EIZER times
$1.00/ ISSUE
Vol. 43 • No. 26
APRIL 15, 2022
KCL seeks public library status
BY CHARLES GLENN
Of the Keizertimes
Keizer Community Library is asking
for $125,000 per year over the next three
years from the city's American Rescue
Plan Act (ARPA) allocation in order to
become a full-fledged public library and
member of the Chemeketa Cooperative
Regional Library System (CCRLS).
Members of the library board of directors
joined representatives from the CCRLS
as they made their case for the city grant
at a council work session on April 6.
The organization has been staffed
exclusively by volunteers for its entire
30-year history, but after the disruptions
surrounding COVID and the general
growth of the community over time, it
was decided they needed to hire some
professional help. This year, for the
first time, the non-affiliated community
library hired a part-time staff-member.
“Keizer Community Library has oper-
ated as an all-volunteer library since
last September when we realized that it
simply was not possible to allow a full-
time volunteer library manager to do
the entire function,” said BJ Toewe, vice
president of the board of directors at
Keizer Community Library, who spoke
to the council on April 6. “So we took
money out of our savings and we hired a
part time library manager.”
“Our quest for funding with the city of
Keizer is for $125,000,” said Teowe. “That
would cover a full-time professional
See KCL, page A2
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Patrons lined up at Keizer Community Library following a September redesign.
FILE PHOTO, Keizertimes
Two new turf fields under review
BY CHARLES GLENN
Of the Keizertimes
Two Marion County commission-
ers appeared at an April 11 city council
work session to advocate for two new turf
sports/activity fields in Keizer and to dis-
cuss how to fund it.
In January, Marion County presented
Keizer with a notice of funding award for
$2 million to help cover the cost of up to
two all-weather turf soccer/football fields
at Keizer Rapids Park. Part of the arrange-
ment includes the city of Keizer contrib-
uting $2 million toward the project.
The nature of the matching grant by
the county means the funds contributed
both by the city and county for the two
turf fields would come exclusively from
the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)
award, and not from the city’s general
fund. The $4.2 million total estimated
cost of the project would include engi-
neering costs, site preparation, the turf
itself as well as the cost of installation,
fencing, parking lot improvements and
contingency funds.
“The reason why turf is important is
because we have really rainy winters,”
said Marion County Commissioner
Colm Willis during his address to the
council. “Our fields turn into big mud
puddles and they don’t let the kids play
in the winter because they don’t want to
destroy the field.”
Willis told a story from his first year
on the job about a group of 4H students
– mostly children of farmworkers – who
wanted to play competitive soccer and
found a way to do that for a relatively low
cost.
Willis said the kids had grown up
together locally, playing soccer as a team
or against each other since they were
four or five years old. Their coach was
able to obtain a license to play competi-
tive soccer, and Oregon State University
partnered with them to help cover the
exorbitant costs of soccer in Portland
under the university’s 4H program.
“A lot of these kids – their fami-
lies didn’t have a lot of money, and in
Portland, to play competitive soccer it
can cost as much as $2,000 a year,” he
said. “This 4H group was able to play for
around $100 per year.”
OSU then pulled out of the program
unexpectedly. City Councilor Roland
Herrera asked Willis why.
See TURF, page 3
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