I hope you enjoyed what seemed to be our last glimpse of winter and the beautiful snow that we received yesterday morning. As always, there are a lot of topics to jump into so please let me know if you have any other areas you would like to discuss directly!
This week I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Mauricio Dujowich and the rest of the team at the newly opened Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon (VRCCO). VRCCO has a smaller location on the Westside of town, but now has a headquarters in NE Bend that is nearly 26,000 square feet that they began operating out of in mid-February.
In addition to the advanced emergency, specialty and urgent care services that VRCCO offers, they also have some other incredible amenities:
- Vet Cadets Childcare, an in-house childhood education center that currently has ten openings!
- Ponch’s Place, fondly named after Dr, Dujowich’s late pup, is a food cart pod and beer garden on-site featuring four local options for food and over seven locally produced beer and non-alcoholic options
They are inviting the community out to their Grand Opening Party on Saturday, April 13, for tours, music and specials out at Ponch’s Place! Huge congrats and thank you to the entire VRCCO team for being an incredible component of Bend’s community.
Bend Economic Development Advisory Board (BEDAB) Applications
We are now accepting applications for an open, three-year term position to serve on BEDAB beginning July 1, 2024! This is a great opportunity to work on challenges that our local business community is facing, as well as identify opportunities that can help strengthen our economy for years to come. If you have any questions about the Advisory Board, hit reply to this email and we will be sure to set something up to get your questions answered. Applications need to be submitted by April 30 at 5pm.
The next step of improving our Midtown Connections is currently underway! In the map above, you’ll see the NW Greenwood Avenue corridor will undergo a “Quick-build” treatment that is set to begin in July and finish in approximately mid-August. Improvements will make this stretch of the corridor more safe for vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle mobility. If you have questions, concerns, or would like to learn more about the project, there is an Open House Tuesday, April 9 from 4:30-6:30 pm in Council Chambers at 710 NW Wall St. There is also a virtual Open House option, that is currently available now through April 16.
Juniper Ridge Request for Proposal (RFP) Update
During the Executive Session of the April 3 City Council Meeting, a motion was passed for the City to accept the proposal from TB Bend, LLC to sell Lot 5 and Lot 8 of the Juniper Ridge Large Tract subdivision (highlighted below). Combined, this sale includes approximately 95 acres of raw Light Industrial Land. More details will be provided as the negotiation process is worked through and will come back to a future City Council meeting for final approval.
Transportation Fee Updates
On April 3, the Bend City Council passed a second reading of the ordinance creating Chapter 3.110 Transportation Fee and the fee schedule for the Phase 1 rates. Below is a chart of the final Non-Residential Phase 1 rates that will go into effect July 1. Please note that a majority of businesses will want to reference that “All Other Non-Residential” row to calculate their fee.
| Per Month Per Account | |
| Non-Residential Transportation Fee | |
| K-12 Public schools | $.60 (per student) |
| Higher education | $.65 (per student) |
| Lodging | $4.50 (by number of rooms) |
| Short-Term Rental Supplement | $100 (per year) |
| Parks | $.45 (per acre) |
| All Other Non-Residential | $6.25 (per 1,000 SQ FT) – 0 – 50,000 SQ FT $4.50 (per 1,000 SQ FT) – >50 – 100,000 SQ FT $3.00 (per 1,000 SQ FT) – >100,000 SQ FT |
System Development Charge (SDC) Methodology Update
At the April 3 Council Meeting, there was another update from staff regarding changes made to the SDC methodology as a result of feedback that we received at the January 17 work session on the topic. Below are updated SDC methodologies and supporting documents, which are now available on the City’s website, including:
- Revised Sewer, Water, and Transportation SDC Methodology Reports, including project lists and land use category definitions
- Revised fee schedule showing phased-in rates
- Document revision executive summary
- Frequently asked questions
The City will also be scheduling open house meetings in late April to allow interested parties to ask staff questions regarding this project. Additional notice will be provided in this newsletter once scheduled.
Have a great end to the week and hope to see some of you at Art Walk on First Friday Downtown!
Cheers,
Cyrus Mooney
Business Advocate
cmooney@bendoregon.gov
