During its June 10 meeting, the City Council was urged to give serious consideration to the problem of vacant buildings in the downtown core, which has been a concern of economic impact for decades.
City Manager Jason Ogden provided a summary report of vacant buildings and city-owned properties.
Part of the report indicated there are currently 30 vacant commercial buildings out of 125 (24% vacancy rate). The city currently owns three buildings that are not used for city operations. They are the former city hall (vacant), the former Santiam Feed store (vacant), and the flex building on Osage Street.
Mayor Susan Coleman pointed out that “addressing vacant buildings” was among recently adopted City Council goals.
“As leaders in our community, our job is to look out for the entire community,” she said.
According to Coleman, there have been at least four paid consultants since 1994 who looked at the city’s economic development and reported that vacant buildings need to be addressed.
“It’s something that was put on the goal list, something that all councilors voted on,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be punitive if we do something, but it is something that we need to actually be willing to take a hard look at and see if there is something we can do to address that.”
The reality, she said, is that sometimes the councilors have to make the hard decisions, and having 24% of the downtown buildings vacant is “not beneficial to the vitality of Sweet Home.”
In other business, the council:
- Formalized the charter amendment for direct election of the mayor;
- Approved resolutions to be able to receive state revenues;
- Adopted a $41.2 million budget for 2025-2026 fiscal year;
- Approved the first readings of an ordinance amending a municipal code chapter regarding transient lodging tax, and a third reading for a Pacific Power franchise agreement;
- Ogden reported the city expects to begin installing speed humps on 1st Avenue on July 2, weather permitting.