The Montclair Street Bridge has been closed since September. The Enterprise City Council is making plans to reopen it, likely with a reduced weight limit of 5 tons.

ENTERPRISE — The city of Enterprise hopes to be able to reopen the Montclair Street Bridge once it gets the green light from inspectors for a temporary fix, the City Council learned at its meeting Monday, June 10.

In a report, Public Works Foreman Travis Huffman said it may be possible to reopen the bridge at a lower weight limit than its previous 10-ton limit. In preparation, he said, he has ordered a sign saying that the weight limit on the bridge is 5 tons.

The possibility of reopening the bridge emerged after a discussion with Anderson Perry & Associates, the city’s engineering firm, and the news that the city is awaiting a report from Anderson Perry’s bridge inspectors.

“This will be a temporary fix,” said city Administrator Lacey McQuead on Tuesday, June 11, “with a possible steel plate being added to help support the bridge.”

The idea, she said, is to get clearance to reduce the load limit of the bridge to passenger cars, modify the bridge a bit and then reopen it for the time being. But she said the city is waiting for its engineers and bridge inspectors to further discuss that option.

Plans are to do a more permanent repair in 2027, when funds from the state’s 2025-27 Local Bridge Program become available. The city applied for funds from the program in October, McQuead said.

The total project costs about $1.535 million. The program requires a 10.27% match from the city; therefore, the city hopes to get about $1.377 million and the city would provide a match of about $158,000, McQuead said.

She said she believes the earliest the bridge could be reopened is the end of June.

The bridge was closed Sept. 14 following an inspection.

Budget approved

Also at Monday’s meeting, the council approved the city’s $10.8 million budget for fiscal year 2024-25.

The budget is up from the 2023-24 budget of $7.7 million. McQuead said most of that difference is due to a loan of about $2.6 million the city is negotiating for a planned sewer project. That amount will remain in the budget’s “capital outlay” line until the project is completed, at which time it will move to the “debt service” category, she said.

The budget calls for 16.75 full-time equivalent employees, the same number of FTEs as last year.

The budget also includes revenue shared by the state, and the council on Monday approved another resolution to formally accept that money.

State money includes about $170,000 from Highway Trust Fund revenue, $45,600 from liquor appropriation funds, $1,500 from cigarette tax revenue and $25,000 from a fund to support equipment and vehicles for first responders.

Other business

The council also:

• Heard a report from Police Chief Kevin McQuead, who spoke of the influx the Police Department is seeing with the onset of the summer tourist season, talked about traffic issues with speeders coming into the city and discussed safety concerns with crosswalks now that students are out for summer break.

• Approved an event permit for Wallowa Resources to hold the Woodlands & Watershed Festival 2024, scheduled for Friday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Approved an event permit for the OK Theatre to hold its 10-year ownership celebration downtown. The permit application requested closure of the alleyways behind the theater as well as Main Street, but Lacey McQuead expressed concern about the possible closure of the alleys, saying that the city cannot close that emergency access. City resident Paige Sully asked if the public was required to notify business owners when an event is occurring that will close the street. McQuead said that is not a requirement of the permit but recommended adding a check box to the street closure application mandating that communication. Councilors agreed with requiring the alleys to stay open and approved the permit otherwise.

• Heard a request for $20,000 in Historic Landmarks Funds to help a variety of applicants meet the matching requirements for their projects. McQuead submitted the request on behalf of the Landmarks Commission. She is recommending a grant program, managed by the council, that offers support to applicants on reaching the 50% match requirements. She said she will prepare an example of the grant application packet for review by the council for the meeting in July. The fund covers facade restoration for historic buildings, promotes historic buildings in Enterprise, and supports individuals interested in listing their property on the local or national historic registries.

• Set a work session for 6:30 p.m. July 8 to discuss raising utility rates. It also scheduled the next council meeting for the same date, July 8, right after the work session.