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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2014)
6 october16 2014 city news Vernonia City News... At the October 6, 2014 City Council Meeting: Council Postpones Zone Change Hearing- Mayor Josette Mitchell announced to the audience that a scheduled Public Hearing to consider a request by Bud and Sharla Dow to change the zone designation of the Lincoln School parcel on Bridge Street was being postponed until October 20. (See full story on front page.) Topics From the Floor- Burdette Robb spoke against the proposed zone change for the Lincoln School property. He would like it to stay Residential. escrow pending the completion of Spencer Park. There are several questions about documentation for changes to the original Intergovernmental Agreement that were agreed upon between the School District and City. Council has received a letter from Dan Brown, who is responsible for assuring compliance for the project for Columbia County, stating their was no reason not to release the funds. Council agreed that the District had met all their obligations and agreed to release the funds based on adequate documentation being located and agreement from the National Park Service that the District has met all their obligations. Council voted 4-0 with Councilor Kim Tierney abstaining. requirements. Council Approves Travel Trailer Permit- Council approved a request from Gene Winningham to inhabit a travel trailer at 888 Jefferson Avenue from October 2014 to March 2015. Mayor Appoints McCord to Committee- Based on a recommendation from the Emergency Preparedness Committee and with the approval of the City Council, Mayor Mitchell appointed Kristina McCord to the Emergency Preparedness Committee. Council Declares Surplus Property-Council approved Resolution 19-14 declaring items at the Vernonia Council Directs Staff to Develop Internet User Public Library, a file cabinet at City Hall and a 2006 Policy- City Administrator Gian Paolo Mammone told Crown Victoria and 2007 Ford Explorer belonging to Council there has been issues with internet access at the Vernonia Police Department, as surplus property the Library which has caused problems to the City and authorizing the sale of these items. computer system. Council directed staff to develop a policy for internet use at the Library and to fix the Mayor Accepts Thank You Letter- Mayor Mitchell accepted a thank you letter from Aaron Miller, problem with the City system. Superintendent of the Vernonia School District, in Council Approves Resolution to Finance WWTP- regards to Council’s decision to waive remaining Council approved Resolution 20-14 which allow the System Development Charges the District owed the City to receive revenue bonds to finance the Waste City. Water Treatment Plant project. Council Recesses to Executive Session- Council Council Approves WWTP Construction Documents- recessed into Executive Session under ORS 196.660(2) Council Releases School District Funds- Council Council approved construction documents for the (h) Legal Council. Upon returning to open session voted to release approximately $500,000 in funds to Waste Water Treatment Plant project for bidding Council conducted no further business. the Vernonia School District that were being held in Council Changes Sewer EDU’s- Council held a long discussion about a request from the Public Works Committee to return sewer Equivalent Dwelling Units (EDU’s) to pre-Muni billing counts. When the City installed the new Muni billing system, several accounts were unintentionally changed, causing the city to lose revenue each month. The City has been gathering accurate data and intending to establish policy to make larger changes to the billing rates in the future and has not adjusted the accounts that were inadvertently adjusted in the interest of only making changes one time. Council voted to return two sewer account EDU’s to pre-Muni billing immediately. City Department Updates: September 29-October 10, 2014 turned back on. Also, they can simply leave the water on and pay the regular base rate of $131.00. • Staff is in the process of reviewing the Utilities (Water) Ordinance. Staff review is focusing on sections relevant to “Billing and Collection,” “Payment Arrangements” and “Temporary Vacancies.” Once the study is completed, recommendation for potential language change will be presented to City Council for review, discussion and adoption. • Community Action Team has issued a new Columbia County Resource Guide. This reference book has been prepared to better acquaint Columbia County residents with available resources and services. Community Action Team’s programs include: Energy Services; Housing Solutions; Affordable Housing & Community Development; Police Blotter October 1-13, 2014 Vernonia Dental D Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures TRAFFIC CITATIONS/ VIOLATIONS • October 5, 2014 Citation for Violation of the Basic Rule 80/55 on HWY 47 S. near Arctic Way Police Department • September 27th, 2014 – October 2nd, 2014 the Vernonia Police Department responded to 52 calls for service. This slower week has allowed staff an opportunity to catch up on other priorities. •September 2014 Overall Stats – Columbia County 911 (CCOM) tracked 272 calls for service for the month of September. • October 3rd, 2014 – October 9th, 2014 – The Vernonia Police Department responded to 59 calls for service. • Columbia County 911 (CCOM) tracks calls for service and incidents for Columbia County Law Enforcement and well as other agencies from July 1st – June 30th of each year. According to their records, the Vernonia Police Department (VPD) had a total of 2761 Calls for Service/Incidents during that time period. In addition, (VPD) made 391 Traffic Stops. • Our Department is still working on the illegal dumping/trespass case that occurred at the transfer station. As of October 1st, an REPORTS TAKEN • October 7, 2014 Informational Report taken in the 1000 Block of Missouri Ave. Housing Rehabilitation & Weatherization; Self-Help Housing; Senior Services; Veterans Services; Healthy Families; Head Start; Parenting Education & Support Services. For any questions please call 503.397.3511 or visit the website at www.cat-team.org. DM Administration/Utility Billing • 4 new sewer/water accounts for the month of September and 2 new water/sewer service accounts for the week of the 6th of October. • Pertaining to the Water/Sewer bills issued on September 27, (and that were due on October 10th) a Late Fee will be added (as per City policy) on Tuesday, October 14th. Subsequently, should the bills still remain outstanding, PW crew will proceed with Shut offs on October 22nd. • A letter was sent out with the utility bills to residents that in the past have left town in the winter and have been charged a monthly fee of $5. The City Council adopted Ordinance 825 implementing new options for “snow birds.” The letter explained that the resident can either have their water turned off while they are away paying $35, and $35 to have it e rm City Council Meetings are scheduled for 7 PM: Monday, October 20, 2014 Monday, November 3, 2014 City Closures are scheduled for: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 Veterans Day Dates and times subject to change due to conflicts of schedules D h . r C r h p o is t M er . h S c eu 622 Bridge Street Vernonia, OR 97064 phone (503) 429-0880 -- fax (503) 429-0881 2014, one of the four individuals identified has paid 1/4th the amount of the bill. Upon completion of the investigation, the case will be forwarded to the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office for Review. • VPD has received a few nuisance complaints about properties in the 400 Block of A St. The Nuisance Violation process has been started on the two residences. The owners of the property have been given until October 10th, 2014 to correct the problems. One of the properties has made substantial improvement. Currently, the second property has not made any progress. The property appears in worse condition than it was originally last week. Should the violations not be corrected, and problems not be brought into compliance within the established date, VPD will issue citations to the person responsible for the properties. • Patrol Vehicle Update: There may be a delay in delivery of the two fully equipped Chevrolet Tahoe patrol vehicles. This is due to a backlog of work at ERS. As mentioned in previous reports, we have purchased the vehicles from the Scappoose Police Department. The vehicles are used but have very low miles. • Surplus Patrol Vehicle: We have looked up the “Good” value of the patrol vehicles that will be sold as City surplus. The 2007 Ford Expedition is valued at $10,603 and the 2006 Ford Crown Victoria is valued at $3,418. After decommissioning the vehicles, they will not have factory rear seats or center consoles, therefore, reducing the value of both. I suggest starting the bidding process at $9,000 for the Expedition and $3,000 for the Crown Victoria. The cost of decommissioning will be approximately $600 dollars per vehicle. • Reserve Police Officer Update: The application process has been closed and we still have two applicants. We have scheduled post testing for the two applicants on October 27th, 2014. Upon completion of the testing, we will schedule oral board interviews and medical and psychological evaluations • The new Police Department Webpage was activated on October 1st, 2014. We are still making some adjustments and are continued on page 7
