DRAFT Gil Kelley SOTR Report Talking Points

November 2007

Thank you, Mayor Potter.

Before I hand it over to Michael Montgomery for the presentation, I just wanted to say a few words about this year’s State of the River Report.

You may note that it has more information than past reports. This is a function not only of the growing breadth of the City’s activities, but also of the level of coordination between Bureaus, manifest in the sharing of more river-related items.

While coordination continues to improve, there are additional opportunities for closer collaboration in describing and aligning river-related programs and projects.

Next year, for example, we look forward to an integrated presentation of the State of the River Report and the Portland Watershed Management Plan Annual Report.

We are grateful to our Bureau partners for their generous assistance in developing this year’s report—and, we also look forward to making it easier for them to contribute to next year’s Report.

One of the more exciting developments planned for the coming year is establishing the River Leaders Coalition. Michael and I would like to work with Mayor Potter and the Council in convening this group of river visionaries from business, education, government, charitable foundations, and diverse communities to chart new directions needed to achieve Portland’s ambitious River Vision.

We also will be weaving the policies and perspectives of the River Renaissance Strategy into the work of the Portland Plan, assuring the River a prominent place in the City of the future.