A four-person contingent of Philomath representatives visited Salem last week for the biannual City Day at the Capitol with the group sharing a short list of legislative priorities with Sen. Dick Anderson and Rep. David Gomberg.
Community infrastructure and housing development funding was one of the biggest topics to tackle.
“We know that’s a big priority for both the Legislature and the city — it’s sort of a shared message — and the legislators were very receptive to that,” Philomath Mayor Christopher McMorran said. “As it often goes, it’s not a matter of convincing people that it’s a good idea, it’s a matter of needing to convince them to prioritize it and fund it.”
Joining McMorran at the Capitol for the Jan. 28 event were city councilors Jessica Andrade and Diane Crocker, and City Manager Chris Workman. The group had one-on-one time with both Anderson (R-Lincoln City) and Gomberg (D-Otis).
On the housing infrastructure issue, the city specifically needs an estimated $5 million to pay for a new sewer main along 19th Street, which would open up a large area of property on the north side of the urban growth boundary to potential housing.
“It’s land that I think there is a desire to build housing on but right now we don’t have the infrastructure to support that,” McMorran said during a Jan. 27 City Council meeting. “This is, I think, honestly a perfect example of the type of things the Legislature is looking for where if they can invest a few million dollars in a new sewer main, a new sewer infrastructure, it can unlock the potential to really expand peoples’ ability to find affordable places to live.”
McMorran said the concept was well-received.
“We got some good feedback about the process as well as if the Legislature isn’t able to fund it, other avenues that we can go through the executive branch, through Business Oregon grants, those types of things, to try to connect us with resources one way or another,” he said.
McMorran said he walked away from those talks feeling good.
“It’s never a done deal and it’s always a little bit of a gamble to see what gets through the legislative session but just even raising the awareness that that is on the table and making sure that we’re all talking about it, I think is really important,” he said.
Infrastructure and housing development funding was a common theme from cities across the state. The League of Oregon Cities, which organizes City Day at the Capitol, stated that it would advocate for a comprehensive infrastructure package that supports increased water, sewer, stormwater and road investments from the state.
McMorran said it was obvious that legislators were well aware of the issue.
“Rep. Gomberg even kind of interrupted me as I started the pitch explaining the sewer line and he was like, ‘Let me just stop you — this story is exactly the same as every other small town in my district. So let’s move on and talk about how to get it funded instead of talking about what the problem is because I think they’re very well aware of those types of problems,’” McMorran said.
Another focus area for the city involves potential legislative fixes related to publishing public notices through digital-only news operations.
“This was the intent when the Legislature originally amended those statutes in 2023 and that was a recognition that small, more rural communities that don’t have a regular daily print newspaper are not able to really fulfill the reason why we publish public notices in newspapers, which is for the public to be aware of what the government is doing,” McMorran said. “The main goal there should be for our community to know what we’re doing and if this type of media is outdated and not fulfilling that need, it’s in the public’s interest for us to move to a new type of media that is fulfilling that need.”
The city of Philomath started publishing public notices in the Philomath News in January 2024. Beginning in 2020, the Corvallis Gazette-Times, now based out of Albany, closed down the Philomath Express newspaper, pulled its newspaper racks from Philomath and reduced the number of its print days to three times per week.
The main idea behind the legislation — versions are being introduced by both Anderson and Gomberg — is to update the law’s language to stand up to any legal challenges.
In addition to those ideas, the Philomath group also brought legislators up to date on Skirvin Park improvements, which is utilizing state grant money.
“We just shared that, like many infrastructure projects around the state, costs have risen since the initial estimates but we’re feeling really good about the direction it’s going,” McMorran said. “We just wanted … to give them a heads up that it may take a little longer and then expect it may cost a little more. So we might be back to talk about that with them more in the future.”
Overall, McMorran said the interactions with Gomberg and Anderson went more smoothly as compared to two years ago.
“In 2023, both Sen. Anderson and Rep. Gomberg had not represented Philomath for very long and they were kind of trying to feel out our community and what our needs were and what our character is with the town,” McMorran said. “There was a sort of noticeable shift when we walked into their offices this time … that felt really good; we have a good working relationship.”
McMorran said establishing those relationships with Gomberg and Anderson have been important.
“Obviously City Day at the Capitol is a great event and a great opportunity to connect but it’s just one small piece of the relationship,” McMorran said. “We’ve really been trying to work on that and foster that by having them come out to Philomath when the Legislature is not in session, have them come and visit some of our infrastructure projects and hold town halls and have us visit with them. You’re not going to be successful if you just show up one time with hat in hand and ask for something but if you really build that relationship and demonstrate the need and help get folks invested in the community, that makes a difference.”
McMorran works in the office of Sen. Lisa Reynolds (D-Portland) for his daytime job but mentioned that he took a vacation day on Jan. 28 to avoid any sort of conflict.
The League of Oregon Cities reported that more than 400 city officials and youth delegates from across the state participated in the event.
