Meet the Salemites who will guide library services, review police

Salem city councilors appointed public health epidemiologist Celine Coleman to the city’s Community Police Review Board, and appointed two retired civil servants, Clyde Saiki and Cara Filsinger to the Salem Public Library Advisory Board during a Monday meeting. 

Councilors Linda Nishioka, Deanna Gwyn, Julie Hoy, Vanessa Nordyke, Micki Varney and Mayor Chris Hoy all voted to approve the appointees. Councilors Virginia Stapleton, Trevor Phillips, and Jose Gonzalez were absent.

Here are the new appointees.

Police Review Board and Human Rights Commission

Celine Coleman, who ran unsuccessfully for city council in May, will serve on the Community Police Review Board. 

The seven-member board is tasked with conducting external reviews of complaints against Salem Police Department employees.

Coleman is an epidemiologist with the Marion County Health Department. She lost the Ward 1 council race to Paul Tigan, a city budget committee member and leader in the Grant Neighborhood Association.

Coleman was appointed to a partial term on the community police review board which expires on Jan. 1, 2026. 

“I’ve been advised from multiple locals to apply as I’ve been looking for more ways to become active in my residential community,” Coleman said on her city of Salem boards and commissions application form. “I live in the Highland neighborhood … There is very poor representation at the city level of the Highland community which is diverse and has been revitalized in the past few years. I want that to continue as unfortunately there has been preferential treatment in my Ward.”

Coleman was also appointed by Mayor Hoy to the Salem Human Rights Commission on July 23, 2024. The commission is tasked with advising the city council on human rights and relations issues, assisting residents by helping resolve discrimination complaints, and seeks to promote harmony in the community. Coleman’s term on the commission ends on Dec. 31, 2026, a report from the mayor showed. 

Library Advisory Board

Two retired state government workers will serve on the Salem Public Library Advisory Board, which is tasked with advising the city council on the operations of the city library. 

The appointees are Clyde Saiki, who served as the deputy director and director of the Oregon Department of Human Services, the chief administrative officer of the Oregon Department of Transportation, the director of the Oregon Department of Administrative Services. 

Saiki is now retired and volunteers at the public library once a week, he wrote on his application form. 

“As a volunteer at the public library I’ve seen first hand the important role it plays in our communities. If possible, I’d like to play a bigger role in helping the library to meet the need,” Saiki said in his application form. “The library plays a critical role in making Salem a liveable community. It’s a place that the community can come together to gain knowledge, be entertained and broaden their horizons. It also works to foster an appreciation for reading among our younger residents.”  

Cara Filsinger was the second appointee to the library advisory board. Filsinger recently retired from a 31 year career with the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services and the state Legislature. 

“I was a library kid, now a library grown up, and this board feels like a good place to apply my professional skills to positively improve the library,” Filsinger said in her application. “Especially during the upcoming difficult budget times. Since I retired from serving Oregonians through my paid work, I am looking for ways to help my community through volunteer opportunities.” 

Both Saiki and Filsinger will serve full terms on the board. Their terms expire on June 30, 2027. 

Other items

• Originally councilors were scheduled to interview candidates for the Salem Planning Commission and vote to appoint new members, but because councilors Stapleton, Phillips, and Gonzalez were absent, the interviews were canceled and appointments to the planning commission were removed from the agenda. 
• City councilors voted to approve a ground lease amendment with WattEV Salem Inc., a California-based company focused on electrifying the trucking industry, at the Salem – Willamette Valley Airport. The company’s lease was first approved in October 2023 to develop 348,480 square feet and build a charging depot at the airport to charge electric vehicles. A first amendment on the ground lease extended the due diligence period to July 2024, and the second amendment passed Monday adjusted the formal acreage of the property from 8 acres to 6.3 acres, reducing the annual ground lease rent accordingly. 
• A second ground lease amendment was approved for Aviation Properties Northwest, LLC, a company that specializes in airstrip properties in Oregon and Washington, for property at the Salem – Willamette Valley Airport. The company originally obtained an existing lease from Carpenter Commercial Properties, and since then purchased a 19,500 square foot adjacent hanger property. The lease amendment passed Monday reflects the addition of the new hangar property. The lease term is 58 years. 
• A new ground lease was passed Monday for Hangar II LLC to develop 42,750 square feet at the Salem – Willamette Valley Airport. The lease began July 1, 2024, and goes until June 30, 2064. The company will build a new aircraft hangar on the property. The company will pay a base rent of $13,125 every July 1. The base rent will be regularly increased, according to the lease. 
• City councilors also authorized the transfer of $410,380 in appropriations within the city’s budget for fiscal year 2025, and added four full-time employees to implement new financial and accounting software.
• The city’s chief financial officer, Josh Eggleston, provided a quarterly financial report to council.

Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.

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