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11-14-2019 Council Newsletter CoundlNewskaff Provided to the Tigard Cit}� Couned on a nvek lr basis to.rtay abreast of atwent aty,i,jsuer. November 14, 2019 1. Executive Session Materials Dana Bennett placed executive session materials in your mailbag for the November 19 council meeting. 2. Congratulations Judge O'Brien! Tigard's presiding Judge Michael J. O'Brien was elected to serve as President of the Oregon Municipal Judges' Association at their September meeting. This well-deserved honor is a tribute to Judge O'Brien's service to the law, to the residents of Tigard and to fellow Municipal Judges across the state. The appointment also increases the City of Tigard's visibility around the state. The OMJA is dedicated to providing information to legislators about administrative impacts of proposed laws on courts, offering a forum for judges to discuss subjects of mutual interest, foster continuing judicial education and informing the general public about Oregon's municipal courts. 3. News Articles - City to survey lower local option levy amount with voters - New dental center provides hub for continuing ed, charitable work - Times opinion:Spend enough to get light tail right - Tigard library organizes new Teen Scene - TriMet reschedules meeting on SWC light rail route determination 4. Council Calendar Tuesday,Nov. 19 Executive Session Only Red Rock Conference Room Tuesday, Nov. 26 Business Meeting 6:30 p.m. -Town Hall Thursday,Nov. 28 Thanksgiving City Offices Closed 13125 SW Hall Blvd.Tigard,OR 97223 1 Web ww .tigard-or.go I Phone: 503.639.4171 FAY:503.684.7297 TDD 503.684.2772 Item# ?J Newsletter://,�—/9 City to survey lower local option levy amount with voters Ray Pitz Wednesday, November 13, 2019 A second survey, mentioning an amount of 33 cents per$1,000 of assessed value for a police levy, is planned. PMG FILE PHOTO-The City of Tigard will begin surveying voters in December to see what they would think of a rate of 33 cents per$1,000 of assessed valuation if a local option levy were presented to them in May 2020. The City of Tigard will survey voters this fall to see if they are more likely to approve a smaller local option levy for added police services. On Tuesday, the Tigard City Council discussed the matter following a previous surrey that said such a levy would likely fail if sent to voters in May 2020 with a cost of 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. An October telephone and online survey of 300 voters showed that 38% of those contacted would be willing to support a police levy while 54%would not. Among their concerns were housing affordability and cost of living issues as reasons they were not in favor of a measure. The survey also mentioned a raise in property taxes of about$125 a year for a typical home. At issue has been discussion of adding 10 sworn officers to the Tigard Police Department in an effort to reduce the response times involving priority calls throughout the city. Of those officers, two would be assigned to deal with the city's homeless population and issues surrounding them. On Tuesday, Tigard Finance Director Toby LaFrance said the levy amount could be reduced due to a variety of factors including a less conservative revenue growth rate assumption, paying one-time costs from salary savings during police recruitment, removing fixed costs and other factors. That could drop the proposed rate to 36 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation to hire the officers for the 10-year life of the levy, said LaFrance. Monday's discussion also included whether the city should reduce the support services involved in hiring those officers and removal of money initially sought for safety routes to school. Further discussion by the council showed the majority would favor a cost of 33 cents per$1,000 of assessed valuation. Councilor Tom Anderson said that amount would bring costs to under$100 annually in property taxes for a typical Tigard home. Mayor Jason Snider also suggested that when the city conducts a second levy survey that pollsters test other possible levy amounts. That survey is planned for December. New dental center provides hub for contining ed, charitable work Ray Pitz Wednesday,November 13,2019 Oregon Academy of General Dentistry Foundation opens first permanent location in Tigard PMG PHOTO:JONATHAN HOUSE-Members of the Columbia Perio Study Club practice a tissue graft at the newly-opened Oregon Academy of General Dentistry. A little more than a year after its creation, the Oregon Academy of General Dentistry Foundation has a permanent home—in the iHeart Radio building visible at the split of Highway 217 and Interstate 5. Located at 13333 S.W. 68th Parkway,the new$2.6 million Oregon Academy of General Dentistry Foundation Center is the only Academy of General Dentistry constituent that merges continuing dental education with charitable programs in the United States. "We've talked about it for a long time," said Laura Seurynck, executive director of the center, said about creation of the facility. "This is the first time we've had our own space, so it's a big deal." Seurynck said the money for completion of the center was raised in about a year and a half. Meanwhile,the Tigard building will serve as the headquarters for the Oregon Academy of General Dentistry, which was previously housed in downtown Portland and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Both the foundation and academy are non-profit organizations with the foundation having tax-exempt status. The Oregon Academy of General Dentistry formed the nonprofit foundation last year and the new dental center will serve as a hub for charitable dentistry programs. "The Oregon(Academy of General Dentistry) is an association that supports general dentists in their professional development," said Seurynck. She said the mission of the association is to be the premiere provider of continuing dental education. In addition, the center is expected to create more equity by providing a state-of-the-art facility where uninsured and underserved people can receive the highest quality dental services. "We're unique, and we are excited to begin serving Oregonians," said Seurynck. "This will really be a hub for networking the dental community." PMG PHOTO:JONATHAN HOUSE-Laura Seurynck talks about the new facilities at -..� the Oregon Academy of General Dentistry. The 7,000-square-foot facility includes 12 patient dental — chairs, a 100-seat auditorium, a dental simulation laboratory with 3D X-ray imaging and administrative offices. Dr. Scott Hansen, president of the foundation board, said he and other Oregon Academy of General Dentistry members have taken countless continuing education courses over the years and most want to help those "whose circumstances have made it difficult to receive quality dental care." "The new OAGDF Center will give us a place to accomplish both using the best equipment in an environment unlike any other," said Hansen. "And to be part of something that has never been done anywhere in the country is exciting beyond measure." According to a fact sheet, the new center will support "dental health days" for groups like children and at-risk women, allowing them to get checkups and treatment at a minimal cost. In addition, the Oregon Academy of General Dentistry Foundation Center will house dental equipment that can be loaned out for dental humanitarian programs. Officials predict that there will be 400 unique visits by Oregon's dentists r * to the center each year. The center also will collaborate with the Oregon Dental Association, Dental Foundation of Oregon, A-dec, Permanente i Dental Associates and other groups to ensure that charitable 1 programs are targeted to those most in need. PMG PHOTO:JONATHAN HOUSE-Members of the Columbia Perio Smdv Club _ practice a tissue graft at the newly-opened Oregon Academy of General Dentistry- , ~ Foundation Center in Tigard. In addition, Seurynck said with a shortage of dental assistants throughout the state, the center is exploring plans to develop a dental assistant training program,working closely with Dr. Hal Oien, a major donor to the dental assistant training program, and Dr. Kim Wright. A new dental assistant training program is expected to be up and running by September 2021. "(We're)just absolutely elated," Seurynck said of the center's opening. "We're really excited and really grateful to all the dental companies who donated." Among those are: A-dec (who donated all the equipment, cabinetry and dental chairs), Patterson Dental, Permanente Dental Associates, Oregon Dental Association, Columbia Bank, Kavo Kerr Porter Instruments, Porter Instruments, Acteon, SciCan and WEO Media. A grand opening celebration at the new center, located at 13333 S.W. 68th Parkway, Suite 010, is planned for Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 503-228-6266. \i Va ` PMG PHOTO:JONATHAN HOUSE-Members of the Columbia Perio Study Club practice a tissue graft at the newly-opened Oregon Academy of General Dentistry. Our Opinion: Spend enough to get light rail right Times Editorial Board Thursday, November 14, 2019 It's a good thing that regional planners have backed off an idea to reduce lane capacity on Highway 99W. PMG FILE PHOTO-Voters next year likely will be asked to pay for a light-rail line connecting Portland to Southeast Washington County. Initial talks about shortening the line,or making it"skinnier"along Southwest Barbur Boulevard, have been suspended. M" This newspaper makes its opinion known when government agencies make mistakes, or when elected officials break promises. So when several elected officials and agencies, collectively, reach a good decision, we also should speak up. That's what has happened regarding the proposed new light rail line linking Portland and Southeast Washington County. The price tag for the proposed line was growing, and options had been bandied about to cut costs. Two of the options were bad policy. Both have been sidelined. Good. It is important to note why we're spending so much time—and this newspaper is spending so much ink and newsprint space—discussing the Southwest Corridor light rail line. Washington County is leading the region's population boom. The county is expected to grow by 300,000 people in the next couple of decades. Cities that have requested expansion of the urban growth boundary—the invisible line around Portland and its suburbs beyond which urban development is not allowed—include Beaverton, Hillsboro, Wilsonville and even little King City, a town that is not destined to be "little"for long. So a new mass transit option for the southern part of Washington County, to complement the northernly MAX Red Line to Beaverton and Blue Line to Hillsboro, is badly needed. Any project that runs between cities and counties will be, by definition, expensive. And this summer, we learned that the proposed $2.4 billion project was about$462 million over that mark. Which led to discussions about how to save money. Tigard Mayor Jason Snider began bandying about a proposal to shorten the line, making it run from near Portland State University to Tigard, rather than taking it all the way to Bridgeport Village and Tualatin. Others talked about a proposal to "skinny" Southwest Barbur Boulevard. The original plan had been to greatly widen that tight corridor, designed in the 1920s and far too narrow for today's modern city. The original proposal had been to build a light rail line with stations, plus two car lanes heading into Portland, two lanes heading into Washington County, bus turnout spots, bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides. We are pleased, now, to hear that the light rail line—funding for which is expected to go to voters in November 2020—will be neither shortened nor"skinnied." Shortening the line would have made it tougher for people in Washington County to use it, which would mean more cars on the road. If it takes you 45 minutes or more to get a light rail stop, you're not likely to use the light rail. And that, after all is the very purpose of it—to get cars off the streets and highways. Making a more narrow Barbur Boulevard would have been a bad decision for the opposite reason. Yes, it is hoped that some people would use the new light rail line, but nobody expects that everyone will use it. There will still be car traffic. And a proposal to narrow Barbur Boulevard would have created terrible traffic woes, which would have pushed more cars onto neighborhood streets such as Southwest Multnomah Boulevard and Taylors Ferry Road. That's the problem now. Who needs a solution that maintains the problem? The mayors of Tigard and Tualatin got together and agreed to drop both the shortening and the narrowing of the light rail proposal. TriMet, the transit agency, is in agreement. And yes, that means more money will be needed. We are pleased to serve as watchdogs for government overspending. But big projects are expensive and should be done right. A new light rail line crossing a county line is a big-ticket affair. Better to do it right than to do it on the cheap. Tigafrd High School's 0 I. �,- kn , i NEWS FEATURES ORNION . SPORTS ARTS&LEISURE MULTIMEDIA . TIGARD TODAY MORE Tigard Library organizes new Teen Scene By James Favot, Copy Editor November 10, 2019 Courtesy of Lisa Elliott The Teen Library Council celebrates in the freshly painted alcove of the library's new "Teen Scene."The Council was involved in making the Teen Scene a reality. Whether students are looking for a place to study or simply relax outside of school hours, the Tigard Library's newly made "Teen Scene" offers something for everyone. Lisa Elliott heads the library's Young Adult program as well as the Teen Library Council, a group of student volunteers who meet monthly to assist in library work and offer feedback on decisions being made in the library. Elliott had had the idea of creating a new, separate space for teens in the library for several years. The upstairs area previously shared between teens and adults proved to be problematic due to the noise level. "Even when they're studying, teens can be really social," Elliott said. "We wanted them to have a space where it was possible to do that." Her goal is to allow teens to comfortably socialize and interact in the library without bothering other patrons looking for some quiet time. Until last December the library wasn't able to allocate the funds needed to make her dream come true. But with the help of a recent lump sum, Elliott's proposal was finally accepted and the work to create the new teen space (out of an already existing room in the library) began earlier this year in spring. Elliott says the activity in the Teen Scene downstairs shouldn't distract too much from the environment of the rest of the library. "There's still going to be quiet areas for people to study, and we [have] set up the room in a way that will welcome study groups," Elliott said. In redoing the teen area,the library also made an effort to give the space a more distinct visual aesthetic that catered more toward adolescents. The work that went into creating the Teen Scene consisted mostly of relocating bookshelves and moving computers and tables into the room, but a reorganized environment isn't the only thing new to the Teen Scene. Elliott hopes this place will become a sort of community center for teens. "I want teens to feel like this is their third space," Elliott said. "They have school, they have home, and they have here." To help support this vision, the library added new furniture, board games, TVs, and gaming consoles with the extra money. Additionally,the Teen Scene includes computers and study tables reserved for teens, as well as an alcove on the side of the room which was repainted and converted into an area for studying and relaxing. The Teen Library Council was involved in much of the brainstorming and creative input regarding the Teen Scene. Senior Luc Ta, president of the Teen Library Council, feels that the library has been receptive to their voices and gave an example of how the library has reached out to groups in the community to make the Teen Scene an enjoyable space for everyone. "We want to have students from IB Art Seminar or the National Art Honor Society come in and paint the walls of the new section," Ta said. "We want to have teen community members add their art to the room." The library also met with Key Club members in the summer to ask for their feedback on what could be done with the teen space. Sophomore Carter Halstead joined the Teen Library Council five months ago,just before summer started. Halstead is excited to see the Teen Scene evolve over time as the finishing touches are made. "I love that it's a very welcoming environment," Halstead said. "It just makes me want to be there." Most of all, he loves how the area is open and spacious yet still provides adequate privacy for teens to be themselves. Ta says collaborating with so many people to make the Teen Scene a reality is just one of the reasons he volunteers to give back to the library. "The library has been close to my heart," Ta said, noting that he has used the library ever since he was a kid. "I like that I'm making a tangible difference." He appreciates the work that has been done so far to turn the Teen Scene into an accommodating environment. Halstead agrees, adding that volunteering with the library has been a great way for him to get to know many people. "There's all these different people from different walks of life coming together for the greater good of helping out in the library," Halstead said. Elliott hopes the Teen Scene will bring a renewed appreciation to the services offered by the library. "I just want them to know that this is a space that welcomes them," Elliott said. "It's a space where they're safe, and where they can find the resources they need." The library has always been a valuable resource to all students, but Elliott is most excited to see the Teen Scene buzzing with new activity over the next year. TriMet reschedules meeting on Southwest Corridor light rail route determination Pamplin Media Group Tuesday, November 12, 2019 Scheduling conflict force the agency to move the meeting from Nov. 18 to Dec. 16 Southwest Corridor imNr+Mr:dtd artnNa onrm,m.N 'a••epWnl.re.irN rU,n r N•ar•a• V Abgftment Tarr Route 14.1ib* • Station/with Paik&Ride `\ Etisting MAIC Light Rail S W eam,lton — �- WE5 Cornntuty Rail PORII AND icOml kko Prbi Iajw, MIrS MM'•• �Cualri /tech �1Dth J 9arb.ir OW 3r ',t/// Transit center eal� pall I F4mhurai 6onq Uypar OueneN f Nrry -GnOgepnrr COURTESY OF TRIMET-A meeting to make recommendations on a final route for the Southwest Corridor Light Rall Project has been moved from Nov. 18 to Dec. 16. A planned Monday meeting in Tigard, where committee members were to determine an agreed-upon route for the proposed Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project, has been rescheduled due to a scheduling conflict, according to TriMet officials. The TriMet Southwest Corridor Light Rail Project's Steering Committee will now meet on Dec. 16, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., at Tigard City Hall. However, TriMet staff will be available Monday, also from 9 to 10:30 a.m. for anyone who has drop-in questions or wants to make comments. TriMet staff can also be reached at 503-962-2150. Last month, TriMet officials announced they were nixing considerations of narrowing Barbur Boulevard as a cost- cutting measure for the 12-mile project. They also said plans are to extend the project all the way to Bridgeport Village.