Loading...
2006-52-Minutes for Meeting January 09,2006 Recorded 1/12/2006DESCHUTES COUNTY OFFICIAL NANCY BLANKENSHIP, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL IIIIII~II IIIIIIIIIIIII~II III 2004-62 RECORDS CLERK Q 2006.52 01/12/2006 02:49:25 PM DESCHUTES COUNTY CLERK CERTIFICATE PAGE 0 of This page must be included if document is re-recorded. Do Not remove from original document. O Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.orc MINUTES OF ADMINISTRATIVE LIAISON DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2006 Commissioners' Conference Room - Administration Building - 1300 NW Wall St..., Bend Present were Commissioners Michael M. Daly, Bev Clarno and Dennis R. Luke. Also present were Mike Maier, County Administrator; David Givans, Anna Johnson and Susan Ross, Commissioners' Office; Teresa Rozik, Property Manager; media representative Chris Barker of The Bulletin Barney, and seven other citizens. The meeting began at 1: 30 p.m. 1. Communications Update. This item was not addressed today. 2. Project Update Teresa Rozic advised that one-third of the old Deschutes Services Building has been leased out to a real estate company. They will occupy the west side of the building where the Finance Department used to be. They have asked for up to fifty parking spaces for employees and visitors. They are currently working on tenant improvements. Susan Ross advised that demolition on the garage space of the old Midstate building has started; the Sheriff's Office and Justice Court will occupy the space once it is constructed. Although a hard bid process was used, the contract costs are higher than the original rough estimate. Only one bid was received and the cost is within the agreed upon amount. The Sheriff's Office portion should be completed by March 1, and the Justice Court area should be ready by the end of April. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Monday, January 9, 2006 Page 1 of 5 Pages 3. Economic Development Grant Requests. No grant requests were submitted. 4. Discussion of Proposed Home Rule Charter. Ed Fitch said that there seems to be interest in a home rule charter at this time. This issue was considered in the past, but was not approved by the voters. By statute, the Board is required to adopt a resolution forming a home rule charter committee. Commissioner Luke pointed out that it is a bit more complicated now that there would be three State Senators and three State Representatives involved. Mr. Fitch said that four people are to be appointed to the committee, and the process is to take sixty days. The only time this can be considered is in primary or general election years. This year the measure would have to be to the Clerk by August 1. The Board can adopt a resolution, or the other option is for signatures to be gathered. Commissioner Daly explained that the newspaper quotes Mr. Fitch on statements that are totally untrue. There is no direct oversight by the Board. He also brought up Sheriff Greg Brown, but home rule would not change that situation. The Sheriff would still be elected. Commissioner Luke said that there was also information stated about the Tom DeWolf issue. Mr. Fitch replied that he was interviewed for the article, but those were not direct quotes. He said his goal is not to talk about personal issues. He explained that based on his twenty-five years of working in local government, a voluntary policy board with a professional manager is the best bet. The important thing is to not lose sight of what works, and what is best for the County and its citizens. Commissioner Luke noted that nine other counties have charter government, but the devil is in the details, what to leave in and take out. Mr. Fitch said that citizens would be represented by district, and most officials that are now elected would be appointed. The Charter Committee would figure out the details. The Board is obligated to put it on the ballot without change. This is a good public process. It could be on the fall ballot, but this is not a certainty. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Monday, January 9, 2006 Page 2 of 5 Pages Commissioner Daly stated that he has received few messages and a-mails on this issue. There is a timeline, and it costs money to hold an election. No one has strongly shown that they want this. It would be good to have signatures gathered to know what interest there is. If the Board does this, it sets precedence that anything can be placed on the ballot this way. There needs to be enough public interest shown. Commissioner Luke said that the resolution just forms the committee. It will need to go down a long path before it goes before the voters. He added that when the City of Bend talked about representation by district, they decided against it. If you have four or five districts in a County with 144,000 people, even the City of Redmond will not get a whole Commissioner. This does not really help with the idea of a local representative. The way the population center is, Bend would get the majority of the votes. There is no easy way to set the districts. A citizen attending the meeting said that a representative type of government is needed. Town hall and other meetings help, but it is difficult for people to attend. Elected officials need to go among the people to find out what is on their minds. Commissioner Luke pointed out that this is difficult to do if you are a part-time Commissioner and have to work for a living. This leaves the position available to people who do not have to work or are wealthy enough to spend their time on it. He added that if anyone thinks people do not want to express their opinions, to look at the input received on the Thornburgh Resort, the Christian Life Center and the Badlands issue. If people are concerned or are interested, they will get involved. Commissioner Daly stated that hundreds of people submitted testimony on the creation of a Forest Authority. There have been maybe thirty or forty contacts received on home rule, even with the Bulletin pushing it almost every day. He said he would like to see an effort to get enough citizens to indicate they are interested in pursuing it before money is spent on an election. Commissioner Luke asked that a public hearing be scheduled to see what kind of public interest there is. He said he has no problem approving the formation of a committee, but public input at this point would be helpful. A public hearing was then scheduled for 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 17, at the County. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Monday, January 9, 2006 Page 3 of 5 Pages 5. Discussion of AOC's Proposed Video Lottery Defense Fund. Mike Maier expressed frustration that AOC often asks for special assessments and fees. They don't indicate how long they want it, how the funds will be used and whether it will be an ongoing expense. He suggested that they put it in their regular budget so all members will have a chance to review it. Commissioner Clarno said she concurs with what Mr. Maier stated. Commissioner Luke said he will be attending an AOC meeting soon, and will bring it up for discussion. 6. Discussion of Redmond Urban Renewal District Mike Maier stated that since the Board will be at a regular meeting with the Redmond City Council in a couple of weeks, he thought this issue could be discussed now, in preparation of addressing it with the Council at the next meeting. He said the District could include the Fairgrounds area. There could be other options, such as the City creating the District itself and including the airport. Commissioner Luke noted that if the water park were built, a portion of the property would come back on the tax rolls. If there is a District, part of that money can be captured and used to get bonds to improve 19th Street to Deschutes Junction. This would relieve some Highway 97 traffic. This would benefit the Fairgrounds as well. There is also the possibility that funding for Fairgrounds improvements, such as additional parking, could be handled through this process. Mr. Maier said the new tax money created would not be sufficient to cover debt service, but would help. Commissioner Daly added that $2 million has already been set aside for the Deschutes Junction interchange; the County owns a lot of land in that area, and the road would go through it. Perhaps some kind of arrangement could be made for the value of the County property, or perhaps a third party would be interested in participating. Mr. Maier asked if the Board would like to consider bringing in a consultant who specializes in urban renewal district work. Something should be done soon, since the water park agreement is being negotiated now. It is important to learn if the City would support a County urban renewal district. He added that this issue doesn't seem to be on anyone's plans and should be addressed soon. Minutes of Administrative Liaison Monday, January 9, 2006 Page 4 of 5 Pages Mark Pilliod stated that it is uncommon for an urban renewal project to extend outside the boundaries of the District. The group decided this issue should go on the agenda for the upcoming meeting with the Redmond Council. Lee Smith added that he meets with the Fair Board this week and will discuss it with them as well. 7. Other Items. Lee Smith brought up the offer from Silvan Corporation for La Pine Industrial Park land. He said some of the local residents are concerned about traffic impacts. He suggested that it might be best for Silvan Corporation to pursue obtaining land away from the residential area. He said La Pine Industrial Park has a lot of offers coming in from out of town and out of state. His group is doing its own advertising, as they don't get much exposure from the local media. Being no further items addressed, the meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m. DATED this 9th Day of January 2006 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. ATTEST: 1 el~zC Recording Secretary 4 nnis R. Luke, Commissioner Be Clarno, Commissioner Minutes of Administrative Liaison Monday, January 9, 2006 Page 5 of 5 Pages E S 4z~. tbG 2~ { Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org ADMINISTRATIVE LIAISON AGENDA DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1:30 P.M., MONDAY, JANUARY 9, 2005 1:30-1:45 1. Communications Update - Anna Johnson 1:45 -2:00 - Susan Ross 2. Update of Projects 3. Economic Development Grant Request(s) 2:00 - 2:45 4. Discussion of Proposed Home Rule Charter with Ed Fitch and Others 2:45 - 3:00 5. Discussion of ADC's Proposed Video Lottery Defense Fund 6. Discussion of Redmond Urban Renewal District 7. Other Items