Interim City Manager Lynn Peterson's Collaborative Approach Working with Neighborhoods in LO
- Derrith Schmidt
- 1 hour ago
- 8 min read
What does a productive meeting between City Hall and neighborhood leaders look like? Based on Interim Lake Oswego City Manager Lynn Peterson's recent conversation with the Neighborhood Chairs Committee, it starts with a dialogue.
Rather than giving a PowerPoint presentation or simply talking to us, Lynn spent nearly two hours having an open conversation with neighborhood chairs—answering questions, discussing challenges, and asking for feedback. It was one of the most collaborative Neighborhood Chairs Committee (NCC) meetings I've attended.
Her approach wasn't surprising. Before serving on the Lake Oswego City Council from 2003–2006 and later holding senior transportation leadership positions at the county and state levels, Lynn served as Chair of the First Addition Neighborhood Association. She understands firsthand the challenges neighborhood volunteers face and how important it is for City staff to respond quickly to local concerns.
Originally from Wisconsin, Lynn graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She’s an expert in traffic engineering and was the champion for First Addition’s traffic circle by the library.
Her LinkedIn profile describes her this way: “Lynn’s 30-year career in transportation and urban development exemplifies community-driven, people-first decision-making. A nationally recognized transportation expert, she has a unique ability to balance technical, political, and financial risks while prioritizing the needs of the communities she serves.” https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynn-peterson-54b5b98/
Two comments from Lynn stood out to me:
"The small stuff matters too."
"It's important to solve problems in neighborhoods quickly."
Lynn also mentioned former City Manager Doug Schmitz as someone she admired for his work with neighborhoods.
Schmitz served as Lake Oswego's City Manager from 1992 until his retirement in 2012. He was known for personally walking neighborhoods with residents to identify problems and then making sure they were addressed.
Our Old Town neighbor and former Neighborhood Association Board member Nancy Headlee remembers Doug arriving "with a clipboard," walking through the neighborhood, writing down concerns, and then returning to City Hall to make things happen. That's exactly the kind of neighborhood partnership many residents still hope to see today.
At the NCC (Neighborhood Chairs Committee) meeting, Lynn shared the big projects the City is working on:
Major Infrastructure Projects
Wastewater Treatment Plant - The City is seeking bids to upgrade the wastewater treatment plant and relocate it within the Foothills District closer to Highway 43. She also talked about the trade-offs the Council is considering for how to fund this through increases in our utility bills.
Unlocking Foothills District potential - Lynn said this vision kicked off when she was on City Council. She said significant challenges remain, including Highway 43 access, the railroad crossing, and the Tryon Creek culvert leading to the Willamette River.
The two bridges at Oswego Creek are at the end of their service life - one is the bridge across 43 by George Rogers Park at McVey leading into West Linn
Adding ADA ramps and sidewalks throughout the City
Neighborhood Initiatives Lynn Is Introducing
Good Neighbor Policy
Lynn said Madison Thesing (Deputy City Manager) is working on this for neighborhoods with events that bring in traffic and noise.
Lynn has talked to me about this policy for our Old Town neighborhood to help Parks & Rec work more closely with us to reduce traffic and noise from events and “beach” visitors. I think this could become an important tool for improving communication between neighborhoods and City departments.
Faster response to neighborhood issues
Lynn talked to me about this idea before the meeting of giving a neighborhood a point of contact at the City who would be responsible for coordinating between the City departments and the NA to increase collaboration and communication about what can be done and what can't and by when.
This could significantly improve communication between neighborhoods and City departments.
Library Planning
Lynn shared that the City Council has decided to move the existing library to a new centrally located area hopefully within an urban renewal area. The Council has established two task forces to help with this.
One task force will focus on parameters for after the library has moved and what to do with the existing library land.
Our NA VP Jim Perris was elected by our OTNA Board to represent us on this task force.
NA members asked about preventing more “cottage clusters” without parking. Lynn explained there is no way to outlaw those type of developments but “we can create criteria within the RFP intent that whatever is built must meet characteristics of the First Addition neighborhood.”
The other task force is just being formed and will focus on creating a vision for the future library.
Lynn shared the library has $5 million - $3 million from years of not using the 15% contingency from their budget which rolls over each year and another $2 million in donations from Friends of the Library.
The new library can be funded through many sources: an estimated $10 million bond (“5 years away” Lynn thought), endowments, selling the existing land, and donations.
She said the impressive new Gresham Library was funded by a county bond for five libraries.
There was a lot of discussion among the NCC members with Lynn about why a new library was needed. Lynn explained it is 40 years old and suggested we invite Melissa, the Library Director, to come meet with us. She said Melissa has been touring libraries and gathering ideas about what's possible. Lynn said the Library team asked for a library that is approximately 20% larger and centrally located.
The City Council feels two libraries (updating the existing one in First Addition and adding a second location across town) is not feasible because it would be more expensive in staffing and other costs.
Budget & Financial Planning
Lynn explained why Lake Oswego uses a two-year budgeting process and discussed both its advantages and challenges. She noted that while it reduces staff workload and discourages "spend it or lose it" budgeting, it can also make it harder for future councils to adjust priorities and for residents to understand how contingency funds are being accumulated and used.
Lynn explained LO doesn’t have a state or federal lobbyist so the City “needs to go after money with gusto so big projects don’t all land on the LO taxpayers.”
She shared that “it’s always easiest to fund the shiny new thing like a new bridge. It’s hard to get funding for maintenance from voters.”
The City does not have an asset management plan or a person in this role.
She explained the City budget includes capital improvements and a maintenance budget prioritized list. She noted that former City Manager Scott Lazenby, who came to Lake Oswego from the City of Sandy in 2013, introduced the biennial budgeting process that Sandy had been using. Today, only a small number of Oregon cities use this approach.
She explained, “Departments can hold over money year after year for systemwide priority list…It’s a hard conversation to change those priorities.”
“The City used to do annual budget. So much time was spent by the staff to prepare for budgeting that the bi-annual budget was brought in to save time and discourage spend it or lose it.” She said, “It’s difficult to know spending two years out” and “It’s not clear what money is being built up for prioritization.”
Lynn was asked, “I heard the total is $20 million for all city departments for this rolling 15% contingency fund. Is that true?” She didn’t address this directly deferring to the Mayor and City Council. She explained, “There is no strategic plan and the advantage of this contingency fund is when the City issues debt, a stronger bond rating reduces borrowing costs. There are tradeoffs.”
“For the general fund, you can’t tell a future council what the priorities were. They can change those priorities.”
New logo for the City
Lynn said Madison is working on this. She said the updated logo will remove the sailboat and coincide with the launch of the City's new website.
Lynn was asked about the process for hiring a new City Manager
She explained, “The process starts Wednesday (July 22). Six candidates are in the final round. Three panels will interview the candidates - one panel is the City Council; another is the staff; and the third is thought leaders in the community."
One point that prompted discussion after the meeting among several Neighborhood Chairs was that no NCC representative was included on the community interview panel, even though neighborhood associations represent residents across the city. Neighborhood representation would have been valuable during such an important hiring process.
This hiring process and who is or isn't involved, of course, is not Lynn's decision. That is being led by the Mayor, City Council, the Assistant City Manager and an outside consulting firm. Of note, I had written to Mayor Buck before the panels were selected suggesting that someone from NCC should be included in this process and that I had served in this way representing the neighborhoods when the City was interviewing for our new Police Chief. I suggested that Chris Durkee or Jeff Gudman would be excellent representatives since they had both been so involved in major projects for the Southshore Fire Station bond and Jeff also for the Foothills District vision project.
There was a good discussion at the NCC meeting among longtime Neighborhood Chairs about how the process used to work before Mayor Buck took over. The Mayor used to come to the NCC meetings to talk to and understand neighborhood concerns and priorities. Mayor Buck chose a different method to gather community input by hosting Mayor Roundtables. The Mayor, who is a volunteer, spends a great deal of time in City meetings along with representing LO on Clackamas County’s coordinating council between cities.
My biggest takeaway from the meeting wasn't any particular project. It was Lynn Peterson's leadership style.
She listened and didn't lecture.
She welcomed difficult questions.
She acknowledged trade-offs.
Most importantly, she emphasized that neighborhoods matter—and that solving the "small stuff" is just as important as completing the City's biggest capital projects.
Whether discussing a new library, Foothills redevelopment, or a neighborhood traffic concern, she consistently came back to the same principle: strong cities are built by working collaboratively with the people who live in them.
I hope that philosophy continues with Lake Oswego's next permanent City Manager.
Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to meet with Lynn Peterson twice. On May 21, our Old Town Neighborhood Association Vice Chair, Jim Perris, and I met with her at City Hall to discuss Old Town's neighborhood priorities. Then, following the July 15 groundbreaking ceremony for the new Willamette River pathway, Lynn invited me to lunch, where I asked if she would be willing to mentor me on how to work more effectively with the City on behalf of our neighborhood.
I've found Lynn to be thoughtful, practical, collaborative, and generous with her time. Whether discussing major City initiatives or neighborhood concerns, she has consistently emphasized listening, understanding different perspectives, and finding practical solutions. Those qualities were evident during the Neighborhood Chairs Committee meeting and are a leadership style I hope continues to be valued in Lake Oswego.
If you're interested...
Background About the Role & Responsibilities of the City Manager
From the LO City website, “Pursuant to the Lake Oswego City Charter, the City Manager is appointed by the City Council to carry out council policies and to serve as chief administrative officer of the City. Lynn Peterson is serving as the City Manager Pro Tem.
The City Manager manages the business of the City and implements the Council's plans and orders by:
Coordinating the work of all City departments and employees
Enforcing City laws and applying Council policies
Expending monies as approved by the City Council
Making recommendations to the Council on legislation, financial programs, capital improvements, policies, services, and other matters as requested
Keeping the Council informed of the City's business and financial condition; appointing, suspending, or removing City employees under his jurisdiction (subject to union contractual stipulations)
Investigating and acting on complaints
The City Manager is one of three appointed Charter Officers of the City of Lake Oswego. The two others are the City Attorney and Municipal Judge. Each serves at the pleasure of the Council and are appointed and removed by a majority of the entire Council. Compensation for an appointed City officer shall be fixed as the Council may direct. “
The Assistant City Manager is Megan Phelan. The Deputy City Manager is Madison Thesing.
