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Vernonia City News...
At the January 23, 2012 City Council
Meeting:
february14
2012
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new ordinance which would organize all
City Committees in a similar manner
and give them all similar general powers
and duties. The new ordinance would
establish standard rules for member-
ship, organization, reporting, meetings,
communication and code of conduct for
committees. No action was taken, but a
final version of the Ordinance is expect-
ed to be presented at a special February
13 City Council meeting.
Westlake Receives Certificate of Ap-
preciation—Mayor Josette Michell
flood recovery including: how homes in
Vernonia were found to be Substantially
Damaged--a key component in receiv-
ing Federal Assistance for buyouts and
demolitions or the lifting of damaged
homes; a progress report on mitigation
efforts and the City’s obligation to per-
form Flood Plain Enforcement. Coun-
cil and Brown discussed homes in the
community that have not been brought
into Federal compliance and the need to
speed up the process, as being in non-
(pictured above left) presented a Certifi- compliance will effect Flood Insurance
cate of Appreciation to Ginger Westlake, rates for the entire community.
City Utility Specialist/Receptionist for
her outstanding work to recover past Tice Appointed to Budget Commit-
tee—Mayor Josette Michell, with the
due utility accounts for the city.
consent of Council, appointed George
Guyett Appointed to Budget Com- Tice to serve another term on the City
mittee—Mayor Josette Mitchell, with Budget Committee.
consent from Council, appointed George
Guyette to serve on the City Budget Council Approves Cemetery Inscrip-
tion Application—Council approved
Committee.
a new procedure for anyone wishing to
At the February 6, 2012 City Council have a name inscribed on the Avenue of
Flags at the Vernonia Memorial Cem-
Meeting:
etery. Cost is $125 and a flag may be
Council Hears Update on Flood Re- purchased for $48.
covery—Council heard a presentation
from Dan Brown, representing Co- Council Discusses City Committee
lumbia County Flood Recovery. Brown Ordinance—Council held a lengthy dis-
updated Council about several areas of cussion of over an hour about a proposed
On January 28, 2012 City of
Vernonia and Columbia County leaders
gathered with local citizens at the Ver-
nonia school cafeteria for a Town Hall
meeting to discuss Emergency Prepared-
ness and Vernonia’s ability to respond to
natural disasters.
The meeting, titled “Storm
Watch 2012, Preparedness,” was hosted
by the City of Vernonia and organized by
Vernonia City Administrator Bill Haack
in direct response to the recent area
snowstorm and power outage in mid-
January.
Marc Farmer, General Man-
ager at West Oregon Electric Coopera-
tive discussed the process WOEC uses
to reinstate power after a major outage
and the specifics of this particular storm
situation, including the fact that BPA,
who supplies WOEC with power, had
a downed line and was unable to re-
pair that immediately. Farmer also de-
scribed the difficulty WOEC faces in
governmental agencies to speed up the
process to procure needed resources
and cut through “red tape.” It is also a
clear indication that the City’s resources
for dealing with the situation may be
overtaxed and that additional help is re-
quired. A declaration of an emergency
notifies the County that they need to be
monitoring the situation and may need to
mobilize resources.
Vernonia Police Chief Mike
Conner and Vernonia Rural Fire Depu-
ty Chief Dean Smith discussed the role
of a City Emergency Operations Cen-
ter. Conner explained that in a situation
when it is unknown how long power will
be out, the City will contact Red Cross
and request assistance in opening Emer-
gency Warming Shelters. St. Mary’s
Church and Lincoln Grade school have
been designated as shelters in the case
of flooding. Conner discussed that there
was difficulty in informing citizens and
that citizens are always welcome to call
the Vernonia Police Department non-
emergency phone line where they can
receive updated information and leave a
recorded message. That number is 503-
Council Holds Study Session on Per-
sonnel Policies Handbook-- Council
held a Study Session with City Attorney
Alex Sosnkowski to review proposed
changes to the City’s Personnel Policies
Handbook. Council will be presented
with a final version of the Handbook for
adoption at an upcoming Council meet-
ing.
School District Makes Fundraising
Presentation—Vernonia School Su-
perintendent Ken Cox briefly updated
Council on current fundraising efforts.
Pam Weller, representing Wauna Fed-
eral Credit Union presented a check for
$6,000 that her organization raised in
support of the new school. Weller noted
that much of those funds came directly
from Wauna employees. Gordon Smith
told Council that the $10,000 Business
Match Challenge that he organized and
funded has been met and that the school
received all $20,000. Smith thanked
numerous businesses making donations
and meeting his challenge.
Council Declares Police Property as
Surplus—Council passed Resolution
3-12, declaring two ICOP Video sys-
tems as surplus and authorizing the sale
of this property. VPD Chief Mike Con-
ner informed Council that he is currently
testing a newer and less expensive re-
placement unit.
Council Approves Intra-fund Trans-
fer—Council approved Resolution 4-12
for a transfer of funds from Contingen-
cy to Personal Services in three funds:
General Fund--$16,803; Water Fund-
-$10,629; and Sewer Fund--$11,729.
The transfers were necessary to cover
costs for Insurance Benefits that were in-
correctly figured during the preparation
of the 2011-12 Budget.
City of Vernonia Hosts Emergency Preparedness Town Hall
Upcoming Vernonia City Hall
Closures and City Council Meetings
City Hall will be closed:
February 20, 2012 President’s Day
Upcoming City Council Meetings are scheduled for:
Tuesday February 21, 2012
Monday March 5, 2012
Monday March 19, 2012
Dates and Times subject to change due to conflicts of schedules
Need
body
work?
Time to call
Meyer’s
Auto Body
Meyer’s Auto Body 493 Bridge Street, Vernonia. 503-429-0248
dealing with large amounts of snow in a
largely rural service area and the need to
bring in expensive outside crews to as-
sist. Farmer also discussed that the new
WOEC headquarters was built with the
ability to serve as an emergency shelter
in the event of a major emergency, but
will not act as a warming shelter during
smaller events.
Vernonia Mayor Josette Mitch-
ell described the process the City goes
through to officially declare an emergen-
cy. Mitchell explained that in the event
of an unusual weather situation that
looks like it will impact citizens, City
Council gathers to consult with Police,
Emergency Responders and the City Ad-
ministrator about the severity of the situ-
ation. If needed, Council then gathers in
an emergency meeting and declares the
emergency by Resolution, which notifies
the County and State and marks a place
in time in case the City expends extra
resources and wants to request funding
assistance for those extra expenditures.
Peter Tassoni, Director of Co-
lumbia County Emergency Manage-
ment Department explained that when
the City declares an emergency it allows
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