Mount Angel’s Michael Farris got a surprise at the annual Oregon Mayors Conference in Madras where he was named Oregon Mayor-For-A-Day for his performance as Mount Angel’s Mayor-For-A-Day.
Mount Angel Mayor Rick Schiedler, who nominated Farris as Mount Angel’s participant in the state-wide program, said he was high-point participant.
Farris, a student at John F. Kennedy High School, is the son of Tim and Maurine Farris of Mount Angel.
Each participant in the program was to prepare a proposal on what changes he would make as mayor of his home town.
Farris listed improvements to streets, sidewalks, parks and the city’s webpage.
He specifically cited Taylor Street as needing major improvement for safety, less wear on cars and a better image for the community. He said the worse a street becomes, the higher the cost to repair it
Farris said the city’s sidewalks are essential to its quality of life, noting that good sidewalks are safer, provide opportunities for the health of the citizens and connect areas of the city.
He said as mayor he would seek improvements to the city’s parks with irrigation systems for green grass, trimmed bushes for a cleaner image and benches to relax on.
Farris said the city’s webpage is “barely satisfactory (and) needs a facelift pronto.”
He said an improved webpage would attract more people and increase revenue and could be a convenience for people to pay their city bills.
The Oregon Mayors Conference was held in August.
