City of Bandon
CITY MANAGER'S NEWSLETTER
August 8, 2008
This newsletter is an informal report by City Manager Matt Winkel on the news, issues, and other items of interest from the City of Bandon. It will normally be posted once each month (on the Friday following the City Council meeting) on the City's WEB Page at www.ci.bandon.or.us, and will be e-mailed directly to all subscribers. Subscribers will also receive copies of City Council, Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Commission, Architectural Review Board, and Water Resource Committee agendas via e-mail in advance of each meeting.
To subscribe or un-subscribe, or if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please e-mail to citymanager@ci.bandon.or.us. Your e-mail addresses will be kept confidential and not distributed or used for any purposes other than e-mail communications with the City of Bandon.
FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
- City Hall Now Open At 8 AM
- Utility Bills Late . . . Again!
- Bid Awarded For Kitchen Equipment At The Barn
- City Not Planning Any Right-Of-Way Vacations Along The Bluff
- Herbicide "No Spray" Areas
- Linda's Church Joke
CITY HALL NOW OPEN AT 8 AM
Several years ago, in an effort to reduce staff, and still get the necessary work done, City Hall moved the time it was open to the public to 10 AM. Although City employees still started work at 8 AM, those two hours allowed them to get additional work done before having to answer phones or staff the front desk. We also moved to an automated telephone answering machine during those first two hours each day. Several months ago, in response to requests from the public, we started answering the phones with a "real person" beginning at 8 AM. With some recent staff and workload reassignments, we are confident that we can go back to being open to the public for 9 hours each workday. So, effective August 1st, City Hall is now open to the public from 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday - Friday, except holidays, and the telephones are being answered by a "real person" at all times City Hall is open.
UTILITY BILLS LATE . . . AGAIN!
The City of Bandon sincerely apologizes for any inconveniences to our customers for the utility bills being sent out late again this month. Normally, the utility bills are sent out on the last working day of the month, but since we continue to experience problems with our new utility billing software, they did not go out until August 5th. To compensate, the "due date" on the bills has been moved back from the normal 15th of the month to the 20th. We had hoped that the new programs would result in more efficient operations, but apparently the programmers are having problems with Bandon since we operate the electric utility, which is not the norm for most municipalities. Hopefully, we can get the problems resolved in the near future. In the meantime, in an effort to get the bills out by the last day of the month, we will try doubling up on meter readers this month. That should enable us to get the data entered into the system earlier, which should give us several additional days to work with our software provider to make any system adjustments in time to get the bills out by the end of the month.
Once we get all of the utility billing systems working correctly, and are confident they will continue to function properly, we are working on another update to the format of the utility bills. Up to now, our utility bills have only showed current charges and past due amounts. Several customers have indicated that they would like the bills to show "previous balance" and the amount and date of "payments received." We have come up with a proposed way of showing these items on the bill, and will implement those changes when the current computer problems have been resolved.
BID AWARDED FOR KITCHEN EQUIPMENT AT THE BARN
The construction phase of the Community Center (Barn) renovation is currently scheduled for completion by October 4, 2008, and the facility will be open for events beginning in January, 2009. Funding has been in place to complete the project, with the exception of purchasing and installing the kitchen equipment. To get the project underway within the original budget, and not risk losing prior grants, the City had removed the kitchen equipment from the initial construction bid. Although the City has submitted several applications to various granting agencies, including one which is still pending, we have been largely unsuccessful in obtaining grants to provide the additional funding needed to complete the kitchen.
In June, 2008, the City rejected the two bids it received for new kitchen equipment at the Community Center (Barn), since they both exceeded the original budget estimate. Subsequently, the City amended the bid specifications by eliminating certain items which the City could individually purchase at a lower cost; providing an allowance for utilizing the existing stove, hood, backsplash, and fire suppression system; and broadening the specifications to allow cost quotes for alternates or imperfect (dented, scratched, etc.) equipment. The kitchen equipment was re-bid, and the City received three responses. At their August 4th meeting, the City Council awarded the contract to Curtis Kitchen Equipment, the lowest responsive bidder, in the amount of $162,133.00.
To allow the meals programs to move back into the Barn as quickly as possible, and to make sure the project is ready to accommodate the various events that have been scheduled in early 2009, the City Council and Urban Renewal Agency approved an intergovernmental agreement at their August 4th meetings, which will provide the additional funds necessary to complete the kitchen. Under the terms of that agreement, an amount up to $200,000.00 will be provided by the City's Block Grant Fund, which will then be repaid by Urban Renewal Area 2 over a term not to exceed 10 years, at an annual interest rate of 4.5%. The kitchen expenditures will include $162,133.00 for purchasing and installing the kitchen equipment, $2,066.00 for a 100% performance bond, and $35,425.00 for a number of additional items such as upgrading the kitchen wall finishes, installing roll-down security grills on the pass-through openings, paying for the licensed electrician and plumber to make the final equipment connections, and several smaller items which were omitted from the kitchen equipment bids since it was felt these items could be individually purchased by the City at a lower cost.
CITY NOT PLANNING ANY RIGHT-OF-WAY VACATIONS ALONG THE BLUFF
A subject which was raised during the Public Comment item on the August 4th City Council meeting agenda was the matter of whether any vacations or land swaps were being proposed for City rights-of-way along the ocean bluff. Rumors and e-mails had been circulating that the City Manager, the City Council, and/or the Parks & Recreation Commission were negotiating with private property owners to vacate or trade street rights-of-way along the bluff. The concern was that these public properties could be suitable for preservation, view protection, parks, and/or walking paths. The public was assured at the meeting, and this is to reinforce the fact, that there is no truth to those rumors. There are absolutely no proposals or discussions being considered that would vacate or otherwise deed or trade ownership of these rights-of-way to private property owners. It is also important to recognize that neither the City Manager nor any committee or commission has any authority to vacate rights-of-way or sell or trade any real estate owned by the City. Such actions can only be taken by the City Council, and must be voted upon in an open public meeting.
The Parks & Recreation Commission is currently preparing a comprehensive Parks Master Plan, which will include the location and designation of numerous locations throughout the City which would be suitable for neighborhood parks, waysides, viewpoints, walking paths, preservation areas, or other parks and recreation uses. These will include various City rights-of-way along the ocean bluff and other locations in the community. It is anticipated that their draft plan will be completed and public workshops scheduled within the next two months. After it has been reviewed by the public and various governmental agencies, it will be forwarded to the Planning Commission. Since the Parks Master Plan will become part of the City's Comprehensive Plan, the Planning Commission will hold formal public hearings to obtain additional public input. Then, the matter will be forwarded to the City Council, where the public will have the opportunity to make further comments prior to its final adoption.
HERBICIDE "NO SPRAY" AREAS
The City uses herbicides to control weeds alongside roads, sidewalks, and in drainage ditches. Controlling this vegetation is a critical part of the City's street and storm drainage maintenance program. Weeds and their roots can undermine and damage the pavement, and can block the flow of storm water in drainage ditches. Although they seldom cause physical damage to sidewalks, they are very unsightly when they grow in cracks and expansion joints. The herbicides used by the City are certified for use in these locations, are only applied by employees who are properly licensed, and the City maintains data sheets and records regarding exactly what type of herbicides are being used.
Many citizens, however, would prefer not to have herbicides sprayed in the rights-of-way adjacent to their property, and the City fully understands those concerns. Therefore, the City maintains a list of properties, the owners of which do not want herbicides sprayed in the adjacent rights-of-way. The only requirement is that the individual making the request accepts the responsibility of keeping the weeds cut and away from the edge of the pavement, cleared from the sidewalks, and under control in any drainage ways. If you would like the right-of-way adjacent to your property to be listed as a "Herbicide 'No Spray' Area," and are willing to keep those areas free of problem weeds, please contact Public Works Office Manager Tammy Smith at 347-2427, ext. 241, or e-mail tsmith@ci.bandon.or.us, and we will be more than happy to accommodate you.
LINDA'S CHURCH JOKE
After hearing this one, I think Linda needs some serious help:
A husband and wife walked up to view the body of his mother-in-law at the funeral.
As he began to weep, his wife poked him and said, "Why are you crying? You never even liked my mother!"
The husband replied, "I know, but I thought I saw her move!"
HA! HA! Ha! HO! Ho! HA! Ha! ha! ha! ha!
ANYTHING ELSE?
Do you have any questions, input, or suggestions? Are there any topics you want addressed or covered in the Newsletter? If so, please let me know at citymanager@ci.bandon.or.us. For more complex questions or issues that may take significant discussion, please feel free to contact me by telephone at (541) 347-2437, voice mail ext. 229, so we can schedule an appointment.
Also, remember to visit the City of Bandon WEB page at www.ci.bandon.or.us, where you can get more information on this wonderful place in which we live.
That's it for now. Have a great one!
