Cottage Grove sentinel., January 11, 2017, Page 8A, Image 8

8A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL JANUARY 11, 2017
Libraries
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and funding sources come from different directions,ರ he said.
Boice also noted that state statute mandated how certain funds
could be spent. ಯWhen youಬre looking for an inner county solutions,
in other words taking money from one program or department to
save money, rest assure that based on what we know about the bud-
get and whatಬs going to happen in the next few years, those are not
viable solutions.ರ
Currently, the county is looking into the possibility of enacting
one of three plans. The fi rst plan would have the county operate
the library system under the current budget and see an immediate
decline in library services as a result. The second option, dubbed
the ಯ90 day planರwould call for the libraries to continue offering the
same level of service for 90 days before slowly reducing services.
The third plan would call for additional funds to be transferred to
the library from the general fund and a course of action somewhere
between plan one and two.
Several residents braved the snow to speak in-person at the
Douglas County Courthouse on the matter. Nancy Anderson said
she worried the closure of the libraries would affect home values.
Bud Cavachi of Canyonville asked the commission to defund the
library system. ಯI went to two meetings and what wasnಬt addressed
was staffi ng libraries with the cost of government employees. I
donಬt know what the libraries will look like going forward but I do
believe they need to change to survive,ರhe said.
Other residents said their children and grandchild no longer uti-
lized the library due to advances in technology.
Commissioners addressed the meeting individually with new
commissioner Greg Leaf noting that he understood the issue was
an emotional one but pointed out the $100 million collected by the
county was not the amount Douglas County netted. ಯIt says we col-
lect $100 million but we only keep $8.7 million,ರhe said.
Commissioner Freeman also pointed to the decrease in revenue
attributed to the loss of timber funds and the vast majority of ser-
vices that may take a hit with few funds trickling in.
ಯI understand the passion and the concern and despite what folks
say I absolutely understand the importance of it. But I also under-
stand the importance of public safety, ಯhe said. Freeman went on to
tell a story of an incident in Josephine County and the consequences
of an under-funded police force. ಯI will never forget the terror in
her voice. She called 911, a gentleman she had a restraining order
against was pounding on her door and with equal terror in her voice,
the 911 operator told her, ಫIಬm sorry. I have no one to send. Hide.ಬ
Thatಬs what it means when you donಬt have 24 hour service.ರ
The next public hearing on the matter is scheduled for April.
Wyden looks to protect coast from drilling
Bill would permanently ban offshore drilling in three states
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff
Merkley joined their fellow West Coast senators in introducing the
West Coast Ocean Protection Expansion Act this week to perma-
nently ban offshore drilling on the outer continental shelf of Ore-
gon, Washington and California.
The legislation, fi rst introduced in 2010, would amend the Out-
er Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently protect the coastal
economies of the three states, which are worth about $60 billion and
support more than 650,000 jobs in Oregon, California and Wash-
ington.
“The decades-long ban on oil and gas exploration off the Pa-
cifi c Coast has allowed the fi shing, tourism and recreation econ-
omies in Oregon’s coastal communities to thrive,” Wyden said.
“By making these long-supported and essential protections
permanent, this bill will continue to safeguard the thousands of
jobs that depend on the opportunities along our shores.”
“Countless Oregonians depend on our coast to sustain jobs
in our state’s fi shing, shipping, and tourism industries, and we
can’t afford to put the state’s economy at risk just to pad the
profi ts of big oil,” Merkley said. “With a new Administration
signaling a dangerous willingness to put polluters in charge, it
is more important than ever to ensure that Oregon’s coastline
is protected.”
The West Coast Ocean Protection Expansion Act prohibits the
U.S. Department of the Interior from issuing a lease for exploration,
development or production of oil or natural gas in any area of the
outer continental shelf off the coast of Oregon, Washington or Cal-
ifornia. In November, the Interior Department proposed protections
from drilling for these waters through 2022. However, a permanent
ban has not been signed into law.
The bill was also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein,
D-Calif., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Patty Murray, D-Wash., and
Kamala Harris, D-Calif. Congressman Jared Huffman, D-Calif.,
introduced a similar version of the bill in the House of Representa-
tives, along with 14 cosponsors.
City to tackle fees after false start
BY CAITLYN MAY
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Vote on construction fees leaves board confused, set to change city ordinance after fee
mix-up
The Cottage Grove City Council started the new year off with a
bit of confusion.
After swearing in new mayor Jeff Gowing and councils Bob
Ehler, Amy Slay and Kenneth Roberts, the board contended with
the state of the city address which noted the city’s achievements
and challenges. However, the board was met with its fi rst challenge
within the fi rst hour of the meeting when an agenda item called for
a resolution amending the comprehensive fee schedule.
While the board and residents in attendance understood the agen-
da item to intend to discuss fees related to construction in the city,
the issue quickly became muddied.
City Manager Richard Meyers addressed the issue at the close of
the meeting with the city attorney noting that the board had voted
down the fee schedule and not the fees associated with construc-
tion due to the nature of the wording of the agenda item. Monday’s
vote, according to the city attorney, was to decide whether or not
to include the increase in fees in the city’s fee schedule. The fees
associated with construction within the city limits automatically in-
creases after a vote from a previous city council board; an issue that
councilor Mike Fleck took notice of.
“I thought boards could not be bound by previous boards,” he
said. However, Meyers pointed out the fees were part of an overall
plan that included contracts and previous boards could vote to bind
subsequent boards to honor future contracts.
“I would move that we bring that forward at a future meet-
ing. We didn’t vote to raise that and that’s abdicating my respon-
sibility to the citizens and I absolutely will not stand for that,
Fleck said.
New mayor Jeff Gowing echoed Fleck, saying, “I’m starting to
feel like you’re telling me I have to vote for it or we have to pass it
and we should have the right to vote something down.”
In order to address the fees directly, the board must amend the
city’s ordinance, a longer and more complicated procedure.
After further confusion on how to proceed the board voted to
bring forth an agenda item that would allow it to alter the city’s
ordinance and vote directly on raising the fees.
Dog park in the works
BY SAM WRIGHT
swright@cgsentinel.com
A wonderful opportunity has arrived in town for our furry four-
legged friends, and they should expect to reap the benefi ts some-
time soon.
A dog park has been approved by the city and is currently in the
midst of construction off of Main Street. The idea came to fruition
when Steve Nisewander read an article in the Sentinel that suggest-
ed the need for a dog park in town.
“I mow a big lot behind the car wash on Main Street and thought
that would be a good place to build one,” Nisewander said.
The park will have two double-gated entrances and a surrounding
fence around the big plot of grass. So far, Nisewander has put in two
fi re hydrants (one with Duck colors and one with Beaver colors)
and a picnic table. He plans to add another bench and has spoken
with PetSafe on acquiring a trash can with a doggie bag dispenser.
Nisewander went before the city council to present his drawing
of the park.
“The city was great; I showed them my drawing of what I wanted
to build, and we laid out park rules,” he said. The city also agreed to
pay for a sign that presented the rules.
In other negotiations with PetSafe, Nisewander applied for a
$10,000 grant to help build the park. PetSafe approved a grant of
$5,000, which has gone a long way in building the park.
Weather has recently hindered construction. Nisewander had
originally planned for the park to be done by Jan. 1, but weath-
er delays have made things diffi cult. the valley experienced up to
four inches of snow in some areas and a subsequent ice storm has
Oregon state Police urging motorists to stay off the roads as they re-
sponded to over 700 accidents. Nisewander now says he is waiting
for the snow to melt so they can dig into the ground to put the last
two gates and also add another bench.
Expect the park to be open to the public soon, because once the
snow melts, Nisewander should be back out in the fi eld adding the
fi nishing touches to the puppy play land.
The city of Cottage Grove announced the addition of a safe internet purchase exchange location outside of the Cottage
Grove Police Station on Monday, Jan. 9. The space has been designated for residents to meet to pick-up items purchased
from social media sites such as Facebook and Craigslist without worry for their personal safety.
School board round-up
“Clean” fi nancial report
Cottage Grove
Sentinel
www.cgsentinel.com
Board members recognized
The 2015-2016 annual audit report was presented by Phil Scrima.
The school district usually goes through Pauly Rogers, an account-
ing fi rm based out of Portland, but due to diffi culties in the past, the
school district has decided to move to Accuity, LLC out of Albany.
Scrima reports that Pauly Rogers and an independent accountant
determined a clean opinion with no defi ciencies or best-practice
suggestions.
The independent auditors initially stated that the school districts
expenditures exceeded budget appropriations. However, Scrima,
with some help, determined there were simple disagreements in
operations.
“We closed two funds and put them into the general fund,” Scri-
ma said, “They thought that was some type of violation, but it isn’t.”
The school district was assigned a $2.6 million liability for ex-
penditures during the year.
The school district marks January as the School Board Appreci-
ation month. Each member of the school board was recognized by
the school district and its enveloped schools for all the work and
dedication they do for the students.
Cottage Grove High School Principal Iton Udosenata presented
each board member with a CGHS lanyard.
Superintendent Krista Parent said that instead of personal gifts
for the board, the school district donated small scholarships in each
of their names to students in need of taking SAT prep courses and
tests.
Gary Mort, Alan Baas, Jerry Settelmeyer, Tammy Hodgkinson,
Sherry Duerst-Higgins, Taylor Wilhour and Merlene Martin were
all recognized for their work in the South Lane School Board.
Pump
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council the cheapest of the
three was being brought before
it.
The fi rst option required con-
struction to bring lines down
10th St while a second option
saw lines headed from S. 8th
St. near the entrance to the
pool before routing to Taylor
St. to the new site. The last,
and sought after option, was to
utilize 10th St. near the football
fi eld.
“We’d go under the retaining
wall and go along the track and
use the access road by the soft-
ball fi eld basically,” Bradsby
said.
City code requires the lines
be buried anyway, which had
council scratching its head and
Bradsby noting that the pro-
cedure had been “frustrating.”
He did, however, inform coun-
cil that the new route would
not affect the new school being
constructed in the area and the
new facility had plans to utilize
the route.
Council Boone made the
motion to approve the change
order noting, “ Our choices are
we authorize this or continue
building a pump station that
doesn’t have effi cient electric-
ity.”
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