April 18 City Council meeting features state representative, discusses construction grant

By ANDREW GRIFFIN/for The Herald  —  On April 18, the city council held a meeting in which the council discussed a potential construction grant for the WAC, approved TRT funding and heard from a state representative on legislative projects and Measure 110.

Representative Conrad highlighted his work in Salem to date

The beginning of the meeting was highlighted by a presentation from State Representative Charlie Conrad.. A former Springfield police officer and member of the Lane County Planning Commission, Conrad now represents Oregon’s District 12, which includes Lane County and, by extension, Oakridge.

Conrad’s presentation primarily covered legislative efforts that he has worked on and is currently pursuing. These included house bills such as House Bill 4130, intended to address issues with healthcare corporation mergers in Oregon, and capital projects, such as recent efforts to build new wells in Junction City and increase access to water.

One key piece of legislation that Conrad focused on was Oregon’s controversial Measure 110, which decriminalized several narcotics such as fentanyl and heroin in an effort to encourage treatment as opposed to punishment for drug use. 

Currently, a joint committee in the Oregon legislature is discussing potential changes to the bill that will recriminalize use of narcotics, making it an unclassified misdemeanor. This means that offenders could face a maximum 180 days of jail time for the offenses, and a potential 90 additional days sentenced for probation violations. “It’s not what I wanted,” said Conrad. “I wanted something more stringent, but this is what we’ve got so I’m looking at this and I’m going to do everything I can to make it successful, make it work.”

IGA approved for Westfir

The council also renewed new contracts for Oakridge police and fire/EMS services. Known as Intergovernmental Agreement contracts, these allow Westfir to pay Oakridge in order to access limited first responder services. The renewed contracts for this fiscal year will see a 3% increase on both the police and fire/EMS contracts, leading to an additional $2,910 total that will be paid by Westfir and account as revenue for Oakridge. Westfir will also need to approve these renewed contracts as well.

Grant request could see solar array for the WAC

Additionally, the council approved a Letter of Authorization that will allow the city to apply for a grant from the Oregon Department of Energy that would be used for construction on the Willamette Activity Center. According to an agenda bill from the council, the grant would be used to construct a solar array and battery storage system at the center. 

“We are not sure yet exactly how much we will be asking for, but I would estimate that the solar panels, batteries, installation, etc. would be somewhere in the neighborhood of just under $1M,” said City Administrator James Cleavenger in an email.

Tree Planting and Arts Council receive TRT funds

The council also decided to approve TRT funding requests from both Oakridge’s Tree Planting Festival and the Oakridge Council for Arts and Culture. After deliberation, the council granted the Tree Planting Festival $1,000 in funds and the OCAC $2,500 in funds.

As for appointments, the Council approved  Cameren Anderson’s application to be appointed to Seat 6 on the Administration Advisory Committee. Anderson will serve a 3 year term scheduled to end in December of 2026.