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In this issue you’ll learn how to submit a Citizen Service Request, how much street preservation work the City completed this season, where we are in the process of completing the 14th Street Reconstruction project, where new fire houses will be located, what’s next for discussions on Mirror Pond and Juniper Ridge, what’s coming up for septic-to-sewer rate model and cost sharing discussions, who’s running for City Council, and much more.
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SEPTEMBER 2018
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LET US KNOW! CITIZEN SERVICE REQUESTS
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Do you see a damaged or missing sign? Do you wonder about a traffic improvement? You can use a Citizen Service Request (CSR) to bring street-related issues to our attention. As everyday street users, you can help our crews identify where maintenance or improvements are needed.
CSR are for:
- Streets maintenance issues such as potholes, or damaged/missing/blocked signs
- Stormwater concerns, illicit discharge
- Snow removal issues
- Traffic control concerns including signing, striping, speed limits, street lights, traffic signal operations, and more
CSR are not for:
- Emergency issues: Call 911
- Traffic signal outage: Call ODOT dispatch at (541) 383-0121
- Code enforcement issues: Complete and submit a complaint form
- Speeding enforcement, illegal parking, aggressive driving: call non-emergency dispatch at (541) 693-6911
- Downtown parking citation issues: Parking FAQ
How it works:
CITIZEN REQUEST
Staff responds generally within one week.
STAFF EVALUATION
Staff evaluates per City standards and practices.
STAFF RESPONSE
Request implemented, or
Call back, explain why not implemented
Submit CSRs online or by calling 541-317-3000, ext. 3. Include specific locations and detailed descriptions. Staff review each CSR, so it speeds up the process if groups of people with a similar request submit CSRs through their neighborhood association leadership, or in one request that includes a list of supporters. Photos also help.
So far this year, staff have responded to more than 500 traffic-related requests, 1,600 general streets requests, and 250 stormwater related inquiries. Of the 1,200 traffic-related CSRs from 2015 to 2017, most frequent requests were concerning speed (people driving too fast in residential areas) and parking (when it blocks intersections, driveways, or visibility). Other common requests were about stop signs, traffic signals and crosswalks.
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STREET PRESERVATION 2018 SEASON WRAP-UP
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No doubt you noticed all the lane closures and detours this construction season. Now it’s time to take a look at new roads, striping and bike lanes. With additional emphasis on street maintenance funding, the Streets Department was very busy!
We appreciate your patience during road work season, especially on those high-impact on projects such as Third Street and Reed Market Road!
The City paved approximately 47 lane miles this season. Noteworthy projects include the completion of downtown streets and work on Greenwood Avenue.
The City also worked with Deschutes County to chipseal about 15 miles of residential streets along with arterial and collector roads. We combine City and County crews to help keep costs down.
And finally, slurry seals, a newer treatment in our toolbox, were completed on about 35 lane miles in Bend.
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14TH STREET & BOND PROJECT COMPLETION
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The 14th Street Reconstruction project, which is the final 2011 voter-approved bond project, is in its final stage! We’re wrapping up roadway improvements between NW Albany Avenue and NW Galveston Avenue this fall.
This final stretch will be similar to the improvements recently completed between Galveston and Newport avenues, addressing infrastructure deficiencies, safety and connectivity between the commercial and residential areas.
We are forecasting an early completion to this project, in mid- to late-October. Once the final completion date is set, the City will plan a ribbon-cutting to celebrate this important infrastructure improvement project and the several others that were part of the General Obligation Bond. Other bond projects included:
- new roundabouts at Empire and 18th, Simpson and Mt. Washington, Brookswood and Powers, Reed Market and 15th,
- complete street upgrades along Reed Market and Century Drive (14th Street), and
- pavement rehabilitation along 27th Street.
We want to thank the community for your support and patience as we complete these improvements that help improve mobility, safety, and connectivity for all users throughout the City of Bend.
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NEW FIRE HOUSES COMING SOON
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We are poised to break ground on two new Fire stations that will provide even better protection for our community for decades to come. Both are scheduled for completion in fall of 2019.
An additional station near the Police Department headquarters south of Pilot Butte will improve Fire response and Emergency Medical Service in Bend’s core and southeast areas.
A replacement for the existing Tumalo Station will be a modern and efficient building with capacity to add more crew members.
Per a contract from the 1990s between the City of Bend and the Deschutes Rural Fire Protection District #2 (which encompasses the area around the City), the Rural Fire District owns and maintains all Fire stations, and the City leases the buildings and keeps them staffed and equipped.
Design and bid work is done for the two new buildings.
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COUNCIL INFO
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In survey responses from enewsletter readers, we heard that people wanted more details about what the Council is doing. Did you know you can access video archives of all their meetings at bendoregon.gov/councilagenda? You can also livestream these meetings after 6 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.
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MIRROR POND
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A majority of Councilors agreed that the City should continue to be involved in discussions with the Bend Park and Recreation District and Mirror Pond Solutions to remove sedimentation from Mirror Pond.
Mirror Pond collects sediment in the Deschutes River as a result of the Newport Avenue dam. The pond was last dredged in 1984 to remove sediment, and that effort was funded by a federal grant, the City of Bend, the Bend Park and Recreation District and citizens. Here is a memo with key facts and information.
Councilors decided on September 19 to move forward with a publically-noticed Council subcommittee that can provide a recommendation to the full Council, and to task the subcommittee with further investigating all the legal financial options offered in a funding matrix, with the most interest in pursuing franchise fees, cash and in-kind contributions, general fund contributions and user fees.
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JUNIPER RIDGE
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On September 19, the Council heard from group of local business and economic development representatives that has reviewed issues and identified potential solutions for the City-owned Juniper Ridge property north of Cooley Road and NE 18th Street. The group recommended that the City:
- Create a Juniper Ridge “governing board,”
- Instruct the governing board to develop a two-year work plan, and
- Hire staff to assist the governing board with this work.
Here is the Juniper Ridge working group’s recommendations presentation.
The governing board would advise Council on how to move forward in developing the largely undeveloped, industrial-zoned land to achieve economic development goals as established by the governing board and Council. Councilors generally supported the recommendations.
Councilors also discussed property management options to address the variety of issues on Juniper Ridge associated with illegal activities on the property, including camping and campfires, unauthorized vehicular access, shooting and other uses. The City will first pursue fire fuels reductions on the property and continue to research best options for resolving the camping. If the City does pursue policies to address the camping, there are state laws requiring specific approaches assuring humane treatment of those campers, adequate notice and coordination with social service agencies in the community.
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SEPTIC TO SEWER
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After more than a year of public advisory committee work, community outreach and public input, the Council has begun discussing its policy direction for how to pursue septic-to-sewer conversions in Bend’s unsewered areas.
The presentation to Council on September 19 focused on how other communities with similar situations addressed connecting homes on septic to sewer.
Financing decisions and the sharing of costs will be a decision made by the City Council. The Council is tentatively scheduled to discuss rate models and cost sharing options at its October 3 meeting. More information: bendoregon.gov/septictosewer.
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NOVEMBER ELECTION
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Twelve candidates have met the City of Bend’s requirements to be placed on the November 6, 2018, general election ballot. The candidates receiving the most votes for each position serve four-year terms. Find out more on our election information webpage.
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Carbon monoxide can be a silent, deadly killer. Here is some valuable information from the Bend Fire Department on how you can prevent a tragedy in your home. Watch the PSA here.
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Empire Avenue is undergoing some big changes, including the construction of a new roundabout at the intersection with Purcell Boulevard. Watch the project informational video or check bendoregon.gov/empire for updated news or to sign up for email notifications.
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The community is playing a significant role in updating the City’s Transportation System Plan, a vision of what our transportation system will look like in the future.
A Council-appointed Citywide Transportation Advisory Committee has been working on goals, performance measures and scenarios for the past several months, and in mid-September, the Transportation System Plan Steering Committee approved them.
The scenarios provide a way to test three broad approaches to creating a future transportation system for the City. The performance measures tell us how effective the scenarios would be at meeting the community’s goals.
This winter, the City will have scenario modeling results to share. The City will conduct neighborhood outreach in January and February 2019, where residents can provide input and highlight needs in their own neighborhoods.
Go to bendoregon.gov/tsp to learn more about the community involvement and for other information and materials related to the Transportation System Plan.
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This summer, the 2018 Clean Water Works Kid’s Video Contest grand prize winner, Marvin Walder, has been working closely with Zolo Media to turn his winning entry into a public service announcement for the City’s Utility Department.
An upperclassman at Summit High School, Marvin created “Bend Aqua-Culture" in his film class. The video shows the importance of keeping pollutants out of the stormwater system while celebrating Bend’s outdoor lifestyle.
Marvin was recognized by the City Council and has received the opportunity to work closely with a professional producer at Zolo Media, spending a portion of the summer refining his concept and shooting a professional commercial with full studio support.
You can see Marvin and others’ winning entries on the Clean Water Works Kid’s webpage. The final commercial will debut at BendFilm’s Future Filmmakers event taking place during the BendFilm Festival, October 11-14.
Want a chance to be a winner? The 2019 contest is now open, and will focus on reducing impacts from nonflushable “flushable” wipes. More information and contest materials are available at bendoregon.gov/cleanwaterworkskids
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Our latest swag bag winner is: Jared Chase!
Jared, contact us at communications@bendoregon.gov with “I’m a winner!” in the subject line and we’ll arrange how to get you your goodies.
In our last enewsletter, we asked for feedback to help us make the Bend Current better.
Survey feedback said the highest percentage of readers were interested in “transportation project news.” The next highest topic of interest was “infrastructure” followed by “public safety” and slightly behind that was “Council updates.” Other categories ranked lower on the list are, in order: Economic and Community Development, Community Features, Affordable Housing, Committee Updates and “other.”
Also, feedback said 41 percent of you read 1-3 stories, and 33 percent of you read 4-5 stories and 26 percent of you would read 6 or more. So we’re going to try to cut down the number of stories we write each month and give you as much transportation related information as possible. Thanks for all the great feedback!
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Accommodation Information for People with Disabilities
To obtain this information in an alternate format such as Braille, large print, etc., please contact Anne Aurand at: communications@bendoregon.gov; Relay Users Dial 7-1-1.
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