City of Bandon
CITY MANAGER’S NEWSLETTER
February 5, 2010
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, (click on “City Hall”) 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
- Certificates Of Appreciation Awarded To The Anti-Graffiti Team
- Riparian Corridor Protection Ordinance Adopted
- Public Hearing On Proposed Regulations Regarding Beaches & Dunes, Shoreland Overlay Zone, And Statewide Planning Goal 18
- “ORWARN” Mutual Aid Agreement Approved
- Data Indicate Bandon’s Water System Leakage Is Extremely Low
- First Street Electric Undergrounding Project Expanded
- Question Raised Regarding Whether Urban Renewal Funds Can Be Used For Police Protection
- Two Temporary Burn Permits Approved
- New Decorative Street Light Bulbs Being Tested
- “Washed Ashore” Project
- Free Income Tax Counseling And Return Preparation
- Citizens Review Board Seeking Volunteers To Review Cases Of Children In Foster And Substitute Care
- Linda’s Church Joke
CERTIFICATES OF APPRECIATION AWARDED TO THE ANTI-GRAFFITI TEAM
At their February 1st meeting, the City Council awarded certificates of appreciation to the members of the Anti-Graffiti Team, which consists of Jim Giambrone, Charlie O’Neill, and Wayne Robbins. The team members are volunteers who work with the Bandon Police Department to respond as quickly as possible to locations where graffiti has been painted in Bandon and paint over or remove the graffiti. Their goal is to have the graffiti removed within 48 hours, although that can sometimes be slightly delayed due to inclement weather. The Anti-Graffiti Team was responsible for the removal of the graffiti that was recently painted at several locations in City Park. Congratulations to Jim, Charlie, and Wayne on receiving their certificates of appreciation, and a sincere “thank you” for their outstanding work in helping keep Bandon beautiful and safe.
RIPARIAN CORRIDOR PROTECTION ORDINANCE ADOPTED
At their February 1st meeting, the City Council approved the final version of the riparian corridor protection ordinance, with Councilors Claassen, Drew, Hundhausen, Procetto, and Tiffany voting in favor, and Councilor Vick opposed. The only change was to add a segment of Ferry Creek which had been originally included, but was inadvertently left off of the prior draft. Copies of the riparian regulations can be found on the City’s website at www.ci.bandon.or.us., and visiting the Planning Department page. Additional information can be obtained by contacting City Planner Charli Davis at cdavis@ci.bandon.or.us.
PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED REGULATIONS REGARDING BEACHES & DUNES, SHORELAND OVERLAY ZONE, AND STATEWIDE PLANNING GOAL 18
On Thursday, February 25, 2010, at 7:00 PM, in the City Council Chambers, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing regarding the adoption of Ordinance 1582 and Ordinance 1583. These proposed ordinances would amend the zoning regulations and Comprehensive Plan regarding Beaches and Dunes, the Shoreland Overlay zone, and the application of Statewide Planning Goal 18. The City of Bandon has determined that adoption of these ordinances may affect the permissible uses and values of property in the effected areas, which are primarily located along or near the beaches and along the bluff .
Ordinance 1582 and Ordinance 1583 are available for inspection and copying at the Bandon City Hall, 555 Highway 101. These Ordinances are also posted on the City of Bandon website at www.ci.bandon.or.us, go to the Planning Department page. For additional information, please contact City Planner Charli Davis, 541-347-2437, ext. 230, or e-mail cdavis@ci.bandon.or.us.
“ORWARN” MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT APPROVED
In recent years, many natural disasters have driven associations representing water and wastewater utilities throughout the United States to recognize the need for utility specific response networks. In early 2006, work began nationwide to form WARN (Water/Wastewater Agency Response Network) in each of the 50 states. WARN is an interstate utility-to-utility mutual aid system available to all public and private water and wastewater utilities. These networks can be activated with or without any type of formal disaster declaration. In 2006 four states (California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas) had WARNs in place. To get Oregon’s WARN started (ORWARN), a 20 person steering committee began working to make it a reality, and in March 2007 Oregon became the fifth state to have a WARN available. Presently there are 61 utilities that have joined ORWARN in Oregon. At their February 1st meeting, the City Council unanimously approved an agreement for the City of Bandon to become a member of ORWARN.
There were two incidents during the last several years in which the City of Bandon required assistance from outside agencies to recover from emergencies and disasters. When the water treatment plant clarifier broke down in 2005, the City requested and received assistance from the Coos Bay/North Bend Water Board. Due to extensive damage to the electric system and resulting power outages during the December 2007 storm, the City requested and received assistance from Pacific Power & Light to help restore power to a large portion of our service territory. Since a mutual aid agreement was in effect prior to the event, the City was able to secure reimbursement for most of those costs from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There is no cost associated with ORWARN membership and utilities are under no obligation to provide assistance. To be eligible for federal reimbursement for emergency and disaster recovery costs, assistance provided through mutual aid agreements requires that the agreements be established prior to the event or emergency.
DATA INDICATE BANDON’S WATER SYSTEM LEAKAGE IS EXTREMELY LOW
Data from the water treatment plant and utility billing records show that the City produced a total of 160,137,515 gallons of water leaving the water plant, and sold a total of 144,300,046 gallons of metered water during 2009. The remaining 15,837,469 gallons was lost due to system leakage and fire hydrant flushing and use. This represents a loss of only 9.89% per year, which is extremely low. Most municipal water systems have losses in the range of 15% - 25%, with some even higher. 15% loss is considered low, and 10% loss is generally the ultimate goal. Having loss figures below 10% indicates either a very tight system or low readings at the main water plant meter. (It does not indicate faulty or old customer water meters since those meters run slower as they get older.) To determine whether these low loss readings are due in part to mis-calibration of the main water plant flow meter, we will be testing it as soon as we can install a bypass. The bypass is necessary since the testing would otherwise require shutting off the entire water supply into the City, which would not be acceptable.
FIRST STREET ELECTRIC UNDERGOUNDING PROJECT EXPANDED
Urban Renewal Area 1 is preparing to undertake the replacement of the sidewalk along First Street, between Cleveland Avenue and the Port of Bandon building. Part of that project includes placement of conduit under the new sidewalk to facilitate the future undergrounding of the existing overhead electric, telecommunications and cable TV lines. The project also involves mitigation of the extensive Coquille Indian Tribe archaeological resources throughout the project site.
Since the archaeological mitigation and construction work will be taking place in June and July 2010, and since the Urban Renewal budget includes adequate funds, the City Council unanimously agreed at their February 1st meeting to spend an additional $250,000 in Urban Renewal funds to expand the project scope to include actually undergrounding the existing overhead electric, telecommunications, and cable TV lines. This will involve extending the undergrounding to the east to connect with the existing underground facilities in Old Town, and extending it to the west and south along Edison Avenue to connect with the existing system at the Jetty Road intersection. This will allow the City to finalize the archaeological mitigation through this entire corridor, and will provide Old Town with looped service. Currently, Old Town is served only from one direction, which means that power to the entire area could be shut down in the event of a major line break. It also necessitates shutting off power to a large number of businesses when certain repairs and system maintenance are undertaken. Serving the area with power from two directions provides redundancy in the event of a line break, and also reduces the areas that have to be shut down for repairs.
Undertaking the entire project at this time will reduce the overall costs compared to coming back later and starting over with the engineering, archaeological mitigation, and construction, and will help keep electric rates lower by using Urban Renewal funds while they are available instead of taking the money from future electric revenues. It will also significantly improve aesthetics along First Street by removing the unsightly overhead lines, and will lay the groundwork for proceeding with other future Urban Renewal projects such as the Gross Creek Park and the Edison Avenue sidewalk which will connect with the Jetty Walkway.
QUESTION RAISED REGARDING WHETHER URBAN RENEWAL FUNDS CAN BE USED FOR POLICE PROTECTION
Since Urban Renewal has adequate funds to undertake projects such as the First Street sidewalk and utility undergrounding project discussed above, the question was raised at the February 1st City Council meeting as to why the City couldn’t just utilize Urban Renewal money to pay for police protection, instead of requesting the property tax levy that will be going before the voters at the May 18, 2010 election. Unfortunately, Urban Renewal funds can only legally be used for capital construction projects that are contained in the plan and are located within the district boundaries. They cannot be used for any operations or maintenance purposes, and cannot be used outside the district. Therefore, regardless of how much money is available for Urban Renewal projects, it would be illegal for the City to use those funds for police protection or any other General Fund purposes. The same thing is true for most other City funds, which are dedicated for specific purposes. In addition to Urban Renewal, the electric, water, and sewer enterprise funds, street tax funds, library funds, debt service funds, capital funds, and most other funds can only legally be used for specific purposes, which prohibits the City Council from using them to pay for police protection.
TWO TEMPORARY BURN PERMITS APPROVED
At their February 1st meeting, the City Council approved two temporary burn permits, with Councilors Hundhausen, Procetto, Tiffany, and Vick voting in favor, and Councilors Claassen and Drew opposed. The Municipal Code regulations which prohibit most outdoor open burning contain a provision which allows the City Council to grant individual temporary permits for special occasions or events. The burns will be conducted in February or March depending on weather conditions, and include a one-day burn (with a few more days to complete smoldering) necessitated by a significant gorse removal project at the Old Bandon Golf Links, and a 4-hour burn of wood debris at the Moore Mill & Lumber Company log deck. In each case, an individual was identified who could have problems with smoke, so the City Council conditioned the approval on advance notification and obtaining permission for the timing of the burn from those individuals. The burns also have to be coordinated with the Fire Department to ensure that appropriate safety measures are being taken. If, during either of these burns, anyone experiences smoke or odor problems, you are asked to immediately contact City Hall at 541-347-2437 or the Police Department at 541-347-2241 during weekday working hours, or 541-756-8212 on weekends or evenings. The complaint will be investigated and, if necessary, the City can require that the fire be immediately extinguished.
NEW DECORATIVE STREET LAMP BULBS BEING TESTED
When the decorative street lights were installed in Old Town as part of the Urban Renewal sidewalk improvement project several years ago, they included QL light bulbs. The same lamp posts and fixtures were then used at City Hall and the Library. The QL bulbs were very bright street lighting bulbs which were specified by the lighting designer. Unfortunately, along with the associated hardware necessary for them to operate, they cost approximately $600 each to replace and last 1-2 years. In an effort to reduce operation and maintenance costs, the City is now testing two alternative bulbs which have become available. One is a fluorescent bulb which costs about $10 to replace and is expected to have a life of about 6 months. The other is an LED bulb, which costs about $200, but has a projected life of 25 years.
In addition to calculating the operation and maintenance costs, consideration must be given to the aesthetic effects of each type of lighting. So, as a test, we have installed the optional bulbs in the fixtures at the Library parking lot. Of the four lamp posts, the southwestern most lamp (closest to the Library main entrance) contains the original QL bulb. The one directly north of that one (the northwestern most lamp post) contains the fluorescent bulb. The remaining two easternmost lamp posts contain the LED bulbs. So, if you are out and about at night, and happen to be in the vicinity of the Library, and would like to give us your opinion regarding which type of light you prefer, that would be very much appreciated. Just e-mail your preference to citymanager@ci.bandon.or.us. When the Old Town lighting was first installed, several folks reported that they felt the lighting was too bright. So, you may also want to indicate whether you think the selected light should be brighter, dimmer, or whether it is just right. Once we have determined what appears to be the most desirable light at the Library, we will change out a few fixtures along one of the Old Town streets to provide folks with an opportunity to express their feelings about what looks best in that setting. Thank you very much for your help!
“WASHED ASHORE” PROJECT
Local artist Angela Pozzi made a presentation on her “Washed Ashore” project to the City Council at their February 1st meeting. Her goal is to bring awareness to the impact plastic materials and other debris is having on the ocean and marine life, by preparing a documentary film to accompany a touring art exhibit and community workshops on the subject. As one of the project’s initial focal points, Ms. Pozzi is involving community members in gathering beach plastics and other non-organic debris to construct large outdoor sculptures of sea turtles, fish, birds, and other threatened marine life. The first community group sculptures will be in Bandon, with additional ones to be created on the exhibition tour. According to Ms. Pozzi, “The ultimate hope for ‘Washed Ashore’ is global action.”
Residents may have seen one of Angela’s exhibits, the “Bioluminescent Sea Cave” which is now located at her studio, Art 101, the purple building 7 miles south of Bandon on Highway 101. For more information, you can visit www.seathingsart.com. If you are interested in participating in the “Washed Ashore” project, please contact Angela at ahpozzi@seathingsart.com.
FREE INCOME TAX COUNSELING AND RETURN PREPARATION
Free income tax counseling and return preparation services are being offered to taxpayers who are low to middle income and those who need assistance. IRS/AARP certified Volunteers will be in cities along the coast, from Brookings to Florence from February 1 through April 15. In addition to tax return preparation, all sites will electronically file each return at NO COST. E-filing of federal and state returns ensures greater accuracy and provides the maximum security for confidential taxpayer information. Processing is quick, and federal and state tax refunds are expedited.
Schedules and locations from February 1 through April 15 are:
- Bandon: Bandon Senior Center - 1200 11th St. SW - Tuesdays & Saturdays: 9:30 AM. - 11:30 AM. (Not open 2/27/2010)
- Brookings: Chetco Activity Center - 550 Chetco Ln. - By appointment only call (541) 469-6822 Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:00
- Coquille: Holy Name Catholic Church - 12 N Dean St. - Tuesdays: 12:00 AM. - 3:00 PM.
- Florence: Siuslaw Public Library - 1460 9th St. - Mondays and Wednesdays: 10:00 AM. - 2:00 PM.
- Lakeside: Lakeside Lion’s Club - 890 Bowron Rd. - Thursdays: 1:30 PM. – 3:30 PM.
- North Bend: College Park Community Church - 2548 Newmark St. - Mon, Tue., Fri., & Sat: 10:00 AM. - 1:00 PM.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Diane Kimes at 541-347-4618, or to arrange assistance for the home-bound, call RSVP in Coos Bay at 541-888-7332.
CITIZEN REVIEW BOARD SEEKING VOLUNTEERS TO REVIEW CASES OF CHILDREN IN FOSTER AND SUBSTITUTE CARE
The Oregon Judicial Department’s Citizen Review Board (CRB) in Coos County is in dire need of volunteer board members to review cases of children in foster and substitute care. The CRB consists of local volunteers throughout Oregon who are interested in the welfare of children in their community. Board members are trained and supported by professional staff of the Oregon Judicial Department to conduct case reviews of children and youth in out of home care, and usually meet one day a month. They receive information on each case before they meet, and at the review they hear from parties to the child’s case. The CRB creates a system of checks and balances in which the community has both input and impact on how the Department of Human Services and Oregon Youth Advisory Authority serve the children, youth, and families in Oregon. If you are interested in volunteering, or would like additional information, please contact Darcy Davidson, CRB Volunteer Resource Coordinator, toll free at 1-888-530-8999, or e-mail CRB.Volunteer.Resources@ojd.state.or.us.
LINDA’S CHURCH JOKE
I think Linda got this one from one of her faithful readers:
Morris, an 82 year old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later, the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young woman in his arm.
A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, “You're really doing great, aren't you?”
Morris replied, "Just doing what you said, Doc, ‘Get a hot mama and be cheerful!’”
“What I said was,” responded the doctor, “You've got a heart murmur; be careful!”
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!
Matt Winkel
City Manager
