Speaking with a flair for the positive, Mayor Christopher McMorran led community and business leaders through a “State of the City” presentation Thursday at the Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon.
McMorran covered a lot of ground during a 28-minute presentation and then followed up with another 10 minutes at the front of the room answering questions. Before leaving the podium, the mayor took a selfie with an audience that numbered just under 50 in the background.
McMorran, who was sworn in as mayor just nine days ago, provided city highlights from the past year with mentions of the new police chief and city recorder, council decisions, downtown streetscapes improvements and construction of the new veterans park. And he looked to the future with the skate park, water treatment plant, City Hall remodel and library expansion among the projects on the horizon, as well as the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo grandstands rebuild, which is situated in city-owned Skirvin Park.
“Given all that, the state of our city is strong,” McMorran said. “We have invested a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of energy and really preparing for the future, to building up our infrastructure, to keeping our communities safe, to building great communities and great neighborhoods — places where people can live, where they can raise a family and where they can have a great job and great opportunities.”
McMorran stressed the importance of community involvement moving forward.
“Philomath isn’t just the city government, it’s not just folks at City Hall, it’s not just police officers, it’s not just public works,” he said. “It’s all of us — and I think that’s where the City Council, the city government, is going to be really looking towards in the next little while. We need all of us to really be engaged, to really be a part of the next chapter for Philomath.”
Echoing comments he made during a speech at the Jan. 7 swearing-in ceremony, McMorran believes in the importance of making smart decisions today that will benefit Philomath decades down the road.
“I ask you to stay engaged, to participate in city government, to come to City Hall,” he said. “We’re going to come to you but we really do need every single person in town, in our community, to help us paint that picture and decide what our town will look like.”
During the talk, McMorran spent time talking about the city’s strategic plan, a document that serves as a roadmap to guide future decision-making. He also went through various infrastructure-related efforts in town.
“Probably the banner moment of the year was opening our Downtown Streetscapes Improvement Project, which has been going on for several years … so we’re really happy to have that completed finally,” he said. “That has improved safety through the downtown corridor, especially for people who are walking and biking.
“It’s part of a larger effort to make that downtown area from 14th to Seventh Street really be more of a commercial retail area,” he added. “We’re trying to attract more business, make it a place where people can get out of their cars, walk around, go get a book at a bookstore, go to a cafe, get some coffee, get folks out and about in the community and make it really an inviting place to be.”
