JANUARY 6, 2017, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
Three headlines to watch for in 2017
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
With 2016 in the rear-
view, Keizertimes staff thought
it worthwhile to look ahead
to the coming year and some
of the stories readers can ex-
pect to see in the coming 12
months.
The list kicks off with a pair
of city government funding
stories:
A fee to support
Keizer parks
Talks about adding a fee
to Keizer residents’ utility
bills have usurped Keizertimes
headlines for the past eight
months. Don’t expect that to
change anytime soon.
Parks currently receive
about 2.5 percent of the city’s
general fund, but it’s not much
considering Keizer has 240
acres of parks and only two
full-time staff who split time
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between work in the parks and
maintenance on the Keizer
Civic Center.
Residents have until mid-
March to return a survey and
voice their park preferences
moving forward. The Keizer
Parks and Recreation Adviso-
ry Committee will collect the
data and then make a recom-
mendation to the city council
regarding whether to pursue
the fee, which would not re-
quire a vote at the ballot box.
Even if support for the
fee falls short of hopes, parks
board members expect to be
taking a close look at responses
when it comes to planning fu-
ture projects.
The city is considering the
fee because it cannot raise
property taxes, which were
locked in at 1996-levels as the
result of voters passing a state-
wide ballot measure.
What to do about police
staffi ng
By most measures, Keizer
Police Department is under-
staffed. Towns of a comparable
size average about 44 offi cers
while Keizer has just 36, and
two of those are still undergo-
ing fi eld training.
There is funding for 37 of-
fi cers, but an additional hire
has not yet been made.
The desire to add more of-
fi cers has been a top priority
for the city’s recent budget
committee for the past few
years, but it doesn’t seem any
closer to becoming a reality.
City Manager Chris Eppley is
on record saying he wants to
see more stability in the city’s
reserves before pulling the
proverbial trigger.
While the cost of a single
offi cer is substantial, averag-
ing about $110,000 per year
including benefi ts, expanding
the roster also means expand-
ing the department’s fl eet of
vehicles and other staff to cope
with the additional workload.
On top of that, the city keeps
getting hit with PERS ex-
penses that would only grow
File photos
with the addition of more of-
fi cers.
When the city council
tackled the issue in August
2016, KPD Chief John Teague
said he would like the depart-
ment to add fi ve offi cers, but
stressed that the need is not yet
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dire.
As with parks funding, pub-
lic safety funds come from
the city’s general fund, which
is encumbered by the same
property-tax stifl ing legislation
affecting parks that was passed
two decades ago. That means
the most likely solution is an-
other fee added to utility bills.
To pay for one offi cer, the
fee would be $1.85 per bill,
while the cost of all fi ve offi -
cers would be $9.25 per bill.
Teague cautioned city
councilors against confusing
more offi cers with an imme-
diate decrease in crime. The
effects would more likely be
seen in a detective rather than
a patrol offi cer showing up at
the scene of a burglary.
At its peak in 2007, KPD
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Keizer Volcanoes are both
planning events to mark the
occasion. KPF will turn Keizer
Rapids Park into a camping
ground with numerous associ-
ated activities while the Volca-
noes are planning a game after
a scheduled “eclipse delay.”
The Keizer Rapids event,
already in the planning stages,
will be a fundraiser for Keizer
parks and may amount to a
much-needed $27,000 shot-
in-the-arm.
Salem-Keizer is expecting
an infl ux of 20,000 to 30,000
visitors the day of the eclipse
as watchers fl ock to the path
of totality. The window of to-
tality is so narrow even those
in Portland and Eugene will
only get a glimpse of a partial
eclipse.
Roundabout cows get nod
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
A proposal to put recycled
metal cow sculptures in the
roundabout at Chemawa Road
Northeast and Verda Lane
Northeast received tentative
approval at a Keizer Public Arts
Committee KPAC meeting in
December.
Members of the commit-
tee addressed the proposal for a
second time on Dec. 20.
A few months ago, KPAC
Sam Goesch CLU, Agent
Sam Goesch Ins Agcy Inc
had 41 offi cers.
A total solar eclipse
It may seem like a lot of
build up for an event lasting
less than two minutes, but to-
tal solar eclipses passing right
overhead don’t happen every
day – or even every decade.
On Monday, Aug. 17, Keiz-
er will bear witness to a celes-
tial phenomenon that not ev-
eryone will get a chance to see
in their lifetimes. The moon
will pass completely between
the earth and sun blotting out
the center of the solar system
for a minute and 47 seconds.
Total eclipses happen with
some regularity but, most of-
ten, they are only visible from
the open ocean.
The Keizer Parks Founda-
tion (KPF) and the Salem-
members approached Keizer
artist Ric Smith with a request
to work up a proposal for sculp-
tures of cows to be placed in
the roundabout and he turned
in a bid calling for $2,000 in
materials and supplies and
$7,500 in labor, but he would
donate half of the latter amount
to the project for a total cost of
$5,750. That amount is more
than the Arts Commission has
on-hand – about $530 that has
to last through June 2017 – so
fundraising would be required.
Smith is the artist behind the
Iron Glory fl ag in front of Cop-
per Creek Mercantile and he
also donated sign work to the
Big Toy at Keizer Rapids Park
last year.
Members of KPAC initially
balked at the idea of cows in
the roundabout out of fear of
rubbing salt in a wound opened
when the cow pasture south-
west of the intersection was
rezoned to make way for apart-
ments. However, a Keizertimes
poll saw the cow idea stampede
to the top of short list of alter-
natives.
Lore Christopher, Keizer’s
former mayor and a member
of KPAC, said there’s potential
for securing a grant from a lo-
cal business with some modifi -
cation to the plans.
“The grant is contingent
on there being a public educa-
tion piece, so I am planning on
meeting with Ric to fi nd out
if there is a way for us to invite
schools for fi eld trips to his stu-
dio and make kids part of the
design process,” Christopher
said.
A day after the meeting,
Christopher said her talk with
Smith went well, but any im-
mediate progress would likely
hinge on obtaining a grant.
WorshipDirectory
These Salem-Keizer
houses of worship
invite you to visit.
Call to list your church
in our Worship Directory:
(503) 390-1051
John Knox Presbyterian Church
JOIN US FOR
SUNDAY WORSHIP
452 Cummings Lane North • 393-0404
8:30 am • 10 am • 11:30 am • 6 pm
PEOPLESCHURCH
4500 LANCASTER DR NE | SALEM
503.304.4000 • www.peopleschurch.com
Celebration
Services
Saturday Evening
6:00 pm
Children’s Programs, Student and Adult Ministries
1755 Lockhaven Dr. NE Keizer
503-390-3900
www.dayspringfellowship.com
Sunday Morning
9:00 am
and
10:45 am
Father Gary L. Zerr, Pastor
Saturday Vigil Liturgy: 5:30 p.m.
Sundays: 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.
La Misa en Español: 12:30 p.m.
Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor
Worship - 10:30 a.m.
Education Hour - 9:15 a.m.
Nursery Care Available
www.keizerjkpres.org