Murmurs: City and Metro Seek to Dissolve Venues Contract

CITY AND METRO SEEK TO DISSOLVE VENUES CONTRACT: The city of Portland and the regional government Metro are about to get a highly theatrical divorce. Since the 1980s, Metro has operated the city of Portland’s five performing arts centers—the Keller Auditorium, the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and the three theaters tucked into Antoinette Hatfield Hall—collectively termed the Portland’5 Centers for the Arts. They aren’t exactly a cash cow: Across the five venues, the Keller, the only venue that can host Broadway shows, has been the sole profit center. Now, Metro and the city of Portland are negotiating to end their contract—if it’s terminated, the city would take back operations at all five locations, either by bringing them in house or contracting with a third-party operator. The ramifications of the split are unclear at this point, but if all goes smoothly, the city would assume responsibility for the five facilities in July 2027. News of the negotiations appeared to come as a surprise at a Nov. 18 meeting of the Portland City Council’s Arts and Economy Committee. City staff told committee members the termination was being actively negotiated by both governments. “There are huge implications for us,” Councilor Olivia Clark said of the potential termination. “And we need to know a little bit more about that.” A Metro spokesperson says the Metro Council will take a vote on entering negotiations to dissolve the contract later this week.

TEXAS CONSTRUCTION FIRM WINS PPS BOND MANAGEMENT BID: Texas-based construction firm Procedeo has won the contract to manage the largest school bond in Portland history. Portland Public Schools announced the selection Nov. 18. If the Portland School Board approves the contract, the request for proposals says Procedeo would provide “comprehensive professional program and project management services” for the $1.83 billion bond passed by voters in May. That includes overseeing bond-funded construction projects, among them three high school modernizations at Cleveland, Ida B. Wells and Jefferson, to ensure they are completed on schedule and within budget. The district initially brought in Procedeo in June with a $149,500 contract, just under the spending threshold that would require School Board approval, asking the firm to produce a comprehensive report outlining steps to streamline Jefferson’s construction and realize cost savings. That report, which WW obtained last week, proposed shaving an entire year off the school’s opening date by readying the first and second floors for student use, but notably did not estimate the costs of such a proposal. In winning the RFP, Procedeo beat out two local competitors, both based in Lake Oswego. The term of a contract awarded through an RFP is five years with the possibility of up to two renewals for up to two years each. “As a new administration, we are building the systems, structures, and project-delivery approaches that allow us to move this work forward with greater clarity and accountability,” PPS Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong said in a Nov. 18 statement. “Procedeo’s proposal aligns with that direction.”

MOYER OBJECTS TO STATE’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PLAN: Well over a year and a half into an effort to revamp the “backbone” of the state’s system for funding and delivering behavioral health care, counties continue to balk at the Oregon Health Authority’s plan. The state says it seeks to make it easier for local mental health programs to shape their plans around regional needs, and would set “clear expectations for counties to ensure transparency around funding, data, and outcomes.” Multnomah County Commissioner Meghan Moyer is among those who see it differently. In an interview, she listed two core objections: One is the removal of a contract provision that shields counties from liability if they don’t meet certain terms of the contract as a result of inadequate funding. “That is the single biggest issue,” Moyer says. “We’re not willing to take on that liability for something that is still fundamentally a state function that we are taking on for them.” (OHA responds that the contract contains language to ensure no required service goes unfunded.) Furthermore, Moyer says, the state wants counties to shift their behavioral health care focus almost entirely toward “aid and assist” patients—people charged with a crime but deemed incapable of aiding in their own defense, whom the state is under pressure from the courts to process faster. The state wants every county to “make that their No. 1 priority,” Moyer says. “And it’s like, well, actually, that’s your responsibility.”

PPS CONSIDERS OTHER WAYS TO FILL JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL: Portland Public Schools officials said Nov. 13 they are still considering changes to three enrollment scenarios they’ve presented to fill Jefferson High School, and are exploring another option to assuage some of the most outspoken parents. This academic year, the North Portland high school enrolls just 391 students, a fraction compared with other schools. That’s a problem PPS wants to solve ahead of a $466 million modernization in order to provide comprehensive programming at the school. So far, the district has faced criticism for the three options it’s presented because they would end dual enrollment by fall 2027, a policy that allows students living within Jefferson’s boundaries to attend one of three neighboring high schools instead. Parents from Irvington and Sabin elementary schools in particular have criticized the district for zoning those schools to feed into Jefferson. Instead, parents proposed Nov. 13 that the Portland School Board adopt a “Scenario F” in which the district would keep the two elementary schools feeding into Grant. District officials are expected to present a final recommendation to the School Board in January.