Points from the President

By: Ray Phelps, President

GREAT NEWS! I am sure by now all of you know Oregon Institute of Technology is planning to move to our community. Dr. Chris Maples, President, informed us he plans to consolidate OIT’s four Portland locations in the vacant InFocus building. Dr. Maples reported the school could start classes in 2012.

This move is especially significant for our member high tech businesses since the school offers several engineering programs critically important to these businesses. Council President Alan Kirk planted the seed for this move early this year and Mayor Tim Knapp helped close the deal. Good work gentlemen!

Your Chamber has been active in welcoming Dr. Maples to our community. Several of the Chamber’s board members hosted a luncheon for Dr. Maples to discuss OIT’s future plans with us, Mayor Tim Knapp and City Councilor Steve Hurst. We also introduced Dr. Maples to your Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee where he spoke briefly of his consolidation plan and of an immediate need for our help.

Dr. Maples shared with us information regarding a ballot measure that will be on the 2010 ballot at the May Primary Election. This measure, No. 69, amends the Oregon Constitution to allow lowest cost general obligation bonds to be used for expansion into existing buildings. Current Constitutional language does not specifically authorize the state to use low cost general obligation bonds to purchase existing buildings, which can be less expensive than new construction. If this measure is not approved, the Oregon University System will be forced to continue to use more costly forms of financing to pay for its capital needs. Your Board of Directors unanimously adopted a resolution supporting passage of this ballot measure.

Your Government Affairs Committee heard from Cynthia Thompson, Wilsonville Transit Director, and two representatives of TriMet regarding the proposed reductions in Westside Express Service (WES) commuter-train transit services. The Committee recommended to your Board of Directors the Chamber sends a letter to TriMet stating opposition to the proposed transit service reductions. The Board of Directors unanimously agreed with the Committee’s recommendation. You will have received before you read this comment a copy of the Chamber’s letter to TriMet stating the several reasons your Chamber opposes any transit service reductions.

Your Chamber wrote this month to the Oregon Department of Transportation in support of the City of Wilsonville’s Transportation and Growth Management Grant Application for $175,000 to update the city’s Transportation Systems Management Plan. This Plan is the master blue-print for all municipal road operations, transportation planning and transit programs. Obtaining this grant reduces the city’s need to look at property-tax revenues or other business charges to help fund transportation planning.

THANK YOU DAVE ANDERSON! Coca-Cola Bottling of Oregon, Chamber member since 1990, is consolidating three of its distribution centers into its operation in Wilsonville. This will add 150 employees to the company’s current Wilsonville work force when expansion is completed.

GOOD JOB CITY!! Mayor Tim Knapp reported this month at GAC that Coke’s investment was due in part to the city’s capital investment in the new Willamette River water treatment plant and the city joining with the company to obtain from Oregon Economic Development Department a $500,000 Immediate Opportunity Grant for increased capacity at I-5/Wilsonville Road interchange.

As I promised you in January, The University of Oregon’s Index of Economic Indicators rose 0.3% in February to 88.7 (1997=100) from a revised December figure of 88.4. KeyBank sponsors this report. The bank’s Wilsonville office has been a Chamber member since 2003 and holds a Gold Club membership.

Tim Duy, Director of Oregon Economic Forum, reported the pace of improvement moderated compared to gains reported for the previous five months. Still, the recovery remains intact, with six months annualized increase rising to 11.7 percent. It would be premature to conclude that the slower increase in the UO Index indicates the strength of the recovery is waning. The recovery increasingly looks sustainable, although the pace of growth in the absence of inventory correction and government stimulus may be insufficient to drive rapid improvement in the labor market.