City Council Elections Approaching—As a reminder, the City Council adopted a temporary ordinance aimed at maintaining social distancing and reducing the spread of the corona virus disease. Ordinance 2020-02 enables City Council and Mayoral candidates in the upcoming General Election to skip the process of obtaining 20 signatures from registered voters to be placed on the ballot. Candidates may now pay a $25 processing fee in lieu of signatures. Citizens interested in running for City Council and Mayor in the upcoming General Election should contact the City Recorder at 541-899-1231.

Aggressive Deer, Oh Dear!—The city has received reports of aggressive deer, likely protecting nearby fawns which may or may not be in view. The city asks that you contact the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife at 541-826-8774, which monitors and responds to these incidents. ODFW offers the following suggestions:

  • Do not feed the deer
  • Keep dogs on leash
  • Walk in groups
  • Use a walking stick
  • Take an airhorn

City Council Meeting, July 7—Administrator Jeff Alvis reported that the Asante Foundation has canceled its 2020 Oregon Wine Experience event at Bigham Knoll due to health/safety concerns posed by the Covid 19 pandemic.

Council approved a request by Administrator Alvis to hire ZCS Engineering, who was awarded the contract for the seismic evaluation and retrofit for the firehall, to complete other construction projects including the addition of a second floor. Please see article on page 5. Alvis also reported that two bids for completion of the second floor of New City Hall were received and that after careful review, he will advise counsel to reject the bids due to excessive costs. Alvis noted the increase is likely a result of new construction protocols from the Covid 19 pandemic.

Council approved a first reading of Ordinance O2020-003 to remove the council liaison position from the Historical and Architectural Review Commission. HARC will now be consistent with other city commissions by not having a Planning Commission member vote on matters heard by both the HARC and Planning Commission. As such, HARC will need to add another citizen member to fill the vacancy.