Scott Swanson
Linn County Board of Commissioners Chairman Roger Nyquist last week urged the Sweet Home Economic Development Group to ask the county for permission to take over 200-some acres of former Knife River quarry property for a festival venue site.
Speaking to the SHEDG Board of Directors at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 20, Nyquist announced that cleanup of the parcel is complete.
“We expect a letter any day from the DEQ with a clean bill of health,” he said. There is still some “remediation” work to do, he added, emphasizing that the company has been diligent in the cleanup effort on the 193-acre rock quarry portion of the former Western States Land Reliance Trust land which the county foreclosed at the end of 2010 for nonpayment of property taxes.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Knife River,” he said. “They’ve done an exceptional job.”
The approximately 380 acres of land the county foreclosed also includes the former site of a Willamette Industries mill along the north side of Sweet Home between 18th Avenue and Clark Mill Road, accessible at the east end of Tamarack Street and the north end of 24th Avenue. The quarry site, primarily accessible from the north end of Clark Mill Road, borders the South Santiam River and includes several ponds.
Nyquist said progress has been slower on cleanup of the mill site, for which the county has recently received a $400,000 federal grant to assist with that process and is “well-positioned” for more. He said he expects that cleanup to take years.
“Nobody gets to do anything on that property until we figure out what the problem is and how to clean it up,” he said. “Once we identify the problems, I’d be surprised if it’s less than a three-year timeline to clean it up.”
Nyquist told SHEDG board members that the Knife River property would be better used by a non-government entity and that county officials have gotten cold feet about moving ahead with development of the parcel into a park, which has been the plan, and that some have had little enthusiasm for the idea of the county park within Sweet Home.
He said the county’s “footprint” in the Sweet Home area is already larger than some county officials are comfortable with, particularly with the recent purchase of Edgewater RV Park and Resort on east edge of town. Sheriff Bruce Riley is not excited about the need to patrol a county regional park located in Sweet Home, Nyquist said.
He acknowledged that the property could be sold at auction, but a better option would be for the county to turn it over to a non-profit organization, such as SHEDG, which could use it for camping or for an actual music festival.
“Based on that, based on my limited understanding of your needs, I think you ought to give some consideration to asking (Linn County Chief Administrative Officer) Ralph Wyatt for the title to the Knife River portion,” he said. “That puts you in the driver’s seat.”
Jamboree Director Erin Regrutto, who has been working with county officials since the foreclosure to develop the properties, said the Knife River portion could certainly be used for concerts in the future. She noted that the county came up with conceptual drawings before the contamination issues came to light on the Weyerhaeuser and, to a lesser extent, the Knife River properties.
“The good thing about the festival site is it’s very flexible, utilizing natural resources,” she said. “Trees, ponds, bushes – it looks beautiful.”
She and board member Cindy Glick recalled how the SHEDG board, offered a similar proposal a couple of years ago, hesitated.
“We have new players now and more energy,” Glick said.
SHEDG board members voiced cautious enthusiasm for the idea last week.
“There’s no question this is a large asset,” member Rick Ely said. “It’s a gift.”
Some members said they had concerns about liability, security and maintenance demands. Discussion included talk about how volunteers could be utilized for some of those functions, and whether the county Parks Department could operate the facility.
Rachel Kittson-MaQatish, who heads SHEDG’s Property Committee, said members of the Lebanon Community Foundation, which owns Cheadle Lake Park, provide much of the upkeep of that facility. She suggested that SHEDG invite LCF President Ronn Passmore to talk about the organization’s efforts in Lebanon, particularly in managing the park.
Glick said she sees an opportunity to provide local jobs.
“One of our tasks is to create jobs,” she said. “Volunteers are great, but we need to create jobs.”
Kittson-MaQatish, an attorney in Lebanon, offered to look into some of the concerns about liability and other issues and report back to the board.
Board members voted unanimously in favor of member Rob Poirier’s motion to proceed with a “substantial statement” to respond to “this opportunity” and to ask MaQatish to bring back her report within 60 days. Voting in support were President John Wittwer, Vice President Kellie Kem and members Jo Ann McQueary, Joe Graybill, Kittson-MaQatish, Glick, Ely, Poirier and Wendi Melcher.