The Marion County Board of Commissioners meets Wednesday to consider additional funding for sewer system development in the Santiam Canyon and replacing the Mill Creek Road bridge.
Commissioners will consider adding about $1.78 million of federal pandemic relief money to a contract with Salem-based engineering firm Keller Associates, Inc. for the county’s North Santiam Sewer Project.
The work will include environmental permitting services, subsurface exploration, groundwater investigation and commercial septic system design, according to the agenda item.
The board will also hear a presentation from the Oregon Garden Foundation, which the county contracted with in 2018.
They will appoint Colm Willis as chair, Kevin Cameron as vice chair, and Danielle Bethell as second vice chair of the board to serve from Jan. 2, 2023 to the first Monday of January 2024. The board is required under state law to appoint a chair and vice chair among its members, and Marion County commissioners have historically rotated the positions. Bethell is currently chair.
Commissioners will consider a resolution appointing Chief Administrative Officer Jan Fritz as the county’s representative to the Courthouse Square Condominium Association. The county and the Salem Area Mass Transit District, also known as Cherriots, are owners and members of the association. They will also consider a memorandum of action electing Fritz and Allan Pollock, Cherriots general manger, as directors effective Jan. 1.
The board will consider accepting a $221,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance for costs incurred incarcerating undocumented immigrants with at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for violations of state or local law for at least four consecutive days. They must have been in custody from July 2019 through June 2020.
Commissioners will also consider adding about $298,000 to a contract with the state Department of Transportation to replace the Mill Creek Road bridge, which was built in 1930 and is now in poor condition. Most of that funding would be paid for with federal dollars.
The board will hold a public hearing to consider an annual performance evaluation report for the Community Development Block Grant, given to local and state governments for programs that provide services such as housing assistance and social services, and HOME Investment Partnership Entitlement Programs, which pays for services like building or buying affordable housing and rental assistance.
Meeting details: The commissioners meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Senator Hearing Room at 555 Court Street N.E. Anyone can sign up to give public comment in-person at the meeting. The meeting is streamed live on YouTube.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
