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The Sandy Post
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V oi. 72 N o. 7
District budget hit
by revenue shortfall
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b> DAN DILLON
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It ’s a good news—bad news situa
lion for budgeters in the Sandy
Elementary District
The good news is that the overall
proposed budget increase is the
smallest in more than seven years
The bad news is that, because of
revenue shortfalls, the total levy re
quirement jumped dramatically.
District patrons will have an oppor
tumty to voice their opinions about
the proposed 1982 83 Sandy Elemen
tary District budget tonight at 7:30
p m. in a public hearing in the library
at Cedar Ridge School.
Sandy's situation is not unique
School districts statewide are faced
with the same problem and it could
get worse if the state Legislature
makes further cuts in basic school
support in the wake of the newly-
found $100 million deficit at the state
level.
In a recent survey of 50 school
districts statewide, overall budgets
rose from 0 to 15 percent with an
average of 6.1 percent. However, the
levy requirem ent rang d from 0 to
an 87 percent increase at Astoria,
with an average of 27 percent.
In Sandy, the total requirement is
up 9.1 percent, about on course with
inflation, said Superintendent Clark
Lund The levy requirement, on the
other hand, is up 30 percent
It will mark a new trend in the
district's tax rate too
"Historically, we’ve had a dropp
ing rate," Lund said, "but this is the
year it’s going to swing back "
Without final property evaluation
completed by the County Assessor,
Lund is hesitant to make a guess as to
the tax rate, but he expects it will be
more than the $8 21 per $1.000 assess
ed valuation it was last year.
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R E V E N U E SHAKING DOWN
"Outside revenue is not available,"
Lund said simply "While you have a
decline in revenue, you’re having an
increase in program costs because of
if
by DAN DILLON
City officials are happy these days
with the way things have turned out
lately
At Tuesday evening's City Council
meeting hardly a discouraging word
could be heard as the success of the
city's comprehensive plan was
relayed, a new Economic Develop
m ent Com m ission re p o rt was
presented and news that the sewer
treatment plant expansion is pro
gressing was told.
The biggest news for the city’s
future was the acknowledgement of
the comprehensive plan by the state
Land Conservation and Development
Commission That gives the city a
roadmap for the next 20 years as it
deals with expansion and land-use
issues
(See related story elsewhere on
this page.)
Attracting new businesses to keep
a sound economic base is the goal of
the Economic Development Commis-
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D EVELO PM EN T REPORT
Tuesday. George Morgan, chair
man of the committee, presented the
74-page study to the council with
hopes that it will be a useful tool in
developing the city's industrial and
commercial base
He also asked that the city consider
annexation of potential industrial
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Inside
SECTION I
Keeping Posted
Inside Business
School Lunch Menus
Senior Center News
Obituaries
Editorials. Letters
Sports, Recreation
2
3
5
5
5
6
7-8
SECTION II
Area News
1
Hoodland Happenings
1
Around the County
2
Home and Garden
4
Classified Advertising... 11-14 f
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SECTION I I I
TV Revue
Inside Tab
Local bank
victim of
1st robbery
inflation "
Those counter-forces have con
spired to make it difficult for
budgeters
Last year, the Sandy Elementary
District received $1 7 million in basic
school support from the state Lund
said the district could have expected
upwards of $19 million this year, if
the state were not having budgeting
problems
Already. $16 3 million has been cut
from the program statewide and
some observers believe that total
may rise as legislators wrestle with
the newly found deficit announced
Monday
If that happens, the choice is sun
pie, according to Lund
"The only option would be to cur
tail program," he said. " If they cut
back more than the $16 3 million, it
could really hurt us here.”
Already, the district’s budget com
mittee has cut $279,000 from the
original budget proposal, leaing just
one new program in the district—a
modified athletics program for
students at Cedar Ridge School.
TAXES R E Q U IR E D UP
As it stands now, the tot” ' budget is
$5 45 million, up from $4 99 million a
year ago
To balance the budget, the district
will have to ask taxpayers for $2 26
million Last year, the district need
ed only $1 59 million.
Under new state law, there will be
no Ballot A and Ballot B as such
However, if the district’s levy is ap
proved by voters March 30, $18
million will be eligible for state reim
bursement. That reimbursement
totals 30 percent. The remaining
$460.000 would be totally financed by
local taxpayers
Lund sees two options for tax
payers in the district.
“ If they like the program and like
what we re doing they have to accept
the burden of responsibility, because
there's a shift,” he said. " If they
can’t endorse it, then there will have
to be rollbacks."
City happy w ith plans
fo r growth, business
lands so that larger parcels might be
available for potential developers.
In the report, the commission urg
ed continued development of a diver
sified light industrial base, continued
development of the city’s retail goods
and services to parallel other growth
and implementation of a program
whereby the city would take an ac
tive role in promoting economic
development.
The report also suggested that the
commission continue to function as
an advisor to the council and called
for creation of a comprehensive
economic development plan within
the next two years
Continued development of the light
industrial base would require expan
sion of the Sandy Sewage Treatment
Plant, according to the report, "if
this most basic strategy is to be
achieved "
PLANT WORK PROG REUSING
City Manager Roger Jordan told
the council that almost all the work
has been accomplished on the
sewage treatment plant study, with
the exception of an inflow and in
filtration study which has been slow
ed by winter weather.
That study is crucial for the life of
the plant According to a study
prepared last year, the treatment
plant could handle an additional 500
connections if the problem of excess
water leaking into the system could
be alleviated, along with modifica
tions to the plant and purchase of a
sludge truck
"It appears at this time that we
have a pretty severe inflow and in
filtration problem." Jordan said,
" b u t th a t's a p re tty broad
statement."
A meter has been placed at the
plant to measure the volume of ex
cess water that enters the plant dur
ing rainy weather
Jordan cautioned that the system
"doesn't lend itself to an easy solu
tion at this tim e," but said that it ap
pears the plant handles even less
volume during dry weather than had
been previously estimated
So. after the inflow and infiltration
problem is resolved, the city will be
all right for some time
In other action, the city council:
—Learned that a 24-hour religious
programming station will replace the
movie channel on the Warner Cable
system in the near future
Single Copy 25«
A bank officer acted on impulse
last T h u rs d a y a fte rn o o n and
thwarted the first bank robbery in
the 71-year history of Clackamas
County Bank’s Sandy branch
Ed Storey, 32, assistant vice presi
dent of the bank, tackled and held the
robber on the grounds of Sandy
Elementary School across the street
from the bank He was assisted by
Bobbi Swan, 39, senior vice president
of the bank.
She helped Storey hold the robber
until Sandy police arrived
According to police reports, a man
approached a teller in the bank short
ly after 3 p m . and demanded money.
He then fled out the back door of the
bank and Storey pursued him.
Sandy police arrested Cameron
Drew Schleiss, 25, address unknown,
and charged him with first-degree
robbery. He was taken to Clackamas
County Jail.
Photo by Sco(l New ton
Junior Pete Watkins of Sandy High School smiles as he says, "Checkmate," in a match during Saturday's Timber
Valley League chess tournament. Watkins, second board for the Pioneers, was the only competitor to win all three mat
ches. Coach Roger Ford said Watkins "squashed" his opposition in winning the second board title.
After Storey tackled the suspect,
an undisclosed amount of cash broke
free and was blown about in the wind
ear the Sandy Swim Center. It was
recovered by bank employees
This marked the first time the San
dy branch has been robbed in the
bank's history
Bank president Fred Proctor,
how ever, re c a lle d two e a rlie r
burglary attempts foiled by his
banker father when Fred was only 6
or 8 years old.
The Sandy bank was then located
on M ain S treet (now P ion eer
Boulevard) near the present site of
Heritage Square
"The second tim e," recalled Proc
tor, “ I followed dad over. The alarm
had gone off at home.
"They bored a hole through the
wall. They got away, but they dam
near got shot "
Like bank executives Swan and
Storey, who tackled the robbery
suspect here last week, Fred’s dad
took no nonsense, either
"Dad always had a shotgun and a
45 in his desk," Proctor recalled.
"But that was back when men like
Dillinger roamed the country in their
old cars."
Proctor said this is the first time in
his 32 years of banking that a robber
ever made off with any loot.
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Sandy plan acknowledged by state
by DAN DILLON
Mt, Hood and Sandy is really
receiving a lot of urbanization
pressures.
“ The commission acknowledg
ed in its decision that the plan will
be a good plan for Sandy's
future," she said.
"The effort was Io develop a
comprehensive plan with the best
interests of the community in
mind," said City Manager Roger
Jordan. “ We’re happy it complies
(with statewide guidelines)."
The plan organizes the relation
ships between people, land,
resources and facilities and is
designed to guide development of
the community.
"The community can now in
itiate planning efforts it has been
carrying on since the plan was
After three years of planning,
writing and revising, the city of
Sandy’s comprehensive plan has
been acknowledged by the state
Land Conservation and Develop
ment Commission
The decision, mad^ Feb. 5,
means the city’s 2O-year long-
range plan conforms to statewide
land-use goals and makes it the
guideline by which future land-use
decisions will be made
" I t ’s a milestone for Sandy
because Sandy has really grown a
lo t," said Linda McPherson,
LCDC field representative in
Portland. "It's no longer the
sleepy, litfle town on the road to
adopted by the City Council," Jor
dan said.
"When individual land-use ac
tions are in compliance with the
comprehensive plan, we should
not have any challenges from the
state—or we hope no challenges
should occur,” he said.
"It's a long-range plan and we
will take a look at individual ac
tions based on the long-range
plan," Jordan said. "Now land
uses will have to comply with the
plan, rather than going to LCDC’s
goals to justify every action.
"Everyone now knows what will
happen to their property and the
abutting property."
The plan was submitted for
LCDC approval in July 1980 after
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it had been O K’d by the Sandy Ci
ty Council. Initial LCDC review in
May 1981 led to a continuance
order, granted to make minor cor
rections.
Those deficiencies were cor
rected and the plan was re-filed in
October 1981.
The work to make the correc
tions was "a very cooperative pro
cess," McPherson said "The
commission felt that Sandy really
exemplified a spirit of coopera
tion."
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W ith acknow ledgem ent by
LCDC, the plan will not remain
static. A minor review of the plan
is to occur in two years, according
to Jordan, and a major review will
take place every five years
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Mt. Hood plan review starts tonight
A meeting tonight kicks off a
series of citizen meetings to up
date Clackamas County's 1976 Mt
Hood Community Land Use Plan
The first of five meetings will be
held at 7:30 p m tonight. Feb 18.
at the Hoodland Womens Club on
Salmon River Road, east of
Highway 26
The meetings, which will run
through May, result partially
from the December 1981 state
I^and Conservation and Develop
ment Commission order that the
County review the Mt Hood area
plan, and partially from the Coun
ty ’» own provision that the plan be
updated at five-year intervals, ac
cording to Ardis Stevenson, En
vironmental .Services assistant
director.
LCDC gave the County 150 days,
or until May 30, to review land use
designations for rural areas out
side the Hoodland Service District
and to protect identified wet lands
in the 85,000-acre Mt Hood cor
ridor
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The plan update covers the area
from Alder Creek and Cherryville
on the west to the Clackamas
County line east of Government
Camp
Tonight's meeting is to review
resource maps and inventory data
to be sure the County is using the
most accurate and current infor
mation on existing land uses, loca
tions of wet lands and natural
resources and parcel sizes,
Stevenson said
"Citizens' help with the data is
absolutely essential, because it's
basic to locating wet lands that
need protection and to justifying
rural zoning for areas that are
already committed to non farm or
non forest uses," she said
The Mt Hood Community Plan
was unchallenged from its 1976
adoption until late last spring,
Then, the citizens group, ECOS,
objected to LCDC acknowledge
ment of the plan, contending that
it violated statewide planning
goals for protection of wet lands
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and preservation of farm and
forest lands
In December, LCDC determin
ed that land within the Hoodland
Sewer District was indeed com
mitted to non farm or non-forest
uses, but directed the County to
reconsider rural zoning outside
the District and to review ECOS’
information on wet lands in the
Mt Hood corridor
"The County sees the update of
the Mt Hood plan as an opportuni
ty not only to respond to LCDC’»
direction, but to make the plan
more useful for the people in the
M t. Hood co rrid o r and the
County," Stevenson said
"The plan update w ill em
phasize the issues on which LCDC
requested additional work and
will rely on many of the policies
that are in the overall County plan
and ordinances which have
already been acknowledged by
LCDC as meeting the statewide
planning goals," she said
Based on citizen verification of
the County’s basic data, En
vironmental Services staff will
develop a draft proposal A sum
mary of the draft will be mailed to
property owners, com m unity
planning organizations and af
fected agencies about March 5.
At a March 18 meeting, citizens
will be given the opportunity to
discuss the Draft Plan Update,
which will include a map showing
proposed land use designations as
well as proposed policies.
County staff »ays the purpose of
the March meeting is to explain
the draft and to hear citizen’s sug
gestions for changes and im
provements
Following the March discus
sion, County staff will revise the
"d ra ft" into a "proposed" plan.
That will be distributed in ad
vance at a citizens information
meeting in April and public hear
ings by the Planning Commission
and Board of County Commis
sioners in May
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