George W. ROCKS!

Our dog George W., doing what he does best!

Sandy River Flooding, Sunday January 16

Dog's Three Days On Cliff: Volunteers To The Rescue

From Oregonlive.com:
"When a Troutdale woman woke up to a dog crying outside early Wednesday, she didn’t think it would take three days to rescue the distressed canine."

Troutdale's Urban Renewal Crossroads

The discussion at Tuesday night's Troutdale Urban Renewal Agency work session took an unexpected twist. The discussion at the meeting was to be focused on an update on prospective developers of Troutdale's Riverfront Renewal site and a discussion about possible incentives to developers. This discussion took place as planned.

Consultant Abe Farkas gave a report on his efforts to find interested developers for the Riverfront Renewal site. Farkas told the Urban Renewal Agency that he contacted 24 firms within the Northwest region, focusing on what he termed "quality developers". Of the 24 firms he contacted, several companies toured the Riverfront Renewal site. One firm spent a 1/2 day in Troutdale with their architect and engineers.

Unfortunately, nearly all the developers told Farkas they were not interested in pursuing the site at this time. Reasons given by developers for their lack of interest should be common knowledge by anyone reading the news: the current economic situation. Some developers indicated their individual financial circumstances prevented their taking on another project. Some developers indicated times were tough- so tough that they have laid off up to 30-40% of their staff.

Farkas said three companies have not gotten back to him with a yes/no verdict yet.

The discussion then moved to a sample list of economic incentives that other cities/urban renewal agencies have used to encourage quality development. (Click here to see the list).

We went through the list point by point, discussing the pros and cons of each type of economic incentive. Each type of incentive had its own unique risk/reward proposition. We didn't decide whether to pursue any of these incentives, but we asked city staff to come up with more details, specifically the financial risks to the city.

At that point in the meeting, a surprising discussion popped out. We began to talk about our negotiations with Chelsea Group, owners of the Gorge Premium Outlet Mall. The city had previously negotiated a deal with Chelsea for an option to purchase of a right of way through the outlet mall in order to gain access to the Riverfront Renewal site. (In case you aren't familiar with the Riverfront Renewal site, it's behind and directly to the east of the outlet mall. The site has no public access. It is landlocked. No public access, no development opportunities). The city already paid approximately $300,000 to purchase the option for the right of way from Chelsea. However, that option expires at the end of 2008. When we negotiated for this purchase option 18 months ago, we assumed we would have found a developer by now. But the economy took a turn for the worse.

To make a long story short, someone ( I don't remember who) asked consultant Abe Farkas if he would pay more money to extend the option for another year. Farkas said he wouldn't spend that kind of money for another year on the option, which could cost the city another $300-350,000. Farkas said the city already has the power of eminent domain. When we need the road, we can condemn the piece of property we need for the public access through the outlet mall, and save ourselves the $350,000 today.(Note:Any future condemnation would still cost the city the appraised value of the condemned property plus any legal costs.)

Although we previously used the threat of condemnation with Chelsea to get them to the bargaining table to complete a deal for the first option agreement, with no interested developer coming into play for the foreseeable future, what is the rush to spend more city money for another option? In addition, several sources, including Mr. Farkus last night, told us that during talks with developers over the past year, many of them contacted Chelsea directly to see if Chelsea might be interested in selling the mall. The sources told us that Chelsea has indicated to these developers that this particular outlet mall is one of their smallest, and least profitable.

So it turns out that some developers could eventually be interested in doing something with the combined outlet mall/Riverfront Renewal properties. If a developer came along that wanted to do this, there would be no need for the city to purchase a right of way through the Chelsea property. This scenario is (unofficially, my impression only) what the Urban Renewal Agency would like to see regarding the entire property. And why not? The current negotiated price to complete the purchase of the right of way is about $2.2 million. And Troutdale doesn't have that kind of cash to waste on something that might be unnecessary. However, if we let the current option expire, the city loses its original $300,000 payment for the option. Gone. vanished. What will Troutdale taxpayers think if we let the option expire?

An opposing train of thought also came up. There was discussion about a Troutdale developer who was "slightly" interested in the developing Riverfront Renewal site, but he/she wanted assurances that the city would actually purchase the right of way, because he/she apparently has no interest in purchasing the Chelsea property.

Why not bring this developer to the table now and tell them the time is now to fish or cut bait? Come to agreement before the city's option for the right of way expires, and the city will agree to buy the right of way. But the clock is ticking. December 31, the option may vanish.

These are the options on the table for the Urban Renewal Agency/City Council to consider between now and December 31:

Let our option expire. $300,000 of the city's option money gone without anything to show for it. But save the city another $300,000 by not renewing the option. Then doggedly track down all potential leads, however long it takes, and successfully close a deal with a developer who wants to develop both the outlet mall and the Riverfront Renewal site together, saving the city the $2.2 million purchase price for a no longer needed public access through the outlet mall. If necessary, the city could still go through eminent domain to purchase public access through the outlet mall if the chosen developer didn't want to include the outlet mall property in the project.

Or renew the option for another year, for another $300,000, with no guarantee of an improved economy or an interested and willing to sign on the dotted line developer.

Or attempt to close a deal with the previously mentioned Troutdale developer before December 31st's option expiration date.

There is a lot of taxpayer money already on the table. There could be much, much more taxpayer money at risk. But there are also potential rewards for Troutdale and the the entire region. A revitalized downtown Troutdale. A public riverwalk along the Sandy River. New places to live, work, and play in our city.

Comments and thoughts are welcome. It's your money, Troutdalians. What would you like us to do with your public property and your tax dollars?

Glen Otto Park Flood Pics, May 18, 2008

About a month ago, The trail to the Sandy River at Troutdale's Glen Otto Park was under three to four feet of ice cold snow runoff. These pictures were taken at the park on May 18, 2008 around 6:30pm. Fortunately, the trail to the beach yesterday was a little muddy, but passable.



This picture shows the non-existent beach of the Sandy River on the far left. On the far right you can see a crowd of people waiting for a ride on a makeshift "ferry" across the icy cold water between the river and the Glen Otto Park parking lot.

The crowd is shown here waiting their turn for the "ferry" trip across the icy deep. . .

The generous (and probably freezing) Good Samaritan tows his ferry passengers through 3-4 feet of ice cold water to the parking lot trail.

And here's the view from the ferry's western destination, the trail leading to Glen Otto Park's parking lot. You can get a better idea of the amount of water that covered the park from this view. This view looks to the east- the Sandy River is beyond the sand bar in the distance, left of center.

Finally, the view looking eastward, toward the Sandy River, from the top of the trail to the parking lot.

Where To Find USGS Real-Time Water Data

A reader wants to know where I got the real-time water date for the Sandy River. Click here for the link to the water gage where Beaver Creek runs into the Sandy River. Or click here for a list of 206 water stations with real time data available.

Sandy River 's Snowmelt Runoff Began May 13

The Sandy River is among several regional rivers that are carrying unusually high volumes of snow runoff. For the Sandy River in Troutdale, this high water flow began during a five hour period on May 13. Take a look at the USGS water data measured at Beaver Creek's intersection with the Sandy River. Starting at 11am May 13 through about 4pm May 13, The runoff from melting snow upriver raised the gage height from 5.19 feet to 5.78 feet. Even more impressive: in the space of about five hours, the discharge rate increased by 13.1 cfs. That's a lot of melted snow!

Gage Height(feet) Discharge (cfs)

05/13/2008 11:00	5.19	1.9
05/13/2008 11:15	5.19	1.9
05/13/2008 11:30	5.20	2.0
05/13/2008 11:45	5.20	2.0
05/13/2008 12:00	5.20	2.0
05/13/2008 12:15	5.20	2.0
05/13/2008 12:30	5.21	2.1
05/13/2008 12:45	5.21	2.1
05/13/2008 13:00	5.22	2.2
05/13/2008 13:15	5.22	2.2
05/13/2008 13:30	5.23	2.2
05/13/2008 13:45	5.28	2.8
05/13/2008 14:00	5.29	2.9
05/13/2008 14:15	5.30	3.0
05/13/2008 14:30	5.32	3.2
05/13/2008 14:45	5.42	4.5
05/13/2008 15:00	5.57	8.0
05/13/2008 15:15	5.70	12
05/13/2008 15:30	5.77	14
05/13/2008 15:45	5.78	15
05/13/2008 16:00	5.79	15
05/13/2008 16:15	5.78	15

Actual location of the gage:

LOCATION.--Lat 45° 31'10", long 122° 23'16", in DLC number 50,  T.1 N., R.3 E.,
Multnomah County, Hydrologic Unit 17080001, on right bank, 100 ft downstream from
Stark Street culvert outlet and at mile 2.1.

Historical Extremes:
EXTREMES FOR PERIOD OF RECORD.--Maximum discharge, 872 ft3/s Jan. 31, 2003,
gage height, 12.01 ft;
minimum discharge, 0.06 ft3/s Aug. 29, 2000, Aug. 25, 30, 31, Sept. 6-11, 14, 2002. 

Happy 100th Birthday, Troutdale!

Today is the official 100th birthday of the city of Troutdale, which was incorporated on October 2, 1907. At tonight's meeting, fellow city councilor Dave Ripma read the minutes from the very first city council meeting. Among the items on that first agenda: approval of a license for a new saloon. The license fee: $400!

Troutdale is a community with a rich historic past. The area at the confluence of the Sandy and Columbia Rivers was "discovered" in the autumn of 1792 by Lt. Broughton and his men. The Crew was traveling aboard a British vessel under command of Captain George Vancouver who was aboard another vessel. They were ascending the Columbia River, when they reached a point just east of the mouth of the Sandy River. This point, immediately across the Sandy River from Troutdale, was named Broughton's Bluff, many years later. Mount Hood, however, was seen and named on this location at that time.

The earliest settlers came in 1850 and 1851. Early donation land claims were filed by John Douglass, D.F. Buxton, Benjamin Hall, Stott and Hicklin. Family records credit David F. Buxton as Troutdale's true founder. He filed a donation land claim in 1853 in the center of the present city of Troutdale. Buxton developed the town's first primitive water system, which was in use until the 1960's. He died in Troutdale in 1910.

However, it was Captain John Harlow, a former sea captain from Maine and successful Portland businessman, who conceived a plan for the town and made it happen. In 1872 he purchased part of Buxton's land claim to build his country home. Because he raised trout in ponds on his farm, he called his farm "Troutdale." He convinced the railroad to build a depot at the site of his farm so he could ship his produce. On November 20th in 1882, Troutdale had a rail line; an important step in becoming a bonafide town.

After Harlow's death in 1883, Celestia, his widow, began platting a town with blocks and streets. Much of the city was built in 1890 and 1891. The first edition of Troutdale's newspaper announced the opening of Aaron Fox's new store, a restaurant, and included ads for a hardware store, surgeon, notary public and blacksmith.

The town's major industry was the American Dressed Meat Company, later sold to become Portland's Swift and Company. Other industries that rose were a lumber mill, a hotel and a distillery. The distillery burned in what was reported as a "bright blue flame" in the 1890's.

Aaron Fox was instrumental in incorporating the City in 1907 and became its first mayor. It had become a town of saloons, and incorporation arose from the necessity to exercise some controls over them. Huge licensing fees precluded the need for city taxes.

In 1907, a disastrous fire swept through the city burning the 1890's buildings. A church built on a hillside two blocks from the business district was one of the few 1890's buildings that survived. Some homes also survived.

In 1914, two years after women got to vote in Oregon, Clara Latourell Larsson become mayor of Troutdale and one of Oregon's earliest women mayors.

The Columbia River Highway was built and ran through Troutdale in 1916. Enterprising residents opened businesses, restaurants, tea rooms, hot dog stands and dance pavilions to feed and entertain the travellers.

In 1924, Laura Harlow, daughter-in-law of Captain John Harlow was elected Mayor of the city.

In 1925, a second fire mostly destroyed the business district. This fire is believed to have resulted from an explosion of a still in the garage of John Larsson, the former mayor's husband. The Tiller Hotel and Helming's Saloon, both built after the first 1907 fire, are two of the pre-1925 buildings left in the business district today.

John Harlow's original house was torn down in the 1920's. The only original building remaining was the home of his son, Fred, built in 1900 on the original farm site. That building is now the Harlow House Museum of the Troutdale Historical Society. The original rail depot burned in 1907 and was replaced by a second depot that is now the Rail Museum. It was moved from its original location to its present site in 1979.

In the 1920's, Troutdale claimed the title of the "Celery Capital of the World" as a result of prize winning celery grown here. But farmers also grew wonderful produce and gladiola bulbs... grown in the area's fertile, sandy soil and shipped all over the nation by rail.

The Troutdale City Hall was completed in 1923. The original wood dance floor is now covered by city offices. The dances were an important part of Troutdale's social life for years.

Construction of an aluminum plant was a boon to the economy in the mid 1940's, but eventually its emissions ended the gladiola industry and damaged other crops. Completion of Interstate 84 in the 1950's pulled traffic off the Columbia River Highway and away from Troutdale. The City remained fairly quiet during the 1950's.

Suddenly in the 1960's, Portland suburbanites discovered Troutdale and the City built its first subdivision and made plans for a new sewage treatment plant. Under the guidance of Mayor Glenn Otto, who later became a state senator and statewide leader, the city boundaries expanded from 320 to more than 2000 acres.

(Information from the city of Troutdale website, reprints from the Champion newsletter, and information supplied by the Troutdale Historical Society.)

Marmot Dam Blast- Just A PR Show

From KATU.com:"At a thousand feet, it's pretty tough to see much in a controlled blast, so we're going to add some visual effects so they can actually see something happening," said Dilley. "We've set up some noisemakers, plus there will be material that will be thrown up in the air."

I guess they had some leftovers from the 4th of July.

Chaos On The Sandy River

As the Mrs. and I headed out to Wahkeena Falls for an evening picnic about 6:30pm tonight, we were witnesses to full traffic chaos at the east side of the Troutdale bridge. We also witnessed a near-tragedy about 100 feet north of that spot on Columbia River Highway.

The traffic chaos at the east and of the Troutdale bridge consisted of cars blowing right through the stop sign southbound on Columbia River highway at the turn onto the Troutdale bridge. One car blew right in front of me- only Providence saved us from being T-boned by the madman driving, and another close behind him swerved behind us. They were both dashing for parking spots at the south side of the bridge.

The near-tragedy we witnessed was a tiny toddler, no more then 18 months to two years old, dashing toward the Sandy river in front of the car in front of us, which managed to stop just in time. This was no more than 100 feet north of the chaos at the Troutdale bridge. All traffic stopped, wondering what this little girl would do. We were all looking for the little girl's parents. There was a pickup parked on the east side of the road with several folks fiddling with inner tubes, rafts, etc. But they didn't seem interested in the little girl. After a full two minutes, a woman from this disinterested bunch finally looked up and ran across the street to fetch the little girl.

Unbelievable. How could anyone let a small child out of their sight, let alone their car seat, or holding someones hand, or holding the little girl? She was a 1/2 second away from being run over.

We avoid going down to the Sandy River when it's hot for this very reason. The few stupid, irresponsible folks who make bad choices ruin the river for everyone else. The only time I go down to the river this time of year is very early in the morning, when the irresponsible folks are still sleeping off their hangovers.