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Dodge Park -- a project to rebuild a community hall and create an amphitheater between March 2010 and May 2011.
(Faith Cathcart/The Oregonian)
The Portland Water Bureau's foray into the parks business came back to haunt city leaders Friday when a Multnomah County judge determined the city improperly spent about $3 million.
Judge Stephen K. Bushong ruled that the city exceeded its authority by spending about $2 million to fix up Dodge Park in Clackamas County and about $1 million creating so-called hydro parks.
Portland's liability from the 2011 lawsuit now stands at about $4.5 million. Bushong previously ruled that water and sewer spending must be "reasonably related" to providing those services. Under such guidelines, officials misspent about $1.2 million on outdoor restrooms and political campaigns, and nearly $300,000 for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, Bushong determined.
Attorney John DiLorenzo, who filed the lawsuit four years ago, said the city should settle while agreeing to restrictions for how water and sewer money is spent going forward.
"I keep giving them a chance," he said. "Every time they say no, we win again."
City officials, who previously won portions of two mixed-bag rulings, continue to say the judge's adverse rulings are wrong.
"The City is disappointed by the judge's ruling on the issue of maintaining hydroparks and upkeep of Dodge Park," Tracy Reeve, the city's top attorney, said in a statement. "We will continue to defend the City's right to manage water system property to serve the public interest."
Records obtained through the lawsuit show that former city Commissioner Randy Leonard wanted to improve the Water Bureau's image by creating parks on the agency's land.
At Dodge Park in Clackamas County, that meant creating an amphitheater and rebuilding a community hall with a kitchen. The Water Bureau owns the land because its pipelines to the Bull Run cross the property.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reported in 2011 that Dodge Park was a top priority for Leonard, and a crew of Water Bureau employees clocked 5,000 hours working on the project, with work stretching on five months longer than expected. The same group of employees previously fixed up another controversial project, the Portland Rose Festival Foundation's headquarters.
Within city limits, meanwhile, the Water Bureau began opening its property to residents through so-called hydro parks. At properties with a water tank, for instance, officials created dog areas and other park-like amenities.
DiLorenzo successfully argued that park improvements dramatically altered the properties into a different type of public space, beyond the needs of the water system.
Commissioner Nick Fish oversees the Water Bureau and Bureau of Environmental Services, both targeted in the lawsuit. When Bushong first ruled against the city in 2014, Fish said the programs were "yesterday's news" and had already been fixed.
With three more victories in hand, DiLorenzo next year plans to challenge utility spending on the Centennial Mills property in the Pearl District and Superfund analysis.
"I don't know if we're registering with some of these guys," DiLorenzo said. "And I'm beginning to suspect it has more to do with who they are than anything else."
-- Brad Schmidt
503-294-7628
@cityhallwatch