Polk County News
6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 1, 2017
Dallas school district to sell remainder of bond
Healthy growth in housing means bond could be paid off early, reduced taxes, or new bond ahead
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Dallas School
District will sell the remain-
der of its $17 million school
maintenance bond in De-
cember, with financing op-
tions that allow for an early
pay off or a reduced tax rate
for property owners.
The district issued about
$9.7 million in 2015 and will
issue $7.3 million in Decem-
ber.
When passed by voters,
the eight-year, $17-million
bond was slated to cost
$1.74 per $1,000 of assessed
value on properties.
Healthy growth in as-
sessed value in the district
from a resurging housing
market has reduced that rate
significantly.
This year, property own-
ers will pay $1.45 per $1,000
of assessed value, said Lau-
ren MacMillan, the senior
vice president of Piper Jaf-
fray, the firm helping the
district with the bond sale.
In the initial bond sale,
the firm projected an as-
sessed value growth rate of
1.5 percent for 2016, in-
creasing to 2.5 percent for
the current tax year, based
on a pattern of growth in the
years prior.
Alex Bowers, an associate
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer file
Workers finish the new entrance to Oakdale Heights Elementary School. The improve-
ments were paid for with bond proceeds.
with Piper Jaffray, said
growth bottomed out at 1.66
percent in 2015.
Since then, the picture
has changed.
“In the good news front,
you guys have been growing
very fast,” Bowers said.
“There’s been a lot of as-
sessed value growth on the
rolls on the last few years.”
In current tax year, 2017-
18, the growth rate is 6.28
percent. The year before, it
was 4.12 percent.
Piper Jaffray recommends
the district stick with con-
servative growth estimates,
even with the recent build-
ing recovery.
“For the current issue, we
recommend keeping that
going. It’s always easier to
explain why it came in lower
than higher, so we are rec-
ommending 2.5 percent
growth rate for the life of the
bond,” Bowers said. “We
think that is very conserva-
tive. We are willing to have a
conversation with the dis-
trict if you thought it was
going to grow more than
that.”
Board member Michael
Blanchard asked that the
firm look at what would
happen with 3.5 or 4 percent
growth-rate assumption.
“I think using a 2.5 per-
cent assumption on our as-
sessed value growth is
probably going to be too
conservative by far,” he
said, “if you look back at
our historical growth going
back through the last 15
years.”
He said it took from the
2008 housing crash to 2012
to see a growth rate of less
than 3 percent.
The growth rate for the
current year is more than 6
percent — and a lot of build-
ing is occurring, Blanchard
added.
“If we assume 3.5 or even
4, which I think is more real-
istic over the short term,
what would that do in terms
of our total interest cost and
what is the premium?”
MacMillan said the bond
could be paid off a little
sooner if a higher growth
rate is factored in, given that
those assumptions are accu-
rate.
“That’s why we like to use
really conservative growth
assumptions, because then
if the actual assessed value
comes in higher, the levy
rate will come in lower,”
MacMillan said. “Where if
we got really aggressive on
our growth assumptions
and the growth didn’t meet
what we had been project-
ing, then the levy rate would
come in higher and that
kind of upsets people.”
With that said, she said
the firm could plug the high-
er rates to see how that
would affect the pay off.
“We tend to be really con-
servative on that and we
love to take direction from
the district,” MacMillan
said. “You know the district
better. You obviously know
what is going on here.”
The district has four op-
tions for structuring the
bond pay-off, two that raise
the rates to close to $1.70
and pays it off faster, as soon
as 2024.
Another two keeps lower
rates over the full life of the
bond — pay off in 2026 —
but allows the district to go
out for another bond sooner
without raising tax rates
above $1.74, MacMillan said.
“There are plenty of op-
tion we can explore based
on what the district’s needs
are,” she said.
The board met Tuesday
after press time to decide
which payback structure to
use and to talk about what
growth rate to project.
Check polkio.com for an
update.
would not have had to build
my own."
He is survived by his wife,
Marie; daughters, Pamela
and Margaret; sons, William
and Dan; along with numer-
ous grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death
by his parents, Charles and
Amparo Myers; and daugh-
ters, Diane and Connie.
Funeral Services were on
Monday, Oct. 30, at 11 a.m.
at Dallas Mortuary Tribute
Center. Visitation will be on
Sunday from 1 to 5 at Dallas
Mortuary Tribute Center.
Memorials may be made to
the Wounded Warrior Proj-
ect. To leave an online con-
dolence for the family, go to
www.dallastribute.com
sewing, and a variety of craft
projects. She was a member
o f t h e To l e d o Un i t e d
Methodist Church and
Christ’s Church in Mon-
mouth. Geri was also a
member of the Order of
Eastern Star.
Survivors include a son
David (Carol) Melton, of
Mo n m o u t h ; d a u g h t e r s
Louise (Jim) Breen, of Eu-
gene, and Cheryl (Jon) Deb-
ban, of Salem. Geri was
proud of her children, five
grandchildren, eight great-
grandchildren, and a great-
great-grandson. Geri was
preceded in death by her
husband of 62 years, Dick;
her parents Harry and Pearl
Coleman; her brother Jack
Coleman; and a grandson
Thomas Melton.
Viewing will be Thursday,
Nov. 2, from 10 a.m. to noon
at Farnstrom Mortuary, 410
Monmouth St., Independ-
ence, followed by a funeral
service at 2 p.m. at Corner-
stone Church of God, 4395
Independence Highway, In-
dependence.
Farnstrom Mortuary is
handling arrangements.
Please share your messages
and condolences at Farn-
stromMortuary.com.
OBITUARIES
Wanda Ortman
March 25, 1921 – Oct. 10, 2017
Wanda Ortman, 96, went
peacefully Tuesday, Oct. 10,
to meet her Lord and Sav-
iour. She was born on March
25, 1921, to Carl E. and Ethel
Glover Curry in Los Angeles,
she was the youngest of five
children.
S h e
married
Fred, her
husband
of 66 years,
May 17,
1942, and
after two
sons were
born they decided that LA
was no place to raise kids. In
1947, they moved to Salem,
where Fred worked as a ma-
chinist, and she worked for
Oregon Pulp and Paper as a
secretary. They moved to
Salem
412 Lancaster Drive NE
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Dallas in 1956. She worked
for the State Highway De-
partment in Salem and later
for the Weighmasters, retir-
ing in 1987.
She enjoyed music, espe-
cially hymns and classical.
She enjoyed Bible Studies
with friends, and was a de-
voted “Prayer Warrior.” She
always put people before
possessions, and made
many good friends.
She is survived by sons
John (Lori), of El Sobrante,
Calif., and Bob (Peggy), of
Dallas; daughter-in-law
Gisela Burk, of Pinole, Calif.;
and grandchildren Stephen
and Christina. She was pre-
ceded in death by her hus-
band Fred and grandson
Aaron. The family wishes to
thank the Dallas Retirement
Village for the excellent care
given to Wanda for the past
many years.
A memorial service will
begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday,
Nov. 4, in the Dallas Retire-
ment Village Chapel. Private
interment will be in the Bel-
crest Memorial Park in
Salem. Memorials are sug-
gested to Weekday School of
the Bible or Child Evangel-
ism, in care of the Dallas
Mortuary Tribute Center at
287 SW Washington St., Dal-
las, OR 97338. www.dallas-
tribute.com
Charles D. ‘Charlie’
Myers Jr.
Sept. 2, 1934 – Oct. 24, 2017
C h a r l e s D. “C h a r l i e”
Myers Jr., a resident of Dal-
las, died on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
He was born on Sept. 2,
1934, in Florence, Ariz., the
son of Charles and Amparo
Myers.
Charlie attended Florence
H i g h
School
through
his sopho-
more year.
He then
joined the
U.S. Ma-
rine Corps
at the age
of 17. He
served in
V M O - 2
and VMO-
6 , w h e re
he served with the latter in
the Korean War. He was hon-
orably discharged in 1955 at
the rank of sergeant.
He then worked railroad
maintenance of way for the
Southern Pacific Railroad for
10 years.
Charlie married Marie
Beal on Nov. 7, 1969. They
were going to celebrate 48
years of marriage together.
He was a farmer and a
logger. He logged through-
out Northern California and
Oregon, and was seriously
injured in a logging accident
at Detroit when a log rolled
over him. He and his family
moved to Dallas in 1977 to
take care of Charlie’s par-
ents.
Shortly after the move, he
began working at the Dallas
School District in building
and grounds maintenance.
He once said if a part was
broken and was no longer
sold, he would take it home
and machine a new part
himself. Charlie was well
liked and respected by his
peers, and retired from the
district in 1994.
Charlie had a love of his
country, trains, dogs, and
most especially his wife
Marie. Charlie was an avid
reader. He also enjoyed
whittling and drawing. His
realistic drawings and scale
wooden models of ship and
steam locomotives won
many awards at the Polk
County and Oregon State
fairs. He had a D-6 CAT and
made many ponds through-
out Polk County. Never idle,
even during his retirement,
Charlie built a full-sized rail-
road on his property and
was well known for inviting
f r i e n d s a n d c h i l d re n’s
groups to enjoy train rides
and having picnics there. He
insisted, "If my parents had
only bought me a Lionel
train when I was young — I
Geraldine Rae
Melton
Aug. 8, 1924 – Oct. 22, 2017
Geraldine Rae Melton
“G e r i ,” o f Mo n m o u t h ,
passed away Sunday, Oct.
22, 2017, at the age of 93.
Geri was born in Wallowa
on Aug. 8,
1924, to
Harry and
P e a r l
(McGinnis)
Coleman.
Geri at-
tended
school in
Wallowa and graduated in
1942 from Wallowa High
School. During the fall and
winter of 1942-1943, Geri
briefly attended Willamette
University in Salem.
In 1943, Geri moved to
Toledo, where she worked
for C.D. Johnson Lumber
Company, later in 1959
Georgia Pacific, and then
after Cheryl was born, the
G e o rg i a Pa c i f i c Cre d i t
Union.
Early in 1946, Geri met
R i c h a rd L o u i s Me l t o n
“Dick,” and later that year
they were married on Nov.
10, 1946, in Portland. They
lived in Toledo, where they
raised their three children:
David, Louise, and Cheryl.
After retiring, Dick and Geri
moved to Monmouth to be
closer to their family, espe-
cially their grandchildren.
Besides spending time
with her family, Geri loved a
variety of outdoor activities,
including time spent in her
beloved Wallowa County.
She also enjoyed cooking,
Obituary
Information
Obituaries cost $8 per col-
umn inch (25 words) and in-
clude a photo and flag for vet-
erans. Death notices run free.
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be submitted by 4 p.m. on the
Monday before publication to
be included in the newspaper.
Most funeral homes handle
obituary information and pro-
vide it to the newspaper. How-
ever, information can also be
submitted directly from family
members.
Color and black-and-white
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er-Observer uses a flag logo in
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Death notices — like all in-
formation submitted to the
news department — are sub-
ject to editing for style, con-
tent and length.
Information can be brought
or mailed to the Itemizer-Ob-
server, 147 SE Court St., Dallas,
OR 97338, or emailed to
ionews@polkio.com.
For more information: Emily
Mentzer, 503-623-2373.