Mayoral Report—2005

Great Hopes for 2005!

Hope springs eternal in my book and my cup is always at least half full, so I can’t help but have high hopes for 2005! We have big challenges ahead for our community this year, but I believe real and great opportunities await Beaverton. We enjoyed much success as a city this past year and I believe that our accomplishments position us well for the immediate future. I see three main areas of focus for your City of Beaverton government this coming year–growth boundary refinement, downtown core revitalization and continued public safety efforts.

Beaverton continues to grow. Our City has reached 80,000 in population and changes almost daily. Yet, our goal has been to intelligently manage the growth and keep our high quality of life and strong sense of community. I think we have done so, but it has been very challenging.

As part of our State–mandated requirements to delineate our future urban growth boundary as a City, the Council in December adopted a new agreement with Washington County that defines a likely eventual City growth plan for the short and long–term future. We have been working toward this agreement for several years and recent annexation efforts helped bring the process to a conclusion. These recent annexations will help begin the process of better defining our short–term boundaries. It also supports the notion of more efficient service provision, better boundary identification and bringing contiguous surrounding areas into the City that receive direct and indirect services from the City of Beaverton.

Both State Statute and Washington County’s “County 2000 Plan” support the concept that cities are the logical provider of services in urban areas. In Washington County, we are also fortunate to have well–managed special service districts that have supplied specialized services successfully for many years in and around the City of Beaverton. Those districts include Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Tualatin Valley Water District and Clean Water Services.

Downtown revitalization efforts continue in earnest. ‘The Round’ development, adjacent to the Westside Light Rail line, continues to progress and has become a significant amenity in our downtown. Additional phases continue to be planned. The City is in the process of seeking and receiving additional financial assistance from Metro to fund further traffic and development improvements in our core area. We expect to break ground this year on the new City–sponsored Health Clinic project on City–owned land on Farmington Road. This project is expected to bring multiple health agencies together under one roof to provide a full range of health services for low–income citizens. In addition, senior housing is planned atop the Health Clinic.

The Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce (BACC) has taken renewed interest in the redevelopment of our downtown core. We welcome its interest, support and participation. The BACC has over 700 members, which makes it the strongest and most supportive business voice for our community.

Beaverton is not immune from urban influences that negatively impact crime in our City; however, we have continued to be recognized for our safe community, lower–than–average crime rate and our successful Community Policing program that is a model partnership between citizens and our Police Department. Challenges this year include the rapid growth of methamphetamine (“meth”) use in Oregon and increased related identity theft rings, assault and larceny crimes. Beaverton is focused on stopping the manufacture and use of “meth” and has also created a separate Identity Theft Unit. The Police Department needs your continued participation to serve as the additional “eyes and ears” for our community. Though our challenges are significant, I really believe that our community is able to meet them head on and do so successfully. A safe, successful and complete community does not just happen but comes with meaningful effort, concern and caring for one another. I look forward to a challenging and successful 2005 together!

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