Molalla City Council 10-12-11

OCCUPY PORTLAND

http://occupyportland.org/

Molalla City Council — – 9-28-2011

 

 

October 6th

http://youtu.be/r0AUc74mSss

Shane Potter’s Public records request

May 25th Molalla City Council meeting

Sunrise Acres

http://youtu.be/6gKjj3P2e5c

Newest planning debt. 4-13-11

Molalla Planning — How much is too much in the red?

Vote on the Molalla Urban Reserve by Clackamas County

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q-wvcjXZYw

Time for a new video camera.

From the County on the Urban Reserve 3-21-11

PART 6. RECOMMENDATIONS  page 19

Based upon the Findings in this report, the Planning Division Staff recommends the

following actions:

A. Denial of the proposed 50-year population forecast; and

B. Denial of the proposed Comprehensive Plan Map and text amendments

establishing a 2,290 acre Urban Reserve Area for the City of Molalla.

http://web12.clackamas.us/alfresco/download/direct/workspace/SpacesStore/e95911af-53d6-11e0-a147-cf295ec7a178/06.%20Staff%20Report%20to%20Planning%20Commission.pdf

Page 18more specifically,it does not comply with OAR 660-021-030(

C. Based upon the findings in this report, the proposed Comprehensive Plan Map and

text amendmentsdo not satisfy all applicable state regulations (OARs and ORSs),

Democracy in Molalla Fails?

On our Feb. 9th city council meeting 4 City Councilors voted to require city staff to come to city council for approval to add additional deficit they expect to incur.  The City Manager has spat in the face of his City Councilors with the information in this weeks next agenda which shows an additional incurred debt. of over $16,878.

Will the Citizens of Molalla that respect our democracy come and voice their concerns for upholding the principles that we fought so hard to get?  Come to the city council meeting on the 23rd at 7:00pm at the adult center and let us know what you think.

Will the City Council hold John Atkins accountable for his insubordination or will he be able to convince council that it was just a misunderstanding and offer a weak apology?

Link to topic for our City

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2011/02/molalla_and_clackamas_county_o.html

ONLY A URBAN RESERVE — not a comp plan

News on the Molalla Comp Plan

http://web12.clackamas.us/alfresco/download/direct/workspace/SpacesStore/43440a0e-06e3-11e0-ae87-250663423de7/Population%20forecastmemo.pdf

I can’t believe we wasted taxpayer money, “hundreds of thousands of dollars” on this so far and still, it’s so messed up the county won’t sign off on it.

Bohlander Field is BACK on the table.

The city staff don’t believe in getting public input BEFORE starting things in motion. I DO!

 If you would like to give input, share your oppostition, support, or concerns you need to come to the Nov. 10th city council meeting at 7:00 at the adult center. 

The Park committee has sent a letter to have council approve sending a letter requesting the National Guard to come out and provide free labor to start the sports complex on Bohlander Field.  Of course they have no plan on what they will do, and have no approved funds for materials that will be needed to do any work on the field.  The Citizens of Molalla have told the city once that we do not want this Field turned into a Sports Complex, we need to do it again.

Molalla River school district gets Stim Money

http://projects.propublica.org/recovery/entity/031794050

Watchdogs needed

   What a fantastic article and a snapshot in time at what can happen when city government is not watched by citizens and local newspapers.    This article articulates very well why watchdogs and gadflies are necessary to keep city governments honest..  See any resemblance to Molalla?

John Atkins — City Manager — Bio

After graduating from SK, I went to college at UW and then transferred to UNC, Chapel Hilll, graduating with a philosophy degree that did nothing to keep me from being selected by Uncle Sam for a stint in the Army and all-expense paid tour of Vietnam. Upon my return, I tried out a career in journalism for around ten years, working for newspapers in Washington and Oregon, then changed gears and went to work in DC as a press secretary to a congressman from Oregon. Seven years later, following the birth of my son, John, in 1884, my wife, Jeanne and I returned to Oregon. I landed and held a job as chief of staff to the mayor of Beaverton until he got de-elected, then moved on to work in West Linn, Oregon as community services coordinator for that city. After 14 years of that, I drifted over to Molalla, Oregon, 30 miles southeast of Portland and home of the Buckeroo Rodeo, where I have been working as city manager for the past three years and having a pretty fun time. Yee haw.

Recently I purchased a bull and a pickup truck on behalf of the city taxpayers. Molalla police officers pursuing a meth suspect on foot across a pasture at the Coleman Ranch east of town inadvertently left the gate open. A bull wandered out on to Feyrer Park Road and got T-boned by a kid driving a pickup truck. Bull and truck both deceased, kid okay (and no lawsuit).

Another recent highlight here in Molalla (www.cityofmolalla.com) was the unveiling of a 10’x 24’ mural on the side of City Hall, depicting historic Wilhoit Springs, a defunct resort south of town that once attracted droves of visitors from faraway places to be cured of all ailments by the sulfurous, carbonated waters. The mural was commissioned by Molalla’s newly established Arts Commission, whose members are surprisingly enthusiastic about bringing the arts to a town with five saloons surrounding the main intersection.

Once again, sorry to miss the fun. John Atkins.

http://sk1960.homestead.com/files/ClassmatesBio/John_Atkins.html

Via Molalla Pioneer — More great words for Shane Potter

Snowball july 27 2010

SDCs – Molalla will NEVER CLIMB OUT OF THE HOLE IT HAS DUG

Molalla will never climb out of the hole it has dug with its non-existant SDCs. When will the residents get smart enough to DEMAND that the city follow the scale of other local cities and immediately build up funds for quality of life features like parks, roads, sidewalks, and sewers.

REALITY CHECK, not negativity

What some people want to define as “negativity” is really a “REALITY CHECK” to move us forward. The false buy-off “rah rah” baloney generated by city hall, “I love Molalla” facebook, and TEAM will only serve to keep Molalla treading water at best. Attending County meetings and reading and learning about how well run cities do business isn’t negative – it serves to bring the horrible backward ways of Molalla into the light. Back slapping circle jerks are loathsome.

The Wild Wild West – not in MY neck of the woods

There is quite a battle brewing south of Molalla over unpermitted motorcycle racing on lands zoned farm/forest. It is truly amazing what some newcomers to rural living think they can get away with. In my twenty years of living on rural land I have seen some “interesting” land use come and go – and it “goes” away pretty quickly when isolated neighbors wake up one day and say “HELL NO! – we’re not going to take it anymore”.

Another one bites the dust!!! The King of Pollution rides into the sunset…..

Good news! One of the worst of the Molalla good ole boys is moving to another failed timber town. Ex-Mayor Tom Foster aka “pollution is traditional in Molalla” is moving to Toledo Oregon!

Another Face of our city manager

As you can see below, John Atkins didn’t always believe in big land supplies to help developers. This all changed when John Atkins came to work for Molalla.

Land supply law in 1995

The 20-year land supply requirement became law in 1995 after a push from the Oregon Building Industry Association and other pro-development groups. The requirement was the driving force this year in Metro’s decision to authorize the biggest-ever expansion of the Portland area’s urban growth boundary.

 ”But that’s a good thing,” said Kelly Ross, governmental affairs director for the Home Builders of Metropolitan Portland. “It’s a requirement for long-term thinking about the future, rather than just burying your head in the sand, as West Linn is trying to do.”

West Linn spokesman John Atkins disagreed. “This is about power, not planning,” he said. “I don’t know of any other industry that gets a guaranteed supply of raw materials.”

 http://www.ocva.org/op_ed/2002-12-12%20West%20Linn%20mayor%20wants%20to%20lead%20statewide%20reform%20of%20growth%20law.html

3rd Quarter for the city planner

It’s time to put down the remote and demand the city manager do something at city council meetings.

The numbers:      $- 348,558  is the true debt. of the planning dept.  You are paying for this people.

$175,000 taken from your water fund to BAILOUT the City Planner.

$-53,100  is the left over debt. and it isn’t even the end of the fiscal year. 

So like I said the $384,558 plus whatever Shane Potter bills for the 4th Quarter will be his TRUE overall debt. for the year.

How do you feel about the planning dept. running up over $400,000 on your dime  Molalla?

 

Check this link out about Comp Plan

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2010/04/letters_to_the_editor_molalla.html

Park & Rec Minutes

 

http://www.molallaplanning.com/Minutes.html

Clackamas County — what did we get?

Molalla Comp Plan

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2010/04/molalla_adopts_new_comprehensi.html

SDC Waiver for Molalla — Molalla ripping you off!

Molalla fee-waiver experiment pays off with new downtown development

By Dana Tims, The Oregonian

March 10, 2010, 6:00PM

Molalla took an an economic-development step in December that no other Oregon city has tried in at least 15 years, waiving building fees for all of 2010 or until it rings up $1 million in waivers, whichever comes first.

Now, barely three months later, the experiment appears to have worked.

A 160-unit apartment complex and adjoining retail project, which the developer said wouldn’t have moved forward without the waivers, is now targeted for Molalla’s struggling downtown core. A formal application is expected as early as Thursday.

Yet far from generating unanimous local applause, the proposed project has become a focal point in the contentious debate over who should foot the bill for development.

It has also drawn scrutiny from at least one state government agency concerned about local governments providing for future population increases.

“This is a very unusual move,” said Jennifer Donnally, the state Department of Land Conservation and Development’s metro regional representative. “If it was a permanent moratorium, I’d be concerned that they wouldn’t have the ability to keep providing adequate urban facilities.”

Area business owners widely praise the move. The scores of construction jobs and new residents it will bring to Molalla’s flagging downtown, they say, made the temporary waiver of fees for future water and sewer improvements more than worthwhile.

“Molalla has tumbleweeds blowing down main street these days,” said Brad Peterson, co-owner of Superior Glass Works. “Yes, we gave away $1 million, but it’s money that wouldn’t have been available at all without the waivers.”

Dissenters disagree, calling the moratorium a blatant and unnecessary give-away to developers.

“We have so many vacancies downtown already,” Steve Clark, a former Molalla City Council member, said. “If someone is looking for retail space, they only have to walk from storefront to storefront to find all the room they need.”

Over the past few months, a number of other Oregon cities have tinkered with reducing or deferring development fees. The aim is to provide incentives for recession-shy developers to get off the sidelines and launch new projects.

Roseburg, for instance, recently reduced its transportation fees by 75 percent as a way to stimulate development, City Manager Eric Swanson said. The city will revisit the issue in December.

Gresham is starting a small-business incentive program that will waive certain fees and pay some others on behalf of qualifying new and expanding businesses in three commercial neighborhoods. The program will run through March 2011, said Ron Papsdorf, the city’s government relations manager.

And in Grants Pass, city officials have rolled all development charges back to 2006 levels. The temporary reduction is scheduled to end in August 2011.

But only Molalla, a working-class bedroom community hit particularly hard by the economic downturn, has elected to drop the fees completely, albeit temporarily.

John Atkins, Molalla city manager, came up with the idea after watching business after business downtown fold. Car dealerships, the town’s only building-supply operation, restaurants and others have all turned off their lights in the past 18 months.

“I felt like we needed to do something dramatic to at least attract attention,” Atkins said. “I had no confidence it was going to pay off for us, but I also figured, what do we have to lose?”

Declaration of the development fees holiday caught the attention of local developer Karl Ivanov, who over the past decade has completed several other local projects.

Almost immediately, Ivanov dusted off plans to build a 160-unit apartment complex and 30,000 square feet of retail space on a long-vacant lot near downtown. The estimated $1.4 million in fees he’d have had to pay prior to the moratorium meant that his project alone effectively ended the experiment.

“As I told the city, if that $1 million in SDC forgiveness wasn’t there, this project would stop and not move forward,” said Ivanov, whose company, I&E Construction, is teaming with Molalla business owner Troy Vest on the development. “Without the waivers, this project simply would not pencil out.”

Ivanov said he expects to pull permits by July 2011 to begin construction. Under terms of the moratorium, he must start construction within two years or face having to pay the full development charges.

“Downtown Molalla’s just been sitting there cold with nothing going on,” he said. “This is going to be a great step foward for the entire town.”

One person not so pleased with the situation is Al Borromeo, a Molalla dentist who now has the dubious honor of being the last person to pay commercial-level development fees before the city declared its moratorium.

“If I’d known about this five months ago, I could have saved $129,000,” he said. “It would have been nice if they could have let me know.”

Borromeo said he is proceeding with his project because he loves living in Molalla and wants to see the former timber capital succeed. But looking back, he added, he probably could have saved himself a lot of money and trouble in dealing with city officials if he had hired his own land-use attorney.

“They talk terms,” he said. “I talk teeth.”

http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2010/03/molalla_development_experiemen.html

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 2:14 PM

To: John Atkins

Subject: Sdc waiver

John

How does residential housing 160 apartments meet the criteria of the SDC Ordinance?

Steve clark

———————————————————————————————————————————–

From: John Atkins

To:  Steve

Subject: RE: Sdc waiver

Sent: Mar 11, 2010 6:35 PM

Hi Steve,

The proposed development is mixed-use residential and retail. It will be in an existing industrial zone and require a zone change. It therefore qualifies for the SDC waivers. The apartment units would not have qualified for waivers if they had been proposed in a residential zone. The rumor going around is that this HUD subsidized housing. It is not. It will be a regular multifamily development similar to Stone Place, which is now close to full.

With more families living in the downtown area, my hope is that some of those empty storefronts you spoke about in the paper will begin to attract tenants offering retail goods and services.

Thank you to Molalla PAL

I just want to say thanks to a wonderful organization, the Molalla PAL and to Beth Faulhaber, Head Coach: Robert Reed, and Assistant Coach:  Richard Reed and for a wonderful and fun wrestling season. My son learned so much and really enjoyed wrestling for the first time.

open government

http://www.opensecrets.org/index.php

MEASURE 66 & 67 — TEST

http://gov.oregonlive.com/taxes/

Molalla Staff — Take Notes

I bold faced the important point in this article.  Molalla Planning and Staff, Take notes

In 2002, Gresham pushed hard to bring the 1,200-acre Springwater area southeast of the city inside the urban growth boundary.
The goal in three words: jobs, jobs, jobs. The city, long a bedroom community for Portland, and plagued by a small tax base, wanted a piece of the industrial development that has enriched Washington County
The City Council adopted a community plan in 2005, calling for 500 acres of industrial land, enough to support 15,000 jobs, a Village Center commercial zone and housing. It’s still just lines on a map.

Seven years later, virtually nothing has happened in Springwater. No development. No jobs.

The recession killed the development market, but even when the economy rebounds, the rural area will have obstacles to growth: no water service, no freeway access, a patchwork of small parcels – the 500 industrial acres have about 150 individual owners — and no money to resolve any of the problems.

“The money has to come from somewhere to begin with,” said Ron Papsdorf, government relations manager for Gresham. “That’s the real hurdle we keep running up against.”

So to start somewhere, Gresham has talked about prioritizing a small part of the industrial area, said Janet Young, economic development director for the city. The City Council is scheduled to discuss this plan Tuesday.

The idea is to focus on sites of about four or five acres on about 50 acres on both sides of U.S. 26, just over the city limit. The land must be annexed into the city before it can be rezoned in alignment with the plan.

The area is rural, with rolling hills. Johnson Creek runs through it.

This month, the council expressed unease with a staff plan to remove Springwater items from the city’s capital improvement plan for 2010.

“We’ve spent tons of money and worked hard to get it in the UGB,” Mayor Shane Bemis said. “I’m uncomfortable with writing it off.” (sounds like our Molalla city staff also)

Young said property owners have made a few scattered annexation requests.

She said the smaller site strategy worked well in Tualatin, where she was economic development director before taking the same job in Gresham.

One bright spot: Major sewer work done to serve Pleasant Valley, a primarily residential area brought inside the growth boundary in 2006, will also serve Springwater.

“Pleasant Valley is ahead of Springwater,” Young said. “A number of developers have put together properties and led the charge. About 500 acres have been annexed in Pleasant Valley.” But development has been slow there as well.

Industrial development is more difficult.

“Infrastructure really need to be in place first. It’s very unusual to get an industrial developer to come in and buy up a bunch of land, do a building, and then find tenants,” Young said.

“The challenge right now is even getting infrastructure to a smaller subset is a very expensive thing to do.” she said. Utilities such as water, sewer, and stormwater systems for the smaller area carry a price tag of $40 million to $50 million.

(Molalla wants to waive our SDC’s that would cover the infrastructure mentioned above. Who’s going to pay for it?)

One of the challenges: Water will have to come from the west, and sewer goes out to the east.

Transportation is another challenge. The community plan calls for a $29.5 million full intersection, complete with an overpass and on- and off-ramps, on U.S. 26, but city officials are pursuing as a temporary measure an at-grade interchange that would cost $4 million.

In the meantime, planning needs to go forward on the full interchange in order to place the temporary interchange in the right location, Young said.

How to pay for all this is a serious problem. Historically, developers pay for utilities and other infrastructure through system development charges, but this pot of money has dried up as development has stalled in the recession.

“The problem is rural areas don’t have any basic backbone infrastructure in place,” Papsdorf said. “You can’t get the money until development pays the SDCs.”

He said the 2009 Legislature looked at creating a revolving loan fund to finance infrastructure development in growth boundary expansion areas such as Springwater and North Bethany in Washington County.

Then once development occurred, cities could collect the system development charges and repay the loan. (Molalla already has this)

“But with the state budget circumstances, it was difficult coming up with money to capitalize such a fund,” Papsdorf said.

He said there has also been some conversation with Metro about a regional funding solution, given that Metro makes decisions about where future growth should occur.

http://www.oregonlive.com/gresham/index.ssf/2009/12/greshams_springwater_growth_pl.html

The word is —–

http://www.hoffmanhouserestaurant.net/

Our little town of Molalla is losing another business.  I will be sorry to see them go.  Best of luck to you.

ODOT comments on the Comp Plan

Sounds like ODOT is having to tell Shane how to word his comp Plan now.

Town Murals

Went on tour of the Estacada Artback Murals today with my sons cub scout pack.  They sure are nice and the town paints one mural a year I think in July town celebrations..   Visited the “The Spiral Gallery” also.  They are a cooperative art gallery and have lots of wonderful artists displaying their work.  Visit them at www.thespiralgallery.com.

Say NO to LNG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd5CpjaWN1g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYLpjN8yYPQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiWC5FMjHv8