Wednesday, October 14, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
13
Ross seeks diverse mix of housing, managed growth
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Gary Ross believes that
the concern about growth in
Sisters is a legitimate one. He
also acknowledges that, due to
a lack of affordable housing,
service workers in Sisters, of
necessity, often have to drive
from Bend, Redmond and
beyond to work here.
He suggests that as Sisters
grows, there isn9t so much
a need for more monolithic
neighborhoods, but rather a
diverse mix of housing, with
a variety of price points, so
workers can afford to live in
Sisters.
Ross reported he was asked
to run for Sisters City Council
by a number of Sisters resi-
dents after he wrote a Letter
to the Editor in The Nugget
about safety concerns sur-
rounding event traffic around
Creekside Park. He also has
some creative ideas for mini-
mizing conflicts between
automobile traffic and bicy-
clists along Washington and
Jefferson Avenues.
His education at
University of South Maine
led to a professional-tech-
nical bachelor9s degree. A
Master of Education in Media
from Utah State provided
the foundation for his years
of work as the Professional-
Technical Coordinator for the
Springfield Oregon School
District. Under Ross9 guid-
ance, the Springfield district
had the first 3D printer west
of the Mississippi, while he
served as the president of
the Northwest Technology
Association.
Ross also held posi-
tions of Media Director and
PHOTO PROVIDED
Facilities Director with the
Lane Education Service
District. When district bud-
get cuts became necessary,
Ross eliminated his position
and contracted back to the
district so his four employees
could keep their positions.
Following some surgery, he
decided to take early retire-
ment and move east of the
mountains.
Ross and wife, Judy, pur-
chased their home in Sisters
in 2016 and moved over from
the valley in the spring of
2017. He left behind an exten-
sive public service career
including his eight years of
serving as an elected director
of the WillamaLane Park and
Recreation District. Once here
he became involved in Sisters
as a member of the City Parks
Advisory Board, a member
of the SOAR Foundation
Board, and on the City Budget
Committee.
Ross says he understands
how to be an elected official
and has extensive experi-
ence with public budgeting,
long-range planning, system
development charges review,
bonds, and expansion of facil-
ities. He has experience with
the Trust for Public Lands and
has lobbied in Washington,
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D.C. Ross considers him-
self an ethical person who is
above reproach.
When asked if there is any
decision made by the current
Council that he would have
voted differently upon, he
referred to allowing Phase 4
of the ClearPine development
to move forward when, in his
estimation, the developer had
not fully met the conditions
he agreed to in 2007 regard-
ing 10 affordable housing
units.
<The partners have prof-
ited well from the higher-end
homes they have constructed
and should be required to meet
all obligations fully. With 13
years to meet this obligation,
I believe all affordable units
should have been family units
on their own lots... To me the
original agreement was clear
and should be honored.=
(Six multi-family units
are being built by Habitat for
Humanity and two others are
a single rental property with
an accessory dwelling unit.)
Ross grew up in a small
rural tourist town in the north-
east corner of Maine, across
the river from Canada, where
people came to fish. He lik-
ened it to Sisters and said he
knows what it9s like to live in
a tourist town.
His hopes for Sisters
include managing growth in
a way that doesn9t harm the
city, tying the City9s annual
goals to the goals and values
identified in the Sisters Vision
Plan.
<Whatever happens with
long-range planning,= he
said, <I want to maintain the
quality of life, while respect-
ing Sisters9 long history and
embracing new people.=
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