V ol. 71
SANDY, OREGON, THURSDAY, JAN 8, 1981
No. 2
Post
¡481 180)
Single Copy 20’
Assessment ruling may slow road improvements
by DAN DILLON
The city of Sandy w ill seek the
opinion of outside counsel before it
decides whether or not to appeal a
recent court decision lim itin g the
amount of assessments it may collect
on the Heritage Square parking lot.
City Manager Roger Jordan said
Tuesday he w ili initiate a review of the
case by a consulting expert in the field
of local government law, the Portland
law firm of Ragen, Roberts, O’Scann-
lain, Robertson and Neill.
Clackamas County C ircuit Judge
Winston L. Bradshaw ruled Dec. 22 that
property owners involved in the local
improvement d istrict may be assessed
only |66,198 of th e 8106,000 the city spent
to build the parking lot.
Should the city decide to accept the
judge's decision, it would be faced with
absorbing nearly 846,000 in legal fees,
interest and construction costs.
According to Jordan, that could mean
the elimination of several local road
Improvement projects slated for 1981
including work on North B lu ff Road,
Revenue Avenue and Hood Street. The
judge's decision would cut a “ sub
stantial amount" from the city's street
fund and off-street parking fund.
I f the city decides to appeal, it w ill
have to issue new warrants on the
project, Jordan said. That would in
crease the interest costs of the project,
something the judge’s decision says the
city cannot collect. That would change,
however, if the appeal were successful.
Jordan said the independent review
should be completed within two weeks
and a decision to appeal or assess the
project at the new amounts should be
made “ by the end of January,
hopefully.”
The municipal parking lot, located
between
Pioneer
and
Proctor
boulevards just off Shelley Avenue, was
originally approved in A p ril, 1976. A t
the tim e of its go-ahead, the project cost
estimate did not include property
acquisition,
lighting,
underground
utilities or attorney fees.
The city contended in its legal brief
that those were legitim ate costs of the
p ro je ct Judge Bradshaw disagreed.
The original cost estimate was
867,566.
In June, 1979, notices of assessment
were mailed to the participating
property owners in the amount of
$104,979.76. The judge ruled that the
city had to follow the ordinance which
allows a city to charge improvement
districts only 15 percent more than the
original assessment.
So the city is left holding the 845,000
difference.
The participating property owners in
the project were the Heritage Square
Development Corp.; Georgia Shaffer,
owner of the Wheatland Building;
C arroll and Phyllis Rader, owners of
the F ro n tie r Building; B ill and Bette
Herzog, owners of T J’s Fireside
Dining; King Lau, owner of the Double
Dragon restaurant; Warren Decker,
owner of Decker’s Store, and A rth u r
Bolster and W ally Scales, owners of the
Bolster-Scales
professional
office
building.
According to Bradshaw’s opinion, the
Heritage Square Development Corp.,
Shaffer and Decker, who sued the city
along with the Bolster-Scales Company,
pressed the city to complete the
project, but were without knowledge
that the added improvements (lights,
underground
utilities
and
con
demnation costs) would cost more than
the engineer's original estimate plus 15
percent.
The Herzogs, I^au and the Raders
accepted their assessments and applied
for long-term Bancroft bonding.
Jordan said that because the lot is a
municipal parking lot, there are means
the city could take to recoup the 845,000,
such as lim itin g parking, installing
meters or charging to use the fa cility.
That, he said, is an adm inistrative
decision that w ill be made later on.
Able & gifted program
faces budget cutback
by K AY E BARTON BAKKE
Post Correspondent
Sandy Union High School D istrict’s
budget committee held its firs t public
meeting Monday night to discuss the
d is tr ic t’s $4.6 m illio n bud g e ta ry
proposals for the 1981-82 school year.
During the session, which kicked off a
month-long series of such meetings,
D istrict Superintendent Jack Peters
presented
the
125-page budget
document to the committee.
The meeting was attended by 25
citizens, many of whom were present
because they hoped for an opportunity
to speak in support of the high school’s
academic program fo r able and gifted
students. •
The able and gifted program, in its
third year of existence, has been funded
for two years through federal grants.
$6,200 from the d istrict’s general fund is
being spent on the program for the
current year.
The budget document proposes a
$14,338 allocation for the program in the
1981-82 school year. Several of the 27
students involved in the program 'ap
peared at the Monday night meeting.
Proponents of the program did not
get a chance to speak at the Monday
night session, which was devoted to an
explanation of the budget document, by
Peters, and scheduling of future
committee meetings.
Committee members decided to
study the budget document individually
before their second meeting Wed
nesday night, when they began their
fine-tooth examination of the d istrict’s
proposals.
(Continued on Page 8)
Fire districts seeking
dispatch improvement
The rockwork base is all that remains after a Monday morning fire destroyed this Wildcat Mountain Drive home valued in excess of $300,000.
Early-morning blaze destroys house
An early-morning fire Monday swept through a W ildcat Mountain area
home and destroyed it as 30 firefighters from the Sandy F ire D istrict battled
the blaze
The fire, which caused in excess of $300,000 damage, began in a recessed
light fixture in the kitchen, according to J im Gallagher, fire marshal for the
Sandy d istrict.
The owners of the home at 49025 Wildcat Mountain Drive, Dr. and Mrs.
David Moiel, were in New York at the tim e of the fire , en route home from a
vacation in Europe.
According to fire district reports, the blaze was reported at 3:22 a.m. as a
“ glow in the sky." When the firs t engine arrived or. the scene seven minutes
later, from the Dover sub-station, the firefighters reported a working struc
ture fire.
By that time, it had already burned through the roof over the kitchen,
Gallagher said.
The two-story home was situated overlooking a pond and firefighters used
two portable pumps to feed that water through the engines to fig h t the blaze.
In addition, 14,000 gallons of water were pumped from the six pieces of
firefighting apparatus which were used to battle the fire.
Gallagher said it took a little more than an hour for firefighters to control
the fire . Mop-up continued until 8:30 a.m., he said.
The damage caused by the fire , in excess of $300,000, came just more than
four days into the new year, but it pushed the loss by fire in the district over
last year’s entire total, Gallagher said.
Water distribution plan outlined for city
by DAN DILLON
The city of Sandy has rights to enough
water to adequately serve a city three
times its size. Getting it where it needs
to go w ith sufficient pressure is the
c ity ’s p rim a ry concern.
In order to provide adequate water
supply for future growth in Sandy, a 12-
inch transmission line circumventing
the southern portion of Sandy, a pair of
water towers and some land purchases
by the city are planned
Those recommendations came this
Index
SECTION I
School Menus..................................4
Senior Center News ......................4
Keeping Posted.............................. 2
O bituaries.......................................2
Editorials, le tte r s .........................6
SECTION II
Area N e w s ......................................1
About People......... ......................2
Around the County ....................... 3
Classified A dvertising.............. 5-11
SECTION III
Sports, R ecreation......................1-3
Television D ire c to ry .................. 4-6
week in a study of Sandy’s water
distribution network by independent
engineers, Cunningham Associates,
Inc. The report contains both the short
and
long-range
improvements
necessary for the c ity ’s distribution
system. Sprague Burdin, representing
the firm , told the Sandy C ity Council
Monday night, “ Y our lines are plenty
big enough fo r everything except fire .”
There are basically three problem
areas.
The most immediate is improving
flow to the western portion of the city.
There is currently a dead-end line of
inadequate size serving this area which
includes the Industrial Park, Tickle
Creek Estates and the proposed
M ercury
Development
Shopping
Center.
There are some short-term solutions
which can improve the water supply to
this area. I f it is to continue to develop,
a reservoir w ill be required in the
vicin ity of the Industrial Park in the
“ not-too distant future,” according to
John Lichtenheld, city engineer,
The second area of concern is the
south-central portion of the city. Its
flow problems can be addressed in the
short run, but in the long run, the city
w ill need to construct a reservoir in the
vicin ity of Sandy Heights and B luff
Road to handle future growth.
The North B lu ff area is the th ird area
of concern. The problem is caused by a
long-dead-end
line
which
is
of
inadequate size to serve the entire area
if it fully develops This area could be
served, again, w ith the construction of
a reservoir,
But before the c ity ’s skyline changes
w ith w ater towers, there are easier and
more economical solutions to improve
the quantity of water on the west side of
town.
The three-part solution would entail
installing a station in the six-inch line
on Sandy Heights Road and removing a
check valve in an eight-inch B luff Road
line, including the main and pressure
reducing valves. This would cost ap
proxim ately $7,500.
The second step would extend a six-
inch line on Sandy Heights Road to join
a six-inch line on Wewer Road in
Knollwood Estates This would cost
83,465.
F in a lly, installation of a station in an
eight-inch line on the south side of
Proctor Boulevard and six-inch con
nections to six-inch lines on Proctor and
Pioneer boulevards would cost ap
proxim ately 812,230.
The long term solutions involve a
$500,000 gallon reservoir near Ruben
Lane which would be a steel tank 64 feet
ta ll and 36.5 feet in diameter “ The
necessity for, and tim ing of, con
struction of the low level reservoir or
standpipe in the vicin ity of Ruben Lane
w ill depend on the rate of develop
m ent," according to the report
I f a shopping center or other fa cility
requiring
fire
protection,
fire
sprinklers and irrigation facilities
moves into the area, the low level
standpipe w ill be mandatory, the report
continues. Its estimated cost is $210,000
The city is advised to purchase a site in
the area by the report
Construction of a pressure regulating
station on the eight-inch line which ends
at Beers Avenue on the south side of
P roctor Boulevard and connections to
the paralleling six-inch lines w ill im
prove intermediate zone pressure and
supply volume at any time, but w ill be
most
beneficial
when
increased
capacity is needed to supply the
proposed standpipe near Ruben Lane.
This construction is recommend to
precede or be coincidental w ith con
struction at Ruben I^ine. It would cost
an estimated $12,000
The city w ill try to complete the
short-term solution by next year, ac
cording to City Manager Roger Jordan.
It w ill elim inate dependence on a single
line w ith a loop system. The nearly
$25,000 w ill come from the water im
provement fund, he said.
The purchase of the two reservoir
sites would be financed through con
nection fees and systems development
charges. “ I ’ ll reassess the fees to be
sure they're paying their fa ir share as
part of the cost of improving the
system,’* Jordan said.
He anticipates that it w ill be 10 to 20
years before the reservoirs are
necessary fo r the c ity ’s system, but is
glad the report is in hand.
“ We’ve got to be real cautious where
we place growth,“ he said. " I t has to be
in relation to public facilities.”
Burdin said he recommended the
reservoirs instead of new, bigger
pipelines, because
reservoirs are
cheaper and accomplish the same
purpose ” He added that they offer a
“ better supply and less trouble’’ to the
public.
The Sandy and Hoodland fire districts
have
had problems
w ith
their
emergency dispatching ever since they
joined the countywide service at the
Clackamas County Communications
Center (C-COM).
While the two districts have charged
that there are flaws that cause lapses in
response times, the county has coun
tered that they can’t seem to find them,
no m atter how hard they search.
Now, Clackamas County officials say
they w ill work with the two districts to
search out and correct those flaws.
Sandy and Hoodland officials have told
the county officials that they would be
w illing to pay to have the flaws fixed,
but until now their pleas have fallen on
deaf ears.
A t a Dec. 30 work session w ith county
commissioners Stan Skoko and Ralph
Groener, representatives from the
Sandy, Hoodland, Estacada and Boring
fire districts outlined existing problems
that plague the two members and
prevent the other two (Estacada and
Boring) from joining.
Sandy F ire Board member Jim Duff
said the problems are at the dispatch
center itself. “ The way C-COM is
worked up, there’s a lot of room for
operator e rro r,” he said. “ We feel the
tone in the voice is a failure in the phone
lines.”
The two districts are dispatched from
a repeater station located on a h ill just
outside Boring. Those are the only
groups, among six fire districts, the
sheriff’s office and two police depart
ments including Sandy, which use C-
COM and have problems hearing the
dispatchers.
“ The pattern of the breakdown is not
consistent,” said Duff, who represented
Sandy at the work session. As a result,
the two districts have told Dick Bass,
director of the County Communications
Center, that they would be w illing to
purchase a microwave system to
broadcast instead of relying on
telephone lines.
Bass said at the meeting, that the
county expects to receive a m ini
microwave in five to seven weeks. That
w ill result in a test period when it w ill
be used in lieu of telephone lines.
Groener and Skoko asked Bass to
head a committee of fire district
representatives
to
consider
the
technical and financial aspects of
im proving the dispatching service.
D uff said he personally favors hiring
a full-tim e head of C-COM. Bass is the
unpaid head of C-COM but also handles
County emergency services. That new
head would report directly to the
sheriff, according to Duff, rather than
to Bass. The sheriff’s department is the
largest user of the center’s services.
Another thing needed, he said, is a
full-tim e dispatch training officer to
teach the new dispatchers the ropes.
Currently a training officer is on board,
but he also mans a console and there
isn’t enough tim e for sufficient
training, D uff said.
Busby named Chamber head
Richard Busby, Independent Bank of
Sandy president, was elected new
Sandy
Chamber
of
Commerce
president at a Chamber board meeting
earlier this week.
He and other new Chamber officers
w ill be installed 7:30 p.m., Jan. 23 at a
banquet a t the Red Lion
Inn
(Bowman's) in Welches.
Other new chamber officers are Vice
President Chuck Jones of Ferguson’s
Power Equipment, Secretary V icki
Ward of T im Ward’s dental office and
Treasurer Ed Storey of Clackamas
County Bank.
Other board members are Marge
Hoffman, Kathleen Eldridge, George
Morgan and Arnold Poutala
Poutala replaces B ill Sundin who
resigned, due to business schedule
conflicts
“ We accepted B ill's resignation with
much regret, because of his many
contributions to the chamber,” in
coming President Busby said of Sundin.
R etiring from the Chamber board are
Frank Happold, Ned Dyal and outgoing
Chamber President Bob Kallen.
Tha annual installation banquet at
Red Lion w ill be preceeded by a no-host
cocktail hour from 6.30 u n til 7:30 p.m.
RICHARD BUSBY
Menu w ill feature prime rib of beef
Banquet
tickets
are
available
through local banks and savings and
loan institutions.
A citizen of the year w ill be named at
the banquet to honor outstanding
community service during the past
year.
r