Council approves new IVHS athletic building

The Cave Junction City Council held their monthly meeting Aug. 12 at City Hall. During this meeting, the council signed off on several resolutions and held a quasi-judicial hearing regarding the proposal for a new athletic building that would be built at Illinois Valley High School.
Mayor Meadow Martell was present at the meeting alongside Councilors Tina Casey Jones, Jean Ann Miles, and Jesse Dugas, with Councilor Ethan Lane appearing via Zoom video conferencing.
Council liaison updates were brief. As Councilor Miles aptly put it, “There hasn’t been a lot of exciting stuff happening in August.” Mayor Martell informed the council that she had recently attended the I.V. Hope Village steering committee meeting, and that progress has slowed down to account for some changes in the proposed design of the transitional housing facility. Several of the councilors did mention that they were grateful for the new splash pad at Jubilee Park.
Library block grant administrator Teresa Stover updated the council on the progress being made on the Cave Junction library renovation project. Things are going smoothly there, and September is expected to be a big month for progress on the new library. If things continue to go according to the expected timeline, the library should be ready for a grand opening sometime in October.
The meeting broke in order for the council to begin the quasi-judicial hearing to discuss the athletic building proposal that had been brought before the city by the Three Rivers School District. Plans for this renovation include the construction of a 70×70 foot, pre-engineered metal building with restrooms, along with the expansion of the existing parking lot area and connection to on-site utilities.
Although the majority of the proposed plans were approved by the city without a hitch, there were a few things that were conditionally approved, the most notable of which being the size of some of the parking spaces. The city’s municipal code does not account for compact parking spaces, and as a result, several of the planned parking spaces will need to be enlarged to adhere to standard measurements. The city engineer or the Public Works director will also need to review grading and storm drainage plans prior to construction.
A motion was made to approve the plans with the aforementioned conditions, and that motion passed 4-1, with Councilor Dugas abstaining due to his affiliation with IVHS Athletics.
During the meeting, Resolution 987, which serves to declare 201 Raymond Street a nuisance due to multiple fire hazards, was passed.
The next city council meeting will be held Monday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.