Newport City Council — Transcript
Thursday, August 20, 2026
Infrastructure Projects & Financial Management
Zoning & Land Use for Commercial Property
Emergency Medical Services Transition
Votes (10)
Water System Interconnect Project - Partial Payment 8
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Schmidt [00:16:35] · Seconded by Council Member Ingamman [00:16:40]
The City Engineer reported the water system interconnect project with Cottage Grove is operational, supplying treated water to Newport as an interim PFAS treatment solution. The project is slightly under budget. A partial payment was requested for A1 Excavating.
Third Avenue Improvements Project - Change Order 1
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Ingamman [00:27:07] · Seconded by Council member Sumar [00:27:14]
Geistlinger Sons is making progress on Third Avenue, completing water main and sanitary sewer work. Storm sewer installation is slow due to shallow bedrock, causing jackhammering noise. Change Order 1 addresses additional work on 17th Street (reconstructing, storm sewer, force main replacement) that Meyer Contracting could not complete. This work, previously part of another project, was added to Geistlinger's contract for $632,735.28.
Third Avenue Improvements Project - Change Order 2 (Deduct)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Schmidt [00:29:40] · Seconded by Council member Ingamman [00:29:45]
Change Order 2 resulted from a discrepancy between bid documents and actual quantities for storm sewer, leading to a net contract deduct of $24,226. This adjustment ensured accurate accounting for project funding.
Third Avenue Improvements Project - Partial Payment 2
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Taylor [00:31:40] · Seconded by Council member Schmidt [00:31:50]
With the two approved change orders, Geistlinger has completed a significant portion of the work. Partial Payment 2 was requested for $735,553.37 for work completed to date.
2025 Street and Utility Improvements Project - Change Orders (Meyer Contracting)
Dissent: None (Change Order Request 7 was implicitly denied based on staff recommendation and not included in the motion for approval.)
Moved by Council member Sumar [00:54:15] · Seconded by Council member Schmidt [00:54:20]
Meyer Contracting completed its intended work, but several change order requests arose from challenges with existing pipelines (One Oak and Circle K). Five specific change orders totaling $26,247.72 were recommended for approval (potholeing, traffic control, remobilization, regrading 17th Street, and structure modifications). One change order for equipment backing-in, costing $16,522, was not recommended for approval by staff because alternative methods were available to the contractor.
2025 Street and Utility Improvements Project - Partial Payment 10 (Meyer Contracting)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council member Ingamman [00:56:55] · Seconded by Council member Sumar [00:57:00]
Meyer Contracting submitted Partial Payment Request 10 for work completed through the end of the previous month. The amount requested was $34,291.12.
MSA Contract Amendment 1 (Coordination Time)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council Member Schmidt [01:00:50] · Seconded by Council Member Ingamman [01:00:55]
MSA requested a contract amendment for $33,318 to cover additional time spent on coordination with One Oak and Circle K, and for final plan design work due to pipeline conflicts. This was separate from standard construction administration, and the Mayor highlighted its importance for potential future reimbursement claims.
Zoning Text Amendment (Ordinance 2026-13) for Americ Marold
Dissent: None
Moved by Council Member Sumar [01:36:20] · Seconded by Council Member Ingamman [01:36:30]
City Planner Nathan presented a zoning text amendment request from Americ Marold to modify the River Development Overlay District. The amendment would allow for outdoor storage of vehicles as an accessory use under specific conditions (size, screening, access, accessory to a principal use), which was necessary for retroactively permitting a gravel parking pad Americ had constructed without prior approval.
Interim Use Permit (Resolution 2026-67) for Americ Marold
Dissent: None
Moved by Council Member Sumar [01:37:00] · Seconded by Council Member Schmidt [01:37:10]
Following the zoning text amendment, an Interim Use Permit (IUP) for Americ Marold's gravel parking pad was considered. The permit was for an 18-month term (longer than the requested 15 months to allow for site restoration) with 13 specific conditions, including limiting vehicle storage, screening from public roads, private access, and returning the site to pre-development conditions. A minor conflict regarding winter restoration for condition 8 was discussed but deemed manageable by staff.
Resolution 2026-68 (Summary Publication of Ordinance 2026-13)
Dissent: None
Moved by Council Member Schmidt [01:37:40] · Seconded by Council Member Sumar [01:37:50]
A resolution was introduced for the summary publication of Ordinance 2026-13, which amended the River Development Overlay District.
Notable Quotes (9)
And just a reminder to the public that this is part of the 3M settlement which means we pay the bills and then they get submitted to the state uh settlement trustees and we get reimbursed for those bills. This is an interim solution while we work on our own PAS uh treatment for the city. So uh this will is just going to bridge us over for that 3 to 5 year period.
A change order number one for consideration. uh One Oak or One Oak uh the owner of the pipeline on 17th Street uh has um agreed with a means and methods for reconstructing the uh 17th Street as well as adding storm sewer and uh replacing our force main based on the plans that um we prepared and then uh and then some back and forth with Geistlinger contracting.
We had discovered a discrepancy between our our bid documents and the actual quantities uh for storm sewer. Uh we had uh more 30-in storm sewer in our bid than we actually had in the uh in the project. Uh and then we had to get some prices from uh from Geisinger for some smaller size pipe. In the end, it netted a actual contract deduct of $24,226 once we reconciled that.
In our estimation, the the cost of temporarily bridging over that pipeline and using a different alternative was there for the contractor and they chose a different method. So in this case, uh Meyer's con or cost that they submitted to us was in the amount of $16,522. [clears throat] We recommended that that is not a a change order that the city accepts because there was an alternative and this was uh at the discretion of the of the contractor.
Is it possible they'd submit another change order after seeing this feedback and would factor that in or is that not something that we're —
Well, thank you. uh for that information and it's important that we're tracking this separately because anything where we go back to our original the original contractor Meyer that was going to be doing work and work that didn't get done and just a lot of back and forth with one oak uh it required not just a lot of your time uh as from an engineering perspective but a lot of staff time as well in meetings and phone calls and and um so I think us having this delineated separately is also valuable should we choose to uh pursue some reimbursement compensation for what happened with that. And I'll I'll stop there.
The overlay district in Newport, uh, as you see in that hatched area, is really intended to allow for the city to closely, um, guide land use changes in the river area. Uh, the purpose of that is to drive land uses, generally speaking, towards uses that are more compatible with residential or commercial that is oriented to residential uses. And so generally speaking, that's why that overlay exists and that's why the city has more control has given itself more control over over that area.
But that's why we thought this would work. It allows them to utilize a piece of their property they haven't been able to utilize and doesn't really conflict as it as by the underlying zoning it it would be a permitted use. But we're talking about a small duration here in which the city's long-term planning I don't think would adversely impact that.
First and foremost to madame mayor and members of the council uh extend a general apology, you know, for our actions that were taken to start on this particular project uh prior to gaining permit and and permission. Uh uh my decision to do so simply stated, I thought we were on one parcel and that we could uh once we were uh advised that we were not in compliance, we stopped. We have yet to use it. Uh we weren't quite done with the process. So, and then obviously followed suit uh brought Mr. Roshan to give us some guidance as to zoning text amendments certainly areas that I do not want to be an expert in uh and have learned more in the last few weeks than I I would like to.
Ordinances & Resolutions (7)
Amendment to Chapter 36, Article 6, Division 7 of the zoning code, specifically to the River Development Overlay District, allowing for outdoor vehicle storage under certain conditions.
Approval of an Interim Use Permit (IUP) for Americ Real Estate for a gravel parking pad.
Approval for summary publication of Ordinance 2026-13.
A specific zoning overlay district in Newport's ordinance intended to guide land use changes in the river area towards residential or commercial uses compatible with residential uses.
Another zoning overlay district affecting the Americ Marold property.
A planning designation affecting the Americ Marold property.
A temporary permit allowing a specific use for a defined period, in this case, a gravel parking pad for Americ Marold.