Sherwood City Council Recap | Sept. 16, 2025

Sherwood City Council talks about pedestrian safety for schools, upcoming levies, and waste and recycling rates.

This article has been updated from its original version.

SHERWOOD, Ore. — The Sherwood City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 16 for its regularly scheduled meeting following a work session.

Mayor Tim Rosener, Council President Kim Young, Councilors Keith Mays, Dan Standke, Doug Scott, Renee Brouse, and Taylor Giles were all present.

There was no public comment.

Safety for school commutes

In its preliminary work session, council heard about an assessment study on Archer Glen Elementary, Hawks View Elementary, and Ridges Elementary schools surrounding existing conditions of nearby roadways, crash history, and safety of walkability for pedestrians at unmarked crossings. 

Joy Chang, project manager and planning consultant with the city, as well as Nick Gross, associate planner with Kittelson & Associates, spoke about proposed improvements to consider coordination with planned transportation projects. They discussed short-term and long-term solutions. 

At Archer Glen, the assessment found drivers often fail to yield to crossing guards and pedestrians; mailboxes obstruct views of pedestrians; there is a high volume of vehicle traffic and driver impatience during drop-off and pick-up times, which also sees a lack of marked pedestrian spaces; and pedestrians cross Sunset Boulevard outside of the crosswalks, Gross said.

Possible safety proposals include installing a pedestrian refuge island in the median of the road, allowing them to wait for a gap in traffic from each direction, reduce pedestrian exposure, and add flashing beacons; as well as adding an advance sign marking that vehicles should yield to pedestrians at Sunset Boulevard. and Myrica Court.

At Hawks View, the assessment found the two flashing beacons and crossing infrastructure are outdated, there are high pedestrian volumes to the main entrance, and there are issues with the school parking lot driveways such as turning vehicles conflicting with crossing guards, especially during arrival and dismissal times.

Proposed treatment options include curb extensions to reduce crossing distance, updating curb ramps for ADA compliance, modernizing the pedestrian refuge island and outdated beacons, installing a raised crosswalk across the school’s driveway, adding in-street signage, and upgrading traffic control and lighting systems. They also proposed adding high-visibility crosswalks at the intersection of Third Street, Pine Street and Sherwood Boulevard and then conducting a further intersection control evaluation study to determine a longer-term solution. 

At Ridges, the assessment found Edy Road to have tree obstruction of traffic control divides, left-turn conflicts, frequent speeding, and low compliance in yielding to crossing guard. The city already resolved vegetation blocking the flashing visibility, as well as the timing of the beacons aligning with school day timing.

In the future, possible treatment could include widening Edy Road and adding a pedestrian refuge island in the long-term, as well as building a temporary curb extension in the short-term on the southwest corner of Cooper Terrace and Edy Road. Staff said the city would collaborate on this with existing planned improvements coming soon to Edy Road. 

Ongoing maintenance costs were not addressed yet because the projects have not been chosen, and phasing and prioritization will be addressed following potential funding sources such as grants, Chang said. 

Upcoming levies 

Two levies are coming up in Washington County: one for the libraries and one for public safety.

Measure 34-345 is slated to appear on the upcoming Nov. 4 ballot, proposing to renew a levy for Washington County cooperative library services (WCCLS) that is slated to expire in June 2026. The proposed measure would cost property owners a fixed rate of $0.37 per $1,000 of assessed value, continuing from July 2026-June 2031. For a $348,600 home, an owner would pay $10.75 per month or about $129 per year, raising $188,915,688 during the five-year longevity of the levy. 

If the levy passes, the libraries would continue to support in-person events for kids and teens, homework support, online tutoring, and public access to computers and wi-fi. It would also support reserving materials for pickup, public access to the library catalog with 1.5 million items, and access to online learning tools, e-books, audiobooks and streaming video. 

Last year, more than 10,000 students participated in library programs, and the WCCLS issued 83,549 library cards to public school students since 2019, said Marni Kuyl, assistant county administrator with Washington County. Last year, the WCCLS said 2.4 million visits to its libraries and 7.2 million checkouts — saving patrons $140 million by borrowing instead of purchasing, she said.

If the levy does not pass, the aforementioned library services would not be provided and property taxes would not be increased.

“If the levy does not pass, reductions in library services would occur. These reductions would include reduced open hours, fewer book purchases, fewer reading events, and reduced level of services that link libraries together,” Kuyl said. 

Learn more about the library levy at wccls.org/levy. 

The public safety measure would replace a five-year levy slated to expire in June 2026, extending it to June 2031. If approved, the replacement levy would set a fixed rate of $0.66 per $1,000 of assessed property value—an increase of $0.19. This would equate to about $6 more per month, or a total of $230 per year.

The expiring levy accounts for 18% of Washington County’s public safety funding, and since then, state funding has decreased and costs have increased, according to the county.

The levy would fund vehicle theft and break-in investigations and prosecutions, child abuse and child pornography prosecutions, protecting survivors of domestic violence, combating the impact of fentanyl and drug trafficking, fully funding the jail, and preventing crime with mental health response teams and special job training to prevent recidivism. 

Learn more about the public safety levy at wcor.us/PublicSafetyLevy.

Voters can read all about Washington County’s proposed levies that will appear on the Nov. 4 ballot here. 

Waste and recycling 

Waste collection rates could be increasing in 2026. Costs for labor, trucks, and disposal are going up. 

New rates are expected to go up by about 4%, from $32.85 for 20 gallons to $34.17. For the 95 gallon bin, it’s an expected $2.29 increase from $59.40 to $61.69.

Proposed increases are also expected to affect drop boxes, medical waste, and cart collection rates in 2026. 

Sherwood Police Advisory Board, Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

The council unanimously approved appointing David Debos to the Sherwood Police Advisory Board. The police advisory board's goal is to promote public safety by coordinating relationships in the community, assisting the police department with plans and goals, helping establish public policy on policing, encouraging public input, and recommending future strategies.

The council unanimously approved appointing Alexander Brown to the Sherwood Parks & Recreation Advisory Board. This board advises the city council on issues relating to parks, trails, and recreation services by evaluating needs within the city and making recommendations on parks budgets, project priorities, park acquisitions and developments.

Sunset Boulevard Project

In the consent agenda, city council unanimously authorizes the city manager to contract with the lowest bidder, Brix Paving Northwest, to rehabilitate the paving along Southwest Sunset Boulevard and lay new asphalt for the cost of $240,890. Project funding was included in the annual budget, including an additional $36,133 contingency. 

Work is slated to begin September 2025, with completion slated for November 2025, in the stretch of road between Southwest Main Street to Southwest Cinnamon Hills Place. 

Watch the city council meeting here.