Portland City Council Agenda March 18, 2015

Direct Expenditures: $10,979,207

Item #279 – OEHR was established in 2011. This is its annual report to council.

Item #280 – EcoCab Portland seeks a permit to operate a taxicab company in the greater Portland area.  EcoCab is a young company out of Longview, WA.  They seek to slowly phase in a fleet of cabs over the next four years, comprising of all-electric vehicles ranging from Leafs and Teslas to Americans with Disabilities Act compliant Vans.  On February 11th, 2015 The Private For-Hire Transportation Board approved the EcoCab’s taxicab permit application by a vote of 9 to 2 with one abstention.  The PFHT Administrator also recommends approval of a permit for EcoCab.  The permit application now goes to the City for approval.  At the close of Wednesday’s City Council hearing the Council will or will not direct the Portland Bureau of Transportation to issue a permit to EcoCab if it finds EcoCab will operate within all legal minimums and requirements to do so.

Item #281 – There are seventeen voluntary members of the Development Review Advisory Committee. Each member can serve no more than two three-year terms.  This Report to Council authorizes the reappointment of five existing members and the appointment of one new member to the Development Review Advisory Committee for one 3- year term.

Item #282 – Authorizes the amendment of the FY 2014-15 appropriation schedule in the amount of $5,947,662 fbr the Public Safety Radio Replacement and Fire Apparatus projects.  This is an Emergency Ordinance.  See Item #287 (below).  These funds come from the same voter-approved 2010 Measure 26-117.

Item #283 – (Second Reading of Agenda Item #259 from March 15th) – A competitive solicitation and contract for a contractor to replace waterproof membranes in several concrete planter boxes on Rose Quarter Grounds.  The Rose Quarter is jointly owned by the City and Vulcan, Inc. a holding company owned by Paul Allen.  According to the Rose Quarter Arena Ground Lease, the City is responsible for maintenance.  The estimate for the cost of this project is $466,200.  Until repairs begin, the extent of the damage cannot be known.  The project may incur additional costs.  If the estimate to repair the Planter Boxes exceeds $500,000, the Council is required to vote on authorizing the funds necessary to repair the planter boxes.

Item #284 – Triple Combination Pumpers.  Cost of no more than $5,000,000 for Fire & Rescue.  As in Items #282 and #287 this is for Fire and Rescue and Safety projects.  Like #282 this is an Emergency Ordinance.

Item #285 – The city will add $5,000 to a previously passed Ordinance that apportioned $1,365,000 for housing for people living with AIDS via a grant from HUD.  The Cascade AIDS Project will use these new funds for health and housing data systems.

Item #286 – The city owns the intellectual property rights for the Portland Oregon sign on the West side of the Burnside Bridge.  The city bought the sign in 2011, trademarked its image, pays for $2,000 in monthly maintenance and charges a fee for anyone using images of the “White Stag” sign for commercial purposes.  A single image costs $100.  Larger businesses who want to use the image for merchandising will pay at least $1,100.  This ordinance would establish authority to enforce the trademark with the Bureau of Internal Business services, which maintains the sign on a monthly basis.  It cleans up portions of the City Code to “reflect the organizational structure of the Office of Management and Finance.”  Everything regarding the maintenance of the sign to managing its image will be under one roof, legally and functionally.

This probably is coming up in response to the kerfuffle over the Pabst Festival’s use of a variation of the image last summer. See our previous write-ups about that.

Item #287 – Measure 26-117 was passed in the November 2, 2010 election.  The measure allowed the city to issue $72,400,000 in bonds to provide funding for the replacement of aging fire and emergency response vehicles, to finance the construction of a fire station and an emergency response center, and provide funding for a public safety emergency radio system.

In addition to the bonds, the measure voted on included a property tax increase of $30 per $1,000 of assessed value.

In 2011, the city authorised funds to begin these four projects.  In 2014, the city authorized more funds to continue. Now the city wants to, “obtain proceeds from the third sale of bonds authorized by the measure,” in the amount of $19,039,063,000.

Item #288 – Facilities Services Mission is, “to lead the way in planning, constructing, redeveloping, and operating sustainable public facilities that are efficient, cost-effective, and well maintained. They are committed to developing and maintaining high performance buildings that limit their environmental impact, contribute to Portland’s civic character and make Portland a better place to live and work.”  They will receive an incentive check in the amount of $26,545 for reducing energy consumption in the ten buildings they manage, including City Hall.