The Cave Junction City Council met at city hall May 27, and again less than two weeks later June 9. Although the June meeting lasted for just over ten minutes and there were few updates for the council to give, the May meeting was lengthier and included the adoption of several new city ordinances.
In May, Mayor Jesse Dugas was present along with councilors Tina Casey Jones, Jean Ann Miles, and Jason Peters. Councilor Ethan Lane was expected to participate via Zoom but, due to technical difficulties, he was unable to attend more than the last few minutes of the meeting.
During this meeting, three ordinances that adjusted parts of the city’s municipal code were unanimously approved by the council. The first, Ordinance 616, corrected scriveners errors in the text of two municipal codes. The second, Ordinance 617, amends parking regulations for storage warehouse facilities, as there had previously been no off-street parking requirements for such facilities in the city’s municipal code. Now, storage warehouses are required to have one parking space for every 2,000 square feet of floor area. The third and final ordinance, Ordinance 618, serves to amend two municipal codes related to water and sewer line systems to account for future extensions and designs.
The May council liaison updates were also informative. Councilor Jason Peters had recently attended an open meeting for parents of LBMS and IVHS students to voice their concerns about issues that had recently been circulating around social media. To Peters’ surprise, despite the outcry on social media, only one set of parents physically showed up to this meeting to discuss the matter with the district board members who were present. This led to a conversation about how city council can better engage with the city’s schools. The idea of a student council collaboration at the high school- and possibly middle school- level was mentioned, and Mayor Dugas reminded the council that the annual shadow the mayor day was coming up soon.
Councilor Jones gave an update regarding her involvement with the Parks and Recreation committee, explaining that the board was mulling over how to best begin the next round of expansions for Jubilee Park. She also mentioned that after a conversation with members of Main Street Cave Junction, there is a possibility that the parks and rec committee could utilize some of the grant funding that Main Street Cave Junction has access to for future renovations.
Jones also mentioned that the local Chamber of Commerce was disappointed that this year’s Soap Box Derby was set to be cancelled, so they are attempting to find a way to bring this unique event back to the community.
Towards the end of the meeting, Mayor Dugas also mentioned the possibility of bringing back Cave Junction’s annual Blackberry Festival in the future. Though it is likely too soon to get things going this year, Dugas and the rest of the council are hopeful that this event could be brought back by summer of 2026.
Though the council’s June meeting was short in sweet, with all parties in attendance this time, the highlight of the meeting was likely the approval of amplified sound for the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Concerts In the Park celebration, set to begin June 19 and happening each Thursday until August 14.