When it comes to the surface water improvement project, the city can’t seem to win.
City staff are under fire today for sending out a fairly misleading news release, but officials say that was not the intent.
Here’s the story: Last week the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals dismissed two potential appeals from Central Oregon Landwatch related to the SWIP.
The city sent out a press release today touting that LUBA had dismissed these two appeals.
BUT HERE’S THE BIG PART: The biggest, most real LUBA challenge from Landwatch to the city is still going forward!
That big challenge, which has to do with the city’s water public facilities plan, could really throw a wrench in the city’s SWIP project.
But, the city makes no mention of this in the release. Instead, the release reads as if the city has won a victory against Landwatch. But it really hasn’t.
Naturally, this is going to be seen as more “city trying to mislead the people on SWIP.”
Mary Winters, the city’s attorney, says that’s not the case—they just didn’t see the need to mention the appeal that was going forward since it still hasn’t been argued.
“There is no big conspiracy thing going on here,” said Winters. “We’re way too busy to put that much thought into a press release.
Well, no offense, Mary, but apparently.
The city should put more thought into press releases that provide an accurate picture, rather than just information that vindicates it’s side.
FOR YOU LEGAL NERDS: LUBA dismissed Landwatch’s challenges against a city resolution to proceed with the project and the city’s decision to go forward on a contract relating to the project. In response, the city filed motions to dismiss these claims. LUBA agreed with the city that LUBA had no grounds to look at those decisions as they were not land-use related.
THE TEXT OF THE NEWS RELEASE FROM THE CITY:
Surface Water Project appeals dismissed
The State Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) has dismissed two appeals by Central Oregon Landwatch on the City’s Surface Water Project. Central Oregon Landwatch filed appeals on a City Council resolution in March 2012 reaffirming the decision to keep Bend’s dual water sources while modifying the project to reduce costs to ratepayers and an April 2012 City Council decision to amend a design and construction contract for the project.
LUBA agreed with the City’s response to the appeals and ruled that these Council actions are not final decisions on the Surface Water Project. Further, LUBA ruled that the Council decisions were not land use decisions at all as defined by Oregon law, and, therefore, Central Oregon Landwatch failed to meet its burden of establishing that LUBA has jurisdiction to consider the appeals.
This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2012.
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We have never really been informed as to why the surface water is such a threat. We win awards for best tasting water in the NW, but we’re all going to die from it? The source, that Cascades, is filtered through how many feet of lava and now we have to make it taste like chlorine? I really don’t understand why a number of $70 million is being thrown out there. Why fix something ain’t broke?
Im sure Im going to be asked about this matter on october 9th and 10th in my bend city council debates .
RSGlide – The EPA is requiring the City to filter its surface water for something called cryptosporidium, but you are right – our water is very safe. The City could have applied for a variance from this requirement like Portland did. Instead, the City decided it needed to hire a multi-national engineering firm to develop the biggest possible project in response to this requirement. Your instincts are correct – this project does not need to cost $70 million. There are many different options the City can take to reduce the cost and possibly help to restore Tumalo Creek.
Check out the information on Stop the Drain’s website: http://www.stopthedrain.org.
City staff and council members decided years ago that ordinary citizens were not to have a say in this decision – just pay for it. We were deliberately kept in the dark while HDR prepared ‘studies’ which (wait for it…) recommended we pay them millions of dollars to build a big pipe. Wow… there’s a surprise.
But the analyses were so woefully/willfully inadequate that they had to be kept secret until the city council had already voted in favor of the SWIP. Seriously now… with city staff getting busted for taking bribes from other engineering firms (unrelated to the SWIP), isn’t it just a tad obvious what’s going on here? Why is no one pissed off about the blatant corruption we are paying for?
It is time to clean house on the city council and take our town back.