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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2009)
06 vernonia’s voice june city news 2009 CityNews... City Council May 4, 2009 “The Oregon Way” Presented to Council... Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde and Mark Ells- worth, representing Governor Ted Kulongoski’s office, pre- sented Council with an overview of the Governor’s “The Or- egon Way” plan to attract economic stimulus funding to the state of Oregon. Hyde explained the concept-- bring sus- tainable jobs and development to Oregon, and told council that Vernonia is still one of three projects the Governor has identified as a priority. Hyde went on to tell council he had presented the “Rebuild Vernonia” plan at the first meeting of the The Oregon Way team. Ellsworth is a Regional Coordi- nator for Economic Revitalization. Council Approves Flood Acquisition and Relocation Plan... Council was presented with the “City of Vernonia Flood Re- covery Acquisition Program Residential Anti-Displacement and Relocation Assistance Plan.” The plan establishes guidelines for property acquisitions of single family homes, rental units and commercial properties that were substan- tially damaged during the 2007 flood, and establishes stan- dards for relocation assistance, as well as establishing steps to minimize displacement. Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds have been awarded to the city, and will be provided to eligible property owners to support buyouts. Council approved the plan by Resolution. Council Approves Request to Vacate Right-of-Way... Council adopted Ordinance 857 which vacated a portion of East Avenue. This was the second reading of the Ordinance. The Council had requested that the applicants, Cody and Kris Burklund and Darwin Holm, provide them with additional infor- mation. The applicants provided all information requested. Council Approves Rates and Fees for VCLC... Council approved a new fee schedule for the Vernonia Com- munity Learning Center. The fee schedule includes distinct rates for rentals by civic groups, non- profit groups, individual instructors, and for-profit groups, and includes fees for rental of the soon-to-be-completed courtyard area. Council Approves Liquor Sales Request... Council approved a request from Black Bear Coffee Co. LLC for full On-Premises Sale of Liquor. The approval was pre- cipitated by a discussion about use of the city-owned pocket park that adjoins the Black Bear property. Council agreed to review the city pocket park ordinance at a future meeting. Council Approves Membership in City County Insurance Program... Council approved a resolution to remain part of the City County Insurance Services Trust for three years. The city has been part of the program for many years, and passage of the resolution allows the city to receive a grant for $9,204 to purchase SCBA safety equipment for use in the water treat- ment facility. Council Approves Funds for Playground Equipment Purchase... Council approved the movement of funds within the parks SDC Fund from Contingency to Equipment Purchase for the purchase of new playground equipment to be installed at Hawkins Park. The equipment is expected to be installed in early June. Council Sets Date for Candidate Interviews... Council set a date of May 17 to interview three candidates for the permanent City Administrator position. Council agreed to pay $500 in travel expenses for each candidate. City Council May 18, 2009 Council Approves Use of Property for Fireworks... Council approved use of city-owned property across from Hawkins Park to be used to set off fireworks on June 20th City Council Column By Kevin Hudson during the upcoming KUPL Concert event. Council Hears Report on Use of Force... Council heard a report from Use of Force expert Howard Webb concerning an arrest made on March 20th by Vernonia Police Officers. (see related article on page 7) Council Approves Cap on Flood Recovery Projects... Jim Tierney from Columbia County Unmet Needs Committee presented council with new information concerning eligibility for flood mitigation. Tierney announced that his organization has received a new set Benefit Cost Analysis which is “dra- matically higher,” meaning more homes will be eligible to be lifted, including homes that were flooded but not substan- tially damaged. Tierney requested that the city allow non- substantially-damaged homes to be lifted with CDBG funding through their program, establish a CDBG acquisition fund cap of $40,000, and a cap of $10,000 for assistance in home lift projects. Tierney stated he expects more project applicants and more need, and wants to stretch the currently available funds to meet the goals the group has established. Council approved the requests. Council Approves Use of Park for Fundraiser... Council approved use by Vernonia Cares of the Anderson Park covered area on August 15 for the Bear Creek Run. Mayor Appoints Williams to Planning Commission... Mayor Sally Harrison appointed Grant Williams to an open seat on the Planning Commission. Council Rescinds Garage Sale Ordinance... Council adopted Ordinance 858, rescinding Ordinance 624 which related to Garage Sale Permits. In 1987, the City Council adopted an ordinance which regulates garage sales within city limits. According to the staff report provided, the Ordinance is not being enforced and staff believed the ordi- nance was unnecessary. Council agreed and rescinded the Garage sale regulations. Election Results Director, Pos. 1 VERNONIA RFPD I don’t have any real ground-breaking news, so I’m just going to share Frank Cieloha 497 98.42 some thoughts on a few things. First up is my “first timer’s” perspective on WRITE-IN 8 1.58 the budget. While I have attended budget meetings in the past, I’ve never Total 505 sat in on every single meeting to go through the entire process. I have to admit, it was much easier when I was sitting in the audience! I have found Director, Pos. 5 VERNONIA RFPD the experience to be informative, rewarding and definitely overwhelming. Steve Weller 524 98.87 There is so much detail to dig into and just not enough time to cover it all. WRITE-IN 6 1.13 I have developed a great respect for all who have done this in the past and Total 530 those who continue to do it now. When all is said and done, I think we will end up with a pretty decent budget. I know many people have worked very Director, Pos. 1 VERNONIA 47 JT SCHOOL hard to get the best end-result possible. Jim Krahn 413 62.96 We have completed the interviews for a permanent City Administrator Amy Elton Cieloha 243 37.04 and I am also pleased with that process and how it went. I believe we have WRITE-IN 0 found a good person for the job and contract negotiations are underway. I Total 656 am hopeful that a deal can be struck. Overall, I think we in Vernonia are in pretty fair shape. We have en- gineering firms working on a master stormwater plan and the amendment of our wastewater master plan. Most of this planning work is being funded by grants. I believe we are in a good position to take advantage of newer technology that will pro- vide a treatment system that is more efficient, produces a higher quality effluent, and will be more environmentally friendly overall. And, if we’re lucky, we may be able to use stimulus and grant money to pay a portion of the construction cost, reducing the financial burden on you and me. While the picture isn’t entirely rosy, I am optimistic about our future and I believe we are making significant progress at making Vernonia a better place for all of us. I am proud to call Vernonia home. Director, Pos. 4 VERNONIA 47 JT SCHOOL Ernie W Smith 550 96.66 WRITE-IN 9 3.34 Total 569 Director, Pos. 6 VERNONIA 47 JT SCHOOL Kim Wallace 520 96.30 WRITE-IN 20 3.70 Total 540 Director, Pos. 5 VERNONIA 47 JT SCHOOL Cari Levenseller 327 51.50 Angie Fetherston Rhodes 306 48.19 WRITE-IN 2 .31 Total 635 ANONYMOUS DONOR In support of Vernonia’s Voice! Sheetrock Available Again By Jill Hult USG and Sherman Bros. Heavy Trucking have generously donated a curtain truck which will enable Columbia County Flood Recovery to once again begin distributing needed sheetrock to flood-affected clients still in the rebuilding process. USG donated an amazing 330,000 square feet of sheetrock to the organization in order to help in Columbia County residents’ recovery process. Columbia County Flood Recovery previously distributed over 6 truck loads of the sheetrock with the help of Christian Aid Min- istries who had brought their own curtain truck while they volunteered in the County for four months last spring. Then, after their departure, CCFR was able to secure the use of a shop as a warehouse for the sheetrock through the generosity of a Vernonia resident for a couple of months. Since then, Columbia County Flood Recovery has been searching for an available curtain truck until last week, when USG and Sherman Bros. Heavy Trucking contacted them to arrange for the delivery of the donated curtain truck full of another round of sheetrock Columbia County Flood Recovery expects to have the curtain truck until the remaining sheetrock donation has been distributed. Please contact them at 503-429-4948, or stop by their office at 850 Maple St., Vernonia, OR 97064 for more information.