letters to the editor
Readers Lend Their Voices... continued from page 4
eight. There is no reason to believe that
another new City Administrator can do
any better than the others.
Working with the Airport Com-
mittee, Bill Haack has been outstanding
and very willing to work for the better of
the city and the Airport Committee.
We highly recommend that as
our elected representatives of the City
of Vernonia that you do the right thing
on this and hire current Pro tem City Ad-
ministrator Bill Haack.
the respect of many in the community.
With his help things are finally starting
to move in a positive direction. Staff
is asking that you choose the option to
retain Bill Haack as City Administrator.
Michael Seager
Georgeanna Seager
Thank you,
Angie Handegard
Joann Glass
Ginger Westlake
Jeff Burch
Carole Connell
Micheal Conner
Sean Carnahan
Marjorie Lawrence
Dear Mayor and Council Members,
We are aware of the three op-
tions before you regarding the position
of City Administrator. We as staff would
like to voice our opinion on the matter.
We would encourage you all to consider
what is currently on the plate of the City
and if bringing in someone new who will
have to spend months getting familiar
with everything is the best choice for the
City and the community. We feel that
expending money and time on searching
for someone that may not exist is not the
responsible thing to do. What guarantee
do we have that someone else would
do a better job? How could this person
possibly get acclimated to the huge job
of managing this City’s current list of
projects without losing a lot of time in
the process? We have been through too
many administrators over the past few
years and things just aren’t moving for-
ward. This needs to stop. Every time a
change is made, we have to start over. We
currently have a very competent leader
who has been involved with the projects
either directly or indirectly for the past
three years. He has many contacts that a
new person won’t have. He also has the
respect of the staff and a good working
relationship with all of us. He also has
To the Editor,
In his rather short employment
for the City of Vernonia, Bill Haack
seems to be getting his ‘bearings’. He
is closely involved in many current and
future projects that are vital to our City.
As a committee member he has worked
with our committee and others toward
improving Vernonia. Everyone is aware
of the construction underway, and these
involve close dealings with the City
Government.
Bill is working with the State
Highway Department, now involved
with improvements to the New School
Campus access. Currently FEMA land
acquisitions of over 40 properties are an
active issue, as is the major City wide GIS
mapping project.
Other important
issues are the $400,000 EPA
grant being considered, the Pinchot
Institute study, and discussions of the
City needs for a Wastewater Facility and
the impact.
These along with the host of
lesser publicized issues leaves me to
wonder if this is a good time to disrupt
his employment.
What about an
employment contract negotiated for a
short term, then evaluate and reconsider
the current ‘call for an Administrator
search’ as the term progresses ?
I appreciate the volunteers, and
I encourage the City Council to keep
involved with the progress of the City.
Jerry Keenon
Vernonia
To the Editor,
Bill Haack has been in this City
since the flood of 2007 and has shown
over and over again the ability to get
things done in a professional and calm
manner. The City Manager position is
not always a popular seat when rules
and regulations have to be followed,
certainly everyone understands that to
be a good leader you have to do what is
right not always what is popular. Bill
has a proven record of doing what it
takes to help the City grow and prosper.
It is very important for the City
Council members to remember they are
making a decision FOR ALL OF US
THAT LIVE IN THE CITY and that
they have taken their seats to hear and
speak for the majority. I see too often
a Council Member let a personal issue
get in the way of the important issues our
City is faced with and waste everyone’s
time and energy on petty stuff. Let’s
look forward and get Bill Haack to work!
Sharon A. Bernal,
Chair of the Vernonia Economic
Development Committee
Member of the Vernonia Education
Committee
Member of the Downtown Association
Member of the Oregon Solution
Steering Committee
Dear Editor,
How
many
more
City
Administrators (CA) do we have to
get until we get it right? We currently
march8
2011
15
have an excellent candidate holding the
position in a temporary status. Based on
recent history, he has been doing a great
job and making the city work as it should
by keeping employees informed and
holding them accountable. An added
plus is his integrity and he WANTS to be
here.
But three of our councilors,
for one reason or another, decide that
is not enough. So, what options do we
have? We can toss a bucket of bullion to
LOC and let them find us a candidate.
We can do the search ourselves It will
likely cost us a great deal of time that we
do not have to spare with all the current
projects on the platter. I’m sure there
will also be affiliated costs with a self
search.
Maybe we can find a CA
locally? Well, if memory serves me
correctly (and it does), we tried that
a few years ago and the poor lass
was completely overwhelmed by the
job. Maybe we can go to the CA tree
and pick a ripe one or maybe one will
fall from the sky. Hey, it could happen.
The first really important
decision by the new council and only
2 of 5 get a passing grade. One of the
major complaints I’ve heard is that we
have not had continuity at CA for a
long time. Either a CA leaves, does a
poor job, is already retired or enlivens
the community to gather tar and
feathers. We have plenty of rails.
Government must work as a
team doing the peoples business. Your
vote on the CA position shows me and
many others that you do not care a wit
for the people. However you look at it,
your choice is a loss for our city, a loss
of time, money and more time in getting
the new CA up to speed.
Burt Tschache
Vernonia
An Opinion: Choosing a City Administrator continued from page 3
group of city employees, a group of citizens, and the
Council. Interview questions were formulated by
consultant Jim Johnson. Who will create the questions
this time? Will citizens and staff be involved with the
search process? Will Haack be fairly scrutinized and
given a fair chance by all members of the Council?
Communication Style-- Several Councilors
have complained that they don’t like Bill Haack’s
communication style. I have never had any problem
getting information from Haack. If I have a question,
I pick up the phone and call, send an email, or stop
by City Hall. Haack is always accommodating and
helpful. Councilors saying they can’t get information
s
Na
ce
Path Health Ser
vi
ral
u
t
is, to me, an excuse. Communications styles go both
ways and are something that can be worked on and
improved. Is this really a valid reason to hire someone
new?
What’s Best For Vernonia? In the end, this
is the most important question. When this Council
was elected, I said I thought it would take six months
to a year for the new members to get up to speed on
everything that was ongoing. Haack has been on the
job eight months, full time, and he is still uncovering
new issues that he needs to deal with. All three new
members of Council have spent an extra amount of
time in study sessions, workshops and meetings,
Changing Administrators now is a huge
decision for Vernonia. Council has chosen to take it
on and I hope, for their sake and ours, they get it right.
The citizens voted them into office hoping they would
lead our city and represent us. This is their first big
test.
Mariolino’s
Pizza & Grill
Open for
breakfast,
lunch & dinner
Dr. Carol McIntyre
Naturopathic & Chinese Medicine
503.481.4096
cccmnd@yahoo.com
naturalpathhealthservices.com
trying to educate themselves about city business, and
I commend them for that. But does this new Council
really believe they understand enough to turn our City
over to someone new so soon? Will this be in our best
interests.
We have ice cream!
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