Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 13, 2017)
6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL SEPTEMBER 13, 2017 Traffi c talk, crosswalks tie up city council By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Cottage Grove City Council had its hands full on Monday night with an array of traffi c-re- lated agenda items. The agen- da--carried mostly by city engi- neer Ron Bradsby (for which he apologized)--noted no less than three itmes related to roads and traffi c with in the city of Cot- tage Grove. South 6th St. The council approved a bid for $427,365.36 from Knife River for the work scheduled on South 6th St. and Mosbey Creek Rd. "The city has prioritized this and so we put the bids out," Bradsby told the council. The amount, while coming in lower than the $434,670.68 from a different fi rm, did not in- clude fl agging costs. When asked why the Request for Proposal did not include a request for an estimate for such services by councilman Mike Fleck, Bradsby noted, "We had a general item called traffi c con- trol and let it be broad based. We gave them latitute to give us an hourly rate but we don't have an hourly estimate. Brads- by told the council that his best guest would be $10,000 more for fl agging and traffi c control costs. The item passed unanimous- ly with councilman Jake Boone absent from the meeting. Crosswalk KNND is losing the cross- walk in front of the studio and that's just fi ne by station owner Cameron Reiten. According to Bradsby, when the city freshened up the cross- walks, they painted no parking section according to state reg- ulations. However, the new no parking additions meant four lost parking spots--two on the east side and two on the west. Bradsby told the council that Books on Main owner called the city to inquire as to what could be done to regain parking. "It's confusing out there with the yellow and then the parking spot," Fleck said before mak- ing the motion to remove the crosswalk across from Books on Main, keeping the crosswalk near the police station. "I want to express my support of this," Reiten told the council, noting that he hadn't suffered any lost business due to the lost parking spaces because he wasn't a retail business. South 10th and Taylor Motorists headed near 10th and Taylor will fi nd a new stop sign--soon. According to Brads- by, there's no scheduled time to place the sign but he hopes to get one in place soon to, "get traffi c used to it being an all- way stop" before the new Har- rison Elementary School opens next fall. As part of the construction of the new school, a traffi c analy- sis was completed and one of the recommendations was that Taylor and South 10th become a three-way stop. Fleck threw his support be- hind the idea noting that, as a neighbor in the area, he has seen his share of near misses con- cerning traffi c accidents. Mayor Jeff Gowing also piped in, stat- ing that in 1969, the stop sign was installed at the crossing due to a fatality. "That intersection is a proven danger," he said. The motion, also made by Fleck, passed. School crossing Great Days Early Education Center is getting a crosswalk of its own. Owner Barbara Howell came before the board after Bradsby's presentation to present a peti- tion with 60 signatures from the parents of her school requesting that the city address the dangers of River Rd. "For 40 years, we've been taking care of all the children in Cottage Grove," Howell said. "We have an after school pro- gram now with a bus that brings children from the schools and a teacher that goes out, meets 30 children and then has to walk in front of the bus with them. Traffi c doesn't obey the law and sometimes the bus has to honk at cars to get them to stop." Bradsby agreed with Howell telling the council that he had met her on site and witnessed the dangers. The crosswalk would begin near the south entrance of the school and allow children to cross safely. "It's also an added reminder that it's a school zone there, for drivers," Bradsby said. The motion passed. The city council is putting an end to parking in front of the Holloman building between Hwy. 99 and 8th St. According to Bradsby, an ODOT project that was com- pleted in 2014 left the city with bike lanes that the city then dis- carded. "Because it's not painted yel- low there, people park there," Bradsby said. "It only leaves nine feet for traffi c and we nor- mally like to see 10 or 11 feet. The city will reportedly now paint no parking in the area to prevent cars from narrowing the roadway. According to Bradsby, the only businesses that would be affected are "the renewable en- ergy building, the tattoo parlor and the Holloman building." But the Hollomans, according to Bradsby, don't mind. The motion passed. No more parking MAIN ST., SWINGING BRIDGE POSTPONED By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Cottage Grove residents who were hoping to see progress on the Main Street Bridge and the Swinging Bridge by the new year will have to wait. Cottage Grove City Manager Rich- ard Meyers informed the city council on Monday, September 11 that the money to begin work on S. 6th St. were coming in part from the money set aside for the Main Street Bridge. "We are monitoring the conditions of the bridge but we need to get the permits to work in the water before we go to bid," Meyers told the council. "We'll wait until next spring to go to bid and part of why we can do South 6th now is because we are going to wait until the spring to do Main Street Bridge." Meyers told the council that the city also looked at doing the Swinging Bridge but opted to wait. "It was $166,000 to design the bridge and then the option you chose, not the pre-fabricated bridge, was another $400,000 to $600,000 to complete," he said. "We could have done the bridge but South 6th and the roads have a little more transportation value than the bridge." Mayor Jeff Gowing took issue with the company responsible for handling the re-construction of the Swinging Bridge, particularly the cost of the design. "At $166,000, at $200 an hour they're spending 830 hours? That's ridiculous," he said. Meyers said the city was addressing the company directly. It wasn't all bad news for bridge lov- ers at Monday night's meeting. Meyers reported that residents who donate to the Swinging Bridge on their water bills have raised approximately $2,000 so far. "It's not a lot to get it done in a timely manner but it is something to show when we apply for grants," he said. "We can say, 'Look at what the community has done so far.'" The city will be meeting in Salem for a $150,000 grant in the near future for the bridge. ore We Fetch You M yo ur door! …and deliver it all to What is the Christian faith? Obeying to be accepted OR being accepted in order to obey? Being good so that God loves me OR being loved even though I’m bad? Focusing on what I do OR focusing on what Jesus did? Being motivated by fear OR being motivated by faith? Th ere are many common misconceptions about the Christian faith. If you would like to know the truth, you are invited to attend LIFE 101, a free 15-week class at Trinity Lutheran Church (6th & Quincy), beginning Sept 17, 9:15am-10:15am You may stop attending at any time, with no questions asked Openings in 3 year-old pre-school AM & PM classes. $80/month Call for information Trinity Lutheran Church (6th & Quincy) • 541-942-2373 www.tlccg.com B O N N E V I L L E P O W E R A D M I N I S T R A T I O N Cerro Gordo conservation easement in Lane County will protect fi sh and wildlife habitat The Bonneville Power Administration intends to fund the purchase of a conservation easement on approximately 532 acres of riparian and wetland habitat near the town of Cottage Grove in Lane County, Oregon. When the purchase is complete McKenzie River Trust will manage the property for wildlife conservation purposes and BPA will receive a conservation easement to ensure that the habitat values on the property are always protected. Funding this land purchase partially fulfi lls commitments made by BPA in the 2010 Willamette River Basin Memorandum of Agreement Regarding Wildlife Habitat Protection and Enhancement between the State of Oregon and the Bonneville Power Administration. This is part of ongoing eff orts to mitigate for the impacts to fi sh and wildlife from the construction and operation of federal fl ood control and hydroelectric facilities in the Willamette River Basin. These properties will provide long-lasting fi sh and wildlife benefi ts and will become one of a growing network of conservation lands in the Willamette Valley. McKenzie River Trust will develop a management plan to guide the protection and enhancement of habitat on the property. BPA and ODFW will review the plan for consistency with the conservation purposes of the land acquisition. A letter describing the proposed purchase, a map and information describing environmental review requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act are available at www.efw.bpa.gov. For more information, contact BPA Project Manager Sandra Fife at 503-230-3678 or safi fe@bpa.gov or call toll free 800-622-4519. Please refer to the Cerro Gordo Conservation Easement. Get FREE e-edition access with your subscription! Our e-edition gives you full online access to all of the valuable features included in our print edition, plus bonus weekly deals and shoppelocal.biz. Local Events, Entertainment & Special Off ers Local News Weekly Coupon Savings Restaurant & Dining Coupons Th emed Special Sections Local Jobs & Classifi ed Listings Local Real Estate Local Sports Reporting Games, Puzzles & TV 541.942.3325 Subscribe Today with our most fetching off er yet! Weekly Delivery, Only $32.00 a year New Subscribers only Your satisfaction is guaranteed. Cancel anytime! Th is off er is not transferable and the off er is available those who have not subscribed in the last 31 days. Special introductory off ers are limited to no more than two special subscriptions in a twelve month period and must be paid in advance to qualify for special rate. Once the above discounted period ends, you will be billed at the regular subscription rates. Plus, Subscribe by phone by September 28, 2017, and your First Month is FREE! S entinel C ottage G rove 116 N. 6th h St. • PO Box 35 • Cottage Grove, OR 97424 www.cgsentinel.com