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AGENDA: Marion County commissioners consider funds for Santiam Canyon road projects

The Marion County Board of Commissioners meets Wednesday to consider funding for care coordination for adults with mental illnesses and for rebuilding roads in the Santiam Canyon.

AGENDA

The Mid-Valley Garbage & Recycling Association will present awards to the winners of the 2021 Student Recycle Art Calendar contest. K-12 students in Marion County every year submit drawings focused on waste prevention and reuse, and the winning drawings are used to create a calendar that is printed and distributed throughout the county.

Commissioners will consider appointing Herschel Sangster as a citizen-at-large member to the Marion County Parks Commission for a term ending March 16, 2026. The commission has 11 citizen-at-large positions.

The board will consider approving around $805,000 from the Oregon Health Authority to provide exceptional needs care coordination for people served in the state’s Choice Model Services program. The funds are intended for Marion County’s Health and Human Services Department to help get adults with mental illness treatment in settings that fit their needs.

Commissioners will also consider an agreement with the state Parks and Recreation Department to take over operations and maintenance of North Santiam State Recreation Area, between Lyons and Mill City off Highway 22. The agreement doesn’t include funding but is intended to transfer park property maintenance services to Marion County Parks staff and potentially transfer state property to the county to provide temporary housing for wildfire survivors.

They will consider adding $390,000 to a contract with Western Federal Lands Highway Division to rebuild a 22-foot-wide portion of North Fork Road near milepost 5 to help stop then road’s highest-risk landslide from moving. The new contract would total about $6.3 million.

The board will also consider adding around $1.5 million to a contract with Western Federal Lands Highway Division to repair North Fork Road between mileposts 0.0 and 15.2, and Gates Hill Road between mileposts 0.0 and 3.8, which were damaged in the Beachie Creek Fire in 2020. The new contract would total around $2.4 million.

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