The Roseburg City Council held its first meeting of 2020 Monday night.
Mayor Larry Rich gave the annual State of the City address:
The mayor spent 26 minutes talking about the work of City government in the past year. Rich covered areas such as the work of the Community Development Department which processed 262 building permits. He mentioned the Roseburg Public Library which has been open for just over a year, praising the staff and the 50 volunteers that help operate the library.
Rich also talked about the Public Works Department which fielded 5,450 phone calls from citizens. He noted the work of the Public Safety Division, comprised of both the fire and police departments, in dealing with the February snowstorm which crippled the city. Rich covered a number of other areas as well. His State of the City address will be heard on Inside Douglas County Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on News Radio 1240 KQEN.
The evening included the mayor announcing which councilors would oversee various city commissions. A number of residents were re-appointed to serve on those commissions, after their terms expired at the end of 2019.
New Public Works Director Brice Perkins was introduced. City Manager Nikki Messenger told councilors that she has known Perkins for years and was happy that he applied for the position. Perkins has been the Assistant Public Works Director for the City of Medford.
Councilors accepted the resignation of long-time councilor Tom Ryan who plans to travel in retirement. They began the process for taking applications from those who would like finish Ryan’s Ward 2, Position 2 term.
Councilor Bob Cotterell was selected as the new council president for this year. Ryan had served in that role for a number of years. Both Cotterell and councilor Brian Prawitz were nominated for the position, with Cotterell getting the nod on a 4-3 vote.
Councilors adopted a set of goals to guide City priorities from 2020 to 2022. Those goals had been determined during a series of recent special meetings.
The council meeting wrapped up after just over 50 minutes.