city news
At the May 21, 2012 City Council
Meeting
Council Recognizes Synda Allen for
Service—Mayor Josette Mitchell pre-
sented a Certificate of Appreciation
to Synda Allen for her dedication and
commitment during her many years of
service to the Vernonia Memorial Cem-
etery. The Council took this opportunity
to sincerely thank Allen for her loyalty
to the City of Vernonia. Allen has re-
tired as the caretaker of the cemetery.
A reception in honor of Synda and her
husband Ray was held prior to the City
Council meeting.
Council Adjusts Park Host and Park
Vendor Agreements—Council ap-
proved a request from Councilor Donna
Webb to revisit the recently approved
Park Host and Park Vendor Agreements
and modified both to include a termina-
tion date for the agreements.
Council Chooses No Change to Traffic
Pattern at Anderson Park—Council
revisited a request to change the traf-
fic flow pattern at Anderson Park, and
again chose to make no changes to the
current one-way flow of traffic.
Vernonia City News...
Council Approves Flood Buyout—
Council approved the purchase and sale
agreement of one additional property
and the use of HMGP funds and CDGB
funds for this flood acquisition project.
june12
2012
5
Council Accepts Financing Plan for
School SDC’s—Council approved a
proposal from the Vernonia School
District for a financing plan for System
Development Charges that the School
District must pay the City as part of the
Council Updates Parks Committee development of the new school campus
Resolution—Council approved Resolu- project. The School District and City
tion 15-12, which establishes the Parks had previously negotiated a fee assess-
Committee and prescribes its powers ment of $139,159, which was an adjust-
and duties. Council also passed Resolu- ment down from $261,144—a reduction
tion 881 which revised the Parks Rules of $122,985. The School district has
proposed paying the fees over four years
and Regulations.
at an interest rate of 2.25% which would
At the June 4, 2012 City Council be three payments of $35,000 and one
final payment of $34,159. Council ac-
Meeting
cepted this plan.
Council Adopts 2012-13 Budget,
Amends Fee Schedule—Council ap- Council Approves Amendment with
proved and adopted the Fiscal Year ODOT—Council approved an Amend-
2012-2013 Budget, with total funds of ment to the Cooperative Agreement
5,082,987. Council also approved a tax between the City and the Oregon De-
levy rate of $5.8163 per $1,000 of as- partment of Transportation which was
sessed value of taxable property. The signed in February of 2012. The amend-
budget takes effect July 1, 2012. Coun- ment allows ODOT to reimburse the
cil also approved a Resolution to re- Vernonia School District for eligible
ceive state revenue sharing funds. In a costs incurred associated with engineer-
separate move Council also amended the ing and road improvements. $185,000
Master Fee Schedule which included an in costs are eligible for reimbursement.
increase in the monthly sewer loan re-
payment fee from $12 to $31 (See full Council Authorizes Change to City
Hall Hours—Council authorized the
story on front page)
City Administrator to modify the hours
of operation for City Hall staff, begin-
ning July 1, 2012. (See full story on this
page)
of Ms. Warren” was echoed by all of the
County Commissioners.
“Jennifer was a beloved,
dedicated and respected staff member
of CCMH” said Roland Migchielsen,
the Agency’s Director. “And we are
working closely with our staff and our
clients to provide support and counsel
during this difficult time”.
The funeral was held on Sunday,
June 3rd at 1:00 PM at the
St. Helens High School and
Jennifer Warren Family Account. The
compassion this community and the
outlying communities have shown as
a result of this tragic event has been so
positive and greatly appreciated.
For
further
information
regarding donations or other questions,
please contact Earl Fisher at 503-397-
4322 or Roland Migchielsen at 503-397-
5277, ext. 201.
Council Approves New HRA Plan for
Employees—Council approved the es-
tablishment of a Health Reimbursement
Arrangement plan for employees which
was agreed to in recent collective bar-
gaining agreements with both employee
unions. The plan allows for a tax free
contribution account for employees to
pay qualified health care expenses. The
new plan is expected to save the City
over $30,000 in the next fiscal year.
Council Approves Re-Appropriation
of Funds—Council approved the re-
appropriation of funds within the Water
Fund, from materials and service line
items to personnel services. Payroll Ex-
pense was over budget in this fund and
the re-appropriation was required to re-
main complaint with local budget law.
Council Approves Insurance Cover-
age for Volunteers—Council approved
providing Workers Compensation insur-
ance coverage to volunteer workers for
the City.
Columbia County Expresses Condolences to Warren Family
The
Columbia
County
Commissioners and all County Staff are
expressing condolences to the family,
friends and co-workers of Jennifer
Warren. “Columbia County works
closely with the Columbia County
Mental Health Department (CCMH)
and we were all devastated that this
tragic event happened to a dedicated
professional”, said Commissioner Earl
Fisher. “Our thoughts and prayers are
with the family, friends and co-workers
members of CCMH were in attendance
along with clients and other community
members and friends who worked with
Jennifer.
The CCMH would like to thank
the community for the calls offering
support to the family and friends of
the Warren Family. An account has
been set up by the family at US Bank,
where donations can be made to the
Window Hours to
Change at City Hall
The Vernonia City Coun-
cil has approved a request from
City Administrator Bill Haack to
modify the hours of operation at
the Vernonia City Hall.
Haack made the request
at the June 4 City Council meet-
ing. Under the new plan , starting
July 1, 2012, the window at City
Hall will open for public business
starting at 11:00 AM, Monday
through Friday. The window is
currently open at 9:00 AM. The
window will continue to close
at 5:00 PM, although, under the
new plan, it will stay open until
6:00 PM on Monday evenings
In his report to Council,
Haack noted that he is making
the modifications to the hours of
operation in order to “increase ef-
fectiveness and cost efficiencies”
of city staff.
Haack said he intends to
review the new plan after it has
been in place for six months and
make adjustments if needed.
Vernonia City
Council Meetings
and Closures
City Council Meetings are
scheduled for:
Monday, June 18, 2012
Tuesday, July 2, 2012
City Closures are scheduled for:
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Dates and times subject to change
due to conflicts of schedules
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