The Volunteer Coordinating Committee met on Sept. 8 to nominate several individuals to fill upcoming vacancies on the Budget Committee and the Planning Commission, all of whom City Council approved unanimously during theSept. 19 session. Position 1 on the Budget Committee will be filled by Marlene Parsons. This position was[Read More…]
CITY
Keizer residents will see a big wastewater rate hike over the next two years
Keizerites are about to be squeezed a little more, financially. The city’s Finance Officer Tim Wood reported to City Council during the Sept. 19 session that most Keizer residents would be facing a more than $20 annual hike in their wastewater management fees in 2023 and 2024. Wood said an[Read More…]
City grant will not expand to include food trucks
If you were one of the people who recently approached the city about using grant funds to help start up your own food truck business, prepare to be disappointed. Keizer City Council voted Sept. 19 not to amend the city’s Community Prosperity Grant qualifications to allow applications for food truck[Read More…]
Unions negotiate mid-year raise with city
Effective Oct. 10, Keizer city employees will receive a 1.5% pay increase. This, combined with a leave cash-out option for up to 80 hours per employee, is expected to cost the city an additional $132,000, paid out in the remainder of the fiscal year. In August, the two employee unions[Read More…]
Keizer joins lawsuit against state agency
Keizer will be joining a lawsuit that includes eight other Oregon cities in response to a set of pollution reduction rules issued by a state agency earlier this year. In a move that angered many local government leaders in July, Gov. Kate Brown authorized the state’s Department of Land Conservation[Read More…]
City Council ponders fireworks ordinance
A public hearing was held Sept. 6 on an ordinance regulating the use of fireworks in Keizer which the state of Oregon designates as illegal. The city has received a high volume of complaints of people setting off unauthorized fireworks inside the city limits before and after this last July[Read More…]
New apartments will combine living, commercial spaces
A nearly completed construction site is under development at the busy intersection of Cherry Road NE and Sam Orcutt Way in Keizer, across the street from Bi-Mart. The multi-family, multi-use project will be a 40-unit apartment complex with space for commercial vendors in the Cherry Road NE-facing buildings. The development,[Read More…]
ServeFest returns after two-year hiatus
To the delight of several hundred attendees, Lakepoint Community Church brought back their ServeFest event Sunday, Aug. 28 at Keizer Community Center. Professionals, volunteers and neighbors came from all over the region to donate their time and expertise in an effort to serve and interact with the community, and even[Read More…]
New construction on Verda will not adversely affect flood plain
A 112-unit apartment complex is under construction on Verda Lane NE, between Dearborn Ave. NE and Chemawa Road NE, tentatively named Verda Crossing. Building permits are still pending, but the developer, Clutch Industries, has received approval from the city to begin excavating the site in preparation for building. The construction[Read More…]
Cherriots offering new express route to Woodburn, Wilsonville
In response to local requests for service, Cherriots will begin operating what’s being dubbed the Wilsonville-Keizer Express route, Sept. 6. Route 80X will be a weekday-only service that will begin at the Keizer Transit Center, stop at the Woodburn Memorial Transit Center, and then turn around at the Wilsonville Transit[Read More…]