If you have any questions, please contact me.
Tim Hall, Bureau of Water Works, 1120 SW Fifth Ave., Portland, OR 97204 (503) 823-6926
~~~~~~~~~~~
March 3, 2003
From: Dan Saltzman
Re: Feedback on February 19th Open Reservoir Hearing
Thank you for committing your time and energy on the evening of the 19th. The City is dealing with many critical issues right now and I appreciate the respect shown by the entire Council to meet with the public during evening hours.
We expected a lively hearing, and we weren't disappointed. We reviewed the original rationale for covering the reservoirs and heard many thoughtful and heartfelt concerns regarding this important issue.
I appreciated the input from all who testified, those who recognize that the City does have to take some type of action to secure these facilities, and those who suggested alternative means of doing so. I am satisfied that the Water Bureau has appropriately evaluated the full range of feasible alternatives. I have also attached Portland Water Work's responses to many of the questions and alternatives brought up in public testimony*.
I remain convinced that Council's decision last year is the correct one. The current proposal is the best plan to meet Portland's needs within Portland's unique water system.
Our primary obligations are public health and safety - we must move forward with securing these reservoirs. At the same time, we recognize and respect the community's attachment to these sites and, frankly, their lack of confidence in a satisfactory aesthetic outcome to covering the reservoirs.
I believe the existing planning process, coordinated through Parks and Recreation is an appropriate process to result in a satisfactory design resolution.
I am committed to burying the reservoirs and achieving and implementing an excellent design solution for the resulting park space.
At the same time, I acknowledge we need to do more to communicate the process to secure these facilities and to establish how the space above them will be used in the most open and inclusive manner possible.
I have directed the Water Bureau to expand outreach efforts within the project scope.
I urge you and the members of your staff to direct interested citizens into the extensive public involvement process currently underway. We need the creativity and passion of the community as we work through the process to develop ideas and concepts for what lies ahead. Please feel free to contact my office for more details on this process.
In addition, I believe we can fulfill other requests heard during the February 19, hearing:
* More interaction between the Mt. Tabor Public Advisory Committee (PAC) and Council.
I welcome this idea. I will present the Public Advisory Committee's recommendations directly to City Council.
* Improved public outreach on the City's Capital Improvement Plans.
We welcome public input on how our utilities plan for infrastructure improvements. I will work with the newly formed Portland Utilities Review Board and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement to develop outreach plans for the Office of Sustainable Development, Bureau of Environmental Services, and Portland Water Works.
* Additional Participation on the PAC.
At the request of the Friends of the Reservoirs, I have asked the PAC to add a member of that group to the committee.
* Confirm commitment to initiate Washington Park planning process.
We will work with Water and Parks to initiate the park planning process for the reservoir area at Washington Park in 2004.
Clearly, covering the reservoirs is both a critical and a controversial project. I believe the public is best served by moving forward with the project, supporting the public design process, and increasing our communication and outreach to the adjacent and broader community affected by this project.
Tim Hall, Bureau of Water Works, 1120 SW Fifth Ave., Portland, OR 97204 (503) 823-6926
~~~~~~~~~~~
March 3, 2003
From: Dan Saltzman
Re: Feedback on February 19th Open Reservoir Hearing
Thank you for committing your time and energy on the evening of the 19th. The City is dealing with many critical issues right now and I appreciate the respect shown by the entire Council to meet with the public during evening hours.
We expected a lively hearing, and we weren't disappointed. We reviewed the original rationale for covering the reservoirs and heard many thoughtful and heartfelt concerns regarding this important issue.
I appreciated the input from all who testified, those who recognize that the City does have to take some type of action to secure these facilities, and those who suggested alternative means of doing so. I am satisfied that the Water Bureau has appropriately evaluated the full range of feasible alternatives. I have also attached Portland Water Work's responses to many of the questions and alternatives brought up in public testimony*.
I remain convinced that Council's decision last year is the correct one. The current proposal is the best plan to meet Portland's needs within Portland's unique water system.
Our primary obligations are public health and safety - we must move forward with securing these reservoirs. At the same time, we recognize and respect the community's attachment to these sites and, frankly, their lack of confidence in a satisfactory aesthetic outcome to covering the reservoirs.
I believe the existing planning process, coordinated through Parks and Recreation is an appropriate process to result in a satisfactory design resolution.
I am committed to burying the reservoirs and achieving and implementing an excellent design solution for the resulting park space.
At the same time, I acknowledge we need to do more to communicate the process to secure these facilities and to establish how the space above them will be used in the most open and inclusive manner possible.
I have directed the Water Bureau to expand outreach efforts within the project scope.
I urge you and the members of your staff to direct interested citizens into the extensive public involvement process currently underway. We need the creativity and passion of the community as we work through the process to develop ideas and concepts for what lies ahead. Please feel free to contact my office for more details on this process.
In addition, I believe we can fulfill other requests heard during the February 19, hearing:
* More interaction between the Mt. Tabor Public Advisory Committee (PAC) and Council.
I welcome this idea. I will present the Public Advisory Committee's recommendations directly to City Council.
* Improved public outreach on the City's Capital Improvement Plans.
We welcome public input on how our utilities plan for infrastructure improvements. I will work with the newly formed Portland Utilities Review Board and the Office of Neighborhood Involvement to develop outreach plans for the Office of Sustainable Development, Bureau of Environmental Services, and Portland Water Works.
* Additional Participation on the PAC.
At the request of the Friends of the Reservoirs, I have asked the PAC to add a member of that group to the committee.
* Confirm commitment to initiate Washington Park planning process.
We will work with Water and Parks to initiate the park planning process for the reservoir area at Washington Park in 2004.
Clearly, covering the reservoirs is both a critical and a controversial project. I believe the public is best served by moving forward with the project, supporting the public design process, and increasing our communication and outreach to the adjacent and broader community affected by this project.
