Among the ideas proposed once the site is completely cleaned up was a relocation and expansion of the veterans memorial park currently on-site and a public bike path winding through the 171-acre residential subdivision.

The subdivision, located northwest of Klamath Falls, has latent asbestos buried beneath the soil that came from past construction at the site.

While most of the residents of the site moved away through funds allocated from a lawsuit against the land developer, the few that remain are being temporarily relocated while work is conducted to clean individual properties.

The three-phase project has entered Phase II in its second year of steady clean-up efforts, this year moving three times the amount of material as was removed last year.

Two repositories on-site will store all asbestos-contaminated materials, which will be capped and monitored once the clean-up is complete.

Linda Meyer, North Ridge Estates project manager for the EPA, led a presentation at Thursday’s meeting highlighting the work completed to date.

According to Meyer, eight properties were completely cleaned last year during phase I while excavating 40,500 cubic yards of asbestos materials. Those materials were then temporarily capped for the winter, while the majority of trees were removed as well due to asbestos contamination in their roots. Around 100 trees were saved, and upon completion of clean-up additional trees will be planted.

Meyer highlighted lessons learned from year one that are being implemented, including a better understanding of water use to reduce dust in an effort to avoid asbestos becoming airborne. Extensive water use in areas where work was being conducted caused excessive erosion, leading to drainage issues. As a result, added to this year’s plans is the construction of a new culvert on Old Fort Road.

Judy Smith of the EPA also detailed a job training initiative through the Superfund clean-up that has proven successful, recently graduating 16 workers now employed on the clean-up project. Part of a federal program that seeks out work opportunities targeting local unemployed and underemployed individuals, those who complete the training are certified in valuable job skills such as hazardous materials, flagging and forklift operations.

According to Smith, thanks in part to the job training initiative 39 of the current 42 employees on-site live locally around Klamath Falls. That workforce is expected to climb to 50 soon as operations ramp up, while approximately 30 local subcontractors are also heavily involved in the clean-up.

The majority of feedback received at the meeting related to a proposal for a bike path and walkway through the subdivision and relocated park. Although, safety, fencing and preventing people from accessing the asbestos repositories were primary concerns, casting doubt on whether a public path was in the best interests of residents.

Additional suggestions included shoulder expansion of roads, particularly Old Fort Road, as the site is popular for cyclists yet leaves little separation space between vehicles and bicycle traffic.

The cleanup is expected to complete in 2018 at a cost of roughly $30 million, at which point properties will be made available for purchase. The current Phase II clean-up is expected to continue into October.

A neighborhood social and construction site tour is being planned for July 18.

Its location would be directly adjacent to Highway 97 connected to the primary parking lot for the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino in Chiloquin.

The Choice Hotels partnership is beneficial for several reasons in design, construction and operation. As a Choice Hotel property, approximately 80 percent of the planning comes pre-packaged, providing direct cost-savings of around $500,000 in soft costs of design. Without the Choice Hotel connection, design costs would have had to have come from unrestricted tribal funds starting from the initial concept phase.

Additionally, Choice Hotel incorporates energy and water conservation strategies established in building plan specs assuring high-efficiency standards for the structure, equipment and products used, the publicaton stated.

According to Jared Hall, Klamath Tribes economic development executive director, the conservation strategies built into the design fall in line with tribal environmental values while providing ongoing operational efficiency, short-term and long-term cost-savings and an optimal bottom line business performance.

As the hotel’s construction inches closer to reality, it serves not only as a step forward in amenities available for visitors to Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, but also is a catalyst to phase II of planned expansion of the casino.

According to Hall, the hotel project will create 10-12 immediate jobs and provide 20-25 long-term positions based on customer demand.

ZCS Engineering has handled the initial design plans, with Umpqua Bank providing financing for the project. An official groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility is tentatively planned for an as of yet unannounced date, loosely expected between May 20 and June 30.

Barring any setbacks in construction, the hotel is expected to open in summer of 2018 to maximize summertime tourist traffic passing through the region to visit Crater Lake National Park.

According to Hall, the exact groundbreaking date is variant on several factors both in design and documentation including construction loan documentation and the bank underwriting process. Additional details about the project such as overall economic impact, total cost of project, and timelines for a Phase II development were not available at the time of publishing.

The hotel project received the official go-ahead on Oct. 29, 2016, approved by majority vote at a special general council as requested by the Klamath Tribes Economic Development Corporation (KTEDC).

Industrial Oils reclaims approximately 14,000 tons of used oil annually. They also accept used oil filters, oily solids and antifreeze. Those wastes used to be burned for energy recovery. The company has stopped burning them for energy recovery and they will, instead, be stored and transported to their Portland facility for proper treatment, recycling or disposal.

The air quality permit is a renewal of the existing permit, originally issued in March 2009. The proposed solid waste permit is a new transfer station permit to allow for the storage and transfer of the wastes listed above.

View the public notice at http://bit.ly/2pEV0oM.

To read this article and others on the H&N website, please refer to the following link: DEQ to Discuss Industrial Oils Permit (H&N)

“Five years ago Cycle Oregon spent five of its seven days in Klamath County, and to my knowledge it has only visited once in the previous 25 years,” said Jim Chadderdon, executive director of Discover Klamath.

The 2017 ride is being dubbed “The Crater Lake Adventure,” taking riders on a nearly 500-mile loop Sept. 9-16 through Central Oregon. The trek begins and ends in Bend, proceeding south to Crater Lake, then on to Oakridge before looping back through Sisters into Bend.

The ride costs $999, with an additional tent and porter service available at reserved camping spots with all luggage delivered tent-side.

The event is not only a social affair, but a tremendous Oregon showcase and testament to the bike-friendly efforts made by the state over the past decade.

Scenic bikeways a draw

Oregon was first to promote bicycle tourism on a national and global level, establishing scenic bikeways and bicycle tourism partnerships. Scenic bikeways have popped up all over Oregon, promoting scenic rides for tourists to enjoy, including most recently a 90-mile designated loop in Lake County known as the Oregon Outback Scenic Bikeway.

While Lake County’s scenic bikeway is drawing crowds, Klamath County remains without an official designated route. An effort made in 2015 resulted in a proposed Crater Lake Scenic Bikeway being one of three finalists for the distinction in 2016, but didn’t make the cut.

According to a 2012 study by Dean Runyan Associates, commissioned by the Oregon Bicycle Tourism Partnership, annual bicycle tourism contributes $400 million to Oregon’s annual $9 billion tourism industry. Of that, an estimated 15 percent is distributed in Southern Oregon, equating $12 million added to the Klamath County economy.

“The economic impact of Cycle Oregon to rural Oregon’s communities is well-documented, measuring in the tens of thousands of dollars,” Chadderdon said. “Cycle Oregon’s fees from its participants get redistributed back through the smaller towns through which they travel. They have infused thousands into the Klamath economy for food, entertainment, local transportation, ride support, venue rentals and so much more.”

This year’s ride doesn’t travel south of Crater Lake. When Cycle Oregon came to Klamath Falls five years ago, a special Klamath Village was setup at Moore Park to help educate participants about all the tourism opportunities in the area.

The village welcomed 2,000 cyclists and provided information about local museums, parks, forests, schools, medical centers and transportation hubs. Prizes were distributed, and according to Chadderdon, the effort proved invaluable in providing exposure to cyclists in sparking interest of a return trip to take in the sites further.

Ride the Rim at the same time

This year’s big ride just happens to coincide with another cycling frenzy in Southern Oregon, an annual Ride the Rim celebration hosted by Crater Lake Park.

For two weekends in September, (Sept. 9 and Sept. 16) 25 miles of Rim Drive will be closed to motorized traffic, encouraging walkers, joggers, bikers, skaters and more to revel in the scenic beauty of traversing Crater Lake’s rim without the interference and pollution of vehicles in the way.

The event is drawing upwards of 6,000 participants.

“This year our Ride the Rim will book-end the Cycle Oregon ride, we’re very supportive of that event,” said Craig Ackerman, Crater Lake National Park superintendent. “The 2,200 cyclists from Cycle Oregon will be sandwiched in between the 3,000 or so we expect each weekend.

“We’ve seen unicycles, quad bikes, people pulling their dogs on trailers…it’s an interesting crowd that shows up each year.”

Ackerman warned prospective riders to be prepared for the effect of altitude, as well as rapidly changing weather conditions. With an elevation of around 8,000 feet, riders accustomed to low-altitude long treks may not be prepared for a 33-mile trek around the rim at high altitude.

Relief stations will be located at designated points providing snacks, water and bike repairs if needed.

“We want to make sure people have a great time, and don’t overextend themselves due to the elevation,” added Ackerman. “It’s a very desirable and sustainable way people can enjoy their park and in reduced emissions they wouldn’t get to experience if we had 5,000 people driving the rim.”