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Street Maintenance Fee
January 2009
Council has approved an increased Street Maintenance Fee.
Read more...
State of the City
December 2009
The overreaching goal of the city must always be to
provide basic city services of the highest quality in the
most cost-effective way.
Read more...
Stimulus Funding
UPDATE: November 2009
Whatever you think about American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
funding, our community will see a direct benefit. Already, Tigard
has been awarded grants and ARRA funding which total a little over
$6.4 million dollars from state and federal sources.
More Details Here!
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Message from the Mayor
February 2010
In October 2009, the city conducted its biennial Community Attitudes Survey. Residents listed traffic and traffic congestion as the most important issues for the Council to address in the coming year. When asked what the city’s priority should be to address traffic concerns, the most prevalent answer was improving Pacific Highway (99W) at 34 percent; second was light rail at 20 percent.
To address those priorities, the city has been working to complete three major improvements to Pacific Highway as it passes through Tigard.
1) Working with the County, plans are in place to expand and reconfigure the intersection at Hall Boulevard. Land purchases necessary to making highway improvements are underway. Construction is scheduled to start in the spring.
2) In conjunction with this project, the city is finalizing plans for a similar reconstruction at the Greenburg Road intersection of 99W.
3) This year a replacement and upgrade of the traffic control system that governs light timing and sequencing along the entire length of the highway from Portland all the way to Durham Road is planned.
All these projects are scheduled to be completed by fall 2011 and will significantly improve traffic flow on 99W and its intersecting streets. Taken together, these efforts represent an investment of over $10 million dollars, paid from current and future gas tax revenue and development fees.
Similar improvements to the intersection at McDonald/Gaarde Street are planned once a funding source has been secured. This project is on Washington County’s list for a $5 million dollar federal earmark in 2011.
Meanwhile, Council is aggressively pursuing a light rail line which follows Pacific Highway from downtown Portland through Tigard. This transit project currently sits at the top of Metro and TriMet’s list of future projects and becomes a top priority for the Metro region after the currently planned project to Milwaukie is complete. At this point, the soonest we could expect the light rail line to be a reality is 2019. The approval and planning process for light rail construction is a long one.
Your feedback has helped City Council focus on plans for immediate improvements to 99W and a long-term strategy to add a high capacity transit choice as well.
Craig E. Dirksen, Mayor
craigd@tigard-or.gov
January 2010
City Council Approves Street Maintenance Fee Increase
On December 8, 2009, City Council made a difficult decision, the most difficult
we have had to make during my current term in office; the decision to approve an
increase to the Street
Maintenance Fee. We understand the difficult times we are all facing. Every member of Council has a primary career outside of government, and all of us face reduced circumstances as a result of the economic situation, just like everyone else.
Citizen Priorities
In citizen surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009, residents identified “Maintaining Streets & Utilities” as their second priority, behind “Safety.” The current fee was established in 2004 but needs and costs of repairs have increased. Without adequate funding, the condition of Tigard’s roads will decline. The city has a scientific street maintenance program that tracks the condition of city streets, evaluates which require maintenance and estimates when the required maintenance should be done.
Now or Later?
We became aware of the need for a fee increase in order to adequately maintain the streets of Tigard in October 2008. Since then, Council has held ten public meetings to consider various alternatives for funding the city’s long-term street maintenance needs. It is a challenge for the Council to balance the community’s priority with the tough economic times facing our citizens and businesses. We have delayed any action until now, both in hopes of the economy improving and to allow time to calculate the fairest and most cost-effective way to provide funding for essential street maintenance. Additionally, Council decided to phase the increase to further soften the financial impact on citizens and businesses. As part of the fee increase, Council has directed an annual review of the Street Maintenance Fee by a citizen committee to confirm priorities and funding levels.
Where the Money Goes
The city’s other source of funding for street construction and maintenance is state and local gas taxes. These sources are currently committed to ongoing long-term street improvement projects which include the reconstruction and improvement of Burnham St. in Tigard’s downtown, and major improvements to the 99W/Hall Blvd. intersection and the 99W/Greenburg Rd. intersection. Citizens have consistently rated projects that reduce traffic congestion to be of high priority; over the last few years Council has worked hard to assemble funding to accomplish this goal. The city has never diverted gas taxes or other road improvement funds for other uses.
Protecting Your Investment
Reconstructing streets that have deteriorated due to lack of maintenance is at least twice as costly as regular maintenance. Poorly maintained streets can also impact commercial deliveries and cause unnecessary wear and tear on personal vehicles.
We have spent many millions of dollars in creating the road system we rely upon every day. To fail to maintain it adequately would be short-sighted and makes poor business sense.
December 2009
Election day has come and gone, and Tigard voters decided not to support the bond measure for the purchase of park land and for park and trail development. While the measure went down in defeat by a close margin, nevertheless, the voters have spoken and we must respect the outcome. The economy continues to be an issue of concern, and I believe that this is what drove the final result of the election.
Despite the outcome, we must also recognize the importance Tigard residents give to a complete park system. Citizen polling and communications with City Council members and staff consistently show the high level of interest Tigard residents have in protecting our remaining open spaces and expanding our parks system.
The City Council and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board will work diligently to develop future means to purchase parks and open spaces. We will work with citizens to consider all of our options, including possibly referring another funding measure to voters after the economy improves.
We will all work together to make Tigard “A Place to Call Home.”
November 2009
Burnham Street Breaks Ground
At last! Construction has begun! Back in 2002, the Downtown Task Force was created to explore ways to take advantage of plans for a Commuter Rail Line through downtown. In time, the Task Force expanded its focus to improving downtown as a whole. Four years of workshops, design workshops and public hearings led to a Downtown Improvement Plan that formed the basis for the Urban Renewal District created in 2006.
The Plan outlined a green, pedestrian-friendly street showcasing Tigard’s vision of its downtown as a vibrant urban village close to amenities and transportation.
However, funding this project presented many hurdles. We debated whether to build in phases or scale-back plans. Fortune smiled upon us in the form of construction bids that were well-below what we expected. I’m happy to say that we will be able to construct a new Burnham Street as envisioned in the Downtown Improvement Plan.
This is just the first in a series of planned projects (Main Street Green Street, a public plaza known as The Heart of Tigard, and improvements to Fanno Creek Park) that over the next few years will transform downtown.
October 2009
And the survey says...
Every two years the City of Tigard conducts a scientific survey of its residents to find out their views on the issues that the city is facing or that we will be facing in the near future, from land use to transportation, how to deal with growth to what to do about water, and at least a dozen others. This is just one of the ways that the city tries to get valuable input from its citizens about what they feel is important and where the city should focus its energies.
The formal survey takes a poll of about 400 randomly selected households within the city limits of Tigard. This random selection ensures that the data received truly reflects the views of the average Tigard resident, and not just of those who self-select themselves to be heard because of their interest or concern for a special issue or because they have the time to be active in local affairs. BUT for this to work it means that those who receive the call must be willing to take part, thus preserving the randomness of the action. So when the surveyor calls you and identifies themselves as polling for the City of Tigard, please make yourself available for the few minutes it takes to answer their questions. It just takes a little time, and it makes a big difference in our ability to accurately represent your interests and serve the common purpose.
September 2009
Happy Birthday Tigard!
Tigard was incorporated as a city on September 11, 1961 and has existed as a community since 1852, when Wilson Tigard and his family arrived from Arkansas.
When the Tigard family arrived, the area was known as East Butte, after the small hill east of Bull Mountain. The Tigard Family was instrumental in forming the East Butte School, located where Canterbury Lane now meets Pacific Highway.
By 1886, John Tigard’s general store (located by East Butte School) housed the first post office and was referred to as “Tigardville.” In 1910, the Oregon Electric Railroad built near Fanno Creek in order to spur development along Main Street. Local residents referred to this section of town as “Tigard.” Eventually the two settlements merged under the name “Tigard” to avoid any confusion for railroad passengers headed to “Wilsonville,” located farther down the line.
Since that time, the area has continued to prosper, eventually becoming the charming community we call home today. Come celebrate the city’s birthday at the 5th Annual Family Fest on September 10, 11 and 12 and be reminded of why Tigard is “A Place to Call Home!”
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