Veterans Services sees increased foot traffic after move to new office
ALBANY — Moving Linn County Veterans Services into a newly remodeled leased building at 505 SW Ellsworth has resulted in a significant increase in foot traffic, Veterans Services Director Dee Baley-Hyder told the Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning.
Veterans Services previously worked out of a small office space in the General Services Building at 330 SW Third.
Baley-Hyder said the move was made in July and already, some 60 new veterans are being assisted, compared to 38 this time a year ago.
In a written report, Baley-Hyder added that her office is working with four new female veterans compared to one a year ago.
“Our workload has increased 25% in the first 61 days we’ve been in the new building,” Baley-Hyder noted. “We have a lot of veterans say the location’s visibility is how they know to come in and some have said they heard about us due to our ads on the local radio stations.”
In addition to being much more visible, the new office is much larger than the previous office, and has allowed Veterans Services to add an Assistant Veterans Services Officer, Baley-Hyder said.
The building includes a large meeting room that can be used by any county offices as needed.
Staff have helped local veterans recover $504,116 from July through September compared to $475,907 during the same quarter in 2023.
Baley-Hyder said staff had a booth at the Linn County Fair, participated in a successful Linn-Benton Stand Down for Veterans, helped sponsor a send-off of the South Willamette Valley Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., had a table at the Albany Gun Show and are now working with a counselor from the Eugene Vets Center to provide local services.
Linn County Administrative Officer Darrin Lane said the new building and increased services to local veterans are the direct result of the board’s long-term commitment to honor and serve veterans.
In other business, the commissioners:
- Received an update from Ryan Vogt on the integration of staff and programs offered by the Cascades West Council of Governments and the Community Services Consortium. Vogt said he is now the Executive Director of both organizations, although they have not merged. The organizations are now sharing IT, Human Resources and Communications staffing. They are also looking for “other opportunities.”
- Approved amending the title of LCSO Emergency Management Coordinator to Emergency Response Specialist and amending the pay range from 15 to 18.
- Announced that an Elected Officials meeting will be held from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at the Fair & Expo Center.
- After a public hearing, approved a Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment to establish a Dever Conner Agricultural District. The district will be bordered on the west by the Willamette River, the city of Millersburg Urban Growth Boundary and Interstate 5 on the east, the Santiam River on the north and Willamette River and Millersburg city limits on the south. The district encompasses more than 10,000 acres and will be restricted to agriculture and related uses.
Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.
