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COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 8, 2015 9A B OND Continued from page 1A If a replacement of Harrison is the widely agreed-upon entrée of the pro- spective bond, then the committee of stakeholders has before it a list of equally worthy à la carte side dishes, which were also discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. The meeting began with a tour of the Warren H. Daugherty Aquatics Center, one of higher-priority issues for the Dis- trict. Originally built as an outdoor facility in 1955, the pool was covered 10 years later and began hosting school swimming les- sons. Prior to that time, the area — with its many waterways — saw a high rate of youth drowning. But since then, not one South Lane student who has gone through the program has drowned. The pool currently works with several facility issues: the drains in both locker rooms regularly back up; the women’s locker room is not ADA compliant, and the mens locker room only meets those standards because there are no stalls around the toilets; the boiler is also con- stantly threatening to fail, and with that would come a $75,000 repair bill. Additionally, the pool lags as a com- petitive facility. With a length of 33 yards, it is signifi cantly longer than stan- dard 25-meter pools, and because of that, many teams decline invitations to com- pete there. The most recent estimate for a reno- vation, which would effectively replace everything except the structure, is $2.8 photo by Jon Stinnett A network of pipes populates the bowels of the Warren H. Daugherty Aquatic Center. million. In the mid 2000s, several renderings were produced for a new pool, which would be located in the northwest quad- rant of the high school’s campus. These designs offer a wide range of features and amenities, and the associated cost estimates for those projects span from $6.7 million to $15.1 million. However, the operational costs of the pool are signifi cant. The city currently contributes $50,000 per year, which ac- counts for one-third of the pool’s annual budget. But the City has not yet deter- mined if it will continue with its sup- port. “What we offer as far as programming precedes the design of a new or remod- eled pool,” said pool manager Carrie Mc- Casline. “We need to maximize revenue and reduce costs where we can.” McCasline mentioned a therapy pool and a fi tness room as two amenities that could bring in the most outside dollars. And some committee members queried about a long-term partnership with the City. Other items that were discussed at Tuesday’s meeting included the comple- tion of the high school’s baseball fi eld or pursuing a community recreation com- plex, which would add three turf athletic fi elds to the high school’s facilities; de- ferred maintenance projects, such as new roofs at Lincoln and Bohemia; a new auditorium/theatre at CGHS; additional classroom modulars; a turf athletic fi eld at Lincoln and upgrades to computer hardware and network connectivity and safety and security measures throughout the district. While it is unlikely that all of the proj- ects are attainable through the bond mea- sure — at least at their full-priced options — the bond committee was tasked with determining which, if any, would add the most value to the proposal. However, before that question is an- swered, the committee must fi rst decide on the amount of the bond levy. They could pursue a 20-year, $23.2 million bond levy or a 25-year, $29.8 million bond levy — neither of which would in- crease local tax rates. The difference between the two op- tions is an additional $6.6 million to ad- dress projects beyond a new elementary school. At their next meeting on April 8, com- mittee members will offer recommenda- tions between the two bonds and priori- tize the list of projects. www.shoppelocal.biz C HAPEL Continued from page 1A able to keep up Sunset Hills’ operations. Smith-Lund-Mills had already been digging graves at Sunset Hills for about a year, Lund said, and he said that those who had purchased prepaid funeral services through Sunset Hills were in danger of not being able to access those services. “Sunset Hills is a fi xture in the Eugene community, and it needed to be saved,” Lund said. “We felt like our company could be part of the solution and are pleased to be helping.” In the process of fi lling in, the Lunds say they began to realize what kind of opportunity the business offered. ““We feel like Sunset Hills has so much to offer the com- munity,” said Christina Lund, Marc’s wife and co-owner, via a recent release. “The funeral home and crematorium, hav- ing been recently constructed in 2009, feature a modern facil- ity to hold memorial services, funerals and receptions, with vaulted ceilings, large windows and a warm, comfortable north- west feel.” “Sunset Hills is a natural fi t with our existing businesses,” Marc Lund said. “We intend to operate Sunset Hills in much the same way we do at our other locations, with an emphasis on providing personalized service options to the community, cou- pled with caring, professional staff to assist families.” The Lunds say they’ll defi - nitely be making changes in the operations at Sunset Hills and that the acquisition will provide “operational synergies” with the infrastructure of a functioning business already in place. In the process of acquainting them- selves with the community in South Eugene served by Sunset Hills, they say they’ve also come to appreciate practices such as “green” burials that can also be offered in Cottage Grove. Marc Lund is a second-gen- eration funeral practitioner who followed in his father, Douglas Lund’s, footsteps. He has been with the company for 20 years, and he and his wife both stressed that Cottage Grove remains their headquarters. S UIT Continued from page 1A Yarnall told the Eugene Reg- ister-Guard via email last week that Wendy Cooper fi led the lawsuit to “ensure that what happened to her son Nathan does not happen to anyone else,” adding that she hoped the City would choose to adequately staff the jail and provide proper training to its staff. Yarnall said funding at the jail was “another major issue” in the incident, adding that the budget for the jail’s operations was $25,750 for the year that Coo- per was incarcerated there. In a denial of a motion for summary judgment fi led by the City’s at- torneys last July, Judge Thomas Coffi n stated that a jury could fi nd that “the lack of a full-time employee at the jail to supervise and monitor inmates contributed to Cooper’s death.” On Monday, City Manager Richard Meyers said the City’s insurance company will coor- dinate settlement payments. He said the incident has not prompt- ed the City to alter policies or procedures but added that such changes may yet occur. ““We haven’t made any changes yet,” Meyers said. “We’re going to meet with our attorneys and see what can be done. We’re constantly chang- ing to match new technologies, and there may be some things we could do that could make a signifi cant difference with re- gard to monitoring and holding people accountable.” Meyers called Cooper’s death a “tragedy on a whole mess of scales.” “Here’s somebody who was 24 years old, and his life was ruined,” he said. “It was ruined because of drugs.” Meyers said that, had Cooper faced felony drug charges, he would likely have had access to “other programs and treat- ment options” available through either Lane County or the state prison system. Meyers said the City instead frequently charges offenders with misdemeanors in an attempt to hold them ac- countable locally, as the City does not believe the Lane Coun- ty Jail will do so. “The whole system is just not working, and nobody wants to pay to fi x it,” he said. Police Chief Mike Grover said Monday that the City’s pol- icies are “inspected periodically by the state department of cor- rections,” and that CGPD has passed those inspections. Gro- ver said his department is “see- ing more and more” that “heroin is the drug of choice in Cottage Grove now.” “It is very important that our families in South Lane County know that we are not leaving Cottage Grove in any way,” Christina Lund said. “We are very committed to the commu- nity and funeral service.” SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE The Only Emergency Medical Transport Service in South Lane County Community Public Education: • CPR/AED • Heart Attack Recognition • Fall Prevention • Stroke Prevention • Fire Prevention • Fire Extinguishers • Fire-Med Membership Call 541-942-4493 for info. FOR EMERGENCY DIAL 911 South Lane County Fire & Rescue @southlanefi re www.southlanefi re.org Another dental visit? Turns out, you have better things to do with your time. 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