Oregonian Reports on Streetcar Study

To All COLA LO Members,

The Oregonian reported details on the Streetcar survey last week.   It provides some interesting insight including the public comment on the article.    Once again a KLOG board member supports the project despite the costs and public concerns regarding both debt and operating expenses.   

 The article can be found at : Lake Oswego to Continue.

It provides additional insight into the ongoing expenditure of taxpayer funds on the streetcar project despite the results showing the majority of residents don't support the project.  

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

Bloggers Evaluate the Foothills Project

To all COLA LO Members,

Last week in the blogosphere Jack Bog and bloggers evaluated recent comments of the Foothills Development plan.   There were quite a few interesting comments on the validity of claims made by the developer and consultants.   The Blog article can be found at: That Old Black Magic

In the blog post Jack also references a recent DJC article on the project.   That article can be found at:  Foothills. 

Our city council continues to evaluate the project and spend taxpayer dollars to support the initial efforts.   The council and Mayor have stated that Foothills and Streetcar are inseparable and must be linked to make the projects viable.   Cost estimates for the two currently exceed $500 million dollars.

LO Resident and County Commisioner Ann Lininger Tells Residents not to Criticize Public Employees.

To all COLA LO members,

Once again our local resident and County Commissioner Ann Lininger tells residents not to criticize public employees or their agencies and to "praise them".  Commissioner Lininger supported the recent measure 3-388 which would have limited county resident's right to vote on urban renewal districts even though they would pay taxes to support those districts.  

Her article in the Oregonian Fashionable to Criticize  seems to ignore voters concerns about the ever increasing taxes and fees within the county and locally.  It also follows a common theme that tells us its not OK to participate as voters to ensure our taxpayer dollars are well spent.   

After articles in the LO Review supporting Streetcar it seems that commissioner Lininger continues to support the "tax & spend" view in terms of local government while limiting citizens right to vote on tax increases.  

Citizens seem to be told what is acceptable rather than being allowed to vote on their options.   Commissioner Lininger's positions were soundly defeated by Clackamas County voters in both May and November of this year on both the Vehicle Registration Fee and Urban Renewal District approval.   Its valuable information for local voters.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

COLA LO Board Member Discusses City Staff Levels

To all COLA LO Members,

Last week Board member Dave Berg published an article in the LO Review answering questions that were brought to him by several residents over the past year.   In it he discusses the relative level of staffing and costs in Lake Oswego versus other cities.  

Its an issue many citizens are discussing a long with City expenditures and projects.    The article can be found at:  Where's LO compared to other Oregon Cities?.   

Online comments have produced a strong reaction to the topic but have generally been supportive in its attempt to address an issue of concern within the community.    In the article the author cites a specific reference within the official city budget book addressing relative staff growth rates over the past ten years.

 It provides for an interesting review.     Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

LO Review Article on Streetcar Produces Irate Citizen Comments

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the LO review reported on the progress of the streetcar project after the recent survey by a consultant paid for by the city council.   The article can be found at: Streetcar stays on track.   The Councils remarks and the article have brought out enormous criticism from residents online.  

The details can be found in the article online.    It seems citizens are quite upset that the council ignores the results of the survey based on their online comments.   Residents were also critical of the review for pulling a previous article but the review has responded to their concerns on line.  

This is very emotionally charged issue within the community as the city council continues to spend taxpayer dollars on the project despite the results of the survey.

Council members Keho and Olson have suggested terminating funding for the project but they received little support from the remaining council members besides Councilor Gudman.     Mayor Hoffman and others are committed to continue spending funds on the project combined with the Foothills plan. 

TV Channel KATU Documented all views on the matter this week including deep concerns about the willingness of local government to listen to its citizens.   THe video can be found at: KATU Streetcar Concerns.

Please notify all members,contacts, and friends.   

City Survey Finds LO Residents Oppose Streetcar

To ALL COLA LO Members,

A survey conducted by the City has identified significant opposition to the streetcar project across its residents.  

That comes as no surprise to many COLA LO members who participated in election efforts over the past two years.  

The survey also finds that citizens want the city to FOCUS back on core services like streets! Also no surprise to many of us.

The irony is that a professional survey firm had to tell the council what most of us already know after participating in the community for the past few years.  

The Oregonian tried to put the survey results in a positive light with an attempt to say more information may sway public sentiment but the survey itself says this is not likely as opposition is quite strong in the community.   

The Oregonian article can be found at:  http://www.oregonlive.com/lake-oswego/index.ssf/2011/11/lake_oswego_streetcar_survey_f.html

Survey results can be found at (takes time to load):  http://media.oregonlive.com/lake_oswego/other/Lake%20Oswego%20Streetcar%20CommunityAttitudes%20Survey%20--%20October%202011.pdf

The question now becomes: 

Will the FOUR members of council continue to spend taxpayer money on a project that is not supported by residents instead of focusing on the core services that taxpayers say they require?  

Three of the four council members voting for streetcar expenditures are up for election in 2012.  (Tierney, Moncrief, and Mayor Hoffman).   

The results of this survey combined with the earlier facilities survey last spring provide a clear insight into the community. 

New "Expert" in Town to Help Downtown Revitalization

To All COLA LO Members,

This week in the LO Review and on Jack Bog's blog we were informed of a new expert who will help LO revitalize downtown.   Jack Bog's readers and LO Review readers provided some opinion online.  


The Jack Bog comments can be found at:  More Phrases Were Sick Of.
While the Review article can be found at:  Launching a Downtown Revival.

This all comes at a time when county voters just passed a measure requiring all Urban Renewal Districts to be approved by voters, including substantial changes to Districts.   Although this measure applies only to unincorporated areas within Clackamas County,  its ironic that Downtown Renewal continues full speed ahead without any votes. 

Could this all be part of a Foothills-Streetcar planned effort? 

Time will tell but its obvious that countywide voters are very frustrated with Urban Renewal and Light Rail costs given the economic environment.