Appreciation

What do you think about the customer appreciation program that is being considered for city services? Have you heard about it? If so, what are your thoughts?

Satisfaction?

Thanks to RUTA for suggesting this topic.

Are you satisfied with your council? Are the meetings productive or is the council moving too slow? Is the slow movement a good thing representing a more deliberative pace or just stagnant government? Is the slow movement part of a divided council? Is the council too divided or just representative of a divided city? By my count we had three 4-3 votes at the last meeting. That may be a problem for some and not for others. A careful examination will show that the make-up of the yeahs and nays was different each time. Is the council addressing the important issues or skirting these issues? What positives do you see in city government? What changes would you like to see?

Insitu

Insitu is a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft. They currently operate in Bingen Washington. They are looking to relocate their production facilities to a larger campus somewhere in the Gorge. They currently employ 600 workers and are looking to increase that number to 1000 in the near future. The Port of Cascade Locks, together with other partners has replied to a request for information in an effort to attract them to our industrial park. What do you think about the idea of the Port attempting to attract Insitu to Cascade Locks? What will the positive and negative effects be if it is a successful attempt? To what lengths should we go to attract this business if at all?

Can We Keep Cable?

I purchase the cable service from the city every month and I am happy with it, but anyone who has had cable service from other companies recently knows that our system isn't up to basic standards. Our city cable system has fallen behind technologically. Part of the trouble is that the system lacks the capacity to expand our offerings both in number of channels and technological enhancements such as High Definition and On Demand. Fixing this would require a significant investment in hardware and infrastructure. Additionally, the rebroadcast fees associated with adding more channels would make it difficult or impossible to maintain the current charges for the service.

As I understand it, the city cable system was created to fill a need for citizens prior to the availability of other options such as Dish Network or DirectTV. Currently we are losing customers each month these other options. As we lose customers, the financial viability of the system begins to unravel. The broadband internet system, which faces capacity and technology challenges of its own, has been used to subsidize the loss of revenue from the cable system. It has been made clear to the council through the budget process that this band-aid solution will not be sustainable. A decision about the future of our cable system needs to be made in the near future.

Another concern is the status of channel 23. It has been celebrated as an important means of communication. It is used to broadcast public announcements as well as public meetings of committees and the city council. As fewer and fewer residents opt for city cable, the effectiveness of channel 23 diminishes.

Should the city be in the cable business? If so, how should we respond to the changing marketplace when our market share degrades monthly? If not, how should we plan for the loss of revenue from our existing system? Are you willing to give up channel 23 if we get out of the cable business? Is it worth subsidizing a diminished system to maintain channel 23? Would you vote for an increase in the cable charges if it meant adding more channels and enhancements? What alternatives do you see for the city in facing this challenge?

Important Meetings This Week

There are two meetings scheduled for this week. On Thursday, June 18 at the big red Emergency Services Building at 7:30 pm, the city of Cascade Locks will be hosting a town hall meeting to discuss preferences and solutions for the level of emergency service that our town should support. Two days later on Saturday, June 20 at 10:00 am at the big round Port Pavilion, the Charter Starters will host a community forum to set a vision and direction for a new Cascade Locks High School.

Which of these two meetings do you consider to be more important for the future of our town? Or are they equally important? Which meeting will you attend? Or will you attend both? Which meeting do you expect to be more heavily attended and shy?

As is evident from previous pages of this blog, it is much easier criticize and attack than to promote a solution and defend it. Nonetheless, my question is, for these two issues : emergency services and schools, what solutions will you propose or what solutions do you believe should be proposed at the meetings?

A note to anyone who noticed the span of time between my previous and current posts: It has been a month - a difficult month for me personally. It is only only in the past few days that I have reached the acceptance stage and begun to acknowledge the imminent death of my computer. She served me well and will be sorely missed.

Budget and Business

At the outset of the recent Budget Committee meetings, each member was given the opportunity to speak about his or her concerns as we entered consideration of the the budget. Concerns ranged from eliminating staff positions, to proper use of transient room tax revenue, to replacement of the ambulance, to how much control the council has over the budget. Now that the budget committee has made their recommendation to council, my question is, "What are your concerns about next year's budget? Is there anything you would like the council to change? What do you see as our biggest financial challenges in the coming year?

There have been several business ventures proposed for starting up or moving to Cascade Locks (Casino, Nestle, Foundry, etc.). In most cases, there has been support and at least some level of opposition. What other kinds businesses would you like to see start up or move to Cascade Locks? What can the city or port do to help make this happen? What would be the advantage of having this kind of business in town?

Changes to Committees and Sheriff services

We are currently considering changes to the committee system. Some changes are obvious and simple, while others are more complex. Here are a few highlights of the proposals:
1. Define standing committees and temporary committees
2. Eliminate Water Rights, Telecommunications, Municipal Services Agreement, Law Enforcement, Citizens Utility Advisory committees
3. Create new committees to oversee city departments such as Public Works and Emergency Services
4. Direct the Parks and Recreation Committee to focus on developing a city park and turn the recreation program over to faith based and/or volunteer groups
5. Offer training to each committee once per year
6. Decide if relatives or members of the same household should be allowed on the same committee.
7. Require committee members to be registered to vote in Cascade Locks.
What do you think of these proposals? What other ideas do you have to add to this re-organization?


The council has started the process of renegotiating the contract with the Hood River County Sheriff. Currently the Sheriff's office requires the taxpayers of Cascade Locks to pay extra for patrols in our city. The Sheriff has demanded a fee increase of more than 10 percent. We had budgeted enough to pay for three eight hour shifts before this increase. The taxpayers in places like Parkdale and Odell do not pay extra for their patrols. It appears that the taxpayers in Cascade Locks are the only taxpayers in the county that are asked to pay twice for this service. In a neighboring county with a similar population, Wasco County, the Sheriff's Office patrols the entire county including cities. The city of Maupin, less than half the size of Cascade Locks, has a branch of the Wasco County Sheriff's Office in their downtown and a deputy assigned full time.
Should we expect the Sheriff to patrol the entire county? Is this another example of Hood River refusing to extend tax payer funded services to Cascade Locks? Is it time to develop more self-sufficiency and reduce the reliance on Hood River? On the contrary, should we go ahead and pay the extra fees they demand for Sheriff services? Is three days enough? Should we consider adding more days of patrol at even greater cost to our taxpayers? Do you consider Cascade Locks to be a high-crime area compared to the rest of the county? If so, what responsibility does the County Sheriff have to providing protection services to our community?

What do you like?

Several people who have been following this blog have mentioned to me that many of the opinions expressed here are too negative or harsh. If you followed the last post, you saw over ninety posts on a wide range of issues. Many of these were critical of the city, the council in general or specific policies or council members. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the discussion.

Here's my challenge for the next two weeks: Can we take that same energy that has been so critical and apply it to something more positive? Can we have a discussion about the good things happening in our town? Specifically, what do you like about Cascade Locks? What do you like about the services the city provides? What do you like about our city government? What do you like about living here? What are your favorite things to do here?

Business and the Law

In a time of economic turmoil, most people feel that Cascade Locks is fortunate to have several businesses looking to move to our town. Nestle Waters has opened an office next to the post office and seems willing to locate a factory near the industrial park. They are negotiating to get the city to sell spring water to them. It appears there will be some modifications to our water rights if this will happen. Additionally, there is an artisan foundry business ready to locate in our commercial district. It appears that the city will need to make some minor changes to our code to allow this as a conditional useage. The question we should discuss and answer is: what should be the city council's role in bringing businesses to town. Should council actively attract business? Should the city expedite the bureaucratic hurdles to help the businesses interested in moving here? Should we make it harder or easier for a business to set up shop in Cascade Locks?

Nine months ago, Cascade Locks went through a vetting process to examine alternatives in our legal representation. A new law firm was chosen. Recently there has been some discussion about altering or altogether changing this service. The topic of interest seems to be the cost associated with an attorney in attendance at every council meeting. Until nine months ago, it was standard for our city council meetings to include an attorney. With our new firm, attorney attendance has been excused more often than not. It has been expained that requiring our new firm to be at every meeting would double the amount we currently expect to pay for legal services. This is due in part to travel costs and hourly rates. Many people know that our meetings often approach five hours in length. Further, we know that most cities our size do not have an attorney attending their meetings. The question for discussion is: what legal representation should the city council have. Should it be at every meeting? Should it be once a month? Should it be on an as-needed basis? Or, do you trust our staff and councilors to interpret and apply the law for themselves?

ODOT and The Forest Service

Two bureaucratic giants have descended on our little city. Should we placate them and hope they leave us alone, or should we stand up to them?

ODOT has decided to repave Interstate 84 from Multnomah Falls to Herman Creek. They plan to begin in August and continue for 15 months. We don't know when they will be through Cascade Locks, but it is clear we will hear it when they arrive. They will be grinding, pounding and hammering all night every night. Their average decibel production will be at least twice what is allowed by our ordinances. They are asking us to waive the noise ordinance. In exchange, they are offering to have a noise meter with them at the work site. If they use it, ODOT will be able to tell us how loud their noise is. I have asked the council to consider requesting further concessions or mitigation from this agency. How do you think we should handle this issue?

The U.S. Forest Service allows our electric utility use a right of way for sending electricity to customers who live outside of city limits. Historically this has been a nominal fee - estimated at around $600 per year. This year, for the first time since 1974, the Forest Service has raised the fee to over $4600 and it will be well over $5000 next year. Even without the fee increase, we have been told that our electric department makes less money than we spend in sending electricity over this land. Now that deficit will grow. The Forest Service is one of our out of town customers. Their fee used to be slightly less than their electric bill. Now it is way above the electric bill. Our city's policy is that we don't raise fees without a vote - even fees that have been around for more than a quarter century. Could we hold the Forest Service to this standard? What, if any, options do we have other than accepting and paying the bill? Is it worth pursuing?

Looking Forward

Each year the city council of Cascade Locks holds a goal setting session. In light of this, my question is, "What are your goals for our city this year?" If you have several to offer please prioritize them.

Putting Out the Fires

Two dramatic and controversial issues are confronting the city right now. The first has been at the forefront of my thoughts and activities the past few weeks. This issue involves the announced closure of Cascade Locks High School next year. Several options have been suggested for our community in response to the decision. Should we send our students to Hood River as the school board intends? Should we try to change the minds of a majority of the board members? Should legal action be taken to stop the closure? Should we send our students to another school district? Should we try to form our own school district or a charter school? What other options are there to consider? Do we need an organized group with a decision making board to navigate through the possibilities? What options do you support?

The second issue was raised during Monday's council meeting. Due to our fancy new emergency services building, our emergency services department has taken on some debt. We appear to be moving closer to the decision to place the burden of this debt on the department that has incurred the debt. Our temporary solution on Monday was to spend a portion of our contigency (cash carrry-over) fund to pay the January through June portion of the debt. The next step is to find a way for the emergency services department to shoulder the payments. Two options have been suggested. One option is to cut the services that are currently provided and use the savings to pay down the debt. The other option is to invest in the revenue generating abilities of the department and use the dividends of that investment to pay down the debt. Several questions must be answered for both of these options before a decision is made, however, it is not too soon for you to offer your opinions.

We have discussed the emergency services department before and it deserves more discussion. With this in mind, please remember to limit your comments to the respectful exchange of ideas and opinions rather than specific critiques of personalities or individuals.

Get Your Shovels Ready!

The City Council is in the process of setting priorities for infrastructure projects that could qualify for federal funding when and if economic stimulus legislation is passed through Congress. Using projects from previous years, we have discussed several undergrounding projects in our electric utility, a downtown revitalization effort, improvements to Tooth Rock Park, curbing and sidewalking on city streets and wind energy projects. The goal for these projects is to qualify as "shovel ready," meaning work can begin and workers can be employed as soon as funding is approved. There may also be another wave of stimulus coming for projects that can be ready in about a year. Which of these projects would be a priority for you and what other possible projects in town should we be looking at?

Let the Good Times Roll

Monday Jan. 12 was my first council meeting as a member of the Cascade Lock City Council. Just before the meeting, Tiffany Pruitt and I were sworn in by Cindy Mitchell and took our seats to the right of the Mayor. It was a humbling experience to take my seat on the council and represent the people of Cascade Locks. It is an honor to serve. I will always be grateful for the faith they put in me during the last election. The city staff was very kind in putting together a reception for the new councilors and mayor complete with a deliciously sweet cake and special recipe fruit punch.

While the agenda for the meeting was relatively light, several issues were raised or tabled that make our next meeting loom large.

First, there is an important public planning hearing on which I won’t comment here.

Second, that resilient serpent of an issue – fire hall funding – raised its head yet again. It appears there is some interest in revisiting how we will service the loan that the previous council approved from Oregon Investment Bank. While I place high value on examining these kinds of financial decisions from a variety of perspectives, it would seem that after nine meetings, we will have exhausted the possibilities. My commitment will be to working hard in the next weeks to insure that if we do raise the issue yet again, we can find a comprehensive solution and put the issue to a final rest.

Third, there is the issue of a tourism committee recommendation to award a grant to a sailboat racing association. This is crucial because it helps to identify our town as an international sailing destination. As I understand it, the funds will be used to market sailboat races - that will happen this summer in Cascade Locks – to a multi-national sailing audience. I hope the council will have the opportunity to hear from the organizers of this event and further strengthen our partnership toward bringing world class sailing to Cascade Locks.

These are only three of the many issues up for consideration at our next meeting. I hope our council will carefully select the priorities and not bite off more than we can chew. Our plate seems extremely full this month and I believe we are ready for the challenge.