COTTAGE GROVE — While residents and tourists alike are charmed by the lush greenery, revered businesses and restaurants along Main Street, and covered bridges as far as the eye can see, the cavernous potholes on roads throughout Cottage Grove have posed their fair share of challenges.
Two measures on the ballot – one a street bond repair and another a gas tax increase – are designed to lessen the burden of the city’s current $35 million in backlogged repairs.
“Either you got to keep complaining about it and driving on even worse roads, or you’ve got to do something,” said Robert Reetz, member of the Street Improvement Funding Ad Hoc Committee. “People on a fixed income, elderly people, stuff like that. Well, I’m one of those myself, on a fixed income. You think twice about increasing your taxes.”
While Reetz is not a native of Cottage Grove, his journey to settle there was 50 years in the making.
“I originally came out here in 1974 by bicycle. I had a job in Corvallis, working at a bicycle shop and had friends that were bicyclists out of Cottage Grove, beautiful town. I kind of fell in love with it,” Reetz said.
Reetz relocated permanently to Cottage Grove in 2015. “For the nine years that I was able to bike out here, I put on over 55,000 miles on Row River Trail and places like that, to Lorane and back. I couldn’t believe how nice it was,” Reetz said.
Having worked part-time in Eugene at a local bicycle manufacturer for three years and being an avid fan of bicycling himself, Reetz feels passionately about increasing the condition of Cottage Grove’s roads. “With narrow tires on my bicycle, less than an inch in width, it’s pretty tough to drive on rough roads,” Reetz said.
Despite the benefit of the tax increase on roads in Cottage Grove, some residents still feel apprehensive about voting ‘Yes’ come November.
The ad hoc committee has worked continuously to change their minds.
Comprised of the city council and eight community members, including Amber Bahler, Garland Burback, Jeff Conklin, Chris Holloman, Michael Laborde, Michael Praegitzev, Robert Reetz, and Tiffany Williams, the group aspired to generate funding opportunities that would help return Cottage Grove arterial and collector roads to a PCI rating of at least 70, per the Pavement Condition Index.
Through extensive research, public speaking engagements, and community feedback, the committee recommended that the city enact a gas tax increase and a “$.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value via a 5-year bond measure dedicated to street repairs,” according to the Street Funding Recommendations document on the Cottage Grove City Council website.
If passed, Measure 20-365: General obligation bonds to fix streets, would allow the issuance of $2.5 million in general obligation bonds from the City. The revenue generated would be designated for road improvements, including Row River Road from Thornton to Currin Connector, Taylor Avenue from Gateway to 6th Street, and Harrison Avenue from Highway 99 to R Street. An oversight committee enacted by the City would ensure the funds would be used for their designated purpose.
Taxes paid over five years would assist in covering bond costs beginning Jan. 1.
According to the Cottage Grove Street Repair document on the City of Cottage Grove website, “Preservation and repair work restores or improves the overall condition of a street. and includes crack or slurry sealing, filling potholes, and pavement overlays, among other preservation projects. Street preservation and repairs extend the usable life of a street and cost 4 to 10 times less than complete reconstruction of a street.”
Additionally, “Annual revenue has declined, and maintenance costs have increased 23 to 36%. The longer we continue to ignore this issue, the worse road maintenance will be, and the cost will increase. A recent study determined that our streets are rated fair at 54.7.”
In conjunction with Measure 20-365 is Measure 20-366: Increase Cottage Grove gas tax to $.09 per gallon. If instituted, the current $.03 tax per gallon would be raised by six cents. Doing so would generate an estimated at $700,000 per year, which would be used solely for the restoration and routine maintenance of streets.
Above all else, the beauty of the ad hoc committee is its unification of everyday citizens and City councilors.
“I think it should be clear that a lot of us who have been going around promoting the work, like Robert and myself, we’re just citizens. We’re just part of the general public,” Amber Bahler, ad hoc committee member, said. “We’re not experts. We defer expertise to those who are paid with our tax dollars to do that.”
Bahler, her husband, and two children relocated to Cottage Grove in 2022 from Beaverton, looking to be closer to family. Similarly to Reetz, Baher has thoroughly enjoyed the easy access to outdoor recreation, as well as the small-town feel.
As Election Day approaches, Bahler is confident in the collaborative proposed measures and their impact on the city.
“It’s not supposed to be just Council. It’s not supposed to be just City staff that’s coming up with this. This is with community input, and we still want community input, and I know the council and city staff want to hear from the community about this,” Bahler said. “But with the information that we have, this is the best that we could come up with to meet the short-term, mid-term, and long-term needs.”