Albany

Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. It is predominantly a farming and manufacturing city that settlers founded around 1848. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population of Albany, Oregon was 56,472. The city has a home rule charter, a councilmanager government, and a full-time unelected city manager. In recent years the city has worked to revive the downtown shopping area, with help from the Central Albany Revitalization Area. In the historic era, the area of the Willamette Valley that makes up modern-day Albany was inhabited by one of the tribes of the Kalapuya, a Penutian-speaking, Native American people. The first European American settler arrived in 1845; Abner Hackleman was a farmer from Iowa. In 1847 a pair of brothers, Walter and Thomas Monteith, settled in the area, after traveling by ox team along the Oregon Trail from their native state of New York. The Monteith brothers built the first frame house in Albany in 1849. That same year the start of the California Gold Rush had caught the attention of the brothers, who provided supplies to the fields. After the Monteiths became a major city in Albany, the first steamboat, Multnomah, arrived and the first flour mill was built in 1850. It was not until 1855 that a building specifically erected for use as a school was built.

History

Albany is the primary city name, but also Millersburg are acceptable city names or spellings. Albany was named for the Kalapuya, a Penutian-speaking, Native American people. The KalapUya had named the area Takenah, a Kalapoyan word used to describe the deep pool at the confluence of the Calapooia and Willamette rivers. The first European American settler arrived in 1845. The town was renamed as "New Albany" on November 4, 1850, but the name was changed back to Albany in 1851. In 1852, the first steamboat, the Multnomah, arrived and the first flour mill was built. The city's first school was established in 18 51 by the town's first physician, R. C. Hill. It was not until 1855 that a building was specifically erected for use as a school. The modern-day Albany was designated as the county seat in 1853 and all modern day Brownsville and Brownsville court meetings were held there. It is commonly translated as "Hole in the Ground" due to the name given to the area by the Oregon Legislative Assembly in the 19th century. The name "Takenah" means "deep pool," in reference to the word "taken" or "took" for "deep" and "pool" in the local language. The word "Tookah" is also used to refer to the site of the town of Albany, Oregon, which was founded in 1849 by the brothers Walter and Thomas Monteith.

Geography

Albany is in the central part of Oregon's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. The city rests along the confluence of the Calapooia and Willamte rivers. The North Albany District has the most variable elevation, while the downtown and southern end of town have little elevation change throughout. Albany has generally warm and dry summers during which precipitation drops to 0.4 inches (10 mm) in July and temperatures peak at an average of 80.8 °F (27 °C) in August. Winters in Albany are cool and wet, with the month with the most precipitation is December with 6.8 inches (170 mm) The coldest month is January, with an average low just above freezing at 33.6 °C (1 °C). The record low temperature was recorded in 1972 at 7 °F [22 °C] The city and the surrounding area was left devastated by the Columbus Day Storm of October 1962. It is one of the lowest points along the WillAmette Valley, with elevations ranging from 180 to 430 feet (55 to 131 m) above sea level. In the city limits and urban growth area, there are limited hills; the city has 21.7 square miles (56 km²) within its urban growth boundary. It has a total area of 17.75 sq miles (45.97 km²), of which 17.54 square miles is land and 0.21 sq miles is water. Albany is located in Linn County and Benton County.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 50,158 people, 19,705 households, and 12,894 families residing in the city. There were 20,979 housing units at an average density of 1,196.1 per square mile (461.8/km²) The racial makeup of the city was 87.8% White, 0.7% African American, 1.2% Native American, and 1.4% Asian. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01. The city's median income was $39,409, and the median income for a family was $46,094. About 9.3% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 7.5% ofThose age 65 or over. The median age of a city resident was 35.6 years, with 25% under the age of 18, 9.6%, 29.3%, 25.4%, 24.7%, and 13.1%. The city has a population density of 2,859.6 inhabitants per squaremile (1,104.1/ km²) and a gender ratio of 48.8 to 51.2%. In the city, the median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there are 94.5 males. For each 100 females age 18 or over, there there are 91.7 males. The per capita income for the city is $18,570.

Government

Albany has a home rule charter and a councilmanager government. The mayor is elected at large every two years. The six council members represent the three geographic wards of the city and have overlapping four-year terms. The city provides its own fire department, police department, library system, and also provides both their own water supply and wastewater treatment through the Public Works Operations division. In total the local government employs around 450 full- and part-time employees with the majority in Police, Fire, and Public Works operations. In 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Sunshine Review awarded Albany an A+ perfect score for government transparency and online accessibility with its website along with other government agencies from around the country. In January 2011, Government Computer News cited Albany as one of ten "Top Public Sector Websites" in the nation forGovernment transparency. In September 2010, the League of Oregon Cities awarded Albany the Good Governance Award for the "Where Does My Money Go? and Albany Dashboard" web applications. In 2015, Albany was a winner in the e.Republic Center for Digital Government (CDG) Digital Cities Survey. The annual survey recognizes leading examples of cities using technology to improve services and boost efficiencies. Other recognition includes a 2016 award for Safest Cities in Oregon from BackgroundChecks.org and 2016 Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers for Assistant City Manager/CIO Jorge Salinas in Government Technology magazine. In 2018, City Hall houses: City Manager's office, Finance Department, Human Resources Department, Information Technology Department, Parks and Recreation administrative staff.

Economy

Albany and the surrounding communities are major exporters of grass seed. Linn County is also referred to as the "Grass Seed Capital of the World" The decline of the timber industry and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs has left Linn county with a relatively high unemployment rate. The city has a per capita income of $18,570, putting it ranked at 81st in the state. Oregon Freeze Dry is a leading employer in the manufacturing sector of the Albany economy with its headquarters located in the city. Tec Laboratories has made Tecnu poison ivy cleanser and other topical medicines in Albany since 1977. The Albany Research Center was founded in 1943, the laboratory specializes in life cycle research starting with the formulation, characterization, and/or melting of most metals, alloys, and ceramics. It is part of National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). They employ a staff of 120. The company employs over 300 people and was incorporated in 1963. It has recently partnered with Seattle-based technology company EnerG2 to produce carbon electrode material, in a 74,000-square-foot (6,900 m2) former distribution center ofOregon Freeze Dry by 2011 bringing a new green technology industry to Albany. See also: Heritage Mall for more information on how to get your hands on some of the items on sale at Heritage Mall's $50 million shopping center in Albany, Oregon. The mall is located on the former site of the Oregon State Fairgrounds, which is now closed.

Arts and culture

Albany has four historic districts including the Albany Municipal Airport, Monteith Historic District and Hackleman Historic District. Downtown Albany is a National Historic District, and features antique stores, restaurants, the Albany Civic Theater and one of the oldest Carnegie libraries still being used as a library. Since the early 2000s, a hand-carved carousel has been under construction at the Albany Historic Carousel and Museum. Albany's historic districts include most of the housing styles built between 1840 and 1920, including Federal, Gothic Revival, American Farmhouse, Second Empire, Eastlake, Italianate, and Colonial Revival. In total there are over 700 historic buildings within the 4 historic districts. The Northwest Art and Air Festival, River Rhythms, Summer Sounds (formerly Mondays at Monteith), Veteran's Day Parade, Albany Upstairs Downtown Wine Walk and the Craft Brew Smackdown are some of the annual cultural events in Albany. The once popular Albany Timber Carnival ended in 2000. An attempt to revive the event in 2008 was unsuccessful. The Albany Arts Festival was held from 1970 until the late 1980s. It was held every year until the end of the 1990s, when it was replaced by the Portland Art and Music Festival. It is now held every other year, and the festival is free to the public. The festival is part of the Oregon Arts Council, which is a non-profit organization that promotes the arts and culture of the state. It also provides grants to local schools and colleges.

Parks and recreation

The Albany Parks and Recreation Department is the agency responsible for the Senior Center, the Periwinkle Creek Bike Path, and the other trails and parks within Albany. The department is in charge of running and maintaining the Albany Community Pool and the Swanson Park Action Center which houses the Albany Cool! Pool. Albany's Timber-Linn Memorial Park house the 63rd Blue Star veterans memorial in the state of Oregon. The memorial is dedicated to Linn County servicemen who lost their lives during all of the 20th century wars. Albany also has one bowling alley, Lake Shore Lanes, which also has a miniature golf course outside the bowling alley. The city has also been involved with the Tree City USA program that is sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation since 1993. TheCity also takes part annually in Arbor Week. The Golf Club of Oregon is public, and Spring Hill Golf Club at Albany Golf & Event Center, a former country club, is essentially public. Albany has two golf courses, both in North Albany, and one in South Albany, both of which are essentially public, as well as one private golf course. The City of Albany aims to make it where everyone within the city limits lives within 2 miles (3.2 km) of a park. It also has an urban forestry program which involves the Legacy Forest at Lexington Park, that consists of commemorative tree planting designed to perpetuate the memory or work of individuals and organizations. A Heritage Tree Program was established to recognize trees having historic significance in the community.

Education

Albany is the home of a two-year junior college called Linn-Benton Community College, which was established in 1966. LBCC serves over 24,000 full- and part-time students in and around Albany and is supported financially through tuition, property taxes and the State of Oregon. The Albany area has also been served since 1979 by the Greater Albany Public School District, which serves roughly 8,900 students throughout its 23 different schools. Albany is also served by Albany Options School as an alternative to traditional school for grades 6 through 12. Along with the K-12 schools Albany also offers student services at the Maple Lawn Preschool.The Albany Collegiate Institute was founded in 1867 and served as Albany's higher education institute for 70 years before it was moved to Portland, Oregon, and renamed Lewis & Clark College. In total Greater Albany public school district serves roughly 7,000 students through its 23 schools, including West Albany High School, and South Albany High school, which have a combined enrollment of approximately 2,700 students. The college offers certificates and associate degrees and has many transfer and dual enrollment programs with OSU (through a degree partnership program) totaling over 60 programs of study. It is also home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which has been held in Albany for the last 20 years. It also has a theater company, which opened in the 1970s and has been in operation since the 1980s. The city is home to a number of sports teams, including the Portland Trailblazers, the Oregon Ducks, and the Oregon State Police.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Albany, Linn County, Oregon = 84. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 79. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Albany = 3 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 56,472 individuals with a median age of 36.8 age the population grows by 17.23% in Albany, Linn County, Oregon population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,198.10 residents per square mile of area (1,234.81/km²). There are average 2.47 people per household in the 19,151 households with an average household income of $45,866 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 12.30% of the available work force and has dropped -8.51% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 10.68%. The number of physicians in Albany per 100,000 population = 115.3.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Albany = 39.6 inches and the annual snowfall = 7.4 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 152. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 155. 82 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 32.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 65, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Albany, Linn County, Oregon which are owned by the occupant = 56.80%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 31 years with median home cost = $175,430 and home appreciation of -7.99%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $11.11 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,403 per student. There are 265.4 students for each teacher in the school, 1492 students for each Librarian and 2034 students for each Counselor. 7.78% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 12.53% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 6.13% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).