Previous Reports from 2008

Happy New Year & Best Wishes!

As the past year came to a close, it was a wonderful time to spend special moments with our families. This is always my favorite time of year. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on the past and look forward to next year with hope and anticipation. I believe we have a great community and I want to sincerely thank you for helping make Beaverton a really nice place to live, work and play!

In November and December, we held nearly twenty Visioning meetings throughout the City. In late January and February, we’ll be reporting back on those meetings and what you had to say to us about our City’s future. Hundreds of people participated in the process, giving us many ideas and constructive feedback to help shape our future. I’m really pleased about the meetings and what you told us. Among the key themes was the need for improvements in all forms of our transportation system. I certainly agree and would like to report to you on the local and countywide efforts that are ongoing to achieve a more “complete” transportation system.

Every five years we are required by state law to update our transportation system needs. Our current plan forecasts needs to the year 2020 for the pedestrian, bike, road and rail system. It also identifies available funding sources. Our funding sources fall short of our needs by a significant amount. For the Portland region, the need is $16 billion and the identified funding is $9 billion. Overall, Washington County and our cities are projected to need about $3.6 billion, but only about 2/3 of the needed revenue has been identified. This next year we will be evaluating and adopting the 2035 Transportation System Plan (TSP), which includes some of the unfunded projects from the previous five-year cycle.

For the past two years, we have been part of a broader discussion with Washington County and our cities within the county regarding how to close the gap in funding versus our overall needs. Many ideas have been discussed. The shortfall is caused by multiple factors. The state legislature has not updated and increased motor vehicle taxes since 1993, which has been complicated by an average annual construction inflation increase between 6% and 10% each year. The costs for purchasing rights-of-way for projects, petroleum products, steel and gravel have all contributed to the overall high inflation for road construction projects. Inflation has eaten into the gas tax revenues so significantly that the revenue derived from the statewide motor fuel tax is equivalent to half the value it was when the tax was last increased in 1993. Another reason for the shortfall is that the countywide Traffic Impact Fee (TIF) now covers less than 20% of the new capacity needs from new development. Local revenue for transportation improvements has also not kept pace with the needs.

Some plans are in place to help raise more revenues for the projects that have been identified. Next year, the County will ask voters to increase the TIF fee to help cover projects that are created by new development. In essence, the County needs voter approval to authorize that new development pay a larger share of projects. In addition, it is likely the County will ask voters in November, 2008 to approve a Major Streets Transportation Improvement Program (MSTIP 4) package of road improvement projects throughout the county. Voters last approved a countywide MSTIP measure in 1995. Previous MSTIP projects improved many roads countywide, including Murray Blvd., Hart Road, Davis Road and other projects in Beaverton.

The City is considering our own transportation System Development Charge (SDC) to be imposed on new construction projects to help cover costs for increasing capacity on roads impacted by new development. In addition, we’re evaluating the feasibility of a minor monthly utility bill fee for small projects like improving sidewalks, adding turn lanes, improving signal timing, safety improvements and building additional bike lanes. In our own area, the cities of Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood and Wilsonville have added a combination of these fees to help offset the costs for local projects. You will have the opportunity to provide timely comment in advance of any final consideration of such fees.

This year will be very busy in Beaverton with many important issues being discussed and new ideas from our Visioning being considered and implemented. I look forward to talking with you about these ideas and appreciate being able to serve you. Have a wonderful New Year!

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