By Lyndon Zaitz of the Keizertimes
Keizer city officials are considering adding a pavilion to host everything from KeizerFEST to weddings at Keizer Rapids Park, a structure that could cost nearly $1 million.
The Keizer City Council on Monday, Sept. 16, gave city administrators the green light to seek Marion County funding to plan for the structure.
But the approving vote came after an hour of sometimes contentious discussion by councilors, including one who said the council was being “railroaded.”
Mayor Cathy Clark in particular called out city leaders for how planning for the pavilion emerged outside usual processes.
Clark did go on record saying there is no master plan amendment planned as yet. “I don’t want to presuppose,” she said, citing the other infrastructure projects nearing completion, or on the books.
The plan for the pavilion was mapped in a two-page report to Marion County officials recently shared with Keizer councilors.
“Building and funding a parks pavilion for community use is a worthwhile investment that can enrich the lives of residents and enhance the overall quality of the community,” the report said.
It described a 100-by-250-foot structure that would make Keizer Rapids Park “a more vibrant and inclusive place for all.”
In his own report to the council, City Manager Adam Brown said that rough estimates put the cost at $775,000 to $825,000 with another approximately $144,000 more for architects and engineers. He said the construction estimate was provided by Councilor Dan Kohler.
The report to the county mapped out a five-year plan, including more than a year of raising money. If the city started now, the pavilion could be completed by 2029, the report said.
“This is a VERY preliminary scheduled of the timeline needed to complete this project,” the report said. “However, we feel confident that the five-year timeline is attainable.”
Funding could come from the city’s development charges and parks improvement fund, lodging taxes, a state parks grant, and foundation funding.
The report described a facility with wide use at the 148-acre park, which borders the Willamette River.
“It will provide a central gathering place for residents to come together, socialize and strengthen community ties,” it said.
The pavilion could be the site for cultural festivals, educational workshops, concerts and public forums.
“The pavilion can accommodate weddings, family reunions and other personal events that occur in the lives of Keizer residents,” the report said.
The plan “has the preliminary support of at least three Keizer city councilors,” though it didn’t identify them. At Monday’s meeting, Kohler and Councilors Soraida Cross and Kyle Juran said they gathered information for presentation to the county.
In his report to the council, Brown recounted how the pavilion project unfolded.
He said the city’s Parks Master Plan makes repeated references to a pavilion. He acknowledged that the new plan is “larger than what is referred to in the Parks Master Plan.”
He said that while the idea of a pavilion wasn’t new, “the topic has generated more conversations of late because of the move of KeizerFEST to Keizer Rapids Park,” referring to the community’s annual event.
But getting to a pavilion would require reworking the Parks Master Plan, which he described as a “lengthy process…There could easily be a year of time needed.”
Adams said he took a plan that was “very conceptual and lacked detail” to county officials in May, seeking a county grant for work on the parks plan. As Marion County officials considered the plan, they sought more detail. That resulted in the two-page document provided by Kohler, according to Brown’s report.
Brown asked the council Monday for authorization to seek a $60,000 grant from Marion County to cover the costs of revising the parks plan.
Clark said she was surprised the pavilion plan was submitted to the county before it was presented to the council. She added that the detailed proposal for a pavilion also had not yet been presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
Councilor Shaney Starr picked up the thread, asking Brown directly why the proposal was presented to the county but not to the full council.
In
frustration, Starr said the city had a $5 million debt limit to pay its PERS
liability, an unfinished turf field and now a proposed $800,000
structure.
“I don’t know how we’re going to pay for any of it,” she said.
Councilor
Laura Reid said she thought the council was being “railroaded into something we
need to figure out for ourselves.” She was also concerned that money for a
pavilion would take resources away from other city needs.
Clark quizzed Kohler about how he got involved in communication with the county regarding the grant.
“Generally speaking, when a grant is applied for, if the granting agency has a question, they contact the applicant, in this case, that would be Mr. Brown,” she said, referring to the city manager.
Clark asked about why the county commissioner’s office would contact councilors rather than the city manager.
Kohler
said he was contacted due to his role as liaison to the Parks and Recreation
Advisory Board.
Juran, who owns a construction business, said that good personal relationships with some commissioners could be why they talked to individual councilors.
The vote to move ahead with the Marion County application was unanimous.