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Friday, September 7, 2007

What is wrong with our city council? Does anyone have the scoop? I don't have any inside knowledge, I don't know any of them personally.

But the quality of their decision making has been pretty damn poor, lately. From the BAT fiasco, to Juniper Ridge, it seems as though the results are drawn out, defensive, uncertain and contradictory. They appear to be playing favorites on the UGB; ignoring their own guidelines in order the get the best result for their pet project.

Is the staff giving them bad advice, or are they ignoring or over-riding that advice? Is it one or two members leading the others astray? Or total group think? It seems as though they've gotten a couple of fresh members, who immediately toe the line. I don't go to city council meetings; I may catch snippets on T.V. once in awhile. I just know what I read in the paper. I'm really not qualified to give any of the answers.....

But I have the following questions.

What would happen if we actually scaled back on the grandiose plans for Juniper Ridge? Perhaps letting it go altogether? Or at least putting it on hiatus? How about spending the advertising money we're currently spending on attracting growth and tourism on something else? (Is it possible in this day and age to say what Tom McCall did? Come visit, but don't stay?) Why isn't the Bend City Council asking the voters to fund a transportation system, instead of draining the same funds that pay our police and firemen? How about sticking to the objective standards they've already outlined in picking the UGB?

I wonder. Are they aware that the monies they've been seeing over the last few years are likely to diminish?

Is it time for a real, honest to goodness, anti-growth candidate? (NOT ME!!!!! Trust me, I'm not qualified.) Someone knowledgeable, maybe even a native Bendite?

All I know is, if 9 former mayors and 450 other prominent citizens came forward and suggested that my decision making was off track, my first move wouldn't be to hire a PR firm.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...: What would happen if we actually scaled back on the grandiose plans for Juniper Ridge?

Perhaps letting it go altogether?

[ Ray Kuratek walks with $2M either way, he wrote the secret contract, golden parachute either way, the city council goofed in the first place by being rushed. Every secret deal they only had one-hour to sign and read. Out of town Pro's have the council intimidated, and city legal is weak and inept. ]

Or at least putting it on hiatus?

How about spending the advertising money we're currently spending on attracting growth and tourism on something else?

[ Millions have been given to Bend DVA PR firm in order to have rags like OUTSIDE call bend the "the best mtn-bike place in USA". ALL of bend is a mirage paid for by the taxpayers. The DVA PR firm is the master of Bend, and they're the only people who can articulate the future of Bend. They are managed by UBS swiss bank. That said what do you expect, this town was SOLD a long time ago, you all got rich, the new owners are simply running their town. ]

(Is it possible in this day and age to say what Tom McCall did? Come visit, but don't stay?)

[ No, bend only exists to sell real-estate, and ALL buyers are from out of town. ]

Why isn't the Bend City Council asking the voters to fund a transportation system, instead of draining the same funds that pay our police and firemen?

[ALL funds are targeted to be given to Les Schwab so Brogman can shorten his commute ]

How about sticking to the objective standards they've already outlined in picking the UGB?

[ Eastern Oregon, has No history of ever following UGB{sb100}, it was created by Hollern&Gray, but the deal of the day in 1972, was it didn't apply east of the cascades. ]; September 7, 2007 at 10:26:00 AM PDT
Bewert said...: Great questions. I lost all faith in their integrity when they directly violated Oregon Civil , Statute 192.640 (3), which reads:

192.640 Public notice required; special notice for executive sessions, special or emergency meetings. (1) The governing body of a public body shall provide for and give public notice, reasonably calculated to give actual notice to interested persons including news media which have requested notice, of the time and place for holding regular meetings. The notice shall also include a list of the principal subjects anticipated to be considered at the meeting, but this requirement shall not limit the ability of a governing body to consider additional subjects.

(2) If an executive session only will be held, the notice shall be given to the members of the governing body, to the general public and to news media which have requested notice, stating the specific provision of law authorizing the executive session.

(3) No special meeting shall be held without at least 24 hours’ notice to the members of the governing body, the news media which have requested notice and the general public. In case of an actual emergency, a meeting may be held upon such notice as is appropriate to the circumstances, but the minutes for such a meeting shall describe the emergency justifying less than 24 hours’ notice. [1973 c.172 §4; 1979 c.644 §3; 1981 c.182 §1]

The Dec. 12, 2006 Special Meeting was held in direct violation of this statute, and in that meeting Les Schwab was given a sweetheart deal to build their headquarters on Juniper Ridge.

If a single one of them had enough integrity to simply stand up and point out to the Schwab representatives that what they wanted done was simply illegal, I would have been impressed. But no one did...; September 7, 2007 at 10:56:00 AM PDT
Duncan McGeary said...: More questions about Juniper Ridge. Why are we handing the reins over to outside developers, who look to be nothing more than hustlers? We have the land, but as soon as we turn the project over to someone else, we lose all leverage.

It's all about the leverage. You don't give that up.

Why can't we hire some bright, ambitious city planning graduate student to spearhead the development? Why aren't we concentrating on what can actually be done, instead of grandiose pie in the sky schemes?

What are the odds that the public sector will ever fund a four year college? Is there any chance that a rich benefactor could be convinced to endow a college? Nike University, Trailblazer college?

Why is the city of Bend getting into mixed use, selling homes, condos and retail? Let's concentrate on small business, and light industrial, or big industry. As long as they create jobs and revenue....

I don't really care if Les Schwab gets a great deal (though I dislike the extortionist way they got it) as long as their taxes come back to Bend. Same with any other business we entice to Juniper Ridge. It's the future tax revenue we should be looking at.

Maybe these questions are naive or ignorant, but if I'm wondering them, I bet others are too.; September 7, 2007 at 11:00:00 AM PDT
Bewert said...: I lost all faith in the integrity of the Council after the Dec. 12, 2006 Special Meeting where they gave Schwab their sweetheart deal. Holding this meeting broke Oregon Revised Statute 192.640 (3), which states:

No special meeting shall be held without at least 24 hours’ notice to the members of the governing body, the news media which have requested notice and the general public. In case of an actual emergency, a meeting may be held upon such notice as is appropriate to the circumstances, but the minutes for such a meeting shall describe the emergency justifying less than 24 hours’ notice. [1973 c.172 §4; 1979 c.644 §3; 1981 c.182 §1]; September 7, 2007 at 11:05:00 AM PDT
Bewert said...: Sorry for the double comment-I thought I lost it after preview...; September 7, 2007 at 11:07:00 AM PDT
Duncan McGeary said...: I've said before, my reaction would've been.

"We are delighted you want to do this, Les Schwab. We really want to help you out. Believe me, the deal is doable.

But you understand we have to take a little time to look over your proposal...."

Then it would've been Les Schwab who scotched the deal. Really, I can't imagine a relationship that starts like this is going to end well.

"I'll marry you, but I want my answer right now. No thinking about it. No asking family and friends.

"Here, sign this prenuptial....No talking to a lawyer....or else I walk...."; September 7, 2007 at 11:10:00 AM PDT
Duncan McGeary said...: I screen the comments, so it may take awhile....; September 7, 2007 at 11:15:00 AM PDT
Anonymous said...: Why are we handing the reins over to outside developers, who look to be nothing more than hustlers?
*
I love this rhetorical debate, its been written so much its almost nauseous.

Ray Kuratek ( type his name in google, see what he did in cali to the historic horse park ). Kuratek told Bend that he would GET The money to get them all rich. He had them make HIM the master-developer, master-consultant of Juniper-Ridge, and sign a deal that he got $2.5M even if the deal collapsed.

This golden-parachute guaranteed from day-one the city had to commit. Note that it was NO secret, why commit to such a deal? Because UBS/DVA had something that ALL in Bend wanted, everybody was going to get rich selling real-estate.

Note, that every deal the city ever signed with Kuratek was a secret deal violating law, non to worry the lawyers in the world are behind the fraud.

Today the entire house of cards has collapsed. Everyone bought the real-estate in anticipation of whirlwind. Now everybody is pissed and out to hang Kuratek, and cancel his $2.5M golden parachute.

Simply put this is ALL about greed, so long as everybody in Bend was going to get rich all went along. Now that everyone is going to be bankrupt, everyone is coming out to speak.

This is American capitalism, Bend sold Bend to the highest bidder, let the new owners Bend enjoy their acquisition.; September 7, 2007 at 11:30:00 AM PDT
Anonymous said...: Why can't we hire some bright, ambitious city planning graduate student to spearhead the development? Why aren't we concentrating on what can actually be done, instead of grandiose pie in the sky schemes?

*

Kuratek was acting on behalf of the largest bank in the world, your grad-student, doesn't have the clout to pull off a fraud of this scale.

Play the #'s duncan 1500 * $1.6M is almost $2 Billion dollars and 40% was going to go to UBS, and the city was conned to believe they were going to get 60%. They may have believed in their own mind they were getting $1B for nothing, but play money to catapult their own political careers.

Of course it was all bullshit always was, Kuratek walks with $2M in cash from a little desert town, and ALL bend gets is a drawing.; September 7, 2007 at 11:35:00 AM PDT
Anonymous said...: "What are the odds that the public sector will ever fund a four year college?"

The odds are probably quite low. Oregon can barely support the universities that it has. There are too many state universities, a result of state legislaters who historically transform little colleges into state universities to bring state money and more visibility to their corner of the state (e.g., La Grande, Ashland). This goes on in a state with one of the lowest rates of funding for higher eductation in the nation (much lower than Washington or California).

Tuition increases have not offset reductions in state funding, and buildings are crumbling. Universities that do well in this environment are those with specialty areas that can compete successfully for federal and private research funding (e.g., OSU and OHSU).; September 7, 2007 at 12:14:00 PM PDT
IHateToBurstYourBubble said...: Is it possible in this day and age to say what Tom McCall did? Come visit, but don't stay?

Is it time for a real, honest to goodness, anti-growth candidate?

Well Duncan, I'm shocked. Next you'll have "WHITES ONLY" restroom signs at your store.

Bend's got NOTHING on Sisters. We have Big Incompetence, but it's spread over so many people. Sisters has equal parts incompetence inflicted on a far smaller population. Go to:

www.nuggetnews.com

click on the "Letters" link on the left. You will read about a citizenry so up in arms it's damn near a civil war. The cronyism & old-boy networking that is the very backbone of the Sisters City Gov't has imploded.

And believe it or not... the RE bubble is really at the heart of it. It's MONEY. That is the sum total of WHAT YOU ARE in that town. So RE runs it, and it's being run into the ground.

Funny, but Peter Storton, one of the key Boss Hogg's insisted that "City Gov't is a business & should cater to it's customers", which just sparked a firestorm backlash. He was quite accustomed to NEVER filling out City mandated forms completely, something pointed out in the paper as happening with extreme regularity amongst the RE set. Greedy RE developers & Realtors don't know what to do now that the money that they used to rule that town with an iron fist has dried up . All gone.

It's where Bend is headed. Cronyism & Old-Boy networking has worked till now for those it's worked for, and that's all they really cared about. But NOW it's NOT WORKING and the people it's NOT WORKING for FAR OUTNUMBER THEM. AndTHEY do not have ANY MONEY to purchase influence with. There's a vacuum at the top, and the top is full of dumbass monkies who are used to selling influence -- THAT was their POLICY -- and without influence for sale, they are just imploding.

This incompetence will catch up with us. Bend will go bankrupt.; September 7, 2007 at 2:42:00 PM PDT
Anonymous said...: If a single one of them had enough integrity to simply stand up and point out to the Schwab representatives that what they wanted done was simply illegal, I would have been impressed. But no one did...

-bruce
*

Bruce I have been in the political business of Oregon for 40+ years, and I can tell you it doesn't work the way you see here. In Oregon city business is conducted in public with a city attorney present, and as soon as the council step over the law, the city-attorney ( always present ), reminds them of their legal requirements.

That has NEVER happened in Bend, they long ago hired a lackey to be city attorney that doesn't have the balls to lift its head. Thus the system is broken, and there is no one to blame, as the city attorney simply wasn't doing their job. You can't blame the council for not getting good legal advice. Hummel knew as a lawyer he couldn't indemnify himself from the fraud so he resigned.

Welcome to Bend.; September 7, 2007 at 4:50:00 PM PDT
Anonymous said...: SPEAK-UP

Its the old Nazi story, and I hate use it, buts its quite apparent.

The rhetoric was "Why didn't anybody stop the Nazis"?

The answer was everyone was on Hitlers payroll.

Today in Bend, folks still cannot go to city council and publicly say that the emperor has no clothes, because 99% of the people who control and appear at council meetings have a vested interest to build and develop.

Soon the system will implode, I ditto that Bend will become bankrupt. Then everyone will say "Home come nobody stopped the insanity"?

The reason was everyone that they were getting rich robbing and killing jews, and nobody wanted to stop the slaughter.

Human nature. Greed will now turn to Fear, then Hate, ... Then self pity.; September 7, 2007 at 4:55:00 PM PDT
Duncan McGeary said...: Interesting that we are finally getting some defensive posts from realtors. They were riding so high they just ignored us until recently. The more defensiveness I see, the more I'll know they're in trouble.

And, much as I think Paul-doh went over the top, I still hate it when someone points out that 'gentrification' is a fact of life. So get used to it, or leave.

I'm well aware. And so is the anger toward gentrification.; September 7, 2007 at 5:50:00 PM PDT
Anonymous said...: I think Paul-doh went over the top, I still hate it when someone points out that 'gentrification' is a fact of life. So get used to it, or leave.

I'm well aware. And so is the anger toward gentrification.
*
Gentrification has destroyed Sellwood, Hawthorne, and now Brooklyn in PDX.

In my humble opinion this is obvious given the baby boom and that the the critical mass is now approaching 55.

Gentrification is Bend is not the problem. Its a completely different problem, all the cool old areas are being gentrified in PDX.

But in Bend its NOT gentrification. Bend only exists to import tourists, and to sell them time-shares, this goes back 20+ years to Eagle-Crest.

This is NOT gentrification, this is Mexico where all tourists are put on a bus and sold condos and time-shares upon landing a completely different issue.

In PDX there is true gentrification, this is when the old with money, overwhelms the young poor hip areas, this is called life, and it ebbs and flows like the tides.; September 7, 2007 at 8:05:00 PM PDT
Anonymous said...: All the realtors I know ( in bend ) have been saying the same thing for six months.

Working four times harder than anytime in their working life, for 1/4 the monthly income. Most didn't have a closing on the calendar back in February for the first times in their working career.

Then jump to cali, I've got relatives of my wife who may come and live with us, top performers in so-cal, and they have gone from 6-digit income to bankruptcy in one year. I'm talking folk with 30+ years in the biz having gone from $200k+/yr to zero.

In cali you can no longer write zero-down loans, thus there are NO buyers. In cali ALL heloc is tapped out, and nobody, and I mean NOBODY has cash.

The realtors know exactly what is going on.

Regarding them being defensive what can be said, I cannot speak for them, but I have seen this coming for 20 years, I remember the 1983 correction quite well.; September 7, 2007 at 8:15:00 PM PDT
Anonymous said...: I'm well aware. And so is the anger toward gentrification.
-duncan

The negative aspect is the money of the old drives up prices, drives out the old, and soon there are no cool places, because there are no way low wage folks can live in the hood.

I don't see gentrification in Bend, but I see it all over in PDX. In Bend I see real estate speculation by all. Everyone in Bend is about making a quick buck.

In PDX you really do have bohemian areas where people choose to live ten to a house, and just hang out, create art, drink coffee. I see none of this in Bend.

In PDX people ride bikes to commute, in Bend people ride bikes to exercise and recreate. Therefore everything in PDX is practical, and all in Bend is work or idle rich entertainment. People in PDX choose not to drive a car for environmental reasons. In Bend people drive their car like they would any in california suburb, e.g. every where they go.

I see gentrification as a fact of life. Areas get run down the bohemians move in create art and food and it becomes trendy, then the wealthy old buy into the community, which drives out the bohemians, in time the hood contains only starbucks. This is what is happening to downtown Bend, the small shops are being driven out, but NOT because of gentrification. In Bend it is because of speculation.

PDX is an established town. Bend is a wild west gold town. Trouble is the gold is gone. Long ago Bend lost its way when the gold was most recently struck. As Brooks says Bend is non-placement-bound people, that will not lead to gentrification, as these people will all move on to the next gold-rush somewhere else. Years ago, in my MOST fond memory of Bend pre 1986, Bend was an established town.

In my humble opinion today, the Bohemians long ago left Bend, today Bend is only about ugly money mad people who care only about their car, and credit cards, and makeup, and clothes, ... The truly ugly American makes up the basis of what is today Bend.

This last type of people I have described have taken over city-hall, and use it to run fund the PR firm DVA, who in turn attracts more of the same kind of people. Which in turn come to Bend to buy real estate and bring more of the same kind of people. These people have taken over the police department, and have used it to drive away the 'red necks' ( old timers ), and thus today Bend is predominately ugly Americans.

There will be no gentrification in Bend as these ugly people will not stay, as they have created a giant real estate ponzi scheme, and the last sucker has bought. There is NO greater fool coming to bend.; September 8, 2007 at 5:04:00 AM PDT
Bend Economy Man said...: I have a really low opinion, as professionals (not as people - I'm sure they're all great as friends / spouses / mothers / fathers and so on) of both the City Council and the top City civil servant staff (City Manager's office, etc.).

A really low opinion. You got a story in today's Bulletin that really opens a window into the shockingly casual way this city is run.

In brief: so AFTER the city had already signed a contract to buy the BAT buses and the buses already had been painted and were ready to be delivered up to Bend from Cali, they send a city mechanic down there to check out the buses. OK, that's a big screwup in itself. I mean, duhhh. First inspect, then buy.

But they didn't tell the mechanic why he was going down there, or what he was supposed to do if he found mechanical problems, or who he was supposed to report the problems to. The city attorney didn't tell him that there was still time to reject the buses. The mechanic believed the guy at the bus lot who said "but they're already painted - you gotta take 'em." Hell, who knows, maybe the city attorney believed that too.

The mechanic makes a 20-page inspection report (which the city can now only produce 1 page of because "it isn't organized all in one spot") listing all the problems and hands it to his boss. Then the mechanic HANDWRITES a memo detailing problems with the buses, and hands THAT to his boss, and the boss can't figure out who to give it to.

And the city accepts the buses without a word. Add that to the Les Schwab giveaway, the "heads you win, tails I lose" contract with Kuratek, the lawsuit lost to Jan Ward due to municipal incompetence, I mean, COME ON!

If gross incompetence is a form of corruption, and I think it is, then we have a corrupt local government. Except when it comes to issuing building permits, there's absolutely no organization or standard procedures, and while I'm not going to say that the people running the show have shit for brains, they certainly do a convincing impression of people who have shit for brains.

The city staff, working for a low-demands employer that doesn't drug-test, has more than its share of lovable stoners. And that's how the city is run. I seriously think that Cheech and Chong were much more organized, motivated and successful selling weed out of an ice cream truck in the movie "Nice Dreams" than the city council and staff are in their task to run the city responsibly. It really is one of those situations where "if you're not angry, you're not paying attention."; September 8, 2007 at 7:22:00 AM PDT
Anonymous said...: Hell, who knows, maybe the city attorney believed that too. - bem

*

The city mechanic is a inept moron, this has been well established, and is 99% of the problem why the system in Bend is broken.

The job of the city attorney is to force politicians to enforce the law, a weak and inept city attorney breaks the system.

Ditto for BUSH/Gonzales, bend is a mini cheney/bush whitehouse.; September 8, 2007 at 9:11:00 AM PDT
Anonymous said...: I seriously think that Cheech and Chong were much more organized, motivated and successful selling weed out of an ice cream truck in the movie "Nice Dreams" than the city council and staff are in their task to run the city responsibly. It really is one of those situations where "if you're not angry, you're not paying attention."
-bem
******
As long as EVERYONE was getting rich on RE, nobody cared, now that everyone is getting POOR, everyone cares.
The toilet of City-Council will soon be flushed, and the 450 signature statement is just the start.
I don't really blame the lowest common denominator that runs the city these minimal efforts type always run government, hell up in redmond is +80% nepotism.
The sad thing about bend, like nazi germany is that everyone went along with it, everyone said "What nice clothes the emperor has".

The city needed Kuratek, he is-was running the show, he had UBS connections, he could make juniper-ridge happen, and thus make everyone in Bend rich. Thus the win-win deal ( for kuratek ), of course what happened is the day the secret papers got signed was the day the bubble burst. Today there is NO UBS money coming, thus there is NO Juniper-Ridge coming, ... $2.5M to pay Kuratek to go away is large part of the annual city budget.

What are the dumb fucks to do? They were supposed to get rich.

Human greed, but the real problem is a lack of over-sight caused by a weak city attorney, and a State AG that refuses to even look east of the cascades.

The ONLY way to clean up Bend is lawsuits at the state level orchestrated by Bend Chamber of Commerce.; September 8, 2007 at 9:18:00 AM PDT

best minimum wage job a middle aged guy ever had

Friday, September 7, 2007

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