City Council
Rep. Conrad’s Report
House district 12 representative Charlie Conrad spoke at the April 8 council meeting about his experiences in the most recent legislative session, providing insight into many measures and one monetary request which he has been fighting for.
The two bills Conrad submitted were HB 4043 and HB 4056. Both passed, and they were regarding tightening up animal abuse crimes and requiring counties to establish a process for handling the surplus proceeds from property tax lien foreclosure sales, respectively.
He also mentioned SB 1596, the first of its kind in the nation. Other states have legislation which relates to a right to repair consumer electronic equipment in this way, but Oregon is the first state to push against Apple’s concerns regarding “parts pairing” software which allows the electronics to work if they are repaired using parts that are not approved by the original manufacturer.
The Creswell-specific matter concerned a request the City had for $1 million for the water treatment plant. According to Conrad, Gov. Tina Kotek wants to ensure this $1 million will result in an increased ability to produce housing. Conrad said the connection between the City fixing its water treatment plant and building housing is “a no brainer.”
LCSO March Evaluation
Sergeant Alex Speldrich told the Council that the March 2024 Lane County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) data was “on par with the rest of the year.”
He did mention two Measure 11 crimes. One was a sex abuse case where the victim will not be pursuing any prosecution. The other was a child pornography case which Speldrich said is being actively worked on, and LCSO may be arresting a suspect soon.
Councilor Nick Smith asked a handful of questions centering the unhoused community. From those questions, Speldrich was able to share that, in the last month, there were probably two to three citations given out and the same number of arrests.
Councilor Alonzo Costilla commended Speldrich because speed citations went from five last month to only one this month, and mayor Dave Stram pointed out that property crimes had 38 calls and 13 cases this month; last month had 34 calls and nine cases.
3 resolutions passed
In a 6-0 vote, due to councilor Staci Holt’s absence, Council unanimously passed resolution No. 2024-08 to end the temporary state of emergency in Creswell. This was originally put in place because of the ice storm. Amberg said the City’s total fiscal damages from the ice storm stayed under the $150,000 mark.
Resolution No. 2024-09’s 6-0 vote made some changes to the 2023-24 budget within the Building Department Fund. Creswell has contracted with the City of Cottage Grove to provide building inspection services, so it needs to add $6,000 to the budget in order to document the expenditures made as part of this development project.
City planner Curtis Thomas then presented the Creswell section of the Lane County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan to Council. This plan’s approval with the unanimous passing of resolution No. 2024-10 is one of the criteria for the City to apply for FEMA money in the future.
Old Schoolhouse Deed Restrictions Removed
On Dec. 11, 2017, council declared the Old Schoolhouse surplus property and directed Amberg to transfer the ownership of the property to the Creswell Heritage Foundation (CHF) alongside a $50,000 grant to assist the foundation with the initial costs like water and electricity.
Since then, CHF obtained over $300,000 in grants and donations to restore the building, and the Old Schoolhouse has been completely repaired.
However, the bargain and sale deed states that, if CHF were to cease to exist, the property would return to the City. CHF requested council remove this language and put its faith in the foundation to take care of a beloved property which the City decided it did not want to take care of years ago.
Councilor Nick Smith was against this motion purely due to legal language in the deed.
The motion passed 5-1.
Also …
After considering the four candidates for the three budget committee openings, Mayor Dave Stram appointed Derek Isaksen, Joshua Johnson, and Laurel Henry. Isaksen will serve until 2026, and Johnson and Henry’s terms will both expire at the end of this year.
The 2nd St. Park was officially named Robinette-Hughes Park after many months of careful deliberation. It was named after Alvin Hughes and James Robinette, who each donated 5 acres to create the city of Creswell.
— Amanda Lurey
Construction
CRESWELL – Although the west side of the City still has its hands tied by the moratorium on development, there are three plots of land which are progressing along in their respective building timelines.
Taco Bell
Along the east side of the I-5 at 255 Melton Rd., Bentley Construction LLC is building what will soon become a Taco Bell. City planner Curtis Thomas said Taco Bell representatives have applied for their sign permit, and it is expected that construction will be finalized before the end of summer.
Director of franchise and development Lindsey Johnson was unable to be reached prior to The Chronicle’s deadline.
Inspired Healthcare Capital
A senior living facility is being constructed just down the road from the new Taco Bell at 205 and 285 Emerald Pkwy by Lucas Construction Group.
The facility is an Inspired Healthcare Capital project which will provide the Creswell community with two buildings, one at each address. The northern building at 285 is much farther along than the southern building at 205, which Thomas said may be intentional. Thomas added that he is unaware of Inspired Healthcare’s projected construction timeline.
Vice president of construction Michael Smith was unable to be reached prior to The Chronicle’s deadline.
As this is also on the east side of Creswell, it is not within the area which is under moratorium. Both the Taco Bell and Inspired Healthcare facilities will connect to the Emerald Valley Wastewater system.
McDonald’s
On the other side of the I-5 and kitty corner from the Taco Bell’s property is where a McDonald’s will be constructed. McDonald’s will be utilizing the property which China Wok and Hot Shots Coffee’s buildings currently lie at 375 E. Oregon Ave.
Thomas said McDonald’s representatives are yet to submit their building permits, but he expects construction to begin this summer. Jan Sucha, who said he works for the property owner, said he hopes to be breaking ground in 2024 and added that McDonald’s representatives are hoping the building will be operational in 2025.
A minor snafu with this project which may be delaying the submission of building permits is that, according to Thomas, the City offered McDonald’s a deal which exchanged potential system development charges for its cooperation in bringing the roads to ODOT’s standards as the driveway is currently too close to the intersection. This was already discussed and approved via the project’s land use approval, though.
— Amanda Lurey
