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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 2017)
PAGE A12, KEIZERTIMES, DECEMBER 22, 2017 FIELD, continued from Page A1 made during the past year. While expenses totaled more than $15,700 and improvements amounted to $21,700, the list did not include any mention of revenues generated through fees paid by participating families, concession sales, sponsorships or third party fi eld rental. The only income listed at all was the amount paid by MYB last year for fi eld usage, and KLL has been a recent recipient of grants from the Keizer Parks Board and the Rotary Club of Keizer to help pay for the ongoing im- provements at the fi elds. Even as Arnsmeier started making KLL’s case, the size of the increase met with resistance from Mayor Cathy Clark. “It’s a variable increase be- cause it is a fi xed rate and that cost for the smallest fi elds is go- ing up by 33 percent,” Clark said. Under the proposed rate hike, the smallest fi elds would increase from $30 to $40 per two-hour time slot. The larg- est fi eld would increase to $60 without the use of lights and to $145 with the use of lights. Arnsmeier said the $10 increase was chosen primarily for ease of accounting. “Even with the increase, we’re still in line or less ex- pensive than other fi elds in the Pacifi c Northwest,” Arnsmeier said. “When you factor in the cost of maintenance has to in- clude what takes place in the off-season. You have to factor in the 12-month process, not just during one week in the middle of April.” Ryan Walsh, president of MYB, spoke out against the in- crease. “We’ve gone elsewhere be- cause we can’t afford (the fees at Keizer Little League Park). We’ve had some community partners that have allowed us to use fi elds for free and we use those a ton,” Walsh said. “We decided to offer free T-ball this year and gotten a number of sponsors to make that possible. We’re very excited for that, but the revenue is tough to come by.” Last year, MYB paid more than $5,700 in fi eld use fees at Keizer Little League Park. Prior to the start of the season, MYB’s reserved spots amount- ing to nearly $2,000 more, but those were refunded when teams found other venues or were unable to convene a game or practice. “One of my biggest con- cerns is that third parties using of the fi eld that are offered dis- counts for the off-season. May- be we should ask them to pay a bit more than adding it on for our own kids,” Walsh said. Walsh’s other point of con- tention was that the fee increase was not discussed during a joint board meeting of the two groups in November, and only found out the council would be looking at the issue because of a phone call from City Attorney Shannon Johnson last week. MYB board member Josh DeVos added that the expense would be more diffi cult to ab- sorb given that MYB had al- ready set its registration rates for the upcoming year. “We decided to move our registrations up and we’ve set our prices for the year already and we’ve worked for months on those costs,” DeVos said. Walsh said increasing the fees would add another $1,900 to MYB’s planned expenses. Arnsmeier responded that the decision to ask for the fee increase wasn’t made until a retreat later in November, and tried to put the onus back on MYB. “The business decision with the free T-ball put them in a bind,” Arnsmeier said. Clint Holland, manager of the concession stand, added that not showing up for re- served times also had an impact on concession sales of up to $120 per empty fi eld slot. At that point, the tempera- ture in the room grew more heated as MYB representatives clamored to respond. Howev- er, Clark cut the conversation short. “We need to table this. We need info on true costs and I don’t have enough information on the budgets of both organi- zations. We don’t have enough information here tonight,” Clark said. Councilor Roland Her- rera, who earlier in the evening had backed the request for the increase, walked back his en- dorsement after hearing from both sides. “I was a KLL guy, but I’m a bigger Keizer guy. I jumped the gun on this and it has to be good for all the kids of Keizer,” Herrera said. KLL has about 450 regis- tered players. MYB has ap- proximately 300. The council plans to look at the issue again on Tuesday, Jan. 16. ROBBERY: KPD still looking for additional suspects (Continued from Page A1) crash into a utility box in the 3800 block of River Road North. The occupants of the ve- hicle had already fl ed the scene, but the li- cense plate matched one sought in connec- tion with other robberies. Some of the occupants were detained near the scene of the crash and offi cers learned they were staying in the Quality Inn & Suites on Wittenberg Lane Northeast in Keizer. Of- fi cers responded to the hotel to follow up on the investigation and recognized anoth- er man, Brandon J. Thompson, in the hotel lobby wanted for questioning by the Keizer Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit in the Shari’s robbery. Thompson was detained and taken to the police station. Offi cers eventually ended up searching two rooms at the hotel in connec- tion with the Keizer crimes. Thompson was taken to the Marion County Correctional Facility (MCCF) where he was charged with third degree rob- bery and theft in connection with the Shari’s robbery. On Thursday, Dec. 14, Keizer offi cers ar- rested James A. Libokmeto – a man Det. Chris Nelson said was staying in the Quality Inn with Thompson – and charged him with second degree robbery, third degree theft and violation of probation in connection with the robbery at Good Times Grill. Police are continuing to investigate the in- cidents and identify additional suspects. The victim at Good Times, a 44-year-old HOA, continued from Page A1 In January, the HOA board updated its architectural manual to address “excessive ornamentation,” but the sec- tion includes a carve out for seasonal holiday decorations saying only that they must be removed from the property within two weeks after the holiday. Another section of the CC&Rs, which deals specifi - woman who works at the business located at 122 Chemawa Road N.E., told police she was closing up when the fi rst suspect en- tered and demanded money while pointing a handgun at her. After the fi rst suspect robbed her and fl ed the business with an undisclosed amount of cash, a second male, also armed with a handgun, emerged from the back of the business, approached the victim and de- manded money. After telling the second sus- pect she had already been robbed by the fi rst suspect, the second man appeared to become confused and then fl ed. Shari’s was robbed about 8 p.m. on Dec. 7. Witnesses told police that two males en- tered the restaurant and pushed the manager to the ground before grabbing the drawer from a cash register and fl eeing the business. The amount stolen was not disclosed. Anyone having any information about the incident at Good Times incident is asked to contact Keizer Police Department Det. Ben Howden at 503-856-3525. Investigators ask anyone who resides or has a business with security or surveillance cameras in the im- mediate vicinity of the Good Times Grill to review their recordings to see if either suspect can be seen. Tips can also be submitted by email to Tips@keizer.org. Persons providing informa- tion can remain anonymous, but reference Keizer Police Department incident no. 17- 5115 for the Good Times robbery or incident no. 17-5076 for the Shari’s robbery. cally with signs prohibits any- thing larger 18-by-24 inches without permission of the board. Straughan said no one con- tacted board members about their dissatisfaction before the issue ended up exploding on social media and the intent was only to make residents aware of the language in their HOA contract and to survey the extent of the issue within the neighborhood. Since the notices were made by the em- ployee, the board has still only received one request for per- mission to leave a sign in place. Asking residents to re- move religious-themed signs is contrary to a legal opinion – posted on the HOA web- site in January 2017 – on the types of sign enforcement al- lowed under the law. It was prepared by attorney Kevin Harker. “McNary has two options: 1) enforce the sign provision contained in the CC&Rs, or 2) amend the CC&Rs to au- thorize other types of signs. If the Board decides to enforce its current sign provision in the CC&Rs, it must be done uniformly. In other words, there can’t be an exception for certain types of signs (“Bring the Troops Home”) and a prohibition on others (“Jesus Christ is our Savior”),” the opinion states. The board isn’t taking any further action on the matter, but plans to revisit it in the future, Straughan said. 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 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. 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 www.KeizerChristian.org Rev. Dr. John Neal, Pastor Worship - 10:30 a.m. Education Hour - 9:15 a.m. Nursery Care Available www.keizerjkpres.org