Posted inCity of Salem Trees

Beautiful bigleaf maple damaged by another City of Salem screwup

I've been blogging about the City of Salem's War on Trees ever since City officials engaged in unethical backroom dealmaking so five gorgeous Japanese Zelkovas on downtown's State Street -- a.k.a. the U.S. Bank trees -- could be cut down for no good reason in 2013.  In 2014 I wrote: Here's a dirty (or let's say, sawdusty) open secret: the City of Salem doesn't really care much about trees. It allows beautiful healthy trees to be cut down when they don't need to, bowing to special interests rather than the broad public interest, often ignoring expert arborist advice in favor of making…
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Posted inCity of Salem Smart growth

Salem, it’s OK to reinvent yourself. Don’t cling to the past.

During my 40-year tortured relationship with Salem -- love you! hate you! let's never part! divorce time! -- here's one of the things that bugs me the most about the town I both can't leave and can't be totally happy with. Salemians (the obviously proper word for people who live here) tend to expect that our city's future should be like the past, only more so. Conservatism runs rampant, even when this isn't of the political variety. Bold visions of what could be are shunned in favor of sticking with an embrace of what has been. Individuals frequently reinvent themselves.…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City of Salem

Salem needs some civic cheerleaders

I wish Salem had more cheerleaders. I'm not talking about the rah-rah pom-pom wielding variety (though I love them too; my granddaughter is one), but people who manifest these qualities: (1) They have an over-arching creative progressive vision for the marvelous town Salem can become.(2) They have the charisma and drive to draw others into supporting this vision.(3) They have the power, talent, influence, and resources to convert visionary dreams into reality. I got to thinking about this after someone thanked me for my blog posts about Sustainable Fairview, the project to redevelop the Fairview Training Center in south Salem…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

So, who’s in charge at the City of Salem?

I'm starting to hear people wonder why goings-on at the City of Salem haven't changed more this year, given that four newly-elected city councilors joined Tom Andersen to form a 5-4 progressive majority on the City Council. Well, this is sort of similar to asking why Republicans haven't been able to get much of their legislative agenda passed even though they control the presidency and both houses of Congress. Politics is complicated. So are bureaucracies.  But at the national level, the reins of power are easier to discern. Here in Salem, all one has to do is look at a…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem

Climate Action Plan an absolute must for Salem City Council

Yesterday Donald Trump made a great argument for the Salem Climate Action Plan that was a major focus of last night's City of Salem Strategic Plan open house at the Broadway Commons. In one of the most shameful actions in his scandal-plagued presidency, Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement.  His announcement gave no coherent reasons for doing this. Trump simply lied, as he always does.  Yesterday, President Donald Trump gave a speech announcing that the US would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. It is a remarkable address, in its own way, in that virtually every…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City of Salem

Demand a Salem Climate Action Plan. Speak up on June 1!

Donald Trump doesn't accept the reality of global warming. He's working to reverse our nation's environmental protection efforts aimed at reducing harmful carbon emissions.  So this makes it even more important that Salem stand up for science, sustainability, and moving toward a 21st century economy that isn't based on outmoded fossil fuel assumptions of "drill, drill, drill" and "drive, drive, drive" (internal combustion vehicles). Salem needs a Climate Action Plan. Next Thursday, June 1, the City of Salem is holding a Strategic Plan Open House at the Broadway Commons from 6 to 8 pm. People need to speak up at…
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Posted inCity of Salem Third Bridge

Some City of Salem officials want to toll our bridges. No one else does.

Dirty little secrets deserve to be broadcast to the world when this is in the public interest.  At last night's City Council meeting I was pleased to play a part in revealing something that the folks at City Hall have been trying to hide as best they could: The main source of projected funding for the $430 million Third Bridge (or Salem River Crossing) is tolls -- $175 million worth, generated by a $1.50 each way charge to cross both the new bridge and the two existing bridges.  Here's the proof: a chart from the official Salem River Crossing Project…
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Posted inCity of Salem Downtown

New Salem Main Street Association debuts with questions and concerns

As reported by the Salem Breakfast on Bikes blog, a new downtown group has been formed -- the Salem Main Street Association.  On Thursday the 20th, the nascent Salem "Main Street" project is going to have something of an Open House at the Ike Box. I'm planning to attend the get-together at the IKE Box because I heartily agree with the bottom-line sentiment on the group's flyer: Here's to a vibrant downtown. However, I and others have questions and concerns about this latest attempt to form an organization that should represent the varied interests of downtown visitors, residents, businesses, and…
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Posted inCity of Salem Downtown

Open letter to Downtown Salem Streetscape Committee

TO:   Kristin Retherford        City of Salem Urban Development Director, and        Chair, Downtown Salem Streetscape Committee FROM: Brian Hines RE: Thoughts about transforming downtown Salem through a Streetscape Project Kristin, I'm super-enthused about what your Streetscape Committee is doing. Carole Smith, one of the members, has shared her synopsis of the committee's first meeting with me. You've got a big job ahead of you, and I'm one of many people in Salem cheering you on who both love downtown as it is, while also realizing how much better it could be through transformative streetscaping. …
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Posted inCity of Salem Police facility

New police facility doesn’t fit with City of Salem “North Downtown Plan”

Here's another reason to vote against Measure 24-420, the second-try $62 million police facility bond measure on the May 2017 ballot: Building a police facility in the north downtown area (on the old DeLon/O'Brien auto dealership site) goes against longstanding plans for how this area should be developed. Salem Can Do Better lays out four other good reasons to vote NO, but this is a fairly fresh idea that just came to light for me.  I've heard criticisms of putting a large 115,000 square foot tax-exempt police facility on a prime piece of downtown land. But until someone mailed me several…
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Posted inChuck Bennett City of Salem

I won the Tree City USA photo contest! Mayor Bennett won’t like my acceptance speech.

Woo-hoo! My poignant photo of a citizen's flower memorial placed on a stump belonging to one of the U.S. Bank trees that were needlessly cut down in 2013 won the City of Salem's Tree City USA photo contest. Well, let's say that I'm virtually sure that I won, given the announcement on a rather obscure Facebook page belonging to the City, City of Salem Public Works Water.  Since my photo was the largest, and my name was mentioned first, I'll accept a win on behalf of the five beautiful Japanese Zelkovas that were killed for no good reason by clueless…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Police facility

Why I’m urging a NO vote on the new Salem police facility plan

I'm a positive guy. My wife often says, "You don't worry enough." (She does much of my worrying for me, like whether I'm eating enough cruciferous vegetables.) So I would have much preferred to say Yes to the second-try $62 million City of Salem police facility plan than No.  But I can't do this. Because I wouldn't be able to live with myself, and I'm not aware of any way to move out of my own mind. I led the fight against Measure 24-399, the first-try $82 million plan that was defeated by voters last November. So it made sense…
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Posted inChuck Bennett City of Salem Third Bridge

Mayor Bennett doubles down on false claim of no 3rd Bridge tolling

Mayor Bennett is going backwards, truth-telling-wise, on the City of Salem's false contention that there is no plan to toll any of Salem's bridges. Friday I blogged about the original falsity in "'Alternative Facts' in City of Salem Facebook post about 3rd Bridge tolls."  Regarding the post on the official City of Salem Facebook page, I said: I was deeply irritated after reading it, and not just because I'm strongly opposed to building an unneeded half-billion dollar 3rd Bridge, a.k.a. the Salem River Crossing (which would cost around a billion dollars once financing is included). What bugged me the most was…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Third Bridge

“Alternative facts” in City of Salem Facebook post about 3rd Bridge tolls

I've been worried that the Trump administration's love of "alternative facts," otherwise known as falsehoods, would creep into other levels of government such as the City of Salem.  Well, today that worry manifested as reality in a post about 3rd Bridge tolling on the City's Facebook page.  I was deeply irritated after reading it, and not just because I'm strongly opposed to building an unneeded half-billion dollar 3rd Bridge, a.k.a. the Salem River Crossing (which would cost around a billion dollars once financing is included). What bugged me the most was the disregard for evident facts in the post. Look, I…
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Posted inCitizen involvement City of Salem

“Stakeholders” and “Citizens” have different priorities at Salem Strategic Plan meetings

Salem residents gave City officials and their consultants an earful at last Tuesday's Salem Strategic Plan Open House at the Broadway Commons. Actually, many earfuls, as the large crowd of concerned citizens was feisty, outspoken, and unwilling to accept pat answers from the moderators. This photo, courtesy of the City of Salem Facebook page, only shows about half of the attendees. A partition at the back of the room had to be opened up to accommodate the unexpectedly large number of people who showed up to express their views about how Salem needs to change for the better. (My seated…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem T.J. Sullivan

Disturbing facts revealed about $749,000 Park Front urban renewal grant

After making a public records request to the City of Salem for documents related to approval of the $749,000 Park Front LLC grant, and reviewing what I got, I'm even more disturbed by how this grant request was handled -- which relates to how Downtown Urban Renewal funds are being handled in general. The easiest way to read this post is via an Adobe Spark web page I've fashioned. The images are larger on that web page, and copies of the documents are a bit easier to download and view. Just click below. Alternatively, scroll down and continue reading the…
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Posted inCity Council City of Salem Salem Weekly

Salem Weekly’s bright ideas for the new City Council

Salem Weekly, our alternative newspaper, is an indispensable voice for those who aren't listened to by the Powers That Be in this town. The Salem Weekly editorial board leans decidedly progressive, but that's as it should be in Salem, a city that votes liberal. Here's their end-of-year editorial -- a wish list of ideas to be considered in 2017 by the new City Council. New, because there are three fresh progressive faces on the council.  Naturally I couldn't resist adding in my own comments (in blue) on each of the 18 ideas. 18 IDEAS FOR THE NEW SALEM CITY COUNCIL…
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Posted inChamber of Commerce City of Salem

Few City of Salem “stakeholders” are ordinary citizens

Officials at the City of Salem are engaged in a strategic planning process that involves, in part, learning what sort of place people want our town to become. It's been criticized by the Breakfast on Bikes blogger in "City Strategic Planning Process too Opaque, Open House on 31st." Because of the winter storm earlier this month, the City's Open House on a strategic planning process was postponed until January 31st. At least from here the whole thing has seemed a little strange. If Council authorized it, we all missed it. If Council didn't authorize it, it's being funded by some secret…
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Posted inCity of Salem Third Bridge

City of Salem Third Bridge actions being appealed to LUBA. Yay!

Salem don't need no damn billion dollar Third Bridge boondoggle. That's one way of putting it. Another way is, The Salem River Crossing project has been marked by poor planning that failed to properly consider much less expensive and more environmentally-friendly alternatives to achieving the purported benefits of an additional bridge across the Willamette. Regardless, recent land use actions by the City of Salem in support of the Third Bridge by expanding Salem's urban growth boundary are being appealed by opponents of the Third Bridge to the Land Use Board of Appeals, LUBA. Thumbs up! Here's their press release. December…
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Posted inCity of Salem Downtown T.J. Sullivan

Salem City officials asked to explain $749,000 giveaway. Waiting for answers…

Do Salem's Mayor, Mayor-elect, city councilors, and other officials care about Truth and Transparency? In a few weeks we'll find out.  By January 6 I've asked them to explain -- in a simple, clear fashion -- why a $749,000 urban renewal grant was approved for the Park Front building on December 12. The applicant was T.J. Sullivan, a former city councilor and current vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce. I asked city councilors to say why they were going to vote "Yay" or "Nay" on the $749,000 when I testified in opposition to this giveaway during the public comment period…
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