News

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Photo by Steve Wilkowske

Highland Park Middle School student Nick Maier, 13, gets into the groove with his trombone at the 10th annual Canby Junior Festival of Jazz on Saturday. Middle and high school bands performed traditional jazz, ballads and big band swing at the event, which also featured an appearance by the Portland State University Jazz Band. The Whiskey Hill Jazz Club of Canby sponsored the event.

By David Howell
of the Herald

The Canby City Council will consider a proposed $14.5 million budget for the fiscal year 2000-01, an 11.5 percent increase compared to the city's current $13 million budget.

The tentative budget is bigger because of higher costs for materials and supplies, for health and liability insurance for city staff, and for labor, said Canby City Administrator Mark Adcock.

And the impact on revenues from voter-approved Measure 50, the property tax limitation laws, is beginning to be felt by the city, Adcock said.

Among the expenditures included in the proposed budget, devised by city staff and honed by the Canby Budget Committee, are $300,000 for the design and construction of the Canby Skate Park, the first phase of a planned regional park and sports fields.

Earth-moving work at the Northwest Third Avenue site, west of the Canby Post Office, has already begun, and is due to be completed within 62 construction days, weather permitting. About $241,000 of the total is to be paid to the skate park's building contractor.

The proposed budget also includes $200,000 for street improvements and beautification projects along Northwest Second Avenue, $53,000 for a transportation needs study by Portland State University, and $50,000 to develop a master plan for the under-consideration Thirteenth Avenue-Ackerman Middle School recreation complex.

"Currently, we don't have money to design or build everything, but we do need to know where it goes," said Canby Recreation Services Director Beth Saul, adding that a third public meeting will be held with Walker-Macy Architects in early June. "We're looking for consensus amongst all the user groups as to what the elements in the park should be, and where we should put them . . . We're on our third round of new drawings. I would not anticipate this process being finished before July because a master plan has to be presented to both the school board and the City Council."

Also included in the budget is $135,000 to pay for engineering and improvements to the municipal sewer treatment plant, $24,000 to purchase a new pickup truck, and $20,000 to buy a street-striping machine.

About $52,000 was set aside in the general fund as contingency for possible increases in PERS retirement fund contributions that the city would have to pay for its staff and employees, Adcock said. In addition, about $40,000 was set aside in the street improvements fund as contingency for possible PERS increases for street department employees, he added.

"Any time you have an unknown financial liability, you need to take the most prudent course," Adcock said, "and that's to set money aside . . . rather than make adjustments to the budget in mid-year."

The budget also calls for $12,000 to be taken out of the Canby Swim Center's capital reserve fund to be used to replace its decaying roof, and $20,000 to study whether the city's existing user fees are adequate or need to be adjusted.

Local youth sports and non-profit groups applied to have their programs funded by the city, as many do each year. The budget committee recommended funding levels.

Canby Kids Inc. is due to receive $25,000, as is Canby Community Schools. Both established groups had sought $30,000 each in funding, but the $10,000 in savings were earmarked to be allocated to the Canby Historical Society, which runs the Canby Depot Museum on North Pine Street near the fairgrounds. "To summarize, what they (the city) gave last year they reduced two of them by $5,000, and used that money to go to the museum," said Canby Community Development Director Jerry Pineau. "Bottom line, they gave the same amount, but reshuffled it, and the new recipient is the museum."

El Programa Hispano Centro de Canby, a non-profit social services agency located at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, asked for $34,000 in funding, and is slated to receive $17,000. Local cable television service OCTS is due to receive more than $31,600, and the Canby Adult Center would get $30,000. Pineau said the voter-approved property tax limiting Measure 50 made the budgetary process tough to prioritize and to balance.

"It was difficult because Measure 50 is really having an impact," he said. "The cost of things are going up, and Measure 50 limitations don't allow revenues to climb at the same pace as the cost of doing business . . . The higher cost of labor, diesel fuel and materials all had an impact."

Adcock, overseeing his first budget since joining the city last summer, said Measure 50 will likely show clearer financial impacts on the city in the next year or two.

"Any time you have a measure that limits or restricts revenue growth, revenue dependent on property taxes, it often takes a jurisdiction a couple of years to experience its impact," he said. "I would say most communities are seeing a flattening of property tax growth due to the limitations. Its growth is limited to only a portion of new construction . . . Cities' costs are increasing, like they are in the private sector, but our revenues don't match the increases.

''It presented some challenges in crafting a budget that was responsive to growing expectations of the city, but that was still living within our means."

Adcock said city staff analysis sees probable further revenue limitations on the fiscal horizon.

"Our analysis, so far, shows a flattening of property tax revenue, and we've not had the growth we've had in years past," he said.

"It puts us in a position where we must make the highest and best use of our available resources . . . We're certainly far from crisis, but we've come to the realization it will not be 'business as usual' in the future, when it comes to being dependent on revenue growth."

The budget committee, which met for months to mold the budget's priorities, consisted of the six city councilors and two citizens. City staff presented a balanced budget to the committee, who worked diligently on the document, Adcock said.

"The budget committee reviewed what we thought was a reasonable budget given revenue constraints," he said. "They were put in a position to take things out in exchange for other items. My philosophy is our job is to provide a balanced budget."

The City Council will hold a public hearing on the proposed new budget at its 7:30 p.m. June 21 meeting at the Council Chambers behind City Hall. The budget will likely come up early on the council's agenda.

Despite the larger budget, property owners in Canby are not expected to see large increases in property taxes, unless they make expensive additions or home improvements.

State property tax limitation laws fixed Canby's municipal tax rate at about $3.49 for each $1,000 of assessed valuation, Adcock confirmed.

The owner of a home assessed at $200,000 last year, and which has not had improvements made to it, would pay the city about $698 in property taxes for fiscal year 2000-01 - about the same as 1999-2000.

If the value of that same home increases by 2.5 percent - the estimate the city is using in its calculations - to $205,000, however, its owner would pay about $715 to the city for the upcoming fiscal year.

While he sees a flattening of property tax revenues in years to come, Adcock said the city is cognizant that it must try to identity and use innovative, creative approaches to replace or augment revenues lost to Measure 50.

"The message, for me, is the budget for 2000-2001 remains at a level the organization feels it can continue to deliver quality services," he said.

"It marks the beginning of a realization that the post-Measure 50 era of flattening or, possibly, declining revenues is upon us, and that we must work on financial strategies for revenue enhancement, expenditure control, and long-term financial health.

''It's not all doom and gloom, but it's a heightened awareness that we need to be responsive in a manner that makes good fiscal sense . . . and is conducive to the long-range financial health of the city."

New plan will ease
crowding at Trost

By Stephanie South
of the Herald

The Canby School District Board of Directors last week approved a short-term solution to the overcrowding at Trost Elementary School. Kindergarten students who would have gone to Trost Elementary School next year will begin their school career at Ackerman Middle School's Lee campus.

The move will eliminate the need to install portable classrooms at Trost.

To make room for the three Trost kindergarten classes at the Lee campus, the orchestra room will move to a modular classroom, the Canby Co-op Preschool will relocate to a vacant room, and the county's Early Intervention Program will move to Carus Elementary School.

At their March meeting, board members had agreed to wait until the approval of the $30.8 million maintenance bond to make a decision about how to solve Trost's overcrowding problem.

The relocation of kindergarten students from Trost to the Lee campus will provide a temporary solution until school boundaries are changed and/or a new middle school is built.

The board has been discussing possible district boundary changes that would place some Trost students at Carus and Ninety-One elementary schools, where growth issues aren't as pressing.

The bond money will allow the purchase of about 20 acres of land to build a new middle school, which would allow the Lee campus to reopen as an elementary school.

Currently, the Lee building is being used as part of the middle school due to overcrowding at Ackerman.

Ackerman Principal Mike Zagyva said that since kindergarten students will enter from outside doors opposite of the school's main entrance, traffic problems will be minimal.

A concern about mixing young students with older students, which was brought forth at an earlier meeting by board member Charlie Stinson, resurfaced at last week's meeting.

However, Zagyva said he doesn't view mixing the students as a problem. "From my experience, middle school students will be extra protective of the kindergartners," Zagyva said. "There won't be a situation that we can't solve. We're going to take care of those little 5-year-olds."

In other news, Canby High School Principal Bill Westphal gave an update on the new trimester schedules.

The new trimester system will begin next year and will increase class time from 47 minutes per period to 70 minutes per period. Students will have five classes per trimester, rather than the seven classes currently offered.

Westphal told Board members that the trimester master schedule is almost ready, and should be mailed to parents and students by May 31.

Westphal said he is currently working around the fact that there isn't enough money to fund a summer workshop to inform teachers about the trimester scheduling.

"I really think this (scheduling) is best for kids," Westphal said. Westphal also addressed the decline in the Canby High School dropout rate.

In the 1998-99 school year, the dropout rate was 4.49 percent, compared with 6.87 percent the previous year.

"I think it's helped that we've really been tracking kids to find out what they do when they leave school," Westphal said.

He said he also attributes the three alternative programs at Canby High as a large factor in lowering dropout rates.

"Having these alternative programs allows us to capture more kids who we would have normally lost," said Westphal, adding that Canby High has one of the best Teen Parent programs in the state.

Westphal also credited Canby High's "quality teachers" for the reduced dropout rate.

"Kids tend to stay in school if they feel they have a purpose and meaning and if there is a level of excitement," Westphal said. "We have teachers who provide that."

In other news, Robin Criego, who is Canby School District's director of student services, explained to the Board the need for collecting health behavior surveys.

Criego showed the board the 86-question survey recently given to high school students inquiring about subjects such as drug use and eating habits. "I think we often neglect the fast that students health behaviors affect their performance," Criego said.

She said the information collected will help to develop better health education for young people.

Aurora farm gives
students a glimpse of the past

By Stephanie South
of the Herald

Last week, students from Farmington View Elementary School in Hillsboro got on the bus and headed to Aurora.

When they stepped off the bus at Stauffer-Will Farm, they were transported back to the late 1800s - and they became part of the first communal society west of the Rockies.

Students broke up into five groups to experience the three-hour tour.

One group of students began the tour in the historic barn, where they learned how to use a cross-cut saw and a buck saw. Students cut round pieces of wood with the buck saw, then split the wood in half and used an old-fashioned drill to create a candle holder.

Farm volunteer LeRoy Lim demonstrated to the students how the roofs of houses were made in the 1800s.

"First you split the cedar blocks," Lim explained. "This makes shakes, which were used to create the roof."

Farm Coordinator Bill Snyder said the Stauffer-Will Farm is "probably the oldest standing farmstead in the Pacific Northwest."

"It's a unique farm," Snyder said, "and it's neat that the kids can learn about these saws. Maybe they can go home and teach their parents something they didn't know."

After touring the barn, students entered the chicken coop, where they were taught how to make candles by Diane Kocher Downs, president of the Aurora Colony Historical Society. "Back in those days, people used tallow (beef or sheep fat) and small amounts of beeswax to make candles," said Kocher, as she dipped a wick into hot wax. After the candlemaking lesson, students followed their noses to the kitchen in the main house, where fresh biscuits were baking in an old wood stove.

After learning to bake biscuits with farm volunteer Jeane Mey, students headed upstairs to the bedroom/quilting room. They sat on the floor while farm volunteer Karen Steyskal told them the history of the Stauffer family.

Mey explained that the bedroom was also used for sewing, knitting and weaving.

She held up a glass pot.

"This is the chamber pot that people used when they had to go to the bathroom and it was an emergency," Mey told awestruck students. "This was very normal and natural then.

''You have to understand, these people led very smelly lives. They didn't know about deodorant or breath freshener. They only took baths and washed their clothes once a week."

She went on to tell students that although their ancestors led smelly lives, they were great recyclers.

"They used every single bit of everything," Mey said. "Nothing was wasted. Even the ash from the wood in the wood stove was mixed with water to create lye, which was used in soap. And old, raggedy clothes were turned into quilts and rag rugs."

Snyder said about 2,500 students tour the farm each year from mid-April through June.

"The kids get a lot of background on what their ancestors did," Snyder said.

"They are doing the same sorts of things as their relatives did. They love it, and the teachers are always impressed."

Casa Verde development
attracts 60 applications

By David Howell
of the Herald

Sixty families have so far applied for 25 apartment units at a new subdivision in Canby for low-income local farmworkers and their families.

And the first families lucky enough to be accepted into the Catholic Charities-owned Casa Verde on Township Road will begin moving in the week of June 1.

"It has been first come, first served," said David Bachman, vice president and property manager at Cascade Management Inc., the Wilsonville company contracted to manage the apartment complex. "It's been really busy with the number of applications, but it usually takes about 50 applicants to fill 25 units because some applicants don't meet low-income requirements, don't do farm work, or don't meet other screening criteria.

''Right now, we're in the process of verifying the incomes of about 30 applicants."

Workers from Seabold Construction Co. of Beaverton are close to completing the two-story townhouses featuring two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments.

A community center is taking shape, and parking lots are being blacktopped and lines painted.

"It's coming along right on schedule," Bachman said. "We're looking at the first of June to open.

''Some fliers were delivered to apartments and businesses around town.

CASA and Centro de Canby have been informing people, but most apartment applicants seem to have found out by word of mouth."

Heriberto Aguilar of Canby has been chosen as Casa Verde's manager, and he and his family will live on site, Bachman said.

Aguilar recently worked for St. Patrick's Catholic Church and formerly worked as a foreman at nurseries in the area.

Casa Verde - or "Green House" - will host an opening ceremony and subsequent open house June 8 for the Canby community to tour the new subdivision and learn about the complex.

A ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Catholic Charities Executive Director Dennis Keenan will emcee the event.

The Archbishop of Portland John G. Vlazny, Canby Mayor Scott Taylor and the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners have been invited to attend, among others.

From 4 to 7 p.m., an open house will allow people to tour the new apartments and learn more about the programs of Catholic Charities and CASA, its partner in the Canby project.

"We're working on having live music and authentic Mexican food," said Catholic Charities Communications Manager Chance Schmidt. "Our goal is to have Casa Verde completely occupied by the end of July. We're doing interviews with applicants for housing now."

E-mail Editor to submit information.