Wilsonville - Metro Community Enhancement Committee

The Wilsonville-Metro Community Enhancement Committee oversees local implementation of the Wilsonville-Metro Community Enhancement Program. The program is funded by a per-ton fee charged by Metro regional government on solid-waste transfer stations located in communities throughout the greater Portland region. 

The Committee in essence reviews “community enhancement” projects or programs nominated by the public and members of City boards and commissions that are first assessed by City staff, and decides which projects or programs, if any, to advance with the Community Enhancement Program funds.

Committee Members

The Wilsonville-Metro Community Enhancement Committee includes:

• Four (4) citizen/community members who are Wilsonville residents: Maripat Hensel, Nik McGee, Devon Thorson, and Scot Siegel.
• Two (2) City Council members: Joann Linville & Caroline Berry 
• One (1) Metro Councilor serves on the committee in ex-officio status: Gerritt Rosenthal 

Appointment to the committee follows traditional City process where the Mayor appoints and Council confirms committee members from Wilsonville who serve at Council pleasure. The Metro Councilor serves on the committee at his or her discretion. The Council names one member of the Council in addition to the Mayor to participate on the committee.

About the Wilsonville-Metro Community Enhancement Program

The Metro Council extended effective July 1, 2015, the Metro Solid Waste Community-Enhancement Program to apply uniformly to all communities that host putrescible (biodegradable) solid-waste transfer facilities, including the Willamette Resources, Inc., (WRI) transfer facility operated by Republic Services in Wilsonville. Metro’s program started in 1988 after the Oregon Legislature allowed the assessment of fees to support communities hosting facilities that accept garbage and other waste discarded from homes and businesses. While offering value to the region as a whole, these facilities generate traffic, odors and other inconveniences to residents in adjacent host communities.

Funds collected under the Metro Community Enhancement Program are dedicated and used for “enhancing the host community of the facility from which the fees have been collected” as determined by the local government or administering committee. These funds may be used for extensive community purposes that “rehabilitate and enhance the area within the City limits.” 

FY2024-25 Community enhancement program (CEP)

CEP project nominations will be accepted from November 6, 2024  through January 10, 2025, with project selection anticipated in March 2025 after City vetting and cost-estimating. Anyone may nominate a project for consideration that could benefit the community, including organizations that may seek to undertake a sponsored project. Potential sponsors of a community enhancement project are encouraged to contact the CEP administrator in advance to review prospective fit of a project for the program. Projects, which must be located within city limits, are funded to start on or after July 1, 2025, and must be completed within one year.

CEP Project Criteria

• Improve the appearance or environmental quality of the community.
• Reduce the amount or toxicity of waste.
• Increase reuse and recycling opportunities.
• Result in rehabilitation or upgrade of real or personal property owned or operated by a nonprofit organization.
• Result in the preservation or enhancement of wildlife, riparian zones, wetlands, forest lands and marine areas, and/or improve the public awareness and the opportunities to enjoy them.
• Result in improvement to, or an increase in, recreational areas and programs.
• Result in improvement in safety.
• Benefit youth, seniors, low income persons or underserved populations
• Foster and enhance community enrichment through educational programming, arts and cultural projects.

Process and Timeline of Project Identification and Selection

The process for project identification and selection of the committee prescribed by Resolution No. 2543 (July 7, 2015) that created the program and the steering committee for the program:

1. Advertise the Metro Community Enhancement program to the community and solicit project ideas and program suggestions over an approximate two-month period of November through January.
2. Project and program suggestions and feedback from the public and others are forwarded for consideration during February to relevant departments, which would likely include Community Development, Park and Recreation, Transit and others. 
3. Staff review project nominations in February and forward with comments or recommendations to the Committee in the spring for consideration.
4. Committee meets in the spring to consider project nominations and make recommendations to City Council for funding of projects.