Health Options Digest
April 10, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
CHOICES, "Health Options Digest" in Transition
Since our recent settlement with PeaceHealth, CHOICES has been in transition. We are moving from working on the "outside" against less desirable development to working on the "inside" for more desirable development. In particular, per the settlement, CHOICES has a representative on PeaceHealth's internal committee that is planning RiverBend beyond the Phase 1 hospital. We also have a representative on the committee considering what to do with the existing Hilyard site. Our intention is that CHOICES will serve as a two-way channel for the community to learn about PeaceHealth's ideas and to advise PeaceHealth in considering those ideas.
Look for periodic reports on the issues being considered. And please tell us your ideas privately by emailing me at rzako@efn.org or publicly by emailing all the CHOICES members and subscribers at choices-l@efn.org ("L" for "List").
Note: A recent story in The Register-Guard might suggest that PeaceHealth has already decided what they will do with the existing Hilyard site. As the settlement calls for CHOICES to be involved in this decision, that wouldn't be the case. A more careful reading of the story reveals there are still many unresolved issues around the future use of the Hilyard site.
Of course, CHOICES continues to be interested in plans for a new McKenzie-Willamette Hospital.
We are also thinking about how "Health Options Digest" might best continue to serve the public. As frequent readers must realize, "Health Options Digest" is concerned not only with hospital siting in the Eugene-Springfield area but also with the availability and cost of health care and other critical services, nearby major developments, local land use and transportation issues, local politics, Measure 37 and the future of Oregon's land use planning program, and the exploits of our friends Dave Barry and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Please tell us how "Health Options Digest" is useful to you, and how it could be better. And look for us to share ideas for improving this electronic publication.
Finally, some people have questioned whether CHOICES is working with David Rodriguez as he challenges PeaceHealth's plans for RiverBend. Like Mr. Rodriguez, CHOICES is concerned about the risk of flooding at RiverBend. Nevertheless, when we raised these concerns almost two years ago, LUBA rejected our arguments. But Mr. Rodriguez may have new information that we did not have when we appealed. Mr. Rodriguez is not a member of CHOICES and is filing appeals on his own, as is his right as a private citizen. As it is the editorial policy of "Health Options Digest" to share news and views about hospital siting issues, we are happy to distribute his views. Of course, we welcome other points of view, too.
Importance of Transportation and the Metropolitan Policy Committee
We all know where babies come from. But where do cities come from? What is the "sex of place" that determines how urban areas are born and develop?
According to Alex Marshall in How Cities Work: Suburbs, Sprawl and the Roads Not Taken (University of Texas Press, 2000), "The structure of a human settlement rests on a three-legged stool of politics, economics, and transportation. It is these forces that I attempt to understand and explain in this book. If we seek to change our world, it's these interconnected levers that must be pulled. Of these, transportation is the most visible and active in shaping a place. It's a simple rule: How we get around determines how we live. But it's a rule we still haven't grasped. Transportation determines the form of our places. ... If transportation determines the shape of our cities, then who determines the shape of our transportation system? Largely the state, whether that be a king, a dictator, or a democratically elected government. ... If government determines what type of transportation system is constructed, then what determines what type of transportation system government constructs? ... It's here we get into economics. Cities [i.e., both suburban and urban areas] exist because they create wealth. ... Transportation is the cornerstone of cities' ability to create wealth."
We can see these ideas clearly at work in the siting of both hospitals. For economic reasons, PeaceHealth wanted to be close to Interstate-5 in order to draw patients from a 5-county area. Thus they worked with state and local governments to make sure that they would have the roads and other transportation facilities they needed: an expanded I-5/Beltline interchange, the Pioneer Parkway Extension, Bus Rapid Transit, and so on.
Similarly, in its search for a new site, McKenzie-Willamette has wanted to be on or near adequate roads to connect it to both its patients and workers. To attract McKenzie-Willamette to the EWEB site, the City of Eugene is offering to $12 million or more in road improvements.
And we see a similar story over and over again: Development follows the form set by the transportation system built by the government in response to economic realities.
Here in the Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area, our government has been quietly changing. Power over transportation decisions is shifting away from the city councils and the county commission to the little-known Metropolitan Policy Committee. A key indication of this shift occurred last December when the Metropolitan Policy Committee updated the regions transportation plan with essentially no input from the city councils or the county commission. (That said, the Metropolitan Policy Committee is composed of representatives from these better known bodies.) It remains to be seen if the Metropolitan Policy Committee represents a democratically elected government, functions in some other manner, or is merely a front for the real seat of power that is hidden from the public's view.
We urge people to attend the Metropolitan Policy Committee meeting this Thursday as it decides several important transportation issues.
Week In Review
PeaceHealth said it would turn its existing Hilyard site into a 100-bed "specialty hospital," but what does that really mean?
David Rodriguez filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of State Lands. On Monday, he is expected to file an appeal with the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals. Both efforts challenge PeaceHealth's plans to build at hospital at its RiverBend site.
Meanwhile, PeaceHealth recently spoke to the Springfield Chamber of Commerce about building a "winning team" to develop the RiverBend site.
In the latest Eugene Weekly, Alan Pittman explains the issues and concerns with a possible McKenzie-Willamette hospital on the EWEB site.
Now that the Lane Transit District strike is settled, Lane County workers face some of the same issues with the rising cost of health care.
The stereotype is that people disagree in Eugene and agree in Springfield. So how come the Eugene City Councilors vote almost unanimously for enterprise zones, and Mayor Kitty Piercy is pulling together an effort to form a sustainable development plan? And how come current and former Springfield City Councilors are fighting each other over a proposed new tax, with one former councilor even staging a version of the Boston Tea Party? Maybe the stereotypes are wrong.
Lastly, legislators in Salem are grappling with what voters actually intended when they passed Measure 37 by a significant margin. As the ballot title talked about government treating property owners fairly, legislators should find a way to compensate property owners how have been unfairly impacted by land use laws. But Oregonians repeatedly affirm they want to keep Oregon Oregon and support the protections those laws provides. Legislators must uphold the laws that protect us all.
Looking Ahead
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, various units of the League of Women Voters will discuss physical and mental health.
On Monday, the Springfield City Council will discuss emergency medical services.
Also on Monday, the Eugene City Council will discuss the Chase Gardens Mixed Use Center. But Eugene developer Wally Graff is looking to build medical office buildings in the area -- not the sort of mixed uses that some residents envisioned. The council is also expect to approve a West Eugene Enterprise Zone.
On Thursday, the Metropolitan Policy Committee will decide several transportation issues -- without a single public hearing.
On Friday at the City Club of Eugene, OSU Marine Ecologist Dr. Jane Lubchenco will talk about climate change, global warming, and local community participation.
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Calendar
Women voters take up physical, mental health
| The Register-Guard | April 10, 2005 |
The topic of the League of Women Voters of Lane County April unit meetings will be "Physical and Mental Health in Lane County and the State of Oregon." Unit meetings are for members and guests to gather at homes and public places to discuss the month's topic.
On Monday, April 11, Unit 1 will meet at 10 a.m. at 339 W. 22nd Ave., Eugene; Unit 6 at 11 a.m., 1235 Fir Acres Drive, Springfield; and Unit 2 at 11:30 a.m., 2050 Madison St., Eugene.
Unit 3 will meet at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 12, at 2135 Rocky Lane, Eugene.
On Wednesday, April 13, Unit 5 will meet at 9:30 a.m., Central Presbyterian Church, 555 E. 15th Ave., Eugene; Unit 8 at noon, Lane Community College, Room 136, in Cottage Grove; and Unit 9 at 4 p.m., 2365 W. 23rd Ave., Eugene.
The League of Women Voters of Lane County is a grass-roots, nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active citizen participation in government. For information, call 343-7917, or visit http://www.lwvlc.org/arg04.html
Monday, April 11 -- Springfield City Council
Springfield City Hall, 225 Fifth St., 726-3700
5:30 p.m., Work Session, Jesse Maine Room
1. Booth Kelly Center.
2. Emergency Medical Services Program and Financial Evaluation Update.
Monday, April 11 -- Eugene City Council
Eugene City Hall, 777 Pearl St., Lynda Rose, 682-5017, lynda.l.rose@ci.eugene.or.us
5:30 p.m., Work Session, McNutt Room
1. Items from Mayor, City Council, and City Manager
2. Work Session: An Ordinance to Adopt Modifications to the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission Intergovernmental Agreement and A Resolution to Approve Issuance of Revenue Bonds by the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission
3. Chase Gardens Mixed Use Center
7:30 p.m., City Council Meeting, Council Chamber
1. Ceremonial Matters
2. Public Forum
3. Consent Calendar
4. Public Hearing: Resolution 4831 Forming a Local Improvement District For Paving, Constructing Curbs and Gutters, Sidewalks, Pedestrian Medians, Street Lights, and Stormwater Drainage on River Avenue From 200 Feet East of River Road to 100 Feet West of Beltline Highway
5. Public Hearing and Possible Action: An Ordinance Adopting Hazardous Substance User Fees for the Fiscal Year Commencing July 1, 2005
6. Action: FY06-FY11 Draft Capital Improvement Program
7. Action: Resolution 4832 Authorizing the City Manager to Make Application to the State of Oregon for Designation of a West Eugene Enterprise Zone
8. Action: Ratification of Intergovernmental Relations Committee Actions of February 17, February 24, and March 9, 2005
Thursday, April 14 -- Metropolitan Policy Committee
11:30 a.m, Springfield City Hall, Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth St., Tom Schwetz, 682-4044
1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Call to Order/Approve March 10, 2005 Minutes
3. Comments from the Audience
4. MPO Issues
a. OTIA Bridge Bundle MTIP Amendment
b. Reallocation of Seaside Project Funding -- Contingency Planning
c. MPO Consortium Bylaws & Representatives
d. Programming STP-U Funds & MTIP Amendments: FY06 Planning & Project Development
e. Adopt FY06 Unified Planning Work Program
f. Congestion Mitigation Program
g. Follow-up and MPO Calendar
1) Follow-up
i. I-105 Preservation Project Update
ii. MTIP Administrative Amendments
iii. LUBA Notice of Intent to Appeal MPC Adoption of 2025 RTP
2) Upcoming MPO-related Activities
i. MPO Calendar
Friday, April 14 -- City Club of Eugene
11:50 a.m., Eugene Hilton, 66 East 6th Ave.
"Go With the Flow: EcoSystems and Human-Well Being"
A talk by Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Marine Ecologist, Oregon State University.
Dr. Jane Lubchenco is an environmental scientist and marine ecologist who is actively engaged in teaching, research, synthesis and communication of scientific knowledge at Oregon State. At 21 she was "seduced" by marine biology while taking a course in invertebrate zoology. She has lived near oceans ever since. Dr. Lubchenco recently co-chaired Governor Kulongoski's Advisory Group on Global Warming and has provided scientific advice to Congress, U. S. presidents, other heads of state, CEOs of major businesses and religious leaders around the world.
She received her PhD at Harvard where she became an Assistant Professor. She has received numerous awards including a MacArthur Fellowship, a Pew Fellowship, eight honorary degrees, the 2002 Heinz Award for the Environment and the 2003 Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest. She has been President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, an associate of The Third World Academy of Sciences and was nominated by President Clinton and then confirmed by the Senate to the National Science Board.
She will discuss with us the prime importance and compelling mystic of water for our lives, today and in the future. Subtitle her talk 'Climate change, global warming, and local community participation.'
Tuesday, April 19 -- Oregon Environmental Council
"Childproofing for Toxics: Some Practical Advice"
A talk by Dr. Ted Schettler, M.D., M.P.H.
More and more parents are asking questions about toxics, but which are the key ones to avoid? What are the alternatives? What should providers tell parents? Dr. Ted. Schettler, M.D., M.P.H., Science Director for the Science and Environmental Health Network and author of Generations at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment, will outline strategies to get the right information into the hands of parents and care givers.
Opportunities
Be A Comish
| Eugene Weekly | April 7, 2005 |
Two vacancies are coming up on the Lane County Planning Commission, with an April 29 deadline for applications. The commission makes recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners regarding comprehensive plan issues and amendments; and also advises and cooperates with other planning agencies within the state and provides reports to local government officials on problems in county, regional or metropolitan planning.
For information and applications, visit county offices at 125 E. 8th Ave. or http://www.co.lane.or.us
Lane County planning panel has two vacancies
| The Register-Guard | April 8, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners seeks applications from citizens interested in serving on the Lane County Planning Commission, which makes recommendations to the board on comprehensive plan issues and amendments.
The commission also advises and cooperates with other planning agencies within the state and provides reports to local government officials on problems comprehended in county, regional or metropolitan planning.
There are two vacancies. Both will be filled by residents of the county; one position must be filled by a resident who lives west of the east boundary of the Mapleton School District; the other position may be filled by any county resident.
The deadline to apply is April 29. Applications are available in the Board of Commissioners' Office, Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave.
For more information call Kent Howe at 682-3734.
Applicants needed for county committees
| The Register-Guard | March 18, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners is seeking applications from residents interested in serving on the Lane County Mental Health Advisory Committee.
Committee responsibility includes serving on subcommittees and requires two to four daytime meetings per month. The board advises on matters relating to mental health, developmental disabilities, and alcohol and drug abuse in Lane County by reviewing major policies of the community mental health program.
The deadline to apply is April 22. To request an application, call 682-4203. For more information, call Rob Rockstroh at 682-4035.
The county also seeks applications from residents interested in serving on the Lane County Planning Commission. The commission makes recommendations to the commissioners regarding comprehensive plan issues and amendments. Applicants must be residents of Lane County west of the east boundary of the Mapleton School District. To request an application by mail, please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope and mark your request to the attention of Ethel at the address listed below. The deadline to apply is April 15. For information, call 682-4203.
Applications for both groups are available in the Board of Commissioners' Office located on the Plaza Level of the Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Avenue in Eugene.
PeaceHealth
Sacred Heart keeps role as hospital
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | April 7, 2005 |
PeaceHealth will turn its Sacred Heart Medical Center campus on Hilyard Street into a 100-bed specialty hospital with an emergency room after the nonprofit health corporation moves the bulk of its operations to north Springfield in 2008.
The Johnson Unit psychiatric facility will remain at the Hilyard campus, hospital officials said, and there also will be a general medical unit focused on geriatrics. But PeaceHealth is just beginning to decide what other services will be offered there.
PeaceHealth spokesman Brian Terrett said it will take three to four months of consultation with staff members and the medical community to determine what other services Hilyard would house.
"It will not be a full-service hospital," he said. "It will be a specialty hospital." (more...)
Resident files complaint with DSL against Springfield
| The Springfield News | April 8, 2005 |
Springfield resident David Rodriguez has filed a complaint with the Oregon Department of State Lands, alleging that the City of Springfield never filed a permit to fill land at the end of Baldy View Lane in 2000.
Rodriguez, who also alleges a public hearing for the work was never held, said in an e-mail, "If this is indeed illegal fill as suspected, it has probably skewed the base floodplain data, thereby invalidating the entire floodplain analysis conducted by PeaceHealth."
PeaceHealth recently received master plan approval for its $350 million regional medical facility, known as RiverBend, and construction is expected to begin this summer.
Dana Field, resource coordinator for DSL, said the state has jurisdiction over wetlands and some waterways and is in the process of verifying whether or not the department has jurisdiction over the land identified in the complaint.
Rodriguez said he also plans to file notice of appeal next week with the Land Use Board of Appeals because he believes that flooding and river channel migration hazards have not been thoroughly explored.
Tried-and-true team-building techniques
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | April 8, 2005 |
How to create a winning team was the main topic during the Springfield Chamber of Commerce's quarterly breakfast on Wednesday morning at the Regional Sports Complex in Springfield.
The roughly 100 chamber members who attended the breakfast heard a variety of community representatives talk about what is needed to create a winning team, both in sports and in business, and how the two follow many similar principles.
Brian Terrett, who could recently celebrate PeaceHealth's approval to move forward with its plans to build a $350 million hospital at RiverBend in Springfield's Gateway area, listed five elements needed for a team to succeed.
According to Terrett, a team must have a clear and focused vision, should never assume anything, must be able to learn from others and be excellent communicators.
Terrett also said, "Talent only works if everyone works together." (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
Triad's EWEB
Is downtown hospital worth the cost in public money and natural riverfront?
By Alan Pittman
Eugene Weekly | April 7, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad's demand that the city give up its riverfront, public utility buildings and millions of dollars for a new downtown hospital has met with heavy opposition in letters and public testimony.
In response, Triad appears open to compromise. Triad's local CEO Roy Orr says the hospital is now willing to consider just buying EWEB's industrial land and leaving EWEB's riverfront administrative building in utility ownership. "I don't think it's impossible," Orr said in an interview, adding that a denser, more urban hospital design could fit on the remainder of the site. "I wouldn't rule it out." (more...)
Health Care
Editorial -- Let drug bill die: Morrisette is right to protect Oregon doctors
| The Register-Guard | April 5, 2005 |
Sen. Bill Morrisette isn't paranoid to harbor strong suspicions about the Bush administration's motives when it comes to Oregon's law authorizing physician-assisted suicide. In addition to the Justice Department's frontal assault on the law in the U.S. Supreme Court, there clearly isn't much room in President Bush's "culture of life" for Oregonians' interest in a dignified death.
That's why Morrisette was right to pull the plug on Senate Bill 180, an administration-backed effort to create a database for tracking prescription drug transactions in Oregon. The Springfield Democrat chairs the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee, where the bill has received two hearings. (more...)
Nearby Developments
County, unions headed for talks
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | April 5, 2005 |
Just weeks after a strike at Lane Transit District over contract negotiations, another local public agency is heading into contract talks. And the same issue is at the heart of the new negotiations: the fast-rising cost of health insurance. (more...)
Slant -- Enterprise Zones
| Eugene Weekly | April 7, 2005 |
In 1995 when Hyundai/Hynix landed $50 million in tax breaks for building in the west Eugene wetlands, hundreds of outraged citizens packed meetings. How could so much public money be given away to a mega-corporate factory using tons of toxic chemicals without a vote or even a hearing? The answer then was that the state enterprise zone (EZ) program that the city had signed up for almost a decade earlier provides corporate welfare without public accountability. Unless there's a similar outpouring of public outrage before April 11, history could very well repeat itself. The City Council is poised 7-1 to set up a new enterprise zone that would potentially give Hynix another $100 million. If Hynix expands, it will qualify for another huge tax break, without a vote or public hearing. Proponents argue that tax breaks create jobs, but almost all economists and researchers tell us that corporations come and go based on cheap labor, access to markets and other factors more important to their bottom line. State employment economists have found that most of the new jobs go to people moving here rather than the local unemployed.
Proponents claim the EZ mostly helps local small businesses, but 95 percent of the breaks have so far gone to Hynix. Proponents say they'll attach local standards to the breaks, giving companies that aren't providing sustainable, family wage jobs less money. But state law doesn't allow meaningful or significant local standards and Hynix is likely to get its full break, despite its history of layoffs, employment discrimination, environmental destruction and massive use of chemicals, water and power. In the end, the EZ amounts to little more than an unfair corporate handout. Some of the more progressive councilors say the resolution they will vote on April 11 represents a valuable compromise, but the EZ boundaries were only reduced by 10 percent and Hynix, still stands to suck up 95 percent of the potential hand-outs. The majority of people in Eugene believe corporations should pay the same taxes they do. The council vote should reflect that.
City Council's meeting schedule resumes
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 10, 2005 |
They haven't gathered as a group for a month, but the eight councilors and Piercy resume their regular meeting schedule Monday with much to consider.
On the agenda is a scheduled vote to submit the city's official application to the state for an enterprise zone in west Eugene. In such areas, businesses that create jobs and meet investment thresholds get property tax breaks on their new investments.
Councilors last month decided the city would apply so tomorrow's vote is a formality. (more...)
Mayor gathers leaders to form a sustainable development plan
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 10, 2005 |
Mayor Kitty Piercy is moving ahead with her sustainable development initiative, naming two well-known business people to lead an upcoming discussion on the topic.
One of Piercy's priorities is to encourage the development of sustainable businesses, or firms that treat the environment and employees well and allow owners to profit.
At the mayor's request, Dave Funk of Funk/Levis & Associates and Rusty Rexius of Rexius/Grant's Landscape Services will meet with business and civic leaders on April 19 to drum up ideas for creating a sustainable development plan for the city. University professor Bob Doppelt will provide technical advice.
Piercy said she expects the meeting to produce ideas for the plan and a discussion "to help everyone obtain a basic understanding of what sustainable development could mean at the community level."
Springfield Utility Tax Will Build a New Jail
All the money from a new utility tax proposed in Springfield will go to fund the new jail.
By a 4-2 vote, an amendment to make the money generated from the tax go into the general fund, designated for the jail only. The new tax places a 5% added tax on public utilities like cell phones, natural gas, local and long-distance phone service, cable TV and even possibly Internet use.
Before the council amendment, the money intended for the jail, could have been used for anything the city council deem necessary.
In the last election, taxpayers voted to approve a bond measure to build a jail, only if the council found a way to fund it. If the proposed tax passes in may, the new facility will be built.
Council: Utility tax just for jail
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | April 6, 2005 |
The utility tax is now synonymous with jail operations.
A motion to allocate tax revenue specifically to municipal jail operations was passed by the Springfield City Council 4-2 Monday night. The decision takes a bolder step from a previous motion passed in March that stated it was the council's intent to use tax revenues for public safety, including the jail.
Now, every penny generated by the utility tax will go to jail operations. It is estimated the tax would produce roughly $750,000 annually if approved by voters this May. It would impose a 5-percent tax on utility providers conducting business within the city's limits.
Council President John Woodrow brought the motion forward Monday night, although it was not on the agenda. (more...)
Tax opponents hold 'tea party': Organizers hope to dump utility tax overboard
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | April 6, 2005 |
A planned gathering against Springfield's utility tax was less rally, more tea for two.
Far from Boston or any harbors, a mini-version of the Boston Tea Party was slated for re-enactment in front of Springfield City Hall in protest of the tax.
While there was tea, none was thrown in a symbolic gesture against the tax as the rally failed to draw more than a few people to the plaza.
Clad in colonial attire, local residents Fred Simmons and Curtiss Greer spent an hour Monday evening discussing the tax -- up for a vote May 17 -- with passerbys.
Simmons said the low turnout wasn't due to disinterest. He said he received several phone calls from people bowing out because of the weather. (more...)
John Woodrow -- Utility tax will be dedicated to funding Springfield jail
By John Woodrow
The Springfield News | April 6, 2005 |
The Springfield News' March 16, 2005, editorial strongly suggested that the citizens of Springfield would likely reject the utility tax at the May 17 election because of uncertainty as to how the money would be used. I strongly disagree.
The city plans an extensive public information campaign over the next month to inform our voters about the importance of this measure. By the time the mail ballots come out around April 18, we are confident that our voters will understand how this money will be used and the citizens of Springfield will vote in favor of keeping this important public safety and jail funding source. (more...)
Tax revolt?
By Bob Keefer
The Register-Guard | April 9, 2005 |
More than 29,000 postcards went out this week to Springfield voters, residents and property owners, urging them to vote "yes" on May 17 to repeal the 5 percent utility tax approved by the City Council in December.
Opposition is led by former City Councilor Fred Simmons, who says the tax is excessive and would cover everything from cable television to sewer connection fees. (more...)
Christine Lundberg -- Utility tax is costly, unfair and cumbersome; reject it
By Christine Lundberg
The Springfield News | April 8, 2005 |
I am sending this commentary out to the people of Springfield to urge them to repeal the new utility tax by voting YES on Measure 20-104 on May 17.
I have spent most of my life in Springfield as a community advocate, raising a family and running a business. I have also served as a member of the Springfield City Council for the past several years. The financial needs of our government are no secret to me, nor are the needs of our great community and its citizens. This utility tax passed by a majority on the City Council is not the answer we are looking for.
An opinion piece by Corkey Gourley of the Springfield Chamber of Commerce featured last week has many points that are incorrect. Mr. Gourley assumes that this utility tax will be solely used for funding staff at a new jail. However, the fact remains that this utility tax will go to the city's general fund, as it is stated in the ballot text, not necessarily to staffing a jail. In addition, with a jail not being built for several years, there is nothing binding future councils to use this income for jail staffing. (more...)
Christine Lundberg -- Springfield's new utility tax is unfair
By Christine Lundberg
The Register-Guard | April 10, 2005 |
I urge the people of Springfield to repeal the new utility tax by voting yes on Measure 20-104 on May 17.
I have spent most of my life in Springfield working as a community advocate, raising a family and running a business. I also have served as a member of the Springfield City Council for the past several years. Our government's financial needs are no secret to me, nor are the needs of our great community and its citizens.
This utility tax, passed by a majority on the City Council, is not the answer we are looking for. (more...)
Lane County Jail Gets New Center to Help Overall Flow
There's a new system at the Lane County Jail that'll change the way the correction center operates.
Every year the Lane County Jail releases nearly 4,000 inmates because of overcrowding problems.
Now a first of its kind system might help the overall flow of the jail.
It's been in the works for two years.
A system that would take three departments and make them all work together. (more...)
Editorial -- Hurdles after hurdles: Path to a public safety district will be difficult
| The Register-Guard | April 5, 2005 |
Necessity, it is said, is the mother of invention. It remains to be seen whether it will be the mother of a Lane County public safety district. (more...)
Legislators consider ways to stabilize public safety funding
| The Springfield News | April 8, 2005 |
Legislation that would make a proposed Lane County public safety district better align with state statute received a hearing before the House Land Use committee last week. Rep. Debi Farr, R-Eugene sponsored the bill and testified about the need to stabilize funding for public safety in Lane County. (more...)
Planned office building to have singular look
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 5, 2005 |
Engineer Jok Ang has a place in mind for dentists and doctors who want to hang their shingles in north Eugene.
Ang is planning to build a three-story office building on Suzanne Way, between Chad Drive and Crescent Avenue, northeast of Costco.
Dentists and doctors have "verbally committed" to leasing about half of the proposed 22,000-square-foot-structure, Ang said. (more...)
Drugstore to open on Mohawk: Centennial Steakhouse, Lucky Restaurant building will be demolished, rebuilt
By Ben Raymond Lode
The Springfield News | April 8, 2005 |
Centennial Steak House has been located at 1220 Mohawk Boulevard for nine years.
But in a little over a week, they won't be anymore.
According to Lou Lorge, who owns the steakhouse, an investment company has bought the building, which for a long time was the home of Practical Computers and still houses the Lucky Chinese restaurant and Lorge's restaurant.
C3 Investment, a company with a branch in Portland, will tear down the existing building, build a new one and lease it out to Walgreens, said Lorge -- who until yesterday was under a "gag order" not to reveal any information about the deal.
That Walgreens is moving to Mohawk is another indicator the formerly bustling commercial area is entering a state of revival.
And some area business owners are excited that new blood is entering a part of Springfield that has seen little development in recent years. (more...)
Jobs a bonus, but office plan irks residents
By Edward Russo
The Register-Guard | April 10, 2005 |
Eugene developer Wally Graff is known for constructing quality office buildings that offer space for desirable medical jobs. So why the unhappy faces about his biggest proposal to date?
In the next couple of years, Graff plans to build two large medical office buildings on vacant land just east of Autzen Stadium, at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Garden Way.
The buildings will house 30 doctors and upwards of 90 employees in two outpatient surgical centers, plus affiliated offices, Graff said.
Many doctors and staff will move from existing offices elsewhere in Eugene-Springfield, Graff said, "but there are a lot of new jobs being created here." (more...)
Support grows for local power over plants
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | April 8, 2005 |
SALEM -- Legislation that would strip some of a state panel's authority to site power plants even when local governments oppose them is picking up bipartisan support in both legislative chambers.
The Oregon Fair Energy Bill would give counties and cities the authority to rule on whether a plant meets local land use rules when an energy developer seeks to build a gas-fired power plant within their jurisdiction. (more...)
Bill would give public more say on power plants : Proposal would give local governments a greater voice
By James Sinks
WesCom News Service | April 8, 2005 |
SALEM -- Natural gas-fired power plants are hulking industrial behemoths that generate electricity to feed the growing needs of the West.
But the prospect of such projects -- and the difficulty of stopping them from being built -- sends a shudder through their prospective neighbors, from the outskirts of Salem and Springfield to rural Klamath and Jefferson counties.
Against that backdrop, the House Land Use Committee heard testimony last week on a proposal that would give local governments a bigger voice in where power plants and pipelines are built. Today, those decisions are the domain of the seven-member state Energy Facility Siting Council. The committee was created to site power plants, not to prevent them. (more...)
Editorial -- Don't let neighbors veto power plants
| The Bend Bulletin | April 6, 2005 |
Most people recognize that electricity doesn't really come from those little holes in the wall. They know it really comes from generation facilities, though it's the rare person who'd actually want one of the things near his home. This tension creates an obvious problem: How do you site plants that nobody wants in order to generate the electricity that everyone needs? The answer, of course, is that you do it as fairly as possible.
That end is not served by House Bill 3135, which would allow local governments to pull the plug on proposed facilities. Giving local leaders a voice in the siting of power plants does make sense, to be sure. The people who live near such plants have to look at them, after all, and they must contend with the environmental impacts the plants might have.
But the neighbors of proposed plants are hardly cut out of the current siting process. State law requires the Energy Facility Siting Council, which has been siting power plants in Oregon for the past 30 years, to include the public in various ways. It must hold a public hearing before approving a facility; it must review comments and recommendations made by local governments; and its siting decisions are subject to judicial appeal.
Some people believe the process should give greater deference to the neighbors of proposed plants, so they've whipped up a bill that would require applicants to get local land- use approval. The impulse is understandable enough, but handing veto power to people who are almost certain to use it is a terrible idea. If HB 3135 passes, it's a virtual certainty that the siting of power plants in Oregon will grind to a near standstill.
It might interest some of HB 3135's supporters to know that Oregon isn't pulling its weight when it comes to electricity generation. At the moment, the state produces about 75 percent of the electricity it uses, according to Diana Enright, communications manager for the Oregon Department of Energy. As unimpressive as that figure is, it's a lot better than it was a few years ago. Prior to the 2000-2001 energy crisis, says Enright, Oregon generated less than half the electricity it needed.
Of the electricity the state consumes, meanwhile, 42 percent comes from coal. That's quite a big number considering that Oregon has a single coal-fired plant, located in Boardman, which can't possibly generate nearly half of the state's electricity all by itself. In fact, it doesn't. The balance, says Enright, comes from coal-fired plants in Utah, Montana and Wyoming. To the extent that fairness ought to dictate where power plants go, it suggests that Oregon, which is helping to soil the back yards of people in Utah, Montana and Wyoming, needs some more plants of its own.
We hope the Legislature concludes that Oregon's power plant siting process is just fine as it is. If not, we think lawmakers at least should have the honesty to give HB 3135 an appropriate name. Something like "The Electricity Hypocrisy Act of 2005." (more...)
Lebanon approves deal with Lowe's
By George Petroccione
The (Albany) Democrat-Herald | April 7, 2005 |
LEBANON -- It wasn't quite a standing ovation, but the crowd of close to 40 people at the Santiam Travel Station Wednesday night made their feelings heard with hoots and hollers when the Lebanon City Council approved a development agreement with Lowe's Home Improvement for a 1.4 million square-foot distribution center on the north side of the city.
The agreement lays out the specifics of what the city will do for the home improvement giant and what is expected of the company in return. (more...)
Transportation
LTD seeks public input on EmX design
| The Springfield News | April 6, 2005 |
Details for the final design of the EmX vehicle are under way, and Lane Transit District wants some public feedback.
At 1:30 p.m. tomorrow Al Abeson, director of Easter Seal Project ACTION, will be at LTD's headquarters -- 3500 E. 17th Ave. in Glenwood -- to participate with a group of local disability advocates in a demonstration that will use a mock-up version of the new EmX vehicle.
The event will engage local residents with disabilities in problem-solving the challenges of boarding and securing mobility devices in a low-floor vehicle with doors on both sides.
The findings won't just impact the design of vehicles that will be used locally. They also could be considered by other transit districts across the nation that are planning a bus rapid transit system.
LTD officials will travel to Wash., D.C., in late April to participate in the "Bus Rapid Transit and Accessibility Consensus Conference" to discuss accessibility issues, identify solutions and make recommendations for BRT systems.
For more information, call LTD at 682-6100.
Disabled Help Design LTD Bus
EUGENE -- The Lane Transit District is finalizing the design of the new Emerald Express buses for the Bus Rapid Transit project.
LTD brought in the experts to make sure the buses will work for people of all abilities. (more...)
LTD's 'rapid transit' buses to be designed for all abilities
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | April 8, 2005 |
Ed Necker rolled his wheelchair through a little slice of the future on Thursday, and he emerged hopeful.
"It is workable," said Necker, 55, chairman of an advisory council on special transportation. "We're still working out some kinks."
Necker was among a half-dozen or so people with disabilities testing mock-ups of new buses for the high-speed service that the Lane Transit District plans to open in fall 2006 between downtown Eugene and downtown Springfield, and then parts beyond. (more...)
I-105 Project Plugs Along
EUGENE -- Contractors are a few days ahead of schedule on the I-105 reconstruction project in Eugene.
However, the biggest part of the job is still down the road. (more...)
River Avenue Residents Lose County Battle
"Something's amiss here, in that the city staff is pushing a plan that the people don't want, and the people are paying staff wages," Dave Van Sickle, testifying before Lane County Commissioners, said.
It's the road improvement plan that just won't go away.
"When you have budgets as tight as they are right now. And your on TV -- the city was last night -- saying 'we don't have the money to fix the potholes on the road.' Here's a prime example of spending over $2-million bucks that they don't have," Chuck Meeker, a River Avenue property owner, said.
Residents say a plan by Eugene's Public Works Director -- to improve their River Avenue Roadway -- is excessive. It's pricetag is $2.25 million dollars. Among other things, it would widen the largely commercial road to 3-lanes; add 6-and-a-half foot sidewalks; and add bike lanes.
Also, a million dollars of the unpopular project would be paid by the 33 River Avenue property owners. (more...)
Other News
Misstep on math doubled shortage
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | April 6, 2005 |
COBURG -- A double whammy math error was responsible for $450,000 of the $600,000 budget deficit confounding this city since last summer, an auditor told the City Council last night. (more...)
Goal One has one goal: Preserve the land
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | April 6, 2005 |
A new conservation group is fighting rural landowners who want to rezone their farm or forest land for housing, but some say the group is preventing people from reaping the value of their property.
Goal One was formed in July 2003 by activists LandWatch Lane County and Friends of Linn County, as well as supporters in Benton and Josephine counties. The name comes from the first of the state's 19 land use goals: citizen involvement.
It includes a staff of one, Executive Director Jim Just, a self-described "land use activist and law school dropout," who is working two dozen cases around Western Oregon, including a half-dozen or so in Lane County. The organization also partners with the conservation group 1000 Friends of Oregon. (more...)
Money sought for inventory of state water
| The Associated Press | April 5, 2005 |
SALEM -- Gov. Ted. Kulongoski is seeking federal aid for an inventory of Oregon's changing water needs.
Even cities on the rainy Oregon Coast such as Newport, Yachats and Lincoln City expect their supply to keep up with growth for only another 20 years. Studies show that stream after stream from the western valleys to the eastern deserts are overtapped.
For that reason, Kulongoski is seeking $450,000 in federal funds for a statewide inventory of Oregon's future water needs. Officials say it would be the first large-scale look at Oregon's demand for water -- and how to meet that demand.
The idea is to help the state plan for the day when the available water is no longer enough.
Measure 37
Salem Update
| Eugene Weekly | April 7, 2005 |
The Oregon Conservation Network reports this week that "there seems to be some confusion among legislators regarding whether the House or the Senate should be responsible for coming up with a solution to Measure 37's serious problems. We unfortunately anticipate a train wreck when the two houses collide with their various approaches."
The coalition is urging activists to attend town hall meetings "where you can ask your legislators to stand up for the land use system which protects farmland, encourages healthy neighborhoods, and helps create a stable growing economy." A list of upcoming town hall meetings, including one in Cottage Grove April 16, can be found at http://www.olcveducationfund.org/TownHall.htm
The Oregon Environmental Council, along with OSPIRG and the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, is working this week with members of the Natural Resources Subcommittee of the Ways and Means Committee to secure
funding for the Pesticide Use Reporting System (PURS). Several senators are reportedly talking together about the importance of this program, which informs the public of where and what types of pesticides are applied statewide in Oregon. See http://www.orcouncil.org/Pollution/PURSupdate.htm
Ringo's land-use plan gets icy reaction
Environmentalists, farmers and ranchers criticize possible revisions
By Steve Law
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 7, 2005 |
The idea of an environmentalist such as Charlie Ringo trying to rewrite Oregon's property-rights measure is a bit like President Nixon going to China.
On Wednesday, Ringo took his first stab at it but got a chilly reception.
His initial proposal to revise and clarify the Measure 37 initiative was panned by environmentalists, farmers and ranchers. (more...)
Measure 37 changes in works
A Senate bill aims to spell out application guidelines and ease restrictions so some property owners can build on farmland
By Laura Oppenheimer
The Oregonian | April 7, 2005 |
SALEM -- The Legislature dug in Wednesday on a task that could shake up Oregon land-use laws for the second time in a year: revising Measure 37.
Many lawmakers consider the new voter-approved property rights law one of their biggest challenges this session. It has the potential to shape Oregon's landscape and their re-election prospects.
A proposed rewrite would loosen restrictions on building a single home on farmland, opening the option to people who bought their property before 1995.
The aptly numbered Senate Bill 1037 would remove those cases from the Measure 37 process. For other regulations, it would spell out a method to apply for Measure 37's promise of development rights or government payments.
The bill is a rough draft based on intense discussion among politicians and interest groups. Some of the most significant -- and controversial -- ideas were not in the formal version introduced Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Land Use Committee. (more...)
Measure 37 energizes people eager to use their land
By Cara Roberts Murez
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 10, 2005 |
Marion and Polk county property owners have steadily streamed into planning offices during the past four months.
County planners have spent time and money researching and making recommendations about 81 claims filed since Dec. 2, and answering questions for all the potential claimants still out there.
There's no sign that the surge in claims will let up any time soon.
The landholders are using Measure 37, approved by voters last November, to seek opportunities to do something different, something land-use laws long have prevented. (more...)
At issue: Home on the farm
Family seeks to divide farm so that their following generations can enjoy rural lifestyle
By Cara Roberts Murez
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 10, 2005 |
Jared Hansen always knew he wanted to live on the family farm in Aurora where he grew up.
He and his wife, Jodi, want to raise their two young sons the same way they were reared: in the country, raising 4-H animals, close to family.
So, three years ago, Jared tried to get the county to allow him to build a house on 11 acres owned by his parents, Richard and Dorothy Hansen. The property is next to another three acres where the elder Hansens have their own house, a 135-acre plot Dorothy owns with her two sisters and the 12 acres one of those sisters also owns.
But the 14 acres that belong to Richard and Dorothy don't produce the $80,000-per-year in gross sales necessary for a second house, according to state land-use laws. The 135-acre plot of land, which has another house on it, isn't big enough to divide it for a second home because it's zoning won't allow pieces of property smaller than 80 acres.
Jared, Jodi, Richard and Dorothy were told they were out of luck.
Measure 37, they all hope, has changed that. (more...)
At issue: A farmer's view
"Everything that happens has unintended consequences," farmer Scott Jondle says
By Crystal Bolner
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 10, 2005 |
DALLAS -- Scott Jondle is not sure how Measure 37 may affect him and the future of his family farm. It has the potential of bringing subdivisions and industrial development to the land surrounding his 210-acre property in rural Polk County.
Development may bring pollution from cars, traffic, noise and even complaints from neighbors. On the other hand, more neighbors may mean more customers to buy Jondle's all-natural, direct-to-market hormone-free beef cattle, lamb and chicken. (more...)
At issue: Residential development
By Cara Roberts Murez
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 10, 2005 |
Family questions agricultural zoning amid residences
Victor and Pamela Cobos stand among the trees they grow on their South Salem property with a house under construction on adjoining property. They would like to change the zoning of their property from agricultural to residential so that they can subdivide into housing lots.
Decades have passed since Victor Cobos' family began trying to subdivide their 94 acres in South Salem and build 30 homes on large, rural lots.
Cobos' grandmother began the battle in 1974. His parents later hoped to build and live on the property. They all died without any resolution to their plans.
Cobos, 50, and his wife, Pamela, 46, have endured years of sleepless nights, long hours spent away from their two sons and more than a healthy amount of stress while battling some neighbors opposed to their proposed development.
Making it all the more painful was that the family has had to watch as the Chinook Estates subdivision -- with its large, expensive homes that emulate their own dreams -- went up on 750 acres nearly surrounding their house on Bunker Hill Road.
The Coboses, meanwhile, had to plant Christmas trees on 45 of their acres to meet zoning requirements that would have allowed them to build a second dwelling on their property. They never did build the second house because the family members who were going to live in it died before they could build it. (more...)
At issue: Business next door
Measure 37 will make a few people rich at taxpayers' expense, couple fear
By Crystal Bolner
The (Salem) Statesman Journal | April 10, 2005 |
ST. PAUL -- Larry and Danielle Slaughter moved from Lake Oswego to the quiet farming community of St. Paul almost six years ago. The Slaughters own and operate a wood products and lumber company, Elk Creek Sales, from their home.
The hazelnut orchards and grass seed farms surrounding St. Paul were a welcome change from the bustling traffic and commercial development of the Portland suburbs.
In St. Paul, Danielle Slaughter can walk the couple's English pointer and chocolate labrador for miles in the fields behind their three-story home without ever bumping into another person.
Measure 37 could change that, the couple fears. (more...)
County to hear its first claims under Measure 37
By Angela Torretta
The (Klamath Falls) Herald and News | April 4, 2005 |
The first claims filed with the county under a new state law that allows people to request exemptions from land-use ordinances will be heard Tuesday by Klamath County Commissioners.
Three Measure 37 claims filed in December petitioning for relief from a variety of zoning ordinances were the first of about 30 claims the county has received. The city of Klamath Falls, by comparison, has two claims. (more...)
Washington group follows in footsteps of Measure 37
By Cookson Beecher, Washington State Staff Writer
The Capital Press | April 1, 2005 |
A group of farmers and ranchers in southwest Washington is hoping to join forces with initiative guru Timothy Eyman in an effort to launch a statewide initiative similar to Oregon's property-rights Measure 37. (more...)