October 2023

CITY MANAGER’S NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2023

City Selects Developer for Workforce Housing Project

After a competitive process with 8 applicants, the City Council has selected Dormy House, LLC as the potential developer for the joint School District/City workforce housing project across from the high school. The School Board will take up the matter on October 9th.  A joint selection committee of District and City Staff, along with the Regional Housing Coordinator, evaluated the proposals and made a recommendation to the City Council and School Board.

All funding models have tradeoffs, and some models of workforce housing don’t easily “pencil out.”  The City believes that Dormy House, LLC gives the sponsors the best opportunity to obtain workforce housing sooner rather than later, with minimal government subsidy and the highest amount of local control. The owner of Dormy House recently purchased a home in Bandon. The apartments will be relatively small, with a combination of studios and two-bedroom units. The proposal is a combination of apartments and single-family homes, all aimed at people who live and work in Bandon.  You can see two of the apartments under construction in the employee housing area at Bandon Dunes.

Two proposers included Low Income Housing Tax Credits as a key part of their economic model. This has the disadvantage of requiring a competitive process for funding. The sponsors would have to wait and see if the proposer was awarded funding before proceeding. In addition, there is little control over who ends up living in government sponsored low-income housing.

Other proposers needed local public investment in their proposed developments at a level the local sponsors cannot afford.

Planning News

Residential Building Slow Down

So far this year, the City has received only 8 applications for single-family residences, compared to 45 last year and 58 the year before. High interest rates and high construction costs continue to hamper building nationally. 

City Progress on Residents’ Top Four Priorities

In the Spring of 2020, and again in 2022, we surveyed City residents about their priorities.  The percentage of responses didn’t change appreciably over that period.  This survey helped guide what we did and how we budget.

Here are the top four priorities and what the City has done about each of them:

Police and Law Enforcement – 80% marked it as 1st or 2nd priority                   

This is the City’s largest tax-funded expense. This year, the City added a seventh position to the Police Department budget.  A seventh officer allows the City to provide 24-hour patrol even if an officer is away.  Also important – Bandon has a working police chief, as opposed to other nearby cities where the police chief doesn’t patrol.

Appearance of City Streets and Public Spaces – 73%

In 2021, the City added back a position in the Public Works Department that had been lost in 2020.  We also have a part-time employee dedicated only to helping maintain City Park. 

Ball Fields and Youth Recreation – 58%

This is still a tough area to address without a dedicated funding source.  Last year, the City replaced the aging fencing at the softball fields. A bicycle pump track and a rebuild of the skate park are in the works.  These two last projects can be funded from Urban Renewal District Number 2, only because City Public Works Staff and our engineers identified ways to save several hundred thousand dollars on the new siding for the Sprague Theater.

Open Spaces and Trails – 53%

After surveying residents as to what to do with the property, in 2021 the City sold a cell tower lease site and used the funds to complete the purchase of the 38-acre Johnson Creek property.  This former golf course has reverted to an amazing natural area and is ready for planning and fundraising for a trail system.  It may also provide economic opportunities as a wetland mitigation banking site.  We are also taking the next step, funded by dedicated lodging tax funds, doing engineering and surveying for a path along Beach Loop Drive that will serve visitors and enhance safety for residents.

Dan Chandler’s Last Newsletter

By the time you get this, I will have retired, and Torrey Contreras will have assumed the role of City Manager. Katrina and I plan to remain in Bandon, but will be travelling and enjoying our grandchildren over much of the next year.  I am very proud of what we have accomplished over the last 45-months, and believe that the City is in a much better position than it was at the beginning of 2020.

I am grateful to our outstanding staff, who always do more with less, and to the citizens of Bandon, who have put their trust in us over the course of four elections and 7 ballot measures.  

See y’all around town.