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YAC
The Cottage Grove Youth Advisory Council will be meeting on Monday, May 5th from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
Home and Garden Show
On May 3rd and 4th the Cottage Grove Home and Garden Show will be held at the High School. Pacific Power and EPUD are going to be at the show promoting the Greening the Grove Challenge. Stop by the booths and sign up for renewable energy.
Bike Fest ‘08
The Star Motorcycle Club is holding Bike Fest’08 on Palmer Avenue in front of Cottage Grove Yamaha on Saturday, May 3rd , from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Be sure to stop by and enjoy the event. Proceeds from the event go to Parent Partnership to help homeless teens in our community.
Down by the Riverside
The City of Cottage Grove is coordinating a number of projects for the Down by the Riverside on Saturday, May 17th. Cottage Grove participates as a part of the statewide Down by the Riverside event conducted by SOLV. Projects will be begin at 9:00 a.m. Contact Teresa at 942-1185 for more information and to sign up for projects.
Yard of the Week
The 11th season of the Yard of the Week program will begin next week. The Yard of the Week program is an annual program sponsored by the City of Cottage Grove and the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce to recognize those within the community that go the extra mile to make the community look good by keeping their yard looking nice. Any single family home within the community is eligible for the award. The winning residents will receive a month of free water from the City and a gift certificate from a local Chamber Business. Nominations to be considered for Yard of the Week can be submitted to the City Manager or the Chamber of Commerce.
Row River Water Treatment Plant Intake
The intake structure at the Row River Water Treatment Plant is nearing completion. Slayden Construction is scheduled to remove the cofferdam pilings during the first two weeks of May. The air compressor building is complete and waiting for the installation of the compressor equipment. Security fencing, around the intake structure and compressor building, is currently under construction. This week, representatives of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife visited the intake structure site to inspect the fish screens and the proposed operation of the air burst system. The compressor inside the building produces a burst of air which cleans sediments and debris from the intake pipe. Fish screens are meant to keep any aquatic life from entering the intake pipe during plant operations. The intake construction site will be reclaimed and the boat ramp refurbished as the final steps in this phase of the overall water plant construction.
Water and Sewer Plant Tours
In early May, a class from Walama Restoration will be touring the Wastewater Treatment Plant and representatives from the City of Bend Public Works Department will be touring the Row River Water Treatment Plant. The wastewater treatment plant tour is part of an environmental and river health class at Lane Community College. Bend Public Works personnel are touring membrane water filtration plants in Springfield, Roseburg and Cottage Grove in an attempt to review design and operation specifications for a proposed new plant to serve the City of Bend.
Prather Creek Intake Structure Removal
Water Production Superintendent, Ray Pardee and the Public Works Director met this week with the US Forest Service and a representative of the Joint Venture to discuss the expanding requirements for the removal of the Prather Creek Intake Structure and reclamation of the site. Originally, the City was required to remove the intake structure and exposed sections of the pipeline. When the fill/removal permit was submitted to the Department of State Lands, additional requirements were noted. The City will now be required to remove approximately 400 feet of pipeline, reclaim 300 feet of access road to a depth of 20 inches, and plant and reseed the site. The USFS has stated that they would not require the City to do more than they would do themselves if they were reclaiming this site. Since this is Federal Land, there are questions about jurisdiction that need to be answered. We do seem to be approaching consensus, however, on what will be required of the City to reclaim the Prather Creek Intake site. Once consensus is reached, the City will be able to receive a firm price estimate so that the work can be scheduled during the appropriate in-water work period.
Planning Commission Applications
Applications are being accepted to fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission that expires on December 31, 2009. The applicant for the vacant position must live in the City of Cottage Grove. The Planning Commission application can be obtained from the Community Development Department at City Hall. All applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m., May 23rd. For more information call 942-3340.
Transportation Enhancement Grant
The Transportation Enhancement Grant application was delivered to ODOT’s office in Salem on May 1st , one day before the deadline. This is a statewide competitive grant. If we are awarded the grant, design will commence in 2010 with construction of the new intersection at Hwy 99 & Main, and safety improvements to Hwy 99 & Harrison in 2011.
Oregon Emergency Management Association (OEMA) Conference
Emergency Operations Manager Howard Schesser attended the annual OEMA “Partners in Preparing Oregon”. The conference started off with professional development courses, and Howard attended the course on Designing & Building an Emergency Operation Center (EOC). The course looked at three different newly constructed EOC’s in metropolitan areas, the process to determine the need, what to consider when establishing an EOC and how to arrange the center for efficient use. The Conference also heard from the Director of Oregon State Emergency Management Ken Murphy on the reorganization of the department under the military department and potential future legislation.
Keynote Speakers included Brigadier General Mike Caldwell, Deputy Director, Oregon Military Department and David Henry, Emergency Management Coordinator for Wal-Mart. General Caldwell spoke on the changing role of the Oregon National Guard in terms of Emergency Management and the partnership that the Guard will provide for with our local partners. David Henry spoke from the perspective of Emergency Management for the Wal-Mart stores, employees and the communities they serve. This talk was oriented to getting the stores back up and running for the most part, but also covered the local impacts to communities.
Howard attended a series of workshops on:
Project Wildfire – Local Coordinating Group for Deschutes County was presented by representatives of USDA Forest Service, BLM, ODF and local home owners associations. Wildfire is a natural disaster in Central Oregon that is encountered each year. Through preparation and maintenance, individuals can actually change the behavior of fire and protect their home, property and lives. Discussion on the experiences of fuel management reduction programs on public land, reduction of ladder fuels, and steps that home owners can take to provide a defensible zone around their structures was presented. Also, lessons learned that can be applied to other parts of the state were discussed by the group.
National Response Framework and National Incident Management System (NIMS) - Region X of FEMA presented the update on the recently adopted National Response Framework and its impact on NIMS. The framework is the next step for the National Response Plan and is the guiding document for emergency management. It incorporates the NIMS program which the previous Plan did not. Further information will be forthcoming as staff adjusts to the new framework and the amended NIMS requirements.
Homegrown Domestic Terrorist - This workshop dealt with the issue of Homegrown Domestic Terrorist and the potential threat posed. FBI Special Agent Tim Suttles who is the Eugene Resident Agent of the Portland Division spoke on the topic and used the investigation of ELF/ALF as an example of homegrown domestic terrorists. He spoke about the pattern of increasing violence when the protest actions do not result in their desired outcomes. He also spoke about the signs to watch for.
Use of Incident Management Teams (IMT’s) for All-Hazard Response in Oregon - Randy Simpson, Chief Deputy, Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal presented what IMT’s are, how to request them, and what they will do for you in an emergency situation. IMT’s provide comprehensive incident command to manage ongoing emergency operations. They provide expertise in logistics, finance, planning and public information, safety, and community issues. They respond with resources mobilized by the Governor that has overwhelmed the control and resources of local emergency responders. Real life experiences were presented by Chief Simpson from the December 2007 storms in Columbia County and the City of Vernonia.
The final day was spent with a presentation on the Disaster Impacts on Lifeline Utilities and State Economy from Tyree Wilde warning metrologist, National Weather Service, J.R. Gonzalez, Oregon Public Utility Commission and James Rodney, Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industry. All three spoke on the impact of a disaster and used the December 2007 Vernonia storm as a living example presenting the impacts over the initial seven day period and those that are still there today. Finally, a presentation from the Governors Office was made on what to expect in Emergency Management in the next legislative session.
CG Economic Development Committee
The Economic Development Committee met with Judd VanGorder, President of the CG Chamber of Commerce where he presented a proposal for this group to provide a grant over a two year period to the Chamber where they would hire a part-time person to assist the Chamber Director in Economic Development. The grant would have specific goals such as an updated land inventory, small business center in Cottage Grove, and have a one-stop center for economic development information. After considerable discussion the Committee agreed to have Matt Parsons and Jody Rolnick meet with Judd and Marc to develop a more comprehensive and formal proposal to the Committee requesting an annual grant of $20,000 a year for two years. This would be used by the Chamber to conduct a certain level of economic development activity with specific outcomes. The Committee would become an advisory to the Chamber Executive Director, providing feedback and assistance as well as monitor progress.
Building Inspection Program
With the layoff of our Building Official the Community Development Department has made a smooth transition to full service being provided by The Building Dept. LLC for all permit review and inspection services. After 30 days of operation no problems have been encountered.
Census Address Update Complete
The Community Development Department has completed the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) Program for the 2010 Census. The majority of the work was completed by Anna McLearn with assistance from Alice Santos, both are Planning Interns. The LUCA Program is a decennial census geographic partnership program that will allow the U.S. Census Bureau to benefit from the local knowledge in developing it Master Address files for the 2010 Census. The City chose to work with the most sensitive information allowing us to provide the most accurate address list. The work done by Anna and Alice is confidential and not available to anyone except the U.S. Census bureau. Staff had 45 days after receiving the base information from the U.S. Census Bureau to complete the review by May 5th. The work was submitted to the U.S. Census Bureau on Monday, April 28th. Good job, Anna and Alice!
2008 Certified Local Government Grant Awarded
The City of Cottage Grove has received a $10,500 Certified Local Government Grant from the State Historic Preservation office to undertake repair of a historic downtown neon sign, and undertake a reconnaissance Level Survey of approximately 1,500 buildings in Cottage Grove. City match is in-kind services by staff.
Quote of the Week -
“A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.”
----Richard M. Nixon
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