Letters to the Editor 11/20/2013

To the Editor:

In 2003, Crossroads property owners were proposed a 1.63-mile trail following Highway 242, connecting Crossroads to Sisters High School. Crossroads supported this trail to connect at the main entrance on Crossroads Road. A suggestion to connect at one of the four Crossroads emergency fire exits resulted in an end of discussion and no further action.

Today, a decade later, Crossroads continues to prefer the Crossroads-to-SHS trail following Highway 242, keeping Crossroads children and trail-users safe from unexpected mishaps and in view from Highway 242. There are currently existing and partial trails along Highway 242, away from vehicle traffic.

A trail on the north side of Highway 242 is preferred by Crossroads. The private property owner on the north side of Highway 242 has verified his driveway is an easement crossing national forest. A proposed north-side trail would cross his driveway but remain on National Forest land until reaching the Crossroads entrance road.

Moving the Sisters-to-Black Butte paved path closer to Highway 20/126 was a consideration made to Tollgate residents. Crossroads is requesting the same consideration; keep the paved path from Sisters to Crossroads along Highway 242 on National Forest land. Building a public paved path up to private land in Crossroads is not in the best interest of its private property owners.

A meeting with the Sisters District Ranger and the Deschutes National Forest Supervisor resulted in their offering Crossroads acceptable trail options to the Forest Service.

Respect and importance of private property, security and safety remains paramount to all involved. There will be no impending authorization for public trail access to any Crossroads emergency fire exits.

Crossroads is committed to protecting private property rights, by contributing proactive solutions so that all of its residents may enjoy access to a well-planned trail.

Shana Vialovos

Crossroads Board Director

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To the Editor:

I have read the articles and letters regarding the proposed paved community trail with much interest over the past few months.

I was a Sisters resident for many years and now live in Ketchum, Idaho.

Our valley has many miles of trails, but our shining star is the Wood River Trail.

It was first constructed in 1984 and extends over 20 miles from Bellevue to north of Ketchum.

The system connects our community and visitors alike through running, walking, biking and skiing and enhances our quality of life and everyone who visits.

The trail goes through the heart of many neighborhoods, 20 to 30 yards from people's backyards.

Those who are able to live next to the path are envied.

Homeowners with property near the path enjoy higher property values.

I lived adjacent to our bike path for over three years; it was a 45-second walk from my front door.

I never had any issue of trespassing, stray dogs, noise or other negative issues.

In fact, I met some great new friends on my daily dog-walk on the path.

I often ride my town cruiser bike to the grocery store and leave my car behind.

On busy weekends having the option to be on my bike and enjoy the activities not worrying about where to park is amazing.

We are lucky as we groom our path in the winter for Nordic skiing.

I am able to put on my skate skis and enjoy a great morning workout without having to drive anywhere.

Ketchum is a small community with a population of around 4,000.

We are not all that much different than Sisters.

I urge residents of Sisters to see this as an amazing opportunity for your community. It would bring something of tremendous value for residents and visitors alike for generations to come. Our bike path is one of the prized jewels of our community and connects every member of our community together. I know how much pride the Sisters community takes in their town; I hope you see this as the next step in making Sisters even

better.

You can learn more about the benefits a trail system by visiting http://www.bcrd.org/trails-index.php.

Renee Faltings

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To the Editor:

At the public meeting regarding the proposed paved paths, it was reported that the "majority" of people making comments were in favor of the paths.

The actual numbers were far more convincing. There were 19 people who spoke in favor of the paths versus two who opposed. Three more people were in favor if the proposed path to Crossroads was routed closer to Rt. 242. One person was in favor of the paths to both Tollgate and Crossroads, but opposed to the path from Tollgate to Black Butte Ranch.

The article would have better stated that "the vast majority" of people were in favor of the paths.

Ken Serkownek

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To the Editor:

I have to agree with the letter-writers about the proposed amphitheater.

Sisters does not have the infrastructure to support hoards of people coming to this small town for performances in a summer venue such as an amphitheater.

We do not have motel/hotel rooms for people to stay for 2 or 3 nights.

We do not have adequate restaurants to support people staying here for a period of time.

We do not have adequate parking either downtown or elsewhere.

What this town really needs is a closed-in facility that could be used for such things as community choir concerts, funerals, weddings etc.

year-round.

How often could we use an outdoor facility? Only summer months, and that's questionable with the summer heat.

As it is now we have to rely on our church facilities for any kind of a large gathering and then the church congregations are left with the maintenance problems those events create.

I truly hope the city council does not jump into something without a lot of planning and thought. We already have traffic problems that are not being addressed. We manage to tolerate the Quilt Show and the Folk Festival, but that should be enough for the residents who are displaced for those events.

Diana Raske Lovgren

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To The Editor:

I moved to Sisters in 2000. What a nice peaceful place it is, or at least the majority of the time.

I don't know how much time went by, but a letter to the editor appeared in The Nugget. A man named Mike Morgan was bashing the school board and this went on for what seemed to be months (probably more). Then he decided to sue the school district, and even though he lost, it still cost the school district a lot of money that they could have used for educating our kids.

Well this year he found something else to bash - the Forest Service and the Sisters Trails Alliance. This has gone on for months. He has been given answers to his questions, and documentation, which were the facts about the paved trail from Sisters to Black Butte Ranch.

Now, in this last week's Nugget, he is bashing the city over the proposed amphitheater. Mr. Morgan needs something else to do.

Ann Marland

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To the Editor:

Last week someone threw some whole pumpkins at my son's car and broke the side mirror, last night they struck again, breaking out his rear window. They are uncarved and full of

seeds.

I'm asking the businesses who still have pumpkins sitting out to please remove them to a safe location where they cannot be stolen for these kids' games. I'm very frustrated and have the police on the case.

Candyce Park

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To the Editor:

I am concerned about the mayor's decision to build an outdoor amphitheater.

The proposed amphitheater would hold 3,500 people, the same number of tickets sold for the folk festival last year. This project is using the Britt Amphitheater in Jacksonville as a model, which had over 30 events and 61,000 people last year.

Currently Sisters has the rodeo, quilt festival, and folk festival, in addition to many fairs and festivals that fill our streets with cars and people. I know it is good for the town's economy, but at some point we have to also think about the quality of life for the folks that live here. Do we really want the equivalent of another folk festival 20-30 times a year in addition to the current

events?

The mayor seems to want to transform Sisters into a town different from the one that many of us chose when moving here. He thinks more is better ... more people, more traffic, more planes, more events, more industry. Is this what the community wants?

The new project would put the city in the entertainment business. It would be expensive, not only buying the land but building the facility, recruiting entertainment, running the venues and maintaining everything. What if it created an operating loss? Back to the taxpayers for more money, I guess.

In The Nugget on 10-25-13, it stated that the mayor transferred about $500,000 from a reserve fund, originally set up for police costs, to the general fund. Mayor Boyd said "approximately $1 million could be considered a strategic reserve, which might be used for projects to enhance economic vitality in Sisters."

Two weeks later he put a deposit on land to purchase for the amphitheater saying that the money was just sitting around. That money came from and belonged to the taxpayers. If the reserve wasn't needed for the intended purpose, why wasn't it returned to taxpayers? Is it the mayor's to spend as he sees fit on a project that the community might not even want? Most cities would fund this type of project with a bond requiring the voters' approval, not the sole choice of a mayor and his council.

Sometimes more is just too much. Sometimes it's nice to just be a small town.

Pat Norman

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To the Editor:

The dialogue has begun on the new amphitheater the mayor and city council would like to build. 

My interest in writing this letter is the events that preceded this proposed acquisition. I am going to conclude some of the money used for the purchase of the property is the reserve fund the mayor said was established some years ago in the event the City of Sisters wanted to reconstitute its own police force, as indicated in a Nugget article dated October 16, 2013, where the mayor referenced such reserve and said the reserve could now be characterized as a "Strategic Reserve."

The mayor said the justification to change the reserve to a "Strategic Reserve" was because the city had a reserve just sitting in the reserve fund and was not earmarked for anything, except in the same article he said, "the reserve was squirreled away for more than a decade for the purpose of reconstituting a city police force." 

The mayor goes on to say the reorganization of reserves allows the city to use such a reserve fund as a management tool. The mayor said, "I am not advocating that we go out and spend that money, however, it is available if there are opportunities to leverage it for economic development."

According to the mayor, approximately $1 million could be considered a "Strategic Reserve" and the city council took actions to transfer funds from reserves into the general fund.

How does city government allow a reserve of this dollar amount to sit for 10 years and government officials introduce it as earmarked for nothing? Maybe I am naive, but the apparent lack of oversight seems irresponsible. My next concern is the recognition that the taxpayers of the City of Sisters are the originators of that reserve. Did the mayor or city council give any consideration to giving tax relief for the people who were responsible for those tax dollars? My final observation, it seems the mayor and city council had already earmarked the subject reserve funds for "Project Mozart" and were not forthright and transparent in the Nugget article.

If "Project Mozart" is not financially sustainable I hope the existing reserves for necessary services are adequate.

Glenn Nygard