MINUTES OF THE JOINT JPACT/METRO COUNCIL

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING PUBLIC HEARING

Tuesday, April 6, 1999

Council Chamber

CALL TO ORDER

Chair Kvistad called the meeting to order at 5:41 PM.

1.  INTRODUCTIONS

Chair Kvistad explained the process and said written testimony would be accepted for another week on this issue.

Andy Cotugno, Transportation Director, reviewed the 150% list. He noted that the process started October 16, 1998 with solicitation for applications which resulted in $300 million+ in applications. Those applications had gone through a technical ranking process and they were now at the point where they were narrowing the list down to $125 million. The last step would be to cut it the $75 million they had available to allocate. He said there had been a lot of input from workshops around the region to help them make decisions for the final list. He explained the chart of road related and non-road related finalists. He said the money would be spent in upcoming years 2000-2003. (See chart and other handouts in permanent record of this meeting.) He emphasized that this was not all the transportation money that this region spent but a particular set of federal discretionary dollars for JPACT/Council to spend.

Chair Kvistad gave an overview of the sequence of events. He asked that testimony be held to a bare minimum due to the number of people wanting to speak. He reminded speakers to identify themselves for the record and say which project they were interested in.

2  COMMUNICATIONS FROM REGIONAL PARTNERS

Mayor Carolyn Tomei read her letter requesting full funding for 2 projects into the record. She noted that the City of Milwaukie felt the McLoughlin Blvd. and Johnson Creek Blvd. projects were priorities. (A copy of her letter of testimony is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Tracy Lee, City of Cornelius, 113 N. 13th Ave, Cornelius, OR 97113, spoke in support of the Cornelius boulevard project. She reported that TPAC had trimmed the project from $4.5 million to $2 million. She requested that the project be adjusted to $2.3 million to allow completion of the first two phases of the four phase project. (A copy of her written testimony can be found in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Mayor Ralph Brown, City of Cornelius, 586 S. 12th, Cornelius OR 97113, also spoke in support of the Cornelius boulevard project. The funding would allow Cornelius to serve as a model for future projects in other cities along the urban fringe. He said the project also illustrated how the 2040 growth concept could work in small cities along state highways. He said this project would provide incentives for local business to invest in the Main Street district.

John Greiner, City of Cornelius, PO Box 608, Cornelius OR 97113, noted there was a large overmatch for this project but they had been told by Metro staff to look at private funding for some of the things they needed to do to make their community work fiscally. He said they had found a $3 million local improvement district to the east that would complement this project.

Representative Randall Edwards, House District #15, 6666 SE Yamhill, Portland, OR 97215, spoke in support of the Hawthorne Blvd. transportation plan. He said changes were noticeable on the west end of Hawthorne which were part of the long term plan for upgrading the street. He said this plan had been in the works for a number of years he believed that funding this plan would make a capstone of the Hawthorne district. An area he was particularly interested in was from the intersection of 50th up to 55th.

Lynn Dingler, staff to Multnomah Co. Commissioner Diane Linn. 1120 SW 5th, Portland OR 97204, read a letter from Ms. Linn in support of upgrading electrical service on the Burnside and Morrison Bridges and rehabilitating the decking on the Broadway Bridge as well as a critical City of Portland project on Capitol Highway in Hillsdale into the record. (A copy of the letter can be found in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Representative Chris Beck, 2083 NW Johnson, Portland, OR 97209, from HD 12, and Trust for Public Land spoke in support of the TOD implementation program which would establish a revolving fund to promote appropriate development along the lightrail line. He said they had been working on this program for about 8 years and strongly supported its funding.

Doug Neeley, Oregon City Commission, 712 12th St., Oregon City, OR 97045 showed maps of the area of the intersection of Beavercreek and Highway 213 and pointed out major shopping centers and schools or college sites in the area. He said most of the growth in Oregon City was going to happen in that intersection. He said any other access through this area would have to be on rural roads outside of the UGB. The City of Oregon City would provide a 50% match to these funds.

3.  Public Hearing

 METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (MTIP) 150% CUT LIST

George Kosboth, 1114 Washington St., Oregon City, OR 97045, spoke in regard to the Highway 213/Beavercreek intersection. H-e noted that Highway 213 was rated as a principal arterial and Beavercreek was rated as a minor arterial. While it was, and needed to be treated as a major regional intersection. He related how the intersection fit into the regional traffic system and were vital to the movement of freight within the region. He said Highway 213 was rated as a regional bikeway corridor and Beavercreek was rated as a community connector bikeway. He felt it was necessary to improve the intersection to provide safe passage. (He submitted written testimony which is included in permanent record of this meeting.) He urged Metro to fully fund this request.

Don Peterson, 1108 7th St., Oregon City, OR 97045 spoke to the same issue. He felt the technical evaluation of the project was inadequate. He said it would promote mixed use development and he felt the committee should reexamine some of the technical scoring. He said the project deserved a higher score than it was given and if it was rescored properly it would be at the top of the list. (He submitted written testimony which is included in permanent record of this meeting.)

Nancy Kraushaar, City of Oregon City, 320 Warner-Milne Rd., Oregon City, OR 97045 referred to a portion of the comprehensive zoning map and aerial photo of Highway 213 and Beavercreek Road. She said their TSP had identified this as the worst intersection in Oregon City. She said the technical ranking had not served its intended purpose for this project and she wanted the committee to realize the regional benefits of funding this project. She said Highway 213 was critical to freight movement and vacant lands developing and noted that the land needed for right-of-way was vacant and ready to develop. She said the city was ready to do a 50% match for the project. (She submitted written testimony which is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Dan Fowler, 914 Madison St., Oregon City, OR 97045, former mayor of Oregon City, supported previous testimony. He said a recent survey done in their community identified this as the number one issue when it came to traffic and congestion within the community. He noted there were safety concerns and it was a terrible intersection. He said there was available land within their current urban growth boundary and improvement of this intersection would help its use. There was a $3 million local match. He urged support of this project.

Mayor Ogden said it was a substantial project in terms of size and asked how much of the $3 million he would estimate was preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition.

Ms. Kraushaar said most of $3 million from federal funding was for right of way acquisition.

Mayor Ogden asked if they could work with less than the $3 million.

Ms. Kraushaar said they would definitely look at lower amounts and approach the project from a slightly smaller scale.

Councilor Atherton asked if the City of Oregon City collected a systems development charge on transportation. She responded they did. She said the 50% match would come from urban renewal funding.

Harold Lasley, Multnomah County Transportation Director, 1600 SE 190th St., Portland, OR, 97233 Director of Transportation for Multnomah County, supported Diane Linn’s letter re: bridge projects. He said the deck on the Hawthorne Bridge project was equivalent in age to the deck, on the Broadway Bridge which was on the list for requested funding. He pointed out that the if the electrical systems failed on the other two bridges they would be required to lock the bridges in the open position to allow for river traffic. Other projects he addressed were the 207th Ave project and the 223rd St. overcrossing which would allow widening of the railroad structure in east county. He noted there was strong support for that project. (He submitted a letter which is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Robin McArthur-Phillips, 160 State Capitol, Salem OR 97310, Gov. Kitzauber;s Land Use and Transportation Advisor, spoke as chair of Metro’s TOD Steering Committee. She said the goal of the TOD Program was to get the right development in the right places at the right time. They were looking for ways to revitalize downtown and the main streets and to develop projects at transit stations. She felt they could not afford to let critical development opportunities go by. She explained the program worked through incentives that leveraged private dollars to develop neighborhoods and connect land use, transportation, economic development and housing. She urged full funding of this critical program.

Connie Lively, Portland Development Commission, 1900 SW 4th, Suite 400, Portland OR 97201, spoke in support of the TOD implementation program. She looked forward to more opportunities to create mixed-use housing projects adjacent to lightrail stations.

Tom Kemper, 851 SW 6th, Suite 1400, Portland, OR 97204, President of Lennar Affordable Communities, spoke on behalf of the TOD implementation program. He said a 4 phase Center Commons project his development company was responsible for included family, senior, market rental and for sale town homes. He said the TOD program had been extremely successful in instigating a number of transit oriented developments in this area. He strongly encouraged continued use of this very important program. He said it was one of the most truly unique sites in the city and they got the type of development they had wanted because of the TOD program.

Councilor Atherton said he had asked because a development he had just done met many of the criteria and had not required any public subsidy or mandates.

Mr. Kemper said comparing the rent structure of what a Lake Oswego developer could get to that particular site had some very different economic factors driving the 2 situations.

Elizabeth Kennedy, 2102 SE Ash, #2, Portland, OR 97214-1630, urged funding of the TOD implementation program. She said she was a resident of the Buckman neighborhood, known for their community investment and taking advantage of the available public transportation. She felt the key reasons ridership in their area was so high was the excellent services and close proximity to downtown. She felt public transit was part of their community and the bus stops were where the people were. She said it made a lot of sense to develop the relationship between transit and land use.

Karen Whitman, Manager of the Pioneer Courthouse Square, 701 SW 6th, Portland, OR 97204, asked for support of the Pioneer Courthouse Square renovation project. She said in conjunction with Tri-Met and the Portland Oregon Visitor Association (POVA), they were proposing a significant remodel of the current lobby and the Tri-Met customer service areas at the Square in an effort to enhance the value of the space with respect to tourism and transit related information and access. Their project had been submitted to ODOT under the transportation enhancement program because Tri-Met was their sponsor and would be their administrator if they received the grant request of $500,000. She said they were ready with their matching funds and had support from Portland City Council, Multnomah County, Tri-Met, Parks and the City of Portland. (She submitted written testimony which is included in permanent record of this meeting.)

Commissioner Hales asked what was the number one transportation benefit.

Ms. Whitman answered that they could effectively move people around the region because they were the center of the mass transit and had nearby park and rides as well as the ability to teach people how to move around with bikes. She said it was multimodal in a practical sense and it was projected that 250,000 new people would come to the Square to seek information and transportation related services.

Sylvia Cleaver, 2214 NE 37th Ave., Portland OR 97210 testified that they were willing to cut their profit in order to provide the TOD elements to the project at Beaverton Center. They had met with great opposition and obstacles from the lending and investment community because the investers didn’t care about how much money you made, they just wanted to see that the bottom line was healthy. She said it was not possible for the privage sector to do everything communities needed.

Selwyn Bingham, 3939 NW St. Helens Rd, Portland, OR 97210, said this project in Beaverton was of regional importance. He said it was a new urban city center of high density situated in a suburban setting. It was a central stop for the lightrail and featured a large open plaza surrounded by housing units, retail, office and entertainment space. It would be the focal point for activity in the city of Beaverton and would be the jewel of lightrail.

Councilor Park asked Ms. Cleaver if she envisioned private funding for such projects. She said they were not able to do it and compete with the rest of the market that was away from the lightrail system.

Commissioner Hales asked if the City of Beaverton had formed a tax increment district and put urban renewal money into the project.

Ms. Cleaver said they had asked the city but under their charter it was not possible without going to a vote of the people.

Commissioner Hales asked if it was even possible for a project already underway to seek funds.

Mr. Cotugno said there were federal environmental requirements which were more difficult to meet on a project that was already underway but it was possible.

Commissioner Hales commented that providing a significant amount of public space, as this project did, should be a factor. He did not know if it was, but noted that the Belmont Dairy for example, was a great project but it did not create any new public space other than the sidewalks. He felt this project should get credit for doing more than that.

Ms. Cleaver noted that this plaza was same size as Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Terry Moore, Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, 8440 SW Griffith Dr., Garden Home, OR 97223, spoke representing the Board of Directors of the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. She asked for inclusion of 3 multiuse bike/pedestrian off street transportation corridor projects. She said their district’s highest priority project was the Fanno Creek Regional Trail. She introduced Mr. McIlhinny to present the projects (She submitted a letter which is included in permanent record of this meeting)

Jim McIlhinny, Tualatin Hills Parks & Recreation District, Beaverton, OR 97006 explained the Fanno Creek Trail from a map. He said it was a critical link and would finish the trail. He said this was a remarkable opportunity to connect Portland, Tigard and Beaverton through their park district.

Ms. Moore gave a history of the trail. She said they had worked primarily with their own funds to acquire land and build and maintain their trails. They now hoped to connect the trails. She felt timing was of great importance because the missing link of the trail be the westside equivalent of the Springwater corridor and provide an offstreet pedestrian and bicycle facility in an area that completely lacked sidewalks and bike lanes. She submitted a letter of support for the Fanno Creek trail from Robert Bothman for the record. (A copy of this letter can be found in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Mark Knutson echoed what Ms. Moore said in support of the 3 submittals, but in particular the Fanno Creek project. He said there was great public support for this project. (NOTE: I did not find a testimony card for Mr. Knutson.)

Councilor McLain asked Ms. Moore if there were Metro dollars being spent on another project on the same trail right now that was not complete. Ms. Moore answered there were.

Mr. McIlhinny pointed out that it was the stretch along Fanno Creek south of Denney Road and would be completed this summer.

Sherry Lillard, Councilor, City of Fairview, 197 Crestwood St., Fairview, OR 97024, spoke on behalf of the City of Fairview. She reiterated that the 207th Avenue connector project was a top priority for east Multnomah County. Although construction was almost complete there remained an obligation to honor a prior commitment to fully fund the project. She also noted that the 223rd Avenue railroad overcrossing would require extensive cooperation with the railroad to ensure it met the needs of rail traffic and future surface freight traffic. She said they had already begun discussions with the railroad. She commented that this was a dangerous area and had been on the list for a long time. She also noted that their industrial area was growing which only made the project more important.

Ed McNamara, Prendergast & Associates, Inc., 333 SW 5th, Suite 200, Portland, OR 97204, spoke in favor of the TOD implementation program. He said he was a skeptic about the use of public subsidy in development. He said the density had to happen to make those projects work and density had a cost because constructions costs were higher. He said the TOD investment became a public investment because those benefits did not accrue back to the developer but to the whole community. He felt the models were needed both for the lenders and the developers to see they were workable. He felt the technical advisory committee and staff had shown great skill and judgment in making analysis of the projects that had come in.

Sandra Philbrook, 9525 SW Gemini Dr., Beaverton OR 97008 representing the Nimbus Business Commuters (NBC), supported a funding request from Tri-Met for transit service improvements, Region 2040 initiatives and the Westside Transportation Alliance’s continuation of TDM programs for employers. She said although there were transit stops along both ends of Nimbus Drive, the overall area was isolated from adequate service connections. As a potential solution Tri-Met and the WTA were working with the NBC group on a third party shuttle option which would be the first of its kind in the region. She said Nimbus employers had been working to develop viable service connections, i.e. the nontraditional shuttle option. She said their transit issues were important due to their proximity to Washington Square and the traffic congestion and parking problems associated with the business park. She said funding would continue the TDM program support for employers and Metro’s endorsement for transit funding and TDM programs, the transportation issues would grow.

Anne Nickel, Columbia Corridor Association, PO Box 55651, Portland, OR 97238 urged support of TDM 5 which funded the formation of transportation management associations. She said the Columbia corridor was one of the largest industrial areas in region and needed transit services. TMA funding would provide for workable alternatives to Tri-Met. She said the regional economy required well maintained capacity in the transportation infrastructure and the corridor as a transportation hub underscored that need. Airshed capacity was a major problem and if something was not done now there would be costly restrictions placed on existing businesses.

Councilor Atherton asked for an estimate of Tri-Met tax paid by association members.

Ms. Nickel said about $30 million.

Dave Lohman asked how many TMAs there were in region now and how they were doing.

Ms. Nickel only knew of the Westside and Lloyd Center TMAs, and one that just started in Tualatin.

Lonnie Dicus, Enron Microclimates spoke in support of the TOD implementation program.

He said his company was involved with the Beaverton Central project for many of the same reasons they were involved with the River Place project. They saw it as a significant TOD development and felt the development of public spaces was critical to the success of the projects.

Bill Maris, Chief Financial Officer of Market Transport, said one way to tell the seriousness of this issue was by how many from the trucking industry were attending the meeting. He said that the Columbia corridor was critical because it was one of the largest origin/destination points in the United States. He said if the goods didn’t move through here, everything stopped. He said the Columbia corridor represented 60% of the industrial land and those roads all neck down to one street because of the way it was laid out. He said the congestion at both ends needed to be addressed soon. He said the Port of Portland was willing to put money into the project.

Warren Banks, Manager of the International Division for Oregon Economic Development Department, urged full funding of the north Marine Drive and east Columbia Blvd. connector projects. He supported investment in the movement of freight which was vital to the continued success of business in the region. He said funding of the projects was crucial to maintaining an advancing business climate and competition. He commented that infrastructure must be supported and strongly urged support of both projects.

Jim Helser, president of Helser Brother’s Transfer, addressed specific examples how the challenges of those roads had affected his firm, like numerous delays of up to 1 mile and up to 5-10 minutes to depart their driveway onto Columbia Blvd. He noted extremely poor road conditions and said it was imperative for this to be reconstructed.

Jim Baumgardt, 5205 NE 158th Ave., Portland, OR 97230, said his company was located at the east end of Columbia Blvd. and 92nd Avenue. He said they also had experienced a multitude of delays in providing service to their customers due to traffic congestion which presented a significant and treacherous safety hazard. He had seen numerous accidents there. He urged reconsideration of this project.

Larry Cozad, Ventura Foods, 9000 NE Marx, Portland, OR 97208, said his company was faced with same kinds of transportation and safety problems. He strongly encouraged funding for this project.

Rex Gilley, Jubitz Corporation, noted that the project would serve the entire area as a conduit for vehicles and allow more use of Marine Drive to Lombard and Columbia. He urged consideration of a similar project to make use of the streets they already had in the area. He said there were safety as well as operations problems.

Chair Kvistad noted there was $300+ million of direct requests and $75 million to do it all.

Councilor Atherton wondered if the City of Portland or Multnomah County collected any kind of system development charge to rectify this.

Mr. Gilley said they had just put a system development charge program in place. He said they were behind because it was such a fast growing area.

Tim Dickhaus, Portland Air Cargo Association, was aware that the project did not make the cut but urged funding for the east end connector to improve connections between Columbia Blvd., 82nd Avenue, Lombard and I-205 anyway. He felt all freight projects under consideration should receive approval and funding because freight movement was critical to keep the Metro area competitive for the companies who resided there and for the development of new commercial residents. He said the Columbia Blvd. east end connector had evolved into a freight corridor because of its connections to I-5 and I-205 and although the theory of the connection between the 2 interstates was appealing and had naturally attracted business, it was interrupted by the lack of adequate connection to I-205 based on this one railroad trestle that crossed over Columbia Blvd. He noted traffic congestion, back ups and sight distance problems.

Commissioner Hales thanked the group for their presentation and said it had been one of the most coherent and compelling about the resource problem. He issued an invitation to the group to make the same presentation to the Senate Transportation Committee in the near future.

Mr. Lohman said in response to a question from Councilor Atherton that the systems development charge was now in place and this project was eligible for it although it would only cover a portion of the cost.

Douglas Klotz, 2630 SE 43rd Ave., Portland, OR 97206 supported funding for pedestrian, bicycle and transit projects and TDM and TOD projects. He noticed a lot of the sidewalks being built with this block of funding were in the modernization category. He was concerned that the majority of them did not comply with the regionally adopted street design guidelines which called for sidewalks separated from the street with planting strips and/or trees near the curb. He urged Metro to form a technical advisory committee to look at the implementation of these guidelines and make sure the projects complied. He said perhaps the limited descriptions on the list did not fully represent the projects. He urged the panel to carefully scrutinize the reasons given for “inadequate right-of-way” on some of the projects because in some cases, they were being resolved in other ways not mentioned. He felt that pedestrian facilities should have equal consideration. He wondered whether continuous two-way center left turn lanes should be limited to major intersections and not the entire stretch of roadway to make room for bike lanes. He noted with some interest that there were message signs included in some of the projects. He felt that was somewhat unusual in view of the City of Portland’s attempt to remove message signs from the streets. He supported boulevard projects.

John Geffel, Timberline Software, 15195 NW Greenbriar Pkwy., Beaverton, OR 97006, read his testimony into the record. He spoke on behalf of the Westside Transportation Alliance and other transportation alliances in the Metro area to provide adequate funds for their successful operation. He said their strength came from the fact that they were local alliances and knew the local problems. He said transportation alliances needed to be an integral member of the region’s transportation system and should be able to count on funding every year. He urged the council to fully fund the $1.1 million TMA funding indicated in the Priorities 2000 and felt some of that funding should be allocated to existing TMAs. He felt TMAs should be an ongoing priority in the region if changing the commute habits of Portland area employees was a goal.

Mayor Ogden asked how long that TMA had been in existence how many years they had received financial assistance

Mr. Geffell said they had been around for about 4 years but he did not know how long they had received federal aid. He thought the area businesses had supported it for the last couple of years.

Mayor Ogden asked if he felt TMAs required ongoing federal funding to succeed and if he had information to back that up.

Mr. Geffel said yes to both questions.

Kristin Jordan, Spieker Properties, said as building manager of the Nimbus Business Park she had seen parking demand outpace the supply. She frequently heard from tenants that if bus service was more convenient they would use it. She said their largest tenant had implemented a dedicated shuttle service for their employees for 6 months in hopes that a third party shuttle or improvement of transportation service would be provided by TDM and the 2040 initiatives. She hoped that funds would be put toward existing TMAs and not just startup ones. She said there was a serious need for improved transportation service to the area. She requested the TDM funding package remain at the $4.9 million level and not be further reduced.

M’Lou Christ, BEA, 904 SE 13th, Portland, OR 97214, advocated for bridge projects. She said they really needed help to maintain the downtown bridges. She noted the great improvement with the temporary bike and pedestrian access on the Morrision Bridge while the Hawthorne Bridge was closed and wanted to see them as permanent access. She noted that neighborhood access to the current eastbank projects was very difficult and should be looked at carefully.

Tom Chamberlain, Independent producer, 4110 SE Hawthorne Blvd, #142, Portland, OR 97214, talked about his Oregon Public Broadcasting pilot “Building Community Through Media”. He said he was struck by how the whole community was involved in this process and that they were engaged in changing behaviors and rethinking a lot of aspects of transportation. He said his project included bringing together people dealing with these issues day to day, the public broadcasting folks who could expose the issues to the community and the creative types who could create those shows. He said his project was quite small but was a beginning step to help the community understand the issues at stake.

Natalie Darcy, 9355 SW Brooks Bend Lane, Garden Home, OR 97223, spoke about the Garden Home trail. She said Tigard’s and Garden Home’s parts of the Fanno Creek trail would be completed by the end of summer and then the trail would be connected to the city of Portland. She was supportive because the trail would then connect to bike trails in the city to create the first ever completely connected pedestrian and bicycle transportation facilty in that area. She liked the idea of being able to bike to work from Tigard to Portland.

Councilor Bragdon noted there was a glimmer of hope in terms of getting from Fanno Creek into Multnomah County. Looking down the bike and trail list there was a small amount of money for the Red Electric Line study which had a potential connection.

Ms. Darcy and Councilor Bragdon agreed that this project would allow the trail to reach the river.

Don Baack 6495 SE Burlingame Pl., Portland, OR 97201, testified about the importance of the Red Electric Line study and felt there should be some urgency regarding the right-of-way acquisition for that project. He was concerned about the need for the Bertha intersection project on Capitol Highway. He felt they should get the money for that improvement in conjunction with building the Hillsdale library which was intended to be a mixed use facility. He felt the Barbur Blvd./Naito Parkway to 65th project did not make the cut because of a letter sent from a number of concerned businesses with the wrong impression about several Tri-Met bus stops planned for the area. The business owners were under the impression that they were a done deal and were against putting them in. He said nobody had explained that those stops were planned for 10-12 years in the future. He said there were no existing sidewalks along Barbur and it was not safe.

Leonard Gard, 7688 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR 97219, staff person at SW Neighborhoods, spoke in favor of the Barbur Blvd. Project from Naito Parkway to 65th which did not make the 150% list. He said they had wanted sidewalks on Barbur and into the adjacent neighborhoods, crossing improvements and landscape enhancements. He said they had been working very hard with the City of Portland’s pedestrian program and were surprised when this project was cut. He commented that Barbur was the main gateway to Portland from the southwest and a major arterial. He said it was already an important transit and commercial corridor but had the potential for much more. He said it was currently very dangerous for people to get to bus stops on Barbur. He urged reconsideration of the project. He said there had been two people with him who supported his testimony but they had to leave. He also noted a group opposed to the proliferation of adult businesses on Barbur who supported his testimony, but they had also given up and left the hearing.

Councilor Bragdon felt he was getting mixed signals from the neighborhood. He was very supportive of the concept and liked the idea of having Barbur be a true boulevard and a gateway to the city. He said the business letter was something they had to take seriously. He was in attendance at the meeting where the letter was submitted and felt the issue had calmed somewhat through a discussion afterwards. He said earlier testimony from other neighborhoods had rather unambiguously, with regard to the towncenter concept at Capitol Highway and Barbur, stated their feelings. He said there was a legitimate difference of opinion as to whether it should be a towncenter. With the proliferation of porn stores some folks did not like it and currently there were neighborhood associations on record that they like it as is from a land use point of view, and don’t mess with it. He was very supportive but added the more support they could get from the neighborhood that combined land use and transportation aspirations the better. He said the problem was not just that Barbur was a terrible place to walk, but that there were not a lot of places you would want to walk there. Both of those things needed to be fixed.

Mr. Gard said some supported mixed use but believed transportation problems at that intersection were unsolvable. He said that did not mean general opposition to the ideas they were trying to promote

Mr. Baack commented that they had organized a corridor study because southbound freeway access was extremely important to them. He said they would have that proposal in front of this board next year.

Danny Crossman, 3130 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97214 supported completion of the Hawthorne Blvd. project. He said the transportation plan adopted in July 1997 clearly identified what needed to be done but felt it missed telling of the business community’s involvement in the development of that plan. He said they had provided invaluable advice and technical support. He said all of the businesses wanted to see this wonderful multimodal urban center completed. He felt safety was the most important factor for completion of the project.

Mary Sellin, 3556 SE Hawthorne, Portland, OR 97214 supported the plan as currently written. She also addressed the safety issue of needing more crosswalks. She said she had surveyed her customers and 96% of them felt the crosswalks were important for pedestrian safety. She invited the panel to the reopening celebration for the Hawthorne Bridge on April 24th. She respectfully requested funding to implement the rest of the Hawthorne Blvd. transportation plan.

Councilor Atherton asked Mr. Crossman if the City of Portland provided for a local improvement district process. He said yes it did and they were also looking at a business improvement district.

Miriam Banker, 393 S. Ivey St., Cornelius, OR 97113, supported the Cornelius Blvd. project. She said it seemed logical that a boulevard project would be high priority for the area. She noted they had a hard working city staff with a full time planner now. She said the city had made a strong commitment to regaining its previous status as an active and growing city. She suggested that amount be returned to original $4.5 million so the project could be completed now. (She submitted written testimony which is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Neil Knight 310 S. 16th, Cornelius, OR 97213, thanked Metro for the funds to study the project and for considering funding of the project after the study. He said they were aware that it was the city’s fault they had not kept up with their sidewalk repairs but now they were trying to get it under control. He wanted to say thanks for the help.

Gary Madsen, 1050 N River St., Portland, OR 97217, spoke about the lower Albina overcrossing project. He commented that the lower Albina industrial district was home to the Albina railyards as well as other businesses. Access to the district was difficult when a train was going by because it closed most of the access streets to the area. He said the solution would be an overcrossing that would take the place of and close all of the at-grade crossings. He noted they were asking Metro for less than 50% of the total cost. He commented that the current crossings had a fairly ugly safety history and a recent investigation showed one of the crossings had been closed over 7½ hours in one day which was a significant access issue for safety as well as business function. He said a side benefit of this project would be the beginnings of secondary access to the Swan Island industrial district. He felt pride that they had finally found a solution to this problem after several years and felt their funding package could work. He noted that the Union Pacific Railroad had been an excellent player in the process and hoped for the rest of the funds from this committee. (He submitted a chart of the lower Albina railroad overcrossing which is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Cliff Shumaker, Union Pacific Railroad, 1416 Dodge St., Room 1000, Omaha, NE 68179, Director of Industry and Public Projects, supplemented previous testimony he had given in February. He said he was gratified to see the project was still on the list. He understood there was some concern from JPACT staff about the ability of this project to get local matching funds for the construction. He assured the panel that the UPRR was fully committed to local matching funds for the project. He said they had already invested over $100,000 and were involved in forming a local improvement district (LID) to provide $3-3.5 million in funding for the local match. Part of what they were doing to ensure the project was waiving their system development charge credits that otherwise would be available through participation in the LID.

Arlene Kimura 112 NE 133rd Ave., Portland, OR 97230, asked for funding for a project that had fallen off the list because the overwhelming consideration of the people involved in Opportunity Gateway had been traffic management. She said it was a horrendous problem now and would escalate increasingly. She said there was no traffic management plan in place and implementing suggestions from the interest groups would do no good without one. She urged the panel to consider putting the project back the list or replace it with the boulevard project.

Jim Worthington, 3232 SE 153rd Ave., Portland, OR also thought the traffic management plan needed to be put into affect before considering putting money into a boulevard study. His neighborhood was in the Powell Boulevard area and he said it was a mess and they did not want anything like it in Gateway. He suggested taking the boulevard money and putting it into traffic management as was a unanimous vote of the transportation committee of the Gateway Regional Plan.

Rose Rummel-Eury, 540 S. State St., #11-C, Lake Oswego, OR 97034 spoke on behalf of bicycle commuters from Lake Oswego, West Linn and Oregon City who wanted to see safe access on Highway 43. She said when she and her husband first moved to the Portland area she was thrilled to find many transit choices. One day she had to go to Lewis and Clark College and from the map found the bike ride would be about 45 minutes. When she got to Highway 43 she felt she would surely die before getting to her interview. She said thankfully she did not get the job and now, 5 years later, lived and worked in Lake Oswego. She said although it was a really nice place to live, she occasionally wanted to get out of there and noted that the bus service was pretty pathetic. She said her group had been working for the past year to find a solution to make this a safe place to ride bikes. They had come up with a couple of options, like increasing the transit service, building a bike/pedestrian path, or nothing. She asked the council to consider this feasibility study as the first step in a necessary project. She asked for all the bike trails to be considered if they were serious about reducing traffic.

Dan Kempff, P.O. Box 701, Tualatin, OR 97062, Tualatin Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of TDM 4 and TDM 5. He felt it was important to not cut these projects any more than they had already been cut. He noted that Tualatin’s industrial area was a designated industrial sanctuary in the metro area and had no transit through it. He said if it was not for the businesses forming the Tualatin TMA the employees would not have access to transit there at all. He said the TMA also operated van pools for other commuters which supported not only congestion relief efforts and air quality but economic growth as well. He encouraged the council to maintain funding for the entire TDM program.

Marianne Pratt, Tualatin Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 701, Tualatin, OR 97062, underscored Mr. Kempff’s testimony, specifically the public/private partnership in their TMA. She said they would nee to work together in the future to benefit the region’s transportation. She said they were proud of their business community for stepping up to look for solutions to some serious transportation problems. She said continuing the funding partnership would help them expand their TMA. She urged funding for the Region 204 Initiatives and the TMA Assistance Program. She noted that the I-5 Nyberg Road interchange was ancient and very narrow and traffic backed up horribly.

Claudia Clark, Tualatin Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 834, Tualatin, OR 97062 spoke in support of the same projects. She said there was definitely a traffic problem and it was a real issue.

Elizabeth Hathaway, 2240 SW 87th Ave., Portland, OR 97225, came to the testimony table with a large bag and said she was the “prop person” for her husband’s presentation and did not need a microphone.

Will Hathaway, 2240 SW 87th Ave., Portland, OR 97225, spoke on behalf of all the trails projects presented, particularly those in the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District. He said the choices were they could make room for “these” (Ms. Hathaway held up a car tire) or they could make paths for “these” (Ms. Hathaway held up a string of tennis shoes of all sizes tied together by their laces). He said they would rather make room for the shoes because they were building a trail system that connected their community by linking neighbor to neighborhood to resources and to the region. He said the trail system would reinforce the livability of the community by bringing people together and bringing them choices. He said it was a far reaching alternative to motorized transportation.

Patrick Pine, 9605 SW Nimbus, Beaverton, OR 97008. Benefits manager for Adidas America, supported the same things Ms. Philbrook, Mr. Jordan and Mr. Geffel had previously testified on which was the funding request from Tri-Met for transit service improvements, Region 2040 initiatives and the Westside Transportation Alliance’s continuation of TDM programs for employers. He said there was a major need for alternative transit for employees at their business. He said his company was prepared to invest several thousand dollars towards the first shuttle bus service of its kind in the region in association with other groups at the business park. He added that TMAs needed public money because firms, like theirs, did relocate and if that company happened to be a major contributor to the TMA, that money would be gone. He felt any successful TMA needed some public support in order to gain involvement from new businesses.

Bradley Jackman, 10496 SE Stanley Ave., Milwaukie, OR 97222 was encouraged by the advocacy for the bike lanes as well as the companies putting forth the facilities for their employees and making concessions other than parking spaces. He said he was also part of the Hawthorne Citizens Advisory Committee and he hoped this would go through. He was concerned no bike lanes were in the works for a couple of other areas that needed them, for instance in the Sunnyside area. He was also encouraged by the ongoing East Bank/OMSI bike trail greenway project.

Lynn Peterson, 1,000 Friends of Oregon, 534 SW 3rd, Suite 300, Portland, OR 97204, pointed out that 1,000 Friends had been extremely supportive of the work done by Metro on the Regional Transportation Policy Chapter 1 and its guiding principals to provide information and involve citizens, to facilitate development of the 2040 growth concept, ensure allocation of resources driven by land use and transportation benefits, and protect the regions natural environment and livability which was adopted in 1996. She said while they totally agreed with how the Priorities 2000 projects were prioritized within the categories, they were not completely in sync with how the money was allocated between the categories. They shared concern with Commissioner Kelley and TPAC members about what was the guiding policy once they reached this point. She was pleased to see that they had a way to communicate back to TPAC and try to figure out what to do with this list. She felt the total transportation budget needed to be considered because this was just one slice of the pie. She also believed that with guidance from Council and JPACT the region could carry out its vision even with limited monies because of their underlying belief of making communities work for everyone. (She submitted written testimony which is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Betty Atterbury, 10200 SW Nimbus, G-3, Tigard, OR 97223, representing the Westside Economic Alliance whose members had clearly stated that solving transportation problems was a top priority need to support their economic plans. She noted that the transportation problems they most frequently heard were related to moving goods and services and getting employees to the workplace. She noted that all of her issues related to traffic congestion and the lack of an adequate road system. They realized that the money was short and the alliance believed that available funding should be targeted to projects that would begin to solve the critical transportation needs of the region. She said it was their position that the $33.6 million in regional STP funds should be distributed to road improvement projects with a priority to road modernization and freight projects.

Councilor Atherton asked if Washington County collected an SDC.

Ms. Atterbury said they had collected a “TIF” since 1982-3. Just before that time a lot of the residential land had been rezoned industrial and the business community recognized there needed to be infrastructure.

Councilor Rohde asked if the federal dollars were used entirely for roads would she support an attempt to make gas tax dollars flexible for alternatives to roads.

Ms. Atterbury answered that was probably not realistic.

Councilor Bradgon asked Mr. Cotugno to put into perspective the money they had discretion over vs the overall transportation spending where they did not have discretion.

Mr. Cotugno recalled that the state highway trust fund generated about $1 billion per biennium which was constitutionally restricted to road purposes. He said 60% of that went to ODOT and 40% to cities and counties. He said roughly one third of the total amount was spent in the metropolitan region. He said a substantial portion of that $300 million was flexible but was being spent on preservation of existing road systems, bridge and pavement projects.

Dick Jones, 3205 SE Vineyard Rd., Oak Grove, OR 97267, felt the gas tax should go only for new lanes. He focused on two Clackamas County projects, the Sunnyside Road/Mt. Scott Creek Bridge and the Beavercreek Road/Highway 213 Intersection. He said both projects involved the same issue which was regional responsibility to provide roadways to Clackamas county. He said no amount of planning and creative strategies would get people to live in an area when congestion was like it was in those areas. He said the lack of proposed road modernization projects distressed him while they continued to push forward with the airport MAX whose initial ridership would only be 3,000 riders a day. He said almost 3,000 houses whose primary transportation source was cars would be built in the Sunnyside area during the time of that lightrail construction. He felt the panel was willfully deceived by their staff as far as the Port’s share at their February meeting. He said before that the Port had already notified the airlines and FFA that they intended to collect $146 million. He said the money for airport lightrail would not even be collected until November 2008 and for the next 10 years after that. (He submitted written testimony which is included in permanent record of this meeting.)

Councilor Atherton asked if he was suggesting that the gas tax go for modernization, and if so, how should they pay for maintenance of the existing infrastructure.

Mr. Jones said they should tighten ODOT’s budget and cut back the cost of collecting gas tax to what it was 5 years ago, plus the appropriate amount of inflation. They would then have some extra dollars.

Councilor Washington asked if ODOT was the problem.

Mr. Jones answered that they were part of the problem, along with the need for more money for more lanes.

Mr. Lohman clarified that the Port had one application into FAA to use passenger facility charges for the airport MAX lightrail project and also had applications in for other airport construction projects.

Councilor Park asked if any of the money would be available for other projects if the airport lightrail was dropped.

Mr. Cotugno said there would be $18 million less in projects competing for the dollars but it would not help with more lanes.

Thomas Miller, Sequent Computer Systems, 15450 SW Koll Pkwy, Beaverton, OR 97006, echoed support for the regional TDM programs. He said they had received tremendous support from Tri-Met for their TMA project and should have 150 cars off the road by the end of the project.

Dale Potts, 12177 SE Grove Loop, Milwaukie, OR 97222 said if they had paid any attention to the vote, they would know Clackamas County did not want lightrail so that could save some money for other projects. He noted other projects in Clackamas county which were problems that would not be hard to solve. He did not see Metro as willing to do anything about those. He suggested filling potholes and adding lanes to get traffic flowing. He said lightrail was a social experiment and was not working.

Martha Waldemar, 8800 SE Sunnyside Rd, Clackamas, OR 97015, addressed the Mt. Scott Creek Bridge as well as the eastern extensions of Sunnyside Road. She said their community was 100% supportive even though they would be slightly inconvenienced. They also wanted it done right the first time so the recommendation from their advisory committee was for doing the whole road from I-205 to 172nd. She said they were ready to roll and all they needed now was the money. She commented that according to the engineer it would not be a major inconvenience to add lanes to the bridge in the future because according to the engineer they would use a style of bridge that could be added to easily.

Councilor Atherton asked if Clackamas County was collecting a system development charge (SDC).

Ms. Waldemar said they were and they had recently raised it.

James Ellis, 7850 SE King Rd., Milwaukie, OR , Chair of North Clackamas Co. Regional Park District, said he had submitted verbal and written testimony previously regarding 3 bicycle improvement projects, the Clackamas Regional Center District Park Multipurpose Trail: Harmony Rd./82nd Ave., the Portland Traction Co. Trial: Park/Glen Echo, and the Phillip Creek Greenway Trail: Causey Ave./Mt. Scott Greenway. He urged reconsideration of the Park/Glen Echo project and support of the other two projects.

Ross Williams, 1220 SW Morrison, #535, Portland, OR 97205 Citizens for Sensible Transportation, noted that this region was a national example of how TEA-21 money could be spent when local regions were given the flexibility to do it. He said it was not possible to build one’s way out of congestion. He felt the process that developed the 150% list was a very good process but there was no similar public criteria for choosing between the modes. He noted future transportation expenditures moved toward a new binge of road building with almost all of the funds for this region earmarked for new roads and capacity. He also noted that most of the past commitments not yet built were for the same, as were most of the ODOT expenditures. He said according to the 150% breakout, the decision had already been made to use at least some of the money on new road capacity. As a result, things like transit, TMAs, and a variety of other important programs were getting cut at the start in order to provide for more road capacity. He did not think that was the direction people of the region wanted to go.

Catherine Ciarlo, P.O. Box 9072, Portland, OR 97214, Bicycle Transportation Alliance, said they were delighted with the mix of east and westside projects. She felt there were a couple of things left off: the Portland traction company and Fanno creek. She hoped for those projects the next time around. She commented that this was just one slice of the picture and urged the panel to be aware that the picture did not hold much for bicycles and pedestrians other than this money. She urged them to continue to make alternative transportation options for the region.

Councilor Atherton asked if the 1% fund for bikes and pedestrians was increasing.

Ms. Ciarlo said it was probably not increasing a great deal and at this point was under attack in Salem. She said if anything, the amount of actual money going to bike projects was flat or decreasing. She added that about 80% of that fund was spent on sidewalks, not bike lanes.

Scott Bricker, 2817 NE 14th, Portland, OR 97212, commented that JPACT had a strong policy direction to seek input on the best mix between different transportation modes. He urged the committee to remember that and build off the Metro 2040 vision. He read a paragraph from his neighborhood association’s submission for the record. He urge JPACT to support bike and pedestrian programs. (A copy of the neighborhood association letter is included in the permanent record of this meeting.)

Peter Teneau. 2715 N. Terry, Portland, OR 97217, Columbia Slough Watershed Committee,. agreed with the last 3 testifiers. He talked about the growing amount of traffic on NE 42nd Ave. He said the area was industrial with some residential and near Whitaker Ponds. He said 7,800 students a year came to the area for nature study. He said the project was funded by BES and the Columbia Slough Watershed Council and Parks. Something was going to have to be done with the culvert that restricted the water which was as serious environmental problem. There was also a safety factor and the bridge design called for a sidewalk and bike trail on either side. He said the bridge would provide canoe navigation to the main arm of the Columbia slough so it would be a very important addition. He said other significant improvements would be part of the project, like planting.

Lenny Anderson, c/o Freightliner Corp. 4747 N. Channel Ave, CIA-BLD, Portland, OR 97217, supported increased funding for the Region 2040 Initiatives and the TMA Assistance Program. He addressed the freight movement issue and wondered why they were talking about roads when this was the only money available for alternative modes of transportation. He urged that the lion’s share of these resources be used for alternatives to widening the road system. He said they were dealing with congestion or the converse of that which was how to create capacity. Swan Island had growing industries and only one road. The Swan Island transportation committee said that every two single occupancy vehicles(SOV) taken off the road made room for one semi truck and that was the only place where they could add capacity. He said the number one priority on Swan Island was to create capacity to move freight and the thing that was flexible in this was SOVs. He said those drivers needed to be guided and taught how to use alternative modes. He supported the kinds of projects that put those facilities in place. He said they were not going to build their way out of Swan Island, they were going to create lane space.

Chris J. Hammond, 619 SE Division Pl., Portland, OR representing the Central Eastside industrial district, said Metro planned and shaped the growth of their district to maintain the quality of life in the region and the neighborhoods yet none of the money allocated had been programmed to address the long-standing transportation needs of the central eastside district. They had to compete with suburban industrial parks and one of their biggest problems was infrastructure which continued to be bypassed. He said none of the projects slated for their area made the cut and several projects over past years had also been passed over.

Susan Barthel, 1211 SW 5th Ave., Portland, OR 97204, City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services said about 30-40% of pollution came from roads and they were responsible for cleaning it up. She proposed funding for projects that could demonstrate what to do with road runoff and create community benefits. She had previously submitted written testimony in support of the transportation enhancement projects (NE 47th and SE Foster Road and Kelly Creek). She did not feel that the committee had looked at those projects as carefully as they might have. She said one of the projects, NE 47th St., bumped up against a Metro property. She noted it was a Portland Parks regional environmental education center but they had to keep the gates locked because people wanted to come there and they were not ready for them yet. She knew the traffic going to airport was increasing dramatically because they couldn’t get across the street very often any more. She said the main issue on Kelly Creek was funding for safe fish passage. She said this was the only environmental center with available access by Tri-Met but the kids had to walk NE 47th street. This would be the start of safe passage for kids to the center.

John Southgate, 1900 SW 4th Ave., Suite 100, Portland, OR 97201, Portland Development Commission, representing the Old Town/China Town community. He said the community had avid and unqualified support for the Burnside boulevard project study. He noted it was a diverse community facing a lot of challenges. He said they had been working on a development plan. One of their biggest challenges was the empty storefronts on Burnside, and getting across the street there was also a pretty daunting task. He said the committee expressed their gratitude for being on the 150% list. He noted that the Simon Benson house was also on the list and stated the city’s support for this last best hope to save this historic landmark. He was pleased that both projects were on the list and hoped they remained there.

Scott Leeding, 9123 SE St. Helens St., Suite 200, Clackamas, OR 97015, spoke about the Sunnyside Road bridge project. He said they had been talking about the project for a long time and would now like to see Sunnyside Road go to 5 lanes with bike lanes. They also needed some safety concerns met. He said the split diamond interchange and the Sunnybrook bypass would help tremendously. The project had already been adopted by the CIP for Clackamas County and the Parks Department had a trail system planned to go under the bridge along the creek. He said they really needed Sunnyside Road taken care of now, from I-205 all the way to 172nd.

Alice P. Blatt 15231 NE Holladay, Portland, OR 97230 represented FOWL (she said choose one: “Friends of Wet Lands”, “Friends of Wild Life” or “Friends of What’s Left”) spoke about the 47th Ave. bridge project. She agreed with Mr. Teneau and Ms. Barthel’s testimony. She said her transportation expertise was limited to nonmotorized watercraft (her canoe). She submitted a letter for the record that said the slough was the most significant natural resource and esthetic amenity in north and northeast Portland. She recommended some videos that would show things about the slough and its beauty. She said high school and middle schoolers had made a video sponsored by BES about the slough. She invited the panel to take canoe trip down the slough to see for themselves because the view from the roads did not do it justice. She noted that a lot of money had been invested on water quality in the slough and most of the studies and recommendations were dependent on movement of the water in the slough. The solution at 47th Avenue was not another culvert but the bridge was necessary to end the mass of debris and help the water quality. (She submitted a color map of the Columbia Slough Watershed which is included in permanent record of this meeting.)

Councilor Bragdon agreed with her comments but felt that the greatest esthetic amenity of northeast Portland was Councilor Washington’s wardrobe and the slough was second.

Councilor Washington said he was too tired to respond.

Ms. Waldemar returned to the testimony table to explain that fish didn’t like culverts because they would not go into dark areas. She said there was talk about lighting the culvert at I-205 so the fish could see the other side. She was also told that the culverts were not placed deep enough for the gravel and water flow so it cools the water too much. Also if the water goes too fast through the culvert it bothered the fish, too.

Mayor Ogden, PO Box 369, Tualatin, OR 97062, said he had not planned to testify but Mr. Cotugno had handed him a letter from the Washington Co. Coordinating Committee dated 4/6/99 regarding the 150% cut list that he wanted to read into the record. He noted that the Committee consisted of the cities of Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, North Plains, Tualatin, Forest Grove, King City, Gaston, Cornelius, Durham, Banks, Sherwood, Wilsonville, and Washington County. He also noted that the cities of Banks and Gaston were not present at the meeting drafting this letter. He said the committee noticed that the major purpose of some of the road modernization projects was salmon restoration. Because of the lack of clarity about the salmon restoration requirements, projects dealing with demonstrable transportation problems should be included on the 150% cut list before those 0projects related to salmon restoration. He noted that none of the road modernization projects were included in 150% cut list and related the committee’s recommendations for adding projects to the list for preliminary engineering and right-of-way acquisition only. He noted projects they felt should be reduced in scope and cost to reflect preliminary engineering and right-of-way only. He read off some projects they wanted to move from the committed transit project category to the proposed transit project category and defer any decision about retaining the project on the final list until more information was known. He noted that the region had made significant progress toward achieving an appropriate balance between highway and transit funding and recent funding allocations. He said the committee’s attitude was that the region needed to do more in the transit area while emphasizing road projects to a larger degree. (A copy of this letter can be found with the permanent record of this meeting.)

Commissioner Hales made an offer to the Washington County Coordinating Committee to co-sponsor a poll to ask the citizens of the region if they favored or disfavored holding up funding for lightrail in order to fund more road projects.

Mayor Odgen said the letter did not suggest not doing a lightrail project, it said that there were $25½ million committed to the South/North project and now there were undefined new projects probably of equal value. The letter said the South/North needed to drop down to the uncommitted projects list until there was a project.

Commissioner Hales asked how he thought they would do at the FTA competing for federal money if they started fighting over the region’s commitment to the South/North project now.

Mayor Ogden said there was an issue of defining new projects and if that project got the same kind of support that all the other lightrail projects had, competing for the money was not a problem.

Commissioner Hales asked if the project was defined as a new project, did he think the FTA would still fund it

Mayor Ogden said if it was not defined as a new project he was not sure how the region could fund it.

Mayor Ogden said he was not arguing, he was communicating what the committee had said. He thought the response to the committee might be that the voters had spoken.

Councilor McLain said the whole project started 20 years ago so she wondered if there was a difference between scoping the project, looking at the complete system they started 20 years ago, and acting like they were starting a new project. She asked for clarification of how they would present that at JPACT.

Mayor Ogden said there would be a couple of JPACT members on the committee and since the south/north project was a pretty defined project that didn’t pass, there was now an effort to redefine what that project would look like. He said there was likely to be a north rail component and a south bus component to it. The question was the $25.5 million committed to the South/North project which didn’t currently exist. Until that project was defined in its new form the committee was recommending that the money not be committed to the project, but go into the proposed list like the other projects.

Chair Kvistad commented that this would a very interesting debate on Thursday. His personal belief was that they move forward with the development of the north component of the system with the money available but they needed to have that debate. Clackamas county wanted to discontinue the project and sever out that money. The Washington Co group had not necessarily written it off by they were “iffy”. He was working to complete this project and was committed to make it happen if they could.

Mayor Odgen said his purpose was only to enter the letter into the record.

Chair Kvistad said that was how he was accepting it. He asked the committee to understand that and wait for Thursday for the discussion. He thanked the citizens who testified and the staff for helping with the hearing.

ADJOURN

There being no further business before the committee, Chair Kvistad adjourned the meeting at 10:54 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl Grant

Council Assistant

The following citizens submitted written testimony for the record but did not present it at the hearing:

George Marshall, 4430 SW Plum, Portland, OR 97219

Paul Liestner, Davie Hilts, Molly Hilts, 5436 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland, OR 97215

Brandon Burnell, 12650 SW 7th St, Beaverton, OR 97005

Rob Dixon

Doug Benson 1022 SW Salmon, Suite 350, Portland, OR

The following submitted testimony cards but could not or would not wait until they were called to the stand:

Elizabeth Pratt 825 NE Multnomah, Box 108, Portland, OR 97232

Helen Farrens, 3956 SW Condor Ave., Portland, OR 97201

Craig Reilly, ODOT Rail Division, Salem

Dave Talbot, Lower Albina Council

Jack Newlevant, 1904 SE Hemlock, Portland, OR

Bruce Kent, 4726 SE Hawthorne, Suite A, Portland, OR 97215

Roger Jones HBBA

Tom Badrick, 4216 SE Madison, Portland, OR

Dan Polette, 4025 SE Hawthorne, #102, Portland, OR 97214

Sharon Wood Wortman, 3270 SW Fairmont, Portland, OR 97201

Tom Fuller, 701 SW 6th Ave., Portland, OR 97204

David Johnson, 16120 Lindsay Ct., Lake Oswego, 97035

Rob DeGraff, 520 SW Yamhill, #1000, Portland, OR 97204

Rick Dawes, P.O. Box 98, Clackamas, OR 97015

Documents submitted for the record: