Title
Willamette Falls Legacy Project and Willamette Falls Trust Grant Agreement
Body
RECOMMENDED ACTION (Motion):
Approval of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project and Willamette Falls Trust Grant Agreement
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The agreement between the Willamette Falls Legacy Project and Willamette Falls Trust lapsed and a formalized agreement is needed to support the work the Trust has been performing at the request of the Partners. The agreement was identified as one of the next steps at the May 12th City Commission Work Session. The agreement is valid until June 30, 2022.
BACKGROUND:
In 2011, the 23-acre Blue Heron Paper Mill at the edge of the falls closed. Catalyzing the successful redevelopment of the site was beyond the capacity of any one organization, so Oregon City, Metro, Clackamas County, and the State of Oregon formed a partnership (the Partners) to honor and reimagine the Willamette Falls Legacy Project (WFLP) site. This intergovernmental agreement (IGA) gives decision making authority to the Partners on behalf of each agency. As part of this IGA, the Partners recognized the need and opportunity to have support from the non-profit sector in fundraising and other activities to achieve the lofty vision of a world class Riverwalk costing as much as $150 million. To meet this need, the Partners formed a non-profit in 2015, now named Willamette Falls Trust (WFT), to meet needs of the project which the four government agencies were unable to.
In 2019, the agreement between the WFLP and WFT was scaled back significantly to provide clearer relationship between the non-profit and the government agencies during a time when a key bond measure was going before the public for a vote. Progress on the project did not stop during this time. The Partners recognized that there was an opportunity for deeper engagement with the Native American Community, and that their input might have a significant impact on design aspects of the project. The Partners also reco...
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