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Bend Chamber
Weekly
November 21, 2008
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator
This Week's
Highlights
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BAT survives another day
The Bend Area Transit system lives to fight another
day. It was a packed house Wednesday evening as Bend
area residents turned out to hear the City Council
discuss future options of the Bend Area Transit
system. Due to the ballot measure failing, the
council was asked to look at possible cuts to the
system.
Public Transportation Mobility Manager Heather
Ornelas provided the council with three options
which included no changes to the system, possible
system limitations during the week and cuts in
service on the weekends, or a complete shutdown of
the system.
After a few questions, the councilors agreed it would
be better to keep the service level as is until
there can be a context with the transit budget with
other items in the general fund. Councilor Mark
Capell said, “… transit might come in under budget,
but we have to look at police and fire and roads and
water ….because it all has to meld together, if
others are short we will have to weigh those things
out.”
With its current budget, Ornelas says the transit
system is solid enough and has funds to continue
through the fiscal year ending June 28, 2009. This is due
partially in essence to a surplus in fuel because of
low gas prices, lower maintenance costs, and funds
from advertisements on the buses. In total there is
a surplus of over $160,000.
Councilor Chris Telfer pointed out this information
needed to be shared with incoming council members as
to not overwhelm them when they start in January.
The budget for the transit system has decreased since
the original budget was set. At one point the budget
for the system for the 2008-2009 was $1,650,000.
Currently, the system is running on a budget of
$1,375,000. This is a 16.7 percent decrease in
support from the general fund. The system is also
funded through federal grants and rider fares.
Ornelas also asked councilors to start thinking about
long term options and looking towards the future of
the transit system. With 47.3 percent of the
population voting yes on the transit district and
the repeal of the double majority in November,
Ornelas says the council can go back to the voters
in May and November next year to try to establish
the district again with a ballot measure to increase
property taxes by $0.38 cents per taxed assessed
value.
Another option presented was to initiate a payroll tax
like other transit districts within the state in
Lane County and with Portland’s TriMet. Ornelas
recommended not moving forward with this option
without having involvement from the business
community and other stakeholder groups.
If the council had decided to act and start looking at
cuts, the first affect to services would have
occurred in March 2009. Due to federal regulations,
public hearings must be held and notices must be
posted when there is an increase in fees or possible
cuts to public transit.
Ornelas also talked about increasing the fares for the
transit service and making some changes to routes 3
and 11 to better serve Bend’s Westside. The
increased fares would have minimal impact on the
current numbers, but Ornelas feels a change in the
flow of the service routes could make a significant
change for riders. “It’s a chance to make a change
that will have a real impact on people’s lives,” she
said.
The council will also discuss proposals for transit
contracts at its December 3 meeting. Though the
original contract was set to expire on November 30,
the city currently has a 5 month extension while
it makes a decision on the proposals.
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Bend City Council
continues to look at UGB Expansion, delays
making decision
The Bend City Council continued its exploration of the
Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) Expansion during a work
session Monday evening. The council looked more
closely at the recommendations made by the Bend
Planning Commission and asked several questions.
Above all, the councilors agreed they would not make
any decisions about the expansion until after the
public hearing to be held on November 24 at the
Deschutes County Services building. However, Mayor
Bruce Abernethy wanted councilors to get a feeling
on where they stand on recommendations and issues
surrounding the UGB.
Councilors paid special attention to areas that were
questioned by the Oregon Department of Land
Conservation and Development (DLCD). City staff
stated numerous times some of the questions raised
by the DLCD were addressed in later meetings. The
department is being sent updated materials.
Councilor Chris Telfer stated it will be interesting to
see how the council will move forward with what it
and the community wants to see as the future of Bend
especially in the amount of land allowed into the
UGB. “We should be in control of what the city looks
like and not be dictated to (by the state),” she
said. “We need to take a stand a little bit, this is
Bend … (we should) not let the state tell us what we
need to look like. I’m willing to take a more
aggressive stand.”
One of the major focuses of the expansion surrounds if
the UGB is defensible. City staff stated numerous
times they believe the expansion and the findings
are defensible, this will be critical as process
continues on Monday with the public hearing.
After the public hearing, the City Council and the
County Commission will work to approve a map to be
sent to state planning officials.
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Other Council Highlights
Bend prepares for winter: As the temperatures
start to turn colder, Streets Division Manager Hardy
Hanson addressed the council to let them know about
snow and ice plans for this winter. The city will
switch over from cinder to aggregate. The aggregate
is actually a heavy sand that can be reused and is
easier to clean up because it doesn’t clog the
city’s storm drains. The city currently has 10,000
cubic yards of the gravel stockpiled. The current
budget for this winter season is $340,000. A winter
with light snow generally averages around $300,000
in cost and a heavy winter season cost averages
around $600,000. Hanson also pointed out to
councilors that property owners are responsible for
clearing snow from their sidewalks. Councilor Jim
Clinton asked if there was a way for snow plows to
not put snow from the streets up to the sidewalks
since this is an issue many citizens get excited
about. Hanson replied the road crews try to do the
best job, but pointed out the core purpose is to get
the snow out of the roadway to allow for passage of
traffic.
City Council remembers Councilor Bill Friedman:
During Wednesday night’s council meeting, city
councilors acknowledged the loss of Councilor Bill
Friedman. Councilor Jim Clinton stated the council
had lost a valuable colleague and no one had worked
more tirelessly on city business than Friedman.
“There is no way Bill can be replaced,” he said. “We
have a huge hole on the city council… (and) we will
all have to work together to fill it the best we
can.” Councilors agreed with Clinton’s sentiments.
Councilor Linda Johnson said Friedman’s guidance
will be missed. “I find myself sitting here …
talking about transit and other issues that are
challenges and I find myself asking, “What would
Bill have said and what would Bill do?”
City Council to hold joint UGB Public Hearing:
As mentioned earlier in this publication, the Bend
City Council and the Deschutes County Commissioners
will hold a joint public hearing on the Urban Growth
Boundary Expansion. The meeting will take place at 4
p.m. at the Deschutes County Services Building. The
amount of people willing to testify is unknown at
this point. The City Council is hopeful all of the
public testimony can take place that evening. If the
public testimony does spill over into another
session, the City is looking at a possible date of
December 1.
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In the news
Bend Airport Manager to head South: City
officials will soon be searching for another airport
manager as current Bend Airport Manager Sue Palmeri
plans to step down on December 5. Palmeri has taken
a position as the director of the Stockton
Metropolitan Airport in California. City officials
have announced no timeline as of yet to fill the
position. The Airport Manager position is the only
full-time city position at the airport.
Bachelor announces operational and pricing changes:
Due to the decrease in fuel costs, Mt Bachelor has
reduced the price of the season pass to the Super
Shuttle by $75 to $175. Bachelor will also offer the
Carrousel beginner chairlift (which operates only on
weekends and holidays) for free and will have lift
service starting at 8:30 a.m. seven days a week. Mt.
Bachelor is ready to open operationally, but is
waiting for Mother Nature to cooperate. For more
up-to-date information on Mt. Bachelor and ski
conditions go to
www.mtbachelor.com.
Gas below $2: To many drivers it seemed like
prices of fuel would never come down, but as of
Thursday gas prices were below $2 in 23 states
including Oregon. Oil hit a 3 year low on Thursday
trading as low as $49.50 on the New York Mercantile
Exchange. MSNBC reports since the middle of July
when oil reached a record high of $147.27 a barrel,
it has declined 66 percent. Many experts state the
decline has occurred because motorists are driving
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Sponsorship
Opportunities Still Available for the Holiday
Party of the year!
The Chamber is doing things a bit differently this
year to help its member businesses with more
exposure opportunities. If your business is food
related, please contact Gayle for information on how
you can showcase your product to what we anticipate
to be a sold out house of 685 people at this year’s
event.
The Chamber is looking for several different
restaurants/caterers to be involved, but space is
limited so call ASAP. We are also still
looking for a facility sponsor to help defray the
cost of the facility. This can be one business or
several working together.
Again, this is a great exposure opportunity for
your business. You will also be listed in the
January Business Journal on the big layout covering
the party as well as exposure at the event itself,
on our Web site, etc. For further details, call Ann
at 382-3221.
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Ever thought of being a
Title Sponsor for a Chamber event?
2009 may be your golden opportunity! Historically
our title sponsorship rolls are filled for years on
end, thus excluding others from the chance to step
up to that opportunity. With the changing economic
climate, that may not be the case this year. If
something has piqued your interest in the past, call
Ann at 382-3221 to discuss what is available and to
get on a waiting list for the event(s) you would
like to have opportunity to look at just in case the
existing title sponsor makes a change.
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Upcoming
Chamber Events
 December
4 – Bend Chamber’s Holiday Party
The Bend Chamber is getting in the holiday mood
and has opened up registration for its Member
Holiday Party. This event sponsored by the Bend
Radio Group is the biggest party of the year and
fills up quickly! Due to increasing costs, this will
be the first year a small nominal fee of $5 is
charged to attendees. Don’t wait, make sure you sign
up online today, space is limited and
preregistration is necessary. To register go to
www.bendchamber.org/holiday.
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