COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
| JULY 23, 2020 | 9A
Fewer vehicles on roads could mean future DMV office closures as revenue falls
ODOT’s July revenue
forecast reflects the fi-
nancial losses the State
Highway Fund has sus-
tained due to the eco-
nomic downturn.
This update to the
April forecast increases
the total estimated reve-
nue loss to $170 million
for 2020 and 2021.
Because the state’s
Drain
from A1
church,”
said
the
church’s pastor Ray Per-
ry at the June 8 council
meeting. “Especially not
next door to it — espe-
cially where we share a
property line.”
The city’s proposed
ordinance, among oth-
er stipulations, sets a
500-foot boundary be-
tween adult entertain-
ment businesses and lo-
cations where children
might congregate, which
includes
churches,
schools, child day-care
centers, libraries, parks
and playgrounds.
As Top of the Bowl
projected economic re-
covery will extend into
2024, the impact will
expand as well, increas-
ing to a total of about
$250 million in lost rev-
enue from 2020 to 2024,
when compared to the
October 2019 forecast.
This amount is split
between cities, counties
and ODOT, so the im-
pact will be felt state-
wide.
“Certainly we will
need to review the plans,
projects and programs
we had in place with the
previous budget to de-
termine where we need
to make adjustments,”
Brouwer said. “We’ll be
working on specifics in
the next few months.”
Most road projects
are paid for with federal
dollars and with money
allocated by the Legisla-
ture to specific projects,
so it can’t be used for
anything else without a
legislative change.
However, the reduc-
tion in overall funding
could impact some of
ODOT’s projects.
Facing a long-term
budget shortfall that
has been made worse by
COVID-19 and the eco-
nomic downturn, the
department established
a Budget Task Force ear-
lier this year.
The group has been
working through ideas
for reducing costs, ad-
justing programs and
more.
This week, ODOT
will be sharing these
initial ideas with the
Oregon Transportation
Commission during its
virtual meeting as well
as discussing next steps
to address the budget
situation.
sits some 25 feet from
the adjacent church, it
would fall into this cate-
gory. However, because
the business has already
opened, the question of
whether the ordinance
could be retroactively
enforced remains to be
seen.
“I’m not sure on that,”
said Drain Mayor Justin
Cobb, adding that other
layers of law enforce-
ment may complicate
the matter.
During the July 13
meeting, councilors and
staff heard testimony
from Ray Hacke, an at-
torney with the Pacifi c
Justice Institute who re-
sponded to a letter sent
by the Gateway Family
Fellowship church.
Pacifi c Justice Institute
is a nonprofi t legal de-
fense organization spe-
cializing in the defense
of religious freedom and
parental rights. The non-
profi t works pro bono in
cases which involve the
exercise of religion and
other civil liberties and
made headlines in May
when it fi led suit against
Governor Kate Brown,
challenging her emer-
gency powers during the
pandemic.
Hacke surmised that
Drain’s proposed ordi-
nance would pass mus-
ter in court.
The attorney also
voiced his concern about
the indecency of Top of
the Bowl’s nude events.
“An adult entertain-
ment business has no
business setting up shop
right next to a church.
It has no business set-
ting up next to any place
where children congre-
gate,” he argued. “These
places do attract sexual
predators.”
Hacke also referenced
certain vulnerable pop-
ulations who go to and
from drug, alcohol and
sex addiction programs
at the church.
“Here you have temp-
tation coming right to
their doorstep,” he said.
Meanwhile, City Ad-
ministrator Steve Dahl
commented there was
a concern with an Ore-
gon Supreme Court case
which would turn the or-
dinance into a freedom
of expression issue.
“My recommendation,
when it comes down to
it, is not to get the city
sued,” said Dahl. “And
I’m afraid that if we
go with that ordinance,
that we will have a suit
against in the city in that
direction.”
Cobb, however, felt
differently.
“While the Supreme
Court has ruled that
adult
entertainment
businesses are a form of
free speech and cannot
be outright banned, they
can be regulated with
a ‘time/place/manner’
ordinance, which is en-
forceable,” he said.
Cobb went on to ex-
plain that, as far as he
understood the law, such
restrictions would be
constitutional if the city
allows for some space
within the jurisdiction
on which the business
could be established.
Hacke, too, said that
a “time, place and man-
ner” restriction would
not violate freedom of
speech and that, regard-
less of a lawsuit, the
ordinance would win in
court.
Cobb then asked
Barker, Dahl and Hacke
to work on a fi nal ver-
sion of the ordinance to
be proposed at the next
City Council meeting.
Councilors also con-
sidered introducing busi-
ness licenses to Drain as
another strategy for re-
stricting nude entertain-
ment in the city, though
the mayor said he was
doing it reluctantly.
“I’m a staunch be-
liever in very limited
government
control,”
said Cobb. “So enact-
ing a business license
to me just feels wrong.
It’s against my better
instincts to want to do
this.”
Cobb recommended
that the city confer with
local business owners on
the topic before making
a decision.
“If we’re going to do
business licenses, I want
it to be as clear-cut and
easy of a process as pos-
sible,” he said.
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