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 Bend Chamber
 777 NW Wall St, Ste 200
 Bend, OR 97701

 Phone: (541) 382-3221
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 www.bendchamber.org

Bend Chamber Weekly
October 17, 2008
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator

This Week's Highlights....

• Chamber announces Board of Director Vote Results

• Local educators look at economics and the future

• City Council looks at increased fines for parking tickets

• City Council Highlights

• Bend featured on CNN Travel Web site

• Central Oregon brewers receive honors in Denver

• In the news

• Upcoming Chamber Events

     The ballots have been counted and the votes are in for the 2009 Board of Directors. Out of the six candidates, Chamber members were asked to vote for four. There are two incumbents and two new additions to the Chamber Board. Here are the results in no particular order:
Steve Galash, R & H Construction Co.
Jack Holt, Murray & Holt Motors Inc.
David Rosell, Rosell Financial Group
Ron Wright, Cessna Aircraft Company
 

Local educators look at economics and the future

     At the Bend Chamber Education Forecast Breakfast, Chamber members had the opportunity to look at how education influences the local economy and what is in store for the future in Central Oregon.
     Representatives from Bend-La Pine Schools, Central Oregon Community College (COCC), and Oregon State University Cascades (OSU) were on hand to answer questions and give details about what taxpayers want to know.
     Dr. Ron Wilkinson, Superintendent of Bend-La Pine Schools, displayed many interesting facts about the district’s impact on the local economy. According to Economic Development for Central Oregon (EDCO), the school district is Central Oregon’s second largest employer paying $71 million in salaries for the 2007-2008 school year. EDCO also reports that every payroll dollar is spent an average of seven times which leverages about $500 million dollars into the economy.
     The school district also helps to sustain 760 jobs in the construction industry each year as it looks to complete more than 170 projects over the next five years.
     Wilkinson also stated the district's students continue to exceed state benchmarks year after year in reading. “Our district has made a goal to have all students reading by the end of third grade,” he said.
     The district also believes student success helps to ensure a healthy economy. Wilkinson reported more than 89 percent of Bend-La Pine Schools’ graduates state they continued their education within five years of graduation. “A higher percentage of students go on to further their education and we are proud of the role we play,” he said.
     Switching gears to higher education, both COCC and OSU are looking towards the future for higher education. Dr. James Middleton, President of COCC, posed the question “Is education part of the answer or part of the problem?”
     Middleton stated the answer lies in decisions voters make, legislative decisions on education over the next four years, and how the community “rises to the occasion.”
     COCC has continued to grow and has seen a 19 percent increase in credit programs this year alone. The college currently has a local bond measure (9-58) before voters. If passed, the bond would help to expand the Health/Science programming with nursing, dental assisting, medical assisting, and licensed massage therapy. New programs like pharmacy technician and physical therapy assisting would also be introduced.
     The bond would also pay for a new health careers and science building and help to construct other regional centers in Madras and La Pine.
     Middleton says the college is committed to bringing new programs and expanding education for Central Oregonians. In the future, the college is looking towards a technology center that would be backed by state funding. COCC will also look to continue partnerships with OSU Cascades and continue with long-term facility infrastructure needs.
     OSU Cascades is also looking towards the future and Dr. Diana Sloane, Campus Executive Director, unveiled the school’s Strategic Plan for 2008-09.
     The university would like to increase enrollment by 5 to 10 percent, add 4 new degree programs by 2011, have fiscal stability, and connect to the community through various outreach efforts.
     Sloane stated in the next few years, more employers will be looking for employees that have at least a Bachelors degree. She pointed out a work force armed with Bachelor degrees will only help to enhance the local economy and bring in more businesses.
     “We looked at programs that would benefit Central Oregon and help to continue to drive the economy,” Sloane said.
     Some of the new programs OSU hopes to offer at is campus include a Bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management, a Masters in Teaching in Secondary Education, a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, and a Bachelor’s degree in Sustainability.
     OSU Cascades also hopes to increase scholarships to students. Sloane stated there are so many students in Oregon that need support to go to college. “Even a small scholarship has such an impact on students,” she said.
     **For more information about the Educational Forecast Breakfast, make sure to look for your copy of the November Business Journal.
 

     The City of Bend is looking at cracking down on parking violations in the two hour free parking zones in Downtown Bend. In a work session Wednesday night, the Bend City Council looked at higher fines for repeat offenders.
     City officials told councilors parking is a problem downtown as business owners and employees are taking up customer parking spaces; even after they have received multiple tickets.
     Downtown Manager Jeff Datwyler told councilors while the number of permit sales is trending upward, parking citations are also increasing. “There are still a significant number (of people) that are still using the downtown parking,” he said. “There are 62 people who have received a total of 1,069 citations in the last year.”
     Diamond Parking Services Operations Manger Todd Clifford, stated there is one person who in the last year has received over $4,000 in parking citations and has paid every single fine. “It’s not unusual to have people pay $300 a month in citations just for convenience,” he told councilors.
     The council is considering several options presented by city staff that will increase parking fines. Currently, the fine for going over the two hour time limit is $22.
     The options favored by councilors include a fine that would jump to $120 after ten violations at which time the person would be deemed a chronic offender. The driver would also have to go through six month period without a parking violation to be taken off the chronic offender list. Another possibility includes the $120 fine and a driver must purchase a permit for six months and go without a parking violation. Should drivers continue with violations prior to the six month period in either option, they will be expected to continue to pay $120 per ticket.
     Many of the councilors were frustrated with the continued violations by residents who keep paying the fines with no regard for the law. “I’ve always been troubled by people being able to buy their way out of situations,” said Councilor Bill Friedman. “If you’ve got the money, you can park anywhere you want to and we don’t care… Clearly the person that can pay $4,000 doesn’t care what the law is. They can buy their way out of it and I don’t know if that’s a good place for the city to be.”
     Councilor Mark Capell echoed Friedman’s statements saying parking has been an issue for a long time in Downtown Bend. “It’s time we do something about it,” he said.
     No final decisions were made about parking tickets, but city staff will come back with another option to take serious steps for violators.
     The city is also looking at revising parking codes for large vehicles that extend out into the roadway downtown and drivers who try to evade parking violations by moving down only a block and a half. City staff will bring more information about these issues to councilors at a later meeting.
 

     Councilors receive update for Bend Municipal Airport: The Bend City Council received an update from Bend Municipal Airport Manager Susan Palmeri. Palmeri introduced proposals for an increase in rent and limitations on storage within T-hangers. The councilors also heard discussion about increasing the reference code from a B II to a C II during the airport design standards. Palmeri stated by using a C II reference code in the design standards, the airport could eventually allow larger, faster aircraft at the airport while also maintaining safety. Several councilors were concerned about the increase in the reference code.
     Council has first reading of Temporary Housing amendment: The Bend City Council held the first reading/public hearing on the Temporary Housing amendment that would allow homeless shelters to be in commercial districts. City staff stated the amendment needed to be made due to the fact the code was placed in the wrong section and the definition for Temporary Housing was “inadvertently omitted” in the 2006 updated. Shepherd’s House Executive Director Linda Johnson said, “It’s the right thing to do for our community. If we don’t do it, who will?” A vote on the amendment will take place at a later council meeting. City staff would like to see the ordinance in place by November 5. Staff stated it would allow shelters time to apply for conditional use permits.
 

     Bend was recently featured on CNN’s Travel Web site for Budget Travel. In the article, entitled “Around the Bend in Oregon,” reporter Naomi Lindt takes readers through her adventures on a long weekend in Bend.
     From meeting local restaurant owners and artists to a visit to the Deschutes County Historical Society, Lindt makes it a point to discover all the nooks and crannies of the city.
     The article makes sure to point out the variety of restaurants that can be found in Bend. From Deep and Merenda to the Deschutes Brewery to McMenamins to Goody’s, Lindt makes sure to list food that would capture everyone’s appetite. At one point she stated Bend has more restaurants per capita than Portland.
     Bend’s recreation and surrounding beauty is also highlighted as Lindt decided to take a hike at the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
     If you would like to view the article in its entirety go to http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/10/15/bend.oregon/index.html.
 

     Several Oregon Beers, including those from Central Oregon, won awards at the Great American Beer Festival recently held in Denver. The Deschutes Brewery won the gold in the category of American-Style or German-Style Sour Ale for The Dissident. The company also won a bronze in the category of Gluten-Free Beer for Chinquapin Butte Golden Ale. Cascade Lakes Brewery received a bronze award in the category of Session Beer for Blonde Bombshell and Bend Brewing Co received a bronze in the category of American-Style India Pale Ale for Hop Head.
 

     McMenamins featured on travel blog: McMenamins Old St. Francis School was recently featured on the travel blog Gadling. Writer Meg Massie said, “There's something deliciously wrong about turning a Catholic schoolhouse into a pub and brewery, but in Bend, Oregon, the delicious far outweighs the wrong.” The blog goes on to talk about the great amenities McMenamins offers from Monday Night Football to movies to live music to great accommodations.
     BMC Promotes Breast Cancer Awareness: In its efforts to help raise awareness of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October), Bend Memorial Clinic partnered with local Bend florists to give flowers to every woman scheduled for a mammogram. The flowers were donated by All Occasion Flowers, Autry’s, Donners, Fred Meyer, and Wildflowers. According to the American Cancer Society, over 178,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to occur among women in the United States during 2008. Over 40,000 women will die from breast cancer and around 2,000 men will be diagnosed and 450 men will die of breast cancer during 2008.
     Wind farm planned off of Oregon Coast: In a deal with the Tillamook Intergovernmental Development Agency, San Francisco based company Principle Power has an agreement to build a 150-megawatt deep-sea wind farm. Though the project is still in the early stages, the plan is to place turbines on deep ocean platforms off the Oregon coast. The company anticipates the wind farm to start operations between 2013 and 2015. The cost of the project is estimated at $375 million.