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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 2015)
Wednesday, November 18, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon CHANGES: A second reading is set for Thursday morning Continued from page 1 improve code enforcement, to make the code easier to understand, and to clean up the code regarding issues that have been identified as problematic. Ordinance No. 464, con- cerning transient merchants, has prompted considerable public input and Council deliberation spanning more than a year. The major stick- ing point involved whether transient merchants should ever be allowed to locate on Cascade Avenue and if so, when. Besides public testimony and the receipt of letters from Sisters business owners, Council members recently conducted their own informal surveys of citizens and busi- ness owners to solicit their thoughts on transient mer- chants and public events. Councilor Nancy Connolly surveyed only residents of Sisters, since she, as she put it, “was elected to represent the interests of her constituents.” Other councilors surveyed a mix of residents and busi- nesses. Because she is newly appointed, Councilor Andrea Blum listened to recordings of previous testimony to help her in her deliberations. “We’re not going to come to a perfect solution,” Blum said after much discussion among Council members. “We’re going to find the place to start. This is the best we can do for now. New situa- tions will keep coming up.” Blum recommended that Council move forward with the best consensus available at this time. She also sup- ported a previous suggestion to appoint a committee of those involved in the transient merchant issue to evaluate the results of a year under the amended code and recom- mend any needed changes. Councilor David Asson, who favors no restrictions on transient merchants, con- tended that because the sur- vey was “not a professional survey, it means nothing and only provided false data.” Asson also contended that by not allowing transient mer- chants on Cascade, Council was creating “some major financial disadvantages to those involved.” The change in code to not allow transient merchants on Cascade Avenue at any time was approved by a 3-2 vote, with Asson and Councilor Amy Burgstahler dissenting. A second reading will occur at the next meeting of Council. The other major ordinance modification that has involved considerable time, public testimony and letters con- cerns the matter of whether other public events should be allowed during citywide events. In the past, four annual events were considered city- wide: the Rodeo parade, Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, Sisters Folk Festival, and Harvest Faire. Public Works director Paul Bertagna and his staff recently analyzed the amount of time and person- power required during those four events, a driving factor in considering whether or not an event is citywide. Bertagna reported that the Rodeo parade is an hour- and-a-half event that requires some setup and takedown of signs, traffic cones, and barri- cades, and some traffic direc- tion. The SOQS requires a full day of their time. Sisters Folk Festival requires three days and Harvest Faire two days. City Manager Andrew Gorayeb reported that in the past, the City has never really tried to coordinate traf- fic management during the parade with the Deschutes County Sheriff ’s office. They have had one meeting recently, with more planned. Gorayeb believes that the traffic issues surrounding the parade can be ameliorated, thus putting less demand on public works employees. We’re going to find the place to start. this is the best we can do for now. New situations will keep coming up. — andrea Blum For the past 14 years, Arts in the Park has been held in Creekside Park during Rodeo weekend. City Council gave their approval for the event 14 years ago. If the Rodeo parade continued to be con- sidered a citywide event, and the amendment disallowing a public event during a citywide event was passed, Arts in the Park would not be allowed. Presented with Bertagna’s and Gorayeb’s information, Council agreed that the Rodeo Parade need not be considered a citywide event. When Burgstahler pro- posed several hypothetical public events that could occur without interfering with a citywide event, the Council agreed to allow non-commer- cial public events during a citywide event. School-sponsored events on school district property will not require a public-event permit, but private events on district property will require a public-event permit. The Council voted 4-1 to approve the amendment that no other public events, except those identified as non-com- mercial, can be held during citywide events, with Asson casting the lone “no” vote, requiring a second reading of Ordinance No. 465. You meet the nicest people at The Hair Caché! 152 E. Main Ave. • 541-549-8771 Prevent a Litter, Fix Your Critter! FURRY FRIEND S FOUNDATION 501 ( c )( 3 ) www.furryfriendsfoundation.org 541-549-9941 501(c)(3) nonprofi t organization 21 Spay/Neuter Sponsorships - Easy as 1-2-3 1 Stop by The Nugget offi ce to fi ll out a short form 2 Call Bend Spay & Neuter for the appointment 3 Take your pet — Furry Friends pays. Done!
