Good Neighbors Sue?

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week it was announced that the City of Lake Oswego has filed suit against West Linn property Owners to remove covenants and restrictions on properties.    The lawsuit filed will remove restrictions used within the neighborhood so that the City can expand its water plant.   

The legal costs are being paid for with taxpayer funds including our ever increasing utiltiy bills for water and sewer. 

An article in the Review with online  comment can be found at:  Lake Oswego Files Court Action

Many in the community believe this part of an ongoing philosophy by the current administration to aggressively erode private property rights within our community and now our neighbors.  

We leave this up to individual voters to decide but its clearly a move that will not promote goodwill with neighboring property owners.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends. 

Political "Spin" begins on the Departures of Mayor & Others

To All COLA LO Members,

Yesterday the political spin began on the recent decisions of the Mayor and one Councilor not to run for election in 2012 and the decision by the City Manager to leave next month.   

To most citizens its pretty clear that the direction and priorities have been out of sync with the community for at least the past three years consistent with the tenures of both the City Manager and the Mayor.   

The "spin" machine is playing up the divisiveness within the community and playing down the fact that the overall community is deeply concerned about the direction of this administration and the city in general.   Its part of a campaign to set the playing field for "approved" candidates that may carry on the legacy projects and priorities within the community.   

Unfortunately it doesn't address the absence of trust in local officials right now as we proceed through 2012 and continue into the election process.  

The Oregonian article can be found at:  Political Divisions

The online comments in this and other articles provides some insight into the positions of the voters and local residents regarding the "spin"   versus resolving core issues within the community.  

The related announcement can be found in the following article:  Will Not Run.  Related articles on prospective candidates can be found at MacPherson Pondering and Regime Change.

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.   

Details on Ballot Measure & Signature Gathering for County Petition 3-392

To All COLA LO Members,

Last week the community was notified of a new citizen driven effort to place a ballot measure before all Clackamas County voters.   The new ballot measure was designated 3-392 and would require a countywide public vote on all expenditures for mass transit, including staff time.  

At the same time it now appears that local citizens in Milwaukie are also proposing a ballot initiative require a vote on light rail project expenditures.   Milwaukie Residents Anti-light Rail Proposal.    This is a dramatic escalation in citizen driven initiatives within clackamas county.   

One local blogger has taken to calling the efforts over the past year as a citizen driven revolt against local and regional government raising taxes and spending on large projects.    He claims that its also a revolt over local government allowing special interest groups to take over the direction and priorities of their efforts in conjunction with those in Portland. 

The blogger has taken to using the term Clackistani Rebels  to reflect the level of disdain and revolt within the community at large in Clackamas County.   

It will be interesting to see if either of both of these efforts provide sufficient signatures to be on the ballot in 2012.    Please notify all members, contacts, and friends. 

Lake Access - The Issue Continues

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the ongoing saga of public access  to Oswego Lake continues in the press and in the efforts of the Hoffman Administration.    A recent article in the LO Review outlines a group now convening to look at public access to the lake as part of the comprehensive plan.   The article can be found at:  Lake Access Group and details the deliberations and process.  

A second article by a local law professor appeared today in the review claiming a position that the Lake is public property and calling access by private property owners "monopolization" End Monopolization.  

Per the Lake Access Article:

"The work group is made up of four volunteers from the comprehensive plan citizen advisory committee. They will analyze public input received so far on the lake access issue and consider whether it fits within the comprehensive plan update or would be part of a different process.

City neighborhood planner Sarah Selden stressed that the group’s purpose is not to consider whether to provide lake access to the public, but instead to look at whether that question should be considered during work on the comprehensive plan.

Recommendations are expected at an upcoming meeting of the entire citizen advisory committee.

The work group will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18, at Lake Oswego City Hall, 380 A Ave. "

The Lake Corp has stated its position that the lake is private.    Many in the community are now questioning if this direction and priority is another poorly directed attempt by the current administration to set up a legal battle which will cost taxpayers millions.  

Online blog comments overwhelmingly are supporting private ownership of the lake and can be seen in the comments to the above article.    Any legal battle would cost both the city of lake oswego and the Lake Corp dearly in terms of fees and only be a further distraction from the services needed within the community.    This is causing to ask about the real priorities of those involved.  

Please notify all members, contacts, and friends.  

Hoffman, Moncrieff and McIntyre are out!

To all COLA LO Members,

Today the announcements came for decisions which many of us knew already within the COLA organization.  Mayor Hoffman has announced he will not run for re-election,  Councilor Moncrieff also announced she will not run for reelection.   

The only minor surprise was the departure of City Manager Alex McIntyre which many assumed might occur after the November 2012 election.    He has taken a position back in California once again.  

Hoffman says No  and McIntyre Leaves.  MacPherson Announces or ?

All of this comes after the streetcar announcement and a serious effort by citizens to mount recall petitions against several members of the council.    It appears many in the community were quite upset and had a enough and candidates are quite aware of the situation.  

It would not be inaccurate to say that these key people have presided over the most divisive administration in city history by promoting a political agenda that was entirely out of touch with the community.    Spending millions of taxpayer funds on projects that were not supported by the community produced such an outrage from a normally quiet community, that significant opposition arose at the grass roots level.  

There are a number of candidates for these positions and the community will continue to evaluate their options as 2012 proceeds.   There is concern that the city does not return to the failed policies under the current administration.  

Oregonian Article Provides Cost Details For Streetcar & Foothills

To All COLA LO Members,

This week the Oregonian released information on the costs to LO taxpayers for both Streetcar and Foothills.   The details are insightful and yet do not fully reflect the total cost of these projects on the community. 

For example in the article: Lake Oswego on the Clock

How much Lake Oswego spent to date planning for redeveloping Foothills

$800,000 to Williams, Dame & White for predevelopment agreement and framework plan

$129,000 to ECONorthwest for financial feasibility study

$929,000 = Total

 

How much Lake Oswego spent to date planning for a proposed streetcar

$57,000 to Metro for alternatives analysis and refinement phase

$37,000 to TriMet for Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and Federal Transit Administration grant application

$1,500,000 loan to TriMet to produce DEIS

$87,300 to Roger Martin & Associates and Richard Feeney for streetcar consulting work

$25,000 to Portland Streetcar Inc for services of federal lobbyist

$87,500 to TriMet for extending selection of Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA) in 2011

$247,500 to TriMet for 2011 streetcar refinement study

$25,000 to Davis Hibbitts Midghall for Streetcar Community Attitudes Survey

$175,000 estimated spent in staff time

$2,241,300 = Subtotal

Funds due: $1,800,000 in Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP) funds from TriMet for loan reimbursement

In the article the Oregonian Implies that actual costs for streetcar will be lower when the city receives its $1.8 million loan to Tri met back.    It fails to mention that Trimet is in deep finacial trouble and many question if or when the loan will actually be repaid or renegotiated.   Heading Down Trimet's Tracks.

 

So the net outflow of funds is a Whopping $3.17 million and counting.     This doesnt include staff time or other resources which were diverted to teh projects for the past several years.  

 

However the real cost is not the millions in taxpayer funds but the loss of trust in the competency of local government to adequately meet the needs of the community and establish clear and congruent viable priorities.  

That is clearly the impact of the direction of the Mayor and Council.   It will be many years before residents faith in local government and transparency will be restored.   

 This is especially true as many believe that the projects have just been put on hold until after the 2012 election due to a growing recall movement within the community and public outrage at wasted taxpayer dollars on projects that had little public support.  

Only time will tell the true story and the intentions of the parties involved.   

 

 

Streetcar Project Continues to Draw the Rage of Online Bloggers

To All COLA LO Members,

The streetcar project and the "suspended" status continues to draw substantial online comment from the community in Lake Oswego.    Many are now asking how a project could have gotten this far and what the total cost will be to taxpayers?  

It's an interesting discussion as the community now shifts form fighting the project to reconciling its costs and the influences that tried to bring it to Lake Oswego including Portland based special interests.  

Many online comments are questioning the sincerity of the councils reversal of their current support in the face of ongoing calls for a recall drive.   Online comments can be found at:  Streetcar and provide some insight into the deeply concerned views of the community.  

They can also be found in an article on the associated Foothills project Foothills.  

Overall it appears the community is seriously questioning the competency of the current City administration and its direction.   That's been a common theme within the community for some time but its growing after the recent decisions on key projects.   It will be interesting to see how this view manifests itself over time. 

All of this comes at a time when a recently released study shows that Portland's transportation efforts are in deep trouble.   The details can be found at:  Misplaced Priorities.  

Its no secret that the Mayor and City Councilors have been very aligned with the transportation priorities of the city of Portland.    Spending has also been aligned in Lake Oswego as funds are directed at alternative options rather than the streets.  

Only time will tell how the frustration and deep concerns of the voters will impact the 2012 elections including a Mayor and three councilors.    

Please notify all members,contacts, and friends.