COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
City
from A1
workforce, manufactures
its shelters to be an effi-
cient, safe and affordable
option for temporary cot-
tage-style housing.
Taking only about 30
minutes to set up, the in-
sulated shelters can be
snapped together on site
and include amenities
such as electrical connec-
tions, heat, windows, beds,
mattress and a door which
locks from the inside.
The units can also be
easily unassembled and
stored on a pallet when not
in use.
“These structures can be
taken apart and put back
together time and time
again,” said City Manager
Richard Meyers.
Made from aluminum
and plastic composite ma-
terials, the shelters are re-
sistant to rot, durable and
easy to disinfect for day-
to-day use.
Meyers personally at-
tested to the shelters’ dura-
bility after entering a unit.
“I was expecting the
walls to flex. I was expect-
ing the floors to bounce. It
didn’t,” he said.
Pallet lists its shelters as
being used in several sites
up and down the West
Coast, Hawaii and other
states. Many cities have
reported benefits to their
use.
The shelters come in two
sizes: 64 and 100 square
feet. The city has approved
the purchase of 15 of the
smaller units and three of
the large.
To pay for the shelters,
the city can access its
Federal Coronavirus Re-
lief Fund, some $100,000
which must be spent be-
fore the end of the year.
The city is also expect-
ing assistance from Lane
County which will fully
cover the capital costs to
prepare the site and infra-
structure.
Pallet Shelters run about
$5,000 for small units and
$7,500 for the larger ones,
making the purchase of the
units in themselves around
$100,000. Additional need
for other facilities may add
another $20,000 to $30,000
to the cost, said Meyers on
Monday’s Beeper Show.
Lane County currently
has access to more than
100 Pallet Shelters, said
Meyers, and can release
them to the city immedi-
ately.
The proposed space for
the shelters in Cottage
Grove is a city lot behind
the post office on N. 12th
Street where there are al-
ready electric, water and
sewage connections avail-
able, he said.
Under the plan, the lot
would be fenced off and
include portable toilets,
handwashing stations and
canopies to protect the fa-
cilities.
The proposed idea will
allow Beds for Freezing
Nights to continue opera-
tions under its normal sea-
sonal schedule, beginning
Nov. 15 and the structures
coming down for storage
after March 31.
In acquiring volun-
teers, the City of Cottage
Grove also plans to pur-
sue funding from Lane
County which could be
used provide an employee
to oversee the operation, a
position which would be
filled through Community
Sharing.
At Monday’s city coun-
cil meeting, Councilor
Kenneth Roberts said
the Knights of Colum-
bus could offer support
through volunteers as well.
Community input has
been overwhelmingly sup-
portive of the idea.
Local resident Rob
Dickinson spoke in favor
of the move at the virtual
city council meeting.
“It’s very important that
we provide some sort of
shelter for the unhoused,
especially during a pan-
demic, and the Pallet Shel-
ters seem like a pretty good
option,” he said. “It seems
an economical, quick and
high-quality solution.”
Cottage Village Coali-
tion President Bruce Kelsh
echoed the support, citing
his work with the logistical
side of arranging space for
Beds for Freezing Nights.
“I think it has tremen-
dous advantages over
sharing a large room with
everyone breathing in it all
night long, which is simply
not safe during COVID
times,” he said. “Whereas
I find the individual cab-
ins a really good solution
for dealing with the issue
of providing a shelter for
people that’s warm, safe
and secure.”
The Pallet Shelters may
also serve as a long-term
solution for other uses
such as emergency hous-
ing, providing a chance to
enhance emergency pre-
paredness in the commu-
nity.
“These could be used if
Worship
Directory
COTTAGE GROVE:
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ
195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
10:00am
Christian Education: Pre-K through 5th
Tim Baker, Senior Minister
www.6thandgibbs.com
First Presbyterian Church
3rd and Adams St
541-942-4479
Rev.: Karen Hill
Worship: 10:00am
Sunday School: 10:00am
fpcgrove.com
Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
Worship: 11:00am
The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm
Praying Thru Life: Wednesday 6:00pm
Hope Fellowship
United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd.
541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
Church of Christ
420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
Sunday Service: 10:30am
Cottage Grove Bible Church
1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
Pastor:Bob Singer
Worship 11am
Sunday School:9:45am
AWANA age 3-8th Grade,
Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm
www.cgbible.org
Cottage Grove Faith Center
33761 Row River Rd.
541-942-4851
Lead Pastor: Kevin Pruett
www.cg4.tv
Full Childrenʼs Ministry available
Services: 9:00am & 10:45am
Hope In The Grove
Baptist Church
77820 Mosby Creek Rd
Pastor: Wayne Husk
Worship: Sunday 10:00am
Evening Bible Study: Wednesday
6:30pm
541.649.1043
For weekday and Holy Day of
Obligation schedule see website
OLPHCG.net
Confession: 4 PM to 5 PM
Saturdays or by appointment
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell
552 Holbrook Lane
Sunday 8 am
In other city council news:
• City Manager Annual
Performance Review —
The city council voted to
renew the contract of City
Manager Richard Meyers
following an overwhelm-
ingly positive review from
the city council. Meyers’
compensation was also
increased commensurate
with 2020-21 fiscal year
salary adjustment recom-
mendations for depart-
ment heads with 2 percent
COLA/wage adjustment
plus a 2.5 percent stipend
for the PERS state em-
ployee pension stability
account.
Now coming into his
24th year in the role, Mey-
ers expressed his apprecia-
tion for the job.
“Every year is different,”
he said. “This is year by far
exceeds the other years for
being different, but it’s still
a pleasure working for the
council and continuing to
do things to make Cot-
tage Grove an even better
place.”
Councilors spoke glow-
ingly of Meyers’ perfor-
mance.
“This is the best review
I’ve given Richard un-
der some of the toughest
times,” said Councilor
Mike Fleck. “I just want to
commend Richard and his
staff. They do an excellent
job running our city and
I’m proud to be part of this
organization as well.”
Councilor Jake Boone
referenced his own range
of experiences with other
cities as president of the
League of Oregon Cities
and spoke of Meyers’ as a
unique asset.
“We in Cottage Grove
are really spoiled to have
Richard here,” he said.
“We’re really lucky to have
him and we want to keep
him as long we can possi-
bly get him to stay.”
• Land Purchase —
The city council voted to
redesignate and rezone a
3.04-acre parcel under city
ownership along the east
bank of the Coast Fork of
the Willamette River ad-
jacent to Lincoln Middle
School to Parks and Open
Space/PR Parks and Rec-
reation District.
The parcel’s new des-
ignation will allow a trail
to be developed along the
river northward from E
Hayes Ave.
A continuation of the
trail to Sixth St. may be es-
tablished over time.
…and deliver it all to
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Church with the fl ags.”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
All Welcome
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: Kevin Miller
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00
Non-Denominational
United Methodist Church
Church of Christ
334 Washington 541-942-3033
1041 Pennoyer Ave
Worship 10am
541-942-8928
umcgrove.org
Delight Valley
Preacher: Tony Martin
Church of Christ
Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
“VICTORY” Country Church
33087 Saginaw Rd. East
Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm 913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913
541-942-7711 • Pastor: Bob Friend www.pennoyeravecoc.com
Pastor: Barbara Dockery
Two Services:
Worship Service: 10:00am
9am - Classic in the Chapel
Old Time Gospel Fellowship
Message: “WE BELIEVE IN
10:30am - Contemporary in the
103 S. 5th St. • 541-942-4999
MIRACLES”
Auditorium
Pastor: Jim Edwards
Sunday Service: 10:00am
CRESWELL:
First Baptist Church
Join in Traditional Christian Worship Creswell Presbyterian
301 S. 6th st • 541-942-8242
Church
Pastor: David Chhangte
Our Lady of Perpetual Help 75 S 4th S • 541-895-3419
Sunday School 9:30am
and St. Philip Benizi
Rev. Seth Wheeler
Worship Service 10:30am
Catholic Churches
Adult Sunday School 9:15am
Youth Wednesday 6:30pm
1025. N. 19th St.
Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am
cgfi rstbaptist.com
541-942-3420
website www.creswellpres.org
Father John J. Boyle
Holy Mass:
Saturday Vigil – 5:30 pm
Sunday – 10:30 am
Our Worship Directory is a weekly feature.
If your congregation would like to be a part of this directory,
contact us today!
S entinel
With county funds, the
Pallet Shelter set-up will
also likely be required to
include a check-in com-
ponent, Linoz said, which
serves as a deterrent for
some.
In addition to the Pallet
Shelter project, the City of
Cottage Grove and Com-
munity Sharing have part-
nered to acquire a mobile
shower/restroom trailer,
which is due to arrive in 12
to 14 weeks.
The trailer comes with
two
shower/restroom
combinations and is in-
tended to be used to
address various needs
throughout the commu-
nity, including emergency
situations, festivals and
people without access to
such facilities.
Community
Sharing
volunteers will be operat-
ing the trailer.
Councilor Mike Fleck,
who is executive director
of Community Sharing,
said he did not anticipate
any monetary transaction
between the city and the
nonprofit, but declared a
potential conflict of inter-
est as a precaution.
ore
We Fetch You M yo
ur door!
Trinity Lutheran Church
6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
Pastor: James L. Markus
Living Faith Assembly
Sunday School & Adult Education
467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
9:15am
Worship Services Sundays: 9a & 11a Sunday Worship 10:30 am
Youth Worship Sundays: 11a (all
Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
ages welcome)
5:00pm TLC Groups
Mondays: 5:30p (6th-12th grades) tlccg.com
C ottage G rove
a neighborhood had a fire
and we needed housing,”
said Meyers, “or if we had
a huge snowstorm and
Red Cross came in because
people didn’t have power,
we could set those up.”
In addition, new avail-
ability may open up for
some during freezing
nights compared to the
previous model.
“We’re moving away
from a congregate shelter
to a cottage shelter,” said
Meyers on the Beeper
Show on Monday, adding
that the cottage model gets
around the Beds for Freez-
ing Nights’ restrictions
on mixed-gender shelter-
ing and unaccompanied
youth.
The new model would
open opportunities for
youth, allow families seek-
ing shelter to stay together
and even accommodate
for pets.
During the city council
meeting, Councilor Can-
dace Solesbee brought up
concerns from constitu-
ents who have reported
negative experiences in
areas close to such shelters.
Meyers drew a contrast
to Medford’s “urban camp-
ground” project, which the
Pallet Shelter plan is not
meant to follow.
“We want to do some-
thing a little more digni-
fied and a little more re-
spectful,” he said.
Beds for Freezing Nights
Board President Ruth Li-
noz pointed out that the
group’s criterion for acti-
vation is 29 degrees or be-
low because it encourages
priority use of Eugene’s
Egan Warming Center and
reduces the shelter-seek-
ing traffic from outside
areas.
“And if they’re staying
closed, we don’t open just
to avoid that dynamic,” she
said.
| OCTOBER 29, 2020 | 7A
541-942-3325
116 N. 6th Street
Cottage Grove, OR
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.
Local News
Local Events, Entertainment & Special Off ers
Weekly Coupon Savings
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 $29.00 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
November 11, 2020, and your
First Month is FREE!
S entinel
C ottage G rove
116 N. 6th St. • PO Box 35 • Cottage Grove, OR 97424
www.cgsentinel.com