Bend City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - May 17, 2023
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Bend City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - May 17, 2023
The Bend City Council held a hybrid work session starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by a regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. on May 17, 2023, in the City Council Chambers at Bend City Hall, 710 NW Wall Street, Bend, Oregon. The work session focused on the FY 2023-2025 Council Goal Workplan, including proposed metrics, advisory board assignments, and community engagement strategy. The regular meeting included proclamations, public testimony, approval of a low-barrier shelter contract with Shepherd's House Ministries, establishment of a Middle-Income Housing Pilot Program, and amendments to two Clean Water State Revolving Fund loans.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes from the May 3, 2023 work session and regular session.
- Accepted the OLCC Report.
- Authorized a contract renewal amendment with Pathway Enterprises, Inc. for janitorial services in an amount not to exceed $717,811.93.
- Authorized the purchase of water meter hardware and related equipment from Bend WinSupply Company, General Pacific, Inc., and Ferguson Waterworks in a total amount not to exceed $499,137.50.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Carl Shoemaker approached the podium but was informed that the Timber Yards development (a 1,600-unit complex) was not on the agenda; he did not speak.
- Jim Tudor (the Coffee Dude), an advocate for unsheltered individuals, requested a delay in the evacuation of the Huddle Road encampment until alternative shelter is found for the 50 people living there. He introduced two residents, Shadow and John.
- Chuck Hemingway, a service provider for unsheltered residents on Huddle and Clausen Roads, appealed the city's denial of a petition to create a special district or overlay zone permitting campers and RVs. He argued the city council, as the road authority, should consider the request directly.
- Michelle Hester, a resident of Huddle Road, described dangerous conditions, harassment, and a fire incident, urging the council to recognize the survival needs of the camp residents.
- Nicholas Schindler, pastor of Redemption Railroad Ministries and a homeless advocate living on Clausen Road, quoted the Statue of Liberty and referenced Jesus' homelessness to argue for compassion and for the community to remain in place.
- Smokey criticized the city's lack of affordable housing, noting that the city's charter requires 5% low-income housing but currently has a negative number. He stated that people on Social Security cannot afford rent and that the city seizes materials he uses to help others.
Discussion Items
- Work Session on Council Goals & Community Engagement (5:30 p.m.): Staff presented draft metrics for five goal areas: Accessible and Effective Government, Affordable Housing and Sustainable Development, Environment and Climate, Public Safety, and Transportation Infrastructure. Councilors provided feedback on each, including suggestions to track trust in government, website redesign, follow-up on public comments, and broader engagement metrics. A significant discussion centered on community engagement, with councilors supporting a pause on the Neighborhood Leadership Alliance (NLA) in favor of direct engagement with neighborhood associations through quarterly roundtables in different quadrants of the city, possibly using the city's new community trailer. Council also discussed the role of advisory boards and committees, including the potential creation of a standing transportation and infrastructure committee.
- Item 6 – Franklin Avenue Shelter Contract (Regular Meeting): Housing Director Lynn McConnell and staff presented a contract with Shepherd's House Ministries to operate a low-barrier shelter at the city-owned property at 154 NE Franklin Avenue. Brooke O'Keefe, shelter coordinator, noted a 28% increase in homelessness since 2022, with 73% of adults and children unsheltered. She reported that 45% of homeless individuals in Central Oregon have lived in the area for more than 20 years, and over 80% have been unhoused for more than one year. The proposed 18-month contract, not to exceed $1,308,000, would fund 50 rooms with 24/7 support, case management, and meals. The city had applied for $1.2 million in state emergency shelter funding but was denied earlier that day; the project will proceed using ARPA funds from the city and county. Shepherd's House Executive Director John confirmed the shelter would use coordinated entry, prioritize families and medical respite, and maintain a good neighbor agreement. The contract was approved unanimously.
- Item 7 – Middle-Income Housing Pilot Program: Carrie Bell, Middle-Income Housing Coordinator, presented a resolution to establish a pilot program targeting households earning 80–120% of Area Median Income (AMI). After discussion, Councilor Riley proposed an amendment to clarify the target range as 60–120% AMI (with 61% as the effective floor for rental affordability). The resolution originally authorized the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) to award funds without further council approval. Councilors expressed a desire for final council approval to ensure oversight while not unduly delaying the process. The motion was amended to include the 60–120% AMI range and to require final council approval of awards. The amended resolution passed unanimously.
- Item 8 – Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Amendments: Joe Duvall, financial accountant, presented a resolution to increase loan amounts for two projects: the Newport Corridor Improvements (from $13.4 million to $18.1 million) and the Neff and Purcell Intersection Improvement Project (from $1.4 million to $1.8 million). The increases were due to material inflation and labor shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interest rates remain at 1.22% and 1.31% respectively, significantly lower than current bond rates. The resolution was approved unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Votes:
- Consent Agenda approved unanimously.
- Item 6 (Franklin Avenue Shelter contract) approved unanimously.
- Item 7 (Middle-Income Housing Pilot Program) approved unanimously with amendments to target 60–120% AMI and require final council approval of awards.
- Item 8 (Clean Water State Revolving Fund loan amendments) approved unanimously.
- Directives:
- Staff will incorporate council feedback on metrics for the FY 2023-2025 Council Goal Workplan, including refined measures for community engagement and housing continuum tracking.
- The council directed staff to pause the Neighborhood Leadership Alliance and develop a plan for direct quarterly roundtables with neighborhood associations, beginning in summer 2023.
- Staff will continue to pursue state funding for the Franklin Avenue Shelter and work with regional partners to address the shelter funding gap.
- Next Steps:
- The Middle-Income Housing Pilot Program application process will open in June 2023, with a workshop to gather input from potential partners before drafting the RFP.
- Budget meetings for FY 2023-2025 are scheduled for May 22 and 23, 2023.
- The council will hold a work session on Brooks Alley safety improvements in June 2023.
- Proclamations: The council adopted proclamations recognizing Blue Star and Gold Star Families City, National Gun Violence Awareness Day (June 2, 2023), and Nurses Week (May 6–12, 2023). Councilor Campbell also acknowledged National Police Week.
Meeting Transcript
People are probably watching online. Take my placement at home. No, it stays here. You can take it home if you want. Bring it back. That's what the county needs to be. Already? Okay. Let's go ahead and get started with this work session. Excuse me. Starting with Eric. Yeah. So this is another stop on our journey to have our biennial council goals and work plan. So this is more of an emphasis on the work plan, which council is a reminder, approve the framework plan that has goals, strategies, and actions. That was done at the March 15th council meeting. So we've been building from that framework on a work plan that will be presented to you with the budget approval or adoption on June 21st. So if you go to the next slide, so our agenda for today is to walk through, and I I sent this on Friday in an email. There's also these documents posted to the packet, and then we also printed them right here in front of you, too, just for ease. So I'm gonna just kind of give you an orientation. So this document here is the framework plan that you've adopted. Oh, oops, sorry, this one. The framework plan that you've adopted, and then it includes suggested metrics and how we will measure success for each of the goal areas. So we're gonna go through that first, and I really want to get some feedback on what we've proposed. It's very much a draft, so this is an opportunity for council to engage and really defining success because these are your goals, and we want to make sure that there's investment in to how we're measuring our progress and holding ourselves ultimately accountable to the community. We'll talk about that first. Um, then we'll have a conversation around our advisory boards, committees, commissions, and there's another document that looks like this that takes the action items and crosswalks our current landscape of boards, committees, and commissions with those items, and we have a proposal of here's where we think there's um a good connective tissue between the that committee and that item. But again, this is a draft, so we want to hear from you of maybe you see other opportunities for committee engagement that we didn't see, or maybe I yeah, we might have thought a committee belonged here, maybe they don't. Uh we want to hear from you, but even broader than that, we want to step back and talk about community engagement and the council's vision for community engagement because there are specific items in the work plan around doing things differently, hearing from more voices. Um, so we want to have a conversation about how the advisory board committees commissions fit within that vision of community engagement, and uh we have some prompting questions about what we want to start, stop, and continue. How does the your vision align with um the the goals and the committees working together and identify any kind of gaps or next steps? So that's what I'm attempting to cover today. We have just a few slides to kind of prompt us through, and so I don't really want to spend a bunch of time talking just to help frame it, and then really want to have you all be listening to you all and getting your feedback. So I have a few slides to prompt us. So this is the new graphic. We've gone from six to five goal areas. So um, and then kind of the bonus is the placemat. So we've um this is gonna be on the dias at every council meeting our spouses meetings. Maybe we get a tattoo, maybe some circle. The circle on our ankles. This this is a nice cheat sheet of the um guiding principles that that help um how that we do our work, um, as well as the team agreements and then just a brief sketch of the council goals and the action items. It's not the comprehensive all the things, it's just gives you a quick snapshot just to give you a little more detail. Um there is also special placemats that have all the detail, and I have one because I like all the detail. If you want ones with all the detail, we can get you those. So much laminating. I know. These things are gonna be in a landfill somewhere in 400 years. Keep in mind forever. Okay, well, there you go. Pass it down for generation. No, worth laminating.
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