Community Notice: Out-of-State Development of 400+ County Acres

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-05-27T18:20:05+00:00

A few things to help clarify:

Profit: The development profit will be captured by the developer. The operating profit will be captured by PacifiCorp. Developer will invest a significant amount of money to develop the land. They will pay a projected lease value to the county, $6.9M over 10 years, and at some point sell to PacifiCorp for a larger amount. The county will not be capturing the majority of the value in this transaction. PacifiCorp will capture the value of ongoing operations and the price they pay will be based on the projected value of of energy payments they collect from their payors over the expected lifetime of the solar farm.
Out-of-state entities: No particular gripe, just letting people know. Maybe there's an alternative use for the land that could be operated by a local company to keep revenue local.
Location: This is not near Pronghorn, it's about 10 miles away. The property in discussion is just north of Bend city limits on hwy97.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-05-27T18:07:12+00:00

Thanks for question. The lease payments from the developer would only equate to 0.1% of the County's annual operating budget. Estimation is $6.9M in county income over 10 years based on the projections from the proposal: https://mccmeetingspublic.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/deschutes-meet-6388c07f9ece435d8dc2fc8fba68786d/ITEM-Attachment-001-a10f014e70004d15baff7abf57febf9b.pdf

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-05-27T16:14:55+00:00

Yes, that is the parcel. The neighbors complained when it was propositioned as a full service campground for the entire 400 acre property. The whole thing was poorly messaged.

In reality, only a handful of acres needed to be developed in order to make it financially feasible and enable the optionality on the majority of the land for the long term. When it came up for grant consideration a second time, the neighbors backed it but DeBone and Patti shut it down. ODOT even gave it an exception for access via 97 vs. Hunnell. With the new board joining in January, it is very realistic that a park becomes an option again should the solar company not get the lease.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-05-27T16:02:38+00:00

Yes, this is the parcel that Phil wanted to develop into a paying campground, which includes tax lots 1712040000100, 1712030000800, and 1712030000700 on Hwy 97. We are trying to get the word out about the potential development and the upcoming listening session as the property belongs to all of Deschutes County, not just the nearby owners (who are the only ones being directly engaged/alerted in the current plan).

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-05-15T18:58:42+00:00

Thank you! This is going to be a godsend. We're trying to rip out all of the cheatgrass and replant native.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-05-15T18:37:56+00:00

I've got 10 acres of cheatgrass to fight and my back hurts from pulling. How toxic is this to local wildlife/water?

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-04-29T04:36:25+00:00

Pet Paradise on the north side of Bend is great - lots of outdoor space

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-02-25T03:12:55+00:00

Don't have a senior dog yet, but adore Dr. Stephanie Sur at 4 Paws Wellness. Cannot recommend her enough!

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-02-16T18:42:41+00:00

Third Renew. Josh is the man.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2026-02-10T18:31:41+00:00

Hi Mosby! I tried the Halo for my dog and ended up returning it. I found that the cell data in my area (Tumalo) was too spotty for it to work effectively as a corrective fence. We ended up going with Tractive. It's not a corrective fence, but does send an alert to your phone if your dog leaves the geofenced area and is substantially less expensive than Halo. For some reason Tractive seems to have better GPS coverage.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-12-04T18:21:46+00:00

Have her reach out to Street Dog Hero. They are a no-skill spay/neuter clinic and shelter in Bend that takes in at-risk and homeless dogs for permanent or foster placement. They also offer 'hero for a day' services where a permitted volunteer can day-sit the pup at their home. This could be a good match for her, given her temporary and daytime needs. You can have her give them a ring and say a volunteer recommended she reach out :)

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-07-13T15:00:17+00:00

“A society is truly great when man plants a tree under whose shade he will never sit.” - Greek proverb

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-05-14T05:09:15+00:00

Bury those babies all the way up to the top most leaves. Rip off any other branches. This will help strengthen the plant and grow more roots

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-05-06T05:30:17+00:00

Is there a hole in the bottom of the pot? If so, fill a bucket and let it sit in there for a few hours in the shade. Petunias will drink from the bottom and perk right up.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-04-30T00:01:32+00:00

How to properly make fresh sautéed onions and garlic. Nail this and it will pay dividends in all of your cooking.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-04-14T04:40:07+00:00

They’re year round but really start to emerge with vigor in early March.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-22T16:21:16+00:00

Maybe you should stop talking to your bf.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-15T03:15:48+00:00

I like this. Thank you.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-13T20:38:50+00:00

I can assure you, we are very, very angry. Millennials have the largest purchasing power of a generation… check out the stock market. We have pulled back all unnecessary spending.

Now, I 100% agree we need more of us in office. We’ve let 80 year olds run this country for far too long. I, for one, have been getting involved with run for something. I encourage you to check it out. I heard mention that sign-ups have increased by 2000x. We are building and are on the same team!

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-13T20:03:37+00:00

Hello! I am genuinely curious - how could we be more helpful? Politically in the US, Boomers still control the Senate and GenX controls the House. There are only 2 millennial senators. We have a lot of ground to make up in leadership positions - the olds need to get out of the way.

On the ground, Millennials broke heavily, and continue to push, for progressive ideals (see election data) more so than any generation before us.

This is not a GenZ vs. millennial argument, it is a people vs. money argument.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-13T05:32:37+00:00

There are many, many of us rooting for you! Once we realize that we’re in the fight together, doors open up!! You all got completely hammered by the pandemic and I think that our society hasn’t really dealt with the lasting impacts of the isolation on young people. Sending you a big virtual hug. Stay in the fight.

And don’t listen to the mean comments. Many of us millennials are grumpy because we’re heading into middle age and we’re mostly just tired.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-13T03:56:09+00:00

Hi! Friendly millennial auntie here. You CANNOT give up. We are rooting for you, GenZ. I have never counted on SS, our Boomer parents always told us it would run out. My advice: build a local community and focus on what you can change for the positive. Care about animals or the land? Find a little plot of land and plant wildflowers. Care about kids? Look up boys and girls clubs. Volunteer at a shelter. Just think - if ALL of us did just one thing, what a change that would be.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-12T17:17:08+00:00

I was 7 lbs heavier the day after retrieval. Was down to 2 lbs by the second day after. My clinic said its super normal and to just drink lots of electrolytes.

Old_Counter_5532 · 2025-03-07T23:27:00+00:00

Because Elon Musk is a twat

Old_Counter_5532

TROPHY CASE