The Brownsville City Council heard a presentation during its March 25 meeting regarding a newly-formed nonprofit seeking to re-establish a city newspaper.
Sharon Banks, chair of the nonprofit, informed the council about the board’s goals.
The Brownsville Times, a paper established in 1888, announced its closure in December 2024. Owners Vance and Holly Parrish stated that a change implemented by their printer made it financially impossible to continue publication of the weekly paper.
“I think everyone’s been devastated that we don’t have a paper anymore,” Banks said.
As a nonprofit, the board plans to tap into the community for financial support and publication content of a revived Brownsville Times.
“For The Brownsville Times to flourish, we really need full community participation and support,” she said.
She emphasized the importance of newspapers as the community’s historical record and a source of relevant information that cannot be easily found on social media or sites like Craigslist.
While Banks said “the newspaper gives residents a space to share opinions,” she said their paper will not take a position on opinions, but the board is still drafting out a policy on what will and will not be published.
“We do not want to print anything cruel or rude,” she said. “(We) want to just stick to the facts.”
The nonprofit would like to continue offering both print and digital access. They are also seeking to gain correspondents in Crawfordsville, Halsey and Shedd who can report news from their respective communities.
Banks said their short-term goals include raising $50,000 to establish a well-funded model operated by volunteers and a paid editor. Their initial goal is to obtain 800 subscribers and get commitments from advertisers. Long term, they seek to have developed a “thriving community newspaper” that will “stand the test of time and be a true historic treasure for our town.”
According to Banks, the nonprofit has so far raised about $7,000 and 35 subscribers. Rebuilding the base of subscribers is going to take some time, she said. Digital-only subscriptions will cost $3 a month, while print and digital will cost $8 a month. They expect to put out their first weekly issue in June.
In other business:
- Public Works Superintendent Karl Frink gave the city’s annual water report.
- Linn County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Steven Frambes reported there were no property or person crimes in February. However, there has been a “spree” of burglaries of coffee shops in Brownsville, Harrisburg, Albany, Tangent and Scio, as well as other cities further out. An investigation is ongoing.
- City Administrator Stephen Scott McDowell – hereafter referred to as Scott McDowell – told the council he will go forward with council goals as discussed in previous goal-setting sessions. Ad hoc committees may be formed as needed to work on goals, and council members will be assigned to committees or goal projects, as needed.
- McDowell gave an update on city website upgrades. The city, which operates several websites, was informed last year that its reservations module will not properly transfer into the newest version of Drupal. After some research, the city realized the cost of an updated reservations module would cost more than the revenue the reservations bring in. McDowell said that in two years the city will have gone from a $1,775 per year cost to $6,800 per year for its websites. As such, the council unanimously approved authorization for the city administrator to put out a Request for Proposals for the possibility of hiring someone to build a more cost-efficient website.
- Frink reported Public Works staff has begun mowing the parks. Also, staff have been working on drainage issues since recent heavy rains and discovered the city storm line pipe has collapsed. Frink also suspects there is a hole or crack in a pipe on Kay Avenue; staff will inspect it with a camera.
- McDowell provided a regular review of the erosion at Pioneer Park from the Calapooia River. The city has been considering different avenues of remedy since 2011, but ultimately decided to retreat, largely due to costs to fix the problem. He also reviewed road repair needs on Kirk Avenue, a long-standing, costly problem.
- McDowell provided brief updates for the Rural Economic Alliance (REAL), April 5 clean up day, the hiring of park hosts, an April 10 meeting with the Canal Company Board, legislative news, and other upcoming meetings.
- Mayor Adam Craven requested council support to write a letter opposing HB 3075, a gun law bill modifying the firearm permit provisions of Ballot Measure 114 (2022).
- The council unanimously approved Resolution 2025.06, which provides worker’s compensation coverage for volunteers working on behalf of the city.
- The council unanimously approved Ordinance 807. Craven explained a current ordinance allows the city administrator to appoint non-elected appointments on his/her own. The new ordinance moves the power of such selection to the council, with help from the city administrator.
- The council unanimously appointed Julie Fisher to the Budget Committee, and approved road closures for the annual Linn County Pioneer Picnic June 20-22.
- The council authorized a partnership with Meals on Wheels with a $1,200 donation. Councilor Dave Hansen abstained because a family member benefits from the program.
- Resident Jared Sweezey expressed concern about garbage cans all being consolidated in front of his home on trash-collection day, which is causing some problems. Sweet Home Sanitation prefers trash cans to be on one side of the street, but sometimes the trash is not collected because the cans are too close to each other.