During the Tuesday morning meeting of the Linn County Board of Commissioners, Roger Nyquist and Sherrie Sprenger approved the purchase of a new small craft waterway barrier to be installed at Lewis Creek Park day use area on Foster Reservoir.
The barrier will cost $255,844 and is manufactured by Worthington Waterway Barriers, East Canton, Ohio.
The proposal was brought to the board by Parks Director Brian Carroll. The small craft barrier will be placed beyond the current barrier, creating a non-swimming and non-boating buffer zone.
Worthington Waterway testing indicates it will effectively stop boats up to 26 feet long traveling at 60 miles per hour.
The project is in response to an accident last summer in which a 6-year-old boy was killed and a 6-year-old girl was severely injured by a jet ski that got away from its rider and struck them.
“This is the end result of the county wanting to do our best to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Nyquist said after the meeting.
In other business, the commissioners:
– Approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with Oregon State Parks that will allow Linn County Parks & Recreation to manage Cascadia State Park for a third year. The goal, Parks Director Brian Carroll said, is for Linn County to assume ownership of the park.
– Gave staff permission to develop a marketing plan for the former Willamette Industries millsite in Sweet Home. Linn County took possession of the 160 acres 11 years ago in lieu of $500,000 in back taxes from the Western States Land Reliance Trust.
Two potential buyers have made offers on the property and the county wants to ensure everyone is on the same page and fully informed about how a sale will take place.