Wednesday, September 16, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
17
COUNCIL GOALS
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Livability and Growth
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hich is extremely
sustainability and
th of our school
many of our small
ed tremendously
and I would like
heir tenacity and
ability. We reached
esses to promote
communication and help in any way within
our means. One of those initiatives was
for the City to allow businesses to create
“parklets” on City right of ways to help
expand customer capacity.
I also need to mention the tremen-
dous support our residents receive from
the many nonprofit organizations that are
active in Sisters. They are mostly volunteer
organizations that do so many great things
for our community, from youth-oriented
programs to helping the disadvantaged and
homeless. The City Council just this month
awarded almost $40,000 to 23 nonprofits to
help promote their many initiatives.
In closing, you can be assured that the
City will continue its hard work and focus
on forward planning to ensure our inevita-
ble growth is well-balanced with required
infrastructure funding while preserving our
small-town feel and quality of life that we
cherish. I am so proud to have served as
your Mayor for the past four years and am
incredibly proud of our City Council and
City staff.
PARKS Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
and the City partnered to fund and build a new
play structure at Village Green Park. One of the
important features of the new structure is ADA
accessibility. A second park improvement project
will take place at Creekside Park to
retrofit the pedestrian bridge ramp to
meet ADA requirements.
Projects aim to ensure there are adequate
supplies of buildable land within the City and
preserve the small-town feel of the community.
An update to the Comprehensive Plan
will begin this fall. This project is a large
undertaking that will update the City’s guiding
legal document for growth and development
for a 20-year timeframe. The project builds on
the 2019 Community Vision and will explore
topics related to housing, the economy, natural
resources, and community character among
other topics.
Public Safety
Strategies include expanded service for
law enforcement, improving traffic safety,
particularly around bicycle and pedestrian
amenities, and building on past wildfire
resiliency planning.
A Traffic Safety Study is currently underway
in the City to identify intersection and roadway
issues. The City’s Traffic Engineer will analyze
the traffic data and provide recommendations
for the best ways to invest future capital funds
to improve vehicle, pedestrian, and bike safety
throughout the City.
Essential Infrastructure
This strategy is focused on investing in water, wastewater, streets and
parks as the foundation of our community.
The City is in the process of developing a fourth municipal groundwater
supply (Well 4). The new well will produce 2.15 cfs or approximately 950
gallons per minute. Phase I is the development of the actual well with drilling
anticipated to be completed by December 2020.
Phase II is the construction of the pumpstation
and associated piping with project completion
scheduled for spring 2021. This project is
funded with water System Development
Charges collected from new development to
offset their impact to the water system.
Good Governance
These initiatives support a fiscally responsible, transparent,
and responsive local government organization for the community
both now and strategically into the future. The City has six boards
to help guide staff and the City Council. They include the City
Parks Advisory Board, Planning Commission,
Urban Forestr y Board,
Housing Policy Advisory
Board, Budget
Committee and
a new Public
Works Advisory
Board.
Economic Development
LAW ENFORCEMENT
In 2020 the City entered a five-year contract
with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office to
provide law enforcement services to the City.
Sisters will now have three permanent deputies
and a lieutenant assigned to the City.
.CI.SISTERS.OR.US
This goal builds on past successes to maintain Sisters as a tourist
destination and attract traded-sector businesses for a diverse, sustainable
economy that supports the community’s creative culture while spurring
investment and adding living-wage jobs.