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Council splits
on advertising Policy for BAT Buses
The debate
was fierce over an advertising policy
for Bend Area Transit Buses at
Wednesday’s City Council Work session.
Councilors were updated by city staff on
the current situation with the proposed
policy.
At this time, there is question of the legality of
moving forward with an advertising
policy that would offer commercial
advertising only. Portland’s Tri-Met is
currently involved in a law-suit with
the ACLU involving this position. The
ACLU has declared it’s against the first
amendment and political ads should be
allowed.
The city’s policy is based off of Tri-Met’s policy and
city staff recommended waiting four to
six months to see a decision on the
lawsuit before making a final decision
about advertising on BAT buses. If
advertising was placed on the buses,
city staff estimates $20,000 in revenue
would be generated.
There was a wide rift between the councilors as some
wanted to move forward with advertising
and others wanted to give it a wide
berth. Councilor Jim Clinton does not
want to follow through with the
advertising policy because he doesn’t
see the merit in having city property
used for advertisements.
Councilor Bill Friedman echoed those sentiments saying,
“It’s a bad idea that will junk up the
system and give us no revenue. I don’t
think it’s worth it.”
On the opposite spectrum, Councilor Mark Capell sees
advertising as a way to make possible
revenue for the bus system. “To turn
down an option for revenue makes no
sense to me,” he said.
Capell also mentioned with the impending November vote,
now might not be a good time to turn
down revenue. “Turning this down sends
the wrong message to the community when
we are going to ask them to put money
towards transit,” he said.
As the discussion continued, Mayor Abernethy stated he
has no problem with advertising on the
buses. “I think symbolically if we don’t
go after advertising we are shooting
ourselves in the foot,” he said. “Unless
there is a huge legal consequence, I
think we should go forward.”
Heather Ornelas said the influx of income could be put
to good use, but reminded council it
should be cautious moving forward with a
policy due to legalities.
The council requested city staff come back with more
information on revenue analysis, using
an outside advertising firm versus
development in house, the possibility of
public service messages advertised on
the buses, and sponsorships at a future
council meeting.
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Council gives the nod to
move forward with 14.5% sewer
rate increase
The City
Council received a report on different
alternatives for the sewer rate
increase. At a previous work session,
councilors were shown projections of a
14.5 percent increase over the next five
years. Councilor Mark Capell asked to
see an option at a lower rate stretched
over a longer period of time.
City staff reported if the sewer rate was decreased to
12.50 percent over six years there would
be an indefinite deferral of $20
million. It would also only decrease the
fee by $0.50 in the first year.
“It’s amazing that a 2 percent decrease equates to
$0.50 difference, which then
equates to $20 million dollars,” said
Capell.
If the rates were at 10.5 percent, staff expressed its
concern over not having enough revenues
to leverage for bonding.
With the 14.5 percent increase, the city would be able
to update older pipes within the area,
update mechanics for pump stations, have
new electronics for monitoring, and
expand the sewer treatment plant. After
five years, the city would also be put
into the position of maintaining the
system rather than trying to be reactive
to the problems.
City Finance Director Sonia Andrews also pointed out to
councilors that the 14.5 percent would
allow for $1.3 million in revenue which
will cover the debt service and
operations and management.
The improvements in total will cost $117 million over
the next six years. The city hopes that
after five years it will be in a better
financial situation, and can put money
away into a reserve fund to cover
maintenance etc.
The council will vote on the increase at its July 2
council meeting.
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Ride the River
Shuttle Service Starts
Summer is here and the Ride the River
shuttle service will begin today. The
shuttle service provides an affordable
alternative for those who float the
river downstream and then want a ride
back upstream.
This is Bend Area Transit’s third year operating the
Ride the River shuttle. Users pay a
three dollar fee for all-day service and
place their floats and rafts in the
Ride the River trailer towed behind
the shuttle. One-time users pay a one
dollar fee. Drivers will only accept
exact change. Service is available
Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
from 11 a.m. until 6:20 p.m.
The program is scheduled to continue until Labor Day,
September 1, 2008. Visit
www.ci.bend.or.us for more
information.
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Steele
Associates Architects LLC chosen as
Chamber/Commute Options
Employer of the Year
Steele Associates Architects LLC has
been chosen as the Bend Chamber of
Commerce/Commute Options Employer of the
Year. Steele Associates has been a
dedicated leader in the community for
sustainability and has an excellent
reputation for quality projects.
The Bend Chamber and Commute Options will present the
award to the employees of Steele
Associates on June 25 at the Steel
Associates Building located at 760 NW
York Drive. Chamber members are welcome
to attend. The event will start at 4:15
p.m.
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Chamber Survey
The Bend Chamber recently sent out a
survey about the Business Journal.
For those who did not participate,
please click the link below and take a
few short minutes to complete the
survey. We encourage your responses so
we can better focus on the needs of the
membership.
Bend Chamber Business Journal Survey
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Nominations Sought for Chamber Board of Directors
Calling all leaders. If you have ever
thought about being a member of the
Chamber Board of Directors, now is your
chance. This is a great way to be
actively involved in the community and
the Chamber.
You must be a current Chamber member and have time to
devote to board responsibilities and
Chamber activities. There are four
positions available. The term is for
three years starting January 1.
Those who are interested need to complete the following
questions and return them with a cover
letter to the Nomination Committee Chairman
no later than August 1, 2008:
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Why would
you like to be a member of the Board
of Directors of the Bend Chamber of
Commerce?
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What are
your qualifications as a board
member?
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In your
estimation, what are the
four top issues facing the Bend
business community, and what are your general
thoughts relative to those issues?
Thank you for your interest and please
send all questionnaires to Pat Kesgard,
Nomination Committee Chairman at the
following: Pat Kesgard, Steve Scott
Realtors, 685 S. E. Third St., Bend,
Oregon 97702, or
pckesgard@earthlink.net.
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