Government, Volunteer, Washington County

County News Dispatch: Volunteer opportunities, budget listening sessions, county and Metro parks

Cox Road in Gales Creek. Photo: Chas Hundley

Serve on the Washington County Planning Commission

Looking to serve your community and have a say in the governance of Washington County’s land use and transportation processes? The Washington County Planning Commision will have three vacant seats as of February 1, 2020, and volunteers to join the board are being sought. 

The commission, which meets at 1:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month and at 6:30 p.m. the third Wednesday of each month in Hillsboro advises the Washington County Board of Commissioners, holds public hearings, and makes recommendations on land use ordinances. 

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For more information, contact Todd Borkowitz, Planning Commission Liaison, at 503-846-3593.

Serve on the Rural Roads Operations and Maintenance Advisory Committee (RROMAC)

Several local residents already serve on RROMAC, including Banks City Councilor Mike Lyda and Banks Fire District Director and Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District Zone 5 director Matt Pihl. Three seats will be open as of January 1, 2020.

The committee is tasked with advising the Washington County Board of Directors and county staff on issues related to rural roads. Meetings are held at 7:30 a.m. the second Thursday of most months at the Washington County Walnut Street Center, 1400 SW Walnut Street in Hillsboro. 

For more information, contact Steve Franks, RROMAC Coordinator, at 503-846-7653.

Budget listening sessions

With one session held already in Hillsboro, two more sessions are being held to gather information, hear from county residents and gain input on how Washington County spends taxpayer money.

Those interested in attending are being urged by the county to register in advance. All sessions are held from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Sessions:

Nov. 18, Meadow Park Middle School, Commissioner District 2. Register

Nov. 25, Tigard Library, Commissioner District 3. Register

Spanish speakers are invited to register for the same dates and times. Request Spanish interpretation online; for other languages call 503-846-6288 at least one day in advance.

Budget priority ideas can also be submitted by email to [email protected] with “Budget Tour” in the subject line.

Three input opportunities: Hagg Lake, Significant Natural Resources, Trimet

Want to tell the county what you think about Hagg Lake? The deadline for that is tomorrow. More information and the survey can be found here

Two other opportunities to provide input to Washington County are by visiting the Significant Natural Resources online open house and the TriMet Service Improvements for Fiscal Year 2021 survey.

Chehalem Ridge

Chehalem Ridge Nature Park. Photo: Metro

Located between Forest Grove and Gaston, the Chehalem Ridge Nature Park is a Portland metro Regional Government owned tract of land that is being developed into a park.

In an October 30 email, Metro parks staff provided a handful of updates on the park, which is scheduled to see construction begin in 2020.

According to Metro, the park will feature areas for picnicking, trails for walking, biking, horse riding and enjoying nature, and will have restroom facilities on site. 

In June, Metro was granted land use approval for the park by Washington County, paving the way for design finalization, gaining final permits from the county, and opening up a bidding process for bids from construction companies. 

Work to date at the property has been limited to restoration work, such as planting native shrubs, weed control, and forest management. 

More information can be found at the Metro website for the park at https://www.oregonmetro.gov/chehalem-ridge-nature-park

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Chas Hundley is the editor of the Gales Creek Journal and sister news publications the Banks Post and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.

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