Council and Urban Renewal Agency approve downtown grants, contracts and appointments

Sutherlin’s Urban Renewal Agency and City Council approved a set of motions Feb. 12 covering downtown revitalization grants, a business relocation grant, a parks planning contract and a construction contract amendment for the police station, and filled multiple committee vacancies.

The most prominent approvals: the Urban Renewal Agency voted to support an Oregon Main Street revitalization grant application for improvements to the Sutherlin Drug and Annex buildings and authorized matching funds, city council approved a $25,000 grant for business relocation at 103 West Central Avenue, the council awarded a contract for the 2025 Parks and Recreation Master Plan, and the council amended the CM/GC contract to proceed with construction on the police station project.

Why this matters: the actions move multiple downtown improvement projects from planning toward implementation and create local match commitments that would be reimbursed if the state Main Street grant is awarded. The council also advanced long-range park planning and a major police-station construction step that were presented as within existing grant budgets or as previously vetted matters.

Key actions and outcomes - Urban Renewal Agency: Approved the UR budget calendar for fiscal year 2025–26 and approved Resolution UR 2025.01 to support an Oregon Main Street revitalization grant application for the Sutherlin Drug and Annex buildings. The agency discussed a total project cost of $325,000, with a $75,000 local match and an Urban Renewal contribution of roughly $37,000 (the agency described this as the portion of the match it would provide). The agency voted to approve the resolution (motion carried).

- Business relocation grant, 103 West Central Avenue: Council approved a grant of $25,000 to support interior and limited exterior improvements tied to a business relocation into 103 West Central Avenue (applicant Sydney Perkins). City staff said the award is limited to improvements affixed to the building and requires owner sign-off. Motion carried.

- 2025 Parks and Recreation Master Plan: Council awarded a contract to Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning for $99,153 to prepare the 2025 Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Staff noted the plan will be used to support grant applications. Motion carried.

- Police station construction (CM/GC amendment): Council approved an amendment to the existing constructor (S & B James Construction) contract to proceed from preconstruction/design into construction at a value of $2,061,617; staff said the amount fits within the previously awarded grant budget. Motion carried.

- Appointments: Council appointed Janella Wilder to the planning commission (term to 12/31/2028) and appointed Rosalind Locke and Rebecca Dennis to the parks committee (terms to 12/31/2026). Motions carried.

Other items: The council and staff discussed a business-license program and a potential public-safety fee work group; these were directed to a follow-up work process rather than final council action that night.

Votes at a glance (as recorded in meeting minutes) - UR budget calendar (Urban Renewal Agency): approved (voice vote recorded as “Aye” by present members). Specific roll-call names were recorded during the meeting. - Resolution UR 2025.01 (support for Oregon Main Street revitalization grant): approved (motion carried). - Grant, 103 West Central Ave — $25,000: approved (motion carried). - Contract award, 2025 Parks & Recreation Master Plan — $99,153: approved (motion carried). - CM/GC contract amendment, police station — $2,061,617: approved (motion carried). - Appointments (planning commission; parks committee): approved (voice votes recorded as “Aye”).

What the approvals do next: Staff said the Main Street application process is reimbursement-based; if the state grant is awarded, the state grant check will be issued to the applicant organization and the city/agency and applicant will complete a check-swap and reimbursement. For the police station, staff said construction bids were vetted and the amended CM/GC brings the project to the construction phase within the grant limit. The parks master plan contract will fund a planning process intended to support later grant applications.

Ending: Several items that received discussion but not final action — including a possible business license ordinance and a forthcoming public-safety fee discussion and work group — were sent to follow-up meetings and working groups for additional detail and ordinance drafting.