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Friday Update (Published each Friday and posted late Friday Afternoon) |
Beeper
The City Manager will be on KNND's Beeper Show, Monday, March 8th from 8:30 to 9:30 am.
Discount Prescription Drug Program
The participation in the National League of Cities Prescription Discount Card program continues to grow in Cottage Grove. During the month of January, thirty citizens received 50 prescriptions with an average discount of $9.30 per prescription. That represents a 21.73% savings for the participants.
If you would like to save money on your prescription medications like your neighbors have be sure to pickup free discount card and try the program.
Business Faire
The Chamber of Commerce Greeters will be holding the Business Faire on Thursday, March 11th from 4:30 to 7:30 pm in the Community Center. Stop by and visit the Faire on Thursday and learn about the goods and services available in the community.
YAC Movie Night
The Cottage Grove Youth Advisory Council will be hosting a Movie Night at the Community Center on Friday, March 12th at 7:00 pm. The YAC will be showing "Batman Forever" and is sponsoring the movie night to provide a positive and fun activity for youth in the community. Anyone is invited to come and enjoy the free movie. Popcorn will be available.
Fiber Optics/Technology Grant
On Thursday, the Federal Government announced grant awards through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration's Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) which is funded through the Recovery Act. Funded at $4.7 billion, BTOP provides grants to support the deployment of broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas, to enhance broadband capacity at public computer centers, and to encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. The BTOP will also advance the Recovery Act's objectives to spur job creation and stimulate long‑term economic growth and opportunity.
The Regional Fiber Consortium was awarded an $8,325,530 grant through the BTOP program. The grant was received to enhance the existing fiber optic backbone and deploy 124 miles of fiber optic network. Included in the grant is a fiber deployment in Cottage Grove that will develop a fiber loop on the northern portion of the City connecting the Hospital, wastewater treatment plant and City Shop as well as fiber development throughout other rural communities along the consortium's fiber. The work must be completed within two years of the grant award.
Congratulations, Fiber Consortium, Lane Council of Governments and all the jurisdictions that participated in the preparation to secure this grant. Competition for the grant process was difficult and the grant review process required a substantial amount of information.
CG WiFi
After the first month of service the subscribers continue to grow on CG WiFi. Currently, 84 customers have subscribed for paid service on the system while over 593 subscribers are registered for the limited free service. Additional radios continue to be installed and the radios are being adjusted to optimize the service within the community.
Chambers Railroad Bridge
The City has received all the necessary approvals to authorize the emergency removal of the Chambers Railroad Bridge. Pacific Power and Charter Communications have moved utility lines to provide a safe work zone for the contractor's equipment. The contractor Hamilton Construction from Springfield has begun site preparation. They have excavated the banks on each portal of the bridge and begun to level and prepare work areas. Actual dismantling of the bridge is not scheduled to begin until the week of March 15th. The City is constructing a website that will have information about the bridge and will have photos and video clips showing the progress. The site should be completed early next week and will be at: www.cottagegrove.org/chambers.html.
A special thank you is needed for everyone that has stepped forward and made this quick response to remove the bridge possible; Pacific Power, Charter Communications, OBEC Engineers, Blue Sky Tree Service, Hamilton Construction and City Staff.
Black Butte Mine
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Black Butte Mine has been listed on the EPA=s superfund National Priorities List. The listing provides additional EPA resources to the investigate the contamination at the site as well as pursue cleanup of the contamination. Additional information about the listing can be found at the EPA's website at: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/sites/npl/.
Willamette Water Management Meeting
This week, Water Production Superintendent, Ray Pardee and Public Works Director, Jan Wellman will be participating in the first Willamette Water Management meeting of the 2010 season. These audio/web meetings are sponsored by the Reservoir Regulation and Water Quality Division of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District. These informational meetings are held each week, starting the first week of March and concluding by mid to late September. There are approximately 70 stakeholders that can participate in these informational meetings and they represent interests throughout the Willamette watershed. This first meeting of the 2010 season will detail current snow pack and water supply conditions, short and long term precipitation forecasts, and discussion of any planned construction and repair activities on the USACE's Willamette system reservoirs. With snow pack and rainfall below average for this time of year, Water Production personnel will be monitoring water supply forecasts very closely.
Row River Water Treatment Plant Landscaping
One of the conditions of approval that was included in the City's Conditional Use Permit for the expansion of the Row River Water Treatment Plant (RRWTP) was the installation of visual masking landscaping plants. This week, Parks Maintenance employee, DeRoss Kinkade installed irrigation and planted shrubs along the fence line in front of the RRWTP.
Quote of the Week
Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it.
-Dwight D Eisenhower
Previous Weeks of Updates Available: