MUSEUM WILL BE REVISITED TONITE 
A resolution to provide the necessary refurbishment for the new downtown museum building is slated to come before the Independence City Council tonight, with expected approval of a $305,000 allocation to the lowest bid for the work. The new location is at C and Second streets. 
 
The museum site that’s being replaced – housed in a former church a few blocks away – is going to be put up for sale, according to an action scheduled for tonight. The sale of that property will help offset the costs, according to information in this week’s agenda.
 
At the last meeting, local resident Erin Hill testified before the meeting that she objected to the sale of the church where the current museum has been, citing possible deed restrictions. Asked last week whether those had been resolved, City Manager Tom Pessemier declined to elaborate, saying the discussion will be held at tonight’s meeting. 

REP EVANS CITES ECONOMIC CONCERN 
Likening the current financial climate to threatening weather, Oregon is “one bad storm away from collapsing,” suggested State Rep. Paul Evans in a live-streaming question-and-answer session Sunday. Evans, whose district includes Independence, suggested the state could borrow billions of dollars in a long-term loan to help ensure that both infrastructure and the state’s economy continue as they should. The real challenge won’t begin until next year, he said – and could persist until 2023. The “low and constrained property-tax system” makes it hard to generate necessary revenue, he explained. 

WATER RATE INCREASE ON AT CITY COUNCIL MEETING 
City Councilors are expected to vote on a water-and-sewer utility hike that would increase the average residential customer by approximately $3.42 per month. The city council meeting will be held at 6:30 pm at the Civic Center but live-streaming is available. Check the city website for details. 

COUNCILORS GIVE POSITIVE REVIEW FOR CITY MANAGER
City Manager Tom Pessemier, whose annual evaluation was conducted at an executive session during the most recent city council meeting, received universally good reviews from city councilors. Their opinion was announced as they resumed the public portion of the meeting.  
 
City Councilor Marilyn Morton, who is president of the city council, and Councilor Michael Hicks, who is leaving the council*, planned to meet with Pessemier to help determine revisions in his compensation – a salary increase is anticipated. The outcome is expected to be announced at the next city council meeting. 
 
*Councilor Hicks was defeated in the last election by Dawn Hedrick Roden, who won by two votes. Sarah Jobe was elected to the seat being vacated by Councilor Jennifer Ranstrom-Smith. Roden and Jobe will join the city council in January, along with re-elected incumbents Councilor Kathy Martin-Willis and Mayor John McArdle. The official ballot results were announced by City Recorder Karin Johnson. 

ELECTION UPDATE
New Polk County Treasurer Steve Milligan appeared before the Polk County Board of Commissioners today to urge them to rescind a resolution made four years ago, which curbed the duties of the office to which he was elected. The decision led to the appointment of a professional administrator to provide financial authority and oversight – a responsibility that Milligan believes, at least in part, should include the treasurer’s position, he said.  
 
No action was taken after Milligan’s testimony. Milligan was the only candidate to vie for county treasurer, a position that pays $1,000 monthly but is too limited in scope, he said during a brief explanation before the meeting began.  
 
SALE OF FORMER MUSEUM SITE DELAYED: DEED RESTRICTION?
The sale of the former Heritage Museum site has been postponed as a result of testimony by resident Erin Hill, who told city councilors at their last meeting that the property appears to have family-related deed covenants that could prevent it from being placed on the market. 
 
Hill is a descendent of Henry Hill, who founded a 40-plat portion of Independence and whose family donated several parcels for public use. Deed restrictions placed on some of the Hill’s donated property could prevent it from being sold for monetary purposes, Hill said. The museum is in the historic First Baptist Church, near downtown. 
 
If the sale is cancelled, it wouldn’t be the first time such property requirements prevented a city real-estate sale for the museum. Another planned sale of surplus city-owned property – deeded by a lumber corporation to Independence years ago – was contractually restricted by the donor. That land sale had been proposed in order to help fund the relocation of the museum, which is moving from its former home at the church,112 S. Third Street, to a corner storefront at Second and C streets. 
 
The expense of the relocation – the building purchase along with the refurbishment – has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and necessitated a bank loan by the city. 
 
MERCHANTS TO GET CARES MONEY Thousands of dollars in grants from CARES Act money is being allocated to Independence merchants, according to Shawn Irvine, Independence economic development director. From issuing checks to help small businesses survive the winter season to  providing technical assistance for improving online access, the city is offering ways to help combat the losses due to shutdowns and slowdowns in the pandemic, Irvine said. The announcement was made at the last city council meeting. It can be viewed at this link, at about the 22-minute mark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ0LGHSeWv8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0QVb6ePWOua-mDgcfl8lt4K8Cdj0x_S7X_6iwyxx1IsOErv1B1-BigC4Y
 
However, Polk County Administrator Greg Hansen said the $1.22 million that the county is receiving in CARES Act money is unlikely to be enough to fully fund the 250 business applicants the county anticipates. He expects to get requests for sums that will total above $4 million, he said at the Polk County Board of Commissioners’ meeting Tuesday.  
 
 
EDITORIAL: Trammart News welcomes editorials. The plight of small businesses on both sides of the S Curve prompted Nan Willis, who has been an active community volunteer in the City of Monmouth, to write a piece of commentary for both communities. It is below: 
 
There is a great divide between COVID and lockdowns.  By all accounts, COVID can be deadly and very debilitating to those who survive it.  However, the death rate continues to decrease, treatments have improved, and hospital beds are available, at least in Oregon.  Salem hospital has had the most cases, and they acknowledge room to spare. (Those ‘without’ space may have created this via layoffs and closed wings.)  The recovery rate for COVID is 98% if one catches it, and those susceptible to serious illness or death are usually aged and / or have other mitigating illnesses. 

Lockdowns do not make sense anymore.  The CDC and Oregon Health Authority have begun to note that the negative impact of lockdowns outweighs the benefit.  Continued lockdowns do not benefit me, my family, children, the mentally ill, or those with chronic diseases.  Suicide rates are up. The CDC just came out today sharing that there are higher rates of child abuse with lockdowns in place.  Patients are opting out of cancer treatments. These things are arguably as bad as sickness and death from COVID.

Oregon’s leaders use of only the spread of infection is not the appropriate data to base a decision upon, but it seems to be working for many in our fear-based society – fear of illness, fear of crime, fear of not having enough, etc.  To date, tracing does not implicate gyms or restaurants on a scale of concern.  In addition, if COVID were so deadly, as it is clearly contagious, why has it not decimated the homeless populations who don’t sanitize, wear masks or socially distance?  This population is growing.  What does common sense tell you?

I wear a mask so that businesses and providers maintain their licenses.  I appreciate others who wear masks when they’re coughing or sneezing; this practice would make sense to continue as a sheer courtesy.  If more people wash their hands out of newly developed habits, that only benefits everyone.  While a lockdown made sense in the early days, it has become the wrong response – even more lives are at stake as lockdowns continue. -end- 

City Will Pay DEQ’s Fine for Wastewater Overflow
A fine of nearly $5,000 will be paid by the City of Independence for alleged violations of the state’s wastewater permit, according to Tom Pessemier, city manager. He reported on the penalty at the last city council meeting. 

The permits and oversight of them are conducted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Several times in past years, the DEQ has reprimanded the city for overflow spillage of sewage-containing water into the Willamette River. In an effort to increase capacity -- so that there is less reliance on lagoon storage -- pipes have been laid by the city to transport this water for recycling, to a farm field north of town. 

“For me even $1 (of penalty) isn’t acceptable,” Pessemier said. As a result, he plans to directly supervise mitigation measures performed by the city to meet the growing need for wastewater management, he said. (Pessemier has a background in civil engineering.) 

TRANSPORTATION PLAN OPEN HOUSE
Tonight at 6:00 pm is a virtual Open House on the city’s YouTube channel to discuss alternatives included in the new transportation system plan. Tune in tonight at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD4aH2UdElJKGir8AfTW-MQ
 
CHANGES in DOG CODE: PARK LIMITS HANDLERS
There is new limit on dogs-per-handler at the dog park: No more than three canines per adult over 18; No more than one for those under 18. There is now a clause on “aggressive dogs,” which defines them in the code. The report on the new dog-handling rules was made by City Councilor Kathy Martin-Willis, council liaison to the Parks and Recreation Committee. (See story in The Independent, “It’s a Dog’s Life” and meet Bear, Daisy, Ivan, Rooster and Duke, among others at http://trammartnews.com/the-independent.html) 
 
 
The December issue of The Independent is available in print, by request at this email. Or, again, you can read it online at http://trammartnews.com/the-independent.html

And, follow us on Facebook                 
https://www.facebook.com/trammartnews