Ethan Hoagland
Certain Sweet Home residents can get some help on their utility bills, after council approved a Utility Assistance Program during the Nov. 13 meeting. Councilors approved a cap of $5 in assistance per month, after a motion for $10 of assistance failed.
The assistance program follows a September decision to raise rates. City Manager Kelcey Young said most people would see their bills increase about $3 to $5 a month.
Community members interested in applying for the assistance need to qualify as low income per the Linn County income limits. That’s $44,550 for an individual, $63,600 for a family of four. According to Young, about 20% of the Sweet Home population is living in poverty.
Councilors Lisa Gourley and Dave Trask both expressed concerns that if the council agreed to $10 in assistance now, that could set them up to have to reduce the amount of assistance in the future.
Young said the city could revisit the assistance program before next year’s budget is decided.
Funding for the assistance program comes from $525,000 in reimbursements from a covid relief grant through the Community Services Consortium. The assistance program isn’t to exceed $15,000 in annual costs for the city.
According to city officials, the decision to raise rates in September was made to cover maintenance and repair costs, as well as upcoming capital project requirements.
10th, 13th streets to become southbound one-way
Sweet Home’s city council approved a motion to make both 10th and 13th streets southbound one-ways between Main and Long. The decision is part of a plan to bring more foot traffic and activity to downtown Sweet Home.
Councilors changed course from the original plan following concerns from local businesses on the affected streets. Originally, 13th street was to be a northbound one way.
Owner of Santiam Feed and Garden Cathy Burks told city council during their last October meeting that a northbound one-way would make it hard for trucks to use their garage doors on 13th. The Burks are in the process of selling the building that houses Santiam Feed and Garden, and a prospective buyer told the council that a northbound one-way would kill any interest he has in investing in downtown Sweet Home.
Councilor David Trask at the meeting asked Community and Economic Development Director Blair Larsen, “Do you have a time frame for when you’re gonna try to get that done? Is it gonna be pretty soon, is it gonna be springtime? Or do you have any idea yet?”
Larsen responded that the timeline is hinged on the construction of an electric vehicle charging station planned for 10th street. In an email to The New Era, Larsen said the timeline is also contingent on finalizing the parking plan.
“Once we have a firm date for that, we hope in the next month or two, that’s when the striping would occur,” Larsen said.
One of the core goals behind making 10th and 13th street one-ways is to increase parking capacity on both of those streets. It will also make more room for beautification projects. Finalized plans for the parking layout are still being drawn up, as city officials talk to businesses in the area about further impacts from the plan.
Approval of the direction changes on 10th and 13th was not made unanimously. Councilor Dylan Richards alone voted against the changes. Councilor Angelita Sanchez voted to approve the changes after she shared concerns about the original plan during the last October council meeting. It passed 6-1.
Third reading of Alyrica Franchise Agreement approved
High-speed internet provider Alyrica Networks Inc. is moving forward with building fiber optic infrastructure in Sweet Home, after the city council approved the third reading of a franchise agreement with the company.
According to plans from Alyrica networks, the company will start building fiber optic infrastructure on the west side of town. That initial phase of their plan would connect about 1,200 homes between 1st Avenue and 18th to their fiber optic network.
A statement from Alyrica CEO Sam Dotson said “The new network will be capable of providing up to 2.5Gbps internet services with incredibly low latency to businesses and residents of Sweet Home.” The statement also noted that the company expects to offer services “as early as Summer of 2024.” The company has been working with Sweet Home city officials for more than a year to hammer out the plan, according to the statement.
Alyrica is a Philomath based company. They already provide internet services to hundreds of Sweet Home residents through their fixed wireless internet service.
Traffic citations up 30% for October
During Police Chief Jason Ogden’s report to city council, he shared statistics showing officers issued 32% more citations than by this time last year. Overall, the department issued 33 citations last month, 19 of them were for violations like speeding, or reckless driving. Driving uninsured made up the second largest amount of citations, with nine given during October.
The increase in citations came as the city’s signs telling people how fast they’re driving are facing troubles.
“We’ve been having problems with the speed signs,” Chief Ogden said in response to a question from council President Pro Tem Greg Mahler. “We’re looking at replacing those and getting something that’s better and more sustainable.”
City getting $500,000 for emergency housing
Sweet Home is getting half a million dollars to help provide emergency housing, according to City Manager Young. She brought up the funds at the end of her report to the city council. She said councilors will be discussing the money at their Nov. 28 meeting.