2002-03-12 - Voters Pamphlet - County Deschutes County
Voters Pamphlet F� `
Special Election
MARCH 12, 2002
This Voter's Pamphlet is provided to give the voter additional information on this measure.
INDEX VOTER REGISTRATION
INFORMATION
MEASURE To be eligible to vote in the March 12th, 2002 Spe-
- - cW Election, a co17 ptelad_ yQW,,registratior): �1_(d_
3`MVMTTre Authorizing Annexation of Southern 100
must be postmarked by February 19, 2002. �
Acres of TL 15-10-06-1003...........................2
BALLOT DROP SITES..........................................4 TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN OREGON,YOU MUST
BE:
REMEMBER! 1. A resident of Oregon.
All ballots must be received at a drop site or 2. A United States citizen.
the Deschutes County Clerk's Office no later 3. At least 18 years old by election day.
than 8:OORM., March 12, 2002.
YOU MUST UPDATE YOUR REGISTRATION IF:
1. Your residence or mailing address changes.
2. Your name changes.
3. You wish to change your party affiliation.
MADE MISTAKE ON BALLOT OR
NEED A NEW BALLOT
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have moved or your
If your ballot is lost, destroyed, damaged or you name has changed and you have not yet updated
make a mistake in marking your ballot, you may your registration, you are still eligible to vote. Con-
obtain a replacement ballot by contacting the tact the Deschutes County Clerk's office, 388-6546
Deschutes County Clerk's office at 388-6546. for further information.
If you need assistance in voting, please contact the
Deschutes County Clerk's office at 388-6546.
REMINDER: DESCHUTES COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS
Election results are available after 8:00 PM on March
YOUR BALLOT WILL NOT BE COUNTED IF 12th from the County Clerk's office or on the internet
YOUR ENVELOPE IS NOT SIGNED! at(http://www.deschutes.org).The results will be
updated throughout the night.
Official Deschutes County March 12, 2002 Special Election Voters' Pamphlet
CITY OF SISTERS
Measure No. 9-3
BALLOT TITLE plex. Other public use facilities may be considered in the fu-
ture.
9-3 MEASURE AUTHORIZING ANNEXATION OF The property will be developed in phases,and the initial phase,
SOUTHERN 100 ACRES OF TL 15-10-06-1003 which will include construction of the new high school build-
QUESTION: Shall the southern 100 acres of Tax Lot 15- ing,will be funded with the$20.5 million bond approved by the
10-06-1003, currently owned by the Sisters School Dis- electorate in the May 15, 2001 election. It is anticipated that
trict,be annexed? ground breaking will occur in late spring, 2002, with comple-
tion slated for fall,2003.The existing high school will be inte-
SUMMARY:Approval of this measure would provide elec- grated into the new campus and converted into a middle school.
torate authorization to annex approximately 100 acres of Moving students as soon as possible to the new high school is
Sisters School District property to the City of Sisters.With extremely important because this will allow a timely conver-
voter approval,annexation of the approximately 100 acres sion.Upon completion of the new high school and conversion
will become effective when the related urban growth bound- of the existing high school,students will no longer be housed
ary amendment is approved by Deschutes County, ac- in the current middle school facility, which is inadequate and j
knowledged by the Land Conservation and Development inefficient.
Commission,and the annexation ordinance is adopted by
the Sisters City Council.The annexation election complies (This information furnished by Heather C. Wester, j
with all applicable statewide planning goals and the City's Sisters School District No. 6.) i
Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Code. '~� I
The property to be annexed is located north of the McKenzie ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
Highway 242 and is adjacent to the western boundary of
the city.This property is currently zoned F-1.Upon annex- We are building a new high school here in Sisters,and it would
ation the Public Facilities Zone will be applied to the prop- be better for everybody if the land in question were annexed
erty.The proposed use for this property is a new educa- into the city limits.
tional and recreational campus for the Sisters School Dis- Annexation is better for the environment, because we will be
trict and the Sisters Organization for Activities and Recre- able to use the existing sewer system. The sewer lines are
ation(SOAR). already properly sized to accommodate the school,and it would
Map of proposed annexation area will accompany ballots. be much better to use that system as it was designed, rather
than having to create our own septic system.
Annexation is better for the school district because we will get
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT more school for less money.
The Sisters School District No.6 and the Sisters Organization Annexation is better for the children,because they will end up 1
for Activities and Recreation (SOAR) request electorate au- with the best school possible in a shorter amount of time.
thorization to annex approximately 100 acres of School Dis- Annexation is also better for the taxpayers.A vote for annex-
trict property.The property to be annexed is located on the ation will not raise your taxes. But a vote for annexation may
north side of the McKenzie Highway 242,immediately west of lower your taxes.Timely annexation will allow us to hold down
the existing Sisters High School.The property abuts the west- costs,which will result in a higher amount of interest money to
ern edge of the city limits.The property is currently zoned For- be returned to the taxpayers.This will reduce your annual gay-
est Use (F-1). Upon annexation,the zone would be changed ments.As an added bonus, annexation may also reduce the I
to the Public Facilities Zone (PF).The PF Zone permits the fees for city services,as hundreds of thousands of dollars will
development of schools, parks, recreational facilities, natural be paid to the city by the school district in system development
areas,and trails,as proposed by the School District and SOAR. charges and monthly fees.
The property is part of an approximately 260-acre parcel that Please,let us build our new school within the city limits.A"Yes"
Deschutes County donated to the Sisters School District for vote will let that happen, and it will benefit everybody in our
use as a future school site.The northern 161 acres of the par- community.Join us in voting"Yes"
cel have been placed under a conservation easement.The {This information furnished by Dave Moyer)
:.
acreage within e+tmns0rorationeasemeniwttf °— - _
and will remain undeveloped.The School District and SOAR
request authorization to annex only the southern 100 acres of
the School District property to accommodate development of
new educational and recreational facilities.The annexation will
become effective upon acknowledgment of the related urban
growth boundary amendment by the Land Conservation and
Development Commission and certification of the annexation
election by the City Council.
At the present time,the existing school facilities are inadequate
to serve the growing population within the School District bound-
aries, and SOAR's ability to serve the recreational needs of
the community is severely restricted by the lack of recreational
facilities and fields.To meet the educational and recreational
needs of the community, the School District plans to initially
develop a 700-student high school building with multi-purpose
physical education and practice fields,including softball,foot-
ball,baseball,and soccer fields.Future considerations for de-
velopment are: an elementary school, an ecological studies
center, a transportation facility, and a school district adminis- The printing of these arguments does not constitute an endorsement by
tration building.SOAR plans to develop a 14,000 square-foot the County of Deschutes, nor does the county warrant the accuracy or
activities center,complete with a multi-purpose ball field com- truth of any statement made in the arguments.
2
Official Deschutes County March 12, 2002 Special Election Voters' Pamphlet
CITY OF SISTERS
Measure No. 9-3, continued
ARGUMENT IN FAVOR ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION
Annexation will not cost you anything, but it may save you In November 2000 voters within the Sisters School District re-
jected money. jected a Bond assessment for a new high school.No substan-
How can that be? tive evidence was presented at that time to warrant an under-
A"Yes"vote won't cost you anything.The bond to build the taking of this magnitude. Indeed, it was widely acknowledged
new school already passed last year,taxes have been levied, based on projected enrollment, that the present high school
and the process of designing and building the school is well was more than adequate for many years to come.
under way. In fact, our school district continues to grow so However,a special interest group not content with the outcome
much that the first tax bill that you paid on this new bond was of the popular vote set about to overturn the decision by press-
approximately 10 cents per thousand less than we expected. ing for another vote the following May.Through the manipula-
As more people move here,there are more people to share in tive process of playing on the emotions of a"Vote for our Chil-
the fixed expense of the bond, and everybody's share is re- dren"campaign,intentional misleading growth projections and
duced. general apathy of voters,the Bond measure passed. It is also
A"Yes"vote probably will save you money. First, the school noted that this Bond measure for the proposed high school
district has pledged to return virtually all of the interest money was instituted before the School District had access to land
to you,reducing the annual tax assessment.However,we can within the City limits of Sisters.This speaks of probable impro-
-only pass on-this-cost savings if we aehiaHq saves these casts. Wiety by those-wtto-prornotedthe-Bor4L=aasure,.— _ __
If we are annexed and rezoned in time to break ground this We are reminded that the existing high school was constructed
summer, we will be able to take advantage of the favorable only about ten years ago for enrollment capacity well beyond
bidding climate that we are in right now, and we will spare projected future needs. In addition, construction allowed for
ourselves the 3%to 5%annual increase in construction costs. future expansion of facilities well beyond the foreseeable fu-
In addition,annexation will result in hundreds of thousands of ture.
dollars being paid to the city in the form of systems develop- It is readily acknowledged that the real educational need in the
ment charges and annual fees.Costs may be reduced or not community is for a new middle school. Based on the above,
need to increase as rapidly due to those fees. further activity regarding preliminary work and expenditures
This vote is not a referendum on the school.We already had on the new high school should be halted immediately,concen-
that vote last year,and the people of this school district voted trating instead on plans for a middle school.This cost would
to build a school.A"No"vote won't stop that school from being be far less and much more in line with the real educational
built.It could delay the completion of the building,and the added needs of the community.The result would be to significantly
cost of those delays will not allow as much interest money to pay down the Bond and reduce the tax burden for everyone
be returned to the taxpayer. affected within the school district.
Therefore, a"Yes"vote won't cost you a penny. But, it might A NO vote for annexation of the UGB area by the citizens of
save you a lot more than a penny. Sisters would allow time for a common sense re-evaluation of
future educational needs.
(This information furnished by Heather C. Wester, Chair, (This information furnished by Roy R. Schulke.)
Sisters School Board and Glen Laskin,
Vice Chair,Sisters School Board.) ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION
Quality education for our children must be a top priority.Build-
ing a new high school should not be a priority.
Sisters School District attendance data demonstrates a new
high school is not needed. Previous School Board decisions
guaranteed our current high school would have adequate fu-
ture classroom space.
Did you know the existing high school: _• was constructed for a total of 600 not 550 students when
completed 10 years ago?
• was designed and architected to expand capacity up to 1,200
students?
• was built with internal heating, air-conditioning, other utili-
ties to support the architected 1,200 student design capac-
ity?
Question,"Why should voters support a new high school when
the current building can be expanded to accommodate future
growth if or when it comes?"
We have been mislead by the argument that the student popu-
lation will dramatically grow.The proponents have misused the
Deschutes County growth rate of 53.9%(1990/00)and applied
that growth to the Sisters School District.This kind of thinking
is grossly misleading.Since September, 1998 the District has
grown only 28 students.The elementary school enrollment
actually declined 35 students.The total enrollment declined in
school year 2000/01 by 10 students and in 2001/02 by 8 stu-
The printing of these arguments does not constitute an endorsement by dents.
the County of Deschutes, nor does the county warrant the accuracy or (Continued on next page)
truth of any statement made in the arguments.
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Official Deschutes County March 12, 2002 Special Election Voters' Pamphlet
CITY OF SISTERS
Measure No. 9-3, continued
ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION
The high school grew from 424 students in 1998 to 447 stu- Prudent parents teach children good stewardship at home,and
dents by 2001.A marginal increase of 23 students over 3 years. ought to demonstrate it on election day.
The high school has space for 103 more students before reach-
ing its claimed 550 capacity.At the current annual growth rate We should step back and take an honest look at where our tax
of 8 students it will take 13 years to reach capacity.We have dollars are going.Good education for our children is essential,
been mislead by a fancy manipulation of data.The high school but it's also essential that education funds be spent responsi-
growth is under control and lower grades are declining. bly.
The School Board should focus on solving the middle school School Board members work hard,and I thank them.But,they
need.We're told over$6.5 million can be saved if they focus have made several mistakes.i.e. 1)Getting architects to start
on the real problem—the middle school. incurring costs BEFORE the city voted for the annexation. 2)
1 urge your NO VOTE on this Annexation proposal.A vote for They have touted growth–Sisters grew from 959 to 960 from
responsible and positive support of young people. April 2000 to Sept 2001-ONLY ONE PERSON! 3)They state
outlying areas will supply high student growth. But,according
(This information furnished by James R.Mackey.) to the Sisters School District data,their figures reveal the Dis-
trict grew by only 14 students in FOUR years(from Nov 1998
to Nov 2001). 4)They have not been open about additional
costs and"possible future"bonds for fixtures,and facilities.
ARGUMENT IN OPPOSITION Enrollment is down and a Taj Mahal is an irresponsible deci-
sion in view of the present, and future economy. Putting 447
The proposed Taj Mahal High School for 700 students,with a students into a facility for 700 students(new High School)and
920 seat Auditorium,is unrealistic.Information below says Vote putting 293 from the Old Middle School into a facility designed
NO this time. for 600 students(during near flat growth) is fiscally irrespon-
The need is for a 500 student,$14 million Middle School.Thus, sible. If the real numbers don't add up, why approve this"vi-
saving over$6.5 million for struggling tax payers! It will take sion"? A far less expensive new Middle School (which is
over 22 years to fill. needed) is the wisest alternative.This would save $6.5 mil-
School District leadership wants to move our 295 Middle School lion.We could then put some additional dollars directly into
students to the 600 student capacity High School(it is only 10 the classrooms for needed textbooks,materials and upgrades.
years old).Our Middle School student growth rate would take This makes far more sense and the lower tax consequence for
33 years to fill it! property owners would be welcomed.
A($20.5 million)700 student new High School would take over Voters have the opportunity to stop this"runaway train"in its
31 years for High Schoolers to fill.This is too much future ca- tracks.Make the right choice by rejecting this annexation.Vote
pacity—costly extra space to maintain and heat. NO. It can be revisited with a vote for the Middle School in the
future.
Our High School will last 19 years at the present growth rate
(8 per year).Therefore,we do NOT need to build a Taj Mahal.
The May 15,2001,vote emphasized a 4 to 6 year life for our (This information furnished by Mike Simpson,
H.S.It spoke of growth and more growth.However, high Real Plainview, Oregon.)
Estate values in the District stop many young families from
settling here.Secure and high salaried job positions are mini-
mal.The DECLINE in Elementary School enrollment indicates OFFICIAL BALLOT
this (down 8.2% or 35 students since 1998). Redmond and
Bend have lower housing costs AND more jobs.The job issue DROP S ITE LOCATIONS
is a huge factor in relocating families.Sisters attracts retirees
who can afford the area.Younger families find the area nice,
but too expensive,and with a limited job market. Special drop sites are available at
In summary, a NIX on the ANNEX will wake up the School the following locations.
Board leadership and stop the costly new High School.Shortty, Please note the dates and times
we can revisit and approve the land annexation for a new Middle
School.State Budget cuts will not bode well for us.A$14 mil- they will be Open.
lion Middle School could perhaps provide some funds for needs
in our Elementary and High schools.A win win for the commu- BEND
nity!Join me in voting NO on the annexation for now.
(This information furnished by Mel L. Bryan, DESCHUTES COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE
Committee for Responsible Fiscal Planning.) 1340 NW Wall Street, Bend
Available 7 days a week. Election Day,
March 12th open until 8:00 p.m.
Privacy Booths Provided.
SISTERS
SISTERS CITY HALL
150 N. Fir Street, Sisters
Available Monday through Friday from
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
The printing of these arguments does not constitute an endorsement by Election Day, March 12th from
the County of Deschutes, nor does the county warrant the accuracy or 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 P.M.
truth of any statement made in the arguments.
4