Council says county raised offer for Milwaukie park; staff to seek draft IGA for review

Councilors on Jan. 13 updated the body on a county response to the city's earlier funding proposals for the Milwaukee site and asked staff to move the numbers into a draft intergovernmental agreement for further staff-to-staff negotiation.

The council's briefing said the county moved toward several of the city's requests: it agreed to portions of the Portional Metro and trolley-trail grants and offered most of the city's requested current SDC (system-development charge) contribution. Speaker 3 summarized the arithmetic for the council: "So overall, we got 4,860,000.00 on the table, as opposed to the 5.16 that we originally started at." The staff update said the county offered roughly $3.1 million in current SDCs plus about $200,000 in accrued SDCs, producing a county offer the council characterized as positive progress.

Why it matters: councilors said speed matters because the unresolved interjurisdictional questions can affect the city's ability to secure other funding sources. Several members noted that grant application windows are opening soon and that external funders may be reluctant to support a project perceived to be in dispute between jurisdictions.

Details and next steps: staff indicated the county had provided the numbers as their response and that the next step is administrative: city and county staff will draft an IGA (draft IDAs/IGA) incorporating the offered figures so that legal and financial terms can be reviewed. The council asked staff to return draft language and timelines for construction and operation; councilors also flagged the need to address long-term maintenance and operating capacity for the Milwaukee Community Center if it is part of the agreement.

The council did not take a final vote on the IGA during the meeting. Staff said county discussions will continue next week and that the council expects draft IGA language to be circulated to council staff for review in the near term.