Commissioner fields questions on Sellwood Bridge financing

Sellwood Bridge, urban/rural reserves, vehicle fees, mental health and more on commission’s agenda

By Jim Hart

The Sandy Post, Nov 10, 2009 (1 Reader comment)

Lynn Peterson, chair, Clackamas County Commission

/ Sandy Post

ADVERTISEMENTS

Speaking to the Boring CPO (Community Planning Organization) last week, County Commissioner Lynn Peterson praised the new format of five commissioners instead of the three-person format that had them handcuffed for years.

But many of the 30 Boring-area residents in attendance at the CPO meeting had another topic on their minds: the Sellwood Bridge in Multnomah County.

Those at the meeting questioned Peterson on the idea of Boring residents helping to pay for a new Sellwood Bridge when they don’t even live near it.

“I’ve lived in Oregon for 18 years,” said resident John Lee, “and I’ve gone over that bridge twice. Why should I pay to fix that bridge?”

Answering Lee’s question, Peterson said she cannot legally “sub-allocate vehicle registration fees” – all must pay equally.

Another reason Clackamas County is being asked to participate in the cost, Peterson said, is that surveys show 50-60 percent of Sellwood Bridge traffic is from Clackamas County.

Some in the audience couldn’t believe the random survey Peterson said she had conducted when she was speaking at a recent Estacada Chamber of Commerce meeting. At that meeting, more than 80 percent of the people said they use the bridge.

Taxpayers in Boring, Canby and Lake Oswego – all across the county, Peterson said – have paid for state-taxed projects they’ve never seen in Eastern Oregon, and they’ve paid for projects in western Washington County through Metro funding.

“We all pay for portions of the state that we don’t use,” she said. “What we’re going to be asking the entire county to do is look at a vehicle registration fee that would end up paying for all the projects in Clackamas County.

“So, for example, you would have folks in Oregon City paying for safety projects in Boring, and you would have Boring folks paying for something in Molalla.”

Since the bridge also includes pedestrians and bicyclists, one Boring resident suggested a license fee for bicycles that would help pay for the bridge. But Peterson said the administrative cost to handle those fees would be more than the license fees.

To put the county’s part in perspective, Peterson said Multnomah County was contributing about $100 million to the $250-300 million project, and Clackamas County’s $5 registration fee for the bridge project would total $22 million.

One of the residents present acknowledged the importance of all of the bridges in moving freight and traffic, which benefits every resident of the entire region.

As a worst-case scenario, Peterson supposed if the Sellwood Bridge collapsed, many Clackamas County residents would be severely impacted.

“We in Clackamas County are dependent on only two local bridges,” she said. “The only other thing we have is a ferry that takes like five cars at a time.”

Describing the commission’s focus, Peterson talked about three general topics (in bold below).

1 | 2 Next Page >>