In 2009 the Keizer Compass project envisioned what the city could (and should be) 20 years into the future. We are closing in on 2029 and we have a rare opportunity to make plans come to fruition.
The Parks and Recreation Master Plan was approved by the city council last week. Keizer will have more than $7 million in American Resuce Pla n Act (ARPA) funds to spend by 2026. It is a golden time for the city to use that money to chip away at the parks master plan.
Dozens of city leaders and citizens comprised the Keizer Compass committee, charged with developing a vision for the future. Fanciful, modest and common ideas were added to the mix, which were then written in the committee’s final report. The report hasn’t languished on a shelf at city hall, yet it is rarely mentioned, especially during annual bugdet discussions.
Hundreds of hours have been spent, not only on Keizer Compass, but other master plans over the years.
The general budget takes care of the city’s needs. The ARPA funds should be earmarked for the city’s wants. That’s when the citizens need to stand up, show up and tell the city council what projects they want funded.
Keizer is in a once-in-a-lifetime situation and it is their duty to assure that the future their council predecsessors planned for becomes reality.
We want the council to fund amenities at our parks, re-energize a safe-streets program (installing sidewalks). Most of all we want to city to take Keizer Compass off the shelve, review it and start enacting what $7 million will buy.
—LAZ
