Bend Current, Newsletter for the Community, September 2024

(Photo credit: Doug Hauck 2024)

A few days into Fall, Bend is showing up for what we love about shoulder season: warm days and cool nights, without the bother of time change (still over a month to go before daylight savings ends!). In this issue of the Bend Current, you’ll find information about a few different ways to get involved with the City of Bend, a summary of the City Council’s joint meeting with the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners, and learn about how you can help the climate by mitigating food waste!

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Accessible and Effective City Government 

An Update from Mayor Kebler

Check out this month’s City Council recap to hear about an update about the City Council’s joint meeting with the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners, policy work to help support affordable housing development, and the acceptance of a $5 million grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to put more affordable homes on the ground.

Watch the video update.

Working Together to Make Changes in Juniper Ridge

In early September, the City Council met with the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on topics relevant to the two leadership bodies.

The discussion primarily focused on addressing dispersed camping in Juniper Ridge. The Board and Council unanimously voted to establish a safe stay area in Juniper Ridge, move all individuals camping in Juniper Ridge to that safe stay area and implement a full closure of City and County owned land outside of the temporary safe stay area. The joint agreement allows services like drinking water stations, trash receptacles and portable toilets to be continued and expands the security presence in the area.

The City and County will also work with housing-related service providers to offer intensive case management, with a focus on safety and key performance metrics, including a monthly follow-up for six months to reduce housing barriers and help individuals transition to more permanent housing. The establishment of the safe stay area and full closure of the remaining City and County owned land on Juniper Ridge will occur by May 31, 2025.

At their joint meeting, the City Council and Deschutes County Board of Commissioners also agreed to continue coordination on fire fuel reduction and other fire reduction strategies as a part of the management plan.

Get Involved: City Committees are Recruiting!

Are you interested in learning more about how the City of Bend works? Do you like collaborating to make recommendations about how we can best serve our community? If so, being a part of a City of Bend Community Advisory Committee may be a good fit for you!

Several Council-appointed boards, committees, commissions, and advisory groups have openings now, including the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, Bend Economic Development Advisory Board, Budget Committee, City of Bend Accessibility Advisory Committee, Core Area Advisory Board, Environment and Climate Committee, Landmarks Commission and Planning Commission. The Bend Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), which is more regionally focused, is also recruiting for their Budget Committee.

Committee members are eligible for a stipend ($40/meeting, not to exceed $500/year) to help lower barriers to participation. Applications are due at 5 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2024. Visit bendoregon.gov/committees to learn more and apply.

Your Property Tax Dollars at Work

If you own property in Bend, your tax bill for the year will be arriving in the mail in October. About 21% of your property tax payment goes to the City of Bend, and those dollars are used to maintain our transportation system, pay for public safety services, deliver water and sewer services, and more. The other 79% of your property tax payment goes to organizations including the Bend La Pine School District, Deschutes County, the Bend Park and Recreation District, the Deschutes Public Library System, and others.

You can learn about how the City of Bend Budget works by watching this short, information video: City of Bend How The Budget Works.

Public Safety

Are you Prepared? Here are some tips!

September is National Preparedness month – if you haven’t already, this is the time to have a conversation!

Talking about potential future disasters isn’t an easy or fun thing to do, but the discussions do help us take steps to get ready and stay safe. Build your preparedness at your pace by getting the conversation started now:

• Set aside time when everyone is calm and relaxed to plan.
• Tackle one subject at a time, so decisions aren’t rushed, and people feel more comfortable talking about it.
• Share steps you’ve taken to prepare and encourage others to ask questions about what might work for them.
• Build a kit with basic supplies, like: water, food, flashlight, first aid kit, and cell phone chargers

Have you heard of the Great ShakeOut and Camp-In? Those are two national events that offer opportunities to test your plan or inventory your kit. For more information about the Great ShakeOut, check out this link.

And if you haven’t, take the most important local step to prepare for emergencies by signing up to receive Deschutes Alerts. Visit DeschutesAlerts.org.

Transportation & Infrastructure

Influence Changes to NE Neff Road

You’re invited to an open house for the Neff Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements project! Come meet the project team and share what you care about in terms of safety before the project design begins.

• Where: Deschutes Children’s Foundation, East Bend Campus, 2125 NE Daggett Lane.
• When: Monday, Oct. 21, 4 to 6 p.m.
• Website link with more information: bendoregon.gov/neffpedbike

Improving the transportation system by focusing on safety is a City Council goal. Creating safer connections between neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, parks and businesses, for people who ride bikes, walk or roll is a Council priority. The City is designing safer and more accessible bike and pedestrian routes throughout the community – including the Neff Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements Project, aimed at improving east/west connectivity in a vital area of Bend.

This project combines three Transportation System Plan ‘key routes’ projects along NE Neff Road and NE Norten Avenue. A ‘key route’ means that the route is designed to be low stress (easier and safer) for pedestrians and bicycles to provide connections to schools, parks, and cross-town travel.

The Neff Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvements Project is funded by the voter approved 2020 Transportation GO Bond, and the project budget is limited. Your input at the Open House will help prioritize the improvements and make travel along the corridor safer for all users.

Affordable Housing & Sustainable Development

City Council voted to formally accept a $5 million dollar grant for affordable housing. The Pathways to Removing Obstacles Grant was awarded to the City of Bend by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That grant will help the city put more affordable housing units on the ground and develop a roadmap guiding the City’s affordable housing efforts over coming years.

This month, City Council also voted to surplus two city owned properties, one along SE Third and SE Wilson Avenue and one along SE Ninth Street. Both properties will be listed for sale by the City’s Real Estate Agent. You can learn more by checking out this recording of City Council’s Sept. 18 meeting.

Environment & Climate

Council Goals include strategies to advance the Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP), and several of those strategies focus on preventing greenhouse gas emissions. Did you know that food waste has a significant climate impact? In Oregon, the average household throws away 6.3 pounds of food per week – fruits and vegetables are the most commonly discarded food that could have been eaten. Wasted food isn’t just bad for the environment, it’s also a waste of money and resources that it takes to get food from the farm to our grocery stores and homes.

Want to do more to reduce food waste? Sign up for the ReThink Waste Food Waste Challenge. The free 4-week home challenge is designed to help you find out what and how much food is going to waste in your home. During the challenge, you’ll also receive weekly tips and tricks on how to reduce food waste. Some simple tips to help you get started:

• Shop your fridge first – before shopping, see what you still have.
• Shop with meals in mind – make a list and only get what you think you’ll use.
• Prep now and eat later – prepare ingredients in advance to save time, effort and money.
• Designate an ‘Eat First’ shelf – this will help ensure perishable food gets eaten first.
• Keep it fresh – store fruits and vegetables where they will last the longest.
• Freeze food for later – this will help stretch your leftovers.

For more information, visit rethinkwasteproject.org.

City Offices Closed November 11 in Observance of Veterans Day

City Offices will be closed in observance of Veterans Day; as always, your public safety will be serving Bend around the clock, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

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