il't jJurtlaub (Dbseruer
Page 6
Steering TriMet
continued
from front
R iver C rossing.
O n the N ovem ber ballot, voters
in M u ltn o m a h , C la c k a m a s an d
W ashington counties w ill w eigh in
on a $125 m illion bond levy that
w ould be used to upgrade TriM et's
ag in g fleet o f buses and m ake the
system m ore accessible for older
and disabled riders.
M cF arlane said that the tax rev
enue will be needed to cope w ith the
region's ballooning elderly p o p u la
tion, w hich he calls a “dem ographic
tsunam i.”
"T his is all about access to our
system for people w ho are elderly or
have d isabilities,” said M cFarlane,
“and o f course by im proving access
for those particular groups w e im
prove it for everybody."
Som e TriM et stops are little m ore
than dirt patches on the side o f the
road w ith blue poles m arking the
bus line. I f the bond levy is ap
p ro v ed , sid ew alk access to bus
stops w ill be im proved. A d d itio n
ally, T riM et w ill also be able to re
place 150 high-floor buses that re
quire riders to clim b a set o f stairs to
board w ith the new low -floor m o d
els, a big im provem ent for o ld er and
disabled passengers.
M cF arlane stressed that the levy
w on't am ount to an increase in taxes
because it's an extension o f an exist
ing one that w as approved in 1990
by voters, w hich taxes pro p erty
ow ners at 8 cents per $ 1,000 o f as
sessed value.
This year alone T riM et cut four
bus lines, reduced the frequency o f
service on dozens o f others buses
and light rail, and raised fares by a
nickel in order to cope w ith a $27
m illion budget shortfall.
T riM et has typically raised fares
each y ear to keep place w ith infla
tion, except for the last, usually by
a nickel or dim e. In 2008, it raised
fares from $ 1.75 to $2 to keep up with
the skyrocketing price o f diesel.
T h e m a ss -tra n s it a g e n c y has
been criticized for raising rates w hile
cu ttin g serv ice and fo cu sin g so
m uch on rail.
"I think there's been a p ercep
tion, and som e o f it m ay be real, that
w e haven't put enough resources
in to o u r b u s s y s te m ," s a id
M cF arlan e, w ho hopes to focus
m ore on the bus lines during his
tenure as T riM et general m anager.
H ow ever, M cFarlane defends the
spending on rail as a good long
term investm ent that is a co st-effec
tive w ay to m ove people around. It's
also a good use o f federal dollars, he
said, accounting for about 60 per-
Rose Quarter Developement
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 2
M ayor Sam A dam s appointed an
advisory com m ittee to look into the
R ose Q uarter re-developm ent last
year. Since July, a subcom m ittee,
w hich includes Jay, has been m eet
ing to exam ine the potential for a
CBA.
“ W e have the chance to m ake
this right by putting som e teeth into
this ag reem en t,” said Jay last w eek
SEASONS
at a subcom m ittee m eeting held at
the PD C headquarters.
D uring the public co m m ent pe
riod o f the m eeting several people
pointed out that the R ose Q uarter
w as created by the city using em i
nent dom ain to seize the property o f
residents w ho ended up being dis
placed, and a C B A seem ed ap p ro
priate given the a re a ’s history.
C harles M cG ee- the executive
director o f the Josiah Hill III C linic,
one o f the non-profits that could
receive m oney under the co m m u
nity benefits agreem ent- invoked a
passage from the B ible instructing
p eople to love their n eig h b o r as
they do them selves in support o f
J a y ’s idea. H e also added that w ith
b etter funding his clinic could serve
m ore people.
H o w e v e r, a p re s e n ta tio n by
D avid Logsdon, the m anager o f the
c ity ’s sp ectato r facility fund, cast
doubt on the viability o f the co m m u
September 15, 2010
cent o f the cost to build the lines.
TriM et, said M cFarlane, has been
w alloped by the econom y. Payroll
taxes, w hich fund TriM et, have been
slashed as a result o f the recession.
He said that TriM et has m ade adm in
istrative cuts, but because about 85
percent o f its budget is service, som e
service cuts are inevitable, he said.
"I think that's ju s t sound fiscal
m anagem ent o f the system , and I
hope the voters have som e regard
for that," he said.
H e also said that the 10 to 20 year
o utlook for T riM et is good, and he
is “b u llish ” on the overall health o f
the region. A lso, he doesn't expect
any big ju m p s in fares.
M c F a r la n e a ls o o ff e re d h is
thoughts on the C olum bia R iver
C rossing, a replacem ent o f the cu r
rent 1-5 bridge betw een V ancouver
and Portland.
"For the first tim e, I think I see a
co n sen su s starting to form ," said
M cFarlane.
Last m onth, the C R C Projects
S p o n so rs C o u n cil a p p ro v e d the
H ayden Island interchange and re
duced the nu m b er o f lanes on the
bridge from 12 to 10. M cFarlane said
these d ev elo p m en ts are positive.
He added that V an co u v er is b eco m
ing m ore open to the idea o f light rail,
w hich he also w as pleased about.
M cF arlane also m entioned that
w hile at T riM et he hopes to focus
on safety. Shortly before he w as
appointed general m an ager a bus
collided w ith a group o f p edestrians
in d ow ntow n Portland, k illing tw o
and injuring three.
Since then, T riM et has had a
co m p reh en siv e safety review by
o u tsid e e x p erts, an d M cF arlan e
hopes to continue to evaluate the
transit system to m ake sure that no
o p erators are being asked to do
anything unsafe.
"I want every [employee] at TriM et
to com e to w ork w ith a value em bed
ded into them o f safety," he said.
nity benefits agreem ent.
L ogsdon explained that the c ity ’s
sp ectato r facility fund is a self-su s
taining fund operated by the city.
T he city receives 6 p ercent o f all
ticket sales at the R ose G arden and
M em orial C oliseum , w hich go into
the fund and have been used to
keep PG E Park up and running.
T he R ose Q u arter is currently
m anaged by Portland A rena M an
agem ent LLC, a subsidiary ofV ulcan
Inc., w hich is ow ned by Paul A llen.
Linder the agreem ent the city has
w ith PA M any new tax assessed by
the city o r M etro on ticket sales
w ould be deducted dollar-for-dollar
o f f the current 6 p ercen t already
going to the city.
The city ’s deal w ith Portland T im
bers o w n er M erritt P aulson to build
a m ajo r league so ccer stadium at
PG E Park com m its all revenue from
the fund to go to the financial o b li
gations o f the new stadium , said
L o g sd o n .
So any new taxes on ticket sales
w ould m ake it m ore difficult for the
city to m eet its financial obligations
to new M L S stadium , and could be
shot dow n.
H o w e v e r, L o g s d o n s a id he
w a sn ’t sure if the co m m u nity b en
efits agreem ent am ounted to a “tax.”
“ T h a t’s an issue y o u ’d w ant a
le g a l a n a ly s is d o n e t o , ” s a id
L ogsdon.
Jay seem ed to be taken a bit aback
by the new information. But later said
he rem ained com m itted to his vision,
and confident that it w ould reach
fruition because o f the clear benefits
it w ould bring to the area. He also
referred to his proposed $ 1.99 charge
on tickets as a “ service fee.”
“ It is not a tax; w e n ev er w ant to
cuss in p u b lic,” said Jay jo k in g ly .
K a ren G ib so n , a p ro fe s s o r o f
u rb an stu d ie s at P o rtla n d S ta te
U n iv e rs ity , said th a t i t ’s still p o s
sib le to g et a ro b u st C B A th a t w ill
b rin g jo b s and tra in in g to the c o m
m u n ity im p a c te d b y th e R o se
Q u arter re-d ev elo p m en t. B ut it w ill
re q u ire a g ro u n d sw e ll o f c o m m u
n ity su p p o rt.
“ People need to m ake a stink,”
she said. “ T hey need to get o rg a
nized.”
T he su b co m m ittee w ill m eet one
last tim e to fin a liz e its re c o m m e n
d a tio n s o n T h u rsd a y , S ep t. 23 at
5 :3 0 p.m . at the P o rtla n d D e v e lo p
m e n t C o m m is sio n b u ild in g . T h e
re c o m m en d a tio n s w ill go to a PD C
stu d y g ro u p as w ell as a b ro a d e r
•
c o m m itte e c h a rg e d w ith o v e rs e e
ing th e re d e v e lo p m e n t o f the R ose
q u arter. C ity C o u n cil w ill have the
fin al say.
and Cannon’s Rib Express Present
s
REGGIE HOUSTON’S C’EX ALL STARS
Sundays 5-8pm
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Rib Express
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