Letters, letters, letters

To the Editor:

The System Development Charge (SDC) measure on the November ballot amounts to a question of whether developers should pay all the costs of their developments, or whether the taxpayers should help subsidize development by paying some of those costs.

Currently, the city charges developers only for water, not for the costs of sewers, storm drainage, streets and parks.

Nor can the city charge developers for the costs they impose on schools, libraries, and public safety. Under current state law, these costs must be paid by taxpayers through higher taxes and bond measures after the city approved their development.

The city's existing SDC is less than almost any other comparable city, $550 less per new house than Redmond, over $1,100 less than Madras and nearly $1,700 less than Bend.

Wilsonville charges roughly three times more per house than does Sisters; Ashland and Hillsboro nearly three times as much.

If you're a taxpayer and think you pay enough in taxes, you should vote for measure 9-62 in order to ensure that the costs of development are paid by those who reap the benefits of development. Otherwise, you can expect your taxes to go up in the future.

Michael Blumm

To the Editor:

On May 19, a majority of the voters approved funding for a sewer system in Sisters. On July 28, eight residents of Sisters sent a letter to the Oregon Economic Development Department requesting that the grant funding be denied.

No doubt you all will recognize the names: Gordon and Shirley Petrie, Joseph and Libby Bottero, Ken and Pam Emmrich, and John and Virginia Groom.

They wrote that they "analyzed the data and have come to the conclusion that the HGE (engineering) plan for constructing a large $12 million conventional gravity sewer system for our population of 800 people is not necessary and is too expensive... Therefore, we request that OEDD consider not funding the present HGE sewer project for the City of Sisters... One of us is president of the Sisters City Council, one serves on the city budget committee, and another is a member of the Community Action Team... We request that OEDD deny further grant funding for this particular project..."

Mr. Petrie certainly voiced his opinion, and rightfully so, during the debate of the sewer. But then we voted, and instead of doing his job of representing the will of the majority, Gordon Petrie went behind the backs of the people who voted him into power.

It is time to remove Mr. Petrie and replace him with a council person with integrity. My motivation for the recall comes from being a citizen. I know that, as a citizen, I have certain rights and responsibilities. I have chosen to think things through and re-educate myself. I will vote. I will write letters. I will communicate. I will participate. I will take action where necessary. The walls of Jericho came down when the people shouted. It's time to shout. Vote "yes" on the recall.

Melanie Curry, Director, Citizens for Cooperative Urban Planning

To the Editor:

Let us get some perspective on the upcoming local election.

It is well known that the agenda of the Sisters city administration is to promote the expansion of the city boundaries until they encompass the current communities of Crossroads, Tollgate and Indian Ford. This may be inevitable and it may be a good thing. However, it concerns me when and how this occurs.

The previous city council and the majority of the present council have supported this agenda to the extreme. If you attended a meeting of the previous council, you observed that developers' proposals were passed with little or no discussion and citizen comments were ignored. I'm sure we have some responsible developers, but their proposals should at least be discussed before approval.

With the addition of Mr. Petrie and Mr. Clasen to the council there was some meaningful discussion, but it had little effect on approval.

Mr. Petrie has been particularly vocal in his opposition to some of the proposals. I'm sure that has been frustrating to the expansionist faction. It has also been frustrating to Mr. Petrie to represent his constituency as a member of the minority. In his frustration he has attempted to promote his constituency's views through means outside the council.

Although legally correct, these attempts may not have been politically correct, and in some cases surely not politically wise. They were not politically wise because they have provided the expansionist group with a means to divert attention from their agenda.

I ask all resident voters of Sisters to keep this in mind when they vote on the recall of Mr. Petrie and the election of the other members of the council. It is in all our interests, no matter what our views, to maintain some semblance of balance on the council.

Blair Osterlund

To the Editor:

I feel compelled to respond the criticism of the advertising for the SOAR District proposal. There is no intent to make people feel "threatened" into voting for SOAR, nor is the intent of the advertising to give the voter an "either-or" ultimatum.

But, nationwide, the facts of youth crime and behavioral problems have led the National Associations of Attorneys General (NAAG) and the National School Board Association (NSBA) to extend this directive: "Make sure your children are supervised."

This is the message we are trying to deliver.

An attendee at the conference on school safety in Washington, D.C., also stated on ABC News this week, "It's very simple. We must keep children occupied. Outside of school they need homework assistance and supervised activities until their parents get home."

She continued to say (supported by NAAG and NSBA,) that children get the guidance they need when parents are unable to be in attendance by being around adults who give them proper supervision.

As I discussed these reports with a mother in Sisters this week, she responded, "So they're spending how many millions of dollars to study how to develop programs like what we already have in SOAR?"

The community has become a better place - ask any downtown business people who noted from SOAR's inception that there were far fewer youth "hanging out" with nothing to do. And, after a three-year start, SOAR is now experiencing the return of youth who began their SOAR experiences in middle school and are now high school kids who found something fun to do, positive ways to spend free time. We will expect more of this as time passes.

No threats, no guarantees, just the promise of continuing a program that the nation is beginning to copy. Please "vote yes for SOAR," vote yes to enhance the health of our community. The entire Sisters School District community will be making this choice.

Sincerely,

Dr. Bonnie Malone

SOAR Board Director

To the Editor:

Imagine being 10 years old again. It's summer. Time for fun, playing with friends, riding bikes, hiking. But this time both your mom and dad work and you are stuck at home. There's nothing to do. TV is boring. You can't go out to play because no one is home to watch over you and make sure you're O.K. This is the worst summer of your life.

So while you are sitting there one afternoon bored to tears, you envision a special place where there are other kids with lots of things to do. Your dream place has field-trips to Squaw Creek, playing on the slip-and-slide, afternoon trips to the pool, rafting trips down an awesome river, hiking up to the top of Black Butte, fly fishing classes and sailing on Suttle Lake.

Guess what? This special place does exist. Right here in our community of Sisters. The name of the place is SOAR. I am a working mother and my two children, Vance and Shea, attend these great programs and activities. They are having more fun this summer than I had as a kid growing up with a mom at home. I would recommend SOAR to every parent I meet, and have whenever the opportunity has arisen.

I have heard that some people think SOAR is just a child daycare. It does provide that service for those families that need it. The SOAR staff are sensitive, caring people who love children. But SOAR also offers the activities and programs mentioned above to give all kids in this community a safe place to go to have lots of fun, make new friends and create fantastic memories. Please support this organization and make your children's visions realities.

Terry V.G. Kotal

To the Editor:

SOAR - It's all about the kids.

Plenty of arguments about why we need this program:

The director, Tom Coffield, is perhaps the most dedicated, driven, and underpaid person in town. This tax base would enable Tom to spend more time with the kids and less time scrambling for grant money. The average cost per household represents less than a latté a month.

I'll be voting for the recreation district and I'm strongly encouraging my friends and co-workers to do the same.

Ed Fitzjarrell

To the Editor:

Not more than a few years ago people in city government had to beg most people to run for the Sisters City Council. Now, thank goodness, we have people seeking to be on the council. This means those who are elected are more eligible and knowledgeable and willing to serve - so much the better for Sisters.

One of these people is Libby Bottero. She has abilities and qualities that can enhance the council in its mandate to govern Sisters. One of these abilities is her knowledge of where and how to find answers to the many difficult questions that come up all the time. Libby is a whiz at research making it one of her strongest points.

Libby's agenda is to find the answers and do what's best in any given situation; in other words she keeps an open mind at all times and is a good listener, willing to listen to all sides. She won't "rubber stamp" any issue or cave in to special interests.

We need Libby to help us over the rough spots as we go through our coming growth period and to help our citizens work together to keep our quality of life in Sisters.

Virginia Groom

To the Editor:

The Friends of the Sisters Library want to express our appreciation to the voters in our community for their overwhelming support in September of the one-year tax levy that reopened the doors of our county's libraries.

Thanks to you and all the other library supporters in Deschutes County, all five libraries are again providing us access to the world of information, literature, and learning.

But those library services are only guaranteed for one year, after which the funding provided by the tax levy will run out.

There is, fortunately, a way to provide continuing library funding after the one-year levy expires. A "yes" vote by a majority of the voters at the November 3 election will establish a separate county-wide library district with its own permanent funding base - a 55 cent tax rate that was approved by the voters in the September election that will not increase once the district is established.

Not only will establishing the library district solve the issue of permanent funding, it will also provide governance of the libraries separate from Deschutes County so that the library district's funds cannot be allocated to any other agency. An elected board comprised of individuals representing each of the areas served by the county libraries plus the county library director will be making the decisions regarding budgets and policies for the library district.

We urge you to vote "yes" on November 3 to ensure that our county libraries will never have to close again.

For Friends of the Sisters Library:

Joanne Carlson, Bob Brockway

To the Editor:

I would like to personally thank everyone involved in the "first" annual Sisters In Sisters Celebration. Thanks to our many sponsors, our co-presenter, Sisters International, Inc., and our many supporters, contributors and volunteers the event was a huge success.

I would especially like to thank our committee of five; without them, S.I.S. would not have happened:

Adrienne Banks, our coordinator, who kept us on schedule and rolling; for the countless hours you spent on the computer and for personally handling each and every registration.

To Ron Roach, our official adopted S.I.S. sister. Ron was always picking up the pieces, running here, running there, up at the crack of dawn and around until the lights went out. To Nadean Murray, who spent many late nights printing,and reprinting so everything would be just right. Nadean and family, thanks for the exceptional job handling the setup, programs and take down at the elementary school and for keeping everyone happy.

Last but not least, Marilyn Melrose for a job well done on the fashion show, for all your creative ideas, support and help throughout the year and during the event. I'm very proud to be a part of such a professional group of people and look forward to working with you all on our second annual S.I.S. Celebration.

Sandy Goodsell

Sisters In Sisters Committee Chairperson