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WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018
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Sign of times, progress on Main St.
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Craig Compiano got a call
one day about a property in
Cottage Grove. A musician
had been in town scouting lo-
cations for a venue that would
house a summer series concert
when he stumbled upon 522 E.
Main Street. Th e building, part
of the city’s downtown historic
district and formally known as
the Stewart and Porter build-
ing, was vacant and had been
for more than a year.
Compiano, who said he
enjoys renovating historic
buildings, said the building
will house eight one-bedroom
apartments upstairs while the
downstairs space will be avail-
able for lease for a business.
While the grand opening is
months away and the building
is not currently taking appli-
cations for renters, one bit of
activity has garnered attention:
Th e old sign that used to hang
on the building has been refur-
bished and was replaced earlier
this month.
“Th e sign is the fi rst step and
most visible step in the project,”
Compiano said, noting that the
windows on the building’s exte-
rior have also been repaired. He
expects that once the exterior is
fi nished, the property manage-
ment company can begin tak-
ing serious lease applications
for the space downstairs.
“We want to retain the fl a-
vor of the building,” Compiano
said.
See SIGN 9A
Workers install the newly
refurbished sign on the Stew-
art and Porter building on E.
Main Street.
C/O KENNETH ROBERTS
BUILD Grant
draws both
concern,
support
City approves
IGA with
Creswell
Patriotic fl y-by
By Caitlyn May
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
cmay@cgsentinel.com
See GRANT 10A
See COUNCIL 9A
59th annual Bohemia Mining Days coming to town next week
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
For the 59th time, Coiner Park
on Highway 99 will transform into
Bohemia City in a three-day festi-
val meant to honor Cottage Grove’s
history and serve as the city’s largest
tourism draw of the year.
On Monday night, the Bohemia
COMMUNITY
Mining Days (BMD) board came
before the council to give an update
on the festival that relies on spon-
sors, carnival revenue and some
help from the city to fund its $52,000
budget.
Festival coordinator Cindy Weel-
dreyer, who has been involved in
the festival for more than 30 years,
introduced several board members
EVENT
Message for drivers
Final Pool Race
Local billboard reminds
drivers not to text and drive
Coach Bud Taylor will host
a “last race” at the old pool
Saturday
PAGE A3
Cottage Grove is in the
building inspection busi-
ness.
Th e result of a maze of
mandates handed down
by the state of Oregon and
subsequently
rescinded,
the city formed an in-
spection department, sent
employees to certifi cation
training and began mak-
ing deals with neighboring
cities to provide inspection
services.
Monday night, the city
council approved a slight-
ly tweaked version of its
intergovernmental agree-
ment with Creswell, the
fi rst municipality to part-
ner with Cottage Grove.
Earlier this year, the state
argued that cities who con-
tract building inspection
services to a third party
were violating the state’s
constitution.
According to the city
manager’s offi ce, while the
state and cities grappled
over what exactly the deci-
sion meant, Cottage Grove
opted to form its own in-
house building inspection
department.
City Manager Richard
Meyers previously told the
Sentinel that the move has
Residents throughout the area celebrated our nation's Independence Day on July 4th. This photo, submitted by Enya
McKinnon, is one of several submitted by readers of The Sentinel capturing the spirit of patriotism. See more photos
on page A7.
PAGE AX
INDEX
Th e Cottage Grove City
Council heard more than
40 minutes of public com-
ment during the June 9
meeting aft er city staff put
an agenda item before the
board requesting permis-
sion to apply for a $10 mil-
lion grant.
Th e meeting, which rou-
tinely draws single-digit
audiences, saw a protest
sign, passionate speech-
es and an extended public
comment period; a fi rst in
at least two years.
Th e BUILD Grant (Bet-
ter Utilization of Transpor-
tation to Leverage Devel-
opment), and the question
of whether or not Cottage
Grove should apply for it,
drew a line between those
who felt the grant signi-
fi ed a possible change to
down town Cottage Grove
and those who believed the
funds were needed for fu-
ture projects that could be
decided at a later date.
Both board members
and city staff repeatedly re-
minded that audience that
Monday night’s vote was
not an approval of the Main
Street Refi nement plan, but
rather a vote that gave the
city’s staff permission to ap-
ply for the grant.
Th e refi nement plan was
approved two years ago and
was conceptual, rather than
detailed and lacked engi-
neering specifi cs, accord-
ing to City Manager Rich-
ard Meyers. Th e details, he
said, would be ironed out
by a committee made up
of residents, city staff and
the city council if Cottage
Grove was selected as a
grant recipient.
Currently the plan, lo-
cated on the city’s website,
mentions the narrowing of
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and gave a rundown of activities and
events at this year’s festival to a coun-
cil that was sorely divided.
While all of its members support-
ed BMD, lines were drawn between
the residents of Slabtown and Lema-
ti. A long-held tradition, BMD sees
residents don buttons identifying
them as a resident of either town
and re-enacting the feud that saw a
Calendar ...................................... B12
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
very real fi ght break out in the 19th
century that eventually split Cottage
Grove into two; Slabtown and Lema-
ti.
City councilors donned old-west-
ern gear and chided each other over
the state of their respectful cities
in-between updates from Weeldryer
See BMD 11A
cgnews@cgsentinel.com
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P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove
_______________
VOLUME 130 • NUMBER 39
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