Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Economic Development Group Board of Directors voted Wednesday, Jan. 21, to ask the Linn County Board of Commissioners for more than 200 acres of former Knife River quarry property.
“During recent months, SHEDG’s board and staff have spent substantial time and money to determine, in due diligence, whether SHEDG should pursue acquisition from the county of the 16 tax lots which comprise the so-called ‘Knife River property,’” said SHEDG President John Wittwer in a letter to the Board of Commissioners.
“Having completed our due diligence activities and in harmony with SHEDG’s mission, the SHEDG board now asks you to consider our request that the county convey to SHEDG fee simple title to the Knife River property.”
The acceptance of the conveyance would be contingent on SHEDG’s confirmation that the county’s post-foreclosure title is clear and of the county’s prior receipt of a “No Further Action” (NFA) determination from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which includes conditions and restrictions that are not more burdensome than SHEDG understands the DEQ is contemplating.
Among the anticipated DEQ conditions, the record owner of the property will be required to notify the DEQ of any change in zoning designation; DEQ retains the right to enter the property in execution of its regulatory duties if any condition arises that has not already been identified and resolved as part of the current NFA process; and the right of DEQ for cost recovery.
Those conditions also include specific restrictions on two parcels regarding the location of residual soil and groundwater contamination following remediation of earlier diesel spills that prohibit the use of groundwater from that location and confirm the landowner’s obligation to properly handle and dispose of contaminants. The property owner would have an obligation to give appropriate warning about arsenic contamination in groundwater sources generally on the property.
The conveyance would allow the Oregon Cascades West Council of Governments the right to remove stockpiled rock it owns on the site; and the conveyance would be subject to reclamation requirements under an existing Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries permit. Knife River would be entitled to enter the property to perform reclamation work.
“As I believe you are likely aware, based on past community outreach efforts led by the City of Sweet Home, SHEDG is confident this request has broad-based community support,” Wittwer said. “On the heels of other remarkable and recent cooperative initiatives, such as the South Santiam Community Forest Corridor, South Santiam All Lands Collaborative and Federal Lands Livability Initiative, SHEDG believes the county’s conveyance of the property to SHEDG would represent a historic convergence of opportunities for economic development in Linn County.
“We urge you to give SHEDG’s request careful consideration, and we appreciate the prospects of working with you as you respond to this request.”
The SHEDG board began looking at the land after the county foreclosed the property for nonpayment of taxes at the end of 2010. The 380-acre property, located along the south bank of the South Santiam River, along the north edge of Sweet Home between about 22nd Avenue and Clark Mill, had most recently been owned by the Western States Land Reliance Trust, and included former Willamette Industries-Weyerhaeuser property to the south.
County and SHEDG officials had discussed developing the property as a park, possibly including permanent facilities for the annual Oregon Jamboree country music and camping festival. The Jamboree is owned and operated by SHEDG as a fund-raising event to support local economic development activities.
In August, Commissioner Roger Nyquist urged the board to ask permission to take over the Knife River property. Knife River has been busy working with the county in recent years to address environmental issues on the property, and the county and SHEDG anticipate a “No Further Action” letter from the DEQ soon.
The ultimate fate of the property would remain uncertain after a SHEDG takeover. The board is interested in community input before developing the site.
“There’s more unanswered questions than answered ones at this point even if the commissioners agree,” Wittwer told The New Era, but the board has completed its due diligence, working with an environmental attorney, for example, to determine SHEDG’s potential liability for environmental issues on the property.
“I’m very optimistic at this point,” Wittwer said. “I’m glad we struck. I’m fairly confident we’ve done all we can to assure ourselves we’re making a good decision. The community should be excited.”
The due diligence phase has been “an overwhelming effort,” he said. He complimented those who carried that ball, including SHEDG directors Rachel Kittson-MaQatish, Joe Graybill, Wendi Melcher and Kellie Kem and Jamboree Festival Director Erin Regrutto.
Two directors, Cindy Glick and Jo Ann McQueary, voted not to proceed during SHEDG’s regular meeting on Jan. 21. Both wanted to wait a little longer.
“I’m not opposed to the motion,” McQueary said. “But I’m opposed to it tonight.”
Glick told the board everything tells her she wants to go forward, but she said she would have liked a week to consider further the risk SHEDG is taking.
Voting yes were Graybill, Kittson-MaQatish, Kem, Melcher, Rob Poirier, Mike Hall, Michelle Swett and Wittwer.
“We’re at a pivotal point,” Kittson-MaQatish said. “I think the property gets us where we want to go.”
It meets SHEDG’s goals, and the board has vetted it, she said.