Keizer council declines to direct staff to apply for Marion County DMO tourism grant after revote

The Keizer City Council reconsidered a prior direction to staff to pursue a Marion County Destination Management Organization (DMO) grant and to work with councilors who volunteered to help, but the council voted against directing staff to proceed.

At a special meeting the council first approved allowing Councilor Cross to appear electronically before returning a previously tabled motion to the floor. The council then conducted a revote on whether staff should be directed to apply for the DMO grant. After discussion, the motion failed on revote; the council recorded the motion as failing unanimously.

A DMO, as city staff framed it during the meeting, is a coordinated tourism-management effort. Supporters argued it would help Keizer build tourism infrastructure and capture more economic activity from local tournament and park users. Opponents or those who withheld support did not provide a formal alternative during the revote.

The motion’s failure means city staff were not formally instructed to prepare the Marion County DMO grant application and to partner with identified councilors on the application at this time. The council did not record individual roll-call votes in the transcript for the revote; the record states only that the motion failed unanimously.

The council proceeded with other agenda items, including two separate motions to authorize letters of support for tourism grant applications, which passed later in the meeting.

The council adjourned after completing the special meeting business.