By Anne Scheck
SCHOOL DISTRICT CHANGE; SPORTS FIELDS SUPPORTED
A renewed call for the development of sports fields on city-owned land was issued by parents at the last city council meeting, following a decision by Central School District 13J to suspend most sports activities until vaccination status can be confirmed among participants.
“Alarm bells are ringing” about the need for youth sports, said Abby Fitts, who stood with her son and several other children to address the councilors. After seeing sports seasons “go by the wayside“ due to covid, she called on the city to help provide a place for youth sports competitions. “In our community we feel wracked with concern,” she said.
“We have the space down there,” Fitts said, referring to the fields north of the end of the concrete path in Riverview Park. Two other speakers echoed the same message, and all three said they expected local businesses to benefit.
“I am here to help start the ball rolling for desperately needed change,” said Monica Hecket, who urged that federal money allocated to the city in the American Rescue Plan be used to help fund sports fields. Shannon Ball, who also spoke, added that a sports park would “bring hundreds of people to our town.”
City Manager Tom Pessemier said a city-funded feasibility study will be conducted but it requires selecting an appropriate consultant. Funds for the study were approved by the council in its last annual budget, he noted.
Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who had received calls from parents after sports activities were cancelled, testified at the school board meeting the day before the city council met -- about the need for sports among youth. At the school board, she identified herself as an Independence City Councilor and as a concerned community member. Her own children don’t attend school within the district, she later explained.
“I went there to represent the people who contacted me,” she said in a brief interview following the meeting. “I wanted to know what I could do.” Residents had told her “they felt the rug got pulled out from under them,” she said.
A notice on the school district’s Facebook page explained: “We had to pause the process for facility use to figure out how to administer this new process. We have been in contact with youth partners, the Monmouth-Independence Y, and Central Youth Sports, to let them know we will have a path to opening for activities by October 4th.”
The ”process” appears to refer to a new Oregon Administrative Rule that requires proof of vaccination after October 18 for teachers, volunteers, school-based program staff and others who work on school grounds unless they have medical or religious exemptions. [Trammart News & Publishing, which produces The Linking Letter, watched the proceedings of the September school board meeting. However, the video wasn’t available later this month for viewing. The school district’s communications officer said resolution would be sought.]
MINET BOARD SELECTS SEARCH FIRM FOR GM
The recommendation for the new general manager of MINET will be made by the same firm that chose Don Patten to head the municipal fiberoptic company eight years ago, the company’s board of directors decided at their meeting last week.
Two consultants had responded to the “request for proposal” by MINET for a firm to help select the next person to helm MINET, which was co-founded by the cities of Monmouth and Independence. The lower-priced bid came from Doug Dawson, of CCG consulting.
Dawson has a years-long history with MINET, from a project that evaluated the company after its first few years of operation to being part of the team that helped secure funding for Willamette Valley Fiber (WVF), of Dallas OR, where MINET serves as WVF’s operator.
Asked after the meeting if Dawson had a financial interest in WVF, MINET’s attorney, Chad Stokes, said the inquiry wasn’t an appropriate one to ask; It was posed to executives of MINET who had remained after other board members had departed. An email with this question was then sent to Dawson, who hasn’t yet responded.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT
6:30 pm, Independence Civic Center at 555 South Main ST.
TRAMMART NEWS WILL BE BACK AT RIVERVIEW FARMER’S MARKET THIS SATURDAY, STOP BY!
SCHOOL DISTRICT CHANGE; SPORTS FIELDS SUPPORTED
A renewed call for the development of sports fields on city-owned land was issued by parents at the last city council meeting, following a decision by Central School District 13J to suspend most sports activities until vaccination status can be confirmed among participants.
“Alarm bells are ringing” about the need for youth sports, said Abby Fitts, who stood with her son and several other children to address the councilors. After seeing sports seasons “go by the wayside“ due to covid, she called on the city to help provide a place for youth sports competitions. “In our community we feel wracked with concern,” she said.
“We have the space down there,” Fitts said, referring to the fields north of the end of the concrete path in Riverview Park. Two other speakers echoed the same message, and all three said they expected local businesses to benefit.
“I am here to help start the ball rolling for desperately needed change,” said Monica Hecket, who urged that federal money allocated to the city in the American Rescue Plan be used to help fund sports fields. Shannon Ball, who also spoke, added that a sports park would “bring hundreds of people to our town.”
City Manager Tom Pessemier said a city-funded feasibility study will be conducted but it requires selecting an appropriate consultant. Funds for the study were approved by the council in its last annual budget, he noted.
Councilor Dawn Hedrick-Roden, who had received calls from parents after sports activities were cancelled, testified at the school board meeting the day before the city council met -- about the need for sports among youth. At the school board, she identified herself as an Independence City Councilor and as a concerned community member. Her own children don’t attend school within the district, she later explained.
“I went there to represent the people who contacted me,” she said in a brief interview following the meeting. “I wanted to know what I could do.” Residents had told her “they felt the rug got pulled out from under them,” she said.
A notice on the school district’s Facebook page explained: “We had to pause the process for facility use to figure out how to administer this new process. We have been in contact with youth partners, the Monmouth-Independence Y, and Central Youth Sports, to let them know we will have a path to opening for activities by October 4th.”
The ”process” appears to refer to a new Oregon Administrative Rule that requires proof of vaccination after October 18 for teachers, volunteers, school-based program staff and others who work on school grounds unless they have medical or religious exemptions. [Trammart News & Publishing, which produces The Linking Letter, watched the proceedings of the September school board meeting. However, the video wasn’t available later this month for viewing. The school district’s communications officer said resolution would be sought.]
MINET BOARD SELECTS SEARCH FIRM FOR GM
The recommendation for the new general manager of MINET will be made by the same firm that chose Don Patten to head the municipal fiberoptic company eight years ago, the company’s board of directors decided at their meeting last week.
Two consultants had responded to the “request for proposal” by MINET for a firm to help select the next person to helm MINET, which was co-founded by the cities of Monmouth and Independence. The lower-priced bid came from Doug Dawson, of CCG consulting.
Dawson has a years-long history with MINET, from a project that evaluated the company after its first few years of operation to being part of the team that helped secure funding for Willamette Valley Fiber (WVF), of Dallas OR, where MINET serves as WVF’s operator.
Asked after the meeting if Dawson had a financial interest in WVF, MINET’s attorney, Chad Stokes, said the inquiry wasn’t an appropriate one to ask; It was posed to executives of MINET who had remained after other board members had departed. An email with this question was then sent to Dawson, who hasn’t yet responded.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING TONIGHT
6:30 pm, Independence Civic Center at 555 South Main ST.
TRAMMART NEWS WILL BE BACK AT RIVERVIEW FARMER’S MARKET THIS SATURDAY, STOP BY!
RSS Feed