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Interim
City Manager announces bid for City
Manager position
Interim City Manager Eric King
officially announced he will throw his
hat in the ring for the Bend City Manager
position. King notified Bend Chamber
President and CEO Mike Schmidt at a
meeting on Tuesday of his decision.
“The sense of the business community is King has
stepped up to the plate, taken on tough
issues, and has been doing a wonderful
job managing the city out of crisis
mode,” said Schmidt.
Chairman of the Bend Chamber board of directors David
Rosell says King has been very well
received by the business community. “I
have been impressed with his knowledge
and competence as well as his enthusiasm
to help facilitate positive changes for
the City of Bend,” Rosell said.
Schmidt says the Chamber looks forward to an even
stronger partnership with King.
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Bend
Metro Park and Rec to host
open houses on new park and
office
The Bend
Metro Park and Recreation District (BMPRD)
will hold two open houses to help the
public learn more about the new
Riverbend Community Park and district
office building. The open house will
have drawings of the park and
architectural renderings of the
building. Staff and board members will
be on hand to answer questions.
The open houses will take place on March 19 from 4
to 6 p.m. and on March 20 from 12
to 1 p.m. at the Bend Metro Parks and
Recreation District Office located at
200 NW Pacific Park Lane.
At this time, BMPRD district office has exceeded its
capacity. With a staff of 91 full-time
and 350 part-time employees, the
district office is bursting at the
seams. The project will be paid for by
savings from general fund dollars which
were set aside over the past several
years. Construction of Riverbend
Community Park and the new district
office, located at 799 SW Columbia
Street, will begin later this month.
For more information contact Jan Taylor, Community
Relations Manager, at 389-7275 or email
jan@bendparksandrec.org.
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Gasoline Prices: When will
the increases stop?
With spring and summer
just around the corner, many central
Oregonians are watching the local gas
pump to see if prices will reach the $4
mark. The price of crude oil reaches new
highs almost daily, and on March 12 the
price of crude oil briefly topped out at
$110.20 per barrel on the New York
Mercantile Exchange.
According to AAA, the new national record average as of
March 12 is $3.246 a gallon which is up
70 cents from last year at this time.
May 2007 saw the previous national
record at $3.226 per gallon. Oregon’s
current average is $3.432, which is up
66 cents from last year.
The price of gasoline usually spikes this time of year
as refineries go through routine
maintenance and prepare to switch over
production from winter to summer blends.
Experts say the spike is more pronounced
this year due to the price of crude oil.
At this point, nobody is sure where oil prices will go.
Some analysts expect prices to stay at a
moderate level while others predict
prices could increase up to $120 per
barrel.
To get the latest fuel prices visit AAA’s Daily Fuel
Gauge at
www.fuelgaugereport.com
Information gathered as of 03/12/08
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Update on Future of Transit Committee
The Bend City Council
formed a committee of business leaders,
neighborhood representatives, Bend Area
Transit (BAT) drivers, BAT riders and
others to look at several topics.
The committee is charged to do the following: determine
the future serving area for the Bend
Area Transit (BAT); look forward for
BAT’s level of service; and examine how
to fund BAT outside the City’s General
Fund.
To date, the committee has established a desired
serving area beginning with the current
and future Urban Growth Boundary,
including Deschutes River Woods. The
group has identified a desired level of
service and is working on the final
piece of how to fund BAT into the
future.
A compromise solution of a split between a residential
property tax and payroll tax has been
examined and found not to be legal under
state la. So as this Weekly E-news
is being sent to you, a professional
polling agency is contacting 300 high
frequency voters to see if voters would
support a property tax of .33 to .39
cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Stay tuned for the results from the polling data and
what the committee will recommend to the
City Council as it debates and studies
the issue of the Future of Transit in
Bend.
Information provided by Mike Schmidt,
President and CEO of the Bend Chamber
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Bend to
host XTERRA Trail Running
National Championships
Bend has been selected as the host
destination for the 2008 and 2009 XTERA
Trail Running National Championships.
The editors of Outside Magazine recently
voted Bend as “America’s Best Trail
Running Town” due to its terrain,
climate, running friendly trails, and
the support of the local community.
The Bend Visitor and Convention Bureau worked with the
Oregon Sports Authority to bring this
event to central Oregon. At least 300
competitors along with their families,
staff, media, and spectators will be on
hand of the occasion. A venue has not
yet been selected; however the event is
scheduled for Saturday, September 27,
2008. The day long affair will feature a
21k half-marathon race, 10k race, and 5k
race along with live entertainment.
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2008
Iditarod and Rachael Scdoris
underway
Rachael Scdoris is only days away from
completing her third Iditarod race.
According to
Central Oregon Resources for Independent
Living
(CORIL)
Executive Director Jim
Lee, Scdoris’ spirits are high as she
journeys into the final legs of the
race.
“(Rachel) is doing very well. Her strategy to rest in
the beginning of the race to save
strength for the final third of the race
seems to be working well,” he said.
Scdoris’s goals for this year’s competition
include finishing the race and beating
her overall time from 2006.
As of
March 12, Scdoris was ranked 62nd in the
standings. Scdoris is
legally blind. She was born with a rare
vision disorder which causes severe near
sightedness, far sightedness and
colorblindness.
Scdoris, a role model for people with disabilities, is
dedicated to supporting CORIL to help
other central Oregonians with
disabilities pursue their dreams.
To support Rachael and those with disabilities, follow
the race and visit Scdoris’ Web site,
GoRachaelGo.com to pledge as little as
one cent for every mile of the race. All
donations will benefit CORIL and their
pursuit to empower all people with
disabilities to develop their full
capabilities and potential.
There will be a welcome home party on
April 28 for Scdoris. The time and place
has not been set as of yet, but stay
tuned for more information.
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New City Ordinance Changes Open
Burning
Due to a change in the
City Burning Ordinance, outdoor debris
burning within the City of Bend will not
open in April. The new regulations will
not allow outdoor burning for the usual
20 days in April. These regulations went
into effect on March 7. The regulations
reduces the number of debris burning
days from 40 in the Spring and Fall to
two days during the month of November
for those who have property of two acres
and larger only with a written permit
issued by fire department personnel.
Bend Fire and Rescue recommends residents use the
nine-day Project Wildfire FireFree
Program as an alternative to burning
yard debris. The program will take place
from April 19 to April 27 at Knott Land
Fill. Residents can dispose of small
yard debris free of charge. For those
residents who can’t make it to the land
fill, Bend area garbage companies offer
a curbside pickup of yard debris for a
minimal charge.
Noncompliance of fire protection regulations may result
in a citation with a fine and court fees
of $327.00 and responsible for fire
suppression cost.
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Sheriff’s
Office puts on Shredding Event
The Deschutes
County Sheriff’s Office and Data Delete
of Oregon are joining forces in March to
provide residents the opportunity to
destroy personal documentation and learn
about identity theft.
The shredding event is no cost to the public and will
take place in the Sheriff’s office
parking lot, 63333 Highway 20 West,
Bend, from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday,
March 15.
The Sheriff’s Office will have an information booth to
provide residents with information on
how to avoid becoming an identity theft
victim and what to do if your identity
has already been stolen.
Don’t worry about sorting documents before hand. The
shredding equipment can operate and
destroy paperwork with paper clips and
staples attached.
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Improve
Access for all of Bend
Join the City of Bend Accessibility
Division in its effort to improve access
for all who live in and visit Bend. The
division’s goal is to place a Little
People Access Stool in every building
owned by the city with public access.
Purchase one stool for your property and
one for a public building for $300. This
is a small investment for a BIG return.
Sponsor information will be engraved on
all donated stools at no additional
charge. For more information please
contact Tracy Young at (541) 693-2132.
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Upcoming
events
Title Sponsor
 March
18: City Forecast Breakfast 2008-
Sponsored by Jones & Roth,
please join us to hear Bend’s
Interim City Manager Eric King
and Mayor Bruce Abernethy
discuss Bend’s 2007
accomplishments and what city
officials are planning for 2008
and beyond. Register online at
www.bendchamber.org
or call Lindi at the Bend
Chamber at 382-3221. The price
is $29.50 for members and $49.50
for non-members. Corporate
Tables are available for $395
for members and $595 for
non-members.
Title Sponsor
 March
21: Community Affairs Council
Town Hall -
Future of Transit -
Former Mayor, Oran Teater, a business member of the Future of
Transit Committee and Transit Director,
Heather Ornelas will lead the discussion
on the Future of Transit Committee’s
work and recommendations. Do we do
nothing and let our local streets
continue to become congested because we
have no alternative to the automobile?
Are we ready to embrace public
transportation as part of our economic
infrastructure in order to be in a good
position for the next economic boom?
How do we pay for the fist phase of a
regional transit system, one focused on
improving the current BAT program?
Should we use property tax, payroll tax
or a combination of both? Let your
voice be heard and have your questions
answers about the Future of Transit in
Bend. The CAC Town Hall
luncheons are held at Touchmark at Mount
Bachelor Village in the Terrace Lodge
Forum Theater from noon to 1:30 p.m. To
join the CAC Town Hall luncheon series,
register online at
www.bendchamber.org or call
Lindi to reserve your spot at 382-3221.
March 20: "Central
Oregon Transportation: Whose Roads Are
They Anyway?"
The City Club will focus on
transportation and how the public
participates in transportation projects.
Bend Chamber of Commerce President and
CEO, Mike Schmidt will lead
the discussion panel which includes
Region 4 ODOT representative Bob Bryant
and City Council member Jim Clinton,
representing the Bend Metropolitan
Planning Organization and the city of
Bend. The group will discuss the public
process in transportation planning and
the traffic impacts of road decisions.
The presentation will take place at the
Center for Health and Learning in St.
Charles Medical Center and will begin at
11:40 a.m. and conclude at 1:00 p.m.
The cost for members is $13.00 and
$25.00 for nonmembers and includes
lunch.
To register go to
www.cityclubofcentraloregon.com
or call the City Club at 541-633-7163.
Registration is required by March 17 at
5:00 p.m.
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Survey
Question
From time to time, the Chamber will
attach a survey question to Weekly
E-News to see what makes the membership
tick. We encourage responses from
members so we can better focus on their
needs or ideas.
What do you think is the most
pressing issue facing businesses in
central Oregon?
Please email your response to
Courtney Linville at
courtney@bendchamber.org.
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