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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 2010)
city news january 5 Does Vernonia Have Too Many Police Vehicles? By Scott Laird For a small police department, Vernonia’s seems to have a lot of vehicles. Some residents think maybe more than they need. A few people have also wondered why Vernonia police officers who live out- side of town have been allowed to take vehicles home when they have finished their shifts. I sat down with Vernonia Police Captain Mike Kay, who is in charge of the fleet, and later with Vernonia Police Chief Frank Grace to ask about the fleet, and why Vernonia seems to have an excess of vehicles. According to Kay, the department currently has seven vehicles. Kay explained each vehicle in the fleet and its use: 2007 white Ford Expedition-- K9 Unit and patrol. 2007 white Dodge Charger-- patrol 2006 white Ford Crown Victoria-- patrol 2004 white Ford Crown Victoria-- patrol 2006 blue unmarked Ford Crown Victoria-- Chief’s ve- hicle 2004 white Ford F250 4x4 Pick-Up-- high clearance, special response emergency vehicle 2003 red Crown Victoria-- received free from Corne- lius, training vehicle, court travel, for use by other city departments if available. Kay noted that the department intends to sell the 2004 Crown Victoria in the near future, which would reduce the fleet to six vehicles. He also noted that after the flood of 2007 and the winter snowstorms of 2008, when the department had significant issues with travel and was unable to be completely respon- sive to the community, the department saw a need to diversify its fleet. The F250 pick-up was acquired after last winter’s snowstorms and is leased at $170/month through the state motor pool. Kay and Grace both addressed the issue of ve- hicles going home with officers. Chief Grace has use of a vehicle as part of his contract with the city. This al- lows him to respond from his home in a service vehicle in case of an emergency. According to both Kay and Grace, Oregon Revised Statues and the city insurance company prohibit police officers from responding from home in personal vehicles. “If an officer is responding from home in his personal vehicle to a work-related is- sue, and something happens, the city could be liable,” said Grace. In order to provide 24/7 service, Vernonia regularly places officers “on-call” who are required to respond from home if a call comes in. Since three of the four officers live outside the city, they take home a vehicle when they are scheduled “on-call.” Kay also noted that the inability of the County Sheriff’s Depart- ment to be counted on to provide assistance makes it necessary to have officers able to respond from home quickly at all hours. Grace also noted that, in an emer- gency, he believes it’s best if an officer arrives in Ver- nonia fully equipped and ready to respond immediate- ly. Kay stated that he believes because the depart- ment is maintaining a newer fleet, maintenance costs The Oregon Way Still Has Life continued from front page County Commissioner Tony Hyde, and School Superintendent Ken Cox, along with School Project Manager Steve Effros, addressed the group and explained the progress that has been made towards construction of new schools. The Vernonia delegation highlighted the selection and acqui- sition of property for the new school site, the passage of a local $13 mil- lion school bond in November, the hiring of a firm to conduct a capital campaign to raise the remainder of the needed funds for the $37 million project, and the potential that the Ver- nonia School Building would be the first LEEDS Platinum Certified pub- lic K-12 school in the country. Advisory Group board mem- ber Catherine Mater of Oregon State University, commented that she was “...so pleased that the community of Vernonia passed the school bond,” and also noted that the LEEDS cer- tification was “...a powerful state- ment.” Mater later commented on the Vernonia Schools Project, stating, “It is such a great project.” In a written report that was given to the Advisory Group, the Vernonia delegation also noted op- portunities for public funding through ARRA. Those opportunities includ- ed: • Department of Energy initia- tives for Solar Photovoltaics, Advanced Daylighting and Super High Efficiency Lighting; • Department of Education op- portunity through the proposed federal legislation, 21st Century High Performing School Facili- ties Act; • Department of Agriculture by le- veraging rural development dol- lars and Wetlands Mitigation in partnership with the City of Ver- nonia; • Department of Commerce oppor- tunity by creating an Oregon Nat- ural Resources Lab on the school campus; • Department of Transportation with road and state highway im- provements near the new school facility. Highlights of the rest of The Advisory Group discussion included the notation that Oregon appears to be the only state with a unified and collaborative approach to receiving stimulus funds. The discussion also focused on ways The Advisory Group could better assist local projects. Board members agreed that top pri- orities should include: helping have a coordinated and compelling mes- sage for legislators in Washington, DC; assistance with mechanical and engineering components of projects; formation of “Go Fast Teams” to help streamline the priority projects; ongo- ing communication and more active involvement from staff with local project leaders; and identification of barriers to receiving funding for proj- ects. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has the potential to provide more than $3.9 billion in economic assistance to Oregon over a three-year period in important areas such as health care, education, energy efficiency, public safety and infrastructure. As of Octo- ber 2009, when the last reporting pe- riod concluded, Oregon had received and spent around $1 billion in ARRA funds. In addition to the “Rebuild Vernonia” project, the Advisory Group heard from representatives for other projects under consideration for assistance, including: the Or- egon Sustainability Center; Portland Community College-- Net Zero Cam- pus Retrofit; the Port Orford Marine Economic Recovery Plan; Lakeview Biomass; the Seneca Sustainable En- ergy project; and the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure project. 2010 7 have decreased and reliability has increased. And according to Kay, having extra vehicles available as back-up when a vehicle is in need of service, is help- ful. Grace also addressed this. “This [having extra vehicles] allows VPD to not experience any downtime when and if a police car is out-of-service,” said Grace. Both Kay and Grace stated that they are open to suggestions of ways the department can provide full coverage and be fully responsive to the needs of the community. Grace also noted that he is the process of developing a take-home-car policy. Finally, I asked Chief Grace about the fact that he has been observed by Vernonia residents making traffic stops on Highway 26 on his way to work in Ver- nonia. Grace confirmed this was true and noted two Oregon state statues that allow for this. 810.410 Arrest and citation. (1) A police officer may arrest or issue a citation to a person for a traffic crime at any place with- in or outside the jurisdictional authority of the govern- mental unit by which the police officer is authorized to act as provided by ORS 133.235 and 133.310. 810.400 Uniform or badge required. Any police officer at- tempting to enforce the traffic laws of this state shall be in uniform or shall conspicuously display an official identification card showing the officer’s lawful author- ity. [1983 c.338 §399] “In the state of Oregon, a police officer is a po- lice officer, anywhere they go,” said Grace. “If we see someone breaking the law, we have the ability to get involved.” How Are Stimulus Funds Being Spent in Oregon? Many of us may not be aware that federal stimulus funds, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are currently being awarded and spent on projects throughout Or- egon. While there was initially great hope that stimulus funds would assist local projects, like the “Rebuild Vernonia” project that includes moving Vernonia Schools to a safe location, that initial expectation has turned to skepticism that local projects will receive any kind of boost from federally allocated funds. But that is not necessar- ily the case. According to Court- ney Warner, Communications Manager for Governor Ted Ku- longoski’s Economic Recovery Team, funds have been awarded and spent all over the state of Or- egon. “About one billion dollars of ARRA funds have been spent in Oregon as of October, 2009,” said Warner. That included $466 million which was used to to help fund education-- saving teaching jobs and school days throughout the state. According to Warner, even more projects have been awarded funds since the last reporting period ended on Sep- tember 30th, and even more op- portunities are being announced almost weekly. Those include numerous Department of Energy programs for public buildings, and weatherization programs for low income residents. Funds will be awarded and spent over a three-year period as projects are identified as meeting the criteria to receive funding. The Governor’s office has set up a web-page devoted to helping citizens track how and where ARRA funds are being spent in Oregon. Go to http:// oregon.gov/recovery/stimulusre- porting to see the newest infor- mation on what is happening in Oregon. It includes an interac- tive map which allows the viewer to see where projects have been funded and how much funds those projects have been award- ed and spent so far. • • • • • • • • Locally, according the web-page, Columbia County has received awards totaling almost $29 million, of which $12 million has already been spent. Those projects in Co- lumbia County include: $484,000 awarded to Verno- nia Schools An Education Grant to the Clatskanie School District for $569,000 Apiary Road resurfacing be- tween MP 14 and MP 19 for $779,000 An Education Grant to Rainier School District for $638,000 Sidewalks along Highway 30 at Crown Zellerbach Road for $310,000 Experience Works for Co- lumbia Community Services Employment in the amount of $75,000 ODOT Highway 30 and Hav- lik Drive Interchange and Havlick Drive Extension for $3,428,000.