Evans Valley Fire District #6
Jackson, south Marion & northern Linn County
Request: $200,000
Capital Campaign: To strengthen emergency preparedness and improve access to essential services for rural residents in Evans Valley, Oregon. Therefore, we are retrofitting our current facility and adding a community resource center that is ADA accessible as a public meeting or training space to serve seniors, people with disabilities, and residents with mobility limitations to participate in safety, health, and preparedness programs. Increasing wildfire activity and severe weather events in Jackson County underscore the urgent need for a centralized, resilient, and ADA accessible facility. We are in the process of seeking private foundation grants. The $3,598,800 project includes the retrofit and expansion of our facility. We have raised 52% of the project budget with grants from Jackson County United Way, Jackson Care Connect, and Business Oregon, and fundraisers.
We understand that many funders have individual grant limits, and any contribution would help move the project forward while demonstrating community and partner support as we continue to seek additional funding sources.
Our project timeline will run concurrently with our seismic retrofit project. While the schedule is dependent on funding, our current expectation is that both projects will be completed by the end of 2027. We are actively pursuing multiple funding opportunities and working to assemble the resources necessary to move forward as efficiently as possible. Any award received through ODFN partners would help accelerate implementation and reduce the overall funding gap.
Additionally, the current East Evans Creek Fire has highlighted just how critical this project is for our community. At present, we have several residents within our fire district under a Level 3 (“Go Now”) evacuation order. A completed Community Resource Center would have provided a local hub for critical services, information, and support during this incident. Without it, affected residents have been forced to rely on resources located outside of our area, creating additional barriers during an already challenging time.
The lack of a local gathering space has also impacted our ability to communicate effectively with the public. We have been unable to host local town hall meetings to provide updates and answer questions regarding this active, uncontrolled wildfire. Instead, we have had to utilize facilities farther away, which has reduced participation and limited access to vital information for many of our residents.
This event has reinforced the importance of creating a resilient community facility that can serve as a central location for emergency response, community meetings, recovery services, and public information during disasters and other emergencies.
