Town Hall Meeting on Police Department Funding—Be sure to attend a Town Hall meeting to learn what’s going on with Police Department funding. Staff will be presenting information on current service levels and funding needs/options for our community. Your attendance and input is needed. March 31, at 10:00am at Jacksonville Elementary School.
Recycling Alert—At the February 6 meeting, representatives from Rogue Disposal and Recycling (RDR) updated council on the state of recycling in Jacksonville and surrounding communities. Please read an important guest column by Laura Leebrick and Gary Penning of RDR explaining the current situation and learn what can and can’t be recycled.
Charting a New Year—Council approved the 2018 Organizational Chart, spelling out the flow of city staff positions as well as the functional structure for committees and commissions. Updates include the addition of the to-be-formed CCI, the “Committee for Citizen Involvement.” During discussion, Councilor Criss Garcia urged staff and council to begin planning for needed staffing changes that will occur when current City Administrator/Public Works Director Alvis retires. Alvis, who holds both posts at this time, will likely retire in the next 4-6 years. As such, Garcia noted that planning to fund two full-time positions should be considered. Similarly, he pointed out that the City Finance Director also holds the position of Assistant City Administrator and that since division of those posts also seems likely in the future, it would make sense to plan for such an occurrence. In response, Administrator Alvis reminded council that the job-sharing roles now save the city upwards of $300,000 annually.
Paving the Way—Administrator Alvis informed council that the city has been awarded two, $50,000 state grants for road paving and improvement projects on Shafer Lane and Applegate Street. Alvis also reported that improvements will be underway soon to improve the “D” Street parking lot with the removal of landscaping blocks that hinder accessibility and traffic flow.
Dog Park Update—During a special on-site meeting of the Parks Committee, members toured a 75’x360’ section of city-land located near the Presbyterian Church/Pheasant Meadows Park. Representatives of the dog park group pointed out design possibilities to construct a parking lot, ADA walkways, fencing, benches, as well as play areas for small dogs and large dogs. This site visit occurred after another area of city-owned land abutting the Jackson Creek Townhome development was apparently withdrawn from consideration due to concerns of contamination of the creek by dog waste.
According to the minutes of the Pheasant Meadows on-site meeting, discussion among Parks Committee members was so positive that they voted unanimously to forward the siting recommendation to the city council. After the group compiles a report which will include budgeting and neighborhood survey information, the council will hear the matter. Should the council decide to move forward, development of the site for a dog park will require obtaining a Conditional Use Permit and a Public Hearing.