Polk County News
2A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • april 12, 2017
NEWS IN BRIEF
99W north of Rickreall closed briefly
rICKreall — The Oregon Department of Transportation
temporarily closed a section of highway 99W north of rickreall
saturday to repair a failing culvert.
The emergency closure about five miles north of rickreall
began saturday and repair work began Monday, according to
an ODOT press release. The section should be closed for less
than two weeks.
Travelers will be detoured to Perrydale and Bethel roads during
the closure. Flaggers, sign and message boards will guide mo-
torist through the detour. Drivers should plan for extra travel time.
The corrugated metal culvert at ash swale Creek was sched-
uled for replacement with a bridge in 2020, but the condition of
the culvert deteriorated rapidly. Maintenance in recent days
didn’t slow the failure, according to ODOT.
The bridge project, already paid through the state Trans-
portation Improvement Project, still is scheduled for 2020.
Dallas Vitality to meet Tuesday
OrGaNIC INVesTMeNTs/for the Itemizer-Observer
The site plan for Organic Investments includes two phases. The first phase is in gray.
Income taxes are due Tuesday
Marijuana facility moves forward
Indy processing, grow business approved amid controversy
By Emily Mentzer
The Itemizer-Observer
INDEPENDENCE — Or-
ganic Investments, a mari-
juana processing and grow-
ing facility, got the green light
from the Independence City
Council after its business
plan was appealed twice.
The business will be lo-
cated on Stryker Road with-
in the city limits of Inde-
pendence.
The decision came at a
special meeting on April 5,
after the city council held a
public hearing on March 31
re g a rd i n g t w o a p p e a l s
against the planning com-
mission’s approval of the
business.
The appeals were filed by
a resident of the Independ-
ence Airpark and by the In-
dependence Nor thpark
Homeowners Association,
also located in the airpark.
Concerns ranged from noise
to odor to increased crime and
decreased property values.
The applicant, Organic
Investments, said he would
address the noise concerns
by taking a baseline meas-
urement of ambient noise,
followed by measurements
twice a year for each of the
two phases of development.
If noise levels exceed the
baseline ambient noise by
10 decibels, the applicant
will correct it, said Joey
Shearer, city planner.
“At the last hearing, we
heard some concerns from
the public and the council
about the noise impacts of
the processing and the
grow,” Shearer said. “The
staff analysis of the rules led
staff to believe that the agri-
cultural component was ex-
empt. The condition (pre-
sented by Organic Invest-
ments) takes elements hold-
ing them both not to exceed
the 10 decibels above ambi-
ent noise.”
Councilor and airpark res-
ident Ken Day said he didn’t
feel like the city’s leadership
“did any favors” in the appli-
cation process. He said by
the April 5 meeting — and
by the March 31 public hear-
ing — the application was
“basically a done deal, and
we have to do it.”
“We should have done it
early in 2016 or late 2015,”
Day said. “We’ve taken away
our ability to say no. I don’t
like being put in that posi-
tion, but I don’t think there’s
anything I can do about it. I
think they’ve made a lot of
remedies to the main issues,
which is odor and noise.”
Councilor Tom Takacs said
he appreciated the applicant
putting additional condi-
tions on noise, adding that a
large part of the public con-
cerns was a distrust that the
city would enforce its codes.
“I’m not sure that’s some-
Dallas — The Dallas Vitality Connection, an economic de-
velopment group in Dallas, is meeting Tuesday at the Dallas
Civic Center, 945 se Jefferson st., Dallas.
Joan Wessell, the executive director of the Downtown Cor-
vallis association, will be the guest speaker. Dallas Vitality Con-
nection’s “action teams,” addressing small businesses, commu-
nity marketing, and property development, will meet.
residents are welcome to attend the gathering, which be-
gins at 6 p.m.
For more information: scott Noon, scott@stsupportllc.com or
503-623-3630.
thing we can address during
this appeal process, perhaps
we can actually address that
in the budget committee
meetings, make sure our
code enforcement takes all
the resources they need to
manage this sort of busi-
ness,” he said.
Councilor Marilyn Mor-
ton pointed out that Inde-
pendence is not alone in
these kinds of discussions.
“It would have been nice
to be more ready than we
were,” she said. “Part of it is
this is new to the whole state
of Oregon. We’re concerned
about regulation, that all the
inspections are done. I would
like to … remind that there
are two other agencies over-
seeing this business, the Ore-
gon Health Authority and the
Oregon Liquor Control Com-
mission, so we have some
friends on our side with this.”
saleM — The Department of revenue is reminding Oregoni-
ans that the deadline to file their 2016 personal income tax re-
turn — Tuesday — is quickly approaching.
The department expects 2.2 million returns this year, said
Megan Denison, the policy and systems manager for the Per-
sonal Tax and Compliance Division, in a press release.
Oregon honors filing extensions issued by the Irs, but an ex-
tension to file is not an extension to pay. Interest on your tax
due starts accumulating on april 19, the day after the return is
originally due. If you can’t pay your taxes, please contact the
department. Based on your financial situation, they may be able
to set you up on a monthly payment plan.
If you owe taxes and need to make a payment, the depart-
ment’s field offices can no longer accept cash, but they do still
accept payments by check, money order, or credit or debit card.
If you need to make your payment in cash, you’ll need to go to
the department’s main office in salem. You can make electronic
payments directly from your checking or savings account or by
credit or debit card through revenue Online, the department’s
self-service site. You’ll need a valid email address to make a
credit or debit card payment online or in their offices. For infor-
mation or to set up a revenue Online account, visit www.ore-
gon.gov/dor.
Donate now to master gardeners
POlK COuNTY — The Polk County Master Gardener Plant
sale Country store is in need of tax-deductible items they can
repair, refurbish or re-purpose for their fundraiser in May. They
need those items now, well before the sale date to make the re-
pairs.
Master Gardeners will pick up items for the Country store.
Call rachel Montesano at 917-219-5629 and pickup will be
arranged at your convenience.
For more information: 503-623-8395, or extension.oregon-
state.edu/polk/mg.
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