“I just want Mirror Pond up there with everything else, comparing apples as closely as we can.” For heaven’s sake, we should have all of these things all up there for us to judge and say, ‘this is the most important thing’ and this is the second-most important thing,’” said City Councilor Barb Campbell. “The City of Bend is on a really constrained budget, and that’s all the more reason for us to look at this once-every-20-year opportunity. Of the current one, she said, “The parties are intending to extend this through June 30, 2019, to provide a little more time to finalize details of a new agreement.”Īt least one city leader wants the notion of franchise fee increases to take a more holistic approach, and for the City to look at all ways a prospective increase could be used. According to City of Bend Communications Director Anne Aurand, franchise agreements have a maximum 20-year term. 31, and city officials are working on a new agreement. The current franchise agreement with PacificCorp runs through Dec. MPS told the Source they’d secured permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and others to proceed with dredging, which they say has been building up sediment since it was last dredged in 1984.

During a May meeting with the Source Weekly, representatives of MPS proposed having the City pay around $1 million, with BPRD kicking in more than $2 million. The new funding strategy is a departure from the proposal brought forth by MPS earlier this year.

It’s not yet clear how much more Pacific Power customers would pay under the franchise fee increase, though according to PacifiCorp spokesperson Tom Gauntt, “We are required to pass that fee onto customer(s) who live within the city limits of Bend and it is itemized on customer bills.” Utility companies operating in Bend pay a franchise fee to the City, with Pacific Power currently paying a 5-percent franchise fee, gleaned from the rates it charges customers. Those additional funds would be added to the City’s general fund-but reportedly cannot legally be earmarked for dredging. Under the new proposal, the City of Bend would increase franchise fees issued to Pacific Power, which owns the dam that forms the impoundment creating Mirror Pond, to fund the rest.

A representative for Mirror Pond Solutions-the entity that owns the land under Mirror Pond-said Tuesday the group had raised $320,000 in private pledges, leaving about $5.5 million of the projected $6.7 million project cost unfunded.

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