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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2016)
CELEBRATING COURAGE DHS WRESTLING SENDS DALLAS AWARDS 13 TO STATE Page 10A Page 15A Volume 141, Issue 8 www.Polkio.com February 24, 2016 75¢ American Gas, Tech to bring 900 jobs to Dallas By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — American Gas & Te c h n o l o g y ( AG & T ) founder Ray Tate Jr. said the company is developing the “21st century gas station” and its vision is as big as the facility it’s remodeling to build its dream. AG&T, which specializes in the development of lique- fied natural gas fueling sta- tions, bought the long-va- cant Tyco building in Dallas. Workers have been busy for months fixing roof leaks and tearing down walls to prepare the building for its new purpose. “We had so many leaks, we couldn’t count them,” Tate said during a tour of the building Friday. Soon, roof leaks may not be a concern. Tate projects a high de- mand for the company’s technology as the United States looks for cleaner alter- natives to oil. With an abundant do- mestic supply, natural gas is well-positioned to be a major part of that move- ment. “We anticipate seeing the U.S. getting off foreign oil and cleaning up our cities,” Tate said. Tate said the remodel should be finished in about four months and, after that, will build up to producing 40 fueling station units per month out of the facility. To begin with, the compa- ny will focus on converting fleets — such as police, am- bulance and taxi services — in several states, including Oregon and California. Tim Tight, the company’s vice president of finance, said he’s projecting investors will be making a hefty profit, some 13 times their invest- ment within five years. That figure moves to 18 times including potential government subsidies sup- porting the development of alternate fuels, he said. Tight projects AG&T will bring back the jobs lost when the plant went dark nearly 10 years ago. “Our goal is to bring back the 900 jobs back to this community that was hurt so much by Tyco leaving,” Tight said. He said there are other plans for investing in the community, including de- veloping a welding school that will offer local students internships to learn the skill. IN YOUR TOWN DALLAS Mr. and Ms. Dallas is seeking nominations for families or individu- als in need. »Page 17A FALLS CITY Falls City will put a bond on the ballot to pay for a new elemen- tary school gym. »Page 5A BAD STREET, GOOD STREET INDEPENDENCE Students at Inde- pendence Elementary School were part of an efort, along with Mon- mouth Elementary School, to raise money to purchase Soccket Balls. »Page 17A MONMOUTH Dallas council approves putting $10 M, 10 year street bond on May ballot By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — After three years of re- search on how to best maintain resi- dential streets in Dallas, the issue is headed to voters. On Feb. 16, the Dallas City Coun- cil voted to put a 10-year, $10 mil- lion bond on the May ballot, the first of possibly three steps to address street repair in the face of declining gas tax revenue. “The road infrastructure is one of those things we just end up taking for granted,” said Dallas City Manag- er Ron Foggin, calling streets anoth- er city utility. “The fact of the matter is, we haven’t figured out a way to charge people to use them.” All nine city councilors agreed, which immediately took the “no ac- tion” option off the table. The other options included im- plementing a street utility fee, which could be used to finance a revenue bond, and a 20-year bond using the existing rate after Polk County’s road bond expires in 2017. Of those three, the 10-year bond was the option two citizens’ com- mittees endorsed. It would cost about $1.09 per $1,000 of assessed value on proper- ties and would repair or rebuild 22.75 miles of streets. That would cost about $18 per month for a property with an assessed value of $200,000. Foggin added that currently gen- eral obligation bonds are receiving very low interest rates. He estimated a 2.4 percent rate, making the actual cost over the life of the bond $12,312,800. Passing the bond wouldn’t solve Dallas’ street problem entirely, as about 11.25 miles of streets wouldn’t be repaired. To address the whole issue, the city would need to implement a street utility or local gas tax to keep fixed streets in good condition and pass a second smaller bond in 10 years. “This really is clearly a three-step process,” Foggin said. “It’s not bond for $10 million and life is good.” Foggin said to just stay on top of maintenance, the city needs to in- vest about $650,000 per year. In the current budget, about $270,000 is going to streets. At the council Feb. 1 meeting, it was suggested the city look into im- plementing just a utility fee charged to each city sewer account for streets and using that revenue, in- stead of a tax, to finance a revenue bond. With just a few weeks to crunch the numbers, Foggin provided an es- timate on what that would cost and how much work could be complet- ed. On the plus side, all streets would be repaired and the city would al- ready have a utility fee in place to address future maintenance needs. Drawbacks include having to delay repairs a few years while the city collects enough revenue to con- vince investors the fee will pay for a revenue bond. Foggin said based on his calculations, a revenue bond would be more expensive, costing between $29.70 and $31.77 per ac- count. Foggin said to get exact numbers, the city would need more time. “We are probably talking about at least six months’ worth of analysis and maybe an outside consultant to help put it together,” Foggin said. He offered another alternative which he said represented a “middle ground.” Polk County’s road bond will ex- pire in 2017, and Foggin suggested Dallas could propose to voters to renew the 50 cents per $1,000 of as- sessed value currently charged for the next 20 years. See STREETS, Page 5A All things ag to come to Polk Fairgrounds Mid-Valley Winter AgFest to make its debut with family, fun and farm activities By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer RICKREALL — When the attendance at the annual Polk Home and Garden Show more than doubled last year, organizer Deb Thomas realized it was in part because of the Oregon Poultry Swap that ran con- currently with her event. Usually, Thomas said at- tendance has been about 800 people on Saturday dur- ing the home show. Last year, it soared to 2,200, most of them coming through the THE NEXT 7 DAYS PLANNING FOR YOUR WEEK back door. “I realized I needed to do something ag related,” she said. The poultry swap, in need of more space, ran the sec- ond weekend of February, leaving the rest of the fair- grounds for Thomas to add t h e Mi d - Va l l e y Wi n t e r AgFest, which will run in conjunction with the home show Saturday and Sunday at the Polk County Fair- grounds & Event Center. The event has been 20 years in the making, Thomas said. Check it out: What: Mid-Valley Ag Fest. When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Where: Polk County Fairgrounds & Event Center, 520 S. Paciic Highway (99W). Admission: $5, cash only. Of note: At the same time, the ninth annual Polk Home and Garden Show will take place. There is no admission to the home show, which will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For more information: Ag Fest, mvwagfest.com; home and garden show, www.polkhomeandgardenshow.com. “We’ve been talking about it for years,” she said. “We just weren’t quite sure how to do it.” After seeing the interest in agriculture from the Poultry Swap, Thomas said she started working on the ag fest the day after the home show last year. Thomas said the home show and the ag fest are two separate events, but they share the same location. The home and garden show will still be free, with free parking. The ag fest costs $5 cash only admis- sion for those 18 years and older. Thomas said the response for the agriculture fest has been tremendous. See AGFEST, Page 5A Monmouth must in- stall a $700,000 water iltration system to be in compliance with sur- face water treatment requirements. »Page 5A SPORTS Perrydale’s boys bas- ketball team will play at Triangle Lake Wednes- day (today) in the irst round of the OSAA Class 1A state playofs. »Page 15A Celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday Itemizer-Observer staf report POLK COUNTY — Li- braries and schools throughout Polk County will celebrate Read Across America, in honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday on March 2. Events will take place all week to honor the fa- mous children’s author and artist. Seuss, who died Sept. 24, 1991, would have been 112 this year. What better way to cel- ebrate the man who changed how children’s books were written — and read — than to read to- gether at a whimsy party? Seuss wrote and illus- trated 44 children’s books. For more information about Dr. Seuss: www.seussville.com. For details on reading events at local libraries during Read Across Ameri- ca: www.ci.mon mouth.or.us, www.ci.inde- pendence.or.us, www.ci.dallas.or.us. Find all of Polk County’s libraries on Facebook, in- cluding Falls City Wagner Library. wed thu fri sat sun mon tue Join others at St. Thomas Episcopal Church for its Lenten service, in- cluding worship and a soup supper. 5:30 p.m. Free. Listen to new and old love songs at the music jam at the Dallas Senior Center. Bring a snack to share. 6:30 p.m. Free. Check out the outra- geous comedy “Leading Ladies” at Dallas High School, which runs Thursday through Saturday. 7 p.m. $5. Calmlee’s Bookstore in Dallas will host its irst book club meeting. Join others in determining the reading list. 7 p.m. Free. Take a stroll in downtown Inde- pendence for Last Sunday at River Gallery and see the Wild Woman exhibit. 2-4 p.m. Free. Happy Leap Year Day! Feb. 29 is added to the calendar every four years to make up the time it actu- ally takes the Earth to rotate the sun. James2 Community Kitchen serves meals on Tuesdays to all who are hun- gry at St. Philip Catholic Church. 4:30-6 p.m. Free. Partly sunny Hi: 58 Lo: 41 Mostly sunny Hi: 63 Lo: 44 Showers Hi: 61 Lo: 45 Partly Cloudy Hi: 57 Lo: 42 Cloudy Hi: 55 Lo: 42 Showers Hi: 55 Lo: 44 Showers Hi: 62 Lo: 43