our public spaces. It aligns with revitalizing our downtown core and creating safer streets, and may also provide low cost ways to improve public spaces and test some intervention. And it also brings in community to do that. So there was a study finding that pedestrianization can transform streets into trips, into trip destinations, rather than just points of transit. So those are two areas I'm hoping to continue discussing and working on vision zero and tactical urbanism, and I'll leave it at that.
71 Thank you. I really appreciate that. Are you in contact with randy gregg and what he's doing downtown? Okay. Super great. I would just expand your vision zero to just say that there was a cyclist who died, I think at division and 50th or 51st who really ran into a pothole, who fell into a pothole and flipped over. And I don't know exactly how he died, but so I would just expand that to say that we need to deal with potholes, particularly when they're on bike routes or not just because of cars, but I think I've beat that drum pretty hard. The pothole drum. So thank you for those comments, councilor Smith.
72 Thank you, madam chairman. I appreciate that. And just in terms of talking about the conversation around what we should be doing, I will still be talking about the sidewalk improvement and paving program, which also will include filling potholes, paving streets, putting barriers up against streets that can't be you can't put sidewalks on. We have canopies in there. There are a lot of things that we can do if we implement cip, and I will be trying to identify resources that will pay for the debt service on $50 million worth of limited revenue bonds. And I know that I see dca, priya and director williams are sitting out there. They're probably tired of me talking about cip, but the longer it stays out there unfunded, the longer I get to talk about it. So. So do like my son does. Just just give me what I want and then he'll stop hearing me talk. So yeah, go clean the yard. But anyway, so the struggle is real. And I am interested in looking at some, some ways that we can raise some revenue. I'm sure that will come through our committee or finance, but it's we have to take a real meaningful look at what we can do. So thank you for for giving us this space to to talk about it.
73 Absolutely. Of course. And we will do a deeper dive on the money side on the 26th. But I appreciate you being the squeaky wheel over there. Councilor Green will come back to you or councilor Marie, I'm not sure. Is that a legacy or legacy? Okay.
74 Councilor Green? Yeah. Thank you. It occurs to me also, I wonder if. Director williams can come up. I have a question about the financial aspects of this, and I know that there's still a lot to be developed and considered, but I. I thought this is appropriate committee to kind of talk through the potential. Like, suppose there's a world in which we do pass at least one of these, probably the transportation utility fee, given that it's got such a stable and significant source of revenue that we can then think about using that as a source for those limited tax revenue bonds to maybe accelerate or program in some of these really urgent and frankly, life threatening capital deficits. Is that something that the bureau would be thinking about in terms of this, or is it rather to think about just get the money and then blend it into our other strategy? Is bonding kind of in play here?
75 I would need to defer to either jeremy or to our debt service manager, or to our cfo, jonas berry. We are, however, as we consider the full scope of the need, looking at all of the avenues in which we can make most impact with the investment that's going to be potentially coming forward. So there are some restrictions about what can happen depending on the source of the funding and its ability to bond against. But know that the team, which is made up of folks from the public works service area as well as the cfo's office, are working to identify a series of strategies that could be helpful.
76 I'm glad to hear that. Thank you. And it just occurs to me, you know, pursuant to your comments on potholes and the importance of filling them, I agree, and I think that like for the portlander, looking maybe watching this committee meeting, I think if we were to pass a new fee, it's pretty incumbent to immediately follow up with a blitz of really high impact and life like, you know, quality of life improvement, investments. And so that's kind of where where I'm thinking about this.
77 We we agree the need for people to see their investment, like you said almost immediately, will be important, in addition to ensuring that we're getting the work done, we do need to demonstrate or create the opportunity for greater public trust in our ability to deliver. And so we've been talking about cip and other plans for the better part of a year. We've been talking about our maintenance backlog for many years. And once the spigot is turned on, the team is ready to deliver. We've structured the organization in such a way that we would be able to look at both short term and long term solutions, be able to right away do some things that would be supportive of every community, and that would demonstrate that we have not just the ability, not just the capacity, but also the ability to deliver.
78 And the will.
79 And the strong desire. The the our team is chomping at the bit to be able to show up as well as they know that they can. Yeah.
80 Thank you, director williams, I appreciate your comment. Councilor Green. Anything we can do to stretch the money, leverage the money. You know, presumably we're able to raise some money, whatever we can do to stretch it, bond it, whatever. Just as an aside to, I think it's interesting that the governor's office is now talking about shifting money to o&m, right. Am I right? Yes. Out of I don't know where the money is going to come from, but she's talking about this very thing that we're talking about is emphasizing taking care of what we have.
81 It's from presumably from mostly house bill 2017. There was funding allocation to a number of named projects, and there will be the potential of some coming back of that funding to address some of the maintenance backlog or the maintenance, ongoing maintenance needs, not even the backlog, the maintenance. That's one place.
82 We'll be watching that closely in February, won't we?
83 We will.
84 Be. Any other comments, concerns, any other. I appreciate councilor Koyama Lane bringing up the tactical urbanism. And I don't know, you know, some of these issues cross over into other committees as well. And and I would certainly be open to having a presentation on that in this committee at some point. As it relates to transportation. I can see it coming up in councilor Morillo committee as well. But just realize that for councilor Morillo and I, the the door is open as far as ideas for future topics, we've got several meetings already planned out, but your input is valuable and welcome. Yeah. You know, if we don't have any other comments or concerns, I just urge everybody before the meeting on the 26th, take another look at that plan. Comb through it. You know, they have recommended certain kinds of buckets that these dollars go into as well. These dollars, assuming we get some dollars. But take another look at it before the 26th. And so we're armed and ready. And with that, I think I'll adjourn the meeting of the committee.
85 Thank you.