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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2015)
AUGUST 7, 2015, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A9 Parks Board talks about KRP orchards By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes What will happen with the remaining trees in the orchard at Keizer Rapids Park? The topic has come to the forefront recently in light of Tony Weathers being granted a release from his contract with the city to harvest the orchards, citing potential litigation issues related to spraying pesticides. When Keizer City Council- ors agreed to let Weathers out of his contract, the question arose as to whether the remaining trees could be taken down. The question of what to do with the trees came up again during the July 14 Keizer Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting. It also came up at this week’s council meeting (see re- lated story, pg. A1). “Could the rest be leased out?” Richard Walsh asked at the Parks Board meeting. Bill Lawyer, Public Works director for Keizer, isn’t holding his breath on that. “Potentially, but it’s being looked at as no more farming in the orchard,” Lawyer said. Brandon Smith, the council liaison to the Parks Board, not- ed the argument some make for having the trees gone. “If the trees come down, it looks like progress is being made,” Smith said. “Some felt empty ground would exert pressure on the city to do some- thing.” Walsh pointed out the KRP master plan has trees in the or- chard being gone. “As long as the trees are there, they will be a hurdle to soccer teams and other groups,” he said. “There was the plan of eventually zero revenue there, as there eventually would be ball parks there.” Walsh pointed to one draw- back to the idea. “We’re looking at an expen- sive project to clear the land,” he said. “If we clear it now, it will cost money.” Emphasized Lawyer: “It will cost a lot of money.” Volunteers knocked down nearly 200 trees on two acres to make room for the Big Toy. Others came to chop the trees into fi rewood and haul it away. “That was for two acres,” Lawyer said. “We have 22-plus acres more.” Board member Clint Hol- land noted he’d heard the cost to cut trees would be $90,000. Lawyer said no real plan was in place for the orchard. “The plan was to farm the orchard as long as the farmer would farm,” he said. “We were hearing fi ve to six years would be left. We hoped the fi ve to six years would turn to eight to 10 years. Filbert prices went way up the last couple of years, so we hoped they would continue to farm them.” While part of the discussion was about the remaining trees, there were still lingering ques- tions about the potential liti- gation Weathers referred to in regards to spraying pesticides. Both Walsh and Lawyer noted Weathers had originally been fi ne with some of the orchard being used for the Big Toy, but something changed his mind. “My concern is my ass being sued,” Weathers told the Keiz- ertimes in May. “My concern is someone using the toy when the park is closed, get fl u and found out I sprayed. I have too much to lose.” Walsh, an attorney, ques- tioned if there truly could be a lawsuit concerning the pesti- cides. “We have insurance and there is little scientifi c risk,” Walsh said. “We could just close (the Big Toy) on those days we do the spraying.” Lawyer corrected Walsh. “We do not have insurance for this,” Lawyer said. “We’ve explored every option we could think of. The insurance won’t cover if we get sued for spray- ing. (Weathers) expressed con- cerns about being sued. He said if we could indemnify him, he would continue to farm. But we don’t have insurance cover- age for that.” Walsh still wasn’t quite con- vinced. “It’s hard to believe there’s not insurance to cover it,” he said. Smith said a “number of people” had weighed in on the issue. “There are organizations out there that will sue you,” Smith said. “Not if the chance of suc- ceeding is low,” Walsh respond- ed. Smith said all factors were looked at. “Council felt that was a risk that was a little too far,” he said. “We had a written opin- ion from the insurance com- pany they would not cover it. If (Weathers) had his own insur- ance, that would be one thing. But we don’t have insurance for that exposure.” Lawyer to miss Parks Board meetings By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes Each month at the Keizer Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting, Bill Lawyer is on hand to answer questions and give updates. This month will be different. Lawyer, the Public Works director for Keizer who has at- tended Parks Board meetings for 16 years as the city staff rep- resentative, is letting his seat at the monthly meetings be fi lled by Robert Johnson, the parks supervisor for the city. “This is my last regular ap- pearance at a Parks Board meet- ing,” Lawyer said at the July 14 meeting. “From now on Robert will be the staff liaison. I will only be here as needed.” JT Hager led the effort in thanking Lawyer for his contri- butions. “Bill, you have been invalu- able,” Hager said. “Your ability to look back at the past and see how it can be done in the future has been very, very valuable.” Richard Walsh, a longtime member of the Parks Board, also gave praise. “Bill, you are the Parks De- partment,” Walsh said. “We couldn’t have done what we did in the last several years without your help. We give you a ton of work every time you’re here, but you always smile about it. I really do appreciate it.” Parks Board members ap- proved a motion recognizing Lawyer for his efforts, then gave him a round of applause. “I’m not going anywhere,” Lawyer said. “I’m still invested, but not at the meetings. This is a tough one for me. But I need to step back and get other people to step forward. Robert is ready for it. Thank you for the recog- nition. I appreciate it.” In other Parks Board news: • In an effort to gener- ate more revenue, Parks Board members approved a motion calling for councilors to actively pursue additional cell towers in Keizer parks. A cell tower is al- ready in Bair Park, bringing in $2,100 a month in revenue for the city. That funding is split in half between parks and the wa- ter fund. Parks Board chair David Louden wasn’t sure councilors need to be involved with creat- ing more parks revenue. “It’s more up to us to come up with additional revenue ideas,” Louden said. Hager, however, felt it was an appropriate motion. “This lets the council know we’re looking to do things,” Hager said. “We’re on record. The more cell towers, the more the funding we get with rev- enue to the parks. What we’re saying is we need money.” • Gary Blake once again brought up the subject of the potential sale of Palma Ciea Park. “I’ve spent a lot of time go- ing down Cummings Lane and Rafael Court asking residents about the park,” said Blake, who sat with several neighbors. “Without a doubt, they are shocked and amazed at the idea it could be sold. Neighbors are willing to sit and talk and fi nd out what could be done.” Blake said ideas include hav- ing a neighborhood garden and volunteers sprucing up the park. “What we’d like to stress is the residents of the area want to be involved with the discussion of what happens to the park,” Blake said. “I have neighbors here who are willing to be here. Our intent is not to direct the Parks Board, we just want an opportunity to speak before a decision is made.” KEIZER CLASSIFIEDS CLEANING SERVICE SERVICES A+ CLEANING SERVICE. Residential maintenance cleaning, Move-In/out, Remodel Clean up. Over 20 years experience. Registered and Bonded. $25/hour all supplies provided. www. aplusclean.net. Call Lorie 503-580- 0298 0828 DIVORCE $155. Complete preparation. Includes children, custody, support, property and bills division. No court appearances. Divorced in 1-5 weeks possible. 503-772-5295. www. paralegalalternatives.com legalalt@ msn.com ONAC FOR SALE Two Sanyo portable air conditioning units with remote controls, $95 each. New price was over $300 each, very good working condition. John @ 503- 851-1819. 0807 Darrell Richardson has requested a smoking ban in Keizer parks several times recently, including at Monday’s Keizer City Council meeting. KEIZERTIMES/ Craig Murphy BAN, continued from Page A1 “I’m excited about you putting up the signs at parks,” Richardson said. “I hope you will include Sunset Park. I haven’t heard back about my request (from April).” Councilor Marlene Parsons noted the Parks Board didn’t do anything with the request. “I know; I was at the meet- ing,” Richardson replied. “The Parks Board representa- tive downplayed it so much, I couldn’t believe it. Why do we have to depend on the Parks Board for this? Sunset Park is one that shouldn’t have smok- ing. I live right next to Sunset. We have two or three guys that come down and smoke cigars for several hours. Quite a few cities don’t allow smok- ing in parks. Let those that don’t smoke have some rights, too.” Mayor Cathy Clark ex- pressed her appreciation to Richardson for bringing the topic up again. “I don’t think this is a con- versation that has fi nished by any stretch,” Clark said. “Mar- ion County and Salem don’t allow smoking in any parks. Enforcement is an issue.” Clark suggested hav- ing members of the Marion County Health Authority talk about smoking at a Parks Board meeting. “The way people in our community make decisions is with good information,” Clark said. “It is a community conversation. In Salem they had a series of public hearings. This was a process the com- munity got involved in.” Councilor Dennis Koho said he’d be willing to vote on the issue, even if the Parks Board continues to have no recommendation. Richardson noted how re- cent fi res in the Northwest have been started by discarded cigarette butts. “It’s a common sense law,” he said. “The state, Marion County and Salem have all stepped up.” Despite his frustration with the lack of action, Richard- son emphasized he still loves Keizer. “This is the best city in the world,” he said. In other business Aug. 3: • Lyndon Zaitz gave a pre- sentation about Saturday’s RIVERfair, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at KRP. “We have nice, diverse ac- tivities,” Zaitz said. “We have a lot for families. We’re very excited about what is hap- pening. There are a lot of new vendors and a lot of returning vendors.” • Councilors approved a request from Clint Holland to add a concert and a movie date at the KRP amphitheater. The concert on Aug. 22 will take the place of the cancelled Pig in the Park event, while a movie will be added for some- time in September. Koho noted he’s heard some complaints from people about not being able to bring their water into events on hot nights. Holland said waters can be brought in on movie nights and also noted crowds have been big throughout the summer. “This year we’re packing them in for every event,” Hol- land said. “This last weekend we sold more food and bev- erages than we have for any event. The last four events have all been large.” • Councilor Amy Ripp noted Red Wing Shoes is moving to Keizer Station; more specifi cally, into the space currently occupied by the Keizer Chamber of Com- merce. As a result, the cham- ber offi ce is moving to 6150 Ulali Drive next week, next to World Market. • Jessi Long was appointed to fi ll a vacancy on the Keiz- er Public Arts Commission. Long will serve a three-year term ending in June 2018. • The council work session on Aug. 10 will be a tour of the Salem-Keizer School Dis- trict’s Career and Technical Education Campus on Port- land Road. The tour starts at 5:45 p.m. and will be open to the public. have years of experience in EXPERIENCE We design, carpentry, and engineering. won’t stop until the job is PROFESSIONALISM We fi nished and you are content. long list of satisfi ed TRUSTWORTHINESS Our clients attest to our ability to get the job done right. 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Dr. John Neal, Pastor Worship - 10:30 a.m. Education Hour - 10:00 a.m. Nursery Care Available www.keizerjkpres.org Jason Lee UMC 820 Jeff erson St. NE Salem OR 97301 Dr. Jon F. Langenwalter, Pastor The church with the purple doors 503-364-2844 Worship at 9:30 am • Child Care Available Faith Lutheran Church 4505 River Rd N • 393-4507 Sunday Schedule: 9:00 a.m. Children’s Church 9:15 a.m. Adult Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Children’s Activities Pastor Virginia Eggert 10:30 a.m. Worship with Communion