EWEB to hold Open House

People are invited to join the EWEB Board of Commissioners for their annual event with the McKenzie Valley community on Thursday, May 23.

Doors at the Walterville Community Center, 39259 Camp Creek Road, will open at 5:30 p.m. for an open house followed by a customer appreciation dinner at 6 p.m.

Officials say this year’s theme is improving communications with the community. Plans call for people to share dinner to discuss interests and community members’ concerns for the future well-being of the McKenzie community, plus how EWEB can support them.

The facilitated conversation will encourage dialog on topics such as:

* Recent challenges including wildfires, winter storms, and EWEB’s first Public Safety Power Shutoff,

* EWEB’s ice storm response and ways to improve our communications during power outages, and

* decommissioning the Leaburg hydroelectric project.

Commissioners will report back to the broader group what they heard at their respective tables, and content specialists will be on hand to answer any unresolved questions.

During the pre-meeting open house and after the meeting, staff will be available to discuss various EWEB topics such as

* Landowner resources including Holiday Farm Fire resources and programs for McKenzie Valley customers, conservation incentives, and other EWEB service offerings

* Pure Water Partners programs

* EWEB McKenzie River hydroelectric projects and dam safety

* Carmen-Smith construction timeline updates

* Leaburg Decommissioning Action Plan

* Walterville Canal outage

* Tree Management Program

* Wildfire mitigation and emergency preparedness including Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) and EWEB’s draft Wildfire Mitigation Plan