Marion County Commissioners Deliver State of the County Report

(SALEM, Ore.) - This morning, Marion County Commissioners Janet Carlson, Sam Brentano and Patti Milne presented Marion County's State of the County report.

Addressing the impacts of meth on families by developing powerful social community-based programs, creating a business friendly environment that attracts and recruits businesses that enhance our community, promoting public safety issues and continuing to improve roads and bridges were just a few of the topics spotlighted by the commissioners.

Introduction - Today, my fellow commissioners and I will review the State of Marion County… we want to discuss the work we have completed in 2007, the building blocks for progress we’ve laid, and the steps we must take to move forward to face the challenges ahead.

Sample of many accomplishments - We are a diverse, growing and changing Marion County. We are pleased this morning to share many successes and achievements Marion County has made to move forward this past year. In the short time we have this morning, we won’t be able to discuss all of the accomplishments of this past year, but we will touch on a number of them.

Appreciate county employees and volunteers - Talented and dedicated employees support us, as well as hundreds of community volunteers who do everything from serve on committees and boards to working at the fair or in our county parks. We are grateful for everyone’s contributions to Marion County.

Order of presentation - We are pleased to provide you this morning with our State of the County report. I am going to lead off as outgoing chairperson for 2007, Commissioner Milne will follow and then 2008 chair Commissioner Brentano will provide further comments and concluding remarks.

Marion County growth - Our county population is now over 311,000. In 1990 our population was roughly 228,500. This represents a 36% increase over the 17-year period. Obviously, Marion County will continue to experience growth and its corresponding impacts.

Impact of growth on social problems - Growth has brought with it additional social challenges, including problems primarily fueled in recent years by methamphetamine use. Here are some recent statistics:

1. Abuse and Neglect – In 2006, 1,662 children in Marion County were confirmed victims of abuse and neglect. 2. Addiction – A Marion County jail survey found that 74% of offenders have used methamphetamine.

3. Literacy – In 2005, Marion County ranked last of 36 counties in combined measures of reading, math, and high school dropouts.

4. Children of Incarcerated Parents – Thousands of children in Marion County are affected by parental incarceration, based on a survey at the Marion County jail. 73% of inmates reported being parents.

5. Poverty – 21% of children under the age of 18 live in households that met the federal poverty threshold in 2005.

6. Homelessness – 2,006 people in Marion County were homeless according to a January 2007 count. The next homeless count will be conducted on Wednesday, January 30, 2008.

• Center for Family Success – Marion County facilitated the opening of a new Center for Family Success focused on parents re-entering the community from incarceration. The center brings education, counseling, treatment, parenting skills, employment, and life skills services together in one facility. With its grand opening on November 5, 2007, the center is already working with 14 parents enrolled through referrals from Marion County’s drug court.

• Children of Incarcerated Parents – Marion County has continued to sustain its Children of Incarcerated Parents initiative. The initiative coordinates parenting classes through the Sheriff’s Office, introduces “family friendly” practices into the corrections culture and works to remove barriers through efforts such as Project Smile.

• The Guido Caldarazzo Methamphetamine Task Force and Barrier Busters – Marion County continues to work in partnership with community, faith, business and government leaders to develop strategies that reduce barriers to community re-entry, specifically in the areas of housing and employment. The emphasis continues to be “putting families back together” who have experienced the ravages of methamphetamine addiction.

• Volunteer and Mentor Center – Marion County helped open a new Volunteer and Mentor Center housed at United Way of the Mid-Willamette Valley, which encompasses an interactive GiveBackToday web site. Marion County also assisted in coordinating a successful Call to Action breakfast to promote volunteerism in Marion County.

• Health Department Director Award - Health Department Director Rod Calkins was recognized by the State of Oregon for excellence in leadership of mental health services. Mr. Calkins led the development of geriatric mental health services, guided planning and development of county-operated residential mental health services and successfully advocated for expanded jail mental health services and creation of Marion County’s Mental Health Court.

• Great Beginnings – The Children and Families Commission initiated Great Beginnings to increase awareness about early brain development and the impacts of abuse and neglect on young children. Initial trainings were evaluated as effective and were geared toward licensed childcare providers; Friends Families Neighbors (or unlicensed child care providers) serving high needs families; and mental health support for all providers.

Under Faye Fagel’s leadership, the Children and Families Commission is improving service coordination for runaway and homeless youth. And the commission also completed an extensive process to create a new six-year comprehensive plan that the Board of Commissioners just approved in January 2008.

• Fresh Start Market - The successful Fresh Start Market on Center Street allows juvenile offenders to work off their restitution while teaching them employment skills (and offering great smoothies to the public!).

• Code Enforcement - The Marion County Board of Commissioners has been working to improve coordination and communication between Public Works and the Sheriff’s office to respond to noise complaints under its existing ordinance. Marion County also hired a third code enforcement officer in 2007.

• Election drop off boxes – For the November 2007 election, the County Clerk helped make voting more accessible by expanding the number of ballot drop off sites throughout Marion County and working with city officials to re-locate the drop off site in Salem.

• Marion County Fair – In July 2007, the Marion County Fair increased attendance and volunteers by 44% over 2004, along with a 74% increase in fair revenues from gate receipts.

• Strategic Plan – In December 2007, department heads and elected officials re-affirmed Marion County’s Mission Statement: We serve the public to protect, promote, and enhance a positive quality of life. A strong value of customer service will emphasized throughout county operations for the coming year.

• Conclusion - I am excited to report this progress to you and look to 2008 with enthusiasm to continue to move forward these important initiatives.

• As you heard, Marion County continues to grow and this means we must continue to reach out to our communities and our partners to work together to create a business friendly environment that attracts and recruits businesses that enhance our community.

• In 2007, I was pleased to participate with SEDCOR in conducting a Regional Economic Profile and Strategic Assessment. With this valuable tool, we have a better understanding of the region’s current economic conditions and needs, which in turn helps us review, rewrite or implement new ordinances to encourage and promote economic growth.

For example, we know there is still room to streamline our permitting process so peoples’ time and resources are not delayed unnecessarily. Time is always money, but with Oregon weather, delays can be especially costly. We can’t allow clumsy bureaucracy to keep construction crews away from the construction site or allow equipment to stand idle. When Marion County is efficient with time and money, everyone wins.

• Probably the largest economic development project in Marion County is the Oregon Garden Hotel, which is now under construction. When complete in the fall of this year, the $10 million resort hotel will include 103 guest rooms, meeting rooms, a restaurant, outdoor pool and spa, and meeting rooms. This was only possible as a result of sharp negotiating by Marion County Administrator, John Lattimer; the City of Silverton and Moonstone properties. The new Oregon Garden Foundation Board, which I chair, worked hard in 2007 to establish itself, build community relationships, and create a strategic plan that identifies fund-raising opportunities to solidify its financial base for the future.

Capping off these accomplishments is the close of the receivership on February 14, 2008. This begins a new and exciting phase for the Oregon Garden, one that will be marked with new growth, expanded opportunities and innovative partnerships. It is truly an exciting time at the Oregon Garden and it’s taken a lot of hard work to get here. • Balancing growth and protecting valuable, productive agricultural land has been and will continue to be a concern. This will especially be true in the north part of Marion County as Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties set the criteria for designating their urban and rural reserves. This process will take place over the next two years and we will be keeping a close eye on their discussions and decisions.

The ongoing struggle to provide safety and encourage economic progress while maintaining noise levels, traffic congestion and livability around the Aurora Airport is another issue I’ll continue to be involved in through 2008. I’m proud to say, however, we had great success last year in opening up lines of communication and cooperation among the north county communities, community groups, and Marion and Clackamas Counties. Informal working agreements as well as formal intergovernmental agreements have helped to keep discussions moving forward and to identify issues of mutual concern. I am particularly pleased with this progress because it helps everyone involved navigate the complicated maze of bureaucracy and regulation, resulting in workable community-based solutions.

• Our new financial management infrastructure made it easier for us to finally implement department performance audits. We started with the Clerk’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office. The results of these audits will show us how to be more efficient, thus maximizing our resources to their fullest. Although our county budget is in excess of $300 million, General Fund dollars continue to tighten and these audits give us solid data to better identify which programs are cost effective, allowing us to determine the merit of a program based on fact and not pressures brought by advocacy groups.

The facilities study group included several county employees as well as community members in assessing and identifying the functionality of our current facilities and in projecting future facility needs. We must make sure we are getting the best value for the taxpayers’ dollars. This means properly utilizing existing space, critically assessing future space needs, and not putting off necessary repairs and maintenance that become increasingly more expensive over time.

• In September, we commissioners appointed Russ Isham as Sheriff. It’s been a smooth transition and he’s doing a fantastic job.

Sheriff Isham has set Community Policing as a priority. This philosophy fits well with both the County’s and the Public Safety Coordinating Council’s Strategic Plans. Professionalism, community relationships and accountability are the standards he holds his staff to. What a great example of Marion County’s commitment to the public.

• As chair of the Public Safety Coordinating Council, I’m happy to report we did make tremendous progress in the fight against meth. The number of meth labs was drastically reduced; and through the Methamphetamine Strike Force, a multi-agency unit, over 2.7 pounds of crystal meth, 89 weapons, and $39,000 in cash were seized from mid-level drug dealers. From this 23 individuals were prosecuted and will serve 440 months in prison.

• Our second annual Striking Out Meth in Marion County event held at Volcanoes Stadium was again an opportunity to celebrate these important successes in the fight against meth. With the generous support of Volcanoes Baseball, we will host our third annual event on July 18, 2008, at Volcanoes Stadium.

• Through the efforts of the Public Safety Coordinating Council, we changed our protocols in reporting foreign-born criminals booked in the county jail; increasing our holds on illegal aliens by 300%. We have build a strong working relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), as a result of encouraging cooperation and communication between ICE and our county policing agencies. Working together as partners, we can help educate community members about the facts of this critical issue.

• Another critical issue that we will turn our attention to is that of gangs. Sadly, gangs are resurfacing after a calm in gang activity over the past several years. Convicted gang members who have served their sentence are coming back into the community, taking up old habits and recruiting new members. We are developing a model intervention program to address, and hopefully impact, this dangerous trend.

• On a happier note, I’d like to share that our new dog shelter celebrated a successful first year. We took in over 2,400 stray dogs, returned 860 dogs to their owners and found homes for nearly 400 dogs! It’s a beautiful, functional shelter. If you are looking for a puppy or a mature dog, be sure to go visit the Marion County Dog Shelter!

• I am going to focus on the areas of transportation, future planning and emergency management. I will then offer some concluding comments on behalf of the three of us.

• I am very pleased to report that County staff has participated in numerous drills and exercises in 2007 to be prepared to serve citizens well in the event of a disaster in Marion County. Those who staff the emergency operations center are prepared for all types of hazards and continue to practice and participate in drills to protect our citizens. We are completing our own Marion County Business Continuity Plan, making sure that County operations can continue in the event of a disaster.

Our County staff has collaborated with local city, state, other counties and organizations, including Chemeketa Community College and Salem Hospital, to coordinate a cohesive and thorough response to emergencies in our county. Along those lines, our Health Department has created POD—points of distribution---for medication distribution to those most vulnerable in the event of a major crisis here. This illustrates the forward thinking in Marion County to keep our people safe.

• We also adopted the Community Wildfire Protection plan. This was completed in conjunction with multiple stakeholders including local fire departments and state and federal forestry representatives. This plan will reduce the risk of fire and damages from fire.

• Looking at our transportation infrastructure, and having learned from the bridge disaster in Minnesota, we replaced 4 bridges and repaired one.

Mt. Angel-Gervais Hwy over Pudding R. overflow channel, and on same road over Pudding R. Total cost was $1.4 million, paid for by state OTIA III funds.

Jefferson-Marion Rd. over the Union Pacific RR, near Jefferson. This was a 2-year project. Cost was $3.7 million, funded by OTIA III.

S. Abiqua Rd. over Abiqua Creek. Cost was $950,000. Funding was 80% federal, 20% county.

Deck overlay on C Street over Silver Creek (Silverton). Cost was $200,000, paid with county road funds.

Preservative treatment (fumigation) on 10 wood bridges. Cost was $80,000, paid with county road funds.

Independence Bridge scour repair & protection. Budget is $1.5 million. Funding is 90% federal, 10% county.

Independence Bridge expansion joint replacement. Preliminary estimate is $50,000,

• We continue to participate in the third bridge project. We are always working to enhance and improve our roads.

Little North Fork Road (additional slide control measures to maintain the road for current residential and recreational use)

• In 2007, among many improvements, we completed a left turn lane on Cordon Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. Continue to seek funds to improve our transportation infrastructure; including ensuring that the Stayton-Sublimity interchange continues to move forward.

Buena Vista Ferry (created a stakeholders group to gather information and make recommendations to the board—this ferry has 7500 riders per year and is very important to its riders and to farming operations. But it is a 50-year-old ferry in need of replacement—complicated by the fact it cannot use the locks in Oregon City. Finding solutions and options will be a difficult task.

Approx. 6 miles of overlays. Budget is $400,000 in county road funds if we can manage it.

North Lancaster pedestrian crossings and islands (2 or 3 locations). Budget is $185,000.

• Solid Waste: WTEF contract expires in 2014 Other important work we accomplished I would like to highlight:

• We were Number One in 2007: Marion County led the state in recycling and composting -- at 57.5 percent of all the waste residents generated…kudos to our public works department and to everyone for participating in this important program.

• Since 2004 we have processed 481 Measure 37 Claims and recently created an ordinance to implement Measure 49. In addition, since 2004, we have processed approximately 300 land use permits per year.

• Hiring a new Public Works Director and Children and Families Commission Director

• Studying the impacts of potential upcoming ballot measures, which will have an impact on the county, such as Measures 40 and 41, which deal with minimum sentences for property crimes.

• Continue to look at roads issues as a major priority and seeking funding for our roads.

• Just touched upon the issues and accomplishments briefly this morning. Want to remind you that you can find a lot more information about what is going on in Marion County on our website, which is www.co.marion.or.us

• We are prepared to make the critical decisions that must be made today—to ensure a better quality of life for tomorrow---for our children and grandchildren.

• Please share our vision with us and get involved in helping to make your county better. Visit our website and send us comments and thoughts, come to commission meetings and public hearings and provide your input.

• Take advantage of e-mail: that is the quickest and easiest way to contact any of the three of us. The link to e-mailing us is on our website. We welcome and encourage your comments.