BAKER CITY HERALD • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2022 A5
LOCAL & STATE
Survey finds Oregonians down on statewide economy
nomic future — 75% of those sur-
veyed said they were either very or
somewhat worried while just 23%
said they were not at all or not too
worried about the future of the state.
The overall perception that the
economy is worse than it was a year
ago could spell trouble for Democrats
in the Nov. 8 general election. Politi-
cal observers say the negative outlook
on the economy is one reason why
Republican gubernatorial candidate
Christine Drazan has managed to
keep pace with Democrat Tina Kotek
in a state that historically votes blue
in statewide elections.
The survey was conducted be-
tween Sept. 13-21 and involved 1,878
BY MICHAEL KOHN
The Bend Bulletin
An increasing number of Orego-
nians are concerned about the state of
the economy, the latest case of public
disillusionment with the direction the
state is headed as voters head to the
polls to choose a new governor and
other state leaders next week.
That’s the overarching theme from
a survey from the Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center, a nonpartisan group
that releases periodic statewide sur-
veys on issues ranging from the econ-
omy and the environment to politics
and healthcare.
Those polled were asked how wor-
ried they are about Oregon’s eco-
Oregon residents aged 18 and up.
The margin of error is 2.3%.
When asked to rate the economic
condition of Oregon’s economy today,
2% of respondents said it is “excel-
lent,” 23% said it is “good,” 36% said
“only fair,” 23% said it is “poor,” and
12% described it as “very poor.”
Most Oregonians (60%) that re-
sponded to the survey said it’s more
important to maintain the natural en-
vironment to attract people and com-
panies to Oregon, compared to 25%
who said it would be better to relax
environmental rules to make doing
business easier.
Crook County resident Sidney
Stringer said in the survey that lead-
ers should “stop paving paradise,” a
reference to the breakneck speed of
development happening across Cen-
tral Oregon.
The survey also showed that Or-
egonians were mostly split on how
taxes should be spent — 26% of re-
spondents said too much is spent on
public services, 30% said the right
amount is spent on public services
and 30% said Oregon is not spending
enough on public services.
When asked what issue elected
leaders need to focus on most, home-
lessness was listed as the most im-
portant issue, with 35% of respon-
dents putting it at the top of the list.
Housing, crime, inflation, and cli-
mate change were other listed con-
cerns.
Daniel Olson, another Deschutes
County resident, said there’s a danger
in offering too many services to assist
houseless people.
“We have moved past helping and
are doing more enabling of bad be-
havior,” he said.
Another Deschutes County res-
ident sees the problem, not as one
caused by too many handouts, but
as one caused by poor performance
from elected officials.
“I think they have the right
amount of money (for homeless
care),” said Amanda Wallace. “They
are just spending it wrong.”
Projects
how this will affect plans for
the middle school cafeteria/
multipurpose building, but no
one has given up hope that the
building will still get built.”
CB Const is familiar with the
district and in particular with
the middle school. The com-
pany was the contractor for a
$2.3 million project, completed
on Oct. 14, to make the mid-
dle school gymnasium better
able to withstand the effects of
earthquakes. That project was
paid with a state grant for seis-
mic projects and was separate
from the bond measure.
Continued from A1
“The economic climate is
to blame for a lot of this,” Mc-
Dowell said.
Julie Huntington, chair of
the Baker School Board, agreed
that the $9.1 million bid was a
realistic, and dramatic, demon-
stration of how much construc-
tion costs have increased since
the district put the bond mea-
sure on the ballot.
Dean Guernsey/The (Bend) Bulletin, File
City contractors with Central Oregon Biosolutions gather personal items while dismantling a homeless camp on NE Second Street in Bend on
Monday, March 14, 2022.
Oregon mayors ask state for
more homelessness funding
population 40.
The second budget proposal
asks the state for capital im-
provement funding to build
shelters and transitional housing
across the state, which the state’s
mayors association estimates
will costs up to $175 million.
The Oregon Mayors Associa-
tion’s task force on homelessness
was created in May with the goal
of addressing the lack of funding
from the state and the inequity
in how funding is distributed.
Many mayors from smaller,
rural Oregon cities said they
felt funding was prioritized for
larger cities where homelessness
is very visible.
“Funding usually favors large
cities that have staff (to fill out
lengthy applications),” said Beth
Wytoksi, mayor of Dayton, pop-
ulation 2,700.
“If funding goes only to cities
only with visible challenges, then
the root causes? of homelessness
BY NICOLE HAYDEN
oregonlive.com
Mayors from across Oregon
gathered virtually Monday, Oct.
31 to ask the state for a signifi-
cant increase in funding to ad-
dress homelessness.
They announced their inten-
tion to submit two budget pro-
posals ahead of the 2023 Legisla-
tive session.
The first includes nearly $124
million in annual funding from
the state to directly allocate to
each city in Oregon based on
the city’s full population, not just
those unhoused. They want the
allocation to be $40 per resident,
with a minimum of $50,000 for
each city. The money could be
used for housing, construction,
outreach services, encampment
sweeps, shelter and prevention,
among other things.
Oregon has cities as small as
Lonerock, population 25, Gran-
ite, population 32, and Unity,
goes unaddressed.” Wytoksi said
cities need no-strings-attached
flexible funding that would al-
low cities to address their unique
needs.
She said funding to keep peo-
ple housed is a priority for them.
“Preventing homelessness is just
as important as addressing the
(unsheltered) emergency,” she
said.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler
said his most recent city pro-
posal to create large, city-desig-
nated camp sites, enforce camp-
ing bans and scale up needed
resources for unhoused resi-
dents won’t be able to move for-
ward without contributions for
the state.
He said the legislative budget
proposals were “critically im-
portant” to get his new plan up
and running.
The mayors are just the latest
group to say they need and de-
serve vastly increased funding
and an ongoing commitment
from the Legislature. Higher
education leaders said the same
about student financial aid in
August.
During the 2022 legislative
session, lawmakers pumped
$400 million into a homeless-
ness and housing package. It
included funding to build and
preserve affordable housing, ad-
dress and prevent homelessness
with rent assistance and tem-
porary shelters, and encourage
homeownership with down pay-
ment assistance programs.
The state also increased fund-
ing for youth homeless services
and launched pilot programs in
eight cities to better coordinate
services.
Beaverton Mayor Lacy Beaty
said that, while the state made
significant one-time investments
this year, it wasn’t enough and
it will never be enough unless it
continues year after year.
Panel: Kotek didn’t create hostile workplace
the two Republicans voting yes and both
Democrats saying no. A motion needs a
SALEM — Democratic candidate for
majority of votes to pass.
governor Tina Kotek did not cre-
Hernandez, a Democrat, told the
ate a hostile work environment for
committee in an earlier remote hear-
a lawmaker when she was House
ing on Oct. 19 that he was bullied
speaker, the Oregon House Con-
by Kotek to the point that he suffers
duct Committee determined Mon-
from post-traumatic stress disorder.
day, Oct. 31, after voting mostly
Kotek is in a tight race for gov-
along party lines.
ernor against Republican nominee
The committee members, two
Christine Drazan, with unaffili-
Democrats and two Republicans,
ated candidate Betsy Johnson po-
Kotek
decided that some of Kotek’s be-
tentially siphoning off votes that
havior toward former Rep. Diego Hernan-
would have gone to Kotek in a two-way
dez was “unwelcome,” such as when she
race.
raised her voice at him as they argued over
Hernandez himself faced accusations that
support for bills.
he created a hostile work environment for
But a motion to characterize Kotek’s be-
three women. He announced his resignation
havior as “severe or pervasive” failed, with
in 2021, days before the House was sched-
BY ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press
uled to vote on whether to expel him.
Investigator Melissa Healy, a lawyer
hired by the Legislature, had already ex-
onerated Kotek in her draft report. She
told the committee again Monday that she
didn’t see Kotek’s conduct as severe or per-
vasive.
“A contentious conversation between col-
leagues as they’re both advocating for their
position on bills is not going to rise to that
level,” Healy said by video link.
“I also didn’t find that the conduct was
pervasive.”
Legislature rules say a person “creates a
hostile work environment by engaging in
behavior that is unwelcome and is so severe
or pervasive that it either affects a person’s
ability to function in the workplace or de-
nies a person the benefits of the workplace.”
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A different approach
In August district officials
said that given construction
costs, the board would consider
what’s known as a construction
manager/general contractor
approach rather than solicit
another round of bids for the
middle school cafeteria.
The idea is to hire a contrac-
tor that can work with the dis-
trict to come up with an afford-
able proposal for the middle
school and other projects that
also meets the district’s goals,
Lair said.
The school board, meeting
on Oct. 20, agreed to hire CB
Const, Inc. of La Grande as
construction manager/general
contractor for remaining bond
projects, including the pro-
posed middle school cafeteria.
The district will pay CB
Const $38,880 for work prior to
construction.
During construction, CB
Const fees would not exceed
3% of construction costs, ac-
cording to the company’s pro-
posal.
The district also received a
proposal from Wright Broth-
ers The Building Company of
Boise.
A committee including dis-
trict staff and members of the
school board and bond over-
sight committee recommended
the board choose CB Const.
District officials met on
Monday, Oct. 31 with represen-
tatives from CB Const, as well
as Wenaha Group, the district’s
project manager, and LKV Ar-
chitects, to start planning.
“We are entering an inten-
sive pre-construction period
with CB Const that is expected
to last through March 2023,
where the team will work to-
gether to form a plan that max-
imizes project scope within the
remaining budget,” McDowell
said. “Until we are further into
the process, we won’t know
Other money sources
and projects
The district also has a $4
million grant from the state, $2
million from its capital proj-
ects budget, $2 million from
the state Student Investment
Act, $1.5 million from federal
COVID-19 aid, and $1.4 mil-
lion from another state pro-
gram earmarked for work at
the Baker Early Learning Cen-
ter (BELC), which is in the for-
mer North Baker School build-
ing at 2725 Seventh St.
Details, including deadlines
and allowed uses, for each of
the money sources:
• $4 million voter-approved
bond can be used for any bond
expenses; 85% must be spent
by December 2024.
• $4 million state grant (Or-
egon School Capital Improve-
ment Matching Grant), can
be used for any bond expenses.
Money must be spent by March
30, 2024, but the district has re-
quested an extension.
• $2 million from the Stu-
dent Investment Act, must
be used for safety/security
projects. District has spent $1
million, primarily at Brook-
lyn Primary, and the remain-
der must be spent by June 30,
2023.
• $1.5 million federal
COVID-19 aid, must be spent
for HVAC projects, and the
money must be spent by Sept.
30, 2024.
• $2 million from district’s
capital projects budget. Money
can be used for any bond ex-
pense, and there is no spending
deadline.
• $1.4 million from the Or-
egon Legislature must be spent
for projects at the Baker Early
Learning Center. Deadline is
Sept. 30, 2023, but the district
has requested an extension.
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
The Baker School District hopes to use money from a $4 million prop-
erty tax bond that voters approved in May 2021 to build a cafeteria/
multipurpose building on the west side of the Baker Middle School.
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