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Downtown ponders new improvement
district
At a meeting Tuesday,
Downtowners Association Director
Chuck Arnold told the group the
organization intends to take a
new proposal for an economic
improvement district (EID) to
the Bend City Council in March.
A group that is putting together
the new proposal is polling
building owners on Greenwood
Avenue to see if they would like
to be included in the EID.
Although details still need to
be worked out, the new EID would
likely tax building owners 11
cents per square foot, with the
money used to provide services
such as sidewalk snow removal or
cleaning in the summer; flower
baskets, Christmas lights and
other beautification; and
enhanced security. Money
collected also would help pay
Arnold’s salary. Formation of an
EID would require that no more
than 33 percent of downtown
property owners send in ballots
against the EID. An EID election
also must be approved by the
Bend City Council; it’s expected
that a public hearing will be
scheduled for March 7. If
approved, the first money would
begin coming in around mid-June.
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WinterFest moves downtown site
In other downtown news,
organizers of the Bend
WinterFest – scheduled for Feb.
2-4 - announced that downtown
activities are being moved from
the Mirror Pond parking lots to
the parking lot between Bend
City Hall and the Bend-La Pine
Administration Building and Troy
Field. Watch for street closures
on Bond Street between Kansas
and Louisiana avenues during
WinterFest. A new feature this
year will be a cross-country ski
race downtown. Organizers are
trucking in a couple dozen loads
of snow for the race. To avoid
parking headaches, WinterFest
patrons can park at the
Deschutes County Administration
Building on Wall Street and take
a shuttle to downtown.
WinterFest buttons, good for
admission to many events, are $6
(which includes entry into a
drawing for a new Chevy when you
fill out an entry form).
Information:
www.bendwinterfest.org.
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Minimum wage hike hardly causes
a ripple
Last week’s survey question was, “Does the increase in
Oregon’s minimum wage affect
your business? If so, how?” From
the responses we received,
businesses don’t seem too
concerned. Some replies:
“No. Our lowest wage is above that and we end up with
savings in reduced turnover and
higher productivity. We also
expect a level of responsibility
that is above what would be
expected at minimum wage.”
“Only indirectly. I’m a firm believer that a free
market includes a free market
for wages. Everyone wants people
to earn more and gain success.
But when the government can
dictate wages, where does it
end? Will they mandate my
prices? Will they force
customers to buy from me? It
doesn’t make sense and cannot,
ultimately, work in our system.
It’s just another move towards
socialism.”
“We will use temporaries and overtime rather than
hire or replace employees
whenever possible with the
current and projected increases
in minimum wage.”
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Legislative Council Breakfasts
begin this Friday
Spots still are available for the revamped Legislative
Council Breakfast series
(formerly the Government Affairs
Council) in 2007. The first
meeting on Friday will feature
new Deschutes County
Commissioner Tammy Baney and
Bend city councilors Chris
Telfer, Bill Friedman and Mark
Capell, talking about their
visions for 2007. On Feb. 9,
representatives from the
statewide Chalkboard Project
will discuss bills introduced in
the Oregon Legislature to
improve K-12 education. And in
March, local state legislators
who can make it will provide an
update on the goings-on at the
Legislature this year. Cost is
$187 in advance for 11 months or
$25 for each individual month.
For information or to register,
contact Lindi at the Bend
Chamber, 382-3221, or
lindi@bendchamber.org.
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Buy a mobile home, hit the
jackpot
This week’s interesting and oddball story: Residents of Briny
Shores in Florida, a mobile home
town on beachfront property in
Palm Beach County, Florida, have
agreed to sell the town to
developers for $510 million. The
town is surrounded by
multimillion-dollar homes and
high-priced condos. When the
sale goes through, most of the
residents – some of whom bought
their mobile homes for as little
as $35,000 – are expected to get
more than $1 million apiece. The
town began as a strawberry farm
in the 1920s, was bought by a
group of regular visitors in
1958 and was incorporated into a
town in 1963.
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This week’s survey question
What should the Legislature do with the approximately $2.2
billion in unexpected additional
tax revenue the state expects to
collect in the next two years?
Please e-mail your responses to:
jeff@bendchamber.org.
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