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Jacksonville gives back $750,000 in grants The money was to fund a cottage industrial park, but city leaders decided loans were too risky By MEG LANDERS JACKSONVILLE - After receiving three-quarters of a million dollars in grant and loan funding, the city is sending it back. The money would have funded a proposed cottage industrial park on 3.3 acres west of the downtown core. But the City Council in October changed its comprehensive plan to preclude the project, citing financial risks in paying back loans. The council voted to return the money during its meeting Tuesday. City Councilman Wally Hicks said the plan is too risky. "It's possible that we could end up owing a lot of money on something that doesn't work," he said. "Part of the fund was a lower-interest loan that was around $350,000." The council's decision doesn't rule out future plans, he said. "It's zoned as cottage industrial, so if someone wants to come in and do something, they can," he said. "This council doesn't really think the city needs to be a land holder in that project." Councilman Bill Leep voted against returning the money, saying, "We're blowing it." He sees the plan as an opportunity to help local commerce. "This kind of growth would add to the synergism of retailing," he said. "We just gave up about $700,000 of injection to our economy." John Dodero, former council member who championed the project, said the council lacks understanding of the planning process. He said he worked with several residents on a comprehensive plan and determined that developing a cottage industry zone, where people live, work and sell their wares, would be beneficial to the city's economy. It would encourage residents to be more vested in Jacksonville, making it less of a bedroom community, he said. The plan included helping finance a historic-looking building where shop owners would live upstairs and work below. The project funding included purchase of the land and plans to create about 55 parking places, as well as storm drains, a building pad and water and sewer connections. Among the funds being returned is an Oregon Department of Transportation grant for $166,500 and an Oregon Economic Community and Development Department grant and loan totaling $583,500. In other business, the council voted 4-3 to pursue opening Middle Street, a dead-end street off Hueners Lane, in order to improve traffic congestion. The council agreed to do preliminary cost estimates for a local improvement district, and to begin surveying the property. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.