OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Bend City Council Work Session – June 10, 2026: City Hall, SDCs, Downtown Parking

City Council — Wednesday, June 10, 2026
BodyBend, Oregon
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, June 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:59:49

Transcript — Verbatim
0:20

Getting settled in, so we can go ahead and start our work session.

0:25

Um, and all of us are present.

0:27

So I think we'll just go ahead and start with our city hall check-in.

0:32

Good afternoon, Mary and Council.

0:33

Matt Stewart with real estate and housing.

0:35

Tonight we're going to discuss uh the future city hall development and the highest and best use analysis that you had asked us to do when we met back in November of last year.

0:44

I'm joined tonight by Katie Brooks, our economic development officer, and in person I have Garrett Rapsilver and Colin.

0:50

I'm sorry.

0:52

Will Quinn with Cone Resnik and HNRA.

0:56

And then online we have Lester Cow, uh, Benjamin Cole, and Noemi Plaza with our other consultant groups.

1:01

So they'll be chiming in if there's any questions that come up.

1:04

So just be on the lookout for them chiming in as well.

1:07

Purpose of tonight's is really to review the findings of the highest and best use analysis, kind of narrow down the list of properties we'd like to evaluate as a future city hall site, and then identify kind of next steps.

1:17

So we've sort of proposed kind of a five-year work plan, and we'd like to go up through those steps and kind of get direction from council tonight to want to proceed.

1:24

So I'll give a brief history and background of our facilities to date and where we were with the process.

1:29

I'll talk about the space needs and how we sort of set the parameters for how we wanted to model this.

1:33

I'll hand it over to Katie to kind of walk through some of our economic prosperity goals and the takeaways that we're hoping to achieve with this process, and then I'll hand over to Garrett to talk through the highest and best use analysis, and then staff will bring it back to kind of overlay our recommendation and walk through those next steps before handing over to council for some future discussion.

1:49

I'll pause at kind of each rate for each of these.

1:52

So if there's discussion related or questions related to what we just reviewed, we can take in a few minutes to kind of walk through that.

1:58

So as part of our history and background.

2:01

So the building we're in today was constructed in 1990.

2:03

At the time, we had just over 25,000 people.

2:06

Uh or I'm sorry, the buildings over just over 25,000.

2:09

Our population was just under 30,000.

2:12

Over the years, we've acquired the rest of the buildings on the block except for the dry cleaner at the very corner.

2:17

So those buildings have all totaled about 18,000 feet as part of our annexes here on this block.

2:22

We've also been leasing the building across the street, the Wall Street Annex since 2014.

2:26

That's about 15,000 square feet.

2:28

So in total, our assets here downtown that we use in uh as part of our operational administration role is just about 60,000 feet.

2:36

Usable for office space is about 50,000.

2:38

So that's where we're at today.

2:41

Kind of pre-COVID, about 10 years ago, we started doing a lot of our space programming.

2:45

So that included both our public works, our city hall, and our police.

2:48

So in 2015, we updated our downtown program report for city hall.

2:53

At the time we had 185 employees, and we looked at what a build-out of a new facility would look like in 2050.

2:59

At that time, it recommended evaluating something around the 85,000 square feet mark.

3:03

A few years later, uh, based on uh us relocating transportation, our other public works up for utility departments to public works campus, we did a master plan for PD, which looked at them expanding into 15th Street and the transportation building there as well.

3:18

Um and that looked at a build out for 2040, and at the time we had about 135 officers on staff.

3:24

In 2020, 2021, we began the city hall search site for this location.

3:30

Uh this was at the direction of council, and we went ahead and moved forward with a proposal for advisory services with Cushman and Wakefield.

3:36

We evaluated a variety of sites in around Bend that was based on that 2015 program report.

3:42

We really sort of narrowed it down and focused on the core area and the Bend Central District.

3:47

Uh as part of that, what came in out of that is focusing on the properties in and around the former Rainbow Motel.

3:54

Uh there on Franklin Greeley for second street was sort of the focus.

3:58

And it also kind of evaluated what a joint venture or P3 would look like.

4:02

So introducing that kind of topic as part of our development scheme.

4:06

In 24 and 25, we completed acquisition based on those recommendations.

4:10

So to date, we've acquired about 3.2 acres on two uh pieces of property, two acres continuous around the former Rainbow Motel, which is now the Franklin shelter that we currently are in partnership with.

4:21

And then we have a one roughly one-acre, 1.2-acre site that is the former uh gas depot there on First Street and Hawthorne.

4:29

At the same time, in that time frame, we went ahead and updated our program report to kind of adjust with because with COVID, we started experiencing different growth than we originally anticipated out of that 2015 report.

4:40

That looked like a bail-out for 2060.

4:42

And at that time, it was recommending a much larger facility at 134,000 square feet.

4:47

And as we met with council, we moved forward with bringing in the consultant team to kind of evaluate how do we move forward with potentially building that city hall and what would that would cost.

4:56

In November, we came with you with those kind of results.

5:00

What kind of came out of that was the cut very the cost, which was a little bit out of our range to go ahead and move forward with 134,000 square foot site.

5:07

Based on council's direction, we really we asked to kind of expand our evaluation of properties and look at what we own in general here within the city limits.

5:16

That included downtown, the properties we own in the Bent Central District, and at 15th Street.

5:22

And as part of that, council asked that we sort of evaluate all those properties around this highest best use analysis.

5:27

So looking at what the opportunity cost is, development potential of each site, and then what is the public benefit that each site could offer with or without a city hall in it.

5:35

We also asked us to kind of look at what the impact would be if if development occurred beyond our limits here in downtown.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████33%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████25%
Housing Development██████████████████18%
Transportation Safety████████8%
Community Engagement█████5%
Procedural█████5%
Fiscal Sustainability██2%
Homelessness██2%
Affordable Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Bend City Council Work Session – June 10, 2026: Future City Hall, Southeast Area Transportation SDCs, and Downtown Parking

The Bend City Council held a work session on June 10, 2026, to discuss the future city hall development and the highest and best use analysis, a supplemental transportation system development charge (SDC) for the Southeast Area, and an update from the Downtown Bend Business Association regarding downtown parking management.

Discussion Items

City Hall Future Development and Highest and Best Use Analysis

  • Matt Stewart (Real Estate and Housing) presented with consultants, reviewing city hall history: current facilities (60,000 sq ft total, 50,000 usable), space needs (85,000 sq ft by 2038–2040), and prior acquisitions (≈3.2 acres at former Rainbow Motel/Franklin shelter, ≈1.2 acres at First Street/Hawthorne). The analysis evaluated four sites: downtown current footprint (1.8 acres), downtown extended (≈7 acres, including school district and library parcels), Franklin/Bend Central District (3.2 acres), and 15th Street (10 acres).
  • Garrett Rapsilber (HRNA) presented the highest and best use analysis: only the 15th Street site is financially feasible today; downtown and Franklin become feasible by the mid-2030s. A summary matrix scored sites on financial opportunity cost, economic development potential, and public benefit. 15th Street had the lowest opportunity cost and highest feasibility for ancillary development (townhomes and retail).
  • Staff recommendation: exclude downtown and downtown extended from further city hall consideration; focus on 15th Street and the First Street property in Bend Central District (the 1-acre former gas depot). Near-term steps included securing a longer term for the Wall Street Annex (lease expires June 2029), evaluating remodel options, initiating visioning for the Franklin shelter property with the Core Area Advisory Board, updating space programming, and eventually creating disposition strategies.
  • Council discussion: Councilors expressed mixed views. Councilors Moseley, Perkins, Norris, and Broadman supported keeping the First Street property in the BCD as a priority, while Councilor Dennison pointed to 15th Street's potential due to size and proximity to existing commercial corridors and trails. Councilor Franzosa wanted to review the full report before giving direction and raised concerns about the economic impact on downtown if city hall moves. Councilor Broadman stressed the need to add an infrastructure plan for BCD to the near-term work list.

Southeast Area Transportation SDCs

  • Ryan Oster (Engineering) and Elizabeth O'Shea presented a proposed supplemental transportation SDC for the Southeast master plan area, applicable only to that geography. Three projects were identified: a roundabout at Diamondback Way/Caldera Drive ($3.5 million), an internal roundabout at Journey Way ($2 million), and the modernization of Knott Road and 27th Street ($5.4 million – the 36% share not already covered by existing citywide SDCs). Total cost: ≈$11 million, generating ≈4,000 trips, equating to ≈$2,800 per trip.
  • For example, a single-family unit currently pays a citywide transportation SDC of $10,230; the supplemental would add $2,660, bringing the total to $12,890. The methodology would match existing SDC land use assumptions, include affordable housing and child care exemptions, allow for inflation adjustments, and include a compliance fee.
  • Council questions: Councilor Franzosa asked about including collector roads and using Local Improvement Districts (LIDs). Staff noted LIDs require annexation or county partnership and that developers requested the SDC approach. Councilor Broadman supported exploring LIDs as a complementary tool.
  • Council consensus: Support proceeding with the 90-day notification process and public hearing in September.

Downtown Bend Business Association Update

  • Rachel (DBBA) presented the organization's strategic plan based on Main Street America's Four Pillars (Promotion, Design, Organization, Economic Vitality). Highlights included a new downtown gift card program generating $60,000 in six months, beautification efforts, and a mural project that attracted 250 artist responses.
  • On parking, the DBBA developed a draft progressive paid parking concept as a conversation starter, not a policy recommendation. The concept aims to increase turnover in high-demand curb spaces, allow longer visits, provide affordable employee options, reduce congestion, and ensure transparent reinvestment of any revenue into downtown improvements. A survey is currently collecting stakeholder and community feedback; no results have been analyzed yet.
  • Council appreciation was expressed; Councilor Moseley asked about employee parking habits, and Councilor Broadman questioned garage utilization and pricing dynamics. No formal action was taken.

Key Outcomes

  • Council supported the staff recommendation to narrow potential city hall sites to 15th Street and the First Street property in the Bend Central District, and to proceed with near-term steps including securing the Wall Street Annex, initiating visioning for the Franklin shelter property with CAB, and incorporating an infrastructure plan for BCD.
  • Council directed staff to proceed with the notification process for a supplemental transportation SDC in the Southeast Area, with a public hearing anticipated in September.
  • Council acknowledged the Downtown Bend Business Association update and the ongoing parking survey process.

Meeting Transcript

Getting settled in, so we can go ahead and start our work session. Um, and all of us are present. So I think we'll just go ahead and start with our city hall check-in. Good afternoon, Mary and Council. Matt Stewart with real estate and housing. Tonight we're going to discuss uh the future city hall development and the highest and best use analysis that you had asked us to do when we met back in November of last year. I'm joined tonight by Katie Brooks, our economic development officer, and in person I have Garrett Rapsilver and Colin. I'm sorry. Will Quinn with Cone Resnik and HNRA. And then online we have Lester Cow, uh, Benjamin Cole, and Noemi Plaza with our other consultant groups. So they'll be chiming in if there's any questions that come up. So just be on the lookout for them chiming in as well. Purpose of tonight's is really to review the findings of the highest and best use analysis, kind of narrow down the list of properties we'd like to evaluate as a future city hall site, and then identify kind of next steps. So we've sort of proposed kind of a five-year work plan, and we'd like to go up through those steps and kind of get direction from council tonight to want to proceed. So I'll give a brief history and background of our facilities to date and where we were with the process. I'll talk about the space needs and how we sort of set the parameters for how we wanted to model this. I'll hand it over to Katie to kind of walk through some of our economic prosperity goals and the takeaways that we're hoping to achieve with this process, and then I'll hand over to Garrett to talk through the highest and best use analysis, and then staff will bring it back to kind of overlay our recommendation and walk through those next steps before handing over to council for some future discussion. I'll pause at kind of each rate for each of these. So if there's discussion related or questions related to what we just reviewed, we can take in a few minutes to kind of walk through that. So as part of our history and background. So the building we're in today was constructed in 1990. At the time, we had just over 25,000 people. Uh or I'm sorry, the buildings over just over 25,000. Our population was just under 30,000. Over the years, we've acquired the rest of the buildings on the block except for the dry cleaner at the very corner. So those buildings have all totaled about 18,000 feet as part of our annexes here on this block. We've also been leasing the building across the street, the Wall Street Annex since 2014. That's about 15,000 square feet. So in total, our assets here downtown that we use in uh as part of our operational administration role is just about 60,000 feet. Usable for office space is about 50,000. So that's where we're at today. Kind of pre-COVID, about 10 years ago, we started doing a lot of our space programming. So that included both our public works, our city hall, and our police. So in 2015, we updated our downtown program report for city hall. At the time we had 185 employees, and we looked at what a build-out of a new facility would look like in 2050. At that time, it recommended evaluating something around the 85,000 square feet mark. A few years later, uh, based on uh us relocating transportation, our other public works up for utility departments to public works campus, we did a master plan for PD, which looked at them expanding into 15th Street and the transportation building there as well. Um and that looked at a build out for 2040, and at the time we had about 135 officers on staff. In 2020, 2021, we began the city hall search site for this location. Uh this was at the direction of council, and we went ahead and moved forward with a proposal for advisory services with Cushman and Wakefield. We evaluated a variety of sites in around Bend that was based on that 2015 program report. We really sort of narrowed it down and focused on the core area and the Bend Central District. Uh as part of that, what came in out of that is focusing on the properties in and around the former Rainbow Motel. Uh there on Franklin Greeley for second street was sort of the focus. And it also kind of evaluated what a joint venture or P3 would look like. So introducing that kind of topic as part of our development scheme. In 24 and 25, we completed acquisition based on those recommendations. So to date, we've acquired about 3.2 acres on two uh pieces of property, two acres continuous around the former Rainbow Motel, which is now the Franklin shelter that we currently are in partnership with. And then we have a one roughly one-acre, 1.2-acre site that is the former uh gas depot there on First Street and Hawthorne. At the same time, in that time frame, we went ahead and updated our program report to kind of adjust with because with COVID, we started experiencing different growth than we originally anticipated out of that 2015 report.

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