Council gets new members as Richards, Sanchez are sworn in

Kelly Kenoyer

A new group of city councilors have taken their seats.

Incumbents Lisa Gourley and Dave Trask swore their oaths again, and new councilors Angelita Sanchez and Dylan Richards were sworn in for the first time as their families all came to watch the special occasion.

The newly seated council then re-elected Mayor Greg Mahler to continue the new term as mayor, and elected Diane Gerson to stay as Pro Tem. Councilors Susan Coleman and Lisa Gourley also attended the Tuesday, Jan. 12 meeting in person.

Mahler said the next meeting would include new appointments to various committees, although he appointed several incumbent councilors to stay on as chair for their current committees to finish projects.

Those included Trask staying on the Finance and Park and Tree committees as chair, Gourley staying on the Ad Hoc Committee on Health, and Gerson sticking with the Youth Advisory and Charter Review Committees.

Chairs for Council of Governments, Council of Transportation, Solid Waste, and Legislative Committees still need appointments.

The council also held a public hearing on land use, as a land owner is seeking a zoning change for a parcel of land near the railroad tracks behind Swan’s Restaurant, Dan-Dee Sales, and U.S. Mini Mart. The tract is currently zoned for industrial use, but developer Steve Kaye out of Silverton is working to move the property to residential zoning and split it into seven single-family home lots.

The development would involve putting in a new road that lets out onto 9th Avenue. The drawings appear to show the road going in just behind Ames Creek Storage on a vacant tract of land owned by the same company, then curving up behind a few single-family homes to run alongside the railroad track to service the new lots.

“Half of the site will be set aside as a protected zone in perpetuity,” Kaye said. The zoning change would make the site consistent with the city’s comprehensive plan.

One nearby landowner asked whether the new road would impact the nearby homes.

“The question we have, is the access off of 9th Street that goes into this proposed property. There’s two houses in there. What’s the proposal for getting past those two homes?” he asked.

Communitiy and Economic Development Director Blair Larsen answered that “This would not affect anyone else’s business or home, at all.”

Council did not hold a vote related to the zoning change, but will do so in a future council meeting.

In other council business:

– Mahler suggested the council pull together a proclamation condemning the violence at the U.S. Capitol for its next meeting.

“We’ve had a lot of turmoil in our nation, in our state,” he said. “I can’t imagine anyone in this room condones that violence.”

He said he’s heard from a lot of constituents about the need for such a proclamation, and asked other councilors to weigh in before the next meeting on Jan. 26.

“There is no room for violence in our city, in our state, or in our nation,” he said.

– The council gave a first reading for a Local Improvement District around Willow Street, an area that has struggled with water quality problems for years.

The LID would address improvements for water, street, sidewalk, curb, gutter and storm drain infrastructure. A majority of stakeholders in the area have petitioned the city for the LID, and it will go through an extensive public process in the coming weeks and months, starting with the formation of a committee of “viewers” who will advise the City Council about their views on the district.

Currently, the viewers are set to be Dave Holley, Charlene Adams and Tim McQueary, with Nancy Patton as an alternate.

– City Manager Ray Towry swore in a new police officer, Sarah Kohls of Nebraska.

Kohls worked for a sheriff’s office in her home state for six years before deciding to move to Oregon.

“We’re really outdoorsy, so we travelled all over and really fell in love with Oregon,” she said.

“She moved out here and applied and we were just ecstatic that we could bring her on board,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn.

Kohls has two dogs and moved here with her husband, Matthew.

“I’m excited to be serving the community, we’re excited to be here,” she said.

The swearing in, before the council, is the first of its kind for a new police officer, but Police Chief Jeff Lynn said he wants to make a tradition of it.

– Councilors voted unanimously to refinance existing city debt related to the wastewater and water treatment systems. The previously discussed resolution will save the city approximately $711,881 in interest over the next 14 years, as the various debts will move to a lower interest rate of around 1.7%, compared to the 2-3% rates they previously had.

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