Changes In City Leadership
The assistant city manager of Sherwood, Tom Pessemier, will be the new city manager in Independence. An engineer by training, Mr. Pessemier served as interim city manager for that city and was one of two finalists in the city-manager search by the town of Sisters, in central Oregon. Mr. Pessemier and his family reportedly will continue to reside in Sherwood.
-- Current City Manager David Clyne’s last scheduled council meeting will be mid-December. Mr. Pessemier is set to begin in early December.
-- Shannon Cockayne is expected to be named to the Independence City Council this Tuesday, following a close vote in which long-time councilor Diana Lindskog was defeated.
-- A new director for The Heritage Museum is scheduled to be announced, as well. City officials have said they see the museum as part of a tourist-appealing package currently being undertaken, as the hotel at Independence Landing moves toward completion. (The Independent will take another look at tourism in 2019, in an edition scheduled to coincide the hotel’s certificate of occupancy, which typically is received when doors open for customers).
-- Current City Manager David Clyne’s last scheduled council meeting will be mid-December. Mr. Pessemier is set to begin in early December.
-- Shannon Cockayne is expected to be named to the Independence City Council this Tuesday, following a close vote in which long-time councilor Diana Lindskog was defeated.
-- A new director for The Heritage Museum is scheduled to be announced, as well. City officials have said they see the museum as part of a tourist-appealing package currently being undertaken, as the hotel at Independence Landing moves toward completion. (The Independent will take another look at tourism in 2019, in an edition scheduled to coincide the hotel’s certificate of occupancy, which typically is received when doors open for customers).
New Fees for Home Businesses, Building
Licenses for home-based occupations are scheduled to come before the city council Tuesday, which would require a $225 fee for businesses conducted in houses, garages and accessory buildings.
In another potentially wide-ranging change, development and construction fees for permits and planning reviews are headed upward – in some cases, to several times above the current cost. It’s an effort to keep pace with the times, stated contracted City Planner Zach Pelz in a note of explanation that accompanied the proposed new fee schedule. Noting that some of these charges were listed at zero, Mr. Pelz observed that the new dollar amounts were designed to “more closely align with the actual cost incurred for a given review type.”
In another potentially wide-ranging change, development and construction fees for permits and planning reviews are headed upward – in some cases, to several times above the current cost. It’s an effort to keep pace with the times, stated contracted City Planner Zach Pelz in a note of explanation that accompanied the proposed new fee schedule. Noting that some of these charges were listed at zero, Mr. Pelz observed that the new dollar amounts were designed to “more closely align with the actual cost incurred for a given review type.”
City Homeless Shelter Proposal
The GATE Youth Association, which is building an 11,000-square-foot facility across from Central High School, will become a night-time “warming shelter” -- for the homeless or others in need of protection from the elements -- under a proposal scheduled to go before the city council Tuesday. The tentative plan calls for the youth center, currently under construction, to convert into a sleeping area as needed, from 7 pm, until 7 am during winter months. The center would receive $12,000 annually from the city to offer the night-time function. The concept is in the early stages, and not expected to go into effect until the fall of 2019.
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