Cascade Locks City Council tackled a diverse agenda — from utilities to tourism and Nestlé — at a short but busy meeting Monday.
Tourism came first.
Council voted unanimously to approve a grant application to Cycle Oregon for a Gorge Hub, one of six community-operated rest stops for hikers and bikers along the Columbia River Historic Highway.
Oregon Department of Transportation has been working to reconnect the final pieces of the highway and rebrand them as a pedestrian trail, coinciding with the route’s centennial celebration in late 2016 (see A2 story for more details).
A lesser known component of the Historic Highway project, the Gorge Hubs will anchor each city on the trail with a sheltered kiosk as well as water fountains, electrical outlets, a restroom, a bicycle repair station and bike racks.
Holly Howell, Port of Cascade Locks Marketing and Development director, presented a plan for a hub next to the city post office, between the main drag of WaNaPa Street and Union Pacific’s rail line.
The finished project would connect to an overlook park with a view of the Columbia River and an overpass to the marina park — a long planned project by the city and port that hasn’t found a concrete funding source.
Howell said the hub project could help Cascade Locks hold its own as a bike tourism destination, and connect trail users to downtown businesses.
“It’s a pretty strong impact on the community,” said Howell of bike tourism on small towns. “A vehicle can go several hundred miles before they have to stop and refuel. But for a cyclist, your fuel is food … you’re stopping and dropping money far more frequently than a motorist would.”
City Administrator Gordon Zimmerman agreed, citing Oakridge in Lane County as an example; the town made an effort to promote its bike routes and specially tailored lodging, and subsequently topped national lists as a biking spot.
The grant is $4,000, with a soft match of $2,000 from the city for labor to assemble the kiosk and signage once they arrive. More costs will come in the future — the city will have to manage the restroom (the most costly venture once the hub goes up) similar to Hood River’s State Street project, which was already in the works before the Gorge Hubs plan materialized.
City ‘back in the game’ with Nestlé pursuit
Zimmerman and Mayor Tom Cramblett updated councilors and the public on the status of the city’s deal with Nestlé, following Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s request on Nov. 6 to withdraw a cross water rights transfer between the city and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), which was vital to bring the bottling corporation to town.
Brown cited public interest as a key concern in the cross water rights strategy — it would have bypassed a public interest review.
Cascade Locks officials felt “locked out” of Brown’s deliberation, but they met last week with Brown’s staff and had a productive meeting, Cramblett reported. He said the city hopes to resume its original tack of a direct water exchange process.
“We’re back in the game and we’re happy to be there,” Cramblett said.
According to former articles in the News, the direct water exchange would involve the city trading a half cubic foot per second of its municipal ground water with an equal amount from ODFW’s water at Oxbow Spring, which serves the fish hatchery on the east side of town. The exchange would not touch the city’s or ODFW’s respective water rights, and would require a public interest review.
“The Governor’s natural resource staff has assured us we don’t have to go back the beginning; we can pick up where we left off. Now we’re trying to figure out exactly what that means,” said Zimmerman.
Heat’s on at fire hall
Council approved a request from Lt. Jessica Bennett and Dennis Muilenberg of Cascade Locks Fire and EMS to replace the broken, six-year-old heat pump at the fire hall, which had been out of commission since spring. The cost of the replaced pump was about $4,000.
“I’m glad the fire hall personnel will be warm this winter,” said Councilor Kevin Rutherford.
Commented