Approved Minutes - 2010-03-25 LAKE OSWEGO
DRAFT MINUTES CITY OF LAKE OSWEGO
Centennial 1910-2010 50+ADVISORY BOARD 505 G Avenue
PO Box 369
Lake Oswego,OR 97034
Thursday, March 25, 2010
8:30 a.m. 503-635-3758
West End Building — Oswego Room www.ci.oswego.or.us/acc
4101 Kruse Way
Contact: Ann Adrian, ACC Manager Also published on the internet at:
Email: aadrian@ci.oswego.or.us www.ci.oswego.or.us/acc/S0PIus.htm
Phone: 503-635-3758
The meeting location is accessible to persons with disabilities. To request accommodations, please contact
Public Affairs at 503-635-0236, 48 hours before the meeting.
1. Roll Call
Janine Dunphy, Robert Eidson, Nanci Cummings, Gail Zimmerman, Edwin Blossom, Tom Brennan,
Terry Harty, Councilor Jordan, Ann Adrian, Teresa O'Halloran. Guests: Mayor Hoffman.
2. Approve February 18, 2010 Meeting Minutes
3. Open Public Communication
The purpose of citizen comment is to allow citizens to present information or raise an issue regarding items
not on the agenda.A time limit of five minutes per citizen shall apply.
4. Presentations
4.1 Visit and discussion with Mayor Jack Hoffman
The Mayor is in the process of addressing all City Boards and Commissions during the month of
March. He wants to establish a closer relationship between the Boards and City Council. The Mayor
explained the role of the Council liaison and further summarized the current goals of the City
Council. Mayor Hoffman wants to continue to meet with the Boards to foster continuous
communication. One of his purposes is to share the various Board goals amongst all the Boards.
Mayor Hoffman shared that finance is the focus currently. Revenues are not keeping up with
expenditures as property tax revenues are not keeping up with expenses, due to stagnant rates. The
Budget Committee is currently working on options for this short fall.
The Mayor continued that infrastructure costs run high for most cities. The City of Lake Oswego is
aging, and we do not have Federal dollars dedicated to fix these issues. One of these projects is the
Lake Oswego Interceptor Sewer project (LOIS); next is the water system and the partnership with
Tigard which will be finished in 2016. Water is at a premium in the Pacific Northwest and water
conservation will become a big part our future. Street maintenance is the next large expense to our
infrastructure. The roads have not been kept up at the rate necessary to get them back into shape.
Another proposal is the Portland to Lake Oswego Transit Project. There are three options: no build,
Janine Dunphy, Chair • Edwin Blossom • Thomas Brennan • Nanci Cummings
Robert Eidson • Terry Harty • Gail Zimmerman • Donna Jordan, Council Liaison
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enhanced bus transportation on Route 43, and the Street Car. This street car would run on the rail
tracks next to existing Union Pacific tracks. If approved, it would be completed by 2016, with Federal
and local money to support this project which Tri-Met will manage.
The street car will serve two purposes: one as transit and the other to impact the economic
development efforts for downtown and the Foothills area. Lake Oswego is part owner of the
project, but owns the right of way for the rail.
Robert Eidson asked: How much of the right of way does LO own?
The Mayor said that Foothills will have new housing, hopefully affordable housing. Development
agreements are in the works for the businesses and housing in the Foothills area.
Nanci Cummings asked: How much is flood plane?
The mayor responded that all of the area is in the flood plane, which creates a significant challenge
on many levels.
Janine Dunphy wondered about a parking garage. Would Albertsons go away?The Mayor explained
that this has yet to be determined. Tri-Met and Metro are planning on some type of parking, but
Lake Oswego has not had the discussion on what it would look like and how Albertson's would play
a part. The Mayor would prefer no park and ride area unless it resembled Lake View Village, then it
could work for housing and economic development.
Terry Harty express concern for the expense of this venture. The Mayor added that Tri-Met will run
the operations and costs: The cost of construction, bridges, tunnels, cars, and then operations. The
consultants are looking at these costs currently.
Nanci Cummings questioned high cost associated with this project. The Mayor emphasized the
figure is based upon future costs based on today's dollar.
The Mayor continued explaining the other part of this vision is to bring the river to Downtown or to
bring Downtown to the river. Challenges include the Pacific Rail and Highway 43. There will be a lot
of engineering involved.
Economic Development is also on the City's plate. The City hired a new Economic Development
Director, Jane Blackstone. She is focusing on retail and helping businesses work with the City and
assists them in succeeding.
Other updates include:
• Downtown — Millennium Plaza is being updated to include an ADA ramp. The US
Bank area will start construction in the fall...with an estimated completion date of
spring of 2011.
• Expanding the library to 15t and B (where Lacey's is currently located). The corner is
owned by Barry King, who is open to a civic building in that space. In Downtown, the
concept is to have a downtown street and a retail street. The Southern anchor is
Millennium Park and the North anchor would be the library with retail and
community rooms. The idea is to create a vibrant two block area—creating a sense of
place, thus creating a dynamic community.
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• The Lake Grove/Boones Ferry Road project is on the capital improvement project list.
Funding needs to be secured. The idea is similar to downtown Lake Oswego. The
experts say private investment follows public dollars.
• Nanci Cummings inquired about the money for this project...wasn't it already
budgeted for? How do we implement the plan?The Mayor said that the City needs
to hire a consultant to map out how the plan will actually work with businesses and
home owners on Boones Ferry.
The Mayor continued to explain how knowing the design of the road could spawn
economic development if done correctly. Public and private partnerships are the key.
• West End Building—WEB—cannot sell it without a loss. Property purchased during
2005-07 is typically now worth less than paid for. There is a push to start developing
the WEB property. Start in the back with tennis courts. A 911 emergency
communication system needs to be in an earthquake proof building; neither the WEB
nor City Hall is seismologically sound. A wise city should invest in such structure.
Some recreation like a pool is still desired, but not on the table right now.
• Public Facilities— Maintenance needs a new home or repair.
The Mayor introduced the topic of the Comprehensive Plan. This plan drives the vision of the City
and it is currently being updated. It is the goals and roadmap for the future of the City. By State law,
it must be reviewed every 5 years. All ordinances must follow the Comp Plan. This is in the process
of gearing up over the next three years to be reviewed and updated.
The Mayor also shared that the City is hiring a consultant to tell us what we are going to look like in
20 years. We are getting older as a community. The age cohort has inched up. Average age is 58.
Getting older and staying in place. Consequently we have an aging population. Once this is done,
we need to decide what that means for City services and how we offer what we offer to the
community. Affordable housing is a large issue. What will the community look like in 20 years?
Gail Zimmerman asked: How does the aging of the community affect economic development?The
Mayor replied that he didn't know what the retail habits are of the 50+ population. Ann Adrian
added the Elder Friendly Business Certification as a possible avenue.
Donna Jordan added that population diversity is needed in every community. The City needs to
make sure that the community doesn't die by continually infusing new life into the community.
Robert Eidson wondered if there is any momentum to study the rollover of homes. Mayor Hoffman
suggested a study exists, but he doesn't know what that percentage is.
Housing Choices—single family detached. The demand is diminishing for this type of lot. Multiple
use and family housing are coming. What would we want to change in LO to allow others to move
into LO that is not a large 4000 sq. ft home? If as a community, you wanted to encourage young
people to move into the community, then you have to change the product type, which requires
zone changes at the City level, i.e.: cluster housing. The City Council is mostly on Board, but just has
not had time to really look at cluster housing. Oregon City has some good examples of this type of
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housing. Will this type of housing help this neighborhood? Diversity in a community is important.
Centennial Celebration —this year is the city's 100th birthday. July 17th is the largest event. Stay
tuned for more events in the coming months.
Mayor wanted to thank the Board members for their engagement with the community and for
volunteering your time. The Mayor gave out a re-usable grocery bags as a thank you along with the
Centennial video.
Terry Harty suggested a hypothetical question. What would happen if there were a disagreement
between the liaison and the Board? How would we communicate that to you, the Mayor?The
Mayor replied, the Council liaison should be able to report what the Board issues are, but you can
always come to City Council meetings or email the Mayor. Councilor Jordan will report back on what
the Boards and Commissions are working on.
Thomas Brennan suggested it might make sense if one of the 50+ Board tagged along for the May 2
Council tour of affordable housing. The Mayor thought it would be appropriate if some of the 50+
went along for the ride too. Councilor Jordan added that in moving forward, it wouldn't be a bad
idea to take a few members from all of the Boards and put them on the same type of tour.
Nanci Cummings shared her concern over the hiring of consultants to shed light on demographics.
She cautioned the Mayor about the City continuing to spend money on consultants and hiring new
employees, etc....
Mayor Hoffman responded that the cost of living in Lake Oswego is a concern for people on fixed
incomes, but it is a fact of life based on analysis that is no different than the rest of the metro area.
Nanci Cummings further reminded the Mayor that this Board has been in existence for 5 years. This
Board initiated and helped to create a program called Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) yet
those efforts have never been acknowledged by the Mayor. 50+ started that program. The City has
acknowledged other citizens, but not us. Janine Dunphy continued, explaining to the Mayor how
the project all came about. Bringing it to the forefront was the 50+ Board who brought other
citizens and civic groups into the fold and created this now City wide event.
The rest of the agenda was pushed out to next month due to time.
Janine, Nanci and Terry want to review the meeting minutes tape from February.
5. Old Business
5.1 Discuss and decide upon a recommendation to City Council for co-sponsoring the Lake
Oswego Adult Center Foundation's Brain Health event in Fall 2010.
This was tabled until next month's meeting.
5.2 Update on Partnership with Marylhurst University- Report from Chair
This was tabled until next month's meeting.
5.3 ACC Project Updates
This was tabled until next month's meeting.
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6. New Business
6.1 Set Next Meeting Date—April 22 at 8:30 a.m.
6.2 Adjourn Meeting
References:
February 18, 2010 Minutes