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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2018)
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon POLICING: Councilors contemplating review of services Continued from page 1 on the busier weekends in Sisters from Memorial Day through the Sisters Folk Festival,” Bailey explained. The days and hours of the weekend bike patrols vary but the deputies will be in the downtown area during the busier parts of the day. Occasionally in conversa- tion, the idea of reinstating a Sisters Police Department surfaces. Prior to contract- ing with the County, Sisters had its own police force with vehicles, including a motor- cycle now housed at the pub- lic works facility. City manager Brant Kucera told The Nugget he thinks as the city continues to grow, the need for a local police force will probably also grow. Council President Nancy Connolly notes that as Sisters’ population and tour- ism numbers have increased, there has been an increase in Residents told to boil water Residents in the Sage Meadow area were given notice on Sunday to boil their water due to samples from Indian Meadow Water Company testing positive for e. coli and total coliform bacteria. The water company issued a “boil water notice” instruct- ing all Indian Meadow Water Company customers to use bottled water or to bring their water to a rolling boil, boil for one minute and cool before using. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking, making ice, washing dishes, brushing teeth, washing fruits and vegetables, preparing food or baby formula and cleaning food-contact surfaces. According to the notice, e. coli and total coliform bacteria were found in water samples taken August 9. Repeat sam- ples taken August 10 tested positive for total coliform bac- teria, but not for e. coli. The water company is seeking to clarify the source of the contamination, com- ing either from a reservoir or one of three wells. Additional samples were taken to a lab on Monday, August 13. Residents were advised that they would likely have to boil water for four days from the time of the notice — or until the problem is resolved. complaints regarding quality of life issues (vandalism, car break-ins, etc.). She said the current visioning process has highlighted this concern. “During the upcoming City strategic planning ses- sion, I will advocate for a feasibility study for the pos- sibility of reinstating a City of Sisters Police Department. I hope all aspects, including regional partnerships, will be investigated,” Connolly said. “It has been over 20 years since Sisters disbanded its police force. Our con- tract with Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office ends June 2020. I believe our popula- tion growth combined with increased tourism merits a thorough review of current and future police services.” Mayor Chuck Ryan con- curred with Connolly’s assessment and added another concern. “We definitely need to analyze this as part of our upcoming strategic plan pro- cess. I really don’t know how feasible it is financially to have our own force, but I will go on record in saying that there are some concerns I have with the current arrangement, including the fact that the dis- cipline in record-keeping has been lacking.” Sgt. Bailey pointed out, “The contract deputy working in the city of Sisters comes with full services the DCSO provides to the community. Those services include the response of the entire patrol team of six to eight depu- ties, the Detective Division, Search and Rescue services, SWAT team response, patrol vehicles, and automotive maintenance.” Bailey indicated that in a recent case involving serving a warrant here in Sisters for attempted murder, the SWAT team was required. “When you need them, you need them,” Bailey said. For the first year (2017- 18) of the current three-year contract with the DCSO, there was no increase in cost over the prior year. This year’s amount of $588,316 reflects a four percent inflationary increase and 2019-20 will see another four percent increase. Sgt. Bailey indicated that the number of cases han- dled each year fluctuates. That number can be easily impacted depending on sev- eral factors. He used as an example, if there are 10 car break-ins in one or two eve- nings, probably done by the same perpetrator, each one of those break-ins is written up as a separate case, so it can look like there is a spike in crime when in fact, one indi- vidual in a few days can skew the total. When asked if the types of crimes or level of crime in Sisters is changing over the past five years, Bailey responded, “As population increases, crime in that area can be expected to increase proportionately. Vandalism or criminal mischief cases for the last five years in Sisters are: 2013 – 36; 2014 – 10; 2015 – 23; 2016 – 16; 2017 – 9; and so far in 2018 – 3.” Overall case numbers varied from 146 in 2016, to 119 in 2017, and 128 so far in 2018. To establish a City police force would require front-end expenditures, requiring the accumulation of funds prior to start-up for such things as vehicle purchase and equipment. 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