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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 11, 2016)
SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 13 SECTION A $ 10K “We're trying to take one fi eld per year, bring it up to modern specifi cations so we can eventually bring tournaments to the park…” — Tony Cuff MARCH 11, 2016 $1.00 approved for one KLL field By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes For the record, the three dissenting votes in no way indicated dissatisfaction with the project. Members of the Keizer Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Tuesday approved a request to use up the remaining $10,000 in matching grant funds to help pay for the redoing of Field 3 at Chris Argue (second from left) and Tony Cuff (second from right) brought forward a proposal for Keizer Little League Park this week. KEIZERTIMES/File Photo Keizer Little League Park. The vote of approval was 6-3. The three members voting against the motion made it clear their only reservation was not having money left for other groups who might request funding by the end of the fi scal year on June 30. Chris Argue and Tony Cuff, who have been putting plans together to redo one fi eld each year at KLL Park (see the Feb. 19 issue for more details), presented their plans to do nearly $100,000 in renovations this year on Field 3. Other fi elds will be redone in subsequent years, one a year. The hope is new fi elds will draw in tournaments, with money from that helping to pay for future work. “We're trying to take one fi eld per year, bring it up to modern specifi cations so we can eventually bring tournaments to the park and bring revenue back to the program,” Cuff said. “We can't generate any more revenue because the fi elds are on a little bit of the downside. It can't compete with newer facilities to bring in revenue.” Cuff, a grass farmer from Woodburn, said safety is a key concern with current fi eld conditions. “I coach Little League and I'm trying to teach (the players) PAGE A2 Please see FIELD, Page A7 Dieker stays as chamber leader, for now By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes And the new executive director of the Keizer Chamber of Commerce is... Actually, it's still Christine Dieker for now. Dieker announced during the monthly chamber luncheon on Tuesday at Keizer Quality Suites a person was offered the position, but was retained by her current boss. “You get me for another couple of months, maybe three,” Dieker said. “I want to thank you for the wonderful experience. The executive director that was decided upon got an offer she couldn't refuse from her current employer, so we are restarting the process.” Dieker and Bob Zielinski, president of the Keizer Chamber Board of Directors, both declined to name fi nalists when asked after the luncheon. Zielinski gave the same story as Dieker. “We made our decision,” Zielinski said. “She had accepted our offer and she walked into her boss's offi ce to resign. Her company wanted to keep her and made her an offer that made her decide to stay. We are starting over.” Dieker said there were 20 applicants the fi rst time around, with eight or nine of those people getting interviews. There were two fi nalists decided upon, with one getting the offer. Spring ahead this Sunday Demand to close parks is made PAGE A2 Giving it away MHS Talent Show PAGE A5 KEIZERTIMES/Eric A. Howald Lorena Eschliman, with the American Red Cross, checks in on McNary High School student Chris Scofi eld as he donates blood during the school's annual blood drive Tuesday, March 8. Christine Dieker “She was a great person, but she got a better offer where she was. She's a real asset for them,” Dieker said. The executive director job has been reposted on the chamber website at keizerchamber.com. The deadline to apply is Monday, April 4. There are two key differences with the job listing this time, with the most obvious being the pay. “There's an increase in pay, and we wanted to clarify how the insurance could be broken out,” Dieker said. The pay is listed as $62,000 which includes an optional $7,000 health insurance stipend if desired. There is also a $60 monthly cell phone stipend. Revenue is good at Keizer Civic Center Please see LEADER, Page A7 Faces, faces on the wall By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes The plan is for plenty of faces to be on the next public mural, being painted this summer on the north wall of Town & Country Lanes at 3500 River Road N. Just not as many faces as some would like. Plans have been discussed at length during Keizer Public Arts Commission (KPAC) meetings and were again on Feb. 23. As envisioned, there will be 21 faces on the mural, which will have an overall design depicting the Keizer Iris Festival Parade. Christine Dieker, executive director of the Keizer Chamber of Commerce, sent an e-mail to KPAC members KEIZERTIMES fi le/Craig Murphy Business has been good lately at the Keizer Civic Center, as more rental fees have been coming in this fi scal year. File The site of the next public mural in Keizer. on Feb. 18 requesting for more faces to be put on the mural in honor of this year's 30th anniversary of the Iris Festival and the 66th anniversary of the parade. “There has been a tremendous amount of volunteer service given by the Keizer Iris Festival chairs,” Dieker wrote in her e-mail. “We appreciate your consideration to having their 'faces' on the mural.” During the Feb. 23 KPAC meeting, Jill Hagen – who is in charge of the mural project – and Lore Christopher clarifi ed the 21 faces being done for the mural. Please see FACES, Page A9 By CRAIG MURPHY Of the Keizertimes In the last couple of budget cycles, serious concerns were raised about rental revenue of the Keizer Civic Center. A new Event Center Coordinator position was fi lled by Kristian Bouvier in January 2014, with the hope being revenue would be greatly boosted and less general fund money would have to be used to help run the building. When that didn't happen by last spring, there were serious concerns expressed about the economic viability of the position during the budget meetings. After all, revenue was expected to jump from $98,000 a year to $170,000 a year, but instead went up just $1,700. It appears a year can make quite the difference. Tim Wood, who was recently named Finance director for Keizer, requested a supplemental budget for the community center during Monday's Keizer City Council meeting – which was held in the Robert L. Simon Council Chamber inside the community center. The 2015-16 community center budget was based on Lady Celts in Elite 8 PAGE A10 Please see REVENUE, Page A9 2015 FORD F-150 Keizer www.skylineforddirect.com SUPERCREW 4X4 XLT, 302A PKG, 3.5 ECOBOOST 10,000 OFF MSRP x60 available *MSRP $48,270, Skyline Discount $5,050, Retail Cash $3,250, Bonus Cash $1,700, Sale price $38,270, Total price after credits and factory re- bates $38,270. *0% X 60 = $41,520 to fi nance after $5,050+$1,700 Bonus Cash, must fi nance through Ford Credit Tier 0-1. On approved credit. 1 to choose from Vin#C62447, Stk#158984. Expires 4/1/16.
