Corbett Community Forum

North East Multnomah County Community Association

NEMCCA Safety Meeting April 4, 2018

Forest Service: The first weekend using the permit system at Dog Mountain was very successful. There was a good use of the shuttle system and the majority of those who arrived without a permit returned later on the shuttle with the required permits.

Dog Mountain Permit Required on Weekends
Area(s): oracle.sql.CLOB@5173f4f
Date(s): Mar 27, 2018
On Saturdays and Sundays from March 31 to July 1, each individual using the Dog Mountain Trail System will be required to obtain a permit. The system includes Dog Mountain Trail (#147 and #147C), Dog Augspurger Tie Trail #147A, and the lower portion of Augspurger Trail #4407. Hikers on the system will be required to carry a hard copy permit or electronic proof of purchase.
Permits:
Permits will be available without reservation for all visitors who use the Dog Mountain shuttle service operated by Skamania County.
In addition to the shuttle option, there will be 165 permits available per day through the national online reservation system.
More information: fs.usda.gov/goto/crgnsa/hikedogmountain.

Currently planned openings are:
Benson Bridge - early summer
East of Cascade Locks - early summer
West of Multnomah Falls - Late fall
Middle trails (Eagle Creek area) - unknown

Oregon State Parks: There will be an invitation only 100th Anniversary of the Vista House on May 5, 2018 from 6pm to 8pm.
(Birthday cake will be served throughout the day for those who want to stop in - http://www.vistahouse.com/)

Mt Hood Community College: They have a new President, Dr. Lisa Skari, she will be starting in July. The process to find a new President was open, transparent and inclusive with over 40 applicants.
(You can read more here: https://www.mhcc.edu/progressreports/)

On April 21 there will be the Foundation Auction.
https://mhcc.ejoinme.org/Home2018

The East Metro Economics Prosperity Forum will be May 4 for those who would like more information you can go to: https://www.eastmetro.org/events

Office of District 4 County Commissioner: The Chair will be releasing the budget on April 26. There will be dates to review the budget, the date for East County is not known yet but will share when it is set.
Commissioner Stegmann will be at the Historical Society Groundbreaking on April 7.
On April 18 you can join the Commissioner to plant trees at Nadaka park. https://multco.us/file/70166/download

Corbett Water District: Budget is done as of April 3, 2018. Thank you to everyone who helped with the process.

Sandy River Delta: They have held two work parties and put down four loads of stone on the middle trails. They are also do repair work on other trails to help with ADA compliance.
There are spots still available for those interested in being trailhead ambassadors. https://gorgefriends.org/ambassadors
The five dollar parking fee for 1,000 acres is going before the RAC (Resource Advisory Committee) in June, then on to the Regional Forester for consideration.
(Discussion on parking - If you park within 1/4 mile of a trailhead you are required to pay the parking fee.)

NEMCCA: Commissioner Stegmann and MCSO will be attending the April 19, 2018 board meeting to discuss the best way to work together to get funding for law enforcement to deal with congestion issues on the Old Scenic Highway. The meeting starts at 6:30 at the Corbett Fire Hall.
Planning Commission voted to recommend changes to the marijuana ordinance to not allow noise from the operation to be heard by a reasonable person at the property line. This is in line with other sections of the codes. https://multco.us/file/69994/download
The Commission also voted to send the Accessory Dwelling Unit changes in portions of Multnomah County on to the Commissioners as discussed in earlier workshops and as written. These units will not be allowed for short term rentals. https://multco.us/file/69995/download

ODOT: They will be starting the sweep of the Old Scenic Highway in a couple of weeks. There have been over 2,000 guardrail hits that need to be fixed and there will be a crew from Estacada coming in to help with repairs.
Eagle Creek exit is closed and will remain closed until there is slope stabilization in that area. It is not expected that the road will open for some time.
Current spending on the fire clean up and repair is at 7 million, it is estimated to go as high as 11 million. (Discussion regarding doing changes/up grades while the road is closed. The money is only okayed for "replacement in kind" so what can be done is limited.)
There have been three small slides recently, including a small debris slide between Larch Mountain and the Vista House.
ODOT will be spending two more weeks doing hazardous tree removal between Bridal Veil and Ainsworth.
Two viaducts still need rock fences, these are still being worked out for size, shape, overall look and what is required for the potential size and impact of debris slide. (Location of the walls and debris nets was discussed, can there be changes made to some of the trails to allow for safer travel from trails or view locations.)
LIDAR flights are being done to check for risk areas to make sure that ODOT is doing all they can to make sure when they road re-opens that it is as safe as they can make it.
Multnomah Falls parking was a challenge with the good weather on the March 31st weekend. There are 186 spots in the ODOT parking lot and the lot had 30 closures during the day because of all spaces being filled. Some people are parking on the side of the Highway to stop and take pictures or walk over to view the falls. Others have been backing up into the lot from the East side, its not a safe situation and they are working with Law Enforcement.
The shuttle bus will start the upcoming weekend to help with traffic, people will again be able to park at Rooster Rock and take the shuttle from there.

Questions regarding the homeless along I-84 and what ODOT is doing about them were brought up at the last meeting and in an e-mail sent that morning. ODOT has a policy and procedures practice that they have to follow. They have to work with law enforcement to clear the camps and are required to catalog each site and store any left contents for 30 days in a safe, dry location in case anyone wants to claim left behind items. Clean up cost for the region (Forest Grove to Hood River to Wilsonville) was close to three million for this last year, it use to run a couple hundred thousand.

Funding is being secured to replace the culvert at the bottom of Corbett Hill.
The newly posted 55 mile an hour signs in the Corbett area were brought up and discussed. This is the speed that is standard on roads across Oregon when they are not posted otherwise. It was felt that 55 posted may be seen as a "challenge" for some drivers, and that there are too many walkers, bike riders and horses on the road for that to be a "safe" speed. If we want to appeal the posting we will need to ask for a traffic study and state why it is felt the speed should be changed.

If you have any questions please let me know - Victoria