School Library Accomodates Stayton Town Hall Meeting

(STAYTON, Ore.) - The Stayton High School library was more than a room full of books, computers and teenagers looking for a place to study and meet friends Tuesday night.

The meeting got underway at 6:30 PM and by then, the only persons in the library were Mayor Gerry Aboud and city councilors Catherine Hemshorne, Don Walters, James Loftus, Scott Vigil and Steve Frank, and they presided over the first of two town hall meetings, this being the first.

Less than two dozen citizens from Stayton and Sublimity were there to learn what the city has been, is, and will be doing to improve life in this Cascade Gateway community.

Mayor Aboud opened the meeting by welcoming the citizens and thanking them for coming out this evening. He immediately turned the floor over to city councilors who spoke about the issues facing them, some new to the city council and the challenges ahead of them for funding of the council goals and asked the community to help identify either new city goals or stay the course with current goals.

The goals are build and maintain contingency funds. Acquire the "Longhorn Cattle" property for future flood plain trade-out offs. Prioritize and finance street repairs. Continue planning for the new city hall. Continue meth-amphetamine education, prevention and enforcement programs. Increase city wide cleanup effort. And lastly, provide adequate recreational activities for all ages.

Dan Brummer spoke about utilizing volunteers to help the city fill pot holes with gravel that the city would buy and discriminately unload near major pot hole areas.

He also spoke to projects such as the bridge over the mill creek stream for egress into the new River-front park.

Others spoke of seeking city, county, state and federal financial help in redesigning the intersection at Wilco and Golf Course Road in order to attract new industrial and retail businesses at that intersection.

It has stopped several business wanting to relocate at that intersection because they could not absorb the infrastructure cost to develop that roadway.

Gwen Peterson, Stayton Chamber of Commerce president, asked what the city's intention was for the downtown Re-Development plan and were they willing to see it through?

She also asked if the city wanted to concentrate on being a bedroom community, an industrial community or a retail community. She stressed that it would be difficult to be all those things at the same time.

There was talk of utilizing the community center and making it more accessible to the community for weddings, seniors and community events.

The meeting ended at 8:00 p.m. and there were still unanswered questions from members of the audience. They were urged to attend the next meeting, Thursday February 12 at Freres Auditorium at the Santiam Memorial Hospital in Stayton at 6:30 p.m.