city news
Vernonia City News...
At the January 7, 2013 City Council upgrade could move forward. Haack
Meeting
said he is working with the city engineer
to create a plan to modify the headworks
Councils Members Are Sworn In- and fix the problem. He estimated that
Mayor Josette Mitchell, along with the modification would cost $200,000 to
City Councilors Randy Parrow and Kim $300,000.
Tierney all took the oath of office at the
January 7, 2013 Vernonia City Council City Gets Approval to Use Grant
meeting. Tierney had been appointed Funds for New Park Development-
to fill a vacant seat and was elected to her City Administrator Bill Haack informed
seat in the November elections; Mitch- Council that the City has received ap-
ell and Parrow were re-elected to their proval from the Oregon Parks and Rec-
seats. All three ran unopposed. Parrow reation Department for an application
was later elected by the Council to serve the City made to repurpose grant funds.
as Council President.
The funds are from the previously ap-
proved application for the
Vernonia Bicycle Skills Park
project. The City will use
$46, 874 of those funds to
complete a Parks Master
Plan and will contract with
MacKay & Sposito for those
services. The balance of the
funds, $175,432, will be used
to purchase and install a rest-
room facility and covered pic-
nic shelter at the Spencer Park
replacement park at the old
school site. Council voted to
approve both these uses.
Council Discusses Bicycle
Rack and Bike Parking-
Mayor Josette Mitchell is sworn into office by
Council heard a request from
City Recorder Joann Glass as City Councilor
the management of the Blue
Randy Parrow looks on.
House Cafe to place a bicy-
Problem with Wastewater Facility Re- cle rack in the courtyard of the Verno-
vealed-City Administrator Bill Haack nia Community Learning Center. The
informed Council that he recently dis- courtyard is adjacent to the Blue House
covered that the wastewater headworks Cafe property. Several citizens spoke
was constructed improperly and does against placing the rack in the courtyard.
not meet DEQ standards. Haack told Several alternative ideas were discussed
Council that the headworks was origi-
nally designed for a nine inch flume but
was constructed with a six inch flume
and therefore has difficulty handling
the amount of storm water generated
during peak flows. Haack said he was
unable to find any documentation that
could explain why the facility was not
constructed as designed. He noted that
City Council Meetings are
the problem would need to be corrected
scheduled for 7 PM:
before plans for the wastewater facility
Vernonia City
Council Meetings
and Closures
Tuesday, January 22
Monday, February 4
Tuesday, February 19
City Information and
Updates Available by Email
Citizens who wish to receive meeting
information and updates can request to
be placed on an email list at City Hall.
Please contact Joann Glass at joann@
vernonia-or.gov and asked to be placed
on the “Citizen Notification List.”
City Closures are scheduled for:
Monday, February 18
Dates and times subject to change
due to conflicts of schedules
including the need for an overall bicycle
parking plan for the City. Council chose
to make no decision. They requested
that the issue be sent to the planning
commission for review.
Council Approves Franchise Agree-
ment With LightSpeed Networks-
Council approved a request from
LightSpeed Networks, Inc. (LSN) for
a franchise to construct, operate and
maintain a telecommunications network
within the City of Vernonia. The term of
the franchise agreement is for ten years.
LSN proposed to serve the new Verno-
nia Health Center as well as provide im-
proved bandwidth, internet and network
access for businesses, schools, govern-
ment and local residents and visitors.
Topics from the Floor-George Bell-
ingham, representing the Ridge Riders,
provided Council with some history of
the relationship between the City and his
group. Marie Krahn spoke on behalf of
january22
2013
5
the Vernonia Health Board and informed
the Council on progress her group is
making to relocate the Health Clinic to
the Rose Avenue site. Ron Wright in-
formed the Council that he continues to
be concerned about safety and speeding
on Bridge Street as it goes up towards
the top of Cory Hill and suggested speed
bumps be installed.
Council informed of Financing for
Street Paving-Council was informed
by memo that $6,000 for a street paving
project on A Street will come from the
Operations Materials line item, which
has an available balance of $10, 230.
Council had previously approved the ex-
penditure but had asked for more details
about that line item in the budget.
Council Appoints Haack as Budget
Officer-As part of the City’s required
budget process, Council voted to ap-
point City Administrator Bill Haack as
the budget officer for the City.
Vernonia Transfer Station Announcement
In order for Waste Management
to continue providing Transfer Station
services to the community of Vernonia,
please note the following changes to the
site operations:
EFFECTIVE March 9, 2013
• 30 yard Drop Box’s will be removed
and replaced with multiple 6.0 yard
containers for household waste.
• Material exceeding 48” in length will no
longer be accepted.
• Oversized or bulky waste will no
longer be accepted.
• The list of prohibited materials by type
and quantity are posted at the entrance
to the
Transfer Station and remain
unchanged.
• Drop Off for recyclable items at no
charge and items that require a fee
remain unchanged.
Thank you,
WM of Columbia County
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worn out
and rusty?
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Call...
Meyer’s Auto Body
•493 Bridge St•
VERNONIA
503-429-0248
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010412
Vernonia
Veterinary Clinic
Small and Large Animals
Now Open
Mon, Wed & Saturday
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Call for Appointments
2245 Baseline St., Cornelius
(Across from Fred Meyer)
503-530-8119
State Licensed PB-0388
Open
everyday
at 9 a.m.
(503) 429-1612
Or 24 hr. Emergency Number (503) 397-6470
700 Weed Ave. Vernonia, OR
