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