A New District with a New Board

Operating under a century old governance structure has been putting us at increased risk. Now we the opportunity to put safer, more modern structures in place.

The managed floodplain along the Columbia River has been managed the same way for the last century. Now, thanks to the Oregon State Legislature, we have the opportunity to establish a new special district that will be able to modernize the way the local levee system is managed, contribute to the ecological health of the watershed, and to make a more robust set of financial tools available to support the system going forward. According to the authorizing legislation, this new district will have two different board configurations at different times. First, an initial 17-member board will be responsible for organizing the district and setting up a sustainable revenue structure. Once the revenue structure is in place, the initial board can call for the dissolution of the four existing drainage districts. At that point, the initial board will transition to a permanent structure of 9 board members who are responsible for the ongoing oversight of the district. You can read more about the legislation here.

The Initial Board

Now that the legislation has been developed, approved by the legislature, and signed by the Governor, it’s time to set up the initial board of directors. According to the legislation, this is a 17-member board, including:

5 community representatives appointed by the Governor

  1. one resident of the managed floodplain
  2. one business owner or representative of a business located within the managed floodplain
  3. one nonprofit with expertise or interest related to the managed floodplain
  4. one representative of a nonprofit with expertise or interest in environmental conservation
  5. one representative of a nonprofit with expertise or interest in environmental justice

12 representatives of local governmental entities appointed by their governing bodies
these entities include the Cities of Portland, Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale, and Wood Village; Multnomah County; Metro; Port of Portland; and the four local drainage districts (PEN 1, PEN 2, MCDD, and SDIC).

Interested in Joining the Board?

Submit your name for consideration for one of the five positions appointed by the Governor!  To indicate your interest:

  1. complete the interest form on the Governor’s Executive Appointments webpage
  2. gather supplemental materials like your resume, a statement of interest, and/or any endorsements* you would like to submit
  3. email your materials to executive.appointments@oregon.gov
    or mail them to: Office of the Governor, Executive Appointments | 900 Court Street NE, Room 160| Salem, OR 97301-4075

Please submit your interest form and materials as soon as possible. The goal is to have the initial board appointed by April 2020.

The appointment process for each of the governmental bodies listed above is different. If you are interested in pursuing an appointment to one of those positions, we encourage you to reach out to leadership within those agencies.

*If you are seeking an appointment as a representative of a business, non-profit, or neighborhood, we strongly recommend including a letter of nomination or endorsement with the materials you submit to the Governor’s office.

Questions

For questions specific to the Governor’s appointment process, please contact executive.appointments@oregon.gov or 503-378-6829

For questions about this new special district, their roles and responsibilities, time commitments, etc. please refer to the informational materials provided or contact us at leveeready@gmail.com.

More information

This content is not available at this moment unfortunately. Contact the administrators of this site so they can check the plugin involved.
Write a comment