Foothills Project Continues to Draw Public Scrutiny

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week the LO Review published an article on the City Council's 4-3 vote to continue spending taxpayer funds on the Foothills Development project.   The article can be found at:  Council Moves Ahead with Foothills.    Its an interesting discussion of the project.   However even more interesting was the public response the article received online.  

One blog comment states the following:

All you have to read in this whole piece is the last paragraph: “In the end, council members voted 4-3 to have city staff and consultants refine the recommended concept and draft a revised framework plan, which could come back before the council by mid-June. In favor were Mayor Jack Hoffman and councilors Jordan, Sally Moncrieff and Tierney. Councilors Olson, Jeff Gudman and Mike Kehoe were opposed.” They same “Gang of Four”, “potential conflicts of interest” and all, again favor their cronies (developers and consultants) over the citizens and taxpayers of Lake Oswego.Put the fact that the Gang of Four wants to spend your money to make developers and consultants rich against the article directly above (headlined: “City budget avoids service cuts but could cause long-term problems”).November cannot come soon enough so we can finish cleaning up City Hall.  "Cannot Wait for November

It will be interesting to observe the councils deliberations and the movement on the project in an election year.  Its no doubt that controversy continues over several projects within the community.        We leave it to individual residents to decide their views on the project.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

COLA LO Board Member Discussses Spending

To All COLA LO Members,

This week COLA board member Dave Berg published an article in the LO Review discussing spending in the city and concerns brought to him by a variety of citizens.  

 In the article the author attempts to discuss the impact of past decisions and the trade off that we make in developing budgets in Lake Oswego.  

The article Are We Spending Correctly? has received positive comments from citizens.    It provides for an interesting review.   


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.

Is Portland Leading the Way on Water Rates Again?

To All COLA LO Members,  

Portland is now considering new rates for the largest users of its water.    The story broke recently in the Portland Tribune Water Rates Encourage Conservation?

In the article an opposition group stated the following:  

“Portland retail water rates have risen dramatically in the last several years, and yet the Portland Water Bureau is proposing to rise another 69 percent over the next five years. Water rate increases of this magnitude are unsustainable, and will hurt family budgets and businesses,”

The issue of water rates continues to be of concern in the LO community after a 22% increase this March by the City Council.   

There is widespread concern that even LO is chasing out both residents and businesses with its water rate increases.   

One blog laments the issues in Portland Chased Out.

It will be interesting to see how the latest round of rate increases impacts the view of the community and the upcoming election.  


Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Oregonian Endorses Savas for County Chair!

To all COLA LO Members,

This week with the Clackastani rebellion in full swing within the county the Oregonian surprised many and endorsed County Commissioner Paul Savas for the position of County Chair.   

Its a surprising endorsement for the Oregonian.    The details can be found here O endorses Savas.   

The blogger and online comments provide some insight into the public reaction to the endorsement.   They can be found at the above link and also at The O leaves. 

This endorsement comes after Paul Savas received the endorsement of the Wilsonville Chamber of commerce Wilsonville Endorsement despite having two opponents who were both Mayors of Wilsonville.  

Many COLA LO members know Paul Savas and have supported him during his election in 2010.    Given the issues in this race it will be very interesting to see how the May 15th election turns out.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Online Comments to Tierney Announcement Surprisingly Harsh!

To All COLA LO Members,

This week after City Councilor Bill Tierney announced his candidacy, the citizen comments rolled in over two online sources.  Surprisingly the comments are very harsh showing little support for a sitting councilor.  

It appears the general lack of trust in local government will apply in the fall election according to the online comments. 

 Here are just a few of the statements online:

"Tierney said he wants to continue overseeing a high level of basic city services"

Really Bill? Really?No not really Bill- our basic city services such as street repair are taking a back seat to Jack Hoffmans' legacy desires. Instead of listening to us you only heard Jack telling you what to do and how to vote.

None of us will support you- as you don't support us.  "Elizabeth"

It's a shame Bill's verbage can't be put to good use on my garden as it would save me having to buy manure. Might as well re-elect another Sally for all the good he provided the City as a Hoffman lap dog these past four years. And you just know he'll roll over for Mayor 'Mac the Jack' if Judy's crew is elected to Council in November.  "Anti-Luke

Was the theft of private property through Bill's support of the "sensitive" lands farce a "positive force"? Only if you want to divide the city! The streetcar delay was to avoid our overwhelming vote AGAINST it in May. Who "reviewed the budget" for that multi-million dollar bathrooms on the lake that would prepare the way for the lake going public. Bill has only helped "carve" a deep divide in our city by those actions.
With the last election we began to make positive changes to the council. Lets continue that movement. "Mitch"

COLA LO believes citizens should review the record and also engage all the candidates on their views and philosophy of governance.   This is important prior to making any voting decision in the Fall.     

Councilor Tierney's record is well defined and he does ask poignant questions about the issues.   

Its up to the voters to decide if they believe he represents the community well enough to earn reelection. 

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Portland Water Plant Discharges LO Sewage into Tryon Creek?

To all COLA LO Members,

This week the Portland Water Bureau disclosed that it had discharged raw sewage into Tryon Creek.   Ironically this water treatment plant is integral to developing the Foothills area and The Portland Water Bureau is under scrutiny through a citizen lawsuit which questions their expenditures.   

The Blogs are already posting on this issue Ominous Notice  and the Oregonian has also written an article on the issue Raw Sewage.    Katu is also reporting on the release Sewage Release.  Citizens have questioned the cost of moving and upgrading the pant as part of the Foothills redevelopment effort.    This may further add to the controversy.  

Details on the plant can be found at Tryon Creek Treatment.    After spending over $90 million on LOIS and another $115 million being projected for the LO-Tigard Water Partnership the issue of water treatment operations seems to be looming on the horizon.   

Many residents are now questioning the costs of their water bills and the impact hey have on fixed income senior citizens within Lake Oswego.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends....

Councilor Tierney Will Run!

To All COLA LO Members, 

This week City Councilor Bill Tierney announced he will run for reelection in the fall.   As many in the community expected, councilor Tierney has decided he will run and will base his platform on his decision earlier this year to switch his support for the Streetcar and on his stance with the city budget.   The announcement was made in articles in the Oregonian Councilor Tierney Decides and in the Lake Oswego Review Tierney Will Seek.   

Tierney is the only member of the existing city council to seek reelection.   Others have decided not to run citing the divisiveness in the community and personal plans.   We are not sure how the announcement will be received in the community but the online comments provide some insight into the mindset of residents.   

Many COLA LO Members supported Councilor Tierney in 2008 when he first ran for council.     Its likely many will engage him in active discussion on the future of Lake Oswego during the campaign.   Councilor Tierney is the second candidate to announce early behind Greg Macpherson.    

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends...

One LO Resident Suggests "Reasonable Steps" for Lake Access While Another Says City Plans to Intrude on Property Rights?

To All COLA LO Members,

This week a local resident submitted an article suggesting that the "private access" to the lake was "selfish"  in the view of their family and that reasonable steps could be taken to allow for public access.   The article can be found at:  Reasonable Steps.   It provides for an interesting perspective. 

In another article a resident suggests that the upcoming Connected Community meeting provides another avenue to facilitate the erosion of property rights in LO  Connected Community is Intrusion?

The issue of property rights continues to come under scrutiny within the LO community with a variety of perspectives. Its widely believed that Property rights are under attack in LO given the recent history over sensitives lands, lake access, and other issues.   

Many are questioning the support for these issues and the challenges to property rights in a small community which has traditionally been not only exclusive but also supportive of its citizens.    Will this view and others impact the upcoming elections for city council and mayor?   Only time will tell.   

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

LO Review & Portland Tribune Acknowledge the spread of the "Clackastani Rebellion"

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the Review acknowledged the Clackastani Rebellion and its growing impact on both regional and local government.   The article Light Rail Rebellion places the justification on rail projects and their impacts exclusively.  This is far from an accurate description of what has been going on in Clackamas County and Lake Oswego for the past three years!

The Clackastani Rebellion is driven not by light rail and mass transit but by the performace of local and regional government.   Its driven by spending, taxation, and the frustration of citizens regarding their representatives lack of consideration in the public process.

Its important to note that the first initiative to pass was a "backdoor tax"  on county residents through a fee.  When a vote of residents was requested our county representatives ignored the request, passed the tax, and drew the ire of the people.   After a citizen driven ballot inittiaitve was approved overwhelmingly,  another issue arose.    When citizens wanted voter approval of Urban Renewal our county commision decided no and another citizen driven ballot measure was passed overwhelmingly.  

So the "light rail only" label given by the Review is absolutely incorreect.   The light rail measure is only the most recent example of citizen frustration with the "lack of representation" at the local and regional level.

Citizens are absolutely livid at their elected officials ignoring their concerns and not recognizing that they are elected to represent the public through a transparent process.  

It will be interesting to see how the media attemtps to "spin"  the ground swell of public involvement in the elections process.    Its no secret that Lake Oswego began the revolt regarding issues like sensitive lands, streetcar, etc.   However it will be interesting to see how that hisory impacts the fall elections at boith the local and county level.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends....

Council Debates Resolution to Limit Lake Access

To all COLA LO Members,

This week the City Council debated resolution 12-12 in an attempt to restrict public access to Oswego Lake from City park property.    Its an interesting twist on what many believe was this administrations invitation to "occupy Lake Oswego"  in public statements and actions.

Many are wondering why the reversal of direction or is it just a way to manipulate and appease an angry electorate?

Only time will tell but its now clear this administration may have done serious damage to its image through its comments.    The details are well known and many citizens now believe this issue was a manipulative attempt to distract the voters from more serious issues, an ongoing theme discussed within the community.  

The discussion last night invited additional controversy as reported to us by citizens.   it seems no matter what the administration is trying to invite conflict. 

Mayor Hoffman's comments once again additional controversy into the city and seem to promote more of a challenge to the Lake Corp.  In the Oregonian the Mayor is quoted as saying:   "To me, it's irrelevant whether the water of Oswego Lake is public or private," said Mayor Jack Hoffman on Tuesday. "That is not the city's concern. The city's concern is city property and its citizens."

The Oregonian has reported on the final vote: Lake Oswego Approves

The online blogs have been reporting on the issue for the past week:   Lake O Gets Ready as is the Oregonian Banning Entry.

Many blog comments are focused on the issue that if the city does pass the resolution it invites legal action.  Only time will tell but its clear this is just another divisive issue that was promoted during the current administration. 

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.