Updated: Northeast Coalition Turns Out in Force to Talk about Safety, Greenstreets and the Arts in their Neighborhoods:

Hearing from neighborsAlmost every neighborhood was represented at Commissioner Adams' Budget Town Hall. The top concern of the residents was traffic and traffic safety. The community was eager to tell Sam exactly what he came to find out, what are the issues in the neighbor hood that City needs to know about? There was a good discussion about the changing conditions along the Alberta Street corridor and the 30th and Killingsworth intersection.

Parts of the Northeast Coalition district has experienced significantTell Sam what you think about the budgets. development bringing with it traffic congestion and hazardous conditions for pedestrians. While business owners are thrilled with their success, they are concerned that if the traffic conditions remain unchecked serious injuries are inevitable.

Residents also asked Bureau of Environmental Services Director Dean Marriott probing questions about the amount of debt that the BES is carrying in order to finance the Combined Sewer Overflow project. Shortly we will post information about how Portland compares to other similar cities that are required to upgrade their cities sewer system. Dean explained the significant impact the CSO project will have on the life of the Willamette River. When the project is completed Portland will reduce the number of days that sewage is discharged into the Willamette from 100 days a year to 4. For a community that loves its river this was welcome news.

Here are the questions and answers pertaining to the Regional Arts and Culture Council.

1. What is the status of the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center?

In 2005 Sam took the lead in restoring the IFCC as a sustainable cultural facility in North Portland. Now, there is new artistic, administrative, and board leadership in place, and the organization is becoming financially stable once again. The IFCC continues to present a great variety of artwork exhibits, theatrical performances, and other community arts events. For more info on IFCC programs, performances and events, visit www.ifcc-arts.org.

2. What's going on with public art in the right-of-way?

The effort to rotate public art sculptures along the right-of-way in several Portland neighborhoods has been postponed while the City focuses on other priority areas where we're having more traction, such as RACC's workplace giving program and live/work space. There has been only lukewarm community support for this project, and the stipend we originally promoted is proving to be an insufficient amount for artists to produce the kinds of sculptures we were looking for.

3. What is RACC doing with for-profit arts? Are you looking at projects with for-profits?

Sam, the Regional Arts & CultureCouncil and the Portland Development Commission are about to embark upon a Creative Capacity Strategy that will help expand the definition of arts and culture in our community, and will do more to identify services that RACC, PDC and the City can provide that support the for-profit music, fashion, and design sectors. This planning process will begin later this spring and will take about a year to complete.

4. Does RACC have funding for public access television?

No. 

Here are the questions and answers pertaining to the Bureau of Environmental Services:

1. Is the BES financing debt within reason?

Issuing debt to pay for combined sewer overflow control facilities means lower rate increases in the short run, but higher principal and interest payments in the long run as the debt is retired. BES' debt financing policy is developed jointly with the City's Office of Management and Finance and attempts to balance moderate short-term rate increases with long-term debt service payments. The most direct check on whether BES' financing strategy is reasonable is the ratings that the independent debt rating agencies give to the City's Sewer System Revenue Bonds. These ratings guide potential investors in sewer system revenue bonds by providing a summary measure of the sewer utility's financial strength. Moody's Investors Services and Standard & Poor's assign ratings of A1 and A+, respectively, to our debt. This is considered investment-grade.

2. How does our debt compare to other cities?

Per capita sewer system debt in Portland is above average. This is largely due to the fact that Portland is farther along in its combined sewer overflow (CSO) control program than most other cities subject to CSO orders. As other cities build similar CSO control facilities, their per capita debt will increase relative to Portland's.

3. Can we get an update on your discussions with the EPA regarding Combined Sewer Overflow?

The City has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Department of Environmental Quality as part of the EPA's review of Portland's CSO program. Although the details of the discussions are confidential, we are hopeful that any remaining issues will be resolved soon.

4. How can we qualify to get a Green Streets project for our streets?

We are always working to increase the number of Green Street projects around the City. Scaling up to a broader green streets program will be most effective in areas where significant redevelopment is occurring, and will be greatly enhanced by additional federal funding, which the Bureau is currently seeking.

5. Do you have sewer system repairs/upgrades estimates?

Yes. We expect to spend $87.7 million on maintenance and reliability capital projects over the coming five years.

6. How focused on long-term/big picture is the BES? Are the investments it makes sustainable?

We certainly intend our investments to be sustainable. Although the current Combined Sewer Overflow Control Order specifies the type of facilities we must build (West and East Side Big Pipes, for example), we need to preserve their capacity by managing stormwater as development continues. Sustainable stormwater management (green streets, eco-roofs and other techniques that manage stormwater as close to the source as possible) will be the most cost-effective way to accomplish this, and will provide maximum long-term benefits for watershed health.

Look for the town hall meeting to re-air:

Friday 2/2/2007, 11:00 AM, Channel 30

Relevant Documents

BES Budget Presentation

BES Capitol Improvement Projects for Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods

RACC Information for Northeast Coalition

Watch here for answers to questions posed by the neighbors in the northeast coalition district.

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