Wednesday, December 28, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
City snapshot: City Manager search; planning commission
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
• Jensen Strategies LLC
of Portland has been selected
to conduct the search for a
new permanent city man-
ager. They were chosen from
a field of three firms. Jensen
is fairly new in the recruit-
ment field and eager to show
what they can do. Their bid
of a $15,000 flat fee was the
lowest. Because of their other
business endeavors, they have
broader skills than a classic
recruiting firm. They also
facilitate conflict resolution
and have facilitation skills.
They will work directly with
Sisters City Council to deter-
mine what the City is looking
for in a city manager and will
build the search for the indi-
viduals who fit the descrip-
tion as closely as possible. A
new city manager should be
in place by June 2017, at the
latest.
• Council reappointed
three members to the Sisters
Planning Commission: David
Gentry, who has served as
chairman; Jeff Seymour;
and Bob Wright. The
Transportation Safety Plan
(TSP) modification commit-
tee will have two more mem-
bers, recently appointed by
the Council: Pat Thompson,
former City Councilor, and
Sheryl Rudolf, founder of
FITS equestrian clothing.
• Bids were received for
construction of the Highway
20 roundabout, and Knife
River in Tumalo came in
with the lowest bid at $2.8
million. The original estimate
by ODOT was $3.6 million,
making the winning bid a con-
siderable cost savings. The
City has received a $200,000
grant to cover the cost of the
art installation in the center
of the roundabout. The funds
were enhanced due to the fact
that the roundabout is part of
a scenic corridor. The con-
tractor will break ground in
February, and a majority of
the work will be completed
by Memorial Day, which
marks the beginning of tourist
season. Some additions have
been made to the plans, with
pedestrian improvements and
an extended median all the
way to Railway Avenue to
the west of the roundabout.
• Council approved
System Development Charge
(SDC) waivers for the seven-
unit development at Skygate,
the affordable homes built by
Impact Housing. The waiv-
ers for water, sewer, parks,
and transportation amount
to approximately $9,000 per
unit for a total of $63,000.
These will be straight waivers
with no impact on the general
fund or fund balance trans-
fers, so there are no additional
accounting requirements. The
waivers partially reduce the
cost of construction, making
it possible for the homes to
sell for $120,000.
• Sisters Habitat for
Humanity also was granted
SDC waivers for parks and
transportation on nine units
in Village Meadows. The
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waivers from the City amount
to $2,200 per unit for a total
of $19,800. Habitat received
a HUD grant to cover the
sewer and water SDCs.
• Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department has
awarded a grant to the City
to partially cover the cost of
replacing the old restroom/
shower building at Creekside
Campground. The grant is for
$270,000 to be matched with
$135,000 from the City, with
half coming from the SDC
fund and the other half from
a number of other funds. The
building will be double the
size of the old one, increas-
ing capacity to accommo-
date growth in the use of the
campground. Public Works
Director Paul Bertagna says
the new building will be
completed and online by
mid-April, prior to the open-
ing of the campground for the
season.
• Council approved the
awarding of a contract to
FCS Group of Seattle for
sewer and water rate con-
sultation services. The City
has a fiduciary responsibility
to fully fund the water and
sewer services, and the rates
have been frozen for a num-
ber of years. FCS, with a bid
of $36,615 (approximately
$18,000 per utility), was
thought to be far superior to
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the other candidates because
of their Oregon rate experi-
ence. Public Works Director
Paul Bertagna was able to
get FCS to reduce their bid to
$29,278, which includes three
trips to Sisters.
FCS will be studying all
the rates, how they are deter-
mined, and whether they are
adequately covering all cur-
rent and future expenditures.
There are a number of dif-
ferent methods for determin-
ing and implementing water
and sewer rates, and the final
result of the study will be rec-
ommendations from FCS for
the best method to be used
here in Sisters. City Manager
Rick Allen said the City
needs the professional help
from people who do this for a
living. It is beyond the scope
of staff’s expertise. The study
will be done in fiscal year
2016-17, with new rates to
take effect January 2018.
• At the December meet-
ing of the Urban Forestry
Board, City Forester Dan
Galecki reported on five pon-
derosa trees located in the
Creekside Campground, three
of which are dead and two
unhealthy. Two are located
near the bathroom, one dead
and one deformed and in poor
condition. They will prob-
ably be removed at the time
the new bathroom goes in this
winter.
Another ponderosa,
located at Campsite No. 58,
is completely dead and has
already been approved for
removal. Galecki reported
there is an unusual black
stain coming out of the bark,
a condition he has never seen
before in a ponderosa. The
other two trees are past the
dog run area. One has suf-
fered beetle kill and should
be removed. The other is
approximately 75 feet tall
and has been tagged before
because of its condition,
which is worsening. Galecki
said it already has a number
of holes and burrows in it
being used by wildlife. He
recommends keeping it as a
wildlife tree, provided pro-
visions can be made to pre-
vent it from being a danger to
campers. For now, it will be
observed for its condition and
any potential danger it may
pose.
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