MARCH 25, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Cleaning up Palma Ciea Park still being studied
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
Gary Blake is still want-
ing to get Palma Ciea Park
cleaned up.
Blake, president of the West
Keizer Neighborhood As-
sociation, has spoken to the
Keizer Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board several times
in the past year about the park.
He did so again at the most
recent Parks Board meeting
on March 8.
“We’re very much ready
to put together a program,
in conjunction with the city,
to bring Palma Ciea Park to
something that looks pre-
sentable,” Blake said. “The
main thing we’d like to be
able to see is help with things
like cleaning the property. I
walked through the park this
week. It’s still pretty much the
way it’s been. We can trim it
and make it more attractive
for people to want to spend
time at the park.”
Blake suggested some im-
provements that could be
made.
“We can limb the trees so
that we can get a better view
of the river,” he said. “Maybe
a tree trimming company can
come limb the trees for free
and haul them away. We did
discuss quite a bit the vines
that are growing around the
trees.
“We also have some neigh-
bors willing to donate a park
bench, which would be invit-
ing for people to sit at,” Blake
added. “Another person has
suggested having a little more
pronounced walkway down
to the water, so you don’t have
to go through any dangerous
areas. We would have to get it
cleared. The idea of having a
walkway there is good.”
Parks Board member Rich-
ard Walsh suggested taking ad-
vantage of the matching grant
program, though that option
seemed to be taken off the ta-
ble later in the meeting when
the remaining funds were
pledged to work at Keizer
Little League Park.
“I think it’s fantastic you’re
working on this,” Walsh told
Blake. “This is exactly what
we hoped would happen, you
getting some volunteers. My
question is, are you envision-
ing coming back with a re-
quest from the grant program?
And what kind of timeline are
you looking at?”
Blake fi gured the grant ap-
plication could be done with-
in a week.
Scott Klug suggested ap-
plying for a grant from SOLV
(Stop Oregon Litter and Van-
dalism) to help pay for im-
provements.
Blake, who noted he has
been working with parks su-
pervisor Robert Johnson, is
seeking guidance for the work.
“What we’re hoping to do
is to have the city direct the
performance of the work so
we can make sure we’re doing
the right thing,” Blake said.
J.T. Hager said there are
some simple things to put on
the matching grant applica-
tion.
“You have some obvious
things you can go after right
away, like the invasive species
on the trees,” Hager said. “A
park bench is a good thing
and a pathway is a good thing.
You could estimate the hours
of labor and get credit for
that. You come to us and say
here’s what we want, here’s
our manpower, here’s what
we need. You set the agenda.
We want you to do it, put it
on paper and tell us what it
will cost.”
Clint Holland had concern
about things like ivy.
“I’m really in favor of this,
but one of my concerns is do-
ing the job right,” Holland
said. “Twice we’ve cleaned it
up. You need a commitment
from the city you’re going
to kill the poison ivy on the
oak. If not, you’ll spend a lot
of time for nothing. We did it
years ago. The ivy has grown
back. If you do it, you need to
do it right.”
Parks Board chair David
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Overgrown vegetation means Palma Ciea Park hasn’t seen much use in recent years.
Louden expressed frustration.
“I’m a little disappointed
with the plan right now,”
Louden said. “I was fi gur-
ing on some more details so
we could start sooner rather
than later. Right now you’re
not giving us a lot. I expected
more detail.”
Koho returns to council
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
There weren’t a whole lot
of people at Monday’s Keizer
City Council meeting.
Councilor Amy Ryan and
youth councilor Siri Scales
were absent, while Brandon
Smith’s former seat is still va-
cant.
City attorney Shannon
Johnson and Public Works
director Bill Lawyer were ab-
sent, as was police chief John
Teague. Only three audience
members were present, in
addition to a Keizertimes re-
porter.
All of which made Dennis
Koho’s presence that much
more surprising.
Less than two weeks after
being released from the hos-
pital following a Feb. 6 heart
attack (see last week’s issue for
more details), Koho was slow-
ly easing back into a normal
routine. At the previous coun-
cil meeting on March 7, coun-
cilors approved a month-long
leave of absence for Koho.
And yet, there was the
council president, seated be-
tween fellow councilors Ro-
land Herrera and Marlene
Parsons. Mayor Cathy Clark
welcomed Koho back to the
dais three times, with the for-
mer mayor getting a round of
applause the fi rst time. Be-
fore the meeting, councilor
Roland Herrera took a selfi e
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Keizer City Councilor Dennis Koho (left), flanked by Roland
Herrera, returned to the council on March 21 for the first time
since suffering a heart attack on Feb. 6.
– after all, this is 2016 – with
Koho.
Later in the meeting, coun-
cilors gave an update on re-
cent meetings or events they
have attended. Koho’s well-
known humor came through.
“I could tell you all about
the hospital and rehab center,”
Koho said. “You don’t want to
go to the rehab center if you
don’t have to. But the alterna-
tive wasn’t good, so I was hap-
py to be there. I’ve been in a
tiny hospital room for the last
six weeks, so I’ve been trying
to get up to speed.”
Clark, who was suffering
from a cold and thus had Koho
sitting further away from her
than usual, welcomed him
back again.
“Welcome back,” the may-
or said. “We’re so glad to have
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In other business March 21:
• Hersch Sangster gave re-
ports on both the Planning
Commission and Traffi c/
Bikeways/Pedestrians meet-
ings from last week. The Plan-
ning Commission approved
a motion for pre-application
conferences with city staff to
be free. That motion is ex-
pected to be brought to the
council next month.
As far as the other com-
mittee, Sangster said he’ll start
fi lling out an application soon
to get Keizer designated as a
bicycle-friendly community.
Work is also being done for a
grant to pay for signage alert-
ing bicyclists to areas of inter-
est in Keizer.
• Councilors unanimously
approved an ordinance updat-
ing the Keizer Development
Code in regards to daycare fa-
cilities, bringing city code in
line with state code. The ordi-
nance was approved without
any comment.
• In addition to a short-
age of people at the meeting,
the meeting was also short.
The meeting was over in less
than 35 minutes. There was
only one administrative ac-
tion. When it came time for
councilor liaison reports late
in the meeting, two council-
ors weren’t ready because of
how quickly the meeting was
moving.