Dick Townsend Selected as New Oregon Solutions Director
Oregon Solutions is delighted to welcome Dick Townsend as the new Director. Dick comes to the position with a sound background in local government collaboration. He retired from the League of Oregon Cities after serving as Executive Director for 17 years.
Prior to his work at the League, Dick was the city manager of Tillamook, Oregon and before that, the first city administrator for Lowell, Oregon. He is a graduate of Oregon State and of the University of Oregon. Since retirement in 2002, he has actively participated in capacity building programs in Indonesia and The Philippines for the International City Management Association.
Dick currently serves as the Willamette Valley area "Range Rider" for the Oregon City/County Managers' Association. Dick has extensive experience with Oregon Solutions projects -- he served as project manager for the North Bend Airport Terminal project, the Milwaukie River Front Project, Tillamook Flood Mitigation project, and currently, manages the Milton-Freewater Levee project. Dick and his wife Barb live in Salem where his latest home project is building a wine cellar.
New Vernonia Schools Video Highlights the Current Oregon Solutions Project Status
Catalyst - the Campaign for Vernonia's Schools video, will be seen nationally as the Oregon Solutions team works to attract $10 Million in funding for the schools. The video highlights the Natural Resource Center that will be connected to the new school, providing a living laboratory for green jobs training. The new Leed Platinum Certified school will cost $38 Million, with $13 Million coming from a bond passed in Vernonia, and $15 Million in state and local funds. See the video on the Vernonia Schools web page.
Project Update: Christmas Valley
In 2007 Governor Kulongoski designated the Christmas Valley backscatter site as an Oregon Solutions project and appointed Brad Winters and Jim Walls as project co-conveners of the project. The goal of the project was to bring partners together to evaluate alternate uses of the site, the appropriate disposition of the land, and the potential for renewable energy development.
The Oregon Solutions team signed a Declaration of Cooperation in 2008 capturing actions and commitments necessary to assure a transfer of real property to the State of Oregon, including infrastructure management. A $380,000 appropriation was made to begin assessing the feasibility and approach for additional uses of the site. In addition, developers have purchased private property for renewable energy development adjacent to the backscatter site.
In response to the private development, Oregon Solutions Project Manager Therese Hampton has coordinated with local and regional expertise to summarize key information and provide a public presentation of the information. In early April 2010, members of the Oregon Solutions team held meetings in Lakeview and Christmas Valley to provide landowners with tools in order to understand and respond to renewable energy development opportunities in Lake County.
The presentation and tools for landowners are on the Christmas Valley webpage. This information includes:
Renewable Energy Land Agreements
Summary of Planning Process
Overview of Transmission Planning
Estimate of Economic Impacts
info@orsolutions.org | Phone (503) 725-9092 | Fax (503) 725-9099
Last Updated: 9 May 2010
