8A | MARCH 4, 2021
Funding from A1
year when $100,000 was
set aside to assist busi-
nesses impacted by the
pandemic.
Cuts to a planned “vi-
sioning” project, city
layoffs and taxes from al-
cohol, cigarette and mar-
ijuana sales contributed
to the city’s ability to
establish the fund, said
City Manager Richard
Meyers in an interview
at the time.
About a quarter of the
funds were set aside to
be used as a matching
grant with Business Or-
egon and the remain-
ing $74,500 were to be
loaned through the city’s
program.
While the matching
grant fortuitously bal-
looned to $85,000 and
was spent on aiding 11
local businesses, the
loans saw only a luke-
warm response.
With a little more
than $30,000 still in the
program, half of the re-
maining funds were ap-
proved to be funneled to
the Community Sharing
program.
The remaining funds
in the emergency loan
program will be convert-
ed to a grant program,
also managed by Com-
munity LendingWorks,
to cover a portion of
water, wastewater and
|
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
stormwater bills for
small local businesses
that were closed or re-
stricted by state orders.
Meanwhile, Commu-
fers utility assistance to
Cottage Grove ratepay-
ers who are in jeopardy
of having their water
shut off by the city due
will be shut off to qualify.
Those who do qualify
may receive a one-time
payment of up to $300
to cover costs. The pay-
The remaining funds in the emergency loan
program will be converted to a grant program,
managed by Community LendingWorks, to cover a
portion of water, wastewater and stormwater bills
for small local businesses that were closed or
restricted by state orders.
nity Sharing Executive
Director Mike Fleck said
the $15,000 going into
the H20 Program will
make a significant im-
pact on the community.
“This will be a dramat-
ic increase in the amount
we normally would be
giving out,” he said.
Fleck, who is also a
city councilor, stated in
a Feb. 22 city council
meeting that he did not
have a conflict of interest
in the matter.
“Community Sharing
is where I am employed,
but every dollar of the
H20 Program goes di-
rectly to the client,” he
explained. “Our agency
does not receive any sort
of administrative fee for
doing that.”
The H20 Program,
which has served the
area for nine years, of-
to outstanding bills.
The program is funded
almost entirely through
donations from ratepay-
ers, who produce an av-
erage of about $1,000 in
assistance per year.
On the 15th of each
month,
Community
Sharing opens up avail-
able funds and distrib-
utes payments on a first-
come, first-serve basis
until funding is deplet-
ed. Leftover funds roll
over into the following
month.
Normally, one would
have to earn less than
185 percent of the fed-
eral poverty level to be
eligible, however that
number has increased to
300 percent during the
pandemic.
One must also pro-
duce a notice from the
city warning that utilities
ment is limited to once
per year.
The program’s level
of impact varies year to
year.
Typically, between six
and 10 households are
aided through the pro-
gram per year, according
the nonprofit’s register.
Though last year saw
only three payouts, five
households have already
qualified for aid this
year.
Fleck noted that the
numbers were not reflec-
tive of actual demand,
however, and that ad-
ditional funding would
yield a much higher
turnout.
Staff at Community
Sharing estimated that,
were funding unlimited,
an additional 15 house-
holds per month would
likely benefit from the
program, highlighting a
deep need for utility bill
assistance in the com-
munity.
Both the residential
and business assistance
programs are anticipat-
ed to be ready in mid-
March.
In addition, the city is
automatically processing
credits for the turn-on
fees for businesses which
turned off their city util-
ity service when they
were ordered closed.
Another of the assis-
tance package proposals
will see parklets installed
for downtown restau-
rants.
Parklets are extensions
of sidewalks into park-
ing spaces and provide a
small space for people to
dine or relax.
Plans were in motion
last year to initiate a pilot
program for up to three
parklets on Main Street,
though financial and
logistical issues delayed
the project.
However, Travel Ore-
gon announced late last
month that the City of
Cottage Grove has been
awarded a $30,000 in-
vestment through Trav-
el Oregon’s Destination
Ready program, which
will go directly toward
the parklet development
project.
Originally announced
as a $250,000 opportu-
nity, Travel Oregon re-
ceived more than $4 mil-
lion in requests through
135 applications.
In response to this
high demand, the agen-
cy reviewed internal
program dollars and re-
allocated resources to in-
crease the award amount
to $913,000, which al-
lowed 34 projects to be
awarded across the state.
The $30,000 award
will fund the installa-
tion of all three parklets
in downtown Cottage
Grove and city staff have
already begun efforts to
install the facilities as
quickly as possible.
Though the names of
the businesses receiving
parklets have not yet
been released, down-
town restaurants Jack
Sprats and Axe and Fid-
dle had previously ex-
pressed interest in the
idea.
In a more modest bid
to relieve the stresses of
pandemic restrictions,
the City of Cottage
Grove is also working
with the local Oregon
Liquor Control Com-
mission office to waive
2021 city liquor license
renewal fees for those
businesses which were
closed by state orders.
The move is intended
to benefit mainly small
and local businesses.
“It’s not a lot, but every
little bit helps,” said Mey-
ers of the plan.
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South Lane Mental Health
“Alas”
South Lane Mental Health, located in Cottage Grove,
Oregon, is now providing mental health services for
Spanish speaking individuals. Our program, Alas,
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SOUTH LANE COUNTY
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Businesses of all sizes have been hit hard in this challenging new age of
social distancing and self-isolation, but the blow has been catastrophic for
small operations that rely on in-person transactions. There are many ways to
help, like purchasing gift certificates or memberships, and yet there are many
service-type businesses that don’t have that option.
As we look to a new year, we’re celebrating what connects us as a community,
and what we can do to support our local businesses!
THAT’S WHY WE CREATED THE SUPPORT LOCAL TOGETHER CAMPAIGN.
The Support Local Together campaign will help local businesses who have to
choose between promoting their business and paying the electric bill. It will
also help support the Cottage Grove Sentinel, who has seen a strong decrease
in advertising revenue, but an increase in readership.
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Your financial support will go directly to fund advertising that our local businesses need to stay top of
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By becoming a supporting member, you are helping to replace some of the advertising revenue the
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HERE IS HOW TO SUPPORT:
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Our community is small but generous and we recognize there are many great organizations, like ours,
that could use your help.
We believe the vast majority of our readers have always shared our view of the value and necessity of a
strong local media and are
willing to provide support
Yes, I would like to become a 2020/21 Support Local Together Sponsor
equal to two or three cups of
Call 541-942-3325 x 1200
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future.
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Thank you in advance for
doing your share to secure a
strong local economy in the
community we are proud to
serve.
Gary Manly
General Manager
gmanly@cgsentinel.com
541-942-3325 x 1207
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