Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
City Council members last week gave an explanation for why they donated city money to the Weddle Bridge repair effort after Sweet Home resident and Budget Committee member Kim Lawrence raised concerns about the decision.
Lawrence was concerned that the council had taken more than $6,000 from the sale of timber from city property and dedicated it to the repair of Weddle Bridge.
Councilman Jim Gourley asked what the city should do with the bridge if not help repair it.
?Demolish it?? Lawrence said. ?I guess.?
?You may be one person, but there?s 1,000 people that would come in here and just tear us up,? Gourley said of the notion.
?Where do you intend to get the rest of the money?? Lawrence asked the council.
Repair costs are estimated at $125,000 or more, according to city officials. So far, the community and city have raised a little more than $40,000.
?You know,? Gourley answered. ?Mostly donations. Do you know how much it?s worth??
Weddle Bridge, which has a leaking roof and deteriorating structural timbers, is ?insured for $850,000,? Gourley said. ?You think we should just demolish an $850,000 bridge? This is not fiscally responsible.?
Weddle Bridge was brought to Sweet Home 15 years ago from the Stayton area after it was dismantled and placed in storage. A group called the Cascade Forest Resources Council spearheaded the effort to bring the attraction to Sankey Park.
The roof is bad and the bridge in disrepair, Lawrence said. She asked why it had not been maintained.
?The CFRC was a group of people that went out and said we wanted it,? Mayor Craig Fentiman said. ?So they went out and got it piece by piece.?
The council was told it would not cost the city anything although it was placed in city property, Fentiman said. People, ?through the process of life, passed on or became ill.?
Now the bridge is a Sweet Home landmark and it is in a city park, Fentiman said. It has significant value, and the money the city contributed is just a small amount.
?I don?t think there?s anybody up here that wants to demolish the bridge,? Fentiman said.
The city committed $1,000 to the bridge during its annual budget process in the spring, said Council member Jessica Coward. That was the only ?taxpayer? money that has been committed to the bridge. The additional $6,000 came from the sale of timber, which was cut after the city?s budget was complete and not included in the budget.
That is revenue that could be used to fix ruts in the roads, Lawrence said. ?It?s a big expense, and I just wonder if the City Council is aware of it.?
Lawrence raised the idea of volunteering to repair the bridge, but she said her husband was told that volunteering on bridge repairs was a liability.
People need certification to work on the bridge, Coward said, but volunteers are actively working on raising money and materials to take care of the bridge.
?You might want to contact people on that committee,? Coward said. ?I?m sure they?d appreciate all the help they can get.?