Happy Friday! Congrats to the Hillsboro Hops, Mayor Steve Callaway, and all the 2,200 fans who regularly attend the Hillsboro Hops baseball games. This is a big day for all of you. It is not for the Children, youth, and adult athletes who compete on Fields 4,5 and 6. For the next two years, they will lose the use of their fields at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex as the new Hops Stadium is built. The fields may be replaced, but that plan is yet to be settled, and who will pay for them is still under speculation.
For those businesses that could have benefited from the Hillsboro Transient Lodging Tax to promote their businesses, it is a day to know that there is no future help from those funds. The $18 million in City money gifted to the Hops for this Stadium has now committed all future revenues from that fund for decades. This is a serious kick to the groin for anyone who does not love baseball or has a struggling business or non-profit. What the Bill that just past the Oregon State House and Senate did was clearly show Oregonians that the “cool kids” and sports organizations are going to win the day, and there is not a damn thing anyone can do about it, despite the hundreds who tried. Welcome to Hillsboro!
BREAKING: New Hillsboro Hops City-Owned Ballpark Fully Funded Thanks to Final $15 Million Approval from Oregon State Legislature
Read the full article here: https://t.co/L5N1u179co pic.twitter.com/rf8lh1uVM3
— Hillsboro Hops (@HillsboroHops) March 8, 2024
Seriously, congrats to the Hillsboro Hops- while I am conflicted about this and see the inequity that Hillsboro City Hall has created and promoted here, I will support the organization. The Stadium, the team, and the facility will be theirs to take to the top of the Mountain, and with $150,000,000 of public money at risk, they now must do so. Those involved, especially Mayor Callaway, are pressured by this work. If it doesn’t succeed the Cavalry will not be coming. This will be theirs to own.
I think I will sit behind the dugout, have some beers, and cheer on the home team! I might even get some box seats once and a while! I will live with this despite my concerns over procedural concerns and lack of equitable permitting. I have been a sports fan and a National sports writer for 20 years. Money aside, this is a win for baseball and for the Hops. Also an epic day for Mator Callaway, Senator Janeen Sollman, Mayor Anointed Beach Pace, Councilor Gina Roletto, and many other Hops insiders and Baseball fans who pushed this over the goal line. They are to be remembered today!
Compare and Contrast-
On this day of days, as many celebrate what we have gained, we must turn our attention to what we have lost or have been unable to do as a community. Here are some people on my mind today: on this Friday in our corner of America.
Sequoia Gallery—Downtown Hillsboro
Today is one of the last Fridays that Sequoia Gallery will be open in Downtown Hillsboro. Located in the heart of the Cultural Arts District of Hillsboro, Oregon, Sequoia Gallery is completing its 16th year as a working artist non-profit with 13 studios, artists working daily, and a beautiful storefront gallery to showcase and sell the work. Financially, the group has struggled despite having some funds from the City of Hillsboro. COVID hurt all of us, and Art was a loser during that time. On April 6th, the organization will host its final First Tuesday Art Walk, and the facility and galleries will close on April 30th. The Herald has messaged Karla Antonini of the City of Hillsboro, who oversees the Hillsboro Downtown Urban Renewal District, for word on what will come next, as the staff at Sequoia has informed us the City is still under a lease agreement with the building owner. We have no response as of this article’s publishing and will update it when she responds.
The studio spaces upstairs were built for artists and are unrivaled anywhere we have been. This space is very important to our town and the fine Arts. Will it remain part of the beating heart or fine art in Hillsboro? Time will tell.
Art is not Baseball. But it has value beyond home runs and hotdogs. Lives are changed by art. Unspoken words forever ripple across souls and change the human experience in a way nothing else can. No, it is not baseball- and Art has never been part of the “cool kids” club. But let’s draw the comparisons today. If Baseball is worthy of Almost $40 Million dollars in taxpayers’ money being given up today between the citizens of Hillsboro and of Oregon, can’t’s heart grab a few crumbs? I believe in Karla and much-heralded Cultural Arts District Manager Bridie Harrington, and I hope they will work something out to keep the existing artists in their studios and hold the space on the main floor for a future Gallery group that can fill that role. There are groups out there and no lack of interested parties. If these City leaders focus their energies and some City funds today and in the weeks ahead, it can be a #WIN for art too. We shall see-
Batter Up for Arts everyone!
17th Avenue Year Around Homeless Shelter
Hillsboro is making significant strides towards opening a year-round shelter for people experiencing homelessness. After more than two years of planning, the Hillsboro City Council recently selected a company to design and build the shelter. Located at 345 S.W. 17th Ave., near Dairy Creek Park and WinCo, the project will involve an initial investment of $1.1 million for design and pre-construction work. This also includes an allowance for unexpected costs and materials with long lead times.
The City has been looking for State and Federal Funding to complete the Project. 75 beds will be available, and the shelter will be the first year-round shelter in Washington County. This is a big deal, and the city is on the path to finishing it soon!
Again, $40 million in State and Local Funding for Baseball is a done deal, and $3 million is needed for one shelter in our entire County. We must get this done.
Please take the survey about our shelter here.
https://engage.hillsboro-oregon.gov/yearroundshelter
Batter Up for the Unhoused everyone!
North Plains Citizen’s Rights Squashed By State Leaders- House Bill 4026 Passes To Silence Voter’s Rights
A month ago, I went to North Plains and celebrated with a group of North Plains Citizens as they turned in an initiative with hundreds of Citizens to put the future of their town to a vote of all residents. People were energized and excited, and it seemed like local people in this great little Oregon town would be able to guide their future. You know, that thing we call Democracy and manifest destiny? Yeah, they were doing that- taking the power away from their growth and money-hungry council and Mayor and placing that decision with the voters.
Well, all that good work came to a screeching halt yesterday as the State (Big Brother and Sister) stepped in to slap these hicks in North Plains down. These yocals will be punished and judged by the Star Chamber and those in power who understand growth and the benefits of allowing Fabs and Chemical plants to be built in their town.
How dare they try to have a voice for their kid’s future, air quality, and environment? Horrible people who think democracy should be allowed to flourish – shame on you!
Hillsboro is North Plains’ bigger, massive Brother. Over the last 30 years, it has gotten away with rezoning its people out of their homes, not making any traffic or environmental impact statements, and pushing Growth into farmland in every direction. So what should we expect? Why should the people of North Plains be allowed to organize and fight all this? The people of Hillsboro have taken it and are now powerless- so why not run these last few independent voices over? We saw this coming when the City Council and Mayor Lenahan of North Plains began snuggling up to Hillsboro’s Mayor and economic staff. The two cities, no doubt, are discussing sharing water and other crucial services to make a massive industrial growth area on either side of Jackson School Road happen soon. Shame on all of them, and shame on every single Senator and Representative at the Oregon State Capitol who slammed this through.
Here are the Facts – HB 4026
North Plains in Growth Spurt:
For years, North Plains (population 3,400) has aimed to expand its tax base by attracting industry and transitioning from a bedroom community. Finalized plans propose doubling its size with 855 acres for warehouses and data centers, similar to those in neighboring Hillsboro.
Residents Object, Aim for Ballot Box:
Residents and neighbors opposed the ambitious plan, fearing farmland loss. They aimed to be the first in Oregon to challenge a city’s UGB expansion via a public vote, gathering signatures for a May ballot referendum.
Legislature Steps In:
Public officials countered that UGB expansion is an administrative, not legislative, action, thus exempt from voter referendums under the state constitution. House Bill 4026 passed with bipartisan support, effectively blocking the referendum.
Governor’s Decision and Legal Challenge Loom:
Governor Kotek’s stance on signing the bill is unclear, though expanding housing is a priority for her. Opponents, under the group “Friends of North Plains Smart Growth,” threaten a lawsuit if she signs. Absent a court order for the referendum, North Plains’ expansion seems likely to proceed through the state’s UGB process.
Here is a perfect analogy for what is happening in North Plains, Oregon- and it will happen in your town, too!
Lord Humongous and his horde are attacking the futuristic outpost of Midway- this is in fact what the people of North Plains should feel like. The Governor is Lord Humongous, and the lead henchmen are once again Senator Janeen Sollman, Mayor Lenahan, and every Council person in North Plains and State leader who are going to break through the barricades of Democracy and force their will upon the people.
Sad – horrific. Here is to the fight ahead in Court and the good people of North Plains and the Friends of North Plains Smart Growth.
Batter Up For Citizens Rights and Democracy
Is North Plains it’s own entity or does Hillsboro own it.. Do they have there own police department and fire stations or does Hillsboro cover North Plains? Thank you.
North Plains has been a City for well over 100 years. They have Police and Fire and Public works- all of that. And they do a great job – its a very well run self contained City!
The people of North Plains had their say and they have had their say for years. You seem to forget that we live in a representative democracy where the people elect officials that then act on their behalf. As you very clearly admit – the North Plains’ elected government has stated very clearly for years their desire to expand the city. Yet, the people of North Plains then continued to elect them. Mayor Lenahan was first elected to city government in 2008 and has been there ever since.
The only thing surprising about HB4026 is the OVERWHELMING bipartisan support. 25 yes votes, 3 no votes. In our divided Oregon it is pretty amazing that Democrats and Republicans in the legislature came together to overwhelming vote in agreement that we cannot allow citizen referendums to scrap urban planning that takes many years of work.
Huh, it’s you that seems to forget that democracy in the United States has several levers. Representation is one, the initiative and referendum system on the state level is another, and has been so for more than a century.
Initiatives and referendum exist to bypass a strict machine politics and party influence. They draw people from all ends of the political spectrum, as the North Plains referendum has, and they’re a vital check on the powers of representative democracy—much like the judiciary. Urban planning is not an absolute right and development is not subject to executive privilege. It is North Plains’ elected governments’ stated development goals that made this referendum possible, and the “OVERWHELMING” bipartisan support is the opposite of surprising: It is far more lucrative for political interests on both sides of the aisle to open their jurisdictions to unfettered development—even if the undeveloped lands developers are eyeing falls beyond their district’s borders.
You’ll pardon us if we aren’t seeing the “many years of work” that Washington County puts into its urban planning. Because, in recent years, it seems that farmland leads to industrial designation with minimal jobs or residential designation with minimal housing. In that context, it’s only surprising that it hasn’t been more litigious around here as more voices are excluded from a process that so clearly requires their input.
Take away the referendum, and you’ll get the lawsuits.
You decry industry that supports few jobs yet champion using prime farmland to grow grass seed. We have discussed land use before and you dodged and refused to answer a very simple question.
So I ask you again, how many direct jobs does seed farming support and what do those jobs pay? 1,000 acres of seeds = how many jobs?
Maybe if the state gave millions to support local farms instead of giving millions to profitable tech industry businesses those farms could afford to grow something other than feed grass and hire workers at wages better then the low wages paid to entry level semi-conductor fab workers.
Unfortunately lawsuits around here, Washington County, would encounter major problems. First of all there are very few (good) attorneys who really understand and practice in land law. Dave Hunnicut and the boys who took the Tigard Bi-Mart case to the US Supreme Court and WON to name one.
Secondly, besides being beastly expensive, in WashCo court, your case would be heard by any of a host of left wing liberal judges who are elected. They are rarely opposed and are elected by the same folks who’ve elected the AH’s who are causing this BS. Game over…..
I’m very disappointed that the Hops baseball team received the money to build a new stadium. I think the money would be better spent on a facility more of the population of Hillsboro could use. What about a new indoor and outdoor pool and activities center. With the cold and rainy weather we have most of the year, families could get well needed exercise, family time and community comrade. Add indoor gym and a place for kids to play. Maybe add a community garden and teach skills in a community center such as sewing classes, welding, arts, simple wood working.
The money received from state and local government for the Hops baseball team is a large sum of money that only a few will enjoy.
Mayor Lenahan’s term is almost over, otherwise we’d kick her out. Horrible! She seems like a nice lady most of the time, but man, this is low and oppressive! Doesn’t even want the people to vote, because she knows they will vote against the expansion! I think this would be a great Netflix documentary.
It would. I am submitting it for consideration now! Rock On !!
While good for the Hops, it is unfortunate that several long-time events have been displaced by the new stadium project, including my own that pre-date the Hops every setting foot in Hillsboro. So, tomorrow morning, and many more weekends this year, rather than driving 15 minutes from my house to the Gordon Faber Complex to run a youth baseball tournament like I have been doing for the past fifteen years, I will be departing at 5:00 AM for a sports complex in Vancouver, Washington.
Next weekend, I will be doing the same with 75 teams participating. That is about 1,500 players and fans, families that would be staying in area hotels, dining out, buying gas, visiting Top Golf, in short spending money at Hillsboro businesses over the course of the entire weekend. I would put our number of hotel rooms rented up against the Hops number anytime. It also provided a tournament for Hillsboro area teams to participate in without traveling.
Conservatively, my business generated one million dollars per year in economic impact to the Hillsboro area, not the dubious economic impact study the Hops paid for, these are actual numbers of real money spent that is leaving the Hillsboro area and going to Vancouver, Washington. While I may have been among the largest renters of the Gordon Faber Complex for years, there are several others that generated similar numbers with their youth sporting events too.
A couple of the youth fields may be replaced at the complex one day, although as Dirk mentioned, it is just drawings on paper at this point. The proposal is to build these fields on the problem areas of the land, requiring jumping through many hoops and getting permission from other agencies (wetlands, BPA power lines, etc.) before building anything. It will be costly and will not result in a cohesive complex. The fields will be far removed from the existing remaining fields, with plans for an overpass splitting the complex even more. It will not be a tournament friendly venue. I do not anticipate returning my events to the Gordon Faber Complex even if the two new fields are someday built.
Jeff, I am very sorry for what this travesty { Hops) has caused you. I say the following as a BASEBALL FAN since age 5, wore a #7 jersey (Mickey Mantle) in 1st grade, SF Seals fan in ’55-’57, SF Giants in ’58-current (Dodger hater), and worked & traveled with the Giants in ’80s/90’s. “Hum Baby”!
I have NEVER attended nor would I even “walk across the street” to a Hops game. I have, however, before they arrived in Hillsboro, enjoyed your events as well as others at GFC.
The Hops remaining in Hillsboro is the result of POLITICAL SHENANIGANS, BS, and the CRAVEN EGO of Steve Callaway….whose been on the public dole his entire career. In the On Deck Circle, Beach Pace, God Help Us!
Jeff,
I am very sorry for what this travesty (Hops) has caused you. I say the following as a BASEBALL FAN since age 5. I wore a #7 jersey (Mickey Mantle) in 1st grade, was a SF Seals fan from ’55-’57, SF Giants ’58 to now, (Dodger hater), worked and traveled with the Giants in the 80’s & 90’s. “Hum Baby!”
I have NEVER attended nor would I even “walk across the street” to a Hops game! I have, however, enjoyed your events, as well as others, at GFC.
The Hops remaining in Hillsboro can be attributed to POLITICAL SHENANIGANS, BS, as well as the CRAVEN EGO of Steve Callaway….whose been on the public dole his entrire career. In the On Deck Circle is Beach Pace. God Help Us!
Unbelievable we are spending that much money on baseball. I have nothing against the Hops and have enjoyed a few games myself. But, spending millions on baseball seems frivolous to me. I will never understand or support the decision. Nor will I attend another game.
Unbelievable our local and state representatives spending this much money on baseball. I have nothing against the Hops and have enjoyed a few games myself. But, spending millions on baseball seems very frivolous to me. I will never understand or support the decision. Nor will I attend another game.
The email I just sent to the mayor and Council:
*****************
I am the parent of a competitive youth and Liberty High School softball player. I have written to and spoken to you previously about my feelings about the city’s plan to build a new Hillsboro Hops stadium and the impacts it will have on our community’s youth and youth sports at the Gordon Faber Recreational Complex.
A year ago, on International Women’s Day, members of this Council and the Hops announced the project to build the new stadium, but glossed over the impacts to the three youth fields and our youth softball and baseball programs…A project that will impact our daughters, granddaughters, nieces and neighbors. At the time, and given the timing, I watched clips from the press conference in awe.
Advance the clock one year to this past week, and it is announced the State of Oregon is provided the final $15 million needed to move the project forward into the construction phase. Again, right on the doorstep of International Women’s Day. So, again, we are celebrating a victory for a professional men’s team (and, yes, the community) that will have both short-term and long-term impacts on our community’s daughters.
It is not my intent to criticize the Hillsboro Hops. I support the team and attend games. Instead, I continue to advocate for equity for our youth…an action I know each of you should support.
The City of Hillsboro speaks proudly about equity, so it needs to apply those standards to all levels and corners of our community…and that includes our youth and youth recreation programs.
The Hillsboro Hops stadium project will cause the removal of three high quality youth recreation ball fields at Gordon Faber. Ball fields used by our community’s youth baseball and softball players and youth tournament organizers that bring countless players, coaches, parents and spectators to our community.
At a work session last fall, City staff proposed to replace those three high quality ball fields with two (a move in stark conflict with the Park and Recreation Commission’s recommendation for three replacement fields). And those two replacement fields would be pushed to the outer corners of the complex while the new stadium will sit at the center of the complex on prime land.
In all fairness the city does plan to modify Ron Tonkin Field to accommodate youth baseball and softball, but as I look at the designs I don’t see a good fit for softball. When modified for softball, the playing field will look and feel constricted for players. The out of bounds areas to the left and right of the outfields will allow little room for making safe plays. In softball, the foul lines and out of bounds lines (or fences) are typically parallel. At RTF the out of bounds lines collapse in toward the foul lines creating pinch points for outfielders. So, is this really an equitable mitigation for softball? At this moment, I say no.
There is space available within the complex for a third mitigation field. It needs to be included in the city’s final plan for the project. Anything less is a strike against the commitment to equity the city touts.
Finally, while I sit here and write this (watching a light drizzle outside) I cannot help but remind you and City staff that these new fields need to be finished with an artificial surface in recognition of our perennial rainy winters and springs. My daughter’s high school team struggles each year to find alternative fields on when to play their games when rain make using their home field impossible. The two artificial surface fields at GFRC are highly sought after by other area high schools that also are chased off their natural surface fields. Three new artificial surface fields would never a vast community.
To recap, the city’s latest published plan is to remove three youth ballfields that were approved and paid for by city taxpayers, build only two replacement fields in the far corners of the complex and modify Ron Tonkin Field…which is best suited for baseball, not softball. So, I ask this Council and the City to take a long, hard look at the situation and proceed on a path that provides equity for all members of the Hillsboro community. There is only one equitable option.
**************
From what I have deduced from conversations with city staff and sitting through briefings to the Council and Parks Commission is the replacement fields will be front end funded by the City and paid off through the Hops’ longterm lease with the City. That would suggest even more city money (more than the disclosed $18m) will be tied up for years. That means even more City projects will be deferred for years…all to keep a minor league baseball team debated economic value to the community.
Matt,
I have said all along that the new stadium was $150-$160 Million and testified to that fact. That is absolutley the facts. The replacement fields will be $10 to $12 Million each. Fact- Early on Staff scoffed at that statement and there were discussions about 6 to 10 Million for all the fields! Now we know – $22 MIllion for 2 Fields and $30 plus Million for 3 fields. And so we find ourselves at the place I pointed out over and over. The New Stadium is the same price as the overbid $160 Million for the remodel of the Tonk. This is more about Rock Concerts and coporate profits than anything. And Equity? What equity? The girls lost on this one- bigtime! And that sucks! Imagine if Title 9 was in play here- every news network in the country would be here covering this move. We can only look forward now. But we sure can take a stand againt this…and we must!
Thanks for all you did and tried to do! You were the voice of a parent and Father fighting for his daughters and that is a voice that should have been elevated.
All the best;
Dirk
That is really too bad to hear about North Plains. I grew up in Cornelius, Hillsboro and Aloha. I spent a lot of time in North Plains. I remember going to church and visiting family friends, being able to run around town causing 10 year old mischief.
There is an all out war against family values in this state. It is sad.
I am opening a small business in the coming months, and will be leaving this state behind.
Oregon is a lost cause, a sinking ship. She flies with her own wings?! More like she drowns under the wait of her chains.
Congrats on the decision and ability to open a new business….elsewhere!
Well said about Sequoia and we need them in the community. I’m hoping someone steps up to keep them going. Nowhere else can we visit art in their element and learn about their process.
Sadly I was just informed by some of the artists rhat rhey are 100 percent being asked to leave. They tried to make am offer to stay… but have been told NO. The City has a new tenant lined up and is pushing everyone out. Done. IF this new user is not AN ART GROUP …well… heads shoukd roll!
https://youtube.com/shorts/ILvim7gkGsA?si=qTYGp0vb77JnyrAv
Trial attorneys are starting to realize they can pad the stats with easily winnable cases in Washington County. As mentioned earlier, there aren’t many of them around here… but that may change if Washington County continues to be Oregon’s land-use problem child. Good for North Plains: https://www.hillsboronewstimes.com/news/north-plains-ugb-referendum-back-on-the-ballot-courtesy-of-the-courts/article_da7e9c0e-755c-572f-88b5-c30b6072ad64.html
We have two debates occurring in Washington County at the same time: One over public funding of sports and another over public referendum items. One vote elsewhere in the country just reminded us why it’s no coincidence that both are occurring at the same time: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39863822/missouri-voters-reject-stadium-tax-kansas-city-royals-chiefs
Hey Jason,
I totally agree. Seeing that story really got me thinking. It feels like Washington County is at a major turning point, more so than ever before. Is there some kind of behind-the-scenes plan being cooked up? Sollman’s actions and Kotek’s silence on core Democratic issues are hard to ignore. Maybe it’s just me, but I always seem to pick up on these shifts before they happen – a blessing and a curse, as they say. Speaking of which, that famous quote feels eerily relevant right now: “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.”