Entrepreneur grant — 5A
Track
standouts take
it inside,
page 1B
Foundation grant awards — 3A
Exhibit reflections — 4A
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2016
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 128 • NUMBER 38
'Stand Up' meeting
attendees urged to
'observe and report'
Volunteers sought for neighborhood organizations,
but police caution against confrontation
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
C
Also
inside:
ommunity members fi lled the
Council Chambers at City Hall
on Tuesday evening, March 8 to discuss
the property and other crimes they say
they’re witnessing in their neighbor-
hoods and to see what may be done to
deter criminal behavior.
City Councilor Amy Slay said she
organized the “Stand Up for Cottage
Grove” meeting in response to comments
on Facebook related to such crimes. Slay
said she was beyond pleased by the turn-
out at the meeting, which she presided
over along with Interim Police Chief
Scott Shepherd. Slay also passed out
fl yers calling on those in attendance to
volunteer to act as liaisons between lo-
cal neighborhoods and law enforcement.
First, though, came an impassioned
speech about the state of this small
town.
“Take a look around,” Slay said.
“You’ll see people who care about each
one of your properties. You don’t have to
go far to see how many of us care about
photo by Jon Stinnett
Interim Chief Scott Shepherd and Councilor Amy Slay offered a pro-
gram of neighborhood involvement to act as liaisons between citizens
and police at a meeting held at City Hall on March 8.
Cottage Grove. But what are we doing?
We’re caring, and we’re upset, but we
have to take action to eliminate this ele-
ment that’s suddenly more prevalent.”
Slay said she was tired of seeing nega-
The month of March
means springtime
favorites, page 6A
Fiber optics expansion, road repairs
and other items chosen from a long
list of the City's needs
After a thrilling victory over
Baker in the fi rst round of
the playoffs, Cottage Grove
earned itself a spot in the
OSAA 2016 U.S. Bank and
Les Schwab Tires 4A Boys’
Basketball State Tourna-
ment. The Lions fell to an
extremely tall Gladstone
squad in the quarterfi nals
but bounced back against
Henley, routing the Hornets
68-41 in the fi rst consola-
tion match. The win sent
them to the fourth-place
game against Astoria. The
Lions let a small lead slip
away in the fourth quarter,
and Cottage Grove lost
55-46. The Lions fi nished
sixth in the state and fi n-
ished an impressive 20-8
season with pride. More
coverage of the tourna-
ment can be found on 1B.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
F
photo by Sam Wright
School District details Harrison bond's 'other costs'
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
O
n Tuesday, May 17, Voters
in South Lane County will
weigh the merits of a $35,590,000
bond measure to replace Harri-
son Elementary School in Cottage
Grove and make safety, technology
and other upgrades throughout the
District.
Included among the list of the
proposed projects to be funded by
the prospective bond — which in-
clude camera and fi re security in-
stallations, deferred maintenance to
roofs and other structures and a ren-
ovation of the Warren H. Daugherty
Aquatic Center — has been a line
item labeled “other costs,” which
the District has described to include
furnishings for the new Harrison
building, building and permit fees,
surveying and project development
Please see MEETING, Page 10A
City Council tries
to prioritize
Sixth at
State!
Hot cross buns
tive comments on Facebook about crime,
particularly when those comments came
costs. Recently, South Lane School
District Superintendent Krista Par-
ent provided paperwork to the Sen-
tinel that more closely details the
$6,173,285 in anticipated costs.
Parent said many of those costs
could have been included in the
price tag to build a new Harrison but
were instead listed separately. They
include:
Furniture, fi xtures and equipment,
$946,055: Includes desks, chairs,
whiteboards, projectors, document
cameras, computers, etc.
Architecture and engineering
services, $1,371,779: Includes ar-
chitectural, structural, plumbing,
mechanical, heating and ventilation
and electrical services.
Specialty consultants, $331,119:
Landscaping, civil, interior design,
kitchen consultant, acoustical con-
sultant, cost estimating, security
and technology.
tion and builder’s risk insurance.
Reimbursable
expenses,
$141,908: Printing, mileage, over-
night costs.
Site and soil surveys, $236,514:
Geotechnical, site and fi eld survey-
ing.
Construction
contingency,
$1,135,266: Issues during the build-
ing of the project.
Project management services,
$425,724: Staff dedicated to man-
aging the project and coordination
between owner and contractor.
Project contingency, $567,633:
Issues related to soft costs and fees
for the project, e.g. An unanticipat-
ed cost for sewer or traffi c.
Environmental/hazmat services,
$141,908: Testing, surveys, abate-
ment, disposal, third-party inspec-
tions.
Administrative costs, $141,911:
Financing, bond sales, title and es-
crow, legal fees, advertisements.
Permitting
and
approvals,
$141,908: Plan review and building
permits.
Other development costs: Early
learning center, $322,123; Kennedy
School relocation, $82,400; Harri-
son School reuse, $92,422.
Phasing costs, $94,605: Tempo-
rary facilities, moving and reloca-
ixing Cottage Grove’s dilapidated streets, fund-
ing more police patrols, upgrading the City’s fi -
ber optics network, addressing the condition of hous-
es with no apparent owners — the City Council chose
these among an extensive to-do list of sorts during a
worksession Monday night scheduled to help outline
the goals and priorities for itself and for city staff this
year and beyond.
City Manager Richard Meyers spent about half of
the hour-long worksession detailing the 20-plus proj-
ects on the list, stating that he and the rest of city staff
needed to narrow the focus of their efforts and the
Council’s deliberations in 2016 and into the future.
“The purpose of this meeting is not to go into a lot
of depth, because many of these are quite extensive,
and some are time sensitive,” Meyers said. “What we
want to know is, which ones are the priority?”
Meyers put forth the notion of forming urban re-
newal districts, which essentially freeze tax rates for
a specifi ed area, then allow the City to borrow on the
increase in value in the district to fund specifi ed proj-
ects. Such mechanisms could be used to tackle items
not likely to be funded through other means, Meyers
said, such as the Main Street Refi nement Plan, a com-
prehensive plan to revamp downtown Cottage Grove.
“The plan is going to sit on the shelf unless we can
fi nd a way to fi nance it,” he said. “We may get piddly
grants for the Refi nement Plan, but we’re not going to
get any major grants.”
Urban renewal districts could also fund problems
such as that Meyers announced regarding the Main
Street bridge over the Coast Fork of the Willamette
River, which he said “could collapse any day.” Part of
the riverbank near the bridge is eroding, he said, and
the item was in fact removed from the list, as it would
likely need to be addressed immediately anyway.
In addition, Meyers said the parking lots downtown
are “atrocious,” as they haven’t been paved since the
1950s, and there is no clear method for funding their
upkeep. Ways to fund the extensive renovations nec-
essary at the Cottage Grove Armory are also not clear
beyond the expectation of grant awards. Many of the
City’s arterial roads are in terrible shape, to say noth-
ing of its residential streets and sidewalks, Meyers
added.
Also available for discussion was the possibility of
putting a three percent tax on recreational marijuana
Please see GOALS, Page 10A
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EW
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Frank Brazell....................953-2407
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336 N. H Street
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bedroom and 2
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$119,000
CONTACT US
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(541) 942-3325
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(541) 942-3328
By fax
cgnews@cgsentinel.com
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P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
By mail
Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove
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