Kaiser
Permanente's application for 138-bed hospital in Hillsboro
is approved by state
The
Oregon State Department of Human Services has approved
Kaiser Permanente’s application to build a new
138-bed medical center in the Tanasbourne area of Hillsboro,
replacing Kaiser’s current medical and dental
buildings off Northwest Evergreen Parkway, between Stucki
Avenue and 194th Terrace.
"We
are happy that Oregon officials agree with us about
the need for more hospital beds in Washington County.
Our membership there has grown by more than 60 percent
in the last decade," said Larry Wheeler, vice president,
Communications and External Affairs for Kaiser Permanente's
Northwest Region.
The
medical center will be the first new Oregon hospital
approved in the Portland area in over 30 years.
"We
welcome this decision and look forward to offering better
access and more local health care choices for the workers
and residents of Hillsboro and the neighboring communities,"
said Jonathan Schlueter, executive director of Westside
Economic Alliance.
The
Kaiser group health organization has 75,000 members
in Washington County, and 454,000 in the region. They
expect to hit 600,000 regional members by 2014. The
hospital is scheduled to open in 2011, along with an
adjacent specialty care medical office and out-patient
surgery center. The hospital will be Kaiser’s
second in the Portland metropolitan region.
Washington
County, Hillsboro approve Genentech SIP agreement
On
Tuesday, August 22, 2006, Washington County and the City
of Hillsboro approved a Strategic Investment Program (SIP)
with Genentech, Inc., a leader in the biotechnology industry.
The SIP agreement will enable the company to move forward
with plans to construct a $300 million "fill / finish
facility" on a 75-acre industrial site at the corners
of Shute Road and Evergreen Parkway in Hillsboro. When
completed in 2010, the facility is expected to employ
between 200-300 workers, with each of these positions
creating an additional 2.9 new jobs in the local economy,
according to estimates provided by ECONorthwest and Oregon's
Economic and Community Development Department.
Under terms of the 15-year plan, Genentech will pay $7.16
million in property tax on the first $25 million of assessed
valuation on land and buildings, and an additional $7.5
million in "community service fees." The company
has also agreed to pay an "alternative fee"
on the value of its land and buildings, estimated to add
another $7.59 million and bringing the total tax commitment
to $22.25 million over the life of the agreement.
In
return, city and county officials have agreed to abate
an estimated $25.95 million in property tax to secure
the new company and encourage further investment and
expansion here. The agreement is still subject to review
and approval by the state's Economic Development Commission,
and an affirmative decision is expected early next month.
Jonathan
Schlueter, executive director, testified in favor of
the agreement, on behalf of Westside Economic Alliance.
“Genentech will become the first of what we hope
will be many more biomedical research and medical treatment
companies that will spring up, or choose to locate,
here,” said Schlueter.
Click
here to read the full text of the Alliance's testimony.
Westside
Transportation Symposium a success
A good
cross section of local public officials and business leaders
participated in the Westside Transportation Symposium
on June 13, 2006, which was presented by the Westside
Economic Alliance Transportation Committee.
Regional
transportation experts convened to share their analysis
of the future of Oregon’s transportation system.
With over a million new residents expected to move to
the Portland metro area over the next 20 years, the
region has to begin planning now to supply the added
capacity that this continuous growth is going to demand.
Topics
of discussion included the expansion of transit options
to reduce dependence on single occupancy vehicles on
our roadways, and the need for freight to be able to
transport goods efficiently and reliably throughout
the region. Offering ways of producing more revenue,
the benefits of public-private partnerships were discussed,
along with the future of the Oregon Transportation Investment
Act, tolling, and the possibility of Oregon voters passing
an increase to the state gas tax.
Metro
Council approved Highway 217 expansion
On
February 23, 2006, the Metro Council voted in favor of
the Highway
217 Corridor Transportation Plan recommended
by the Highway 217 Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) and
advanced by the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation
(JPACT). The resolution endorses plans to widen Highway
217 to three lanes in each direction south of Canyon Road,
with further study to determine whether the added lanes
should be general-purpose or toll lanes. The need for
major interchange improvements was included in the plan
as well.
Five members of Westside Economic Alliance joined executive
director Jonathan Schlueter by testifying in support of
the PAC's recommendations, including Beaverton Mayor Rob
Drake, Alliance Transportation Committee Chairman Frank
Angelo, Alliance Board Treasurer Steve Clark, and PAC
member John Kaye of Tektronix.
The Highway 217 plan was first outlined at the Alliance
Breakfast
Forum Series in Sep. 2005, where Metro Councilor
Carl Hosticka, Highway 217 Policy Advisory Committee (PAC)
chair Brian Moore, and Community Newspapers publisher
Steve Clark, outlined both the general-purpose lane and
toll lane recommendations for improving the highway.
Senate
Bill 82 passed, Steve Clark nominated to task force
Senate
Bill 82 (SB 82) was introduced by Governor Ted Kulongoski
to provide $600,000 to establish and fund an Oregon Task
Force on Land Use Planning in order to conduct a 30-year
review of Oregon’s land use system. The Task Force
is to study Oregon’s land use system and recommend
changes no later than the 2009 legislative session.
In February 2006,
Governor Ted Kulongoski, Senate President Peter Courtney,
and House Speaker Karen Minnis announced their appointees
to serve on a task force to examine the state's land use
planning system. Steve Clark, a longtime member of the
Alliance Board of Directors and treasurer on the Alliance
Executive Committee, was appointed to one of ten positions,
for which over 100 candidates applied.
In
October 2005, 2006 Alliance president Ron Johnson sent
a letter to the Governor endorsing the nomination of Steve
Clark to the task force. As president of the Portland
Tribune and Community Newspapers, Clark is closely tied
to the issues and concerns of residents in three of Oregon's
largest counties, and was one of the leading advocates
for the passage of SB 82 during the 2005 legislative session.
The
task force will hold public meetings around the state,
conduct surveys, and gather information necessary to
evaluate the state's land use system. It will also provide
information to the public about the planning program
and develop proposals for the 2007 and 2009 legislative
sessions. To learn more about the "Big Look,"
see the Department
of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) website.
Senate Bill 71, "ConnectOregon," passes
House and Senate
Senate
Bill 71 (SB 71), the $100 million “ConnectOregon”
non-highway transportation improvement bill introduced
by Governor Ted Kulongoski, passed the House 57 to 0 on
August 2, 2005, and the Senate 30 to 0 later that same
day. SB 71 is a statewide transportation infrastructure
investment plan that proposes to spend up to $100 million
in lottery-backed bonds to pay for freight mobility and
transportation improvements to connect the state’s
port districts, rail lines and airport facilities. With
freight volumes on the West Coast projected to double
in the next 10 to 20 years, the Westside Economic Alliance
Board of Directors supported SB 71 at the request of the
WEA Alliance Transportation Committee.
|
|
