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December 13, 2007 Front Page |
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The 23rd Annual HBC’s Historic Homes Tour a Grand Success
Photos and Story by Brian Addison
This years’ total numbers for the Historic Baker City’s (HBC) Historic Homes Tour were slightly lower than last years record-setting ticket sales, but HBC Director Ann Mehaffy wasn’t the least disappointed considering the scattered blizzards in the region over the past couple weeks. The event drew the second highest number of ticket sales over the past 23 years despite the icy streets and sidewalks. Visitors from Burns, Portland, Boise and beyond traveled here over the weekend to tour 11 of Baker City’s finest historic homes, one dating back as far as 1881 (The Moomaw House at 1706 Washington).
“The homeowners had a wonderful time,” said Mehaffy after the event. After the tour, HBC put on a feast for the participating homeowners at the Heilner House and then the group had a chance to take a ‘post parlor tour.’ New Baker City resident Todd Sidway opened up his home for the tour and mentioned his surprise at such a respectful and complimentary group of visitors he had met throughout the day.
Baker City Council Interviews Two Firms To Consult On System Development Charges
By Brian Addison
Baker City Council and City Manager Steve Brocato interviewed two consulting firms during the city council meeting Tuesday evening that were applying for the job of putting System Development Charges in place in Baker City.
SDCs are authorized through Oregon law to be used by cities as a way to fund a portion of new development of a city’s 1) Water system, 2) Wastewater system, 3) Storm-water drainage system, 4) Transportation system, 5) Parks.
Once a city decides to put System Development Charges (SDCs) in place, most use an engineering consultant who specializes in the implementation of SDCs, which can be a somewhat complicated process and if done incorrectly can leave a city vulnerable to civil lawsuits.
Baker City Changes Insurance Practices
By Brian Addison
One of the first orders of business taken on when the current Baker City Council took office was to authorize city staff to send out a Request for Proposal for property and casualty insurance services. This decision was made with the support of City Manager Steve Brocato who had voiced the philosophy of reviewing every existing contract the city has for cost efficiency.
Two firms responded to the Request for Proposal to provide Property and Casualty Insurance. JBL&K Risk Services based in Portland responded to the Request for Proposal and turned in a 24-page proposal to the city. Clarke & Clarke Insurance Agency of Baker City responded to the Request for Proposal and presented a 25-page proposal. Both proposals were to serve the city as Insurance Producer. City Manager Steve Brocato rejected both proposals.
After rejecting the two proposals, the city solicited two individual agencies; Rhodes Insurance Agency from La Grande responded with a six-page application letter applying to the city as Insurance Producer and Wheatland Insurance Center based in Pendleton submitted a three-page proposal applying to the city as Insurance Consultant. JBL&K Risk Services decided against pursuing the contract into the second round of considerations.
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