COMMUNITY RESPONSE TEAM-INNOVATIVE PUBLIC SAFETY

The Community Response Team at the Bend Police Department includes an embedded social worker with officers who help individuals during a crisis, work to connect people with services, and follow up with them afterward. The program, which began in 2015, seeks ways to assist people dealing with mental health related issues.

Watch the Community Response Team video!

Read the whole story.

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & NEIGHBORHOOD PROTECTION

It’s time to be thinking about protecting our community from wildfire.

Help prevent wildfire within city limits by creating a defensible space around your home. 

Remove flammable vegetation from your property such as weeds, grass, vines, brush and low-hanging limbs or other vegetation. City code requires property owners to cut or remove all flammable vegetation as reasonably practical. Creating defensible space helps prevent fire from easily spreading between properties.  

For more information on flammable vegetation visit bendoregon.gov/veg.

FireFree Recycling

And since you are already creating a defensible space around your home, here is a great opportunity to get rid of all that yard debris!

You can dispose of that debris and recycle those materials FOR FREE at Knott Landfill during the FireFree recycling event. You can drop off your materials starting May 1 through the 16. For more information on this event head to firefree.org.

TRANSPORTATION UPDATES:

Empire Corridor Improvements Project 

We can see the finish line! The Empire Corridor Improvements project in Northeast Bend is in its final stage, and construction is anticipated to be done in September of this year.

The intersection of NE Purcell Boulevard and NE Butler Market Road will close in early May to build a new roundabout. There will be no access for people who drive, ride bikes or walk at this intersection and detours will be marked during construction.

Also, NE Purcell Boulevard between NE Butler Market Road and the irrigation canal will only be open for local traffic during this time.

The project improves safety, transportation options, access and connectivity in the area. Previous phases of this project completed include: extending Empire Avenue from NE Purcell Boulevard to the new roundabout at NE 27th Street/NE Butler Market Road, modernizing NE Purcell Boulevard from Empire Avenue to the North Unit Irrigation District (NUID) canal, and modernizing Empire Avenue from NE 18th Street to NE Purcell Boulevard.

Visit bendoregon.gov/empire for current project and detour information. Travelers can also check in on our interactive, online map at bendoregon.gov/traffic.

Street Preservation

Street Preservation work is ramping up across the City and will continue through the summer construction season. This season, the City will do about $2.8 million worth of street preservation work that will improve about 74.5 lane miles in Bend. With the City’s Keep Good Roads Good philosophy, we use the right treatment at the right time to efficiently maintain streets. This includes inlay/overlay, chip seal, a new rubberized chip seal and slurry seal treatments. 

To learn more about Bend’s street preservation practices, visit bendoregon.gov/streetpreservation, which includes an interactive map showing this summer’s plans.

Spring Street Sweeping

It’s spring street sweeping time! Crews are cleaning up sanding rock, pine needles and debris on Bend’s roads.

Sweepers focus along the curb lines because most street debris lies within 40 inches of the curb. Streets are highest in the middle and slope toward down the sides, so water and debris move toward the curb and gutter areas. Vehicles scatter debris to the edges of traffic lanes.

The majority of all bike lanes are located on arterial and collector streets. These are considered priority streets and are swept more frequently than residential streets.

Help us clean public streets by keeping vehicles, trailers and basketball hoops off the street, and trimming up tree limbs that grow over the street.

Learn more about the street sweeping program.

CITY COUNCIL UPDATES:

Learn more about the Bend City Council’s approved goals.

Now that the goals have been approved, the work plan to support them is in development, and the budget process will follow shortly after.

Funds for Local Nonprofit Organizations
and Housing Providers

Council approved the 2021 plan for $454,387 in federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The funds go to local nonprofit organizations and housing providers to provide housing assistance and other resources to support low- and moderate-income members of the community.  You can learn more about how the funding is going to be used this year by following this link.

Help for Our Neighbors
Experiencing Houselessness

Councilors approved a “safe parking” program to allow vehicles/huts to park/locate on properties owned or leased by religious, nonprofit, business, or public entities. Read the issue summary.

And, Councilors approved code changes meant to facilitate temporary housing for those experiencing homelessness.

Neighborhood Street Safety Program

Neighborhood street safety is a top community concern. In 2019, Council created a Neighborhood Street Safety Program to address local street safety. This month, Council approved $312,000 for construction of 2020-2021 Neighborhood Street Safety Program projects. Read a summary of the projects. Learn more about the program at bendoregon.gov/streetsafety.

Police Body Cameras

Councilors approved a $1 million, five-year contract for Police body camera equipment, software and ongoing support. Body-worn camera programs can help improve understanding of interactions between law enforcement and members of the community, adds transparency and can help resolve inquiries and complaints. Read the contract issue summary.

Downtown 'Parklet' Program

Councilors intend to extend the downtown ‘parklet’ program after the City’s COVID-related state-of-emergency declaration ends. The program allows retailers and restaurants to use parking spots to expand seating capacity.

Room Tax Funds Tourism Related Facilities

Councilors want to amend City code to allow room tax revenues be used on tourism-related facilities in addition to tourism promotion. For example, tourism stakeholders have identified needs at recreation sites for facility upgrades, such as trail maintenance and parking areas, which are needed due to the popularity of sites and user demand on natural sites. The room tax issue summary has more information.

Southeast Area Plan

In 2016, the Council included land in the urban growth boundary in southeast Bend for employment, housing, schools and parks. This month Council approved the Southeast Area Plan which maps out future development there. Read this issue summary or see a land use map.

FIREMED

Bend Fire & Rescue not only responds to fires but also provides 100 percent of 911 emergency medical and ambulance transportation calls within Bend and the Rural Fire Protection District #2. About 83 percent of the fire department’s work is providing care to people having medical emergencies. Last year Bend Fire responded to almost 11,000 emergency and non-emergency medical calls.  

Although most people’s insurance will cover a portion of the costs associated with an ambulance transportation bill, frequently the entire bill is not covered. To help bridge this coverage gap, Bend Fire & Rescue offers a FireMed membership program for people who live in Bend, which aids in covering emergency response charges. FireMed membership costs $50 a year and covers everyone living in the household.

If you’re interested in signing up, click for more information about FireMed.

ANNUAL GIVING CAMPAIGN

An annual City of Bend 2020 employee charitable giving fund raiser has donated $3,929 to the Bend Fire Community Assistance Program! 

Each year, City staff nominate local nonprofits and all employees can vote on the recipient for the year. This gives us an opportunity to come together to make donations in a meaningful, philanthropic manner to an organization that benefits our community.  

Each dollar that goes to the Bend Fire Community Assistance Program makes a very real impact for those experiences a wide array of hardships.

SPRING IRRIGATION

Warmer temperatures in Bend mean higher water use across the City. As water customers activate their irrigation systems, the City sees an increase in water demand. During the summer months, 60 percent of the water the City produces goes to landscape irrigation.  

• That means as you are working on your outdoor spring projects it’s important to be aware of just how much water you are using. We have some great tips and resources for you to manage your seasonal water use:  Log into the City’s customer water portal at bendoregon.gov/watersmartinfo to see your water use, set usage alerts, and get water-saving suggestions. Knowing how much water you use is the first step to saving water and money.
•  Visit WaterWisetips.org for a free toolkit and guides on sprinkler system start-ups, evaluation, repair and scheduling to help get your system in shape for the season. 

Be sure to consult a landscape professional if you’re unsure about whether you can handle an irrigation project.

COBAAC APPLICATIONS

The City of Bend is seeking applications for volunteers for the City of Bend Accessibility Advisory Committee (COBAAC). The committee’s purpose is to assist and advise the City in making its programs, services, activities, and facilities accessible to Bend’s citizens.  

Learn more about the committee and how to apply.

"SCOOP THE POOP"
YOUTH VIDEO CONTEST

The annual City of Bend 2021 Clean Water Works Youth Video Contest is here and this year’s contest topic is “Scoop the Poop," bringing awareness to dog waste cleanup and protecting our water from waste contaminants.

Learn more and enter the contest.

NOTE: Many of the photos that accompany these stories were taken before COVID-19 which is why our employees are not wearing masks.