By Anne Scheck

This is the first edition of education coverage by The Independent. The next quarterly issue will be published in June.                                 
Almost five decades ago, Steve Moser, chair of the Central District School Board, experienced what many experts agree is the most tragic event possible in the life of a child. His dad died. As arrangements were being made for the funeral, Mr. Moser dropped out of his sixth-grade class in Lebanon, Ore. He never went back.

The next fall he literally became the new kid on the block, after he and his mother relocated to Dallas, nearly an hour away. In those days, schools weren’t equipped to help students deal with sudden trauma, so his mom kept him busy with activities ranging from swimming to Boy Scouts. Now Mr. Moser will be working – along with others in the school district – to  institute new “trauma-informed” educational programming to help kids with stressors somewhat similar to his own all those years ago.

Central High School (CHS) is one of only two high schools in the state chosen for this pilot program, which is aimed at becoming an important guide for many others in Oregon.  "We’re building the template," Mr. Moser said, noting that CHS was selected by the Oregon Department of Education, along with Tigard, from a pool of applicants.
The district’s student population has “interesting demographics” that span the economic spectrum, he observed. There are upper-middle-class homes – in the Edwards Addition and at the Independence Airpark, for example – but nearly half of all families live at or below the poverty line, he said.

Even so, why would there be a need for a program targeted at ongoing student trauma? Because now family stress often is an everyday event. About a third of households now are headed by a single parent, which can make such families more susceptible to strain.
And, in Oregon, there are twice as many children in foster care compared with many other states (see enclosed editorial “Dances with DHS”). Even in two-parent families, both parents often work outside the home – in a state where childcare is among the most costly in the nation.

Families are now “burdened” in ways they weren’t back when he faced being fatherless in a new school, Mr. Moser said.  

“Whole-school trauma-informed practices can potentially improve learning outcomes for all students, and are especially helpful for students with high ‘adverse childhood experiences’ (ACEs),” concurred Cheng-Fei Lai PhD, a research analyst with the Chief Education Department of Oregon. “These students have increased risk for academic failure, chronic attendance problems, persistent school behavior problems, and poor reported health,” she added.

Current research shows how ACEs can negatively affect learning and growth for students in public education -- and that’s one of the main reasons why it’s important to acquire a “trauma-informed lens,” which increases wider understanding of how such practices support students, said District Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD.
Potential markers for trauma can include poor attendance, failing grades in multiple classes, and self-isolation at school.  But there may be other ACEs that also induce trauma for students, which could impact their learning on a day-to-day basis, she said.  “We do have staff in place at the schools, with counselors and mental health associates,” Dr. Kubista said, but there continues to be a growing need for additional supports. 

So far there is no consensus on a definitive approach for trauma-informed school practices. In fact, trauma-informed practices in education are relatively new -- and scientific study on the topic has been scant. The pilot program at CHS is part of an effort to develop a “coherent and systematic exploration study of what trauma-informed school practices look like, and how we can examine replicable elements that can be shared with other schools in similar settings,” Dr. Lai explained.

Among the most evidence-based programs is "Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports" (PBIS), a school-wide approach in which all staff and educators are co-creators of a positive learning climate for all.  For example, strategies for at-risk youth may include praise for behavior that otherwise might be considered
typical, and in-the-moment maneuvers for responding to them.

The basis for it was developed in the 1970s at the University of Oregon, and it’s designed to create "an everyday safe and civil culture," explained Patricia Chamberlain PhD, science director of the Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene. Trauma-informed programs "create a safe and positive environment for students to learn and develop," she said.

For instance, a student who requires consistent engagement to keep working in class might be repeatedly commended for making that effort, and then informed by the teacher when another student needs attention – but the teacher continues to look up and make eye contact with the student who has such a hard time staying on task.

Dr. Kubista, formerly of the Tacoma School District, was one of the leaders in developing and implementing the “Whole Child Initiative” there, which was focused on behavioral, social and emotional characteristics and their impact on learning. The Tacoma District is now in its sixth year of implementation of the “Whole Child Initiative,” and it has received national recognition for the trauma-sensitive program there.

Requirements to apply for the pilot program at CHS included several qualifying factors: the school had to have a school-based health center, a multi-tiered system of support, leadership buy-in and a willingness to collect and provide data for evaluation, explained Danielle Vander Linden, trauma-informed schools coordinator at CHS. The pilot period is 36 months.

However, there aren’t a set of specific parameters for the trauma-informed programming. The Oregon legislative rules for it, contained in House Bill 4002 of 2016, give only an “over-arching expectation.” So the pilot team -- guided by a state-level steering committee – is responsible for developing an approach that can be adapted or tailored to fit the needs of each school’s culture, she explained.

“Instead of a standardized approach, it's more of a flexible model that is being developed to meet the needs of each school setting,” Ms. Vander Linden said.

The pilot team consists of both the CHS and Tigard sites and the Oregon School-Based Health Alliance, as well as the Chief Education Office. They will be working to develop a set of “domains” that will be recommended for state-wide consideration, she said. Using these “domains,” goals and objectives for each school can be developed, ensuring a “well-rounded” approach, she added. (See sidebar on domains, under “The White Board”)           
              
Because this is an emerging field in education, “there is still a lot of research that is being developed,” she pointed out. However, there already is an “evidence base” for trauma-informed care in mental and physical-health settings, from which some trauma-informed practices can be transferred.

“We project that we will see improved student attendance, reduced discipline referrals and staff and students reporting feeling ‘safe and empowered,’ ” among other attributes. “With this being said, the pilot team recognizes that three years is a short time frame to make change at a systems level,” she said. Instead, it may take twice that long to see a real difference in outcomes – or, as Ms. Vander Linden puts it: “to see significant shifts in the data.”

To an outsider who visits a school classroom where trauma-informed techniques are in place, the scene might look like a truly adept teacher is at the helm, one who is highly sensitive to a disruptive student. To another visitor, the teacher might appear to be faltering, by failing to crack down on a challenging pupil – thereby reinforcing bad behavior. But “consistency and predictability” in student encounters is just one of the “domains” that trauma-informed practices seek to provide. And tough reprimands often are a last resort.  Under a domain goes by the acronym “the 3 C’s” – collaboration, culture and climate – a nurturing space is the intent, even for students who seem mired in a negative attitude. So a boy who bounces inattentively in his seat, with a hoodie pulled down over his eyes, may seem to be rewarded when a stress ball or fidget-spinner is handed to him. It’s a light-touch strategy to keep him engaged and part of the learning environment.

Being able to enact these approaches, which were formulated by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), takes support for domains that include “committed leadership” and “professional development” – a tall order, educators say. One of them includes system-wide support for the “3 P’s,” which refer to policies, procedures and practices. That may be one reason why the state’s Chief Education Office, which is the agency tasked with overseeing the pilot program, has unofficially adopted the motto: “Keep Calm & Set New Goals.” SAMHSA’s building blocks provided framework for different domains of CHS’s PBIS pilot program.

If you woke up this morning to the sound of singing birds, it’s likely that it wasn’t an auditory dream in your sleep or an alarm set to sound like a meadow lark. It really was birds, sing-sing-singing as they start their day in the Willamette Valley. Though “they hunker down when it rains,” they begin trilling again “during a break in the weather,” notes Joe Liebezeit, avian conservation manager for the Audubon Society in Portland. The unexpected sunshine has got birds like robins and Pacific wrens belting out their tunes from trees, hedges and rooftops. Mr. Liebezeit cautioned against attributing the emotion of “happiness” to this behavior, but he did note that “birds respond to photo periods.” There’s a link, he explained, to the warmer, lighter days of this past February. “Birds do tend to sing when the sun comes out,” he said.

by Anne Scheck, editor & publisher

A report on Oregon’s foster care shows a distressing decline in the number of foster parents, and it attributes some of their departures to difficulty and disillusionment with the Department of Human Services (DHS). 
 
I was one of those foster parents and I resigned for that very reason.
 
With the touch of a few keystrokes, I recently terminated my connection to a system I had been so anxious to serve. My certification for this role had required traveling to Salem for nights of classes, soliciting letters of recommendations by friends, and submitting to a “home study” in which I had to pour out personal details that even my grown children don’t know.
 
But, by the time I attended a news conference on a recent foster-care audit by Secretary of State Dennis Richardson a few weeks ago, I fully expected some of the findings.  The fact that the Secretary and his team were so spot-on, from my point of view, speaks to their time and dedication to our state’s child welfare system.  And, after I spoke with Mr. Richardson following his comments, I concluded he had a big heart engaged big-time in this process.
 
The Secretary of State – a polished politician with a sterling record of accomplishment – appears the complete opposite of me, who looked that day like I do most of the time (harried and disheveled). But it turns out Dennis Richardson and I have one big thing in common: We both adopted daughters out of foster care as younger versions of ourselves, despite the fact that both of our little girls were at risk for life-altering, heritable diseases. In both cases, later testing would prove them free of that threat.
 
How motivating love and experience with such special daughters can be! Secretary Richardson was able to find cause-and-effect behind the “chronic management failures and high caseloads that jeopardize the safety of some of the state’s most vulnerable children.”  And he has done so in a fact-based way that highlights the “inadequate attention” to recruitment and retention of foster parents, among other factors affecting weakness in the system.
 
The report pinpoints a lack of support for foster parents, which I learned first-hand. My foster son arrived with a letter from his former foster mother and a copy of a card enabling me to get him health care. Without that letter from his temporary foster family, I would have had almost no other information on him; In fact, I had to ask him to verify his last name. 
 
And, despite begging for more insight by storming the local DHS office, it took actions by me that I would later learn -- from fellow foster parents – are considered by DHS “over-advocacy” to clinch communication. The hero of my efforts turned out to be, of all things, a volunteer – a woman from CASA who made periodic stop-ins that meant the world to our foster son.
 
As I struggled to address some of the same behaviors I’d once seen in my daughter – which had prompted me then to secure the best care possible – I was reminded by DHS personnel of “policies” limiting my options.
 
But I was led to believe that this was a long-term placement. And I looked forward to an extensive period in which I could provide what I hoped would be a beneficial influence. I wanted badly for our foster son to become as healthy as I hoped his waiting biologic family would be deemed one day, allowing “reunification.” Meanwhile, he became a beloved little boy to me.
 
He’d look up at me, in sadness or in anger, predicting that soon he’d have to pack his bags, as he’d done so often in foster care … but I’d tell him … not for a long while, “you have a home with us, and we care about you.”
 
The end came swiftly with a new caseworker, who declared in my living room that she never would have put this child in our home. Several days later, he was gone. I was told a determination had been made that he needed higher-level care than I was capable of providing; My husband and I were first-timers in this foster-care program and we’d had rough patches.
 
Now I live with the fact I was an unintentional liar to a little lad who forecast it. Comfort came to me in an unexpected way – from my daughter, who reminded me that I’d tried to “give back” to the same kind of system that had given her to me. And that, in her view, I did the best I could.  She and I both want to thank the Secretary of State, and we wish him good luck.

When the annual audit for Independence was presented to the city council this past month, two financial watchdogs at last year’s meeting were missing from the room. One was the current city auditor, Kamala Austin, and the other was the former city councilor Ken Day. Though they couldn’t appear to be more different – Mr. Day has a booming voice and Ms. Austin speaks softly – they shared an intense concern over details of municipal spending. Last year, Ms. Austin gently warned councilors about the level of city debt, specifically money spent in the urban renewal district and the city’s debt for MINET, its municipal fiber-optic communications system. The debt was so troubling to her, she explained, that “I am concerned about it,” she said.
     Ms. Austin noted that the books were balanced and “you are okay” but “ten years from now, five years from now? I don’t know.” She also pointed out that the water fund was “over-spent.” The water-and-sewer revenues were also a focus of Mr. Day, who had repeatedly pressed for more transparency.
This year, things were different. Gloria Butsch, the city’s finance director, delivered the audit, which showed little reason for worry. She noted that money from property taxes is growing “slowly.” And there is $1.5 million in unrestricted funds, an increase of close to a million dollars from last year.
           Why the difference? “The auditor’s comments did not take into account the economic development and residential growth in the city,” she explained in an email forwarded earlier this year by city manager David Clyne “Nor did she perform a debt analysis. Her comments were simply pointing out what we already know -- MINET struggles to pay its debt obligations to the cities of Independence and Monmouth.”
              As for the urban renewal debt, that will be covered by special property taxes dedicated to urban renewal. “The Independence Landing project, with
the property sales for private developments, will provide for the financial recovery (on the riverfront parcel), as was shown in the return-on-investment analysis,” she said, adding that the auditor didn’t take that into account. (Not all taxpayer-backed developments pay off, however, as public-private partnerships and inducements for sports facilities have shown, see the column The Civics Lesson on back page.)
          “Certainly, I would prefer that our debt load was less, but the issuance of debt in a fast-growing city like ours is pretty much the only way to implement concurrency planning,” said Ms. Butsch, who observed that this can be attained through the timely development of public infrastructure to match private growth efforts.
 The philosophy of current city management in Independence appears to be that public investment generally leads the way in advance of private investment -- and that there are few communities that can obtain significant outside development without first constructing adequate infrastructure to serve it.
“What should be pointed out is that every debt issue has a distinct purpose and a distinct revenue stream that supports it,” Ms. Butsch said. And the city has been “very successful at obtaining excellent market rates,” she added.  It’s also true that city councilors are carefully informed about debt-issuance decisions before they are authorized.
               The report to the council was not, in the words of Ms. Butsch, “an exhaustive examination of transactions.” The audit, by Merina & Co., includes a “doubtful account” of millions of dollars in MINET loans for which the city is responsible, including $2,469,980 from the water fund.
        Last year, the city’s utilities consultant, Steve Donovan, observed that the city “is not alone” in the financial challenge of municipal broadband. In cities across the state, there are at least five others facing the same “struggle,” he said. Municipal telecom operations are difficult to pay for “unless there is a very broad customer base,” Mr. Donovan said.
            Another uptick in debt is due to loans for Independence Landing, adding more than $4-$5 million to a previous debt of $14-$15 million in the Urban Renewal District (URD). This would have put the debt beyond the legally allowable limit for spending in the city’s URD. But, by special amendment, half of the previous debt was placed in the city’s general fund.  
          Asked about the URD debt limit, Shawn Irvine, the city’s economic development director, confirmed that the city cannot exceed the $17.9 million “cap” for the URD. 
           Per capita, residents of Independence carry $3,311 in debt per person from bonds – although service such as water and sewer reduce their actual debt through requisite utility payments. More than a year ago, the city's longtime contracted economist, Ray Bartlett, came out of retirement to offer a public forum on the water-and-sewer rates. The city's financial picture was better than it had been, when "pages and pages" of critique once could be found in the city's audit report. However, it's true, he added, that the building of MINET and the construction of the civic center occurred on the cusp of the economy crumbling, right before the great recession. Now the city's debt stands at $40 million, which local politicians have agreed is a lot of money.

Refunding the bonds in 2015 and 2017 decrease the annual debt service payment amount by about $200K per year. "That means our shortfall in 2017-18 will be less than 45% of what it was 4 years ago; it has been cut in more than half," said John Cooper, MINET finance director. But anticipated cable-rate increases lie ahead for MINET, due to large upticks in the cost-per-subscriber: MINET's cost for providing local channels increased 50-120% per channel effective in January. And, when WOU dropped cable, there was a loss of $7,000-$8,000 in monthly revenue from that source.  
           "The drop of cable services to the WOU dorms is why we are falling slightly under budget," Mr. Cooper said.
Such "cord-cutting" losses are expected to be replaced by data sales, he said. In fact, net operating income has increased significantly, he said. And, though net income to date is about $19,000 under budget, that
sum is considered relatively insignificant because the shortfall is on track to disappear by the end of the fiscal year. Over the past few years, the contribution to debt payments has continued to grow, and it's expected in 2018 to substantially exceed last year's payment. (see table below)
 
 
Total Payments by FISCAL YEAR
 
2014‐15
Total debt service $2,047,864
Total debt service shortfall $1,254,406
Total MINET contribution to DS $793,458*
 
 
2015‐16
Total debt service $1,964,332
Total debt service shortfall $1,228,110
Total MINET contribution to DS $736,222
 
 
2016‐17
Total debt service $1,977,024
Total debt service shortfall $854,836
Total MINET contribution to DS $1,122,188
 
 
2017‐18
Total debt service $1,907,777
Total debt service shortfall $659,906
Total MINET contribution to DS $1,247,871
 
 
2018‐19
Total debt service $1,806,198
 
*In 2010 MINET received funds from the refunding of our bonds. This amount reflects about $150K of the last of those bond proceeds that were not produced operationally. Prior to FY 2014‐15 the debt service was paid almost entirely with bond funds.   DS = Debt Service

A compilation of data published in the “Regional Economist” more than 15 years ago showed that inducements to attract sports-team stadiums cost taxpayers big money for relatively little direct benefit. As a result, almost all experts in economic development agreed “that the rate of return a city or metropolitan area receives for its investment is generally below that of alternative projects" and that "cities and metro areas that have invested heavily in sports stadiums and arenas have, on average, experienced slower income growth than those that have not.” This trend persisted, according to the 2011 book, Sports, Jobs, and Taxes, by Roger Noll and Andrew Zimbalist. The authors couldn’t find any stadiums that showed a good return on investment. However, nearly all analysts who have examined this issue note that there are advantages for cities: New businesses pop up near stadiums, which often revitalize aging areas. And though town-side team spirit may not be a tangible asset, it has no chance of existing without the construction of sports facilities.
–AS  

It’s February. So stop calling that beautiful white orb in the night sky a “blue moon.” You may think it’s one due to its slightly bluish luminescence. But NASA wants you to know that, even in the mid-Willamette Valley, a blue moon cannot occur in February. It has nothing to do with your eyesight. It’s a case of simple arithmetic. The term “blue moon” refers to a third full moon in a season that has four of them. Since there are about 29.5 days between full moons, it is mathematically impossible for February to have a “blue moon.”  On the other hand, there is no law against misuse of proper terminology.  And, from the banks of the Willamette River, almost any full moon looks, at certain times from the water's edge ... well ... blue.   –AS                                                                                                      

 
This is a special edition of The Independent, compiled by residents who sent questions about the developments of the past year. City officials -- and others -- answered the inquiries. They are listed below, in a Q-and-A format.
 
Q: It seems like the city’s debt is around $40 million now. Is that a big debt for a small city?
 
A: At a town hall meeting in West Salem, Rep. Paul Evans was asked about the level of debt in Independence. Rep Evans noted that it is "a lot of money." But he added that Measure 5 has constricted revenue growth for cities -- there are only a few ways for municipalities to optimize legally available funding. One is through the urban renewal district, which enables collection of tax-increment funds. In this way, renewal districts restructure revenue disbursement within that taxing area. Independence is using that route, he explained.
 
Q: How has the level of debt affected the city’s finances?
 
A: Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has performed a rating review annually for the last five years. A significant part of this review is the city’s ability to pay its debt. The city’s bond rating improved a couple of years ago from A- guarded to A- stable; which is reassurance that the city is demonstrating good financial management, according to Gloria Butsch, Independence finance director.
 
Q: The city has been saying they are more visible, but why don't they list the level of debt in the urban renewal district? What is it?
 
A: There are multiple documents which supply this information. The audited financial statements and notes; the statistical section of the audited comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR); and the budget document – Gloria Butsch, Independence finance director. 

Q: Why have city councilors had to ask several times for a report on franchise fees from places like Century Link?
 
A: This report has been supplied multiple times – Gloria Butsch, Independence finance director.
 
Q: Water rates seem high in Independence. Does the money collected for water and sewer go somewhere else?
 
A: About $6.50 of an average bill goes to pay debt on the Independence Civic Center, which replaced the former city hall; About $14.50 goes to pay debt from MINET, the broadband company co-founded by the city with Monmouth -- Steve Donovan, the city’s contracted utility expert.
 
Q: What market share does MINET have in the Independence/Monmouth area phone, TV and data services?
 
A: MINET is currently serving 5,306 of the total available (serviceable) addresses of 6,121 within the two cities, with one or more of MINET’s products ... voice, video, data.  This gives MINET an 86.69% overall (residential and business) penetration rate.  Specific to addresses classified as business, MINET has a slightly higher penetration rate of 88.9% -- Don Patten, MINET general manager.
 
Q: Is it possible to know more clearly how the city’s budget is constructed?

A: Gary Van Horn, one of the city’s budget committee members, observed that it would be beneficial if city staff shared more, including budget-adjustment changes during the execution of the budget-preparation process.
 
Q: Why does the city manager keep mentioning revenue from Independence Landing when it isn't built?
 
A: Both the revenue from the project and the debt from the project are prospective. That said, both have been taken into account as part of the economic modeling to do the Return on Investment (ROI) analysis performed to determine ultimate value to the City both financially and through job creation -- David Clyne, city manager.
 
Q: Is there a GANTT chart for the project? 
 
A: For the public work, there have been GANTT charts prepared throughout for the construction of the work. These of course are modified as time goes on to reflect changes on the ground, which is normal operations. Relative to the private work, Tokola is close to releasing a first GANTT chart for its work on the hotel and ultimately the balance of the project. Again, we expect these to change as circumstances change. DDA (development agreement) provides the basis for the creation of a GANTT chart pursuant to its schedule of obligations found in the appendices. We saw no reason to reformat this as a GANTT chart as the schedule was clear enough in and of itself – David Clyne, city manager.
 
Q: When does the City plan on selling the unsold lots (#5-#7) in Independence Landing? Will they be listing the properties in multiple listings, to broadcast that they are for sale?
 
A: No decisions have been made, at this time, with respect to lots 5-7. They will be put on the market at a time that is deemed in the best interests of the Urban Renewal District in meeting its development objectives -- David Clyne, city manager (Lot 8 has been approved for sale to Young Realty; an article about it appeared in The Independent, December 1, 2017, see trammartnews.com).
 
Q: Does the city of Independence own the Prestige Movie Theater and, if yes, what is the monthly rent they are paying the city?
 
A: No, the City of Independence does not own the theater but does own the land. At the conclusion of the lease period (50 years plus two 10-year options), the City will take title on the theater. Per the lease terms, rent was set at $30 per month plus movie tickets (which are distributed to citizens through various means). Of course, the City also receives other revenue off the project not the least of which is new property taxes; plus many other benefits to the community and area businesses. At over 140,000 customers per year, the local economy is definitely seeing a positive benefit from the theater -- David Clyne, city manager.

Q: What was the cost of this theater project paid by the City?
 
A: It is my understanding that the City purchased the four lots on which the Theater and the public parking lot sits for $554,000. The City was compensated $500 for the sale of the building which ultimately became the Pink House. Additionally, property taxes are estimated at approximately $58,000 per year. The property is located within the Urban Renewal Area – David Clyne, city manager.
 
Q: City staff often refers to "tax-increment financing” (TIF) as an outcome of Independence Landing. What is TIF?
 
A: Using TIF, a local government, typically under the authority of a redevelopment agency, defines a decaying or blighted district where redevelopment is desired. Projects within a TIF district are constructed with debt paid off by  increased property taxes in the district – PSU.

Breaking News: City Councilor Ken Day resigned from the city council Jan 2, after an influential first year.
Follow-up in The Linking Letter.  

The CIVICS LESSON: How Will No to Net Neutrality Affect MINET?
        
Thanks to a new federal decision, broadband companies like MINET that connect consumers to the internet no longer have regulations that guarantee "net neutrality," which had effectively prohibited them from blocking websites or charging variable fees to guarantee faster service or special access to content. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided in 2017 to abolish those rules, reversing a 2015 decision that had determined that the internet should be treated like a public utility, similar to a phone service.
 
Q: What does this mean for subscribers to the local company, MINET, which has customers across the city?
 
A: Now that the FCC has taken action, MINET, in conjunction with its Board of Directors, is in the process of developing a formal policy. 
I do anticipate that MINET will expand upon its existing policy that the sharing of (meta)data will not happen in respect to client privacy to include the NON practice of either data capping nor data prioritization -- Don Patten, general manager, MINET.   –AS  

​The INDY HOP: How Did the Santa Train Santa Do?
 
Q: Since the Santa train was back in town this year, it seems appropriate to ask: Did its most important occupant meet the standards set forth in a December AARP Bulletin that advised the red-suit wearing Mr. Claus's across the land how to perform the role correctly?
 
A: This is a once-a-year job opportunity, so making a list and checking it twice is a good idea for those who hire the jolly old elf. The Santa Train Santa seemed to meet all the requirements. His beard was snowy white -- no strands of gray peeked through. Also, he seemed cheery and ego-less, not the "peacock" personality that can occur in such circumstances, according to the AARP Bulletin. Did he speak Spanish, too? And sign language? It wasn't apparent that he knew either one, but he seemed at ease with children of all backgrounds and his good humor never flagged on a rainy Oregon day. Best of all, he answered every letter put in the big red "wish list" mailbox by scores of children. And Santa proved a wise and wonderful correspondent, mailing the letters he sent with a return address of the North Pole and advising the young recipients that maybe ... he couldn't get them all that they'd asked for ... but that it would be a merry Christmas.  –AS                                                                                                      

 [In September 2017, residents of Independence were requested by The Independent to submit questions for this edition. One resident who raised specific economic issues was asked to write an editorial. It is below.]

Guest Editorial
by Ron Smith
 
Developing a destination hotel in Independence is great step in the right direction to inject some stability into the local economy. Salem doesn’t have one. Polk County has a major hotel which is located on reservation land. Dallas and Monmouth have small motels. High-quality lodging does not exist within a 25-mile radius. Our community could easily serve travelers and business people alike.
 
Primarily because of the few egos involved in the decision-making process related to the Indy Landing gamble, a great idea has become a potential disaster in the making and a desperate attempt to accomplish anything to justify an already staggering taxpayer investment. Let’s start out with location, location, location. Building any structure on a river bank, well below the high-water mark of the flood plain, on the top of a reclaimed landfill, in a well-documented major earthquake zone is not entirely impossible but economically unreasonable.
 
Since 2009 sixty-one businesses have closed their doors on the three-square blocks of downtown. Seventeen of those were restaurants.
 
This is a small town. It has a state highway running through the middle of it. Traffic barely slows down for a stop sign; much less to look for a convenient place to park and patronize what random shop may be open at the time. There are thousands of square feet of empty rental space. It doesn’t make sense to create any additional retail square footage when property managers cannot sustain what is already available. This town is a classic bedroom community. Most locals choose to eat, shop and socialize at locations that are more convenient to where they work. An on-premises restaurant and bar at a hotel lacks successful business logic. Any additional redundancy will diminish necessary local support for this project and force a few more existing establishments into the tidal churn of Independence.

Relying on the wine industry to provide enough tourism to support a local hotel is an ill-advised idea involving an already over-saturated niche. Every local vineyard attempts to attract potential customers to visit their own tasting rooms. Why would any connoisseur travel and spend the night here?  McMinnville is running continuous commercials on national satellite channels to visit their existing wine tourism network and they already have hotels. Dundee Oregon has 24 tasting outlets. Sober up or wake up to this potential Achilles heel. Yamhill county beat Polk out of the starting gate on this opportunity a long time ago.
 
Here is just an estimation of how much taxpayer money has been spent in making the riverbank resemble an economic opportunity. The City paid at around $800K for the gravel pit. Then the tab for filling all the holes and pushing the contaminated soil to the four corners of the property was another $500K. $50K was spent for an out sourced entity to market the development without any guarantee that if they couldn’t find a taker, the taxpayers would get their money back.
 
So how many registered voters residing in the city limits think it’s a wise idea to give up two million dollars’ worth of system development fees as bait to lure outside stakeholders into coming here and siphoning off the revenue potential of this project? These development fees cover the existing costs to the local taxpayers relative to the money invested in making the riverbank resemble an economic gamble. The argument of “We’ll make it up in hotel taxes,” doesn’t justify the expense.
 
City hall has painted itself into a corner with this landing gamble. It has made numerous mistakes and poor business decisions in the past, which continue to cost the taxpayers; there is no margin left for trial and error.
 
A hotel is a good idea that has not reached a destination but merely a reference point. The minds that created Independence’s problems may not be the ones capable of creating the best solutions. The lid is cracked on a Pandora’s Box of potential consequences which can all be avoided or exploited. 2018 is the year everyone should be paying very close attention to which direction this town is heading.

For longtime citizens of Independence, the events at the last city council meeting might have seemed like an echo of the past. A sincere and plain-spoken entrepreneur told councilors he had a vision for a mixed-use building – one that combines commercial and office space on the lower two floors and puts residences atop on the third one, in easy walking distance to the Willamette River. The building could help revitalize the downtown, bringing in new business and offering residents a place to live in a scenic, central part of town.

This is the same concept sought for Independence Station more than a decade ago, where construction workers once toiled – and which remains starkly unfinished near the corner of Main Street and Monmouth Avenue.

However, the proposed new building will be on a lot made shovel-ready by the city at Independence Landing, and the people behind this venture – a pair of local realtors – might dissuade any sense of déjà vu. This is no outside developer. 

“This is basically the history of our life – Independence,” said Aaron Young, who, with his wife Amy, has a storefront realty office downtown. “We stand here ready to ask you to take a chance on us,” he said.

And that is just what the city council decided to do, on the last Tuesday in November: take a chance on the new development, by declaring one of the lots at Independence Landing “surplus” city property, and agreeing to sell it to Mr. Young and his spouse for $210,000. 

“It has been our desire and plan not to hold the property,” said Mayor John McArdle shortly before the vote was taken. Then, after the unanimous decision to sell the parcel to the Youngs, he declared: “I am very excited about this.” Though several city councilors seemed swayed by the proposed contract, which didn’t offer any guarantees to the Youngs of tax breaks or fee waivers, the document remains unsigned as of this writing. The contract alludes to the potential burden of “downstream costs” by the Youngs, leaving open the possibility ​for further negotiation and changes.

The contract has not been executed, confirmed David Clyne, Independence city manager. And, “per council direction can be modified in non-substantial manners without being returned for further consideration,” he stated.  In fact, the city manager can execute it – if there are no significant changes to the document as presented to the council. “I think the remaining issues are relatively minor and will be dealt with,” he added.  

The move now means more land will be owned privately than by the city at Independence Landing, which bought 18 acres along the Willamette River from a concrete company more than two years ago. Since then, infrastructure that includes street-scaping to carve out a new thoroughfare – Osprey Lane – has been put in place.

For the Youngs, the opportunity is a dream come true. “I was born with a hammer in my hand,” said Mr. Young, noting that he has been in construction for nearly a quarter of a century. Financing is already lined up to begin building this spring on the lot, which is adjacent to the hotel’s, just south of C Street. The building will be about 36,000 square feet.

Mr. Young, the son of a doctor who used to practice locally, lives on a farm outside town and recalls an idyllic time in Independence that he’d love to see return. “I used to sip cherry cokes at Taylor’s,” he said, referring to the long-shuttered downtown soda fountain. The streets of the town are where he spent some of his boyhood, and he said he has been struck by how smitten visitors seem to be with the appearance of the downtown, which doesn’t have as much to offer as it could for keeping them after they make a stop to stroll on Main Street. 

“We see people get in their cars and leave,” he said, noting that when he watches that happen from the window of his real-estate office, “we really wish there was more opportunity.”

For example, at the same council meeting in which Mr. Young and his wife, Amy, clinched approval for their project, city officials confirmed that a business welcomed by them at the previous council session – a Washington-based distillery – had pulled the plug on that enterprise before it even opened its doors at the former city hall, where it reportedly had unloaded equipment for its operation. Around the same time, a Main Street restaurant shut down, a Hawaiian-style food eatery that was highlighted in the mayor’s annual state-of-the-city report this past year as a onetime food truck that had successfully expanded.

Though there are plans for several new business openings in 2018 – the old Taylor’s will become a dessert bar, a wine-tasting room is moving in across the street and a craft-beer establishment is set to open down the block -- there has been near-constant “churn” in downtown Independence in refurbished buildings since the deep recession, with merchants moving in, then moving out, allegedly unable to sustain the rent increases from the up-scaling efforts.

The answer may lie with the long-sought hotel, by Tokola Development, and its plans for residential development. The site has planted hope for both local invigoration of the downtown and as a draw for tourism.

The approval by the Independence City Council to Tokola and the Youngs follows similar strategy by Portland, which has sold former industrial land this year in an area known as East Bayside at low-cost prices for relatively high-level, mixed-use development. However, the aim of such projects differs markedly: Portland is under pressure to develop new housing centers; Independence is trying to develop a new revenue source.

To some extent, Independence is banking on tax-increment funds (TIF) from Independence Landing to fortify itself in the future. TIF allows cities to use property-tax revenue from such projects toward community improvement, and, to some degree, these revenues are more free of the constraints of ordinary property tax.

In the case of Independence, TIF comes from its urban renewal district, which will make it a new and more flexible revenue stream for the city. However, TIF planning is not without pitfalls. Five years ago, a report from the Association or Oregon Renewal Agencies found that “it is important to remember that TIF revenues do not equal the dollars available for projects.”  Instead, TIF revenues are “used to pay debt service on debt that pays for project costs,” the report stated. “Thus, the financial feasibility analysis needs to make general assumptions on the type of debt that will be incurred by the urban renewal agency, and the terms associated with that debt,” for example, interest rates, coverage ratios, reserve requirements, issuance costs, and amortization period.

At the feasibility stage, it is not necessary to have all of these assumptions nailed down, the report continues, but it is wise to try to consider them. The City of Independence, for instance, is so optimistic about the TIF proceeds in the future that it not only purchased the riverside land, it poured more than $3 million into building streets and laying the underpinnings for utilities before the planned hotel, apartments and condominiums that are the cornerstone of Independence Landing.

The Youngs are confident their project will bring in new business tenants – some have already said they will sign on, Mr. Young noted. As for being compared to Independence Station, which once was planned for a similar use, Mr. Young reiterated he has years of experienced in construction. “We know what a failed building looks like,” said Mr. Young, More importantly, perhaps, he said: “I am a local and I love it here.”

In cities, it goes by a subhead in the city code, but City Councilor Marilyn Morton may have nailed the best name more than a dozen years ago when she proclaimed it “legislating aesthetics.” This is what the architectural representative of Tokola Properties asked the City of Independence to do on the last Tuesday of last month, when Jim Walker, of Studio C in Portland, asked the council to change lot and height requirements.

​The problem was that the garage doors for the planned townhouses might look too dominant otherwise -- so they acceded to his request for modifications. In doing so, Councilor Morton referred to the “snout house” issue several years ago, when the city wanted to eliminate homes that had the garage project from the house, making it closer to the curb of the street than the rest of the home. After a protest that drew both snout-house dwellers and developers who thought even the term itself was over the top, the city council abandoned the effort. It has since focused attention on clean-up of certain properties, to the apparent gratitude of local homeowners.

Is it you, your car or your parking space? When Planning Commissioner Odilon Campos-Santos mentioned his concern over changes by the City of Independence to downsize parking spaces, he touched on a topic being addressed in a mini-media frenzy.

Who is to blame when cities collapse their minimum parking spaces, and dings and door dents occur? The answer is: Nobody and everybody. Most cities have adopted the minimum 9-foot-width -- down from 10-foot-width of your grandfather's Oldsmobile days. Independence has done the same -- and shrunk parallel parking to eight feet wide. But while some fuel-efficient cars now slide right into those spaces with room to spare, some of the most popular automobiles in America are a tight fit. Depending on your viewpoint, the van and truck-drivers are either space hoggers or being unfairly squeezed.

​Unsurprisingly, a couple of European firms have partnered with the wizards at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a car that folds up to accommodate even the smallest parking spaces. So far there is no sign of them on the streets of Independence, but a few tiny cars that look like motorized bubbles have been spotted. Maybe these micro-cars are a wave of the future on Main Street.                                                                    

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