Inform Hood River

07/27/2024

The focus at Inform HR is on city/county/port/district agencies, but the issue with the Columbia Gorge Humane Society is so dire because their FB page was hacked that I wanted to share the info to all animal lovers in the Gorge.

See the article from the CG News. The shelter is at risk for being closed because the hack has reduced donations and adoptions to an all-time low. The news article describes the situation (which Facebook has not resolved), and provides the new, REAL Facebook site for the center, along with info on how to help. Their REAL website is also fine at https://www.columbiagorgehs.org/adopt.html

We have limited shelters for unwanted or lost dogs and cats here in the Oregon part of the Gorge. There's Hood River Adopt-A-Dog, and the Columbia Gorge Humane Society (formerly Home-at-Last). It's a serious problem for the animals needing help and the people who help them.

Do spread the word, and use the CGN correct link to follow the REAL Columbia Gorge Humane Society if that's one of your interests (note: the hacked page doesn't allow any comments at all, posts photos of pure-bred puppies, and directs you to a Google form that asks for a $150 "deposit" to go further with an adoption - all fake).

The Columbia Gorge Humane Society (CGHS) is sending an urgent message to the community – their page has been hacked.

07/26/2024

Mark your calendars!

07/25/2024

A quick video where HR City Planning Director Dustin Nilsen discusses the change in the number short-term rental licenses since the 2017 rules went into place.

In 2016, the City of Hood River began to require a license to operate a short-term rental. The licensing rules required a number of changes to the rules for anyone wanting to rent out a short-term rental (in residential areas), including a cap on the number of nights (90) and a limit on the number of licenses held (one per).

It also provided a 7 year window for putting certain other requirements into effect, including the requirement that an STR license holder be a resident of Hood River. That requirement was changed in Monday's City Council meeting, because SUCCESSFUL lawsuits against other cities have upheld the constitutional issue that prohibits discrimination against an out-of-town resident in licensing issues like the STR license (New England Power Co vs New Hampshire; Hignell-Stark vs City of New Orleans, others cited in the pending lawsuit against the city).

The city currently has about 150 short-term rental licenses, most in commercially-zoned areas.

If you have friends who don’t use FB, they can also watch the video on our YouTube: https://youtu.be/l0VO79o0bjY

07/25/2024

Hood River City violating the US Constitution?

That's what a lawsuit filed last month claims is the case with the city's short term rental rules ... and what prompted the "emergency" passage of Ordinance 2083 on Monday evening.

On Monday, July 22, the Hood River City Council passed ordinance 2083, replacing the existing rules governing residency requirements for a license to operate a short-term rental. The packet didn’t provide info on what prompted the change, so here’s the scoop.

As of October 2023, a provision in the short-term rental (STR) licenses requiring that licenses ONLY be issued to permanent City of Hood River residents took effect. This effectively stopped non-resident owners from renting their properties, and given previous rulings by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, violates the what is known as the “Dormant Commerce Clause” of the US Constitution. That restriction effectively discriminates against out-of-state residents, thus creating a burden on interstate commerce.

A group of out-of-state owners who purchased homes here with the intention to rent part of the time filed suit in June. The homeowners live in Washington, California, Alaska, and British Columbia (Canada). Depending on the owner, some began renting their homes out as long ago as the late 1990’s.

The change to the residency requirement that the City Council approved on Monday night now allows a “long-term tenant who resides on the property under a residential lease with a term of at least 12 months” to also be considered eligible for a license to operate a short-term rental.

The City believes that this change will be sufficient to react to the lawsuit filed in early June by removing the discrimination in favor of in-city residents. They also believe it could increase the availability of long-term rental properties in the city, with homeowners working with a long-term tenant to require them to have a room or rooms to sublet via a short-term rental as part of the rental agreement.

The open questions on the ordinance will be:

- Will the ordinance change be accepted as sufficient response to the lawsuit’s challenge? If not, the City will have to make additional changes to the STR rules (as other cities have – which could include removing the residency requirement but restricting the locations of rentals, etc)

- What effect does the change (if the lawsuit is resolved) have on properties now owned by out-of-state owners and their use? Based on the new ordinance, the AirBNB arbitrage movement (where a local tenant becomes the tenant on paper but may in turn act as the agent for renting out the unit) probably is prohibited, but may be hard to enforce.

BTW ... our look at the properties in question certainly suggests that if these become long-term rentals, they’re not going to fall into a category that meets the rental needs of people in the 30% to 60% local median income group. They might be able to be priced at a level where a high-earning individual or couple would benefit. And having stayed 7 years ago at one of the properties that was designed specifically for the STR market, some properties will not be particularly long-term renter friendly if they were specifically designed for short-term use.

Stay tuned for what happens next. If you’d like to watch the discussion, you can start here: https://www.youtube.com/live/EB_8x3yzqio?si=r2cVUAFtoJmnBOu7&t=14126

And the really studious out there can also refer to case law involving "Rosenblatt vs City of Santa Monica."

You may now impress your friends by tossing around the phrase "the US Constitution's Dormant Commerce Clause."

07/24/2024

This isn't a direct HR County agency post, but given the fires in and around the county, seems worth sharing.

The Great Basin Complex Incident Management Team 6 has taken command of the Whisky Creek Fire (near Cascade Locks) and the Microwave Tower Fire (near Mosier) as of this morning.

They've created a page for each that will include updates, photos, any community meetings etc.

Please follow the 2024 Whisky Creek Fire page for more updates on that fire. Link: https://www.facebook.com/2024WhiskyCreekFire

Please follow the 2024 Microwave Tower Fire page for more updates on that fire. Link: https://www.facebook.com/2024MicrowaveTowerFire

The Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area FB page is also following the fires: https://www.facebook.com/crgnsa

The official 2024 Microwave Fire page

07/23/2024

Hood River City Council Doings:

In the July 22nd meeting, Ben Mitchell was chosen as the council member to fill the vacant City Council seat.

The first two votes ended with a 3 to 3 tie between Amanda Goeke and Ben Mitchell. In order to break the tie, the candidates had to answer two additional questions. 1) What “strengths” do you bring to the City Council? (Note that that question is routinely included in articles on poor interview questions). The second “question” asked whether the candidates had any “conflicts of interest” and how they would handle that. If you want to watch the last 2 questions, link here: https://www.youtube.com/live/EB_8x3yzqio?si=nZlgoP1X1CeY2aOP&t=10930

The 3rd vote gave the seat to Ben Mitchell, who’ll be sworn in during the first August meeting. This leaves a vacancy on the City Planning Commission - opening info coming soon on that (it's not a terribly time-consuming role any more, with few meetings held in the course of 12 months)

Three City Council seats now held by Gladys Rivera, Megan Saunders, and Mark Zanmiller are also up for election in 2024. The post of Mayor will also be open for election.

The next elected councilors will receive a monthly stipend of $742 (plus a laptop or Ipad, along with childcare costs while attending public meetings). The next elected mayor will receive a monthly stipend of $1,484.

The filing deadline is August 27th, with a nominating petition requiring at least 20 signatures by registered active voters from inside the city limits (but they recommend getting 24, in case some signatures are disqualified). Full info on running here:https://cityofhoodriver.gov/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2024/06/2024-City-Council-Elections-Packet.pdf

Note that a successful candidacy usually requires a strong organization and support team, because incumbents on the HR City Council tend to win reelection, particularly when faced with multiple new candidates.

We’ll fill you in on the reason that the US Constitution appeared during the “emergency” ordinance adoption on short-term rentals in a later post. But get ready for the "Dormant Commerce" clause!

07/20/2024

Hood River City Council : JULY 22 MEETING

For July 22: There are 2 meeting start times

Meeting 1: 4:30pm
 At the September 11, 2023 city council meeting, the City Council was told that the Waterfront Stormwater Relocation Project total cost would be $9.3 million.

The estimated cost as of the June 2024 meeting wa up to $11.7 million (as of June 2024). After hearing the estimates in June, the Council asked about alternative solutions to the design. They’ll hear those updates Monday afternoon in the first meeting.

 City Finance Director Longinetti will discuss the city’s failure to publish the required public notice of the City’s budget hearing in the local paper, as required by Oregon law. Apparently the notice was sent to the wrong email address. As a correction, the city gives a “mea culpa” and in the future will add to its budget checklist confirming that its notices have actually been received.

 Council will determine if it should ratify the emergency declaration made by the city manager banning fireworks between July 3 and July 14.

6pm meeting: City Council will choose a candidate to fill Tim Counihan’s vacant seat

Candidates are:
- Maggie Converse
- Lara Dunn
- Amanda Goeke
- Curt Ivy
- Ben Mitchell

This is a political appointment, so don’t expect anyone who doesn’t match up to the existing council profile to make it. You can read candidate answers and application on pages 51-72 of the packethttps://cityofhoodriver.gov/wp-content/uploads/Meetings/07-22-2024-City-Council-Packet.pdf

 Focus Group Summaries on Development Code and Update
This turns out to be more interesting and revealing (though perhaps not as intended) than expected when looking at the interview with Spanish speakers, described as “7 Hispanic/Latin American Hood River area Residents). Also note that at least 1 of the 7 interviewees lives in White Salmon, so it’s unclear how familiar he/she is with HR building and development codes. Notes on pages 80 to 90 of the packet.

Focus group offered) comments on issues related to building – the lack of more manufactured housing, need for multi-generational housing, being close to work in orchards.

But other “code” comments involved noise at night (people wishing for parties that could go to 1am), neighbors who believe they “own” parking rights on the street and/or are racist, lack of sidewalks, concerns over lighting, unsafe walkng access from Odell to Hood River). One interviewee suggests that the development codes “benefit a lot of white people and a lot of people who have been here for generations.” (page 86) No further info given on that; no discussion of general economics of Oregon land use and housing costs.

Interview subjects mention difficulty in knowing who to contact for development code information and lack of bilingual support. Concerns also about the wish to put additions onto homes to support multi-generational families; concerns about the elimination of trailer parks because they don’t benefit the county. Lack of entertainment geared to Latinos.

Pages 90 to 119 begin to address issues with the development code. FULL reading required by all developers or those concerned with development. Listing of people interviewed so far shown in attached document.

 Short Term Rental Licenses: City will consider amending license requirements to allow a long-term renter to be considered in the same way as a property owner when allowing for short-term rentals.

07/20/2024

The Hood River bridge is now open to trucks - structural repairs done.

07/18/2024

County Commissioners spent about 50 minutes changing a few words on the proposed ballot summary and explanatory statement for the November 2024 Public Safety Levy renewal.

Here's what you need to know from those 50 minutes:

- Fewer details in the measure will allow the board to respond to budget changes over the next 5 years, as needed, without being held to specifics of staffing.

- The commissioners want to be sure voters know that this is a RENEWAL of the EXISTING levy, at the same rate of $0.78 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The board will meet again today (Thursday, July 18) at 4pm to read the actual new wording created during their lengthy joint editing session and vote to move forward with the ballot measure.

07/18/2024

Notes from the July 16th Port of Hood River meeting - video contains snippets of discussions on repairs, insurance, vehicle violators who ignore the restrictions, and more.

𝗞𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼
• Repair work and coordination between contractors is proceeding well. Depending on how Tuesday evening’s work went, there is a possibility that the bridge could open back to truck traffic prior to the original July 21st estimated date.
• Kiewit gave clear info and photos of how the repairs are proceeding

𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀
• Scott Reynier of Columbia River Insurance confirmed that it took until July 15th for the insurance carrier of the company whose vehicle struck the bridge to acknowledge that they believed there was coverage on the vehicle.
• The Port believes that given that it takes a certain size vehicle to inflict significant damage on the bridge, the reduction in the amount of the deductible still makes sense. Vehicles above 10,001 lbs are required to carry higher liability amounts of coverage.
• In response to a question from Inform Hood River (Tracey), Columbia River Insurance confirmed that most “commercial motor truck carriers carry ... a $1mill[ion] limit or something greater.” In their office, they have 1,292 active commercial auto policies, and the lowest liability on any of them is $1 million; the average is $4 million; and 4 have $20 million limits.

𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲
• 20 to 30 trucks have been stopped by flaggers and prevented from entering the bridge. All claimed not to know about the restrictions, despite freeway signs between Portland and Hermiston/Tri-Cities.
• 3 to 4 trucks have evaded the flaggers and continued across the bridge. Hood River Police and Oregon State police have been reluctant to ticket those drivers based on the Port’s ordinances and fines. The Port is exploring changes to their citation and ordinances to get cooperation from law enforcement.
• 𝗠𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘅 advocated for publicizing the names and vehicle info of violating drivers and their businesses. His concern is that without protecting the old bridge until a new one is operational, at some point we risk having to remove truck traffic entirely, and then eventually close the existing bridge to all traffic.
• At least one car driver avoided a barrier and flaggers to cross the bridge during the initial full closure.

The Port expressed their appreciation of the cooperation from Izak Riley in regards to the investigation as well as offering to help staff the flagging operation.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮? Commissioners Chapman and Gehring float the idea of a “Columbia Gorge” license plate that would eventually generate money for the port - perhaps its parks, they suggested. One little impediment? The Port will have to create a non-profit organization first.

Other Oregon institutions with special license plates include the
Marine Mammal Institute (gray whales), OSU pollinator research (bees), Oregon Coast Aquarium (puffins), Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and Oregon Parks & Rec (salmon). It will be "interesting" to see what Port plants to create that is similar to OSU, Oregon Coast Aquarium, etc so they can benefit from license plate sales. Watch for the next meeting to see what's proposed.

07/16/2024

Reminder: Port of Hood River meeting tonight (Tuesday, July 16th) beginning at 5pm; live stream via Port of Hood River YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8FKwopuaecfMwdjKO1HdwA

-The agenda item probably of greatest interest remains the issue of the bridge: progress on repairs, update on costs and insurance coverage.

Please note that on our FB page the other day, Izak Riley shared what looks like a screenshot of an email from Krysta Wiles (Progressive Insurance). It looks like this also was sent to "Kevin" (probably Kevin Greenwood, Executive Director @ Port of Hood River), so the new info on Progressive's coverage of accident, the existing deductible, etc. may have updates beyond what shows in the agenda posted late last week.

Public comment taken at the start of the meeting.
**
For those interested in the most recent design recommendations on the future bridge, the last meeting design comments are here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nQpgjjudie9KKRdRozBUEosMaNrwBGBP/view

07/14/2024

Hood River County Commissioners meet Monday, July 15. Work session @ 5pm, business session at 6pm. The link to the agenda, full packet, and registration is here: https://www.hoodrivercounty.gov/meetings (HR County requires you to "register" even if you just want to watch or listen to a meeting)

Topics of most interest: Work Session
- We’ll hear an update on a “coordinated approach to wildfire preparedness and hazardous fules reduction.”

This should be especially important given the high likelihood of significant fire in our county, and the fact that our Community Wildfire Protection Plan dates from 2006, and is too old to qualify us for mitigation funding.

- Update on what the Columbia Gorge Community College is up to
- Mid-Columbia Economic Development District will describe financial incentives to help with certain kinds of environmental cleanup on properties to permit them to be used for other purposes (aka “Brownfield Revitalization”)

During the regular meeting (beginning @ 6pm), departments will prevent a quarterly review. The office of Emergency Management will talk about wildfire and natural hazards.

- The DA office continues to be understaffed, and continues to have lots of DUII offenses to deal with.

The county will also confirm details of what the November 2024 tax levy ballot language will be. Rate will remain at $0.78 per $1,000 of assessed value. The map showing how much of the physical county is tax exempt (due to public ownership of state, county, or national forest, plus agricultural, religious, and other exemptions) is quite an eye-opener. 75% of the county is exempt.

On the map, the yellow areas are properties given a special tax assessment, which can fully or partially remove their taxes. Examples of qualifying property can include farmland, private forest land, conservation easements, historic properties, religious or fraternal organizations, senior citizens, veterans,etc.

- The county will also start the process to get bids with preliminary cost estimates on a consolidated County Public Safety/Admin Building and Courthouse. UNCLEAR if this includes the Hood River police station (all plans for that were dropped in mid-2020 after several years of HR city council work on the plan).

07/13/2024

On Tuesday, July 16th @ 5pm, the Port of Hood River regular meeting will include updates about the Hood River-White Salmon Bridge accident, including:

- Accident timeline and costs to repair

- Suggestions on what could have been done differently in terms of accident reaction and community information; updates to emergency action plans needed.

- How to address future situations where the bridge may need to be closed across multiple days for 12-hour segments. Pages 171 begin comments received from workers and employers over the hardship posed by closing the bridge at 7pm to traffic.

You can read the reports here (https://portofhoodriver.com/wp-content/site-uploads/meeting-archives/2024/2024%2007%2016%20Packet%20Regular%20Session.pdf) – start on page 37

Let’s jump right to the good stuff. The cost so far for repairs is estimated at about $1.1 million. The Port’s insurance policy has a $1 million deductible, so the policy only covers expenses above the $1 million mark.

The company whose vehicle damaged the bridge is owned by Riley Materials, and insured by Progressive Insurance. As of the July 8th letter in the packet, the Port’s insurer was having a hard time learning whether or not the vehicle that struck the bridge was listed as a covered vehicle on Riley Material’s policy. Perhaps by the July 16th meeting there will be more info on who exactly will be on the hook for the $1 million in damages that currently form the deductible. Full letter provided in photos.

Other items in the packet of interest about the bridge situation:

Page 171: comments received – numerous deep concerns about economic losses due to the hours the bridge will be shut for repairs
Page 211: Hood River police accident report begins

There are plenty of photos in the packet of the damage, as well as very detailed engineering reports and drawings involving the repairs and structural integrity. Those are well beyond my ability to comment on.

The meeting will be live streamed on the Port's YouTube channel. Other discussions include reports of other port activities, including waterfront events, airport, etc.

07/10/2024

Monday, July 15th – Hood River City Planning Commission will hold a public hearing beginning at 5:30pm for a site review on the 780 Rand Road low-income housing project. Details on the agenda and how to participate or comment here:https://cityofhoodriver.gov/wp-content/uploads/Meetings/PC-Agenda-7-15-2024.pdf

The project will have 130 residential apartments. The apartments will be located within one 4-story building, three 3-story buildings and two 2-story buildings.

Project also includes a 3,600-s.f. single-story community building and off-street parking totaling 195 vehicle stalls (20% of parking designed to be EV ready). The rentals will be income-restricted to households earning between 30% and 60% of area median income. A household of 4 people with total annual earnings between $29,370 and $58,740 qualifies to live in the project.

The Planning Commission is supposed to participate in the site review, but with multi-year city approval and funding in place, plus more than 500 pages of documentation, and a few newer PC members that didn't seem quite ready or conversant with the documents at the last meeting, don’t expect many serious questions.

The housing project is estimated to result in 803 additional car trips in and out of the complex each day. There were concerns with traffic traveling north on Rand Road that will attempt to turn left into the new housing complex with no left turn lane, particularly in the winter under icy conditions.

The 4 packets of info on the project, including drawings, traffic analysis, wetland concerns, and more, can be found on the city’s website: https://cityofhoodriver.gov/administration/meetings/

Traffic analysis, wetland and water drainage, and other info in packet #3 (315 pages, very little of it in "plain language"):https://cityofhoodriver.gov/wp-content/uploads/Meetings/2024-09-SPR-mP-Rand-Rd-LP-Attachments-A.3-A.8.pdf

07/10/2024

Join the Hood River Valley Parks and Rec board and staff on Wednesday, July 10th from 3pm to 6pm at the Hood River Aquatic Center (1601 May Street). Board and staff want to hear from you.

You may say that you already spoke with your vote! After all, in May, voters rejected the operating levy & capital bond from the River Valley Parks and Recreation District. But the Parks District has to have an operating plan for the failing pool.

And there was misinformation and some confusion around a few of the topics during the run-up to the election. Over 2 separate meetings in June, board members and staff have discussed a number of issues including:

- How best to address issues like where the new pool might be located?

- The costs of each of the elements in the bond measure

- Why can't Barrett Park be sold for several more years?

- Next steps for the Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation

Consider coming out for a while to listen.

You can also register your thoughts with the post-election survey - link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/5RTRZHW

07/06/2024

The July 1 Hood River Planning Commission received a progress report on the Development Code Audit. The outside team doing the audit has interviewed stakeholders about problems posed by the existing code, and will spend the next year or so finding ways to make the code easier to understand and use.

The "code" referred to are Sections 16 (Subdivisions) and 17 (Zoning). They define what can be built and where, how lots can or can't be divided, parking requirements, landscaping requirements for developers, where mobile or manufactured homes can be, and more.

Newer commissioners had little to add to the discussion – in one case perhaps not understanding that code changes wouldn’t affect the primary housing cost drivers of land acquisition cost, materials and labor, etc. Both Hood River Planning Director Dustin Nilsen and project manager Matt Hastie confirmed that those challenges will remain.

We provide a 4 minute video of highlights to give you the gist of the discussion.

07/04/2024

The July 1st Planning Commission (Hood River) meeting discussed:

- The Roundabout at 13th and May Street: Recommended because a signalized intersection at 13th and May would have resulted in traffic backed up to Cascade/Oak according to traffic studies.

- Other elements of The Heights Streetscape plan - conversion of 12th Street to more of a "neighborhood street"

- Parking on 12th street - which planners say will only remove less than 10% of the parking spaces available on the Pine Street Bakery

The City's Planning Commission has met very infrequently in the past 12 months (perhaps half a dozen times). Perhaps that accounted for few questions about issues related to snow removal or the challenges of the roundabout with the grade on 13th Street. The US Department of Transportation publishes a guide to roundabouts, and doesn't recommend them at certain grade levels. No one raised that question.

Also discussed were the plans for the development code audit - more on that later (as well as an update on Parks & Rec District Plans and next steps).

07/01/2024

The Troubled Bridge Over Water… next steps

- Bridge reopened today to cars and RVs; no semi-trucks or commercial tractor/trailers.

- Kiewit and HDR are already in contact with fabricators and should have drawings this evening.

- Fabrication begining now with work on bridge beginning July 8th - AT NIGHT ONLY - and starts with lead paint removal and abatement.

- Current estimate on the repairs is one week, so potentially full reopening to commercial traffic as of July 15th, but firmer schedule coming soon.

- The Port will hire 24/7 security teams to stop semis and prohibited vehicles from crossing the bridge. DOT lit signs and flaggers will flag away trucks. Trucks that ignore those warnings face legal issues and fines.

- The Port commissioners voted to give Executive Director Greenwood emergency authority to execute contracts up to $1 million (for security firm, fabrication, etc).

In the July 16th REGULAR Port Commission meeting, commissioners will receive a full report on estimated costs, info on what happened, insurance issues, legal,etc. Public comment will be taken at that meeting.

Commissioner Mike Fox, with 40+ years of project management and construction experience with Bechtel, has been working with the teams dealing with the issue, and Port Commisison Chair Kristi Chapman singled out Mike’s hours spent since the initial accident on Thursday.

(Sorry for delay posting … out of town in different time zone!)

06/28/2024

June 29 4:30am update:
- Agenda and link for live streaming the port meeting now on Port website- photo attached. Nothing new in agenda - meeting WILL be live-streamed. Port link here or go to their YouTube channel.

https://portofhoodriver.com/live-stream/

Bridge Update: The Port of Hood River will hold a public meeting on Sunday, June 30,@ 10am. Location: Port Conference Room.

That’s where we’ll learn preliminary details on repairs, $ (via emergency procurement), and a schedule for reopening to vehicles.

I assume they will also stream it live on their YouTube channel but haven’t seen that confirmed. Their YT channel link is here: https://youtube.com/?si=6jQiEu1EQRdZg2Ap

Traffic on Bridge of the Gods reported to be heavy.

06/27/2024

There is a current vacancy on the city council in Hood River. Application for that spot is due by July 1 @ 5pm. The current city council members will make the appointment. https://cityofhoodriver.gov/administration/city-council/

4 other spots will be up for election on the November 2024. 3 are council spots now held by Mark Zanmiller, Gladys Rivera, and Megan Saunders. The position of Mayor will also be up for election. Winning candidates receive a monthly stipend. Recommended deadline for filing paperwork to run is August 20.

https://cityofhoodriver.gov/administration/city-council/