Stayton’s Economic Development and Strategy Plan took a leap forward with a thumbs up from the city council.
Adopted at the council’s Sept. 16 meeting, the report prepared by Bridge Economic Development and Mackenzie recommends a vision statement for Stayton, four broad goals to achieve the vision, and strategies and actions to accomplish each goal. Briefly, the four goals are: develop a proactive city culture; support and leverage existing industrial base; grow the talent base; and foster a great place.
The action matrix envisions the city cooperating with partners in other levels of government and lays out a set of tasks for the next five-year period. Goals for marketing, urban renewal and infrastructure improvements will be visited over the next two years.
“The city has started to implement the Economic Development strategies in a couple of ways,” said Dan Fleishman, planning and development director. “The strategies call for the city to be involved in the development of the necessary infrastructure to facilitate development in the Wilco Road corridor. Among those are intersection improvements and stormwater facilities. We are pursuing both of these.”
Fleishman said one of the first steps in designing a sub-regional stormwater facility is the determination of the seasonal high groundwater table in the area.
“This is accomplished by placing devices in the ground known as piezometers that record the depth of the groundwater,” Fleishman said.
According to Fleishman, the city has obtained permission from all of the property owners to place piezometers on their property. In early October the City submitted an application for a grant to the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development to pay for the installation, he said.
“If we receive the grant, we will also begin preliminary design of the intersection improvements,” he added.
“The 2019 Transportation System Plan calls for the Shaff/Wilco intersection to be a roundabout. We have a conceptual layout of the roundabout but we need to proceed with design of the improvements. The grant application asks for funds to begin that process so we can determine the right of way needs.”
In addition, the city is slowly moving toward establishing an urban renewal district to help fund these improvements, Fleishman said.
“I will soon be reaching out to the other taxing jurisdictions to discuss the potential impacts with them,” he added.
The report recognized the importance of city of Stayton economic development stakeholders to realize that “a heightened awareness for creating great and diverse places that embrace all residents is a critical step in attracting talent, fostering a sense of identity, and growing a resilient economic base.
“The city leaders also understand that complex issues driving income stratification and workforce skills gaps are making it more difficult for every resident to realize positive personal economic growth in keeping with business growth.
“Grounded in an agricultural and industrial legacy and driven by innovative future looking businesses, Stayton values its residents, history, downtown, and natural beauty. Every resident and business has the opportunity to thrive and grow…”
For information, call Fleishman at 503-769-2998.
