Fiery Corvallis meeting saw City Council member up and leave

At the heart of the matter is whether home energy scores should be a mandatory part of the homebuying process. Councilors have been divided on the issue since June.

The council split again, voting 5-4 during its meeting Tuesday, Sept. 6 to put home energy scores on the 2023 primary ballot. Tension reached new heights when Council President Hyatt Lytle stormed out after Mayor Biff Traber took issue with the council’s decision.  

“I’m extremely disappointed,” Traber said in addressing the entire council. “I don’t know why you’re in office or running for office again. There is a responsibility to make decisions.”

Sitting next to Traber at the dais, Lytle abruptly gathered her belongings and left, although the council had more agenda items to address. At the mayor’s request, the council tabled additional discussion on home energy scores until Nov. 21.

The idea behind home energy scores is to give buyers an idea of what it will cost to power a home with an assessment that would make it easier to compare potential purchases across the housing market. It’s been compared to gas mileage in autos.

Speaking by phone the next day, Lytle said while not proud of how events unfolded, she hit a wall and had to step out. In retrospect, she wished she’d demanded a recess to cool off and come back to finish the night’s work, but she felt bullied by the mayor.

Having worked closely with Council Vice President Andrew Struthers on the home energy scores prior to the meeting, Lytle said she and her colleague amassed a body of research she wanted to share with the council.

An IT glitch to blame?

It’s possible an internet outage was the spark that lit the fire. Lytle said she had an important amendment that would define the size of homes that would come under the mandate but wasn’t able to produce it when called upon because she couldn't get a signal on her laptop. She asked for more time but was shut down.

Criticism coming from Councilor Gabe Shepherd and Traber changed the tone of the conversation, Lytle said, and led to the downward spiral. As council president, she took offense to what she felt was an attack on the entire elected body.

In an email, Traber said his disappointment stemmed from wanting the council to decide on a mandatory or voluntary score. Making that type of decision is why council members are elected, he believes.

He also conceded he may have been too hard on the council.

"Last night, I was tired and seemed to have used too harsh language," Traber said in the email. "Those words I do regret."

The underlying issue

Before the blowup, Lytle, Struthers, Councilors Jan Napack and Laurie Chaplen, and newly-appointed Councilor Christina Jancila supported a ballot vote for home energy scores. Councilors Tracey Yee, Paul Shaffer, Charlyn Ellis and Shepherd opposed putting it on the ballot. Some said they should decide the issue then and there.

The discussion kicked off with Ellis pointing out that years of work have gone into creating a home energy score program in Corvallis. She said it comes down to two factors: whether climate change is real, and if so, whether elected officials are obligated to act.

“If the answer to those two questions is yes, vote in favor of the home energy scores, so we can move on to other challenges,” Ellis said.

The council was considering amendments to a proposed ordinance, but an amendment from Struthers derailed the process, sending the matter to Corvallis voters instead. Struthers said in his talk with residents, some support it but it's not unanimous, with some expressing a wish for more outreach.

“I kind of blame the divisiveness a little bit on process,” Lytle said. She said the public wasn’t aware of the idea until it came to the City Council, which prompted a heavy response from citizens who felt blindsided.

Still undecided on her vote heading into Tuesday night’s meeting, Lytle said it was the feeling that she couldn’t speak out that led her to support sending home energy scores to the voters.

About her walkout, Lytle said it was a moment of humanity and weakness, and she hopes she won't be judged for it. She said if she can't speak, then the voters should.

'Passing the buck'

Shepherd believes it’s a waste of taxpayer dollars to refer the idea of energy scores to the voters. He called it “passing the buck,” and with the entire council up for re-election on the Nov. 8 ballot, he blamed politics. Voters expect their representatives to make hard decisions, he said.

“It’s baffling to me that we would delegate our responsibility as elected officials for the city of Corvallis,” Shepherd said. “This is our chance to do something right, our chance to be a functional elected body.”

Shepherd has been a vocal proponent of the home energy score program, going as far as calling for a vote at a July meeting, despite the ordinance having been tabled until September so staff could do more research.

Public comment, largely in favor of the home energy scores, was given at numerous council meetings over the summer as well as in writing. Most opposition was targeted at mandating the program, calling for it to be voluntary.

After the meeting, Struthers said he knew it would be split vote but didn’t expect so much acrimony among the councilors.

While he believes the time invested on home energy scores was well spent, he also sees value in more review and consideration. He said putting the question to the voters is the best option rather than having the council overstep its bounds.

“This is a very controversial issue, and it’s not being recognized as that,” Struthers said. “I don’t have a clear picture of whether this is supported.”

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