MARCH 11, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
FIELD,
continued from Page A1
to stay in front of the ball,”
Cuff said. “The ball is jumping
18 inches to the side. That’s
how bad this current sod is. I
believe it’s been there since the
late 1980s or early 1990s. It’s a
dangerous situation. That’s why
I’m coming to you for help at
least with the playing surface.”
According
to
Cuff ’s
application, the total project
cost would be $99,234. That
includes $32,100 for a complete
sod infi eld, $36,000 for fencing
and $23,729 for three new
cement dugouts. Cuff said after
the meeting volunteers started
laying down sod last weekend,
with parishioners at the Keizer
Church of Christ next door
pitching in to help as well. The
rest of the sod is expected to
be laid down this Friday and
Saturday.
Once the sod is down, the
fi eld couldn't be used for four
weeks, which means no games
on the fi eld until April 9. More
of the work would be done
once the little league season is
over in mid-June.
Argue noted more than 40
volunteers were on hand last
week after seeing the recent
Keizertimes article.
“How many other parks can
generate that interest around
town?” Argue said. “That's the
level of what that park is.”
Parks Board member Dylan
Juran started off the money
questions.
“The number you have
written adds up to almost
$100,000,” Juran said. “You're
asking for $10,000. You're
expecting every year to spend
approximately $100,000?”
Argue noted some fi elds are
better off than others, while
Cuff believes initial success will
lead to more.
“It will be a wave effect,”
Cuff said. “Once we start going,
we will get more volunteers.
There's plenty of support
here in Keizer. There's a lot of
support out there we haven't
reached yet. Our goal is to bring
the fi elds up so we can bring in
tournaments.”
J.T. Hager liked the plan, but
had some questions.
“When you put this money
into this fi eld, when does this
fi eld need help again?” Hager
asked.
Cuff feels the fi eld will last
a long time as long as proper
maintenance is done. On paper,
Argue said the fi eld should last
40 years.
“We want to be the shining
star” for little league baseball in
the area, Argue said.
Richard Walsh was the fi rst of
several to ask if the full $10,000
matching grant funding was
needed.
“If you got less, would this
still go forward?” Walsh asked.
Cuff said the answer was yes.
“If we got less, we would
have to scale back,” Cuff said.
Clint Holland, a Parks
Board member who has also
been key in getting the project
going, noted Cuff and Argue
are bartering with people and
recruiting as much volunteer
help as they can.
“We're trying to use what
we can,” Cuff said. “We don't
want to just patch it up. We
want to make this able to attract
tournaments again.”
Walsh emphasized how
much he liked the plans.
“Thank you for all the
work you're doing,” he said. “I
appreciate that. But we have
others wanting (matching
grant) money.”
City councilor Roland
Herrera, the new Parks Board
liaison, worked on the fi elds for
many years.
“I'm excited you're moving
forward on this,” Herrera said.
“It's long overdue.”
Hager
echoed
Walsh's
LEADER,
continued from Page A1
By comparison, the pay range
last time was $45,000 to $50,000.
When the news was originally
announced in early December,
the plan was for an offer to be
made to a new director on Feb.
3. Dieker hoped to help with
the transition through the end of
concern.
“We've worked hard to get
some grant money available
for a number of parks,” he said.
“There are a lot of parks with
a lot of needs. We've gotten
success in getting a lot of
matches. You're asking for all the
money going to you and no one
else. That makes it diffi cult for
me. If we do $7,000 or $8,000,
can you still move forward? We
want to see you move forward,
but we want to see if you have
some wiggle room.”
Robert Johnson, the parks
supervisor for Keizer, noted
that “not a lot” of requests have
come in this fi scal year for the
matching grants.
Jim Taylor, the former
councilor who now sits on the
Parks Board, emphasized the
return on investment.
“On the council, we used
to look at any project with a
matching fund and look at the
bang for the buck. Same with
the Big Toy, it was the bang for
the buck. Very little city money
was used. I think that's what
this is. There's a small amount
of public money, with a huge
amount of benefi t.”
Holland, like Cuff and Argue,
feels more people will come on
board.
“Once we get this fi eld done
and others see it, we will get
more volunteers to work on the
next fi eld,” Holland said.
Juran gave his support.
“I look and I see, what, a
1,000 percent value on our
investment?” he said. “That's
a really big number compared
to what we're putting out. It's
$1 million in 10 years for a
$100,000 investment. We spend
$1,000 for $2,000 in value.
This is $10,000 for $100,000 in
value.”
Walsh noted his internal
struggle.
“I'm aware of three or four
projects that are possible (for
the matching grant) but haven't
come here yet,” he said. “I'm
going both ways in my head.
It's a fantastic project. I love
the way you're doing it and the
multiplication factor. What's
killing me is we don't want to
tell people they have to come
back in July for some projects.”
Hager noted that's why he
asked if $8,000 would work.
“That would make it a slam
dunk for me,” Walsh said.
Scott Klug expressed dismay
about the thoughts of putting
less in.
“I'm appalled we're even
having this discussion,” Klug
said. “I've never been so
disappointed in a conversation.
The return on this money is so
impressive. We're talking about
(possible projects) that haven't
come forward for the matching
grant money. I'm so frustrated. I
cannot believe it is happening.”
When the vote was taken,
Walsh, Hager and Donna
Bradley voted against it but the
motion passed 6-3.
“Despite my vote, I am
thrilled,” Walsh said.
that month and show the ropes,
but that hasn’t happened yet.
According to Dieker, the
revised deadline calls for
interviews to start in early April
and for the new person to be on
board by mid-May.
“It would be ideal to have
them on board by the Keizer
Iris Festival,” she said. “I've been
looking forward to changes,
but this job has always been a
blessing. My family has been
supportive of me staying on
board.”
Dieker would like to focus on
building up the various runs put
on by the chamber.
“The potential of the runs is
amazing,” she said. “I really feel
I can grow those if I can focus
on them. But by still doing this,
I can't stir the run pot as much
as I'd like.”
Dieker took over the position
in March 1998.
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