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Bill Currier Newsletter — October 26, 2026
Mayor Bill Currier • Adair Village Weekly Update • October 26, 2026
Good morning, neighbors,
152 to 12. That was the vote Thursday when Corvallis city workers ratified a new five-year contract, ending the strike this newsletter has been tracking since late September. It was that kind of week: one long-running story finally closed, the transportation rulebook I promised to circle back on became official here at home, and today, Monday, October 26, is both the season's first leaf pickup and the start of the final week of voting. Here is what it all means for Adair Village.
🚨 Public Safety
🔹 Halloween lands on a Saturday, and the clocks fall back the morning after: Trick-or-treaters will be out Saturday, October 31, and at 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, daylight saving time ends. That combination deserves a moment of planning: costumed kids on dark streets Saturday night, and from Sunday evening onward, dusk arriving a full hour earlier on every commute home.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: The weeks right after the time change are consistently rough for pedestrian safety, so slow down at dusk, light up those costumes, and leave the porch light on. And keep the other half of the fall-back tradition too: when you reset your clocks Sunday, test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and swap batteries where needed. Ten minutes, twice a year, is cheap protection.
💼 Economic Development
🔹 The strike next door is over: On Thursday, October 22, members of AFSCME Local 2975 ratified a new five-year contract with the City of Corvallis by a vote of 152 to 12, and workers were back on the job Friday, October 23. The deal, reached after an all-day mediation session Wednesday, includes a 6 percent increase in year one, 3 percent in years two and three, and 2.5 percent in years four and five, plus a new seventh longevity step starting in year four, a $1,000 ratification bonus, and the city's 93 percent share of health premiums holding until 2030, when it steps down to 90 percent.
→ 🗣️ My take: I wrote for three straight weeks that I hoped this gap would close at the table, and I am glad it finally did. As someone who has signed his share of multi-year commitments running two small companies, I will say this for a five-year agreement: both sides just bought themselves something valuable, which is predictability. Corvallis can now plan its budget and its services, employees can plan their lives, and the rest of us can get back to using the library without walking past a picket line.
🏘️ Community Development
🔹 Our new transportation rulebook is now official: Two weeks ago I promised a report once the paperwork landed, and it has. The City has posted the formal Notice of Decision for DCA-26-01: the Council adopted Ordinance No. 2026-5 on October 6, approving the amendments as presented, and the decision takes effect November 5. In plain English, the standards in our adopted Transportation System Plan, covering street design, sidewalks, bicycle facilities, access, and how new development connects to the rest of town, are now enforceable code rather than aspirations on a shelf.
→ 💡 What this means: Starting November 5, development applications in Adair Village will be measured against these standards, which is how a small city makes sure growth arrives with the sidewalks and connections it needs. For the process-minded: because this changes an acknowledged land use regulation, any appeal would go to the state Land Use Board of Appeals, with a filing deadline of November 3.
👉 Read the Notice of Decision (PDF)
🔹 Eight days until ballots are due: Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, and ballots must be in an official drop box by 8 p.m. that night. The mailing window is effectively closing, since the county advises mailing at least seven days ahead, so at this point my advice is simple: use the drop box at Adair Village City Hall, 6030 NE William R Carr Avenue, and the job is done. Your ballot carries the fire district's Measure 2-158 bond and the school district's Measure 2-160 levy renewal, both covered in detail in recent editions. If you want one last round of homework, the Advocate has published its full slate of recorded election debates, including a session on the school levy that serves Adair Village families.
→ ⚡ Why this matters: Local measures are routinely decided by a few hundred votes. I would rather every result reflect informed neighbors than an empty mailbox.
🏠 Housing
🔹 Fifty-three acres of possible housing next door: Good Samaritan Hospital has asked Corvallis to annex 67.67 acres at the end of NW Satinwood Street, including 53.25 acres zoned for medium- to high-density residential use. The hospital says it has no development proposal yet and wants the annexation settled first. The Corvallis Planning Commission took the request up October 7 and accepted public testimony through Wednesday, October 21. The wrinkle drawing attention: the school district closed Letitia Carson Elementary on that same street in June, though district officials say their enrollment study accounted for this annexation and that schools can absorb future growth.
→ 🗣️ My take: The mid-valley needs more homes, full stop, and I welcome every serious effort to add them. But this story is also a useful case study in the arithmetic we practice here: housing only works when the pipes, streets, and classrooms are sized for it, which is exactly why Adair Village ties its own growth to infrastructure like wastewater capacity. I will be watching how our neighbors answer those questions, because we are working through the same ones at our own scale.
🏗️ Infrastructure & Utilities
🔹 Leaf pickup number one is today: If you are reading this with coffee in hand, there is still time to rake leaves to the street this morning. Keep piles clear of bike lanes, storm drains, and driveways, and move vehicles off the street; parking is available at City Hall. Missed it? The next collections are Monday, November 9 and Monday, November 23, with street sweeping following on Tuesday, November 10. Every pile that makes it to the curb instead of a storm drain is one less flooded gutter when the November rain arrives.
👉 See the leaf collection schedule
🔹 The data center comment window has closed: Saturday, October 24 was the deadline to weigh in on the state advisory committee's preliminary report, with the permit pause itself running into next July. Thank you to everyone who submitted a comment; I will report back when the final recommendations land and we can see whether Oregon gets the clear, durable rules I have argued for.
📅 Dates & Community Moments
🔹 How local government actually works, Tuesday morning: The Academy for Lifelong Learning hosts "Making Change from the Inside: Lessons from Local Government" on Tuesday, October 27 at 9:30 a.m. at the Corvallis Community Center, 2601 NW Tyler Avenue, featuring Corvallis Mayor Charles Maughan and Benton County Commissioner Gabe Shepherd. It is a membership organization, but guest membership is available. Anyone who has heard me walk through a budget line knows I love this material: if you want an unvarnished look at what local elected officials can and cannot do, this is your room.
🔹 A spooky season send-off: The week ahead is thick with Halloween happenings nearby, from ghost-story walking tours departing downtown Corvallis to costume parties and the Davis Family Farm pumpkin patch running daily on Highway 20. The Advocate's weekly calendar has the full lineup through Friday.
👉 Browse the Friday to Friday calendar
🤝 In Closing
This week's civic to-do list is short and satisfying: leaves at the curb this morning, clocks and smoke alarms on Sunday, and a ballot in the City Hall drop box by 8 p.m. next Tuesday. None of it takes long, and all of it compounds. If anything above raises a question, reply to this email and it will reach me, or call City Hall at 541-745-5507, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Small town, short list, consequential week. Thank you for carrying your end of it.
Bill Currier
Mayor, City of Adair Village
