Why we failed to get the EWEB Bond on the ballot
 
www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=95834&sid=5&fid=2
Should EWEB’s new operations center go ahead?
Con: Money could be spent on renewable energy
BY SHANNON WILSON, PAUL CAUTHORN AND BOB RANSOM
Published: April 22, 2008
Our Utility, Our Vote is a citizens’ effort that believes Eugene
voters deserve the opportunity to decide whether the Eugene Water &
Electric Board will issue $85 million in bonds to relocate part of our
facilities to the west Eugene wetlands. This important decision has
enormous implications for our city. The end of cheap oil and the other
energy crises that are unfolding are emergencies that require major
efforts to make the region more energy independent through investments
in renewable energy and efficiency.
In February, the Eugene City Council voted 5-3 against allowing a
public vote on EWEB’s future. Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor and Alan
Zelenka voted in favor of an election; Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Mike
Clark, George Poling and Jennifer Solomon voted against permitting it.
Afterwards, the City Council authorized EWEB to solicit $85 million in
bonds for their Roosevelt Operations Center, which would relocate the
utility’s maintenance facilities to Roosevelt Boulevard between Belt
Line Road and Bertelsen Road.
Our Utility, Our Vote is collecting signatures to require that a
democratic decision be allowed by Eugene voters before these funds can
be spent. If 4,208 valid signatures are collected before Monday, then
a special election will be held to determine the will of the people.
Petitions can be downloaded at
www.greenwasheugene.com/eweb.html.
Election opponents claim that this delay would waste money and that
there already was plenty of input. The truth is there has been
extremely little public awareness of EWEB’s plans, the cost increases
in their proposal (last year, the price tag was $70 million, not $85
million) or the greater need to prepare the region for energy shortages.
Most of EWEB’s electricity is generated by hydroelectricity, mostly
from the Bonneville Power Administration’s dams on the Columbia River
but some also from EWEB’s dams on the McKenzie River. Climate change
is likely to shrink the region’s glaciers, which provide summertime
water flows, and that will leave us with less locally produced
electricity. In addition, the end of cheap oil and natural gas are
making all energy uses more expensive.
The $85 million planned for the new Roosevelt Operations Center — the
relocated maintenance yard — could be spent instead on creating a
solar panel factory (for hot water or electricity) that could create
lots of green jobs that pay good wages.
Solarizing the homes and businesses of Eugene would employ a lot of
plumbers, electricians, construction contractors and others with the
required technical skills. There would be enormous positive
opportunities to train apprentices to help with these energy
transitions. There is also a tremendous need to insulate homes and
businesses to reduce energy waste, which would create even more jobs.
EWEB is better than most utilities in its investments in solar energy,
but the scale of the energy crisis requires that this needs to be more
than a small part of its business. When EWEB closed its Energy Outlet,
a public outreach effort about energy efficiency, the utility
complained that it could not afford to keep it open (since funding
from other utilities ended). If a small effort to educate about energy
savings is too expensive, how can EWEB afford to spend at least $85
million? These costs will average about $1,000 per EWEB customer over
the life of the bonds ($85 million divided by 85,000 customers).
One motivation for moving the EWEB maintenance yard is a desire to
sell off the riverfront properties for private developers. McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center has considered this location in the past. It
is also possible that some sort of condominium development or
commercial center would be built.
Moving part of EWEB to west Eugene also would be part of a larger
effort to expand the city of Eugene farther into neighboring farmlands
beyond the urban growth boundary.
These are all extremely important decisions that require public
ratification through a binding vote, not three-minute comment periods
at poorly publicized meetings that only a few people attend.
HHHH
Shannon Wilson, Paul Cauthorn and Bob Ransom represent Our Utility,
Our Vote, the organization seeking a public vote on the Eugene Water &
Electric Board’s plan to issue $85 million in revenue bonds for a new
operations center.
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/dt.cms.support.viewStory.cls?cid=94135&sid=1&fid=7
EWEB names five to riverfront development advisory panel
BY JEFF WRIGHT
The Register-Guard
Published: April 16, 2008 12:00AM
The Eugene Water & Electric Board leaned toward business expertise
Tuesday in selecting five people out of a pool of 45 applicants to
serve on a Community Advisory Team charged with helping to guide
redevelopment of roughly 20 acres of choice riverfront property.
The Eugene City Council next month will select another four people to
serve on the nine-member panel.
The appointees named Tuesday include Dave Hauser, president of the
Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce; business attorney Thomas Hoyt; real
estate broker Desiree Moore; real estate development consultant Dean
Pape; and retired construction company officer Gary Wildish.
The advisory team will make suggestions on how to develop the acreage
that EWEB expects to vacate when it relocates its operations complex
to a new site in west Eugene in 2010.
You MUST be a City of Eugene registered voter to sign the petition.
Support from people outside the City limits is welcome, but you cannot
sign the petition (urge your friends and co-workers inside the City to
sign).
You can collect signatures even if you are not inside the City
limits, but YOU CANNOT SIGN IF YOU DO NOT LIVE INSIDE THE CITY OF
EUGENE, even if you are an EWEB customer whose mailing address says "Eugene" but is not technically inside the city limits. Sorry.
How to help get the Bond Measure on the ballot
1. download petition for printing at www.greenwasheugene.com/eweb.pdf
You can "right click" the above link and save the file to your computer. Please read the "questions and answers" below for guidance on how to collect signatures, even if you are only signing for yourself.
Note: this is NOT an electronic petition, you MUST print out the entire PDF file above if you want to sign the petition if you do not already have a printed copy. The first six pages are the text of the resolution passed by the City Council (which you need to have available if you ask people to sign the petition in case they want to read the six pages of bureaucratic language). The seventh page is the actual petition to sign, please follow the simple instructions below so the signatures will be considered valid by the City Recorder. Electronic only petitions for ballot initiatives do not (yet?) exist, sorry.
2. fill in a page of petitions - or many pages. Please make sure to follow the guidelines listed below so that the collected signatures can be considered valid.
3. Mail the petition by April 25 to Our Utility, Our Vote, Box 51222, Eugene OR 97405
or hand deliver by April 28 to
the Cascadia Ecosystem Advocates office 454 Willamette Street Office 205 (shared with the Eugene Peaceworks at the Grower's Market)
What guidelines do petition gatherers have to follow?
1) Only 1 person per sheet (you can't have one person start collecting on sheet and hand off to another)
2) Need to witness all signatures (you can't leave at table unattended)
3) Circulator needs to sign, write name, address, date on bottom and sign ONLY AFTER THE LAST SIGNATURE WAS collected.
4) A copy of the entire resolution must be with the signature sheets for potential signers to see.
5) WE MUST KEEP TRACK OF EVERY FINANCIAL EXPENDITURE -- SHOULD PRETTY MUCH ONLY BE PHOTOCOPIES. PLEASE KEEP VERY ACCURATE RECORDS AND IF YOU SPENT MONEY ON THEM OR IF THEY WERE DONATED.
6) Make sure in the left hand corner of each petition to put the Petition ID # which is: 08-02
on this page:
- How to help get the Bond Measure on the ballot
- Questions and Answers about the EWEB petition
- Eugene Weekly urges people to sign the petition
- "Petition seeks public vote on EWEB bonding" by Jeff Wright The Register-Guard April 9, 2008
- "EWEB's new wetlands complex:
A distraction from mitigating the energy crisis" by Mark Robinowitz
- "We're ignoring the big problems"
by Shannon Wilson
- "Council vetoes EWEB bond vote"
by Edward Russo The Register-Guard February 14, 2008
Questions and Answers about the EWEB petition
a two page PDF version for printout is at
www.greenwasheugene.com/eweb-roosevelt-petition.pdf
What is the petition seeking to do?
The petition would allow voters in the City of Eugene the right to decide whether EWEB would have authority to issue $85 million in bonds to finance the relocation of its maintenance yard from the riverfront to the west Eugene wetlands along Roosevelt Boulevard.
What does signing the petition mean?
Signing the petition means that your voice is added to others seeking a public vote on this issue, it does not require that you support or oppose the bonds issue, merely the right to have a democratic decision of the citizens.
Who can sign the petition?
Only people who are registered to vote inside the City of Eugene may sign the petition, EWEB customers who are not located inside the City may not sign and will not be able to vote yes or no should the petition be placed on the ballot. If you are not sure whether you live in the City limits or not -- since the exact boundary is complicated -- you can check your voters registration to see if you are registered in the City or in the County.
Who can gather signatures?
Anyone can gather signatures, you do not need to live in the City limits to be able to collect signatures.
How many signatures are needed, and what is the deadline?
4,208 valid signatures from registered city voters -- 5 percent of the electorate -- are needed before April 28, 2008. Since there are always some invalid signatures inadvertently collected as part of a petition campaign, more than this number will be required.
If the petition campaign is successful, a special election of the City of Eugene will be held on this issue on September 16, 2008.
How can I get a copy of the petition, and where do I send completed petition forms?
You can download a copy from www.greenwasheugene.com/eweb.html
Please send completed petitions to:
Box 51222, Eugene OR 97405
You can also give completed petitions to the petitioners who will be at the Saturday Market on April 12, April 19 and April 26, or at a number of other community events before the April 28 deadline.
Petition gatherers do not need to contact the organizers to collect signatures, but it would be helpful to inform the organizers - if you plan to collect them in a public location so we can better coordinate volunteer energy.
Please contact us at eweb at greenwasheugene dot com
No petitioner is being paid to collect signatures for this effort.
Where are good places to collect petitions?
When you download the petition, make sure to sign it yourself, if you live in the City limits.
You can ask your family, neighbors, friends, work colleagues, fellow students or teachers, your church group, fraternal association, etc. Many food stores are excellent locations to collect signatures, although if you have to be on private property to approach customers the very large stores are generally hostile to the presence of citizens engaged in democracy. Public sidewalks are free speech zones where
A few schedules of local community events that would be appropriate venues:
Eugene Weekly calendar
Register Guard has several listings for community events
KLCC.org has a calendar of local events
www.lanecurrent.net/cal
We especially need lots of petitioners at the Saturday Markets on April 12, 19 and 26. Thousands of citizens visit the Saturday Market and Farmers Market, and we could easily reach our goal of 4,208 signatures solely at these markets.
I'd like to help! What are your suggestions for how to approach citizens to ask them for their signature?
Here is a suggestion of what you could say:
Hi, how are you today?....Good.
Are you a registered voter inside the Eugene city limits?....Great.
I’m with a group called Our Utility, Our Vote and we’re collecting signatures for a referendum petition for the September ballot to decide whether city voters wish to authorize $85 million worth of bonds for Eugene Water and Electric Board or EWEB to finance the construction of a brand new building in west Eugene (wetlands).
The bond measure will initially result in a $52 per year/ per household increase for EWEB ratepayers, $1,000 per household when all is said and done.
Keep in mind your signature is not a vote “yes” or “no,” it is merely support to place on the ballot in September whether or not the people of Eugene want to authorize the $85 million bond measure for their public utility.
In February, City Councilors Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor and Alan Zelenka all voted in favor of placing this measure before the people of Eugene, but were overruled.
In my opinion, $85 million dollars would be better spent towards creating green jobs, like a solar panel factory or weatherizing homes.
Thanks. Have a good day.
What is EWEB planning to do?
EWEB is planning to move its maintenance yard from their downtown facility to Roosevelt Boulevard between Beltline highway and Bertelsen Road. They do not now plan to move their administration functions (located in the large white building on the riverfront).
This relocation of their operations would shift their crews toward the edge of the city, although this would enable EWEB to be more centrally located if Eugene is further expanded out onto the surrounding farmland.
EWEB’s website on their planned Roosevelt Operations Center is at
www.eweb.org/News/projects/Roosevelt/index.htm
How much is EWEB planning to spend on their new complex?
The initial estimates from EWEB were about $70 million. The bonding authority that EWEB has been given by the City Council is for $85 million. Construction cost increases with the skyrocketing prices of fuel and materials make it likely that the real cost will be higher, still. EWEB ratepayers are ultimately responsible for paying back any bonds for this facility.
What is the cost per EWEB customer?
EWEB claims the Roosevelt Operations Center would cost $52 per year per household per year. They don't mention how many years, but it would be many. They also don't mention how much interest would have to be paid on the bonds, or what would happen if the price tag goes up more than it already has.
EWEB has about 85 thousand customers, so it would be about $1,000 per customer.
www.eweb.org/about/facts/
here is EWEB's point of view about their plans:
www.eweb.org/News/projects/Roosevelt/q_and_a.htm
How would EWEB pay to construct the new operations center?
The Eugene City Council on Feb. 25 authorized EWEB to issue up to $85.5 million in bonds to finance construction of the Roosevelt Operations Center. EWEB will issue the bonds under the Uniform Revenue Bond Act.
Under the URBA process, the bonds can be issued following a 60-day period after City Council authorization, in which citizens have the opportunity to place the measure on the ballot through an initiative petition.
EWEB Commissioners established a project budget of $83.5 million for the facility; the additional $2 million in bonding authority is needed to cover insurance and other bond-sale costs. The bonds will be paid back with electric and water revenues.
What is the current estimate of how much it would raise rates?
Based on the preliminary design for the Roosevelt Operations Center, residential customers could see an increase of approximately 1.6 percent in their electric rates and 8.7 percent in their water rates, or $52 annually for the average residential customer.
Proceeds from any sale of riverfront property vacated when construction is completed would reduce the rate impacts.
What is planned for the riverbank if EWEB moves?
There have been several proposals for construction projects on the riverbank to replace the EWEB maintenance yard. The Arlie company, a local real estate speculator, has sought to acquire this property for many years. There has been considerable discussion in the media about the potential for the site to be used for a hospital. The exact fate of this publicly owned property after EWEB remains unknown at this time.
How did the City Council vote on the bonds issue?
When the City Council gave EWEB the authority to issue the bonds, Councilor Bonny Bettman forced a vote on whether to give the citizens of Eugene the right to vote yes or no on the bonds. Her measure was defeated by 5 to 3. Bonny Bettman, Betty Taylor and Alan Zalenka voted to give the citizens of Eugene the right to vote on these bonds. Andrea Ortiz, Chris Pryor, Jennifer Solomon, Mike Clark and George Poling voted to block the citizens of Eugene from voting on these bonds. Mayor Kitty Piercy stated that if there had been a tie, she would have voted against giving the citizens the right to decide this issue.
What would the petitioners like to see EWEB do instead?
The twin crises of Peak Oil and Climate Change require that our public utility make steps to reduce energy consumption and increase renewable energy production. The money that is to be invested in the Roosevelt Operations Center could be spent instead on solar energy for many of the rooftops in Eugene, which would make the community more energy independent. We could have a local factory to make solar panel (for hot water and / or electricity) equipment for this amount of money, which would create lots of green jobs. There is also a tremendous need to insulate homes and businesses to reduce energy waste.
A majority of EWEB’s electricity is from hydroelectricity, mostly from the Bonneville Power Administration’s dams on the Columbia River but some also from EWEB’s dams on the McKenzie River. Climate change is likely to reduce the region’s glaciers that contribute to summertime water flows, so investing in solar power is critical for avoiding energy shortages.
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