APRIL 29, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Councilors hear Iris Festival update
By CRAIG MURPHY
Of the Keizertimes
When Dave Walery is at a
Keizer City Council meeting,
that usually means a big event
is coming up.
That was indeed the case
April 18 as Walery updated
councilors on plans for May’s
Keizer Iris Festival. Walery
is co-chair along with Scott
White.
“It’s all coming together re-
ally well,” Walery said. “I want
to thank the city. The grounds
are pretty well ready. There are
a few things to work out for
parking, but I think we’ve got
it fi gured out.”
One of the more notable
changes for this year is the
parking.
“We have more parking for
guests to come in and par-
ticipate,” Walery said. “With
the Lions Club, we were lim-
ited for parking. What we’ve
done is closed off Manbrin
(Avenue) at the Christmas
tree, with parking on that
street. We’ll also have parking
on Cherry (Avenue). We’ve
guessed there is room for 65
to 70 cars. Everything else is
pretty much the same.”
In addition to 70 or so cars
on Cherry, Walery is hoping
for about 30 more parking
spaces on Manbrin.
Christine Dieker, the for-
mer Keizer Chamber of Com-
merce executive director who
is helping to organize the runs,
noted the area by the Christ-
mas tree won’t be closed on
Friday, May 20 until 5 p.m.
Councilors unanimously
approved two resolutions re-
lated to the Iris Festival, to al-
low street vendors as well as
signage.
“This is something we do
every year for the Iris Festi-
val,” city manager Chris Ep-
pley said. “The chamber was
very prompt in submitting this
to us. We kicked it around in-
house, mainly with the police
department. That’s why we are
walking it to you tonight. It’s
not the fault of the chamber,
it’s on us.”
In other recent council
business:
• Councilors unanimously
approved two ordinances re-
lated to license procedures and
fees for taxis in Keizer. The is-
sue was approved at the April
4 meeting, but since the vote
wasn’t unanimous, it had to
be brought back for a second
reading at the April 18 meet-
ing.
Amy Ryan explained why
she was a ‘no’ vote the fi rst
time.
“I wanted to clarify I am
changing my vote and I want
to express why I voted the
way I did last time,” Ryan
said. “I felt like I didn’t have
enough information on things
like licensing fees. I had some
safety concerns. I did some
fact fi nding about that and
future businesses. I wanted to
make sure we were setting the
right precedent. I feel it is the
right thing to do and thus will
change my vote.”
Mayor Cathy Clark noted
the previous ordinances dated
back to 1994 and 1987.
• Councilors approved
the additional privilege of
off premises liquor sales for
Growl Movement, located at
5137 River Road N.
Lindy Mongenel, one of
the co-owners of the business
that opened in Keizer three
years ago, said the change
would allow employees to
serve sealed cans off site.
“It’s really for bottle and
cans sales,” Mongenel said.
“This allows us to sell things
that are packaged off site.”
Eppley gave kudos to Mon-
genel for her company.
“It’s a really neat business
model,” Eppley said. “It’s been
a great addition for our busi-
ness community. It gets a lot
of attention from a lot of folks.
I’m glad you started here with
us.”
Mongenel reciprocated the
kind words.
“We appreciate the support
of the community, for sure,”
she said.
Councilors unanimously
approved the request.
• Michael DeBlasi, chair of
the Keizer Planning Commis-
sion, gave an update from this
month’s Planning Commis-
sion meeting.
Submit an obituary through our website at keizertimes.com
or send an email to: editor@keizertimes.com
Richard E. Brown
Nov. 27, 1930 – April 3, 2016
KEIZERTIMES/Craig Murphy
Dave Walery (top) talked about Iris Festival at the April 18
Keizer City Council meeting, while mayor Cathy Clark and Krina
Lee (above) did a proclamation for the May 1 Lemonade Day.
Commission
members
looked at how to address ex-
pedited land division issues
brought up last year by the
Oregon Legislature.
“Keizer is pretty quick in
turnaround on land use deci-
sions already,” DeBlasi said.
Clark gave kudos to the
commission.
“The Planning Commis-
sion does incredible work and
pays attention to details,” the
mayor said. “You pay great
attention to detail to get it
right.”
DeBlasi singled out one
veteran commissioner in par-
ticular.
“Jim Jacks has an attention
to detail that would challenge
anybody,” DeBlasi said.
• As referenced elsewhere
on these pages, this is the city’s
budget season. The Keizer
Budget Committee will fi rst
meet next Tuesday, May 3 at
6 p.m. followed by the next
meeting on May 5 at the same
time. The last regularly sched-
uled meeting is on May 10.
Once the Keizer Budget
Committee members approve
the budget, it gets sent to the
Keizer City Council. Coun-
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cilors are part of the budget
committee, so there are often
few changes made. Councilors
have to adopt the budget by
June 30, which is the end of
the current fi scal year.
Richard E. Brown, 85,
passed away on April 3.
Richard
was born on
Nov. 27, 1930
in Culver City,
Calif. His fam-
ily moved to
Oregon and
he graduated
from Molalla
High School in 1950. After
school, Richard joined the
United States Air Force. He
retired from the USAF as a
staff sergeant in 1971.
Richard met his wife,
Marlene, on the dance fl oor
at Fairchild Air Force Base in
Washington. The two married
in 1958. The couple had sons
born in 1960, 1961, 1963 and
1964. A daughter, Theresa
Ann, was stillborn. The couple
has six grandchildren.
After retiring from the
military, Richard delivered
civil process and worked for
Marion County.
Richard passed away at
French Prairie Nursing and
Rehabilitation Center in
Woodburn. A service was held
at St. Edward Catholic Church
in
Keizer.
Richard
is
buried
at
Willamette
National
Cemetery in
Portland.
Richard
Brown
is
survived
by
wife
Marlene, sister Jean Kruger
(John) and sons William,
Rick Jr. and Rodger, as well
as the grandchildren. He was
preceded in death by son Eric.
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