F Street Bridge & MINET Debt Payment
The long-planned reconstruction of the F Street Bridge is moving forward under a new agreement with the Oregon Department of Transportation – and it requires the city to chip in $230,000, according to a report submitted on the project at the city council meeting in late September.
Upgrades to the bridge won’t be implemented right away; The construction, which was proposed in 2015, isn’t expected to be completed until 2021.
In another development, the city’s share of the current MINET debt payment will be about $173,000, according to figures released by the MINET board. The sum was confirmed by Gloria Butsch, city finance director.
Upgrades to the bridge won’t be implemented right away; The construction, which was proposed in 2015, isn’t expected to be completed until 2021.
In another development, the city’s share of the current MINET debt payment will be about $173,000, according to figures released by the MINET board. The sum was confirmed by Gloria Butsch, city finance director.
Mayor Campaign Claims Considered
Recent guest editorials by the two Independence mayoral candidates on the November ballot have drawn questions, following publication of their essays in The Independent. In one, the current mayor, John McArdle, identifies himself as a retired Olympic athlete, though he didn’t compete in the games. His opponent, Jack Waddell, states the city is to blame for delays on a townhouse complex he’s trying to build, though records indicate he stopped pursuing it.
The November issue of The Independent will address the topic of campaign claims in the column The Civics Lesson. However, both men were asked about their assertions. Mr. McArdle, the incumbent mayor, explained that he qualified as a hammer thrower for the 1980 Olympic team. A boycott of the Olympics had been announced by President Jimmy Carter before the trials were held. Mr. McArdle later did attend a global competition under the Olympic charter – the Pan Am games – but he and a dozen other athletes departed without participating after it was announced that sensitive drug-testing methods were going to be used there. At the time, Mr. McArdle was reported to have stated – in an interview with the New York Times – that a majority of athletes used steroids.
However, any athlete who makes the Olympic team at the trials can be called an Olympian, according to a spokesperson for the US Olympic Committee.
Mr. Waddell wrote that he has been trying to get a 12-unit townhouse complex on the parcel behind Moothart’s on Main, with “no offers of assistance” from the city. However, he ceased the effort after being billed $4,200 by the city to continue – which he contends is an unacceptable sum because he hasn’t been issued a “permit to build.”
The 27,000-foot lot also includes two 500-foot commercial spaces on the two corners, which he included in order to meet zoning restrictions, he said. Mr. Waddell also said he temporarily put the property on the market, after becoming frustrated with the process.
______________________
NOTE:The City of Independence won an Award of Excellence for rural-town revitalization at the annual conference of the League of Oregon Cities.
The November issue of The Independent will address the topic of campaign claims in the column The Civics Lesson. However, both men were asked about their assertions. Mr. McArdle, the incumbent mayor, explained that he qualified as a hammer thrower for the 1980 Olympic team. A boycott of the Olympics had been announced by President Jimmy Carter before the trials were held. Mr. McArdle later did attend a global competition under the Olympic charter – the Pan Am games – but he and a dozen other athletes departed without participating after it was announced that sensitive drug-testing methods were going to be used there. At the time, Mr. McArdle was reported to have stated – in an interview with the New York Times – that a majority of athletes used steroids.
However, any athlete who makes the Olympic team at the trials can be called an Olympian, according to a spokesperson for the US Olympic Committee.
Mr. Waddell wrote that he has been trying to get a 12-unit townhouse complex on the parcel behind Moothart’s on Main, with “no offers of assistance” from the city. However, he ceased the effort after being billed $4,200 by the city to continue – which he contends is an unacceptable sum because he hasn’t been issued a “permit to build.”
The 27,000-foot lot also includes two 500-foot commercial spaces on the two corners, which he included in order to meet zoning restrictions, he said. Mr. Waddell also said he temporarily put the property on the market, after becoming frustrated with the process.
______________________
NOTE:The City of Independence won an Award of Excellence for rural-town revitalization at the annual conference of the League of Oregon Cities.
RSS Feed