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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-02-04 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, FEBRUARY 4, 2009 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Tom Blust, Road Department; Peter Russell, Community Development; Rick Williams and Amy Pfeiffer, Oregon Department of Transportation; Doug White of the Department of the State Land Conservation and Development; media representative Hillary Borrud of The Bulletin; and one other citizen. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. 1. Review of Wickiup Junction Improvement Plans. Rick Williams spoke about plans to improve the Wickiup Junction area. It costs about $100 million to put in a by-pass or to move the railroad. (He referred to an oversized map of the area.) The railroad wants the entire project done at once, so it cannot be done in phases. The work impacts a BLM recreational area and some trails. They do not want to leave the at-grade railroad crossing for safety reasons. Commissioner Luke asked about the adjacent County land. Mr. Williams replied that he is not sure yet if interchange standards will need to be followed; if so, no one will be able to access the “old” Highway 97. Commissioner Unger said that he would like to see a park and ride established, but it needs to be set up so that there are no left-hand turns necessary. $1.2 million is now set aside for planning purposes, including the environmental studies up to the preliminary plans. Amy said that projects with the railroad typically take years. Preliminarily, it appears that the environmental and other studies may take three years. Mr. Williams said that the railroad feels this is a priority, which may help to move things along a little quicker. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page 1 of 7 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page 2 of 7 Pages There has been a lot of community outreach on this project. There may be acceleration and deceleration lanes established to help access the truck stop area. Doug High asked if a Goal exception is needed. Mr. Williams said that it would all be within the right of way, or within the City limits of La Pine. 2. Discussion of Moratorium on Acceptance of New Roads into the County Road System. Tom Blust said that a question was raised about establishment and maintenance of Foster Roads. (He distributed a spreadsheet showing options for road establishment and maintenance.) He said that even with the forestry receipts, there would not be adequate funds available for this work. Commissioner Luke said that funding does not allow for ongoing maintenance of all roads. Mr. Blust added that this work has fallen farther and farther behind over the past few years, as the cost of materials skyrocketed. He suggested that the moratorium not be lifted at this time. He wants to see what funding will be granted from the State. Commissioner Luke stated that there is more than just overlays; there is snow removal and other work needed. Without funds from a gas tax or other options. Dave Kanner said the number that is being discussed is includes the Solid Waste transfer. This may not be needed if they get the Governor’s recommendations funded. The contingency becomes zero otherwise, and this is the gap that needs to be filled. Commissioner Baney said that it appears that the moratorium was put into place because of the forest payments issue at that time. However, this problem could be true in any year. It is more transparent if it is made clear that the County was not making enough money even then, with the forest payments. She felt that a new resolution might be warranted to explain this is a more widespread funding problem. Commissioner Unger said he prefers to wait to see what happens with the State funding, and the Board can deal with road issues as they arise. He also asked why the people wanting the road district could not form their own district and collect funds. However, there are roads that are partially used by others. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page 3 of 7 Pages Commissioner Luke stated that he is mostly concerned about the ongoing maintenance of the roads. Mr. Kanner said that there are many ways to fund roadwork without requiring someone to form an independent road district. A taxing district would require a vote of the affected citizens. There are a lot of ways to handle this, including a voluntary assessment. Mr. Kanner said that when a new road is built, there needs to be a demonstration that the people wanting the LID will also maintain it after it is built. Commissioner Baney said that sometimes they cannot get consensus of the local citizens on improving and maintaining the roads. Commissioner Unger asked what constitutes a collector and arterial. Mr. Blust stated that for the most part these are paved roads. There are also a lot of roads the County maintains and roads dedicated to the public that are not maintained by the County. The problem is the dedicated, public roads that were never built to County standards. The cities collect money for all roads for maintenance. The County cannot do that on the public road rights of way. They could be established as County roads and funding collected. Mr. Unger said that he feels the arterials and collectors are a priority, and perhaps partnerships can be worked out for the ones that are for the most used by neighborhoods. The consensus was to wait to see what the legislature does; however, Commissioner Luke said that the bigger question is whether the County can do ongoing maintenance of the existing roads. Commissioner Unger asked if any brainstorming has been done on funding options. Mr. Blust said that a study and report was produced last fall and he will provide a copy of it. Commissioner Baney stated that a request from Panoramic subdivision for the County to take care of about 2/10 of a mile of road there. Other inquiries have been coming in, including a one-time use of dust abatement material in a particular subdivision. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page 4 of 7 Pages 3. Other Items. In regard to a request for economic development funding from the County, Commissioner Baney said that the County has been getting a lot of criticism for not participating more. _______________________________ Commissioner Unger reviewed the La Pine meeting agenda. Commissioner Luke said that the City Council is at full strength now so they should be able to discuss a lot of common issues. _______________________________ Commissioner Unger stated that he has been hearing that the City needs three signal lights. There are concerns about the impacts to other locations whenever a signal is installed. _______________________________ Dave Kanner asked who is to contact Crook and Jefferson counties regarding a meeting with them and agenda items. Commissioner Baney said that she will coordinate this. _______________________________ Regarding the deadlines for federal appropriations requests, it is quickly approaching and this needs to be handled quickly. Commissioner Baney said there will be one for BI at 2.5 and she would like to see something put in for the jail. She is meeting with Walden’s staff on February 5. Commissioner Luke stated that the Humane Society of Redmond should be added to the list as the third choice. Mr. Kanner said that the La Pine signal light is also a consideration. Commissioner Luke stated that if they put in for $1.4 million for this project and the grant just $500,000, is the County prepared to put in the difference. It is expected, and the funding will not come again if it is returned for this reason. Commissioner Unger stated that the federal government is looking for immediate economic stimulus and will not want to wait for things to get done. Commissioner Unger said that what they should stress is the number of jobs the jail project will create and how many jobs this will support in the future. Mr. Kanner will provide a report that will explain this. _______________________________ Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page 5 of 7 Pages Andy High of the Central Oregon Builders’ Association said that membership is holding up; a stimulus package for home purchasers is being considered as a tax credit, which could help to reduce the inventory of homes. There is also a lot of talk about the number of property owners who owe more on their homes than the homes are worth. The remodeling industry is doing well, however, especially in regard to work related to energy savings. He said that construction should be about 10% of the local economy to be healthy, and in the past few years, this number was much higher. Permits for the last quarter are as low as they were in 1981. He said that less regulation may help in the long run. _______________________________ Mr. Kanner stated that no matter how bad the economy is now, it will be getting worse according to Marty Wynne, Finance Director. The amount of money traditionally transferred to District 2 of the Sheriff’s Office is $2,650,000, based on transient lodging tax revenue. Because of the forecasted decrease in transient lodging tax collected, which is expected to be worse than originally thought, an additional $257,000 will need to be transferred to keep the $2,650,000 whole this year. Originally, the reduction to the lodging tax amount was thought to be $214,900. The Sheriff may be able to make up some of the money as he is now running about 93% of budget. However, the Sheriff is likely to feel that the $2,650,000 is guaranteed, no matter what. COVA (Central Oregon Visitors Association) now indicate that they expect overnight stays will be down by 30% this year. Therefore, about $886,900 would need to be transferred to the Sheriff next fiscal year to keep the $2,650,000 whole, which the Sheriff probably considers an entitlement. Commissioner Luke said that previous Boards had also acted as though this is an entitlement, but there was no need for it to be supplemented from the general fund. However, this level of a depressed economy has not been experienced since the tourism funding program started. Commissioner Luke said that Dave Kanner should meet with Marty Wynne, Jim Ross (Finance Analyst for the Sheriff’s Office) and Sheriff Blanton to share these figures. A meeting of the Commissioners and the Sheriff could be planned to discuss possible solutions. The County cannot come up with almost $900,000 at this time to cover the potential shortfall. There was consensus of the Board that public safety is important, but they were not talking about this kind of funding at the time. Other departments are critical as well. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page 6 of 7 Pages Commissioner Baney said that the Sheriff has the ability to raise the tax rate for the Districts, but will probably not want to do that. Mr. Kanner stated that a subsidy for Community Development is also a consideration. Commissioner Baney feels that holding tight to the $2,650,000 is not reality at this time and there needs to be flexibility. Commissioner Unger said that this funding was based on the number of tourists served, and there obviously will be fewer of them for some time if COVA’s analysis is correct. Mr. Kanner stated that the Sheriff has room in the budget to make cuts, through items that he is underspending; he could freeze those expenses. Under statute, the Board establishes the budget. Commissioner Luke stated that the Sheriff needs to figure out ways to cut his budget, and should not be instructed on how this should be done. He wants to have the Commissioners and the Sheriff work on this as partners during a rough time. Commissioner Unger asked where the funding would come from. Mr. Kanner said that Health and Juvenile Justice would take the biggest hits, followed by the Commission on Children & Families and the Assessor’s Office. He is discontinuing some funding to administrative services. There are some non- departmental expenses that can be cut, including Inside Deschutes County. Commissioner Luke said that they are broadcasting local rule information at this time; Mr. Kanner stated that as far as he can tell, no one watches it. Commissioner Luke stated that they could give the Sheriff the $214,900 now and next year, but that the Sheriff’s Office will have to rise and fall with the transient room tax revenue. Other departments have to do similar things when their revenue stream is impacted. Commissioner Baney stated that it should be based on a percentage, not a set amount. Mr. Kanner said that the Sheriff’s Office cannot absorb that big of a hit all at once. Commissioner Baney stated that they all need to show a unified front and make it clear that the next year might be worse. Mr. Kanner said that Mr. Wynne suggested that because District 1 is in good shape, perhaps there is a way to transfer those funds in a way to help out District 2. $350,000 of general funds was spent for the work center, and another $188,000 transferred to retain certain jobs. Commissioner Luke stated that a guarantee of a certain amount could be guaranteed, but the $886,900 is not possible. Commissioner Baney added that the revenue stream from other sources is also down so it is hard to backfill anything at this point.