Fire season is not over yet. It was about this time last year when the Smith River & Happy Camp wildfires moved dangerously close to our community. Already this year over 1.4 million acres have burned across Oregon. Be fire safe, diligent and report anything suspicious.
On a happier note, at the last Council Meeting our Public Works Director, Alex Ponder, reported that local artist Cate Battles has been working diligently on a large 8 by 140 foot mural of iconic settings and history of the Illinois Valley. This mural can be found on the wall of the old feed store. A walk around downtown will also reveal five or six more murals that have or are in the process of going up. These amazing murals and the downtown businesses that have revamped their store fronts with fresh paint have really begun to brighten up downtown.
Work is in full swing on the Burgundy Lane Subdivision. The contractor closed off the subdivision to public access and has been working diligently on sidewalk demolition as well as excavation to prep for the needed sanitary sewer and water laterals that will service the additional lots. A few weeks ago Pacific Power set the needed power transformers for the project.
The Rockydale Wells Project is all but complete! The treatment staff just needs to tap each well head and install a sample port. This will allow individual testing of each well. The parts have arrived and these sample ports will be installed this week. Once samples are taken and results are back from the lab we will review them with our regulator at Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and proper treatment procedures will be discussed with OHA and the City’s Treatment Team. If everything looks good to OHA we should be able to start shipping water to the plant and begin producing drinking water from Rockydale Wells again. This process should be complete within the month.
The Illinois Valley Library Renovation project construction is close to completion. In the past month, interior paint was completed. Carpeting and other flooring was installed. Cabinetry, bookcases, doors and fixtures are in place throughout the building. The two vestibules are built and sidewalks have been poured.
In the final weeks of construction, sitework will see the completion of exterior paint, roof, sidewalks, irrigation system, grass seeding, parking lot and fencing. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trim-out are in process, and after they are inspected, the occupancy permit will be issued.
We are hoping that substantial completion of construction and inspection will be scheduled for later this month, maybe Sept. 26 or 27 with occupancy Sept. 30. These dates are in flux and might be delayed. Punch walks took place every week or two through August, and issues are being resolved.
Business Oregon issued its onsite monitoring report, indicating the project is on schedule and in compliance with state and federal requirements.
Weekly construction meetings facilitated by Ausland Group are held with the city of Cave Junction, Josephine Community Library, ZCS Engineering and Architecture and Business Oregon.
Plans for library move-in and setup are under development for after construction finishes and the certificate of occupancy is granted. The process of moving everything back into the library and setting it back up again will be another whole project. I will keep you posted about when the Grand Opening will happen. I hope you can attend. You will be amazed!
Library Services and hold pickups are still happening at the I.V. Senior Center and will continue each Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
