Jeff Hyde is the quintessential Oregonian. He was born in the Murphy Medical Center, seven miles from Grants Pass.

Redwood Elementary is his grade school alma mater. Grants Pass Jr. High (South Middle School) was up next, followed by a diploma in 1972 from Grants Pass High School. It was on to Southern Oregon State College (Southern Oregon University) where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in mathematics. Soon after graduation, he applied for a job at Evergreen Savings and Loan Association (Evergreen Bank) and never looked back. That was thirty-one years ago, last March. Hyde is now Executive Vice- President and Secretary of the bank, and active in Evergreen’s affordable housing company that’s devoted to helping out local families.

When you first meet Jeff and shake his hand, there’s a genuine feeling of friendship and trust. His eyes greet you with sincerity, warmth and graciousness. His presence is unmistakable, and he is very polite. He’s the sort of guy you would like to go fishing with or have over to the house for a bar-b. A definite asset to Evergreen Bank and the city of Grants Pass.

Councilor Hyde and wife Debra were blessed with two children. There are two grandchildren, an eleven year old granddaughter here in Grants Pass and a new- born grandson in Salem. Jeff told me how fortunate they were for him and his children to share some of the same teachers. “Another reason why Grants Pass is such a great place to live”, added the Councilor.

Jeff Hyde was appointed to the city council five and a half years ago. His vast management experience is exactly what the city was looking for. He was elected to the council for four more years, then decided not to run a year and a half ago. Recently, when an opening came up and the city was looking for proven assistance, they once again tapped Jeff on the shoulder. And, once again he obliged.

Councilor Hyde is well equipped for the job. His thirty-one years of banking provides professional management experience and knowledge in finance, real estate, personnel, budgeting and what it takes to be a team player.

THE PULSE OF THE CITY…

The city of Grants Pass is governed by an elected City Council and Mayor. (The Mayor will be interviewed in a later report) They are un-paid volunteers who hire a City Manager (See, Meet the City Manager, this section) to carry out their decisions and manage the City’s day-to-day operations.

The City Council Statement reads; “To represent all the citizens of Grants Pass by providing leadership, policies, ordinances and decisions necessary to meeting citizen’s needs and desires.”

Proposals for action are brought to the Council by residents, staff and councilors themselves. The Council usually reviews proposals at workshops, which are open to the public, before they are placed on the agenda of a regular Council meeting. The city Manager and staff work with the council to properly prepare these proposals, and then carry out the Council’s decisions. Complete information on the City, its Mayor and Councilors may be found at: www.grantspassoregon.gov .

Councilor Hyde explains, “It’s really a balance. You let the staff and manager work on the particulars and we work on what might be called, the ‘big picture’ and visions of where the community wants to go, keeping within operational laws and rules. We don’t want to get into the micro-management level, but you need to make sure people are accountable.”

GRANTS PASS NOW: Then, you obviously agree to a City Manager approach. How about the county? Could this be an answer to their woes?

COUNCILOR HYDE: “It’s much more functional, as you have a person trained to specifically handle government operations. The County Commissioners, who are good people trying to do a good job, were not government managers prior to their election and they could be out of office at the end of four years. Also, you have three Commissioners that have difficulty talking to one another, due to the discussion becoming an open meeting and perhaps politicized. It isn’t a good system for an exchange of ideas, because it’s official. Some people might say that we want to do things in the “dark”, and no, that isn’t it at all. We also have open meetings and that sort of thing that’s open to the public. A County Manager would be a good idea. This way they could get the job done, as they would not get caught in a Commissioner’s position. I feel that the commissioners have some real problems in their current situation. And, they are huge and real.”

GRANTS PASS NOW: I asked the Councilor abut his vision for Grants Pass.

COMMISSIONER HYDE: “There is always a need for more infrastructure, such as the Redwood Avenue changes, which we will want to repeat in other city areas. A Grants Pass city cost, for development, is up there among communities. And, this becomes the argument with developers. Who pays what, is what it’s about? Right now, the system development charges, which pay for transportation, sewers, streets, park acquisition and development and other development related costs, are charged at 100% of the costs to us.

An example of how it works would be; let’s say you are building a 1400 square foot home in the Redwood area. Your system development charges, which include permits and all that, would be approximately $18,000 which makes housing affordability a bit more difficult. And, you have the same approach to commercial and industrial development as well. If you are considering a fast food franchise, let’s say, you are looking at hundreds of thousands of dollars in system development charges. It’s a formula based on traffic-trips generated by the business. And, there is a dollar cost for each of those trips. We are high and we know it. Also, we don’t have that much land available for growth as other communities such as Medford. So, historically, land prices in our town run a bit higher, which means higher costs to developers.”

GRANTS PASS NOW: How do you see commercial growth?

COUNCILOR HYDE: “Right now, I don’t see commercial growth happening very rapidly, because, when I look through the community I see vacancies. If I was a developer today, I don’t think I would start a new building, unless I was an owner-operator, or had a special purpose. I think we should work with what we have right now, as we’re out a couple of years before there’ll probably be a need.”

GRANTS PASS NOW: Our town is growing, as any local can tell you while attempting to drive across town at 5 o’clock. Is the city ready for this?

COUNCILOR HYDE: “This is a desirable place to live. Anyone, who has paid attention to the demographics, can tell you, there is a huge transfer of wealth with the Baby Boomers who are reaching an age where they’re becoming more mobile and looking for an area to retire.

I met a nice young man from Florida the other day. He was waiting tables in a local restaurant. I asked him why he chose our town in which to live? He explained that his parents, who are reaching retirement age, traveled around the country and decided that Grants Pass was the place to live. They moved here and their son followed, as he wanted to be near his folks. And, Florida is quite a desirable retirement destination. A lot of New Yorkers have moved there. The point is, they chose here and they could have moved to, wherever. So, we have put policies in place and we’re aware of what the future could bring. You can’t deny what is to come. You have to address the problem of growth, which is ‘financial resources’. There is concern we are going to look like a small Los Angeles. We will grow, but due to area land holdings by state and federal governments in the 70% to 80% range and our land use laws, it just isn’t going to happen. We do have to upgrade our master plans to make sure they are current and our forecasts are as good as they can be. We’re working on it”

GRANTS PASS NOW: Among the many issues currently facing the city, what sticks out in your mind?

“One of my big concerns is the public safety issue coming before us on the November ballot. It’s most important to get that past by the voters this year. Please attend the workshops and find out all about it.”

Councilor Hyde had more, “Another issue that we have to address, in the past there has been significant friction between council members or council members and staff. I’m all for differences of opinion but do it in a respectful way and you have the best for the city going forth. If you spend your time focusing on personalities, instead of dealing with the issues, your workplace isn’t that attractive. If the work environment isn’t appropriate, the ability to attract the best possible people for the job could be in jeopardy. And, I want good people.”

Jeff had a few words about those who volunteer, “We have many good people in the volunteer pool that we can utilize in some capacities. This is a tremendous help to the city. It saves us a lot of money and we certainly appreciate it. For instance, I’m a volunteer on the Booster Club Committee to help raise money for Grants Pass High School. And, in two and a half years we raised over $600,000.00. There’s going to be a new track and there’s already a new multi-purpose girl’s softball field. These were paid by contributions and not one dollar of the school district’s money went into it.

The water bill for the high school football field was $8000 a year. Now its zero due to contributions paying for an artificial turf”, brags Councilor Hyde. “And, it’s used fifteen-fold what it was, prior to the change. The point is, the community was able to do it through contributions and not from a tax based budget. We still need help, so please contact us for more information.” -Mike Case

Councilor Jeff Hyde may be contacted:

Jeff Hyde, 101 N/W A St.

Grants Pass, OR 97526

(541) 659-3865

Email: mayorcouncil@grantspassoregon.gov