2019 Annual Town Meeting

On March 2nd community residents attended the 4th Annual Town Meeting Sponsored by the City of Scappoose. The general purpose of this event is to update the public on current and future City projects, and, more importantly, it is an opportunity for residents to give feedback on the direction of the City. These meetings are essential for a healthy and vibrant community because they help hold City Staff accountable and provide clarity to the public on decisions that will impact their daily lives in Scappoose. For those who were not able to attend, please read the following summary to gain insight on the topics covered, the results of the breakout sessions and the results of the surveys completed in real time with clicker technology.

The first half of the meeting focused on the current state of the City’s sidewalks, bicycle lanes and streets and discussed future capital projects and possible funding options to meet existing financial shortfalls. The presentation incorporated audience participation with a break out session and live voting with the City’s clicker technology. The break out session provided the audience the chance to examine maps showing the location and type of some of the proposed capital projects in the Transportation System Master Plan. Each map displayed a separate “quadrant” of the City, NE, NW, SE, SW and corresponding projects being discussed. Attendees then voted on the top three projects they wanted to see the City pursue. The top three projects selected from each quadrant of the City are as follows:

NW Quadrant:

1. Project W23 – located on EJ Smith, sidewalk from NW 1st to Bella Vista
2. Project W12 – located on SW 1st St., sidewalk from SW Maple to JP West
3. Project W8 – located on JP West, sidewalk on Keys Rd.

NE Quadrant:

1. Project W20 – located on E. Columbia Ave, sidewalk between US30 and SE 4th/West Lane
2. Project B4 – located on West Lane Rd., bike lane striping on E. Columbia Ave to Crown Z Road
3. Project W18 – located on SE Maple, sidewalk between US30 and SE 4th

SW Quadrant:

1. Project W5 – located on EM Watts, west side sidewalk from US30 to SW 4th
2. Project W6/B10 – located on EM Watts, sidewalk on SW 4th to Keys Rd., US30 to Eggleston Ln./Keys Rd.
3. Project W11 – located on SW Maple, sidewalk from US30 to SW 4th

SE Quadrant:

1. Project W17/B19 – located on SE 6th, sidewalk from Vine to Elm; Frederick to Elm bike lanes
2. Project W15 – located on SE 3rd Pl., sidewalk from Grant to Watts Elementary to SE Elm
3. Project I12 – located on SE 6th and Elm, realign SE 6th to reduce skew and offset

The total cost for the top three projects from each quadrant combined was $11.6 million.

The presentation then turned its focus to the City’s current streets budget, funding shortfalls and the options identified as possible funding mechanisms including a Transportation Utility Fee, Property Tax Levy and Local Gas Tax. Using clicker technology, attendees were given the opportunity to offer their input on which funding option they preferred (if any) and would consider supporting, the results of which are included below:

Question: Would you support a $10 per month transportation utility fee?
Response: Yes – 49.21%, No – 50.79%

Question: Would you support a property tax levy at $0.44 per $1,000 of av? ($13/month)
Response: Yes – 20.97%, No – 79.03%

Question: Would you support a $0.03 per gallon local gas tax? ($1.25/month)
Response: Yes – 92.06%, No – 7.94%

Question: Should the City pursue one of the funding mechanisms?
Response: Yes – 93.55%, No – 6.45%

Question: Which option do you prefer?
Response: Transportation Utility Fee – 9.38%, Property Tax Levy – 3.12%, Local Gas Tax – 82.81%, None of the Above – 4.69%

The second half of the meeting included a presentation by ECONW on the City’s ongoing efforts to address local housing needs, as determined by the 2017 Housing Needs Analysis, and explore Urban Renewal as a possible funding mechanism for upcoming infrastructure upgrades and as a tool to revitalize the downtown and commercial core of the City. A component of the Urban Renewal efforts includes the completion of a Town Center Design, which is a visioning document to help guide Urban Renewal dollars in the future towards desirable projects. This component of the Urban Renewal Project was the focus of the breakout session; audience members were again invited to review maps located throughout the room and offer their feedback on the following:

• Where is the Town Center?
• What do you love about that place?
• What don’t you love about it?
• What do you wish was there, but isn’t?

The results of this breakout session will be presented to City Council by ECONW on March 18th and to the Technical Advisory Committee on April 18th. Both meetings are open to the public. The completion of this second break out session concluded the informational portion of the meeting and the raffle was held.

The City would like to offer a very big THANK YOU to all of you who took the time to attend and to our sponsors. We really appreciate your support, participation and enthusiasm. Just remember, together we can make a difference.

City Manager Michael Sykes