Eighth-grader Sydney Dominy was honored as the winner in the annual “If I Were Mayor” contest during the April 9 City Council meeting.
Mayor Susan Coleman presented Sydney with an award and gave her an opportunity to briefly sit in the mayor’s chair. Coleman informed the council the essay has “a whole litany of” ideas for the city. The last paragraph in Sydney’s submission read:
“In closing, if I were mayor, I would like to bring our town together. I would like to have our town become closer and be more family focused. I love our little town and only want to see it grow and our community members to come together to support each other.”
Coleman said submissions to the contest indicated the students were well-informed about activities in Sweet Home. Dominy’s winning essay will be entered into a statewide competition.
The mayor also presented an honorable mention to Emma Davis, sixth grade, and read the last part of Emma’s submission: “In conclusion, if I was mayor, it would be an honor serving such a wonderful community. I would work hard to improve the life of all the citizens who live in Sweet Home. The first thing I would try to improve is maintaining water quality during drawdown periods. The next thing I would try to improve is helping the unhoused get into housing. The final thing I would like to attempt to improve is getting more medical professionals in the area. As mayor, I would like to make Sweet Home an even better place to live.”
Coleman said Emma’s submission was very insightful and had some good ideas.
Also during the city council meeting, the council unanimously approved stop signs to be installed at five locations throughout the city. They are at: Long Street and 15th Avenue, Elm Street and 6th Avenue, Mountain View Road and 22nd Avenue, Long Street and Clark Mill Road, and Poplar Street and 54th Avenue.
City Council held a work session on March 26 to discuss recommendations from the
Traffic Safety Committee for stops signs at those locations, making each of them a full stop
from every direction. According to a staff report in the agenda packet, the cost to install the signs is estimated at $300 per sign, totaling $2,700.
Suggestions made during the work session for other stop sign recommendations will be taken to the Public and Traffic Safety Committee for review, Young said.
In other business:
◆ Coleman made a proclamation for National Library Week;
◆ The Council dissolved the All Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee. City Manager Kelcey Young explained the committee was formed in 1996 when it was necessary for flood mitigation planning. The committee hasn’t met for several years now, laws for the committee have since changed, and the public/safety and health committees now manage most of the pieces.
◆ City Manager Kelcey Young shared some goals staff has determined they’d like to implement in the future. They include: increase in activities at the library, become an autism certified city, create a new dias for council chambers, begin the wastewater treatment plant project, work on phase II of the police department upgrades, obtain Main Street Affiliate status, launch a citizen’s academy and more.