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Members of the River Dogs Poker team wrestle between matches at the mud volleyball tournament at the Sutherlin Blackberry Festival last summer. The mud volleyball games are among the activities that can no longer be held at the festival grounds because the land is considered wetlands.
Other City Council news
The Sutherlin City Council decided Monday to move forward with a plan to adjust water bills for some customers who have been hit with high charges due to leaks.
Finance Director Ron Harker presented the council with a proposed water leak rate adjustment policy, and the City Council directed Harker and other city staff to prepare a city code amendment for the adjustments.
The details of the code amendment still need to be ironed out, but the policy Harker proposed would grant an adjustment of 50 percent of the excess water consumed due to a leak.
The adjustment would apply only if the leak was underground between the meter and the building, if the leak was identified and fixed within 15 days of the bill’s issuance, and if city staff then deemed the building free of all leaks. The council motion changed the period of time allowed to fix the leak from 15 to 30 calendar days.
In other news, City Manager Bud Schmidt declined an offer to serve as the city’s interim manager from January through March. His retirement is effective at the end of the year.
“I respectfully decline the offer,” he said. “My last day is Dec. 31.”
The council will meet with the League of Oregon Cities next week to discuss the process of recruiting and hiring a new city manager.
Finance Director Ron Harker presented the council with a proposed water leak rate adjustment policy, and the City Council directed Harker and other city staff to prepare a city code amendment for the adjustments.
The details of the code amendment still need to be ironed out, but the policy Harker proposed would grant an adjustment of 50 percent of the excess water consumed due to a leak.
The adjustment would apply only if the leak was underground between the meter and the building, if the leak was identified and fixed within 15 days of the bill’s issuance, and if city staff then deemed the building free of all leaks. The council motion changed the period of time allowed to fix the leak from 15 to 30 calendar days.
In other news, City Manager Bud Schmidt declined an offer to serve as the city’s interim manager from January through March. His retirement is effective at the end of the year.
“I respectfully decline the offer,” he said. “My last day is Dec. 31.”
The council will meet with the League of Oregon Cities next week to discuss the process of recruiting and hiring a new city manager.
SUTHERLIN — The future of two annual city festivals is up in the air due to a Department of State Lands decision that classifies the festival grounds as wetland areas and deems the activities taking place to be in violation of state law.
The Sutherlin Stampede Rodeo and four of the Sutherlin Blackberry Festival activities are in jeopardy based on the state’s approval of a delineation that identified nearly 12 acres of wetlands at the festival grounds, according to a letter from the state to the city of Sutherlin.
The state found the annual summer activities in violation of removal-fill laws, and continuing the activities without a state permit would be in further violation, according to the letter.
The approval sparked an outcry from community members and festival organizers at the Sutherlin City Council meeting Monday night. After discussion, the City Council directed the city’s attorney and staff to investigate wetlands law to see if the festivals — which may predate the laws — could be grandfathered through and continue at the grounds. The City Council is also planning a meeting with the Department of State Lands to discuss the situation.
The festival grounds were deeded to the city by Douglas County Timber Days in 1994. In 2006, the Sutherlin Parks Committee developed a conceptual plan to make changes to the festival grounds, which included adding permanent grandstands and altering the current rodeo arena and mud races course, said Sutherlin City Manager Bud Schmidt.
In order to move forward with the plan, a wetlands delineation had to be completed. The city’s consultants completed a preliminary delineation earlier this year. The state approved the delineation and notified the city of the violations in October.
The state is requiring a joint permit between the city of Sutherlin and the Department of State Lands before the city alters the wetlands area in any other fashion, Schmidt said. Filing a joint permit application would cost the city between $12,000 and $20,000, he said.
In the application, the city will have to outline what action it plans to take regarding the wetlands area. Some of the possible options include restoring the wetlands to its original state, relocating the rodeo arena to a portion of the land not considered wetlands or purchasing or creating wetlands elsewhere to offset the impact to the festival grounds, Schmidt said.
The process would likely take several months, and Schmidt said the festival committees should not rely on using the grounds for the 2009 activities, leaving festival organizers to try and find other means to continue the events.
Sutherlin Stampede Rodeo President Jacob Masterfield said he plans to look for alternative sites for the 2009 rodeo, which collects 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of food each year for the Sutherlin-Oakland Food Pantry. The 17-year-old event has taken place at the festival grounds since its birth. The entire rodeo arena is considered wetlands.
Masterfield said he considers the rototilling of the arena each year to be of low environmental impact since it does not require adding or removing land. He called the approval of the delineation a devastating blow to the rodeo.
“I think right now the possibility is very real that this rodeo will not happen this coming season,” Masterfield said after the council meeting.
The Sutherlin Blackberry Festival will continue in 2009, but it may be without four of its events — mud volleyball and the BMX, mud and lawn mower races — all of which take place at the festival grounds, chairman Duane Waller said. Waller plans to explore all options, including alternative locations.
“We’ll do our best to make this happen one way or another,” Waller said. “... I refuse to see this event die.”
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.
The Sutherlin Stampede Rodeo and four of the Sutherlin Blackberry Festival activities are in jeopardy based on the state’s approval of a delineation that identified nearly 12 acres of wetlands at the festival grounds, according to a letter from the state to the city of Sutherlin.
The state found the annual summer activities in violation of removal-fill laws, and continuing the activities without a state permit would be in further violation, according to the letter.
The approval sparked an outcry from community members and festival organizers at the Sutherlin City Council meeting Monday night. After discussion, the City Council directed the city’s attorney and staff to investigate wetlands law to see if the festivals — which may predate the laws — could be grandfathered through and continue at the grounds. The City Council is also planning a meeting with the Department of State Lands to discuss the situation.
The festival grounds were deeded to the city by Douglas County Timber Days in 1994. In 2006, the Sutherlin Parks Committee developed a conceptual plan to make changes to the festival grounds, which included adding permanent grandstands and altering the current rodeo arena and mud races course, said Sutherlin City Manager Bud Schmidt.
In order to move forward with the plan, a wetlands delineation had to be completed. The city’s consultants completed a preliminary delineation earlier this year. The state approved the delineation and notified the city of the violations in October.
The state is requiring a joint permit between the city of Sutherlin and the Department of State Lands before the city alters the wetlands area in any other fashion, Schmidt said. Filing a joint permit application would cost the city between $12,000 and $20,000, he said.
In the application, the city will have to outline what action it plans to take regarding the wetlands area. Some of the possible options include restoring the wetlands to its original state, relocating the rodeo arena to a portion of the land not considered wetlands or purchasing or creating wetlands elsewhere to offset the impact to the festival grounds, Schmidt said.
The process would likely take several months, and Schmidt said the festival committees should not rely on using the grounds for the 2009 activities, leaving festival organizers to try and find other means to continue the events.
Sutherlin Stampede Rodeo President Jacob Masterfield said he plans to look for alternative sites for the 2009 rodeo, which collects 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of food each year for the Sutherlin-Oakland Food Pantry. The 17-year-old event has taken place at the festival grounds since its birth. The entire rodeo arena is considered wetlands.
Masterfield said he considers the rototilling of the arena each year to be of low environmental impact since it does not require adding or removing land. He called the approval of the delineation a devastating blow to the rodeo.
“I think right now the possibility is very real that this rodeo will not happen this coming season,” Masterfield said after the council meeting.
The Sutherlin Blackberry Festival will continue in 2009, but it may be without four of its events — mud volleyball and the BMX, mud and lawn mower races — all of which take place at the festival grounds, chairman Duane Waller said. Waller plans to explore all options, including alternative locations.
“We’ll do our best to make this happen one way or another,” Waller said. “... I refuse to see this event die.”
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.
