Police Chief and Interim City Manager Jason Ogden kicked off the Nov. 12 City Council meeting by honoring two Sweet Home Police Department officers for their efforts to save a life.
Ogden explained that on Oct. 1, a man was seriously injured after an old gopher shotgun trap accidentally discharged. Detective Sean Potter applied a tourniquet to the man’s thigh to control bleeding and stabilized the victim until medical help arrived, while Police Officer Jayson Sanchez applied a tourniquet to the man’s forearm.
“Detective Potter’s timely intervention and expertise made a direct and lifesaving difference,” Ogden said. “Officer Sanchez’s calm judgment and proficiency under pressure underscores his dedication to the values of the Sweet Home Police Department, and his commitment to the community.”
The two were presented with a Lifesaving Medal and certificate.
Transportation Plan Update
During a work session held prior to the City Council meeting, Garth Appanaitis, of DKS Associates, presented to the council and Planning Commission members his findings during a traffic study to be used in an updated Transportation System Plan (TSP) for the city.
The city’s current TSP was last updated in 2005. Required by law, it is a long range plan that helps guide municipalities for traffic control and flow as cities grow.
Appanaitis explained the city and his firm have been working on updating the plan for more than a year, and the work session followed by another upcoming one will be opportunities for anyone to ask questions and pose suggestions before the plan is officially adopted by the council.
During their study of the city, they looked at the pedestrian system (sidewalks on main streets), safe bicycle throughways, crash data over a five-year period, and traffic counts.
Some observations include: a lack of sidewalks on heavily used streets such as Long, Airport, and Mountain View; a majority of main streets do not provide a comfortable level of bicycle safety; currently only one intersection (at Main Street and Pleasant Valley Road) exceeds mobility/congestion standards; three additional intersections on Main Street (24th Avenue, Clark Mill Road, 47th Avenue) are projected to also exceed mobility standards by the year 2045.
The plan is actually composed of two somewhat separate but related plans: an updated citywide transportation plan, as well as a “North Sweet Home Area Plan” (NSHA). An area plan is different from a traffic plan in that it includes land use, development code, and a look at economic opportunities to prepare for future development.
The NSHA Plan takes a deeper look at the north end of town (north of the railroad tracks), which is an area of town that is expected to grow over the years and will have growing needs in the way of traffic. More specifically, the NSHA comprises an area between the railroad tracks and South Santiam River, between 18th Avenue and Wiley Creek.
In his report, Appanaitis noted three areas to consider regarding the NSHA: a need for improved connection to Main Street, needed upgrades of the rail crossing, and there is no good east-west connection.
“It’s important to improve that connectivity and the different land use combinations we’ve been looking at,” he said. “We’ve been looking at street networks; one of the fundamental things would be some kind of an east-west roadway to connect that and to provide a parallel route on the north side of town.”
Another joint work session on the matter will take place in January, followed by a proposal in February for the City Council to adopt the plan.
In other business:
- Resident Delmer Garber requested stop signs at the corner of 12th Avenue and Tamarack Street. According to him, drivers hit the 90-degree corner at high rates of speed, and he has seen damage to a telephone pole, fire hydrant, and his own fence. More recently, he said, there was a car-and-bicycle accident there.
- The council granted Ogden the authority to recruit and hire for the following employment positions: planning and building permit technician, code enforcement officer, community services officer, police officer, and accounts receivable specialist.
- Mayor Susan Coleman proclaimed the results of the 2024 election.
- The council approved contracts with three engineering firms, allowing the city to hire either of the firms for engineering services to the city. They are Civil West Engineering, The Dyer Partnership, and West Yost Associates.
- Library Director Megan Dazey announced the Sweet Home Public Library now offers a monthly newsletter.