Remarks by Ben West
103 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 2 of 5
- Play at 1:26:08
“Thank you, Chair. I would concur everything that Commissioner Savas just said, and especially regarding our firefighters. There's been a number of losses due to these firefighters. And so that's somber, and we stand with the families and our deepest sympathies to them. A big RPOC meeting last night, I was there. I sent a letter to RPOC that's on the record addressing a few issues. There's some tensions kind of building up within ARPAC for the public certification. ARPAC is the Supportive Housing Services Oversight Board, for which I sit for the county of commissioners on trying to bring…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 13, 2026
- Play at 3:28
“On this project, you talked about timeline just a minute ago. Can you get it done? Do you anticipate needing that extension that's not guaranteed, or what is expected as a timeline on a project like this?”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 3:57
“Are you confident that the contractor's ready to start next week, that all the ducks are in a row? Yes. Okay.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 14:51
“Thank you. On the financing, so I know previously we had, I think recently we refinanced some bonds and some different debts that the county had and we got a phenomenal interest rate. It was to our advantage.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 15:10
“Oh, can you hear me now? It was to our advantage when we refinanced and so with our credit rating being as stellar as it is, will the board find out or how, you know, of course we want to do what's most financially expeditious for the county and what makes Will the board see that financing option that's chosen between bank loan or a bond? Does it rise to the level that it comes before us to make that choice or is that done at the staff level?”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 15:58
“Okay. And on the historic, so you have some wood. Is there any, I'm trying to like add a question around the things that you guys, oh, the kitchen items. Some of the kitchen and that commercial kitchen seem to be relatively newer and probably reusable. We had a very expensive ask to include a new commercial kitchen. Are we salvaging as much as we can to save our cost from the commercial kitchen that exists already for the new property that will be built with a commercial kitchen? Are we taking that into consideration and trying to salvage as much as we can? And is there anything there that we…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 17:04
“We've looked at that, though. I mean, I just saw it from like, oh, this seems like a nice commercial kitchen. I wasn't like down there expecting the appliances and whatnot. But, you know, it's nice to see when you're doing a tour of the property, like, oh, maybe, you know, you think maybe this is salvageable. I was just hoping there might be a cost savings since the new commercial kitchen is not a small price tag.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 17:46
“Okay yeah if it's salvageable I mean a fridge alone a walk-in fridge is crazy those gas stoves and ovens are expensive so if possible and it makes practical sense I think we should look at that before we just discard those items.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 18:07
“Great job, by the way. This is still super exciting. By the way, I want to remind everybody that this is a county project. There is a lot of people that are also excited by this, so they're jumping on the bandwagon as they should because it's such an awesome project that we're getting done. This is county-led stuff here. This is a county initiative. This is local government in action. I want to preach that from the mountaintops. Good job, Clackamas County. It's something so good that all the other leaders in the state want to jump on and be a part of it, too. which we appreciate all comers…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 20:38
“For the public certification, I've been championing some type of pet services for individuals that maybe don't have a home at the time and they're living on the streets with their loved furry one. And sometimes that is a real barrier to getting into care. and other models have had really creative solutions, and we wanted to have one also. So thank you for continuing to work on our furry loved ones. Thank you, Kishore West.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 21:03
“I don't think my husband understands that. You might want to call him for me, Cindy.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 30:28
“All right. Commissioner West, go ahead. You already got into my question. Yeah. So it looks like we had been funding a lot of permanent supportive housing under a previous model that was more traditionally the housing first model. There has been a shift away back to transitional housing. We know all of this, right? Yep. And so my first question was, are we backfilling previous policy priorities for permanent supportive housing and then made the shift to fund priorities and there's many that we value also with the new kind of hud structure around recovery systems and traditional housing it…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 32:39
“Okay. So you don't see any funding cliffs we're facing because of the drama at the federal level?”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 33:05
“Just to be, like, watching how you guys have made the pivot here and the different services and Bravo. Great job. And you did a really good job making that pivot and still prioritizing things that are important within our care system. So, yeah, these are environmental things that we just don't always control, and you're making do with what reality is. So I appreciate that. Thank you for answering my question.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 40:59
“Yeah, great project. I'm just, you know, one of our big concerns as we see the rising demand housing insecurity within the senior population, not just in Oregon, but many places. And that's been a concern of this board is about seeing that demographic really suffer with housing options and availability. It's a very beautiful facility. It already is a beautiful facility. There's lots of opportunities there for individuals. My question is, is there any units available to those that are lower income seniors that have at more risk for housing or homelessness issues than than others in that…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 42:43
“Yeah. And we need all ranges and all types of housing. I just know that one of the big primary concerns as seniors that are living on the edge literally facing homelessness and strong housing insecurity and I assume that it's a pretty wealthy community that lives here in your property at Willamette View. And I don't know our role in that, but I know that's a major concern. Has there ever been any thoughts or opportunities about developing any type of housing that would take care of this population in our community that is lower income?”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 45:22
“And it seems like it's a thriving business model that you guys have. I don't begrudge you that whatsoever as a private entity. As a commissioner with this population with all types of housing, but my primary concern is with those that are on the edge of homelessness right now. And many, many, many, and probably the vast majority of Clackamas County residents could not and would not be able to afford to live at a Willamette View property. But we'd love to maybe partners with you in the future about how to develop more housing for those that are on the margins. Good leverage of the nonprofit…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:20:14
“Thank you. I agree. There's a lot I agree with. Learning that there's a big learning curve for this. There's a lot to this I don't know yet. There's a lot that's happening. I am by no means ready to make big policy decisions on this issue. There's a lot of moving parts, and it's moving quickly. There's a lot of changes in the industry. And I also don't have a lot of confidence in the state in 2027 for them to make sure that local governments are protected, local communities are protected. And so I see Hillsborough Act in other jurisdictions. And so I wouldn't be opposed to what is permissible…”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:27:39
“There's no amending the zoning ordinance before you amend the zoning ordinance. Can we put a moratorium and just pause until the legislative session figures it out?”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:29:03
“Yes Open to doesn't need a second first Yes, you need a second first.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:32:34
“Still seconding. All right. Are we still discussing?”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:50:42
“What is the risk? I mean, what are they doing? Why is this insurance totally necessary? I don't totally like.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:51:12
“So somebody like falls and breaks a leg, falling on the steps during a meeting.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:51:53
“And it's that's that's I'm learning here. That's common practice of the facility you're renting from it's not their insurance that covers you have to provide your own. That's correct. This is for events a common practice for events period. Absolutely. Weddings, bar mitzvahs, CPO meetings.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026
- Play at 1:52:10
“Okay, but they're independent totally of us, but we cover them.”
Board of County Commissioners · Aug 11, 2026