COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MAY 3, 2017
9A
Swinging Bridge fundraising coming to water bills
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
When the Swinging Bridge
was ordered closed late last
year, a community mourned.
Now, that same community is
rallying.
Not long after it was an-
nounced that the cost to repair
the bridge would soar into the
hundreds of thousands, a group
of community members orga-
nized under a simple creed:
What can we do? Since then,
the group, which dubbed them-
selves, “Friends of the Cottage
Grove Swinging Bridge” has
grown to more than 130 mem-
bers on social media and has
worked with city administrators
to raise funds for the bridge re-
pairs.
Residents will see the re-
sults of that partnership in this
month’s water utility bill from
the city.
“There will be a line on the
bill where people can choose
to round-up their water bill,”
Cottage Grove City Manager
Richard Meyers said. “Or, they
can donate more than that but
they’ll be able to do that on the
bill.”
Meyers went on to note that
the funds would be kept in a
trust fund strictly for the Swing-
ing Bridge.
“We cannot use the funds for
anything else. We can only use
them for the bridge,” he said.
So far, community donations
have totaled a little over $200.
The funds are in addition to the
$28 the group collected during
the Earth Day celebration on
April 22 after erecting a bridge
for children to cross and resi-
dents to donate to the cause.
In March, city engineer Ron
Bradsby presented three options
to the council for repair of the
Swinging Bridge with estimat-
ed costs from OBEC Consulting
Engineers.
“The fi rst option is an ugly,
off the truck bridge," Meyers
told council. The cost of the
per-fabricated
replacement
bridge clocked in at around
$370,000.
Option two would cost rough-
ly $261,000 but would maintain
some movement in the bridge.
However, according to Brads-
by, the recommendation for the
second option would create a
bridge that did not meet current
codes.
"Basically, the option is us-
ing the existing bridge and re-
placing the aspects that have
failed like the upper cables and
the decking," Bradsby told The
Sentinel. While the replace-
ments would enable the bridge
to swing, OBEC reported that it
would exceed the 50 pounds per
lineal foot safety standard.
At the time, Meyers was ask-
ing the council to submit a letter
of intent for an Oregon Parks
and Recreational Trails grant to-
taling $150,000. Since then, the
city was invited to apply for the
grant and according to Meyers,
has asked for roughly $140,000.
Several other fundraising
campaigns are being fl oated
throughout the city including
utilizing a local resident who
makes custom bricks and selling
the creations to donors. Accord-
ing to Meyers, a replica of the
Swinging Bridge exists and may
be moved to different locations
throughout the city to aid in the
fundraising efforts as well.
“I think we have a good
chance at the grant,” Meyers
said, noting that the Swinging
Bridge is part of the scenic bike
way which has roots in the Ore-
gon Parks Department.
The city can expect to hear
whether it was chosen to receive
the funds by early summer.
City workers secure the Swinging Bridge at the end of last year after it was deemed to dangerous to remain open
to the public. Residents will now be able to contribute to its repair by rounding up their water bills with the funds
going into a trust fund for the bridge's repair.
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