From the
Fields: Brice
Creek Croft
and feeding
a community,
page 6A
Faith Center bids
Hovets farewell,
page 8A
School Zone returns
— Inside this edition!
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
Ballot
Box
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 14
Vandalism, thefts prompt Main St. meeting
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The lowdown on each of the fall
election’s ballot measures
Measure 20-262:
Shall the City's gas tax increase from
$.03 per gallon to $.06 per gallon?
V
arious Main Street business owners gath-
ered at the Cottage Grove Armory to dis-
cuss the increasing rate of crime and suspicious
activity happening around the area on Tuesday,
Sept. 20. Cottage Grove Main Street Coordina-
tor Shauna Neigh invited newly appointed Police
Chief Scott Shepherd to speak on how to prevent
things such as theft and also on how to assist po-
lice in catching perpetrators.
There has been a recurring pattern of shoplift-
ing, and many businesses report that they have
lost a signifi cant sum of money in inventory
lost. One business owner (who wished to not be
named) said that a woman who many of the own-
ers are familiar with had repeatedly tried to sell
stolen items to her shop.
While the business owners brainstormed rea-
sons for the increase in crime (such as the slight
increase in homelessness in Cottage Grove),
Chief Shepherd gave useful tips to help fi ght this
sort of criminal activity.
“Firstly, motion lights and cameras are huge
deterrents,” Shepherd said. The use of devices
such as these has proven across the country to
deter criminals away from places. But Shepherd
also recognized that those things can be expen-
sive and that there is a yearning for suspects to be
caught and held accountable for their actions. So,
instead of deterrents and preventative measures,
Shepherd also discussed how to help police catch
subjects.
“It’s really important to be observant and note
details of the suspicious person’s appearance,” he
said. Most of the time, witnesses can get descrip-
tions quite wrong. Shepherd also said that imme-
diate communication and reporting of crimes is
extremely helpful, not only to police, but to other
community members and businesses in the area.
Please see MEETING, Page 9A
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Would-be mayors talk shop
Summary: If adopted by the voters, this mea-
sure would increase the City’s gas tax by $.03 per
gallon, for a total city gas tax of $.06 per gallon.
Revenues from the City’s gas tax are used ex-
clusively to construct, reconstruct, improve and
maintain city streets. The proposed increase in
the City’s gas tax would create more revenue for
road construction, maintenance and repair in the
City.
Background: Talk of the need to repair Cottage
Grove’s dilapidated streets has been a big part of
the public conversation for years. Roads such as
South Sixth Street that act as connectors to funnel
traffi c from lower to higher areas of concentra-
tion garner much of the public’s criticism, though
many of the City’s 42 miles of roads are in poor
condition and contribute to an estimated $9.4
million backlog of needed repairs.
The City Council began a discussion of how to
address that backlog at a worksession prior to the
City’s budget process this spring, and the Coun-
cil came back in August to approve sending the
gas tax hike to voters in the November election.
Cottage Grove will join the cities of Coburg and
Springfi eld in seeking such a hike this fall, with
Springfi eld also seeking a $.03 increase per gal-
lon.
The City receives about $300,000 per year in
gas tax revenue, a number that seldom changes
much but would essentially double if the tax is
doubled. Still, City Manager Richard Meyers told
the City Council this spring that even doubling
the tax would likely not be enough to fund ma-
jor road overhaul projects given constantly rising
construction costs. Projects such as West Main
and R Street are expected to cost over $1.2 mil-
lion. While acknowledging that increased tax rev-
enue was not going to repair all the City’s streets,
Meyers stated that it “would help,” adding that
the City pays for maintenance such as street strip-
ing and lighting that could be addressed with tax
funding.
“The tax will have to increase, because it
doesn’t keep up with infl ation,” he said.
The Council gave its unanimous (yet unenthu-
siastic) approval to refer the higher tax to voters
at its Aug. 8 meeting, though several councilors
said they understood that the higher tax would not
fi ll the funding gap. Councilor Jake Boone even
voiced favor for seeking a much higher increase.
Many on the Council also claimed to be in fa-
vor of seeking a bond to fund specifi c road proj-
ects. Councilor Mike Fleck said he believed that
approach would be best since bonding could al-
low the infrastructure under tattered roads to be
repaired simultaneously. Fleck said he believed
voters would be in favor of the tax because road
issues are the most common complaints he hears
as a public representative.
photo by Jon Stinnett
From left, mayoral candidates Mike Fleck, Jake Boone and Jeff Gowing enjoy a moment of levity before the mayoral forum at
City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 22. A similar forum for City Council candidates was scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 27.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
D
eteriorating streets, property
crime, low housing inven-
tory — last week’s mayoral forum
took on many of the issues affecting
life (and government) in Cottage
Grove, and responses from the three
candidates for mayor in the Novem-
ber election offered a look at how
each might approach the position.
Candidates and current City
Councilors Mike Fleck, Jake Boone
and Jeff Gowing joined the Cot-
tage Grove Chamber of Commerce
and a sizable crowd at City Hall
Thursday night to offer their out-
look on the City’s future and how
they might help shape it. Cameron
Reiten, owner and radio personality
at Cottage Grove’s KNND, moder-
ated the forum along with this re-
porter. The forum was broadcast
live via Facebook. The candidates
were given two minutes to intro-
duce themselves, then tackled a list
of questions each had been given
beforehand.
Fleck, who is currently serv-
ing his third council term, told the
crowd during opening remarks
that Cottage Grove would be well-
served regardless of its choice for
mayor.
“It’s lucky in this election that I
like and respect both other candi-
dates,” he said. “The citizens will
do well whatever their choice. None
of us is going to do a poor job.”
For Boone, who has lived in Cot-
tage Grove with a wife and two
children for about 10 years, being
mayor is about using facts and not
emotions to make decisions. Boone
admitted in his introduction that he
would likely make mistakes and
would appreciate hearing about
them.
“We have to do the best we can
with what we have to work with,”
he said. “When we’re wrong, we
have to fi x it and move on. Every-
thing I do is related to that.”
For his part, Gowing repeatedly
emphasized his local roots, point-
ing out that he’s part of the third
generation of his family to grow up
here and that he returned after mili-
tary service.
“I came back here by choice to
stay here,” Gowing said. “Since
Please see FORUM, Page 10A
City: More information needed to plan bridge repair
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
M
ore information from the engineers who
diagnosed structural problems at a pop-
ular pedestrian footbridge is necessary before
determining the next steps to fi x the bridge, the
Cottage Grove City Council heard at its Monday
night meeting.
The City recently contracted with OBEC Con-
sulting Engineers for inspections of many of its
bridges, and the report about the swinging foot-
bridge that spans the Coast Fork of the Willa-
mette River between Madison Ave. and River
Road in Cottage Grove contained a stern warn-
ing about its condition.
In a letter dated Sept. 14, OBEC’s Brad Larsen
detailed the “critical condition of the bridge and
our serious concern for the safety of the public
due to the potential collapse of the bridge.”
Larsen wrote that OBEC last inspected the
bridge in 2002 “and repairs were recommended
to be completed on the towers as soon as pos-
sible,” work that was never completed. The City
closed the bridge to all traffi c after receiving the
letter, and it remains closed.
At Monday’s meeting, Cottage Grove Public
Works Director Jan Wellman talked about why
the repairs didn’t happen. Wellman offered a sta-
tus report on the bridge in place of City Manager
Richard Meyers, who was out of town attending
a conference.
“They were referring to repairs to the structur-
al towers themselves,” Wellman said. “The other
recommendations they made were completed.”
The tops of the towers were fi xed back then,
Wellman said, though the City didn’t replace the
bridge towers because they were estimated to re-
tain about 50 percent of their capacity.
Please see BRIDGE, Page 9A
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