Questions Linger, but Council Seems Likely to Bless Oregon Sustainability Center

Portland Mercury:

The latest, scaled-down rendering of the streetcar-pierced Oregon Sustainability Center. Last week's roll-out for Portland City Council's Wednesday vote on the Oregon Sustainability Center didn't go as, um, well, smoothly as Mayor Sam Adams and his team might have hoped. (Read all about the procedural woes here.) But it seems Friday's paperwork hiccup concerning the city's half of the $62 million project might have been just that. When city staffers sits down the day after the vote with the legislative subcommittee that holds the keys to the rest of the money—bonds backed by the Oregon University System—it seems likely they'll be able to tell lawmakers that Portland officials are conceptually on board and ready to invest in pre-construction costs. The only hitch now for Adams is that the council's support may not be unanimous—something council sources say Adams has fought hard to work out, in hopes of sending as strong a message of support to Salem as possible. The risks associated with the project, and lingering questions about its finances and the likelihood that Portland's burdened operating budget might have to be tapped for millions of dollars if things go south, are too substantial for the council's usual kumbaya 5-0 fun. "I'm sure they might look at the vote count as some evidence of Portland's commitment to this project," said Commissioner Dan Saltzman, referring to Republicans in Salem. Saltzman, a skeptic, wouldn't tip his own vote but said the decision could be as close as 3-2, although "I'm reasonably sure it'll be 4-1." [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]

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