Pre-development agreement sought; Rogue River voters are in favor of rural fire protection district levy
By Damian Mann for the Rogue Valley Times
Medford officials shifted into high gear after special election voters cast their ballots Tuesday in favor of a lodging tax increase to help pay for a downtown conference center.
Armed with the apparent election victory, the city will be hammering out a pre-development agreement with a developer that could happen before the end of the year, officials said.
The ballot measure allows the city to raise the transient lodging tax by up to 2%, which will provide part of the money to build the conference center, estimated to cost up to $120 million. The current lodging tax is 11%.
With 16,515 ballots counted as of 9 a.m. Thursday, 8,543 votes (51.73%) were in favor of Measure 15-238, against 7,972 no votes (48.27%).The lodging tax would bring in about $1 million a year to the city.
A regional conference and events center with an adjacent hotel is estimated to generate $1.69 billion in new spending and create 318 new jobs, according to supporters of the project.
“We have voter approval to go forward, and that is the exciting part,” Medford City Councilor Kevin Stine said. The conference center, which could host up to 700 people, would be the first phase of a long-term project known as Creekside Quarter, which also includes a minor-league ballpark in Hawthorne Park that would be run by the Eugene Emeralds.
Once the conference center is built, it will pave the way for other businesses, a parking structure, hotels, a riverwalk and a pedestrian bridge over Bear Creek, according to drawings supplied by supporters of the overall $500 million project.
Creekside Quarter is bounded by Riverside Avenue on the west, Jackson Street on the north, Hawthorne Street on the east, and East Main Street on the south.
Stine and Councilor Nick Card helped pitch the lodging tax to local residents in the days leading up to the election.
“I hope to see we’re well underway with phase 1 in a year or two,” Card said. The name of the developer, who has signed a non-disclosure agreement while negotiations are underway, hasn’t been revealed by the city. “We’re working with an experienced developer,” Card said.
“It’s somebody who can get across the finish line.” Card said the scope of the project looks more like a private development than a public/private partnership. The city is using low-interest bonds and redevelopment dollars to generate about $50 million toward the project.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Card said. “We’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot.”
He said the city is working on agreements that will ensure money is not spent by the city until a project has been fully fleshed out. “If the project falls apart, we’re not taxing anybody anything,” Card said. “We’re not losing anything.”
Other than the lodging tax increase, which comes from visitors staying in Medford hotels and other lodgings, including Airbnbs, the city won’t have to go back to residents for any additional dollars, Card said. The lodging tax won’t be increased until a development deal is in place.
Stine said the city is being cautious about developing an agreement and trying to figure out the public/private partnership to achieve the project.
“We’re not going to take a bad deal,” he said. A conference center has been on the city’s wish list for decades, but a recently completed study concluded the Medford area could support a conference center. Stine said the lodging tax provides the initial dollars to get Creekside Quarter rolling, but it will be up to the developer to build it.
“They’re putting in the lion’s share of the amount,” he said. The developer will negotiate land deals with various property owners, officials noted.
Rogue River Rural Fire Protection District — Measure 15-239
Voters who cast ballots Nov. 4 are approving Measure 15-239, a five-year local option tax for general fire safety operations for the Rogue River Rural Fire Protection District.
According to the latest vote tallies released by the Jackson County Elections Office, 2,112 ballots were cast as of Thursday morning; yes votes were 1,146 (54.26%) to 966 no votes (45.74%), results show. Voter turnout in the two municipalities is 28.13%, or 18,647 votes out of 66,292 registered voters in Medford and Rogue River, the county elections office posted Wednesday.
If ultimately approved after the final ballot count, the Rogue River measure will impose an 80 cents-per-$1,000-of-assessed-value levy for five years beginning in July 2026 and ending in 2031 to provide fire protection and advanced life support ambulance transport within the district and ambulance service area.
The district has a current levy of 50-cents-per-$1,000-of-assessed-value tax, which is set to expire June 30, 2026, and the new levy could potentially increase property taxes by more than 3%.
The new levy will allow the district to maintain its services and build reserves for future fire needs and equipment purchases, according to information provided in the Jackson County Nov. 4 voters guide.
Rogue River Fire District Chief Mike Hammond said he was cautiously optimistic that the results would remain in the district’s favor after mail-in ballots are tallied in coming days. “It’s good news so far. … In the past it’s usually been closer to 60% to 40%, but since we did ask for a tax increase, we would expect it to be a little tighter,” Hammond told the Rogue Valley Times on Tuesday night.
“We’re appreciative of the support our community provides us, and passing this levy allows us to continue providing the high level of service the community wants and deserves.”
Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at [email protected]. This story first appeared in the Rogue Valley Times. Rogue Valley Times Editor Troy Heie and reporter Buffy Pollock contributed to this report.
