CARLTON BUDGET COMMITTEE APPROVES

PROPOSED FY 20/21 SPENDING PLAN

City Council Set to Adopt Budget in June

City of Carlton 191 E. Main St.

Carlton, OR 97111

www.ci.carlton.or.us

503-852-7575

Summer 2020

The Carlton Connection

Inside this issue:

City Hall

Project 2

Summer Street

Repaving 3

Downtown

Beautification 3

Summer Water

Conservation 3

Utility Rate

Increase 4

Event

Calendar 4

T he Carlton Budget Committee met on May 12 to review and approve the

proposed budget for next fiscal year. Highlights of next year’s spending proposal include:

• Addition of a new police officer position to bring the total full-time force to four officers providing better law enforcement coverage to Carlton residents and businesses.

• Replacement of aging police patrol vehicles to ensure our officers are working with new and reliable equipment.

• Purchase new public safety radios as required to meet new YCOM standards – in partnership with Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office and City of Newberg Police Department.

• Addition of a new utility laborer position to allow staff to focus more attention on downtown beautification, street maintenance and park maintenance tasks.

• Construction of a gazebo/stage structure in Ladd Park along with improvements to the Ladd Memorial and Veteran’s Memorial.

• Walkway paving and construction of a picnic shelter at Hawn Creek Park.

• Repaving of E. Monroe Street, Lincoln St., Howe St., S. Cunningham St., S. Carr St., W. Washington St. and W. Taylor St.

• Various water and sewer projects to improve water distribution to growing residential areas of the community and replace aging infrastructure.

• Removal of all PGE and communication poles in the downtown corridor.

• Construction of a new City Hall facility and new city center parking facilities.

FINANCIAL IMPACTS

OF COVID-19

City staff has been studying the

potential financial impacts on municipal

services from the COVID-19 crisis to

conservatively plan the budget for next

fiscal year. Revenue reductions are

anticipated for state gas taxes (which

funds street maintenance services),

TRT or lodging taxes (which fund

tourism attraction efforts) and business

licensing revenue (should the number of

going businesses in Carlton be

reduced).

Staff also looked back at the recession

of 2008 and its impact on municipal

revenue. The findings showed that even

with much higher unemployment,

skyrocketing home foreclosures, billions

of dollars in federal economic stimulus

payments and a $700 billion bank

bailout, Carlton’s local property tax

revenue, water and sewer revenue

continued to increase and the City’s

cash reserves grew in 2009 and 2010.

Page 2 The Carlton Connection

CITY HALL PLANNING PROJECT MOVING FORWARD Architect Shares First Draft of New City Hall Facility

T he City of Carlton restarted the process to build a new City Hall facility in 2019 by partnering with

design students from George Fox University in Newberg. The students interviewed Carlton residents, met with City staff, developed introductory building concepts and presented their ideas to the Carlton City Council.

The City then solicited bid proposals from architectural firms and selected Holst Architecture from Portland to design the new City Hall facility. A presentation was prepared for the Carlton City Council and represents the “first draft” of the architect’s work. The presentation provides some historical context beginning with the work of the George Fox students, details the architect’s process for the project, highlights the different textures, material types and historical elements to be used, and provides the initial design. In addition to the information gathered by the student design team, key considerations are being given to functionality, cost, expandability, customer service, accessibility and aesthetic characteristics.

The project is to be funded without any increase in taxes and construction will begin in 2021.

Your input is important. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact Carlton City Hall by phone at (503) 852-7575 or email at: cityhallproject@ci.carlton.or.us.

CITY HALL ARCHITECT

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, May 30, 2020

City Hall

9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Please join City staff and Holst Architecture

representatives to view the first architectural design

drawings for the new City Hall facility and provide

comment. Social distancing rules will be enforced.

Information about the project is also available

online. Questions and comments can be submitted

via email at cityhallproject@ci.carlton.or.us.

Exterior Front

Interior Community Room Exterior Front Entrance

Page 3 The Carlton Connection

CARLTON PLANNING STREET REPAVING PROJECTS THIS SUMMER

SUMMER IS A TIME FOR WATER CONSERVATION

I n an effort to address the community’s growing need for street and sidewalk maintenance repairs, the

Carlton City Council established consistent funding in the City’s annual budget. City staff has also been successful in applying for and receiving state road funding grants to help with this work. Since 2018 the City has been awarded $250,000 in Small City Allotment (SCA) grant funding from the Oregon Department of

Transportation (ODOT).

This summer the City will be undertaking a number of projects focused on roads that are in dire need of repair. E. Monroe St., W. Lincoln St., N. Howe St., S. Cunningham St., S. Carr St., W. Washington St., and W. Taylor St. will be repaved along with some sidewalk repair.

YAMHILL-CARLTON STUDENTS HELP WITH BEAUTIFICATION

C arlton City staff recently partnered with students from Yamhill-Carlton High School to develop flower planter prototypes to consider for

placement in downtown. YC Manufacturing & Wood Shop teacher Trevor DaSilva and his students developed three different planter types using local materials. The planter prototypes are now on display at Carlton City Hall.

The placement of flower planters downtown is part of an overall plan to beautify Carlton and continue to strengthen its reputation as a destination downtown.

T he months of April and May were unusually dry this year in the Willamette Valley region. The National

Weather Service reported precipitation averages ranging from 40 to 80 percent below average in most of Oregon from October 1st to April 30th. With this, the National Weather Service and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), are reporting that trends of higher than normal temperatures and lower than normal rainfall are expected to continue throughout the summer.

As of May 19th, 2020, the NIDIS is reporting that Carlton is already exhibiting “D1 – Moderate Drought conditions.” This means our local areas could experience some damage to crops and pastures and development of water shortages progressing into the summer. The NIDIS requests voluntary water-use restrictions go into effect in D-1 zones.

With information suggesting drought so early in the year, the City would like to stress the importance of water conservation practices to our water system users. EnergyStar, a company specializing in energy efficiency, has several tips for conserving water including:

• Providing water to plants only as needed

• Selecting plants that use low-water or are drought-resistant

• Checking your house for leaks

• Replacing old appliances with new energy-efficient appliances

Visit the City’s website for more helpful information on water conservation and a link to EnergyStar’s water-saving tips.

Information on predicted drought can be found at:

• drought.gov/drought/states/Oregon

• www.weather.gov/media/pqr/WaterSupplyOutlook.pdf.

191 E. Main Street

Carlton, OR

97111

Phone: 503-852-7575

www.ci.carlton.or.us

City of Carlton

Carlton: A Great Little Town

ANNUAL UTILITY RATE INCREASE JULY 1

T he City of Carlton water and sewer utilities are funded and administered

separately from other City services through the Water and Sewer Funds. These funds are supplemented almost exclusively by charges assessed to water and sewer customers. In an effort to continue our emphasis on communications with our valued utility customers, the City would like to explain the planned rate adjustments for the water and sewer utilities beginning in July 2020.

Utility rates are reviewed every year by a third-party firm that specializes in government financing. This helps to ensure they are set at appropriate levels to (A) maintain the continuation of services and (B) plan for funding of scheduled infrastructure work. The proposed rates are presented to the Carlton City Council along with the City’s annual budget adoption.

Currently, the City of Carlton is working on upgrading the water main line section

between the reservoir and the water plant to reduce water loss. The City is also planning to replace several sections of the sewer line as well as increase the capacity of the City’s lagoons (mandated by The Department of Environmental Quality).

The Fiscal Year 2020 budget will reflect a 7.1% adjustment in water rates and a 15% adjustment in sewer rates as outlined below:

• Water – 2.6% Consumer Price Index and 4.5% infrastructure improvements.

• Sewer – 2.6% Consumer Price Index and 12.4% Department of Environmental Quality mandated infrastructure improvements.

For more information on water rates, please visit our website, or contact City Hall at 503-852-7575 Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

EVENT CALENDAR

June

• 2nd- Council Meeting @ 6:45 PM

• 3rd- Tourism Meeting @ 11:30 AM

• 15th- Planning Commission @ 6 PM

July

• 7th- Council Meeting @ 6 PM

• 8th- Tourism Meeting @ 11:30 AM

• 20th- Planning Commission @ 6 PM

August

• 4th- Council Meeting @ 6 PM

• 5th- Tourism Meeting @ 11:30 AM

• 17th- Planning Commission @ 6 PM

DUMP DAY UPDATE

The City’s monthly Dump Day

events are on hold pending the eas-

ing of gathering restrictions enacted

by the Governor in response to the

COVID-19 crisis. As soon as al-

lowed, this popular service to Carl-

ton residents will resume. Keep an

eye on the City’s website and

Nextdoor for future announcements.

CARLTON CITY COUNCIL

Brian Rake

Mayor

Shirley Ward-Mullen Council President

Scott Carl Council

Kathy F. Maher

Council

Carey Rhoads Council

Linda Watkins

Council

Amy Wilder Council

Page 4