Salem city councilors voted unanimously to allocate $10,000 from the city’s general fund to pay for community engagement as part of a broader initial plan to understand what city services Salemites prioritize most.
It’s the run-up to a proposed property tax increase that the council is considering putting on the May 2025 ballot. The outreach is designed to help the city ascertain whether Salemites would be willing to pay more in property taxes to avoid deep budget cuts starting next fiscal year.
City councilor Jose Gonzalez was absent Monday, making unanimous votes 8-0.
APPROVED: Salem-Willamette Valley Airport development
Councilors approved a new ground lease with Lulay’s Aviation, LLC which seeks to build an aircraft hangar at the south end of the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport. The lease begins September 2024 and runs until August 2054. The property included in the lease is 15,500 square feet and will generate $5,425 a year for the city.
City councilors also authorized the city manager to apply for two State of Oregon grants for the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport. If awarded, the funds would supplement federally funded airport capital improvement projects in 2025, a staff report from the city’s public works director, Brian Martin, said.
The grants, which are worth a total of $117,375, are part of the state’s Critical Oregon Airport Relief program and would help pay for a $815,000 taxiway rehabilitation project and a $750,000 airport terminal project. According to the staff report the two projects are 90% paid for by federal funds, but the city is required to match 10%, or $156,500.
If awarded the $117,375 in state grants, the city would pay the remaining $39,125 from its airport operations fund, the report said.
City councilors also voted Monday to approve a third lease amendment for WattEV Salem Inc., a California-based company focused on electrifying the trucking industry. The amendment extends the company’s due diligence period a second time, to Oct. 31, 2024.
The company was initially permitted a ground lease at the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport in October 2023 to develop 348,480 square feet and build a charging depot at the airport to charge electric vehicles. The company’s lease was amended in May 2024 to allow for more time for the company to perform its due diligence. In August, councilors approved a second amendment to adjust the property’s acreage from 8 acres to 6.3 acres, reducing the annual ground lease rent accordingly.
Councilor Julie Hoy’s motion on planning commission appointments
An effort by City Councilor and Mayor-Elect Julie Hoy to give the council a more direct say in appointments to the planning commission was tabled for discussion at a September meeting.
Typically applications are reviewed by the boards and commissions committee, which includes Mayor Chris Hoy, and city councilors Linda Nishioka, Vanessa Nordyke, and Virginia Stapleton, and then voted on by council. Hoy said in a staff report that given the significant influence of the planning commission, council should be able to directly determine which applicants are considered for the four year terms.
The Salem Planning Commission serves in an advisory role for the city council and is concerned with promoting growth and development in the city.
Because Hoy’s motion was submitted too late to be considered during Monday’s meeting, city councilors would have had to suspend council rules to discuss her proposal. The vote to suspend those rules required six yes votes and failed. Councilors Deanna Gwyn, Julie Hoy, Nordyke, Stapleton, and Chris Hoy supported it, while councilors Micki Varney, Nishioka, and Trevor Phillips voted no.
That means Hoy’s proposal will have to be discussed at the council’s next regular meeting on Sept. 23.
On Sept. 16, the city council is scheduled to interview three applicants for the planning commission during a special session, but won’t vote on appointing them until a later meeting.
“It was kind of a weird situation, we don’t have that come up very often,” Chris Hoy told Salem Reporter about Monday night. The two Hoys are not related. “We have a process, we have a boards and commission committee, we have a process. We followed the process. We sent forward candidates. We are going to interview them. Just like our process says. If people don’t like our candidates, they are welcome to vote no.”
Railroad and culverts to be replaced
Councilors voted to authorize the city manager to apply for U.S. Department of Transportation funds to help pay for the replacement of railroad and the Southeast McGilchrist Street Culverts on the west fork of Pringle Creek. If successful, the project would receive approximately $3.2 million, according to a staff report from Martin.
Flood claim settled
Councilors voted to settle a claim from Salem homeowners Lori Festa and Bill Doty for roughly $142,638. Festa and Doty’s homes north of Southeast Reed Lane were flooded as a result of work done by the city of Salem, deputy city manager Krishna Namburi said in a staff report. The flood was caused by an abandoned water main located on Southeast Reed Lane during recent work completed at Pringle Elementary School.
Original story published Friday, Sept. 6:
Salem city councilors will decide Monday whether to allocate $10,000 from the general fund to pay for community engagement and education in preparation for a possible tax increase on the May 2025 ballot.
The council will also vote on several leases and grant applications intended to fund development at the city-owned airport.
Engaging and educating the community is part of a broader work plan to ascertain whether Salemites would be willing to pay more in property taxes to avoid deep budget cuts starting next fiscal year.
The plan includes polling likely voters on what they’d be willing to pay for and how much they’d be willing to pay. It also includes a third-party review of the city’s five-year financial forecast and a performance audit on specific city departments to identify efficiencies and to find ways to save money.
If councilors approve the item, city officials will dedicate $10,000 to develop a communications plan to better inform and build relationships and trust with the community. That leads up to a likely council effort to place a tax increase on the May 2025 ballot.
“This resource would fund the development of materials for in-person presentations and community discussions, tabling and outreach materials, increased communications via the newsletter,” said the city’s chief financial officer, Josh Eggleston, in a staff report. He said it would also pay for “an informal, qualitative survey designed to solicit public interest in the City of Salem, build our list of community contacts and provide us with information on community priorities and perspectives.”
How to participate
The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 9, and will be both in-person at the council chambers, 555 Liberty St. S.E., and available to watch online. Members of the public can submit a comment for any item on the council agenda.
To comment remotely, sign up on the city website between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Monday The meeting will be livestreamed on the YouTube in English and Spanish.
For written comments, email [email protected] before 5 p.m. on Monday, or submit on paper to the city recorder’s office at the Civic Center, 555 Liberty St. S.E., Room 225. Include a statement indicating the comment is for the public record.
Salem-Willamette Valley Airport development
City councilors will vote Monday on approving a new ground lease with Lulay’s Aviation, LLC which seeks to build an aircraft hangar at the south end of the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport. If approved, the lease would begin September 2024 and run until August 2054. The property included in the lease is 15,500 square feet and would generate $5,425 a year for the city.
City councilors will also vote to authorize the city manager to apply for two State of Oregon grants for the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport. If awarded, the funds would supplement federally funded airport capital improvement projects in 2025, a staff report from the city’s public works director, Brian Martin, said.
The grants, which are worth a total of $117,375, are part of the state’s Critical Oregon Airport Relief program and would help pay for a $815,000 taxiway rehabilitation project and a $750,000 airport terminal project. According to the staff report the two projects are 90% paid for by federal funds, but the city is required to match 10%, or $156,500.
If awarded the $117,375 in state grants, the city would pay the remaining $39,125 from its airport operations fund, the report said.
City councilors will also vote Monday on a third lease amendment for WattEV Salem Inc., a California-based company focused on electrifying the trucking industry. The amendment will extend the company’s due diligence period a second time, to Oct. 31, 2024.
The company was initially permitted a ground lease at the Salem-Willamette Valley Airport in October 2023 to develop 348,480 square feet and build a charging depot at the airport to charge electric vehicles. The company’s lease was amended in May 2024 to allow for more time for the company to perform its due diligence. In August, councilors approved a second amendment to adjust the property’s acreage from 8 acres to 6.3 acres, reducing the annual ground lease rent accordingly.
Other items
- Councilors will vote on authorizing the city manager to apply for U.S. Department of Transportation funds to help pay for the replacement of railroad and the Southeast McGilchrist Street Culverts on the west fork of Pringle Creek. If successful, the project would receive approximately $3.2 million according to a staff report from Brian Martin, the city’s public works director.
- Councilors will vote on settling a claim from Salem homeowners Lori Festa and Bill Doty for roughly $142,638. Festa and Doty’s homes north of Southeast Reed Lane were flooded as a result of work done by the city of Salem, deputy city manager Krishna Namburi said in a staff report. The flood was caused by an abandoned water main located on Southeast Reed Lane during recent work completed at Pringle Elementary School.
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
