community
april6
2017
3
Salem Report
By Representative Brad Witt
As you may
know, House Dis-
trict 31 includes all
of Columbia County,
rural NW Multnomah
County including Sau-
vie Island and a lot of
Forest Park, and almost half of Washing-
ton County. It is a district rich in natural
resources, with miles of streams, river
banks and forested habitat. We couldn’t
live in a more beautiful part of the state.
Recently, in my Ways and Means Sub-
committee on Natural Resources, we
reviewed the budget for the Oregon Wa-
tershed Enhancement Board (OWEB)
[http://www.oregon.gov/OWEB/pages/
index.aspx], and I wanted to share some
of the information that was covered be-
cause it bears directly on the care and
maintenance of a huge portion of Dis-
trict 31.
Since 1999 OWEB has provided
funding to support local capacity for
watershed councils, soil and water
conservation districts and other local
restoration partners. They focus on the
use of scientific criteria to jointly decide
what needs to be done to conserve and
improve the natural habitat where we
live, and their funds are derived from
the Oregon Lottery, federal dollars and
salmon license plate revenue.
For the last 18 years, OWEB has
provided more than 8,200 grants to local
volunteer efforts, keeping Oregon’s
water clean and habitats healthy. About
67% of the funds invested go directly
to on-the-ground improvements of land
and water such as native plantings, dam
removals, irrigation efficiencies, streams
and rivers made accessible to fish, and
land protected for future generations.
The other 33% supports related activities
such as project design, watershed
workshops and field experiences for
K-12 and adults, and data collection
before and after the project to determine
effectiveness.
To give you an idea of what has
been spent in terms of local dollars since
1999, here is the breakdown for my three
counties: Columbia County $8,502,141;
Multnomah County - $11,363,560;
Washington County - $4,263,789.
What did we get for our money?
Adding up all three counties, restora-
tion projects have improved about 420
miles of streams, 216 miles of fish habi-
tat, 1,556 upland habitat acres and 3,048
wetland or estuarine habitat acres. Not
only does OWEB improve the land-
scape, every $1 million of public in-
vestment creates 15-24 jobs, and more
than 90 cents out of every grant dollar is
spent at local businesses and suppliers.
In reviewing this agency’s budget, it is
encouraging to me that it has a positive
record of accomplishment in my district.
Our Subcommittee will continue to re-
view this budget, and others before us,
prior to making any allocations. It will
not be an easy task given the budget cri-
sis that we are in.
As you know, Oregon has a
rigorous system of land use laws, dat-
ing back to the 70s when urban sprawl
threatened to overwhelm the agriculture
and natural resource lands of the Willa-
mette Valley. Watching our neighbors
to the south pave over acres and acres
of productive farmland was enough to
sound the alarm, and Governor McCall
and the legislative leaders at the time
passed SB 100 to help protect these pre-
cious resources. It was not easy then,
and it is not easy now, to ensure that the
system is fair and reflects the needs of
the times, particularly with regard to
economic development.
The Department of Land Con-
servation and Development (DLCD)
was created to oversee the process and
one of their objectives is to provide
grant funds to local governments for
a variety of planning projects. This is
the opportunity that cities and counties
have to get some state assistance for
economic development and technical
assistance. As I reviewed this budget in
my Subcommittee on Ways and Means,
I was keenly aware that these funds are
strategic and they make a difference in
our local communities.
One of the applications to come
before the DLCD was an application
for technical assistance from the City of
Scappoose. Following the expansion of
the Urban Growth Boundary, the City
urgently needed funds to help them
implement a compatible employment
plan for the Scappoose Industrial Air-
park. For a modest request of $3,500,
the City was able to update the zoning
map, which would then allow for a mix
of targeted light industrial, commercial
service and office, lodging and restau-
rant uses, all in the interests of provid-
ing increased employment opportuni-
ties. The request was granted and the
Airpark is well on its way to becoming
an economic engine for South County.
At the other end of my district
in Washington County, the City of
North Plains requested, and received,
a grant for $40,000 in order to prepare
a buildable lands inventory, a housing
needs analysis and an economic
opportunities analysis in order to
respond to the growth needs of Western
Washington County. Again, these grants
will facilitate strategies to support and
attract businesses that will provide
quality employment opportunities.
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Kala Cota
Stacey Lynn
Dr. Carol McIntyre
Representative Brad Witt
Photography
Scott Laird
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Contact: scott@vernoniasvoice.com
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Johnson and Witt Hold Town Hall in Vernonia
State Senator Betsy Johnson
and State Representative Brad Witt held
a joint Town Hall with constituents at the
Vernonia City Hall on Saturday, April 1,
2017.
Johnson and Witt addressed nu-
merous issues and concerns from the au-
dience, including fair housing, changes
to the Oregon Forest Protection Act,
fisheries on the Columbia River, sanctu-
ary cities, and fees for bicycles.
Johnson kicked off the meeting
by noting that Representative Witt is a
“policy guy” and that she is a “budget
guy” and of course, she works in the
Senate and he works in the House, so,
“you get two perspectives and two dif-
ferent takes.”
Representative Witt talked
about two bills he has introduced in the
State House, HB 2570, The Affordable
Homeownership Grant Program, and
HB 2961 which establishes a homeown-
ership repair and rehabilitation program.
Both programs would provide revolving
grants to eligible nonprofit organizations
to provide either opportunities for home-
ownership to persons in low income
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households, or financial assistance to
low income people for repairs and reha-
bilitation of residences. “There is such a
housing crisis across our state,” said Witt
“These bills are aimed at increasing the
number of housing units available for
people to live in.” Witt explained that the
bills would make funding available for
purchase or repairs and would be paid
back at zero or low interest, and then be
made available for someone else to use
in the same manner. Witt also noted that
he is working on a bill that addresses re-
verse mortgages.
Johnson took a moment to ac-
knowledge Community Action Team
(CAT) Director Dan Brown, who was in
the audience, and CAT’s work to address
housing issues in Columbia County.
Johnson said she is working on
the state budget and discussed the bud-
get process at the state level. Johnson
said both the Governor and the co-chairs
of the Legislature prepare budget docu-
ments and said the Governor relied on
revenue that has not been realized to bal-
ance her budget, terming it an “anticipa-
continued on page 10
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