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THE COTTAGE GROVE

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Community celebration set for Main Street JEREMY C. RUARK Cottage Grove Sentinel

Cottage Grove city officials have set the date for the Historic Main Street Grand Opening. The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16 “This event is more than just a ribbon-cutting ceremony; it’s a celebration of community and the revitalization of our beautiful downtown.,” the city officials state in a release. “Come enjoy delicious food, fun activities, exciting prizes, and live music. Bring your family, invite your friends, and be a part of this exciting milestone for Main Street.” The City of Cottage Grove received a $5 million federal grant from the Economic Development Administration through the American Rescue Plan and with a local contribution of $1.3 million, began the project in February of last year. The projected was completed last December.

The Main Street Revitalization Project in Cottage Grove’s Historic District includes street repaving, frontage improvements, and new water and storm sewer utilities. These improvements include new sidewalk; new curb/gutter, pervious pavers in revised parking areas; water main; water services; storm sewer; storm sewer manholes; double lamp poles; vehicular poles with signals; pedestrian poles at crosswalks; street trees; water fountains;

new pavement striping, and other improvements such as fiber network cable. Cottage Grove Project Coordinator Shauna Neigh. said there are several key benefits following the Main Street Revitalization. “A safer downtown with more lighting and less tripping hazards. The beautiful area will attract the community to congregate, tourists

to visit and entrepreneurs to invest,” she said. In a published interview with The Sentinel last December, Neigh said a key focus throughout has been supporting local businesses during the construction phase, which included partnering with the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce for the Pardon our Dust weekly gift card drawing as a way to encourage shoppers to visit the Main Street businesses.

“Both the city and the Wildish crew have maintained diligent communication with businesses, taking their needs into account when planning construction activities,” Neigh said in the December interview. The project conducted by the city’s contractor Wildish, was not without its challenges. There was an unexpected underground discovery. “During excavation on the north side of 6th Street, a 16-foot heating oil tank was discovered approximately four feet below the surface,” Neigh said. “The city immediately contacted the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and hired BB & A Environmental to manage the removal and testing process. Once tests confirmed the area was free of contaminants, the tank was safely removed and transported by BB & A Environmental to a recycling facility for disposal.” An earlier pre-ceremony was conducted Dec. 12, by city officials following the completion of the Main Street revitalization.

Don Williams at 90: A Lifetime of Service to Cottage Grove centers. He eventually concluded his Weyerhaeuser career as the mill’s Health, Environmental & Safety Manager, a role that reflected both his technical expertise and his steady leadership. Williams built a reputation as a fair and principled negotiator. Both management and union leaders trusted him at the bargaining table, and he helped maintain stability during periods of industry change.

He was born in 1936 in Everett, Washington, and launched his career with Weyerhaeuser in 1954 as a millworker apprentice, beginning a path that eventually brought him to Cottage Grove. In 1958, he married Jean, the love of his life, and together they raised two children.

COMMUNITY VOLUN TEER As the mill’s community liaison, Williams stepped into leadership roles across Cottage Grove. He took on multiple responsibilities within the Cottage Grove Rotary Club and is a Paul Harris Fellow. He served many years on the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, including twice as its Jean lost her battle with breast canpresident. He and Jean volunteered cer nearly 20 years ago. When she for numerous local nonprofits and died, Don continued investing his supported community projects for time and talents into the organizadecades. tions they loved and supported. In December 1975, Williams COUNTY AND STATE transferred to the Cottage Grove LEADERSHIP Weyerhaeuser Mill to serve as Williams also represented Cottage Head Filer, where he oversaw chip Grove at the county and state quality control. As the company level. In the mid 1990s, he chaired restructured, he took on broader the Lane County Community responsibilities. He advanced from Corrections Committee, which Area Superintendent to Department later became the Public Safety Manager and supervised quality Coordinating Council. He advised control for more than 200 machine

code amendment that would shorten the city’s current 72 hour parking limit to 24 hours, a change city staff said could help address neighborhood concerns but would come with significant legal and practical challenges. Chief of Police Cory Chase presented the staff report, noting that both residents and elected officials have raised concerns about long term vehicle parking on city streets. Staff evaluated several possible revisions to Cottage Grove Municipal Ordinance 10.20.050, which governs how long vehicles may remain parked in the public right of way. Before recommending a path forward, staff considered regulating RVs, boats, and trailers differently from other vehicles by shortening

their parking limits or prohibiting them from parking on public streets altogether. Chase said those approaches were set aside because of legal limitations, enforcement impacts, and the burden they would place on property owners. Staff also reviewed the City of Eugene’s model, which bans RV parking near resi-dences and hotels during overnight hours, but concluded it would not address Cottage Grove’s complaints and would be difficult to implement in a smaller city. The amendment now under consideration would reduce the maximum parking time from 72 hours to 24 hours and require a vehicle to move at least two blocks for at least 24 hours before returning to its

five decades strengthening Cottage Grove through steady leadership, civic service and a deep commitment to community life.

CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

Friends and colleagues honor the longtime Weyerhaeuser manager, civic leader and volunteer who helped shape the city’s modern era. Don Williams, a longtime Weyerhaeuser manager, volunteer and nonprofit champion, celebrates his 90th birthday on March 25 surrounded by family, friends and the many organizations he helped shape. Williams has spent more than

EARLY LIFE

three Lane County sheriffs — Dave Burks, Bob McMannus and Jan Clements — and Sheriff Burks appointed him as a citizen advisor to the Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association. Williams also served on the South Lane County Fire & Rescue Board and participated in the Oregon Fire Marshals Association, where he contributed to regional fire safety efforts. CIVIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS His two terms as Chamber president bookended some of Cottage Grove’s most significant civic improvements. When he returned in 2013 to revive the Chamber’s Tourism Committee, he led the restoration of the donated vintage carousel and helped create the “Covered Bridge” Pilot’s Lounge at the Cottage Grove Airport. The Chamber honored him with both its First Citizen Award and its Distinguished Service Award. Williams also strengthened communication among local nonprofits. In 2014, he convened nonprofit and civic leaders to rebuild a presidents’ council that could coordinate information and support community organizations. That effort created T.E.A.M.–Cottage Grove, which continues to produce the weekly Around the Grove News e newsletter and remains a central hub for community information.

Council reviews citizen complaints about long-term RV parking “We are not turning a blind eye nor are we ignoring the problem,” Cory Chase, Cottage Grove Police Chief CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

The Cottage Grove City Council is reviewing a growing number of citizens’ complaints about recreational vehicles, boats, trailers, and other vehicles parked for extended pe-riods on public streets. The discussion at the council’s Monday night March 9 regular public meeting centered on an parking

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original location. The proposal also clarifies that inop-erable vehicles may be treated as abandoned under state law and subject to citation and removal.

PUBLIC COMMENT

Public comment touched on homelessness, public space impacts, and long term RV parking. One speaker raised concerns about homeless activity in parks and near the 12th Street Dusk to Dawn site, while another, who is unhoused, said he plans to file a tort claim after losing personal property during a city cleanup. Two additional speakers focused on RVs parked along North 16th Street near

Safeway and pressed for chang-es to the parking code.

COUNCIL DISCUSSION

Chase told the council that police and public works staff are already devoting signifi-cant time to issues related to homelessness, including regular cleanups at the 12th Street Dusk to Dawn site every two to three weeks. He said the department must con-tinually prioritize calls for service and that staffing limits constrain what the city can re-alistically enforce. “We are not turning a blind eye nor are we ignoring the problem,” he said.

Phone Number: 503-444-7924 • Email: cgsentinelofficemanager@countrymedia.net

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