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Bend Chamber
Weekly
June 5, 2009
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator
This Week's
Highlights
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Possible
Panhandling Ordinance has been tabled
Though it is
a concern for many residents and business owners,
panhandlers will not likely face a city-wide
ordinance.
Several weeks ago the Bend City Council had been
approached by a business owner who was concerned
about the increase in panhandlers in parking lots,
on sidewalks, and on street corners. Several
councilors stated they had heard from citizens about
this matter and had seen the increase as well. At
that time, the city attorney was asked to look into
the possibility of creating a panhandling ordinance.
City staff looked at two such ordinances in existence
in Oregon in Medford and Roseburg. However,
Assistant City Attorney Gary Firestone was quick to
point out to councilors that any form of a
panhandling ordinance could result in a freedom of
speech lawsuit.
This was the situation with the Medford
anti-panhandling ordinance. Firestone told
councilors the law was struck down by a circuit
court judge because it was found to be
unconstitutional since it targeted a particular kind
of speech. He also told councilors Oregon’s statutes
“have some of the strongest constitutional
protections of speech within the union.”
The Roseburg panhandling ordinance specifically targets
the transfer of money or other goods in and out of
cars on streets and highways. Firestone says the
assumption is the transfer is impeding traffic. The
ordinance also applies to all people, including those
who might sell goods or solicit funds for charity.
While there are no freedom of speech concerns with the
Roseburg ordinance, to be fair and equitable, law
enforcement would have to cite not only the driver,
but also the panhandler. “(The ordinance) has to be
universally applied,” Firestone said.
Several councilors were concerned if an ordinance like
Roseburg’s was put into place, panhandlers would
switch from street corners to sidewalks.
Bend Police Chief Sandi Baxter told councilors she
doesn’t believe a panhandling law is necessary.
Though the department is short-staffed, she said
panhandling just hasn’t become a major concern for
public safety.
“We have seen an increase in panhandling and people
soliciting on street corners, but we really are not
getting any more calls that are directly related to
aggressive behavior,” said Baxter.
Councilor Jodie Barram stated she was unhappy to see
the city’s legal staff use their time to pursue the
idea of an ordinance. “Though I thank them for their
time, this has not been the most productive use of
the legal staff’s time right now,” she said. “We
need to let law enforcement do what they can and
abide by Oregon State Statutes rather than having a
city ordinance.”
Other members of the council stated looking at the
ordinance was a good exercise because it educated
the councilors and citizens. “In reality there is
not much we can do, but we did show the community
that we made an effort to look into it,” said
Councilor Oran Teater.
Councilors agreed the city needs to continue to monitor
the problem and be responsive to citizen’s concerns.
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City Council
Highlights
Parking Permit fees likely
to increase: During its Wednesday work
session, the Bend City Council received updated
information on an increase for parking permit fees
in Downtown Bend. According to City of Bend Downtown
Manager Jeff Datwyler, most parking permits will see
an 18 percent fee increase. The permit fees have not
been raised in three years, but city staff cites an
increase is needed to cover increases in parking
enforcement and credit card transactions. The
proposed fees vary from parking areas. The parking
structure could see an increase from $48 per month
to $50 per month. The Hospital Hill area could see
an increase from $31.50 to $34 per month. City
Manager Eric King pointed out to councilors now is
the time to increase the fees a little instead of
waiting and increasing the fees to an even higher
rate later. The council also looked at a few other
fees. The council will vote on a fee resolution for
all fee increases on June 17.
Bend Summer Festival might
last a little longer: C3 Events has
requested a Noise Permit that would allow the Bend
Summer Festival to extend 60 minutes from 10 p.m. to
11 p.m. C3 Events Owner Cameron Clark told
councilors this would help to bring in additional
revenue for food and beverage stands. He also stated
after the event had taken place he would do a post
event evaluation and report back to the city
council. Several councilors were concerned allowing
the increased time limit would open a Pandora’s box
for other events. “I think a trial is worthwhile,”
stated City Councilor Oran Teater. “I appreciate the
fact that it could be a Pandora’s box … but downtown
is noisy after 10 on a regular summer night.”
Councilors suggested in the post event evaluation,
Clark also speak with the Downtowners Association
and surrounding neighborhood associations. The final
decision for the noise permit will ultimately rest
with City Manager Eric King. King stated he hopes to
have a decision to C3 Events soon.
Council extends public hearing on Bend Development
Code: The Bend City Council decided to
extend the public hearing on an amendment to the
utilities section of the development code after
several residents stated they weren’t properly
notified of the open meeting. The utilities
amendment was part of an original City of Bend
Development code update, but councilors pulled the
section out to revise some of the language contained
within the ordinance regarding utility shelters.
Frustrated citizens told councilors they tried to
speak at the May 6 meeting, but were told the public
hearing was closed. They were upset the city had not
properly noticed the continuation of the public
hearing to Wednesday’s meeting on the utilities
section. According to city staff, no notice was sent
to the newspapers or the neighborhood associations.
Councilor Oran Teater said he was concerned to hear
from so many frustrated citizens about the lack of
notice and wanted citizens to have another
opportunity to speak before council. The council
agreed to extend the public hearing on the utility
section to June 17.
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2009
Bend Chamber Commute Options Employer of the
Year
Eagle Crest
Resort is the winner of the 2009 Bend Chamber
Commute Options Employer of the Year Award, in
recognition of outstanding efforts to promote
commute options such as walking, biking and
carpooling.
Employee Transportation Coordinator Toni Stephan made
an outstanding effort in distributing program
information, gathering rewards requests, and
gathering quarterly report information from a wide
range of departments. Commuting classes, scheduled
monthly, are also taught by Commute Options for
Central Oregon for Eagle Crest current and new
employees interested in carpool rewards and commuter
rewards.
In carpooling efforts, many Eagle Crest employees drive
long distances to work at Eagle Crest, and go out of
their way to find carpool partners. Employee Jess
Richesin commutes from Madras in his minivan,
stopping up to four times to pick up fellow
commuters.
Eagle Crest is also very supportive of biking efforts.
The accounting department is currently looking into
bike commuter tax incentive. TJ Paskewich is a
long-time die-hard bike commuter.
Eagle Crest has participated in Commute Options
Week since 2007. Last year, they achieved 43 percent
participation, which is outstanding for a large
company composed primarily of rural commuters. This
year they are planning to hold a raffle: for every
round-trip using a commute option, each employee
receives one raffle ticket, and may receive up to 5
tickets for the entire week!
The Bend Chamber Commute Options Award presentation is
scheduled for Friday, June 19 at noon and will be
held at Eagle Crest Resort.
Submitted by Jeff Monson, Commute Options for
Central Oregon
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Central Oregon
Companies make 100 Best Green Companies list
Oregon
Business Magazine recently published its list of the
100 Best Green Companies to Work For in Oregon and
several Central Oregon companies made the cut.
Companies were chosen based on a report submitted by
each company, and confidential employee surveys.
Over 30,000 employees and 372 Oregon employers
participated in the surveys which rated satisfaction
and importance in five categories related to
sustainable practices
Six companies from the Central Oregon area were chosen
including Clear Choice Health Plans and Bend Garbage
and Recycling.
“It isn’t easy being green, but this year’s inaugural
class of the 100 Best Green Companies to Work for in
Oregon show that if you’re committed to sustainable
practices, it pays off not only for the environment
and the bottom line, but also in being a great place
to work,” stated Oregon Business Magazine editors.
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Unemployment rates
continue to rise in Central Oregon
The
unemployment rates for April increased once again
for Central Oregon counties and varied from 15.9
percent in Deschutes County to 19.9 percent in Crook
County.
The rate for Deschutes County is more than double from
a year ago. According to the State of Oregon
Employment Department, the rate is at its highest
since 1990.
The county did see some job gains in April with 710
jobs. The industries with the largest gains were
professional and business services, accommodation
and food services, and mining, logging, and
construction.
The state’s unemployment rate remained essentially
unchanged from March’s numbers at 12 percent.
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In
the News
Telfer’s affordable
healthcare bill moves to Governor’s desk:
In a unanimous vote on Wednesday, the Oregon House
approved Senate Bill 862 which would provide
Oregonians access to affordable healthcare. The bill
empowers communities to provide workers with access
to health care through partnerships between
employers, employees, and community providers. “This
bill gives communities a new tool to help insure
workers who don’t have healthcare,” said Senator
Chris Telfer (R-Bend), the sponsor of the
legislation, in a recent release. “This bill builds
on a model that works, providing an opportunity for
local entities to partner together and work towards
lowering the cost of healthcare and insuring more
individuals.” The bill still needs to be signed by
Governor Kulongoski. The bill follows the Access
Health model from Muskegon, Michigan. Using a
“multi-share model,” employers, employees and the
community contribute to the overall cost of health
services. Nationwide there are at least a dozen
multi-share programs.
City of Bend receives $5.6
billion in federal stimulus funds: The
City of Bend was recently awarded $5.6 million in
federal stimulus funds from the Oregon Economic and
Community Development department. According to a
recent release, half of the money is a grant while
the remaining portion is a loan with a 20 year term
at an interest rate of three percent. The stimulus
funds will be used for four water projects within
the city including the following: the Timber Ridge /
Murphy Road water line, Shiloh Well Site Upgrade, Pilot Butte Well #4 Project, and the installation of automated
meter reading devices in a section of the city yet
to be determined. "We appreciate the benefits these
funds will bring to the City and they will assist us
in continuing to improve and maintain a safe and
healthy water supply,” said Utility Services Manager
Tom Hickmann in a recent release.
Annual City Surplus auction
scheduled: The City of Bend’s Annual
Surplus auction will take place on Saturday, June 13
at the City of Bend Public Works Facility. According
to the City, registration and previews will begin at
8 a.m. and bidding will starting at 9 a.m. Items up
for auction include vehicles, televisions,
electronics, office furniture and much more. A full
list of auction items can be viewed on the City’s
Web site at
www.ci.bend.or.us under the 2009 Annual Auction
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Upcoming Events
June 9 – Professional Development Series –
Preventing & Detecting Small Business Fraud – Do
you know if your business has been a victim of
fraud? How about employee theft? In today’s economy,
these are the realities many businesses are facing. Many
business owners are now looking at a variety of
measures they can use to detect and prevent
fraudulent activity. In this session,
Evan Dickens and Brian Newton with Jones & Roth CPAs, will provide
a myriad of information on fraud and fraud
prevention. Attendees will get the chance to look at
statistics of the prevalence of fraud, reasons for
the activities, and typical employee profiles. The
presentation will include example cases that point
out the long term nature of fraudulent activities
spanning years and decades. It is often not large
amounts, but small amounts over years of time that
impact businesses. The Jones & Roth
representatives will also cover a variety of no
cost/low cost preventative measures business owners
or managers can implement today to prevent and
detect fraudulent activities. Please RSVP for this
event by noon on Monday, June 8 at
www.bendchamber.org. If you have trouble signing
up, call 382-3221.
June 16 – Professional Development Series – “11
Ways to Avoid Social Media Hype and Increase Your
Networking Productivity” Everybody’s talking
about your company…behind your back. Social media is
rapidly changing the way business is done. As
people jump on the bandwagon and invest heavily in
this technology, fortunes continue to soar and
freefall with just the click of a mouse or a Tweet.
As a business owner or key executive, how can
you adapt to this shift, reduce the time consuming
tasks of managing multiple social networks, avoid
the risk of damaging your company’s reputation, AND
protect important business relationships? In this
informative session, Lisa Nirell from EnergizeGrowth
will show you. She provides a fresh look at the
benefits of deploying a social media strategy—and
how today’s business leaders must protect themselves
from its hidden pitfalls. “Lisa’s Tried and Tested
Tools List” and case studies will save you from
wasting networking effort and marketing dollars. If
you would like to attend this session, please RSVP
by June 15 at
www.bendchamber.org.
June 17 – Young Professionals Network – Sun
Mountain Fun Center - Built in 1994, Sun
Mountain Fun Center continues to provide fun and
entertainment for families of all ages. The facility
concentrates on providing a safe, fun environment
for families to interact together. Sun Mountain Fun
Center just recently went through a 9 month remodel
where it upgraded to a full-service kitchen, added
indoor bumper cars, resurfaced its bowling lanes,
added giant-screen television monitors above the
lanes, and reworked the billiards area. Join the
Young Professionals Network in exploring Sun
Mountain Fun Center's various attractions including
bowling, arcades, billiards, go-karts, mini golf,
and much more. This month is also community
involvement month and the YPN plans to help the
American Cancer Society.
Make sure to bring in summer hats and scarves for
cancer patients as well as $5 gas cards for
treatment trips. The more items you bring, the more
chances you have to enter to win some great door
prizes. Please RSVP for this event by noon on
Tuesday, June 16 at
www.bendchamber.org.
June 19 – Town Hall Breakfast – Salem
Update with Senator Chris Telfer - The Oregon State
Legislature has now been in session for 6 months. So
how are things going in Salem? What are some of the
challenges Central Oregon faces? Is there any good
news? In this month’s Town Hall Forum, get an inside
look on what’s happening in Salem from Senator Chris
Telfer. Telfer will walk Chamber members through
some of the challenges and accomplishments she has
seen thus far. In this interactive format, members
will also have the chance to interact with Senator
Telfer and ask questions they have. If you would
like to attend this event, please RSVP by noon on
Thursday, June 18 at
www.bendchamber.org. If you have trouble signing
up, call 382-3221.
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