Our Community’s Future
For the past two years, we’ve been working toward a stronger future for Cave Junction. Taking care of our services, protecting our youth and elderly residents, supporting local businesses, and making careful use of city dollars have guided that work.
Those priorities will continue. The next steps are to finish what we’ve started and prepare for the needs ahead, with practical goals for the coming years and a long-term plan for our community.
Priorities for the Coming Years
The next step is to finish what we’ve started and turn that work into improvements residents can see and use.
That means making utility payments more convenient, completing streetlight upgrades, moving the Dark Skies Initiative forward with the Chamber, advancing clearwell repairs, and clearing the way for the Junction Inn property to return to affordable hotel lodging.
We’ll continue supporting the Sheriff’s Office and working toward dependable public safety coverage, while pursuing grants and partnerships to keep costs down.
We’ll continue the approach we started on day one: planning ahead, improving everyday operations, and addressing problems before they become emergencies. The work we’ve done inside City Hall has helped us operate more efficiently and get more accomplished. Continuing that work means dependable services, careful spending, and a city better prepared for what comes next.
Public Safety for the Long Term
We’ll continue working with and supporting the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office. The goal is dependable 24/7 coverage for Cave Junction while making the best use of city dollars.
I’d like to see us maintain that coverage without needing a separate contract for a deputy for 40 hours each week. Achieving that could free roughly $211,000 a year for other city needs.
That starts with continuing the partnership we’ve been building and working through what dependable coverage requires. Any change needs to keep our residents’ safety at the center of the decision.
Water and Wastewater for the Future
Our water and wastewater systems need planning that looks years ahead. The goal is dependable service for today’s residents and the ability to serve our community as it grows.
That means maintaining what we have, preparing for future repairs and lagoon maintenance, and pursuing funding before major expenses become urgent. We’ll continue looking for grants and partnerships that help us do that work while keeping costs down for residents.
Protecting the Illinois River is part of that responsibility. I’ll continue advocating for a path that protects the river while giving Cave Junction time to develop cleaner wastewater solutions and the funding to build them.
Economic Development and Local Opportunity
We’ll continue working with local businesses, the Chamber of Commerce, IVCDO, and Main Street Cave Junction to identify opportunities and turn good ideas into practical steps.
Returning the Junction Inn property to affordable hotel lodging is part of that future. The goal is to sell the cleared property with conditions requiring lodging, giving visitors and residents an affordable place to stay and supporting local businesses.
Protecting the Highway 199 commercial corridor and working with the county on water service to the airport and industrial park also help prepare the valley for future investment.
I want us to build on what makes Cave Junction home, support the businesses already here, and create opportunities for more people to work and succeed locally.
Planning Ahead with City Dollars
Being proactive also means looking ahead at what the city will need to pay for. Major repairs, equipment needs, and the upcoming golf course balloon payment need to be part of that planning.
We’ll continue pursuing grants, partnerships, and savings that help us meet those needs while protecting essential services. If we can maintain dependable public safety coverage without the separate deputy contract, the roughly $211,000 in annual savings could help address obligations like the golf course payment and other city priorities.
The goal is to prepare early, understand our options, and make careful decisions before bills become urgent. That’s how we give the city more room to solve problems and make each dollar count.
Save.
Keeping Our Youth and Elderly at the Center
Our youth and elderly residents are a big part of why I ran for mayor. Looking out for them matters deeply to me, and that hasn’t changed.
I spent years coaching kids in this community, helping them take their next steps into college, trade schools, and life. I want to keep working with our schools, youth organizations, and local partners to give our kids opportunities and a future they can see here.
Our elderly residents need to know they can count on city services and get clear answers when they have questions. When we’re talking about rates, repairs, or spending, we need to remember the people living on fixed incomes and what those decisions mean for them.
I love this community, and I love the responsibility of serving it. Our kids deserve opportunities, and our elderly residents deserve to know they’re being considered when decisions are made. I’ll keep asking the hard questions and doing the work to make sure their needs stay at the center of those decisions.
Photo credit: Visit Grants Pass