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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2010)
10 area news may11 2010 A Message From CAT About Flood Recovery continued from page 3 a common vision for the benefit of the community. We have still faced sizable setbacks that have frustrated both the families involved as well as the Unmet Needs Committee and the CAT staff in the trenches. I think it is important that our community understand the complex- ities that we are facing. In late April, the state gave permission to begin issuing contracts to raise homes in the flood plain. Dan Brown and Kathy Denkla completed a number of buyout applications. If the City Council votes to buy the 17 homes and one business at their upcoming May 17th meeting, these families will finally receive financial reimbursement which will allow them to get on with their lives. However, one last minute stum- bling block appeared at the May 3rd’ City Council meeting. The setback came as members of the Economic Development Commit- tee (EOC) and several local contractors challenged the process for selecting the demolition contractor who will demolish the homes after the city buys them using FEMA and CDBG funds. This selection is the last piece needed to complete the buyout packages. The EOC objected that the selection process RFP, did not include a preference for local contractors and they asked the Council to reject the recommendations of the Unmet Needs Committee and to add a local prefer- ence criterion. Numerous parties were involved in the preparation and review of the Request for Proposals includ- ing: myself, other flood recovery staff, the City Attorney, County Counsel, the City Administrator and the City Council. None suggested that a local preference be a criterion. These circumstances present the Council with a dilemma. The City Council must either follow the process in the RFP in making a choice or decide to restart the process. Choosing outside the rules laid out in the RFP is likely to result in a lawsuit. Restarting the pro- cess will delay the pending crop of 18 buyouts for three more months. The RFP was written in a suf- ficiently flexible way to allow another review step by the Columbia County Flood Unmet Needs Committee (CC- FUNC)-- the city’s flood recovery com- mittee for the last 2-1/2 years. This step allows for actual interviews with the top four candidates and a second ranking. Flood recovery staff have set up a meet- ing on the evening of May 10th to in- terview the candidates. Staff is working with the City Attorney to craft interview questions for the CCFUNC to explore the qualifications of the individual con- tractors without violating the intent of the RFP. Hopefully, this additional step in the process will allow a quick, safe se- lection of the demo contractor. We have had other setbacks: Our efforts to arrange financing for homeowners wishing to elevate their homes has also had its struggles. Late last summer, the state CDBG staff in- formed us that they will not allow any CDBG money to be spent on elevated decks. We spent much of the winter working to find a solution to this prob- lem. Unhappily, we were unsuccessful. Going forward, we will have to work with homeowners to find private financ- ing for their deck work. Another significant setback was the demise of the contracting firm hired by the homeowners in our first four el- evations. No doubt all of you have seen these jobs languishing along Mist Drive. Happily, two of these are now substan- tially complete. We are helping the other two owners to make claims against the contractor’s bond and insurance to help cover the cost of correcting improper work. We have also had successes: Mark Drexel, our flood recov- ery construction specialist, has nearly a dozen elevation projects in the bidding process. Over this past winter, we re- ceived additional clarity about the fed- eral rules which govern our project. As a result, it has become more clear how far our flood recovery resources will stretch. So far, approximately 150 homes have been repaired using volunteers, small grants and approximately two dozen Creatures Vernonia & Florist Pet Supplies & Grooming U-Wash Also Available (503) 429-PETS (7387) www.CreaturesPetShop.com Plants • Antiques • Balloons Handmade Crafts • Stuffed Toys Greeting Cards & More (503) 429-2000 www.VernoniaFlorist.com Open Mon-Sat, 10AM to 6PM 736 Bridge St, Vernonia Family Owned & Operated Superior Customer Service Local Properties For Rent Vernonia, 4 bdrm, 2.5 bath, approx 1800 sf 4th bedroom could be bonus, gas stove, fireplace and heat, 2 car garage, large deck overlooking 1/2 acre lot, $1150/month, 1563 Heather Ct Vernonia, 2 bdrm, 1 bath, duplex, completely remodeled kitchen & bath, new carpet & paint, garage, w/d hookups, $650/month, 182 Bridge St. Over 13 acres, 3 bdrm, 2 bath, approx 1800 sf, well maintained ranch style home, fireplace and wood stoves, great well water, 4 car open bay garage, greenhouse, year-round creek, $1175/month, 21046 Scappoose Vernonia Hwy. VIP Property Management, Inc. 503-784-9560 CDBG grants. Understandably, the el- evation projects have been more difficult to get on track. After the initial four el- evations, we expect an additional 15 to 20 this summer with, hopefully, another 20 completed next summer. All told, we expect buyouts to exceed 40 properties. Given the applica- tions we received, expect the majority of these buyouts and elevations to be with- in the city limits. Finally, CAT Staffer Anita Drexel has received her cre- dentials needed to legally originate loans on behalf of CAT. These credentials are needed so that CAT can make construc- tion loans to homeowners with elevation projects. On the first four elevation proj- ects, we learned that the turnaround time to pay contractors with public money is too long. In order to complete these four projects, the Columbia County Flood Unmet Needs Committee provided the necessary bridge financing to pay the contractors in a timely manner. Un- fortunately, that resource is insufficient to cover the work this summer. To fill this need, CAT has borrowed substan- tial sums from the state of Oregon and ShoreBank Enterprises Pacific, with a guarantee from Meyer Memorial Trust. Hopefully, I’ve been able to convey an accurate sense of the com- plexity, setbacks and progress we’ve been able to make since December 2007. If you’re like me, a picture really helps you understand complicated situations. A few months ago I needed to commu- nicate the difference between the public and private flood responses. I developed this graphic to help me quickly convey my observation. I suspect many of you will rec- ognize the sudden appearance of volun- teers and donated resources in the pri- vate sector triangle. The size of these triangles are not based on actual num- bers. In fact, the public sector triangle is relatively too small. I expect it volunteer & private sector to totaling somewhere between $1 and $2 million. The public sector should approach $9 or $10 mil- lion. The graphic does a better job of explaining the timing sequences of our flood recovery as well as what I have seen in New Orleans. This has already been a long ar- duous trail for both the flooded families and those of us working to help them recover. I learned in New Orleans that, house for house;Vernonia’s recovery has been quicker. This is certainly not be- cause the flood recovery staff here are more talented, but because our disaster was much smaller and our people gener- ally more resilient. VERNONIA SHORT TRACK MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE SAT. JUNE 12 TH COME WATCH OR COMPETE! Start Times & Race Duration: 9:30am - Pre-ride the course —open to all registered racers 10:00am - Kiddie race (all Kids under age 10) 10 minutes 10:30am - Juniors Girls & Boys (10--14). Junior Girls & Boys,(15-18). 30 minutes 11:10am - Cat2/3 Women (19-34) (35-44) (45-54) (55+) 40 minutes 11:50am - Break, Course Open 15 minutes 12:05pm - Cat 3 Men (19-34) (35-44) (45+) 40 minutes 12:45pm - Cat 2 Men (19-34) (35-44) (45-54) (55+) 45 minutes 1:30pm - Break, Course Open 15 minutes 1:45pm - Single Speed Men, Single Speed Women, 45 minutes 2:30pm - Pro/Cat 1 Women, Pro/Cat 1 Men (19-34) (35+) 50 minutes Awards to top 3 in each category, Cash to Pro Men and Pro/Cat 1 Women. There will be products and prizes randomly distributed to all racers thanks to our generous sponsors. If you are new to racing enter the Cat 3 class with your age grouping Class: Entry Fee Kiddie Race Free Juniors 10-18 $5 Cat 3 (Beginners) Cat 2, Singlespeed $15 Pro/Cat 1 $20 Parking Fee /Vehicle $5 (all parking proceeds go to the Bicycle Park) Send your check and completed registration form and waiver found at http://www.obra.org/pdfs/waiver.pdf by Fri June 4 to: UZOOM2 LLC, 15100 NW Eugene Ln, Portland, Oregon 97229. Please make checks payable to UZOOM2 LLC. Day of race registration begins on site at 9am to 15 minutes prior to your race start time. OBRA membership required for all racers (except kiddie race) - single day $5/annual membership $20 available on line at http://www.obra.org/pdfs/membership_app.pdf or on site day of race. HELMET REQUIRED-All OBRA Rules Apply LOCAL SPONSORS: Brewery, Fine Wines, and A World of Delights!