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Bend Chamber
Weekly
November 7, 2008
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator
This Week's
Highlights
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Economic Forecast Breakfast Recap
“Yes Virginia, Oregon is in a recession,” said
Oregon State Economist Dr. Tom Potiowsky. “The good news
is we are going to get out of this mess.”
Over 500 people gathered Thursday morning to hear
Potiowsky’s forecast on the economy for 2009. The
picture might seem grim now, but he pointed out the
state is expected to start pulling out of the
recession in mid to late 2009.
Unlike in July when people were worrying about
inflation, some of the main concerns now revolve
around credit and consumers.
“You have to bring back down demand with supply,”
Potiowsky said. “Demand will not come roaring back.”
But how do things start to right themselves? Potiowsky
believes it revolves around confidence in the
market. “What we need back in the credit market is a
sense of confidence,” he said. However, Potiowsky
did admit this could take time and some activity
will have to happen within lending institutions etc.
Consumers will also not be quick to spend as much due
to the lower amount of equity in their houses.
Potiowsky pointed out this was the first place
consumers generally appealed to for disposable
income.
Staying on the same line of consumers, consumers can be
perceived as not happy campers. Potiowsky said
consumer sentiment is actually now below that of
9-11 numbers.
Unemployment numbers will continue to tell the story of
the recession. Oregon will continue to see the
crunch of jobs lost, but the depth of the crunch
will depend on how far the recession goes into the
base of the manufacturing markets and other leading
industries.
Potiowsky did note unemployment benefit claims continue
to rise and are up 50 percent from one year ago. He
stated the state is reaching recession levels.
Another portion of the economy that has taken a hit is
the housing industry. From construction to lending,
it's been a very tough time. Currently, Oregon ranks
as the 5th lowest in the nation in terms of past due
mortgages. However, in subprime delinquencies the
state ranks 8th. Potiowsky says this is due to the
fact Oregon had such a low level of subprime loans,
that even with the delinquency rate the state ranks
higher.
He also stated urban growth boundaries might have
also helped with the delinquency rate and
foreclosure problems. “Although developers didn’t
like it because it hindered them from building, it
did help this time around unlike places like Phoenix
and Las Vegas,” Potiowsky said. “We have less to
adjust to.”
Unlike the federal government, state and local
governments have to balance their budgets each year.
Potiowsky said there are murmurs of another stimulus
package that would also give aid to state and local
governments. However, he pointed out those who
weren’t as fiscally responsible might receive more
help than those who were fiscally responsible.
Overall, Potiowsky says business will have to look at
the cost cutting aspects for budgets and if the cuts
go too deep, they might have to look at releasing
personnel as a last resort. If a business is doing
very well, Potiowsky says now is the time to take
advantage of the market share.
Above all, he recommends businesses stick to their core
business and be honest with their financial
institutions about how things are going. “They need
to keep the financial lines up to date about what’s
happening and try not to hide anything,” said
Potiowsky. “Financial institutions will be more
likely to work with a business that is up front and
will
keep them as a customer.”
Tom Potiowsky's
presentation is available at on the Chamber's Web
site at:
www.bendchamber.org/PDFs/Vision09.pdf .For more
information about the Economic Forecast Breakfast,
be sure to read the article that will appear in the
December Business Journal.
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City Council/County
Commission Work Session Recap
The Bend City Council and the Deschutes County
Commissioners held a joint work session on Monday
evening to discuss the Bend Planning Commission’s
recommendations for the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).
Before the council and commissioners was Alternative
4 with 3 recommended amendments and 4 other
recommendations.
The amendments include removing the Goal 5 study area
form the west-side parcels and instead estimate
approximately 299 acres of ASI land as being located
within the proposed UGB (notated by clouds on the
map), add a 300 foot residential buffer along the
Hunnel Acres Subdivision in the Bowery Lane
neighborhood, and increase the low-density
transition buffer from 360 feet to approximately a
quarter mile on the Miller-Day properties.
Some of the other recommendations include transferring
additional residential land from the Miller-Day
properties to Section 11 or Buck Canyon or both,
possibly increasing the size of two sections of
property to include master planning (Section 11 and
Section 5 a.k.a “the thumb”), and limiting
restrictions that would enforce a location for an
auto mall on North Highway 97.
Many questions were asked by officials
including why a parcel of land would be divided if
there was a natural barrier. Commissioner Dennis
Luke questioned some of the boundary lines drawn
because it cuts property in half. The section
referred to as the “thumb” by the planning
commission is actually cut in half. Luke is
concerned this takes away options for the property
owner.
The Bend Planning commission stated it was comfortable
with splitting lots because in some cases it would
be unavoidable.
The “thumb” section has been identified as a special
section where about 100 acres has been set aside for
a possible hospital in the southern section of Bend.
“When you start splitting a tax lot that’s privately
owned because it is to the benefit of the city and
take other property out, I have a problem with
that,” said Luke. “You either take it all in or you
take it all out. It should be either in or out.”
Some of the councilors had concerns about the “thumb”
section and what the needs are for transportation,
etc., by ODOT.
Another special section that councilors and
commissioners discussed revolved around the proposed
auto mall in the north end. On the special section
for a future auto mall, Bend Planning Commisson
Chair Cliff Walkey stated the auto mall designation
would only last for an arbitrary five years. “We
were sensitive to not tie the hands of the property
owners in case the auto mall didn’t come to fruition
so there would be other options,” he told officials.
Councilor Chris Telfer pointed out that the five year
timeline would be difficult for anyone to fill right
now due to the current economy.
Though there were various discussions, many of the city
councilors felt it wasn’t the right time to make any
decisions or recommendations until further research
was done by city staff on specific topics and the
officials themselves had a chance to look over the
material.
“This is something that has taken 18 months and (we
have) two volumes we haven’t even looked at yet, and
we are trying to make some major decisions here,”
Telfer said. She suggested the council hold another
work session to go over the information and hear
from staff.
Councilor Jim Clinton felt the council shouldn’t be
making any decisions until after the public hearing.
He said making too many decisions before the public
hearing scheduled for November 24 would be
“improper.”
The council will hold another work session on this
topic on November 17 without the county
commissioners. Commissioner Dennis Luke felt this
was a good idea because the UGB plan itself should
come from the city council.
The next step in the process will be a joint hearing
held by the council and commissioners on November
24. The location was originally set for City Hall,
but many of the commissioners felt the venue would
be too small. The city is currently looking at
another venue.
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City Council Recap
Council approves Temporary Housing Ordinance:
The Bend City Council unanimously approved the
Temporary Housing Ordinance. The code will now be
updated to reflect this change since the ordinance
was placed in the wrong section of the code and the
definition for Temporary Housing was omitted in the 2006
update. This ordinance will now establish Temporary
Housing as a conditional use in the CB, CL, and CG
zones. This ordinance was effective as of November
5.
Suterra project continues to move forward: City
Councilors had the first reading on changing the
zoning of approximately 8 acres of land within
Juniper Ridge to Industrial Light. This continues
the move forward on the sale of land to Suterra. The
parcel is located 700 feet to the north of the Les
Schwab Headquarters. The City Hearings officer also
recommended Suterra have a trip cap monitoring
device installed to ensure trip cap compliance is
met. City staff stated they have been working with
the Oregon Department of Transportation and Sueterra
about this condition. The staff requested the
council remove the condition because the enforcement
mechanism will be onerous to the applicant and the
staff. This will also enable more flexibility in
monitoring by the Juniper Ridge Transportation
Association, stated staff.
Council approves deferral of SDCs on modular
classrooms: In a 5 to 1 decision, the Bend City
Council voted to approve an intergovernmental
agreement with the Bend-La Pine School district that
would defer paying any system development charges (SDCs)
costs on modular classrooms until permanent
structures are in place. The modular classrooms
would be under an exemption status for five years.
After that time, the school district would have to
pay SDCs. Councilor Jim Clinton voted against this
agreement.
Council approves adjustments to the budget: In a
4-2 decision, the Bend City Council approved “Budget
Appropriation Adjustments in Recognition of Revenue
Shortfalls.” Councilor Chris Telfer questioned if
the council should table this decision until
decisions can be made about Bend Area Transit. City
Manager Eric King stated the council will look at
this issue at its next meeting in two weeks. This
will give staff the time to develop several
solutions and recommendations. “The next work
session on (November 19) will be dedicated to the
transit item,” said King. “It’s a stand alone item,
and we are going to have to make some cuts.” Both
Telfer and Clinton voted no to the adjustments.
City receives additional HUD funding: The City
of Bend recently received additional Community Block
Grant Funding from HUD. Given the number of
foreclosures within Bend, the city was granted a
total of $410,598. If combined with other resources,
City of Bend Affordable Housing Manager Jim Long
believes at least 20 homes could be helped. “If we
can spend our money fast, we could (even) be
eligible for even more funding,” he told councilors.
Recent Appointments: Several appointments were
made at Wednesday’s meeting. Noelle Fredland was
appointed to the at-large position on the Visit Bend
Board of Directors, and Frank Hantmeyer and Albert
Wright were appointed to the Public Transportation
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“Stuff the Bus”
To help Central Oregon’s Neighborhood Impact (Food
Bank), several businesses within the community have
gathered together and are promoting the “Stuff The
Bus” event. Mt. Bachelor has provided a bus that
will park at various locations throughout Bend and
Redmond. The goal of the project is to fill the bus
with non-perishable food items for families within
the local community. The bus will be parked from
noon to 6 p.m. at the following locations: November
11 at Cheerleaders Restaurant in Bend, November 13
at PremierWest Bank (Hwy 20 Bend Tucscan Square) in
Bend and on November 14 at PremierWest Bank in
Redmond at the Nolan Town Center. Combined
Communications will be broadcasting live. If you
have any further questions, please call Theresa
Mayer at 633-2784. |
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In the news
Powdr
Corp receives recognition from EPA: Mt.
Bachelor’s parent company Powdr Corp recently
received the 2008 Green Power Leadership Award from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This
award recognizes the commitment and contribution of
the leading green power purchasers. According to a
recent press release, Powdr Corp was only one of
the organizations to receive the award. “We are
proud to receive this prestigious award from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” said Brent
Giles, director of environmental affairs for Powdr
Corp. “Purchasing green power helps our organization
become more sustainable while also sending message
to other companies and individuals across the U.S.
that supporting clean sources of electricity is a
sound business decision and an important choice in
reducing climate risk.”
Road Closures: As of Monday, November 3, the
Paulina/East Lake Road gate was closed by the
Deschutes County Road Department. The road closure
will be at the Ten Mile Sno-Park. Also, as of
Tuesday, November 4, the Cascade Lakes Highway (Road
46) was closed by the Deschutes County Road
Department and Deschutes County Search and Rescue.
The road closure will be at the Deschutes Bridge
gate and at the gate near the entrance to Mt.
Bachelor. According to a county press release, “road
closed signs will be posted and any vehicle within
the closure may be cited.” For more information call
388-6581.
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Upcoming
Chamber Events
November
12 – Young Professionals Network - The Insurance
Center and the Chiropractic Family Health Care
in the Welker Building, invite you to the last event
of the year for the Bend Chamber Young Professionals
Network. We’re asking attendees to bring items for
Saving Grace (formerly COBRA). Items needed include
cell phones and winter accessories like hats,
gloves, and scarves for women and children. For each
item you donate, you will be able to place one
business card into a bowl for a chance to win one of
our fantastic door prizes! For Bend Chamber members
the cost is $7 if you pre-register, or $15 at the
door. To register for this event go to
www.bendchamber.org.
November 14 - Energy Management for your Facility
Using the Energy Star Portfolio Manager -
Understanding current and past energy use is how
many organizations identify opportunities to improve
energy performance and gain financial benefits.
Learn how EPA's Portfolio Manager can help you
evaluate the energy performance of facilities you
own, manage or hold for investment. Who should
participate? Property managers, energy managers,
engineers, and organizational leaders interested in
learning about energy performance benchmarking. This
event will take place at Central Oregon Community
College, Pioneer Building Room 112 from 9 a.m. to
noon. The price is $25. Limited Space Available. If
you have any questions call Anna Siebenborn at
503-998-8394. Register online here. (link to:
www.brownpapertickets.com/event/42020)
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