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Minutes
September 16, 2025,
Time: 6 p.m. Held via Zoom
CCI Attendees: Karen Bjorklund (Chair), Pat Erdenberger, Marrion Kaufman, Bill Merchant, Brent Parries (Vice-Chair), Gordon Slatford, Danielle Weber
Absent: Stephanie Carkin (computer reception issue), Amy Nichols
Attending PGA Staff: Tonia Holowetzki, Maria Magallon, Ed Nieto
Public Attendees: Marie Kennedy (Hoodland CPO), Gerald Murphy (Hoodland CPO, Vice-Chair, Clackamas County Planning Commission)
MEETING MINUTES
Welcome, Introductions
Chair Bjorklund welcomed CCI members and PGA staff.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
Chair Bjorklund recommended, and members agreed, not to approve the August minutes until the October CCI meeting to add an item requested by Pat and to make a few corrections.
3. Public Comment
Mr. Murphy emphasized the value of having mailing cards to send to community members, especially in rural areas of the county, to inform and attract potential new CPO members. He also mentioned that they require assistance from the county in these efforts, especially given the cost.
Ms. Kennedy told the group that she was attending the meeting to observe and understand what it was about.
Update on CPO Handbook
Maria Magallon reported that she had sent the CPO Handbook to CPOs this week for any last comments on clarity or corrections needed.
Report on PGA’s Summer CPO Awareness campaign
Tonia Holowetzki presented the results of PGA’s digital awareness campaign for the CPO program, which ran from July 1 to August 30. The campaign, which cost $2,000, achieved a click-through rate well above the industry standard, and generated significant traffic to the CPO webpage.
Gordon Slatford suggested that the committee might want to learn more about using digital marketing strategies for their own purposes, as it could be a cost-effective way to reach target audiences. Tonia agreed to provide more detailed data about the campaign's results to the committee members.
Other PGA General Updates
Maria described the CPO Training topics under development, based in part on the CPO Handbook, which will outline the relationship between Clackamas County and CPOs and the role of CPOs, including responsibilities, compliance requirements, and volunteer expectations. She emphasized the importance of keeping CPOs active and recognized, noting that she conducts regular outreach to inactive CPOs to help them reactivate.
Maria also mentioned administrative processes, including document submission, reimbursement requests, and website updates, and mentioned plans to require CPOs to use generic email addresses by February to improve communications with the county.
Gordon said Maria has done a great job on this work. He then expressed concern about recent changes to urban CPO roles in land use planning, particularly for upzoning and denser zoning applications, which Karen had explained would be coming as a result of 2025 state legislation. Gordon wondered about the CCI sending a letter of concern to the State’s Community Involvement Advisory Committee about the legislative changes.
Tonia clarified that while individual CCI members could speak out personally about these changes, CCI as an advisory board could not engage in political advocacy or lobbying activities.
CCI 2025 Action Plan: What Else Can CCI & PGA Do for This Element of the Action Plan: Continue partnership projects with PGA that support active CPOs in representing and involving their communities; and encourage those in unincorporated areas without active CPOs to start them up again.
Members discussed the evolving role of CPOs and the need to update website information to reflect recent legislative changes. They brainstormed additional partnership projects between CCI and PGA, including targeted click advertising, informational booths at the fair and local events, and leveraging existing social media channels and email lists.
Pat Erdenberger shared her experience with successful community outreach in the mountain corridor, highlighting the importance of tailored approaches for different regions. Bill suggested that CPOs should actively engage with local groups and events to increase community awareness, to which Pat recommended a future brainstorming session on how to find out about lists of events in a CPO's respective community.
CCI 2025 Action Plan: Planning for 2026 Community Leaders meetings, with the goal of making CPO leaders feel heard by the BCC, and establishing two-way communication with BCC members (Take into account planning for 2026 CCI Listening Session with CPOs, for scheduling & creating a different kind of engagement value)
Members agreed with Karen’s suggestion to treat it as a package of three different meetings with the same target audience: two community leaders' meetings and a CCI listening session for CPOs. They brainstormed different meeting formats, including themed and geographically focused sessions, with Tonia suggesting separate meetings for CPOs within and outside the urban growth boundary. The group also considered including BCC members' listening sessions on non-CPO related topics.
CCI members discussed strategies to improve communication between community leaders and commissioners, emphasizing geographically-focused meetings and town halls. Tonia suggested arranging meetings with commissioners in specific areas, which Gordon and Pat supported. Karen proposed trying different formats for town halls, such as pre-submitted questions, to boost participation.
The group also discussed improving communication between the BCC and CPOs. Brent emphasized the need for commissioners to share their priorities and activities in a non-political format, while Karen suggested organizing forums where commissioners could present on their specialized areas of focus. Tonia reported that commissioners prefer in-person town halls over virtual listening sessions and encouraged CPO members to invite and engage with commissioners at various public events and meetings.
Danielle shared her hamlet’s success with a recent meet-and-greet event in Stafford Hamlet, which was attended by three commissioners, the county sheriff, the county treasurer, area mayors, and allowed for informal, personal interactions. Members agreed that such events could serve as a model for future interactions, potentially bypassing formal structures to encourage more relaxed and effective communication with commissioners.
Possible new business to consider for future CCI agendas - Planning for CCI content in PGA’s quarterly CPO Notes newsletters (next one is anticipated to come out in November)
Members agreed to promote the CCI November meeting where Jennifer Hughes and Karen Buehrig will present on legislative changes and their impact on zoning ordinances. Karen and Tonia suggested organizing a CCI listening session in early 2026 to gather feedback from CPOs after the November meeting.
CCI members also noted the need for better advance notice of zoning changes and other important planning matters for CPOs.
The meeting adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
Next Meeting: Tuesday, October 21, 2025, 6 – 8 p.m. via Zoom.