News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
While the fate of the Forest Service property at the west side of Sisters remains up in the air, the Sisters Ranger District is laying the groundwork for its new headquarters.
The agency has contracted with SERA of Portland to develop a facility design for its new offices and a visitors information center, a work center and staff barracks on 17.5 acres north of Barclay Drive.
The design firm met with district staff for the first time on June 6 and began laying out a project timeline. Plans are expected to be completed by the end of March, 2008; then the agency will put out for bid a contract to build the facility.
"It's pretty exciting," said District Ranger Bill Anthony. "I really like what I've heard so far from SERA."
The firm is noted for designing projects that fit their environs. SERA designed the widely-touted LifeChange Center at the Tillamook Forest Interpretive Center.
"They're known for being a green builder and designer,"said Rod Bonacker, who has been managing the land sale project for the ranger district.
Anthony said the design is not subject to Sisters' Western architectural theme, since it is outside the downtown area. However, he said, the marching orders are to create a facility that is compatible with Sisters and fiscally appropriate.
"We want whatever the design comes out to be to be compatible with the community - but pragmatic," Anthony said. "We know it's a significant facility in the community."
The building will be built to "Gold LEED" standards. That is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. New federal buildings are supposed to meet Silver LEED standards; the highest level is Platinum.
"We're asking them to stretch to Gold," Anthony said.
That means a high level of energy-efficiency and construction techniques that minimize landfill waste.
The campus will have more than some 20,000 square feet of work space, possibly in several buildings. Oregon Department of Transportation facilities will have to move. According to Anthony, that agency is looking at possible sites east or north of Sisters.
Building could commence in the summer of 2008 - if the rest of the Forest Service's property is sold.
The agency plans to sell the 14.5 acre "triangle" between Highway 20 and Highway 242 to the City of Sisters as park land. That transaction is not complicated.
The agency will hold onto 17.5 acres to build on. If land is left over after the project is designed, the agency could sell more parcels, possibly to ODOT. (Acreages have changed recently due to changes in plans for right-of-way management.)
The transaction concerning remaining 48 acres now known as the South Barclay parcel is complicated.
The Forest Service wants to sell the land for the best price the agency can get. The City of Sisters wants to make sure that the land is developed in a way that meets the needs and desires of its citizens.
The Forest Service has rejected a proposal that would have allowed the city to purchase the so-called "South Barclay Parcel" and guide its development, sending both parties back to the drawing board. (See "Forest Service land deal hits impasse," The Nugget, June 6, page 1.)
The Forest Service needs to recoup as much as possible from the sale to fund the construction of its new Sisters Ranger District headquarters and to fund construction of Bend offices for the Deschutes National Forest. Those offices are currently leased to the tune of $1 million per year which Anthony said would go into Deschutes National Forest operations once construction is done.
The City of Sisters has approached the Central Oregon congressional delegation to intervene and influence the Forest Service to make a sale to the city.
It is possible that if the Forest Service cannot get the price it needs, the agency would not be able to sell the property and all projects would be put on hold.
The Forest Service and the city met with Senator Ron Wyden's lead staffer David Blair on the matter last Friday.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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