NOVEMBER 19, 2021, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A3
COUNCIL,
Continued from page A1
Christopher took issue with the
length of the contract and the naming
rights to the field and park — accord-
ing to the contract, For the Love of the
Game may propose the permanent
naming of the park or any existing or
future monuments, statues, permanent
buildings, structures and fields.
“The park is a City asset. The nam-
ing rights should stay with the City
Council (as with every other city park).
City council should retain those rights
and it should be listed in the contract,”
she wrote.
“Those signs should stay there and
never be changed,” added Keizerite
Clint Holland, who ran concessions at
Keizer Little League Park for several
years.
Christopher also shared her concern
about For the Love of the Game's com-
pensation, which is labeled in the con-
tract as “reasonable and customary.”
“The current applicant is setting
up a non-profit corporation, however
there are still expenses that a non-profit
can claim. The park manager could
make gross sales of a million dollars,
but could also list their expenses as
$999,000, leaving little in the non-profit
that is to care of the park. The city coun-
cil would have no authority on the level
of expenses,” she wrote
Walker says that For the Love of
the Game will be hiring one full-time
employee outside of Keizer to oversee
the fields and be in charge of sched-
uling. There will also be a number of
part-time seasonal employees that will
be brought on during the spring and
summer, but no money will be going
into the pockets of Mavericks League
owners according to Walker.
“We are going to be hiring some
folks to do some work that absolutely
has to be done, and we
are going to be relying
on folks to volunteer their
time,” Walker said. “We are
hoping that the great spirit
of Keizer volunteerism will
show up again. There is
only so much we can do as
a nonprofit, no one at the
end of the day is seeing
any bottom line besides
the complex improving.
Any money received is
going into making the
fields better.”
Later in the meeting,
Councilor Dan Kohler
made a motion to direct
staff to determine the
cost for a facilities and
maintenance program at Keizer Little
League Park, in order to give the city a
contingency plan in case the contract
with For the Love of the Game doesn't
go as planned — the motion was passed
unanimously.
“In business I always have to have
a fallback. If we don’t do our due dili-
gence and know what we would need
to do in an event that something did
happen, how do we function?,” Kohler
said. “I think it's important for us to
have a fallback, not that we ever want
to use it, but if we don’t have that infor-
mation, how are we going to make that
decision?”
“We are going to know what goes
into that facility and what it really takes.
I think it's going to be very informative
to us,” Clark added.
Walker said he is looking forward to
getting started on the process of park
management and hopes that he can
help provide great experiences for the
kids of Keizer.
“We are very excited to do the very
best we can with this facility. That's
really all I can promise. I can say from
the bottom of my heart I'm ready to do
the very best I can to help those fields
and that complex run the very best that
they can,” Walker said.
I can say from the
bottom of my heart I'm
ready to do the very
best I can to help those
fields and that complex
run the very best that
they can.
— MICKEY WALKER
Mavericks League CEO
Matt Rawlings / KEIZERTIMES
Council discusses city councilor, manager vacancies
Keizer City Attorney Shannon Johnson (left) and public works director Bill Lawyer.
Photo by JOEY CAPPELLETTI of Keizertimes
BY JOEY CAPPELLETTI
Of the Keizertimes
Baseball and softball fields weren’t
the only thing on deck at Monday’s
Keizer City Council meeting.
$1.8 million worth of new projects,
a vacant council seat and an updated
timetable on the search for a new city
manager were all discussed by the
shorthanded council. Only four city
councilors were present, with coun-
cilors Kyle Juran and Roland Herrara
having excused absences in addition to
the resignation of Ross Day last week.
One of the first actions the council
took was authorizing a supplemen-
tal budget. Earlier this year, the city
of Keizer was allocated $8,815,890 in
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
funds. They received half of that
amount — $4,407,945 — in August with
an additional $850,000 coming from
the State of Oregon.
During an Oct. 25 meeting, the
city’s Long Range Planning Task Force
suggested using $1.8 million of those
funds on eight projects this year. Those
projects are
•
Meadows
Pump
Stations
- $1,000,000
• ADA Street Ramp Improvements
- $400,000
• Cybersecurity and IT Infrastructure
- $123,900
• Code enforcement Vehicle - $47,000
• Police Radios - $30,600
• Police Parking Lot Access Keypad
Upgrade - $18,500
• Codification of City Ordinances
- $30,000
• Pass through allocation of HB 5006
Funds to CASA - $150,000
The most expensive project, the
Meadows Pump Stations, will look
to improve water quality in Keizer.
Finance Director Tim Wood said that
often during the summer the city
receives more complaints about dirty
water after turning on the Meadows
Pump Station. Wood said improving
this pump station has been planned
for a while and the ARPA money elimi-
nated the cost.
“It’s nice we can use ARPA funds to
complete something on our water mas-
ter plan. Paying for it with ARPA funds
will also save each resident about $70 a
year,” said Wood.
Going forward, Wood said the rest
of the ARPA funds will go through the
regular budget process. In February of
next year, the Long Range Planning
Task Force will meet to once again
discuss potential projects for the rest
of the money. All of the $8,815,890 in
ARPA funds must be allocated by the
end of 2024.
The council also declared a vacancy
for city council position number two —
a position previously held by Day.
Day resigned on Nov. 1 following
an outburst at a meeting regarding
the Community Diversity Engagement
Committee. The council’s only com-
ment on the situation involving Day
came from Mayor Cathy Clark.
“I just have one comment. I would
like to thank Councilor Ross for his ser-
vice to the city and we wish him well as
we move forward here,” said Clark.
The council opted to make a Dec. 13
deadline for the public to submit letters
of interest for the position. With that
timetable, the council will both vote on
and appoint a candidate at the Dec. 20
regular city council meeting.
In addition to filling a council seat,
the city is also looking for their next city
manager. The city has begun advertis-
ing the position and in December will
begin interviewing potential candi-
dates. While those interviews will hap-
pen in executive sessions not open to
the public, Oregon law requires the city
to provide an opportunity for public
input concerning the employment of
the city manager.
At Monday’s meeting, the coun-
cil passed a resolution that said they
would provide that opportunity for
public comment on the employment of
the city manager — at the Nov. 15 meet-
ing. In an email following the meeting,
City Attorney Shannon Johnson said
that “someone who read the agenda
item would know they could appear
and provide comment.” He added that
there is no requirement for a separate
notice or public hearing.
Since the mayor did not specifically
check with the audience about public
comment during that portion of the
meeting, Johnson said the city would
once again allow for public comment
on the city manager search at the Dec.
6 meeting.