THE ECONOMY ISSUE: Tourism & Teacher Pay
By Anne Scheck
Tourism Said To Sometimes Be a Tough Sell
It was a dark and stormy night. But at The Melting Pot in downtown Independence, the little corner shop was brightly lit and bustling.
Stacks of boxes filled with chocolate creations were being loaded for transport – to a store favored by travelers to Oregon. “We already are meeting the needs of some tourists,” co-owner Preston Mandas later said, alluding to the candy he’d shipped out. “But having visitors from the hotel here will be great.”
That’s just what other downtown merchants are saying, too, as a boutique hotel is being built a block away, on the Independence riverfront. The city has sunk $5-$6 in costs into it for infrastructure. But turning a town into a tourist destination isn’t a sure bet, as recent interviews show.
There is no longer the belief “that if you build it, they will come,” said Dan Davis, outdoor recreation planner for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It takes marketing, said Mr. Davis, who presented plans by the BLM for mountain-bike trails on forest land near Dallas OR, at a rural tourism workshop at Valkyrie Wine Tavern.
The location of the proposed network of these mountain bike trails in Polk County – about 30 minutes to an hour from major population centers – makes it a desirable destination for these recreational riders, he said.
In mid-October, at the annual meeting of the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association, urban planners were asked how tourism is created. The general consensus: There is no one magic formula.
The development of a major Oregon tourist destination like Bend, where the meeting of the city planners was held, began on a fairly small scale, said Damian Syrnyk, senior planner for the City of Bend and a member of the board of directors of the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association.
It took a visionary group of investors with deep pockets and a belief that the mountainous area was ready to become a resort. Campgrounds and rental cabins in the forests already had helped popularize great powder-packed skiing amid evergreen beauty.
“So the demand for skiing was already there,” Mr. Syrnyk said. Not one dime of city coffers was used, he said. “I think it takes one big thing,” Mr. Syrnyk observed. In Bend’s case, it was Mt. Bachelor, which is Oregon’s center for winter recreation once snow falls. In spring and summer, the Bend area now is a magnet for golfers, who putt and drive on ranges under a sun far cooler than Palm Springs.
As the year-round outdoor activities have proven a draw, new and related attractions have grown, too, Mr. Syrnyk said. Horseback riding, hiking and the “Ale Trail” often are part of a tourist visit now. This, in turn, has boosted the need for hotels -- multi-day visits are commonplace.
So what will Independence’s “one big thing” be? City officials aren’t certain. But winery tours are likely to make up the bulk of tourist visits, said Shawn Irvine, Independence economic development director. And this fall a kayaking company expressed interest in offering rentals from the Independence riverfront this summer.
There is significant "economic out-pay" from tourism linked to outdoor recreation -- spending outpaces most other forms of leisure activity, said the BLM’s Mr. Davis. And those involved in outdoor recreation tend to be respectful of the environment, and, importantly, they spend money at restaurants, he said.
At the heart of Independence’s hoped-for tourism is the hotel, under a Gresham-based company. The economic analysis on the hotel was done by Bill Reid, of PNW Economics. Though he never wrote a definitive memo with final conclusions, his analysis for the city on the project showed the city will collect $400,000 in property taxes annually and $200,000 from the hotel tax.
His report used proprietary analytics but relied on figures and data from the city. However, “I don’t see any fundamental flaws in this project and I think all practically expected risks have been reduced or considered by design,” Mr. Reid said.
Several years ago, the concept of a hotel in Independence didn’t get an enthusiastic thumbs-up by two of three developers contacted by the city for their expert opinions. However, that report was compiled before the economy turned as robust as it is now.
More recent meetings with potential users of the hotel, such as Western Oregon University, affirmed there’s a shortage of local hotel-room availability during athletic venues and other events; Elkay Cabinetry and Marquis Spas indicated a similar need, he said. The hotel isn’t expected to be at full-capacity all the time. In fact, the economic analysis was conducted with the anticipation of a 60-65% occupancy, Mr. Irvine noted.
“We did our due diligence to ensure that the players had a solid track record of successful developments,” he said. It is the investors who are risking tens of millions of dollars, he pointed out.
June is the planned opening.
TEACHER PAY EROSION
During the last round of negotiations with the school district, the Central
Education Association secured a raise on the insurance cap and a guarantee of four grade days a year, as well as what many regard as an acceptable cost-of-living adjustment. However, in the run-up to the November election, there’s been far more discussion of housing costs being linked to the possibility of a future teacher shortage.
In Independence, this seems in evidence in the home construction along the side streets of Gun Club Road. Three-bedroom, two-bath houses along Northgate have price tags that exceed $325,000. Just down the street, in a small development called Covey Run, the same pricing structure can be found. Does this mean fewer college students will choose teaching when they have other opportunities in a booming economy?
In fact, it is small-town affordability that’s one reason communities like Independence traditionally have been attractive to new teachers, said David Longanecker PhD, president of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education Home prices tend to be lower, and offer a better quality of life.
It isn’t just teachers who are affected by the climb in housing prices, noted Shawn Cleave, government affairs director for the Oregon Association of Realtors. However, in a small town, teachers may be the largest educational demographic affected by construction by Tokola Properties the trend. Mr. Cleave acknowledged that he has a special reason for sympathizing – his wife is a teacher.
There are several forces at work driving prices up. The first is that some cities are so constrained by their urban growth boundary that land is very costly. “That 1,000-square-foot house, the starter home, is no longer being built,” Mr. Cleave said.
Developers have to ensure a good return-on-investment, so larger houses with bigger price tags are being constructed. Additionally, cities are depending more on fees to bolster their bottom line. “So that is a cost-driver, too – builders are paying more for permits and in municipal charges,” he said.
Two other factors are at work, as well, Dr. Longanecker pointed out. “For one, there are a lot more graduates with student loans,” Dr. Longanecker said. “Second, there is an anti-tax sentiment that has meant lower funding for education.” Add to that escalating housing costs, and the outcome is a “collision course,” he stressed.
Misty Hamideh, an instructional designer at Portland State University, said she bought a home in Portland in 2000 – and paid $108,000. After investing about $50,000 to refurbish and expand it, she sold the home a mere two years later for $245,000.
“I drove by that neighborhood recently. The house was listed for sale for $469,000,” she said. Oregon is 13th in the US for teacher pay, state salary surveys show.
Tourism Said To Sometimes Be a Tough Sell
It was a dark and stormy night. But at The Melting Pot in downtown Independence, the little corner shop was brightly lit and bustling.
Stacks of boxes filled with chocolate creations were being loaded for transport – to a store favored by travelers to Oregon. “We already are meeting the needs of some tourists,” co-owner Preston Mandas later said, alluding to the candy he’d shipped out. “But having visitors from the hotel here will be great.”
That’s just what other downtown merchants are saying, too, as a boutique hotel is being built a block away, on the Independence riverfront. The city has sunk $5-$6 in costs into it for infrastructure. But turning a town into a tourist destination isn’t a sure bet, as recent interviews show.
There is no longer the belief “that if you build it, they will come,” said Dan Davis, outdoor recreation planner for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). It takes marketing, said Mr. Davis, who presented plans by the BLM for mountain-bike trails on forest land near Dallas OR, at a rural tourism workshop at Valkyrie Wine Tavern.
The location of the proposed network of these mountain bike trails in Polk County – about 30 minutes to an hour from major population centers – makes it a desirable destination for these recreational riders, he said.
In mid-October, at the annual meeting of the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association, urban planners were asked how tourism is created. The general consensus: There is no one magic formula.
The development of a major Oregon tourist destination like Bend, where the meeting of the city planners was held, began on a fairly small scale, said Damian Syrnyk, senior planner for the City of Bend and a member of the board of directors of the Oregon chapter of the American Planning Association.
It took a visionary group of investors with deep pockets and a belief that the mountainous area was ready to become a resort. Campgrounds and rental cabins in the forests already had helped popularize great powder-packed skiing amid evergreen beauty.
“So the demand for skiing was already there,” Mr. Syrnyk said. Not one dime of city coffers was used, he said. “I think it takes one big thing,” Mr. Syrnyk observed. In Bend’s case, it was Mt. Bachelor, which is Oregon’s center for winter recreation once snow falls. In spring and summer, the Bend area now is a magnet for golfers, who putt and drive on ranges under a sun far cooler than Palm Springs.
As the year-round outdoor activities have proven a draw, new and related attractions have grown, too, Mr. Syrnyk said. Horseback riding, hiking and the “Ale Trail” often are part of a tourist visit now. This, in turn, has boosted the need for hotels -- multi-day visits are commonplace.
So what will Independence’s “one big thing” be? City officials aren’t certain. But winery tours are likely to make up the bulk of tourist visits, said Shawn Irvine, Independence economic development director. And this fall a kayaking company expressed interest in offering rentals from the Independence riverfront this summer.
There is significant "economic out-pay" from tourism linked to outdoor recreation -- spending outpaces most other forms of leisure activity, said the BLM’s Mr. Davis. And those involved in outdoor recreation tend to be respectful of the environment, and, importantly, they spend money at restaurants, he said.
At the heart of Independence’s hoped-for tourism is the hotel, under a Gresham-based company. The economic analysis on the hotel was done by Bill Reid, of PNW Economics. Though he never wrote a definitive memo with final conclusions, his analysis for the city on the project showed the city will collect $400,000 in property taxes annually and $200,000 from the hotel tax.
His report used proprietary analytics but relied on figures and data from the city. However, “I don’t see any fundamental flaws in this project and I think all practically expected risks have been reduced or considered by design,” Mr. Reid said.
Several years ago, the concept of a hotel in Independence didn’t get an enthusiastic thumbs-up by two of three developers contacted by the city for their expert opinions. However, that report was compiled before the economy turned as robust as it is now.
More recent meetings with potential users of the hotel, such as Western Oregon University, affirmed there’s a shortage of local hotel-room availability during athletic venues and other events; Elkay Cabinetry and Marquis Spas indicated a similar need, he said. The hotel isn’t expected to be at full-capacity all the time. In fact, the economic analysis was conducted with the anticipation of a 60-65% occupancy, Mr. Irvine noted.
“We did our due diligence to ensure that the players had a solid track record of successful developments,” he said. It is the investors who are risking tens of millions of dollars, he pointed out.
June is the planned opening.
TEACHER PAY EROSION
During the last round of negotiations with the school district, the Central
Education Association secured a raise on the insurance cap and a guarantee of four grade days a year, as well as what many regard as an acceptable cost-of-living adjustment. However, in the run-up to the November election, there’s been far more discussion of housing costs being linked to the possibility of a future teacher shortage.
In Independence, this seems in evidence in the home construction along the side streets of Gun Club Road. Three-bedroom, two-bath houses along Northgate have price tags that exceed $325,000. Just down the street, in a small development called Covey Run, the same pricing structure can be found. Does this mean fewer college students will choose teaching when they have other opportunities in a booming economy?
In fact, it is small-town affordability that’s one reason communities like Independence traditionally have been attractive to new teachers, said David Longanecker PhD, president of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education Home prices tend to be lower, and offer a better quality of life.
It isn’t just teachers who are affected by the climb in housing prices, noted Shawn Cleave, government affairs director for the Oregon Association of Realtors. However, in a small town, teachers may be the largest educational demographic affected by construction by Tokola Properties the trend. Mr. Cleave acknowledged that he has a special reason for sympathizing – his wife is a teacher.
There are several forces at work driving prices up. The first is that some cities are so constrained by their urban growth boundary that land is very costly. “That 1,000-square-foot house, the starter home, is no longer being built,” Mr. Cleave said.
Developers have to ensure a good return-on-investment, so larger houses with bigger price tags are being constructed. Additionally, cities are depending more on fees to bolster their bottom line. “So that is a cost-driver, too – builders are paying more for permits and in municipal charges,” he said.
Two other factors are at work, as well, Dr. Longanecker pointed out. “For one, there are a lot more graduates with student loans,” Dr. Longanecker said. “Second, there is an anti-tax sentiment that has meant lower funding for education.” Add to that escalating housing costs, and the outcome is a “collision course,” he stressed.
Misty Hamideh, an instructional designer at Portland State University, said she bought a home in Portland in 2000 – and paid $108,000. After investing about $50,000 to refurbish and expand it, she sold the home a mere two years later for $245,000.
“I drove by that neighborhood recently. The house was listed for sale for $469,000,” she said. Oregon is 13th in the US for teacher pay, state salary surveys show.
The CIVICS LESSON: Negative Campaigning Now a New Normal
In his latest flyer, Mayor John McArdle charged that his opponent, Jack Waddell, had never attended a “planning session.” The flyer appeared the day Mr. Waddell was seen at a city-convened “targeted-industry” discussion for property along Hoffman Road. Does this qualify as a planning session? Like so much in this election year, it’s debatable. Over the past dozen years, campaigns increasingly have been seen as negative by voters, according to research by the Pew Center. The Independence mayor’s race seems to fit the mold. In several brief interviews, readers said they wanted to see solution-focused statements, not personal assertions. (Both candidates made claims that drew questions, see “Mayoral Claims Considered” in The Linking Letter, October 15, 2018 at http://www.trammartnews.com). However, a study this year in the journal Marketing Science shows that negative campaigning is effective, even if it is disliked by those casting ballots – and it’s likely to play an even bigger role in the future.
In his latest flyer, Mayor John McArdle charged that his opponent, Jack Waddell, had never attended a “planning session.” The flyer appeared the day Mr. Waddell was seen at a city-convened “targeted-industry” discussion for property along Hoffman Road. Does this qualify as a planning session? Like so much in this election year, it’s debatable. Over the past dozen years, campaigns increasingly have been seen as negative by voters, according to research by the Pew Center. The Independence mayor’s race seems to fit the mold. In several brief interviews, readers said they wanted to see solution-focused statements, not personal assertions. (Both candidates made claims that drew questions, see “Mayoral Claims Considered” in The Linking Letter, October 15, 2018 at http://www.trammartnews.com). However, a study this year in the journal Marketing Science shows that negative campaigning is effective, even if it is disliked by those casting ballots – and it’s likely to play an even bigger role in the future.
The INDY HOP: The Lady Vanishes -- But Maybe Not Forever?
She was born in 1857. But her image on a mural in Independence lived much longer than she did -- on a brick wall at the corner of Monmouth and Main streets. Clad in a beautiful ball gown and gazing out from under a cloud of dark hair, she was Lillian Nordica, a star in the golden era of opera during the late 19th Century. She also became the "face" of Coca-Cola right around the time the corner building became Taylor's Drugstore. And then, one day, she was gone! But the mystery of Miss Lillian's disappearance has been solved by none other than the building's owner, Bodie Bemrose. The "Coke-Lady" mural was painted on plywood and touched-up in 1986. "Since then, it was never maintained and when we purchased the building, it was in very bad condition, with a great deal of the paint flaked off it," said Mr. Bemrose. "We carefully removed the mural, and I put it in dry storage." One person who remembers her well is Billie Herrell, whose family owned Taylor's for decades. "It always warms my heart when people ask me about our store, or talk about their fond memories of it," she said. Here's hoping that the painting of Lillian Nordica, who once sang for kings and presidents but is most remembered for her association with Coca Cola, will make a comeback, right here in town.
Till then … stay safe, Miss Lillian.
She was born in 1857. But her image on a mural in Independence lived much longer than she did -- on a brick wall at the corner of Monmouth and Main streets. Clad in a beautiful ball gown and gazing out from under a cloud of dark hair, she was Lillian Nordica, a star in the golden era of opera during the late 19th Century. She also became the "face" of Coca-Cola right around the time the corner building became Taylor's Drugstore. And then, one day, she was gone! But the mystery of Miss Lillian's disappearance has been solved by none other than the building's owner, Bodie Bemrose. The "Coke-Lady" mural was painted on plywood and touched-up in 1986. "Since then, it was never maintained and when we purchased the building, it was in very bad condition, with a great deal of the paint flaked off it," said Mr. Bemrose. "We carefully removed the mural, and I put it in dry storage." One person who remembers her well is Billie Herrell, whose family owned Taylor's for decades. "It always warms my heart when people ask me about our store, or talk about their fond memories of it," she said. Here's hoping that the painting of Lillian Nordica, who once sang for kings and presidents but is most remembered for her association with Coca Cola, will make a comeback, right here in town.
Till then … stay safe, Miss Lillian.
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