It’s Time to Again Ramp Up the Citizen Visibility

In December, the City made an overly generous offer to the School District to try to settle the District’s lawsuit. The School District flat out rejected the offer – acting like arrogant bullies as they refused to negotiate anything but their desired $6.5M sales price.

The taxpaying voting citizens are the owners of Oppenlander Fields, regardless of whose sign is on the property. If we want to maintain our ownership we need to take a more active role in moving this process along.

We need you to attend the upcoming Monday, Jan. 9th City Council and School Board meetings, particularly the School Board meeting – they need the most pressure, and if at all possible, please bring your children/youth.

Monday, Jan. 9th:
City Council … 6pm – 6:45 PM (comments start at 6:10)

• 22500 Salamo Rd, West Linn, OR 97068 … between Safeway and Starbucks
• Emailed comments can be sent to [email protected] by Noon on Monday (we tally them and automatically forward them on)
• Tone – City Council:
  • City Council has been trying settle the lawsuit and generally holding to the terms of the signed Sales Agreement.
  • They, generally, are not the “bad guys” in this situation – but they did offer to throw the entire deal up to a re-Do last December. We need to remind them that we expect them to stand firm.
• Goals & Messaging – City Council:
  • Remind them of the 40 years of value Oppenlander Fields has been to the community
    Show support for their efforts to stand firm on the terms of the signed Sales Agreement. Ask them to NOT negotiate a new bond measure in any settlement talks.
  • Remind them that the May Parks Bond (3-582), providing funds for Oppenlander’s purchase, passed by a 2:1 vote. We have put our checkbooks where our passion and desires are.

School Board Meeting … Public Comments are scheduled to start at 8:20, but we should all be present by 7:45 … comments may last for 30 minutes or so

• 22210 SW Stafford Road, Tualatin, OR 97062
• Emailed comments to: [email protected] MUST INCLUDE NAME AND CITY OF RESIDENCE. (we tally comments and automatically forward them on) Comments sent after Monday at 8am might be included in the next Board meeting’s public record – but Board Members should all see them before the meeting.
• Requests to sign up for virtual public comment must be submitted by 8 AM Monday to [email protected]. Include “Request for Virtual Public Comment” in the subject.

• Tone – School Board
  • To our knowledge, the School District is not acting or negotiating in good faith and they are not honoring their contractual Sales Agreement commitments. That is not the standard we hold our children to and not the example we want shown to our children – we hold the Board to a high standard.
  • They opted to be arrogant vocal bullies when they did not take the City’s overly-generous December offer.
  • We need to be firm, strong, angry, and fully engaged when communicating with the Board.
• Messaging – School Board
  • Ask: “Close the deal per the Sales Agreement now!”
  • The School Board has not, to our knowledge, negotiated in good faith. Their arrogant bully-styled December “$8.5M or nothing” response to the City’s offer of a “do over” on the appraisal, and accusing the City of “swindling the taxpayers” (US!) is outrageous and unacceptable.
  • The School Board asked for the Oppenlander to be restricted to park usage and signed the Sales Agreement immortalizing that restriction. They turned their back on the agreed-to terms of the Sales Agreement and hope a judge will allow them to walk away and sell the property for what would probably be in excess of $8M … resulting in 65 to 130 new homes.
  • The SCHOOL BOARD NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.
  • West Linn taxpayers are their constituents – and so are Wilsonville taxpayers who should be concerned that if the School District treats West Linn citizens this way they may treat Wilsonville citizens in a similar manner
  • No matter whose name is on the property, Oppenlander is owned for the benefit of the public …and has been actively used as such for over 40 years.
    West Linn residents voted 2:1 in favor of the contractually required Bond to purchase the property
  • West Linn has a history of supporting every WLWVSD bond measure. If they stiff the public by not selling Oppenlander to the City, we the voters, will remember – and likely actively campaign against the next School bond … and also likely against any Board member expecting to return to their Board seat.
  • The School District is not acting or negotiating in good faith or honoring their contractual Sales Agreement commitments. That is not the standard we hold our children to and not the example we want shown to our children – we hold the Board to a high standard. They opted to be arrogant bullies when they did not take the City’s overly-generous December offer.

Link to Dec. 2022 West Linn Tidings update We cannot past the entire article here due to copyright restrictions.

The School District’s attorney responded … “If the City was interested in a fair and transparent process, they would offer the strategy of a joint appraiser again, or accept the value of $6.5 million,” Zahniser wrote in the Dec. 21 counter offer. “The only reason this proposal is being made is to, once again, attempt to secure the property for less than fair market value and swindle the District’s constituents and shared taxpayers of this asset.”

It should be noted that as residents of West Linn, we are half of the constituents of the School District.

Please continue sharing and asking your friends and neighbors to come alongside the [gravityforms action=”entry_count” id=”1″] of your neighbors who have already signed at  SaveOppenlander.org