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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2016)
22 Wednesday, January 27, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon KyRGyzSTAN: Volunteers are sought for another adventure GOALS: Staff is ready to take on additional work load Continued from page 3 Continued from page 1 and resume the relationship with this wonderful and very appreciative family. This will be the third trip to Barskoon for Jack and MaryAnne, who have found helping families in this breathtaking country to be such a rewarding and fulfill- ing experience. Sisters Habitat for Humanity is seeking adven- turous volunteers to join the McDonnells. No building experience is required, only a desire to help a family in need of a decent home while learning about each other’s cultures in the process. Sisters Habitat contrib- utes 10 percent of the net proceeds from the Thrift Store and ReStore to Habitat International for building homes overseas. Last year Sisters Habitat contributed $10,000 to Kyrgyzstan. Since its inception, Sisters Habitat has contributed funds to build 97 homes abroad. For more information on the upcoming build, contact Sharlene Weed at Sisters Habitat for Humanity at 541- 549-1193, sharlene@sisters habitat.org, or info@sisters habitat.org; or MaryAnne and Jack at 541-549-6337 or jmjaaneho@msn.com. Nancy Connelly; and coun- cilors David Asson; Amy Burgstahler; and Andrea Blum. Also there represent- ing the City staff were: City Manager Andrew Gorayeb; Public Works Director Paul Bertagna; Community Development Director Patrick Davenport; outgo- ing Finance Director Lynne Fujita-Conrads; incom- ing Finance Director Joe O’Neill; and City Recorder Kathy Nelson. Three citizens came to watch City govern- ment in action. Some of the goals are for work already undertaken, such as finalizing outstand- ing urban-renewal grants and establishing a forgivable loan program to help attract new traded-sector businesses to Sisters. Prior to the meeting, each councilor had submitted his/ her own list of priorities, which were then consoli- dated by the City Recorder to act as a template for discus- sion of goals by the Council. The proposed goals were organized under six cat- egories: economic develop- ment; community develop- ment; city finances; improve connectivity; improve community outreach; and City Manager/Administrator. The far-ranging discus- sion considered a multitude of city issues, activities, and responsibilities, clearly high- lighting the complexity of maintaining and improving the operations of a smoothly running City. Several times council- ors raised the question as to the impact of increased workloads on a staff that is currently smaller than in the past and being asked to take on more and more responsibilities. “Have you heard anyone complaining?” Gorayeb que- ried, assuring Council that staff can handle the work. One new hire being con- sidered is a building official who would take over the duties now being performed on a contract basis by staff from the Deschutes County Building Department. There is also preliminary interest in looking at the viability of hir- ing a part-time grant-writer/ public-relations person. Deliberation on the goals lasted for three hours until several Council members needed to leave for other commitments. At a future workshop, Council will complete discussing a few remaining items and then will determine their final 2016 goals and prioritize them according to impor- tance and timeliness. One goal suggested by a majority of the Council, with agreement to pursue it, was review of the need for an increase in the system development charges (SDCs) currently charged develop- ers and builders when they apply for permits. SDCs are levied to help cover the cost of increased sewer and water infrastructure to handle the impact on the City’s systems by the new construction. SDCs ensure that current res- idents are not required to pay for expansion and improve- ments necessitated by new building projects. There are also parks SDC fees to cover expenses for increased demand on the City’s parks system. Currently, Sisters SDCs are considerably lower than those of neighboring communities. Another concept proposed for investigation is the pos- sibility of a “Makers Lab Initiative.” The City could look into what an industrial arts/creative arts/startup incubator facility might offer Sisters in terms of local entrepreneurship and eco- nomic opportunity. There was much dis- cussion about the ongo- ing concern for improv- ing Council outreach to the community, to provide adequate transparency and communication. Several vehicles are already planned to keep the community bet- ter informed, including a quarterly newsletter from the Community Development Department about new proj- ects being proposed in the city as well as any code updates. Public Works Director Paul Bertagna plans a quar- terly news release to run in The Nugget to help keep the community informed on upcoming projects, road maintenance/construction, potential traffic delays, pub- lic events, and water/sewer system work planned. Council will continue to post important notifica- tions and information in the monthly City utility bills. They will also explore, in a future workshop, improving the clarity of the agenda item summaries. Affordable-housing needs in Sisters, and pos- sible enhancements by the city to attract developers to build such projects, are still at the top of the Council pri- orities. They will also con- tinue to work with EDCO to attract family-wage jobs to encourage families to move to Sisters. NuggetNews.com is your online source for Breaking News Classifieds Weather Road Reports
