Corvallis School Board: The Corvallis School District will see some new and other familiar faces in the upcoming election for school board on May 16.
Two Corvallis residents are both seeking the soon to be vacant seat of Tina Baker, who has been on the board since 2019 and will not be seeking reelection. Chris Hawkins is a substitute teacher for the school district and will be running against Steven Castellano who volunteers at the Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center, according to their candidacy filings.
Also not seeking reelection is Vince Adams who was first elected in 2013. Judah Largent, a partner in the Riddell & Largent law firm will be running unopposed for Adams’ seat.
Two incumbent board members will be running unopposed, Terese Jones and Sarah Finger McDonald.
Your Landfill Survey Deadline is Today: If you’ve been reading this column the last two weeks, you’ve known this was coming. It’s the final day for residents to complete the survey for the Benton County Trash Talks workgroup and provide feedback on their draft recommendations. The deadline to complete the survey is today, March 22.
Interested community members will also have an opportunity for public comment at the March 23 committee meeting. In a release from the county, they are seeking community input on the work group’s findings and recommendations for the county’s solid waste disposal and management.
The final draft is expected to be released on April 3, with a community open house scheduled for April 4. The Solid Waste Process Workgroup meetings are held in person at the Benton County Kalapuya Building. Virtual attendance opportunities are available.
Council, Mayor Debrief: At a work session on Thursday, the new mayor and members of the Corvallis City Council will be hosting the next in a series of orientation sessions aimed at highlighting team building.
“In alignment with a new city policy, 10 orientation sessions covering 15 different themes were held between July and December of 2022 to orient pre-candidates, candidates, and elected officials and provide an understanding of the role of the council as a body, the functions of city government, the responsibilities of its elected officials, and the key City resources,” said City Recorder Alex Downing.
Some of the topics up for discussion during the orientation sessions include city services fee evaluations and low-income assistance program, local option levy renewal, discussion of rolling moratorium proposal for houseless camping, the low-income property tax exemptions and the natural gas franchise agreement.
“During the policy revision process some Councilors expressed a desire to debrief on the program after the 2022 election cycle,” said Downing.
This is open to the public and will take place at the March 23 work session. For more information visit https://archives.corvallisoregon.gov/public/ElectronicFile.aspx?dbid=0&docid=3456996
By Jennifer Williams
