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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 16, 2017)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL AUGUST 16, 2017 9A CONSTRUCTION ON POOL DELAYED On August 8, South Lane Superinten- dent Krista Parent drafted a letter. It cmay@cgsentinel.com was to invite residents who had either been recommended or volunteered to be apart of the design committee for the pool's construction to begin their work. However, instead of sending those letters out, Parent was forced to have a diffi cult conversation with the school board during its Monday, August 14 meeting. The original schedule called for construction of the pool--fi nanced by a bond passed by voters last November--begin this fall. How- ever, Parent informed the board that after a meeting with BLRB Architects, that's just not possible. "This is the schedule we've been working off of," Parent told the board before explaining that BLRB had apparently changed the schedule without warning. "They went back and came up with two options but said option one is impossible," she said. Option one would have had construc- tion beginning in June of 2018. However, BLRB has eliminated that option. Option two would see construction begin in September of 2018 and end in February of 2019, essentially putting the pool out of commission for both water polo and swim season. "We have to go back to the public and say because of these rea- sons, the timeline's going to be pushed," Parent said. The board is now tasked with going back to BLRB and compro- mising on a schedule that allows students to utilize the pool for sports and doesn't keep the community waiting endlessly for a new swimming facility. "It's six months for design docs which blows my mind because for the new school it didn't take six months," Parent said. "Then seven months for construction." Parent also noted that the new Harrison Elementary School was taking only a year to construct and that work on the pool would begin after the design committee met for up to two months placing the time period for completion at 15 months. School board member Taylor Wilhour asked if the board had any recourse against BLRB given the expanded time frame and cost. However, SLSD Maintenance Manager Matt Allen said actions on the part of BLRB were not malicious. Construction demand across the state has resulted in longer wait times, construction times and costs. In November, voters passed a $35 million bond that was set aside for the construction of a new elementary school, security and technology upgrades at all district schools and remodeling of the community pool. Currently, $5.3 million is scheduled for the pool project after nearly $24 million was dedicated to the new Harrison Elementary School. However, according to the school board, $5.3 million doesn't buy as much as it used to as construction costs con- tinue to rise. By Caitlyn May Local sports Local government Local event coverage Local news cgsentinel.com PHOTO COURTESY CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE The Warren H Daugherty Aquatic Center, pictured hosting a water aerobics class, is set to undergo construction. When, no one is quite sure. Construction was scheduled to begin this fall but setbacks were announced by the South Lane School District earlier this week. SLSD saves three cut days, budget fi nal By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Students in South Lane School District just lost three days off of school. At the Monday, august 14 meeting of the South Lane School District, superintendent Krista Parent told the board that with the state's education bud- get fi nal, the district was able to buy back three of the four planned cut days. The announcement came on the back of the largest education package from the state budget in recent history. The Oregon Legislature passed an $8.2 bil- lion package earlier this year after serious doubts from school districts across the state sharing stories of cuts to staff and days. South Lane School District gambled and built a budget close to the estimates coming from the legislature early in the process and will now meet cur- rent service levels. Measure 98 funds were ap- proved for $170 million at the state level which comes out to approximately $415,000 for South Lane. The funds are meant to go towards college preparedness and in South Lane part of that comes in the form of the CTE program. The program gives high school students the opportunity to intern in a skilled trade and offers real world op- portunities outside of the class- room. Parent noted that the school district has already spent some of the $415,000 on a new position; a college and career specialist. She also informed the board that the district is set to receive approximately $50,000 from Measure 97 for outdoor school. Currently, all SLSD schools participate in outdoor school except for Bohemia Elementary. However, the fi nal decision on how the $24 million from Mea- sure 97 has not yet been decided and the district may earn slight- ly less than the $50,000. The state also approved $6.2 million for chronic absenteeism. However, districts are not yet sure how those funds will be di- vided. Earlier this year, Cottage Grove High School reported a nearly 50 percent chronic ab- sentee issue in the school . While the overall fi nancial picture is brighter for the school district than it was earlier this year, Parent warned the board that the legislature still did not reach the $8.4 billion districts were counting on, creating a looming problem. The 2019- 2021 budget cycle, she said would force more cuts. "Contin- uously they tell us the outlook is very bad," she said "because they didn't really do anything to fi x the problem." Business contest offers start-up funds for winner By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com The Cottage Grove Chamber of Com- merce is partnering with RAIN of Eugene, Cottage Grove Com- munity Development Corporation and the Healing Matrix to host a business contest that promises the winner $6,000 to start their own business. To enter, interested parties must sumbit and executive summa- ry for your startup or idea for a startup that is no more than three pages long. According to the contest's web- site, entries should follow a basic outline that includes the most compelling statement related to its project. Hopefuls should than, according to the web- site, identify a problem they intend to solve, the basic market their business would be en- tering, their business model, their team and fi nally, their summary fi nancial projections. According to a press release regarding the contest, "The three best executive summaries will be chosen from the submitted entries to be presented to our judges and audience on Octo- ber 25. The time and venue are TBD. All competitors should attend the RAIN Eugene Open Mentor Hours in Cot- tage Grove at The Healing Matrix every third Wednesday of the month to get help craft- ing their business sum- mary. The next Open Mentor Hours are Au- gust 16." The fi rst place win- ner will receive $6,000, the second place win- ner will receive $3,000 and the third place win- ner will receive $1,000. For more informa- tion, please visit cot- tagegrovebusiness- challenge.com. Gas leak Continued from A1 Find Local Businesses. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH Find Local Businesses. businesses that mean the most to you. scheduling mishap, the Northwest Natural Gas compa- ny left the facility, fi nding no city staff there waiting. The company was again scheduled for Friday morning. The leak was discovered as coming from a bad regulator for a heating unit that was located on the roof of the building. City staff worked with Northwest Natural staff to repair the dam- age according to Meyers. This is the second time this year that the building has been closed due to a gas leak. Meyers thanked the public in the weekly Friday Update from the city for its patience during the closure and noted the build- ing is open for business. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH businesses that mean the most to you. www.shoppelocal.biz Birch Avenue Dental www.shoppelocal.biz Find GREAT MONEY SAVING COUPONS from local businesses Where dentistry is our profession but people are our focus WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS! Park W. McClung, DDS • Tammy L. McClung, DDS Check out our exclusive Birch Avenue Dental Program that provides all the rewards of dental insurance without the headaches. 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