Portland City Council Finance & Governance Committee (Whole) 06/06/26

8:03Good morning.

8:03I call this meeting of the Committee of the Whole to— of the Portland City Council to order.

8:07It is 9:33 AM on August 6th, 2026.

8:12Keelan, will you please call the roll?

8:13Good morning.

8:14Koyama Lane?

8:15Here.

8:15Murillo?

8:16Here.

8:17Novick?

8:17Here.

8:18Clark?

8:19Here.

8:19Green?

8:20Here.

8:21Zimmerman?

8:23Avalos?

8:24Here.

8:24And can you turn the lights up?

8:27Thanks.

8:28Too dark.

8:28Dunphy?

8:29Here.

8:29Smith?

8:32Pirtle-Guiney?

8:34Ryan?

8:39Here.

8:40Christopher, will you please read the statement of conduct?

8:42Or Kevin, I'm not sure who's doing it today.

8:45Welcome to the meeting of the Finance and Governance Committee of the Whole.

8:47To testify before this committee in person or virtually, you must sign up in advance of the committee agenda at www.portland.gov/council/agenda/committee-whole or by calling 311.

8:57Information on engaging with the committee can be found at this link.

8:59Registration for virtual testimony closes 1 hour prior to the meeting.

9:02In-person testifiers must sign up before the agenda item is heard.

9:05Public testimony will be taken on an item.

9:06Individuals may testify for 3 minutes unless the Chair states otherwise.

9:10Your microphone will be muted when your time is over.

9:12The Chair preserves order.

9:13Disruptive 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.

9:19If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given.

9:21Further disruption results in ejection from the meeting.

9:23Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass.

9:26Additionally, the committee may take a short recess and reconvene virtually.

9:29Your testimony should address the matter being considered.

9:31When testifying, state your name for the record, If you're a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent.

9:35Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the clerk calls your name.

9:38Thank you.

9:39Thank you.

9:40Appreciate everybody being here today.

9:42So today we have a couple items on our agenda that are continuations of our meeting from 2 weeks ago.

9:48After the committee chair updates, we'll have a continuation of the discussion of the potential transfer of the franchise from Zenith Energy Terminals Holding LLC to ISQ Springer Holdings LLC.

9:59We had the presentation, we'll hear the testimony now.

10:02We do have 50 people signed up for testimony last I checked.

10:06And then we have Vision Zero, which we'll call the presentation item and public hearing together and do the public hearing portion first.

10:13That's, I think, 4 people have signed up for that.

10:16And then if time is remaining, we'll have some of the responses from staff to the questions councilors raised 2 weeks ago.

10:23I'll note for the record that this is the exact plan we had 2 weeks ago at the end of the meeting, and no changes have been made.

10:28Made to that plan.

10:30So we're going to ask that if you need the full 3 minutes, you will have it.

10:35But if you don't need it, please feel free to make sure that there's time for other folks who are waiting to testify as well.

10:42All right, can you please call the first item, Keelan?

10:48Item 1, document 2026-274, Committee Chair Updates.

10:53Thanks.

10:54I'll keep the committee chair update portion brief today other than of course we do have an update from Vice President thank you.

11:00I'm Council Vice President Olivia Clark, chair of the Public Works Committee.

11:02There have been some updates to the meeting calendar, and you'll see that things are just kind of, as they get locked in, being put into tentative and confirmed on the list or moved down as we know that we're gonna need a little bit more time.

11:16Hopefully by next week we'll have more information on the oversight hearings for the rest of the year.

11:22No updates on Part 2 or Part 3 at the moment.

11:25You'll see that we'll do part 4 in a second, which is the committee update from Chair Clark.

11:31But I did add a new council deadlines for administration just to show what things are being expected back from the administration to council as a way of increasing transparency.

11:42Colleagues, please feel free to send me more.

11:43The only one I had was something I knew about this week, which is the investment policy options report back due on August 31st.

11:52Any questions on that before I pass it over to Chair Clark?

11:56All right, Chair Clark, take it away.

11:59Great.

12:00Thank you, Mr.

12:00Chair.

12:02Quick update.

12:04Can everybody hear me okay?

12:06Good.

12:07Yes, thank you.

12:08At our last meeting, we had an excellent overview and discussion of autonomous vehicles.

12:14PBOT provided us with a report, and I was very interested To hear about their research of other cities where autonomous vehicles have been operating.

12:25They'll be coming back to us.

12:27We asked them to come back to us drafting an ordinance for us to, to discuss, hopefully in September.

12:35We also got an update on the, the work that's being done in preparation to implement the transportation utility fee and the street damage restoration fee.

12:46There's a lot of work to be done there before we can actually implement those in January.

12:52Tomorrow, our committee is going on a tour of the filtration plant, which is well timed because at our committee meeting next Tuesday, we're going to be getting an overview of the oversight that's taking place of the project.

13:09And yeah, very well timed.

13:12And then we're also next week, I think we're having A discussion of— hold on just a second.

13:21Oh, to kind of tease out in the Vision Zero, we're going to tease out some of the safety measures and talk more in more detail about what kinds of safety measures we can implement.

13:33And that will be interesting.

13:34And then just a really quick update, really quick update on what's going on with the waterfront, the RFP, and just bringing us up to date on that.

13:42So.

13:43With that, Mr. Chairman, that's my brief report.

13:48Thank you, Chair Clark.

13:49Any questions for Chair Clark?

13:51I see Councilor Green is in the queue.

13:54Thank you.

13:55Not a question, just sort of affirming since the Public Works Committee will be a quorum on that trip, just want the public to know we're not discussing any policy items related to the committee at all.

14:05We're just getting information from the bureau, right?

14:09Thank you.

14:11Thank you.

14:14Thank you.

14:15That concludes the, uh, chair update, so I will ask, uh, Keelan, if you could please call item 2.

14:21Document 2026-263, consent to franchise transfer from Zenith Energy Terminal Holdings LLC to ISQ Springer Holdings LLC, amend ordinance 1885.

14:34All right, I don't see anyone in the queue.

14:38We are ready to take testimony.

14:39So noting that for those who aren't immediately first, all the presentation and all that is in the meeting records from 2 weeks ago, so the 23rd.

14:48And if you could please call the first panel, Keelan.

14:52Yeah, let me, sorry, just wanna go over a couple quick reminders here.

14:58I will call up testifiers in groups of 5.

15:01Each individual will have 3 minutes.

15:04For those testifying in person, you will see the timer countdown displayed on the monitor in front of the testimony table.

15:10For those testifying virtually, the timer is displayed in Zoom.

15:13You will hear the timer chime twice, once when there are 30 seconds left, then a second time when your time is up.

15:19Before you begin your testimony, please state your name for the record.

15:22All right, let's get started.

15:24Our first panel includes Lynn Handlen, Jules Bailey, Nick Caleb, Danny Noonan, Jerry Zhang.

15:32Good afternoon.

15:35As people are coming up, I did also want to say thank you so much for your patience waiting the 2 weeks to do this.

15:50Okay.

15:51My name is Lynn Spidullary-Handlen, and I'm speaking today on behalf of myself and many others who previously signed up to testify.

16:00In the interest of time, we've decided to provide a few collective testimonies summarizing our key concerns with the Zenith franchise transfer.

16:10Our hope is that by giving back agenda time to you, you'll be able to move more quickly on the one key action council can take now to make the Zenith and all CEI Hub facilities safer— the CEI Hub policy project.

16:23Zenith Energy is a company with a history of violations, background deal— backroom deals, flat-out lies to the DEQ about their plans, which is getting worse.

16:34A company that poses many threats to the health and safety of the community, the rivers, and the environment.

16:39This and the city administration's inability or unwillingness to provide adequate oversight are why third-party enforcement and due diligence around ISQ's legal and technical history are so critical.

16:53In a short time, we have learned that ISQ has numerous worker safety, railroad safety, environmental, and other violations in the UK, lawsuits around business practices and investment strategies thank you.

17:04The report outlines a number of issues with the project, including the lack of environmental impact studies in New York City, allegations of fraud and malpractice settled by substantial payouts in Florida, and the list of bad goes on.

17:13This is why the community is asking for full transparency and documentation on the administrative review.

17:20ISQ has publicly stated it will continue to pursue expansion of the Zenith facility into a major fuel export hub, increasing the facility's risk Risk to Portlanders by more fuel bomb train activity down the gorge and even more fuel storage on liquefiable riverbank soils.

17:41We know you understand that this brings only risk and no significant benefit to Portlanders.

17:48Our ask of you is simple.

17:50Make sure you're not creating a loophole by which the new owner, ISQ, can apply for facility expansions before you consider and implement the new zoning codes that will come from the CEI Hub policy project.

18:05The franchise transfer agreement should be conditioned, or a separate resolution should be passed precluding expansion permits until the CEI Hub policy has been debated and implemented.

18:19Especially given the nature of ISQ, and the more time you have, the more you may learn of how what a bad idea this is.

18:30We understand the City Council faces a packed agenda of critical issues, but we also know that a catastrophe at the hub could erupt at any time.

18:42We stand behind Council doing everything in your power to quickly pass the strongest possible CEI hub protections to make Portland's future safer good morning, Council.

19:01My name is Jules Bailey.

19:03I'm a former Democratic state representative, former chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee, and former board chair of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters.

19:11I'm appearing today in a consulting capacity with Skyline Renewable Energy, the Portland-based company backed by I Squared Capital and that is operating this project.

19:19Thank you.

19:20I understand the history of this facility.

19:25Concerns about crude by rail, fossil fuel expansion, safety, and the conduct of the current operator are real, and you're hearing about them today from concerned citizens who earnestly want our city to meet its climate obligations and ensure community safety.

19:40I want the same thing.

19:41Approval today should not be understood as an endorsement of this facility's history.

19:46Thank you.

19:47This smaller issue of a franchise agreement transfer is an opportunity to change it.

19:52Portland and Oregon have adopted policies requiring substantial reductions in carbon intensity of transportation fuels, including at least 50% renewable fuel, moving towards 99% in 2030.

20:03Those standards only work if there is reliable infrastructure to receive, store, and distribute lower carbon fuels.

20:09This terminal is already a major point of entry for renewable diesel, a fuel that's not only lower in carbon but also safer than crude.

20:16Thank you.

20:17It's also the only terminal in Oregon with sustainable aviation fuel storage at scale, and it supplied the fuel used in PDX's first sustainable aviation fuel delivery.

20:26Renewable fuels aren't the final destination.

20:28Electrification remains essential.

20:30But for heavy-duty transportation and aviation, where full electrification is not yet available at scale, renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel are necessary.

20:40Climate Solutions estimates that renewable diesel produces at least 60% fewer lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions than petroleum diesel, and often even less, and they work in existing engines.

20:51Council's not being asked to simply trust another operator's promises.

20:54I Squared is making this acquisition through its Energy Transition Infrastructure Fund, an Article IX fund with a mandate to invest in renewable fuels and clean energy infrastructure.

21:03And Skyline has committed to eliminate fossil fuel storage at this terminal by October 2027.

21:10This commitment is not merely a response to the current permit.

21:13It's part of the mandate of the investment vehicle being used to acquire the facility.

21:18And there are many layers of oversight already.

21:21I would not have agreed to work with Skyline without those commitments.

21:26The question before you is narrower than the history of this facility surrounding it.

21:30This is only about I Squared's technical, legal, and financial ability to operate and maintain the pipes in the street.

21:37The decision today is binary.

21:39Approving the transfer allows a new operator backed by an energy transition fund denying the transfer does not eliminate the terminal or its existing permits.

21:51It leaves Zenith in place.

21:53Portland created demand for cleaner fuels through public policy.

21:56Transit agencies, school bus fleets, trucking, aviation, and construction all need this facility to meet that demand, and I respectfully ask your approval of the transfer.

22:09Check.

22:09Excuse me.

22:10Chair Kanal, Vice Chairs Ryan and Koyama Lane, and esteemed City Council members.

22:14My name is Nick Caleb.

22:15I'm the climate energy attorney at Breach Collective.

22:17I'm registered with the city as a lobbyist.

22:20Since the last meeting on this topic, the city has been sued by Zenith demanding that a court cut public process short and force council's immediate consent to the franchise transfer.

22:30I suspect Zenith and I Squared were triggered by councilors' questions to the city attorney and staff, which clarified that council has full legislative authority here to deny, approve, or attach conditions to an approval and to conduct a full public process.

22:44Zenith and I Squared were hoping that you would see this as a purely rubber stamping exercise and are now trying to bully you.

22:50Unfortunately for them, public process has just begun because the public remains in the dark on essential information related to this proposed deal.

22:59The mayor's draft ordinance references documents that remain restricted from the public, including materials referenced in Sections 4, 8, 9, and 10, including but not limited to I Squared's alleged technical, legal, and financial qualifications and the city's assessment of those qualifications.

23:14I've been trying to gain access to documentation related to the terminal sale since April and have been getting the runaround.

23:20In April, I made a records request and received a single unrelated document.

23:25The city responded to a broader records request in May with a fee estimate pending alert that lasted over 2 and a half months.

23:32Thank you.

23:36Interestingly, last week the city finally sent me some of the documentation I requested, including a few of the missing documents from my April request.

23:43The city provided no explanation for why they had not provided those documents with the earlier release.

23:49Some of these records raised my eyebrows, to say it softly.

23:54Unfortunately, I have not received all the crucial documents referenced in the mayor's franchise ordinance.

23:59Thank you.

23:59These documents form the basis of the mayor's recommendation for approval of this franchise transfer.

24:05The public requires this information for any meaningful engagement in this public process.

24:10The city's failure to provide documentation referenced in the mayor's ordinance is an egregious failure of the city's obligations to the public, especially given the city's troubled history with Zenith.

24:20This context creates an appearance of a deliberate strategy to delay the release of full records until after the approval of this franchise transfer.

24:27Thank you.

24:29This would not be the first time the city pulled a stunt like this related to Zenith.

24:35Last time it resulted in a multi-year scandal and this city council finding in a resolution that high-level staff, quote, substantially undermined public confidence in the city's administrative apparatus by creating the appearance of impropriety.

24:48I expect we all would very much like to avoid a repeat.

24:51To conclude, my ask today is simple.

24:54Please make documents referenced in the mayor's ordinance available to the public with adequate time to review them before any council vote on this franchise transfer.

25:01Thank you.

25:06Okay.

25:06Chairs Kanau, Vice Chairs Ryan and Koyama Lane, Portland City Councilors, thank you for the opportunity to give testimony.

25:13For the record, my name is Danny Noonan.

25:15I am a registered lobbyist with the city on behalf of the 501 nonprofit Breach Collective, and I am giving my testimony in that capacity.

25:23This meeting takes place in the midst of a full-blown climate disaster in the form of a historic wildfire season in Oregon that will continue to worsen.

25:31This disaster is not an anomaly.

25:32June 2026 was the 2nd warmest June according to analyses of global weather data, data going back to 1850.

25:402026 Is very likely to be among the top 5 warmest years on record and possibly the warmest.

25:46The 11 warmest years on record have occurred in the last 11 years.

25:51The brutal summer conditions we are now facing come after an incredibly warm and dry winter, with Oregon's snowpack over the last 12 months among the lowest on record.

26:00We are now also now entering into a super El Niño event in the Pacific Ocean that could drive temperatures even higher.

26:07These climate conditions should be reason enough for this council to be concerned about the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.

26:12But as you are well aware, there is the added problem that the city of Portland and approximately 90% of Oregon's liquid fuel storage is situated within the Cascadian subduction zone, in which there is a 37% chance of a 7.1+ magnitude earthquake within the next 50 years.

26:29This will liquefy the earth under Portland's critical energy infrastructure hub and cause the largest oil spill in US history so far into the Willamette.

26:39I'm sure you've heard this all before, and the reason I'm reciting these facts right now is that you don't seem to be acting like it.

26:45I'm sorry.

26:46Yesterday, council held a hearing to consider the mayor's proposal to raid the Portland Clean Energy Fund for sports stadium renovations, removing resources that are supposed to be for community adaptation to conditions like these under the flimsiest of environmental and energy efficiency pretexts, and cynically presenting this decision as a referendum on the city's economy.

27:08Today, council is considering rubber stamping a franchise transfer from one of Portland's most notorious fossil fuel companies to an international venture capital firm with a particularly speaking of flimsy pretenses, we have heard and will probably continue to hear about how renewable fuels in this terminal are going to be part of Portland's future climate solution.

27:31The reality is that renewable fuels usually still have a greenhouse gas emissions intensity.

27:35Sometimes this is marginally less than fossil fuels, sometimes it is more.

27:41Often there are environmental externalities associated with producing these renewable fuels that further diminish its purported benefits.

27:46I think that's a good point.

27:46Sometimes renewable fuels are just a way of outsourcing greenhouse gas emissions to agriculture and other sectors of the economy.

27:53The Port of Portland, Zenith, and I Square Capital have all indicated they intend to expand fuel storage in this terminal, which flies in the face of economy-wide analyses that show that we need to wind down the use of all hydrocarbons and increase electrification, and which means that both the greenhouse gas emissions and the potential consequences of seismic risk rate.

28:14Good morning.

28:20My name is Jerry Zhang.

28:22I'm a, I'm a vice president here at I Squared Capital.

28:25We know this terminal carries a nuanced history in Portland.

28:29We're here because we'll be a different type of owner, long-term, committed to Portland and Oregon's clean energy goals, and responsive to this community.

28:38There are a few points that attracted us to make this investment.

28:41The first is the fact that we believe in the future of the Port of Portland.

28:42Number one, Oregon's clean fuel policies have made this, in the near term, one of the most attractive markets for renewable fuels anywhere in the country, on certain measures ahead of larger states like California.

28:54Number 2, our incentives and Portland's point in the same direction.

28:59We create the most value by converting this terminal to 100% renewable fuels.

29:05Succeeding here means delivering on Portland's and Oregon's clean energy goals.

29:09Thank you.

29:10I want to make an important distinction here.

29:13The ultimate owner of the terminal asset will be our Energy Transition Fund, managed by I Squared Capital.

29:19It matters which part of I Squared is making this investment, and I Squared manages several distinct funds.

29:26Our Energy Transition Fund adheres to EU's most rigorous sustainability standard, with a core legally binding mission of investing in assets that genuinely move society towards a cleaner future.

29:38A mission that lines up with Oregon's and Portland's clean energy goals.

29:43Our commitment to safety and sustainability is backed by real capability.

29:47We are a global infrastructure investor that invests in essential services people rely on every day— energy, utilities, transportation, etc.

29:57We operate bulk fuel terminals in Europe and the Philippines where regulatory compliance and safety are embedded within our core values.

30:05Consider the contrast between today's owner and the new one.

30:09Zenith is a Houston-based platform owned by 2 private equity firms.

30:14Zenith runs terminals across the country, whereas this facility is one of many in its portfolio, with other assets storing fossil fuel products.

30:23I Squared, on the other hand, is an infrastructure investor.

30:26The fund that's acquiring this asset is legally bound by EU's most rigorous sustainability standard.

30:32Thank you.

30:32And this will be our only terminal in our fund.

30:35Our team will be based here in Portland, and our plan is to convert the asset to 100% renewable fuels.

30:41We have the experience, financial strength, and values to operate this facility responsibly for the long term.

30:48We plan to retain the full team that operates this facility today.

30:52We will be good community partners and neighbors.

30:55Portland has a well-earned reputation for environmental stewardship.

30:58Thank you.

30:59And we plan to contribute to that.

31:01Thanks for your time.

31:04Wow.

31:04So much bullshit in such a short time.

31:09Next panel includes Ben Harper, Randall Friesen, Samantha Hernandez, Jordan Lewis, Michaela McCormick.

31:30Good afternoon.

31:31My name is Ben Harper, and I'm head of sustainability here at I Squared Capital, and I want to thank you for your time today.

31:37I'd like to start by reiterating the change in ownership of this terminal is an opportunity to make a positive break from the past and for our team to operate a best-in-class facility in supporting the city of Portland and the state of Oregon in achieving its climate and sustainable fuel goals today and in the future.

31:55What should be most important to the council and to the community is knowing that we will be operating this terminal under the strictest regulatory framework, requiring the utmost operational diligence.

32:06The regulation under which this terminal is operated does not allow us to simply promise a cleaner future.

32:12It requires us to deliver one and to prove it every year to the regulators.

32:17The commitment to convert this site to 100% renewable fuel by 2027 is not a press release.

32:22Thank you.

32:23But it's a condition of our ownership.

32:26And that's because we're purchasing this terminal in a fund governed by the European Union's strictest sustainability regulation, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, or SFDR.

32:37SFDR is a transparency framework.

32:40It requires asset managers like ourselves and other financial market participants to disclose how they handle sustainability in their investments.

32:49SFDR classifies funds and therefore investments into 3 tiers according to their environmental and social impact.

32:58Article 9, which applies to this facility, is by far the strictest tier.

33:03And this is an important distinction for which I'd like to share what makes an Article 9 fund investment different.

33:10So with an Article 9 fund investment, the core of these regulations include 3 foundational components.

33:17One, the investment must be an economic activity that contributes to an environmental or social objective.

33:24And in this case, the environmental objective is to reduce carbon emissions from a very hard-to-abate industry like aviation and transportation.

33:33Second, the investee company must follow good governance practices, including mandatory yearly reporting requirements and other transparency mechanisms.

33:43And most— third and most importantly, the concept of do no significant harm.

33:48If you look at the regulations, you'll see the acronym DNSH, do no significant harm.

33:52This regulation requires us to evidence the operations do no significant harm to the community and the environment.

33:58So the concerns this council and community has raised are no longer just our reputation at stake.

34:03It's our legal obligation.

34:06Being an Article IX fund also elevates issues from reputational to regulatory relevance.

34:10Thank you.

34:11Without inclusion on our Article IX fund, many concerns may be more reputational and community relations issues.

34:17Under Article IX, they feed directly into the do no significant harm test, where significant harm finding on a local environmental objective could undermine our whole sustainability investment claim.

34:31So I'd like to point out that the interest and safety in the— of the community and our financial interests point in exactly the same direction.

34:38Thank you.

34:44Good morning, Chair Kanal and council members.

34:47I am Randall Friesen, the executive secretary of the Columbia Pacific Building Trades Council.

34:51I'm here today representing over 20,000 construction professionals across the Portland metropolitan and Southwest Washington regions.

34:58Our council comprises 22 local unions whose members build and maintain the critical systems within the critical energy infrastructure hub.

35:06Because over 90% of Oregon's liquid fuel supply passes through this hub, this is a statewide infrastructure necessity, not just a local Portland issue, and it should be treated with that same level of gravity.

35:18Oregon, Multnomah County, and City of Portland have set climate reduction goals, and this terminal is necessary component to reach those goals.

35:26As outlined in the city's carbon reduction goals, fossil fuels need to be replaced by nearly 100% renewable any delay or actions to prevent the hub from moving forward puts these goals and mandates at risk.

35:40That means sustainable aviation fuel and renewable diesel are necessary to meet the state's climate goals.

35:45Renewable fuels are at least 60% carbon savings over petroleum fuel.

35:50Access to that fuel is necessary for construction equipment, trucks, and other heavy equipment to meet state and local mandates.

35:57We are proud that I Squared Capital is not only committed to accomplishing the nearly 100% renewable fuel mandate, but also committed to using union labor for system upgrades and safety improvements, highlighting the highest skilled and trained workforce in the construction industry, demonstrating their commitment to safety, quality, and family wage jobs.

36:17With other renewable fuel projects on the horizon, such as Next Clean Energy, this hub is and will continue to help decarbonize 90% of the state's available fuel system while also helping show that Portland is soon to be ahead of the curve in the transition away from fossil fuels.

36:33We ask that the council, as you all carefully consider this proposal to approve the franchise transfer within the hub, as well as the needed work to access the public right-of-way to proceed with the deal.

36:46Thank you very much for your time and careful consideration.

36:51Hello, Committee of the Whole.

36:52My name is Jordan Lewis.

36:53I'm a volunteer lobbyist for the Portland Democratic Socialists of America.

36:56I recently had the horror of reading in the news that fires in Spokane have last year, wildfires destroyed nearly 1,000 homes and forced the evacuation of 70,000 people.

37:04Now wildfires threaten forests on Mount Hood.

37:07The Timberline Lodge may actually be destroyed.

37:09As we process this news, we are smothered in a thick white smoke which casts an orange haze on everything, blocks out the sun, gives us a constant mild headache, and leaves our tissues inflamed.

37:19The wildfire risk and smoke inhalation risk are no longer things we just read about on the news.

37:24It's getting harder and harder to change the channel.

37:26Thank you.

37:27Or turn up the radio and ignore the new reality.

37:30When I moved to Portland in 2020, I actually lived in Clackamas area during the intense wildfire scare, which made the evening sun blood orange for a week straight.

37:38I was on an evacuation watch for several days.

37:40Our air conditioner broke, and so I was exposed to severe wildfire smoke, which essentially poisoned me.

37:46This was 6 years ago.

37:47We witnessed those horrors, and those stirred us to action, right?

37:52Not really.

37:53When you talk to younger people, ask yourself, will this person live a full and healthy life?

37:57Will this person have the luxury of dying peacefully of natural causes?

38:01The younger the person is, the more likely they will burn to death in urban wildfires like happened in LA, Hawaii, and now Spokane.

38:07They will experience heat waves coincident with rolling blackouts.

38:10They'll be drafted to fight in wars over scarcer and scarcer resources.

38:13They'll experience all kinds of new cancers as they inhale burnt forest, cars, and buildings from faraway conflagrations.

38:20When you talk to younger people you know will grow up in this world and you look back on how you spent your time in office, what will you tell them?

38:26That you knowingly traded away their future for guilt-free trips to the airport?

38:30That you undermined the Portland Clean Energy Fund to pay for cops who don't exist?

38:33That you made roads bigger and larger so that more fuels could be burned?

38:37That you watched public transit get gutted so that more fuels could be burned?

38:41That you rolled out the red carpet for a fuel terminal to get sold to private equity?

38:45I'm testifying in opposition to the transfer of the Zenith franchise agreement.

38:47Thank you.

38:48A constant false sense of urgency is a sign of a scammer.

38:51I've seen this before from freeway expansion boosters, from the owners of the Trail Blazers, and from phone-based identity scammers.

38:57The point has always been to use urgency to lock the public out of public decision-making and to get unpopular decisions expedited.

39:03Good ideas hold up to scrutiny.

39:05The city attorney said last time the council has authority to attach conditions to the franchise agreement.

39:09That is public information.

39:11Zenith is already suing the city for the second time, hoping to silence people like me from our charter-mandated opportunity to testify.

39:16Thank you.

39:17It's shameful.

39:18And beware greenwashing.

39:21People will come here and talk about the renewable fuels plan.

39:23Where were these people when the transportation package flopped and transit got defunded?

39:27That's going to result in a lot more oil being burned.

39:29And where will these people show up to the climate protection plan when that comes under attack from the state government?

39:38No.

39:38Michaela is joining us online.

39:42Hello, I'm Michaela McCormick.

39:43I'm a member of Extinction Rebellion PDX, for whom I'm speaking.

39:51Some of what I will say is a repeat, and it's well worth repeating.

39:58It is an outrage that Zenith is suing the city to stop council's due diligence on I Squared's technical and legal qualifications.

40:07Zenith's past illegalities and shady practices are the very reason That the city administration should provide all documentation on the depth of their I Squared review.

40:19Zenith waited until the franchise hearings were in progress to sue.

40:24Are they afraid of what will be revealed in testimony?

40:28Without access to the city's vetting of I Squared, even a cursory search shows that I Squared's— I Squared's a giant private equity firm has multiple red flags showing they have not put the safety and well-being of communities at the forefront.

40:47I Squared committed 18 law-breaking acts with associated fines in the UK in the categories of workplace safety and health, labor standards, railroad safety, consumer protection, and the environment.

41:02There are lawsuits around I Squared's financial misconduct and regulatory compliance in New York.

41:08And suits alleging insurance fraud and business malpractice in Florida, with I Squared paying settlements without admitting liability.

41:17This does not bode well for Portland.

41:21Given city administrators' lack of willingness or inability to provide adequate oversight in the past, council should ensure protections have been built into the franchise agreement, such as a 3 to 5 year performance review.

41:35With automatic termination for violations.

41:39Whatever decision council makes regarding the franchise, it is crucial that council pass an emergency resolution preventing fuel expansion permits until the CEI hub policy has been fully debated and implemented.

41:54Thanks for your attention.

41:57All right, uh, checking to see if Samantha Hernandez Here, uh, next panel includes Heather King, Marnie Glickman, J.T.

42:12Hendricks, Diane Meisenhelter, John Rosapup.

42:26Thank you.

42:37Go ahead.

42:37Oh, I'm first.

42:38Sorry, everyone.

42:39Um, good morning.

42:40My name is Marnie Glickman.

42:42I'm the executive director of Braided River Campaign, a registered city lobbyist, and a District 2 resident.

42:49We are here to ask you, our city council, to stand up against the fossil fuel industry bullying Stand up for the safety of Portlanders and protect our local democracy.

43:00We ask you to make documents related to this franchise transfer available to the public.

43:06The mayor's draft ordinance lists documents in Sections 4, 8, 9, and 10 that are unavailable to us and spark concerns of a deliberate attempt by the mayor and high-level administrators to delay the release of these records until after the approval of the franchise transfer.

43:24And I want to specify high-level administrators because we know that most planners, support staff, council aides make the city work well.

43:32Portland residents and environmental stewards cannot evaluate the essential technical, legal, and financial information at issue or review the city's administration's own evaluation of this administration.

43:45And we need to look at these conclusions and they need to be made public.

43:50Thank you.

43:51In other words, we are here to ask for the information we need to fully participate in our local democracy.

43:57This refusal to give the public full information about a matter of great interest mirrors efforts by the mayor and high-level administrators on the Moda Center issue, Project Mount Hood, and the extreme discrepancies around housing money last fall, and the recent exclusion of environmental leaders from final negotiations with PGE on a controversial project impacting ancient trees in Forest Park.

44:24This pattern of deceptive practices must come to an end.

44:28Transparency and accountability are essential ingredients in our climate emergency work plan and the future of our city.

44:36Renewable fuels are dangerous, toxic, and flammable.

44:40Even Portland City Code explicitly defines renewable diesel as being chemically the same as petroleum diesel fuel.

44:48Please consider the big picture when you make your decisions today.

44:52The unhealthy air we've been breathing and the wildfires generated by the climate crisis.

44:58People and wildlife are suffering.

45:01Remember our geography.

45:02We sit here just 5 miles from Zenith.

45:05Zenith is 300 yards from the Portland Harbor Superfund site and a few hundred yards from Forest Park.

45:13Zenith is also smack dab in the middle.

45:15Oh my.

45:17Of Portland's largest heat island, the CEI hub.

45:22We heard I Squared Capital's promises to be good community partners.

45:25Let's ask them to agree to a third-party enforcement provision.

45:29They said today that they comply with important EU legal obligations.

45:33Maybe they will say yes to a meaningful local agreement for third-party enforcement.

45:3910 Years from now, will we look back and say, wow, look how far we've come?

45:43We are here to answer that question with you today.

45:45Thank you.

45:46Thank you.

45:51Good morning, Chair Kanal, Vice President Ryan and Koyama Lane, and the members of City Council.

45:56My name is J.T.

45:57Hendricks, and I am a lifelong Oregonian who lives just up Highway 30 in Warren.

46:01I've had the honor of working at the Portland Terminal for the last 23 years under its previous 5 owners.

46:07As a member of this community, I place the highest importance on safe operations and stewardship of the environment, our environment.

46:14I've served as the terminal manager for the last 8 years, and I'm proud to report there have been no reportable spills during that time— during my time as terminal manager.

46:22The Portland Terminal is the largest renewable fuel storage facility in Pacific Northwest.

46:27It provides essential supply to meet the region's climate goal in the transportation sector and is critical to accomplishing the City of Portland's renewable fuel standard to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

46:39Since there is no pipeline delivering renewable fuel to the Oregon market, storage is required to handle the rail and marine imports.

46:47My job is to ensure the handling of our renewable fuels is done safely and in full compliance with local, state, and federal regulations.

46:55So the federal oversight is conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Railroad Administration, OSHA, Department of Homeland Security, and EPA.

47:06State oversight Oversight, as you know, is conducted by the DEQ and the Department of Transportation, while local is conducted by the Bureau of Environmental Services, Portland Fire and Rescue, Portland Permitting and Development, and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.

47:22In addition to ongoing oversight from those agencies, we are required to have robust emergency response plans.

47:29These include a spill prevention, control, and countermeasure plan, This plan is a worst-case scenario plan that is required by the EPA for facilities that could release fuel into navigable waters.

47:40We conduct annual drills with both the DEQ and Clean Rivers Cooperative, who is a nonprofit spill response organization providing mutual aid.

47:49We also have a facility response plan.

47:51This plan is approved by DEQ, ensuring that our facility can effectively contain and clean up significant spill thereby minimizing environmental impact.

48:01We also have an earthquake response plan.

48:03In this case, the terminal would shut down operations and inspect for spill and damage post-earthquake.

48:10To better understand the terminal's seismic readiness, we have conducted 2 site-specific vulnerability assessments that were conducted by Oregon registered engineers in both 2020 and 2022.

48:23These included soil borings and cone penetration tests the third-party engineers concluded that the terminal poses low risk in connection to a 9.0 magnitude seismic event.

48:36The Portland Terminal is essential piece of the Portland and city renewable fuels infrastructure.

48:41I urge the council to approve this franchise agreement transfer so it may continue to serve the market safely.

48:47Thank you for your time.

48:51Okay, be patient with me because I usually have to have prepared things, but listening to this, I just can't go with my original remarks.

48:59Let's do some fact checks.

49:02ISQ is a giant private equity firm with 79% of its energy holdings in fossil fuels.

49:09We know just now, despite the SDR and do no harm discussion, that they have illegal numerous ledger a long ledger of illegalities and fines in the UK.

49:25We know that there are suits against their business practices and their shady practices in both New York and Florida.

49:35And it's kind of hard to even imagine that the real possibility that ISQ could have even less of an ethical compass than the shady, dishonest, lawbreaking Zenith we've been dealing with.

49:46City administrators justified their backroom deal with Zenith based on the unfulfilled promise that they would transition fully to renewable fuels by '27.

49:56We've talked to you numerous times, and maybe we need to have another session with you to talk about the problematics of renewables and that they have many of the same problems and are not necessarily a climate solution.

50:12But Clearly ongoing.

50:14If you look at the facts around what Zenith went and did after they made that promise, you can look at their fossil fuel expansion and exports and know that they never had that as their, their real intent.

50:28And now they're leaving town.

50:31As advocates predicted, the city was scammed.

50:34When the city— when will the city say no to bad players out of step with Portland policies and values?

50:39Thank you.

50:40If ISQ wants to be welcomed into our community, come and set up a time to talk to the public about our concerns that we've repeated and repeated and repeated.

50:50Listen and agree to a good neighbor agreement with us that will really address those concerns.

50:57Within the franchise agreement, council should ensure oversight such as regular performance evaluations with violations viewed as cause for termination.

51:07Plus, council must pass a separate emergency resolution preventing fossil— preventing fuel expansion permits until the CEI Hub policy has been implemented.

51:17Without this protection, our safety remains vulnerable to profiteers from outside our community who we know have shown little regards to community safety and concerns in other places.

51:28When will city leaders take the crisis of climate change and public safety seriously enough for right action before the ruin of all we hold dear, including potentially our very existence.

51:40And just finally, I mean, it's just laughable, some of these things that people say.

51:45We see these greenwashing dog and pony shows over and over and again.

51:50What you just said about the core samples, every single group around there that had core samples had an exactly contradictory showing when DEQ, in terms of like the risks.

52:03And so what does that say about Zenith?

52:06They have something totally different than everything around them.

52:10I'm sorry.

52:14Heather is joining online.

52:17Thank you.

52:17Good morning.

52:18My name is Heather King.

52:19I'm co-executive director and Lower Willamette Riverkeeper for Willamette Riverkeeper.

52:25I want to start by thanking you for the opportunity to testify today and also for continuing with the public hearing process and not backing down to Zenith and their lawsuit.

52:34Willamette Riverkeeper has deep concerns about the proposed franchise transfer from Zenith to I Squared Capital.

52:40Despite requests, the city has not made full documentation related to this franchise transfer available to the public, and the proposed ordinance includes references to materials that were not made the city must make them available before City Council votes on this matter.

52:56This transparency is needed for many reasons, but largely due to the city's mishandling of Zenith in the past and the secrecy that accompanied it.

53:04For years, the city has shown an unwillingness to hold Zenith accountable.

53:08Because of this, the franchise agreement should be strengthened to allow for third-party enforcement.

53:13The people of Portland need to be protected, and as the city has continually fallen short, There needs to be a way for the public to enforce this franchise agreement if I Squared has similar failings to what we have experienced with Zenith.

53:26If the city is going to transfer this agreement to an unknown international entity, it needs to put protections in place now to ensure compliance with the agreement and all that goes with it.

53:37The city is currently undergoing a transformation with a focus on the CEI hub and the immense harm it will cause to the people of Portland and beyond if the status quo continues.

53:47Zenith is a part of this problem, and right now we have an opportunity to strengthen the franchise agreement and better protect the city that we all love.

53:56Thank you.

54:01Thank you, Rosa.

54:07Next up we have Skyler Cruz, Lori King, Margaret Thomas, Victoria good morning.

54:25I'm going to use my testimony written on my phone because it's easier for me to read.

54:33Um, good morning, city councilors.

54:36First, I want to say what a privilege it is to live in this beautiful city.

54:40I moved to Portland from Kansas in 1977.

54:46Thank you.

54:47One day I went with some friends of mine to the coast, and on the way, as we went by the Willamette River, I saw the CBI hub for the first time.

54:55We didn't know much about it back in the '70s.

54:58It had Chevron on some of the tanks.

55:00Since living here, I've seen it many times and have learned more about the danger of a serious earthquake.

55:06Thank you.

55:07A major earthquake occurs in the Cascadia subduction zone approximately every 500 to 600 years.

55:15The tanks which Zenith owns are on unstable ground.

55:18Forest Park is across St. Helens Road from the hub.

55:22It covers 5,170 acres and stretches along the west side of Portland for 8 miles.

55:29A forest fire fueled by any amount of oil and liquid natural gas would exacerbate an already disastrous seismic event.

55:37Geologists have stated that a major 9.0 quake is overdue for the Cascadia subduction zone and could occur at any time.

55:46Any plans to transfer ownership of any part of the hub should include a mitigation plan, which should be evaluated by City Council before the transfer is approved.

55:56Alternatively, alternatively, Zenith could make a mitigation plan and implement it before the sale.

56:01Thank you.

56:02The ideal scenario would be to decommission the hub, dismantle it, and move it to a more stable location if we actually need it for our economy.

56:11I suspect this would not be an inexpensive operation, but we have to consider what a major earthquake and forest fire this close to dense residential neighborhoods would cost us, not to mention the possible loss of Forest Park.

56:33Skylar is joining us online.

56:36Hello, City Council.

56:38My name is Skylar Cruz.

56:39I'm a resident of District 4 here in Portland.

56:42Um, first off, I want to say, um, the Zenith suing the city to push along the franchise agreement, very disgusting.

56:49Don't like to see that at all.

56:50You know, part of my experience as a young person who shows up to City Hall along with a lot of other young people is the feeling that every time you speak, you are going to be silenced constantly, that your words aren't taken seriously.

57:02And this feels more and more true, like, the further you are away from the norm.

57:06As a trans person, I don't feel like I'm taken very seriously.

57:09I have evidence of that.

57:10It's very unfortunate to see that happen.

57:12Um, but I think we need to understand whether or not these companies are being taken seriously.

57:19Are they?

57:20Not by some of the city council.

57:21I think we have to really consider, like, what is actually going on here.

57:26We have corporations that really want to just take over and have their moneyed interest.

57:31And I believe in the economic, like, well-being of Portland, but what's going on here is really a cash grab without the real understanding of our safety.

57:40I live close to the CEI hub, and we have just been seeing the effects of these fires recently.

57:46We know these fires can occur in Washington Park, and those fires could reach the CEI Hub.

57:50It's a real risk to our safety, and we need to be taking this issue very seriously.

57:55I don't want to see this franchise agreement rushed.

57:58I want to see us incorporate third-party, um, support here to make sure that we are keeping this new company, I Squared, accountable.

58:07Zenith wasn't held accountable.

58:08It was incredibly unfortunate to see time and time again.

58:11And I don't want to see this process rushed just because some other people with a lot of money think that's the right move.

58:17People who don't have a lot of money but who live here and rely on this wonderful city being functional and not exploding in a giant firebomb, that's what I want to see.

58:28Like, this is the priority.

58:29You serve the people, and I want the people to be safe.

58:32That's my top priority.

58:34Thank you.

58:35Thank you.

58:36Lori is joining us online.

58:41Good morning, City Council.

58:43I wasn't going to testify today.

58:45I was simply going to stand by my colleagues who have testified against passing this franchise transfer today.

58:57I want to support Lynn Handlen, Nick Caleb, Diana Meisenhelter, and all, but just hearing thank you, Mr. Chairman.

59:03Thank you.

59:03After hearing some of the testimony from I-Square Capital, I have to say something myself, and that is I-Square Capital is not seeking to buy Zenith to simply sell so-called renewable fuels to Oregon.

59:17Zenith was explicit that they wanted to become a renewable fuels hub, a so-called renewable fuels hub for the West Coast.

59:26This is big business that I-Square Capital is doing.

59:29They're not just trying to help Oregon out.

59:32The facility will be operated by Zenith staff.

59:37Do not fall for I-Squared Capital's modest claims that we heard just now, a few minutes ago, about they just want to help Oregon meet it— meet Oregon's climate goals.

59:48They want to become the West Coast hub for renewable fuels.

59:52And don't forget that, that fuels made from plant stocks are just as flammable, combustible, and toxic as fossil fuels.

1:00:00So they'll be just as deadly in a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.

1:00:06And it's very debatable that these renewable fuels are really carbon friendly, that they will, you know, really help the climate.

1:00:14All those things you have to hear more information about.

1:00:18Don't be bullied into a quick decision today.

1:00:21It's ridiculous that I Squared Capital has sued the city for not— for delaying this decision after the city has been diligently going through a budget process.

1:00:31I mean, that in itself should say something.

1:00:34Do not make the final decision today.

1:00:37You should have all the information.

1:00:40The public should have all the information that has been withheld.

1:00:43You should have all the information, and you should have the time, City Council, to look more closely at Square Capital's past practice and for ways to keep them accountable.

1:00:54Let's not fall again for, um, what we— what, what the city has fallen for so many times before.

1:01:01Thank you.

1:01:04Good.

1:01:07Victoria Berka, Arti Vijayakumar.

1:01:14Our next panel includes Patricia Kohlberg, Patricia, go ahead.

1:01:30Oh, okay.

1:01:31Um, thank you.

1:01:32Uh, for the record, my name is Patricia Kohlberg, and I really appreciate the opportunity to speak today.

1:01:39I am a retired primary care physician and public health official for Multnomah County.

1:01:44Health Department.

1:01:46I'm going to start with a point I had not intended to make, but I just want to say that I've read and reviewed one of the most authoritative studies that purports to show that a life cycle analysis of renewable diesel shows a net reduction in greenhouse gases.

1:02:04This is a deeply flawed study and, among other problems, completely fails to take into consideration the market conditions for various feedstocks.

1:02:15I strongly caution the council against tethering our future to renewable diesel.

1:02:22Regarding Zenith, I will say along with others that Portland has a long history with Zenith, and it's not pretty.

1:02:30There have been deceptions and lies and reversals and backroom deals largely designed to circumvent our community's expressed desire not to expand fossil fuel infrastructure in our community and to effect a significant drawdown of the fuel stored and transloaded at the hub.

1:02:52Many of us have been left with a bad taste in our mouths and diminished faith in city bureaucracy to deal openly and honestly with the public.

1:03:01How can we avoid repeating that history with yet another huge corporation that has no ties to Portland and wishes to enter into purpose than to extract profits for shareholders, because that's what corporations do.

1:03:18And I Squared Capital has its own history.

1:03:22People have already talked about the 18 violations in the UK, most of which were health and safety or labor violations.

1:03:30If this does not give you pause, it should.

1:03:33I urge the city to slow down the process to allow for ample community engagement, public disclosure of all relevant details of the franchise agreement, and provision for a disinterested third party to provide oversight of the agreement.

1:03:49Uh, again, thank you very much for this opportunity to testify this morning.

1:03:57Lindsay.

1:04:02Thank you.

1:04:04Good morning, my name is Lindsay Hutchison and I'm a resident of District 3.

1:04:08I'm very concerned about the lack of transparency the city has provided to the public on the Zenith transfer agreement and around Zenith in general.

1:04:15The city has been operating in secrecy behind closed doors in its dealings with Zenith for years.

1:04:20The proposed ordinance mentions a memorandum and other materials that were not made available to the public.

1:04:26How are we supposed to testify on something when we don't know what the city is using to make their decisions?

1:04:29Thank you.

1:04:30These materials need to be made public before council votes on this matter, even if Zenith's lawsuit against the city tries to say otherwise.

1:04:38Additionally, this is an opportunity for city council to strengthen the franchise agreement by adding the right to third-party enforcement.

1:04:45The Zenith Energy bulk fuel terminal is the largest in the CEI Hub with plans to expand.

1:04:51The CEI Hub is one of the worst public health and environmental disasters in the making as it currently stands.

1:04:56Second.

1:04:57The city has shown an unwillingness or inability to stand up to Zenith, and the public lacks faith that the city will ever do so.

1:05:03This is especially true given Zenith's recent lawsuit against the city about this franchise agreement transfer, a blatant attempt by 2 large corporations to bulldoze over the public.

1:05:12I thank City Council for allowing this public process to continue despite the lawsuit.

1:05:16Adding in third-party enforcement to the franchise agreement before it is transferred to a large international entity would help promote the public's faith in the city.

1:05:23Thank you.

1:05:23The city would still have every right to enforce compliance, but if it dropped the ball, the public would know that they are still protected.

1:05:30I urge the city to release the materials for public review and strengthen the franchise agreement.

1:05:35I know the city can do better and can stand up to corporate bullies, and I hope I get to see that.

1:05:39Thank you for your time.

1:05:42Max is joining us online.

1:05:53Hello.

1:05:53Go ahead, Max.

1:05:55Uh, hello, my name is Max Brumm and I'm a District 4 resident.

1:05:59I'm opposed to the franchise agreement transfers.

1:06:01The public does not have all the available information regarding this transfer deal, as noted from other testimony given.

1:06:08Uh, there are several documents that the city staff has not made available to the public, and I would like for that to be made available so we can get all the available information.

1:06:18And we can bring up any other concerns that are present and not hidden behind backroom deals or hidden behind public records requests.

1:06:28The city and past city councils have let us down repeatedly on how Zenith has handled business in Portland, from broken laws, unwilling to enforce current agreements, shady lobbying practices, and lies that have covered 2 mayoral administrations.

1:06:43Pressure that is placed for not only signing this franchise agreement transfer, but also from the disastrous business practice that Zenith has engaged in.

1:06:53I ask before I ask the city to agree, before the city agrees to and signs the dotted line, to one, make sure all of the documents are made publicly available; two, have reviewed and analyzed them, making sure that this decision is truly the best for the city and for the environment.

1:07:13And at a minimum, please attempt to negotiate for a third-party enforcement of this agreement so that the community and environmental organizations can ensure the terms of that agreement are upheld if the mayor continues to ignore his duties.

1:07:27And I just want to add one other note too, that, um, all these lobbyists in favor of this, they are really good at what they're doing.

1:07:35The slickest way to get people to sign on to something is to To lie is to tell the right amount of truth at the right amount of time and then shut up.

1:07:42Thank you for your time.

1:07:47All right, uh, checking to see if Carolyn Roderick is here or John Schroeder.

1:07:55Next up we have Jeremy Bossele-Smith, Emily Hawley, Jamie Partridge, Adam Harris, Harlan Schober.

1:08:03As folks are coming up, just want to give a sort of housekeeping announcement that we'll be taking a break just before 11 o'clock.

1:08:11Thanks.

1:08:17Go ahead.

1:08:20Sorry, should Jeremy go first?

1:08:21I see him.

1:08:22Okay, go ahead, Jeremy.

1:08:25Thank you.

1:08:26Good morning, City Council.

1:08:28My name is Jeremy Bosley-Smith.

1:08:30My generation wants a livable future.

1:08:32We want air we can breathe, water we can drink, and rivers and forests we can enjoy.

1:08:36Over the past week, we've choked on our poisoned air that's a direct result of climate change.

1:08:41My generation wants to live long lives and we want to die peacefully, but if we don't stand up to fossil fuel— the fossil fuel industry, their bullying— and stand up for the safety of Portlanders and protect our local democracy, we won't have that opportunity.

1:08:55Under our city charter, Portlanders are entitled to a full legislative process, including full information about legislative items and the opportunity for public testimony.

1:09:04Zenith Energy and I Squared Capital clearly do not want council to exercise its legislative power, so they're trying to bully you into surrendering your legislative authority and responsibility to the public on a matter of critical importance to public safety.

1:09:17All the documents related to the franchise transfer should be made public.

1:09:21Portland residents and environmental stewards cannot evaluate the essential technical, legal, and financial information at issue or review the city administration's own evaluation of this information and conclusions without these documents being made available to the public.

1:09:35In other words, we cannot be full participants in our democracy.

1:09:39This refusal to give the public full information about a matter of great public interest mirrors other efforts, uh, particularly The recent exclusion of environmental leaders from final negotiations with PGE on a controversial project impacting ancient trees in Forest Park.

1:09:54This pattern of deceptive practices must come to an end.

1:09:58It is past time for the City Council to hold the administration accountable to basic due process, transparency, and compliance with public records requirements.

1:10:06Council must not allow private actors or the city administration to undermine due process.

1:10:11Until the public has received full information related to this franchise approval, there must be a presumption that the mayor and his administrators are hiding information from the public because there's something they do not want us to see.

1:10:23I Squared Capital's own public statements demonstrate their intent to expand operations at the Zenith Energy site into a regional fuel hub.

1:10:30This is an extremely concerning proposition and a matter of grave public interest.

1:10:35Expansion of fuel storage at the CEI hub compounds the existing catastrophic health and safety risks of this facility for Portlanders.

1:10:42Our rivers and our environment.

1:10:44We also know that I Squared Capital has a record of safety, employment, consumer protection, and environmental violations, at least in the United Kingdom, if not elsewhere.

1:10:53At a bare minimum, Portland community members have an absolute right to review documentation related to this matter, to give public testimony, and to ask our city council to attach conditions.

1:11:03We must stand up to fossil fuel corporations.

1:11:05Thank you.

1:11:06Thank you.

1:11:11Chair Kanal, Vice Chairs Koyama Lane and Ryan, and committee members.

1:11:15My name is Emily Hawley.

1:11:17I'm a human rights lawyer and atrocity investigator with a focus on corporate accountability and such abuses.

1:11:23A core limitation upon my own work is the incentive— corporate incentive structures and power.

1:11:29At the end of the day, corporations are motivated by profit.

1:11:32All that really matters is their obligations to shareholders and bottom lines.

1:11:37And without sufficient teeth, the penalties for flouting the rules risk become simply the cost of doing business.

1:11:44Zenith, with its rampant disregard for local regulations and a facility that poses an existential risk to Portland, is the archetype.

1:11:52Since Zenith first exploited a loophole to swoop in, convert an asphalt facility into oil-by-rail throughput upon liquefiable soil on a river along the Cascadia subduction zone, Portland has witnessed successive city administrations acting to handmaiden what appears to be the equivalent of a house flipping operation.

1:12:15Zenith swept in, flouted local regulations to illegally expand storage and throughput, all for the corporate equivalent of a slap on the wrist.

1:12:25Now Zenith hopes to exit Portland and sell the facility at a tidy profit to a company overseeing the the expansion of data centers into the Amazon.

1:12:34Will I Squared be any better stewards in this area?

1:12:37Only if local officials create the incentives to do so.

1:12:41With lucrative incentives to break the rules, it's upon governments to create strong regulatory frameworks that can compete with destructive corporate greed.

1:12:50Fortunately, the 12 of you are not bound to protect Zenith's profit margins, but to steward the city of Portland including by mitigating the cataclysmic risk posed by a looming industrial disaster at the CEI Hub, which threatens the largest industrial disaster in continental U.S. history.

1:13:08When Portland is on fire, I'm sure Portlanders would be grateful that it is renewable naphtha stored in those tanks.

1:13:16The community's ask for council today is easy.

1:13:19We ask you do your due diligence, including exploring the possibility of conditioning approval As of today, as demonstrated by incomplete records responses to records requests and records delays, the public has not been given the transparency they require.

1:13:39This is a precondition for any decision, and it has not been met.

1:13:44I would also add that I Squared plans, as the city— as the testimony showed last night, are not in compliance with the city's own policies.

1:13:50In Councilor Smith.

1:13:50The last 2 weeks, Zenith will— the management and staff is planned to continue on through I Squared, which has been a considerable source of concern.

1:14:02So we ask you today, please ensure the city is not stewarding corporate profit for the price of public safety.

1:14:09The 12 of you wield enormous power in this moment.

1:14:12Please take your responsibility seriously.

1:14:14Thank you.

1:14:15Thank you.

1:14:20Jamie Partridge, Adam Harris, Harlan Schober.

1:14:27Next up we have Robin Bogusiewicz, Anthony Resh, Diana Richardson, Rowan Harvey, Diana Lobo.

1:14:40Councilor Diana Richardson is online.

1:14:54Um, I don't see Adam.

1:15:04Is he joined on a Google Pixel 5 I don't know.

1:15:14Yes.

1:15:14Okay.

1:15:23Diana, can you hear us?

1:15:28I can hear you, but I am not able to participate at the moment.

1:15:33Okay.

1:15:38Diana, we can hear you.

1:15:40If you want to turn on your video, you can, but you can go ahead and start your testimony.

1:15:51Okay, we'll come back to Diana.

1:15:54Rowan Harvey.

1:15:57All right.

1:16:00Hi, uh, well, good morning, councilors.

1:16:02This has been an eventful morning.

1:16:04Um, my child is in the background, so I appreciate all the patience.

1:16:09Um, but my name is Rowan Harvey, pronouns are they/them.

1:16:12I'm a lifelong Portlander, District 3 resident, parent, and field organizer with NextUp, a political home for diverse young people to build political power.

1:16:21I'm urging you—.

1:16:22Yes, baby.

1:16:23I'm urging you to put off the Zenith franchise agreement until there is full transparency and disclosure for the public, and maybe to get Zenith out of Portland.

1:16:32I was born at St. Vincent's in Beaverton and spent the majority of my childhood in Southeast Portland, just up the street from the Checkermart on the corner of Clavel and 92nd, if anyone's familiar with that.

1:16:41I remember the mild summers we had, the downpour of rain that would drench you to the bone in any season.

1:16:45What I don't remember is weeks spent inside because it was too smoky to safely be outdoors.

1:16:50Someone else already mentioned this, but back in 2020 when we had the smoke, my youngest had just been born.

1:16:56He was an August— he's an August baby.

1:17:05Unfortunately— and we were also part of that evacuation order.

1:17:09Unfortunately for my children's generation, this could become normal for them.

1:17:13This is because of multiple decisions like this made over decades by city officials and administration choosing to commodify land and ignore the real risk for the communities most impacted.

1:17:23Thank you.

1:17:27They care only for profit without a single thought of the consequences on public health, the environment, or what legacy we're leaving for the next generations to take on.

1:17:36Mayor Wilson has consistently shown through his actions that public engagement is not his priority.

1:17:41Rather, he prefers to make deals behind closed doors away from the public eye.

1:17:45Zenith Energy replicates this pattern and is attempting once again to sneak their agenda into our hands.

1:17:50I disagree.

1:17:53Where did it go?

1:17:58A company we know little about aside from the fact that they are funding data centers across the country.

1:18:03And in case you haven't heard, communities in Oregon have made it very clear we don't want data centers.

1:18:09Rushing it into a decision this critical without comprehensive input from the people who call the city home is unjust and unacceptable.

1:18:15Young people don't want Zenith Energy utilizing a pipeline in our city to transfer their oil, and we especially don't want them doing it right next to our schools.

1:18:22To our river.

1:18:22We don't want to be the next national headline with a devastating oil spill that could impact the health and safety of our communities, our soil, and our water for generations to come.

1:18:30And if this new company, ISQ, has been funding data centers all over, it's not a far guess to presume that this agreement opens the door for them to build here.

1:18:38And I can assure you that won't go over well with the people you answer to.

1:18:42Passing this agreement today signals to the public that our concerns and our input doesn't hold value for the people we elected to represent It signals to young people we represent, who are often the loudest voices in the room for climate change, that the future you're envisioning doesn't include them, and that the impact of your decisions felt by them means nothing.

1:19:04And maybe you won't feel the impact, but your family's next generation will.

1:19:07So I urge you to push this vote until public input has been gathered, until we actually have a transparent process, and just get Senate back here.

1:19:14Thank you.

1:19:14Second.

1:19:15All right, uh, Adam.

1:19:25Hello, I'm Adam Harris.

1:19:26I live in District 3.

1:19:28First off, I, and I'm sure others, had to take off time, time off work today to testify, and I really hope there can be more regular evening sessions in the future.

1:19:36I'm testifying strongly against this transfer.

1:19:38While Portland does need some fuels, having them in one concentrated place on unstable soil Right next to the river has always been terrible for the city at any time, but especially in the event of a disaster.

1:19:50And the current smoke is barely a sample of what we would get if something bad happened there.

1:19:54If this deal is approved, I Squared Capital wants to expand their chemical storage at the hub.

1:19:58Instead, the city should be concentrating its efforts to draw down and close the hub as soon as possible.

1:20:02And while they promote an increase in biofuel storage in an effort to make the facility seem more appealing, biofuels, once made, are no less hazardous and it's just as dangerous to store in that location.

1:20:13The company—.

1:20:14The companies are already suing the city, claiming the process is too slow for them.

1:20:19Considering only their bottom line and not any care about Portland, they're already acting in bad faith, so there's no need to be nice to them, and they're just going to keep acting this bad to the city in the future.

1:20:28Previous administrations have been strangely kind to Zenith, somehow never finding fault with their operations.

1:20:34Mayor Wilson, in addition to bringing this matter to the council, has ignored serious problems in Xenos practices, and Mayor Wilson has repeatedly ignored environmental groups in Portland who have confronted him about these issues.

1:20:44If this deal is allowed to go through, before it does, the council needs to add serious third-party oversight and enforcement to their operation to ensure their responsibility and stop any further backroom dealings.

1:20:56Even though these companies would much rather Portland not be allowed to express our concerns about this facility that affects everyone in the city, I encourage everyone who can to test The operation of the CEI Hub—.

1:21:09And I hate that name—.

1:21:11And its presence in the city at all is a much bigger deal and a greater danger than some of you councilors seem to fully realize.

1:21:16I strongly encourage all of you not to buckle to their pressure to rush and instead fight for the city's safety and think long-term about the future of Portland.

1:21:24Thank you.

1:21:25Robin.

1:21:29Hi, city councilors.

1:21:32My name is Robin Bogusevic, and I'm a resident of District 4.

1:21:36There are some massive issues with re-signing this franchise agreement as it currently stands.

1:21:41The biggest one is that it has simply been ineffective at holding Zenith Energy accountable.

1:21:47Across 2 mayoral administrations, the city has repeatedly failed to enforce the franchise agreement, and rubber stamping that same ineffective agreement without thank you, Mr. Mayor.

1:21:55To allow this deal to go through without any meaningful public review or accountability would be a critical mistake for our critical energy infrastructure.

1:22:02Uh, I'm really concerned about the lack of transparency around this transfer.

1:22:07Community confidence is already really low because of Zenith's long history of violating the public's trust.

1:22:14It's your job as council to insist that oversight actually happens and to make sure that this agreement actually protects Portlanders rather than also, do we even know who this I Squared Corporation is?

1:22:27They don't appear to have any real history or stake in Portland.

1:22:30From what I've been able to find, I Squared is a private equity firm that invests heavily in some pretty hot markets, mostly data centers and fossil fuels.

1:22:40Apparently, it also has plans to expand the CEI facility into a more regional fuel hub.

1:22:46This likely means more of those bomb trains moving through Portland.

1:22:49I think that's a good point.

1:22:50Just within recent memory, in early July, we had a Union Pacific train derail near the Steel Bridge.

1:22:57We got really, really lucky.

1:22:58That railcar was empty.

1:23:00Frankly, with our lack of major earthquakes, Portland has been incredibly lucky in general.

1:23:04But every time a train carrying explosive fuel rolls over that bridge to the CEI hub, we're rolling the dice.

1:23:11And how lucky are we really willing to be?

1:23:15If this transfer moves forward, we can't let it happen on blind faith.

1:23:18To a shadowy private equity firm.

1:23:21This needs to come with actual public scrutiny and actual third-party oversight, and it has to come with some form of actual enforcement.

1:23:28Otherwise, we're just repeating the same mistakes and we're hoping for a different outcome.

1:23:33Thank you very much.

1:23:36Deanna, you're muted.

1:23:44Deanna.

1:23:47Hello, Deanna Richardson.

1:23:50Good morning, City Council.

1:23:53I had not planned to testify this morning.

1:23:55Instead, I wrote my testimony, but I would like to echo the last 3 speakers and let that be my testimony.

1:24:07Just to reiterate, there has to be transparency meaning we have to have— we the public must have time for the thorough investigation in all of the aspects of this agreement to be made public.

1:24:27And there must be— not negotiate for, not maybe, not try— there must be third-party oversight without those 3 things, you really shouldn't make a move.

1:24:47Thank you.

1:24:51Go ahead, sir.

1:24:54Hello, Committee of the Whole.

1:24:55My name is Anthony Resh, and I am a District 3 resident and make under $19 an hour.

1:25:01I also wanted to say greetings to the vampire suits at Zenith and I Squared, who make up A bit more than $19 an hour, I would assume.

1:25:07The citizens see you suing the city to stop testimony processes so you can transport a bomb through my city, risking countless lives and infrastructure.

1:25:16It's disgusting to know the risk of, the risk of charred flesh and liquefied fat of human beings in Portland has a monetary sum, but I'm sure your accountants could tell me about how much that is.

1:25:27As you all step outside today, I want you to look at the eerie orange haze and thick I want you all to realize that more of this is coming.

1:25:38We can sit around here and recycle beer bottles and do peace signs and greenwash, but the 45,287 fires that have happened in the U.S. this year will be increasing, and we will be dealing with this again and again and again.

1:25:50I don't even really know what to say here.

1:25:51I don't have these incredible speeches.

1:25:54I don't have the, the same data figures that these other people have.

1:25:58But why does a deal need to be shuffled through the door this quickly so its own citizens don't even get to see the whole process?

1:26:02Thank you.

1:26:03Process.

1:26:04Is rent due?

1:26:05Does the sale need to happen, or is Keith Wilson's pizza party canceled?

1:26:08I don't really get it.

1:26:09If you really want to expand the operations of the CEI hub and sell it to private equity corporation thanked by the Trump administration, you can at least go through legal channels and show all of us the details and not use expensive lawyers to silence one of the last processes we as working-class Portlanders have to slow the liquefaction of human existence for material wealth.

1:26:29City Council, I I'm just asking you, do not— please just don't rush this deal.

1:26:33You really do not need to.

1:26:34I'm begging you, please.

1:26:36Thank you for your time.

1:26:41Thank you.

1:26:41This is kind of a natural pause point, so we're going to take a 10-minute break, return.

1:26:46We have, I think, 15-ish people left, uh, signed up to testify.

1:26:49Quick other housekeeping note, um, we're— if we end this topic today, that doesn't necessarily mean any particular outcome.

1:26:57If we end this topic by 12, we'll have the chance to do the Vision Zero topic in full.

1:27:01If we end it by 12:15, we'll at least hear the, the 4 testifiers on that item.

1:27:06Um, if not, then we won't be able to do that.

1:27:07Just wanted to give that context.

1:27:09Um, we'll be back at 11:02.

1:27:11Thanks.

1:42:09All right, thank you.

1:42:12We're now back.

1:42:13And Keelan, if you could please call up the next panel when you're ready.

1:42:21Okay.

1:42:21From the last panel, Diana Lobo, are you here?

1:42:27Okay.

1:42:27Our next panel includes Mark D'Arienzo, Helena Garcia, Adam Smith, Lillian Weaver, Ruth Dallas.

1:42:40Lillian is online.

1:42:43Yeah, hi, um, thank you for having me.

1:42:48My name is Lillian Weaver and I am a PhD student at Portland State studying environmental justice and community emergency preparedness issues around the CEI Hub.

1:42:58The I-Squared deal is another example of backroom dealings between the City of Portland and big oil businesses.

1:43:05The city has repeatedly not enforced franchise agreements with Zenith, and I have no trust that this will change with I Squared, especially given the lack of transparency in the current process.

1:43:15Given this, I ask the council to create a process for third-party enforcement of the agreement.

1:43:21Additionally, I Squared has indicated that they, they intend to expand Zenith, the Zenith site, for renewable fuel.

1:43:29Renewables is a sparkly and distracting word, but especially given my studies of this topic, I've found that renewables are no safer for surrounding communities than other types of fuels.

1:43:42Any fuel expansion at the hub increases risk.

1:43:46Further, there has been a lack of transparency throughout this process.

1:43:50The public deserves access to all of the materials and documents related to the agreement.

1:43:56The mayor and city attorneys are pushing to make this transfer happen without allowing the public access to vital information.

1:44:04I am asking you to stand up to this pressure and make this a just and fair process.

1:44:09Thank you.

1:44:10Thank you.

1:44:14Ruth is online.

1:44:23Ruth, you're muted.

1:44:32Hi, my name is Ruth Dallas.

1:44:34Um, I am a resident of District 2, um, and I had prepared testimony, but I'm just going to reduce it to 2 points.

1:44:43One is, um, that renewable fuels are only renewable if councilmember Herbold.

1:44:48I think that these fuels are not going to help with really reducing reductions in greenhouse gases if they're made from waste fuels.

1:44:53There is nowhere enough, nearly enough, not even a fraction of enough waste fuels available to make these fuels.

1:45:00Instead, they'll be made in the Global South, cutting down all sorts of food crops and planting just soy and palm oil to make these fuels, and then they are no longer renewable.

1:45:11They barely make a dent or My other point is what several other people have said.

1:45:19If Square One is being honest and they're going to be good partners and they really are going to do renewable fuels, then let us see the agreement.

1:45:29Why is the agreement a secret?

1:45:31We should all be able to look at it and there should be third-party verification.

1:45:35Thank you very much.

1:45:36Thank you.

1:45:36Okay, from this point forward, we will be taking public comments.

1:45:39Moving on to the next panel, just checking to see if Mark D'Arienzo is here, Helena Garcia, and Adam Smith.

1:45:48Moving on to the next panel, Ben Latson, Will Rasmussen, Stephanie McBarren, Jonathan Nash, Elena Borecki.

1:46:02Go ahead.

1:46:04Good morning.

1:46:05I'm Will Rasmussen, administrative law lawyer at Miller Nash.

1:46:08Been practicing for 20 years, and Miller Nash has been in this town for 150 years.

1:46:13I am advising Skyline Renewables on the proposed acquisition, including the limited franchise agreement that's at issue in this hearing.

1:46:21I urge the council to approve and give its consent to this transfer.

1:46:25I am just going to touch on 2 really short points today.

1:46:29First, the scope of this hearing, the scope of the franchise transfer.

1:46:33Is really narrow, and the only issue is whether I-Squared qualifies to operate the pipes in the right-of-way.

1:46:40It clearly does.

1:46:42The second issue I'm gonna hit on is just the real-world impact of this decision.

1:46:47The real-world impact is whether we have Zenith operating the terminal in Portland or we get I-Squared operating the terminal in Portland.

1:46:54I'll argue I-Squared is gonna be an improvement for the City of Portland.

1:46:59On the first issue though, the scope of this hearing, it's narrow under the terms of the franchise agreement itself.

1:47:05I just want to take a moment to remind the council of the staff report that it heard at the hearing 2 weeks ago.

1:47:11I wish it was before the testimony today.

1:47:13I think it would've helped a lot of people tailor their testimony.

1:47:17This hearing is just about the pipes and the right-of-way.

1:47:20It's not about the terminal.

1:47:22And there's only one issue about the pipes and the right-of-way.

1:47:24Does I Squared have the technical, legal, and financial ability to operate those pipes?

1:47:29It clearly does.

1:47:31Council has heard a lot of testimony so far today about a number of things that are other than those narrow issues.

1:47:39Folks spoke about the terminal and its tanks as opposed to the limited number of pipes that cross Front Avenue.

1:47:46Other people talked about Zenith and its past actions and the recent investigation the city did as opposed to I Squared and many people gave compelling testimony about the realities of climate change in Portland, Oregon, as opposed to the terms of the agreement that govern this franchise transfer.

1:48:11Those broader concerns are fair and important.

1:48:14They're just not the decision in front of this council today.

1:48:17I Squared is well more than qualified to operate these pipes in the right-of-way.

1:48:21I think that's a fair point.

1:48:22It's more qualified than many franchise operators in this city, and so the city should approve it.

1:48:27The second issue I just want to touch on real briefly— the only 2 real-world outcomes is Zenith or Skyline here.

1:48:33People have called for transparency and sustainability and accountability.

1:48:37Those are fair things that all Portlanders want.

1:48:40As Ben and Jules and Jerry mentioned earlier, this fund is organized under Article 9 of the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.

1:48:51That is called dark green funds in the parlance of the EU.

1:48:56It means sustainability is not just a side benefit, it's one of the fund's objectives.

1:49:00It has built into it enforcement mechanisms, it has built into it disclosure requirements, and folks would risk delisting if they didn't follow the pursuits that they said they have.

1:49:11I would just respectfully ask I would ask this committee to approve the consent.

1:49:15And I would say if I Squared doesn't operate or doesn't qualify to invest in the City of Portland, I don't know who would.

1:49:22Thank you.

1:49:25Okay, uh, in this panel is Ben Latson, Stephanie McBarren, Jonathan Nash, or Elena Burecki here.

1:49:36Next up we have Cassie Cohen, Calliope Ruskin, Sharice Buck.

1:49:41Am I up?

1:50:00Hi, my name is Calliope Ruskin.

1:50:02I'm a constituent of District 2, but I'm a rising junior at Lewis and Clark College in District 4.

1:50:07I grew up protesting fossil fuels.

1:50:09I remember the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

1:50:12I was 4.

1:50:14I was a child when I knew that the Deepwater Horizon killed 11 people.

1:50:18I— an additional 82,000 birds, 6,000 sea turtles, and 25,000 marine animals were harmed or killed.

1:50:25A disaster of higher magnitude can occur in our river at the hands of Zenith Energy, its employees, and now ISO.

1:50:33Why haven't you learned from BP?

1:50:36Why haven't you learned from the explosions from oil trains?

1:50:39Our blast zone encompasses over 1/4 of the city's residents.

1:50:44Why haven't you learned from pipeline failures?

1:50:47I've learned that I can't trust my elected officials to fight against oil companies, but I'm here to beg you, please don't make it worse.

1:50:54Stand strong against fossil industry bullies and their bogus greenwashing claims and continue to allow us I beg of you, no more backroom deals.

1:51:07Zenith and I-Squared don't want you to hear our voices because we know the truth.

1:51:11They are a danger to our city and ourselves.

1:51:14I implore this council to explore a third-party enforcement condition or provision of this franchise agreement.

1:51:20The public has no trust in neither Zenith nor I-Squared nor the mayor.

1:51:24A third party would hold all parties accountable for their actions.

1:51:27I second.

1:51:29I ask that there is a full and complete review of this franchise agreement with ample opportunities for public input.

1:51:35Despite many records requests, the public does not have access to the full evaluations of the proposed franchise agreement.

1:51:41Please release them.

1:51:44Plus, council must pass a separate emergency resolution preventing fuel expansion permits until the CEI Hub policy has been implemented.

1:51:52When the big one happens, and it will, the CEI Hub will dump 90 how many animals will die?

1:52:02How many people will die?

1:52:04Their blood will be on these companies' hands.

1:52:07Do you trust them?

1:52:09Because our blood is in your hands.

1:52:16Thank you.

1:52:19Thank you.

1:52:22Is Cassie online?

1:52:25Okay.

1:52:26Good morning, City Council.

1:52:28My name is Charisse Bach, she/her.

1:52:30I'm the climate policy director at 350 PDX, and we represent thousands of people around the Portland area for whom Zenith and the CEI hub has been a major source of concern for the last decade.

1:52:46You've heard eloquent and informative testimony before me about what is at the way Zenith Energy has gone back on its word, the extreme danger their bomb trains and toxic tanks pose to the public and the environment, the dubious claims of renewable and sustainable fuels, and the need to renegotiate a franchise agreement that's enforceable with third-party oversight.

1:53:08Many of us submitted a joint letter detailing our concerns.

1:53:13To what has already been shared, I want to add that we want City Council to pass an emergency resolution preventing new or renewed fuel permits until the CEI Hub policy project has passed and is in effect.

1:53:26If I Squared is serious about reducing its climate impact, they will want to partner with Portland to create a new franchise agreement that will reduce emissions and increase safety through a transparent and community-engaged process.

1:53:41And so I want to use some of my time to invite us to pause.

1:53:44Thank you.

1:53:45And take a moment to reflect as human beings who get to steward this place for the present and the future.

1:53:58Today we can see and feel the impacts of climate change in the smoke blanketing our region, in the very color of the light.

1:54:10Take a moment to feel it in your body.

1:54:18I feel it in the back of my throat, in my itchy eyes, and the tension in my shoulders of having to be on alert.

1:54:28Now take a moment to reflect on the Portland that you want to see.

1:54:33What would our rivers look like?

1:54:35What would it feel like to breathe?

1:54:37What would we see when we look around?

1:54:37I think that we need to be more intentional about our i do this work partially because I'm a mom.

1:54:48Last night, my teenager and I were talking about the future.

1:54:55I want all of us to be able to look my teenager in the eye and say we're cleaning up this mess so that they don't have to.

1:55:02Councilmember now is a unique moment of inflection, a moment that doesn't come along every day, where you and we have the power to change the terms of this agreement.

1:55:22So please take this moment to renegotiate the terms and start moving into the direction of the Portland that we want to see.

1:55:30Thank you.

1:55:37Cassie.

1:55:45Good morning, committee leaders.

1:55:46My name is Cassie Cohen.

1:55:48I am a second-generation Portlander and executive director of the Portland Harbor Community Coalition.

1:55:56Do you recall the pre-existing liability that already exists for the City of Portland to clean up the Portland Harbor Superfund site?

1:56:05Cleanup is supposed to start in 2 years.

1:56:08Allowing I Squared Capital to qualify to operate pipes at the edge of the river will continue a heightened risk of recontamination of the river.

1:56:19It pains me that corporations such as thank you.

1:56:21Councilmember Herbold, I would like to ask you to please address the concerns of the Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Port Authority.

1:56:21Thank you, Councilmember Herbold.

1:56:21The Portland Bureau of Transportation and the Port Authority, as well as I Squared Capital, calculate the risk of spills and explosions of their infrastructure as minor damages to their profit margins.

1:56:31As you heard already, we share the concerns of risks from proposed renewable oil spills, explosive fire hazards, and recontamination of our river, causing irreversible harm to tribal cultural resources and treaty rights as well.

1:56:46With a city that takes pride in sustainability, workers' rights, all city leaders should be as concerned as we are that I Squared Capital is not technically legally viable due to its own legacy of violations.

1:57:03I Squared representatives said commitment to safety compliance leaves a false sense of security.

1:57:09Risk of these violations locally would put Portland's environment, residents, workers, and infrastructure at even far greater risk than what already exists with Zenith and the rest of the very explosive CEI hub.

1:57:22The mix of I-squared-18 recorded violations are a pattern, not a fluke.

1:57:279 safety-related safety offenses, 6 employment-related offenses, 2 environmental, 1 consumer protection-related, 6 workplace safety or health violations, labor standards, 6 of them, 3 railroad safety violations.

1:57:45Prior to a City Council vote on We expect city leaders to ensure full transparency of all records, including explanations of city leadership and evaluations on I Squared's viability in lieu of these violations.

1:58:01We ask that you share any draft ordinance language, resolution language that should include— we hope will include third-party independent enforcement and oversight on this issue.

1:58:12Thank you.

1:58:14Thank you.

1:58:19Anthony Rush.

1:58:21Okay, uh, that completes testimony.

1:58:30Thank you.

1:58:31Thank you again, everyone, for testifying.

1:58:33Thank you to, uh, for everyone for your patience as well as we got through, uh, you know, this over 2 meetings.

1:58:39Colleagues, feel free to get into the queue for technical questions, discussion, amendments, motions, et cetera.

1:58:46And I imagine we will have requests for either the staff from BPS or— and/or city attorneys.

1:58:52So please feel free to come up.

1:58:54It's probably going to be you for these seats and going forward.

1:58:59We'll start with Councilor Avalos.

1:59:01Thank you.

1:59:02Thank you.

1:59:02And yes, definitely.

1:59:03I definitely would love staff to come up as I have a few questions.

1:59:08Let me start by just saying that I know this is an issue that many Portlanders care deeply about, as we clearly heard in the testimony.

1:59:15And I want to start by acknowledging the elephant in the room, that this facility has had a long and controversial history.

1:59:21So many people have lost trust in the city's oversight, and I think it's important that we recognize that history and take those concerns seriously.

1:59:29At the same time, I think it's also important that clear about the decision that we have before us today.

1:59:34This is not a vote on whether the facility should exist or on expanding operations or rewriting the franchise.

1:59:41It's my understanding that today our— the main question is whether this existing franchise can be transferred to a new owner under the legal framework that currently exists.

1:59:50And but that also doesn't mean that council's role is to just rubber stamp this.

1:59:55We do have an obligation to understand what due diligence has been done and what authority we have under the franchise agreement and how the city intends to hold this new owner accountable going forward.

2:00:05So my questions are focused on those kind of oversight responsibilities, because if a new owner is going to inherit this franchise, they also need to inherit every obligation that comes with it, in my opinion.

2:00:16And Portlanders deserve confidence that those obligations will be monitored and enforced.

2:00:20So with that—.

2:00:21Councilor Smith.

2:00:22Could you start by walking me through the documentation that staff reviewed to determine that ISQ, or I Square, I don't know what's the best way to call them, meets the technical, legal, and financial qualifications under the current franchise agreement?

2:00:37Just talk me through how you collected that info, what you were using to base that decision on.

2:00:43Thank you, Councilor Avalos.

2:00:45Good morning, everyone.

2:00:46For the record, my name is Tate White.

2:00:48I am the Deputy Director of BPS, but I am Acting Director this week as Director Engstrom is out on a much-deserved vacation.

2:00:57DCA Oliveira is also very sorry not to be here.

2:01:00He is double-booked at a county hearing about the Moda Center.

2:01:05So I am joined today by Andrew Speer, who I'm gonna let introduce himself.

2:01:11Hi, good morning, Council.

2:01:13My name is Andrew Speer and I'm the Franchise Utility Program Manager at with regards to your question, Councilor Avalos, we went through 4 rounds of questions.

2:01:24So we received the request to transfer the franchise in January of this year, and then we went through 4 rounds of questions with— between the councils representing ISQ as part of the transfer.

2:01:38As part of those questions, we asked, Kind of 4 distinct rounds and then received replies back from ISQ's attorneys as part of our inquiry.

2:01:52Did you— I didn't know if you had a specific question of like— I'll get into some more specifics.

2:01:57So let's start with, was your review based on information that was provided just by I Squared, or did the city independently verify any of the information that we received from them?

2:02:08We did a little bit of inquiry into like some of the responses, but primarily relied on the information provided because that was the scopes of the question was only the company could really answer those questions.

2:02:23And did staff also review their compliance and operating history at similar facilities in other jurisdictions?

2:02:30And if so, what factors were considered as part of that?

2:02:34Yes, we, as part of the 4th round of questions, asked for any compliance violations across any of the companies owned or the facilities operated by ISQ.

2:02:47And there were a few pending investigations at facilities outside of the US.

2:02:56There were no violations or major violations found inside the US.

2:03:01And so given the materiality and the scope being outside of the US, it was found as not connected to them having safety violations with it to operate this facility or operate this facility in an unsafe way.

2:03:22And so you all note that the council may place conditions on a franchise transfer related So I'm curious, what conditions, if any, did staff consider before recommending an unconditional transfer?

2:03:36Yeah, if you'll recall the presentation by Director Engstrom 2 weeks ago, the 3 areas that the franchise agreement allows for conditions to be posed on is technical, legal, and financial.

2:03:51Given the structure of the company and its financial backing, of the different chains that we showed in the slides of the holding companies which own, ultimately own the company requesting the transfer, and their ability to operate the facility in conjunction with their other facilities in a safe manner, there was nothing found within the documents we reviewed that would so to clarify, when you say technical qualifications, it's not—.

2:04:34So does it just mean operating the facility, or does it include things like compliance programs or organizational capacity to meet ongoing regulatory obligations?

2:04:47Yeah, well, there's a little bit of nuance within your question.

2:04:51The franchise is really only connecting to the pipes crossing Front Avenue.

2:04:57And so it's the operations of those pipes crossing and transporting fuel across them that we're talking about.

2:05:05Within regards to compliance for the franchise agreement, there's not that many aspects of compliance It's obligations to the company.

2:05:15They need to pay their fees to the city for accessing the right-of-way.

2:05:19So that is one piece.

2:05:21They need to also provide bond and insurance requirements, obligations.

2:05:25So if an event was to happen or on a permit there was an issue during construction, the bond or the insurance could be called upon.

2:05:36And then there's other provisions that are like what we're here today under Section 8, which are transfers, right, which are kind of the obligations between the company and the city in this case to transfer it to a different, uh, entity.

2:05:50So we looked at all of those as part of our review with that scope in mind and didn't find any thresholds for additional obligations to be provided.

2:06:01And to be clear, if the new owner wants to modify any portion of the franchise agreement in the future, is that Is that going to require council action?

2:06:09Yes.

2:06:10The, the agree— a franchise agreement is a contract, one-to-one contract between the city and a company.

2:06:19In this case, it would need mutual agreement by each party to enter into negotiations to amend the contract.

2:06:27Lastly, given the public interest in this facility, did staff consider whether any additional reporting or transparency expectations would be appropriate under the city's existing authority, even if the underlying franchise itself is not being renegotiated?

2:06:43Again, there weren't any areas of the franchise that allow for us to impose those, given the 3 categories that we outlined of technical, financial, and legal.

2:06:53Okay, well, thank you for answering those.

2:06:55Um, I think what I'm hearing is well, actually, maybe one final question.

2:07:02If council wants to have that discussion, I guess, what is the method in which we can?

2:07:08Like, is it we discuss that?

2:07:11I guess I'm just trying to understand what are the ways that we can add extra layers of accountability if we want to take those steps.

2:07:16Uh, I, I would defer to the city attorney on that.

2:07:19I, yeah, I mean, there's multiple venues, but I can't recommend anything.

2:07:25Okay, I'll just follow up with the city attorney later.

2:07:27Thank you.

2:07:29Thank you.

2:07:29I know we do have city attorneys in the back, so, um, if you're able to come up, um, would appreciate it.

2:07:36Thank you.

2:07:36For my question, I'm good.

2:07:37I'll follow up.

2:07:38Okay, uh, I will have one for, for city attorneys even if, if you don't, Councilor Avalos.

2:07:43So in the next few minutes, if you could.

2:07:45Councilor Murillo and then Councilor Green.

2:07:47Um, thank you, uh, Chair.

2:07:51Thank you, Mayor.

2:07:51I almost called you President.

2:07:53Thank you guys so much for being here today, and thank you so much to everyone who came and testified today to provide a variety of perspectives.

2:07:59But I was especially moved by the community members who I know have been working for years, if not decades, on this issue and trying to make sure that the city is accountable.

2:08:09So I just want to level set and say that if the city isn't doing our part to be as transparent in the process as possible, possible, we are going to inherently incur the wrath of some very well-organized folks.

2:08:21And I personally would like not to do that.

2:08:24I would love for this process to be as transparent and smooth as possible so that, uh, should everything be going well, then we have that trust established.

2:08:33Um, so I just want to start with that, just making sure that we are getting whatever records the public needs to them and, uh, answering their questions fairly.

2:08:41Thank you.

2:08:44And I feel as a councilor that in many of our processes, we have been rushed and given limited information.

2:08:50So if I as a councilor feel that way, I am certain that the public feels even worse.

2:08:56With that, I had a question about the I Squared Article 9 aspect of this, and perhaps this is a legal question, so let me know if I shouldn't direct it to you.

2:09:05But they stated in their testimony that they were not aware of the that the commitment to end fuel storage is binding, and I want to know what exactly that means from a legal perspective by it being actually binding.

2:09:20So maybe, maybe the city attorney should come up.

2:09:25I don't know if Nancy Thorington or Robert Taylor either, if you would come up, please.

2:09:43Thank you, Councilor.

2:09:44Robert Taylor, City Attorney, and I have Nancy Thorington here also from my office.

2:09:49Can you restate the question, please?

2:09:51Yeah, I just wanted some clarity on the I Squared testimony.

2:09:54They were talking about how Article 9 means that they are legally bound they have a commitment to end fossil fuel storage by 2027, I think was the date.

2:10:05And I wanted to know how— what exactly that commitment means in terms of it being legally binding and what the enforcement is for that if they don't do it.

2:10:17I'd be happy to follow up with you on that in a later communication.

2:10:23Okay.

2:10:24Should we just save any and all legal questions I'm happy to do my best here, but to be able to fully answer that question, it would help me if I had an opportunity to think about that.

2:10:38Okay, that's fair.

2:10:40I think that given the— I have a lot of questions that perhaps can't be answered in this venue, so I definitely don't feel comfortable approving anything today without more information.

2:10:54And I'm just saying that here for my colleagues.

2:10:57I'm going to need more time to look at this.

2:11:00We were during a very busy budget season, then we just ended that.

2:11:04Now we're jumping into this, and I think council needs the opportunity to do our due diligence on this.

2:11:09We don't— this is not something that can be rushed if we want to gain public trust or do our due diligence as city councilors.

2:11:17Thank you.

2:11:18Um, and frankly, since they've already threatened a lawsuit, I feel like I can take my time now.

2:11:29But okay, I guess we can't answer any questions here, so I'll just loop back with you later.

2:11:35Thank you, Councilor Murillo.

2:11:36Councilor Green, and then Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

2:11:39Thank you.

2:11:40Um, thanks for everyone who gave testimony.

2:11:43Thank you, Councilor Herbold.

2:11:44There was an idea floated during testimony that I'm kind of curious about, which was the concept of attaching conditions.

2:11:53And so Robert and Nancy, I hope that you can help me answer some questions up here on the fly.

2:12:00But I'm looking at Section 8, which is in the franchise agreement, which defines the consent to transfer clause there.

2:12:11And it says the city may condition any transfer of this franchise upon such conditions related to the technical, legal, and financial qualifications of the prospective party to perform according to the terms of this franchise.

2:12:25And then it goes on to say, as it deems reasonably appropriate.

2:12:28And so I guess my question would be that last independent clause there, as it deems reasonably Like, what does that mean in the context of this clause?

2:12:41Well, it would mean that we, as was discussed earlier, the franchise is focused on the pipes and the right-of-way.

2:12:52And so you can condition based on those 3 factors, and those conditions would have to be reasonable.

2:12:59So they can't be unreasonable.

2:13:01So it's gotta be focused on the operation of the pipes and the franchise and the legal, technical, and financial ability to operate in the right-of-way.

2:13:16And the conditions have to be reasonable.

2:13:19All right.

2:13:19And so then, thank you.

2:13:21And so there was an ask to sort of attach some sort of an emergency resolution somewhere along the way.

2:13:26This process, either along with the item or independently, to kind of hold any new permit issuances or any new capital expansion there.

2:13:39And so we've adopted some broader policymaking.

2:13:43And so I wonder, would it be appropriate to attach a directive or a finding in this ordinance to say the city is currently engaged in a comp plan and zoning policy thing that's going to be coming to us very shortly.

2:13:58And so until we've— council's considered that, then we would not issue new work and then let the transfer go forward as, as it is otherwise.

2:14:07Would that be appropriate?

2:14:08Would that be reasonable?

2:14:11Uh, I'd like some time to think about that before I, uh, talked about that in this venue.

2:14:17Um, and I do think If we were— because there is that reasonable requirement in any conditions, I think it would be in the city's interest to work with I Squared to understand their view on those conditions.

2:14:34I appreciate that.

2:14:35And I mean, I think that is also reasonable to kind of think that through and not from the dais.

2:14:39That's why I'm not interested in trying to floor amend something like that to that end right now.

2:14:44But I needed to ask that question here while you guys were here because we heard it multiple times from testimony.

2:14:50I think what we had heard earlier in our conversation about the predecessor company involved here was this idea that let's be forward-looking here.

2:14:59Let's think about how we can do some forward-looking comp plan and zoning code changes.

2:15:03And that work is actually very near to completion.

2:15:05And so I wonder if there's an opportunity to sort of say let's give some I think we can bring some comfort to the community here by kind of meeting that moment here.

2:15:13And that's what I'm interested in.

2:15:14So I look forward to working with your office and seeing if that's a thing that we can attach to this.

2:15:20And I think that's probably the question I have for now.

2:15:22I think Councilor Morillo had asked some other questions about the studies and, you know, there was, I think it was findings 4, 8, 9, and 10 or something to that effect that referenced some documents.

2:15:32I'd be interested in seeing those as attachments.

2:15:34Thank you.

2:15:36Thanks.

2:15:37I, I believe you already have those.

2:15:38Um, those should have been sent to you, but happy to, um, you know, make those public and, you know, publish them with the agenda.

2:15:47Yeah, I think if they can be attached as exhibits to this agenda, that would go a really long way.

2:15:52Thanks.

2:15:53We can do that.

2:15:55Thank you, Councilor Green.

2:15:56Councilor Pirtle-Guiney, followed by Councilor Zimmerman.

2:15:59Thank you, Chair.

2:16:00Councilor Green, you just ask my first question, which is, can we get those items attached as exhibits, or are they privileged for any reason?

2:16:11And it sounds like there is a commitment to attach those to the agenda items so that the public has access to them.

2:16:17Is that accurate?

2:16:18Correct, yes.

2:16:19Would those be— just so that folks know what to expect— would those be, um, The complete set of documents, or are there some documents that the attorneys would need to review before being able to post everything?

2:16:34Uh, I, I believe everything that was listed in the, um, uh, in the ordinance itself is public record.

2:16:41So I, I, I'll take a, a final look to make sure that that's true.

2:16:45But yeah, great.

2:16:47Thank you.

2:16:48I, I want to just note related to that, and unfortunately we don't I don't have the administrator with us today.

2:16:54He makes most of our meetings.

2:16:56I don't mean any criticism by that, but I wish he could hear me say this.

2:17:01We're dealing with a topic where there's not a lot of public trust, and I think the city sometimes makes unforced errors.

2:17:10And it sounds like by not sharing documents on this one that are not privileged, that we can easily post, we made a bit of an unforced error.

2:17:20And I want to actually say that differently because I don't want to wrap council up in that choice.

2:17:25The administration made an unforced error.

2:17:30For folks in the community, we can't change what error was made, but if we can get it fixed moving forward, I hope that that's helpful.

2:17:42And I appreciate you all being the second question that I had was also about the topic that's come up about the expansion of permits.

2:17:54Can you speak to the process of, of any requests for expansion for permits that would allow expanded capacity if that request was made after this transfer?

2:18:11What process would that take?

2:18:15Under the franchise agreement, Councilor, any expansion of facilities is allowable on a defined portion of Front Avenue.

2:18:25And so we would need to know the plans and what different pipe, you know, they're looking to expand or number of pipes and in what section of Front Avenue.

2:18:37And then we would be looking at, you know, within the scopes of the franchise, if there's any callout of any use of or transportation of fuels.

2:18:47And if there are deviations from what is allowable within the agreement, then we would work with the company to understand if those were allowable under the agreement or not before issuing the approval under the franchise.

2:19:03Thank you.

2:19:04And then there's a second step that then they would be allowed to then pursue permits with PBOT as part of the construction in the right-of-way.

2:19:13So any expansion, and to be clear, for the sake of this process, we really are only talking about the expansion of access in the public right-of-way, the expansion of the piece before us, the franchise agreement before us.

2:19:30It sounds like there is an assumption of approval if conditions are met, but that does need to go through a full lengthy permit process, permitting process.

2:19:42It—.

2:19:43For the request that comes to us, it's not technically a permit, but they must seek approval before expansion.

2:19:51Okay.

2:19:52And under this particular franchise agreement, you had said there were some conditions that had to be met.

2:19:58Do you know if this particular franchise agreement allows for easy expansion or if there are significant limitations?

2:20:09There was an amendment to the franchise after 2017 when it was transferred to Zenith, and it revised certain aspects of what could be transported.

2:20:20And so that was passed via a second ordinance.

2:20:23But attached to the original ordinance, which is a franchise agreement.

2:20:27And so there's certain requirements on the fuel— it's not fuels, but it's the chemical, the composite makeup of what's allowable in the pipe.

2:20:37And so that would take into effect once the request was made.

2:20:41We would look at both franchises, or excuse me, both ordinances to evaluate the request.

2:20:47Okay, so it sounds like there may be a little bit more digging that we need to do there for me to fully understand how much risk there is of expansion.

2:20:55It's my understanding that that second ordinance that was passed was in conjunction with being allowing to transport chemicals that would be needed in the process of renewable fuel.

2:21:08So that's the only context I have for that second one.

2:21:12Heard.

2:21:12I think I'm looking for some information around total amount.

2:21:19It sounded like what community members were concerned about was the total amount of product that was moving through and an expansion not in type but in amount.

2:21:31But I can try to find that out at a further time.

2:21:35That seemed like it was an ask for us to do something separate from this process, so I may not need the answer today.

2:21:43I think I'm going to end there, and thank you.

2:21:45I'll look forward to seeing those documents posted on the agenda.

2:21:49Thanks, Chair.

2:21:50Thank you, Councilor.

2:21:53Councilor Zimmerman, followed by Councilor Smith.

2:21:56Thank you.

2:21:58There was a discussion about reasonable— reasonableness.

2:22:03I believe a few years ago that Multnomah County, there was a commissioner there was pursuing risk bonding.

2:22:09I don't know that they ever got that across the line, so to speak.

2:22:15But in that sense, in this case, is adding a risk bond provision— would that be considered reasonable?

2:22:24And I look to all 4 of you because I actually don't know where the best place to throw that question toward.

2:22:31Uh, I think, I think that's something we could discuss with the, the, um, I squared to see if that would be something that we could, uh, work through as a condition.

2:22:42Okay, thank you.

2:22:42That's all.

2:22:45Thank you, Councilor Zimmerman.

2:22:46Councilor Smith, and then myself.

2:22:48Thank you, Mr.

2:22:49Chair.

2:22:50Thank you all for the presentation.

2:22:51Um, just in terms of the scope of work and the expansion, how much new work is expanded to the scope of work that will be done with the new franchise?

2:23:06Uh, Councilor, there's no request as part of this transfer to expand the facility.

2:23:11Okay, that's, that's what I was trying to figure out.

2:23:15Thank you.

2:23:15So it's the same scope of work?

2:23:18Correct.

2:23:18Okay, thank you.

2:23:22Thank you, Councilor Smith.

2:23:23I'm next in the queue.

2:23:24Um, I appreciate everyone being here.

2:23:25Thank you for the presentation before.

2:23:27Thank you, Mayor, for having us here as well as for being here to answer questions.

2:23:32I recognize the scope.

2:23:34A lot of what Councilor Green and Councilor Pirtle-Guiney said is in my notes as well.

2:23:40I think the questions I have— so in terms of the records being added, I agree completely about the public trust issue that Councilor Pirtle-Guiney raised, and I actually had a I have that unforced error in my notes verbatim as well.

2:23:55So, uh, by the administration here, I, I think, um, is that something that we'd be able to get amended or proposed, or I guess floated as an amendment in to put into the public record prior to public testimony on this at council?

2:24:08Because there will be another, uh, consideration of this item by council.

2:24:14Yeah, and, uh, Robert Taylor, City Attorney.

2:24:17Just to be clear, so that, um, under the public we handle records requests and records we receive under the Public Records Act.

2:24:24There's a provision in the Public Records Act that says that documents that are provided to a public entity in confidence and with assurance that they'll be held in confidence will be treated as such by the public entity unless the public interest requires their disclosure.

2:24:46And we operate under that all the time with various different members of the public or corporations who provide information that the city requests.

2:24:58And this information was, was requested by the city.

2:25:01It was provided as part of the due diligence.

2:25:04We treated it like we do those other types of documents under the public records law.

2:25:11There's been requests, public records requests that are filed.

2:25:15Based on the testimony today, I think it's clear to me that the public interest is in the disclosure of it.

2:25:21And we will follow that public interest.

2:25:23We will disclose that information.

2:25:26Great.

2:25:27Thank you.

2:25:28For the BPS staff, and thank you for being here, items related to the broader policy conversation have been approved out of the planning commission in March but not yet filed with us.

2:25:39And some testifiers have alleged that the city is delaying the proposal of the Planning Commission items to council and to this committee in order to allow for the sale and franchise transfer associated with the terminal to go through and new ownership to file permits under the current rules before council changes the rules if we approve those Planning Commission referred items.

2:25:58Uh, as pointed out, there's a lack of public trust on this issue among the public, and so I want to ask these 2 questions on the record.

2:26:05To your knowledge, is that the intention on the rush of the franchise transfer and/or the delay of the Planning Commission referred items?

2:26:14Thank you for the question, Councilor Kanal.

2:26:17Again, for the public record, my name is Tate White.

2:26:19I am acting director of BPS right now, permanently deputy director.

2:26:25And yes, the CEI Hub project this project has been going on since last year.

2:26:30It has involved significant public process and gone through the Planning Commission.

2:26:36I could go through all of that, but given our time, I'm going to acknowledge, yes, on March 10th, Portland's Planning Commission voted to forward it to City Council for consideration, and staff have been working really hard to develop the draft code for Title 17.

2:26:55Thank you.

2:26:56Related to draw— the drawdown program and released a public review of that in June, and they held public engagement on that.

2:27:05It's a really complex project requiring updates to the comprehensive plan as well as that Title 17.

2:27:12So that's why we've needed to take this time to involve that process.

2:27:17And then last week, Director Engstrom did make a request to come to the Committee of the Whole to, to review that.

2:27:24So it is a very complex project, and we have been diligently working on it for, for over a year, and there's no intention to slow that down.

2:27:35Thank you.

2:27:36Um, it's a follow-up on that is, to the best of your knowledge, has any person in the city discussed creating a deliberate gap between the franchise transfer and the broader rule or code changes?

2:27:46No.

2:27:47Definitely not.

2:27:48I think they're tangentially related, but they are sort of separate processes overseen by different scopes of work and authority.

2:27:59Thank you.

2:28:01So I think we've had a couple questions.

2:28:03This might be more on the lawyer side about conditions.

2:28:07Another thing that I don't think has been brought up post-testimony is, are we able to develop conditions based on a good neighbor agreement?

2:28:16That was floated in testimony, and I just wanted to get that on the record.

2:28:23I think there would be a separate process if we wanted to engage in the good neighbor agreement type conversation.

2:28:33And again, any conditions that you impose as as part of the approval of the transfer are focused on the pipes in the right-of-way and the legal, technical, and financial ability to operate those in the right-of-way.

2:28:51So that's the framework we're operating in.

2:28:55And I think the Good Neighbor Agreement might be a separate conversation.

2:29:01So if— just to clarify, I appreciate that answer.

2:29:04In the event that the Good Neighbor good neighbor agreement, because certainly a potential failure of pipes under the right-of-way would affect neighbors as well, even if everything else with the terminal was perfect.

2:29:15So isn't there a potential narrowly scoped good neighbor agreement?

2:29:23I think that's certainly a possibility we can discuss with I Squared.

2:29:29I think there were some other, yeah, Yeah, we'd be happy to talk about that.

2:29:33I think there were some other ideas that were floated that may be more connected to the actual franchise.

2:29:41And I appreciate that.

2:29:42And similar question about the third-party enforcement request.

2:29:45And I think we've had the questions on what does the existing enforcement look like and under the Article 9 scope, and certainly didn't expect to have European Union regulations be a topic here today, but would be curious about how that conversation— is that the same answer effectively?

2:30:01We could— we need to kind of scope it out between now and when it comes to council?

2:30:06Yes.

2:30:07Okay, I appreciate that.

2:30:09And that concludes my questions.

2:30:12Um, Councilor Zimmerman, are you still in the queue, or is that a legacy hand?

2:30:15Okay, so colleagues, um, we have the option of— there are no pre-filed amendments.

2:30:20We have the option of discussing it further, but there's nobody in the queue right now, or someone could make a motion at this time with relation to referral.

2:30:36Nobody's in the queue.

2:30:37I don't know if he wants— Councilor Ryan, your mic's on, so if you wanted to— To your question again, are you asking if we're calling the question?

2:30:45Yeah, I mean, I— we would need either a A motion to refer this to the full council with a do pass recommendation or a motion to refer this to the full council with no recommendation, or I guess theoretically a request to continue it.

2:30:58But otherwise there's nobody in the queue to discuss this item.

2:31:00So— Well, staff has recommended this.

2:31:01I trust their due diligence as professionals.

2:31:04I say we move this forward.

2:31:06And would you like to put a recommendation on that?

2:31:11Yeah, I mean, I just said it.

2:31:14So that's a motion to refer to the full council with the do pass recommendation.

2:31:17Is there a second?

2:31:18Second.

2:31:19Okay.

2:31:20I think I'll— Councilor Novick on that one was first.

2:31:25Now there are colleagues in the queue for discussion on that motion.

2:31:27So Councilor Novick, would you like to speak to it?

2:31:33I agree with what Councilor Ryan just said.

2:31:36I would like to— I mean, I understand that we have a narrow narrow issue here, and I would like to get Zenith out of town.

2:31:43I think that we can approve this transfer and take up other issues without limiting our ability to take up other issues such as oversight as we go along.

2:31:57Thank you, Councilor Novick.

2:31:58Councilor Murillo, then Councilor Green.

2:32:01Yeah, I think I've been repeatedly told when I've tried to move policy forward quickly in committee, that committee is the place to workshop policy and to make sure that we're doing our due diligence and digging into it.

2:32:13And sometimes people will even have a policy go through committee twice, 3 times, 4 times, really interrogate it.

2:32:21People have done that to almost all of my policies.

2:32:23So I think that for an issue that impacts the entire city and the well-being of all of our residents, We should do our due diligence and look into anything.

2:32:34I am pretty concerned by the testimony that was here today, and there are clearly questions that need to be answered.

2:32:42Even if there's nothing new that comes out of having more discussion, there is— we clearly do not have the public trust.

2:32:49And if we don't have the public trust, we're just going to endure.

2:32:52You know, if Portlanders want us to be reelected, you're gonna have another 4 years of people not trusting the decision that you made and then being upset with all of us.

2:33:01So I would rather earn the public trust, then make the decision.

2:33:06So again, we are in a committee right now, even if it's just Committee of the Whole.

2:33:10I think we should take time to evaluate everything that's before us and to really bring the public along in that discussion.

2:33:16Thank you.

2:33:17Thank you, Councilor Morillo.

2:33:18Councilor Green, and then I'm next in the queue.

2:33:21Thank you so much, Chair Kanal.

2:33:24You know, we did a Zenith franchise investigation that I think left a lot of questions unanswered.

2:33:32And while I understand this is a very narrow scope consideration, it's still the point at which the city has a regulatory checkpoint.

2:33:39And if we're not going to exercise that checkpoint by attempting to put conditions on that that satisfy some of the more forward-looking policy frameworks that we might consider with the public together and as a body, then we've missed a moment there.

2:33:57And we've already gotten commitments to attach the documents that I think community's been asking for.

2:34:02So I would not vote to pass this outta committee today.

2:34:06I think that, you know, we should keep discussing it here in committee.

2:34:10Thanks.

2:34:11Thank you, Councilor Green.

2:34:12I'll put Councilor Pirtle-Guiney and then follow that.

2:34:16Thank you, Chair.

2:34:17You know, to Zenith, the lawsuit you filed is not helping us.

2:34:24This should be a straightforward process.

2:34:27There are many items coming where we get to dig in on what is happening in the CEI hub, and a, a transfer of a franchise with a very narrow scope hope shouldn't be where we dig in.

2:34:43But that lawsuit has raised old distrust, um, and I think not helped us move forward quickly.

2:34:52Um, and I've already discussed the lack of trust that the city has stirred up through not releasing documents.

2:35:02And despite all of that, we still have a very narrow Scope before us, colleagues.

2:35:09Technically, can this company operate the franchise?

2:35:14I asked that question when we were first briefed on this, and the fact that the same staff are going to be staying on on the ground and operating this leads me to believe that yes, technically they can.

2:35:26Legally, can they comply with local laws?

2:35:29Well, we've heard that they choose not.

2:35:31To comply with local laws as a company in some other places, but they have local council who know the local laws.

2:35:38They can legally comply with our local laws.

2:35:43Financially, are they qualified to maintain the infrastructure?

2:35:47I think for better or worse, the fact that this is a, a very large financial company, investment company, means that they, they like and so I'm hearing a lot of concern about not having these documents, and I think we need to post them and have that transparency.

2:36:08I'm hearing a lot of concern about other pieces that I want us to dig into on the other questions that are coming about CEI Hub, but I'm not sure what waiting does to help us get to a better place.

2:36:21I think it's important to have the information.

2:36:26So I'm not sure if anybody else is going to be in the queue to provide information on why they have doubts raised there, but right now I'm not seeing the argument to wait, despite the fact that I think this process has not moved in a way that allows it to be straightforward as it should have been.

2:36:47I think the argument is that we don't have the information.

2:36:48And despite the fact that, as many folks have raised here today, there are a lot of questions that we need to answer about the operations of all of the entities within the CEI Hub more broadly.

2:36:58And I think one testifier said early on they want us to get through this so we can get to those questions quickly.

2:37:05And I think I'm sitting with that comment pretty firmly right now.

2:37:09Thank you, Chair.

2:37:11Thank you, Councilor Pirtle-Guiney.

2:37:13I'm next in the queue.

2:37:15So speaking as the chair of this committee, I think attempting to bully me out of letting people testify on this item was not a good way to demonstrate— I don't know whatever the intent was there to demonstrate, um, but, uh, this is a place where people get to testify.

2:37:33That's the point.

2:37:35Um, so, uh, I just want to get that on the record here.

2:37:39Testimony is not a delay to someone who's a part of any credible process that involves the public in any way.

2:37:45And especially when someone— when the bully's own business partners are among the testifiers, I think that's worth noting as well.

2:37:52Um, so I appreciate that, uh, speaking now just in terms of my vote, I appreciate every point that Councilor Pirtle-Guiney made.

2:38:02I, I agree with that.

2:38:03I think that one of the concerns is, and this is true and all the land use conversations we have, we often are limited in our decision-making power to things that are a narrower scope than what we discuss in broader policy conversations.

2:38:16And so it is challenging to do that.

2:38:19I know that we have the first reading anticipated based on the request that Deputy Director White pointed out to have the broader CEI Hub project come to council or come to this committee sorry.

2:38:31We have that currently penciled in for September 16th.

2:38:37And so I'm looking forward to that.

2:38:39I also understand here that the scope is much narrower.

2:38:42For me, my vote will be based on— and I took the pains to clarify whether there was a do pass or no recommendation on it.

2:38:48That's the reason for my vote.

2:38:50But I'm happy to help move this to a decision at this moment.

2:38:54I'll just be voting based on the ask to, uh, make a recommendation to the full council to approve it or not.

2:39:00Um, so with that, I don't see anyone else in the queue.

2:39:03Uh, we have a motion to refer this item onto the full council with the do pass recommendation.

2:39:08Keelan, would you please call the roll?

2:39:10Document 2026-263, moved by Ryan, seconded by Novick.

2:39:16Koyama Lane?

2:39:18No.

2:39:19Murillo?

2:39:20No.

2:39:21Novick?

2:39:22Aye.

2:39:23Smith.

2:39:25Aye.

2:39:26Councilor Zimerman.

2:39:28Aye.

2:39:28Avalos.

2:39:29No.

2:39:30Ryan.

2:39:31Aye.

2:39:32Smith.

2:39:34Aye.

2:39:34Pirtle-Guiney.

2:39:36Aye.

2:39:36Ryan.

2:39:37Aye.

2:39:38Kanal.

2:39:42No.

2:39:42The motion is approved with a vote of 7 ayes and 5 nos.

2:39:47The ordinance the ordinance is referred to full council with the recommendation that it be passed.

2:39:53Thank you, everyone.

2:39:54We'll move into the next item now.

2:39:56Um, Keelan, would you please call the next 2 items together?

2:40:04Items 3 and 4, document 2026-262, Vision Zero updates, and document 2026-263, Thank you, colleagues.

2:40:20So while we're kind of having a changeover here, I want to welcome back Dana Dickman.

2:40:25We are going to have testimony, and I'd like to do that first.

2:40:29And then with time permitting after that, Dana had some responses to some of the questions that we brought up.

2:40:37I would prioritize the testimony.

2:40:38Yeah, yeah, yeah.

2:40:39So that based on whatever time's left after that, and that's why we have these 2 items called together.

2:40:44Similar to my comment on the previous item, I want to thank those who wanted to testify on this.

2:40:48We didn't have that opportunity last time.

2:40:51I apologize for that, but we did make an opportunity for Vision Zero testimony this time.

2:40:56So with that, Keelan, if you could please call up our panel of testifiers.

2:40:59We have 5 people signed up.

2:41:01Sarah Risser, Justin Sarah Skolnick, Mike Dennis, Jordan Lewis, Joe Rowe.

2:41:17And feel free to start whenever you're ready.

2:41:21Thank you.

2:41:22Can I go ahead?

2:41:23Okay.

2:41:24Good morning, councilors.

2:41:25My name is Sarah Risser.

2:41:26I support crash victims in Portland through my work with with Families for Safe Streets.

2:41:32Since learning about PBOT's plans to prioritize paving over safety on West Burnside, Joey Capone and his family have been on my mind and in my heart.

2:41:42Joey was killed on West Burnside as a pedestrian in 2022.

2:41:47The loss of Joey's life is unimaginable, but the damage from that crash extends beyond losing Joey.

2:41:53That crash inflicted life sentences of grief I would like to express my grief on Pammy Capone, Joey's mother, Cassie Capone, Joey's sister, and Ella Capone, Joey's wife.

2:42:04There are many more who continue to grieve that I can't mention.

2:42:07Too many.

2:42:08These people are also victims of dangerous road traffic, and they are your constituents.

2:42:15Plans for West Burnside don't reflect city plans or Vision Zero principles.

2:42:25At a meeting earlier this week, a PBOT employee justified this by saying Burnside has critical paving needs.

2:42:32She didn't mention Burnside's critical safety needs, despite the reality that its traffic kills people.

2:42:39By deferring safety, PBOT implicitly condones sacrificing human lives in the short term to prioritize driver convenience.

2:42:46Again, this approach is a recipe for disaster.

2:42:47Thank you.

2:42:52On September 17th, 2025, this council approved a resolution brought by Councilor Lane to reaffirm the city's commitment to Vision Zero.

2:43:00That resolution created a new task force.

2:43:04There's no seat at the table for safety advocates, nor are advocates allowed to sit in or listen in on these meetings at this time.

2:43:12So we don't have any idea what the task force is doing.

2:43:13Thank you.

2:43:16This is problematic for many reasons, but especially because it makes it hard to be effective and helpful.

2:43:22At that September 2025 meeting, Councilor Avalos introduced a friendly amendment to ensure meaningful community engagement is built into the Vision Zero Task Force, including its analysis and action plan.

2:43:35Councilor Lane accepted the amendment and understood the intent of the amendment.

2:43:38Councilor Laine.

2:43:39Councilor Smith underscored its importance, saying we need to know that there will be a connection to stakeholders from the community.

2:43:46I appreciate Dana Dickman's concern on this item.

2:43:49I know it's on her radar, and we have been communicating about it.

2:43:53But as of now, the community is not a part of the task force, its analysis, or formation of the action plan in any way.

2:44:00So the friendly amendment from Avalos is not being upheld.

2:44:04I want I want to leave with one last point, and that is to urge the committee to distinguish between safety and danger in a Vision Zero context.

2:44:16And our unhoused neighbors provide a brilliant example.

2:44:20They are vulnerable, and therefore they require more safety interventions.

2:44:28However, they do not cause danger in our traffic system.

2:44:32Thank you.

2:44:32Thank you.

2:44:47My name is Justin Skolnick.

2:44:482 Weeks ago, I made the mistake of opening my phone.

2:44:51Online posts alerted me to something that was said in this committee.

2:44:54One of my councilors tried to make a causal connection between pedestrian deaths I happen to know a lot about that topic.

2:45:02In fact, Iowa prosecutors used my family's grief to get something on the books connecting a quantity of THC with a pedestrian death.

2:45:09I'll get to that.

2:45:10First, I want to quote Dan Ryan directly.

2:45:12He said, unless we start doing better cross-referencing with public health when it relates to Vision Zero and bringing in more of a, like, SWAT team analysis to really get to the bottom of this, I think we're going to continue to see high numbers and we can't mask it with statistics.

2:45:25Now everybody knows Dan has 2 interests, the other being storefronts, but he says he's been persistent about proving that the people getting hit by cars are responsible for getting hit by cars because of drugs.

2:45:36That is the kind of edgy, shoddy thinking I remember from middle school.

2:45:41My kid sister was walking to work.

2:45:43She was 20 years old and trying to establish residency for in-state tuition at the University of Iowa because she discovered that her dream job was actually in the legal field.

2:45:51But to become a nurse practitioner, she had to switch tracks, and so she did.

2:45:56She was strong like that.

2:45:57She was vibrant.

2:45:58She was funny.

2:45:59You would want her attention and care.

2:46:01Most people did.

2:46:03On the morning of September 4th, 2003, she waited at the crosswalk for the signal.

2:46:08At the same intersection, at the same time, a kid her age who'd gotten stoned off his ass the night before woke up, smoked a big fat blunt, and crawled behind the wheel of his this big old SUV.

2:46:18The light changed for him the same time it changed for my sister, and he made his left-hand turn into my sister.

2:46:25Investigators found her fingerprints on the fender.

2:46:28This means she knew what was happening to her and tried to stop it.

2:46:31This is physics.

2:46:33This is basic physics.

2:46:34This is mass and velocity.

2:46:36There are straightforward mathematical equations that express how this works.

2:46:40The vehicles are larger and faster moving than the human bodies.

2:46:42They're driving into.

2:46:44My 5'2 sister could not fight off an SUV, Dan.

2:46:48That is the problem.

2:46:49My sister wasn't on drugs.

2:46:51They ran her blood at the hospital where she died 30 hours later.

2:46:55Do you have the faintest idea how insulting it is to hear a grown man work persistently to pin pedestrian deaths on the pedestrians, or is being insulting the point?

2:47:03Technically, you are my rep, though you have another constituency, mostly D4, mostly men.

2:47:08Men they love it when you're bad.

2:47:13Blaming victims is a bad thing.

2:47:15My brother in Christ, if this building and its temptations are more powerful than your soul is able to resist, then remove yourself from it and resign.

2:47:26Thank you.

2:47:37Thank you.

2:47:40And thank you from the other panelists for your testimony.

2:47:45And thank you, Committee Chair Kanal and Vice Chairs Koyama Lane and Ryan and members of the committee for the opportunity to provide public comment on Vision Zero.

2:47:56I'm Mike Dennis with Oregon Walks.

2:48:00Last September, each one of you voted to approve Resolution 37716, a resolution that was forwarded by Councilor Koyama Lane and co-sponsored by Councilors Clark and Green and, and Murillo and Smith to recommit the city to Vision Zero.

2:48:21Thank you.

2:48:23Thank you for your leadership standing up For our most vulnerable road users.

2:48:29As you may recall, the resolution reestablished the goal that, quote, no person should die or be incapacitated from simply going about their day, unquote.

2:48:41As the 1-year anniversary approaches, it's time to reassess— or I'm sorry, to assess and test how serious are we about this goal.

2:48:50Thank you.

2:48:53In the past year, in one significant test, you all passed the transportation utility fee, and in doing so, you carved out specific funds for Vision Zero.

2:49:04Budgets define priorities, and you demonstrated Vision Zero as a priority.

2:49:09Thank you.

2:49:11There's some other tests to determine if we're really determined— committed to Vision Zero.

2:49:18Or if it's in resolution only.

2:49:20So first, your city staff needs you to stand behind their expertise and for you to stand behind your commitment to Vision Zero.

2:49:31There are gonna be some hard decisions on street design changes.

2:49:35We know that the built environment has the biggest and most lasting impact on saving lives and eliminating injuries.

2:49:42Street design changes must happen to save lives.

2:49:45Thank you.

2:49:46But change is hard, and changing a transportation system that's prioritized the automobile for decades is daunting.

2:49:55Your leadership and support is necessary to reshape our cities, our streets, our neighborhoods to save lives and make our communities safer and healthier.

2:50:05So your constituents may be upset with you, and please use your voice to help explain how we're prioritizing safety and community over convenience and car speed.

2:50:18Second, please stay engaged.

2:50:21Please stay engaged with Vision Zero.

2:50:23Please, for instance, request a list of prioritized Vision Zero investments that will give you goals and benchmarks so you can measure how each public dollar is used.

2:50:34Reach out to PBOT staff with questions to problem solve, and I really I really appreciated you all inviting Dana Dickman and Wendy and Clay to come talk to you about Vision Zero.

2:50:44Think about how you can break down silos, how PBOT can't deliver this Vision Zero alone.

2:50:51Can we break down silos to bolster community-led tactical urbanism like what Strong Towns has been proposing and continue to elevate Vision Zero across the city?

2:51:03For instance, I know the city is is looking to hire a new Deputy City Administrator for safety, can you make sure that person and that hiring process and that job description puts Vision Zero as a top priority?

2:51:17My last and final comment is on Burnside.

2:51:20Sarah spoke very articulately about this.

2:51:24We— I would just add a comment that I recognize Phase 1 is already underway.

2:51:30We have 10 neighborhoods and stakeholders who've spoken loudly about being So please take a beat, integrate the needed safety needs, engage these voices, and do the project right from the start.

2:51:42I apologize for going over and really appreciate your time and your commitment to Vision Zero.

2:51:50My name is Joe Rowe, District 2.

2:51:54I want to start by paying respect to a teen victim of our failures to implement Vision Zero.

2:52:01You are all invited to a flower vigil for Fallon Smart, who was killed in a Hawthorne crosswalk 10 years ago.

2:52:19Please attend, 5 PM, August 19th, Hawthorne and 43rd.

2:52:24Her dad will be there, and her dad has 3 goals, all of which fit into Vision Zero.

2:52:28What are they?

2:52:29Pay respects.

2:52:30Number 2, address the lack of justice.

2:52:32Number 3, safer streets for kids and everyone.

2:52:37If you look at cities who have Vision Zero, that's a hub supported by many intervention spokes, and each of those spokes has big benefits.

2:52:47Even one weak spoke can risk pedestrians and drivers.

2:52:51These Vision Zero spokes hold the safety system in place.

2:52:55We listen with respect to my neighbor testimony that Vision Zero tools will harm their business or freedom from shorter trips.

2:53:05But we must balance that listening to Karens and Chads with facts.

2:53:09It's a fact that cities like Hoboken, New Jersey, Helsinki, and Oslo do not have dead teenagers or dead anyone for long periods.

2:53:16Land use puts people above profit.

2:53:19These are the spokes that make Vision Zero possible.

2:53:23Progressive land use, key foundations of Vision Zero, unapologetic and near unanimous lawmaker support for all Vision Zero components, lawmakers who stand up to the Karens and Chads but listen to them, high-capacity, high-speed buses and more transportation choices, fewer trips by cars, better parks and safe routes to schools, separated and protected paths, for pedestrians and bike buses, not just paint like Portland Paint.

2:53:49Lower car dependence.

2:53:51Lastly, enforcement and equitable and just penalties.

2:53:55Equitable and scaled fees for bigger cars and citations for driving violations.

2:54:01The more affluent, the bigger speeding ticket.

2:54:03The heavier the vehicle, the higher the yearly fees.

2:54:06Portland will never, never have nice things unless we spend money to build a system where elderly kids— elderly and kids can come and go without the fear they need to sit in a steel personal vehicle.

2:54:18Lastly, cities that are safer for kids are safer for the planet.

2:54:22I would like a moment of silence for Jamie Diaz, our librarian, on a sidewalk bench, mowed down.

2:54:28For Joey and Ben Carlson, mowed down walking on Burnside.

2:54:32Ben Carlson was killed by Douglas James Walker of Beaverton, who's obviously a friend of the police because they never cited the driver.

2:54:39Thank you.

2:54:43This is for all the cities, for all the— moment of silence is for Mike and Dennis and Sarah and my colleagues who mentioned victims.

2:54:56We are crying literally for you to do what other cities have done.

2:55:02You don't need to reinvent the wheel.

2:55:04You just need to stand up and say, we are going to do what other cities have done.

2:55:05Thank you.

2:55:08No one forced you to put your name on the ballot.

2:55:11Thank you, Joe.

2:55:12Okay, thank you.

2:55:15Jordan.

2:55:17Hello, City Council.

2:55:19Uh, Jordan Lewis, he/him, District 4 resident, uh, volunteer lobbyist for Portland Democratic Socialists of America.

2:55:25I was going to testify in person.

2:55:26I apologize, um, the agenda had the testimony happening after the public testimony.

2:55:31Presentation, so I'm here remotely.

2:55:34Uh, I— we just saw the immense power of 55, 56 community advocates coming together, um, to express their feelings and how that is treated and rewarded in this city.

2:55:48Um, but I'm gonna remain here and I'm going to continue talking anyways.

2:55:51Um, I live on the West Burnside and I have experienced a lot of really heinous behavior from drivers, which was not an individual choice on their behalf.

2:56:00It was an I have crossed West Burnside and 18th on a game night behind a family with small children speaking Spanish.

2:56:12A lifted truck with a roided-out white guy lurches, right turn, lurches into the crosswalk and almost hits them.

2:56:20Am I allowed to be upset about that?

2:56:23We have been on Alder and 18th and a car very rapidly right, left turned in like a sweeping motion and shouted death slurs out of the car.

2:56:34Are we allowed to be upset about that?

2:56:36Um, I have been overtaken very quickly on 17th while riding my bike.

2:56:42Um, am I allowed to be upset about that?

2:56:44Um, I have seen a car run the wrong way down north down 18th.

2:56:50Am I allowed to be upset about that?

2:56:51Um, the experience living on West Burnside— I love my apartment, um, I would love to stay here longer, uh, but the, the, the conditions outside are hazardous to human health.

2:57:01Um, I can't stand it, and so I will be leaving this apartment, this lovely apartment that I love, uh, to go move somewhere else that is not on such a hazardous thruway.

2:57:13Um, and this is a great opportunity with the rebuilding of West Burnside to maybe remediate some of these conditions.

2:57:20A friend told me there is a weed store that has 2 locations about a quarter mile from each other, separated by West Burnside, because it is so difficult for pedestrians to move across that street that, uh, it is actually profitable to open 2 businesses on either side of the road.

2:57:39Um, unfortunately, I have heard that, uh, the rebuild will be mostly paving, repaving, and that any transformative elements have been delayed I have lived in this city long enough to see malicious procedural door closing weaponized against vulnerable communities on these streets.

2:57:59So this is where that cynicism comes from.

2:58:02And I really, really hope this council can step in and actually see some transformative elements on West Burnside.

2:58:10I want it to be a place people want to live.

2:58:12I could not raise kids here.

2:58:14I would not trust my kids outside this is ridiculous.

2:58:17There's literally heavy vehicles going around crashing and killing people, breaking their bones and making their blood come out.

2:58:21That's bad.

2:58:22I don't want that to happen.

2:58:23Thank you.

2:58:24Thank you.

2:58:26That completes testimony.

2:58:28Thank you everyone for being here.

2:58:31Um, we'll get Dana back up in a second, but Councilor Koyama Lane.

2:58:34Yeah, thank you, Chair.

2:58:36Um, I wanted to thank everyone who took time to come here for testimony and and also just wanted to ask everyone to take a moment of silence right now, as was suggested.

2:58:56Thank you.

2:59:09Thank you.

2:59:14Thank you, Dana.

2:59:15If you could come on back.

2:59:17And colleagues, um, we have about 5 minutes left here.

2:59:20We have about 1 minute of other things.

2:59:22Uh, we have the ability to run a few minutes over if you are all available for at most 5 minutes or so.

2:59:28Um, so I'd ask for that.

2:59:30I know some folks do have pre-planned absences or notices that have been acknowledged.

2:59:34So, um, Dana, I'll let you take it away.

2:59:39Um, thank you.

2:59:40Hi, I am Dana Dickman.

2:59:42I'm the city's Vision Zero policy manager.

2:59:44Thank you for having me back here today.

2:59:47Um, I just want to also thank the community members again for being here and sharing their thoughts, sharing their pain, and why this work is so important.

2:59:58Sorry, it gets that's me.

3:00:01We only have 5 minutes left.

3:00:02We had planned to do some short presentations on a couple of the questions that you had all brought up from the 23rd.

3:00:10You should all have a memo that has a written response to all of those questions.

3:00:16We obviously don't have time for a presentation today, so I think I would just ask if there is any discussion that you all want to have about where you want us to come back and elaborate on some of those questions.

3:00:30There was some interest in talking about the speed camera program, some other things that were felt we needed more time than we would have at committee.

3:00:40So I guess I would pose that to you.

3:00:42I can follow up with folks individually that asked the questions, or I can work with this body and talk about how you want to come back to different committee.

3:00:57Thank you, Dana.

3:00:58Are you able to just kind of walk us through the memo?

3:01:01Just show us, not talk about every part, but just explain?

3:01:05Right.

3:01:06I don't have it digitally, but I can kind of just walk you through it.

3:01:11So what we did was we took— I think the clerk can bring it up if it's an exhibit.

3:01:18It should be.

3:01:18Or sorry, the Council Operations.

3:01:21Yeah.

3:01:21Someone amazing over here.

3:01:22Yeah, it's the memo, not the presentation.

3:01:27So the memo essentially looked at each one of your questions and documented what it was and then had a response.

3:01:35Those responses are coming from the folks that are doing the work across the city.

3:01:38Some of them were more directed towards PPB, some of them were PBOT, some of them I answered.

3:01:44Some of them the Deputy City Administrator answered.

3:01:47So you'll have essentially the reiteration of your question and the response to that.

3:01:53These are summarized.

3:01:55So again, you're only getting, you're getting kind of a quick response that we could then come back and do a deeper dive on.

3:02:03Yeah, you can see, I can walk you through.

3:02:05That's just the first question.

3:02:07Councilor Clark asked specifically about how do we stack up against comparable cities?

3:02:11Yeah.

3:02:12So there's some information in there about our rate per deaths per 100,000 and how we stack up against some cities that, when I say comparable cities, I'm looking at places that have a similar population and size.

3:02:30Like we often work with cities like New York City and other places that we consider peers on the Vision Zero work.

3:02:37But in some ways they're not a great comparison.

3:02:40So the comparisons that you have in the memo are cities that are of comparable size and population.

3:02:48And then you'll see that there are, if you're walking through it, responses to the questions about speed reader boards, about when we might be able to get speed cameras or additional speed cameras.

3:03:05There was a question about the—.

3:03:07Yes.

3:03:08Police Bureau's Traffic Division and how they deploy resources.

3:03:11So there's some summary information about what the Traffic Division prioritizes and how they do that.

3:03:18You have information about West Burnside.

3:03:21We do have a colleague here from PBOT that was supposed to present, so you also will see a slide deck associated with that in your materials.

3:03:31There is a response related to Councilor Koyama Lane's we have a response to Councilor Green's question about how Vision Zero and safe systems connect to neighborhood greenways and safe routes to school.

3:03:42And then do you want me to continue to kind of go through each question, or what works best for you?

3:03:48I know the time is very limited.

3:03:51Go for it.

3:03:54Okay.

3:03:55We also have a response to the question about how budget cuts are going to impact the Vision Zero team, especially around outreach and engagement.

3:04:10Then Councilor Pirtle-Guiney had a question about when the I-5 closure is happening and how Vision Zero and PBOT is engaged in that.

3:04:20And then finally, there was Councilor Kanal's question about ADT, or like the mile VMT on the corridors.

3:04:34And there's a very long answer for you, Councilor Kanal, about data, where we have data and why that's not a measure that we use regularly.

3:04:44But we are happy to follow up and get you more information if you wanna see that data in a map form or something like that.

3:04:53Yeah, we can follow up.

3:04:54Yeah.

3:04:57Yeah, Kim.

3:04:59Oh, thank you, Dana.

3:04:59I just wanted to appreciate you for really listening and taking some very close notes and responding in a really expanded, specific way.

3:05:12I see the memo's 10 pages, and you took it very seriously.

3:05:16I hope that there's some room at some committees.

3:05:19I think the Public Safety Committee would be a great place to talk more about speed cameras.

3:05:24And I think some of the questions that Councilor Ryan brought up were also important, and I think those would be also great— sorry, I skipped that.

3:05:32I apologize.

3:05:33For another committee conversation.

3:05:37So thank you.

3:05:38I hope that folks will look at these presentations.

3:05:40Thank you to our folks from PBOT for providing information around the West Burnside paving project.

3:05:47And just with the limited time we have left, I know Councilors Novick, Green, and Smith are in the queue.

3:05:51I'll ask you to keep it brief.

3:05:53We'll get through all 3 and then close out the item.

3:05:55Thanks.

3:05:57Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

3:05:58Uh, Councilor Koyama Lane took the words out of my mouth.

3:06:01Um, I do think that we should have a discussion in the Public Safety Committee about whether the prospect of dramatically expanding speed and red light cameras— we're talking about going up to 45.

3:06:10New York has 3,000.

3:06:12We have So comparable for us would be 1,000.

3:06:16So I'd like to see when we can have a reasonable conversation about what the prospects might be and what would need to happen for us to dramatically expand the program.

3:06:25Great.

3:06:25Thank you.

3:06:26We'll follow you up.

3:06:28Thank you.

3:06:29Councilor Green.

3:06:30Thank you.

3:06:30I just want to say briefly, and it's not a question to you, Dana, but it's just while we're on this topic, we have to stop this practice of practice of just abandoning the plans that we have because one block or one, two blocks of neighbors called and got really cranky about it.

3:06:46Like, we cannot, we cannot do that anymore.

3:06:49We adopt plans as, as a council that then are directives for the city.

3:06:54We have to see that through.

3:06:55I'm, I'm happy to stand by the policy, um, and you can't— we cannot move as the bureaus because one councilor got your ear.

3:07:03That's and so we have to sort of hold the line.

3:07:06We have to do our safety improvements.

3:07:08We have to put forward and stay with our Northwest in Motion plans and all the like.

3:07:13And so I'm just going to keep reiterating that because that's a pattern I see in the City of Portland in this new form of government.

3:07:21I'm not an executive.

3:07:22I'm not a commissioner.

3:07:23I cannot do anything about it except for raise my voice.

3:07:25And so I'm going to continue to do that.

3:07:26So thank you.

3:07:28Thank you, Councilor Green.

3:07:29Councilor Smith.

3:07:32Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

3:07:33Thank you so much, um, Miss Dana.

3:07:34I didn't— I was not at the meeting.

3:07:39Um, did you give this to the Public Works Committee?

3:07:43This presentation was at the last Committee of the Whole, and I think you were gone that day.

3:07:48Okay, and it was— but, but it's never been given at the Public Works Committee where transportation— not the same no.

3:07:55Okay.

3:07:56I— yeah, so what I think is, um, because this deals with transportation and that's what Public Works does, that, uh, you should also try to get on our schedule so that the folks— so that we can really talk about these things in, um, in a more appropriate committee, uh, because I think that we could, um, go deeper into this.

3:08:22And I appreciate you bringing it here because it is something that all of us have supported at this diocese.

3:08:30But I would also like to be— when you're talking about Vision Zero, I want us to be one of your stops, if not the first stop, to let us know what's going on.

3:08:41Yeah, absolutely.

3:08:42Okay.

3:08:42You will have a presentation next Tuesday from PBOT staff to dig into some intersection safety work.

3:08:49So that'll be a great way to dive deeper.

3:08:50Will you be there?

3:08:52Yes, I will.

3:08:52Okay, perfect.

3:08:53Thank you so much.

3:08:55Thank you, Councilor Smith.

3:08:56Councilor Carmona, if you want to close out the item.

3:08:57Oh, I just wanted to say thank you, Councilor Smith, Vice Chair of the Public Works Committee, for your commitment and for saying that.

3:09:05I agree.

3:09:07It'll be important that we— I've been pushing for more on the public works agenda.

3:09:12And would love your support in adding in some more of this.

3:09:17I think we've— PBOT-specific Vision Zero work is going to be next week.

3:09:23Dana also does the citywide work that includes a lot of other areas, and that is why we have that citywide position, because public safety, fire, police, emergency management, city life, I mean, there's a lot.

3:09:37Land use.

3:09:37But I think that sometimes can be a bit of the challenge is that we just think it's a PBOT thing.

3:09:41It is, and we do need to focus on it in Public Works, but it's not just a PBOT thing.

3:09:46And so, but I hear that and I really appreciate your support.

3:09:51And most of the questions that Councilor Clark said last week are ones that I think we should dig in specifically in the Public Works Committee.

3:09:58Thank you.

3:09:59Thank you.

3:09:59Thank you, and thank you, Dana.

3:10:01Just as we wrap up, 2 quick notes.

3:10:03Notes.

3:10:03First, the next meeting of the Committee of the Whole is next Thursday, August 13th at 9:30 AM.

3:10:12You can see in the chair's update what we're talking about then.

3:10:15I also wanted to take the opportunity to note today is the 81st anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

3:10:23And I know there's some events that are still going on and others that were canceled due to air quality, but wanted to observe Preserve that, um, while we're here for a moment.

3:10:32And I appreciate the opportunity, appreciate everyone being here today.

3:10:36Thank you for the time.

3:10:37The meeting of the Community Committee of the Whole is adjourned at 12:36.

3:10:41Council meeting adjourned.