opinion
april26
2011
An Opinion: The Wheels on the City Go
Round and Round...
By Scott Laird
Everyday I see more proof that
current Interim City Administrator Bill
Haack is the right person to lead Vernonia
forward for the next year, and hopefully
longer. Right now, the Vernonia City
Council is in the midst of a search for
a permanent City Administrator—
Haack, who has a contract through June
30, 2011, had offered back in January
to remain on the job for at least an
additional year; Council chose to pass
on Haack’s offer and voted 3-2 to start a
search. Fortunately, Haack has applied
for the position and will hopefully be in
the final mix of candidates that Council
chooses to interview.
Haack has shown continued
dedication to our city, proving day in
and day out that he has the knowledge,
ability, desire , temperament, and the
respect of staff, community members
and city partners to run and lead this
city. He has continually proven his
worth with his ability to find funding
and grant sources, give meaningful
and insightful answers to questions,
identify ongoing problems and find
creative solutions, and view the city
and its issues with long-range vision.
Mostly he has shown a commitment to
helping Vernonia through a tough time
and kepp us back on track.
H e r e
are just two brief examples of Haack’s
commitment to Vernonia:
At the Vernonia Parks
Committee Meeting, Haack informed
the members that he had met with a
group of citizens and with a biologist
from Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife to discuss Vernonia Lake.
Haack said the City was invited during
that meeting to apply for grant funding
for the Lake— probably for some
new fishing docks. Haack told the
Parks Committee the grant was due in
a couple of weeks and he would need
some help rounding up information to
complete the application in such a short
time-frame, but that he would get to
work on it in the next few days. Haack
agreed to tackle this unplanned project
to improve the City of Vernonia—
while already in the middle of a budget
process, after already completing a
massive grant request on behalf of Parks
to complete the new Spencer Park, and
while getting ready to be interviewed
by Council so they can decide if they
might want to hire someone else for the
job starting July 1 st .
Volunteer Position
Do you want to get
involved, volunteer and
use your talents? The
Vernonia Public Works
Committee needs a
secretary for taking notes
and typing minutes from
meetings. Meetings are
the fourth Tuesday
of each month from
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
This is a nonvoting
position. For more
information contact
Joann Glass at
503-429-5291.
The other example I wanted to
share was on Saturday, April 16 th, during
Make Vernonia Shine Day. There was
Haack, and his wife Shelly, working to
clean up around Vernonia Lake, giving
up a part of their weekend to help the
citizens of our community.
These are just two small
examples, among many, of the way
Bill Haack shows he cares about, and is
invested in this community.
Speaking of the Budget
Process, I just wanted to give kudos to
Vernonia City staff, especially Finance
Manager Angie Handegard and Interim
City Administrator Bill Haack for the
great job they did preparing the City
Budget this year. Because they took
the time to consult with all department
heads and asked for input from the
City Committees, there have been less
questions and disagreement as the
City Budget Committee has discussed
the Budget so far. The process has
mostly been moving along smoothly
and straight forward so far, with a
few expected bumps. Also, hats off to
Budget Chair Catherine Helmer who
has done a very good job of managing
the process and has taken her role
seriously.
The Budget Committee is
scheduled to meet on Friday, April
29, and May 6, starting at 4:00 P.M.
at the VCLC building. The public is
welcome to attend and there will be an
opportunity for public comment at the
beginning of the April 29 meeting.
At the April 18 Vernonia City
Council meeting, a report was given
about a Rave Party held just outside
Vernonia city limits, (see stories on
pages 5 and 15). Columbia County
Sheriff Deputy Troy Caldwell was
present at the April 18 meeting to give
details about the event. According
to Caldwell, because of the size
(an estimated 850 people were in
attendance), the Sheriff’s Department
was unable to break up the dance
party due to a lack of manpower and
resources. Which brings up Measure
5-210-- Sheriff’s Stable Funding,
which will be on the election ballot for
May 17, 2011 (see story on front page).
Columbia County voters
are being asked to pass a levy for 62
cents per thousand of assessed value;
in return, Sheriff Jeff Dickerson has
C edar M ist S tudios
designed a program that would, among
other things, add six patrol deputies to
increase support and back-up to local
law enforcement and reduce response
times to emergency calls; adds three
investigators to follow up and solve
crimes; and provide a dedicated deputy
to the Nehalem Valley area for forty
hours a week and twenty-four hour
patrol coverage in the county seven
days a week, (right now, there are
four hours every day when there is no
deputy on duty).
I know it will be a difficult
decision for many of us right now
to vote to tax ourselves, but this is
necessary and we need to show support
for what has become an eroding law
enforcement presence in Columbia
County. Please join me in supporting
Measure 5-210 on May 17.
And so we come around full
circle. At the April 18, 2011, Vernonia
City Council Meeting, Council
scheduled a workshop with the League
of Oregon Cities representative, Jenny
Messmer, to begin discussing the
applications that have been received
for the Vernonia City Administrator
position.
Bill Haack has proven
in the year he has worked here as
Interim, and the two previous years as
Economic Recovery Director, after the
Flood of 2007, that he is competent,
talented, smart, respected, and above
all, dedicated. Let’s hope Council
chooses to do the right thing and
give current Interim Bill Haack fair
consideration for the job.
Deborah Steffen is a reg-
istered yoga instructor and
certifi ed hypnotist serving
Vernonia for over 5 years.
Located 5 miles from
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Scappoose Vernonia Hwy.
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3
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
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