Historical perspective, Questions and Conclusions

. . . about the I-5 offramp construction project

by Connie Kent

In his broadcast talk to residents on Friday 7 May, Stan Salmonson, RVM Executive Director, offered some background information to help clarify confusion over the freeway offramp construction project at the southbound I5 exit at Barnett. Hoping to gain some historical perspective, I consulted Faye Isaak’s Vision with a View: How Rogue Valley Manor Evolved Through Grace and Gumption, published in 2015.

In his talk, Stan explained that in 1992, RVM bought the properties on Ellendale north of the Annex. According to Isaak’s book, Tom Becker was the Administrator of RVM at that time, serving from 1978-1991 (Isaak 77).

In 1997, he said, RVM submitted a PUD* request to the City of Medford. Co-administrators of RVM at that time were Patricia Kauffman and Brian McLemore (Isaak 78), while Tom Becker had become CEO of Pacific Retirement Services the year after it was formed in 1990 (Isaak 49-50).

Finally, in 2019, Solmonson explained, RVM submitted an update to the PUD, in order to “increase the trip count.” Sarah Lynch was then the Executive Director of RVM, and Brian McLemore was CEO of PRS. Since that time, Sarah Lynch has become vice president of administration for PRS.

According to the Mail Tribune article of 23 April 2021, “. . . obviously (Rogue Valley Manor) is wanting to expand and the reason for this project — it’s part of their mitigation for some of the development that they’re planning on building on their property.” Quoting Sarah Lynch, the article goes on to say, “The Manor has a stake in the project because it owns a property at 1020 Ellendale Dr. That piece of property is up for sale, Lynch said, and is only part of a commercial village, which the Manor is planning to develop.”

Sarah Lynch adds, “The trip cap applies to the entire commercial village, not just that property.”

Communications Advisory Committee minutes of May included this: [Sarah Lynch] explained that RVM’s request to change the zoning of the property it owns on Ellendale – from “10‐unit residential per acre” to “commercial” – brought with it a requirement by Oregon Department of Transportation to increase the trip cap traffic by more than double. She noted that the property, which RVM has on the real estate market, is more valuable if zoned for “commercial.”

Apparently because development of the property on Ellendale would be enhanced by less congested access from the freeway, Oregon Department of Transportation required RVM to pay for the off ramp upgrade.

That’s the historical perspective. Here is what I wonder about. There seems to be a clear pattern in this series of events: the relationship between RVM directors and PRS leadership. Is there any significance to this pattern?

I would like to learn more about how developing property for commercial purposes jibes with RVM’s status as a not-for-profit entity. On the surface, there would seem to be a disconnect. I don’t know enough about how this works.

My tentative conclusion is that since the property value has undoubtedly increased since 1992, RVM will benefit financially from having acquired the property almost 30 years ago. And maybe that sort of transaction is part of what has allowed RVM to continue on a sound fiscal path for the last sixty years. Thus, despite potential inconvenience to RVM residents in terms of traffic congestion on E. Barnett and Ellendale, we, the residents, benefit from living in a community that is financially stable. I realize that this conclusion doesn’t address all my questions. But it’s a start. And I trust that more information will become available. 

* PUD stands for Planned Urban Development, a real estate development that integrates residential and commercial buildings with open spaces in a single project. It can be loosely considered as a planned unit development (PUD), which uses the same acronym and for all intents and purposes is interchangeable (Investopedia).

Sources:

Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/planned_urban_development.asp

Isaak, Faye. Vision with a View: How Rogue Valley Manor Evolved Through Grade and Gumption. 2015.