Govy CPO subcommittee to revisit incorporation study posted on 01/01/2023
The Government Camp Community Planning Organization (CPO)
will move forward this month with a subcommittee that will update the 2008
Incorporation Study, offering insights into the costs and benefits of a
possible incorporation effort for the community. The formation of the
subcommittee follows a survey the CPO performed last year in which 83 percent
of 41 total responses supported the effort (registered voters in the community
comprised 19 of the 41 responses).
“Everyone on the committee and the community at large is
interested in finding the information first,” said Nick Rinard, president of
the CPO board, adding that the goal is for the discussion to be guided by the
facts. “That’s what motivated the interest in an updated study. People felt it
was time to get informed again.”
The study could help answer a number of questions, such as
the possible impact on taxes, how much the assessed property value changed
since 2008, the impact on relationships with other agencies (including the
Oregon Department of Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service) and others.
Rinard added that there are no deadlines and the work will
be exploratory, and once the study is officially underway, it could conclude in
approximately six months.
He added that the scope of work will take place in two
phases, with the first working with a consultant, Ed Trompke from Jordan Ramis,
to come up with a recommendation for the community.
If that recommendation is to move ahead with an
incorporation effort, phase two would be getting it put on a ballot.
Rinard noted that there is no glaring need for
incorporation, but there are issues for the community that may be helped by it,
including policing, parking, FIREWISE efforts, traffic and the public restroom
project that the CPO is working closely on with Oregon Solutions.
“The idea of the locals having more control is attractive,
(and) how feasible, how much responsibility comes with that,” he said.
The 2008 study resulted in an incorporation effort for the
May 2010 ballot, which was defeated with 48 “no” votes to 35 “yes” votes.
Rinard, who was not the CPO president at that time, noted
there was some vocal opposition to the effort then, while he senses people are
now open minded about the possibility of exploring it again.
Rinard added that a city can provide as many or as few
services as wanted, while a physical building, such as a city hall, is not a
necessity.
The community is currently served by two local special
districts: a road district with a three-member board of directors and a
sanitary district with a five-member board.
“They’re doing a great job,” Rinard said. “They could serve
under a different structure and carry on with the same work, with protections
and possible controls of a city.”
Rinard has a list of people willing to volunteer on the
subcommittee that will update the study, but he added that the goal is to be as
diverse as possible in representing the community, including the ski areas,
full time and part time residents, plus those in the communities of Summit
Meadows and Wapinitia.
He added that anyone who is interested in participating can
contact the CPO for more information.
“The sense I get from the community is that people are
passionate about Government Camp,” Rinard said. “That’s a good citizen base to
have. We all feel united by our love for the Mountain.”
By Garth Guibord/MT
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