Thirty years ago this month during a Philomath City Council meeting, five of seven members were in attendance at a meeting that included topics such as listening to the results of a transportation needs survey, approving the services of a volunteer landscape architect and moving money to cover a budget shortfall.
City Manager Hal Million talked about a paving project on South 11th and Public Works Director Dick Clark mentioned that Philomath City Park’s shelter now had a drinking fountain, barbecue and tables. Mayor Van Hunsaker called attention to the proclamation of May 20 as Downtown Philomath Day.
The details of those types of occurrences from past meetings are now easily accessible to the public through the city’s new electronic document archiving system. The city entered into an agreement with a company called Laserfiche, which provides document storage and the needed web interface to connect citizens and researchers to past materials, such as City Council minutes.
Beyond those glimpses into the city’s past, the system is also used for current-day document needs.
“We keep adding documents on there and this will save us time when we have revisions to council packets and things like that,” City Recorder Ruth Post told the City Council at its May 13 meeting. “It just gives the public a lot more access. We have 30 years of City Council minutes available on that portal. … Not many cities under 10,000 can actually say that.”
The city document archiving upgrade was paid for through American Rescue Plan Act funds.
In other news out of the May 13 meeting:
• The council recognized Lige Weedman, Public Works employee, for 10 years of service to the city.
• The council approved a consent agenda that included annual Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission liquor license renewals for 12 local businesses.
• The council opted to retain Westech Engineering as the city’s engineer of record and Keller Associates as a support engineer following the request for proposals process. Westech has been the city’s engineer of record since the early 1980s.
• The council approved a resolution to authorize the city to apply for an Oregon Department of Energy grant. An allowable project type covered under the grant would allow the installation of electric vehicle charging stations in the downtown area, a goal included in the city’s Strategic Plan.
• The council approved a resolution to adopt a Storm Drainage Master Plan, the first update of the city document since 1998. A Westech engineer and Public Works Director was on hand to answer questions prior to the plan’s approval.
• Prior to the regular meeting, councilors met for a 90-minute work session to discuss next steps related to supporting government-subsidized workforce housing. The city has identified a lot at the corner of 20th and Main streets as a potential site for an affordable housing project. Riley Fritsch, executive director and founder of Innovative Development for Rural Affordable Housing, led a presentation about a potential partnership.
• During councilor comments, Teresa Nielson mentioned an email she received from a community member about a possible opportunity related to a grocery store coming to town. “She had spoken with a manager at a grocery store on the coast and they’re interested in maybe talking more to us,” she said. Nielson described the interested party as an “individually-owned grocery store chain.” The communication was forwarded to the city manager to investigate and gauge possible interest.
