Annexation 3-454 : Why I Support This Measure

By Brian Hodson

Canby voters will decide this November whether to annex 32.1 acres of land on the outskirts of town for low density residential housing and a park. I support Measure 3-454 and here's why.

1. Canby Will Not Lose It's Small Town Feel. Many of the proponents of this annexation have concern of Canby losing it's small town feel with this measure. For me, this annexation is part of our town that we consider part of our city already! In addition, a large section of the land will be devoted to a park, which contributes to that small town, community feel.

2. Canby Can Handle The Growth. We have planned for this growth. With the addition of the Sequoia Bridge and our expanding industrial park, we are ready.

3. We Need Housing. We need this growth. With the housing market at record low inventory levels, we need this housing.

I urge you to support and vote in favor of Measure 3-454.

My Endorsement For City Council

By Brian Hodson

In November's election, we have three seats to fill on our city council. Four candidates are running for those three positions. I recently submitted the letter below to the Canby Herald, voicing who I endorsed and why:

Dear Editor:

In less than two months, you will be voting to fill three spots on our city council. While all candidates running have a sincere commitment to Canby, I urge you to retain Todd Rocha, Clint Coleman, and Greg Parker for your council.

These councilors bring a combined 7+ years of experience to the council. We’ve had a productive two years since I become mayor.  We’ve managed public safety issues (speed limits, sidewalks, safe routes to school). Our new fiscal policies for city budgeting will save money and streamline planning of city funds. New businesses have been opening as well as new housing developments during my term. We are the 9th safest city in the state of Oregon.

In a revolutionary move, we as a council asked you, the voters, to decide whether the city should use urban renewal dollars for our revitalized and improved civic building project. You can’t ask for a bigger voice than putting a major project such as this to the people.

As we look ahead to the exciting future that Canby has in store, this is the team that has proven their leadership and commitment to our city. Keep this council together and keep Canby strong.

Brian Hodson

Mayor

Please join me on November 4th in retaining Clint Coleman, Todd Rocha, and Greg Parker for city council.

Civic Building Update

By Brian Hodson

Our new civic building and library is proposed for 2nd Avenue between the movie theater and the 2 corner lots on Juniper. The city has acquired ownership of the lots needed for the project.

We have chosen the methodology to build the structure by doing what's called a CM/GC. This stands for "Construction Manager/General Contractor". This method enables us to better control costs and ensure that there are no project overruns.  It also helps us meet and not exceed our budget limits.

Today, the city will officially submit an RFP (Request For Proposal) to be included in the Daily Journal of Commerce. What this means is we are soliciting proposals from potential construction managers for the project. Our submission will officially be in this journal Monday, September 15th, 2014.

We will leave the proposal process open until October 15th, 2014, at which point an internal committee will review the proposals and make a recommendation to the city council.  The internal committee is: Councilor President Tim Dale, City Councilor Todd Rocha, interim City Manager Amanda Zieber, Library Director Melissa Kelly, Library Board President Roger Reif, and (when assigned), our new city manager.

After the Construction Manager is brought on, the next step is bringing in an architecture firm to create drawings for the project.