Weekly E-News - September 7, 2006

The Bend City Council, which has been discussing the future of City Hall for months, on Wednesday directed city staff to further examine a proposal to move some city functions out of City Hall to a different location - the public works/police complex between east Highway 20 and Bear Creek Road just south of Pilot Butte. The most prominent new feature at the site would be a "one-stop shopping" permit center that would house the planning and building departments. The public works department also would get some much-needed new maintenance buildings, and the Bend Area Transit offices would be located there, as well as a transit stop. Also in the plan is space for a new fire station. The council did not make a decision on whether to keep administrative functions at the current City Hall downtown, or build a new City Hall on a site the city has purchased at the corner of Wall Street and Olney Avenue on the north end of downtown.

Compromise in works for manufactured home park owners, tenants

At a work session on Wednesday, the City Council heard from a committee formed to work out a compromise between manufactured home park owners who might wish to redevelop their property and tenants who would be displaced by redevelopment. A "very conceptual" ordinance, in the words of city Affordable Housing Manager Jim Long, contains some interesting provisions. One would allow park owners who redevelop their property to increase the number of houses on site if they build a minimum number of units affordable to tenants who are being displaced. Another proposal, that is not part of the ordinance, would allow existing parks that wish to expand to increase density to add more sites. The committee also is examining the idea of exempting system development charges not just for parks that want to remain parks or expand, but also for all affordable housing projects. The committee, which includes city Councilors John Hummel and Bruce Abernethy, will refine these ideas and bring a proposed ordinance to council in a few weeks.

Spending less seems to be a trend this summer

    Last week's survey question was, "Are you beginning to see a slowdown in consumer spending at your business (or are you spending less yourself?) Some responses:
"Not in my retail business. The first six months I had record growth and then the bottom fell out for June through mid-August. Now I am back to record growth."
     "I definitely am spending less personally and in the business. Energy prices coupled with a slowdown in business have taken their toll."
    "Yes on both counts. I don't know why - maybe it was the fires and we're in the recreation business - but we saw a definite slowdown in the later part of the summer. We had more cancellations in the weeks before Labor Day than we've ever had. That, of course, leads us to spend less. I hope the rumors are true and gas prices are going to come down."

Bend 2030 entering new phase; your chance to get involved

The Bend 2030 Community Visioning Process is entering Phase II, where the vision will be translated into specific action items and a five-year action plan. You may contribute in making the Bend 2030 vision a reality by suggesting specific actions for each area of the vision. All suggestions will be provided to the action teams responsible for building the action plan. To contribute, complete a survey at: www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=897622533678 . The survey will remain open through September 24. For more information on Bend 2030, go to www.bend2030.org.

Central Oregon career fair scheduled for Sept. 23

Prompted by unfilled positions at several of the region's larger employers, the Human Resource Association of Central Oregon is presenting a "Career Shopping Day" at The Riverhouse from 1 to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. The event is being marketed in all print media in Central Oregon and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Cost for exhibitors is $250 and job seekers get in free. For more information about how to join the more than 50 employers who have already signed up, contact Barb at Brooks Resources, 382-1662 or barb@brooksresources.com .

This week's survey question

Does your company have job openings, and if so, how many? Please e-mail your responses to: jeff@bendchamber.org. EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of an improved computer program, the way we send out the Weekly E-News is different. If you simply hit the "reply" button to answer our survey questions, they no longer go directly to Jeff. However, all replies still come back directly to the Chamber and are forwarded to Jeff. Your confidentiality still is being protected.