Daytripper has guests — 11A
Gardeners get going — 3A
Re: Harrison bond levy — 4A
On the beach
CGHS alum and volleyball
standout fi nds a new path
in the sand, page 1B
Find coupons inside
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 126 • NUMBER 37
Council delays Refi nement Plan vote
Opts instead for March 16 worksession;
planning grant extension needed
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he Cottage Grove City
Council postponed a vote
on the Main Street Refi nement
Plan during its Monday evening
meeting. Instead, Councilors
will review the document at a
worksession on March 16 and
prepare any changes to the plan
before the next Council meeting
on March 23.
Initially, there was a motion
and a second motion to bring
the ordinance to a vote. Howev-
er, several Councilors expressed
concerns for the plan’s con-
tents — despite the voluminous
amount time and effort that has
already gone into the process.
Councilor Mike Fleck said he
is aware that downtown busi-
ness owners are worried about
the prospect of narrowing Main
Street. He said he is also con-
cerned about the street and side-
walk measurements involved
with the plan, the precedent that
the Council would set by repair-
ing sidewalks for properties that
aren’t owned by the city, and,
should it be adopted, whether
or not the plan has adequate rec-
ommendations for mitigating
disruptions to business.
Councilor Jeff Gowing said
he spoke with 20 downtown
business owners, of which 16
did not support the plan. Gow-
ing said he would not vote in
favor of the plan as currently
written.
Although absent, Councilor
Heather Murphy passed word
along that she would prefer a
worksession in lieu of a vote.
Community development di-
rector Howard Schesser said that
if the Council opted to postpone
its vote, the city would need to
fi le an extension on its grant
application with the Oregon
Department of Transportation.
He said that such an extension
would likely be accepted.
Afterward, Councilor Jake
Boone withdrew his motion and
the Council opted for the work-
session, which will be held at
5:30 on March 16 and will be
open to the public, though there
won’t be opportunity for public
comment.
Pending the outcome of that
session, the Council could adopt
the ordinance at its March 23
meeting with a unanimous vote.
If, however, the vote isn’t unan-
imous, or the ordinance isn’t
available to the public one week
prior to that meeting, a second
vote will be needed.
Regardless of the Refi nement
Plan’s fate, Main Street and its
sidewalks need repairs, accord-
ing to City Manager Richard
Meyers. By current code, the
cost of those repairs would fall
on Main Street property owners.
However, the Council would
have to issue that order, and no
councilor seemed particularly
keen on that idea at Monday’s
meeting.
Meyers also stressed that
the ordinance is a plan that
can evolve as circumstances
change.
With the fi nal word on the
item, Mayor Tom Munroe said
he has seen a lot of change
during his many years of liv-
ing in Cottage Grove but none
have been for the bad. He said
the city should only do what it
can afford, and he believes All-
Please see PLAN, Page 9A
City Engineer
directed to
weigh cross-
walk options
F ISHING WEATHER
Bob Wolfe
tries a new fl y
on the fi sh at
the Cottage
Grove Pond at
the Row River
Nature Park,
with canine
companion
Angie survey-
ing the scene.
Fishing at
the pond has
been busy for
some time,
and warm,
dry weekend
weather only
seemed to
draw more
anglers. Wolfe
said he caught
(and released)
20 fi sh on
Friday. The re-
turn of rain is
predicted for
this week.
Also
inside:
Quilts of Valor
Ceremony honors local
veterans, page 12A
City, ODOT don't agree on
best placement
Surprise wedding!
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
t its regular meeting on Monday night,
the Cottage Grove City Council di-
rected City Engineer Ron Bradsby to pursue
the most pragmatic solution between two
submitted designs for a pedestrian crossing
on Row River Road.
The consensus of those involved with the
project has stated a preference for construct-
ing the crosswalk at or near the intersection
of Jim Wright Way. However, the Oregon
Department of Transportation (ODOT) did
not approve this design because a semi truck
with a trailer could not make a left-hand turn
Local couple shocks
friends, family with
ceremony, page 6A
Please see WALK, Page 9A
photo by Jon Stinnett
The Dorena hy-
droelectric plant,
as viewed from
Dorena Dam.
The plant has
been operational
since June of
last year, though
a court case
between the
company that
built the plant
and the compa-
ny that operates
it continues.
Power's on, but legal battle over
Dorena hydroelectric project continues
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
C
onstruction is complete and the
power is fl owing, but the pro-
tracted legal battle between the com-
pany hired to build a hydroelectric
power plant at Dorena Reservoir and
the company that produces power there
continues.
It took over a decade to clear the
regulatory hurdles necessary to green-
light construction of the Dorena hydro-
electric plant, which was dedicated in
August of 2012 by U.S. Senator Ron
Wyden and Congressman Peter De-
Fazio. The project aimed to produce
enough power for about 1200 homes
by utilizing the fl ow of water through
a “penstock” or hole in the dam to turn
two massive electric turbines. The proj-
ect was approved by the Army Corps
of Engineers, which manages the reser-
voir, and given a 50-year operating li-
cense. Pacifi c Power contracted to pur-
chase the power produced at the dam,
which fl ows underground along the
Row River Trail to the Village Green
electrical substation some eight miles
away in Cottage Grove, for 20 years.
The hydroelectric plant was sched-
uled to be operational in 2013, but
documents fi led as part of an early
2014 lawsuit by attorneys represent-
ing Mowat Construction, the company
hired to build the plant, and Dorena
Hydro, LLC, which currently operates
it, indicate that the working relation-
ship between the two companies was
shaky at best almost from the start and
may have led to construction delays.
In January of 2014, Mowat fi led suit
against Dorena Hydro, an arm of Can-
ada-based Symbiotics, LLC, for pay-
ments in excess of $7 million it says it
has not received for work done at the
site prior to Dorena Hydro’s dismissal
of Mowat from the project three days
after the lawsuit was fi led.
Mowat alleged in court that, “from
very early in the project, Dorena failed
to meet its contractual obligations,
which hindered and impacted Mowat’s
work, including delaying Mowat’s ac-
cess to the site and repeatedly failing to
provide timely, adequate, accurate and
complete designs.” It added that equip-
ment purchased by Dorena Hydro in-
cluding the Kaplan turbine that powers
the plant has not functioned properly.
For its part, Dorena Hydro says that
Mowat was lax in workplace safety
and that delays to the project cost the
company an $8 million subsidy it could
have received if the plant had been built
on schedule.
Please see HYDRO, Page 9A
photo by Jon Stinnett
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