SINCE 1979 • VOLUME 38, NO. 28
SECTION A
JUNE 24, 2016
$1.00
‘Historic’ snag in cow pasture redux
File
After learning that the home and associated buildings on the Her-
ber property - known as the cow pasture - have potential historical
value, a decision on rezoning has been delayed until September.
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Public hearings on a
proposed rezoning of the area
commonly known as “cow
pasture” hit a wall in Keizer
City
Council
chambers
Monday, June 20.
Between the release of the
council's agenda last week
and the start of the meeting,
city staff discovered that the
home and associated buildings
on the site are listed in a state
database of potential historic
sites.
Heirs to the Herber family,
the current owners, are
seeking to rezone the land for
apartments.
“The city has the obligation
to examine the issue and
go through the process to
determine its historic value,”
said Nate Brown, Keizer
community
development
director.
The home on the property,
located between Chemawa
Road
Northeast
and
Dearborn Avenue Northeast
along Verda Lane Northeast,
is the oldest structure in the
city and suspected to have
been built around 1890. It is
designated as the Pugh-Hall-
Savage Farmhouse in state
registry documents.
While the site has not
offi cially been deemed to have
historic value, the documents
suggest is merits “elevated
signifi cance” given that there
are no other sites of national
historic signifi cance in Keizer
and it meets at least two of the
criteria for inclusion on the
national registry.
Wallace Lien, attorney for
the property owners, asked
the city council to continue
the public hearing on the
matter to give his clients time
to investigate the historic
signifi cance and possibly work
with staff to come up with
more specifi c guidelines as to
what would be built on the
property.
The council was required
to grant the request and, as a
result, the applicants will have
Rezone
opposition
had many
voices
PAGE A2
Please see SNAG, Page A2
Parks fund can unlock SDCs
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
Imagine having a $793,000 pot of
money to spend on improving parks
in the city of Keizer, but the only way
to use it was to come up with another
$6.1 million from other sources.
In the simplest terms, that's the
dilemma the city is facing when it comes
to using existing system development
charges (SDCs) to improve Keizer parks.
The topic was the center of discussions
at the Keizer Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board meeting Tuesday, June
14, as board members wrestled with the
possibility of creating a dedicated parks
fund by establishing a parks district
within the city.
If the idea gains traction, Keizer
residents would likely see the additional
cost in the form of a surcharge added to
utility bills.
Bill Lawyer, Keizer Public Works
director, was on hand to answer
questions about budgeting for parks
as members of the board prepare to
survey residents regarding needs and
wants when it comes to recreation in
the city.
Here is the lowdown on the parks
budget as it currently exists:
• Parks comprise a minimum of 2.5
percent of the city's total general fund.
That money, which comes from the
same fund that pays for police offi cers,
is primarily used for maintenance of
existing facilities and amenities.
CASE STUDY: $ 100,000 Parks Project *
A maximum of 13.6% of any new parks project can be
funded using new SDC money.
$
13,600
*
Which leaves 86.4%
of any new parks project
that must be funded from
other sources (donation,
grants, sponsorship, or
dedicated parks fund).
86,400
$
*
*Dollar fi gures are based on hypothetical project.
• Parks also benefi t from rental fees
paid for the orchard and residence
at Keizer Rapids Park and for a cell
tower at Bair Park. It amounts to
about $50,000 per annum, but only
$10,000 per year is earmarked for
improvements.
• The lion's share of money available
to improve parks comes from system
eclipse
watch
08.21. 2017
total solar
eclipse
Eclipse planning gets
parks board blessing
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Park the weekend before the
Of the Keizertimes
eclipse and the money raised
Keizer will be one of the from camping fees would be
better viewing spots for a total used for the parks,” Ford told
solar eclipse in August 2017, the board.
and members of the Keizer
The moon will cross in front
Parks Foundation are looking of the sun between 11 a.m. and
for ways to cap-
noon Monday,
italize on the
Aug. 21, 2017.
“ We’re also
opportunity.
The last time
Rich Ford,
an
eclipse
thinking of
a member of
was
visible
the foundation,
across United
providing
spoke at a
– from
dinner the night States
Keizer
Parks
Washington to
and Recreation
Florida – was
before and
Advisory
1918. The 2017
lunch the day
Board meeting
eclipse
will
Tuesday, June
of the viewing.” follow a similar
14, to ask for
path and Keizer
the
board's
— Rich Ford, is well within
Keizer Parks Foundation
blessing
to
the range of
proceed with
the optimum
fundraising
viewing.
plans that might include
The foundation board hopes
turning Keizer Rapids Park to work with local astronomy
into a campground for visitors. groups to provide instruction
“Our plan right now would and information to campers for
be to ask the city to avoid taking the best viewing.
reservations for Keizer Rapids
Please see ECLIPSE, Page A9
development charges paid to the city
when new homes and apartments
are built. The city has two different
SDCs accounts, one for fees collected
before April 2009 and one of charges
collected since that time. In both cases,
the SDCs come with strings attached
regarding where the funds can be used
and in what amounts they can be used.
KEIZERTIMES/Andrew Jackson
The regulations on fees collected
before 2009 are somewhat more
lax. Depending on when and where
the money was collected, anywhere
between 30 and 80 percent of fund
can be used to improve parks of any
size. The city still has almost $170,000
remaining in old SDC funds.
Please see UNLOCK, Page A7
Business move revived
south River Road offi ces
By ERIC
A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
When Valerie
and Geoff White
signed a lease to
move their prop-
erty management
and construction
businesses to Keiz-
er in July 2014, it
was something of
a watershed mo-
ment.
“There hadn't
A. Howald
been an offi ce lease After leasing an offi ce at 132 Glynbrook Street, KEIZERTIMES/Eric
off River Road, two years
signed in Keizer in ago, Geoff and Valerie White now own both buildings on the site.
the previous nine
months,” said Valerie.
felt forced.”
EMC in 2011, but both
Their businesses, En-
Since leasing a space on the were working for The Rush-
compass Management & property, which had been va- ing Group at the time. Geoff
Consulting (EMC) and cant for almost six years after worked in the construction
Central Valley Construc- a local attorney moved to a side while Valerie had worked
tion Group, were truly only new location, the number of her way up to assistant vice
about a year old at the time. other tenants has also grown president of the whole corpo-
But, since setting down to include an in-home care ration.
stakes at 132 Glynbrook administration offi ce, a hear-
When Pam Rushing ap-
Street N., EMC has grown ing device offi ce, a fl ooring proached Valerie with the
from nine employees to 32 company, a training center for proposition of selling the
and helped revitalize two a knife company, a bookkeep- property management side of
suites of offi ce space on ing fi rm and an excavation the business, Valerie asked if
the site. It led to the Whites company.
she and Geoff could make an
purchasing both buildings
“We still have space avail- offer.
two months ago.
able and I would love to add
Thirty days later, the Whites
“We were terrifi ed be- some retail business. We could were setting up their own of-
cause the businesses were so easily accommodate some- fi ce in south Salem across the
young,” Geoff said. “But it thing like a nail salon,” said parking lot from The Rushing
was the right time for each Valerie.
Group.
Please see EMC, Page A9
step we took and nothing
Geoff and Valerie set up
Repairs to
skate park
fall through
PAGE A3
Top citizen at
McNary
PAGE A8
Panthers
head to
nationals
PAGE A12