Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2015)
MAY 22, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3 Don’t see that every day… KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Just in time for Memorial Day this weekend, these bald eagles were spotted in trees along Bailey Road NE on Monday. SB approves sale of old building By HERB SWETT For the Keizertimes Potential sale of the former Rosedale Elementary School building was approved by the Salem-Keizer School Board on May 12. Economic crises in the last fi ve years have brought about closures of fi ve elementary schools, including Hazel Green north of Keizer. Soon after the closure of Rosedale, the district leased the building to Abiqua Academy, an independent Pre K-12 program in Salem. Abiqua offi cials have ex- pressed interest in buying the building, but because it has not been appraised, the board vote was only for making it available for purchase. The vote was 7-1, with Nancy MacMorris-Adix opposed. Director Chris Brantley re- sponded the board had closed the school because it was not effi cient to operate. Chuck Lee of Keizer, another direc- tor, said that while he favored putting the building up for sale, the board should decide later whether the district can get a good enough price to sell it. The board also approved fi ve grant funds: a $991,735 multi- year grant from the Chalkboard Project for teacher incentives, $148,453 from the Oregon Department of Education to help English language learn- ers, $15,000 from Kaiser Per- manente for dental education and preventive services, $4,000 from the Siletz Tribe for water safety and swimming lessons of the Indian Education Sum- mer School and $2,852 from ODE for the Long Term Care & Treatment Program. Phil Frey was elected by board members to the board of directors of the Willamette Education Service District. The board approved two revisions to its results poli- cies. One adds language to the academic achievement policy, specifying the ultimate goal for each student to make at least one year of academic progress each year. The other revises data sets for evaluating the superin- tendent’s performance. Brantley was the only direc- tor voting against the revisions. He contended the board had failed to follow its own policy of discussing proposed revisions with the community before Please see SB, Page A10 Amphitheater patio okayed By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Last month, Jerry Nutt- brock’s proposal to build a pa- tio at the Keizer Rapids Park amphitheater wasn’t approved, in part, because he was asking for too much. This month, Nuttbrock brought his revised plan with more exact cost estimates back to the Keizer Park and Recre- ation Advisory Board. This time, the project al- most wasn’t approved because it didn’t cost enough. Ultimately, the Parks Board gave Nuttbrock the remain- ing $5,000 from this year’s matching grant program fund. Nuttbrock expects to start the 2,400 square foot project in early June and be done by the end of the month. Parks Board members typi- cally seek to fund applications where the proponent will fund at least half of the total project cost. For this project, Nuttbrock listed a total cost of $8,350. Since the part not covered by the grant would be $3,350, that caused some con- cerns, especially for Richard Walsh. Nuttbrock noted he switched from pavers to con- crete for decorative touches and made other cuts as well. “That has lowered the cost of the project,” Nuttbrock said. “I’ve reduced the num- bers. With these numbers, I’m confi dent we can get the whole thing done.” William Criteser was the fi rst to notice the proposal didn’t cover half the cost. “Shouldn’t they put up an equal amount?” Criteser said. Walsh agreed. “That was the idea,” Walsh said. As such, one idea was to lower the matching amount to $3,300 from $5,000. “I’m concerned that Jerry’s already been here a few times,” Scott Klug said. “If we tell him he’s only getting $3,300 in- stead of $5,000, it will be the third time he’s been sent out and come back again.” Walsh noted the Parks Board has the authority to spend funds, but is still ac- countable to the city council. “I went to the (budget committee on May 5),” Walsh said. “They were interested in the idea that we double the funds. If we tell them we don’t quite double the funds on something, it’s not quite the success.” Klug argued Nuttbrock had other costs not being shown. “We’re getting more than double on this, because Jerry is getting labor and he’s getting special deals,” Klug said. Walsh pointed out the dou- bling needs to be seen on pa- per. “When we go back to the city council, for the program to be funded more our big pitch is you give us $1,000 and you get $2,000 out of it,” he said. “I would rather have Jer- ry add to it to make it double. Add another piece to make it $5,000, it would be a 50-50 match and it’ll be good.” After further discussion, Walsh came back to the same point. “I think we can approve this on the condition that you raise things (to be) worth $5,000,” he told Nuttbrock. Criteser said an option would then be to fund Nutt- brock at $3,300. Walsh asked if Nuttbrock could take that, then come back in June to add the rest after the council approves next year’s budget, which is scheduled to take place on June 1. The next Parks Board meeting is June 9. “That is workable,” Nutt- brock said. “I want to do it in June. Either I take what I get now, or I withdraw and come back June 9. There’s going to be $15,000 sitting there and I can be fi rst back in line. I don’t want to build in August and have it sit there (until next summer).” Bill Lawyer, Public Works director, cautioned Parks Board members against two separate fundings. “It would be cleaner if one application for a project was approved by the Parks Board, as opposed to some now, some later,” Lawyer said. Lawyer also warned Walsh was “creating a beast” when talking about coming up with a policy to lower the amount granted if the math at the pro- posed level was less than 50 percent. “I want to caution the board to try to make every- thing equal and fair,” Lawyer said. “Don’t create a situation for every situation. The pro- gram will lose credibility.” A motion to accept the proposal and give Nuttbrock $5,000 was approved by a 5-1 vote. Walsh voted in favor but still had reservations. “I’m voting aye, because I know you guys do fantastic work,” Walsh told Nuttbrock. “But if you get anything extra, I ask that you put in some- thing extra to help us double the grant. The doubling mark is the thing. We want to tell citizens we’ve doubled the money.” Nuttbrock was appreciative of the funding. “Thank you,” he said. “You’re going to love this project.” obituaries Kimberly Ann Olson May 10, 1952 – May 14, 2015 Kimberly Olson, 63, was born May 10, 1952 in Sa- lem and remained a lifelong resident. She graduated from South Salem High School and she attended Oregon State University. She was a lifelong Beavers fan. She was preceded in death by her parents, Fred and Bette Olson and her brother Peter Olson. She is survived by her sisters Karen (Sam) Seery and Kelsey Olson and her nieces Bree Seery and Dannie Olson and her nephew Ryan Seery. Kim was blessed with many skilled and kind health care professionals throughout her illness and her family wish- es to thank them for all that they have done to help her. They also wish to thank the network of friends she was blessed with who have sup- ported her with their love, laughter and prayers. Kim had an indomitable spirit, a joy of living and a love of family and friends. She will be missed but not forgotten. In lieu of fl owers, donations may be made to the charity of your choice.