By JOSHUA BERK/for The Herald — The Oakridge City Council discussed, during the Feb. 20 council meeting, the freezing of a grant for the Willamette Activities Center, requiring training for councilors as well as the announcement of a new public hearing regarding TV Butte.
A $ 3.7 million grant that was part of a larger 20 million grant for Lane County to build resilience hubs has been suspended. This grant would include funding for the emergency operations center for the future WAC. The grant was given through the Environmental Protection Agency which has seen massive cuts nationwide.
“My concern is obviously not being able to provide the social services that we’re planning for the WAC to do. But I’ll tell you right now, it’s suspended or frozen. It’s not cancelled yet, so we’re hoping for the best,” Mayor Bryan Cutchen said. “I think it’s important that we have plan B if it all goes south, that we find a way to use the money that we have already to make that building habitable so we can provide at least some of the social services that we envision.”
The mayors of Lane County have all signed a letter requesting the funding not be suspended. Since the contract has already been signed for the grant, there has been a discussion on filing suit.
“We’re hopeful that the federal government will honor their contract,” City Administrator James Cleavenger said. “If not, then we’ll just join one of the many lawsuits that are filed and hopefully the federal government will hold their promises.”
The councilors circled back to their discussion on requiring all councilors to take mandatory training classes during their terms. The city council decided to come in on April 22nd to take a webinar on public meeting law. This class was already required for city councilors to complete by the end of their term.
Of particular interest was the requirement for those on the budget commission to take a class on learning how to manage the city’s budget. It was discussed whether only councilors on the committee should be required to take these classes or if volunteers should as well. The council did not come to a decision during the meeting on whether budget classes should be required.
There will be another public hearing on the fate of TV Butte allowing for public comment. The date and time of the hearing have not been announced, but City Administrator James Cleavenger said he will give an update when it is.
Four recreational vehicles in the city have been impounded, including three that are at the City of Oakridge Public Works and another one on Highway 58. The city is planning on a contract with Friends of the Fall creek to dispose of these RVs with hopes of keeping the price under $1,500 per RV.
One of the firefighters and paramedics of Oakridge Fire and EMS, Dominick Siri, resigned from his position. Siri cited “a growing disillusionment with the city’s future and the ongoing lack of support from the Hazeldell board for our civil service entities.” No direct actions from the board were cited.
Councilor Thaddeus Carter was appointed to the RTMP/TRT committee after stepping down from the Fire and EMS board citing a lack of bandwidth. This fills one of the two commissions with open councilor seats while the administration council seat remains vacant.
There was a discussion held on potentially closing the administration council as it remains without a council member to give the board guidance. There were talks of the administration council position becoming ad-hoc. Councilor Marty Scott volunteered to fill the seat, but no decision was made about the future of the council position.
Professor Andrew DeVigal from the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communications attended the meeting to share information on the recent survey his students have been conducting. His class is conducting an information needs assessment and has been distributing fliers around the town soliciting survey responses.
In city business updates, the City of Oakridge has asked the state legislature for $1.5 million to purchase Kitson Hot Springs, $500,000 for a new ambulance and $600,000 for the WAC. There was also a separate request for $1.1 million for infrastructure towards the Oakridge Industrial Park.
Resolution 04-2025 was passed establishing the EMS reserve fund that was previously not established in the city’s budget. The resolution passed unanimously and will have no impact on the budget as the funds were already accounted for.
Joshua Berk
"Josh Berk is a student journalist with the Catalyst Journalism Project at the University of Oregon. He is a writer and reporter with a passion for storytelling and bylines as an arts reporter at the Daily Emerald."
