CITY MANAGER'S NEWSLETTER
March 6, 2009
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, Committee for Citizen Involvement, 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
- Committee And Commission Appointments
- Request To Extend The Hours Of 8th Street SW Closure Denied
- Tree Manual Completed And Will Soon Be Available
- Bid Awarded For Wastewater Plant Ultra-Violet Disinfection System
- City Council Adopts Resolution Supporting The Oregon Main Street Program In Bandon
- City Council Supports Legislation Granting Local Control Over Future Transient Occupancy Taxes
- Appeal Filed Against Parks Master Plan
- Barn-Community Center Grand Opening Event Scheduled For April 18th
- Linda's Church Joke
COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS
The City Council unanimously approved Mayor Schamehorn's appointment of former City Councilor Lou Franyi to the Budget Committee, to fill a vacant term which will expire on June 30, 2011. The City Council also unanimously approved the appointment of Patricia Armstrong to the Water Resource Committee. Her term will expire on June 30, 2012, and she will be replacing Brian Vick, who was recently elected to the City Council. Mr. Vick, who has been very active in serving on various prior committees associated with water treatment plant improvement projects, will continue to serve as the non-voting City Council liaison to the Water Resource Committee. Congratulations to Lou and Patricia on their appointments, and a sincere thanks to Brian for his continued service!
REQUEST TO EXTEND THE HOURS OF 8TH STREET SW CLOSURE DENIED
The City received a request from a resident along 8th Street SW to extend the hours the street is closed along the north side of Harbor Lights Middle School. In 1998, manual gates were installed to close the section of 8th Street SW between Edison Avenue SW and Gross Creek. This was done to improve the safety for school children who crossed this section of street to access the sports fields and playground areas through which the street passes. Currently, this section of the street is closed from 10 am to 3 pm on school days, and open at all other times. Some of the residents along the section of 8th Street SW between Gross Creek and Bandon Avenue have expressed their concerns about the dangers associated with vehicles speeding when the street is open, and vehicles being forced to turn around in their driveways when the street is closed. The proposal was to close the street at all times, except from 7:45 am to 8:45 am and 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm on school days and special school events, and that "dead end" signs be posted at both ends of the open sections.
City Planning, Public Works, and Police Department staff met several times over the last few months to discuss the requested closure with the residents along the portion of 8th Street SW from Bandon Avenue to Gross Creek. The initial request was that the street be permanently closed at Gross Creek. (Several years ago, some thought had been given to removing the roadway and culverts altogether at Gross Creek, to restore the creek to a more natural condition. Several concerns were expressed regarding fire and emergency vehicle access, utility line crossings, and school bus access, so the proposal was not pursued.) The Bandon School District remains opposed to a complete closure, since they use 8th Street SW to route their busses on school mornings and afternoons. The Fire, Public Works, and Police Departments have no specific objections to the closure, provided emergency access is maintained. Staff did, however, question whether approving the request would constitute special treatment of the property owners along this particular section of street, compared to property owners in other areas of Bandon who might also want their streets closed to through traffic. Some concern was also expressed that other residents in the community may want to keep the street open, since they use it as a route to City Park, the Library, and Beach Loop Drive, etc., and an 8th Street closure would force motorists to use alternative routes, thereby increasing traffic on 4th Street and 11th Street.
The proposal was reviewed by the Planning Commission at their February 26, 2009 meeting. Following discussion, and input from various individuals in attendance, the Commission decided to take no formal action on the request, and forwarded the matter to the City Council without any specific recommendation. At the Planning Commission and City Council meetings, various alternative approaches were considered and discussed, including possibly installing fencing, completely closing the route, removing all of the Gross Creek fill and crossing, installing a crosswalk, and installing speed bumps. The matter of speed bumps has come up in the past, and the City has received many requests to install speed bumps on a large number of streets throughout the community, including Beach Loop Drive, Seabird Drive, Franklin Avenue, 11th Street, and other collector and local streets. The Fire Department is opposed to installing speed bumps, since they would significantly hinder fire and emergency vehicles. In addition, the concept of speed bumps throughout the community is seen as highly undesirable by many residents, and would result in moving traffic from collector streets with speed bumps to local streets by motorists who want to avoid them.
After reviewing the proposal and hearing input from individuals in attendance, the City Council unanimously decided to deny the request to extend the times 8th Street SW is closed. It was felt that the major safety issues for school children had been resolved by closing the street during school hours. City staff will work with the Police Chief to determine whether such approaches as installing a crosswalk and/or additional signs would help improve safety after school hours.
TREE MANUAL COMPLETED AND WILL SOON BE AVAILABLE
Several months ago, the Parks & Recreation Commission appointed a subcommittee to prepare a tree manual. The manual does not regulate trees, but supplements the City's tree regulations by providing information regarding the types of trees which can be successfully grown in Bandon's climate, the proper placement of trees, and how to best plant and care for trees. The Tree Manual has now been completed and acknowledged by the Parks & Recreation Commission and the City Council. Copies will soon be available at City Hall and the Library, and will be provided to builders and developers when they make application for project approval. City staff is also working on getting the Tree Manual accessible online through the City's web site.
BID AWARDED FOR WASTEWATER PLANT ULTRA-VIOLET DISINFECTION SYSTEM
At the March 2nd meeting, the City Council awarded a bid for providing the wastewater plant ultra-violet (UV) disinfection system to Spectral Innovations, Ltd., in the amount of $183,105. The project involves upgrading the disinfection system at the wastewater treatment plant, to comply with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) discharge permit requirements. In June, 2007, the City entered into a Mutual Agreement and Order (MAO) with the DEQ, under which the City was to install the UV system by May, 2009. The City bid the equipment purchase and received two bids, and awarded the bid to UV Doctor Systems LLC, the low bidder. However, after six months they could not provide the required bonding, so their bid was rejected. The City subsequently re-bid the equipment, and received two bids from Siemens and Aquaionics. However, both bids were determined to be non-responsive, since the City's existing UV channels are not a standard width (the original provider has since gone out of business), and neither manufacturer was willing to customize their system.
City staff and the City Engineer have been working with Spectral Innovations Ltd., who are willing to make a custom unit, the price of which is less than the previous low bid. Since the installation will be done by an electrical contractor, and must be done during low flow periods (August - September), part of the cost for the $268,605 project will be paid this fiscal year, with the remaining funds included in next fiscal year's 2009-2010 budget. With respect to the DEQ requirement for completing the project by May, 2009, the City has been granted an extension, since additional efforts by the wastewater plant crew have allowed us to meet the discharge requirements.
CITY COUNCIL ADOPTS RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE OREGON MAIN STREET PROGRAM IN BANDON
At their March 2nd meeting, the City Council unanimously approved an application for expanded participation in the Oregon Main Street Program, an effort being spearheaded by the Old Town Merchants Association. The City was previously accepted into the first phase of the Main Street designation, which is the "Exploring Downtown" program. That phase has been completed, and the Old Town Merchants Association has prepared an application to participate in the second phase, which is the "Transforming Downtown" program. If accepted, and once that program is successfully completed, the City could eventually be eligible for the third phase, which is the "Promoting Downtown" program. It is anticipated that participation in the Main Street program will yield positive economic impacts for the Old Town merchants and the entire City of Bandon.
CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTS LEGISLATION GRANTING LOCAL CONTROL OVER FUTURE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES
Senate Bill 440 (SB 440) has been introduced into the current State legislative session, which would remove the State mandate regarding how local transient occupancy taxes (TOT) are used. Current statutes require that 70 percent of revenues from new or increased local TOT be used to fund state-defined tourism promotion.
Staff recommended that the City support SB 440, since it would allow the priorities for the expenditure of additional City TOT funds to be set by the citizens of Bandon, and not by the State of Oregon. For the last couple of years, the annual budget message has projected the impending need for additional funding for such essential City services as police and fire protection, planning, street maintenance, and parks maintenance. In light of the ongoing national economic crisis, and the resulting negative impacts on City financial resources, current revenue projections indicate a need to institute such measures in the upcoming fiscal year. Up to this point, the primary option for increasing General Fund operating revenues was a property tax funded 5-year operating levy, such as a public safety levy. SB 440 would give Bandon voters the additional option of increasing TOT revenues to help fund police protection, fire protection, tourism promotion, and other services.
In October, 2008, in response to a request from a group of Bandon motel operators (Bandon Lodging Partners) for additional funding for tourism advertising, City staff recommended placing a measure before the voters to increase the transient occupancy tax by 3%, from its current 6%. Based on the prior year's figures, an additional $211,983 would be generated annually by a 3% TOT increase. Under the requirement that at least 70% of new TOT revenues be used for tourism promotion, that would have provided an additional $148,388 for tourism annually, plus $63,595 for general City purposes. The Bandon Lodging Partners and the Chamber of Commerce opposed that proposal to increase the amount of money available for tourism promotion, expressing their opinion that the burden for any revenue increases should be spread among other businesses, and not just the lodging providers.
At the March 2nd meeting, the Chamber of Commerce similarly voiced their objection to SB 440, which would remove the 70% requirement. Staff feels an increase in the TOT would generate needed funds, with no increase in rates, fees, or taxes for the citizens of Bandon, and would be consistent with the taxes paid by Bandon citizens when they stay in motels in other cities and states, many of which have room taxes of 9% or more. After hearing testimony and discussing the matter, the City Council directed staff to take the appropriate actions necessary to express and communicate the City Council's full support for the approval of Senate Bill 440, with Councilors Claassen, Hundhausen, Procetto, and Tiffany voting in favor, and Councilors Drew and Vick voting in opposition.
APPEAL FILED AGAINST PARKS MASTER PLAN
An appeal of the City's adoption of the Parks Master Plan has been filed with the Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) by Garvey/Schubert/Barer, attorneys, on behalf of David Piscerne. Mr. Piscerne owns one of the lots on the north side of 7th Street SW, and south of the Ocean Drive right-of-way west of Madison Avenue. He is apparently objecting to the construction of the proposed Ocean Bluff Trail and Madison Avenue Wayside Park which are planned for the right-of-way immediately north of his property. Planning Department staff and the City Attorney are preparing a copy of the record in the matter, which will be submitted to LUBA.
BARN-COMMUNITY CENTER GRAND OPENING EVENT SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 18TH
Mark your calenders for Saturday, April 18th! A grand opening party is being planned for the new Barn - Bandon's Community and Convention Center. Keep your eye out for announcements which will provide further details!
LINDA'S CHURCH JOKE
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 good one!
No comments:
Post a Comment