Accept the Year Seven Report on the $68 million 2014 Parks General Obligation Bond
REPORT TO COUNCIL
DATE: February 1, 2023
TO: City Council
FROM: Robin Laughlin, Capital Renovation Program Manager
SUBJECT: Accept the Year Seven Report on the $68 million 2014 Parks General Obligation Bond
I am pleased to submit for your consideration and acceptance Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) Year Seven Report on the $68M 2014 Parks General Obligation Bond. The purpose of this report is to summarize and share the status, achievements, and challenges of the Bond Program’s implementation and to provide an overview of the Program’s public outreach and transparency efforts.
PP&R continues to make significant progress on delivery of the Parks Bond projects - of the 52 Bond projects, 51 are complete and the remaining project is underway. In the seventh year of the Bond Program, two projects were completed and open for use. The Program ended the fiscal year with total spending at $58.6 million over the life of the Bond. Since July 2015, Bond projects have awarded 39% of the value of professional design service work and construction work to State-certified disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned, emerging small businesses, and/or service-disabled veteran business enterprises, exceeding the City’s 20% utilization goal.
As previously reported, the 2019 Performance Audit findings confirmed that the Bond funds are being spent in a manner that adheres to the language of the Bond Measure, the Program is operating in a fiscally responsible manner, and the existing documentation systems are transparent, in place, and functioning well. The Audit included recommendations to further enhance the Bond Program’s efficiency, and the Program has made progress on implementing those recommendations. The Bond Program Manager continues to work with the Program’s Management Analyst to refine and document the Performance Audit recommendations and to make further process improvements in tracking, reporting, and projecting the work of the Program.
The Parks Replacement Bond Annual Report will be shared with the Bond Oversight Committee, the media, key stakeholders, the Parks Board, and any resident who requests a copy. An electronic copy will be posted to the Parks Replacement Bond website. The short version of the Report will be made available online in Spanish and English.
In the coming months, PP&R’s Community Engagement team will make posts on both reports to PP&R’s social media channels to provide links to the online information and to share information contained in the report.
The Bond Oversight Committee will use PP&R’s Year Seven Parks Replacement Bond Annual Report, along with their own independent research and analysis, as a basis for their review of PP&R’s performance, the results of which they will share with you at a separate Council date.
PP&R will continue to report back on an annual basis to present the progress made on the 2014 Parks Replacement Bond until we close the Bond out. We are grateful that the voters have prioritized taking care of parks infrastructure, and we look forward to celebrating with the community as they continue to see more results of their investment through increased accessibility, renovated playgrounds, more efficient pools, and other improvements made possible by the Bond funding.
Thank you,
Robin Laughlin
Robin Laughlin, PLA – Capital Renovation Program Manager
Official Record (Efiles)
Impact Statement
Purpose of Proposed Legislation and Background Information
The purpose of this Report is to review and share with the public the current status, achievements, and challenges of the $68 million 2014 Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) Replacement Bond Program (“Program”). Since the inauguration of the Program, the Bond Team has laid the foundation for a successful parks improvement program, including prioritizing needs and project scopes with public input, creating project budgets, evaluating design proposals, processing project permits, requesting bids from construction contractors, and managing construction work and associated contracts.
The Bond Team has continued to move several projects forward through construction and completion. Of the 52 Bond projects, 51 are complete and the remaining project is underway in construction. In the seventh year of the Bond Program, three projects were completed and open to the public, bringing the total number of completed projects to 51. The Program ended the fiscal year with total spending at $58.6 million over the life of the Bond. Since July 2015, Bond projects have awarded 39% of the value of professional design service work and construction work to State-certified disadvantaged, minority-owned, women-owned, emerging small businesses, and/or service-disabled veteran business enterprises, exceeding the City’s 20% utilization goal.
As previously reported, the 2019 Performance Audit findings confirmed that the Bond funds are being spent in a manner that adheres to the language of the Bond Measure, the Program is operating in a fiscally responsible manner, and the existing documentation systems are transparent, in place, and functioning well. The Audit included recommendations to further enhance the Bond Program’s efficiency, and the Program has made progress on implementing those recommendations. The Bond Program Manager continues to work with the Program’s Management Analyst to refine and document the Performance Audit recommendations and to make further process improvements in tracking, reporting, and projecting the work of the Program.
Community participation and engagement efforts for Bond projects have continued to build on previous work. This work, including advisory committees and public meetings, has helped ensure that improvements continue to meet the needs and expectations of the community. During Year Seven of the Bond work, community engagement efforts focused on electronic notification of project completion and construction milestones. Also, in spring of 2022, we gathered in person to celebrate the opening of the renovated Gabriel Park Playground.
Financial and Budgetary Impacts
There are no financial or budgetary impacts directly resulting from the presentation of this Report. PR&R allocated $47.6 million of the $68 million Parks Replacement Bond to 34 Phase One projects and allocated the remaining dollars to additional 18 projects for a total of 52 Bond projects.
Community Impacts and Community Involvement
In 2014, the Portland community voted to support a Measure to issue up to $68 million in general obligation bonds to pay for the capital costs of repairs and improvements to existing park facilities. The initial Parks Replacement Bond projects identified with community input included repair or replacement of playgrounds, trails and bridges, pools, facilities to protect workers, restrooms, Pioneer Courthouse Square, accessibility improvements, and other urgent repairs.
The initial project list was developed based on the information from various sources, including staff-identified needs, policy documents, such as Parks 2020 Vision, park master plans, technical papers, asset evaluation reports, and input from residents and other public agencies. Potential projects were screened, evaluated, and reviewed against community priorities and system-wide needs.
Public outreach efforts for the Bond Phase Two Project List were completed in Year Two of the Program and included:
- Six Neighborhood Coalition meetings
- Two Town Halls
- One Portlanders Stand with Refugees & Immigrants event
- One PP&R Parks for New Portlanders Youth Ambassadors Meeting
- Two Parks Board meetings
- Two Bond Oversight Committee meetings
- One Budget Advisory Committee meeting
- Online comment form and responses to all comments
- Email notifications
- Annual Report 2015-2016 and Oversight Committee Report 2015-2016
- Webpage updates
The Bond Program’s ongoing community engagement work in subsequent years reflects our increasingly diverse community’s needs and desires. Project-specific outreach has included targeted advisory committees, public meetings, signage, online information, and questionnaires. Additionally, Community Engagement Liaisons with ties to Latinx, Russian-speaking, Somali, and Vietnamese communities are brought in to assist with outreach and translation.
During Year Seven of the Bond work, community engagement efforts focused on electronic notification of project completion and construction milestones.
100% Renewable Goal
The City’s Renewable Energy Goals are not directly impacted as a result of the presentation of this report. The City’s total energy use is expected to decrease as a result of some projects described within the Annual Report. These projects include updated pool mechanical systems, modern HVAC systems, new roof insulation, LED lighting, and modern work facilities and maintenance shops.
Agenda Items
93 Time Certain in February 1-2, 2023 Council Agenda
Accepted
- Commissioner Carmen Rubio Yea
- Commissioner Rene Gonzalez Yea
- Commissioner Mingus Mapps Yea
- Commissioner Dan Ryan Yea
- Mayor Ted Wheeler Absent