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Philomath
City News Published
for the Citizens of Philomath, Oregon |
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Citizens who would like the opportunity to welcome Philomath’s new
Chief of Police Ken Elwer can do so at an open house to be held at
City Hall on November 1. The
event will be held in the council chambers from 2-4 PM. The new Chief began his first day of work on October
8. He is a 20-year veteran of the Napa County,
California Sheriff’s Department, most recently serving as lieutenant
with management responsibilities in the Civil and Administrative
Divisions. He also served
as the Patrol Bureau Commander responsible for the direct supervision
of seven sergeants and twenty-eight deputies. Chief Elwer received his AA degree in Criminal
Justice in 1980 and has since earned a bachelor’s degree and a
master’s degree in Public Administration in 1994.
A graduate of the FBI National Academy in 1997, Chief Elwer has
used his training and experience in the classroom as an instructor in
the Police Academy on courses such as proper use of firearms and
related tactics, patrol functions and other law enforcement topics. Chief Elwer and his wife Nancy have one daughter,
Katie, who will be attending Philomath Middle School. Chief Elwer is looking forward to getting involved in the
community and with youth activities such as coaching girls’ softball
with his daughter. “My family and I are looking forward to becoming part of this very unique community. Everyone we have met has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome,” Elwer said. Please take the time to welcome Ken and his family to Philomath! |
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Do
You Have an Opinion??
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Since May 2000, the City has been providing Monday
through Friday bus service between Philomath, Corvallis and Oregon
State University. The six
daily runs were an attempt to provide an alternative form of
transportation for students, employees and others that did not have a
means of traveling between our communities, and to reduce traffic and
vehicular emissions. |
The
balance of monies needed for this service come from the City General
Fund. Two graphs are provided for your review regarding
both usage and expense of this service.
In addition, the Council has asked Councilors Toni Hoyman and
Dan McCabe to write articles expressing their respective opinions on
this matter. (see
statements) |
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A GOOD NEIGHBOR: With the opening of the Applegate Street Bridge in November, residents will now have an alternative means to travel from one side of the City to the other without having to drive on Highway 20/34. With this convenience comes an additional responsibility for drivers to obey speed limits as more vehicles will now be traveling on local city streets. Unless otherwise posted, the maximum speed on local streets is 25 MPH. Areas near the schools will be posted as school zones with a maximum 20-MPH speed. Our neighborhoods are where our children play, seniors walk and citizens of all ages ride their bikes. Their safety is dependent on drivers being observant and controlling their speed. Enforcement of our traffic laws is a high priority citywide. There will be a heightened police presence in the area of the bridge to ensure compliance with these laws. Please show the same respect for safety that you expect to receive in your own neighborhood as you travel around the City. It’s the neighborly thing to do! |
LEGISLATIVE VICTORY: During the recently
concluded Legislative session, the Mayor and City Council passed
Resolution 01-7 supporting passage of a State law that would limit
so called “SLAPP” lawsuits.
The filing of a SLAPP suit had the effect of stifling public
testimony or expression of opposition towards proposed land use
developments and was viewed as a threat to legitimate public
discussion in these important community decisions. Governor Kitzhaber signed HB-2460 into law on July 26th.
With the passage of this new law, developers and community
members will be required to use restraint and focus their
discussions on objective and factual information.
The end result should be better decisions by officials who
are responsible for our city’s growth into the future.
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For voters’ consideration |
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annexation requests will appear on the November mail-in ballot for
voter consideration. The
first request is for the Gene Tools property located at 1 Summerton
Way in the City’s Industrial Park off of N. 19th Street.
Gene
Tools
This approximate 22-acre parcel is the administrative and research center for the recently completed Gene Tools facility. The property to be annexed is generally located north of the westerly terminus of Industrial Way. The parcel lies within the Philomath Urban Growth Boundary and is contiguous to the City. The subject property is receiving City water and sanitary sewer service. Gene Tools has developed the site in accordance with all applicable City, State and Federal regulations and desires annexation in order to have their research facility included within the City limits of Philomath. |
Starlite Village
The second property is Phase II of the proposed Starlite Village Subdivision. This 37.88-acre R-1 zoned parcel is proposed to be developed as an 84-lot single family subdivision. The property is generally located east of Dampier Street and Starlite Village Phase I. The parcel lies within the Philomath Urban Growth Boundary and is contiguous to the City. The City currently supplies no services to the property. This development will include a public community park with improvements, and will provide the City with an area to locate a future City water reservoir. The developer has submitted a tentative subdivision plat for the 84-lot development that is currently under review by the City Planning Commission with a decision expected by October 17th. These plans are available at City hall for public inspection. |
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During
the Philomath Connection’s first year of service, the ridership has
steadily grown. The many
benefits of providing this service are difficult to financially
quantify. What is it worth to a family to have a safe reliable way for
their teenagers to get to activities in Corvallis? What value is reduced traffic and less crowded parking to our
community’s livability? Who
of us hasn’t had a car in the shop and needed a way to get to our
job or a store to shop? Here
are some points to keep in mind while considering the value of our
Philomath Connection
service: ·
Supports
transportation options for children, seniors, handicapped, those that
cannot legally drive, and people with car troubles or no car. ·
Reduces
wear and tear on roads, traffic congestion, parking problems, gasoline
use, and air pollution. ·
Some
people depend on affordable reliable bus routes to allow then to work.
It is more economical to subsidize transportation for a wage
earner than to provide Welfare services to an unemployed family. ·
Dial-a-Bus
is subsidized to a much higher degree and is more costly to operate
because it provides ‘door to door’ service.
It also is only available to seniors and disabled. ·
During
the first fiscal year of operation the Philomath Connection provided
14,304 rides. Please show the Philomath Council that you support
the Philomath Connection by filling out the survey and turning it in
before the deadline.
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For the past four years it has been an
honor and a privilege to serve as a Philomath City Councilor.
During this time of serving, my basic philosophy in budgetary
matters has been to spend taxpayers’ money only on things that are
needed by the majority of the taxpayers.
I do not feel good about, and will resist the City of Philomath
spending taxpayers’ money on special interest groups.
This financial philosophy is the reason for my writing this
letter. About a year ago the Philomath City
Council decided to experiment with a bus system. This experiment was to find out if the public would support a
bus system. Well, a year
has gone by and the numbers are in.
The bus system is costing the taxpayers more than $70,000 a
year and yet we only have an average of 30 people using the system.
These 30 people are less than 1% of the population of the city. If we continue with this bus system, it
will only become more and more expensive.
We will need to put money away to buy a new bus when the one we
have wears out. Bus stops
and shelters will need to be built and maintained.
I feel these expenditures to supply transportation for 30
people are not justified. It is my opinion that those local tax
dollars would be better spent if put into a fund to repair our city
streets. At the present
time we are saving very little money to repair the paved streets when
they wear out.
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November
6
Election Day November
12 City Council, 7:30
pm, council chambers November
15 Transportation
Committee, 7
pm, council chambers November
20 CRT Retail &
Beautification Action Team, 7 pm, city hall November
21 Planning Commission,
7:30 pm, council chambers November
26 City Council, 7:30
pm, council chambers November
27 Community Response
Team, 7 pm, council
chambers November
29 & 30 City offices |
December
10
City Council, 7:30 pm, council chambers December
13
Transportation Committee,
7 pm, council chambers December
18
Community Response Team,
7 pm, council chambers December
18
CRT Retail & Beautification Action Team, 7 pm, city hall December
19
Planning Commission, 7:30, pm council chambers December
24
City Offices closed December
25
City offices closed
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(Meeting times subject to change. Call 929-6148 for confirmation) Quick
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| City
Of Philomath Philomath, OR 97370 (541) 929-6148 |
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| Original Newsletter by Bonnie | |
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Autumn
2001
Calendar
of Meetings