Citizens that participated in a recent community survey indicated an overall satisfaction with city services and overwhelmingly agreed that they feel safe living in Philomath.
The Philomath City Council glanced at the survey results at its Feb. 12 meeting with plans to dive in with a closer look during a work session scheduled for Feb. 26.
Councilor Christopher McMorran said he felt encouraged by the results.
“It feels like overall, people are pretty satisfied and the things they’re not satisfied with were not surprising, which is reassuring,” McMorran said.
Assistant City Manager Chelsea Starner hit a few highlights with councilors, who could read specific comments as part of their meeting packet. The survey attracted 342 responses with 73% in the city limits and another 23% in rural areas outside of town.
Starner said she felt that the numbers represented a good, solid response and that overall, many of the responses involved topics that the city is already addressing or fell within the focus of the Strategic Plan. In addition, some issues could be included in a future Strategic Plan update.
Among the highlights related to satisfaction rates:
• 93% indicated an overall feeling of safety in the community.
• 91% were satisfied with the quality of services provided by the city.
• 83% approved of the reputation and image of the city.
• 73% value what they receive for overall tax dollars and fees.
• 73% were satisfied with the availability of training or educational opportunities.
Gurski to succeed Rueben as Philomath’s police chief
The city of Philomath finalized its plans for Chief of Police Ken Rueben’s successor during Monday night’s City Council meeting with the approval of Lt. David Gurski to take over the department’s leadership position. Rueben is in his final weeks leading Philomath Police with his retirement to become effective April 2. City Manager Chris Workman…
In the area of public works, most were satisfied with city parks, trails and open spaces. The availability of safe pedestrian ways on streets and routes as well as maintenance on major city streets showed up as a desired focus for the next two years.
For public safety, most were satisfied with how quickly police respond to emergencies and want to see continued work on city codes and ordinances. Over the next two years, enforcement of local traffic laws and visibility of the police community were listed as a focus over the next two-year period.
In other areas, 71% of respondents felt their city-related issues were resolved quickly and professionally and 63% were satisfied or very satisfied with the city’s communication with the public. In addition, the majority believed that the city is doing a good job creating a diverse, inclusive, fair and connected community.
Councilor Jessica Andrade said she talked to a couple of people in the community who were not aware of the survey and received requests that physical notifications of such efforts be sent to each Philomath household. She said she also heard people expressing their thanks for publishing the full survey results.
Workman in an interview this week said he felt that the survey’s outcome represented both ends of the spectrum on many issues.
“For every person that thinks we’re growing too fast, somebody else said we need more housing and places for people to live,” Workman said. “Or somebody would say we need more trails and more parks and open spaces and the next person would say we need to do a better job to take care of what we have before we build any more parks or new trails.”
McMorran thanked city staff for its efforts to conduct the survey.
“I know there are probably ways we can continue to improve it in the future and improve our outreach but I’m really pleased with the fact that we did this and I’m pleasantly surprised … with what people had to say,” McMorran said.
In other news from the Feb. 12 meeting:
• The council unanimously approved a resolution to proclaim February as Black History Month.
• The council unanimously approved a consent agenda that included meeting minutes, the budget calendar and Finance Director Mike Murzynsky as the 2024-25 budget officer.
• Councilors started the evening with an Urban Renewal Agency meeting to approve minutes and appoint Mursynsky as the budget officer.
• The council unanimously approved a home office location for Spearhunter Wines, which the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission requires as part of the application process. Workman said the residence will not be used for tastings, retail or any other purpose other than the location of its business office.
• The council unanimously approved a resolution to allow the financing of up to $500,000 for the construction of Philomath Frolic and Rodeo arena grandstands, lighting and related features at Skirvin Park. The action represents a backup financial plan for the Frolic to be able to follow through with construction timelines and pay contractors in case sponsor donations are not available in time and also to eliminate the risk of losing funding already in place. The state legislature through the efforts of Rep. David Gomberg allocated $1.9 million for the project, which has an estimated total cost of $2.4 million.
• The council on a roll-call vote unanimously approved updates to city code related to park reservations and usage rules.
• The council unanimously approved the appointment of Lt. David Gurski to chief of police following the retirement of Ken Rueben, effective April 3. See separate story.