city news
Vernonia City News...
april12
2011
5
At the March 21, 2011 City Council months to collect information, set goals of 2008. The City has not been paying time and energy for staff to train that
and prioritize projects. 1) The Economic this loan and has been accumulating person.
Meeting:
Council Approves City Administrator
Profile— After a Public Hearing, council
approved the City Administrator Profile
created by the League of Oregon Cities
(LOC) which will be used as part of the
search process for candidates for the
position.
City Recognizes CERT Graduates—
Interim Police Chief Mike Connor
recognized twenty-two new graduates
of the Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT). CERT educates citizens
about disaster preparedness for hazards
that may impact their area and trains
them in basic disaster response skills,
such as fire safety, light search and
rescue, team organization, and disaster
medical operations.
Tice Makes Wastewater Project
Manager Presentation— George Tice,
a member of the City Public Works
Committee, made a presentation to
Council about the need to hire a Project
Manager for the Wastewater Treatment
System upgrade. The City has selected
a conceptual plan provided by the
engineering firm of Brown and Caldwell,
which involves constructed wetlands,
recycling and a raised dike system. There
is a source of funds available through
EPA which can be used to secure the
services of a professional to manage the
project through predesign engineering,
final design engineering, construction
engineering and construction.
Tice explained that the timeline
is critical and that the City intends to
use Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) funds from the State of
Oregon for final design. According to
Tice, an entity can only have a limited
number of CDBG projects open at one
time, so having CDBG funds tied up in
the Wastewater project prohibits the City
from starting other projects that would
also use CDGB funds; the Rose Avenue
Project is one example.
According to Tice, the City
should start the process of hiring a
Project Manager by issuing a Request
for Qualifications (RFQ). Interim City
Administrator Bill Haack explained that
there is a draft version of the RFQ and
that, because the City is using CDGB
funds for the project, the City will be
required to have CDGB staff approve the
project at each step along the way, which
can be time-consuming. Haack also
explained that he intends to use an EPA
Grant for predesign work. Haack said he
hopes the project will be ready to go out
to bid in late 2012.
Councilor Willow Burch stated
that she didn’t understand the need to
wait to hire a Project Manager; Haack
reiterated that in order for the City to
issue the RFQ, CDGB staff must give
approval first, for every single step of the
project.
Citizens Offer Suggestions— Citizen
Heather Lewis read a prepared
statement on behalf of citizen Sharon
Bernal suggesting that the City has lost
institutional memory because of constant
change, and asking Council to look at the
big picture when considering decisions.
Lewis/Bernal noted that communication
is an ongoing issue and suggested four
ways for the citizens of the community
to support the Council in the next few
Mayor Josette Mitchell informed
Council that because the Budget Message
was scheduled to be delivered on
Saturday April 9, 2011, and because all
were brought forward in a single motion,
there was no time for each position to
be brought back to Council individually
and would need to be removed from the
upcoming budget.
Councilors Kevin Hudson,
Nicks and Councilor Willow Burch voted
to rescind their previous decision and
removed the positions from the budget.
When staff was requested by the Mayor
Mitchell to return at a later meeting with
individual motions for the positions,
Interim City Administrator Bill Haack
At the April 4, 2011, City Council stated that he would not bring it back and
would let the idea die. “The Internship
Meeting:
would require a significant amount of
Council Appoints Budget Officer— work and I am not prepared in the next
City Council approved Interim City two weeks to get that done. There are too
Administrator Bill Haack as the Budget many other things— we have the budget,
we have two major [grant] applications
Mayor
Appoints
Committee Officer for Fiscal Year 2011-2012.
moving forward— I’ll let it die.”
Members— Mayor Josette Mitchell,
with approval from Council, appointed Citizens Speak in Support of Kay—
Gives
Approval
for
Catherine Helmer and Susan Wagner to Four citizens, Jesse Lindsley, Jack Council
the City Budget Committee. Prior to the Lindsley, Richard Mayer and Sandy Sign Makeover— Sally Harrison,
approval, Councilor Willow Burch stated Welch all spoke during Topics from representing the Vernonia Economic
that she was surprised that the process the Floor in support of Vernonia Police Development Committee, requested and
had started and that she hadn’t heard Sergeant Mike Kay, who is currently received permission from Council to
about it. Burch stated that when she on paid Administrative Leave. All begin a makeover of the large billboard
asked, she was told it was posted on the commended Kay on his police work and sign at the corner of Bridge Street and
City website and in the local newspapers. with the K-9 Officer Program, as well as Rose Avenue.
It was also explained during the meeting with the CERT Team, Little Guy Football,
that the notice had been posted in the and the Vernonia Prevention Coalition, Council Approves MOU for Vital
Indicator Project— Council approved a
usual places around the City, and at City and other work in the community.
Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU)
Hall in the window. Burch said she didn’t
see the posting, that she couldn’t find it Council Reconsiders Creation of Job between the City of Vernonia Economic
on the website, and that she doesn’t read Titles— After approving a motion to Development Committee and Oregon
the newspapers for her own personal create three new job titles at the March State University for work on the Vital
reasons. “Once again, I find that things 21 st City Council Meeting, Councilor Vernonia Indicator Project.
are posted, but the word is not getting out Marilyn Nicks asked that the decision
there,” said Burch.
be reconsidered. The job titles that had Council Approves Transfer of Funds
been created (Parks Custodian, Wetlands for VCLC— Council approved the
Council Approves of Disposal of Old Maintenance Specialist and Assistant transfer of $408.00 from within the
Computers— Council approved the to the City Administrator) would have Vernonia Community Learning Center
disposal of 5 non-functioning computers allowed those positions to be included (VCLC) budget, from Contingency to
from the VCLC.
in the draft budget and discussed as part Operations and Maintenance, for repair
of the Budget Process for the upcoming of the furnace.
Council Approves Creation of Three fiscal year. Councilor Nicks stated that she
New Job Titles— At the request of felt Council made a hasty decision, that Council Approves Ordinance to
Interim City Administrator Bill Haack, the positions should have been brought Protect Drinking Water— Council
Council approved the creation of three forward as three separate entities, that Approved Ordinance 874, repealing
new job titles: a seasonal parks custodian; the Assistant to the City Administrator Ordinance 658, relating to instituting
a Wetlands Maintenance Specialist to position needed to be looked into further and enforcing a cross-connection control
manage wetlands created by the Vernonia and it was dangerous to lump all three and backflow prevention program.
School District; an assistant to the City together. Nicks also stated that she was The ordinance updates new rules and
Administrator to assist in the Financial concerned that the Assistant to the City regulations. Council approved both
and Administrative Services Department Administrator position was through an readings of the Ordinance, allowing it to
which would be an “internship-like” internship program and would require take effect immediately.
position. Discussions about these new
positions would be included in the
upcoming budget process.
Development Committee will set aside
their agenda to meet with Council to
update them on current projects and
decision making, and it is suggested that
all other City Committees do the same;
2) A group of citizens have agreed to
host “Community Conversations” which
would be a place where specific issues
would be presented to the community
and concerns and questions would
be documented and presented to the
appropriate committees and Council, so
accurate information can be gathered
and presented back to the public; 3)
The City should give up managing the
building permitting process and it should
be returned to the County to eliminate
the extra work load on city staff; 4)
A subcommittee should be formed to
codify City Ordinances, so Council and
citizens would have updated rules for
making decisions.
Council Approves Appropriation of
Streets Stimulus Funding— Council
approved Resolution 07-11, which
acknowledges the receipt of a $25,000
stimulus funding grant for street
improvements and places those funds
in Street Fund Income in the 2010-2011
budget.
Council Approves Continuation of
$12 Sewer Fee— Council approved
Resolution 10-11, continuing the $12.00
Sewer Utility Fee to repay DEQ loan
R93642. According to the Resolution,
the City has an outstanding loan with
Oregon DEQ for $4.3 million that was
used to pay for work completed in Phase
I of the Wasterwater project, which
was due to begin being repaid in May
$10,000 in interest per month. The city
has approved an interest payment of
$525,517 which was made on March 3,
2011, and DEQ has extended the terms of
the loan by twenty years. The City will
make annual payments of $315,000 for
current principal balance with the first
payment due in September of 2011. In
order to make the annual payments, it is
necessary to maintain the current $12.00
per month surcharge per sewer utility
connection for a period of twenty years,
beginning with the utility payment period
ending March 31, 2011, and ending with
the payment period ending June 30, 2032.
