Council hears quarterly goals update; staff outlines major completed and upcoming infrastructure projects

Assistant City Manager Stephanie Bedridge and Assistant City Manager/Chief Operations Officer Russ Grayson gave the Bend City Council a quarterly update on adopted council goals and a detailed review of recent and near-term infrastructure projects on July 16.

Bedridge summarized the 2023–25 goals and said 43 of 49 actions (88 percent) were complete as of June 30; 10 percent were still in progress and one action was on hold (work on local gun-safety policies, she said, is paused because of legal uncertainty tied to state legislation). She highlighted achievements across five goal areas: an equity framework and language-access program; a $5 million Pro Housing grant and other housing and shelter funding; adoption of a revised tree code and right-of-way code; steps on climate and the community climate action plan; and public-safety investments such as maintaining fire and EMS response times.

Grayson then provided a project-by-project review of major capital work completed over the past two years and projects now under construction or in design. Completed items he cited included the Newport Avenue corridor, Wilson Avenue/Wilson & Third roundabout, Purcell Boulevard work by the hospital, Greenwood Avenue improvements, the Second Street core-area project and large waterline work tied to the water master plan. He said the Juniper Ridge Public Works campus move is on schedule for October–November and that the airport air-traffic-control tower is due next spring. On water and sewer, he cited the Ferguson Road septic-to-sewer extension and an ongoing suite of sewer pump-station and waterline work.

Grayson described projects anticipated to start over the next 12 months: final railroad crossing work on Wilson/Cooley corridors, the Bend bikeways project, Butler Market and Franklin Avenue work, a Galveston corridor project, a Ferguson Road/Fifteenth Street roundabout, Neff corridor work and designs for the Reid Market-Rail bridge and other intersection improvements. He said the city is updating public-facility master plans (collection system, stormwater, WRF, Outback filtration) to support future growth and noted ongoing work to acquire property for future water-system expansion.

Why it matters: the update connects the council goals to near-term capital work and to the growth-plan conversation that staff also presented later in the meeting. Bedridge noted a comprehensive status report in the council packet for line-item detail.

Council reaction: Councilors asked for more outcome-focused measures (for example, crash reduction, housing production or affordability changes) rather than accomplishment lists. Councilor Franzosa and others asked that major transportation-funding discussions be prefaced in subcommittee or staff briefings before full-council work sessions. Staff agreed to provide annotated agenda previews and to return with more detailed materials ahead of work sessions.

Neighborhood Street Safety Program (NSSP) pause: Councilors discussed neighborhood safety projects and audible public controversy around proposed crossings on Century Drive and Chamberlain & Reed Market. Councilors agreed to pause action on the Century Drive crossing and asked staff to return with alternative options and corridor-level analysis later this fall; that procedural pause was supported by multiple councilors.

Staff scheduling: Grayson outlined a dense slate of fall work sessions linked to transportation, midtown crossings (Greenwood, Franklin, Hawthorne), Reed Market, tree-code review and the first housing funding-group check-in. Bedridge said council business and work-session scheduling will shift in August (work sessions to occur the Monday before business meetings).