Washington County Commissioner Dick Schouten gave a presentation to the Committee for Citizen Involvement in October 2013. Three basic areas that encompass the work of Commissioner for his District:
1. Serving as the mayor and city council for the residents of the urban unincorporated parts of the county (nearly 200,000 people)
2. Provision of traditional county services (election, jail, health and human services, etc.). They set policy, pass laws, approve budgets for services
3. Serve as the Board of Directors for Clean Water Services, a comprehensive sanitation, water quality and stormwater management agency that is very well respected across the country.
Commissioner Schouten covered three topics:
Aloha-Reedville Study Area, Vehicle Registration Fee, and the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness (in Year 5).
6. Aloha-Reedville Update
Draft actions are meant to address these areas
of community concern:
• Roads and transit
• Sidewalks and trails
• Parks
• Streetlights
• Housing affordable to everyone
• Active commercial centers
9. County Transportation
System Facts
•
•
Washington County maintains:
Approximately 1,300 miles of roads:
– half urban; half rural
– 1,075 miles paved; 225 miles gravel
•
Of paved roads:
– 198 miles are arterials
– 247 miles are collectors
•
•
Over 430 lane miles of countymaintained arterials and
collectors are in cities
Pavement is just part of the system:
–
–
–
–
–
189 bridges
3,021 culverts
700 miles of ditches
284 signalized intersections
Lighting, landscaping, signs
11. Maintenance Funding Challenges
• Gas and user taxes not
keeping up with cost
increases
• Material and labor costs
outpacing revenue growth
– Example: Asphalt costs have
tripled since 2004
• Increasing deferred
maintenance
12. Increasing Need
Funding gap expected to double within 10 years
Projected Funding v. Needs
$55
Amount (in millions)
$50
$45
$40
Projected Needs
$35
Forecast Funding
$30
$25
$20
12
20
13
20
14
20
15
20
16
20
17
20
18
20
19
20
20
20
21
20
Year
2012 deferred maintenance estimate = $10.5m
2021 deferred maintenance projected = $22m
Forecasted Funding grows at approx. 3% annually while Projected Needs grows at approx. 5% annually
13. Vehicle Registration Fee
Overview
• Current proposal: $30 annual fee per
vehicle; $17 for motorcycles
– Works out to $2.50 per month
• State law would exempt:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Farm vehicles
Antique vehicles
Campers & travel trailers
Trucks weighing over 26,000 lbs.
Publicly owned vehicles
Vehicles owned by disabled veterans
• 60% to County and 40% to cities
14. Vehicle Registration Fee
Overview
• At $30 per year, a local vehicle registration
fee would:
– Generate about $12.6 million per year
– Would bring County roads up to standard and
keep them there for 15 to 20 years
– Help cities maintain and improve their roadways
– Some traffic signals could be updated to help
move traffic more efficiently
• Most importantly, funds would pay for
road maintenance now, avoiding more
expensive repairs later
15. Next Steps/Questions
• Public hearing June 3, 2014
• Additional public outreach until then
• More information at:
www.co.washington.or.us/vrf
17. 10-year Plan to End
Homelessness
Goals for ending homelessness:
l
• Prevent people from becoming homeless
• Move people into housing
• Link people to services and remove barriers
• Increase income and economic opportunities
• Expand data collection
l
• Implement public education on homelessness
18. 10-year Plan to End
Homelessness
Point-In-Time Homeless Census
1600
1383
1400
# of People
1200
1243
1000
800
1374
1352
1153
Homeless
950
752
748
Literally Homeless
751
Chronic Homeless
600
432
400
200
182
145
189
160
0
2009
2010
2011
2012
77
2013
At mid-point of the 10-Year Plan implementation:
•
•
•
•
•
58% decrease in chronic homeless people
42% decrease in literally homeless people
12% decrease in people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence
15% increase in student homelessness
116% increase in homeless veterans
19. Causes of Homelessness
Top 12 Catalysts to Homelessness
Top 5 Causes
2013
48% Rent Burdened
Benchmark (2007)
41% Unemployed
Rent Burden
Unemployed
21% Kicked out by Family/Friend
Kicked Out by Family/Friends
Drugs/Alcohol (Self)
19% Drug/Alcohol Addiction
Criminal History
16% Criminal History
Eviction
Domestic Violence
Mental/Emotional Disorder
Other
Increase in homeless as a result of:
Drugs/Alcohol (In Home)
• Kicked Out by Family/Friends
By Choice
Poor Rental History
0
50
100
150
200
250
Household
300
350
400
450
• Mental/Emotional Disorder
20. System Capacity
Homeless Housing Inventory
900
800
739
700
Beds
600
605
796
624
Total Bed Inventory
Permanent Supportive Housing
510
500
410
400
300
329
100
0
350
260
200
138
102
10
1/28/2009
434
166
102
98
10
10
1/27/2010
1/26/2011
Rapid Re-housing
Emergency Shelter
Safe Haven
221
164
Transitional Housing
98
10
1/25/2012
142
114
96
10
1/30/2013
796 beds served 1,626 people in a portfolio of homeless programs
New Rapid Re-housing (permanent) provides diversion from the shelter system
Permanent Supportive Housing prioritized for persons with disabling conditions
Beds will be aligned in new single-point entry assessment system
21. Moving Forward
•
Keep people in their housing!
62% of the homeless population is living doubled-up and
experiencing barriers to rental housing in this landlord market with
<3% vacancy rate.
– Prioritize the need for emergency prevention resources; e.g. one-month
rent assistance and utility assistance.
– Develop affordable housing and create greater access to market rate
housing.
•
Move people to permanent housing.
– Re-program funds to deploy more Rapid Re-Housing that diverts people
from the homeless system. Expand this cost effective national best
practice that minimizes family crisis.
•
Align systems of care.
– Link people to housing, services and affordable health care opportunities
through a countywide single-point entry assessment system at
Community Action.
– Scheduled for implementation in 2014.
•
Data-driven planning.
– Research risk factors leading to housing instability, and develop
strategies to address socioeconomic elements; e.g. poverty, insufficient
education, underemployment, and lack of job skills.
The Aloha-Reedville Study and Livable Community Plan is a three-year effort being jointly undertaken by Washington County's Department of Land Use & Transportation and Department of Housing Services.
The study's primary objectives are to understand the existing conditions within this mostly unincorporated area of Washington County and to develop strategies to enhance the community's ability to attract investments and be better prepared to accommodate the jobs and housing that regional growth will bring.
Funded by federal Sustainable Communities grants, a Metro Construction Excise Tax grant and County matching funds.
The study is in its final year.
A related effort led by ODOT is working to identify transportation solutions along the TV Highway Corridor.
Both projects include heavy commitments to public involvement, and the project teams are coordinating closely.
Based on the 5,000+ public comments provided to the Aloha-Reedville Study's project team so far, we have developed a series of draft actions to address community concerns and aspirations.
This list of actions includes:
Roads and transit
Sidewalks and trails
Parks
Streetlights
Housing affordable to everyone
Active commercial centers
We’re asking residents to join us at one of the following events to review the draft actions and talk with the project team. We're asking one question: "Will these actions move Aloha and Reedville forward in a manner you can support?"
