Chamber seeks 20% match for bike-trail grant; strategic-plan group reports public engagement

During the Nov. 13 meeting of the Lake County Board of Commissioners, Lake County Chamber of Commerce Director Shelley Batty thanked the board for a letter of support for a bike-trail grant and described the current status of trail work and fundraising needs.

Batty said blue and green trails have been roughed in so they can settle over the winter and that the grant would require a 20% local match. She told commissioners she believed the chamber could raise the match but asked whether the board would entertain a request for county funds if those funds were not available. "She believed she would have the funds to cover it, but asked if the Board would entertain a request for funds if she did not," the minutes state. Chair Albertson said the board would entertain such a request but added they would be unlikely to agree to it. Batty cited a Travel Oregon estimate that the trails could bring about $1,000,000 per year into the county after seven years. She also announced a Holiday Fair and a Chamber member party planned for Dec. 6.

Chantal Dugied of Community Solutions Innovators reported the county strategic-plan work is beyond the working-group stage, said the community has engaged with the process, and outlined plans for public-safety "barn raising" events the following week and twice yearly thereafter. Chair Albertson asked Dugied if she would serve on the South Central Oregon Economic Development District (SCOEDD) board; Dugied said Community Solutions Innovators had reached out to SCOEDD while building the plan. Commissioner Williams said asking someone to volunteer for SCOEDD at a public meeting "was odd."

What happens next: The minutes record Batty’s request to the board and Dugied’s report; the board did not commit county funds to the trail project during the meeting.