“We want to grow at the pace that is manageable,” Gregory said.

“We don’t want explosive growth,” Gregory added. “We’re trying to keep the experience positive and good. I couldn’t put in 500 parking spaces, that’s not what the lake needs. Our neighbors around the lake probably wouldn’t appreciate that either. Some expansion is definitely in the plans for the future, and we have to go through the same process that everybody else does.”

Gregory said the average wait time to get into Lake of the Woods was about 45 minutes during July and August.

“We were parking cars on Saturday(s), just trying to find places for people,” Gregory said. “You couldn’t let somebody in until somebody would leave.

“It was a truly phenomenal summer,” Gregory added. “It’s just a good place to come and find your space. Yes, it may get really busy on Saturday and Sunday but during the week, it’s very relaxing and nice.”

“The place is just really kind of coming into its own,” he added.

Plans to expand

Gregory emphasized that he doesn’t want to see the lake push past its capacity.

Lake of the Woods Resort has submitted a long-term, master development proposal to the U.S. Forest Service to expand the footprint of the Lake of the Woods property, according to Gregory.

“It includes 50 more parking spaces in Rainbow (Bay) and some more boat slips and a new RV park,” Gregory said.

“I really don’t think we’re going to be able to do any expansion for at least a couple years. We’re hoping to finish the lodge first, and there’s quite a process to go through.”

Lake of the Woods Resort currently has 32 cabins, and the resort plans to add 19 for a total of 52 cabins in the next few years.

“As we’re doing that, that growth of 19 more cabins, we would be developing the new RV park at the same time,” Gregory said. “I don’t see that happening for a couple of years.”

Gregory is meeting with the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday to discuss the proposal.

More RV parking

“That space between the access road and Rainbow Bay is where we’ve proposed our expansion,” Gregory said.

“There’s definitely a need for more RV parking. We’ve actually even proposed putting electricity into the campgrounds, but that hasn’t been approved by the Forest Service yet.”

Renovations and adjustments are not new for the resort, with the last major renovations conducted in winter 2014.

“We did a major remodel at the lodge,” Gregory said. “We tore down the whole back part of the building off and reconstructed it, with a second floor and with access for the upstairs.”

Space was also added to the lodge kitchen.

“We were getting so busy that the lodge kitchen was definitely inadequate for what we were doing,” Gregory said.

Preparations for winter

Gregory is preparing for his 19th winter as general manager of the resort.

“Every year that I’ve been here, we’ve done better than the last,” Gregory said, regarding the summer. “Last year was interesting because we had water and none of the other lakes had water. This year, all the other lakes had water and we were still busier.

“Our winter is scaled down considerably from what we do in the summer,” he added.

Activities have calmed down since just after Labor Day, and now the resort staff are busy preparing for winter.

“We have about 14 cabins available instead of 32,” Gregory said. “The main lodge closes mid-October.”

The marina and store are open on weekends in mid-October, as well, he said,

Sunset Campground has been winterized, a process where staff shuts off water to camp sites and ensures pipes do not freeze.

“We’ll keep Aspen Campground open until it starts snowing,” Gregory said. “When we start getting below freezing temps every night, we’ll start thinking about closing Aspen down.”

Gregory believes the weather pattern projected for this winter could mean significant snowfall for the lake and surrounding areas. But he’s not doing a snow dance yet.

“We’re hoping for, yes, good snow,” Gregory said, “but not at once. When it starts snowing, we start working and we don’t usually stop until the snow stops,” Gregory added.

“You hope for the best, you plan for the worst, you make the best of what comes along.”

To read this article and others on the H&N Website, please refer to the link below: 

Lake of the Woods on Pace for Expansion, Growth (Herald and News) 

Construction on the Work Skills Technology Center is slated to begin on or before Oct. 1, according Bogatay Senior Project Manager Thom Darrah.

“I am very pleased we are going with a local contractor. It’s a win for the college, win for homegrown job creation, and local economic development,” KCC President Roberto Gutierrez said.

The center is part of the $15.7 million Phase II project that will create two new campus spaces — the Work Skills Technology Center and Campus Central — and provide KCC students and staff a more unified campus experience.

Bidding for the Campus Central project will open in January.

The 20,184-square-foot Work Skills building will primarily house computer labs and classrooms for expanding curriculum, such as KCC’s Klamath Center for Education & Training (K-CET). Two of the building’s computer labs will be organized in a pod-style layout to encourage interactive and collaborative learning. Another lab will be dedicated to KCC’s one-year Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification program.

“That lab is going to be state-of-the-art,” said KCC Facilities Director Mike Homfeldt.

According to project manager Darrah, several of the subcontractors hired by Bogatay are also located in the Klamath Falls area.

BBT Architects, based in Bend, Ore., designed both the Work Skills Technology Center and Campus Central facility.

“The move is definitely happening,” Abel said on Wednesday, pending an ongoing permitting process. Coastal will be moving from its current approximately 38,000-square-foot location at 6225 S. Sixth St. to the 84,210-square-foot Avalon Street location this fall.

“They’re hoping to be in there by late November.”

Byron Ball, district manager for Coastal, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Albany-based Coastal Farm and Ranch has 15 stores located in Oregon and Washington.

To read this article and others on the H&N website, please refer to the link just below:

Coastal Moving to Former K-Mart Building (Herald and News) 

Any person interested in applying for the positions should contact City Recorder Elisa Olson at 500 Klamath Avenue, to obtain necessary election information and filing forms.

To read this article and others on the H&N website, please refer to the link just below:

Kendall Bell Files for City Council (Herald and News) 

Airport Director John Barsalou, who had been working on the grant for well over a year, said that the city of Klamath Falls will have to provide a match of $1.4 million.

There will be an on-site environmental review on Tuesday, Aug. 9 at the ranch as well as two public scoping meetings: Aug. 9 and Aug. 10 at 7 p.m. at Oregon Tech in the Mt. Mazama Room of the Student Union Building.

About the project

The Swan Lake Pumped Storage project — as it is called — is about 12 miles northeast of Klamath Falls. It will have the ability to generate up to 400 megawatts of electricity for up to 10 hours each day, using a closed-loop pump-turbine system that connects two newly constructed reservoirs.

One reservoir will sit at a higher elevation than the other, allowing for gravity feed of water to the turbines. Once the water is in the lower reservoir, it is pumped back to the upper one when the turbines are not generating electricity.

Construction is anticipated to start in 2019 and be completed in 2023. EDF Renewable Energy of Portland is the developer and owner. The site is on private and Bureau of Land Management land.

Greg O’Sullivan of Klamath County Economic Development Association said the project is expected to generate $2.1 million in county tax revenue annually.

The project is pegged at $700 million and is expected to create 3,000 jobs during the course of its construction. It will provide 30 permanent jobs annually — 11 directly at the site and others in the local area during its planned 45-year operation.

The direct economic impact on the county would be $22 million during construction, EDF said.

Concerns raised

Some concerns that were raised in the initial release of information have been addressed, according to a press release from EDF. For example:

• The project has been scaled down, requiring less water overall and making it more feasible;
• The reduction in size means it will be less visible to local residents;
• The revised plans no longer involve the Poe Valley, resolving concerns about environmental impacts in that sensitive area;
• The water that will be used to fill the reservoirs and then supplement due to evaporation will not require new water resources. It will be redirected from its existing use and will not affect those in the area who rely on water for irrigation;
• Power poles from the project will be 100 feet tall, rather than 190 feet as originally proposed;
• Wherever possible, the powerlines will follow existing rights of way, natural divisions and agricultural boundaries;
• The power line will run about 32 miles, generally southeast from the project site, west of Dairy and Bonanza, east of Bryant Mountain, to Bonneville Power Administration Malin substation.

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

Comments Sough on Pump-Storage Project (Herald and News) 

Recycling services were halted in 2015 after the fire, but the organization plans to partner with Rogue Disposal to return REACH to limited recycle — the processing of newspaper and cardboard materials — in September.

“We currently have no plan to get into curbside, residential recycling,” said Sam Porter, chief executive officer of REACH. “That’s the material that’s got a lot of garbage in it, smells bad, attracts all the rodents … It’s going to be a cleaner product that we get in, it’s going to be inside underneath the sprinklers, and we’re going to bale it up and get it out very rapidly.”

The organization is also in the works of rolling out several new developments and equipment, including improvements to the electric system and energy-efficient lighting, new siding on the east-facing building, and generally de-cluttering and cleaning up across the 20-acre property.

“I remember how cluttered this was,” Moe said, standing outside the facility, where the nonprofit has largely cleared the space of debris or materials.

“Our plan is to not let it get like that. We’ve cleaned the entire property for the most part and we don’t want to operate like that. We’re hoping to take a little more pride in the facility than we did in the past, and Sam brought a lot of that with him. There’s no reason it can’t be presentable.”

REACH has approximately 140 people on staff, including participants and employees, according to Moe.

The nonprofit also provides day services for developmentally disabled individuals to develop job-related and interpersonal skills.

The additions of essential equipment such as a new baler, a new mill known as the “hog” that grinds wood products into sawdust, and an expansion of its partnership with Jeld-Wen are also notable upgrades.

Expanded partnership

REACH began cutting a moisture barrier product for Jeld-Wen doors earlier this year, a material imported from Korea by a company named Decotone, according to Moe, in addition to building pallets for the global company.

The product helps the door to dissipate the amount of heat that can be transferred through the doors, Moe said.

“It will cause that moisture not to transfer and ruin the paint on the door,” Moe said.

“We’re providing a service that is helping manufacture their doors,” Porter added. “They are obviously a terrific community member, very committed to the area just as we are.”

There is also an added emphasis on ensuring safety for participants and materials, especially in the case of a fire on site.

“All of the material that comes in will be stored inside the building, so it won’t be blowing all over,” Porter said.

The non-profit is also dedicated to becoming a Blue Zones Project-approved work site.

New additions and programs are welcome after a tumultuous year for the non-profit for Porter and staff.

REACH re-energizes

“We’ve been hit with really a double-whammy this year,” Porter said, adding that it could actually be considered a ‘triple-whammy.’

The nonprofit has extremely scaled back massive plans to expand the Maywood Drive facility through potential state tax credit funding.

“We started a year ago with a fire and then shortly after that, we lost the micro-tax credits program,” Porter said. “The third thing has been some legislative changes on the way that we can conduct business.

“We operate a sheltered workshop here. At one point, we had about 100 adults with developmental disabilities who worked out here in our wood mill. Since July of last year, we’ve not been allowed to bring any new people in. We’re trying to find and create jobs for them in the community.”

REACH opened a satellite paper-shredding campus on Shallock earlier this year as an additional way to incorporate REACH participants in the outlying community.

“It’s working — it’s doing really well,” Moe said.

“We’re actively looking for a second site and maybe a third site to do some operations,” said Greg Stathos, projects manager, who was hired on in May.

Additional building space in the community would help expand the non-profits reach, and staff hope to find those interested in the non-profits mission to help.

“We want to make it a public drop-off location for paper recycling material, so it would be open to the public,” Stathos said, adding that a sorting facility offsite for materials such as cardboard, and yellow and white paper is also needed.

Materials would then be processed through a new baler, which could arrive at REACH as early as mid-August.

“By the end of the month, we’re going to be making bales,” Porter said.

“We’re pretty proud of where we are right now,” he added. “We’re at a really exciting time.”

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

REACH Renews Recycling (Herald and News)