City property for rent

City Property For Lease

Lake Oswego Redevelopment Agency (LORA) Meeting

November 18, 2014  

Agenda Item    4.2.1.  Approval of 41 B Avenue Lease 

                         Staff Report  

The lease on the LORA agenda was a retail space at 41 B Ave., one of the buildings purchased by the Lake Oswego Redevelopment Agency for the North Anchor Block development.  The last renter there was Upper Crust Bakery.  After the city purchased the property, the bakery went out of business.  Upper Crust had employed 16 people, 6 full time, and at the time they left (the day before Thanksgiving two years ago) the bakery was paying $4,000 per month for rent.   
 The start date for new (original) lease for 41 B Ave. was approved at the LORA meeting  on May 20, 2014.  The lease renewal was approved at the November 18, 2014 LORA meeting.  
  At the May 20, 2014 LORA meeting, the board also leased the former barber shop space  (1,081 SF) at 41 B Ave. to Cinematouch, owned by Lake Oswego resident David Working, DBA Connectechs.  The barber shop paid $1,952 per month for rent.  The Cinematouch lease was the only one on the agenda for the May LORA meeting, but the staff also presented a last minute request for the rental of 41 B Ave. by Wishbone Home and Design.  There was no paperwork available at the meeting, but the board approved the deal with the same terms as Cinematouch.

The rent on both spaces is $0.46/SF per month, or $5.52/SF annualized, for a monthly rent of  $460 for 1,000 SF.  For comparison, in its report to the LORA board on July 22, 2013, staff wrote: 

Julie’s Travel Desk, has exercised its two-year lease option at the current lease rate of $17/SF, full service. The Agency is obligated to honor the two-year lease option, with a determination to be made on the current market rate. The 2011 appraisal of the 525  building identified full service rents for comparable properties in the $16-20 range. Rents for the 525 Building range from $13 – 25.

The new rents are obviously a good deal.  Both spaces had been vacant since the city purchased the property in 2012.  Did the city advertise the spaces for rent?  Even in poor 
condition and without a guaranteed long term lease, a discounted market rent should be 
much higher than $5.52/SF.  
  
How much could the city get for these spaces if they were marketed as short-term rentals in  a prime location in downtown LO?  We don't know because no one tested the market.  

The Staff Report explains that "reasonable lease rates" support "start-up businesses."   To the best of my knowledge there Is no policy that this was how the city wanted to use public property nor was there publicity that the rental space was available to new businesses.  In fact, Mayor Studebaker once suggested that the city's unoccupied buildings could be used as public meeting space - certainly worth the $5,520 in annual rent the city is collecting now.  

41 B Ave. is rented by Wishbone Home and Design, owned by Julie Aronson, Kim Nilles and Katie O'Neill. (See article below.)  Katie O'Neill is the daughter of Councilman Skip O'Neill. At the time of the original lease, one of the owners might have been Lynda O'Neill, (wife of Councilor O''Neill) as she is listed as such on the business registration filed with the state.  

There was no mention of any familial connection between Skip O'Neill and the lesee in the Staff Reports or by Councilor O'Neill himself in open session, and he did not recuse himself from voting on the lease agreement and renewal.  No matter the price, no matter the circumstances of the deal, I believe it would have been the right thing to do for O'Neill to state his personal interest in the matter and step aside.    

It should be the city's obligation to maximize the return on taxpayer investments and not make up programs to assist certain businesses on the fly.   The best possible way for the city to make real estate deals is to work with professional real estate agents - that no one in city hall knows - so there can be no question of bias. The city council should also have in 
place policies about how city assets should be handled.  

    arm's    length adj. the description of an agreement made by two
 parties-freely and independently of each other, and without some special relationship,such as being a relative, having another deal on the side or one party havingcomplete control of the other. It becomes important to determine if anagreement was freely entered into to show that the price, requirements, andother conditions were 
fair and real. Example: if a man sells property to his sonthe value set may not be the true value since it may not have been an "arm'slength" transaction. 

Three women 'eat, sleep and breathe design'
Lake Oswego Review, October 2, 2014  By Barb Randal

If you want give your home a total new look or just freshen it by incorporating a few new items, Wishbone Home and Design might be just the place to start. Opened this summer at 41 B Avenue in Lake Oswego, it takes just one step inside the shop to get the inspiration flowing.

Owned by Julie Aronson, Kim Nilles and Katie O’Neill, the interior design shop offers unique furniture, tabletop items, rugs, lamps, mirrors and many more items.

“I was tired of borrowing my dad’s truck (to haul large items),” O’Neill said. They started looking for showroom space and happened upon the former Upper Crust Bakery location.

“It just came together,” Aronson said. “The shop just fell into our laps.” 

See also:  Facebook - Wishbone Home and Design

Preserve the best of our past

Can our history be preserved? 

What is "Progress" if we lose our past?

Sometimes this city seems more intent on preserving trees, a renewable resource that will eventually die, over a piece of irreplaceable artwork. I would like to add my voice to others to save a piece or our collective history and save a piece of important artwork at the same time.  This would be a great addition to a public building using the 1% for art budget required to be spent.

    Photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Library

The Arvid Orbeck mural, lying in wait for rediscovery and preservation behind an exterior wall of the downtown Safeway.  Note the Free-form, artistc shape of Oswego Lake.

Photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Library

• 
  

The downtown Safeway, with its ubiquitous design seen around the country in the 60s, is a mid-century icon in itself,   Stripped of its signage, cars in front and newspaper and plant displays, one
can see the graceful gull-wing shape of the roof that displays the era's interest in modern art and space exploration.  Here is the building during construction in 1965 - the mural is being installed
    on right side under the eaves.

As part of the East End Redevelopment Plan, the building will probably be destroyed someday. Before this happens is the time to plan for the extraction, preservation and installation of the mural in a new place.  It is the responsibility of the entire community to see these pieces of art are saved or risk losing another piece of our identity.

Read these Citizen Views from the LO Review that give a better description of the artist and his artwork than I could do.
                                                                                                                                                           Photo courtesy of the Lake Oswego Library

Let the rock mural at Safeway be seen again
Lake Oswego Review, February 28, 2013 By Evie Proctor

Perhaps Safeway can find a way to bring the mural back
Lake Oswego Review, March 21, 2013  By Shirley Graves Orbec

Shirley Graves Orbeck, Dunthorpe, is a former Lake Oswego resident. She assisted her late husband, Arvid Orbeck, in creating the decorative mural on the downtown Lake Oswego Safeway store that was covered up in a remodel in 2003.

While some things need to change over time, we have learned from our past, that our cultural identity is written in out past - in our history.  We pay a huge price if we forget who we are and what makes us unique.  Those qualities are in jeopardy.

Here is a challenge to each citizen of Lake Oswego, AND to the developers and businesses that hope to prosper in our unique community:  Go out and find the gems and curiosities that make this town what it is.  Let the Historical Society (or library for photos) know about your finds and let them decide if these things they or someone else can help save.  Don't wait to let someone else do this for you.

Portland neighborhoods want input

Goal 1: Citizen Involvement

"We have to pass the Comp Plan before you can find out what's 
in it."   (Attribution to Nancy Pelosi with a change from Affordable Care Act to Comp Plan.)

Does anyone really think this is what the state wanted for Goal 1: Citizen Involvement?  Citizens are to be involved in every aspect of the Comp Plan.  Do the Central Planners know this?

Southwest neighbors want Comp Plan 
approval delayed
Portland Tribune, November 16, 2014  By Jim Redden

Southwest Portland residents are  

continuing to push for a delay in the scheduled votes on the update of the Comprehensive Plan that will guide development in Portland for the next 20 years.

The Planning and Sustainability Commission has held four hearings on the draft update, and will hold the first of several work sessions where public testimony will not be allowed on Tuesday, Nov. 18.


Representatives of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association and others have repeatedly testified before the commission that the current schedule does not allow city residents to fully understand the update before it is adopted. They are especially concerned that the details about new Mixed Use Zone where most development will occur will not be finalized until after the update goes to the City Council for approval next year.

Despite the specific names, the details of the new zones are still being written by a group called the Mixed Use Zone Advisory Committee. It is not scheduled to release its concept plan until January, two months after the last public hearing on the draft update. 

When he testified at the last commission hearing on the plan on Sept. 4, James Pederson, chairman of the Multnomah Neighborhood Association Land Use Committee, said, “We just want people to be able to see the whole plan before they testify on it.”

Photo Credit:  Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. Artist's rendering of how Barbur Blvd,.could look if the Comp Plan is approved.   

What did your vote cost?

2014 City Council Election Accounting

In the aftermath of the General Election on November 4, the final tally of the candidates' income and expenses must be done.  Below are the total CONTRIBUTIONS for each council candidate including both cash and in-kind contributions.  Following that are the number of votes for each candidate, and the dollar amount per vote for each.  If anyone sees an error in the numbers, please let me know.

What did your candidate(s) spend on you?   

Amount Collected, High to Low
Joe Buck                    $ 22,565
Matt Keenen              $ 14,164
Jackie Manz               $   5,814
Jeff Gudman              $   4,154
Ed Brockman             $   3,503

Top Vote-Getters, High to Low
(74.33% of Lake Oswego registered voters participated in the election)
Joe Buck                   9,409
Jeff Gudman             8,578
Jackie Manz              8,329
Matt Keenen             5,694
Ed Brockman           3,151

Amount Per Vote, High to Low
Matt Keenen             $ 2.49
Joe Buck                   $ 2.40
Ed Brockman            $ 1.11
Jackie Manz              $ 0.70
Jeff Gudman             $ 0.48

NOTES:
Low vote-getters, Matt Keenen and Ed Brockman have higher amounts per vote than if they had received more votes.
Jeff Gudman was an incumbent and needed less publicity (money) to let voters know who he is.

FOE:  Friends Of Elaine
Three candidates, Joe Buck, Jeff Gudman and Jackie Manz received in-kind contributions from political strategist Elaine Franklin. Franklin's contribution was for printing flyers for the "3 Js," Joe, Jeff and Jackie.  Each campaign was credited with $174.66.

Why is this significant?  Elaine Franklin is known to be a very expensive and influential campaign expert.  None of the candidates paid for Franklin's services, and in at least one case, the help was unsolicited.  This isn't Franklin's first dive into LO politics as she has assisted current elected officials with their elections.  Add to her campaign assistance, Franklin was hired by Patrick Kessi to promote the Wizer development.  Since Elaine Franklin lives in Dunthorpe in Multnomah County, it is curious that she would spend her valuable time on LO politics, and with people who didn't even ask for her help.  Why?  What is Elaine's interest in Lake Oswego politics?   Who are Elaine's friends?

Portlanders Unhappy

Portland was once the darling of the planning world.  Early adoption of ight rail and Smart Growth policies made Portland the go-to model of what other cities aspired to.  The Portland model has been in place long enough to start showing the flaws in urban design theories that still dominate the industry.  

Today, the lower quality of life created by the Smart Growth philosophy is being rejected by an increasing number of Portlanders.  Given the number of communities that have enacted laws requiring public votes before light rail, urban renewal and other high-density practices are enacted, the metro region is taking note of what is happening in Portland.   

Portlanders Unhappy with Portland

Debates over Portland-area rail transit and land-use issues typically pit city residents against the suburbs, with urbanites favoring more transit and land-use restrictions and suburbanites opposing them. But a recent poll by Portland’s city auditor reveals that even city of Portland residents are becoming increasingly disillusioned about Portland’s policies.

The complete survey is here. The same survey has been made for each of the last five years, and support for Portland’s land-use and transportation policies in particular has steadily eroded during that time.


Read the entire article by Randall O'Toole, Fellow at the Cato Institute at The Antiplanner.

Transit vs Driving

Why Do Transit Commuters Take Longer to Get to Work Than Drivers? 

Nationwide, the average worker spends 24.7 minutes, each way, traveling to and from work.  People who drive alone spend 24.4 minutes; people who carpool spend 28.0 minutes; people who walk take 11.9 minutes; and people who take transit take 48.7 minutes.

In other words,mpeople who take transit spend almost exactly twice as much time en route as people who drive alone.  Why?  The simple answer is that transit is slower.  But this flies in the face of the Ida that people have a travel-time budget that limits the total amount of time they are willing to spend traveling each day (or week).  

Is the travel-time budget idea wrong?

Read this provocative article by Randall O'Toole at The Antiplanner 

Bus barn battles

Two thoughts from the Lake Oswego Review front page article November 13, 2014.

Waluga bus garage has neighbors fuming
By Jillian Daley

Diesel emissions spew from tailpipes and engines growl as dozens of school buses queue up and trundle through the Waluga neighborhood of Lake Oswego, starting at about 6:30 a.m. on weekdays.

Buses rumble down Beasley Way during the evening, on weekends and in the summer, too, ferrying students and other groups to special events. The large buses squeeze down narrow roads, sometimes rolling onto sidewalks for tight turns and making it difficult for residents to navigate their neighborhoods.

Living on the same street as a bus garage is “hell,” Kate O’Rielly says.

1.  Industrial areas are important for cities to have and maintain.  As the city continues to make plans to re-zone the "under-performing" two industrial areas in the city.  They aren't pretty.  They don't have glamorous jobs, though the largest employer in the city with high-paying jobs is in the SW industrial zone.

Where does a city put necessary utility or function?  Where do you put a wastewater treatment plant, a bus barn. a city operations facility?  These facilities do not make good neighbors and this is why industrial zones exist - to segregate functional land uses.  Where would you put the bus barn - is there room in your neighborhood?

First Student’s contract with Lake Oswego goes back more than a decade. In 2003, the district hit financial hard times — a difficult period that lasted about three fiscal years — and took “drastic measures” to close a budget gap, a 2013 district financial report says.

“The entire transportation staff of 40 people was laid off in June 2003 and a contract for transportation services was entered into with First Student (formerly Laidlaw),” the report says. “The district’s bus fleet was also sold at that time for $1,000,000 to Laidlaw as part of

2.  To save money, the school district cut personnel and contracted out services.  With this move, the city was no longer obligated to pay for ballooning salary, benefits and retirement costs that continued to cut into direct educational services, it's primary function.

The City can learn some lessons from the school district and other cities that have decided to use contracted personnel to fulfill city services to save the taxpayers money or retain city services when budget get tight.  As long as there are controls against cronyism, a serious study of which contract services could benefit the city is needed.

WSJ: The Dangerous Business of Everest

A story from the top of the world.  If you want to read more, find the story at:  wsj.com/everest  

Death at 19,000 Feet

Sherpas, Fate and the Dangerous Business of Everest

By  Gordon Fairclough, Raymond Zhong, and Krishna Pokharel

KHUMJUNG, Nepal—They came from six continents, each angling for a chance to reach the roof of the world. As harsh winter turned to spring, hundreds of climbers settled into what has become business as usual at the base camp below Mount Everest.   

Telling it like it is

City Council gets a message. 
What are they going to do about it?

As you may have read in previous blog posts (Planning Department Oops! #1, 2, and 3), the Planning Department has a way of interpreting development codes that a normal, educated person, reading the same code, would understand and find to have a completely different meaning.  

Codes can be complicated, and Lake Oswego is famous for its lengthy and Byzantine codes.  But when the citizens who helped create the codes for the neighborhood overlay see things going awry, there is reason to step back and review the intent and wording of the code.  What is happening now disrespects the neighborhood, the Neighborhood Plan, City Codes, and the concept of fair play. 

Read the prior posts 
and watch the

Citizen Conments portion of the November 13, 2014 City Council meeting, and listen to the first speaker.  The citizen even invites council members to meet with her directly if they want to hear the truth of what is happening.  Her anger and frustration at going through channels and dealing with staff and getting rebuffed is a common theme.  

USC will follow this story to see what, if any, changes are made or what action is taken to remedy this ongoing problem of changing interpretation and selective enforcement of code. 

Metro leaves neighborhood density to the cities

A little-publicized measure on the ballot that prohibits Metro from requiring higher density in single family neighborhoods.  This does not protect neighborhoods from increased density.  The entities that can break low-density zoning codes are local jurisdictions - mainly cities.  City codes matter!

New Platform District buildings at Orenco Station in Hillsboro. (Luke Hammill/Oregonian)

Metro measure, keeping regional government out of neighborhood density plans approved

The Oregonian, November 4, 2014

The Metro regional government will continue to be restricted from requiring housing density increases in neighborhoods after voters extended an existing ban on Tuesday.

Metro Councilor Craig Dirksen, who represents sections of Washington and Clackamas counties, said he was pleased that voters took the time to understand the measure and vote accordingly. "I think this shows that the people by and large are satisfied with the process that we have," Dirksen added.

Metro sponsored that measure as an alternative to a more extensive proposal from an opposition group that called for barring density requirements on any pieces of land zoned for residential use.

Measure 26-160 applies to just single-family neighborhoods in the tri-county area. City and county governments are responsible for setting and establishing density requirements in neighborhoods.

The regional government promotes density along major roads and in neighborhood centers throughout the Portland metro area, part of the long-held vision and planning tied to the area's urban growth boundary.

Dirksen said nobody on the Metro council wanted the prohibition to expire, saying if the measure had failed, "our policy would not have changed."

In his op-ed, [Tom] Hughes said Metro would continue to protect the urban growth boundary. "The real growing pains will be felt at the local level as cities, in particular, work with residents to determine how to accommodate development and improve and maintain the great communities that make up our region,"

What "sustainability" looks like

The Reality of  Sustainability and Smart Growth 

This is the Metro 2040 Functional Plan on a larger scale.  Everything that is going on in the Bay Area is happening here, so it is important to read this presentation by by Cato Institute Fellow Randall O'Toole.   At the end of the presentation are resources for further investigation.

The Bay Area Plan is a misguided effort that will lock people into miserable existences all for the sake of......   That's the problem, there is no point to all of this - the environmental goals are bogus. If goals for environmental sustainability are driving the Plan, then the entire Plan is a failure.

As you read the presentation, think about how the Plan Bay Area sounds like Metro's.  Think about living in the dystopian, urban future the Central Planners are creating for us - because we allowed them start down this path and we failed to see what was happening in time to stop it.  Will Lake Oswego save itself?

 Plan Bay Area: Strategy for a 

 Sustainable Region 

Presentation by Randall O'Toole, Cato Institute 

Quick Fixes will turn to long-term changes.

Planners OK 'quick fixes' to Sensitive Lands

Lake Oswego Review, November 13, 2013   By Saundra Sorenson

Excerpts: USC comments in red.
The SL program is capricious and non-scientific, written by non-scientists (planners) who play with words like "invasive," "riperian" "native" and others that are applied in simplistic and political way, but are not based on solid science.   In a nutshell, the program is idiotic and unfair. 

Some of the changes will be overridden by more sweeping reforms to the program next year, [Scot] Siegel said, "but really, the reason for bringing the changes now and earlier than the rest of the package is to provide immediate relief for private-property owners."

Two code fixes will relax landscaping regulations in private backyards.  Currently, in areas classified as either Respurce Comservation or Reaource Protection districts, plants used in landscaping must "provide food or cover for wildlife." The code amendment asks instead that plants be "swell-suited to local soils and growing conditions" -- which means some non-native plants could be used. 
Old way: What plants for what wildlife?  New way: Can grow just about anything.  My Skeptic self says, expect this one to be changed, but I hope not.

[Gerry] Haase has found the burden unduly on him to prove that there are no wetlands on his property. To disprove the clerical error, Haase must have a wetlands expert inspect his property first.

"The city said they would pay for it," Hasse said. "But the situation is, I don't believe that this is the way it should be handled." 
Of course not.  In the system we have now, one is guilty without proof a crime has been committed, then the culprit/victim must prove to bureaucrats they are innocent (usually at their own expense, and sometimes with an attorney.)  This process gives government regulators the maximum control over private land.  This does not sound like we are living in America anymore.  

Another code, amendment will hit close to for Planning Commission member Bill Ward, who after purchasing a property on Lily Bay Court found that it had a tree grove overlay on it. 
Tree groves were originally found by examining aerial maps and drawing lines around groups of trees.  They had little access to property on the ground to confirmx that the areas were "sensitive" habitat for any species, let alone threatened or endangered one. 

In what he described as "an insult-to-injury situation," Ward 
estimates he spent more than $3,000 having the property surveyed and delineated.  In the end, he had much less usable property than he originally thought --- and the developable parcel was a "crazy, cloud-shaped area."
The real insult to Ward and everyone else is that the SL program seeks to provide habitat for "wildlife," but never specifies what wildlife the planners refer to.  The second, bureaucratic insult is the bother and expense OWNERS have to go through to have THE CITY'S sensitive lands map defined on the ground to confirm THEIR fuzzy goals. 

"Owners (often) find to their dismay that the Sensitive Lands issue has taken over a portion of what they thought to be their land," Ward explained, "and that they can no longer use a portion of their land.  It's just basically off-limits."
"what they thought to be their land" says it all. 

Kent Myers agrees. Taking the the required setbacks into account, the stream designation of a ditch has claimed nearly one acre on his seven-acre property.


Kent Meyers has been paying taxes on the land for 49 years and (jokingly) wants to know where to go for a refund.   It's not a joke.  The value of Meyers' property, Ward's property, and that of others who have Sensitive Lands has dropped dramatically because of it.  

Be careful, iIt's windy out there

It's November - the beginning of the windy-rainy season in Western Oregon.  Time for fallen trees, power outages, and cozying up to a warm fire.

But wait!  About those fallen trees....

The November 2014 issue of Hello LO has a number of safety tips for dealing with extreme winter weather events, and there, among the warnings about gas leaks and emergency preparedness kits is, "Ready Your Trees For Winter," though I don't think the "Your" part was intended as irony.   

The city acts as if the                     Don't forget to take photos!

trees on private
 property are owned by the property owner, but in fact, they claim so many regulatory rights over them that individual ownership has been reduced to that of a caretaker of a community resource.  And if the trees on one's property aren't taken care of to the city's standards, they can fine the pretend owner for not doing their job.  See Chapter 55 of the Municipal Codes titled Trees for regulations pertaining to trees on private property.  Lake Oswego is probably the only city that has an entire chapter devoted to trees.  


From Hello LO:

Ready Your Trees For Winter

Large trees are an extremely valuable asset to both the individual property owner and the community.  An investment in pruning or inspection can help prevent damage from wind, snow or ice, and help preserve those irreplaceable older trees that add so much to the character and heritage of our city.  

Storm Clean-Up And The Tree Code   (Edited for brevity)
In order to protect Lake Oswego's natural setting, the City requires both homeowners and businesses to obtain a permit to remove a tree.  

Emergency Tree Permit -  for trees that present an immediate danger of collapse and present hazard to people or property.
Hazard Tree Permit - for trees that are cracked, split leaning or physically damaged to the degree that it is clear the tree is likely to 
fail.  
Downed Trees -a permit is not required to remove downed trees.  
However, pictures are encouraged for documentation.

Do you want to know what Oregon City requires for tree removal?  Nothing - unless the tree is in the public right-of-way or on a slope or next to designated wetlands.  In OC, people own and control their own trees.  

There is no way the city can monitor every tree that is topped, pruned badly, is considered invasive or is in the wrong spot.  For that they need nosy neighbors to turn in people in. It's a bad situation for all. 

The city has laid claim to ownership by regulagory control of all trees in the city as community assets with no compensation to the landowners who must hire tree cutters and Arborists and get permits to satisfy city staff.  The landowner bears all the responsibility for trees, while "enforced" benefits flow to the 
community at large.  There is something seriously wrong with this
 picture!

Freedom From Speech

It happens here too. 

Under the guise of

"civil discourse," people are pressured to fall into line with the prevailing attitude on a variety of topics.  If one has differing ideas they must be spoken politely, without anger or irritation, and deal in generalities. In other words, "Don't rock the boat (too much) or we will label you as misinformed and untouchable."  

It starts in elementary school, or perhaps younger, when children are protected from bad things happening to them - no hurt feelings, no losing at games, nobody better than the next person.  As adults, these children are not prepared to handle the rough and tumble of the real world.  Eventually, instead of adapting to reality, they try to change the world and human behavior to their liking.  

From the Huffington Post, November 9, 2014

Freedom of Speech or Freedom From Speech: 50 Years After the Berkeley Free Speech Movement

By Greg Lukianoff, President of The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE)

And while a call for civility may seem uncontroversial, we at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) have seen the term abused to enforce top-down conformity, just as the great philosopher John Stuart Mills explained in his masterpiece, On Liberty.     
Please read the entire essay using the link above.

Election Day hangover

Gardening: The cure for whatever ails you

Plus it's better than a trip to the gym.

I'm going to rake leaves.  I'll be back when it rains!

For those of you who would like a reminder of things you should do but never get around to, here is an article from the OSU Extension Service (paid for in part by Clackamas County voters) on fall gardening.  It's not too late!  

Hacking into Oregon's election financing

Someone was reading my mind - easy access for election information in Oregon.  Hack Oregon is a new site that is growing, but until the site tells us who were the big spenders and which groups gave money to local candidates and measures, this is just scratching the surface.  We need clarity about what influences and agendas are driving campaigns.  Perhaps this will be something else this site will tackle in the future. Read the FAQs for more election and site information.  

Did you know the statewide average for grassroots funding is 13%?

Go to Hack Oregon to view their project, Behind the Curtain.

BEHIND THE CURTAIN

A SEARCHABLE LIBRARY OF VISUALIZATIONS FOR THE ENTIRE DATABASE OF OREGON ELECTIONS

 

Spend now on rail, regret later

What if rail enthusiasts are all wrong?  
Taxpayers would have a very expensive white elephant, but at least some people would have made money.  Read about California's "high speed" rail effort, the failing, old-school program to connect SF to LA.  The real costs and problems can be found elsewhere on the web. Now read about the future of transportation or what it could be like.  This one is technically feasible!

Hyperloop: San Francisco to L.A. in 30 minutes

By Steve Hargreaves  @hargreavesCNN August 13, 2013: 9:43 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)  

Serial entrepreneur and billionaire Elon Musk unveiled design plans for his Hyperloop -- a superfast transport system that could cut the travel time from Los Angeles to San Francisco to 30 minutes, and cost a fraction of the currently proposed high speed rail project.

In a technical paper published Monday, Musk said his idea is similar to the "old pneumatic tubes used to send mail and packages within and between buildings," but would operate under much less pressure to save on energy.

The cars would be pushed or pulled through the tube by a series of electric motors, possibly similar to the ones used by the Tesla Model S. Each car would be mounted with a fan in front to move the air out of the way. The air itself would then be directed underneath the car, forming a cushion on which it would ride. The entire thing would be powered by solar panels mounted on top of the tube.

Musk said it could cost less than one-tenth of the planned high speed rail system in California project that's estimated to cost $70 billion. It would also be six times faster.

In fact, it was the high cost of the California train that prompted Musk to research the Hyperloop in the first place."How could it be that the home of Silicon Valley and JPL -- doing incredible things like
indexing all the world's knowledge and putting rovers on Mars -- would build a bullet train that is both one of the most expensive per mile and one of the slowest in the world," he wrote.

Thank you for the hard work to come!

              

Thank you to all the candidates for City Council who stepped up to take on a very hard and time consuming job.  Most of us can't imagine being a politician muc less campaigning for the job. 
City council is the part of the government closest to the people and has great power over their lives, their homes, and their quality of life.  

The most important thing anyone in government can do is study the issues independently of staff reports so they can ask specific questions and can tell if something sounds OK or isn't quite right, and have the guts to do the ethical, if unpopular thing - disagree.  

        Dedication empathy  sleep?
Research Always be polite  Study
     Work long hours  Ask questions
             Go to meetings  Go to more meetings 
Daytime meetings, Nighttime meetings
        Study  Read  Read some more
    Emails, calls, people wanting something...
                                 Study!

Heard around town..

  

...from authoritative sources:


Regarding the city's budget:
Sales, fees and services bring in more money than property taxes.

Utility fees equal 83% of property tax income.

 Debt service for the city is $7 million per year.  If this debt were paid down to zero, it would cost each person $700 per year, and the debt would be paid off in 2035.  (Population of Lake Oswego as of 2012 was 37,298 - US Census)

Employee costs and retirement benefits are the largest expense of city government.  Some cities outsource some or all of their services, such as finance, parks maintenance and fire, while others hire their own staff.  The number of employees and how they are paid has a huge influence on the city's budget.  In Lake Oswego it takes 100 taxpayers to support 1 full time employee. Comparable cities are as low as 11 taxpayers to 1 FTE.  The discrepancy comes from staffing and wage differences, with Lake Oswego being the most expensive.

If significant changes are not made to spending, the city's income will fail to cover expenses in the budget year, 2017-2018.  Lake Oswego is becoming too expensive to live in and we want to see expenses cut rather than more debt or raising taxes and fees.

On Sensitive Lands:
I was 18 years ago tat overnight, 10% of the property owners became responsible for the city's natural resources.  Citizen's property [uses] became non-conforming with added deed restrictions.  To build, sell or do anything in the property, property owners have to go through an expensive [unaffordable] process of delineation and deed changes costing thousands of dollars.  Changes were promised, but it's been 18 years without clarity.

On Codes:
A couple of years ago a survey of citizens showed that a majority thought the tree code was too intrusive, yet substantive changes have not been made.

On Neighborhood Plans:
Only 8 of 22 Neighborhood Associations have formal Neighborhood Plans.  Regarding the renewed effort to get more neighborhoods to create plans and update the old ones, citizens see how existing Plans (and even associated code) have been ignored when they were needed most.  People are wondering, "Why bother?"  We want the plan, but we want them to mean something and have the teeth of codes included as part of the deal.