Health Options Digest
July 3, 2005
Coalition for Health Options In Central Eugene-Springfield (CHOICES)
In This Issue
From the Editor
The Godmother
Dave Barry often says, "I'm not making this up." Indeed, fact is often funnier than fiction.
But while it is fun imagining some of our local elected officials acting like Marlon Brando in "The Godfather," the fact that the glove fits so well should raise concerns. Here in Lane County we wouldn't tolerate Mafia families fighting each other for control of territory and money. And yet that is pretty much what we see many of our local elected officials doing every day. The Eugene, Springfield, Lane County and other smaller "families" perhaps spend too much energy fighting over who gets what new development or which revenues and too little working together to the benefit of all.
Now that a majority of the top local elected leaders are now women -- godmothers rather than godfathers -- perhaps we will see less competitive and more cooperative approaches to local issues.
Week In Review
Speaking of women leaders, Sister Monica Heeran, who led Sacred Heart and later PeaceHealth, is retiring.
The most widely used breast-feeding assessment tool in the country, LATCH, was started in 1986 by three nurses at Sacred Heart.
EWEB rejected Arlie's offer to purchase its property in downtown Eugene, saying the offer didn't meet its requirements.
The future of the Lane County Fair was discussed this last Friday by the Lane County Fair Board. But we have not heard any report of what they concluded.
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center dropped its property tax appeal and will begin paying property taxes for the first time in 50 years.
Speaking of people working together, a group of community leaders in Eugene and Springfield have started the 100 Percent Access project to ensure that everyone in Lane County has access to quality medical care. The godfathers and godmothers of Lane County should take note.
Monaco Coach announced plans to establish an employee health clinic and pharmacy at its location in Coburg, making them the first private employer in the area to do so.
Meanwhile, in Salem there's a proposal to provide health coverage to every child in Oregon -- by raising the cigarette tax by 60 cents per pack. While we support the aim of this proposal, we question whether it is fair to tax adult smokers to provide health coverage to children. Perhaps a broader-based source of funding would make more sense.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is investing almost half a billion dollars in dozens of research projects aimed at improving public health in developing countries.
A 4-story medical office building is planned to replace the Goodwill thrift store on Coburg Road. As we hear it, the physicians involved finally decided they couldn't wait for the end of the "Musical Hospitals" game. Thus they decided to make their own plans and develop at a central location.
Since it was established decades ago, there has always been pressure to expand or go outside of Eugene's and Springfield's urban growth boundary. Especially in the wake of Measure 37, that pressure may be increasing. But it is unclear whether expanding -- or ignoring -- the UGB, as some suggest, would be a panacea.
While it might not have been in the smoky backroom of a tavern in Glenwood, local elected leaders from Lane County and 12 cities met to learn about and discuss public safety. They all agreed that something must be done, although exactly what is unclear.
But don't worry that cooperation is suddenly breaking out all over and we will hear nothing but good news. The compromise over a new west Eugene enterprise zone that the Eugene City Council carefully worked out is now at risk because Lane County voted 4-1 to not go along. At issue is whether or not tax credits are to be capped at $30,000 per new job created.
Lawmakers in Salem may slap a "speeding ticket" on the City of Coburg that would limit how much it can collect in speeding tickets, putting the city's recently adopted balanced budget at risk.
While lawmakers and Salem fumble in their attempts to fix Measure 37, a UO law professor offers a way to compensate owners who have loss property value as a result of land use regulations.
For better or worse, the discussions in Oregon over Measure 37 and property rights might be eclipsed by the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in the case of Kelo v. City of New London. The ruling has drawn support and raised concerns from all points on the political spectrum.
Finally, while Oregonians might not have a sense of humor, it appears Iowans do. Richard Doak, a columnist for The Des Moines Register, speculates what might have happened if some of our current political leaders and pundits been present during the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.
Happy Independence Day!
Rob Zako, Editor
343-5201
rzako@efn.org
Opportunities
Tax-savvy volunteers wanted for appeals
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | July 1, 2005 |
Are you interested in the tax assessment process? Do you know real estate and finance?
The Lane County Board of Commissioners needs people for the county Board of Property Tax Appeals for the 2005-06 term.
The board hears appeals for reduction of the real market or assessed value of property.
Applicants must be county residents who aren't employees of the county or of any county taxing district. Members are paid $10 an hour.
Applications are available on the second floor of the Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave., Eugene, or online at http://www.co.lane .or.us/BCC/documents/applicationadvisorycommittee.pdf.
The deadline to receive applications is July 15. For more information, call 682-7402.
Lane County health panel has volunteer vacancy
| The Register-Guard | June 18, 2005 |
The Lane County Board of Commissioners is seeking applications from residents interested in serving on the Health Advisory Committee.
The committee makes recommendations on matters of public health, planning, policy development, control measures, funding, public education and advocacy, and acts in a community liaison capacity to provide a link between the community and the health division.
There are four vacancies to the four-year terms.
The application deadline is 5 p.m. on July 22. To request an application by mail, call 682-4207.
LRAPA seeks representative
| The Springfield News | June 17, 2005 |
The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority is soliciting applications from Springfield residents to fill a current at-large LRAPA Board of Directors vacancy. LRAPA is the state's only local air agency and governs most of the county's air quality regulations.
The volunteer nine-member board comprises both elected officials and appointed citizens who generally meet monthly to provide guidance and direction for the agency. Members include four representatives from the city of Eugene, one each from Lane County and the city of Springfield, one from either the city of Cottage Grove or city of Oakridge, and two at-large representatives appointed by the board.
Springfield residents who are interested in helping establish and implement air quality regulations in Lane County are encouraged to apply. Deadline for submittal is July 8, 2005.
Applications are available on the home page of LRAPA's Web site at http://www.lrapa.org, or by calling 736-1056.
Air pollution board needs a Springfield resident
| The Register-Guard | June 17, 2005 |
The Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority is seeking a Springfield resident to increase the agency's eight-member board to nine.
The cooperative agency exists by agreement between Eugene, Springfield and Lane County to oversee the establishment and functioning of air quality regulations. It's the only local air-pollution regulating agency in the state. All other jurisdictions are overseen by the state Department of Environmental Quality.
Survival of the local agency has been threatened in recent weeks as politicians in Springfield and Lane County have questioned the role of and the need for the agency.
Two previous applicants were rejected by the board for lack of technical expertise and because some board members believed they would favor being too aggressive in pursuing polluting businesses.
Deadline to apply is July 8. Applications are available on the agency Web site http://www.lrapa.org or by calling 736-1056.
LTD Vacancies
We hear that three positions on the Lane Transit District board of directors will expire at the end of this year: Position 4 for north Eugene east of River Road and the City of Coburg (currently served by Susan Ban); Position 5 for central and west Eugene, including the University area and downtown, and the Whiteaker, Jefferson, and West Side neighborhoods (currently served by Gerry Gaydos); and Position 6 for west Eugene near Highway 99 and River Road and Junction City (currently served by Dave Kleger).
As the bill to make LTD directors elected died in a Senate committee, these positions will be filled by Governor Kulongoski and confirmed by the Senate. The process of appointments by the governor is akin to black magic. Few understanding how the game is played, or even that there is a game. Nonetheless, those from the areas listed above with an interest in serving on the LTD board might begin making discreet inquiries.
For more information, visit http://www.ltd.org/about/boardmembers.html
PeaceHealth
Medical leader Heeran retires: Nun who became nurse ends career at age 73
By Mark Baker
The Register-Guard | June 30, 2005 |
No one says no to her. No one disrespects her. Everyone loves her.
"Her determination and kindness are sort of an interesting blend," says Dr. Hugh Johnston of Eugene, who just retired as the medical director of the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic on West 11th Avenue.
On Friday, Sister Monica Heeran will retire, too. Or so she says. No one who knows her really believes that the Roman Catholic nun who led Sacred Heart Medical Center, and later, its parent corporation, PeaceHealth, through some of the most challenging times in Lane County medical history will step down entirely. (more...)
LATCH takes the measure of mothers
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | June 30, 2005 |
In 1986, three nurses on the maternity ward at Sacred Heart Medical Center became frustrated by their inability to tell by a new mother's medical chart just how well breast-feeding was going.
The standard measure at that time was simple and subjective to the point of being useless: Nurses scored a breast-feeding session as "well," "fair" or "poor" -- nothing to identify problem areas or encourage communication among staff members.
Nurses Debbie Jensen, Sheila Wallace and Pat Kelsay realized that they needed more information so that nurses would know from one shift to the next which mothers might need a little more help, and which ones were doing fine.
So they devised a new five-point assessment tool, and gave it the catchy acronym LATCH.
They tinkered and tried it out and, in 1992, presented their tool to an international nursing conference.
Two years after that, a prestigious nursing journal published their article on LATCH.
Today, LATCH is the most widely used breast-feeding assessment tool in the country, breast-feeding experts say, and it's used at hospitals around the world. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette/Triad
EWEB rejects Arlie's offer for its riverfront campus
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | June 30, 2005 |
Eugene Water & Electric Board officials on Wednesday gave a resounding thumbs-down to a recent $29 million bid by Arlie & Co. for the utility's 27-acre headquarters campus.
In a letter sent to the Eugene-based real estate firm, EWEB General Manager Randy Berggren said the $29 million offer was "not an acceptable price for the property given the terms and conditions" Arlie set forth in its purchase proposal three weeks ago.
The exchange continued a long, drawn-out effort by Arlie to top an effort by Triad Hospitals Inc. to buy the spot for a new McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center. (more...)
EWEB rebuffs Arlie offer to purchase property
| The Springfield News | July 1, 2005 |
Triad's offer for the Eugene Water & Electric Board is the only offer EWEB is entertaining at the moment.
EWEB General Manager Randy Berggren sent a letter to Arlie & Company this week, declining the Eugene-based property investment firm's $29 million offer for the 27-acre site, at 500 Fourth Ave.
The letter states that the purchase offer's terms and conditions are unacceptable at this time. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette may reconsider fairgrounds possibility
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center celebrated its 50th birthday last Saturday -- and it's likely to be one of its last on this side of the river, as the hospital continues to seek a new home in Eugene.
While hospital officials continue to eye the Eugene Water & Electric Board site, another possible location is generating a lot of talk -- the Lane County fairgrounds. (more...)
Future of fair's location reviewed
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
The Lane County Fair Board will meet for five hours Friday on a question that is as easy to state as it is difficult for the board to answer: What to do with the fairgrounds?
The board on Tuesday wrestled with its duty to present to the Lane County commissioners options to stabilize the finances of the fairgrounds and the rest of the 55-acre Lane Events Center at Jefferson Street and 13th Avenue. The complex has a deficit of between $300,000 and $400,000.
The review -- ordered last week by the commissioners and required to include the possibility of moving the complex -- has sparked speculation that the fairgrounds ultimately could be sold to Springfield's McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center to build a new hospital at the site. The hospital is in talks with the Eugene Water & Electric Board to move to the utility's headquarters on Fourth Avenue downtown, but a decision isn't likely before March. (more...)
McKenzie-Willamette drops property tax appeal
By Joe Harwood
The Register-Guard | June 30, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center last week withdrew its appeal before the Oregon Tax Court in which it sought a steep reduction in its property taxes. (more...)
Editorial -- A half-century of service: Hospital and hearing center mark anniversaries
| The Register-Guard | June 28, 2005 |
A lot of incredible stuff began in 1955. That was the year Rosa Parks just said no when a white man ordered her to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, launching the modern American civil rights movement. It was also the year that a couple of nerds were born who would change the world forever by the time they were 20: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs.
Closer to home, two community health care organizations opened their doors in 1955 to begin a half-century of life-changing service in Springfield and Eugene: McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center (May 1) and Eugene Hearing and Speech Center (June 27).
Both outfits were born in the best of places: the hearts of caring citizens who sacrificed untold hours raising the funds -- a dollar here and dollar there -- that would turn dreams into reality. (more...)
Health Care
A new community organization's goal is health care for all
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | July 3, 2005 |
In a perfect world, anyone and everyone would be able to see a doctor when the need arose, regardless of ability to pay.
Instead, getting access to health care in Oregon and the United States today is often a function of whether a person has health insurance.
For 45 million uninsured Americans, including more than a half-million Oregonians, getting medical treatment often means waiting as long as possible, then heading to the nearest emergency room, a costly and inefficient way to deliver health care.
To address that disparity, a group of community leaders in Eugene and Springfield is embarking on an ambitious project whose name is its goal: 100 Percent Access. (more...)
Monaco plans on-site employee health clinic, pharmacy
By Tim Christie
The Register-Guard | July 1, 2005 |
Monaco Coach Corp. announced Thursday that it will establish a new employee health clinic and drive-through pharmacy on the campus of its motor home factory in Coburg.
Company officials said they are the first private employer in this area to create an on-site clinic. (more...)
Letter -- Support universal coverage
By Marc Shapiro, Eugene
The Register-Guard | June 28, 2005 |
It is gratifying to note from a June 15 editorial in The Register-Guard that after many years of letters, opinions, articles and statistics pointing to our deteriorating and dysfunctional health care delivery system, its editors have finally acknowledged that "the situation is headed in the wrong direction!"
Inasmuch as the only solution they propose is to "capture the money being wasted by continuing reliance on emergency rooms as de facto free clinics" and "adding uninsured Oregonians to the Oregon Health Plan," one would get the impression that they have lost sight of history.
In 2002, before massive cuts in the Oregon Health Plan, there were still some 200,000 Oregonians who could not obtain coverage. Perhaps, now that the problem has been acknowledged, The Register-Guard might lend its support to a broader-based solution -- universal health coverage. In the meantime, there were four bills introduced in the Oregon Senate -- SB 329, which increases the number of eligible participants in the Oregon Prescription Drug Program; SB 503, relating to certificates of need; SB 778, relating to a rural health safety net; and SB 1, which provides parity in mental health care benefits. Editorial support for these bills would certainly be a welcome effort to help deal with the growing health care crisis.
Letter -- Save state home care program
By Rita Sparks, Eugene
The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
As a home care worker, I'm facing the loss of my health insurance, as well as my workers' compensation coverage -- both of which were provided through our agreement with the state and neither of which have cost the state as much as was projected.
If I get hurt or ill and have no recourse, who will take care of my client? It's difficult to find a temporary replacement, and the clients aren't comfortable with a stranger coming into their homes.
If I'm injured on the job, workers' compensation would provide me with proper care and the ability to return to work quicker. My clients don't want me to work when I'm sick. It's unsafe for them to be exposed to my illness.
Health insurance helps me get the necessary medical care I need. My clients need help to remain healthy and continue living in their homes. The home care program saves the state money and resources.
Editorial -- No child uninsured: Cigarette tax would cover 106,000 kids
| The Register-Guard | July 1, 2005 |
It sounds too good to be true. A bipartisan team of lawmakers has unveiled a plan that would provide every child in Oregon with health insurance. That's worth repeating: Every child in Oregon -- more than 100,000 currently uninsured children in all -- would have health insurance.
Not only that, 25,000 more poor people would be added to the Oregon Health Plan, and tens of thousands of uninsured working Oregonians would get help in purchasing health insurance.
So what's the catch? The plan, which depends on voter passage of a 60-cents-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax, requires approval of the Republican-controlled House before it can be referred to voters. Few expect the tax-averse, tobacco-friendly leadership in the House to break a sweat this late in the session pulling the measure onto the floor for a vote. (more...)
Editorial -- A cynical strategy: Republicans hold mental health bill hostage
| The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
Most people understand that some heavy duty horse trading goes on as a legislative session winds down and lawmakers wheel and deal to line up votes for their pet projects. But Republican leaders in the Oregon House of Representatives ought to be ashamed of themselves for turning the state's mentally ill residents into political bargaining chips. (more...)
Gates Foundation program aims to solve vexing health problems
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press | June 28, 2005 |
SEATTLE -- Two years ago, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation posed a series of questions to scientists: How can we improve public health in developing countries? Can we develop vaccines that don't require refrigeration or needles? Are there better ways to stop insects from spreading malaria and other diseases?
The scientists answered by proposing more than 1,500 research projects. The Gates Foundation announced Monday that it is funding 43 of the proposals with grants totaling $436.6 million. That will pay for research ranging from finding AIDS vaccines to boosting the nutritional content of bananas. (more...)
Nearby Developments
Goodwill giving way to medical center
By Sherri Buri McDonald
The Register-Guard | June 28, 2005 |
A $14 million, four-story medical office building will soon rise on the spot now occupied by the Goodwill thrift store on Coburg Road in Eugene.
McKay Investment Inc. plans to develop an 80,000-square-foot building for Orthopedic Healthcare Northwest on a 4-acre site the McKay family has owned for more than 50 years, said Steve Korth, director of real estate development.
Demolition work will begin at the end of the year and the facility is scheduled to open in fall 2007. (more...)
Moving out: More homes are being built in rural areas as land becomes scarce in cities
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | July 3, 2005 |
Mike Gansen built houses inside the Eugene-Springfield city limits for years before finally putting one up in rural Lane County, in 2001.
He's built a half-dozen more in the countryside since.
"We are certainly getting more calls to build outside of the city limits," Gansen said. "If you look at the cost of land inside Eugene-Springfield, you get a city lot (of about a quarter-acre) for about the same price you get several acres outside of the urban growth boundary."
The urban areas of Lane County remain the big hot spots for housing development. But outside the 12 cities, rural Lane County is enjoying steady growth in housing construction. (more...)
Letter -- Who will pay for all Springfield's growth?
By Jerry Ritter, Springfield
The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
I usually avoid commenting on Springfield issues, but Mayor Sid Leiken's June 15 opinion piece begs a question: Where is the money going to come from to fund all this growth in our area -- another Eugene-and-a-half by 2050?
It won't come from system development charges. SDCs don't begin to cover the cost of growth in Oregon. Two independent studies concluded that the true cost of growth to a community is up to ten times what is recovered through SDCs.
Development interests have defeated every attempt in the Legislature to include schools, police, fire protection and libraries among the purposes for which SDCs can be levied. They also got a law passed that forbids a city from even considering the impact on schools when permitting new development.
The money won't come from a state income tax increase. Remember Measures 28 and 30? A sales tax? The Legislature is zero for nine with that idea.
It won't come from wage earners working at the Wal-Marts and call centers that Oregon cities consider "smart growth," but which pay low wages and low (or no) benefits. Many of those workers need public assistance to survive. As real wages continue to fall, this problem will only get worse.
It won't come from a major increase in property taxes, due to ballot measures 5 and 50. Nor will it come from bonds, due to the limitations of compression.
Annexation of new property? As Springfield found out when the city drew up plans to annex its urban growth boundary in 1994, the cost would have been greater than what would have come in with new taxes. And the money certainly won't come from giving away the farm to businesses that pull up stakes after seven years and leave taxpayers holding the bag.
Oregon is growing for the same reason America is growing: massive, uncontrolled immigration. No government at any level in this country has the backbone to do a thing about it, and in fact most encourage it. And we have seen that as Oregon grows, the state's economic woes deepen.
The idea that Oregon can grow its way out of its economic mess has been thoroughly discredited. Sadly lacking from the growth planning process are adequate plans on how to make growth pay for itself. Sure, let's plan for growth ... but we'd also better plan for major trouble ahead.
Letter -- Springfield doesn't need advice
By Larry M. Chase, Springfield
The Register-Guard | July 1, 2005 |
The guest editorial by Mayor Sid Leiken (Register-Guard, June 17) contained comments from a well-reasoned and patient man. Part of the problem here is that Mayor Leiken is too patient.
History shows that as the city government and citizens of Springfield have attempted to improve our city, we have had to endure constant meddling from Eugene.
If the city of Eugene wishes to remain stuck in a time warp, that is its business, but this behavior should not impair Springfield's ability to deal with the future. I strongly urge Leiken and all of the Springfield City Council to withdraw now from both the Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority and the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Area General Plan.
The city of Springfield is quite capable of preparing for and dealing with the future. We do not need advice from either Eugene or Lane County.
County, city officials meet on public safety
| The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
Officials from Lane County and the 12 local cities will have their first meeting to discuss how to improve the public safety system at 6 p.m. Thursday in Room 102 of the Center for Meeting and Learning at Lane Community College, 4000 E. 30th Ave., Eugene.
The discussion will include ways to address public safety services that have eroded over the years. The task force will meet for the next two months to discuss solutions. For more information, call Melinda Kletzok at 682-3747.
Officials pledge to solve public safety crisis
By Bill Bishop
The Register-Guard | July 1, 2005 |
It's not clear yet what they're going to do, but elected officials from all around Lane County said they are going to do something to reverse the long erosion in public safety countywide.
What is more clear is how big their task will be.
In a meeting Thursday night aimed at building a countywide consensus for new funding for public safety, they got a crash course in law enforcement, crime prevention and county government finance.
What emerged was a portrait of Lane County's public safety system in shambles. (more...)
Enterprise zone imperiled over tax cap dispute
By Tim Christie and Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | June 30, 2005 |
CORRECTION (ran 7/1/2005): When the Eugene City Council decided April 20 to apply to the state to designate part of west Eugene as an enterprise zone, it included a provision that tax credits would be capped at an unspecified dollar amount for each job created, with a specific amount to be determined at a later date, according to minutes of the meeting. A story Thursday on Page E1 mischaracterized the original application's provision.
On Tuesday, Eugene and Lane County officials received welcome news: The state had granted their application to establish an enterprise zone in west Eugene, touted by backers as an important economic development tool.
On Wednesday, plans to establish the zone went off the tracks because of a disagreement between city and county policy-makers over whether a cap should be placed on tax breaks provided to businesses that create new jobs.
Late Wednesday, city and county staff members were scrambling to save the zone, which is set to take effect Friday. (more...)
Proposed housing center is topic of public hearing
| The Register-Guard | June 27, 2005 |
A public hearing regarding funding for a regional housing information center will be held during the Lane County Board of Commissioners meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Public Service Building, 125 E. Eighth Ave., Eugene.
Oregon Housing and Community Services has a grant program to start regional housing centers, and two local agencies -- the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation and the Lane County Intergovernmental Housing Policy Board -- have recommended that the county apply for a county-wide housing center.
The "one-stop shop" regional housing center would offer home ownership education, collect and distribute information about other programs, and market the programs.
For information, call Melinda Kletzok at 682-3747.
Commissioners discuss regional housing center
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | July 1, 2005 |
Think of having everything relating to home ownership in a "one-stop-shop" housing center.
A regional housing center is the goal, and Lane County Commissioners are willing to become the initial applicant for funding to move the concept forward. However, there remain questions on how effective a center would be.
Commission Vice Chair Bill Dwyer said Springfield already has a number of programs that help people become homeowners. (more...)
Roxie Cuellar -- Building fees ruling makes land use process moot
By Roxie Cuellar
The Register-Guard | June 27, 2005 |
Recently, Lane County Circuit Judge Karsten Rasmussen ruled against the Home Builders Association of Lane County's challenge to the regional wastewater agency's methodology on systems development charges, or SDCs. We are appealing to the Oregon Court of Appeals.
Most of the ruling deals with the SDC methodology itself and will not be discussed here. However, if upheld, one part of the decision would have far-reaching effects on our land use system.
The court held that there need be no relationship between projects identified in land use documents and the projects identified in funding ordinances. In other words, a jurisdiction can create what the judge called a "generic" plan to fund projects, that plan would not have to go through the land use process and the projects in that plan would not have to be found in any land use documents.
The inference is that a jurisdiction could adopt two lists of projects -- one that is developed through the land use process and one that is not. (more...)
City planners to propose lower density
By Scott Maben
The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
City planners have proposed reducing how much new housing may be added to an established neighborhood in west Eugene to help preserve the traditional character of the area.
A group of residents northwest of the Lane County Events Center champions the lower density and new design standards that would ensure that duplexes, triplexes and apartments blend well with the surrounding homes.
Existing land use rules for the 14-block neighborhood -- bordered by Eighth and 13th avenues and Polk and Chambers streets -- would allow the housing density to nearly triple in time, helping the city achieve its goal of slowing sprawl by encouraging growth within.
But it would ruin the look and feel of the area and drive out longtime homeowners who might flee to newer developments on the city's fringe or to rapidly growing satellite communities, residents told the Eugene Planning Commission on Tuesday night. (more...)
Recreation center next up in Springfield
By Matt Cooper
The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- On the heels of last summer's opening of a regional sports center in Springfield, officials want to start the next phases.
The Willamalane Park & Recreation District will hold a public hearing today relating to plans to hire Essex Construction to build a 21,000-square-foot community recreation center at Main and 32nd streets.
The hearing starts at 5:30 p.m. in the Cascade Room of the Willamalane Adult Activity Center, 215 West C St.. (more...)
City buying up Mill Race acreage: Property will be part of plan to develop a park along banks
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
The City of Springfield is closing on a land purchase, considered a major step in the long-sought Mill Race restoration project.
Negotiations between city staff and McKenzie Forest Products, LCC, have led to a 43-acre, $1.28 million purchase, which the city intends to use as the bulk of its contribution to the project.
Money to buy the property was assembled over the last few years, using sewer and drainage fees and system development charges. (more...)
Glenwood digs in heels over fire rate increase
By Stacy D. Stumbo
The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
With fire season fast approaching, the Glenwood Water District is taking a stand against what they believe is an unjustified play for their tax money.
The City of Springfield maintains contracts for fire protection services with the Rainbow, Willakenzie and Glenwood water districts.
According to a memorandum issued by the city, historically, the contracts are automatically renewed, allowing the districts to use Springfield Fire and Life Safety services. A request to renegotiate terms of the contracts requires six months' notice.
The city decided to reopen negotiations with the districts after recently implementing a 12-percent nonresident charge to cover its costs, according to the memo.
Glenwood Water District Chairman Dave Carvo calls to fee a "12-percent pure profit margin" for the city. (more...)
Transportation
Editorial -- Big Brother works at ODOT -- and he must be stopped
| The Springfield News | July 1, 2005 |
Would you like the state government to install a GPS tracking device on your car? No? Well, too bad. Because the Oregon Department of Transportation has already invested $2.8 million of your tax dollars testing it out, and they're determined to make it happen.
That is, unless something happens to make them stop. Something like, say, a whole bunch of cards and letters from constituents to state and federal senators and representatives asking them to yank on ODOT's chain before it's too late. (more...)
Other News
Search for city manager ongoing: Selection process is gets more involved for candidates and city
By Amber Fossen
The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
The search for a new city manager is shaping to be an involved process, and not just for the applicants.
Candidates interested in the Springfield city manager position will have to stand up against a wish list of characteristics they may or may not have -- plus an interview process that would likely include interviews with council, city staff and community panels and a meet 'n' greet with the community.
City councilors want to hear from those who will work with and be served by the new city manager. This means scheduling time to rotate select candidates through different panels. (more...)
Eugene City Beat: Councilors tick off wish list for city manager
By Serena Markstrom
The Register-Guard | July 2, 2005 |
SPRINGFIELD -- This week, city councilors had a chance to tell executive search specialist Bob Murray what they'd like to see in a new city manager. (more...)
Coburg gets speeding ticket
By David Steves
The Register-Guard | June 28, 2005 |
SALEM -- Lawmakers handed Coburg city officials a piece of paper Monday that was as unwelcome as the hundreds of speeding tickets their police have issued to Interstate 5 speeders.
In this case, it was a bill, passed by the Senate Rules Committee, that would single out the north Lane County city with a cap on how much revenue it can generate through traffic fines from freeway drivers.
The cap of 10 percent of the city's general fund would cut its revenues by about $180,000 from what it now generates through court fines.
Backers of Senate Bill 1074 said it was regrettable but necessary, considering that Coburg has continued to rely on traffic fines to pay for city services at a far greater rate than most cities, despite 2003 legislation meant to rein in what critics considered Oregon's most notorious I-5 speed trap. (more...)
Coburg budget ignores proposed cap
By Karen McCowan
The Register-Guard | June 29, 2005 |
COBURG -- Betting that state legislators will swerve rather than pass a bill capping the city's traffic ticket income, the Coburg City Council drove ahead Tuesday night with a 2005-06 budget that assumes nearly $360,000 in revenue from traffic citations. (more...)
Jack Roberts -- Putting the Nike annexation debate in context
By Jack Roberts
The Oregonian | June 27, 2005 |
The recent controversy over Nike's opposition to annexation by Beaverton invites a closer scrutiny of what businesses contribute to the state and whether all businesses play the same role in supporting our economy.
When columnist Steve Duin of The Oregonian asks "why Nike requires special privileges that aren't available to freshly annexed small businesses such as Sunrise Bagels and Kroma Salon at Peterkort Towne Square," he is stumbling onto the right question. However, his answer -- because Sunrise and Krona measure their total employment in the dozens while Nike measures its in the thousands -- is only a part of the answer. (more...)
Finn John -- A little about me -- Editor's introduction
| The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
I don't have much space in today's column, but I thought I'd use it to just introduce myself and tell you a bit about myself. (more...)
Nicholas D. Kristof -- A Livable Shade of Green
By Nicholas D. Kristof
The New York Times | July 3, 2005 |
PORTLAND -- When President Bush travels to the Group of 8 summit meeting this week, he'll stiff Tony Blair and other leaders who are appealing for firm action on global warming.
"Kyoto would have wrecked our economy," Mr. Bush told a Danish interviewer recently, referring to the accord to curb carbon emissions. Maybe that was a plausible argument a few years ago, but now the city of Portland is proving it flat wrong.
Newly released data show that Portland, America's environmental laboratory, has achieved stunning reductions in carbon emissions. It has reduced emissions below the levels of 1990, the benchmark for the Kyoto accord, while booming economically.
What's more, officials in Portland insist that the campaign to cut carbon emissions has entailed no significant economic price, and on the contrary has brought the city huge benefits: less tax money spent on energy, more convenient transportation, a greener city, and expertise in energy efficiency that is helping local businesses win contracts worldwide. (more...)
David S. Broder -- A Green Blueprint Near Seattle
| By David S. Broder | June 19, 2005 |
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. -- When summer visitors come to the viewing platform to see Snoqualmie Falls, one of Washington's main tourist attractions, few of them realize they are also looking at an example of a unique and successful land management and planning exercise.
The falls are backed by more than 100 acres of lush and unscarred green forest, once destined for commercial and housing development by Puget Western Inc. and the city of Snoqualmie. But the Cascade Land Conservancy, a private nonprofit, stepped in and bought the property for $13.3 million.
It was something of a gamble, said the conservancy president's, Gene Duvernoy, because the sum was twice the net worth of his organization. "We were a little over our skis," he said. But having nursed the organization through its first four years from its start in 1989, working out of the attic of his house, the former New Yorker was accustomed to improvising.
His strategy was to "solve the problem by enlarging it." He first approached Weyerhaeuser Co., which had recently built 3,000 homes on a nearby tract but had agreed with the city, as a condition for that construction, to defer building Phase 2 of the project, where sewer lines had already been installed, for 20 years.
Duvernoy struck a deal. The conservancy went to the city fathers and persuaded them to let Weyerhaeuser build Phase 2 now, rather than wait 20 years, in return for the company's financing 90 percent of the purchase price of the tract behind the falls. He then went to King County officials and got them to transfer development rights on 3,000 acres of land along Highway 18 that the county wanted to protect to the Phase 2 land, allowing more density of housing. The county in turn transferred the 3,000 acres to the conservancy for safekeeping.
When Duvernoy walked me through the transaction on a recent visit to the falls, he called it a "win-win-win-win deal" for the city, the county, the company and his own organization. It reflected "the unbridled strain of civic commitment in our region, with progressive business leaders, talented elected leadership and engaged citizens," he said. (more...)
Richard Doak -- For the sake of liberty, we pledge, oh, maybe not much
By Richard Doak, Register Senior Editorial Comlumnist
The Des Moines Register | July 4, 2005 |
A leaked memo has surfaced -- from that pesky London Times -- that provides a fuller picture of what happened in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.
It is a yellowed and tattered transcript of a previously unknown conversation that took place just before the Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence.
It seems the delegates were half-dozing as the clerk read the Declaration aloud (that's the way they did things in those days), when he came to the last line stating that "we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
At this point, according to the memo, an unidentified delegate snapped awake and demanded, "What ho? Read that part again." (more...)
Measure 37, Oregon's Land Use Planning System
Editorial -- Oregonians need 'the big look'
A new generation needs to improve, understand and reaffirm the state's legendary land-use program
| The Oregonian | June 27, 2005 |
Toward the end of a legislative session, it's easy for urgent bills to eclipse the merely important ones. That's a worrisome possibility for Senate Bill 82, the so-called "big look" proposed for the Oregon land-use system. The Oregon Legislature shouldn't let this singularly important bill get lost in the last-minute shuffle to get out of Salem. (more...)
Keith Aoki -- Look beyond Oregon to find way out of Measure 37 maze
By Keith Aoki
The Register-Guard | July 3, 2005 |
The Oregon Legislature is in over its head in dealing with Measure 37.
Various versions of draft legislation bounce back and forth like a ping-pong ball in the halls of Salem. Deadlock creates confusion for local governments and property owners. Some counties grant presumptive waivers, while others impose high filing fees for Measure 37 claims. What will be the outcome of this uncertainty?
Could Measure 37 lead to a nightmare of uncontrolled "spot zoning," as some critics fear? Spot zoning is the arbitrary (and oftentimes corrupt) practice of granting variances to property owners without any discernable benefit to the public. Could Measure 37 lead to the destruction of Oregon's statewide land use planning system, as some proponents desire? The Legislature must find a solution. Is there a way out of the current dead-end?
The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer involves using a planning device called "transfer development rights," or TDRs. (more...)
Senate panel passes Measure 37 changes
By Niki Sullivan
The Associated Press | June 28, 2005 |
SALEM -- A Senate panel passed its version of Measure 37 changes Monday after an earlier attempt failed to gain the full Senate's approval.
The Senate Rules Committee sent the bill to the full Senate on a 3-1 vote. It sets out a claims and appeals process, and creates a provision that could eliminate the need for some Measure 37 claims. (more...)
Commissioners want legal test of Measure 37 transfers
By Damian Mann
The (Medford) Mail Tribune | July 1, 2005 |
After an exasperating attempt to resolve whether Measure 37 claims can be transferred from one property owner to another, Jackson County commissioners Thursday resolved to take the issue to court. (more...)
Zoning claims top 5,000 acres
By Sarah Hunsberger
The Oregonian | June 30, 2005 |
The rate of Clackamas County landowners filing claims under Measure 37 has shot up in the past few months as county commissioners steadily waive zoning regulations under the property-rights law.
More than six months after the measure took effect, property owners in Clackamas County have filed claims seeking to develop more than 5,000 acres that formerly were off-limits. That amounts to an area almost as large as Oregon City, though it's still a relatively small share of the county's undeveloped land.
Clackamas County commissioners have held public hearings on 52 of the roughly 200 claims they have received. Almost all are outside the urban growth boundary. (more...)
Editorial -- An unwarranted outcry: High court didn't terminate property rights
| The Register-Guard | June 28, 2005 |
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling affirming the right of state and local governments to take private property for public benefit has prompted an outcry so loud and strident that one wonders whether its critics have read the Fifth Amendment. (more...)
Editorial -- Don't blame the court, but let's fix this private-takings thing -- fast
| The Springfield News | June 29, 2005 |
It would be easy to get up on a soapbox and denounce the Supreme Court for giving the green light to governments to take peoples' property away from them and give it to other people.
But it's the wrong approach. (more...)
George F. Will -- Damaging 'Deference'
By George F. Will
The Washington Post | June 24, 2005 |
The country is bracing for a bruising battle over filling a Supreme Court vacancy, a battle in which conservatives will praise "judicial restraint" and "deference" to popularly elected branches of government and liberals will praise judicial activism in defense of individual rights. But consider what the court did yesterday.
Most conservatives hoped that, in the most important case the court was to decide this term, judicial activism would put a leash on popularly elected local governments and would pull courts more deeply into American governance to protect the rights of individuals. Yesterday conservatives were disappointed. (more...)
Molly Ivins -- Yeah, let's talk about the 'public good'
By Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate | July 3, 2005 |
AUSTIN -- As one who cares a whale of a lot more about personal rights than property rights, let me leap right into the fray over a Supreme Court decision on the side of the property rights advocates, many of whom I normally consider nut balls. But at least they're more in touch with reality than a majority of the Supreme Court.
The justice who nailed this one was Sandra Day O'Connor, bless her. She wrote in dissent: "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms. As for the victims, the government now has license to transfer property from those with fewer resources to those with more. The Founders cannot have intended this perverse result." (more...)