City council was back to normal this week, with a meeting focused less on lightning-rod national issues and more on things like public art, students, and real estate development. No Hillsboro citizen felt the need to offer a public comment, and the meeting wrapped up in just 45 minutes—much shorter than the 4 hour marathon two weeks ago, when Mayor Steve Calloway declared Hillsboro a sanctuary city.
The bulk of the session was devoted to a presentation by the city’s Youth Advisory Council, who spoke about their recent trip to Washington D.C. where they visited museums, met with politicians, and spoke with other youth advisors from around the country.
I enjoyed meeting with the Hillsboro Youth Advisory Council today! Thank you for being leaders in our community. pic.twitter.com/uYikWienez
— Suzanne Bonamici (@RepBonamici) March 15, 2017
“It was eye-opening to see the way that cities are the strongest way to advance the nation as a whole,” said Madeline Burk, a student at Century High School.
It was the least controversial way to start a meeting imaginable, and the council seemed in a much better mood for it after their most recent meeting. Mayor Calloway even ended with a joke, telling the group of students to go do their homework after the presentation. He then took the time to tweet a photo of the group for us.
how they appeared from the dias! pic.twitter.com/kIJynoRPRs
— Steve Callaway (@SteveCallaway2) March 22, 2017
The other presentation of length was from Metro Councilor Kathryn Harrington, who outlined the Metro government’s progress on issues related to transportation, brown space restoration, and employment. Particular attention was given to a potential high-speed bus line connecting Greshem and downtown Portland, the so-called Powell Division Corridor.
Council also authorized the purchase of land in South Hillsboro—a future development south of TV Highway and west of SW 209th Avenue—for a future park. Three items in second reading also related to the development, all approved without comment.
Further Reading
- If you’re not sure what South Hillsboro development is, The Oregonian’s Allan Brettman covered the development last summer.
- You can also check out the city’s official site for the project, if you really want to dive into the details.
- Over at the Hillsboro Tribune, recent hire John William Howard covered this meeting focusing primarily on the South Hillsboro development.
- If you want to get really dive into the weeds, here’s the full packet of information sent to council. Let us know if you find anything you’d like to learn more about.
- Oh, and did you know the city does a video recap of every council meeting? Here’s that.
