News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Public restrooms on Ash Street may be a reality by next summer after all, if a tentative grant approval holds up.
The Central Oregon Community Investment Board (COCIB) has announced a tentative grant of $34,600 to the City of Sisters for the proposed Ash Street Park in Sisters.
According to city officials, those funds, with a match from the city and $25,000 from the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce's restroom fund, will be used for construction of eight public restrooms.
"We're pretty close to the $100,000, roughly, that the restrooms will cost," said City Administrator Eileen Stein.
The restrooms will be part of a downtown park on Ash Street between Cascade and Hood avenues. The total cost of the project is estimated at $200,000.
Stein said the restrooms could be constructed first, with the park developed around them as funds become available. A committee led by Sisters area resident Peter Storton will begin raising some of the additional $100,000 needed to complete the park. Stein said the city has also applied for more state grant funds.
The COCIB grant remains subject to legislative actions on the state budget. Stein expects confirmation of the allocation after COCIB's October 3 meeting.
The funds were allocated out of $95,000 left over from this year's disbursement.
There had been some hard feelings on the city council after COCIB originally passed up the city's grant request for the Ash Street Park in favor of a $25,000 grant to open a student-run Outlaw Café in Sisters.
If the funds are confirmed, Stein hopes to get bids on the restroom construction by March so that construction can be completed by the end of May.
Current plans call for four men's and four women's restrooms, but the city is examining the cost and feasibility of constructing all eight restrooms as unisex facilities.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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