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
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5
E d ito r ia ls . L e tte rs
6
81 HS E.H.fball
Sports. Recreation
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SECTION II
Area News ..........................
Hood land Happenings
Around the County
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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
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