The record · Transcript
Council Session — 2025-11-18
Transcript from the session's official auto-captions (18,670 words), shown in readable case and split into speaker turns. Speakers are not yet identified (colors just separate consecutive turns). Auto-captions can contain errors — check the recording for anything that matters.
Session summaryEditor-reviewed
The Portland City Council Arts and Economy Committee met on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The body confirmed roll call presence and approved minutes covering August 12 through September 23 by unanimous consent. The committee received an update from the Office of Arts and Culture on the Portland Five Centers for the Arts, including the Performing Arts Venues Workgroup's recommendations, the pending dissolution of the intergovernmental agreement between the city and Metro, facility condition assessments, and timelines described inconsistently regarding transition periods. Discussion covered the Keller Auditorium's history, seismic concerns, and economic impact figures, along with an update on the Hunden market feasibility study and a newly formed steering committee. Portland State University representatives presented a proposal for a Performing Arts and Culture Center, describing site details, funding sources, and projected economic impacts. Representatives of the Halprin Landscape Conservancy presented a renovation concept for the Keller Auditorium, including cost estimates, funding strategies, and a proposed timeline. Public testimony addressed performing arts venue plans, concerns about traffic studies, and separate issues including enhanced service districts, East Portland economic development, small business support, and grocery store access. The meeting was adjourned, with the next session scheduled for December 9, 2025. Votes occurred during the discussion of a related resolution referenced in public testimony; outcomes are recorded in the vote ledger.
AI-drafted from the session's auto-captions, reviewed by an editor — describes the discussion only; recorded votes live in the vote ledger. Captions contain errors.
0 To figure out. Ensure that. You. Do that. Okay.
1 You guys good? Diana. You're good.
2 Okay.
3 Good morning. I called the meeting of the arts and economy committee to order. It is Tuesday, November 18th at 9:30 a.m. Diana, will you please call the roll?
4 Good morning.
5 Clark here.
6 Green here. Dunphy here.
7 Ryan, here.
8 Okay, craig, will you please read the statement of conduct?
9 Welcome to this meeting of the arts and economy committee. To testify before this committee in person or virtually. You must sign up in advance on the committee agenda at ww. Gov agenda. Arts and economy committee. Or by calling 311. Information on engaging with the committee can be found at this link. Registration for virtual testimony closes one hour prior to the meeting. In-person testifiers must sign up before the agenda item is heard. If public testimony will be taken on an item, individuals may testify for three minutes unless the chair states otherwise, your microphone will be muted when your time is over. The chair preserves order disruptive conduct such as shouting, refusing to conclude your testimony when your time is up, or interrupting others testimony or committee deliberations will not be allowed. If you cause a disruption, a warning will be given. Further disruption will result in ejection from the meeting. Anyone who fails to leave once ejected is subject to arrest for trespass. Additionally, the committee may take a short recess and reconvene virtually. Your testimony should address the matter being considered. When testifying, state your name for the record. If you are a lobbyist, identify the organization you represent. Virtual testifiers should unmute themselves when the clerk calls your name. Thank you.
10 Thank you craig. In today's meeting, the committee we will be very arts focused today. First, we're going to approve the minutes from August 12th through September 23rd. Then we'll hear updates on the performing arts venues, feasibility study and the metro Portland center for the arts agreement from the office of arts and culture, as well as receive updates from stakeholders about the future of keller auditorium in Portland state university's performing arts venues. And we'll listen to public testimony on performing arts venues, as well as public testimony on issues before the arts and economy committee. So item one, August 12th through. Please read item one. Diana, I'm doing your job.
11 Thank you. Item 1st August 12th, 2025 to September 23rd, 2025. Arts and economy committee minutes.
12 Thank you. Diana. This first item is to approve the minutes of arts and economy committee meetings that occurred August 12th through September 23rd. Yes, we're playing catch up. These minutes are available online as part of the meeting agenda. If no objections, I'll approved leading the witness. Thank you. And minutes are approved by unanimous consent. Without objection. So therefore they're approved. Okay, diana, please read item number two.
13 Item two. Performing arts venues update.
14 All right. It's my pleasure today to bring forward updates on portland's performing arts venues and have the opportunity to begin a robust conversation about the future and vision for our world class performing arts venues. I got to tell you, as a former city commissioner who had the assignment for 18 months and now having it be an oversight of this committee, I'm just aware of how important the arts ecosystem is, and also that we're really at a crossroads. It needs care and feeding. It needs a lot of attention, and it needs a lot of strategic direction. So next we will hear from we're going to have director montez of the office of arts and culture. Is will helpful? She'll set some context for us, as we collectively understand that our performing arts venues in Portland are an interdependent system of venues operating under the Portland p5 structure that has been and continues to be operated and managed by metro via merck. This is an unusual arrangement and one that has challenged transparency and operational agility. It's promising that the city is now evaluating the operational agreement with metro, with an eye to making adjustments. Key word in this relationship charity, if you could come up. Welcome. Director montez. It's good to see you.
15 Thank you. Councilor, it's good to see you, too. Thank you so much for having me this morning. For the record, my name is charity montez. I use she they pronouns, and I'm the director of the office of arts and culture. I'm here to present on reimagining downtown performing arts, which is our framework for the interconnected work of considering the future of Portland. Five centers for the arts and the p5 transition. Contemplating a renovated keller auditorium and a new broadway capable venue, and leveraging the role of the performing arts in revitalizing downtown Portland. Next slide. Maybe there's lag. There we go. So the specific topics I want to address this morning are the Portland five centers for the arts transition, including a refresher on the recommendations from the performing arts venues workgroup, and an update on our work to begin implementation of those recommendations. The future of large scale performing arts project with a timeline on the keller auditorium to date, and an update on our work around the strategy to consider two broadway capable venues. After my presentation, you will hear from representatives from halprin landscape conservancy and Portland state university. And of course, there will be time for committee discussion. Next slide. I want to start with Portland five centers for the arts. Next slide. Thank you. As a reminder, Portland five centers for the arts refers to the five city owned, metro operated performing arts facilities at the heart of downtown that includes the arlene schnitzer concert hall, the keller auditorium, the antoinette hatfield hall, which houses three venues the newmark, winningstad and brunish theaters. The numbers on this slide have been updated for fiscal year 2425. And really, these five venues are central to portland's creative economy and our cultural life, drawing almost 800,000 attendees to downtown Portland every year and serving as a home to both our local nonprofit arts organizations and national touring groups. Pre-pandemic, these venues brought in more than a million visitors to the downtown core, and we are looking forward to a day when we see those numbers again. Next slide please. In October 2024, metro and the city passed parallel legislation to establish the performing arts venues workgroup to evaluate the management of Portland. Five centers for the arts facilities. We launched the 19 member workgroup in January 2025, and the workgroup met every other week for five months to consider the needs and wants of users of the theaters. The current operating model, the state of performing arts centers, nationally common operating models across north America, and potential alternative operating models for Portland five. In June 2025, the workgroup delivered its recommendations to city administrator jordan, metro council president peterson and metro council. Then in July, metro staff presented their recommendations to the merc and metro council, and I shared the recommendations at an arts and economy committee meeting. Next slide please. In the short term, the workgroup made recommendations for improvements within the existing model where the city owns the venues and metro operates them, including increased earned revenue through more bookings and expanded food and beverage offerings, increased engagement and coordination with local arts organizations to improve relations and update and improve booking policies. To increase use of the venues. Metro has already started some of these recommendations. Next slide. The workgroup reached consensus that the backlog of deferred maintenance and necessary building modernization, upgrades and replacements impede Portland five's ability to operate efficiently and effectively. The workgroup also concluded that the current practice of funding capital maintenance with operating dollars is unsustainable and not best practice. They recommended capital planning begin immediately, including conducting facility condition assessments and identifying new funding sources for capital. Metro is leading on the facility condition assessments, which are underway right now on all three buildings, and we expect to have final reports by the end of the calendar year. And then I'll talk about new funding sources later. Next slide please. The current two government model, with the city owning the theaters and metro managing them, was not recommended by the workgroup. Instead, the workgroup recommended that the city and metro begin preparing a plan for dissolution of the intergovernmental agreement. While the city works with stakeholders to continue assessing options to identify a new long term operating model. As the owner of the buildings, the workgroup recommended that the city of Portland be the single entity responsible for continuing the work to determine the most effective operating model for the Portland five centers for the arts. Next slide please. The workgroup did consider numerous operating models and recommended these five scenarios for further study, all assuming continued city ownership of the venues and existing or newly formed nonprofit operation. Organization manages operations. A local or national for profit venue operator. Manages operations. A Portland based university with an interest in programing. Manages operations. The city manages operations in-house or the venues are separated out under multiple venue operators with different operating models. Next slide. Following the workgroup's recommendations, the city and metro are actively negotiating dissolution of the iga. We are working towards what's called termination by mutual agreement with a termination agreement that outlines the terms and timeline for transferring management either back to the city or to a contracted third party operator, like in one of those scenarios from the previous slide. As this is an iga, this is on the administrative side of the ledger for the city, and no city council action is required. However, metro code does require metro council approval for any agreement that transfers a function of metro to another government. So on Thursday, November 20th, this Thursday, metro staff will present an ordinance to metro council that authorizes ceo madrigal to enter into a mutually agreed upon termination agreement with the city by December 30th, 2025. If the city and metro cannot negotiate a mutual termination agreement by that date, the ordinance would then authorize ceo madrigal to notify the city on December 31st, 2025, that metro is unilaterally terminating the agreement effective June 30th, 2027. In either scenario, the city would be responsible for management and operations of Portland five centers for the arts starting July 1st, 2027. And again, that could be through bringing operations in-house or by contracting with a third party venue operator. Next slide. Now, I'd like to shift to the future of large scale performing arts and share a project overview, starting with the existing keller auditorium.
16 Councilor pause. Here, we're going to try to save most of the questions till the end. But because you just gave us some new information, I want to know if there's any technical questions from fellow councilors. And I see the hands are up. Councilor Green.
17 Thank you, chair Ryan, just a technical question. So if the agreement ends at the end of the calendar year, I see that there's a sort of six month gap there between the termination and then the actual iga ending. Can you describe a little bit what happens in that six months?
18 It's actually 18 months. So 2027 not 2026. And the termination agreement would indicate that it's effective. Basically the way the iga is written. Now, if we come to a mutual agreement to terminate, we can set the term and the timeline. Okay. If the city were to unilaterally decide to terminate the agreement, that transition would be six months. And if metro unilaterally terminates the agreement, that transition time is 18 months. So we're sticking to that closer to that 18 month timeline for the transition.
19 Okay. That's helpful. Thanks.
20 Yeah. Great question Clark.
21 Thank you. Mr. Co-chair. Two questions. Charity on you talked about getting an assessment of the condition of the p5. And you said that you hope to have that by the end of what did you say next year.
22 Oh, no. This year.
23 This this year. Okay. I just wanted to clarify that because the council's asset management plan, the one that the administration is preparing for us, hopefully all of the p5, all of our venues will be in that asset management plan. And that's coming to us in less than a year from now. And that's to create a standardized approach on asset management across all the all the assets, all the bureaus. But I just want to clarify the timing on that. So you'll you'll have that done before the asset management plan comes to us.
24 That's correct.
25 Okay. Great. The other question I wanted to ask you was about one of the recommendations was to look at third party models. Do you have models in mind or can you give us more information on where those might be? Other communities that have different ways of managing their venues?
26 Yeah. The most common way to manage a venue is through nonprofit operators. So 90% of the venues across the country are operated by nonprofit, even if they are publicly owned, like government owned. And then within that, there are a number of models. You could have a commercial operator that is hired by a nonprofit, you could have a commercial operator that partners with a nonprofit there. There are a number of ways you could own and operate the model. You you know, the venues. It it varies, I think. But the key is that there are there were no clear recommendations from this work group, and they recommended that we do more work and understand the landscape and what's available and what makes sense for Portland before we determine the most efficient operating model here.
27 Can I ask one more question, mr. Chair, I would really appreciate knowing more about what some of those examples are. A little more information on what other communities have gone from nonprofit to subcontracting with a commercial. Just a little more information about that would be helpful for me. Thanks.
28 Absolutely. We do have some case studies that were put together from our venues consultant as part of the workgroup, and I'm happy to send that to you.
29 Terrific. Thanks.
30 Thank you, councilor Clarke. I'm so happy we're getting this update. And some of the information is rather new to me. I want to ask, this is the June 2027 date the latest that that could happen? The dissolving of the iga.
31 It is not the latest. It is the date that has been proposed by metro and that we are working toward in our mutual termination agreement. If we don't negotiate the mutual termination agreement and metro decides to unilaterally terminate, that is the date that will be the date, because that's 18 months from the date they will notify us.
32 Okay. In full transparency. No one will be surprised. I'd like to see it terminated as soon as possible. So I'm trying to figure out what that pathway is.
33 Got it. Councilor I would say that we feel confident that 18 months is enough time for us to consider other operating models and or do the work of transferring staff and operations from metro to the city.
34 And who's representing the city at the meeting on Thursday?
35 We are not attending the meeting on Thursday. It's a staff presentation.
36 A staff presentation to the metro council.
37 It's a metro staff presentation.
38 Councilor Dunphy is saying something you're attending.
39 I am.
40 Well, there's that, so I think I misheard you. I thought this was an action at a metro council meeting.
41 It is an action at metro council meeting required by metro code. So metro staff will be presenting an ordinance that authorizes the ceo to sign the termination agreement with the city and enter into the termination agreement, or unilaterally terminate.
42 And we're in the city, of course, is being discussed at this meeting. Correct? Because we're part of this. Okay. So I'm still confused why we wouldn't be attending the meeting. And I'm I'm just but now that I'm, I think I'm going to have you go councilor Dunphy I'm kind of curious what you might say next. I'll turn it over to councilor Dunphy right now.
43 Well, first I was I was asked by I was invited by metro councilor Wong to come and testify on Thursday. So I will be presenting and happy to work with folks on this committee to and with charity to craft my language. Specifically, I. To that end though, if collaborative negotiation and a unilateral dissolution both envision an 18 month timeline, what is the nature of the negotiation that's happening?
44 It the negotiation is around the the terms of the transfer. So the timeline is one thing, but the process, the sort of rules of negotiation and, and how we are working together through that timeline, if we the, the unilateral termination has very clear language in the code or excuse me, in our consolidated agreement, unilateral termination defaults to that. It was written 20 years ago. So we want to have we have more things that we'd like to include in that termination agreement.
45 Okay. Thank you. Yeah. Anyway, as I to chair Ryan and members of the committee, I was yeah, I was on a conference call with councilor Wong about this, and he invited me to come and speak. So I will be there Thursday morning at 1115, I believe is what it is. So.
46 And can you tell me what you're going to say?
47 I haven't written it yet. Happy to, except that we know the city. This I personally know that we agree with the conclusions that this needs to be moving towards city ownership, and we won't be talking about the operations model. You know, obviously that is still to be determined.
48 That was satisfying to hear that transparency. Thank you. Councilor Clark.
49 I'd just like to know a little bit more about what the implications are for the city of the transfer. All the different elements of it. I this is new to me and it's been 20 years, but what exactly would the impact be on the city? I mean, are we assuming staff are transferred. What are the liabilities? I just I would like to know a little bit more about that.
50 Yeah. So it's actually that's a great question, councilor Clark. It's been 40 years. I think so in the 80s, this this consolidation, this agreement has been in place since the 80s. So it's been longer than 20 years. The 20 years was the most recent updated version of our iga. There are a number of implications. If, you know, metro would were no longer operating the venues. Our options are either we bring all of the staff and all of the operations in-house, and they become city staff, and we operate the venues through city staff and city contracts, or we identify third party operators, contractors who manage the venues on our behalf. Similar to the moda center or veterans memorial coliseum or providence park. Those are city owned assets, and we have a third party operator that manages those assets on our behalf.
51 Mr. Co-chair, it just sounds like there are huge implications for us whichever way we go. And I think we need to know a little bit more about that. I don't want to micromanage this process, but I'd just like to be better informed.
52 Director montez, it looks like we'll be having you come back to an additional meeting so we can actually be brought up to speed on this. When you say my final question on this, I realize there's people here that are going to present. I want to be sensitive to their time. When you say metro, you're also saying merc.
53 Merc is the oversight committee. But Portland five centers for the arts is a department of metro. They are metro employees.
54 Got it. But when the meeting that takes place on Thursday merc is a they're connected to this iga, correct.
55 They're the oversight committee. Right. But and merc at the merc presentation, the last merc meeting, they were notified that this ordinance was happening. But this is a metro code issue because there's a government transfer, a function of government is being transferred to another government. So that requires metro council approval.
56 Sounds good. I just know that merc is often presented as a reason why something can't happen, or because its power and its influence. And so I don't want it to dismiss merc in this process.
57 I do not think that they have been dismissed in this process. They are.
58 That's all I needed to say. Thank you. Anyone else? Thank you for those answering those technical questions. We were tripped up a bit by some new information.
59 And I am happy to provide more information and to provide individual briefings.
60 Yeah, no, it's all good. Okay. Okay. So we can move on. And so now we're going to you were ready to pivot to the next part of your presentation. Carry on okay.
61 Thank you. So I am going to shift to the future of large scale performing arts. Share a project overview. And I'm going to start with the existing keller auditorium. Next slide please. The keller auditorium is unique in Portland. It is the only performance space in our greater Portland area that can host large scale theatrical performances like touring broadway shows. The economic impact is huge. Keller alone draws 400,000 people in attendance each year, largely because broadway is one of the most popular attractions in town, and the keller is at 97% capacity for broadway shows. The keller auditorium is the cornerstone of Portland five centers for the arts, and it subsidizes the other four theaters that we were talking about. 90% of portlanders feel that arts venues inspire pride in their community, and we think that's really important right now, especially as we're talking about revitalizing our downtown next slide. So the keller auditorium was built in 1917, and like many older buildings, it was not built to withstand a major earthquake. It was added to the city's unreinforced masonry or use list in the teens. And in 2017, halprin landscape conservancy led a design competition to develop concepts for an exterior renovation. From 2018 to 2021, the city spectator venues team led work on seismic report that identified options for structural renovation, a major renovation or new facility, and from 2022 to 2023, city and metro partnered with halprin to further develop that renovation concept. They each gave halprin $200,000 for a total of $400,000, and you'll hear more about the renovation concept shortly. And then I'm going to pause there in our timeline, and we'll come back to that in a minute. Next slide please. First, I wanted to give additional context on the importance of keller's economic impact. So a renovation would take 24 months and closure for that amount of time without an alternative broadway venue would result in nearly $100 million in lost output. An output here is defined as the value of the production of goods and services, supported by operations of the keller auditorium. It would amount in 336 lost jobs, 42 million in lost labor income, and $5 million lost in local and state revenues. And this is 2024 numbers. Next slide please. So back to our timeline and keeping those impacts in mind. From 2023 to 2024, the city explored a new facility. We ran a solicitation for potential new sites and new partners. We received seven new proposals and two were selected for additional development lloyd center and PSU. They were each given grants of $50,000 to further develop their proposals. In the end, PSU was identified as the best possible alternative location and development partner for a new build, and you'll hear more about that proposal as well. And finally, in October 2024, council accepted the recommendation to pursue a strategy to develop two broadway capable venues, considering both a new build and a renovation sequenced in such a way that would avoid a prolonged closure of the keller auditorium. The resolution also directed several key areas of work, including a transportation study, a market feasibility study, and launching a steering committee as needed. So I will get into that work now. Next slide please. The city's spectator venues team led on the transportation study and contracted with dcs associates. Scope of work for the transportation study included looking at three potential performing arts venues, scenarios, a renovation of the keller auditorium site, including potential street closure on southwest third avenue, new construction at the PSU site on lincoln, and combined uses at both locations. In June 2025, dcs concluded their study, which did not identify fatal flaws for any of these three scenarios. As next steps, dcs associates did recommend coordination with PBOT on a Lane reduction pilot project at southwest third avenue to improve pedestrian circulation and safety at the existing keller site, and incorporating traffic impact reduction treatments at the PSU site. As that project design moves forward to reduce queuing on the southwest fourth avenue offramp. Next slide please. The office of arts and culture contracted with hunden partners for the feasibility study, which launched in July and will consider the viability of two broadway capable venues in downtown Portland. The market feasibility study will tell us what the market in Portland can bear from both the audience demand side and the venue. Renters arts presenters supply side, and will provide recommendations on the most viable pathway for venue development. In August, hunden was in Portland for two full days of site visits and stakeholder interviews with resident companies, arts presenters, venue owners and promoters, and more. And then in October, surveys went out to audiences and venue users alike. You may have received an email with the survey yourself. Those that survey closed last week and we received well over 4000 survey responses. We anticipate the full market feasibility study will be completed by the end of December, and we look forward to sharing the results and findings of that study in the new year. Next slide please. In August, we opened applications for the future of large scale performing arts. Steering committee applications were open through the first week of October, and we received interest from Portland, los angeles, new york and beyond. Applications were reviewed by a staff committee and appointments were approved by dca. Oliveira and members were announced in early November. These 11 steering committee members have technical expertise in architecture, construction, finance, fundraising and development, performing arts, public private partnerships, real estate development, urban planning and venue operations. The steering committee will meet six times between December 2025 and June 2026, and will review recommendations from the performing arts venues, workgroup results from the transportation study, findings from the market, feasibility study, potential funding and partnership opportunities, and and more. The steering committee will make culminating recommendations on next steps and direction for the future of large scale performing arts to dca oliveira by June 30th, 2026. Next slide please. In parallel with the technical steering committee, mayor keith wilson has invited key stakeholders of portland's performing arts ecosystem to join his ex officio table. These stakeholders will meet four times in early 2026 to review the details of our studies and provide guidance on a decision, as the city considers the future of the keller auditorium and the potential of a new venue at Portland state university. The goal of this group will be to provide a recommendation on the best course of action. And then finally, I don't have a slide for this, but I did want to mention councilor Clark's budget note regarding the keller auditorium. We are on track to develop a financial plan for the keller renovation, informed by both the transportation study and then the market feasibility study. Once it's completed later this year, and we'll be able to provide that plan to both mayor wilson and the appropriate council committee. Maybe it's this committee by April 30th, 2026. That concludes my staff presentation. I am happy to take questions now, but I think I'm meant to turn it over to helford landscape conservancy for their portion.
62 Yes.
63 I think we should have some technical questions. There's some hands up. I'm going to go ahead and start it off by saying, when you went back to the the one about the feasibility studies with it was the slide that looked at traffic studies and such. Yes. Could you go back to that, please?
64 Yes, please. That is the traffic study. Forward two slides.
65 Is it that one?
66 No, I think you meant the transportation study. It's the next slide.
67 I should have stopped.
68 You then.
69 It says no fatal flaws. But there were some concerns, right?
70 Yes, considerations.
71 What were they? I didn't hear those.
72 The well the the considerations were around two things. The initial study asked to look at a closure of third avenue, and that a full closure of third avenue was not a recommendation. I think as they got into the work, it was clear that that is a place where a lot of folks are dropping off and picking up, and folks with mobility issues might need access to the venue from third avenue. So their their recommendation on the next steps, they were to do a Lane closure pilot project or a Lane reduction. So not closing the full way, but considering closing the Lane and the parking on one side that they recommended a pilot project before looking at a full Lane reduction in that location. Additionally, they wanted to make sure that the PSU site is looking at ways to reduce queuing on the southwest fourth avenue off ramp. So they didn't say it was a fatal flaw, like, you can't do the project. But what they said was you really need to consider, you know, how are you making sure that folks are coming in multiple directions, maybe parking in different locations, that the entrance, the main entrance for folks coming off the freeway, is not right next to the off ramp, but further down the property and other considerations like that. So they recommended that PSU keep that in mind and look at ways to reduce the impact of traffic in their design.
73 So as a fourth avenue ramp coming from the freeway. So odot's also was involved.
74 Not at this time. These are really you know, these are high level transportation studies. We were directed to look at this work to see if there were fatal flaws before we actually have design concepts for these. So there will be additional traffic studies as required when these plans start to move forward.
75 What about lincoln?
76 That would be additional traffic study as the plan moves forward. That was that.
77 The street that's next to. Yeah. Was that part of the traffic study.
78 Yes. But that there I am happy to forward you the the full results of the transportation study. Councilor. The concern was not as much about lincoln as it was about the off ramp.
79 Oh that's fascinating. Okay. Councilor Smith.
80 Thank you. Co-chair, I had some of the same concerns about the transportation study where you say there are no flaws. I'd like to have a copy of that transportation study in its fullest form. The market feasibility study. You said it's going to be done by the end of December 2025. Co-chair Ryan, is there an opportunity for us to bring this back? Do we have another meeting that we could talk about, this market feasibility study? Because I am concerned that we're just getting a high level. Approach to how your, your, your giving us this information and it's not in great detail because this market feasibility study is going to show us whether there is a demand for two such venues in the city of Portland, and that's the ball game, because if you can't make any money, it doesn't make any sense. And so that in combination with the transportation study and how well we move people in cars going forward, and we expect we fully expect that there's going to be a much busier downtown in the next two years than we've had in the last two years. So I'm going to be looking for some of those kind of. You know, some of those remarks to see whether or not, you know, we're in the ball game. I don't want to approve something before we have any of these studies back yet. And I think that it's important for all of us to have a open process so that people can comment on what we've learned.
81 Thank you. Councilor. I'm happy to forward the transportation study. One of the key points that they made, even if our our building, our our downtown is busier, is that the traffic is happening, the impacts would be happening in the evening, which is counter to the commute traffic. It is not when the most traffic is happening in Portland. So they didn't see fatal flaws. That was the question. That's what we were asked to look at. Are there fatal flaws like a nonstarter? And they did not identify nonstarters. But the both projects are still conceptual. And until they have like they're in land use review and permitting, they will have other traffic studies that they need to do, deeper traffic studies that they'll need to do at that time. And I don't. So I don't have those. But I will forward the traffic, the transportation study to you, the full results. And then and then I have been clear that the market feasibility study would not be complete until the end of this year. We are in the middle of that work, and I'm so happy to come back or to provide briefings.
82 After the first.
83 Of the year. Yes, once we have that study.
84 Perfect. Thank you so much.
85 And in real time. We've been wanting to have them come back as well as we get new information today. So thank you, councilor. Who's next? Councilor Clark?
86 Thank you, mr. Co-chair. Just two comments. I need some clarification on the timeline. Okay. But first let me just say that I did read the transportation study. And while there it may say that there are no fatal flaws, there was really no design to work off of. So we're going to have to come back with a closer look at transportation at some point. And I don't know where the funds for that came from or if we have the resources to refine that study.
87 It's not something that we would need to do. It's something that the design teams would need to do during their permitting process.
88 Oh, okay.
89 All right. That's interesting because I am really concerned about what the impact would be in that area. Fourth, with a light rail, I mean, it's kind of a spaghetti over there. I need some clarification. Just review for me charity. So the feasibility study is going to be completed, and maybe we'll hear about it at the first of the year and this committee, but then the technical committee, they are meeting this December to next June, I think I heard you say that. Is that right? June 26th. Yes. And then the ex officio. Committee, the large table. Then they're starting. When did you say.
90 They are? Starting? In January. And my understanding is they will meet approximately four times. So through April.
91 Okay. So they won't have the benefit of what the technical committee has come up with.
92 They will have the benefit of some of the same studies. But really I think that the they're conceived as two different. Committees, both providing inputs to leadership.
93 So it just seems like the timing is a little bit off. And then you referenced my budget note, I think that's coming due in April. It just seems like the timing is a little off here, but maybe that's something that we can work on with the mayor's office. Or maybe there's some flexibility there. It just seems like that doesn't quite stack up. But thank you.
94 Thank you, councilor Clark. Councilor Green.
95 Thank you, co-chair Ryan, and thanks for pausing to flag the transportation study to have a little bit more dialog around that. That's it's important for this. I think I just want to voice a little concern about the idea that we shouldn't close third avenue in front of the keller. I think a critical piece of that redesign concept and the opportunities that it poses for the downtown core, is this idea of a plaza that is really about space activation as much as it is about access to the venue. And I think, you know, even in some renderings, I've seen bollards blocking that space. I think that there's a way to thread this needle to where we can say, look, we can have the opportunity to bring in a van of folks who want to visit and, you know, get, get sort of very close access without envisioning that space as being still a street. I see that there are some members from the dna down here, and maybe you're going to do some testimony today, and I would like to hear from you on that when you do that testimony. But aside from that, I really look forward to seeing that transportation study. And I just I thank you for for the dialog on it. And I councilor Clark, I think we're our intention is definitely to schedule a follow up meeting to review a deep dive of the market feasibility study we have in the first of the year. So.
96 Thank you, councilor Dunphy.
97 Thanks, charity. Did the transportation study focus on not just guests arriving, but did it focus on the use by the professionals at the keller? One of the one of the infrastructure challenges I've heard specifically is around load in, and that it requires shutting down a street entirely, getting a permit to shut down the street, and then trying to load the semis in. Did they focus on that as a as part of this study, or like broadly, how the how the facility is used.
98 That was limited?
99 Okay. I think we need I mean I've heard from the operators of the of the keller that there are some real logistical challenges here that I think really do need to be thought of in whatever the next final status of this going to be, because the city has grown around it, and it is not really meeting a modern, broadway capable venue in that regard. So something I will be watching for. Thank you.
100 Thank you.
101 Okay. Thank you for taking those additional technical questions. We'll obviously be all of us will be in touch with you and your office. Thank you. And now we have representatives of Portland state university to give us updates on the evolving plans to further build a performing arts campus that will be a regional performing arts, educational and workforce development hub. I will now turn this presentation over to president anne cut and anne. Madam president, please introduce the panelists that you have with you today.
102 Thank you.
103 And the floor is yours for 15 minutes.
104 Thank you very much, counselors. Good morning. And for the record, my name is anne cut. And I'm the president of Portland state university. And I'm joined here by sarah schwartz, the president of the PSU foundation, and chris oxley. So I want to kick it off, though. First, thank you for inviting us. I can't stay for the full session today, but I wanted to make time to be with you at the outset to say why Portland state is so enthusiastically bringing our expertise and our resources to this table. Our why is crystal clear. We are here to support our students, to grow the university and to serve the city. Let's start with the students. More than 80% of PSU students are from within Oregon, and almost all of them stay here when they graduate, fueling our economy and creating stable communities. Our college of the arts is a university signature because creative industries are vital to Portland. The college encompasses four separate, highly ranked schools a school of art, art history and design, a school of film, a school of architecture, and a school of music and theater. And you may know that our choral music program is world renowned. If we also consider the hundreds of performances and arts activities we host on campus each year. Psu is actually the largest and most dynamic public arts organization in our metropolitan region. Given all that, we are of course, interested in providing exceptional facilities not only for students and faculty, but for our entire community in an area where PSU is so well positioned to grow enrollment and advance our region's creative industries. Our y is also about ensuring psu's future. Portland state has Portland in its name. Our futures are tied. We have a vested interest in the vitality of Portland and in the vibrancy of the Portland brand. But our y goes far beyond university enrollment as an urban public research university. Our mission is to serve the city in every possible way. We do that, first of all, by providing students from all backgrounds the knowledge and skills they need to successfully enter the workforce, support families, and contribute to portland's future. We do that by anchoring southern downtown with our 44 anchor campus, our acre campus populated by 20,000 students and 5000 staff. We do that with nearly $2 billion in annual economic impact and with $1 billion in complex construction projects over the last 12 years. During that period, PSU has been downtown's most active capital developer, and we do that by bringing our energy, expertise and resources to the table. When there is a generational opportunity to benefit the city where our legacy lives. So, like all of you, we believe that education, arts, culture, entertainment and culinary offerings will drive portland's cultural and economic resurgence. I've framed my presidency around a strategic plan that centers those things. It says we will seize opportunities to make PSU into a vibrant place, to bring people together in person, to learn and connect, particularly in the arts. We believe that live, in-person experiences are critical to both a thriving PSU and a thriving downtown. And so all of that is why we answered the call in the first place, and why we continue to show up in such a big way to advance our shared vision. So now I'm going to hand it over to my colleagues to fill in some more details about our project.
105 Thanks, ann.
106 Good morning everyone. I'm sarah schwartz. As ann said, I'm the president of the Portland state university foundation and excited to be one of the project partners within our PSU team to be here presenting to you today. Mostly, I'm here to outline the momentum growing around this project and to help connect the dots on its economic and cultural benefits. I want to begin by saying that progress to date has been born of hundreds of interactions and engagements over 20 months. We've concluded hundreds of conversations with regional art organizations, local and national funders, hotel groups, business and civic leaders, governmental partners, university peers, community groups, labor unions, and the general public. We've worked with leading theater architects and consultants and presenters to begin design concepts and analyze programing ideas and potential partnerships. And we've learned from peers around the country who have built and operated performing arts centers involving coalitions like ours with nonprofits, municipalities and universities. And I just want to take a moment to say that I have learned a lot this morning as well, listening to the questions that you had that are very tactical, related and technical. And I think that what we've learned, as we've talked with a variety of folks, is that we've got to start with a big vision, and then we find the strategy and the tactics to get to where we all want to be together. So I think in this part of the presentation, we'd love to just bring it up a little bit to say, here's a vision that we think is really exciting, that represents not just what Portland needs right now, but what a Portland of the future can do. And as we travel around and talk with folks, people are paying attention to this project and they have a lot of confidence that Portland can do big things. So in that vein, I was recently in new york sharing our visionary with luminaries, producers and funders in the performing arts, and they are very much paying attention. They know how rare an opportunity it is for a large performing arts and culture center at this scale, to be built in a creative hub like Portland. The hotel groups as well are watching this project closely because they believe it is nationally unique. Once we have clear city commitment, our vision is likely to attract arts infrastructure investment at a different level than Portland has experienced before. Such rich conversations have left us more committed than ever to the unique economic and cultural benefits of a multi-use performing arts and culture center. So just to run through what the project looks like again, the elements include a 3000 seat venue which would be owned by the city, a 1200 seat community theater, two 200 seat venues, classrooms and other spaces which are all owned by PSU, and 150 room hotel and conference center to be owned by a private investor. There is also room for a permanent home of resident arts organizations, which they in turn would own their own spaces as well. The economic benefits are inarguable. It starts with the land itself, a 4.25 acre site, the largest developable parcel in downtown Portland. The property is fully owned by PSU and valued at $15 million. It represents the university's most valuable land bank. We are bringing it to this table at no cost to the city, because we believe this project represents the highest and best use of the land to serve both PSU and Portland. The performing arts and culture center will be activated 365 days a year by students, performers, theater goers, conference attendees and visitors. Their presence will result in year round economic activity. As business Oregon recently noted, arts travelers are the very best kind. They stay longer and spend more, and what we know here in our region is that up to 40% of arts patrons come from 60 miles or further away. We have conducted substantive analysis of program expectancies for the project's multiple venues. Our conservative estimates for the multiple theaters add up to attendance of around 640,000 people a year. We've run these numbers up against other presenters who have lots of experience in this area, and they have confirmed that they will be able to bring additional types of shows to the large venue because of the site's ample size and capability. And I also just want to note again on these numbers that this also reflects projects and programs for local arts companies. You know, we feel that so much of this project is about the mission and the programing and the content, and that the venue then has to be the container that serves that, which is why so many of these conversations early on with arts organizations, both at the local and national level and with folks who are familiar with the presenting business, have had a chance to talk with us about this project because the container, again, needs to fit the mission and what we plan to do inside of it. The hotel and conference center are important elements. The Portland live performance art calendar is winter peaking and summer slumming, while the Portland conference calendar is the opposite. This combination creates year round vibrancy. We know downtown does not have adequate conference space, and the center's conference spaces will be intentionally overbuilt relative to the number of planned hotel beds to create value for other downtown hotel operators. In addition to that, around the performing arts and culture center site, there are more than seven blocks of readily developable adjacent property with spillover economic impact potential of about $1 billion, and that's beyond the performing arts and culture center project investment. As a new construction project, the center will create more than 2000 construction jobs and eventually support 300 permanent jobs. Critically, the keller can remain open during construction of the center, eliminating the loss of 300 plus jobs and a multiyear loss of broadway economic activity, which charity referenced in her in her presentation a few minutes ago. That fundamental truth is important to everyone in this room and around our city. The cultural and workforce benefits are equally important. Our numerous conversations have affirmed that a large, broadway capable theater site with ample loading capacity and backstage space means the biggest, most spectacular, and future forward shows can land in Portland. Presenters will be able to bring the kind of shows to our city that will continue to attract new patrons to downtown, particularly those important out-of-town visitors who seek parking, lodging and great restaurants. We think we can become a center for gravity here on the west coast in Portland for these types of presentations. We've also validated that the performing arts and culture center's capabilities and su's involvement could catapult Portland into a national hub for training of artists, arts management, and backstage professionals, turning Portland into a first stop for hiring skilled workers. The performing arts and culture center vision, of course, also goes beyond broadway. As I referenced a moment ago, it's about the entire arts ecosystem, and I appreciated councilor Ryan's comments at the beginning that now more than ever, that arts ecosystem feels very fragile and very important to support. So back to my comment that so much of this work is really looking at what are the greater needs of the whole community, not just for today, but into the future. And how do we look at supporting them, not just with space, but also with resources to keep them healthy now and thriving far into the future? And as part of our project, we continue to look at the opportunity to raise funds just for helping to offset some of those costs so that we have full access for arts organizations into these spaces. The full range of these programing opportunities for the center reflects that richness. Portland is not Portland without its thriving arts and culture scene. It's not just who we are, it's our city's future, and we are building toward that very bright future. With that, I'll turn it over to chris oxley.
107 Good morning, chris oxley. I'm a venue development consultant and advisor based here in Portland, working on the Portland state projects. Thank you for having us today. You know, what does Portland state bring to this project? I just want to talk a little bit about the opportunities that that Portland state provides. We've talked about land 4.2 acre plot expertise ahead of planning. You know, we are the most active developer in the downtown core. And I think that's a point that is commonly commonly lost. Our arts engagement from a regional perspective, an arts and culture perspective is strong, as an alluded to, four schools of arts, museums, venues, world class choir and state support. We're bringing funds to this conversation 137 million already secured in state bonding for academic spaces in the community. Theater and philanthropy a significant level of investment already pre campaign. And we only imagine that will grow as our engagement with the city. And this project continues to grow. Portland's present challenges have driven some of the most expansive civic visioning ever. It's been a long time since we had this many forward future forward projects in play and under consideration. Two of those bring us here today the appropriate future for the keller and the performing arts and culture center at Portland state university. The truth is that considering both are critical components to a thriving downtown, it's our position that this should not be a binary decision of one over the other. We're not competitors in a zero sum game. We see a vision for the arts and cultural ecosystem that is exceptional, with both considerations for the city to consider at the same time. It's important to say out loud that PSU, we believe we're an equal stakeholder in the keller renovation. Psu adjacency to keller and the halpern sequence should not be undervalued, particularly from a development perspective. Urban universities throughout the world are essential to a thriving downtown's cultural, economic, and educational ecosystem. And as you heard from president cudd, placemaking is front of mind for everything PSU does going into the future. If we consider these projects as phased elements of a larger vision, we are then talking about 100 year opportunity for our city. We recognize that this moment requires diligence, vision and action. We stand by the city in partnership and are ready to go to work. And with that, we've concluded our presentation. Thank you.
108 Thank you so much. We will go ahead and take some questions. So if you could stay, that'd be great. I'm going to start with councilor Dunphy.
109 Thank you. I'm very enthusiastic about this proposal. Not just because I'm also a viking myself, but I think that it has the potential to realize some of the the broader benefits of a performing arts venue that we haven't really seen at the keller and major cities. The arts districts tend to be really vibrant, with a lot of restaurants and bars and small businesses, and we just really haven't seen that in the area around the keller, whether it's geography or just with the built environment. I'm really enthusiastic about this. That said, I have a couple questions and I'd like to have you both, if you can weigh in on this, there are two big things I keep hearing about in Portland. The first is the need for space by arts organizations of all sizes, the little guys and the medium guys, and of course the big guys as well, but also office space, rehearsal space, and performing performance spaces. Additionally, we have lost a lot of our workforce pipeline pcc recently decided to cut their sonic arts program, and so we've lost a lot of the technical and professional training that is necessary to have this venue be a success, and our arts scene broadly. How does your project contemplate helping both the space needs of smaller and medium sized organizations and individual artists, and also building on that pipeline?
110 Yeah, well, I'll jump in and take that one. Just yesterday morning, I was meeting with jane unger, who some of you may know, who was the original founder of profile theater and has gone on to work on a variety of smaller theater projects all around Portland, as well as directing both nationally and with franchise organizations. And you're 100% right. I think for decades now, we've been trying to figure out the space question both to serve at that large production and presentation level, but also to sufficiently have the right sizes and spaces. What we envision with the project, particularly as it relates to the PSU component, is, over time, understanding from the community how to right size the options for the theaters that we've put on the table, and then to ensure that we're really paying attention to what the future looks like. So in another conversation, I'm learning about how orchestral organizations are looking for places with perfect acoustics that have smaller spaces to perform in. I've just heard about a play which I missed that was in town, where you sit in as if you're a part of an audience that's evaluating a jury, and you actually get to vote. And there's technology and all sorts of interactive and immersiveness that happens with that. So whether we're talking about the whiz bang things that need to be able to happen at a broadway capable level, or we're talking about requirements for what's going to draw activity and excellence here to Portland, every part of this project needs to be thinking about what are the spaces that we need for our community, what are the spaces that are going to grow with us into the future, and what are the spaces that are going to provide new opportunities for us? Part of these conversations with folks in new york is there is there is desire to do more producing and growing and developing of shows here, whether it's in theater, dance, opera, you name it. But I think there's a whole opportunity that we haven't opened up yet in Portland in our community, that we could do with a project at this scale and depth. Your second question remind me.
111 Councilor Dunphy, we have to. We have ten more eight more minutes to do questions here because we have nine people testifying. And we have to we need to hear from the people. So let's go quick. And I want to acknowledge dean leroy. I also want to acknowledge that the dean of the school of arts is here. Can you please stand up, doctor bynum, you're so modest.
112 Yeah.
113 It's good to see you.
114 Thank you. Councilor. As you know, I've spent my entire career in arts, music, entertainment, the live event industry and spectator facilities. So the engine behind those things is very near and dear to me. From stagehands to to the technicians that are behind the work. As we mentioned in the in the presentation, we'll we'll have an exciting announcement at some point here soon talking about workforce development. But this is front and center. You know, at the beginning and starting and ending. We're an educational institution, right, that cares about the workforce and the economic impact of the university and what PSU is able to turn out in that regard. And so this is something that we look forward to engaging with you on a more, more in-depth basis when we can.
115 Can we go to councilor? All right. Councilor Clark.
116 Thank you. Mr. Chair. Just I'm going to ask some questions, and you don't have to answer them today. In the interest of time, you could just send me an email or send the committee members an email or staff. I love the fact that you talked about this being a 100 year opportunity, and I know we're all anxiously waiting for the market analysis, but I just wondered. I want to hear more about your phasing, your ideas about phasing. And in that 100 years and then the 137 million that you received in state support, is that targeted to any particular piece of the the plan, the campus? And then you talked about city ownership of the 3000 seat theater. Can you talk to us about the cost to the city? What what you're projecting that would be. And if I can just get those answers in writing, that would be great.
117 And and you could send those to the entire committee.
118 Thank you. Thank you so much. Really appreciate the presentation.
119 Thank you. Councilor Clark. Councilor Smith.
120 Thank you. I had a couple questions. And those questions were the 4.2 acres that are around the performing arts center. Are those vacant lots or are those lots with with buildings on them? And you said that that that is the most desirable land.
121 It's currently occupied by the university hotel.
122 Okay. So that's the old red lion hotel.
123 Is it a red line?
124 It was a red line.
125 It's past its.
126 Useful life.
127 You got.
128 We like to describe it.
129 Portland has a rich history in red line hotels. Apparently.
130 I have been around here way too long, but. The. So that 4.5 or 4.2 acres of developable property. That property is what's going to be used in the renderings that you have up.
131 Correct.
132 And I had the same question about the $137 million in funding from the state. I wanted to also find out what is that going to be used for? Was that targeted or directed towards a specific scope of work? And the other piece is how do you how do you see the keller and PSU coexisting? I mean, give me the I've been briefed on this and I can't remember what the what the timeline is and how that would work if you had your magic wand, what would that look like?
133 Fair co-chairs.
134 Answer the question about where the money is targeted. I think that could be quick.
135 Yes. So it is it is targeted towards the. Academic theater and the two and the two 200 seat black box performance theaters. And then there's a portion of that is dedicated is dedicated to parking. That said, and I just want to be clear, we're thinking about this as a holistic product project. And the fact that we're able to bring these dollars to the table, along with philanthropy, you know, potentially tif potentially other opportunities along the way as we think about what what the capital stack should look like, it is a holistic project in our in our, in our mind. So we can give you more detail.
136 If I could just add on quickly, our aim is to open in December of 2030. So that's the timeline that we're driving towards for construction completion.
137 And just one last statement. It's not a it's not a question, but I really would like to know how you're going to be engaging students out in district one. I am a district one city councilor. And how will you engage those students with PSU? Are those schools out? There? Are parkrose centennial, david douglas reynolds, how will you engage those students to make sure that they're a part of this whole full city process? Because if we go out to bonds, everybody is going to pay for this. And if the students out in east Portland are not getting it, taken advantage of some of the opportunity that's going to be coming, I'm going to have a real problem with that.
138 Absolutely. I had a conversation last night. We put a group of stakeholders together, and we talked about specifically that I would love to follow up with you and give you some insights as to how we're going to engage in that in that area.
139 Perfect. Thank you.
140 Thank you, and thank you for being clear about where the money is targeted. It does come from the state. So of course it goes to higher education purposes. Yeah. And not for the not for the big performance center that we were talking about. Okay. Great. Thank you so much for your presentation. I now want to welcome the halperin conservancy, who've been responsible for restoring our treasures, our treasures, those world renowned fountains, and starting, of course, with the flagship keller fountain and as such, their supporters and partners in the future of the auditorium, which is, of course, I think we all need to remember this is on the city's general ledger. They will share their concepts and ideas for a reimagined keller with us today. And I want to start by introducing karen whitman. I'm going to let you go ahead and introduce your colleagues who are here with you today.
141 Okay. Well.
142 Good morning and thanks a lot for having us. We really appreciate it. My name is karen whitman. I'm the executive director of the halperin landscape conservancy. And I also have the distinguished title of being the project manager for the 21st century. Keller, on my immediate left is bob nadeau, who is the chair of hlc. And next to him is scott andrews, who is the president of hlc. So we really appreciate the opportunity to have a few remarks beginning with what about the halperin landscape conservancy? Don't you know about.
143 At this point, there can't be much, but we're in 19 member volunteer board, the only paid staff we have is karen, who keeps us all honest. We have 19 volunteer board members and were founded in 2008 by randy gregg and small cadre of architects and landscape architects who were concerned about the the state of the what we call the Portland open space sequence, which are the four parks that were designed as part of the south. Our urban renewal project. And the lead designer was, of course, lawrence halprin, the kind of crown jewel is the space that the architectural critic at the new york times said was one of the greatest public spaces since the renaissance. And that's the fountain and its relationship to the auditorium, which kind of is how we got involved. We got started a long time ago, just trying to figure out what to do with the fountain district and how to energize it. Back before there was a pandemic, and back when Portland was thriving and our south end of downtown was. Losing tenants to the newer pearl district and north Portland neighborhoods and things, and we were trying to figure out what to do about it. I'll let scott talk a little bit about the keller.
144 Thanks. Thanks, bob. So we started on this in 2016, a mere nine years ago. We put together, helped put together a neighborhood meeting that included landlords, tenants, businesses, Portland state. And the idea was to sit down and figure out how we could make the neighborhood a better place to live and work and to do business. We did two major things out of that hired a consultant. They came back and said, one, you need a better brand than the south auditorium district. So we came up with the fountain district, and that seems to have stuck. And two, they said the most important thing you can do is re-energize keller. It's dark, 180 days of the year. Part of that has to do with how inefficient it is to load and unload. There are several design factors that you could take into consideration to make that work, including providing the opportunity to use that facility 365 days a year. So we raised some money, did an international juried competition. Thought we'd get some good ideas, but stu fish international actually came to us with what was an absolutely fantastic idea, and we started to show it and get some enthusiasm. And then COVID and riots and all of the challenges that we've seen over the last 4 or 5 years. It wasn't until 2022 we picked up the ball again, but since then we have again focused on under truly understanding everything about the keller, how it's used, who uses it, what it costs, the good, the bad, and incorporated work that both we did and the city did into a design that, quite frankly, turns the building into the 21st century. Building auditorium we need solves every single problem and continues to to be the catalyst to make that neighborhood thrive. So I'm going to hand that over to karen. Next slide please.
145 Do we have our technical problems solved okay okay.
146 You're good karen.
147 So while we should be on slide three chris. So while we're waiting while we're waiting, I'm going to I'm going to go on and say that it's important for you to know a little bit about our attitude. We have been partnering with the city on numerous projects since 2014, and we want to thank you. We want to thank the city for trusting us to be a good partner. We together did a $4 million capital construction project of the sequence at a time that no one felt that it could happen, it would be called a tackle of the capital deferred maintenance list. Today, we also have a five year contract with the park bureau to provide enhanced cleaning and maintenance services for the sequence and the budget that we contribute for that is $85,000 a year. And of course, we are hosting as many events as we can through sponsorships. But we're very proud to have worked with PBOT recently on the Sunday parkways. And we can claim to you that over 20,000 people came through, hiked and biked through pettygrove and lovejoy. So let's go to the next slide, chris, please. I'm going to give you a few highlights of the of the 21st century. Keller. There are as as has been said, there are 400,000 tickets sold for broadway and other shows at the keller. And I'd like to have you think about it differently than ticket buyers. I'd like to have you think about 400,000 people coming downtown to visit Portland in that destination, and keep that 400,000 people in mind, because we want to market to them to come to our new destination. Of course, we have talked about how important and iconic the fountain is. And now with the auditorium and very important to the to the keller, I think is also linking us to the sequence, which of course is to the south. So a lot of a lot of space that we can activate there. Very convenient. There are 3000 parking stalls in the immediate area. So we built up the neighborhood just as what was envisioned 50 years ago. There's nearby transit. There are 500 hotel rooms, restaurants and bars. And I think the thing that we're most proud of is this is a safe and walkable neighborhood. So I want to move back to this 400,000 people. These are loyal and reliable people. They are the audience at the keller, and they make it possible to subsidize all the other performance venues. And as has already been said, and we echo it is essential this this facility is essential to the fragile arts and cultural ecosystem. So I would conclude then by saying we believe, as do others, that this project is a catalyst for portland's next big steps. Next slide please. A little more history. The keller first opened in 1917 and was last remodeled in 1969.
148 We're ahead of ourselves on the slides.
149 Sorry, we should be on slide four. There you go. There we go.
150 There we go. All right. That's what we were.
151 You've got 1917.
152 Don't know. Not in there.
153 So we so 50 years has gone by and we've reimagined, expanded and renovated. So we should be next on slide five chris.
154 Got it.
155 The expansion adds 40,000ft■. And most importantly, if you go out and ask people what they want to improve at the keller, it adds twice the number of bathrooms, the lobby and the upper level spaces are expanded. New technology is now available to improve the acoustics, and the sightlines and seating have been reconfigured. Details about that later, and we've added performance and other spaces to achieve a big goal for us, which is higher usage. But as has been said, our big idea is the new destination, new destination, and that definition is bringing the auditorium closer to the keller fountain and embracing third avenue as a new plaza. Next slide please, along with the spacious lobbies. At every level there are new elevators. And when you enter the keller now, you're going to bump right into a grand public stairway that takes you all the way up on each level to the third floor. The concession areas that are pretty crowded today are reconfigured, and we've worked on the space and circulation to accomplish having a drink and visiting the bathroom, both in one intermission period. We've designed a full restaurant, kitchen and all the necessary space to guarantee excellent service, and that to apply to both the restaurant and bar with fresh food. Next slide please. As we studied how to deal with a significant number of dark days at the keller today, we also began to study the keller's potential as a community center. In other words, more users, more varied events to to that goal of more usage to treat the 150 which has an economic advantage. And we've used an example for you here. This is the halprin fountain overlook venue, which is available for a lot of different uses. This one happens to depict a performance, but it could be a fundraising event. It could be an awards presentation and an annual meeting. In other words, this is a resource. We see this facility as a resource for a broader community. Next, please. The rehearsal space has been expanded and now there is natural light that has been added. And very importantly to its intended high level use is a private entrance to the space from market street. Next slide please. The new designated areas for the restaurant and bar, of course, have to be so they can see the glorious views of the fountain. And let me note, we see the restaurant and bar as destinations, not pick up a meal or a drink before the plays and presentations. We think that with this idea of more usage of the facility, that will be the success of the restaurant and the bar. Next slide please. And you know, because you've attended events there, the steep drop at the top of the current seating is dangerous and it's gone. It's removed, providing now a safe entry to your seat wherever it is. And I didn't I don't know still what this really means, but it's an important fact as I understand it. It also creates a plenum under the seats for improved temperature control of the entire facility. Now to this, which I think is serving our entire constituency, the only handicapped access today are the top row seats. As you enter that facility under the new design, we have over 200 handicapped accessible seats, and it also provides access for them to the stage. Next slide please. I'm going to refer you to the gold section here. So we've talked about the 400,000 expansion in the front. We're basically closing in that open air portico that you see when you go to the keller. So that's where we where we begin to derive that total of 40,000ft■!, and it proceeds out toward reaching toward the keller fountain. So there's kind of like an eyelash, if you will, that reaches over. What was the will be the intended plaza. And importantly, mr. Dunphy, we want you to know that we are also accommodating that load in problem that has been there. So we want to add space in the back that not only accommodates another truck, but a fully executed entry in. So we have solved finally the elimination of the traffic congestion on columbia. So I paid attention to what you said next. Please. We have concepted both integrated and new programing around the goals of a diversified and expanded visitor growth. We're committed. This is very important to you for you to hear. We are committed to opening third avenue for routine drop offs for the theater nights, because it's just the right thing to do and has been mentioned. The kind of closure, opening and closure doesn't have to be that complicated. Councilor Green, thank you for that. We, bottom line, expect these strategies that were unfolding for you will stimulate growth in the overall neighborhood. We're in touch with all the businesses. We're in touch with all the neighborhood, and we're ready to get to work. So let me give you the next slide. It's an overview as of the plaza as we envision it. And we have now the next slide, please, is the timeline. We of these three believe and recommend 19 months. You can see our total budget is 267.2. And the next slide is, as we've done with the sequence we've been a financial partner of yours. We want to do that again. We think it's positive for the community positive for the city. We proposed a private fundraising goal of 50 to 100,000,050 from philanthropy. And if we work with you on the considerable list of naming opportunities, we think that can rise to 100. We believe that that is realistic, and we have a plan into you that suggests that we've also researched a geo bond. Go to the next slide, please. There is a lot of detail there, but it sums up this way. The poll demonstrates both the affinity and the willingness to support a $200 million bond measure in affinity of the keller. Now you can see the data on there. It's August 2024. You're going to tell me the bond market has changed. I know that, but I'm going to tell you something that hasn't changed. And it's the affinity for the keller. I'll wrap up with this while you guys are busy doing all the work on the resolution, how much we appreciate all of that. We're going to be busy supporting the development and activation of the fountain district, and with appreciation for a councilor Clerk who drafted the budget. Note, we want to keep track of that because, as it was noted, there are a lot of people who are in the mix now and a lot of different timelines. We want to make sure that doesn't get lost. We're working on a plan for the winter light festival, projecting images from the auditorium to the keller, lighting up the fountain because there's no water flow. And we hope that working with michael curry, we can expand that. We've submitted an application to the PBOT plaza plan. We hope that that will be favorably viewed in the short term, and we can activate soon. Working with PBOT to study how the Green loop is going to be activated and match into the sequence. We have a team set up with PBOT to go through that, and finally, we are launching an outreach plan that will hit every residential and commercial building, talking about changes, plans and opportunities in 2026, we're launching with the coin tower in late January. So to sum it up, all those cultural and economic goals that we have for the neighborhood, we think they're being realized. And with support, I think we can move this forward. Thank you very much.
156 Thank you. If you could hang out for a little bit for a couple questions. Counselors, we have nine people signed up. So I am going to ask that we only have five minutes for questions today. And councilor Dunphy thanks.
157 Does this proposal envision that that this would be the the PSU would functionally not. The PSU proposal would not happen, that the city's efforts would go solely into this. Or is this an and or in addition to PSU or.
158 I'm on chris oxley's page. I think the only question anybody has is where's the money coming from and how can we work the timing. Sure. So it was our idea in the preliminary thing that came up with the resolution to say, that is a vision for Portland. We're all over it.
159 Okay. Can you talk a little bit about the concern that I've heard about that's been brought up a couple times around the the sequencing and the potential impacts to, to jobs, specifically that as we are having to close this facility down to do a major renovation, what that would look like over the time and how you're thinking about that.
160 We have spent a lot of time and invested a lot of of the team, professional teams, efforts to see what the alternatives are. There's a in that slide. There's a number. And I don't remember. It's like 50 or $60 million. If you accelerate the schedule and compress it from 26 months to 19 months, it's worth the money because you pick up a half a year season. We think the other thing we looked at, which was actually proposed by the the question was raised by the broadway across America people, was, could you do this in phases so that you would shut the keller down and, you know, for six months and then reopen it for a season and then shut it down and reopen it? I mean, you can do it. It can be done. Lengthens the project to three years versus 19 months, and adds a lot of risk in terms of construction. But that's one alternative which would keep the at least the broadway shows, the nutcracker, you know, the big ones going. It would take a lot of coordination. And it raises the cost significantly. And the third thing that was, you know, we've we've been exploring from the very beginning was if you close the keller for 24 months, if you took the savings, you know, from not fast tracking it, could you take that money and create some kind of temporary venue? And in fact, the stufish architecture firm in london proposed to us that they had built a auditorium in london. It's the abbey theater. It's been up and performing, I think, for a couple of years now. In fact, I'm on the way on a little family vacation to go there. We're going to a show, and then we're going to meet with the architects and have them present how they did this. It's a temporary theater building. In fact, it's now slated to be removed, and they're going to build a housing development on that site. So could we find a way in Portland if we got really creative to create a venue where you could build that and then.
161 Keep the jobs.
162 Keep the jobs and then move back.
163 That abba theater, by the way, seats 3000, and it's estimated that would cost around $30 million to move it here. And it could stay and be used for many other things afterwards.
164 I'm definitely I'm specifically worried about the union stagehand job.
165 Yes, we are too.
166 That is that is a big concern, especially because we know that those folks can be mobile and they will go where the work is. And if we lose them for 19 months, they're not they're not coming back.
167 They're not going.
168 To lose them.
169 New long term rents over in seattle or boise or wherever they end up moving. Did broadway across America weigh in on the the venue idea?
170 No.
171 Okay.
172 Thank you, councilor Dunphy. It's been a concern for three years, and now we're moving to councilor Smith.
173 Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. I was very impressed with with the early renderings of what we would do. One of the things I did notice is that we didn't increase the number of seats. We're still at 3000. Was there a reason why we didn't take advantage of this opportunity to increase the number of seats in the venue?
174 If you really take a look at the numbers, the only people who get to capacity is broadway across America, and this theater is as big as any that they have on the west coast. Okay. The the average use of the theater is around 2200. Okay. And the truth of the matter is, for many events, it's too big. So, you know, opera and ballet and symphony, they, they don't use it all the time because it's too expensive and too large. So we think that that's really the ideal spot to be in in Portland.
175 Okay. Thank you. And the other piece is where do the majority of the patrons of the keller, what are they live at? Is it mainly downtown or.
176 We found in the we did a survey and a survey surveyed 400 voters in Multnomah county. And quite frankly, it was pretty well dispersed. East side, west side, north and south. I think the biggest group was 40%. So people come from all over. The other thing that came out of that, quite interestingly, was that two out of three people who in that survey, who lived in in the Multnomah county region, have been to the keller at least once in the last two years. So it is it's used.
177 Okay in the last. You talked about the geo bonds in that the arts facility is still a well loved facility. If this has to go out to the voters for geo bond, you all would would take the lead on that.
178 I don't know that we'd take the lead, but we've made a commitment to support the campaign of a half $1 million.
179 Okay. Perfect. Thank you.
180 Thank you, councilor Smith. Councilor Clark.
181 Thank you, mr. Co-chair. Really quickly. Thank you. Great information. Just offline. Can you send us the survey results? Is that possible that we can actually look at that.
182 Actually you have those in the booklet that we handed out. We have the. We'll send it. We will.
183 Yeah.
184 Yeah. They don't have that I don't think. Let's see and use michael curry was involved in the project. This is the same michael curry that yes lives in columbia county. Did the lion king.
185 Actually lives in Portland? His studio is in scappoose.
186 Oh, okay.
187 We're very proud of stew fish from london and our own michael curry from scappoose, Oregon.
188 Great. Well, maybe mr. Naito can come back in January and tell us about his trip to london. And having seen the abbey theater. But thank you. A great job today.
189 Thank you, councilor Clark. Can we look forward to the budget note moving along, co-chair Green, anything, I want to thank all of you for being here. I want to thank you for your persistence. And I feel a little bit like a repeat rinse when I listen to this testimony. And that's why, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for your persistence and for loving Portland so much. Thank you, thank you. Can you please read the next item.
190 Item three public comment on performing arts venues. We currently have two people signed up for this item. I'll call both of your names and you can come to the front and begin your testimony. First is julie vigeland, second is diana stewart.
191 Thank you. So.
192 Hello julie. Go ahead and speak. Three minutes max.
193 Chairs Ryan Green, members of the arts and economy committee. For the record, my name is julie vigeland. I'm a south waterfront resident. I'm also a lifelong patron and advocate for arts and culture in Portland, I led the campaign for the renovation of the armory. I served on rac. I was appointed by the mayor to the parks board and served as chair. I was appointed by two governors to the Oregon arts commission and served as chair. I'm here to thank this committee for the work you are doing. It's extraordinary. We have all heard the narratives of despair about Portland, and it breaks my heart. But I believe our city's challenges are creating a clarity of vision and a trend towards action that Portland hasn't seen in decades. This energy is palpable today in our city. We are talking about a host of future forward projects, including the james beard public market, the broadway corridor, the Green loop, the Portland fire. Major league baseball, the renovation of keller auditorium, and the performing arts and culture center at the PSU campus. Additionally, we celebrate the newly renovated literary arts building and the Portland arts museum. They all reflect a compelling central vision that arts, education, culture, entertainment, and culinary experiences will be cultural and economic spark to reignite Portland. In my opinion, you are absolutely right to loudly champion this vision and projects that will attract multiple partners and funders to invest in it. One thing today's presentation makes clear is the power of Portland state university, not just to. For unrelated performing arts and culture center, but as a civic force for good. With their expertise in arts and as fundraisers, developers, and economic drivers. Psu is a major mover of the arts and economy, both downtown and across our region. Psu is showing up to serve our city. I want to end by emphasizing the arts part of the equation, because that is so close to my heart. I deeply believe we have in these two projects the ability to spark our entire arts and culture ecosystem to ensure a bright future for the performing arts in Portland, to offer a lifeline to arts groups, large and small. Our future is in our grasp, and if we all do our part, we can do it. Thank you.
194 Good morning. Councilors.
195 My name is diana stewart. I live and work in the river place neighborhood. I'm also a board member of the downtown neighborhood association. But today I'm testifying on behalf of myself. I have closely watched the efforts over the last two years to find a compromise that works for Portland between the two performing arts center proposals, I've become openly supportive of the keller 21st century project moving forward, first, because of its ability in the near future to become a catalyst for urgently needed revitalization of the downtown. There are three issues that today's presentations have either overlooked or downplayed. First, will the PSU condominium vision consume the dollars for management, etc. That the keller has generated for p5? We have asked. We have not been told. We've been told that would be looked at in the future. We still don't know. The. Also, I think there's confusion about funding strategies. We have also been told that the PSU vision would contemplate the city being responsible for the entire construction of the 3000 seat performing arts center, that the state money that they've received is for the rest of their vision for this center. Second, the traffic study that has been provided and will be provided to you was wholly inadequate since it's promised, but apparently failed to involve PBOT in ODOT in determining potential traffic backups onto freeways with the PSU concept. Let me repeat, PBOT has told us they were never consulted on this traffic impact study. The transportation study TriMet apparently was not involved, so we have no idea with lincoln. And it's interesting configuration of only one traffic Lane and one Lane pretty much for mass transit. What would be the impacts of people trying to access that site? Additionally, although it started out by saying it would do so, it completely failed to look at the traffic impacts. If there are two performing arts centers operating on the same night, what will be the traffic impacts of of the cross? The cross traffic from the west off of 26 going to PSU in the south, I-5 coming up. Excuse me. West coming down to keller and south coming up to PSU. It is not addressed. The feasibility study was crippled from the onset since the city limited the consultants from studying the financial feasibility of two competing centers. The sensible path now is to study the is to stop studying the issue and move forward first with the keller. That stunning project given public support, increasing the likelihood of private and public funding. The only impediment is the shutdown. The city apparently has not explored the possibility of building the temporary structure. This should happen immediately. We need the symbolism in the win immediately moving forward, first with keller and then with PSU.
196 Thank you.
197 Thank you diana. Let's go ahead and get to the next item. We have seven more people.
198 Thank you. Item number four public comment on arts and economy issues. I'll call the first three. And if you're in the room please come to the front. First we have steven Green, then anita davidson and then lynn felton.
199 Diana we have how many again nine.
200 We have an additional a total of six people have signed up for this item.
201 All right. Thank you. We'll have a hard stop at three minutes. Steven. Please start.
202 Thank you. Councilors. My name is steven Green. I'm a d2 resident. Also business owner. Spent ten years working for the city doing economic development. I'm here today to talk about what happened last week. So I got to spend seven hours in this room waiting to testify on the amendment that was going forward to the council brought by councilor Green and councilor Morillo. First, I want to go and say thank you to councilor Smith. Councilor Smith was very clear in saying the portion of the amendment that addressed prosperous budget being cut by 3.25 million wasn't factually what was owed. They did not owe that money back to the city. And so I appreciate you for being clear on that. It was shocking to be one of the many business owners around the city that received an email from dca oliveira outlining outlining what would happen if the amendment went through cuts to the newly opened office of small business, cuts to the inclusive business resource network, which, as many of you know, funds more than 30 organizations working mainly with bipoc small businesses around the city. Naya miso, urban league, etc. And then lastly, a almost $1 million cut to workforce development. So councilor Murphy Dunphy mentioned earlier today the importance of workforce development. And so it was interesting to and confusing for us in the business community to see you want to support that, but also last week, be ready to support cutting money that so vitally is needed towards that development. My question for you is where do we go from here? This past spring, we we fought in the community to try and save prosperous budget of $13 million, which equates to 0.15% of the city's overall budget. Small businesses continue to struggle. We're closing left and right. You know, councilor Ryan, your great work with the save our storefronts, you heard loud and clear what the struggle was in real time for our small business owners. How do we work together? I was saddened to learn from councilor Murillo's team that no one from prosper, the community, was talked to about these cuts or how they'd be impacting small businesses. So my question to you moving forward is how do we not find ourselves in the same spot when we come and do the spring budget? It's clear we we we agree on the value and the importance of small businesses in this community. How do we find a way to work together and identify the resources needed to continue to support them? Thank you for the time.
203 Thank you.
204 Anita is online. Anita. You can unmute yourself and begin your testimony. Yeah.
205 Thank you and good morning. My name is anita davidson and I'm a clean and safe ratepayer. As a downtown condo owner, I'm here today to open a conversation with an end goal of legislation in two parts to improve the enhanced service districts for the esd's. First, the esd's and ratepayers would benefit from a city appointed esd advisory group. This is a best practice in many comparable cities, including seattle, from which many of our current esd practices are borrowed, and advisory group is needed as a resource to the esd program and to add representation for small businesses, nonprofits, and residents. Second, citizens deserve council approved policies beyond the esd guidelines and handbook currently in use that were never approved by council or administrative rule. Processes created by city staff should not become de facto policies without a legislative resolution. City staff has no plan to seek approval for current practices. We know this because a report from the esd coordinator to the auditor this year, a copy of that is included in my written testimony. Here are a few of the practices and policies that need creation or update. No threshold of ratepayer support is required to create or expand an esd today, yet the city continues to claim esd's are created by ratepayers. Instead, the current practice requires a threshold of opposition to block a new or expanded district. Such a practice is undemocratic and faulty. In its logic, the current level of opposition required to sunset, create or expand a district needs review at 33%. That threshold is unreasonably high, given that public properties now supply 20% of clean and safe funding, with no process for public properties to oppose official notification of ratepayers is inadequate and code is outdated, citing a license application form that does not exist. Current practice to set or expand boundaries needs review to add equity and transparency about how single properties are allowed to zigzag out of the boundary beyond boundaries. Additional policy is needed around exemptions. Why do the keller schnitzer in Portland five properties pay zero in esd fees? But the art museum was denied a request to opt out, now paying around $65,000 per year. The definition of enhanced services deserves review, especially in light of the new tax funded basic city service program that supplies sidewalk cleaning and graffiti removal. Current policy did not anticipate that esds would operate for any other purpose, yet clean and safe does have other clients. City policy is needed to require bright lines around how esd funding is used, especially where esd programs intersect with other clients of esd. Thank you for your time and your service to the city. I truly hope we can open this conversation on these ideas, and I welcome an opportunity to meet with you or your staffs. Thank you.
206 Thank you, anita lynn.
207 Chairs.
208 Councilors lynn.
209 Felton, district one resident. As councilor Dunphy often says for east Portland, I'm not going for equality. I'm going for more. That's why I am here today. As you hear about performing arts centers, ask yourself, where is the east Portland performing arts center? As you see, christmas trees lit downtown in lloyd center. Where is the east Portland christmas tree being lit? We are struggling just to keep the lights on. Parkrose grocery outlet threatening to close rumors of dollar tree closing. Krogers, kohl's fleeing east Portland. How is the little guy entrepreneur expected to thrive? Facing $10,000 in lost goods monthly? When the big corporations fold and flee, we need the city of portland's help. There are things that all councilors and various city departments can be doing now. Mayor and councilors. East Portland business settlement with multiple stakeholders. Key questions. Why are you leaving and what will keep you in east Portland? Make sure east Portland is part of commissioner Ryan's storefront support plan that the city administrator is preparing. Council and prosper Portland start seeding money to activate district one. That could be enhanced. Service districts, city sponsored activations, support for business associations, councilors lobby Multnomah county commissioners to use Oregon video lottery money for economic development, where the video lottery machines are east Portland, according to a PSU study. Greatest density of them hazelwood where there are none. The pearl the last two years, 3 million of that money has gone to downtown Portland. Develop a plan with the port of Portland about what does shared prosperity look like for district one? 2 billion was just spent on the airport. What are the plans for that to add to the economic vitality of east Portland? Jobs and jobs and jobs in the economic opportunity analysis, let's have real middle wage jobs, not warehouse jobs that will go poof from ai and robotics. Let's do something really hard and find industries that do not limit the quality of life in east Portland, but do provide middle wage jobs. On a much lighter side, councilors and staff start dialog with travel Portland travel, Oregon about highlighting east Portland in their tourism narrative. Gateway to the gorge. Portland's front door is councilor. Smith likes to say there are multiple ways to help east Portland, but it takes money and focus. And as we in east Portland have heard over and over since being annexed from the city, there's always a reason we know this budget season is going to be brutal. We know the pot is getting smaller. We still need attention and focus from all the city of Portland now. Thank you.
210 Thank you lynn. The next one.
211 Thank you.
212 Up next we have dylan evanston, followed by ann mcmullen and then jasmine stoner. Dylan is online and you can unmute yourself. Thank you.
213 Hello, my name is dylan evanston. I live in northeast Portland and I've lived here for about a decade and a half. I'm currently serving on the board of the sumner association of neighbors, as well as the historic parkers mpi. But I'm here on my own behalf to ask you for additional investment and resources for district one east. Specifically, requests for additional support from businesses to help stabilize and retain our retail spaces. Years ago, I attended the grand opening of the barbara walker crossing in forest park, a project made possible by $2.1 million in private donations from just shy of 1000 donors, in addition to substantial funding from the city. Median incomes in the surrounding neighborhoods are double to triple what they are in sumner park or other district one neighborhoods, which made that project possible. In district one, over 60% of households fall below the median annual income for Portland, which is 13% higher than the next highest district. I recently attended the 25th anniversary of the lansing chinese gardens and had a great honor to photograph the gardens while the other attendees, many of them donors, attended a dinner across the street. I saw an instagram reel a week or two ago where mayor wilson referred to old town chinatown as the heart of the city, and I don't necessarily disagree. My partner works at a preschool for all site in district one, east centennial neighborhood. In education, when a kid is having trouble in school, they need more resources, more attention to help them close the achievement gap not merely the same as anyone else, and certainly not less. And as imperfectly as that principle may be often applied, we recognize that as equity. And that is what I'm here to ask for. And please don't read this as a knock on bridges that improve pedestrian safety, or gardens that foster cultural understanding or dialog. I work downtown, I love forest park, and I'm a member at the gardens, and I love seeing shows at the keller. But it is clear to me that district one has a lot of unique challenges, and we lack the historic advantages and investment that other districts in the city enjoy. Yet, district one residents continue to be asked to vote on bonds for city improvements that don't feel like they touch our neighborhoods. We don't have a lot of wealthy benefactors or big tourism draws, but we've got a lot of people that are ready to work. As the city pushes further into the post-covid recovery, we need the council's help to ensure that we are able to do that work and to ensure that we can, we need to stem the flight of retail businesses serving our district. We can't afford to lose shops in third spaces close to home. We can't afford to lose employment for people in our neighborhoods. We can't afford to have large pockets of our neighborhoods become food deserts. When grocery stores leave, we need help to improve public safety, accessibility, and access to resources for businesses in our districts. And I know that the asks from support from businesses in district one business community may seem exceptional, but we require some exceptional support to get us back on track with the city's recovery. I don't believe that our city can afford a strategy that invests downtown and more affluent business districts, with the hope that the growth there is going to trickle down or trickle east. Thank you.
214 Thank you, dylan ann.
215 Ann mcmullen I'm also in district one. I feel like I could probably turn around and leave right now. Lynn and well, you guys are doing a great job representing district one and but I'm here to talk about short term things. First of all, I want to say thank you to councilor Smith for voting no last week and then introducing Smith to and I would encourage everyone to vote for that. Although I'm going to tell you straight up, $500,000 is not enough. I heard councilor Dunphy say the other day, he's not going for 25%. He's going for 50. And that's what we need, to be perfectly honest, to give you some idea, I just finished two proposals. One is a proposal to stabilize the area in near the menlo park. Bottle drop, $725,000 annually until we get that area stabilized. I finished another proposal to finish spending the safe blocks that were invested in hazelwood. That's $425,000. It's $1.2 million just in two. Very troubled, but also critical areas in the heart of the district. One's a transit center and one used to be a major retail center. And I haven't even touched on gateway yet. So. And we all have things to say about gateway. So I would like to encourage all of you to, first of all, vote yes on Smith two, and then also to consider some other things that could conceivably be done in this fiscal year. One would be to and we've talked to councilor Smith about this ceding to esds in east Portland and funding those esds for a couple of years until we can show proof of concept. And then eventually, though, those would be self-sustaining. Although after listening to the testimony about the esds just a couple of minutes ago, I think I need more information on that. But it seems like a good way to get some self-sustaining businesses will then have skin in the game too, but we have to show them it's going to. Excuse me. It's going to work. And also, I would like to encourage you to maybe restructure prosper. It's a great tool, but right now it doesn't work accurately across the district. I'd love to see a district coalition model similar to what we did with the neighborhoods, possibly as a new addition to prosper. Thank you for your time today. I really appreciate it and I'm happy to answer any questions if you have any.
216 Thank you. Ann. Yeah. We're so short on time. Jasmine. Jasmine is next.
217 Jasmine is online. You can unmute now.
218 Hi. Good morning. My name is jasmine stoner and I want to first off say that I had a couple of difficulties being able to testify today. First off, I wanted to come in person, but getting my children to school this morning proved difficult. So then I decided I would testify online. So I went to the starbucks on Washington street to use their internet, and they were actually down because they are on strike. While I was there, I could not use their internet, so that is why I have now just phoned in. While I was there. The kids that were on strike though they did give me this card for a local coffee shop up the street. Why that applies to this situation is that I thought that that was a great marketing tool. I want to talk with you briefly about east portland's dire need for affordable grocery stores. We need them more now than ever. Fred meyer has left. Dollar tree may be leaving. That's what we've heard. And I would like to just for a moment, apologize that my testimony is not as polished as the people that testified before me. However, I am very grateful that I get to follow their example because I don't have to worry about touching on some of the things that I wanted to talk about, because now that I'm looking at my notes and I want to read them, I looked for my glasses and I couldn't find my glasses, and it occurred to me that it wouldn't matter because I'm crying right now because I think about that single mom that has to take the bus to the grocery store to get groceries for her kids. And the fact that it's going to be more and more difficult to get to the grocery store. With the grocery stores closing, it's going to be more and more difficult for my neighbors to get to the store. I'm fortunate enough to have a vehicle, but I noticed when I was at a community pantry, a food pantry that was happening at my children's school. Because I'm a parent, I'm also a member of mitchell park neighborhood association, very new to how testifying at committee meetings works. But I promise I will get better at this. So the point I'm trying to make is that if we don't have grocery stores available for our neighbors, they won't be able to get the food that they need to provide for their families. Sure, we can shop online, but I know things online are more expensive and we don't always have the option to shop online. Also, if you go to the grocery store and you know you're going to be taking the bus home, you can't buy all of the things that you would like to buy because you can't necessarily carry them all home. I would also like you to remember the need for our most vulnerable citizens, which are elderly or disabled in our lower income people. I see elderly residents take the shuttle bus from their nursing homes to the grocery store. They used to come to fred meyer. They can't do that anymore. That was their outing. I urge you to think about your grandparents and what they would do if they didn't have the option to go to a grocery store in person, and that is becoming less and less available to the residents of mill park neighborhood.
219 Thank you. Jasmine. I want to thank everybody for testifying today. Our next committee meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9th. Upcoming agenda items for the December meeting include a presentation of the winter lights festival, councilor Dunphys, accessible restrooms. Legislation, an update on the storefront support program that was mentioned by some of the testifiers. Prosper portland's enterprise zone item, and an update on the tennis center budget. Note from cfo jonas beery. With that, I need to adjourn the meeting. Thank you for being here. The arts and economy meeting is now adjourned. Thank you. Christopher. Also. Thank you. I'm going to drink too much water. Yes.