The Cave Junction City Council convened for their second July meeting on the 25th at City Hall. Although the meeting only ran for about 45 minutes, during that time many things were discussed, and several important decisions were made.
Mayor Meadow Martell, city recorder Rebecca Patton and Councilors Tina Casey Jones, Ethan Lane, and Jean Ann Miles were in attendance and Councilor Jesse Dugas was absent.
Council liaison updates were minimal, given that the members had already come together earlier in the month, but Jean Ann Miles did give a small update regarding the Main Street Cave Junction meeting, mentioning the multi-year Reeser grant that the mayor has obtained for the Main Street Cave Junction program. Miles also brought up that she has been working closely with Illinois Valley Living Solutions and the I.V. HOPE Village steering committee to find a property to purchase for a transitional housing facility.
A resolution was brought before the council that would amend the city’s HUD requirements and keep them in compliance with alterations that had previously been made by the state. After a brief discussion, which Teresa Stover informed Councilor Lane that this resolution was specific to the city because of the HUD grants that the city recently received, the resolution passed unanimously.
The next item that was placed before the council was something that they had held a workshop about earlier on in the month- the renewal of the lease for the Illinois Valley Country Club and golf course. While their initial plan had been to extend the lease for one year with several stipulations, Councilor Lane felt as though perhaps extending the lease for two to three years would be beneficial, as it would give those managing the establishment a bit more time to meet their goals and get back on their feet.
While Jones agreed with Lane, Miles disagreed with this line of thought, stating plainly that the individuals who manage the golf course are the same ones who initially bankrupted the establishment, forcing the city to buy the property to save it. She also broached the idea of the city eventually designating the golf course property as a park, thus enabling it to receive state-funded grants down the line. City recorder Rebecca Patton chimed in that a park designation would not, in fact, affect any existing lease.
The council went back and forth on this matter for a while, before finally deciding to rescind their initial motion with the one year extension, and re-motioning a two year extension, with the stipulations that no signage be approved without a legal easement, no monthly lease shall be charged, and the property will not be sold.
Councilor Miles was still not firmly convinced that this was a good idea, but Martell and the remaining city council members were very much in favor of tacking on another year as a “show of good faith.” It was pointed out that if the contract is violated the lease extension will be nullified anyway. The motion to extend the lease for two years passed 3-1 with Miles as the “no” vote.
The next thing brought to the council was something else that had been previously discussed, whether or not to bring the possibility of psilocybin treatment centers to Cave Junction. At the previous meeting, council members agreed that they were not in favor of psilocybin manufacturing in the area, but were willing to bring the idea of treatment centers to the voters. Thus, Resolution 956 had been amended to omit the manufacturing side of things.
The vote was quick and easy, with all in favor of bringing the amended resolution to the community to decide upon when the time comes.