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NEWS A Club Divided
A lawsuit illustrates the rift in Bend’s competitive soccer community. Now, Bend FC Timbers’ former director speaks about the allegations against her.
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By Jack Harvel
Courtesy Tara Bilanski
Apex FC executive director Tara Bilanski, at right, and coach Jen Davin, at left, practice with two student athletes.
Bend FC Timbers soccer club fired its executive director Tara Bilanski, on Aug. 19 over its board of directors’ concerns around her leadership skills, collaboration with the board and transparency. Earlier this month a lawsuit alleged Bilanski skimmed money from summer soccer camps since she took the executive director position of the competitive soccer club in 2015. In an interview with the Source Weekly, Bilanski denies that claim.
The lawsuit claims Bilanski earned over $80,000 through an improper profit-sharing agreement that netted her 85% of profits from the camps, giving the club 15% without disclosure to or approval from the board. The lawsuit additionally claims that Bilanski used trade secrets from her time at BFCT to build her new club, Apex FC, and that the profit-sharing agreement puts the BFCT’s nonprofit status at risk. The lawsuit is seeking a total of $380,648 in damages. Bilanski denies any wrongdoing and says the profit-sharing agreement was approved in 2014, before she was executive director, and continued as normal while going through typical financial oversight.
“We had an accountant do our taxes every year, report our 990 [the financial disclosure form required of tax-exempt entities by the IRS], all of that went through the board and through the treasurer,” Bilanski told the Source. “We were actually audited in 2016, so there have been a lot of eyes on this on the books in the budget.”
Language in the lawsuit says that those budgets, “Combined categories of costs and revenue within the annual budgets and other financial reports provided to the Board in such a way as to make it impossible to detect the flow of Embezzled Funds she took from the Timbers and paid to herself.”
Christy Schmidt, a former treasurer for BFCT, says the board was last briefed on the profit-sharing agreement in 2018.
“So 2018 was the first year that I reported actuals for labor for this summer camp,” Schmidt said. “So during a board meeting, when I’m presenting financials, I also walked that coaches be allowed to be on the board and that new elections be held for all board positions. Bilanski said she believes the stoppage wasn’t why she was let go, and that she would have been fired regardless.
Matt Wurth, a former BFCT coach who is now with Apex FC, said his suspicions arose when the club sent a survey via email and social media asking for feedback on the club. The survey, which is cited in the lawsuit, garnered 169 responses, with 50%
—Tara Bilanski
the board through how summer camp pay work. We take in all the revenue, we take in all the expenses, we pay the staff coaches that are there that we bring in to help with summer camp. The total net that’s left then gets split between Tara and people who are running the camp and the club.”
Before the lawsuit and Bilanski’s firing there was a growing divide in the club. Seventeen coaches signed on to a work stoppage the day before Bilanski was fired, affirming their support of the executive director. The group of coaches also demanded two board seats be eliminated, giving Bilanski a “needs improvement” rating. “What didn’t feel right about it—it was very ambiguous. It is to the point where I actually had to email the board and the president of the board saying, ‘What exactly am I evaluating here?’” Wurth said.
Wurth added that 169 is a fraction of the total stakeholders in an organization that had about 500 players as of August, and that a Change.org petition to reinstate Bilanski and replace the current board reached 250 signatures in 24 hours. It had 616 signatures as of press time. Beyond not holding elections, resentment for the board among striking coaches also stemmed from a perceived bias toward boys’ programs.
“Everybody on that board in that organization is from the boys’ program now,” Wurth said. “There’s zero representation for girls, and it’s even gotten to the point where we used to have five female coaches, now we have one volunteer female coach, and the rest are males.” Representatives for BFCT did not respond to a request for comment on these allegations.
The work stoppage officially ended on Sept. 31, and six coaches resigned. Nine former BFCT coaches have joined Apex—about a third of BFCT’s coaching staff. Apex has about 100 players this season and is expecting 160 during the winter.
Bilanski said she believes the lawsuit was filed and sent around the community, including to BFCT members' emails, media outlets and Apex members, to tarnish her reputation as she’s forming a new club. “In my opinion, it was served to me to stop the formation of Apex FC, and really for us to move forward with our competing club,” Bilanski said.
On Nov. 9 the Oregon Youth Soccer Association denied Apex’s application to become a member of the organization but gave it a series of benchmarks to reach to gain accreditation in May. In the meantime, it will operate within OYSA under the sponsorship and assistance of the Eastside Timbers FC out of Clackamas, Oregon.
Noticias en Español Proyecto de ley de infraestructura en Oregon
Por Jack Harvel Translated by/Traducido por Jéssica Sánchez-Millar
El gobierno federal está destinando más de $1.2 billones de fondos de transporte a Oregon, a través del proyecto de ley de infraestructura que el Presidente Joe Biden firmo el lunes para que entrara en vigor.
Con el proyecto de ley recién firmado, todavía no se han aprobado proyectos específicos hasta ahora en Oregon, pero el proyecto de ley encomienda los recursos a un par de sectores a donde los fondos deben ser enviados. Sin embargo, cerca de la tercera parte de los fondos son usados a discreción de cada estado. La Secretaria de Transporte de Oregon reportó que cerca del 21% de los fondos adicionales que reciben serán destinados a los puentes, 14% al sistema de tránsito y el 9% a los municipios para que los utilicen a su discreción. Los proyectos que hacen que la infraestructura sea más sólida ante los desastres naturales obtendrán el 7 % de los fondos, y las iniciativas relacionadas, como los proyectos para la reducción del carbono, las estaciones de carga para los vehículos eléctricos y el transporte activo (peatones/ ciclistas) recibirán el 5%, el 4% y el 3% de los fondos, respectivamente. “Mucho de este dinero se destina a programas específicos del Congreso en el proyecto de ley o para algunos de los acuerdos que tenemos en Oregon,” dijo Travis Brouwer, Subdirector de Ingresos, Finanzas y Cumplimiento de la Secretaria de Transporte de Oregon (ODOT por sus siglas en inglés). “Aproximadamente una cuarta parte del dinero es para la inversión en el transporte sostenible, la carga de vehículos eléctricos, el programa para la reducción del carbono, el transporte activo y el transporte público. Otra cuarta parte es más que nada para el mantenimiento del equipo, de los puentes y la adaptabilidad.”
La Comisión de Transporte de Oregon dará prioridad a los proyectos para el financiamiento flexible restante después de evaluar las necesidades de transporte de Oregon después del Proyecto de ley de la infraestructura. “Este es el dinero con el que contará la Comisión de Transporte de Oregon (OTC por sus siglas en inglés) durante los próximos cuatro meses. Cómo debemos utilizar ese dinero de la manera más efectiva para encargarnos de lo que queda por hacer después de estar trabajando en el programa de mejora de transporte a lo largo del estado, el cual invirtió en el sistema, y después de las inversiones directas que realiza el Congreso en este proyecto de ley,” dijo Brouwer.” “Por lo tanto, le preguntaremos al público y a las partes interesadas cómo debemos plantear esto”
Los $1.2 billones se complementan con oportunidades adicionales de subvenciones de la Secretaria de Transporte de los Estados Unidos (USDOT por sus siglas en inglés). A nivel nacional, USDOT está distribuyendo cerca de $100 billones en subvenciones en todo el país. “Con todo ese dinero, sabemos que habrán oportunidades, pero no sabemos que tanto dinero traerá Oregon,” dijo Brouwer. “Generalmente, uno obtiene alrededor del 1% del total de los fondos, así que, si eso funciona durante cinco años, podemos traer otro billón a casa,”
ODOT está obteniendo estos fondos en medio de la dificultad para mantener la infraestructura obsoleta, dijo Brouwer. La mayoría de los puentes de ODOT tienen más de 50 años y están a punto de ser clausurados, mucha de la infraestructura no está bien adaptada al cambio climático y están aumentado mucho las muertes en el estado y en los caminos/carreteras.
Se espera que la OTC proporcione un bosquejo del plan de financiamiento final en marzo después una sesión informativa inicial el miércoles seguida de las opiniones y la participación del público.
“Tendremos una rueda de prensa la próxima semana con OTC y después de esta platicaremos más con ellos. Al mismo tiempo estaremos trabajando con los interesados para pedir su opinión en relación a la prioridad para la asignación de estos fondos flexibles,” dijo Brouwer.
Las partes interesadas incluyen las oficinas regionales de ODOT, los comités de consejo y los defensores de los ciclistas/ peatones/ferroviarios. El público también podrá anotar el plan que se vaya eleborando.
“Esperamos también llevar a cabo un webminar a principios de diciembre, así como darle la oportunidad al público de presentar sus opiniones,” dijo Brouwer.
Brouwer dijo que la mejor manera de mantenerse al día con ODOT a medida que delimita los proyectos, es suscribirse al servicio del boletín de noticias.
Infrastructure Bill in Oregon
The bipartisan bill is signed. Where will the money go?
By Jack Harvel
The federal government is sending over $1.2 billion of transportation funding to Oregon through the bipartisan infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed into law on Monday.
With the ink still drying, no specific projects are yet approved in Oregon, but the bill mandates a couple areas where funding must go. However, about a third of the funding is discretionary for each state. The Oregon Department of Transportation reported that about 21% of the additional funding it receives will go toward bridges, 14% to transit and 9% to municipalities to spend at their discretion. Projects to make infrastructure more resilient to natural disaster will get 7% of the funding, and climate initiatives like carbon reduction projects, EV charging stations and active transportation (pedestrian/cycling) will receive 5%, 4% and 3% of funding respectively.
“There are significant amounts of this money that’s gone through that is dedicated to specific programs by Congress in the bill or by some of the agreements that we have in Oregon,” said Travis Brouwer, ODOT’s assistant director for revenue, finance and compliance. “About a quarter of the money is for those sustainable transportation investments, EV charging, the carbon reduction program, active transportation and public transportation. Another quarter is more to the preservation of the system, bridges and resilience.”
The Oregon Transportation Commission will prioritize projects for the remaining flexible funding after assessing Oregon’s transportation needs post-infrastructure bill.
Courtesy Oregon Secretary of State
“This is the money that the Oregon Transportation Commission will be working through over the course of the next four months. How we should spend that money most effectively to fill the gaps that are left after our statewide transportation improvement program that invested in the system, and after the direct investments that are made by Congress in this bill,” Brouwer said. “So, we will be asking stakeholders and the public about how we should approach this.”
The $1.2 billion is supplemented with additional opportunities for grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Nationwide, USDOT is dispersing about $100 billion in grant funding throughout the country.
“With that much money on the table, we know there are going to be opportunities, but we don’t know how much money that Oregon will bring home,” Brouwer said. “Typically, in most formula programs you get about 1% of the total funding, so if that works out over
A bridge connecting Portland to Vancouver, Washington on Interstate 5 was widely discussed among legislators and the two states' departments of transportation for years with no results. With a surge of money for bridges in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act something like it may be back on the table.
Brouwer said. Most ODOT bridges are over 50 years old and nearing retirement, a lot of infrastructure is not well-adapted
to climate change and many state and road fatalities are increasing.
The OTC is expected to provide a final funding scenario in March after an initial
the course of five years, we can bring another $1 billion home.”
ODOT is getting this funding amid difficulty maintaining aging infrastructure, briefing on Wednesday, followed by periods of public comment and engagement.
“We’re going to be briefing the OTC next week, and then having some additional conversations with them. At the same time we’re going to be working with stakeholders to seek feedback on priority for allocation of these flexible funds,” Brouwer said.
Those stakeholders include regional ODOT offices, advisory committees and cycling/pedestrian/rail advocates. The general public will also be able to comment on the plan as it’s worked out.
“We’re also expecting to have a webinar in early December as well as a robust public comment opportunity,” Brouwer said.
Brouwer said the best way to stay up to date with ODOT as it narrows down projects is to subscribe to ODOT’s newsletter service.
Vet Village Opens
After years of development, houseless veterans will begin moving into a village-style shelter this week
By Jack Harvel
Courtesy Cheri Helt
About five houseless veterans will move into the Central Oregon Veterans Village this week, with about 10 more to come once the shelter is fully completed. A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday ended the three-year-long process to get the shelter built.
Bend Heroes Foundation conceived of the project and Central Oregon Veterans Outreach will manage the camp, and funding came from both public and private sources. The City of Bend, Deschutes County and private donors ended up spending about $1 million to get the shelter started. The village-style houseless shelter is the first of its kind in Central Oregon, and its arrival coincides with an increase of 59 to 90 unhoused veterans in the last year, according to the Point in Time count.
“I’m just thinking of the homeless veterans that are going to be warm and dry and well-fed starting next week,” said Dick Tobiason, chairman of the Bend Heroes Foundation, during the ribbon cutting.
The 15 shelters neighbor the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office’s public safety campus on Bend’s northside.
