Oregon Governor Tina Kotek visited Aumsville on June 22, making a breakfast stop to discuss water treatment plant issues with city officials.
The visit, which was closed to the media and the public, was the first of six stops Kotek, the first-term Democratic governor, made in Marion County. Kotek also conducted “listening sessions” on homelessness and agriculture/natural resources in three Silverton stops, wildfire recovery in Detroit and closed the day with a general media briefing in Woodburn.
Aumsville has been working to raise money to build a new water treatment plant that will meet state Department of Environmental Quality standards that were revised in 2019.
“The area of concern is the ammonia content and the fact that the city’s lagoon treatment facility could not meet the newer standards set by DEQ,” Aumsville City Manager Ron Harding told Our Town in an earlier interview. “Many smaller communities in Oregon are facing the same issues.”
Failing to meet the standards means the city cannot discharge its effluent into the North Santiam River, Harding said.
Aumsville has approved a capital facility plan that includes a new water treatment plant and now is in the daunting fundraising phase that must come up with $28 million to do the work.
A $1 million grant from Marion County, $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, $1.25 secured by then-U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader and $1.2 million in system development charges for new construction means Aumsville has about $4.5 million toward the new infrastructure, Harding said.
The city continues to seek funds from the legislature, grants, and funding programs offered by the state and federal programs. It is facing a 2028 deadline to meet the new requirements.
Kotek’s Marion County swing was the 16th edition of her Oregon Listening Tour. Media were not allowed at the Detroit stop and one of the Silverton visits. The general public was excluded from all six events.
A Kotek spokesperson said a key goal of the approach was to “make sure the conversations took place in an environment in which the people would feel comfortable.”
The safety of the governor also was a key concern, said the spokesperson.
