191241

The City of Portland ordains:

Section 1. The Council finds:

1. Peninsula Drainage District #1 (PEN 1) provides flood risk reduction and drainage services for lands within its jurisdiction by operating and maintaining levees and drainage works as authorized under ORS Chapter 547. PEN 1 is one of four drainage districts responsible for operating and maintaining the 27 miles of levees; 45 miles of sloughs, canals, ditches, and culverts; and 12 pump stations that reduce the risk of flooding along the Columbia River and Columbia Slough in urban Multnomah County.
    
2. PEN 1 is the smallest of the four local drainage districts. Approximately 94% of PEN 1’s 995 acres are public lands including the Portland International Raceway, Heron Lakes Golf Course, the Portland Expo Center, and the Vanport Wetland, with small businesses making up the remaining 6%. The City owns 77% of the land in the district.
    
3. PEN 1’s primary source of revenue is property assessments levied on property owners based on property size. Between the land zoned as open space and the number of properties that are already under Measure 5 tax compression, PEN 1 is unable to assess enough revenue to support the basic operations of the district.
    
4. In 2019, and with support from the City (through the Levee Ready Columbia intergovernmental agreement), through the enactment of ORS Chapter 550, the Oregon Legislature established the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District (UFSWQD), a new special district tasked with modernizing the flood protection infrastructure and developing a new revenue model to replace that of the original drainage districts (including PEN 1, Peninsula Drainage District #2, Multnomah County Drainage District #1, and the Sandy Drainage Improvement Company).  
    
5. In May of 2022, the Council set aside funding for future allocations for several identified projects in support of Levee Ready Columbia and the new UFSWQD.  PEN 1 operating support, including local sponsorship for a US Army Corps of Engineers partnership, was one of the approved identified uses for the set-aside.
    
6. The City now desires to utilize the set-aside funding to allocate funds to PEN 1 for covering the ongoing operating deficit and to help maintain the financial sustainability of PEN 1 in an amount not to exceed $260,000 for Fiscal Year 2022-23.

NOW, THEREFORE, the Council directs:

1. The Director of the Bureau of Environmental Services is authorized to execute an intergovernmental agreement with PEN 1 in a form substantially similar to Exhibit A, provided the agreement has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.  The Director of the Bureau of Environmental Services may execute amendments to the agreement provided the changes do not increase the City’s financial risk.