Building a Better Salem
Welcome to What's Happening Salem!
In this episode, Jacob Espinoza and Brandon Summers talk about:
- Updates on the Truitt building development project on Front Street, including plans for wine tasting rooms, food halls, and multifamily homes.
- Changes to Oregon's drug laws, including new deflection programs and penalties for low-level drug possession.
- Salem's upcoming National Voter Registration Day on September 17th, 2024.
- And much more!
Timestamps:
02:35 - Advantage's viral Facebook meme
03:13 - Updates on the Truitt building development project
05:16 - Discussion about driving on Front Street
07:57 - Oregon's new drug laws and deflection programs
10:50 - Challenges of addressing substance use and addiction
12:49 - Salem's National Voter Registration Day announcement
16:46 - The value of unbiased information in local politics
Transcript
You are tuned in to the What's Happening Salem podcast presented
Speaker:by Advantage Heating and Electrical, changing the contracting world with love,
Speaker:empathy, and kindness, and a lot of hard work. We appreciate you being here,
Speaker:Salem.
Speaker:What's happening, Salem?
Speaker:We're back. What's happening, Salem? August 30th,
Speaker:our second episode, my good friend Brandon Summers from Advantage Heating and Air
Speaker:Conditioning. How are you doing, man? I'm doing good, man. We are,
Speaker:working really hard over here and doing everything that we can to
Speaker:continually up our game, and that's been a big focus of ours the last few
Speaker:weeks. We're going into fall. It's usually a little bit of a slower season, so
Speaker:we're working out promotions and specials and all that kind of thing and then
Speaker:training super hard and providing amazing service. And partly because in the
Speaker:fall, we tend to do a whole lot of, like, tune ups and services and
Speaker:things like that. You know, you're doing more preventative measures and
Speaker:performance measures for your system. To us, that means, you know, we're focused
Speaker:on service. Right? And so it's customer service all the way, customer experience. We're training
Speaker:on that super hard, helping people get to know their system better, make sure it
Speaker:has longevity, that kind of thing. So Yeah. Been a huge focus over here. It's
Speaker:been taking a lot of time, a lot of work. We had a lot of
Speaker:people, but it's been good. It's been good. It always feels good to, you know,
Speaker:put in a solid day and have some intensity. And Yeah. Your team is working
Speaker:harder now for sure, and you do a great job. It's awesome having, you know,
Speaker:business with the longevity of yours and the community. And we were talking a little
Speaker:bit earlier about social media and how you just never really know what's gonna pop
Speaker:off. You had a a meme that that kind of went viral on Facebook. That's
Speaker:always it's always fun when that happens. Yeah. It was kinda just,
Speaker:like, you had 2 clips. Right? It was a breakdancer that was
Speaker:obviously killing it in the beginning of the video, and it was kinda, like, showcasing
Speaker:it was kinda showcasing, like, you get what you pay for. Right? And then it
Speaker:shifted over to, Ray Gun dancing, and the music got all funky. And, yeah,
Speaker:it was we it was just, like, kind of a funny thing. We didn't even
Speaker:create it. Someone showed it to us and we're like, oh, that would work for
Speaker:our page because it was a contractor style post. And, last minute, I was like,
Speaker:yeah, Boone. Did you ever post that? He's like, oh, let me let me throw
Speaker:that up and see. And a week later, it has 304,000 views and then
Speaker:we shared all over. It was yeah. And it was just like a it was
Speaker:kind of an afterthought of a post, but, yeah, it just went nuts. Like, you
Speaker:you literally never know. I think that's why, you know, anyone who's creating
Speaker:content, the game is, you know, it's not quality
Speaker:or quantity. It's kinda like both, especially today. You need quality content,
Speaker:but at the same time, you don't know what's gonna pop. So you need reps.
Speaker:You need just consistency and let the people decide what they like.
Speaker:100%. And, letting the people decide what
Speaker:they like. I think people are gonna like what's happening at the
Speaker:Truett building facility. This has been a, a building as a
Speaker:cannery for a long time. It's an incredible location on Front Street.
Speaker:I'll pull up this article that, ran on KPTV
Speaker:a while back. And I think people have kind of forgotten about all the
Speaker:plans for this because it's when you learn more about, like, commercial
Speaker:real estate, it is such a slow burn. Like these projects
Speaker:just take forever when it comes to getting the proper permits,
Speaker:working on land use, just all the things involved. So
Speaker:currently, Trent Michaels, who is the principal of the development team, said the plan
Speaker:is to demolish the bulk of the property and repurpose historic buildings,
Speaker:until wine tasting rooms, food halls, and brew hubs. But they also are looking
Speaker:at more than 370 multifamily homes, which is a big
Speaker:deal because our population in Salem has been growing like crazy. There's
Speaker:even this concept for a a stadium for a
Speaker:soccer team. Really? And this was this
Speaker:article came out was let's look at the date. April 21,
Speaker:2023. So it's been you know what I mean? Like,
Speaker:16 months that this census came out. But I just got an update
Speaker:from Jordan True at last week that they're
Speaker:finally ready to, like, start tearing things down.
Speaker:Starting with the bridge, he said the next couple of weeks, we might be seeing
Speaker:that bridge come down. But it's just kinda interesting. So I'll read the
Speaker:the text that he said. Yeah. Yeah. He sent me, the buyer and the city
Speaker:planners have come to an understanding of their land use application, which is now
Speaker:deemed complete. This was by far the biggest hurdle to work through,
Speaker:further complicated by the federal rates grant, which complicated the development timeline
Speaker:for analysis and study of the French Corridor. Despite the
Speaker:seller completing all these same studies proactively and on
Speaker:their own dime, the federal requirements of the grant would have delayed the project for
Speaker:years. Having worked through a solution with the city, it appears as though the biggest
Speaker:challenge of acquiring land use approval is now complete.
Speaker:And that this could just be such a cool space for Salem. Like, on the
Speaker:river, Front Street could just turn into something just a lot
Speaker:just great, you know, for our community. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, right now, it's kinda
Speaker:just that weird back way that you get through from, like,
Speaker:Salem into more of the Keiser area. And, like, yeah, it's really
Speaker:just in industrial, which can be that can be a vibe. Right? Like, you have
Speaker:places in Portland, like, pro district and stuff like that that very much has that
Speaker:same industrial vibe, but there's still a lot going on over there. You might have
Speaker:nice condos or interesting restaurants or, like you mentioned, like wine tasting
Speaker:and stuff like that. It'd be really interesting to see what changes
Speaker:on that side. You're right. Right now, it really is just
Speaker:like a a street people use to get from Salem to Keiser and not have
Speaker:to worry about traffic lights. Yep. Like, you kinda just cut through there to to
Speaker:get to Keiser or to get to Salem if you're coming from Keiser.
Speaker:And that leads to another kinda interesting conversation I
Speaker:had recently. Like, how do you drive on Front Street?
Speaker:Because you got the train tracks there. There isn't really, like, a clearly defined
Speaker:which side of the road is which, like, where the right lane starts, where the
Speaker:left lane starts. People kind of choose their own adventure when they're
Speaker:driving down Front Street. Yep. And you could be behind, like, 3 different people, and
Speaker:all of them are taking different paths sometimes. Like, really, your goal is just let
Speaker:me avoid cars coming out of you while I'm driving. You're either, like,
Speaker:splitting try to split the the actual tracks or you're, like,
Speaker:crowding the sidewalk and, like, that is, like, the lane on that side, but really
Speaker:you kinda have to be half on the tracks to feel like you're in any
Speaker:kind of lane. And then, the best is when a train
Speaker:starts actually using it. And, out of nowhere, like, that completely cuts
Speaker:you off about halfway through. Yeah. Like, am I gonna die today on Front
Speaker:Street? It's like it becomes a question quickly. Well, when I was,
Speaker:like, 16, 17, there's, like, a couple there's plenty
Speaker:of sec right? It's not like it's not a very smooth road. Right? Like, you
Speaker:have like, there's sections where it's, like, kinda wavy, like, especially over
Speaker:near the curb. Mhmm. There were times when I was younger where we would try
Speaker:and hit one of those going pretty quick, and try and see
Speaker:how much we could notice the sudden elevation on the road right near
Speaker:you know, over the corner of a sidewalk or something. So, yeah, definitely
Speaker:definitely wild driving over there. It would be fun to talk to Salem PD and
Speaker:just be like, what are the actual rules of this road? How does how does
Speaker:it go? How do we how are we supposed to navigate this complexity here? Should
Speaker:I have, like, a poll or throw something in? Maybe a write in question on
Speaker:your on your Instagram? And then, we can share how everyone else thinks you're
Speaker:supposed to drive on there sometime. That's definitely gonna be a thing. That's definitely gonna
Speaker:be a thing. In the comments, let us know. How do you drive on Front
Speaker:Street? Yeah. Something else that just came up.
Speaker:Oh, a story I had about Front Street is a
Speaker:gnarly bike accident. Like, I was driving my bike from Kaiser to
Speaker:downtown, and for I thought I took a a good enough angle to make it
Speaker:across the, train tracks. But my front tire just got stuck
Speaker:in the train track. I went flying over, ended up breaking my
Speaker:elbow. It was not not the best experience. I definitely don't
Speaker:recommend riding your bike on a front tree. Like, walk your bike over the train
Speaker:tracks for sure. Even pedestrian activity over there is sketchy between trains
Speaker:and cars not knowing where they're supposed to drive? Yeah. Pretty much. You have to
Speaker:be in a car there. You're not gonna make it. And, speaking of things that
Speaker:didn't make it, I'm just gonna just transition my way through this. But
Speaker:the measure measure 110 Yeah, man. Didn't didn't
Speaker:quite work out the way some had hoped to. I think this is definitely a
Speaker:case of good intentions for sure, but just
Speaker:didn't quite pan out the way people had hoped it would. This is an article
Speaker:I'm looking at in the Salem reporter. The next chapter in Oregon's fight against
Speaker:fentanyl starts next week. Starting Sunday 14th, counties
Speaker:in Oregon will start deflecting programs that are intended to help people
Speaker:enter recovery and avoid criminal charges in jail. The new timing of the program
Speaker:coincides with the start of a new misdemeanor penalty for low level drug
Speaker:possession. Both of the product of house bill 4,002, which states
Speaker:lawmakers passed this year after fentanyl overdoses killed
Speaker:about 1400 Oregonians in 2023. That is
Speaker:just a staggering number, especially when you compare it to
Speaker:2019 where it's 280. Like, that
Speaker:increase is scary. It it really is terrifying. This
Speaker:bill, though, recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs while
Speaker:prioritizing recovery instead of jail time. I mean,
Speaker:that part that part totally makes sense to me. Right? I've had family members who
Speaker:struggled with addiction, anything from alcohol to heroin. Right? When you see someone who
Speaker:is addicted, obviously, they need to be in the head space where they wanna make
Speaker:a change for themselves. Like, it's impossible to force it no matter how bad you
Speaker:may want it. Yeah. But I guess depending on what it is and look
Speaker:I what do I know? Right? I'm just a guy who's talking and whatever. But
Speaker:to me it seems like prioritizing recovery makes the most sense
Speaker:over jail time because how much are you helping them by throwing them in jail?
Speaker:Right? What opportunity do they have for recovery in that state? I mean so on
Speaker:that sense, it makes a lot of sense. I I agree. We definitely want to
Speaker:provide people options to to recover. I think the challenge with the
Speaker:original bill was there what the recovery programs weren't
Speaker:established. So there was like this idea that people would go get
Speaker:treatment and go to the program. But what happened was people would get a ticket
Speaker:with a number to call, but there is nobody there to follow-up to verify that
Speaker:people were actually calling this number for help. So it kinda was up to them
Speaker:if they were gonna call or not and they didn't. And when I talk to
Speaker:people who had family who struggled with addiction or who had struggled with addiction in
Speaker:the past and had recovered, they all expressed a lot of frustration
Speaker:around the fact that, like, there was just no accountability and people
Speaker:were, you know, weren't really put in a place where they could get clear headed.
Speaker:I definitely don't wouldn't say jail is the best option for that, but I
Speaker:do think that it's better in some circumstances
Speaker:than just nothing at all and people, you know, on the streets using
Speaker:who are struggling with addiction. Because addiction is just like
Speaker:a terrifying thing. Like, anybody that recovers from it, I think is just
Speaker:is just an incredible story because of how challenging it is when you when you
Speaker:are stuck in that place. I think there is a balance between, like,
Speaker:accountability, support, and provide making sure people see that there is help. Like, you
Speaker:can work your way out of this, but we do need people stepping in the
Speaker:right directions. But then there's the other side of it that's like, who are we
Speaker:to tell people how to live their lives? You know what I mean? Like Sure.
Speaker:A 100%. Yeah. What I think I think one mistake that gets made
Speaker:and I don't know, I'd quite frankly, I today, I don't even know how controversial
Speaker:this statement actually is, but like lumping all substances in under
Speaker:the exact same category and then treating them all the same is kinda challenging
Speaker:because you have substances like psychedelics that
Speaker:typically a completely different outcome than someone who's
Speaker:regular regularly using Fentanyl or something like that, right? There's just there's just
Speaker:different categories of drugs and extreme differences
Speaker:in not just the effects or but like addiction levels
Speaker:and like mortality rates and things like that. Right? And so
Speaker:yeah. To like decriminalize everything, was that the right move? I don't know.
Speaker:But then how do we differentiate? And then what does that entail legislatively? I have
Speaker:no idea what that looks like. But I do think that is one of the
Speaker:challenges. Right? Because you're you're putting a we talked about blanket statements with
Speaker:people the other day. I mean, with substances that that that it's kind
Speaker:of, similar in the sense that, like, if you just have a blanket statement for
Speaker:all substances that are consciousness altering, you're doing it to surface,
Speaker:I think, to the people and to how you're creating any sort of, like, legislation
Speaker:or something like that. Because even just the treatments for
Speaker:for various substances would be completely different. So, yeah, I think that's another
Speaker:challenge too, is trying to love everything under one thing and have a one size
Speaker:fits all, rule of any kind, I think is always gonna pose some sort of
Speaker:a challenge. The other challenge that Salem is gonna have is
Speaker:that it's the county's planning the new deflection
Speaker:program, and Salem's in the middle of 2 counties. So we have
Speaker:Marion and Polk. So we have potential that we'll have half of
Speaker:our city with one plan, the other half with another plan.
Speaker:And like the city kind of got in the middle of it. Right? If the
Speaker:counties aren't aligned on what their vision is, which they probably won't be.
Speaker:Right. So that just makes it even even more challenging. So if you're a
Speaker:Salem PD and, like, you have one group that's being treated one way, another group
Speaker:that's being treated a different way, just different expectations. Like, that's that gets
Speaker:complicated and and challenging and exhausting. That's really messy, man. Yeah.
Speaker:So we'll we'll see what happens with this piece of it. But it's something for
Speaker:us to keep in mind is that is a reality of of our city, you
Speaker:know, being being established in the middle of both Marion and Polk Polk County.
Speaker:The city council meeting, Christopher Hoy announced
Speaker:September 17th 2024 as national voter
Speaker:registration day in Salem to honor civic unity and an
Speaker:opportunity to set aside differences, enjoy the rights and opportunities we
Speaker:all share as Americans and celebrate our democracy.
Speaker:He presented the proclamation to Alice LaValletta,
Speaker:saying that wrong, I apologize, and other representatives of the League of Women
Speaker:Voters. I tried to find more information around
Speaker:Salem declaring a national voter registration day. Yeah. I just don't
Speaker:exactly know what that means. I couldn't find any other details,
Speaker:but we we have it now. It's a thing. And I don't know if it's
Speaker:just for city workers. Like, just city employees get the day off. I was trying
Speaker:to find more details so maybe people know they can let us know. We can
Speaker:we can follow-up on it. So It's essentially yeah. So it's it's time
Speaker:it's the ability to set time aside to register to vote and do all of
Speaker:that. So you're getting almost like a holiday. Right?
Speaker:That's what it that's how it reads to me. But I didn't see more in
Speaker:the post. I tried to find other articles, but we'll have to follow-up with more
Speaker:details before September 17th. Because registering to vote, I
Speaker:feel like, isn't the problem always. I think this is a great sentiment, and
Speaker:I'm kind of just admitting I don't I don't know it all here, but just
Speaker:kind of thinking through it. But it seemed like registering to vote isn't the issue.
Speaker:And even in Oregon, you can mail in your vote. So I guess not like
Speaker:the hassle a lot of other states go through where they have to, like, stay
Speaker:in line for hours to vote, where it is pretty challenging sometimes to make that
Speaker:happen. I think a lot of it goes back to your thesis with doing with,
Speaker:creating what's happening in Salem at all. Right? An informed community is gonna be more
Speaker:likely to vote. We've only done this podcast twice, and there's things that you brought
Speaker:to me that I'm like, oh, I had no idea that that was even a
Speaker:thing. Right? Yeah. And so if we're uninformed, it can be or even
Speaker:if you're voting on something and you kinda get the bullet points, how informed are
Speaker:you on the trickle down effect of that thing or that decision or what that
Speaker:can change or alternative perspectives. Right? Like we talked last week and
Speaker:we were talking about from the perspective of a business owner. Right? If you're not
Speaker:a business owner, you may not think from that perspective. And then you have large
Speaker:businesses and small businesses, and how does it impact them differently? Mhmm. Right? The more
Speaker:information that we have, the more that we can make a more informed decision, the
Speaker:the better our decision making gets. And so I do think that there's a lot
Speaker:of that. Right? How informed are we? And then everything has nuances. So,
Speaker:like, you know, are we getting our information from some super from a sound
Speaker:bite? Are we getting any context here? How much research do we have time to
Speaker:do on this topic? And with how many things there can be to vote on
Speaker:and decisions to make, I think sometimes it can feel overwhelming. You don't
Speaker:necessarily know what the right decision is. And then on top of that, some people
Speaker:have the feeling of, like, is their vote actually making much of a difference?
Speaker:So I think there's just so many things that go into it over just having
Speaker:the time to register. I'm not saying like you said, I mean, the sentiment like,
Speaker:I'm not denying the sentiment there and whatever else and however that plays out is
Speaker:fine. But I do think that it's it's kind of a bigger bigger topic
Speaker:than just having the time. No. For sure. That's a great point. And I think
Speaker:as you're talking through it, I'm thinking through this. Like, it really is just great
Speaker:marketing of, like, hey. There's this day set aside where we're gonna
Speaker:just talk about the fact that you need to register to vote. Yeah. Because especially
Speaker:in local elections, like, the turnout is so low. Like it
Speaker:is extremely low. And some so we have, you know, 175,000
Speaker:people that live in Salem approximately. There's I think it's 8
Speaker:wards in Salem. And some wards have, like, a
Speaker:1,000 people that show up to vote for, like, their city councilor.
Speaker:Right? Like so, like, it really is a situation where your vote absolutely
Speaker:matters. We'll have a better turnout this year because people are voting
Speaker:for, you know, like, the presidential election and, like, the local elections
Speaker:are kind of part of the same ballot. But when it's not a major national
Speaker:election season, like, local turnout is pretty low. And that is definitely a
Speaker:big focus for what's happening in Salem is, like, having an outlet
Speaker:to remind people why it's important to show up to vote. I'll, of course, have
Speaker:my own opinions on, like, how I'm gonna vote and, like, why
Speaker:that is, but I really want the the newsletter itself and the social media
Speaker:to be focused on just the facts. And here's what's at stake. Here's
Speaker:what, like, people are saying on both sides. Make your own informed
Speaker:decision, but make an informed decision, not one based off of, like,
Speaker:scare campaigns on on Facebook or the art signs.
Speaker:Yeah. No, man. A 100%. I mean, I think, I I
Speaker:think one thing that's really lacking in information and
Speaker:especially, like, when it comes to anything to do with the news is most of
Speaker:it has a slant to some degree or another. Yeah. You know, like, we are
Speaker:really missing some unbiased information, I think. And
Speaker:so, yeah, I think not taking a position and not having a slant and doing
Speaker:your best to present the facts or or even it could even be
Speaker:subjective. Right? But being open to the fact that, like, hey, this is just conjecture.
Speaker:Right? This This may not be the fact. This is conjecture. Even just being willing
Speaker:to preface something or end it with that alone. I think that's huge, man.
Speaker:Because, again, if you can provide information in any way you want and
Speaker:put any sort of slant or spin on it that you want, and then that
Speaker:can paint the picture in someone's mind of something that may or may not be
Speaker:truly accurate, and then you're not really informing someone. Mhmm. You're just helping them
Speaker:create a certain thought pattern or a certain way of perceiving something. Yeah. What
Speaker:we really need is information, and that's really that's challenging to do
Speaker:or challenging to get when everything does have some sort of a slant or a
Speaker:bias to it. And I think also it gives a lot of information. Like,
Speaker:sometimes there's so much context you need to even understand why this is
Speaker:important. And I think that's one of I think the value I bring
Speaker:is that I just I'm not that smart. So, like, I have to, like, go
Speaker:through the steps, like, figure things out, and I can, like, let me share with
Speaker:you how I got here because I didn't start here, you know, with with the
Speaker:information and understanding why it's important. But also having people access to people
Speaker:in my network that can help me just elaborate on, okay, why this is
Speaker:this seems important, but I don't quite get it. Help me help me connect the
Speaker:dots. And so having those conversations ahead of time has helped out a ton as
Speaker:well. Well, dude, it's kinda like, okay, similar thing, but for me
Speaker:with the business. So, I know I'm aware that I have
Speaker:biases. Right? And I have different thought patterns and I have all these things. So
Speaker:when I go to make a decision, especially if it's gonna impact a lot of
Speaker:people in the company, I'm not just making that decision in a vacuum. I,
Speaker:1, I wanna take it to a team of people and get their feedback, but
Speaker:then I wanna specifically seek out people that see the business differently than I
Speaker:do, have different experiences and things like that so that I can get people who
Speaker:will push back on me. And I wanna make sure that I have people who
Speaker:will challenge my ideas and thought patterns. That's with a business of, like, 50 employees.
Speaker:Right? There's, like, 50 of us for these decisions to impact. But if you're talking
Speaker:about something at a county, city, or state level, that's impacting so
Speaker:many more people. Right? And just being informed and
Speaker:having different ideas and being willing to listen to those alternative theories and ideas about
Speaker:something and take it in just as information, not an us versus you or
Speaker:anything like that. I think that's a crucial piece of the puzzle as well.
Speaker:Absolutely, man. Episode 2. We're making it happen out here,
Speaker:man. This is a lot of fun. And if you're tuning into the podcast, there's
Speaker:people that you're wanting to hear or want us to bring on as guests, you'd
Speaker:like to hear hear more from like, tell us. We wanna know we're gonna
Speaker:start bringing guests on in the near future. So shoot me a DM, shoot Brandon
Speaker:a DM on the Instagram channels because this we want this to be
Speaker:a community resource. Like we really want this to be a location to have
Speaker:informed conversations to make sure that people in Salem understand what's
Speaker:happening with our elected officials, with our nonprofits, with our
Speaker:local businesses, and just people that are out there working hard making things happen. Like,
Speaker:we want this to be that sort of a tool. I'm loving this, man. I
Speaker:mean, I've been just it's been 2 weeks. I'm I already feel you know, not
Speaker:to be cheesy, but I feel more informed because I'm not typically paying attention to
Speaker:stuff. You're finding these interesting things and sending them to me. I'm reading through them.
Speaker:I'm gaining significantly more information just from doing this. Right? And we're pretty much
Speaker:talking about everything that you bring to the table. So, you know, anyone who is
Speaker:tuning into this, there's definitely some interesting stuff here. There's more going on than I
Speaker:thought. I love it, man. I appreciate you, Brandon. See y'all soon.
Speaker:Alright. Peace.
