Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-16 Work Session Minutes 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 MINUTES OF WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2011 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Alan Unger and Tony DeBone. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; Laurie Craghead, County Counsel; Peter Russell, Nick Lelack and Terri Payne, Community Development; Tom Blust Road, Department; and approximately a dozen other citizens, including media representative Hillary Borrud of The Bulletin. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. 1. Discussion of Comprehensive Plan Policies for Deschutes Junction. Peter Russell gave an update of the transportation plan for Deschutes Junction. He said it is almost impossible for ODOT to build a roundabout on a high-speed highway. Funding is also an issue. There may be enough dollars to do some of the, but there has to be a happy medium. Mr. Lelack said Deschutes County does not want to oppose the plan as offered. Commissioner DeBone added that transportation needs are critical. Commissioner Unger stated that he is having conversations with ODOT and wonders how a place with a lot of traffic, like a mobile home park, which doesn’t have easy ways to let people get up to speed and merge, can have access restricted. There should be more options. Commissioner DeBone asked if this twenty-year view has projects to be done in the meantime. Mr. Russell said locations would be prioritized and there would be a variety of timeframes. However, the projects have not yet been prioritized by transportation groups. The capital improvements project is updated each year. If something changes, the Commissioners can bring a particular issue or location up and ask for a review. Much is based on five-year planning. For instance, the 19th Street extension was rejected/remanded from the plan at this point. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Page 1 of 6 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Page 2 of 6 Pages Mr. Blust said a big component is funding of the projects. Long-term funding needs, sources and gaps that need to be filled are also analyzed. 2. Discussion of Declaratory Ruling on Structure at Highway 97/Tumalo Place (Fagen). Peter Russell gave an overview of the item. A public hearing has been held, and staff feels that the building in question is not a permanent residence. The Board should review staff’s decision, hear public testimony and decide whether they agree with staff’s recommendation. The community feedback at this point is to leave the area as rural as possible, without the designation of a rural service center. Mr. Lelack added that the implication of the declaratory ruling means that Deschutes Junction as a rural service center in general ends at that point. Otherwise, boundaries would need to be established. Most parties agree there needs to be a frontage road to access properties and to have the interchange work better. Staff proposed some trigger points to revisit the area in the future depending upon land use modifications, potential development of Juniper Ridge or 19th Street, or other possible changes. Tumalo and Terrebonne are considered rural service centers. There are pre- existing uses in Deschutes Junction, but most people prefer the area stay the way it is. It would be extremely difficult, under current OARs, to establish or implement a rural service center designation in the area. He referred to the staff report. The vote for this by the Planning Commission was far from unanimous, however. Chair Baney clarified that if the Board agrees with the recommendation, it does mean that it could never happen even though it might be possible, although difficult, to do so. Laurie Craghead referred to Section D, which pertains to the “master plan”, which in her opinion is too vague. It does not clarify what “master plan” means. Mr. Russell said that ODOT does not like anything tying directly into Highway 97, and may also be establishing a median to further restrict access directly from the highway to various properties. ODOT does not feel any need to upgrade the interchange probably for the next twenty years. If land use patterns should change, ODOT would be able to comment during that process and a traffic impact analysis would likely be required. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Page 3 of 6 Pages 3. Transportation System Plan Update. Peter Russell said that the plan was modeled to determine what would fail by 2030. Some changes will be the addition of ‘lane miles’, additional lanes in certain places, either turn or passing lanes, or extending the road. The total cost is estimated at $227.5 million for the State and $9.3 million for County improvements. Lower Bridge Way and Highway 97, and Highway 20 and Old Bend-Redmond Highway have a couple of ways to go. Access may be cut off in some locations, such as Pinecrest Road, which has a poor left turn. The nearby property owners appear to be okay with this change. Vandevert Road is another consideration; however, there may be a lot of public interest in this location. Rural roundabouts and intersections are also being discussed. The options are limited when it comes to changing a location that is high-speed and heavily traveled. The group then viewed an oversized map of the area. Mr. Blust spoke about 19th Street and potential locations for extension and connection. Any other type of connector to Redmond, for instance an interchange, adds millions dollars in costs. It also depends on what the City of Redmond wishes to do, but likely a Goal exception would be required. If someone wants a different plan, they will need to apply for a land use change. Commissioner Unger stated that Redmond does have a ring-road concept in place. Mr. Russell went over the options available. If the Commissioners are looking at other solutions, they may want to indicate support of those solutions. Mr. Blust said that in that case his department can provide a staff report, but does not have the staff to write the document. The next steps are a series of open house around the County. 4. Update of Commissioners’ Meetings and Schedules. Commissioner DeBone said that he is concerned about the salary demands of the District Attorney regarding his new staff. Chair Baney said that it would be helpful to know what counsel feels were appropriate or inappropriate actions taken by the District Attorney. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Page 4 of 6 Pages Mr. Pilliod stated that he feels that there is some guesswork as to under what basis Mr. Flaherty would pursue this further. Mr. Frohnmeyer (representing the County’s interests) may be able to get some clarification. Commissioner DeBone said he wants the costs of this situation to stop as soon as possible. It is not productive. Commissioner Unger thinks they need more information and do not want to come across as punitive. Chair Baney wants the District Attorney’s Office to be successful. Mr. Bell said that a lot of the history goes back a long way before many of the individuals present were with the County. _______________________________ The Commissioners are individually going to be in Salem on Friday, Saturday or Monday on various issues. _______________________________ Chair Baney has been asked to represent AOC in regard to funding relating to Commission on Children & Families or early childhood programs. It appears these will go through the Governor’s new committee, the Early Learning Design Team. It fits in with the health reform work being done. However, there are several meetings each month and they are in the evening, in the valley, so it will be challenging for her to be involved. _______________________________ Commissioner Unger had breakfast with the Governor on Monday along with representatives from local counties and cities, talking about the Oregon Solutions. They were asked about issues, and there were a lot of them around economic development, most of them long-term. Chair Baney pointed out that Central Oregon is doing exactly what the Governor wants in regard to health reform. _______________________________ Commissioner DeBone is working with citizens of La Pine on a community block grant. He has also been contacted by representatives of the Bethlehem Inn regarding funding. Commissioner Unger said they want more information on how to build their board. Chair Baney stated that she does not have time to talk about this at length right now, with all the other pending issues. Commissioner Unger said they want people on their board that are able to help them be successful. Mr. Kropp said he has some thoughts on this issue but just does not know what community efforts meet the proper profile. A stakeholders meeting is taking place soon. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Page 5 of 6 Pages 5. Other Items. Executive session, called under ORS 192.660(2)(h), pending or threatened litigation, occurred at this time. _______________________________ Regarding the secure rural schools funding issue, Chair Baney said that things are still not determined and support is marginal, even though this is not just an Oregon problem. The Senate wants it to move forward while the House is not so agreeable with its new rules. The hope is there will be enough support for the 729 counties that receive these dollars for something positive to result. Chair Baney is representing a group that is seeking this funding. Oregon has the largest stake in this situation and Deschutes County is heavily dependent. _______________________________ The group then discussed the redistricting issue – Senate and House. Rather than testify at a public hearing, Commissioner Unger felt that the Board should perhaps put its suggestions in writing. Dave Kanner said there are no formal proposals, but the basic idea is to define communities of common interest. Representatives of the cities of Bend and Redmond do not plan to offer testimony, although these people can as individuals. A straw-man proposal is to carve off Redmond and the northeast corner, with the rest being another district. Another includes Bend and Redmond as a single Senate district. The rest of the County may end up being parceled out to different Senate districts, which is not good for representation. Another idea is to use Deschutes River as a boundary, but that may mean west of the River ends up as part of the district that includes Lane or Linn County. The questions are, what are the Board’s priorities, and how they define communities of common interest. At this point it may not be wise to support any particular option until more is known. The boundary now is the crest of the Cascades, which is logical. Commissioner Unger feels there is not enough time to put something together before the meeting on Saturday. It is important to keep the region together. He could see Redmond being part of Madras and Crook County. Chair Baney asked if staff could do an exercise on how these breakdowns might impact the area. Time is very limited. Mr. Kanner suggested doing this next Monday afternoon when all three Commissioners are present.