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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2016)
Polk County News Polk County Itemizer-Observer • November 16, 2016 5A Hotel: To bring $600,000 annually Voters say yes Continued from Page 1A Once up and running, the develop- ment should bring about $600,000 an- nually in revenue, Clyne said, includ- ing $200,000 in lodging tax, a revenue stream the city of Independence hasn’t had much of before. “It is our intention to use the rest of the lodging tax to help the down- town,” he said. “Hire a main street co- ordinator, partner with IDA (Indepen- dence Downtown Association), assist in any way we can. We think that’s an investment that will pay back as well.” Clyne said making investments in private-public partnerships has helped make Independence what it is today. “At the end of the day, you have to say Independence is the place it is today because the city took the bull by the horns,” he said. “We built the civic center that people don’t think it gives back, but we think it did. It built the parking lot of the movie theater; it built a library. It put in a streetscape, an amphitheater, a beautiful plaza with a fountain — all these things created the dynamic community we’re sitting in today. I don’t know how you measure a return on invest- ment on those things, but I do know we’ve got a great city, and I’d put it up against any city in Polk County.” The hotel should be finished in two to veterans By Emily Mentzer The Itemizer-Observer TOKOLA PROPERTIES/ for the Itemizer-Observer The boutique, four-story hotel is pictured on the far left in yellow. years and start construction in fall 2017 or spring 2018. It’s something the city has had its eye on for a long time, Clyne said. In addition to the development, downtown parking should be created, as well as a commercial area being marketed to wineries. “This creates a focal point for the wine industry,” Clyne said. “Polk County is the second largest producer of grapes and vineyards. We’re a bit of a secret.” Clyne said the hotel will provide up- scale rooms and more amenities at a higher price point than anything that can currently be found in Polk County. The development also will include extensions of trails through the apart- ments and along the shorefront, con- necting Riverview Park to the Inde- pendence Civic Center. Love: Pursuing plans for nonprofit Continued from Page 1A Love helped organize community forums on bond measures and political can- didate races, Brandt said. “Overall, she has im- proved the positive percep- tion and increased the value of the MI Chamber and Visi- tor Center as an important community resource for businesses, organizations, residents and guests,” he said. Love gave nods to the many volunteers and the board of directors. “It’s a collective effort,” she said. “That’s definitely not just me. That’s having an engaged board, the ambas- sadors, having more people with more ideas. The num- ber of people involved and engaged has increased over the years.” WOU: Student safety No. 1 Continued from Page 1A Fuller said the state’s uni- versity presidents will ask the L e g i s l a t u re t o p r ov i d e enough money to avoid large tuition increases. “We will be lobbying as a group of presidents to sus- tain the investment in higher education,” he said. “A $100 million investment, if it is successful, would limit tu- ition increases to less than 5 percent.” He said the reality is uni- versities may have to resort to a combination of tuition increases, using reserves and cuts to balance their budgets. Safety also was on stu- dents’ minds at Friday’s forum. Rebecca Chiles, WOU’s di- rector of public safety, said what she descr ibed as “racially charged, racially motivated” and “gender-mo- tivated” speech that defined part of the presidential cam- paign has students worried for their physical safety. Chiles said there hasn’t been any specific threats re- ported, but in response to a number of questions about safety of students, she said her office is “being more vig- ilant.” “We are being more open, being more watchful,” she said. “We will monitor social media more than we ever have done before.” She added if students feel threatened or uncomfortable for any reason, they need to report what they’ve experi- enced or witnessed. “We have to be told about those things to start looking for ways to address them,” she said. “Safety is the No. 1 priority.” Love is leaving the cham- ber to pursue a passion in nonprofits. Though she de- clined to give specifics, Love said the idea is something that has been percolating in her head for the last 10 years. “It just feels like now is the right time to research and investigate this nonprofit idea that I have and see if it’s something that’s worth pur- suing, and something that this community can use,” she said. Board member Cec Koontz said Love has done amazing work with the chamber. “The level of service, the responsiveness — it’s really all her,” she said. “Of course she’ll have the most organ- ized transition planned in the world.” Brandt said Love has brought integrity, leadership and structure to enhance the foundation of the chamber. Beers & Ciders! Local Wines! The chamber is heading in a positive direction, Love said, including a 28 percent increase in annual revenue. “We’ve improved our rev- enue; our financial position is stronger,” Love said. “We have a pretty good retention rate for our membership. We have people who want to serve on the board, who want to serve as ambassa- dors. We don't have to beg people to be involved.” The board of directors will begin an immediate search with the intent of filling the position by the end of De- cember, Brandt said. The po- sition will be posted on vari- ous job boards this week. SALEM — Measure 96 passed 83 to 16 percent statewide and countywide. In Polk County, 31,636 people voted yes, while 6,066 voted no. Measure 96 will dedicate 1.5 percent of Oregon Lottery dollars to veteran outreach services. Rep. Paul Evans (D) and Sen. Brian Boquist (R) co-spon- sored the bill to refer the measure to the ballot. Evans said passage of the measure means 83 percent of Oregon voters want a $19 million expansion of veterans outreach and services in a two-year period. “That’s a little under $10 million a year going to county veteran service officers, outreach, housing,” he said. “What that means for me and the co-chairing sponsors is we need to guard against what is very likely to happen.” Evans said he expects budget staff won’t support it and may promote “budget harvests,” or “budget sweeps,” mak- ing cuts to the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs with the expectation to use the newly appointed Lottery dol- lars. “It was never designed to be a replacement, rather an augmentation,” Evans said. “Obviously, if there are a bunch of challenges the state has to go through, no de- partment should be spared, but I want to be clear that the veterans department should not be cut deeper than other departments.” Evans said it will be his job, along with co-chair spon- sors of Measure 96, to ensure that doesn’t happen. “Things change,” he said. “Sometimes things need to be cut, but if it exceeds that and is clearly seen as a large, massive supplanting, then that wouldn’t be allowed to happen because it would not be what the voters wanted.” OTHER MEASURES Measure 97, a corporate tax that was expected to raise $6 billion in tax revenue over two years, was struck down by voters 59 to 40 percent statewide. Measure 98, requiring money to be dedicated to high school student education, passed 65 to 34. Measure 99, dedicating Oregon Lottery money to pay for Outdoor School, passed 66 to 33. r Celebrating Ou r y! a s r e v i n n A t s 1 November 19 • Door Prize s s • Giveaway 65 taps of the finest beer, cider, local wines, kombucha, and craft soda compliment our menu of locally sourced cuisine. Family Friendly Lunch & Dinner 957 Main St., Dallas • 503-420-4277 OPEN: SUN-THURS 12-9 • FRI-SAT 12-10 Good People!