Commissioner McKeel Blog
Welcome to our student blog
Often during the summer months we are lucky enough to welcome young people to work in our office as student interns. We help them learn about the county and about work and career opportuinities that occur in local government. This blog will include reflections from some of those interns about their time they spent here and the things that they saw and did while at Multnomah County.
We feel it is very important to cultivate a new crop of young leaders and we sincerely hope that the names you see on this blog today will make a difference in our community tomorrow!
It Gets Better
It Gets Better is a project aimed at teens and young adults who have seen or dealt with bullying because they aren't straight. Just in the past few years alone, there have been many reported suicidal cases of people who didn't feel like they were accepted and so they decided to give up on themselves. This project has grown immensely as more and more people have posted videos letting the victims know that it will get better.
Here at the county another intern, Giovanni McKenzie, and I have been working to put together a video for our Commissioner and Chair so that those in need will realize that no matter what one's title may be, we can all relate in some way.
One thing that I truly liked about this project was that after having interviewed everyone, I was able to see why their perspectives were so different even though they were all supporting one cause. They all most definitely agreed that the best part of their job was the fact that they were actually able to help out people dealing with these types of issues. A quote that really stood out in my eyes was something Commissioner Shiprack said during her interview: "I know that things will get better, but I just don't feel that the place to be judged is in front of people who have nothing better to do than make you feel useless." Click here to see the It Gets Better video.
I feel that it's great that our County Chair and Commissioners have decided to support such a wonderful cause just letting people know that there is help. Furthermore, that suicide doesn't need to be an option. Oregon Safe School & Communities Coalition is also another organization that helps support the victims.
By Samar Kaur
East County Courthouse
On July 27, 2011 Commissioner McKeel, District Attorney Michael Schrunk, Sheriff Dan Staton, and the Chair Jeff Cogen signed the final beam that was to be placed on the new East County Courthouse. On that day, at that place, I sincerely felt it was a privilege to get to sign the beam and be a part of such a commendable project.
Gresham residents have been pushing for the new courthouse for almost 40 years now and to finally see it come to life, after all of the debate and financial issues, is truly an extraordinary thing. As an intern in Commissioner McKeel’s office, I also feel that in a way, part of the county’s obligation to its people has been fulfilled. There were others that observed that this will allow the officials to get their work done more efficiently since it will be in a permanent and stable building.
The $19.6 million project will meet LEED Gold standards while Architecture 2030 Challenge will guide how green and energy reduction technology is used. Howard S. Wright Constructors have also joined the team and will look over the work as a whole.
The courthouse will officially be opened spring of 2012.
By Samar Kaur
NACo Bridge Tour 2011
The NACo Conference (National Association of Counties) was held July 15-19, 2011 here at Multnomah County. The county had been selected to host this non-profit organization, composed of about 2,200 counties, in 2006, but the project didn’t officially get started until this year.
The conference as a whole got more than2,200 attendees, and the Bridge Tour had about 90 attendees. Commissioner Loretta Smith welcomed the guests before she had to leave for another event, Commissioner McKeel, Mike Pullen and Tony Lester spoke as the county hosts and several other speakers told stories about the bridges as we passed underneath and the national county engineers.
This was a wonderful opportunity for people from different regions to give each other briefings on what was happening in a specific sector of their county. This also allowed for ideas to spread and/or form. Moreover since the Bridge Tour hosted mainly engineers and transportation officials, the county was able to showcase the importance of the 12 bridges on the Willamette River. One that particularly stood out was the St. Johns Bridge which had features of a 19th century cathedral.
I feel that having attended the conference, I can now truly comprehend its importance. It felt as if we were at ease and comfort yet we were still working and fusing together new ideas which is ultimately what the conference is all about.
Next year’s conference will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Allegheny County.
By Samar Kaur
Port of Portland Tour
After three years and over 1 million hours of labor, Port of Portland officially opened the doors of their newest building for its employees on May 3, 2011. Many that worked there felt that communication would be easier and that they would be a stronger team and be able to reach for greater goals.
The county was given a tour a few weeks ago which Commissioner Diane McKeel, Commissioner Loretta Smith, a few members of their staff and myself were able to attend.
We got a chance to see their sustainability practices and their state-of-the-art green technologies. The lobby had a little wetland like garden off to the side which we later found out reuses the building’s toilet and cooling tower’s water; it was called a Living Machine System. We also checked out their eco-roof which I felt was a really good use of their space and at the same time was a great attraction. Overall, the new location uses 75% less water and 36% less energy compared to a building its size which is also a good way to minimize financial costs.
The total sum of the construction was $241 million, of that $156 million was used for the parking garage. Port of Portland made sure to reuse most of the furniture from their previous location so neither state nor local tax dollars would be used for those things and at the same time none of the airport fees were increased.
I really think it was awesome how they were able to make such a creative and extraordinary building, but at the same time have it be so friendly to the environment. I think Port of Portland has done a great job setting out an example for others and I’ve very glad I was given the opportunity to see it for myself.
By Samar Kaur
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