The Keizer City Council met on Jan. 22 for a work session to discuss the status of both short and long term goals for the city.
The council discussed both the short and long term goals for the city.
The short term goals are expected to be completed within the next two years while the city’s longer term goals have no strict guidelines for completion though they are actively being pursued.
The city’s short term goals deal with the following:
Expanding the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), which deals with areas designated as ideal for the city to expand into and how the city will expand into the area.
Identifying simpler methods of procurement which involves the council trying to streamline the purchasing done by the city in an effort to save money and make the process easier.
Implementing a city-wide camera system. The council discussed installing a camera system within the city in three main places: city parks, body cameras for the Keizer Police and license plate recognition (LPR) cameras on the 11 different roads as they exit the city.
Finishing the Keizer Rapids Artificial Turf Project for which the contract for was awarded in Dec. 2023. According to City Manager Adam Brown, around $1 million is still needed to fund the project for parking and an equipment building. Possible funding solutions include community fundraising as well as appropriating legislative funding.
A series of draft code updates are being processed and represent a continuance of the process of reviewing draft code sections by Shannon Johnson. This work is an encapsulation of more than 40 years of reviews, changes and updates to Keizer law and codes that will finally come to fruition.
Implementing the agenda management system involves improving the system that helps streamline staff online operations, email automation as well as helping manage online meetings the council and other staff conduct. This system also helps the Keizer City government maintain transparency as well as improve access for the public.
The Human Resources Information System (HRIS) is being looked at as the first attempt failed to attract an appropriate resource vendor with another attempt to be made, though Brown is awaiting a review from the city attorney for the Request for Proposal (RFP). The goal is to simplify the request so future resource procurement is done in a more efficient manner.
The city council is updating the social media policy for city staff. This involves updating policies to reflect those of the League of Oregon cities.
The council will adopt more changes to the Emergency Operations Plan. The city, according to Brown, is in a much better state of preparedness in the case of a city-wide emergency.
Adopting the Community Center’s policies and new fees have been made and put forth for room rentals in the Keizer Event Center. No changes have been made to how the center operates as of yet.
The city wants to implement the city’s strategic plan into the next budget cycle and expects to integrate this year during future budgeting sessions.
The first long term goal involves repairing the city’s sidewalks. The city has a plan, funded by AARP, for repairing sidewalks within Keizer.
The council will create a development plan for the River Road/ Cherry Avenue district overlay with priorities include developing a series of redevelopment incentives to attract more businesses though more financing opportunities are needed to fund those incentives.
Implementing the results from the Walkable Mixed Use Areas study into city planning is another long term goal for the council. The study for the Walkable Mixed Use Areas was completed last year and the planning on how to incorporate those results into action will occur at a furture meeting.
Updating the city’s Transportation System Plan represents another goal and city staff has been conversing with the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) about the process needed to perform the updates as well as the scope of the plan. The updates are expected to be started in the near future and take anywhere between 18-24 months to complete.
The last goal of the work session referred to overhauling the city’s official website to be more mobile-friendly. The Keizer City Hall’s website is in the process of being updated and making it more mobile phone friendly.
Contact Quinn Stoddard
[email protected] or 503-390-105
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