Metro East News

Rockwood precinct on city's wish list

01/27/03

ERIC MORTENSON

GRESHAM -- Opening a police precinct in Rockwood is high on the list of projects if a $92 million urban renewal district is approved by voters this spring.

Urban renewal money could pay part of the cost of building a precinct or renovating an existing space, city planner Deb Meihoff said. Urban renewal money cannot be used to pay for staffing, however.

If approved, the tax increment financing produced by the district would pay for $92 million in improvements over a 20-year period. The proposed district stretches in an irregular fashion from the industrial lands north of Interstate 84 to the commercial and residential corridors of Stark Street and Burnside Road, with Northeast 182nd Avenue at the spine.

Most of the money would be spent improving streets and intersections. Money also would be available to help build the precinct, a railroad crossing, and for grants or loans to fix up homes and businesses.

Meihoff said community members have made it clear they want a stronger police presence in Rockwood, where there have been a pair of gang-related double homicides in the past 13 months.

"Amazingly strong, unbelievably strong," she said. "This is right at the top of their lists of desires."

Cost estimates and other details aren't available. Urban renewal shouldn't be used to pay for the entire project because a police precinct would be expensive, taking up a large amount of the tax increment financing available in the early years of the district, Meihoff said.

A full service facility Police Chief Carla Piluso said a precinct in west Gresham should be a full service facility, with holding cells, interview rooms, lockers and community meeting rooms. A storefront office wouldn't do the trick, she said.

Piluso said the city eventually ought to have three precincts: in east, west and central Gresham. Rockwood deserves the attention for now, however, and an infusion of urban renewal money could bring it about relatively quickly.

"Our biggest challenge is in west Gresham," Piluso said. "We have a strong potential to get a police precinct as part of an urban renewal project. I strongly support that."

Piluso said the area in and around the recently vacated Rockwood Fred Meyer store would be an ideal location.

A precinct in that part of the city should help police connect with community life, the chief said.

"I'm very community-policing oriented," she said. "I want it to be a welcoming piece of the community. Certainly there will be enforcement actions -- we're not soft on crime -- but it would be proactive."

Property taxes capped in district In urban renewal districts, the controlling city, county or agency draws a boundary around a blighted area and sells bonds to pay for a list of specific improvements.

The property taxes generated within the district are capped for the life of the urban renewal plan, typically 20 years.

As property values within the district increase because of new investment, the corresponding increase in property taxes above the frozen amount is used to pay off the bonds.

Urban renewal is a concern to taxing districts such as Multnomah County because tax money generated by improvements is diverted for urban renewal projects. A county staff report on Gresham's plan estimated that the county would not collect $9.8 million in property taxes over the life of the district.

The staff report described Rockwood as an area of "increasing concentrations of poverty and crime, a decreasing tax base and deterioration of property."

County commissioners endorsed Gresham's proposal during a briefing last week. Eric Mortenson: 503-294-5972; [email protected]