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From the mayor’s desk: by Meadow Martell

Meadow Martell

Here is some good news. The Department of Transportation has announced that the Cave Junction DMV field office at 103 S. Kerby Ave. will reopen Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.
Hours of operation are: 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Wednesday. The office is closed mid-day from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. The lobby will be closed during all drive test appointments, all Statewide Holidays, and may be closed temporarily at other times when business, illness or training requires the limited staff to be away from the office. Keep in mind that there are many services that can be done from the convenience of home at www.DMV2U.oregon.gov.
Last week Councilor Miles and I were in Salem for the League of Oregon Cities City Day at the Capitol. It was well attended, with over 80 cities represented. The General Session was opened by Governor Tina Kotek. Opening remarks were also made by the Senate President, the House Majority Leader, and the Republican Senate leader. A lot of the focus of the for the meeting was on effective lobbying. This is going to be an interesting session this year. One third of the legislature is new. Representatives for the Oregon Mayor’s Association met with Governor Kotek to talk about the OMA homelessness funding priorities for every city in Oregon not just the metropolitan areas that the governor has prioritized.
In the afternoon I met with Representative Lily Morgan, along with The Grants Pass city manager, Aaron Cubic and GP Councilor Vanessa Ogier. Representative Morgan talked about her priorities for this legislative session and listened to our city priorities. Most of Representative Morgan’s focus this year is $1.5 million for the Grants Pass new water treatment plant and $2 million for infrastructure at the fairgrounds. I also learned that the I.V. Fire District is asking for $1 million to connect to city water. Later Councilor Miles and I met with Senator Art Robinson and his son, Zack who is taking care of him. Senator Robinson is still very frail after a prolonged illness.
After the City Day I attended the Oregon Mayors Association Board meeting where we discussed the 2023 April LOC Spring Workshop and OMA board meeting in Seaside. I volunteered to write an article for the OMA Quarter 2 newsletter on Transient Lodging and expanding the possible uses for TLT dollars for cities. This is an important issue Cave Junction needs to address before we have a new hotel.