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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2013)
6 city news february21 2013 On the Shelves: What’s Happening at the Vernonia Library By Jennifer Moloney Columbia County Libraries Bring You “Columbia County Reads 2013” “But because of his telling, many who did not believe have come to believe, and some who did not care have come to care. He tells the story, out of infinite pain, partly to honor the dead, but also to warn the living – to warn the living that it could happen again and that it must never happen again. Better that one heart be broken a thousand times in the retelling, he has decided, if it means that a thousand other hearts need not be broken at all.” - Elie Wiesel Libraries across Columbia County are inviting their communities to read a common book related to this year’s “Columbia County Reads” theme: the Holocaust. The purpose of Columbia County Reads is to bring reading to the forefront of public discourse. If everyone reads the same book at the same time, it is hoped that it will inspire discussions, connections and a shared perspective among Columbia County residents. This year’s adult selection is “Night,” by Elie Wiesel and the teen selection is “The Devil’s Arithmetic,” by Jane Yolen. Speakers from the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center will be hosted in the communities of Rainier, Vernonia and St. Helens. Evelyn Banko will be speaking at the Vernonia Public Library on Saturday, March 9, 2013 at 4:00 PM Evelyn was born in Vienna, Austria in 1936. Her family fled first from the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews in Austria, then from the Russian invasion of County artist with work in the permanent collection of Pacific University, will be exhibiting his artwork at both the Vernonia Public Library and the St. Helens Public Library. These works are a tribute to the drawings and poems of the children of the Terezin Concentration Camp. From 1942-1944, approximately 15,000 children were imprisoned at Terezin, Czechoslavakia – fewer than 100 survived. Art will be on display in Vernonia on Saturday, March 9 th following Evelyn Banko and Monday, March 11 th time TBA at the Vernonia Learning Center. Information regarding these and additional events can be found at the Vernonia Public Library. All events are free and open to the public. Artwork by Dave Anderson will be exhibited at the Vernonia Public Library and the St. Helens Public Library. Latvia to America by way of China and Japan. Dave Anderson, a Columbia City Administrator Report continued from page 5 Vernonia Lions Club, and a representative of a commercial pump vendor to assess op- tions for a replacement pump at the lake to draw water from the Nehalem River. Lion’s Club envisions that they will be the project sponsor. The City will be involved in review- ing plans and specs, reviewing construction, and ultimately in operating. WASHINGTON GRADE SCHOOL SAL- VAGE The City made an agreement with Custom Excavating to purchase a variety of salvaged materials from the deconstructed Washing- ton Grade School. The City intends to ac- quire approximately 140 pieces of lumber (e.g. 2x12 and 2x14 – 20 foot lengths; 12x12 and 12x19 inch nine to 15 foot lengths) that will be used to build the picnic shelter, be refinished as benches and used as architec- tural elements in construction projects. This will allow the legacy of the former school to live on in the replacement park project now in design. DIRT DELIVERED TO VERNONIA AIR- PORT AND AIRPORT PARK The City is coordinating with an area ODOT road improvement project to accept fill mate- rial at the City Airport to be used for future land leveling projects at the Airport and park facilities. GENERAL CITY ADMINISTRATION FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT UPDATE As we informed you earlier this year, FEMA’s national Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) have numerous changes that begin rolling out January 1, 2013. The Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 requires FEMA to take steps to eliminate a variety of existing flood insurance subsidies and calls for a number of changes in how the program operates. Changes in Effect or Coming – Here are a few of the immediate changes that we will see impact the community: (1) Change starts January 1, 2013: Subsidized premium rates for pre-Flood Insurance Rate Map (pre-FIRM) non-primary residences in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) will be- gin to increase by 25 percent a year until they reflect full-risk rates. A pre-FIRM building is one that was built before the community’s first flood map became effective and has not been substantially damaged or improved. (2) There will be more changes in the future: Some older residences in high-risk zones have been receiving subsidized insurance rates based on their pre-FIRM status. Subsi- dies will be phased out for severe repetitive loss properties consisting of 1-4 residences, business properties, and properties that have incurred flood-related damages where claims payments exceed the fair market val- ue. The City Attorney and City Administra- tor discussed options with the City Planner, and CAT Flood Recovery Manager. The City will embark on a focused code enforcement program to attempt to bring all parties that are out of compliance into compliance with a working goal of completing all improvements in the near future. The underlying rational is to allow the City in the future to be an ap- plicant for Community Rating System NFIP flood insurance reductions. To be invited to participate in CRS we must have 100% com- pliance with code enforcement. Next steps for the City – • The City will create a master list for all property owners within the floodplain. The City will contact all property owners from this list to inform them of the compliance issues that are now in effect. • The City will contact the parties on the 1996-1998 to date Community Assistance Visit to update their compliance status. • The City will work with code enforcement protocol to enforce the ordinance that the City has in place. As a result of this compliance process, the City will develop an internal protocol to han- It’s time for the Spring Book Sale! Saturday, March 2, 2013 at the Vernonia Community Learning Center, 939 Bridge Street. Times to be announced soon dle concerns and likely complaints raised by this enforcement. We intend to also meet with the local realtors and bankers to make sure these professionals understand the rules associated with selling property in the floodplain. ROSE AVENUE PROJECT The City met with the key stakeholders (i.e. Vernonia Health Clinic, Vernonia Cares Food Bank, and Vernonia Area Senior Center) and their project managers (i.e. Scott Ed- wards AIA and Community Action Team). This meeting established the framework for making decisions jointly on this project. The two project managers made a commitment to establish a regular meeting schedule and a commitment to work toward shared goals. Through this process they intend to create a site development master plan for all to use in site planning. The City made a commitment to inform the project managers of the City of Vernonia entitlement process (i.e. Plan- ning Department and Planning Commission, Public Works Department and City Engineer, City Attorney, and Building Official). The City Attorney and Planning Director will work to- gether to create a land partition to create the leasehold for the clinic (this is the first project moving forward and a legal land partition is needed to establish the bounds for the proj- ect). The City Attorney will develop a land lease for all three entities, again the focus will be the clinic, but this is a universal document. The City Attorney will develop the access easement that all parties will sign when ap- propriate that will also include a maintenance agreement. At this time, the Vernonia Health Clinic is aggressively moving forward with their development schedule as they hope to be under construction this summer and in their new building by the end of the year. WOEC REIMBURSEMENT DISTRICT The City will work with WOEC to develop a reimbursement district that will allow the Co-op potential access to capital from commercial development on property that abuts improvements that they invested in in 2011/2012. The Rose Avenue Project devel- opment teams are apprised that this exter- nal cost is applicable to their projects capital budget planning.
