Next Up at City Council, January 30-31, 2008
The Portland City Council Agenda for this coming week features an exciting announcement:
146 TIME CERTAIN: 9:30 AM – Authorize an agreement between Portland Parks & Recreation and the Oregon Department of Transportation to accept a grant of $460,000 to develop a portion of the Columbia Slough Trail between Portland International Raceway and Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. (Ordinance introduced by Commissioner Saltzman)
More information here, in the ordinance.
Later, on the Regular Agenda, another Parks gain:
*181 Approve agreement for acquisition of a parcel of real property in northwest Portland for park purposes from Raymond Hoy (Ordinance; Contract No. 52922)
The details on this purchase are interesting. Plus side: 13.75 acres being subdivided off a property on Skyline and sold to the City for $250,000, including high quality habitat which already has a public trail access easement. Of concern: The original appraisal came in at $150,000; the seller disputed that figure and later agreed with Parks for the $250,000 price tag. $250,000 seems a good deal for 13.75 acres of land, even if most of it is unbuildable…. but why have the first appraisal done if it was going to be passed over by a deal between buyer and seller?
The second Time Certain on Wednesday is a disappointment:
147 TIME CERTAIN: 9:45 AM – Address pay and benefit inequity among janitors cleaning city facilities (Resolution introduced by Commissioner Adams)
THIS ITEM WILL BE RESCHEDULED. DATE TO BE DETERMINED.
This, I think, is intended to address the Justice for Janitors issue I covered periodically throughout last year. I know Commissioner Adams and his staff have been working on the problems. Not fast enough for the workers living day to day, week to week. Sigh. Hopefully coming back to the Agenda soon.
I wish I had time to look into the Wednesday afternoon land use case:
WEDNESDAY, 2:00 PM, JANUARY 30, 2008
182 TIME CERTAIN: 2:00 PM – Appeal of South Portland Neighborhood Association against Design Commission’s decision to approve a new full-block, six-story mixed-use building on Block 49 of the South Waterfront District (Hearing; LU 07-153880 DZM AD)
South Portland Neighborhood Association (the neighborhood formerly known as Corbett-Terwilliger-Lair Hill, or CTLH) does not appeal things on a whim. This case is likely a doozy. If I were not already working seventeen hour days trying to get elected to have a voice and a vote the Council on land use issues and other important decisions, this would have been the agenda item I would have spent more time on this week.
A report that becomes more interesting, the closer you look into it, rounds out the week’s Agenda:
THURSDAY, 2:00 PM, JANUARY 31, 2008
183 TIME CERTAIN: 2:00 PM – Accept the River Public Safety Coordination Task Force Final Report (Resolution introduced by Commissioner Adams)
The title alone sounds like Yeah, people should not drive boats while drunk, dude. In fact, the Ordinance says the Task Force’s charges when it was formed in 2006 were:
1. The Task Force shall define an effective and reliable reporting system that defines and collects data needed to effectively manage a coordinated river safety services system.
2. The Task Force shall develop improved radio communication and standardized emergency dispatch methods for all public agencies providing public safety on waterways in Multnomah County.
3. The Task Force shall develop comprehensive operating protocols for all agencies in the Multnomah County area providing river public safety services.
4. The Task Force shall develop a Request for Proposals to establish towing service from private tow assistance businesses for non-distress river calls.
The report says the Task Force has done all that. And OOOH, good for Jane Ames, amazing staffer to Sam Adams – the link to the report is even included in the ordinance! And a link to Sam’s blog, to tell him what you think! Woo hoo! Way to excite citizens passionate about transparency and involvement! Aw, c’mon, you can ‘fess up, I know there are many of us, all over the city. I would like to see all items on the City Council Agenda each week with these kinds of links. It’s been less than a year since the Agenda began linking to the ordinances, thanks to Council Clerk Karla Moore-Love. I’m glad to see continued progress.
Hey, blog friends, thank you for reading to the end of another edition of Next Up At City Council. Did you know that my campaign blog is now taking subscribers and comments? I will likely be posting there more than here over the next few months, so come on over, the water’s fine. I’d love to have some discussion over there. Sorry, you have to re-register on that site, but as with this one, I won’t count you as a campaign supporter just for subscribing. If you’ve followed this blog since it started a year ago, you know I don’t claim to have all the answers to all Portland’s problems, and I would welcome your input into the topics covered over the course of the campaign.