Many of you may not be aware that the owners of the Tift Haus are trying to sell their restaurant. They are getting older and are hoping to sell the property and retire. There were two bids on the property and the higher bid was accepted. The Tift Haus owners agreed to sell the property to Jim and Frankie Westlake and Chris Garcia. Jim and Chris want to renovate it and create a nice, smoke-free, downtown restaurant. Who wouldn’t like a new, upscale restaurant in town to broaden our dining choices? Chris is known for providing money for almost every school function there is, and both men have put countless hours and many of their own financial resources into this community. They have both been successful building business in North Bend and bettering our community.

However, after a routine survey, it was discovered the Tift Haus encroached on city property – mainly the parking lot, but about one foot of the building as well.

This is common with many older districts in small towns. Surveys are sometimes not completed for decades and building has occurred over the same time frame. In most cases, unless the encroachment is needed by the city for roads, sidewalks, sewer, etc., the city offers to either lease or sell the property to the sellers so the title can be cleared prior to closing. the city can sell the property for an independently appraised value, or according to state law, no less than 1/2 of the appraised value. Of course, in my opinion, the city should choose the latter knowing that the property will be improved and that the business will be giving back to the city in the form of taxes, increased employment, etc.

This happened with the gas station right next-door to the Tift Haus more than 10 years ago. That encroachment problem was resolved without issue. The buyers in this case are willing to pay market value for the property in question. At this point, you may be wondering why this is a problem.

When the North Bend City Council realizes that an encroachment is present, they must hold a public hearing and decide what course of action to take. This hearing has to be a minimum of 20 days from the date the sellers’ turn in a petition requesting to purchase the encroachment and no more than 60 days from that date. In this case, the council chose the latter. (Council members David Cook and Chris Garcia have recused themselves because of a personal stake in all proceedings concerning this action – Chris is one of the buyers and David is the real estate broker of record for the buyers).

The sellers and buyers must wait 60 days for a hearing. Their lives are in limbo for a full two months because the council has stated that some ‘research’ on the encroachment is needed to decide what to do. According to the remaining council members, this ‘research’ includes determining if the property in question could be used by the city for sidewalks, walking trails or bike trails. Walking trails? Bike trails? Literally directly in front of the Tift Haus? Why would the council not help facilitate investment in our community? Maybe they will, but why schedule the hearing out to the maximum allowed by law? The sellers want to retire and move on and the buyers are ready to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to revitalize part of downtown. Why create a roadblock? Are other political forces at work?

Remember I mentioned that there was a second bid on the property? It was lower than the accepted offer and the people behind this lower bid have strong personal ties to at least one member of the council. In fact, the lower bid came from the former campaign managers of the city council member in question. This leads one to wonder if council members with close personal ties to the losing bidders should recuse themselves as well? They have the power to directly impact the sale.

Consider this: The public hearing at the end of June is not a firm date for action. The council just has to conduct the hearing on that date; they don’t have to make any decisions. If they drag their feet long enough, maybe the original buyers, who bid fairly on the property and are willing to invest in North Bend, will back out and go away. This would leave the second place bidders in a prime position not only to buy the property but to come in again with a lower offer. Is it fair to have a member of council leading the way on this topic when by his actions and vote he can kill the original deal and land his friends in the buyer’s seat? Is this what North Bend has come to? Manipulating property and business deals to help our friends at the expense of others? It has that Big Brother feel to me. And let’s not forget about those Tift Haus owners, who have given to this city for two decades, who likely just want to retire in peace and whose lives are now on hold because of political agendas. If we allow this to happen, why would any other business people want to invest in North Bend and take the chance of running into a self-serving political roadblock? We’ve all heard too many times “don’t pave the city over.” How about just preserving what we have? Economic vitality is paramount to the survival of any city or town. We already have too many empty storefronts in North Bend and with a process as wrought with political backstabbing as this – it won’t be long before more storefronts close down.

North Bend needs investment in business and our own council is prohibiting this from happening. This issue has nothing to do with water rights (a real problem) because water is already available to the Tift Haus. Some council members may try to rationalize this as looking out for the best interest of North Bend residents by exploring the potential uses of city property. Let’s be real, there is no alternative use for the property directly in front of the Tift Haus except as part of the Tift Haus. And while the council delays this process the maximum 60 days, they are toying with real lives of the Tift Haus owners and nine employees. They are toying with proven North Bend business people who want to continue to contribute to our city.

Please get the word out. We need everyone possible to show up on Tuesday, June 29, 2004 at 7:30 p.m. at the Senior Center and give the council his or her rightful three-minute opinion on this issue. If you believe the council is doing the right thing by delaying this indefinitely and forcing the buyers to invest in another town, then please tell them so. However, if you believe this divisive council needs to grow up and work together with local business to help North Bend flourish and not just hand our deals and contracts to their friends, then tell them so. We need people to attend that meeting and send a strong message to council that political positioning with peoples lives and North Bend’s future is not acceptable. Sell the encroachment to the current owners, let them retire and allow proven business leaders in North Bend to invest even more in the city!