The first Salem City Council meeting of 2025 will kick off Monday with the swearing in of a new mayor and city councilors.
Julie Hoy will be sworn in as the new mayor. New City Councilors Paul Tigan, Shane Matthews and Irvin Brown will be sworn in for first terms, and Ward 7 City Councilor Vanessa Nordyke will be sworn in for her second full term.
City Councilors Linda Nishioka, Deanna Gwyn and Micki Varney are also returning for the second half of their terms.
City Councilor Julie Hoy is set to be sworn in as mayor during Monday’s Salem City Council meeting.
Former Ward 6 City Councilor Julie Hoy was elected mayor in the May 2024 primary election, defeating incumbent Mayor Chris Hoy.
Her council seat will remain vacant until a May special election.
Three first-time city councilors won their contested races in May and will be sworn-in.
Tigan won the Ward 1 seat, which includes downtown, parts of West Salem and north-central Salem. Tigan is the vice president of environment and sustainability at the Metropolitan Group, a creative and strategic agency that works with social purpose groups. Tigan has also served on the Salem Citizen Budget Committee.
Matthews won the Ward 3 seat representing south Salem. Matthews, a real estate agent, also served on the Citizen Review Board for the Oregon Department of Justice to review Department of Human Services cases.
Brown won the Ward 5 seat, which represents north Salem. Brown, who holds a doctorate in education, is a policy advisor for DHS. He has also served on various committees including the Marion County Sheriff’s Community Advisory Committee, chair of the Salem Citizen Budget Committee, city Equity Round Table Committee, Chemeketa Community College Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, Chemeketa Community College President’s Circle and Salem-Keizer School District Superintendent’s Transition Committee.
The year is expected to be a challenging one for Salem City Council. City officials are forecasting a multimillion dollar budget shortfall. A new forecast released Friday updated the initial report of a $17.7 million deficit to $13.8 million.
A levy to keep the library and Center 50+ open could go to voters in May. Major cuts are expected.
Current and former city leaders said the council must unify and work together to address these challenges.
Salem City Council agenda items
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A vote on authorizing the city manager to execute a lease agreement with SAIF at 440 Church St. SE for a temporary relocation of Civic Center services. The Salem Civic Center Improvement project requires vacating City Hall. One of the two selected sites for relocation is the fourth and fifth floors of the Parkway building owned by SAIF. Most city hall staff will be housed at this location, including the City Manager’s Office, Community Planning and Development Department, Community Services Department, Finance Department and Customer Service Center. Construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months. The term of the lease would begin June 1 and end Nov. 30, 2026. The renovation of City Hall, which will include a seismic retrofit and roof replacement, is funded by the 2022 voter-approved infrastructure bond.
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A vote authorizing payment of $163,600 to the father of a teen killed in a south Salem crash in 2020 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. Sara Schumann, 17, was a passenger in a vehicle while on a date. The driver ran a stop sign, crashed and was sentenced to prison for criminally negligent homicide. Sara’s father, Douglas Schumann, sued the city in 2022 for $2.8 million for allegedly causing her death by failing to post proper speed signs, street lighting and signs warning of a stop sign at the intersection where she died.
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A vote on designating May 20 as the date for a special election to fill the Ward 6 council position left vacant by Julie Hoy.
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A vote on forming a City Budget Efficiencies Committee. A motion by City Councilor Varney requests the city form the committee with the structure suggested by the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce in a Dec. 11 letter to the city. Varney has proposed the Salem Chamber of Commerce be invoiced for all costs associated with maintaining and supporting the committee.
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A vote on creating a mid-year project titled “Phase 3 West Forest Restoration Project,” which will include mitigating invasive species and planting native species at a 48-acre area in the Minto Island Conservation Area of Minto-Brown Island Park. The project is funded through a $546,530 restoration grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board with matching funds provided through in-kind services of city staff and the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.
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Appointments to the Community Police Review, Salem Planning Commission and Salem Public Arts Commission.
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A proclamation declaring Jan. 13 as a day of recognition for Jayne Downing, who is set to retire as the executive director of the Center for Hope and Safety after more than 27 years.
How to participate in the Salem City Council meeting
The meeting is at 6 p.m. It will be held in person in the City Council Chambers at the Salem Civic Center, 555 Liberty St. SE, and can be watched on Comcast Cable CCTV Channel 21 or on the Salem YouTube channel in English/American Sign Language and Spanish.
Those wishing to comment in person can sign up on the rosters at the chamber entrance before the start of the meeting.
Written public comments on agenda items can be emailed by 5 p.m. Monday to cityrecorder@cityofsalem.net. Or preregister between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday at cityofsalem.net/Pages/Public-Comment-at-Salem-City-Council-Meeting.aspx to speak during the meeting via Zoom.
For questions, comments and news tips, email reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on X at @wmwoodworth
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem council to OK settlement for teen killed in 2020 crash