Smoke Signals f 3
City, Tribes Trying To Rise Above A Towering Logo Problem
SEPTEMBER 1,2007
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals stuff writer
The Chemawa Station water
tower, fed by Keizer-area wells,
was designed to provide a backup
source of city water during sum
mer peaks.
For that worthwhile use, earlier
this year the Grande Ronde and Si
letz Tribes granted the city an ease
ment to build and access the 100-foot
structure that now stands at the tip
of their 15.7-acre property at the
Gateway to Keizer development.
Now that it's built, design differ
ences for the face of the tower have
roiled the friendly waters.
The 560,000-gallon, $1.7-million
water tower is visible from Inter
state 5, it heralds the Gateway
to Keizer project and is a perfect
spot for something inviting and
representative.
Initially, the Tribes intended to
place a design created by Grand
Ronde Tribal Elder Steve Bobb on
the tower. The art combined styl
ized symbols (Spirit Mountain for
the Grand Ronde, salmon for the
Siletz and a river joining the two
and referencing the resource the
tower will store) for each Tribe.
However, it ran into trouble at
Keizer City Hall.
"Our sign code doesn't allow cor
porate or private sector advertising
on public facilities," Keizer City
Manager Chris Eppley said.
The design plan evaporated into
the air.
The city and Tribes put their
heads together and came up with
a neutral, sky blue color that would
allow the water tower, not to men
tion the controversy, to blend in
with the horizon behind. The tower
was scheduled for a $105,000 paint
job in August and, for a moment,
all seemed well.
July had not even dawned, how
ever, when Keizer folks started
proposing pictures and paintings
for the coming sky blue space - a"
bunch of irises, perhaps; a sign rec
ognizing the nearby 45th parallel;
or maybe an alien. Nike proposed a
swoosh for the space and then came
the idea of holding a design contest.
Some of those design proposals are
now posted on the Keizer Web site
at www.keizer.org.
That's when the Tribes stepped
back into the discussion.
, n
CI
The city of Keizer's water tower, which sits at the tip of Chemawa Station, the planned development by the Grand
Ronde and Siletz Tribes, is the center of a friendly discussion about what kind of design will be painted on it. The
Tribes and city are attempting to find a hybrid design that will please all three parties.
"We're looking at alternative
graphic designs," said Grand Ronde
Tribal engineer Eric Scott. "They
were concepts we were talking
about in a meeting with the city
early in August."
Graphic designers from the Si
letz's Chinook Winds Casino created
alternative designs.
"We looked at options this week, but
didn't really like them," Scott said.
So, the next step i9 for the
graphics departments at Spirit
Mountain Casino and the Siletz
Tribe to submit new ideas for the
blank "canvas." And Bobb's origi
nal design may be thrown back
into the mix.
The Chemawa Station LLC, com
prised of Grand Ronde and Siletz rep
resentatives, will select a design to be
forwarded to the city of Keizer, where
the city council will approve features
for both tribal and city designs and
put the whole thing together. That
could take place in September, ac
cording to Grand Ronde Public Affairs
Director Siobhan Taylor.
"The city's druthers," said Ep
pley, "are that the Tribes and
city cooperatively decide on some
sort of design that incorporates
the Tribes' interests, the city's
interests and something that rep
resents the city of Keizer."
The city symbol might be an
iris, said Eppley, because Keizer
is "the self-proclaimed iris capital
of the world."
"There will be some elements that
city folks had suggested," Scott said.
"We're looking at different kinds of
combinations. Maybe something
with the Chemawa Station logo (by
Steve Bobb), and something that
would have the word Keizer in it.
Some might even include options of
pictures with irises."
But the issue of Keizer's sign
rules remains to be solved. Scott
said that "reframing it as a loca
tional sign instead of an advertise
ment for specific enterprise" might
solve the problem. "We may need
a variance on the sign ordinance to
get it done," he said.
Meanwhile, the inside of the
tower has been painted to keep
the water inside clean of rust, and
the gray blue outside coat was just
beginning to be applied in the last
weeks of August.
Between the Tribes and the city,
only the tower itself stands aloof,
blissfully unaware of the winds
swirling around it.
And it may remain so because
the painting of whichever design
is selected will not likely take place
until next summer, Eppley said.
Only because of Oregon's wet win
ter weather. B
Porojectt's FDonainxdinig Olbsttades Geared
LAND continued
from front page
office space. The property can not
be used for any Tribal gaming.
Chemawa Station will be part of
the city of Keizer's larger, 237-acre
Gateway to Keizer project that will
include transportation, entertain
ment and sports complexes. Gate
way to Keizer will encompass the
current Keizer Volcanoes baseball
stadium.
"Developing this land will serve
a variety of self-governance goals,
including funding for Tribal pro
grams, increasing the Tribes'
economic self-sufficiency," said
Grand Ronde Tribal Chair Chris
Mercier. "It will provide employ
ment and training for Tribal
members, particularly those for
whom commuting to Grand Ronde
or Siletz may be a hardship."
"This bill also allows us to di
versify the Siletz and Grand
Ronde economies," said Siletz
Chair Delores Pigsley, "providing
a non-gaming revenue source. It
will enhance relationships with
other governmental agencies that
may foster intergovernmental
partnerships ... (and) will add to
the employment opportunities for
local residents."
"We wanted a quality devel
opment," said Siobhan Taylor,
Public Affairs director for the
Grand Ronde Tribe, also assuring
Keizer residents that "the project
will not be a strip mall."
The Tribes' 15.7-acre site origi
nally belonged to Chemawa In
dian School. Early in the 20th
century, the school transferred
the property to the Federal High
way Administration for construc
tion of Interstate 5 and the Salem
Parkway. After the highways
were completed, the Highway
Administration deemed the re
maining property surplus and,
in 2002, transferred ownership
to the two Tribes under the In
dian Self-Determination Act. The
area is part of the Grand Ronde's
ceded homeland.
Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith (R)
introduced Senate Bill 375 and
Sen. Ron Wyden (D) co-sponsored
the effort. Oregon Congress
woman Darlene Hooley (D-5th
District) introduced House Reso
lution 679. The twin bills passed
by unanimous consent in each
chamber and were sent to the
White House for President Bush's
signature. D