Clackamas County voters turn thumbs down on Sellwood Bridge Fee
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It appears that Clackamas County won’t help pay for a new Sellwood Bridge after all – at least not with funds from a vehicle registration fee.
County voters turned out in high numbers to resoundingly defeat the County Commission’s effort to fund $22 million of the $290 million Sellwood Bridge replacement project through a $5 vehicle registration fee; 63 percent voted against the fee.
"This is a tough time to raise fees and taxes," Commissioner Jim Bernard, who was a strong backer of the fee, said during a break in a BCC meeting Tuesday night.
Bernard and Clackamas Chair Charlotte Lehan said that they had promised Multnomah County to pass the fee ordinance, not provide the $22 million contribution.
"We continue to have the same concerns about the safety of the bridge," Lehan said, "but the impact to the residents of Clackamas County would be if Multnomah County couldn't find a way to build the new bridge."
Multnomah County commissioners also were disappointed by the results, and see more work ahead to replace the aging structure.
“We now have an even-larger funding gap, and we still have the most outdated and most in-need-of-repair bridge in the state,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury, whose district includes the Sellwood Bridge.Read more here.
UPDATE • Multnomah County official confident Portland will still pay its share of deal
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