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Wednesday, November 20, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
City snapshot — wildfire planning and holiday scheduling
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
" Due to the Thanksgiving
and Christmas holidays, there
won9t be Sisters City Council
meetings on the fourth
Wednesday of November and
December. The only Council
meeting left in 2019 will
be Wednesday, December
11. There will be an Urban
Renewal meeting at the con-
clusion of the regular Council
meeting. The tentative URA
agenda item is continued
discussion around updating
the Urban Renewal Plan first
adopted in 2003, including
the project list, duration of
plan, and priorities.
" The Sisters Country
Entrepreneurs and Executives
Network (SCEEN) has begun
meeting. This new informal
networking opportunity is
for entrepreneurs, remote
workers, executives (work-
ing, retired, semi-retired),
and all those who support
entrepreneurship in Sisters
Country. At the first meeting
on October 22 at Fika Coffee,
there were about 40 people in
attendance. The next meeting
will be January 21. Contact
Caprielle Lewis, director of
Sisters Country Economic
Development, at caprielle@
edcoinfo.com to learn more.
" The City Council, work-
ing with staff, is updating and
adding clarity to regulations
regarding public events and
transient merchants, which
have deficiencies in code
language. While recognizing
the intrinsic value of Sisters
public events, the City is
responsible for balancing
the impact of public events
on public facilities, streets,
and parks. The ordinance
having to do with transient
merchants currently contains
inconsistent terminology and
little leverage for enforcing
violations. Draft ordinances
are available for review in the
November 13 City Council
packet (found on the City
website under <Agendas and
Minutes=). Council hopes to
adopt changes in December
or January to take effect start-
ing in the 2020 event season.
" The City received a
partial matching grant from
Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department to upgrade the
Village Green Park play
structure. Three alternative
designs that meet the budget
will be presented by City staff
to the Parks Advisory Board.
They will pick two for the
public to review. Community
stakeholders, Sisters School
District, and Sisters Park and
Recreation District will pro-
vide input on a single pre-
ferred alternative. The final
design will be presented to
the City Council for consent
to move forward with pro-
curement and construction.
" The Community Wildfire
Protection Plan is being
drafted and is available for
viewing and public comment
at www.projectwildfire.org/
cwpps. Sisters is one of the
first two cities in the state to
have such a plan. It is not a
regulatory document, rather it
is a planned vision for prepa-
ration with community part-
ners. Plans include identified
critical evacuation routes,
transportation plans, water
availability and community
education.
" Deschutes County and an
ad hoc committee are review-
ing wildfire risk maps and
evaluating stricter building
codes for wildfire-resistant
construction. The 12-person
committee is made up of two
fire chiefs, insurance repre-
sentatives, builders, realtors,
citizens and retired wildland
fire personnel. Part of their
job is to balance building
requirements with affordabil-
ity. The Wildfire Management
Advisory Committee9s prog-
ress can be tracked online at
www.deschutes.org/ed/page/
wildfire-mitigation-advisory-
committee. The City Council
will use this information to
evaluate options to amend
building and development
regulations to increase resis-
tance to wildfires within the
city.
" The City has submitted
their comments on the draft
Intergovernmental Agreement
for the US 20/Locust round-
about engineering to ODOT.
Staff is awaiting a revised
IGA from ODOT for Council
review/approval.
" The City9s water system
has recently undergone sev-
eral improvements with new
lines in the Hood alley and
along Locust Street. Design
work has started on the Oak
Street and Fir Street water-
line improvements. The Well
4 Design and Construction
Administration Request for
Quote has been advertised
with proposals due back to
the City by November 20.
" Creekside Campground
is closed for the season and
will reopen April 1, 2020,
on a first-come, first-served
basis until reservations
become active May 1, 2020.
Reservations for 2020 will
open January 2, 2020.
" The new principal plan-
ner for the City, Nicole
Mardell, will start her work
on December 2. She brings
a wealth of experience and
passion for urban and com-
munity planning. She has
most recently worked for
Deschutes County in both
short- and long-range plan-
ning. She was also involved in
that capacity with the Sisters
Country Vision project.
" The Planning Commis-
sion, at their November 21
workshop, will be reviewing
objectives and policies for
Comprehensive Plan Goal 1
(Citizen Input) and Goal 10
(Housing). They will also be
reviewing several proposed
Development Code amend-
ments regarding special flood
hazard area overlay, com-
munications facilities, and
public works construction
standards.
" Recently appointed to
the Housing Policy Advisory
Board are Jeff Seymour for
three years, representing the
Planning Commission, real-
tor Tim Kizziar for three
years, and Mandee Seeley for
one year, serving as an in-city
representative. Real estate
appraiser Dana Bratton was
appointed to the City Parks
Advisory Board for a three-
year term.
" The City of Sisters was
awarded a Building a Better
Central Oregon Award by the
Central Oregon Association
of Realtors for making a
significant impact with the
completion of the Highway
20 roundabout.
TIME TO PUT ON
WINTER TIRES
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CONCEALED CARRY
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November 25 • 6 p.m. only
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For more information:
Tasty THURSDAY
November 21, 5 to 7 p.m.
Thanksgiving Wines
LIVE MUSIC
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