Spurred by a flurry of emails that rained down from the area, the
Rhododendron CPO seized the initiative.

At their Nov. 22 meeting, the CPO members discussed what action could be
taken regarding the urination habits of certain individuals at the Mt. Hood
Express drop-off and pick-up site across Hwy. 26 from the Still Creek Inn.
It was noted early on in the meeting by CPO President Steve Graeper and Bob
Reeves of the Mt. Hood Transit Alliance (MHTA) that they had no authority to
curtail the activity.

In fact, Oregon public urination law is a bit murky on the subject as well:
5.125 Public Urination

(1) No person shall urinate or defecate in public view or in a public place other
than a restroom.
(2) Violation of this section constitutes a violation.
The question then arises, what are the consequences of a violation?
It obviously falls somewhere below the misdemeanor bar.
Attention then turned to what could be done, if anything at all.
The 19 attendees went to work.

The first suggestion was signage, which prompted Dave Lythgoe to weigh in,
saying “I don’t want to see any signs saying ‘No Public Urination’ on the
Mountain.”

All agreed, and the idea of erecting a sign indicating public restrooms were
available across the highway at Mt. Hood Roasters and the Dairy Queen.
MHTA member Jon Tullis, unable to attend the meeting, assured CPO
members that the alliance was taking the issue seriously and wrote in an
email read aloud by Graeper:

“I can assure you that we are taking steps to address it (urination at the drop-
off and pick-up).

We are evaluating the idea of discontinuing this Rhody stop, but want to find a
suitable replacement before making any such change. We are not ready to do
that yet.”

Teresa Christopherson, administrative services manager of the county’s Social
Services, was contacted and wrote, in part, in an email to the board:

“I’ve been actively involved in several steps to discourage this inappropriate
and illegal activity. The property owner, Anna McKinney, has posted no
parking signs on her privately owned property (the property used by the bus).
This should help.

“Our bus drivers have been communicating with riders not to park in this
area. We have also requested if any of our drivers hear about any public
urination that they immediately inform our operations manager.

“I have informed the sheriff’s department that there have been concerns
about public urination in this area.”

The CPO, MHTA and the county will continue to put a stop to the problem.
In other business, the CPO:

– Listened to a presentation by Coni Scott regarding her effort to place a sign
near the Arc Motel identifying the area on Hwy. 26 between Alder Creek and
Rhododendron as “The Hoodland Corridor.” Scott asked the CPO for a sign of
support for her sign effort and the board agreed to submit such a letter; and

– CPO member Barbara Novinger addressed the potholes on Road 20 and said
as soon as the snow was gone a representative from the Forest Service would
be in contact with the board.