CITY MANAGER'S NEWSLETTER
City of Bandon
August 9, 2011
This newsletter is an informal report by City Manager Matt Winkel on the news, issues, and other items of interest from the City of Bandon. It will normally be posted once each month (on the Friday following the City Council meeting) on the City's WEB Page at www.ci.bandon.or.us, (click on "City Hall") and will be e-mailed directly to all subscribers. Subscribers will also receive copies of City Council, Planning Commission, Parks & Recreation Commission, Committee for Citizen Involvement, and Water Resource Committee agendas via e-mail in advance of each meeting.
To subscribe or un-subscribe, or if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please e-mail to citymanager@ci.bandon.or.us. Your e-mail address will be kept confidential and not distributed or used for any purposes other than e-mail communications with the City of Bandon.
FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE
* City Receives Clean Audit Reports
* 2011 Bandon Population Estimate
* City Council Meeting Dates For 2012
* City Council Expresses Support For Only One Item In The USF&W Plan For The Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
* New Tsunami Evacuation Route Signs Being Installed
* City Receives A Homeland Security Grant For Emergency Operations
* Planning Applications Being Solicited To Fill A Planning Commission Vacancy
* December & January Meeting Schedule
* Linda's Church Joke
CITY RECEIVES CLEAN AUDIT REPORTS
A representative from Merina & Company, LLP, the independent certified public accounting firm that audits the City's financial statements, presented the fiscal year 2010-2011 City and Urban Renewal audits to the City Council at the December 5th meeting. The City and Urban Renewal financial statements and internal control practices were found to be in full compliance with all generally accepted auditing standards and government auditing standards. No negative findings were reported. Copies of the audits are currently available for review and copying at City Hall and the Library, and will soon be available on the City's website.
2011 BANDON POPULATION ESTIMATE
The City has now received the preliminary 2011 population estimates from the Portland State University Population Research Center (formed in 1956 for the purpose of preparing annual population estimates for cities and counties to provide the basis for the distribution of State tax-shared revenues). The July 1, 2011 population estimate for Bandon is 3,085, which represents an increase of 10 people over last year's estimate of 3,075, for an annual growth rate of three tenths of one percent (0.3%). The 2010 Census count for Bandon showed a population of 3,066 as of April 1, 2010, which was 233 people above the 2000 Census count of 2,833. So, if the latest estimate is accurate, Bandon's population has grown by 252 (8.9%) over the last eleven years, for an annual average annual growth rate of less than 1% per year.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATES FOR 2012
Each December the City Council sets the dates for their meetings during the subsequent year. Normally, City Council meeting dates are the first Monday of each month, unless that date falls on a holiday in which case the meeting would be moved to the second Monday of that month.
For 2012, the City Council also had to consider the dates of the League of Oregon Cities Annual Conference which conflicted with the normal schedule. In addition, the Council factored in a prior concern expressed by Councilors and inquiries from members of the public that suggested perhaps it would help attendance at the January and April meetings to also consider the schedules for the NCAA football and basketball championship game nights which fall on the same evenings as the normal City Council meeting dates. So, considering all potential conflicts, the Council set the 2012 regular City Council meeting dates as January 10, February 6, March 5, April 3, May 7, June 4, July 2, August 6, September 10, October 9, November 5, and December 3. Special City Council meeting dates will be set if and when they become necessary throughout the year.
CITY COUNCIL EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR ONLY ONE ITEM IN THE USF&W PLAN FOR THE BANDON MARSH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
At their December 5, 2011, meeting, the City Council reviewed, discussed, and heard public input regarding the proposed U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Comprehensive Conservation Plan & Environmental Assessment for the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.
The City Council decided to express support for only one item in the proposed plan. That item is "Facilities - Alternative B," which reads, "Place emphasis on partner-oriented facilities and distribution of information. Participate in a community-based visitor information center off the Refuge." The City believes the proposed visitor information center should be constructed in partnership with Bandon Urban Renewal on the recently purchased former cheese factory property, adjacent to the proposed new cheese factory. This would provide a very visible, centrally located site on Highway 101, and would be the most efficient, effective, and economical means of advising and educating the public regarding the National Wildlife Refuges. This alternative will provide information to the largest possible number of people, will aid the United States Fish & Wildlife Service in recruiting volunteers, and will have very positive economic impacts on the operating and maintenance budgets for both the City and Bandon Marsh. The comment letter submitted by the City strongly recommended that this item be included as the "Preferred Alternative" in the Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge Plan.
NEW TSUNAMI EVACUATION ROUTE SIGNS BEING INSTALLED
New tsunami evacuation route signs are being placed throughout the community by the Public Works crews. The locations for these signs were selected by the Tsunami Sign Subcommittee working with Public Works Supervisor Richard Anderson and City Planner Charli Davis, and are based on the preliminary tsunami inundation maps provided by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI). A total of 10 signs were included in the first order and have been installed. Additional signs have been ordered, and will be installed when they arrive, together with larger signs at each of the Temporary Tsunami Assembly Areas.
CITY RECEIVES A HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT FOR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLANNING
The City has been awarded a 2011 Homeland Security Grant in the amount of $16,000 to participate in an Oregon Emergency Management (OEM) program to update the City's Emergency Operations Plan. Through this program, OEM facilitates a contract with a qualified consultant to prepare the plan. The project is designed to bring together all levels of government, the private sector, and non-governmental agencies within Bandon to help prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from a wide spectrum of major events and disasters which would exceed the capabilities of any single entity. It is anticipated that preparation of the Emergency Operations Plan will take place in mid-2012.
APPLICATIONS BEING SOLICITED TO FILL A PLANNING COMMISSION VACANCY
The City of Bandon is seeking applicants for a seat on the Planning Commission to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Commissioner Roger Straus. Roger will be moving out of the City, and had to resign since only two Planning Commissioners can reside outside the City and both of those positions are already filled. 1½ years remain on this four-year position, which is scheduled for interviews and appointment at the January 10th City Council meeting and will expire on June 30, 2013. Anyone who resides inside the City limits and is interested in serving is invited to submit an application by 5:00 PM, on Wednesday, January 4, 2012. Applications and additional information can be obtained by contacting Administrative Assistant Beverly Lanier at City Hall, telephone 541-347-2437, or e-mail blanier06@ci.bandon.or.us. Sincere thanks to Roger for his many years of outstanding service on the Planning Commission!
DECEMBER & JANUARY MEETING SCHEDULE
December
City Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 5 at 7:00 PM*
Municipal Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 6 at 4:00 PM*
Parks & Recreation Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 8 at 5:30 PM*
Community Center Advisory Committee . . . . . . December 12 at 4:00 PM*
Planning Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . December 15 at 7:00 PM*
January
Municipal Court . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 3 at 4:00 PM*
Committee for Citizen Involvement . . . . . . . . . . . January 10 at 5:00 PM*
City Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 10 at 7:00 PM*
Parks & Recreation Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 12 at 5:30 PM*
Planning Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . January 26 at 7:00 PM*
Community Center Advisory Committee . . . . . . Date(s) Not Yet Set*
Development Review Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Every Monday (Tuesday following a Monday holiday) at 10:00 AM*
* Meetings held in City Council Chambers
LINDA'S CHURCH JOKE
Linda didn't have much in the way of jokes this month, but one of her fans sent the link below to a TV ad that is pretty funny.
The producers of this beer commercial borrowed a small 150 seat cinema playing a popular film, and filled 148 of its seats with rough-looking, tattooed bikers, leaving only two free seats in the middle of the theater. They then allowed theater management to sell tickets for the last pair of seats to several young couples. Be sure to watch till the end . . . many couples left, but some stayed and took the seats!
http://www.theinspiration.com/2011/09/carlsberg-stunt-in-cinema
ANYTHING ELSE?
Do you have any questions, input, or suggestions? Are there any topics you want addressed or covered in the Newsletter? If so, please let me know at citymanager(at)ci.bandon.or.us. For more complex questions or issues that may take significant discussion, please feel free to contact me by telephone at (541) 347-2437, voice mail ext. 229, so we can schedule an appointment.
Also, remember to visit the City of Bandon WEB page, where you can get more information on this wonderful place in which we live.
