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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2020)
6 Wednesday, September 30, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Henderson seeks second term as commissioner By Jim Cornelius Editor in Chief Phil Henderson believes his track record as a Deschutes County Commissioner should earn him the votes for a sec- ond term in Position #2. He is running for re-election November 3, against chal- lenger Phil Chang. Henderson cites his work on resolving problems with a new 911 radio system, efforts to promote affordable hous- ing, and forest management as areas where his efforts have given value to the citi- zens of Deschutes County. HOUSING The commissioner acknowledged that the Sisters area and western Deschutes County are different in some ways from other areas of Deschutes County. The county owns little land in the area, which takes leveraging county lands for affordable housing off the table here. But Henderson believes his approach to land use could help Sisters provide for more housing. Henderson is an advocate for allowing for more housing in rural areas whose current farm or forest zoning would not allow for it 4 areas that are <zoned one way and it9s really not usable that way,= as Henderson puts it. <I think our land use sys- tem is kind of archaic,= he said. He advocates for <allow- ing rural residents to have accessory dwellings. Accessory dwelling units would be a great place for someone to rent out to some- one who9s working in Sisters, or a family member who wants to live there,= he said. He noted that the county will play a major role in helping the City of Sisters to determine where and how to expand its urban growth boundary during the compre- hensive plan update that is just now getting underway. <We need to have places that people can live in and own for less than $300,000,= Henderson said. <Young peo- ple are buying houses that are really expensive.= The commissioner does not believe modification of land-use policies will lead to urban sprawl. <Eighty percent of our county is publicly owned anyway, so we9re not going to lose that feeling of openness, of ruralness.= LAW ENFORCEMENT The commissioner is pleased with the <good con- tract= between the City of Sisters and the Deschutes County Sheriff 9s Office, which provides for deputies who serve only in the Sisters area. He said the county is committed to having a law- enforcement presence that is well-integrated into the Sisters community, which is evidenced by the county purchasing the building that houses the local sheriff 9s substation. Henderson says he does not see a strong sentiment to <defund the police= in Central Oregon. <I think we9re a pretty strong law-and-order commu- nity in Central Oregon,= he said. <It seems like there are different kinds of problems in different places, and we really haven9t seen the kind of problems that have been complained about and pro- tested about in other places in America.= He acknowledged that responding to mental-health- related calls is a significant aspect of law enforcement9s challenges in 21st Century America 4 and he thinks Deschutes County is doing a good job on that front. <I think our sheriff has been pretty progressive at looking at the mental-health aspect,= he said. <He also pushed for mental-health ser- vices in the jail.= The Deschutes County Stabilization Center 4 designed to provide short- term assistance to people in crisis who have been referred to law enforcement or the Emergency Department 4 is slated to go to 24/7 service in October. While his opponent criti- cizes the County9s hesitancy to fund mental-health ser- vices (see story, page 7), Henderson is pleased with the two-year grant funding they secured for the Center. <We were able to reduce the budget significantly from what they wanted to spend initially, and we have the ser- vices we need,= he said. He said that it is impor- tant to raise awareness of the Stabilization Center so that it is used appropriately. <If it9s working, I9m not against 24/7,= he said. <I9m just cautious about making sure we do it right and don9t have people idle and that sort of thing.= WILDFIRE The threat of wildfire is ever-present in Sisters Country 4 and feels even more acute in the wake of the catastrophic blazes that destroyed communi- ties on the west side of the Cascades earlier this month. Henderson holds the County Commission9s seat on the Deschutes Forest Collaborative, pressing for forest treatments to protect communities in the wildland- urban interface. <I9d really like us to keep doing what we9re doing 4 but do more of it,= he said. <I9d be for as much as we can get done.= Henderson said that the Oregon and other Western congressional delegations have not always presented a united front in advocating for more intensive management of forests. And congressmen and Senators from Eastern states don9t understand the perils and imperatives of public land management in the West. Earlier this month, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden said that the suffocating cloud of smoke that inundated Sisters and most of the rest of the region is <debt coming due= for decades of <lousy= forest management. <That is a huge break- through,= Henderson said. <We need to march together,= he said. <County commissioners can advocate for that.= Henderson has told The Nugget that emphasis in recent years has been on changing smoke rules to allow for more prescribed burning in the springtime. Areas that have been thinned and burned have provided fire breaks that materially assisted firefighters in pro- tecting Sisters from the 2012 Pole Creek Fire and the 2017 Milli Fire. More prescribed burning can be a tough sell to local residents. Henderson isn9t sure that will change, even in the face of this year9s cata- strophic blazes. <I think it should, logi- cally,= he said. But Henderson noted that locals pushed back on more burning after the Milli Fire, which inundated Sisters with smoke for weeks and forced the cancellation of the Sisters Folk Festival. <They were so sick of smoke they were more sen- sitive to it,= he said. <Lots of smoke this year does not make people want more smoke next year.= Henderson pointed to the hiring of a second county forester to work on creat- ing fire-safe communities and a doubling of FireFree debris disposal days as con- crete steps toward protecting communities. COVID-19 The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted government functions, just as it has the business and cultural life of Central Oregon. The county budget did not takes as big a hit as was anticipated when the crisis began in March, as gas taxes and transient room taxes held up. Property taxes continue to hold up as the area continues to grow, though there may be some impact if people impacted by COVID-19 are slow to pay their taxes. Henderson says that he is proud of the County9s response to the pandemic. <I think we9ve done a tremendous job,= he said. <We9re the seventh-largest county in the state and we9re 18th in cases by population. I think the people who live here did a tremendous job& For a very heavy commercial, heavily-traveled area, we9ve done very well. He also cited the work of County staff, whom he regards as some of the best contact tracers in the state. The commissioner argues that the county could have done more to assist people put under stress by the pan- demic, but counties, he said, <didn9t get our fair share of the CARES ACT (funding).= He argues that the State of Oregon held onto a dispro- portionate share of that fund- ing for its own priorities. <We9re on the ground; we know what would help,= he said. He said that the county attempted to assist with childcare provision, business assistance, and fee rebates for restaurants. <We did things that tried to target certain entities and needs,= he said. <We could have done more if we had our full allocation.= Henderson said that as the pandemic and its impacts linger, the County may be able to help events and activities move forward by providing space, includ- ing the Deschutes County Fairgrounds. <We9ve got a lot of square PHOTO PROVIDED footage to spread people out in,= he said. <We9re very sup- portive of that 4 all the com- missioners are.= <I9m & concerned about the long term,= he said. <That this will just keep going like it is.= Henderson believes his work has earned him a second term and that his background as a builder and an attorney is an asset. <I9ve contributed on so many issues,= he said. <My experience does help& I9m not a perfect public servant 4 but I think I9m a good one.= Quality Truck-mounted CARPET CLEANING Quality Cleaning 16 years in Reasonable Prices Sisters! — Credit Cards Accepted — ENVIROTECH 541-771-5048 Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB#181062 RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL