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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-23 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, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Mark Pilliod, Legal Counsel; Tom Anderson and Will Groves, Community Development Department; media representative Hillary Borrud of the Bulletin; and seven other citizens. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. 1. Humane Society of Redmond Update. Rachel Poet, President of the Board of the HSR, presented a check in the amount of $70,000 towards the amount owed to the County. She feels the HSR is getting on firm ground now, due to the hard work of numerous volunteers. Commissioner Luke said that a similar situation occurred some years ago at the Humane Society of Central Oregon. Don Wayne, Board member, explained the proposal and business plan for an RV storage facility on the vacant part of the property. There are 300 members of the HSR who pay dues each year. If even 10% of those own RV’s and are open to using the storage area, that fills a great portion of it. Reasonably full capacity should be met within a year. Once the yard is fenced in, and the event center, which is next to it, would be enhanced due to increased storage capacity. The cost is $27,000 to get the improvements done, including a $3,000 contingency fund. The financials reflect the premise that a loan can be obtained to do these up-front improvements, at 4% for 7.5 years, interest only. This allows them to be beyond break-even within a couple of months. They have talked with members and others, and have gotten very positive feedback. Some are already signed up as soon as they open the gates. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Page 1 of 7 Pages Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Page 2 of 7 Pages Commissioner Luke said that occupation might go down in the summer. Mike Daly said that people who want to keep their spot pay for it year-round, as there are many locations where people cannot take it home for the summer. Commissioner Baney asked about other options in the community. She asked if people care if the RV’s are covered. Mr. Daly said that there is one facility that is covered, containing 13 stalls, people pay $240 per month, and it is full. Another location is Redmond is fenced but the lot is not well maintained. One is Bend gets $2 per foot where the old golf training area was located. Ms. Poet said that RV dealers have said they will recommend the RHS storage. Mr. Daly stated that there are only a couple locations in the area that have indoor storage. Steve McCoy said that liability insurance would be about $1,000 per year, through Lumberman’s Insurance. Commissioner Luke stated that when the Fairgrounds started to offer storage, competitors asked that the price not be much lower than market. Mr. Wayne said that they would charge an equivalent price, and raise it a little in 2012. Dave Kanner said that if the revenue goes towards operation of the nonprofit, the tax situation should remain the same. Mr. Daly stated they have not gotten the final approval back from the City of Redmond, so there could be some additional expenses that are not known yet. In regard to the encroachment by the neighboring business, Suburban Door, they will try to negotiate how to handle this issue. The fill creates a slope up to twenty feet, leaving less land to use for parking. The previous Board allowed them to encroach, per a letter. However, besides the encroachment, there is a continuing danger of erosion as water drains off the one property onto the HSR property. David Allen, attorney for HSR, said he is not sure Ms. Kanski had the authority to bind the HSR. He feels it is at best a license and not an easement, as there is no legal description Commissioner Unger said they have done a great job coming together and solving problems as a board. He would like to see a five-year business plan for the whole business, knowing the big picture. This is an investment in the County’s property. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Page 4 of 7 Pages John Ahrens said that fundraising slows down in the winter months, and they may have to dip into the contingency funds then. They are working on putting on some larger events rather than a lot of small ones. Mr. Attorney: as part of the closing on the Teater Trust sale, a lien from Columbia River Bank was found. The loan that was part of the RLA was going into default, and CRB secured the amount and this has continued to accrue interest, and the total is about $58,000. Mr. Kanner stated that it was around $49,000 at that time, and he wondered how it got to $58,000. Mr. Attorney said this was a line of credit, so the interest accrued while negotiations were taking place. CRB felt it was for operating expenses for HSR. The late charges are a problem for HSR, because all of the documentation went to Mr. Karnopp on behalf of the Trust, and the HSR was out of the loop. He is concerned about how this will resolve. He spoke with CRB about this situation, and they would like to have this cleared before the end of the quarter. The property won’t close until after September, however. He asked for the help of the County to try to get this amount down soon. Chair Baney said that it went from 6% to 18% when it became late. The bills were not going to the HSR so she feels that Karnopp should be held responsible for the account. Commissioner Luke stated that Karnopp was letting this go against the trust. Chair Baney said this is not due diligence on the part of Karnopp. Mr. Attorney said that Mr. Karnopp signed the note. He was approached about this need and agreed on behalf of the Trust, with both beneficiaries signing off. The trust deed secures the note against the property that is about to close. There is an income stream from the mobile home park but he does not believe that there is cash available. The bank wants to be cashed out before the end of the month. At worst, this can stall the closing for a long time. Mr. Pilliod said that perhaps money out of the line of credit with the County might be used for this purpose, and could be replenished after closing. A closing statement as to what is going to get disbursed, and an idea of when it will close, is important to have at this point. This will show the likelihood of getting payment. Mr. Daly said that Mr. Karnopp told him that the title company wanted the payoff amount, so that leads him to believe that closing is imminent. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Page 5 of 7 Pages Mr. Kanner said this particular loan was specifically excluded from the RLA. There was some uncertainty regarding the encumbrance. Chair Baney stated that the late charges and the additional added interest should be negotiated. She would be okay with the principle and the original interest rate. The Bank wants to close out this loan due to the current economic situation. Chair Baney would like to stay within the framework of the existing agreements and handle this accordingly. Mr. attorney said the Columbia River Bank is supposed to let them know the amount soon and perhaps this can be negotiated to benefit all parties. Chris Bauersfeld was then introduced and commended on the work that she is doing as the manager of HSR. 2. Discussion of a Text Amendment to the Sign Ordinance. Will Groves said that the Oregon Construction Specialty Code should replace the Uniform Building Code. It was read that a free-standing sign at Pronghorn in addition to a mounted sign would be included, as would a monument sign. There was confusion as to whether a sign could be allowed at each entrance. Another issue is signs and highway access. A provision in Code deals with businesses in unincorporated communities, resorts and rural service areas. If you are on an arterial and have access to the arterial, you can have signage on that arterial. ODOT has a policy of limiting access to the highway, so businesses are impacted. The new McDonald’s in La Pine now has a problem with signage being required on the side access and not the highway. There is no change to the signs that are allowed, just where they can be placed. Taco Bell has access off the side road but McDonald’s would be off Highway 97. Wall signage is allowed on Highway 97, about 32 square feet. If they are not in a shopping center or business complex, they are allowed more signage as well as directional signs. Under the change, the business would be allowed to have highway oriented signage. At this point they have to go through a variance for this. The Code change allows the signage if they have frontage on the highway; at this time, the Code requires frontage and access to the highway. The Code as it is written does not function as the Planning Commission felt it should. Minutes of Board of Commissioners’ Work Session Wednesday, September 23, 2009 Page 6 of 7 Pages Commissioner Unger asked if the amount of frontage equates to the size of the signage. Mr. Groves stated that it could apply to some businesses. Mr. Groves said that the City of La Pine, to his knowledge, did not comment on this issue. There are other locations throughout the County that might be impacted by this change. Chair Baney asked that this be brought before the Planning Commission at its next meeting, unless they have already addressed it. Commissioner Luke asked if ODOT has commented on this. Mr. Groves said he would have to research this. The menu board is limited on size and does not work for the drive-through restaurants. Most of them are 32 to 40 square feet. The change would allow up to a ground-mounted sign of up 50 square feet. The Planning Commission wanted this limited to large-scale, larger restaurants. Also, they requested a wholesale rewrite of the sign code. Commissioner Luke said that perhaps this could be based on estimated volume instead, or be based on the size of the building. Commissioner Luke asked if political signs are handled under this Code. Mr. Groves said they are considered exempt, as temporary signs, and can be up to 32 square feet in area. Commissioner Luke stated that the City of Bend allows signage of 4 feet x 4 feet only. He asked if perhaps those at the City be contacted to coordinate the requirements. Thirty days before the election is just a week before the ballots are mailed. Commissioner Unger feels that this needs to be addressed at the State level so that it is uniform. 3. Update of Commissioners’ Meetings and Schedules. Commissioner Luke said the Attorney General will be attending the next Chamber breakfast the third Friday of October (October 17). Dave Kanner asked if AOC has distributed any information regarding the February meeting. There don’t seem to be any targeted discussions. Commissioner Luke said that biomass has been discussed in regard to existing businesses getting a tax credit, as well as the new ones getting the tax credit. He feels that most of the session will deal with budgets.