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About Sandy post. (Sandy, Oregon) 1938-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 8, 1981)
Vol. 71 The Sandy Post No. 40 City moving to catch industry’s eye t» i > \ \ d i i . m s The city of Sandy wants to get the word out that small cities have something to offer relocating in dustries Toward that end. it has been par ticipating with Estacada and Molalla in a program which all three cities hope will let industry know that there are in dustrial sites beyond the Clackamas in tersection “ It seems like every time you go by there, they're putting up a new building,” said City Manager Roger Jordan While the Clackamas area does have some advantages, such as easy access to major thoroughfares and a large labor force to draw from, the three smaller Clackamas County cities are working to point out that they have something to offer too Using com m unity block grant development monies, the cities have just completed a research program with assistance from the Port of Portland and Clackamas County That study laid the groundwork for the pro ject's next step a final marketing analysis for smaller cities What the research program found out typifies a national trend, according to Oregon I>abor Commissioner Mary Roberts The study pointed out that industries looking to relocate do not consider outlying areas because of travel tune for their employees and added costs to transport goods "That is a problem that every small city faces," Roberts said She has just completed a tour of southern Oregon cities and found their worries mirror the concerns expressed by the small Clackamas County cities What the research program sug gested the smaller cities do is work to attract small, diversified, light in dustries, much like those which are already located in Sandy's two in dustrial parks According to Jordan. Mt Hood In dustrial Park and Sandy Industrial Park both have vacancies which could suit a potential industry But, what happens w hen those vacan cies are gone and the industrial parks are full has at least one member of the Sandy City Council worried Councilman Jim Duff said, "M y fears are that the available land may very well be tied up by a few individuals It's no secret which way we have to go, as far as available land ” The co m p re h e n s iv e plan has designated that the area on the west end of Sandy be zoned for industrial use Duff's concerns are also typical of a smaller community. Roberts said " It seems there’s usually someone who says, ‘You can have yours, but 1 want mine first.'" She said that cities have formed municipal corporations and purchased land for industrial development, of fered incentives to attract relocating businesses or urged private corpora tions to form and stimulate industrial growth The degrees of success vary. Incentives, in the long run, can hurt a community economically and en vironmentally. I .and speculation for a small community operating on a tight budget can also be risky business Jordan agrees. "Right now we do have some sites which makes for diver sity," he said " I see some real pro blems with the city moving into the real estate market " The type of non-profit corporation that established Sandy Industrial Park is the best method for development, Jordan, Roberts and the city's consul tant agree But, without that The city has taken the selling of its industrial attrac tiveness into its own hands The Sandy Economic Development Commission and Sandy Chamber of Commerce will be called upon to look at available land and create a positive im age showing the small city's advan tages On a clear day, one of Sandy's major attractions looms along the eastern horizon The Mount Hood recreation area is a plus for the community's drawing power, as well as the track record of most of the businesses which have located in Sandy's industrial parks. Roberts said that Oregon has tradi tionally been a people-oriented place and it's industrial growth has faltered in some areas, as a result. What Sandy and the other small cities hope to do is find a way to merge the people-orientation of smaller city life with the relocating industries and broaden their industrial and economic bases. Photo by Michael P Jones Mailboxes around the country will begin filling up with letters requiring 20 cents postage after approval last week of the latest increase designed to help out the postal service's coffers Patrons claim water system ‘set up’ by M IC H A E L P. JONES Post Correspondent Creek Water Co customers last week told a state Health Department in vestigator that an Oct 30 hearing to determine if the water system con stitutes a health hazard is a "set up ” They said their individual water tests contradict those administered by Gin ther Engineering, the Environmental Protection Agency, and county and state health departments " I personally ran the tests on three houses that they (Ginther and EPA) found problems with," said Robert Ben son, a Riverside customer "Thev all tested clean ” Gerald "Red" Bennett, who ran the water company before it was placed in receivership, charged that Gene Gin ther. who now controls the system, "is deliberately running the system into the ground to make it a health hazard ” Ron Hall, manager of the state Health Hazards Division, told the au dience at the informational meeting held at the Mt. Hood Lions Club that the state is going ahead with plans to have the Alder Creek Water Co declared a public health hazard If the system is declared a health hazard, a new water district would be Alderwood mobile homes denied Officer says no to subdivision by M IC H A K I P JONES P o s t( orrespondent A decision which could establish a precedent for future development of the Mount Hood corridor was handed down Index SECTION I School Lunch Menus Keeping Posted 4 5 ( Ib itu u rie s Senior Center News 5 . 5 E d ito r ia ls . L e tte rs 6 81 HS E.H.fball Sports. Recreation 7-8 »10 SECTION II Area News .......................... Hood land Happenings Around the County 1 5 2 About People Classified Advertising K 11-14 SECTION III Television Directory Inside Tab Oct 1 by the Clackamas County hear ings officer Richard Christ said that he would deny a proposed conditional use permit for the 192 unit Alderwood mobile home subdivision, proposed for 48 acres of forest land in Brightwood. He said that the area is a wildlife habitat and the evidence presented, in public hearings and Clackamas County Planning Commission documents, sup ported his decision The hearings officer said the residents concerns about the impact of the subdivision on the area's water quality are valid due to the high water table on the proposed site Christ said the development would also be in violation of the state I^ind Conservation and Development Com mission goals, primarily (ioal 5 which states that open space and natural and scenic resources must be conserved Paul Rice, one of six project developers, said he was surprised at the hearings officer’s decision because, he felt, the development had met all the state's required land use goals. " I felt certain that the project would have been approved," said Rice, "especially since the Planning Com mission approved our subdivision We will be appealing the hearings officer's decision ' Portland land use attorney Ed Sullivan, whose firm represented the residents of the area and the Mount Hood Corridor Citizens (MACC), said he was not surprised by the decision "For the record, I ’m pleased with the thorough job of the hearings officer." said Sullivan " , can’t say that the result was surprising, but it's gratify mg Gordon Cabral, spokesperson for MACC, said he was extremely pleased with the decision and urged other citizens opposed to development to "keep fighting " "We opposed Alderwood because it was unsuitable," Cabral said "We fought it. but it took a lot of time as well as money to defeat it Our victory should show others in the Mount Hood corridor that this type of development can be defeated if people pull together and not be intimidated by the methods and the pressures of the land speculators "People have to stand up and be counted." he said " It is our right But, if people don’t exercise these rights, then this type of development will be forced upon us If we allow that to hap pen, then everything the land, the wildlife and the people will all lose ” formed which customers fear would drive up water bills and open the door for more development in the area, rais ing property values and taxes The water service district would be composed of the Country Club, Wildwood, Sleepy Hollow, Riverside and Barlow water districts The water's suitability has been a point of controversy since 1979 when Bennett fought the county and state health departments and the EPA when they attempted to shut down the water system At that time, Bennett accused the EPA of "doctoring” the water tests to mislead his customers On Sept. 26, a U S District court judge took the system away from Ben nett and placed it in receivership, giv ing control and administration to Gin ther Engineering, Inc of Beaverton. That marked the first time that receivership had been used in enforcing the EPA’s Drinking Water Enforce ment Act. Marvin Price, of Ginthr Engineering, responded to the customers' complaints that the firm has set up the water system with phony test results in a re cent telephone interview "I'm not going to even try to respond to these accusations of falsification," he said " It doesn't warrant a response I don't expect any sophistication from those types of people ” Price said, "You cannot draw any conclusions on a single test taken on a single day You base your conclusions over a series of tests taken over a longer period of time " Jock Stewart, chairperson of the Riverside Homeowners Association, told officials at the informational meeting that people want clean water "But, we don t want a 'Cadillac system," he said "One year ago the judge declared this system a health hazard and placed it in to receivership," Stewart continued, "but we re still having to boil the water " Kylie Milner, another Riverside customer, charged Ginther with a con flict of interest. He served as receiver while being a commissioner on the Boundary Commission Milner also questioned Price's role in the company because he, too, was employed by the Boundary Commis sion She claimed that while Price was a staff member of the commission three years ago, he told her and other residents "that Alder Creek is going to be a water district." Ginther denied the conflict of interest allegations because he would not vote on any issues related to the water com pany or formation of the service district He was appointed to the Boun dary Commission Feb 22, I960 "It's true," he said. "I'm on it, but it makes no difference at all If there were a decision to be made. I would not make it The state Ethics Committee rules don't allow it." Ginther defended his right to hire Price after his temporary job ended with the Commission "Here's the facts," Ginther said "M arv was on the staff of the Boundary Commission and worked on the original report for the commissioners When I was appointed receiver. I wanted the best people who were knowledgeable of the system so I would not have to pay for the lack of experience That's why he is here " Ginther said his critics at the meeting did not represent the majority of the water company's customers He said they "work in town all day and don't have to worry about drinking the water " He said they are not putting themselves "in the place of a mother who has three or four kids and has to boil water to make a formula " "The systems are a health hazard." Ginther said "The law provides that these health hazards be dealt with It’s my responsibility to the public." The hearing is scheduled Oct .10 at 10:10am at the Mt Hood Lions Chib in Wemme Single Copy 20' State leader says grow th up to cities b> VON BRASCHLER Oregon's ailing economy will worsen without state government coordination with local economic development ef forts to plan for new industry That's the prognosis of Oregon Labor Commissioner Mary "Wendy” Roberts as outlined in remarks Tuesday before the Sandy Chamber of Commerce "The state's economy is in a very sorry state," she said "The unemploy ment rate in Oregon is high, and I per sonally feel it will go considerably higher before it gets better,” Roberts said. New housing starts in Oregon, she ad ded, are at the lowest rate since records were started in 1975. "We have got to diversify Oregon's economy, and we've got to plan for that growth, paying special attention to those communities tied closely to the timber economy." Oregon’s advantage in the new in dustry sweepstakes, Roberts said, is the state's high involvement in plann ing The state's disadvantage is its late in terest in economic planning for new in dustry "Here in Oregon," she said, "we have planned well for people, but not for in dustry " I ax ' a I economic development com missions like that in Sandy, she said, "can save the economy of the state " Oregon scores low among states in at tracting new industry. While Texas at traded or saw expansion in 303 in dustrial firms the first six months of this year, Oregon attracted no new manufacturing plants. Meanwhile, Florida attracted or ex panded 191 manufacturing facilities, and North Carolina scored 157 “ We can't afford that anymore," said the first term Democratic commis sioner running for re-election next November, Roberts, former state representative and senator, expanded the Bureau of Labor and Industries to include in dustry under main concerns as one of her first acts as commissioner in io™ The task of administering the bureau’s four divisions hasn't been easy, either, with budget cuts including a recent 52 position staff cut by the legislature. Roberts said She predicts further cuts in state government that will "mean some severe cuts in services" from the Bureau Principle Bureau concerns are civil rights violations in labor, wage and hour administration and a state pro gram for apprenticeship and training Bureau commissioner Roberts said she's a fifth generation Oregonian who thinks the time for economic develop ment and attraction of new industry has come A public concern for environment with more people moving to Oregon can be soothed by careful planning and realistic thinking, she said " I think what we should do is plan," she said “Once they (new residents) are here, we have to find jobs for them.” Car-pedestrian accident claims Sandy woman An 82 yearold Sandy woman died Friday evening from injuries she suf fered in an automobile pedestrian acci dent on Pioneer Boulevard Grace Lillian Leibee, 19903 Summer time Drive, died at Gresham Commum ty Hospital hours after she was struck by a vehicle driven by a Milwaukie man while she was attempting to cross the street in the driving rain Mrs Leibee was crossing Pioneer Boulevard, between Williams Thrift way and Sandy City Hall, according to Sandy policeman Harold Skelton, who investigated the accident, when she was struck by a Jeep driven by Joseph Ira Robinson There were no citations issued Mrs Leibee sang opera professional ly on the West Coast for many years, beginning in the 1930s She was one of the founders of the Portland Opera Association She was featured last year in a brochure published by the Assoc la tion, citing her singing and her work for the advancement of the Association She belonged Rose City Auxiliary since 1910. She is survived by her grandsons. Robert Myers of Portland and Darwin Myers of Walnut Creek, Calif Memorial services will be held this Saturday at 2 p m at Ross Hollywood Chapel in Portland Interment will be at Rose City Cemetery in Portland 1 i.--a
