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About Polk County itemizer observer. (Dallas, Or) 1992-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2017)
Polk County News 6A Polk County Itemizer-Observer • May 3, 2017 Dallas adds money for street repairs By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer JOLENE GUzMAN/Itemizer-Observer file Polk County Bounty Market starts Thursday and runs through September at the Academy Building lawn. Bounty market returns Thursday By Jolene Guzman The Itemizer-Observer DALLAS — Yes, it really is springtime, and that means the opening of Polk County Bounty Market in Dallas. The market opens Thurs- day and will run through September at the Academy Building lawn, 182 Academy St., Dallas. Hours each Thursday are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The eighth-season opener comes after a harsh winter and soggy spring, so pro- duce may make a later ap- pearance than normal, but opening week has plenty for shoppers to browse. “We have 14 vendors to kick off the season,” said Bonnie Dreier, the market manager. “We will have a lot of plant starts to start the season with, a lot of home baked foods, canned foods. This is the plant-start season of the market.” Opening week features a special guest, April Scott, the author of “GMO-Free Child: A parent’s guide to dietary cleanup of genetically modi- fied organisms.” Check it out What: Polk County Bounty Market. Where: Acadmey Building lawn, 182 Acade- my St., Dallas. When: Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more informa- tion: Find the Polk Coun- ty Bounty Market on Face- book. Dreier said Scott’s re- search of her child’s food al- lergies led her to write a book about genetically mod- ified organisms, or GMOs. “Her daughter was diag- nosed with 63 different aller- gies when she was little, so she started researching foods. She kind of uncovered this stuff that was causing her daughter’s allergies,” Dreier said. “She’s full of so much information. She’s going to be down there with us to sign books and edu- cate. She’s very passionate and her book is an easy read. We’re very excited that she’s going to be there.” Southwestern Polk Rural Fire Protection District will be at the market the first week to talk about the dis- trict’s bond on the May 16 ballot. Cash & Company is pro- viding live entertainment from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The market has several season-long vendors, but is looking for more, particular- ly those who specialize in baked goods, cheese, mush- rooms, coffee, nuts and art. “We don’t have too many artisans,” Dreier said. “We are still looking for vendors, sponsors and nonprofits. I’ve got a couple spaces for nonprofits I would like to see filled.” Family Building Blocks will be in the lineup a few times during the season, and Master Preservers will be making an appearance. Dreier said the market still has openings for musical acts, too. “We are looking for live music, for people wanting to get that exposure,” she said. “We would love to plug them in down there.” Bounty is hosting a few special events this season. The first is May 25 with Re- public Services focusing on recycling. The company will be back for a second event during the summer months. On June 1, Oregon Olive Growers is holding a tasting event. “We are very excited about that,” Dreier said. The lunchtime crowd will be pleased to see the return of Black Rock BBQ and El Pique as market regulars. Fans of Good & Bready will have to plan to buy their fa- vorite baked goods as the popular vendor won’t be at the market every week. Dreier said customers should check updates on the market’s Facebook page to see who will be selling each week. After last season’s record- breaking year, Bounty Mar- ket is looking forward to an- other great season — and some better weather on the horizon. “I believe this year is going to be really good,” Dreier said. For more information or to see weekly schedules: www.exploredallasoregon.or g/bounty-market.html. DALLAS — The Dallas Budget Committee voted to add an extra $50,000 to the 2017-18 budget for street repair. The money would be taken from the street depart- ment’s contingency fund and bring the total spent on paving and repairs to $350,000. Committee member Pete Christensen brought a pro- posal to spend at least $100,000 in residential areas. Chris- tensen served on the citizen’s committee that researched solutions for upkeep of residential streets. A $10 million bond to repair residential streets failed by a large margin in May 2016. “We had a street bond issue proposed to the public and people told us two things: First, we don’t want to pay more taxes and, second, was that we think the city can find some way to provide street maintenance for residential streets out of your budget,” Christensen said. He suggested the budget for maintaining collector and arterial roads be reduced by $50,000 and another $50,000 from contingency go toward residential areas. City Manager Ron Foggin said a large portion of the $919,500 contingency is spoken for with two projects on the horizon. The city is responsible for contributing $200,000 to a project that would redo a portion of Godsey Road. Half the funding to install a signal at Fir Villa and East Ellendale Avenue claims another $600,000. The other half will come from street system development charges. He also warned that falling behind on arterial and col- lector streets, which carry more traffic, could be expensive to correct. “The further you fall behind on collector and arterial streets, the harder it is to catch up,” he said. “You roll the dice a little bit.” That said, Foggin said he didn’t see a problem with tak- ing the extra $50,000. “I think it is really smart, and also, I think it would be a reminder to the community that we are actually hearing them,” said Dawn Reynolds, a committee member. “I’m not sure we can afford all that, but I do think we should seriously consider it.” Foggin said the city’s public works committee is work- ing toward a proposal on the issue of residential streets. Ken Woods Jr., a budget committee member and city councilor, proposed another option: Pull $50,000 out of contingency and allow the public works committee to rec- ommend how to divide up the funding. That motion was approved with committee member Mike Harris voting no. The committee’s next meeting is May 15 following the Dallas City Council meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. In other business, the committee: • Following discussion at the April 24 meeting, voted to restore funding for a recreation coordinator, which had not been part of the proposed budget. • Heard an update from Foggin about an assessment of the city’s options to build a public safety facility. He said one option to pay for the building or renovation of such a facility would be to ask voters to continue paying on a bond that will expire. The current cost of that bond is about 50 cents per $1,000. He said he wanted the committee to be aware of that consideration and that the city has an analysis happening now. “It may be a tougher conversation if you wait until it’s completely paid off,” he said. Budget: Money to help pay for RARE NEWS IN BRIEF Continued from Page 1A Street improvement projects account for $60,000 and include side- walk improvements and adding “wayfinding signs” in the downtown area. “All of those things that really have helped the downtown blocks really become that much more attractive,” Locke said. “It’s been a significant invest- ment over the years, and we want to continue doing that.” The proposal has the district designating $4,000 to help pay for a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments par- ticipant to work with the Dallas Downtown Associ- ation. “That really contributes to the urban renewal mis- sion, downtown, where all of these programs and dol- lars are focused,” Locke said. A grant program cur- rently open to businesses in the 500 to 900 blocks of Main Street has been ex- panded in the 2017-18 budget. Do you know? POLK COUNTY AGRICULTURE “It will now be available to folks in other areas in the urban renewal dis- trict,” Locke said. About $86,000 is direct- ed to the district’s annual debt payment, and an ad- ditional $86,000 is held in reserve. Another approximately $147,000 is in contingency. Minet to retire email servers on July 1 INDEPENDENCE/MONMOUTH — Monmouth-Independence Networks will retire its email servers on July 1. Those emails ending in @minetfiber.com will not be active after that date. Minet will forward emails from the old accounts until July 1, once users have their new email account set up. According to a press release, Minet has not issued a new email address in more than two years. Usage of the email service has dropped from more than 5,000 to fewer than 500 customers. These were some factors in the decision to terminate the email service, the release states. For more information or for help setting up a new email ac- count: 503-837-0700. May 4 - Sept. 28 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Featuring Growers, Producers & Artisans om the Polk County area and beyond! Live Music by Cash & Company 11 am to 1 pm ____________________________ SPECIAL GUESTS: April Scott—Author: GMO-FREE Child SW Polk County Fire District— Bond Measure 27-125 Polk County Farm Value/Size __________________________ • 144,748 acres in the county are used for farming and ranching • 127 acres is the average size farm • $149,846,000 was the total market value of Ag products sold (78% from crops and 22% from animals) Top 4 Crops in Polk County OPENING DAY VENDORS: Who farms in Polk County? • Field & grass seed crops — 42,178 acres (3rd largest in the state) • Forage land used for hay — 13,482 acres • Wheat for grain — 12,253 acres • Cut Christmas Trees — 6,895 acres (4th largest in the state) • Average age of a farmer 60.7 years old • 47.7% of the farmers have another occupation • 17.3% are female Top 4 Livestock Groups • Cattle — 15,365 head • Chickens for eggs — 4,101 • Colonies of bees — 3,329 (7th largest in the state) • Sheep & Lambs — 3,291 • Akha Farm • April Scott - Special Guest • Bermudez Family Farm • Beyerle Farm • Birdsong Farm • Black Rock BBQ • Edie’s Designs • El Pique • Hound Boy Bakery • Karl’s Birdhouse & Feeders • Rosie’s Scottish Goodies • SW Polk Fire District and Dallas Fire & EMS • The Soap Store • Unobtainium Food & Beverage ______________________ Seeking: Vendors, Non-Profit Organizations and Sponsors 182 Academy St., Dallas • 503-623-2564 (Corner of Main & Academy) Facebook.com/bountymarket http://www.exploredallasoregon.org/bounty-market.html
