18
Wednesday, June 8, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
CITy MAnAGER: Sees
more conflict than
necessary in Sisters
Continued from page 1
the day, City Council has to
make the decision. What we
have here is a representative
democracy. We elect people
to make the decisions.”
Allen talked about the
challenge of running city
government with lay people
as councilors dealing with
“complex, controversial, and
complicated issues.”
When councilors are first
elected, or there is a continu-
al turnover like that in Sisters
in the last few years, Allen
said newly elected officials
think they should just listen
until they are up to speed on
the issues.
“They get pushed in all
directions and issues tend to
drag on longer than neces-
sary. That can create con-
troversy where there wasn’t
any,” Allen said.
Allen’s modus operendi is
to identify the issue, deal with
it, and move on. He stressed
the importance of not taking
or making anything personal.
“That (the personal) has to
be set aside,” he said.
He believes one impor-
tant ingredient that has been
missing in Sisters is appro-
priate education for elected
and appointed individuals as
to what their roles are and
how they should be interact-
ing with each other — coun-
cil with staff, council with
appointed commissions and
committees, and council and
staff with the citizens.
Allen mentioned that the
League of Oregon Cities
(LOC) offers training about
the roles of city council and
staff.
He would like to see regu-
lar citizens also come to the
workshops to gain a better
understanding of their city
government and hopefully
prepare to run for office.
“If we don’t do this (the
training), we will just have a
repeat of the last two cycles,”
Allen warned.
“The Council’s job is to
decide broad policy and then
let the staff implement the
policy,” he said.
Allen also noted that
Sisters and Bend are the only
two Central Oregon munici-
palities that appoint their
mayors. He suggested that
perhaps Sisters could explore
having the mayor run for of-
fice, with the citizens voting
for their choice.
At first glance, Allen
thinks there has been more
conflict in Sisters than there
needs to be. At the core of
most city conflict he sees a
“fear of loss” — of a way of
life, of the way things have
always been, or any number
of other things people are
afraid they will lose, rather
than focusing on what they
will gain. He also sees com-
peting values accompany-
ing that fear of loss, such as
growth vs. no growth, and
land preservation vs. devel-
opment. Expansion of the
small Sisters Airport, with
increased air traffic and ac-
tivity – is a perfect example
of potential conflict rooted in
those concerns.
“You have what many
towns want. You have all the
pieces and the people. With
that comes various values —
some people wanting more
work opportunities and oth-
ers who are retired. That can
give rise to conflict,” Allen
pointed out.
Allen hit the ground run-
ning several weeks ago.
Although his contract is for
a part-time position, he is in
and out of City Hall, and all
around town, at any hour of
the day or night. Although
he resides in Madras and
still spends some time in
La Pine, Allen’s cabin at
Camp Sherman facilitates
his burning the midnight oil
in Sisters and then staying at
his Metolius refuge. He says
being single makes it pos-
sible to work odd hours.
Currently, Allen sees his
main responsibilities lying
in three areas. First of all, he
is reviewing the actual day-
to-day running of City Hall,
getting to know the staff and
assuring them in their duties,
studying how City Council
and staff interact with each
other and both of them with
the citizens.
Secondly, his days (and
nights) are filled with meet-
ing people and discussing
the current major issues
facing the City and the citi-
zens. He is looking at the
land-use appeals surrounding
McKenzie Meadow Village,
the Economic Development
Loan Program, the use and
growth of the airport, and
dealing with issues that arose
prior to his hiring. He is ex-
ploring best practices in other
towns and seeing if there are
any Sisters could adopt so as
to not reinvent the wheel if
someone else has it figured
out.
He has already secured
new legal counsel for the
City, and down the road will
begin to explore options for a
permanent city manager to be
hired by City Council. Allen
will also be working with
the Oregon Department of
Transportation, Public Works
Director Paul Bertagna, and
several citizen committees on
timing, logistics for traffic,
and design of the approved
roundabout at Highway 20/
McKinney Butte.
“I am able to look at
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things with fresh eyes,” Allen
said.
Allen was an early trans-
plant to Central Oregon. He
was a sixth grader in Park
Rose when his dad came to
operate the bowling alley
in Madras. Since that time,
Allen has called Madras
home. For 40 years, he has
served as a volunteer fire-
fighter/EMT, an avocation he
loves.
“If I had my life to live
over, I would do that (fire
service). It has taught me a
lot about what’s really impor-
tant. It’s my hobby. I love the
fire service and I have a great
group of friends,” Allen said.
He has already met with
his friend Sisters Fire Chief
Roger Johnson and his crew.
He also recounted floating
a river with Tay Robertson,
Sisters’ former fire chief.
Allen confessed that when
he was contacted to ask if he
would be interested in the in-
terim city manager position,
“I thought to myself, I’m
busy in my own business (in
Madras), I’m not quite done
in La Pine (training their new
photo by sue stafford
rick allen.
city manager), and this is one
of those opportunities to not
pass up.”
Allen sees Sisters as a
great place to live, work,
build a business, and raise a
family.
“I can’t make Sisters a
better place, because it is al-
ready great,” Allen remarked.
But he is hopeful he can take
what is already here and help
make it run smoother, with
less conflict while getting
more accomplished.
To contact Allen, email
rallen@ci.sisters.or.us.
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