city news
At the November 5, 2012 City Council
Meeting:
Council Approves Parking Ordinance-
Council approved Ordinance 886,
amending the off-street parking and
loading requirements of the Vernonia
Municipal Code. After holding public
hearings on July 16, August 17, and
October 15, Council approved the new
requirements for the downtown zone
which will allow any structure which
cannot provide the required off-street
parking to pay a fee of $10 per space.
The number of spaces required will be
reduced to account for existing on-
street parking through a methodology
developed by the City. The money
collected will be set aside in a fund
exclusively for the maintenance of
public parking lots in or adjacent to the
downtown core. The fee will begin in
July 2013.
Council Settles Liability Insurance
Claim-Council voted to authorize
Mayor Josette Mitchell to sign a
negotiated insurance settlement. Dawn
Marie Thompson sued the City in 2008
and obtained a default judgement.
The payment to settle the claim is for
$25,000. Per the agreement, the City
Vernonia City News...
will also install a sewer line and manage
an old sewer line within an easement on
Thompson’s property. An agreement
with CIS, the City’s insurance carrier,
to reimburse the City for the payment
needs to be negotiated.
Council
Approves
Amendment
to Waste Collection Fees-Council
approved Resolution 34-12, amending
fees by Waste Management for collection
of waste throughout Vernonia. The
franchise agreement with the City allows
Waste Management to pass through
changes in disposal fees. Monthly
increases to residential customers will
be from $0.09 to 0.55, depending on
service levels. Commercial increases
will be slightly more.
Council Votes to Replace Restroom
at Vernonia Lake-After receiving
a recommendation from the Parks
Committee, Council voted 4-1 to replace
the restroom at Vernonia Lake which
was destroyed by fire this past year.
Cost is $9500. Councilor Donna Webb
voted against the replacement.
Council Defines Commitment to New
Spencer Park Enhancements-Council
approved Resolution 33-12 which defines
the City’s plans to repurpose grant funds
from the Oregon Parks and Recreation
Department, Local Government Grant
Program. The funds were originally
received by the City for the Vernonia
Bicycle Skills Park and were intended
to be used to install restroom, picnic
shelter, parking and pathway facilities.
The City now intends to use the funds to
create a Master Capital Plan for the area
between Anderson Park and Vernonia
Lake and for New Spencer Park Phase
I Enhancements. Those enhancements
include the installation of a restroom
facility, a picnic shelter and pathways
at the park which will be constructed on
the site of the old schools. The original
grant was for $245,000; The remaining
amount is $222,306.
Council Authorizes Amendment to
IGA on Wetland-Council authorized
Mayor Josette Mitchell to sign an
amendment to the Intergovernmental
Agreement (IGA) between the City
of Vernonia and the Vernonia School
District 47J which clarifies language
for the construction, management, and
maintenance of the mitigated wetland on
City property.
City to Work Towards Becoming Tree
november13
2012
5
City, USA-After hearing a presentation
from Kristen Ramstadt of Oregon
Department of Forestry, Council directed
City Administrator Bill Haack to actively
work with an ad hoc, local “Tree Board”
to establish Tree City, USA status for
the City of Vernonia. The Tree Board
has representatives from the Vernonia
School District, the Upper Nehalem
Watershed Council, the City of Vernonia
and other local citizens. Members of the
Tree Board have previously met with
City Council, the City Administrator,
Planning Commission and Parks
Committee. There will be no financial
impact on the city budget.
Council Hears Report From Parks
Committee- Scott Laird of the Vernonia
Parks Committee delivered an annual
report to the Council, updating the work
the Committee has undertaken during
the past year and informing Council
on the work the Committee intends to
consider in the upcoming year.
Mayor Appoints Library Committee
Members-With the consent of Council,
Mayor Josette Mitchell appointed Nancy
Burch and Grant Williams to the Library
Committee.
On the Shelves - What’s Happening at the Vernonia Library
By Jennifer Moloney
What does the Vernonia Public Library have to
offer? Books you say? Well, yes we do but let me tell
you about some of the OTHER materials and events
that are offered that perhaps you aren’t aware of.
For our youngest patrons we have a very
nice children’s section offering board books, leveled
readers, fiction books, non-fiction books, books with
audio, Zoobooks and Ranger Rick magazines, movies
on VHS and DVD, pre-school story time Mondays at
10:30 AM, after school reading program for elementary
school children (includes snack, stories, and craft/
activity) Tuesdays 3:45 – 4:45 PM, and Lego Club
every 2 nd and 4 th Thursday of the month 3:45 – 4:45 PM
For our tweens we have a hearty section of
chapter books including everything from Nancy Drew
to Katie Kazoo. Don’t miss the Oregon Readers
Choice Award (ORCA) display and future voting on
your favorite book!
Our young adult section has developed into
quite a robust area with a plethora of the latest hot titles.
I love to ‘talk books’ in this section with teens and
adults alike! Do you need volunteer hours for school?
Stop by and chat – we have opportunities available that
would satisfy those requirements. ORCA books are on
display and available for checkout in this level as well.
For adults we have books, reference,
magazines, daily Oregonian, books on CD and cassette,
music CD’s, VHS and DVD movies, computers with
internet access, printing and copier capability (for a
fee), laminating (for a fee), monthly adult movie nights,
and a book discussion group.
Throughout the year additional events take
place such as Summer Reading, performances, author
visits, humanities programs, family movie matinees,
and more! Come check out your local library and see
what we have to offer. Do you have questions? Feel
free to call the library at 503-429-1818 or check out our
website at www.vernonia-or.gov – the library can be
found under ‘services’.
I will leave you with a list of new books that
have been added to our collection this month. Adult:
Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz, The Time Keeper by
Mitch Albom, The Three-day Affair by Michael Kardos,
Tuesday’s Gone by Nicci French, A Foreign Country
by Charles Cumming, and Mad River by John Sanford.
Young Adult: Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra
Clare, Shine by Lauren Myracle, Fingerprints of you
by Kristen-Paige Madonia, The Mark of Athena by
Rick Riordan, and A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness.
Juvenile: Bear has a story to tell by Philip C. Stead,
llama llama time to share by Anna Dewdney, and Oh,
No! by Candace Fleming & Eric Rohmann.
P.E.O. and “Christmas in the Country”
It is time to plan for the annual
Vernonia Christmas Bazaar once again,
and everyone is looking forward to its
new location: the Commons area at the
new Vernonia School. The dates this
year are December 8 th and 9 th , from
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, and
Vernonia City
Council Meetings
and Closures
City Council Meetings are
scheduled for 7 PM:
Monday, November 19, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
City Closures are scheduled for:
November 22, Thanksgiving Day
November 23, Staff Day
Dates and times subject to change
due to conflicts of schedules
11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Sunday.
P.E.O. will be selling wreaths on
a pre-order basis, and are taking orders
now. The price will stay the same as
last year, $18.00 for a 20-inch wreath.
Please call Mary at 503-429-4814 or
503-429-7214 to place your order. The
wreaths may be picked up at the bazaar,
or earlier by prior arrangement. P.E.O.
will also have a craft table with hand-
made items and delectable goodies for
sale.
All receipts from the bazaar go
toward college scholarships for women
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Meyer’s Auto Body 493 Bridge Street, Vernonia. 503-429-0248
in our area.
The annual Christmas Bazaar
is one of Vernonia’s favorite events,
with many visitors from out-of-town
(including Santa). We hope to see you
there.
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