Bend Current. News from The City of Bend.

APRIL 2020

Thank you to everyone who is making a difference in our community’s health by staying at home as much as possible during this time. It’s helping.

COVID-19 RESOURCES

VIDEO MESSAGES FROM:

	Mayor Sally Russell What does "stay home" look like?
	Fire Chief Todd Riley We can only help you if you help up save lives.
	Deputy Police Chief Paul Kansky Keep our community safe. Help support each other.

In case you missed it, here is the special COVID-19 newsletter from last week which includes details about how to get outside and stay active safely, how to report violations of the Governor’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order, the latest recommendations on wearing masks, and much more.

Our bendoregon.gov/covid19 webpage includes community resources, if you need help or want to lend a hand. And, updates on relevant news and financial assistance programs for businesses are at bendoregon.gov/bizresources. It’s all translated to Spanish, too. Información sobre COVID-19 (Coronavirus Nuevo): bendoregon.gov/covid19-es.

STATE OF EMERGENCY

The City Council approved an extended Local State of Emergency declaration through at least May 6, which allows for temporary emergency policies about procurement practices, office closures, employee telecommuting, meeting protocols, project and advisory committee meeting cancelations and more. The declaration also says:

The City will not send shut-off notices or shut off water for non-payment of unpaid water bills while this emergency is in place.
All permitted special events are canceled during this emergency, and no new permits will be issued.
Some restrictions, processes and fees will be temporarily relaxed to support businesses and those in need of transitional housing.

WATER AND SEWER BILL ASSISTANCE
FOR BEND BUSINESSES

Council approved COVID-19 Crisis Assistance Program - water and sewer bill relief funds to help businesses struggling financially due to lost income from Oregon’s “Stay At Home” order. The City of Bend will soon begin accepting online applications for commercial water and sewer bill assistance to help ease the financial burden to local businesses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Crisis Assistance Program provides some certainty and immediate relief for businesses in Bend that have been hardest hit by this economic crisis,” said Bend Business Advocate Ben Hemson.

The City will develop a process to track crisis relief funds, an online funding application submittal portal and provide “Frequently Asked Questions” with helpful instructions. Watch bendoregon.gov/bizresources for more information in coming days.

CITY EMPLOYEES

City of Bend employees continue to serve our community by providing essential services and also, some new ways to give back. About 57 percent of our non-Public Safety employees are teleworking, maintaining continuity in the core services we provide. The City is also offering employees volunteering options to do from home, like data entry, grant writing and reviews, coordination and other assistance. Some staff are sewing masks for our healthcare professionals. Others are coordinating volunteers and resources to help those in need. One of our Police officers provided American Sign Language translation during a Central Oregon Emergency Information Network press conference that was livestreamed on the network's Facebook page.

We will occasionally feature these great employees on our City’s Facebook page. Please check them out! Here’s one of our recent features:

Katherina Barguil selfie while telecommuting.

Katherina Barguil is an engineering technician who generally works on water and sewer infrastructure projects. At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Katherina began translating City materials and website content and engaging with the Spanish-speaking community via social media, because she felt it was her civic duty to reach out to the disenfranchised in our community and equip them with the information and the resources they need to survive. Her supervisor and the City Manager supported this shift in her workday.

“I’m helping with this effort because of my parents, both proud immigrants and American citizens, are still safe and healthy in New York City partly because of the breadth of information and resources made available in Spanish and the many different languages spoken there. I’m doing this for both my cousins in Colombia who are doctors on the front lines of this pandemic, who risk their lives each day at the hospital, and who remind me that in order to beat this we must be more united than ever, despite cultural, language, and physical barriers.”

BEND POLICE

Because of our diverse community, the Bend Police Department is proud to have Spanish speaking officers and staff available to serve our Latino community. Check out this Police video.

MURPHY

The roundabout at Murphy Road and Brosterhous Road is now open! Crews wrapped it up on April 8, almost two weeks ahead of schedule. This new roundabout helps improve mobility, connectivity and safety on one of Bend’s major east-west corridors. It’s part of a multi-year project extending Murphy Road up and over the railroad tracks from Brosterhous Road to 15th Street. Learn more about the project at bendoregon.gov/murphyproject.

EMPIRE

Part of the Empire Corridor Improvements Project, the NE Purcell Boulevard Bridge is now open to traffic. Widening this bridge over the irrigation canal finished ahead of schedule, allowing the next segment of construction to begin. Now, closures are at the intersections of 27th Street/Butler Market Road, Deschutes Market Road/Butler Market Road, and Eagle Road/Butler Market Road. The south, north, and east legs of 27th/Butler Market will reopen in July.

All other closures will be reopen in mid-September. These closures are necessary to allow construction of roundabouts at 27th Street, Deschutes Market Road, and Eagle Road.

For more information on detour and access routes, go to bendoregon.gov/empire or call the construction hotline:
(541) 200-6979.

SPRING IRRIGATION

For anyone working on landscape during this “Stay Home” order, here is an opportunity to learn about your outdoor water use. Every year 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. Use your time at home this spring to check off some of your outdoor projects and become an expert at managing 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.

Solar panels at the Water Filtration Facility.

BLUE SKY GRANT

The City has installed 324 solar modules at the Water Filtration Facility west of Bend. A $60,341 grant from Pacific Power’s Blue Sky participants funded about 25 percent of the total expected project cost of $266,000.

We expect the new solar modules to generate an estimated 190 megawatt-hours of energy annually, which will help lower the City’s energy bill, saving approximately $12,000 per year in energy costs! The project will also help the City reduce its carbon emissions by nearly 180,000 pounds per year over 20 years.

The project is one strategy to help the City reduce fossil fuel use at its facilities, as recommended in the City’s Climate Action Goals, which were established by Council Resolution 3044. Other strategies include the recently-completed conversion of over 2,000 public streetlights to LEDs and performing energy efficiency improvements in Fire Department, Police Department and parking facilities. A planning effort is underway to identify additional energy efficiency strategies, as well as reducing fossil fuel from fleet vehicles and procuring off-site renewable energy.

Learn more at: bendoregon.gov/energy.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING FUNDS

The City of Bend’s Economic Development Department is asking for proposals for two annual funding programs that would provide over $1 million for affordable housing developments and social service organizations in Bend. Get more information here.

(541) 388-5505
communications@bendoregon.gov

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