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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2015)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 37, NO. 11 MHS boys b-ball stays undefeated in league play Riley named new MCFD chief SEE PG. 2 KEIZERTIMES.COM SEE PG. 16 JANUARY 23, 2015 Station proposal okayed By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes A proposal for new apart- ments and a retirement com- munity in Area C of Keizer Station was approved unani- mously Tuesday night by the Keizer City Council. Whether that means the project was approved quickly or not depends on the per- spective. The joint proposal by Mountain West Investment (with the 180 apartments) and Bonaventure Senior Liv- ing (the 154-unit retirement community) was discussed by councilors for the fi rst time Tuesday. Following a public hearing and public testimony, councilors closed the record and voted 6-0 in favor, with Dennis Koho absent. Representatives from the two companies fi rst met with city offi cials in September and soon after started meeting with neighbors. From the perspective of a large new project, getting ap- proval at the fi rst meeting less than four months after an ini- tial pre-conference meeting is quick. On the other hand, the ap- proval marked a key point in a long-running issue. A previous proposal to do commercial building – a rumored 116,000 square foot Walmart was the lightning rod – a few years ago was vigorously protested, in particular by Kevin Hohn- baum and his Keep Keizer Livable group. The plans from 2011 were hotly debated. A revised plan from the fall of 2012 was eventually passed, but nothing ever came of that project. The previous groundwork in terms of a master plan for the land was utilized as the starting point for the current proposal, with an amendment deleting the previous medical offi ce and substituting in the retirement community. The hearing for the pro- posal started at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, with approval coming shortly before 10. Councilor Brandon Smith returned to the council after a two-year absence, having pre- viously served from 2007 until 2013 and thus being familiar with the topic. “I hope it eventually gets done,” Smith said of the pro- posal. “It’s interesting to me in my fi rst meeting back it comes up again. I live off Area C. I’m excited about having some- thing fi nally happen. I like the design; I voted to approve the previous one. I’m looking for- ward to good things coming to Keizer.” New councilor Amy Ripp opined everyone involved 50 CENTS in side Al, Anne Rasmus get honored (Page 9) KeizerTV gets new contract (PG. 13) MHS wrestlers have tough time (PG. 16) KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy had done their due diligence, while fellow newcomer Ro- land Herrera indicated a will- ingness to vote on the issue right away. “I know you’re all sincere in your passion,” Herrera told the applicants. Bonaventure's Ben Settecase shows a Keizer Station Area C proposal last week at a Greater Gubser Neighorhood Association meeting. Keizer City Councilors approved the proposal on Tuesday. Exiting stage left Please see AREA C, Page 11 Signal is coming to KTC By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Plans are moving forward for the Keizer Transit Center to look the way it was origi- nally designed to. Steve Dickey, director of Transportation Development for Salem-Keizer Transit, said a new signal leaving the transit center in Keizer Station’s Area B should be done within the next year or so. Since the Keizer Transit Center opened in the summer of 2013, the only way to en- ter has been via a right turn off Keizer Station Boulevard, just north of the intersection of Lockhaven Drive NE and Chemawa Road NE. Simi- KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy A Salem-Keizer Transit bus leaves the Keizer Transit Center on Tuesday. Currently vehicles can only turn right to leave, but a traffi c signal allowing vehicles to turn left is coming. larly, the only exit is a right- hand turn onto Keizer Station Boulevard. That wasn’t the original idea. “This was included in the original master plan for Area B,” Dickey said of the signal. Please see SIGNAL, Page 5 Love: The best reason to attend Harvard Law KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy Former Keizer City Councilors (L to R) Jim Taylor, Lore Christopher and Joe Egli pose at the retirement bash thrown in their honor last Saturday, Jan. 17. For more photos, see page 3. By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes When Jim Taylor and Lore Christopher joined the Keizer City Council, the Keizer Civic Center was only a dream. Last Saturday night, Taylor and Christopher formally said goodbye to public offi ce dur- ing an event at the civic cen- ter. Christopher had served as Keizer’s mayor for 14 years, while Taylor was on the council for 12 years. Also honored at the event was Joe Egli, who served on council for four years and also emceed the event. Each of the three gave speeches, mixed in with thoughts from several others including new mayor Cathy Clark, who spoke early but had to leave for another event. Egli recalled Richard Walsh asking him to run for council in 2010. Egli did so and won. “I appreciate your faith in me and this opportunity,” Egli said. “Every one of us loves Keizer. It’s about making the best decisions we can. We love our city.” Egli referenced having more hair in the past and joked that played a role in him not run- ning again last year. “I still have some hair left af- ter four years. Look at Taylor,” Egli said, pointing to the bald former councilor. “He ran for 12 years.” Walsh was among those speaking, along with fellow for- mer councilors Mike Gaynor and Jacque Moir, who gave an in-depth look at Keizer’s his- tory. Marion County Commis- sioner Sam Brentano also spoke, By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Money continues to come in for the Big Toy project, but it’s been trickling in. In a Keizertimes story last August, it was noted $197,400 had been raised for the proj- ect, or 47 percent towards the goal of $416,509.80. Fast forward fi ve months and the raised amount has inched up to $205,948.86, an increase of a little more than $8,500. That means 49 percent of the goal, with $210,561 left to raise. The Big Toy is scheduled to be built at Keizer Rapids Park by community volunteers over a fi ve-day span, from June 10 to 14. Marion County Commis- sioner Janet Carlson, who is co-chairing the Community Build Task Force fundrais- ing committee with Richard Walsh, noted efforts to raise money were put on hold until two main things fell into place in November. “There are a couple of dynamics going on,” Carlson said. “One, the fundraising committee wasn’t doing much while the master planning (for KRP) was going on. Every- body agreed to wait until we know where it is. The other thing that slowed us down was developing the website (www. keizerbigtoy.org). We wanted specifi c information on the website about the different levels of funding. We didn’t have many fundraising com- mittee meetings until Novem- ber and December. We took a break on it.” The Big Toy project initial- ly got rolling in late 2012 and was to be built last September. In part due to funding as well as site location questions, the project got pushed back nine months. Please see EXIT, Page 13 Big Toy funding needs kick KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Julia Fegles (far left), who plays Elle Woods in McNary's production of Legally Blonde: The Musical, has a diffi cult time concentrating on her studies while sitting next to her former beau in class. For the full story and many more photos, please see page 14. Introducing Our New Louisiana Grills FLAVORED GRILLING PELLETS Please see BIG TOY, Page 5 WHERE THEY MEET OR BEAT ANY PRICE! THE LG700 Backyard gourmet grilling, convection heat & smoky flavor for serious BBQ Your favorite brands: Traeger, Gourmet, Lil’ Devils 4415 River Rd N Keizer • (503) 393-5450 • copper-creek.net
