By Christy Solo & Wayne Lee – Editor and Sports Editor
Eagle Point
April showers arrived right on time causing an April Fool’s Day softball game against visiting Phoenix to be moved to the artificial turf fields at US Cellular Park. The boys team was able to host McKinleyville but dropped both games by a single run.
Cats and cops topped the first city council meeting of the month. Police Chief Jim Hamilton began the meeting with a 10-minute presentation stating he feels there is a need for additional officers given the ratio of just 1.4 officers for every 1,000 residents. He noted that if an officer has to book a suspect in the county jail, it could take 90 minutes – longer if medical attention is required, adding, “on a good day the response time for assistance from Medford is eight to 10 minutes.”
Next up was the issue of free-roaming cats. Complaints of feral felines coming into backyards and causing damage have been increasing. Unfortunately, Jackson County Animal Control only handles dogs. The city developed a pamphlet listing various resources in the area that work with cats which is available at city hall.
The council also approved a contract to develop an initial plan for the future Highlands Park. The city had budgeted $15,000 but the low bid was $19,100 by Dougherty Landscape Architects with the high bid coming in at $68,750. The council approved the additional $4,100 and awarded the contract to move the process forward.
Speaking of parks, the Neighborhood Enhancement Commission briefed the council on their progress to further develop Nova Park. The NEC had earlier asked local residents what they would like to see in the park and the top response was a parkour course which is basically an obstacle course requiring speed and agility to navigate the various objects.
The parkour course was also the most expensive option with an estimated price tag of $350,787. A standard “fitness area” for workouts was estimated at $32,000, a pollinator garden was tagged at $38,000 and a covered seating area was estimated to cost $18,500. A restroom for the park would be an additional $140,000.
The city currently has the money to complete the park through SDC funds, one of which is dedicated exclusively to the expansion of parks throughout Eagle Point. Commission member Lorin Myers asked about a restroom facility similar to the one at Lucas Park and was told that building was constructed with a $50,000 grant. The same building today would run $350,000.
Parks continued to be a hot topic of discussion as the city council held a special study session on the city’s parks covering what currently exists, what is already budgeted and projects yet to be budgeted according to the recently adopted Parks Master Plan. The plan covers what is planned for the next five years as well as projections for years six through 10 and years 10 through 20.
Some of the future projects on the drawing board included $153,000 for improvements to the park being developed at Little Butte School as well as $175,000 to complete phase two of the Nova Park splash park. Other long-term goals included $300,000 for park acquisition. In all, the estimates $3.5 million over years six through 10 with a total of $4.59 million through year 20.
The city council closed out the month with a presentation by Jackson County Fire District 3 Chief Mike Hussey on the current and future status of the district in general and Eagle Point in particular. The city also accepted a pair of grants, one from ODOT and the other from RVCOG to pay 85% of the cost of a new traffic study. The plan hadn’t been updated in 15 years.
Meanwhile EPSD 9 closed out the month with an announcement of the end of “professional development days” which gave teachers one day each month to work on lesson plans and course preparation. Instead, the district decided to implement a schedule that began Wednesday classes at 9 a.m., one hour later than usual. This would cause less disruption not only in the classroom but extracurricular activities as well.
Shady Cove
During the April 3 council meeting the budget committee was filled up as father/daughter duo Don and Amy Blaser were appointed.
The Emergency Management Commission announced they were going to schedule another meeting with the county’s emergency services personnel to ensure all emergency plans would align.
Council reviewed a presentation created by city logo designer and resident Julia Jackson. Jackson presented final options for the new welcome sign. Council directed R&T to narrow the choices to “a couple” then present those to council.
From there council would have staff put the finalists on the city’s website for citizens to give their input. It was noted that votes were to be for the logo and wording only as the Oregon Department of Transportation had already approved the sign’s structure.
In their April 17 meeting council met new contract planner Joeseph Slaughter. He suggested the city form and Urban Renewal Agency and gave a presentation explaining exactly what a URA was.
The key point was that creating a URA would not increase taxes.
The city could declare an area of “blight” and within that area city, school and fire districts would receive a frozen tax rate. As taxes increased their standard 3% annually – the 3% would go to the URA fund for improvements.
Slaughter also clarified that a URA is a separate entity from the city with its own board and bank accounts.
The motion to declare the intent to form a URA carried 4/0.
Next Ball asked council for approval for him to pursue purchasing Hiland/Sunstone Water. He said he was inspired following a conversation with a citizen who had been raised in Shady Cove then moved away. Returning after 20 years they said to Ball, “[Shady Cove] is exactly the same, but more rundown.”
Ball said that the city “will continue that way” if they do not get a citywide water system.
All on council agreed and staff was tasked with drafting a formal motion for the May 7 meeting. The plan was to purchase Hiland/Sunstone with $5 million the city was requesting from the state. The city did not receive the monies.
Lastly council directed the EMC to come up with a simplified emergency plan as they felt the city lacked the funds and staffing for the current multi-step plan. They also advised the EMC that per city counsel using the collaborative software was considered a serial meeting and they could no longer use it.
Other April News: Crater Lake announced that the 2025 season would be the last year the Cleetwood Trail down to the lake would be open until at least 2029 as they will be doing major renovations. The Eagle Point Grange celebrated 100 years and asked for volunteers so they can go 100 more.
