Bend Current. News from The City of Bend.

Bend Fire Department apparatus and team on training site.

THANK YOU VOTERS FOR RENEWING THE FIRE LEVY!

This week, voters renewed a five-year Fire Department operations levy to maintain adequate staffing levels and keep response times down.

Prior to 2014, the Bend Fire Department’s staffing was less than recommended by the National Fire Protection Agency. In 2014, voters passed a levy at a rate of 20 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. It generates about $2.6 million a year for the Fire Department and is spent on staff, equipment and training. The levy allowed us to employ 24 Emergency Medical Technicians and to staff two Basic Life Support ambulances, an innovative and cost-effective approach to improving public safety.

Over the past four years, the Fire Department improved response times by more than a minute on average! And faster response times means more lives saved. Cardiac arrest survival rates went from 33 percent in 2012 to 71 percent in 2016.

Fire levy video!

REDUCING ENERGY USE AND SAVING MONEY

This photo shows City crews entering a manhole to cut off sewer lines at one of our pump stations. Air conditions in the manhole necessitate the use of outside air.

Now that the new gravity-fed southeast interceptor sewer line is done, the City is decommissioning pump stations that used pumps to move waste from underground pipes to higher elevations and toward the treatment facility. In the last six months we've taken four pump stations offline and we have several more to go!

Pump stations vary in maintenance expenses but decommissioning the first four will save approximately $40,000 a year in energy and operating and maintenance costs.

14TH STREET UPDATE, ROUNDABOUT IS OPEN

The roundabout at Century Drive and Simpson Avenue reopened this week after getting a new concrete surface. Now, 14th Street will be closed to southbound traffic from just north of the roundabout to just south of Albany Avenue for continued work on the 14th Street Reconstruction project.

The 14th Street reconstruction project is intended to increase safety and mobility for all users, and is the eighth and final project funded by the 2011 voter-approved transportation bond.

Project and Detour Info

27th Street and Butler Market Road, site of future Empire Avenue corridor project. Photo credit Richard Scott Nelson.

COUNCIL UPDATES

GROWTH PLAN MOVES FORWARD

The City Council agreed that the next steps of the City’s community-supported Growth Plan should involve:

area planning for an Urban Growth Boundary expansion area in southeast Bend,
adopting an urban renewal plan to fund the redevelopment opportunity areas in the central core parts of Bend, and
reaching consensus on funding mechanisms for the Empire Avenue and Murphy Road extension project by July.

Informational Resolution

NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP ALLIANCE APPROVED

This week, Councilors approved creating a new advisory committee comprised of Neighborhood Association leaders.

The Neighborhood Leadership Alliance will exist separately and in addition to existing Neighborhood Associations.

The new code protects the autonomy of the existing associations but gives a collective voice to the neighborhood group to address issues of City-wide concern.

Issue Summary

OSU-CASCADES EXPANSION APPROVED

On May 16, Councilors unanimously approved a first reading of the master plan and rezone requested by OSU - Cascades for its campus expansion plans. This is the first of two motions required for final approval. The second reading is scheduled for June 6. Watch bendoregon.gov/councilagenda.

VOTERS APPROVED A DIRECTLY ELECTED MAYOR AND REMOVING COMPENSATION FROM CHARTER

Voters in this week’s election clearly indicated they were interested in directly electing a mayor! The passage of Measure 9-118 means starting in November, voters can directly elect the City of Bend mayor for a four-year term. This will change the existing system in which the Mayor is chosen by fellow Council members for a two-year term.

The mayor is still a member of the seven-person Council, with the same power of a Council member, in addition to the duties of the mayor.

In the same election, voters also approved changing the Bend Charter of 1995 to remove Councilor compensation from the Charter. Currently, the Charter states that all seven Councilors receive $200 per month.

Councilor compensation will now be set by ordinance which is a public process conducted by the Council. The Council already received input on compensation from a citizen advisory committee that recommended councilors receive $533 per month and a directly-elected mayor receive $1,066 per month. This can take effect in January of 2019.

The Bend City Council has three positions that will be placed on the ballot for the November 2018 election. The six Council members and the elected Mayor are elected to four-year terms. Individuals who win a seat on the City Council will begin serving January 2019.

Citizens interested in serving on the City Council may begin the filing process May 30 and have until August 28, 2018 to file completed petitions.

More information about filing and Council expectations found here.

RIVERSIDE PARKING PILOT PROGRAM

The City and the Bend Park and Recreation District have created new parking limits along Riverside Boulevard for the summer to facilitate easier access to Drake Park. With a new, limited-duration parking pilot program, the City and the park district are initiating four-hour parking limits along Riverside Boulevard to allow more park users the opportunity to visit Drake Park between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.

Cascade East Transit’s seasonal shuttles and Bend fixed route services provide easy and affordable transportation options. Cascades East Transit’s Ride the River shuttle transports river users from Bend Park & Float, located at Simpson Avenue and Bradbury Drive next to The Pavilion.

This location will serve as the new start and end of the river floating activities with abundant parking available beginning June 16. The $3 fare includes transportation of river tubes to and from the float launch and exit.

For other park activities, including festivals, picnics or walks along Mirror Pond, the free Ride Bend shuttle stops within a five-minute walk of Drake Park, making it easy to leave the vehicle parked at home, work or other parking areas.

Please visit bendoregon.gov/riversideparking for maps and frequently asked questions.

SOCIAL MEDIA

We’ve added Instagram to our social media program! After years of success with Facebook and Twitter, the City has recently joined Instagram to show you City government in pictures.

Check it out: instagram.com/cityofbendoregon

WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT VIRTUAL TOUR

Ever wondered what our sewage treatment system looks like? The City collects and treats about 2.2 billion gallons of wastewater a year. Here's a virtual (video) tour of the system. And, more about wastewater operations can be found here.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT WEBPAGE

The City recently reconfigured the Community Development Department’s webpage to improve the user experience. The Community Development Department’s webpage is consistently one of the City’s most-viewed pages, receiving approximately 80 page views each day. The new website will be easier to navigate based on the user’s specific needs and will include more regular updates.

New friendly URLs and email addresses for the Community Development Department may also be of interest for those who use this website:

Community Development Department main page -- bendoregon.gov/cdd
Planning Division – bendoregon.gov/planning, planning@bendoregon.gov
Building Safety Division – bendoregon.gov/building, building@bendoregon.gov
Private Development Engineering Division bendoregon.gov/privateengineering, engineering@bendoregon.gov
Development Services - bendoregon.gov/development, development@bendoregon.gov
Code Enforcement Division – bendoregon.gov/codeenforcement, codeenforcement@bendoregon.gov
Licenses & Permits – bendoregon.gov/licensing

MANAGE YOUR WATER USE ONLINE

Manage your City of Bend water use with WaterSmart Software! Enter your utility account number at bendoregon.watersmart.com and register. You'll get access to your City of Bend water use information, helpful information about the best ways to save water, and alerts of constant water use or leaks.

Get started today in three easy steps:

Log on at bendoregon.watersmart.com.
Register your account number listed on your City of Bend utility bill.
Personalize your account profile.

WaterSmart software displayed on a laptop and an iPhone.

(541) 388-5505
communications@bendoregon.gov

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