A prior version of this story incorrectly indicated a date certain for the selection of a new County Administrator, the story has been updated to reflect the correct information.
County Administrator Selection Date Approaching: When will the County make a decision about it’s next top manager? According to the County’s communications coordinator, JonnaVe Stokes, “The County is aiming to reach a decision within the next week.” Notably, the County Board of Commissioners meets for an executive session on Tuesday, July 25.
Stokes said, “Following the decision, there will be a series of steps that need to be taken, including reference checks and negotiations, before a final hiring decision can be made and a start date can be determined.”
Officials have narrowed the field down to two finalists, Rachel McEneny and Nancy Newton.
McEneny has served the City of Albany, New York, since 2016. She spent her first year as the Budget Officer before being promoted to the Commissioner of Administrative Services in 2017.
While Newton has served as the City Manager for the City of Springfield, Oregon, since 2020. Prior to her time in Springfield, Nancy was the Assistant County Executive/Chief Operating Officer for Sacramento County, California, for four years.
The final candidate will begin their duties as the County Administrator sometime in the fall.
Sustainable Grant Funding Reports: The Benton County Board of Commissioners has extended the deadline to finalize grant reports on the Sustainable Materials Management Plan.
For 2022-23, the county awarded $20,000 to five grant recipients, each with project focusing on waste reduction or the reuse of materials. The five grant recipients included Corvallis Sustainability Coalition, McGuire Mechanism, Philomath High School, The Arc and Vina Moses.
The next step is for a limited term advisory task force, appointed by the commissioners, to work with county staff to present a final draft of the grant report.
At their July 18 commissioners meeting the deadline for the report was pushed from July to August 2023.
But What You Really Want to Know: Of course, what you’re probably wondering is what the grants funded, so without further ado…
The Corvallis Sustainability Coalition has launched Benton to Go, a reusable take-out container program for local restaurants. Restaurant customers can receive meals in reusable take-out containers, and either rinse and return them, or exchange them for sanitized containers at any participating restaurant.
McGuire Mechanism assists small producers with custom engineering solutions. McGuire Mechanism is using grant funds to help Benton County farmers and local artisans utilize scrap, junk, and otherwise unused materials in their work.
Philomath High School received grant funds to install hand dryers for school bathroom aimed at reducing the amount of paper towels used.
The Arc Benton Furniture Upcycling Project is a community volunteer group that upcycles otherwise unsellable donated pieces of furniture. Lastly, Vina Moses Center is using grant funds to expand their capacity for collection and storage of reused and donated items.
Marys Watershed: The Benton County Board of Commissioners approved a funding request from the Mary’s River Watershed Council for $10,550.
“This program would help build community resilience by decreasing risk of flooding through taking a system-wide approach,” said Benton County Finance Director Rick Crager.
What the commissioners approved will specifically fund the Trout-friendly Landscape Infrastructure Project. The project aims to improve water quality by implementing green stormwater infrastructure on private lands. The lands include commercial, industrial, apartment complexes, church and school sites.
“The Mary’s River Watershed Council will be working collaboratively on a voluntary basis with landowners and business owners in the proposed areas to encourage green solutions within a diverse economy that fits a strong community desire to support businesses that are proactive in environmental stewardship and protection,” said Crager.
Community Evacuation Webinar: Benton County will be hosting a webinar for those interested in building their own evacuation plan with the help of local emergency managers. It will also be an opportunity for participants to offer feedback on the community’s emergency evacuation plans.
Benton County will be partnering with the City of Corvallis for this event, and it is open to anyone who is interested in participating. It will be hosted by Bryan Lee, Benton County Emergency Manager, and Dave Busby, Corvallis Emergency Manager.
The webinar is free and will take place on Tuesday, July 25, from 6 to 8pm.
To register, go to: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1593490748402234205 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
If you are unable to attend but still have questions you can email dave.busby@corvallisoregon.gov.
By Jennifer Warner
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