On February 16th, 2010, Mayor Alice Norris delivered the 2010 State of the City. It was her final State of the City address as Mayor and those in attendance were again treated to an eloquent and entertaining presentation.

A standing ovation for Mayor Norris left no doubt that Oregon City has been served by excellent leadership and as a City we are well positioned to continue on our path of regional leadership into the 21st Century.

• View the State of the City 2010 in Powerpoint
• Watch the Video
• Download the State of the City 2010 (pdf) or read it below:

OREGON CITY 2010:  THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT HERE
Presented on February 16th, 2010
by City of Oregon City Mayor Alice Norris

It’s been seven years since I gave my first State of the City address in the Rivershore Banquet Room.  Since I like history, I decided that in preparation for today, I needed to review that first State of the City speech from 2003. 

I had served 134 days at the time and I compared Oregon City to a person undergoing an annual physical exam.  I wrote:

“This patient has a very strong heart but empty pockets, occasional shortness of breath, some congestion, good kidneys, strong muscles, is undernourished, but still growing fairly rapidly. Has a great potential.  But, according to Commissioner Bob Bailey, sometimes suffers from delusions of grandeur alternating with feelings of inferiority!”

When I spoke in 2003, we had 3 new city commissioners, an interim city manager, interim school superintendent, new community college president, new county CEO, new Metro leaders, 2 new state representatives, and a new state Senator.  Wal-Mart had submitted a land use application and the Porn Shop moved in.  The day after we let the construction contract for the new Amtrak station, the legislature cut the trains. Oregon City had the highest traffic injury and fatal accident rate of all Oregon cities larger than 10,000. Our population had doubled over past 13 years --from 13,000 to 27,000.

We were bleeding Red Ink…in planning, at the library, the swimming pool, in IT, at the cemetery. We had no rainy day fund and a skinny contingency.  To make up the projected shortfall, we cut the city budget across the board by 10% in January and closed the library 2 days a week. (We would, at our most desperate and discouraging time, cut library hours back to 23 per week, the shortest of any city in Clackamas County while still holding the record for the largest circulation of any library in Clackamas County.)

Then I had the audacity to conclude (remember this was 2003):

“Should we have cause for optimism in Oregon City?  Yes, yes, and yes.  We have a new demographic here that envisions an attractive and thriving downtown with river view condos and a flourishing mix of offices and retail; a vibrant cultural center that abounds in outdoor art on the second level, with an efficient new government center on the third level.  These new citizens promote the development of parks and open spaces, protection of our beautiful trees & rivers, and continuing development of our trail system, bikeways and pedestrian walkways.  We envision new industry arriving and new commercial areas that allow us to shop close to home and use our cars less.” 

I am proud to announce that this is now Oregon City 2010: and Things Look Different Here.  (BTW, I did receive permission from Todd Davison at Travel Oregon to use their old state slogan!)

Things Look Different Here.  So different, in fact, that we’ve just received a letter from First Lady Michele Obama.  I’m thrilled to announce today that Oregon City has been named a Preserve America Community, one of only six in Oregon.  We are now eligible for matching grants to support our efforts in historic preservation, heritage tourism, and to use our historic assets for economic and community revitalization.  We received notice on Tuesday.  By Thursday, Lloyd Purdy had already written our 1st grant proposal seeking $160,000.  Thanks, Lloyd.

All of you helped us with some extremely heavy lifting to get Oregon City rolling again. Let’s do a quick review of how Things Look Different Here since 2003:

1)            We cut the ribbon on 21 new or refurbished community service projects in Oregon City, from the Rivercrest Spray Park to the Clackamas River Trail in the pouring rain. 

In 2006, we constructed the first new park in 23 years. Wesley Lynn Park was greatly needed in the southern end of the City.  Since 2003, the City has purchased 15.6 acres of new park land (thanks Metro) and developed 22.8 acres for public uses.  Our inventory now includes a sand volleyball court, 3 more ball fields, and 2 more soccer fields than we had in 2003.  We’ve added 1.3 more miles to our trail system in 3 different parks.

But this is also a trouble spot:  In order to meet the low end of national staffing averages, we would need to almost double Parks maintenance staff by adding eight positions.  We are hoping to afford to add 2 full-time positions over the next 5 years.

2)            One of our city goals in 2003 was:  Promote a Positive Image/ Positive Quality of Life for Oregon City.  The trash talk reached a new low point when Mayor of Happy Valley commented publicly about our City, “You couldn’t make the city any uglier if you tried.”  I made him eat his words, literally, when he came to a city commission meeting to offer an apology.  But image is the most difficult thing to overcome, changing what the community thinks of itself.  You be the judge.  Do Things Feel More Positive Here?

3)            And speaking of image…We have a new logo one that promotes a healthy, business-savvy community.   And new city entry signs.  These Things Visually Announce a Difference Here.

4)            We had a downtown mural program in 2003 and a small Arts Festival.  But our Arts Community is tenacious.  So now in 2010, we can boast about the renovation of the Elevator interior and the amazing Lenticular Prints, the sculptures and street tiles on 7th Street, our first waterfront public art pieces, a First Friday Art Walk, and a rotating art gallery in City Hall that is to ‘capture the spirit of Oregon City.’  Who would have predicted that Oregon City would become an arts hub?  Even Dr McLoughlin was moved…

5)            Last year Oregon City celebrated Oregon’s 150th year in ways as different as our 166-year old community.  We planted 150 trees (thank you Clackamas Fire and Mountain View Community Church), held a contest for new city banners, sponsored a Peace Gate at our Sister City Peace Garden, published a brochure on ‘150 Things to Do in Oregon City,’ collected 10,000# of food during the food drive (thank you United Methodist Church); unveiled an official stamp, postmark, and envelopes under the watchful eye of Postmaster Dan O’Donnell and Seski, the state mascot.   Our three biggest events were (1) being invited to march in the Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade with our trolley, historic characters, and high school band; (2) hosting over 300 people at Chapin Park for an 1866 re-enactment of a baseball game between the Clackamas Nine and Portland Pioneers in 90 degree heat; (3) and the activity that received statewide coverage: House Speaker Dave Hunt carried Oregon City’s resolution to the State Legislature that asked for a redress of past illegalities and shenanigans and return the Capital to its rightful place in Oregon City.  After mock serious debate during a Joint Session on Feb. 14, the legislature voted to refer the matter to a Task Force and return with a recommendation in 2059! 

6)            On the public safety front ….In early 2003, very quietly, without hoopla, we completed the South End Fire Station which sat closed and vacant for 5 long years.  Then Oregon City voters passed the first property tax increase in 19 years.  74% of us voted to tax ourselves a dollar more per $1000 of assessed value and annex to the Clackamas Fire District.  An incredible achievement. Thank you, voters!  We bought improved response times all over the city, long term stability for fire and emergency medical services.  And more….

This one thing, the annexation to the fire district, put the City on the road to fiscal health.  This was HUGE.  Our financial crisis was extremely serious in 2004-05.  After staff cuts, cuts to library hours, refinancing of PERS, serious belt-tightening and the fire annexation vote, I am proud to say that we are now a financially stable City with an improved bond rating. 

This may the biggest accomplishment of the past seven years:  Financial stability.  Oregon City has weathered the recession better than many cities, partly because our recession began in 2004.  It’s a relief to know that things are different with our bottom line.

We do have a dilemma for the future:  As we commit to a ‘Different’ Oregon City, how will we provide the staffing we need to continue to serve the citizens of Oregon City – and keep our commitment to our taxpayers to maintain our property tax rate at a lowered level?

7)            Speaking of money:  our 2 grant programs (OCCIT and Metro Enhancement) have paid out $1.2 million in grants in the last 8 years…to local nonprofits and projects that benefit tourism, the environment and community-building.  We’ve spiffed up our downtown with half a million dollars in Urban Renewal storefront grants.

8)            In 2003, few people were talking about Sustainability.  Last year, Build a Sustainable Future was our #1 city goal.  Still is.  We have added an Electric Vehicle Charging Station, the first Prius in our evolving energy-efficient fleet; we’ve joined The Natural Step Network, gone nearly paperless at city commission meetings, and installed 3 solar-powered speed signs.  We implemented the “Plans to Homeowner” policy, giving house plans to homeowners rather than discarding them to the landfill.  We’ve backed Farmer’s Market started in 2005 to support local growers, local food, and sustainable practices.  And watch our bike paths and trails grow over the next few years.

9)            Our City is bigger – by 2,300 people. And by 353 acres, the result of 15 voter-approved annexations since 2003.  We’ve recorded 1,404 housing starts since then and our assessed value has grown 48%, the real market value by 73%.  However, we expect the assessed value growth to slow to about 4.2% this year.

10)          Things Look Different in the Hood.  We worked with Clackamas County and welcomed their employees in the 2 beautiful new buildings at Red Soils; and we thank you for the gift of Liberty Plaza as you left our Main Street.  We partnered with Willamette Falls Hospital as they built their new state-of-the-art Emergency and Diagnostic Imaging Departments, offering some of the most advanced medical technology in Oregon (complete with underground utilities!) and supported the merger with Providence Medical Center.  We supported Clackamas Community College as they built 6 new buildings to serve students in our community.

11)          Things Look Very Different along the Willamette River.  We added our 320’ floating dock and the Clackamas River Trail and will dedicate three very important new projects on May 19th.  Award-winning Jon Storm Park, the Willamette River Trail and the McLoughlin Boulevard Enhancement project.   These public spaces are fulfilling the community’s vision to reconnect with the river, while continuing our commitment to preserving and protecting our waterways. I challenge you to stand on the Willamette Terrace, surrounded by native landscaping, night-lit public art sculptures, and local rockwork watching the rushing Willamette and tell me that Things Don’t Look Different Here.

12)          What a Difference on Main Street!  14 new businesses, grant programs that have enhanced signage, storefronts, and business engagement.  Things Look Different Here because of Main Street Oregon City, Lloyd Purdy, Main Street’s first and only CEO, our Citizen of the Year, Don Slack, Main Street’s first President, and a very motivated board.  Threatened by the impending closure of the Arch Bridge, downtown business owners came together in amazing unity(!), to support the Main Street circulation study now beginning, and a federal funding request to fix streets and sidewalks from 5th to 15th..  The latest ODOT report on Arch Bridge is that the rehabilitation project is out to bid and scheduled to begin next January.

13)          Speaking of jobs….Oregon City is very fortunate to be employing over 100 skilled craftsmen and construction workers on our two federal stimulus (ARRA) projects:  the realignment of Beavercreek Road and Warner Milne, plus the restoration of the Promenade and Grand Staircase.   Thanks to Nancy Kraushaar and her staff who made certain we had project-ready proposals when the funding became available. 

14)          So much has happened in transportation.  We completed the extreme makeover of 7th Street, Beavercreek Road and the Beavercreek /213 Intersection, critical pieces of infrastructure that laid the groundwork for the many new restaurants and new businesses in town. 

15)          Because potholes are always a ‘bumpy’ topic….you’ll be glad to know that since 2003 we have built 4 miles of new sidewalks, and completed 24 miles of street maintenance projects—that’s 10% of our 136 miles of city streets. More than half, or 13.5 miles, have been completed in the last two years, because of our new Pavement Maintenance Utility Fee.  It has made a real Difference in Oregon City.

16)          We’ve made a significant investment in our water system by replacing 7 ½ miles of water distribution pipes, built a new small covered reservoir and rehabbed our big 10 ½  million gallon reservoir.  This is a very big deal:  it guarantees water security and capacity for generations to come, including emergency water storage. 

17)          In April 2004, hundreds of citizens and VIPs, including Governor Kulongoski, celebrated the opening of our Amtrak platform, an important connection to Oregon’s passenger rail system.  Because it offers a local transportation alternative, ridership continues to rise.  In June, we will finally have a real station when we move the old Southern Pacific Depot to the site and add more parking -- using federal funding.  And, yes, we are monitoring all developments with high speed rail and light rail to Oregon City. 

18)          In 2003, Helen II sat in a warehouse.  But last summer, Josephine, and Marguerite joined her for regular circuits from the heritage sites to the business districts to the entertainment spots. The three popular trolleys are a city signature and carried nearly 10,000 people last summer.  We still envision using the trolleys as an internal transportation link to TriMet.

19)          For me the most unbelievable happening of last year…and the biggest financial award Oregon City has ever received… was the $22 million we secured for our jughandle project, the I205/ I213 interchange.   For this, we are greatly indebted to our legislative delegation, who finally understood our plea as one word: ‘jughandle.’  State Senator Martha Schrader, State Rep Bill Kennemer, and Speaker of the House Dave Hunt ‘got’ the linkage of this project to economic development, and included us in the Oregon Jobs and Transportation Act.   Thank you!  Nancy Kraushaar may be the only one who knows how much effort, how many late night phone calls; hours of lobbying, and telling our story to state agencies, staffs and elected officials was required for Oregon City to receive $22 million.  Thank you, Nancy, for your tenacity, skill and audacity!   A remarkable achievement!

20)          Thank goodness Things Are Different at City Hall.  The old one was, frankly, embarrassing. Outdated, cramped, inefficient, and partly musty modular trailers, it provided no privacy for citizens doing business, no storage and few meeting spaces. Our new one is green, efficient, accessible, and situated to stimulate nearby and downtown business.  It consumes 26% less energy, has 13% lower maintenance costs than a standard office building, plus we diverted nearly 37 tons of construction debris from the landfill.  It will be the first city-owned building to display the coveted LEED designation awarded by the US Green Building Council.  It is healthier for our employees and greatly improves our ability to serve the citizens of Oregon City. This was a critical facility need for our City.

And it paves the way for a Difference in our Police Department. 

2010 will be the Year of the Facility.  We have tough decisions to make on five facilities.

1)            Ermatinger House.  Although it is not part of our core mission to maintain and operate an historic home, we are grateful to Marge and Rolla Harding, our citizen volunteers and curators who have kept this treasure accessible to the public for over a decade.  But nothing will be more satisfying than to have the National Park Service become the long term stewards of this special place.  It’s possible this year.

2)            Some things don’t change.  A citizens’ task force is once again studying options for the use of Carnegie Center.  And this month we will hire a consultant team to determine the long term use for the End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center site, Oregon City’s newest facility, acquired unfortunately by default of Clackamas Heritage Partners.

3)            Things will soon look different at the Library.  2005 was a real low point.  Thanks to the passage of the new Library District, Oregon City once again has a real Library Director, Maureen Cole, just 7 months into the job.  Oregon City’s Library just celebrated its 100th anniversary in 13,000 sq ft of leased space at Danielson’s Mall; soon to be rubble as the business transformation to Safeway occurs.  So our library is also undergoing transformation.  We are in serious negotiations with the School District regarding the use of Eastham School for a library.  Things will be different soon.

4)            We were finally financially able to build our Police Force, which in 2003 was the same size as it had been in 1978 when the population was 10,000.  In 2007, we hired our first new officer by partnering with Oregon City School District and using City towing fees to add a much-needed School Resource Officer at the High School.

Although we are still not quite where we need to be in sworn officers, our police facility is now more important than the staffing issues. The building lacks sufficient evidence storage and processing, victim interview rooms, records storage, and locker and training rooms. 

“The Police Department moved into a temporary building 26 years ago, our city hall:  It’s a terrible situation, ugly, inefficient, not secure, and certainly offers no privacy.  We need to find relief this year.”  (I said that in 2006, and 2007, and 2008, and 2009)

We did gain additional space for Police when City Hall moved out in November.  But, due to state seismic requirements, police department space gains were limited.  LRS Architects estimated the retrofit costs at $1 million with another $4 million to modernize the building.  But it would still be drastically undersized. 

Now don’t forget that this is the same facility that, just last year, housed Municipal Court AND City Administration AND Parks and Rec AND Code Enforcement AND Public Works Admin, plus Engineering AND the Police Department.  Estimates to build a modern and efficient police station run to $10 million.  Right now, the only way to generate this money would be a bond measure.  We will be doing some polling to determine when and how this measure goes before the voters, possibly as early as May of 2011. 

Oregon City deserves a Police Station that Looks Different.  And functions differently.

In 2003, our #1 goal was to ‘Create a Strategy for Oregon City’s Economic Recovery.’  Because it helps to have a plan, we hired the best: Dave Leland, a nationally-acclaimed urban strategist, and Don Stastny, a city design specialist. We focused on implementing the Economic Development Strategy they helped us create. The key was Community revitalization.  And jobs would follow. 

In 2006, we rolled out, with fanfare, our two transformative projects, The Cove and The Rivers.  Both are Green projects.  In spite of the real estate collapse, both are still on track to move dirt in 2011. They’ll bring over 2,500 new jobs and clean-up degraded properties. Each brings public amenities not found in Oregon City, such as riverfront living and waterside restaurants, plus services and retail that will decrease our need to travel long distances. 

Our Urban Renewal Commission remains strongly proactive in shaping these catalyst projects that will anchor the success of our Downtown and our Regional Center.  They won’t let us lose sight of another meaning of:  Things Look Different Here.  --a commitment to a ‘different’ Oregon City, not a copycat of another suburban community.

Finally, another goal in 2003 was:  Hire a skilled new City Manager.  We did.  And now as Larry Patterson prepares to retire on March 31st, we are in the initial stages of hiring another one.  Larry has been the chief architect of virtually all of our successful ventures.  Please join me in thanking him for his motivational leadership, commitment to excellence, and hard work in helping to Make Things Look Different Here.

Because of our work together, our new city manager will fortunately find a highly-skilled and committed staff, financial stability, strong relationships with our partners at the county, regional, state and national levels, tools for economic success.  He or she will find a full-service community that can now complete on a level playing field with other communities of our size. 

Fortunately some things don’t change. Our new city manager will also find an engaged citizenry.  We have legions of dedicated, talented volunteers who love this community and work incredibly hard to support it, change it, and preserve the livability we enjoy.  Motivated citizens have taken ownership of community problems, and created The Wedge, food drives, and the cob bench for bus riders –

From the beginning, this community was shaped by men and women with dreams about ‘Possibility’-- what the future could hold for them and their families.   They collaborated.  They formed partnerships.  And, yes, they bickered about the details.  Just as we do. 

I am grateful to City Commissioners, both past and present, for having the courage to keep the vision, especially under intense pressure to go a different direction.

We’ve set goals together.  We accomplished what we said we were going to do. Just as one of my favorite people said: Jedi Master Yoda:   ‘Do.  Or do not. There is no ‘try.’

It took trust, persistence, patience, constant communication, and a good sense of humor! 

Public service is a partnership with the community, and I have been privileged to serve with you through thick, and a lot of thin.  Standing beside you as we shaped our City, fixed the broken parts, and dreamed about the future together has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.  We have been building a community, not just for today, but for generations to come.  Serving you as Mayor has been one of the most difficult, challenging, rewarding and fun jobs I’ve ever had, except for being a Mom. 

But, this isn’t the end of anything.  It’s the Commencement, the beginning of Oregon City’s new future. For we still have much work to do.  But we will launch from a different pad.  We have raised the bar, and have formed a new base from which we will fire off our new initiatives, new projects, and future visioning.  It’s what we do from today forward that matters. This is the new normal.  This is the State of the City:  Things Look Different Here. 

And frankly, we like it like that, don’t we?