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AGENDA: Marion County commissioners vote on juvenile justice prevention funding, three construction projects

Colm Willis, Marion County commissioner, sits in on a homeless alliance executive meeting video conference on May 5, 2020. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)

The Marion County Board of Commissioners meets Wednesday to consider funding for a juvenile criminal justice prevention program and construction projects at State Street, nearby ferries and two rural intersections.

AGENDA

The commissioners will consider approving a $463,417 grant from the Oregon Department of Education to fund the county’s Family Support Program. The program aims to keep children out of the juvenile justice system who are likely to enter it based on behaviors that show “risk factors associated with criminality,” the grant application said.

Commissioners will also consider covering $82,160 of the $800,000 cost required for a construction project on State Street in Salem, with federal funds paying for the rest. The project would widen State Street from two lanes to three and add a bike lane, a sidewalk, ramps compliant with the American with Disabilities Act on the road’s south side, and flashing beacons for two crosswalks along the street with pedestrian islands in the roads.

The board will consider covering $581,726 of a $2.9 million construction project at the Wheatland and Buena Vista ferries, which would include building generators, catwalks and vessel amp lifts. The federal government would pay for the rest.

The commissioners will also consider approving $40,154 in county funding to pay for safety improvements, including warning signs, durable pavement markings and intersection lighting at two rural intersections: Brush Creek Drive Northeast at Silverton Road Northeast, and Butteville Road Northeast at Ehlen Road NE. State funds would cover the remaining $475,965 for the project.

Meeting details: The commissioners meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the Senator Hearing Room at 555 Court Street N.E. The meeting is streamed live on YouTube

-Ardeshir Tabrizian