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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2012)
zens of Goshen have been concerned that they would be charged with helping pay for the upgrades, sewer, water, roads, etc. Commissioner Stewart has stated that Lane County doesn’t have the money to pay for the upgrades, and that grants, federal and state funds could help pay for the upgrades.” Sewage is a big concern when it comes to developing Goshen as an industrial site. Goshen is not on the sew- age system, and many are concerned that it is not a viable site for more septic tanks. Major landowners in the area include the McDougal Brothers, who own more than 114 acres, and Cone Investments owns about 72 acres. “Can we just be honest?” Nelson asks. “This is going to take a ton of public money.” If Goshen does get developed, and millions of dollars of public money are spent, Nelson says that something should be put in place to make sure the public gets the money back. She suggests putting a Local Improvement District in place, or a similar plan. An improvement district is when property owners share in the cost of transportation infra- structure improvements or other types of public improve- ments. If the property owners financially benefit from the public money spent, some of that money is then given back to the public so there is funding for future projects. When asked if the county has such a plan in place, the spokesperson said, “The vision is that the developers’ in- vestments will generate long-term private as well as public returns. Will the county put a Local Improvement District in place? This is a strategy that hasn’t been part of the Gos- hen Regional Economic and Transition Plan discussions yet.” According to Nelson, the “taxpayers of Lane County are already spending money; they spent a lot of staff time on this. Fine, you need to do that to get something done.” But, she asks, what is the plan to recapture those funds? — Camilla Mortensen IT’S ABOUT TIME BY D AV I D WA G N E R F ifty years ago, on Oct. 12, 1962, the great Columbus Day Storm passed through Oregon. With winds surpassing 100 mph in most of the Willamette Valley, it was the most severe windstorm recorded, so powerful that many anemometers simply blew apart! This kind of event has occurred before and will happen again. We don’t know when that might be. We know the rains come in the winter and it will be dry in the late summer. We adjust our lifestyle to accommodate. Even though we don’t know when the next massive windstorm or the next earthquake will come, we should be mindful to prepare for these, too. It’s about time, irregular and unpredictable, but certainly coming in time. In the mountains I see piles of cone scales on the ground at the end of big logs in the woods. When the Douglas fir seeds mature the squirrels enjoy “cone on the cob.” Those big logs are special to every woodland critter because they don’t dry out. Salamanders live under them and roots of forest trees grow up into them for moisture and nutrition. Even as our spring and early summer were particularly cool and wet, this year our late summer and fall are really dry. I see too many fruit trees and rhododendrons in town suffering from lack of water. We who dream of mushroom soup want the fall rains to start. The Mushroom Festival Oct. 28 at the Mount Pisgah Arboretum will have a scanty exhibit if the rain doesn’t come soon. David Wagner is a botanist who has lived in Eugene for more than 30 years. He teaches moss classes and leads nature walks. See his website at fern- zenmosses.com. REBUILDING HOMEOWNERSHIP The Subprime Crisis and the Path Forward GUITARS! AMPS! EFFECTS! BASS GUITARS! MANDOLINS! UKELELES! LAP STEELS! Swarovski Beads & Pendants 20-50 % off 10% OFF Student Special w/valid student ID *excludes Fulltone pedals, Collings and Bourgeois guitars Nearly 2,000 Swarovski products! offer expires 11/01/12 • New & Vintage Guitars and Amps • Quality customer service • On-site factory authorized repair “Eugene’s Guitar Specialists Since 1981” 541-343-9482 455 W. 11th www.harlequinbeads.com (11th & Washington) Check us out on facebook and mckenzierivermusic.com Featuring U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley Tuesday, October 9, 4:30 p.m. Erb Memorial Union Ballroom Elected in 2008, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley has focused on reforming Wall Street, reduc- ing dependence on fossil fuels and foreign oil, and improving infrastructure. He is widely praised for his work on behalf of consumers DQGKRPHRZQHUVGXULQJWKH˃QDQFLDOFULVLV eugeneweekly.com • October 4, 2012 9
