This article was in Friday’s (February 16th, 2018) Herald and News

Written By: Sean Bassinger, H&N Staff Reporter 

Oregon lawmakers often hear from Klamath County commissioners and other government officials in the area. But Heather Tramp, Klamath County Chamber of Commerce executive director, says Salem would love to hear from more locals and business owners.

Tramp herself recently returned from a visit to the state’s Capitol, the second time her and other chamber members have made the trip.

“I think sometimes we can feel like the rest of the state doesn’t listen to us,” Tramp told the Herald and News Thursday. “It does matter — they hear from lobbyists all the time. Who they really want to hear from are citizens.”

Tramp joined Commissioner Derrick DeGroot, Klamath Falls City Manager Nathan Cherpeski and several others earlier this week for parts of the short legislative session currently in progress. The chamber, which represents more than 500 businesses in the county, had a delegation of 15 members at the state Capitol’s 2018 short legislative session.

Talking points

Possible Highway 97 passing lane improvements, opposition to carbon emmision cap and trade policies and House Bill 4035, a measure that would offer tuition for national guard members who attend college, were among key talking points.

Tramp said that their talks were well-received, especially in regards to Highway 97.

“Overall, I feel very optimistic,” she said. “We have good representation with ODOT.”

Other talking points included the chamber’s support for the Jordan Cove LNG project and opposition to cap and trade policies on carbon emissions, saying that they could drive businesses out of the state.

The chamber and commissioners primarily stay in contact with Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore), in addition to Reps. Werner Reschke and Sen. Dennis Linthicum (R-Klamath Falls). Tramp said they have also had several conversations with House Minority Leader Mike McLane (R-Powell Butte).

Local priorities

Highway 97 continues to be a cause of concern for a variety of reasons. Tramp said she and the chamber are most interested in the prospects of improving the highway for the sake of smoother commercial vehicle flow, earthquake preparedness and safety.

“Scientists are telling us it’s inevitable,” Tramp said. “We’re going to have a big earthquake.”

Though the overall impact to Klamath County would not be as severe, it is possible that commuters and travelers all across the straight could see certain routes affected. Rock slides and landslides would also be a large factor for Highway 97. The Link River Bridge in downtown Klamath Falls was mentioned as one specific example in need of possible seismic fixes.

ODOT has no immediate goals of increasing the highway to a four-lane system, but Tramp said they did discuss the possibility of improving already existing passing lanes. Suggested times for new passing lanes could be five minutes, as opposed to 10 to 15 minutes between each.

“Our message was really let’s make our passing lanes 2 miles long and let’s change the interval,” Tramp said.

Seeking community input

Commissioner DeGroot said the lawmakers were very receptive to their concerns, adding that he would like to see more individual groups reach out.

“They don’t always hear from the business communities in the rural areas,” DeGroot said. “It means a lot to them. Their words carry a lot more weight than ours do.”

In terms of Highway 97, DeGroot acknowledged the state would likely focus on areas further north to start, but that ODOT’s intention was to make the highway more resilient in all directions over time.

In addition to their Salem visit, DeGroot said he and the Klamath County Board of Commissioners want to explore holding more business meetings in the evening and town hall events to give people more options to reach out.

“As those things come up where we really need the feedback in the community, we’ll have those and periodically do some additional work,” DeGroot said.

The short legislative session in Salem concludes on March 11.

To read this article and others on the Herald and News website, please refer to the following link:

Klamath County Chamber Visits Salem for Legislative Session (H&N)