Rourke offers parting input on city issues

City councilor reflects on time as an elected official before resigning his post to move to Texas

Former City Councilor Tony Rourke has left Newberg for a job in Texas, but before he departed this week he offered his perspective as a city official for the past 14 months.

One of the citys biggest issues, Rourke said, is the Newberg-Dundee bypass project. As a Newberg native and nearly lifelong resident, hes seen its progress from inception to its current status. But its not without its shortcomings.

The bypass is going to be a continued challenge, he said. I dont think the first phase of the bypass will do anything to alleviate traffic: its going to shift traffic to Springbrook (Road) and Highway 99W. Getting funding on that phase from Rex Hill to (Highway) 219 is going to be huge for the city.

Funding challenges are a common theme, presenting themselves in all sorts of city business.

Financials are always going to be a little bit of a challenge, he said, pointing particularly to financing the maintenance of city streets. Getting the voters to buy off on funding that, if they dont fund that the citys going to have a lot of problems with potholes.

On a wider economic scale, he identified matching Newbergs projected growth and housing – the large Springbrook Properties development, for instance – with the citys workforce, particularly given the recent loss of jobs closure of the paper mill and other recent layoffs in the city.

Rourke identified the in-progress city visioning and goal setting process as an accomplishment he was proud to be a part of. Its not completed yet, partially because of the city management changes during the past year, but he said hes happy to know the plan is to implement a plan when the new city manager comes onboard.

As far as advice to future councilors, Rourke noted that being a city councilor takes a lot more time and energy than it might seem. Its not just a matter of meeting two nights out of the month, he said, but of also attending other committee meetings and community organizations like the Chehalem Cultural District, as well as attending training opportunities and meeting with state legislators from time to time.

Its also helpful to have some experience and familiarity with how city committees work, he said. Having served a number of years on the citizens rate review committee, Rourke had ample public meeting experience when he was elected councilor.

Sitting in on those committees and pushing to hear how they do things really does help you understand what youre getting into on the council, he said.

But more than having the willingness to commit time and the right background, Rourke also advised future councilors to get into the job for the right reasons.

Come in with an attitude of wanting to get stuff done and help move the city forward, he said. The local government is not a place, in my mind, for politics. Its a place for coming together, figuring out how to get things done and doing them.

Born and raised in Newberg and having lived in either Newberg or Dundee for all but 11 months until now, the move to Texas is a big change – and Rourke said hes not planning to delve immediately into the political scene just yet.

Well be taking some time to get to know the place and the people, he said. Its going to be a fun adventure.

How will the city fill the position?

Councilor Tony Rourkes departure opens up the District 4 City Council seat. This district covers the northwestern portion of town.

Rourkes term is set to run through December 2018, so to carry out the remainder of his term the council will appoint another candidate.

The city charter lays out criteria for appointment to fill vacant seats: qualified individuals must live within the district, be a registered voter and have lived in the city for at least a year before their term would start.

Applications will be accepted beginning March 14 through March 28. They can be accessed on the citys website at www. newbergoregon.gov or by contacting City Recorder Sue Ryan.

To view a map of the six council districts, visit https://www.newberg oregon.gov/engineering/ page/useful-maps and select council district map.