Corvallis e-News | September 2024

In this issue: Food hub grants, news about sustainability, and more!

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South Corvallis Food Hub Grant Recipients Announced

The Corvallis Benton County Economic Development Office has announced the recipients of the first round of funding for the South Corvallis Food Hub grant program. Financing in the amount of $495,000 was available from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to kickstart access to food in South Corvallis.

Ten applications were received totaling more than $1.7 million in funding requests. A diverse evaluation committee reviewed the applications against the goals of the South Corvallis Food Hub project, which sought to improve food access in South Corvallis, incubate food businesses, and create new connections within the local food system. The Corvallis Benton EDO partnered with the Linn-Benton Small Business Development Center to help applicants develop proposals free of charge and facilitate meetings with Spanish-speaking community members. The Benton County Health Department provided time, equipment and guidance to potential applicants.

Grant awards and descriptions of each project are included below:

  1. Benton County Food Forum - $5,000 to fund delivery of produce and meals from the Southtown Stand and Farmers’ Market using a combination of e-bikes, cargo bikes, and conventional bikes.
  2. Flicker & Fir, LLC - $37,000 for improvements at the Southtown Stand & Farmers’ Market for sun and rain mitigation, food vendor support and storage, bike racks, and a pilot program aimed at expanding vendor sales through pre-orders.
  3. Ten Rivers Food Web - $153,000 to fund operations of a South Corvallis aggregation facility to receive, store, and distribute local food products to institutional purchasers and business owners through local delivery.
  4. Grow, Thrive and Prosper People's Collective - $50,000 to provide services including: access to shared kitchen space, storage, training and workshops, marketing support, pop-up market access, events, training, low barrier micro-grants, and business incubation support.
  5. Las Doñas del Sur - $250,000 to fund the purchase and operations of food trucks for 9 co-located entrepreneurs at a destination in South Corvallis.

The funding will be distributed to the recipients before December 31, 2024. Per the grant agreements, applicants will develop and launch their projects in 2025 with assistance from the Economic Development Office and other local resources.

For more information on the South Corvallis Food Hub project, visit https://yescorvallis.org/grow.

Sign Up to Receive News About Sustainability from the City of Corvallis

There's a new home for news, announcements, and updates related to sustainability from the City of Corvallis. Visit www.corvallisoregon.gov/notify to sign up for the new "Sustainability, Conservation, & Climate Action" email notification category.

We'll be using this  new communications channel to share news and information from all City departments about how we're achieving our organizational goals and how the community can learn more, get involved, and do their part to help advance sustainability and climate action throughout Corvallis.

Subscribers can expect a few newsy announcements each month as we get rolling with this new outreach channel. We'd love to hear from you about what you'd like to see. Drop us an email at pio@corvallisoregon.gov anytime.

Turkey Trot Registration is OPEN!

Register today for the Corvallis Turkey Trot. Registration is OPEN for the November 28 race event. 

CARE Event Returns on September 17

The City of Corvallis, Benton County Health Department, Samaritan Health Services, Oregon Department of Human Services and Community Outreach Inc are partnering to offer the fourth annual Corvallis Area Resource Event (CARE) on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking garage of the Corvallis-Benton Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Avenue.

Local service providers of all varieties will be present to offer a “one-stop shop” for people in need to get engaged with important resources. Free sandwiches will be provided to the first 100 attendees.

Public transportation to the event is available through the Corvallis Transit System, Benton Area Transit, Coast to Valley Express and the 99 Express with stops in Adair Village, Philomath and Blodgett.

More information is available at www.corvallisoregon.gov/CARE.

Update on Buchanan Avenue Road Discussion at Corvallis High School

The City has paused the proposed restriping project on Buchanan Avenue outside Corvallis High School. The School District wants to implement operational changes to the front entrance of Corvallis High School along Buchanan Avenue with the start of this coming school year. The School District intends to provide additional communication to parents and students that drop-off and pickup of students should not take place on Buchanan Avenue or within the front loop. The School will provide staff in the morning and afternoon to monitor Buchanan Avenue and ask parents to drive to appropriate locations for drop-off and pickup. Optionally, the School may place signs, cones, or barricades to remind parents of the appropriate drop-off and pickup locations.

The City will continue to work with the School District to evaluate the changes that they implemented. If changes to City signs, parking, or striping are still warranted after the School District’s operational changes, we will work with the School District and community to scope a project that fits within our available budget and communicate this to the community.

For the most up to date information on this topic, please visit the project website here. 

Questions or feedback can be directed to Ted Reese, the City's Transportation Engineering Supervisor, at Ted.Reese@corvallisoregon.gov or 541-766-6916.

Development Services is Going Paperless

To provide a more sustainable plan review process, The City's Development Services Division will begin to transition to paperless permitting on October 1, 2024. Development Services processes building permits and schedules inspections for most residential and commercial construction projects in the City.

Incoming applications, plans, and other documents can be uploaded through our online portal at www.corvallispermits.com. The system is free and allows community members to apply for permits, schedule inspections, pay fees, as well as upload and/or download plans and other permit documents at their convenience.

Electronic permitting streamlines the plan review process, reduces the need for paper plans, and allows convenient access to important information 24 hours a day. Help us go paperless by submitting your permit application online today!

City Council Meetings in September

Catch up with your elected officials at their regularly scheduled meetings and work sessions. Upcoming meetings are listed below, along with links to calendar entries with more information. You don't have to attend to share feedback on any topic that's important to you. Feel free to use the Public Input Form to get in touch with the Council anytime, anywhere. 

Upcoming Council Meetings and Work Sessions
Date Meeting
September 3, 2024 Regular Meeting
September 5, 2024 Work Session
September 16, 2024 Regular Meeting
September 19, 2024 Work Session

 

Government Comment Corner at the Library

Meet your local government officials and chat about whatever's on your mind at Government Comment Corner. Each two-hour session takes place at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon each Saturday. A rotating cast of elected leaders from Corvallis and Benton County will be available for open, honest, one-on-one conversations with anyone who wants to stop by. Bring your questions about public services, and learn more about how to volunteer and get involved!

Here's the schedule (subject to change):

Upcoming Government Comment Corner Dates
Date Name
9/7/2024 Briae Lewis
9/21/2024 Paul Shaffer
10/5/2024 Charles Maughan

 

FYI: Council Three-Month Calendar

The City Council's three-month calendar is a good way to track topics and learn about upcoming business items. The three-month calendar is available on the City website.

The schedule is subject to change, so be sure to contact your City Councilor to learn more about any particular topic you see on the calendar.

What's New at the Library this Month?

 

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