October Contents

Rare Opportunity to Interact with City Leadership

Southern Crossing has worked hard to create a rare opportunity for you to communicate with City Councilors, City staff and community representatives to discuss issues and priorities affecting our neighborhoods. Please plan on attending the Southwest Bend Neighborhood Districts Roundtable will be held on Monday October 12, 5:30 PM at Ray Hall on the Oregon State University-Cascades campus, located at 1500 SW Chandler Avenue. (Ray Hall is building 4 on the map below, and parking is free after 5pm.) This location will only hold 180 people, so consider arriving early to get a good seat.

During the Roundtable, the City will make presentations on the top issues identified in the recent survey. (See Roundtable Survey Results below.) After the presentations, you will be able to visit tables staffed by the City on specific subjects, and talk directly with them. Southern Crossing Leadership will be focused on promoting a 2-lane roundabout at the Bond-Reed Market intersection with an eye towards wildfire evacuation. Be sure to let City personnel know your opinion on these matters.

This SW Bend Roundtable includes not only Southern Crossing but also the Neighborhood Districts of Southwest Bend and Century West. Reach out to your neighbors and get them to come with you! If you can't attend in person, you can also watch it live on YouTube.

Please Join Our Special Membership Meeting

Thursday October 15, 5:00pm

Historically, the SCNA Board has held our General Membership Meeting in Fall of each year. This is where we discuss our most important issues affecting our neighborhoods and elect Board members. This year the City is hosting an important Roundtable event, and there have been other frequent conflicts in past years. This creates some challenges that we would like your help resolving. Please help the SCNA Board of Directors reach a quorum at our Special Membership Meeting, which will be held via Zoom on Thursday October 15 at 5pm.

First challenge: Our Bylaws require us to hold a General Membership Meeting before year end. We think it would be better to shift this meeting to February or March when the Roundabout Design should be further along and a good topic to cover, as well as reducing conflicts in future years. The Board is proposing Bylaw changes to accommodate this, but we need a quorum of our SCNA members to approve them. To review a draft document with the proposed changes highlighted, download it here (PDF).

Second challenge: Our current Chair and Vice Chair’s terms on the Board expire on December 31. We plan to hold a vote to extend their terms to the rescheduled General meeting. We also have two vacancies on the Board and would like to invite you to run for a short term position. If you like it, you can extend that term at the General meeting. This is a great way to give it a try without a long term commitment.

Please email us at [email protected] to attend. You will receive a Zoom invitation the day before the meeting. If you have comments and questions on the changes or the process, you can send them to the same address.

Attendees are welcome to stay for the regular October Board Meeting immediately following this meeting, or leave if they so choose.

SCNA Board Meeting

Immediately following the

Special Membership Meeting

We invite you to stick around to attend the regular Board of Directors meeting. No need to register separately.

Topics at this month's Board Meeting include:

• Discussion of the Roundtable topics and next steps.

• Planning a meeting with City of Bend Engineering and their contractor HDR Engineering to discuss the Bond-Reed Market Roundabout design process.

If you would like to request time on the agenda to discuss a particular topic at a board meeting, please email [email protected] at least 2 days prior to the meeting.

Learn more about Southern Crossing Neighborhood Association meetings, including minutes from past meetings, on our website.

Roundtable Survey Results

Thanks to everyone who took the City of Bend Roundtable Survey. We had 200 respondents, with 111 of those from Southern Crossing. Not surprisingly, the top issues were around traffic congestion and wildfire evacuation planning, which are the issues the SCNA Board has been raising with the City. Your survey responses help highlight that to City leadership.

Below are the results of the multiple-choice questions. Respondents could highlight two issues in each question.

On the topic of growth and infrastructure needs, the top responses were:

1. Transportation improvements: 112

2. Parks and open space: 102

3. Environmental protection: 68

When asked about transportation as our area grows, the top answers were:

1. Traffic Congestion: 138

2. Better traffic enforcement: 58

3. Multi-use paths or bike lanes: 55

When thinking about household preparedness, the top needs were:

1. Evacuation planning: 142

2. Home wildfire risk assessment: 64

3. Emergency preparedness guides: 60

Thinking about your neighborhood and fire safety and prevention, the top items were:

1. Improved egress for a large-scale evacuation: 138

2. Participating in neighborhood evacuation planning: 69

3. Participating in community cleanup: 68

The following is from a survey summary prepared by the City’s Communications & Engagement Department showing what is being given to City leadership. (You can download the full City summary here.)

Overall Interpretation

The comments reveal a clear tension between accommodating growth and protecting the qualities residents already value. Respondents are not focused on growth alone. They are asking how growth will affect:

• Wildfire evacuation

• Daily traffic and emergency response

• Parking and neighborhood streets

• Trees and wildlife habitat

• River and trail access

• Quiet and neighborhood character

• Trust in City decision-making

The most consistent message is: coordinate development with infrastructure, evacuation planning, environmental protection, and meaningful public engagement.