Bend City Council Regular Meeting – October 18, 2023
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Bend City Council Regular Meeting – October 18, 2023
The Bend City Council held a hybrid regular meeting on October 18, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. following a 5:00 p.m. work session. The agenda included a proclamation, public comments, consent agenda items, a public hearing on a federal housing grant, a resolution to amend the Transportation SDC project list, second readings of the Caraway Master Plan and annexation ordinances, and council reports. All votes were unanimous.
Proclamation
- Mayor Kebler read a proclamation declaring October 2023 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Bend. Cassie McQueen of Satan Grace shared that at the Deschutes County Courthouse that day, a line of people seeking temporary restraining orders exceeded available staffing, highlighting ongoing needs.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Freddie Finagarette (Deschutes Youth Climate Coalition/Fridays for Future Bend) urged council to pursue building electrification, noting 54% of Bend's emissions come from buildings, largely from methane gas. He argued electric homes are safer, more efficient, and cheaper, and thanked council for previous climate action.
- Doreen Ty complained about aircraft from the Bend airport (paragliders and airplanes) repeatedly invading her property and disturbing her cattle, alleging retaliation for online comments. She asked the council to address airport emissions and noise, stating operations have increased from 10,000 to 200,000.
- Debbie Putnam (co-owner, Riverside Animal Hospital) expressed concern that the proposed safety corridor modifications on Olney Avenue would create a barrier preventing left turns into her business, potentially causing layoffs among 30 employees. She requested continued collaboration with city engineers to find a balanced solution, such as delaying barrier construction until a roundabout is built.
- Eric Presia (Southeast Tempest Drive resident) described escalating problems with a homeless camp in his neighborhood, including aggressive behavior and trash. He asked for stronger camping code enforcement (e.g., preventing camping in the same spot twice) and noted the issue could harm public support for future housing projects. Council noted a work session on camping code is scheduled for November 15.
Consent Calendar
- The council approved items A, B, C, E, and F of the consent agenda. Item D was pulled for separate discussion. Approved items:
- Approval of minutes from September 20, 2023 (regular), October 4, 2023 (work session and regular), and October 10, 2023 (joint meeting).
- OLCC Report.
- EIPD Quarterly Project Status Report for FY2024 Q1.
- Authorize an agreement with Carlson Testing, Inc., for special inspections at Public Works Campus (not to exceed $303,455.50).
- Authorize purchase of a closed-circuit television van from Cues, Inc. ($294,707).
Item D – Percent for Art Program (pulled): Councilor Campbell expressed initial concern over a $110,380 contract with Art in Public Places, Inc., to manage selection and community education for art at the Public Works Campus (total art budget over $800,000). She questioned whether funds could be used for other city art or spread over time. Staff explained the city's code requires 1% of public construction costs for art, and the contract includes community education. Council approved the motion after discussion.
Discussion Items
- Public Hearing – PRO Housing Grant (Item 6): Housing Director Lynn McConnell and Affordable Housing Coordinator Melissa Camania presented a draft application for a $10 million grant from HUD (total project cost $19 million, with city match). The grant would fund five activities over six years: internal assessment of city processes, housing production data and planning, a new housing development fund ($8 million), expanded incentives and subsidies, and streamlining housing production for community members (e.g., ADU toolkits). The city qualifies under HUD's off-pace factor (housing production lagged population growth 2009–2019). Council noted the difficulty of HUD's outdated data but recognized local need. No public comments were submitted. Council unanimously approved submission of the application.
- Resolution Amending Transportation SDC Project List (Item 7): Staff presented a resolution to add a project to the fiscally constrained list needed for the Gateway and Caraway developments, while removing projects already completed, funded by ODOT, or covered by the 2020 GO Bond. Council adopted the resolution without debate.
- Caraway Master Planned Development – Second Reading (Item 9): Council considered an ordinance to create the Caraway Master Planned Development on approximately 150 acres. The motion included an amendment to reduce minimum lot sizes for triplexes and quadplexes in the RS zone to match the underlying zone. Approved by roll call (7-0).
- Caraway Annexation – Second Reading (Item 10): Ordinance to annex approximately 153.56 acres in the North Triangle Urban Growth Boundary Expansion Area. Approved by roll call (7-0).
Key Outcomes
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month was proclaimed.
- Consent agenda approved except Item D; Item D later approved.
- PRO Housing grant application authorized for submission to HUD.
- Transportation SDC project list amendment adopted.
- Caraway Master Planned Development ordinance adopted (second reading).
- Caraway Annexation ordinance adopted (second reading).
- Appointment: Corey Harlan (Central Oregon Land Watch) was appointed to the Tree Regulation Update Advisory Committee (Truac).
Council Reports and City Manager's Report
- Councilors reported on committee meetings, groundbreakings, events (including Sustainable Housing Works, Healing Reins, Warm Springs Museum Gala, etc.), and a change of command for the local Army National Guard unit.
- City Manager Eric King noted property tax assessed value increased 5.7% (budgeted 5%), resulting in a $234,000 positive delta in the general fund. Urban renewal areas varied: Core area came in $196,000 less than budget; Murphy higher; Juniper Ridge on target. He also reported on a water caucus with state representatives and tribes, and a planned joint meeting with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs on November 1.
Meeting Transcript
Go ahead and get started. Great. All right. So we will begin the business meeting of the Bend City Council. We will start with roll call. Um, start on your end, Barb Campbell. Um my name is Fark Campbell, and I prefer the pronoun she and her. Ariel Mendez, he, him, Anthony Broadman, he, him. Melanie Fiebler, she, her. Megan Perkins, she, her. Mike Riley, he him. Megan Norris, she her. And today, Councillor Riley has our land acknowledgement. Thank you, Mayor. Um the Bend City Council would like to thank the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs for offering this land acknowledgement for us to read during our meetings. We encourage everyone watching to learn about the indigenous people whose homelands we occupy. We would like to acknowledge that the beautiful land known as Bend, Oregon, north of the Columbia River is the original homelands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. The Confederated Tribes ceded this land in the Treaty of 1855 while retaining regular and customary hunting, fishing, and gathering rights. The Wanalama, Warm Springs, Wascu, Wasco, and Northern Paiute people inhabited this area in certain seasonal times that clearly established their presence. This trade route expanded the impact of commerce between tribal nations. We acknowledge and thank the original stewards of this land. It is our hope that guests continue to honor and care for this land. And I just wanted to um share one other comment, um, kind of personal on the land acknowledgement, and that today I had a chance to just spend some time outside. It was a beautiful, beautiful fall day. If anything, it was a bit on the warm side. Um just I was really reminded of the value of being outdoors and the healthy environment in order to provide um some solace and some quiet and time for reflection, especially in times that are very, very difficult. Um there's lots of controversy and turmoil in our national capital. There's a variety of things happening in the Middle East that are very difficult right now, and um it's always provided a place for me to um just get some perspective and help myself calm down and figure out kind of what the best path is forward. And um I just really wanted to acknowledge the value of that and thank um the native people who came before us and helping us leave a place um where we could still get that today. Thank you, Council Riley. All right, we will move to good of the order. We have um a domestic violence awareness month proclamation, and Cassie McQueen from Satan Grace is here with us, and Cassie, you can have have a seat in front of the mic, and I will read the proclamation. So whereas domestic violence affects every person in Deschutes County, whether as a victim or survivor, or as a family member, friend, partner, neighbor, educator, employer, or co-worker, and systemic oppression and inequity create a culture in which some communities are especially targeted for violence and experience greater barriers to access services. Now, therefore, the Bend City Council does hereby proclaim October 2023 to be domestic violence awareness month in Bend and encourages everyone to join in this observance. Move to approve. Thank you, Mayor Keebler, thank you, Council, thank you, Mr. King. I think you all know me well enough that I normally come in here and share some numbers with you. I'm not gonna do that today. I'm gonna tell you a little something that happened here in Bent. Um here at the Deschutes County Courthouse here in Bend today, we had two trained advocates and a volunteer, which is historically about three times as much as we've ever had there. Um, with a line out the door of folks from our county from our city looking for temporary restraining orders. We had two staff and a volunteer working every hour possible before that restraining order clinic opened and wasn't able to serve the need today. We had a line outside the door and we were calling in reinforcements. Um and I share a little bit of a different perspective with you today because again, we know that this is pervasive. Um we know that we are throwing resources to try to look at domestic violence to try to intervene with it to try to prevent it. Um, but it is here, it is here in our community, and it is felt it is felt by our friends, it is felt by our colleagues and our family, and it was most certainly felt here at the Deschutes County Courthouse today. So I want to thank the council for acknowledging it. I want to thank the community for supporting us, and I want to make sure we all know that this fight is far from over, that we have a lot of work to do to end domestic violence here directly in Bent. Um, and again, thank you for your support.
openpublica.com