Those outdoor temporary dining setups around downtown could morph to permanent structures if the Greater Corvallis Restaurant Association has anything to say about. According GCRA president Steven Richmond, the advocacy group will be submitting a formal proposal to City Councilors this week.
Their most ambitious proposal is permitting availability for year-round permanent structures, according to a release from the association.
“The total space for the permanent programs should be around 36 feet, or four head in parking spaces. The increase from the current program is to allow extra room for safety features and the support structures for the roofs. The structures should maintain a 1-foot setback from automobile travel lanes, and 6 inches from marked bicycle lanes.”
“Roofs should be a maximum of 10 feet above the sidewalk grade and have the option for overlapping the sidewalk by 2 feet. They should be properly lit to ensure that they are visible to bicycles and vehicles.”
The GCRA proposal says there should be two permitting options, one permanent allowing structures like aforementioned, and another seasonal. The proposal contemplates that at least the permanent structures would fully meet ADA and fire code requirements, which the prior temporary outdoor dining program had not.
GCRA president, Steven Richmond said, “The policy took inspiration from already existing outdoor seating policies from cities like Portland and Bend, which have had huge success from their programs. It allows restaurants to invest in materials that are more permanent and nicer than the tents that were used in the past, and it allows them to build electric heaters and gives them the opportunity to make large investments in these areas and make the streets of Corvallis unique and beautiful. I think this is a program that nearly everyone supports ranging from customers, retailers, city officials, to restaurants.”
No timeline yet on when it may go to hearing. At press time, the June 5 council agenda had not yet been posted.
Gazette-Times Reducing Print Days: Starting June 27, once local newspaper, the Corvallis Gazette-Times will reduce their print days to Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and will shift to mail delivery by the post office.
The move was expected. Lee Enterprises, owner of the Gazette-Times, is the sixth largest newspaper chain nationwide, and they’ve already shifted many of their properties to this new schedule. Lee was the target of a hostile takeover bid last year, and many industry observers believe they will continue aggressive cost cutting in hopes of staving off a similar bid in the future.
Local Unemployment Decreases: Benton County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.1% in April, down from its revised rate of 3.4% in March. Oregon’s statewide unemployment rate in April was 4.0%, down from its revised March rate of 4.4%.
Benton County’s employment gains in April were more than normal; total nonfarm employment increased by 330 jobs, when an employment increase of 90 jobs would be expected. As a result, seasonally adjusted employment increased 240 jobs between March and April.
Seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment is now up 2.4% from the level in February 2020, 1,030 jobs above its pre-pandemic level. Over the past year Benton County’s seasonally adjusted total nonfarm employment is up 2,020 jobs or 4.8%.
The private sector overall added 220 jobs over the month. The gains were widespread in a number of sectors. Durable goods manufacturing, and trade, transportation, and utilities were the only industries with declines in April, each shedding 10 jobs. The public sector added 110 jobs in April. Local government employment added 100 jobs. Federal government employment gained 10 in April. State government employment was unchanged.
Moves for SamCare, Campus Care: Construction of a new Health Center that co-houses a Samaritan Health Services primary clinic with Oregon State University student health services is nearly complete and will open this summer.
The Health Center is located at 850 SW 26th St., at the southwest corner of Reser Stadium. Reserved parking spots will be available for students accessing Student Health Services clinic, as well as community members visiting the Samaritan Health Services clinic. The SamCare Express on Circle will move into the new facility in July.
The new 30,000-square-foot building will house most of the clinical services offered by Oregon State’s Student Health Services. For their part, Samaritan will provide primary care services to Oregon State faculty and staff and members of the Corvallis community – they will lease and occupy the entire second floor.
Oregon State’s Student Health Services expects to move into the new building in late June. Student Health Services will continue to offer rapid care services in the Tebeau Residence Hall during the academic year, along with telehealth appointments.
This summer a new campus pharmacy will open near the Health Center in the Samaritan Athletic Medicine Center, located at 845 S.W. 30th St.
What’s OSU Saying: “Contributing to community wellness is a university priority,” said OSU President Jayathi Y. Murthy. “We are very pleased to offer expanded health care services on the Corvallis campus for students, and we welcome the opportunity to collaborate with Samaritan Health Services in providing campus-based health care services for OSU faculty and staff, and local residents.”
“The health center is a major component of Oregon State University’s Completing Reser project, which not only updates the westside of the football stadium, but contributes to year-round activities and services within the stadium, including a new welcome center for prospective students and their families, and this impressive health center.”
What’s Samaritan Saying: “At Samaritan Health Services, our mission is ‘building healthier communities together,’ and this collaboration between Oregon State University and Samaritan is a shining example of the mission in action,” said Doug Boysen, president and chief executive office of Samaritan. “When we work together, we can achieve so much good for the health and well-being of the community.”
“This collaboration is the result of years of shared visioning between our organizations,” said Kelley Kaiser, senior vice president and chief administrative officer at Samaritan. “As an OSU graduate and longtime leader at Samaritan, I am proud that we have been able to build this health center together to serve students, faculty and the community.”
OSU Also Says: “The new Health Center expands the services available to OSU students and provides convenient, campus-based access to services for Oregon State faculty and staff in Corvallis,” said Kelly Hower, executive director of Student Health Services at Oregon State.
OBI Annual Conference: Gov. Tina Kotek and many members of the Legislature joined hundreds of business leaders at last Wednesday’s the Oregon Business & Industry Annual Meeting. Highlights included a Q&A session with the governor; an assessment of Oregon’s national competitiveness by Kat Saunders, a partner with Economic Leadership LLC; and a presentation on voter sentiments by John Horvick, senior vice president at DHM Research.
Saunders’ presentation echoed much of Oregon Business & Industry’s, or OBI’s, own research about Oregon’s competitiveness, including their 2022 report on the states rapidly increasing business tax burden. Among the challenges Saunders identified are Oregon’s shrinking population, its high cost of living, soaring property crime and the rising cost of doing business.
The latter trend has contributed to a precipitous drop in a key national competitiveness ranking. In 2012, Oregon’s “cost of doing business” ranking was 23rd, according to CNBC’s Top States for Business index. In 2022, it was 34th, a drop of 11 places over a decade.
According to a release from OBI, “The economic challenges Saunders described are well known to most employers. They’re also the very problems the legislative agenda contained in OBI’s Growth and Innovation Roadmap is intended to address. Among other things, the agenda includes changes to the state’s tax code, including the creation of a research and development tax credit; several regulatory reform measures; and the creation of an Office of Business Ombuds.”
Horvick’s presentation indicated that Oregonians are experiencing similar economic pressures. According to a survey DHM conducted in late April for OBI, only 25% of likely voters believe the state is headed in the right direction, a 20-year low.
52% believe the state’s economy is headed in the wrong direction. And 74% say the state, if faced with a recession, should cut spending rather than raise taxes. The pro-restraint sentiment was even stronger in the Portland area, where 76% would rather cut spending than raise taxes.
You can read more about DHM’s survey on OBI’s website here, and you can view Horvick’s presentation here. You can read more about Oregon’s competitiveness on OBI’s website here, and you can view Saunders’ presentation here.
And now, your local business events calendar….
Corvallis Young Pros: Bring a friend, bring your business cards, and get ready to network! 5 to 7 pm, Tuesday, May 30, 2323 9th Street at Helix Training.
QuickBooks ONLINE Level 1: Offered through the LBCC Small Business Development Center. Learn how to use the most popular ONLINE business accounting software program used by small businesses. If you have never used QuickBooks Online or are just starting to use the program, this training is for you.
Class includes setting up company files, creating a chart of accounts, adding customers, jobs, and vendors. Also covers paying for expenses, invoicing, and receiving payments. Note: This class covers QuickBooks ONLINE only. This is NOT for desktop versions of QuickBooks.
2 to 4 pm, Wednesday, May 31. Fee is $75. Click here to register.
Changemakers: A Conversation with Amber Coyne: From Oregon State to India to Tennessee, Amber Coyne, MPH ’15, is making a profound impact on infectious disease community outreach, prevention and treatment.
Hear from Coyne during the next Changemakers live webcast for an important conversation about how her roots in public health and special interests in LGBTQ+ health equity, harm reduction and language justice propel her to find innovative ways to address public health risks in order to keep our most vulnerable populations safe.
At the Tennessee Department of Health, she oversees the development and implementation of End the Syndemic Tennessee (ETS); syndemic describes synergistically related, clustered epidemics and the social conditions within a specific place and time that impact the health of communities. Her work with ETS addresses the prevention of systemic epidemics as well as HIV, sexually transmitted infections, substance use disorder and viral hepatitis.
5:30 to 6:30 pm, Thursday, June 1. Register to join the FREE live webcast.
Thought Leadership Series: Titled “The Complex World of Networks: The Implications on Business” this talk features Franziska (Franzi) Schmid, Oregon State University Assistant Professor of Marketing in the College of Business. Franzi’s research focuses on the impact that social networks have on social influence, sales performance, and social media marketing metrics – with the ultimate goal of studying networks to better understand the behaviors of the systems they represent.
During Franzi’s Thought Leadership Series Event, you’ll learn:
- How to adopt a customer-centric approach, focusing on creating value for the customer, through applying an Outside-In Marketing strategy;
- How information flows within a network, what type of information flows within a network, and who facilitates the flow of information within a network through a Social Network Analysis and;
- The various impacts that social networks have on performance, innovation, and knowledge sharing.
12 to 1 pm, Wednesday, June 7, free online event, click here to register.
Going Into Business: Facilitated by Linn-Benton Community College SBDC. In just one session, you’ll get all the basic information you will need to begin planning your successful business. Rules, regulations, financing, customers, markets, and feasibility will all be discussed in this FREE seminar! This seminar is offered through Zoom video conferencing.
6:30 to 7:20 pm, Tuesday, June 13. Free online course. Click here to register.
Women in Business Luncheon: Alisha Carlson works with women using her non-diet approach to food, fitness, and life transformation to help her clients create a healthy and balanced lifestyle without dieting, deprivation, or restriction. Alisha teaches women how to radically love themselves, their bodies, and their lives before they ever lose a pound by healing their relationship to food, exercise, their bodies, and themselves.
12 pm., Wednesday, June 14, Courtyard Marriott in Corvallis, 400 SW 1st Street. Click here to register.
QuickBooks ONLINE Level 2: Facilitated by Linn-Benton Community College SBDC. If you have completed QB Online Level 1 or are slightly more than a “new user” of QuickBooks Online, this training will help expand your existing base of knowledge. Class includes lessons in fundamentals of accounting, reconciling bank accounts, inventory, and running reports. Note: This is for the Online version of QuickBooks. This is NOT for the desktop or Mac versions.
2 to 4 pm., Wednesday, June 14. Fee is $75. Click here to register.
Considering Grad School: This virtual session introduces the Graduate Business Programs at Oregon State University! In this online session they will cover graduate program options in the College of Business, including the MBA, Master’s, and Graduate Certificates programs. They will also introduce the curriculum, program tracks, admission and financial aid, and what sets Oregon State apart from other programs. Oregon State University offers graduate business programs in Portland, Corvallis, and online.
12 to 1 pm, Wednesday, June 21. Online event, click here to register.
Business Book Club: Discuss one new book each month with the intention to come away being more empowered, motivated, and knowledgeable about business, career, and professional development. This month, the group will discuss “Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage” by Alfred Lansing.
5 to 6 pm., Wednesday June 21. The Biere Library, 151 Northwest Monroe Avenue, Corvallis. Click here for more information.
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