The Saffron Supply Co. building, which the city of Salem officially acquired March 2019. The retailer has operated out of the building since 1935. (Troy Brynelson/Salem Reporter)
The board for Salem’s Urban Renewal Agency on Monday will review $372,725 worth of purchases made by the agency for environmental cleanup, improvements for a homeless shelter, wetland mitigation and right-of-way acquisition.
Annie Gorski, the city’s economic development manager, said the meeting will give board members an update on purchases made in September and October that have already been approved in the agency’s budget.
“It happens on a regular basis,” she said.
The board will review a $91,500 contract with 3 Kings Environmental for a cleanup at Saffron Supply Co. and Union Gospel Mission buildings located downtown. The city acquired the properties last year for $2 million with hopes of turning them into a mixed-use building that could include a grocery store, hotel or office space.
The contract is for cleanup of contamination left from an old gas station. Specifically, the company will remove two underground storage tanks and an estimated 800 tons of contaminated soil.
The board will also hear about $56,970 spent to convert an old DMV building at 2640 Portland Road N.E. into a temporary homeless shelter.
Also up for review is a $38,555 contract with K&E Excavating for wetland mitigation at the Mill Creek Corporate Center. The Mill Creek Urban Renewal Area is one of seven special districts in the city that provide development incentives. The 650-acre urban renewal area was set up to support the development of the Mill Creek Corporate Center in southeast Salem.
As part of the project, the city intends to create over 42 acres of new wetlands to offset the center’s impact on existing wetlands, according to the city’s website. The contract with K&E Excavating is part of that project.
Additionally, the board will hear about money spent on efforts to improve a stretch of McGilchrist Street S.E. from 12th Street to 25th Street. The project will widen the street to help with congestion and traffic flow. Segments of the road include ditches, planter strips, sidewalks and utilities, according to a city document.
To complete the project, the city will have to acquire the right of way, the legal right to pass through property belonging to someone else. The board will hear about two contracts to appraise the right of way the city needs to acquire. They include a $30,500 contract with Epic Land Solutions, Inc. and a $155,200 contract with William E. Adams.
Board members: Chuck Bennett (chair), Brad Nanke, Chris Hoy, Jacqueline Leung, Jim Lewis, Matt Ausec, Tom Andersen.
Meeting details: 6 p.m., Monday, Dec. 14, via Zoom. Link: https://www.cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx
