Image provided by: Friends of the Sandy Public Library; Sandy, OR
About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 1980)
Inside the Post Voi. 70 No. 8 Inside B u sin ess......................Page 3. Section I Editorial, le t t e r s ........... Keeping Posted Page t . Section I ............. .... Page 8. Section I N ew map- Auction see pg. 4, action- see sec. I pg. 1, sec. II Menus.........................................Page ». Section I Area N e w s .............................. Page 1. Section II Around the C o u n ty............... Page 2. Section II Home and G arden................. Page 4. Section II Television Directory . . Pages 6-8, Section I I I Sports. R ecreation.........Pages 1-8. Section 111 The Voters OK library levy N $1.43 million-per year serial levy to finance the Clackamas County cooperative library system was ap proved by voters in the special election Tuesday, guaranteeing funds for libraries for the next three years. A $3 m illion special levy to continue the present level of services at Mt. Hood Community College was also approved, ending speculation that the library would have to eliminate per- The vote on the three-year library levy was 4,770-3,430. The property tax rate which homeowners w ill now pay is 27 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation. That is down from 30 cents per $1,000 paid on the levy which expired July 1. The vote on MHCC’s ballot “ A” , providing $2,482,941, was 7,473 yes, 5,864 no. Ballot " B ” which provides an ad ditional $551,665, was passed by a narrower margin, 6,684-6,630. The MHCC election was the first to test the new two-ballot system, begun by the 1979 Legislature. Under the new process, the “ A” ballot allows taxing districts to in crease levy requests to allow for in flation and population growth. That amount is eligible for state payment of up to 30 percent of homeowner’s property taxes. Additional money must be generated by a “ B” b allot That money is not eligible for state support. In the races for the two positions on the college’s board, incumbent Polly Casterline defeated Tom Dennehy 1,354-1,061. In the race for the vacant Zone 2 spot, which serves the Sandy area, Mary Opray defeated Roger Kromer 2,334- 1,800. Hearing slated Monday on ‘no frills' budget The City of Sandy w ill ask voters to approve a "no frills ” $270,392.17 special property tax levy when they go to the polls March 25. ‘ ‘The expenditure appropriations have been reviewed by each depart ment and are the m inim al ap propriations to sustain the current level of service in most cases,” according to City Manager Roger Jordan. “ In some cases it was not possible to sustain existing service levels.” This is the first year under the new state law controlling property taxes. The law provides for the state to pay up to 30 percent of the property taxes for operating purposes. However, the state has set the lim it to which they w ill participate as last year’s levy plus inflation and growth. Any levy outside this amount must be approved by taxpayers on a separate ballot “ B ” without state participation. In addition, the state has limited the taxable value of property. “ This year our taxable property, while actually growing by well over 30 percent with new construction and inflation, w ill be lim ited to much less,” Jordan said in his budget message. "This new lim itation has the effect of incrementally raising our tax rate, since the amount of taxable property on which we spread the cost is not in creasing proportionately with growth.” Jordan called this a "drastic change from previous years when the tremendous increases in the value of property have decreased rates.” The proposed budget w ill cost $4.64 per $1,000 assessed valuation. The Sandy budget was prepared without contemplation of any ballot “ B” therefore, the state w ill pay 30 percent of the operating levy. The new state law allows a levy of $282,979. However, the uncollectable amount is expected to be nine percent, which gives a total tax resource of $257,511. Because the c ity ’s allowable tax base is only $12,586.83, tb*i city w ill have to conduct an election outside the six percent lim it for $270,392.17. Under the general fund, the city council would be appropriated $3,250. That is down from last year when council received $3,500. The decrease is due to a lessening of the travel ex penditure. The city manager’s office w ill receive a budget of $79,056. Included in that amount is a CETA-funded ad ministrative trainee to assist with grantsmanship. Other departments under the general fund are legal and judicial, $12,770; finance officer, $24,128; library, $62,262; police, $235,745; community center, $2,450. Other proposed appropriations under the general fund are $22,501 for recreation department; $45,572 for senior citizens programs; $1,000 for parks; $26,192 fo r the planning department, and $38,028 for the building department. Public works w ill receive $210,954 and $43,623 w ill be spent in the non- departmental fund. The city w ill hold a public hearing on the proposed budget Monday, Feb. 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the city council cham bers. Snow removal costs set Snow removal in the Columbia Gorge and throughout Oregon during the week of January 7 through 15 cost the state $197,000, according to state highway engineer H . Scott Coulter. Clearing snow on 1-80 from the Cascade Ixx?ks to The Dalles, known as Operation Snowmarch, cost $105,000 while an additional $92,000 was spent on Clatskanie, Banfield, North Portland and Milwaukie sections of highways. The highway division had to bring in trained personnel from around the state because it did not have the equipment or personnel trained to handle the unprecedented amounts of snow that closed I-80N for a few days. When in full force, there were 18 rotary snowplows, eight heavy plows, four medium plows, 15 light trucks, five motor graders and 125 people working to remove about one million tons of snow. Cable T V companies OK'd; Commissioner fears over-run *1 Three more cable television companies have been given the go-ahead to operate in Clackamas County, bringing the total number to four and prompting county commissioner Ralph Groener to worry the companies "m ay trip over each other " But Assistant County Counsel Jack Schwab defended the county’s non exclusive franchise policy, saying "the public w ill make the decision as to which companies they w ill be serviced by, rather than having that decision made for them by the county By granting the companies fran chises, the county allows them to string cable in the rural parts of the county. In September, com m issioners granted franchise to Liberty Cable Television, which covers the Oak Grove-Jennings Lodge area. Since then, commissioners have granted franchises to Warner Cable, Storer Communications and Cascade Utilities. Cascade U tilitie s , a telephone company with offices in Estacada, plans to operate only in the Estacada area, said Tom Gorman, vice president of customers relations. Right now we’re putting all the paperwork together,” said Gorman, "so it's hard to say what the next steps w ill be. We re applying for an FCC licensing, and that w ill probably take a couple months, "Since the county franchise only applies to the area outside the city, we’ll probably go to the city council for permission to go inside the c ity ,” Gorman said. "This is a natural area for cable, we feel, and the phone company, which already has the lines and some of the equipment that a cable TV system needs, would be ideal to handle it.” k County crews have begun work on the washout that has blocked Ten Eyck Road since Jan. 14. Crews are now laying down a track so heavy equipment can clear debris at the bottom of the ravine and begin work on a culvert that w ill avert such washouts in the future. Work is expected to take a few more weeks. Ten Eyck problems continue by DAN DILLON Work on Ten Eyck Road is un derway, but criticism and concerns continue to surround the project. County crews are working seven days a week during daylight hours, according to Hugh Kalani, county road superintendent, but he is hesitant to put a timeline on the project. One person who is not hesitant to discuss the p ro je ct is Sandy businessman Don Obrist. “ If I did it the way they’re going at it, I ’d be broke tomorrow.” Obrist, who operates a gravel pit and fill operation, is critical of the county’s policy of hauling its fill from G ar field, above Estacada, rather than the county pit at Brightwood. However, Kalani claimed the distance is approximately the same fro m G a rfie ld as it is from Brightwood. Currently, 10 trucks are hauling, but when fillin g begins, more trucks w ill be used, Kalani said. “ I told them I ’d donate my loader for two days, if they’d get 30 trucks to keep my six-yard loader going. Free of charge,” Obrist said. Kalani said the offer never reached his desk, “ n we had one for free, I ’d certainly take him up on it.” Because Obrist said the offer still stands, when the serious hauling with more trucks begins, perhaps the county and Obrisi can get together and strike a deal. In the meantime, residents who live in the area served by Ten Eyck Road are concerned about fire and medical protection. Fire Chief Bob Rathke said Tuesday that the district has had “ five or six” calls in that area since the road washed out Jan. 14. Of those calls two involved fires and one was a heart attack. The heart attack victim died. “ I really can’t say whether the running time would have made a difference,” Rathke said. Normal running time to that location is three to three and one-half minutes. The rescue unit responded in 21 minutes, because it had to go by way of Coalman Road. Another problem the long running tim e firings about is the length of time it takes a piece of apparatus out of service. Instead of the normal eight to 10 minutes a piece m ight be on the road, now they are gone 40 minutes. To combat that problem, Rathke has instituted a staggered response program. The first unit w ill respond Code 3 with lights and sirens. A second unit holds at a certain point, such as Baty and Coalman Roads, before com m itting itself to thé trip all the way down Coalman Road. The third piece w ill hold at the highway. When the firefighters are certain of the severity of a fire, then the rest of the equipment responds ac cordingly from their hold positions. This helps response time to a second call should a simultaneous alarm occur. Rathke is attempting to work out an arrangement with Clackamas County to allow a fire district vehicle pass through the construction project on Ten Eyck to respond to medical emergencies. As yet, that plan has not been confirmed. Problems at the repair site, ac cording to Kalani, are a lack of space and the large amount of moisture that is retained in the mountain. The hill, he said, is “ super-saturated.” The problem that has created is s till in the process of being corrected. The new drainage system is s till being constructed. When that is completed, the heavy hauling w ill begin. To assist with that, Kalani has lined up extra trucks to help the county haul fill and Obrist is willing to contribute a loader too. “ I ’ll take my big 8 down to the county pit (at Brightwood) and load it,” Obrist said. He is a resident of Kubitz Road and uses Ten Eyck when it is usable. Like the rest of the residents in the area, he is w illing to do anything to get the job done and get the pace of life back to normal for everybody. Annual mayor’s message: City faces fiscal challenges Despite surviving the fiscal night mares of 1979, there w ill be no time for the City of Sandy to let down, Mayor Ruth Ixiudree said Monday. "The past few years have brought the pains of inflation, but this year those pains have multiplied beyond belief. Next year it w ill be difficult, if not impossible, to simply continue the existing level of city services," she said in the annual m ayor’s message. “ The challenge of the future is clear; we cannot let down for one minute. We are fortunate that our efforts last year met the challenge, but for the for- seeable future it w ill get more difficult, rather than easier,” the mayor said. Summarizing 1979 as a “ hard year for the City of Sandy,” Ixiundree outlined fiscal woes and the struggle to keep up with inflation. “ An audit of the city finances showed several funds in a deficit position,” she said. “ In fact, it appeared that if adjustments were not made the city could end the fiscal year over $300,000 in debt.” She congratulated the city manager, council and budget committee for meeting the challenge and bringing the budget into balance by the end of fiscal 1979. Now the budgetary problems are lessened. “ Fortunately, it appears we were successful, as the state auditor has informed us that we ended the year with all but one fund in balance.” That is a $50,000 debt for property purchase. The city experienced an 8.9 percent growth rate with more than $6 m illion in new construction valuation. Com m ercial growth was encouraging with the addition of Independent Bank of Sandy, Benj. Franklin Savings and Ix » n and the major remodeling of Clackamas County Bank. New com m e rc ia l and in d u s tria l growth broadened the economic base “ Certainly, our philosophy is to ac commodate growth which is inevitable in our area, and yet not encourage growth at all costs. To ensure this goal, we spent much of last year developing a comprehensive plan for Sandy,” she said. Completion of the comprehensive plan, Loudree said, is a major item scheduled for 1980 “ We have already initiated an effort to ensure our share of industrial and commercial growth, and 1 am appointing several local residents to an Economic Development Com mission for Sandy. The purpose of the Commission w ill be to ensure that the city takes the appropriate actions to encourage future economic develop ment for our community.” Im pro vin g street conditions is another priority the city must tackle in the upcoming year, the mayor said. South Bluff w ill finally begin to see an improvement project this year after postponements in the past. In addition, Ixiundree expressed hope that Tupper Road would also see improvements in the coming year Of prim ary importance is the fiscal management of the city. "This year is the first year that we are all governed by the new state laws on both local property taxes and on the conduct of local elections,' Ixiundree said “ Under the new laws, cities are lim ited in the amount and method of generating funds for our local budgets, and we can no longer conduct our own elections,” she said “ Unfortunately, this increase of state control over our operation and the overriding of our local charter w ill continue, rather than decrease, in the future. However, we must continue to fight to keep the right to make our own local decisions,” she emphasized. A very important matter is the ex pansion of the Sandy Sewage Treat ment Plant. " I f growth continues at the present rate, the existing plant w ill reach capacity within the next two years, and if growth should increase tremendously, it could be sooner,” she said. As a result, the city has included a Sewer Facility Expansion study in the 1980-81 budget. Other priorities include park im provements, improvement of city equipm ent, the continuation of cooperative ventures such as the countywide library cooperative and community school agreement, the expansion of the library and city hall, and the resolution and payment of LID No. 4 warrants Any person who would desire the complete text of the mayor’s annual message may contact city hall.
