Port Commission takes no action on market, Lane Count Solid Waste 78 years ahead of schedule and volunteers needed for fall beach cleanup

No changes in store for market…

The Port of Siuslaw Commission took no action regarding a petition from 15 Bay Street business operators asking to have the Old Town Public Market terminated. The Commission heard from people on both sides of the issue last week and met yesterday at noon to formulate a response. Ultimately there was no response. All four commissioners presented agreed that they had no direct control over the day to day operations of the market. They also agreed that market director Richard Wigget had already addressed many of the concerns raised in the petition.
202 – “I have actually changed our advertising to read come and visit the merchants in old town and the shops in old town. That’s what I want to do is I want to bring the community in and also reach out to the merchants in old town and just basically promote the area as a destination.”

Wigget pointed out that the issue of competing merchandise was very small… he pointed out that only three of the vendors carried merchandise that was available from merchants down the street. He said his focus was try to put the controversy behind him and try to work together.
201 – “And I kind of want to dispel the dissension between the market and the merchants. It’s just a few merchants and a lot of the merchants I’ve heard have actually pulled their signatures from the petition.

The market is scheduled to run every Saturday and Sunday through the end of October.

Lane County Waste Management is ahead of the game. An impermeable cap on a 16-acre portion of the Short Mountain Landfill Site southeast of Eugene isn’t required to be installed for another 78 years. Federal regulations require the cap… to keep rainwater out and methane gas in… once the entire complex is closed. That won’t happen until the end of this century says Daniel Hurley. He’s a senior engineering associate with Lane County Public Works. Hurley says the $2-million project will consist of a foot-and-a-half thick layer of clay and a thick plastic cap. The project will make for a more efficient way of collecting the methane gas that comes from decomposition of garbage, once collected it will be used to generate electricity. The portion being sealed off is an estimated 1.5-million tons of garbage accumulated from throughout Lane County over a five year period that ended in 2004.

The first Great Oregon Fall Beach Cleanup occurred 25-years ago, and volunteers are being sought for the next installment. It’s a partnership between Oregon Parks and Recreation and the conservation group SOLV. This fall’s cleanup is set for Saturday, September 19th. OPRD will host 44 different meeting sites along Oregon’s 350-mile long coastline. Volunteers need to dress appropriately for the weather an bring their own work gloves. Garbage bags are included.