Picture Above: The Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau would get capital funding to restore the historic doors at the Chateau if HB 4124 passes
Advocacy Needed
to Secure Funding for Arts/Culture/Heritage in HB 4124
The Oregon Legislative session begins today (February 5). It’s a short six week sprint so things happen fast, really fast. On “day one” important public hearings in committees are already scheduled. Case in point – HB 4124 (Rep Rob Nosse) will have a public hearing in the House Economic Development and Small Business Committee this Thursday (Feb. 8) at 1 pm.
And we are asking for your help to support this bill! Please see below on “how to” details.
So, what is HB 4124 and why is it important?
HB 4124 proposes $27.4 million in funding for two major categories:
- $7.8 million for specific capital projects (many are investing in historic preservation)
- Resiliency funding for Oregon arts/culture/heritage organizations with $13.4 million in grants to organizations and $5.9 million to direct funding to anchor cultural institutions
The text of HB 4124, as introduced, can be found here. Restore Oregon wholeheartedly supports the entire funding request. We know how important it is for our State to invest in the arts/culture/heritage sector especially as most organizations (including ours) are still recovering from the pandemic’s impact and declining revenue. As a qualified cultural nonprofit, our organization will be eligible for the grant funding. Your support of HB 4124, when passed, could directly support our work.
Here’s another big reason, if that alone isn’t enough: amongst the group of specified capital projects includes one of our Most Endangered Places (MEP) – the Chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument. We are supporting every one of the projects, many of which are investing in historic properties from Astoria to Medford but wanted to showcase what historic preservation work will be funded at the Chateau specifically.
We’ve been working with the Friends of the Oregon Caves & Chateau in our MEP program since 2016. They have requested a $455,690 grant to repair and restore the 97 remaining doors and their related hardware dating back to the Chateau’s original construction in 1933. Built in Cave Junction, the Chateau is one of the National Park's Great Lodges and a National Historic Landmark. The six-story hotel has 23 rooms, a fine dining room and a 1930's era coffee shop. The Friends have been working on preservation efforts to restore the doors, lighting fixtures, historic balconies and all of the interior Monterey-style furnishings, all while the National Park Service is rehabilitating the building itself. Once the restoration is complete, the Oregon Caves Chateau will be the only lodge in the National Park Service with its original furniture in each room, complimented by restored doors with their original hardware!
Take Action
Please take just five minutes to submit a letter of support as your official testimony. Click here to submit a letter. Please select “support” for the question “Position on the Measure.” The online form allows you to choose either “upload a PDF” OR “Text Testimony” which gives you a text box to simply type a short statement directly into the system.
Possible messages to send or weave into your written testimony message:
- Simple and direct - I support HB 4124 and urge your support and to pass this bill.
- More detailed support – If you are interested in writing more, there’s more information you can pull from Restore Oregon’s official testimony, found here:
We need to show a LOT of overwhelming support (aka volume of testimony) from all over the State at this first, and most important, public hearing! The system will be open for public testimony until this Saturday at 1 pm (stays open for 48 hours after the hearing).
And, finally, if your legislative representative is on this Committee, chaired by Rep. Janelle Bynum, please communicate with them as a constituent to let them know you support this bill! They want to hear from their constituents first and foremost. It’s time to show our elected leadership how much support there is for investing in Oregon’s cultural heritage.