2A ❚ WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2020 ❚ APPEAL TRIBUNE Reservoir, some outdoor spaces open now NEWS BRIEFS Relief fund helps 26 small businesses Twenty-six businesses in the city have received grants from the grass- roots Silverton Small Business Relief Fund. Just over $50,000 is go- ing to small firms that re- quested financial aid after the coronavirus pandem- ic slowed or froze their profits. The fund’s committee is accepting more appli- cants from businesses, as the fund still has at least $20,000 to allot in a sec- ond wave of grants, said Angela Fischer, Rotary Club executive secretary and committee member. Recipients in this first wave of grants are as fol- lows: Gather, Live Local Café, Heavenly Yogurt, Gear Up Espresso, White Oak Wellness, Astonish- ing Adventures, Silverton Self Defense, Silver Creek Lanes, Beloved Cheese- cakes, Annie Smith Pho- tography, Palace Theatre, Silverton Tattoo Compa- ny, Silverton Wine Bar & Bistro, Somewhere in Time, She’s the Cat’s Me- ow, Serena’s Skincare, Salon Blondies, Curt’s Barbershop, Jennifer Ge- rig LMT, Shayla Lynn Jewelry, Silverton Ballet & PAC, Books-n-Time, Sil- verton Stop ‘n Go, Small Town Hair, Silverton Fit- ness, and Tan Republic. With Marion County approved for Phase 1 re- opening, the City of Sil- verton has partially opened some public areas. Starting May 22, four types of areas in Silverton are now open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., as long as visitors practice social distancing measures, including stay- ing 6 feet apart. Available to the public once again are: Silverton Reservoir and Marine Park, open spaces in public parks, trails, and some public restrooms. Playgrounds, outdoor sport courts, Sil- verton Community Pool, and Judy Schmidt Memo- rial Skate Park remain closed. Silverton City Hall is planning to partially re- open soon, offering ser- vice to walk-up custom- ers needing to pay bills, get permits, report crimes and do other in-person business. City Manager Christy Wurster said a full opening will likely coin- cide with the governor’s approval of Marion Coun- ty for Phase 2 opening. For questions about parks and other city prop- erties’ reopening. Call 503-874-2206 or email cstarner@silverton.or.us. Utility rate increases on July 6 agenda MT ANGEL – At their June 6 meeting, city councilors will discuss whether to give water and sewer rates a bump this summer. In spring of 2019, the city’s Infrastructure Task Force proposed three years of “stepped” in- creases to keep all sys- tems running and to avoid sliding into a deficit sce- nario. Before that, Mt. Angel had last raised its water and sewer rates in 2009, with the council opting to keep household expenses as low as possible during and immediately follow- ing the Great Recession. With repairs on hold and expenses on a trajectory to outpace revenue, the task force recommended small annual increases to keep up with expenses. So, first in 2019-20, councilors agreed to raise water rates by 5 percent and sewer rates by 10 per- cent. Then, in 2020-21, water and sewer rates both rose by 5 percent. A third increase of 5 percent to water and sewer rates was recommended by the task force to start July 1. Councilors will discuss the matter at their virtual meeting on July 6. Address: P.O. 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Email the newsroom, submit letters to the editor and send announcements to sanews@salem.gannett.com or call 503-399-6773. To report delivery problems or subscribe, call 800-452-2511 To Place an Ad Published every Wednesday by the Statesman Journal, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309. USPS 469-860, Postmaster: Send address changes to Appeal Tribune, P.O. Box 13009, Salem, OR 97309. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID: Salem, OR and additional offices. Send letters to the editor and news releases to sanews@salem.gannett.com. Traeger Grills being sued for not using the same wood in their pellets as is advertised. Photographed in Salem on Oct. 24, 2019. ANNA REED / STATESMAN JOURNAL Traeger Continued from Page 1A use the wood advertised in its pellets and instead uses cheaper woods fla- vored with oils. Additionally, Jenkins found it was premature to present the case to the court. “No class has been cer- tified here,” Jenkins wrote in his opinion. “Ac- cordingly, this suggestion is premature in the sense that there is no class presently before the court.” Because the case was dismissed without preju- dice, it could be refiled in another court. Pellet grills work dif- ferently than normal wood or charcoal burning grills as they heat wood pellets to create smoke to FORM LB-1 The TRAEGER name has been removed from the front of the Traeger barn, which is in the middle of a lawsuit over copyright infringement. BILL POEHLER | STATESMAN JOURNAL cook food. The Traeger family of Mt. Angel, which devel- oped the first pellet grill in 1985 and patented it in 1986, sold the company to a venture capitalist in Florida in 2006 for $12.4 million, court records show. The company was pur- chased by Jeremy Andrus and private equity firm Trilantic Capital Partners in 2014 and moved its headquarters to Utah from Oregon in 2015. But the company is a Delaware limited liability company headquartered in Salt Lake City, accord- ing to the ruling. The proposed class ac- tion in Utah district court alleged Traeger sells 14 different types of wood in the pellets it sells as the Traeger Brand. The suit alleged the pellets the company sells NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING A public meeting of the Silverton Fire District will be held on June 9, 2020 at 7:00 pm at 819 Rail Way NE, Silverton, Oregon. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2020 as approved by the Silverton Fire District Budget Committee. A summary of the budget is presented below. A copy of the budget may be inspected or obtained at 819 Rail Way NE, Silverton, Oregon, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. or online at www.silvertonfire.com. This budget is for an annual budget period. This budget was prepared on a basis of accounting that is the same as the preceding year. Contact: Bill Miles, Fire Chief/Budget Officer Telephone: (503) 873-5328 FINANCIAL SUMMARY - RESOURCES Actual Amount 2018-2019 1,888,316 Beginning Fund Balance/Net Working Capital 189,696 Fees, Licenses, Permits, Fines, Assessments & Other Service Charges Federal, State & all Other Grants, Gifts, Allocations & Donations 290,913 0 Revenue from Bonds and Other Debt Interfund Transfers / Internal Service Reimbursements 227,387 All Other Resources Except Current Year Property Taxes 126,459 1,739,134 Current Year Property Taxes Estimated to be Received 4,461,905 Total Resources TOTAL OF ALL FUNDS Email: billmiles@silvertonfire.com Adopted Budget This Year 2019-2020 1,764,939 89,950 420,446 0 194,000 191,614 1,783,189 4,444,138 FINANCIAL SUMMARY - REQUIREMENTS BY OBJECT CLASSIFICATION Personnel Services 791,957 Materials and Services 664,435 Capital Outlay 364,871 Debt Service 370,546 Interfund Transfers 227,387 Contingencies 0 Special Payments 0 Unappropriated Ending Balance and Reserved for Future Expenditure 2,042,709 Total Requirements 4,461,905 Approved Budget Next Year 2020-2021 1,681,813 86,650 151,000 0 182,000 144,853 1,865,420 4,111,736 965,490 925,390 695,582 380,090 194,000 100,000 0 1,183,586 4,444,138 1,059,162 679,776 254,798 384,353 182,000 135,000 0 1,416,647 4,111,736 FINANCIAL SUMMARY - REQUIREMENTS AND FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT EMPLOYEES (FTE) BY ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT OR PROGRAM * Name of Organizational Unit or Program FTE for that unit or program Fire and EMS Services 4,461,905 4,444,138 FTE 7.16 7.16 Not Allocated to Organizational Unit or Program FTE Total Requirements 4,461,905 4,444,138 Total FTE 7.16 7.16 4,111,736 8 4,111,736 8 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN ACTIVITIES and SOURCES OF FINANCING * The General Fund is estimated to have an overall decrease in revenues and expenditures by 3%. Personnel Services include funding for existing 7 FTE and two new half-time positions bringing the total to 8 FTE. No change in sources of funding. Permanent Rate Levy (rate limit 1.0397 per $1,000) Local Option Levy Levy For General Obligation Bonds LONG TERM DEBT General Obligation Bonds Other Bonds Other Borrowings Total PROPERTY TAX LEVIES Rate or Amount Imposed 2018-2019 1.0397 $333,056.00 STATEMENT OF INDEBTEDNESS Estimated Debt Outstanding on July 1. $3,677,350 $106,048 $3,783,398 Rate or Amount Imposed This Year 2019-2020 1.0397 Rate or Amount Approved Next Year 2020-2021 1.0397 $343,442.00 $365,780.00 Estimated Debt Authorized, But Not Incurred on July 1 as apple, cherry, pecan, mesquite and hickory contain less than 1/3 of the advertised wood and the oak and alder pellets contain varying amounts of the advertised woods depending on where they are manufactured. It alleged the wood used was flavored with oils to create the flavor of the advertised woods. Traeger has used its same production process the past 16 years, accord- ing to the company. Traeger’s advertising says it uses “100% natu- ral, food-grade hard- wood” in pellets, with small amounts of food- grade soybean oil added as a lubricant for its ma- chines in the pellets. The pellets sold under the Traeger brand state “All Natural Harwood” on the packaging. The Yates case pur- ported that consumers who purchased Traeger pellets were financially harmed by paying over the actual market value of the products. In its motion to dis- miss, Traeger Pellet Grills argued the suit didn’t prove actual damages un- der Utah law and restitu- tion under California law that proved consumers suffered a loss by paying more than actual market value for the products. In December, Joe Traeger and sons Brian and Mark Traeger settled a lawsuit in a Florida court with Traeger Pellet Grills that alleged the names of the Traeger family members were im- properly being used in advertising. But a suit between Traeger Pellet Grills and rival grill maker Dansons continues in an Arizona court over unfair compe- tition. bpoehler@Statesman- Journal.com or Twit- ter.com/bpoehler