City officials study water and land use issues

Four City of Sisters staff members and councilors studied water and land use issues at the Central Oregon Summit, held last Thursday and Friday, September 30-October 1 at the Riverhouse in Bend.

The summit included two days of forums, discussions and tours. The forum was conducted by the Central Oregon Cities Organization (COCO), which includes Madras, Sisters, Bend, Redmond, Culver, Prineville, and Maupin. Those attending from Sisters were City Manager Eileen Stein and Councilors Dave Elliott, Judy Trego and Sharleen Weed.

The highlights of the meeting for Judy Trego were presentations on water availability, growth projections, and economic development coupled with a tour of Pronghorn Resort near the Bend Airport.

Dave Elliott observed that, according to COCO, water supply in Central Oregon is not a concern. Only a small part of the water contained in the Deschutes Basin aquifer is being used. In fact, one speaker indicated that some of the water now coming from the aquifer could be as much as 120 years old.

Bend was applauded for its conservation efforts, especially in managing Deschutes River water. At the other extreme, as much as 45 percent water loss is experienced from various canals, mostly by seepage.

A presentation on the state-required 20-year growth plan was centered on how growth projections affect a city's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). The main challenge presented was how to increase the land available in the UGB. Analysis was presented on the difficulties encountered by Madras in expanding its UGB to encompass the new state prison planned there.

Items of interest to Eileen Stein were presentations on research and development on alternative automobile fuels and Bend's presentation on the Juniper Ridge site being considered for the future Oregon State University-Cascades campus site. Apparently Bend is developing the last of the land in its UGB and is looking at annexing the 1,500-acre Juniper Ridge land.

At Pronghorn Resort, discussion centered around economic development via destination resorts.

It is expected that Pronghorn will bring in millions of dollars annually to the Central Oregon economy.

An afternoon tour of the Redmond Airport included the presentation "Aviation and Its Impact on the Local Economy."

The group was hosted by Senator Ben Westlund and family for dinner at the Westlund Ranch.