community
City and Ridge Riders Lease
working relationship with City for a
long time would like to find a way to
resolve the dispute without going to
court.
The Ridge Riders have a long
history in the community and of using
the arena for their events. According
to Gardner, they have operated over the
years by verbal agreement, several hand
written agreements and official leases.
One thing is clear - the City has
no plans to change the use of the area in
question. According to Vernonia Mayor
Josette Mitchell, in the summer of 2013
the City of Vernonia engaged MacKay
Sposito Consultants, to develop the
Vernonia Master Parks plan; the plan
identifies and evaluates park and
recreational properties owned by the
City of Vernonia. The plan further
establishes goals and opportunities
associated with each property. “The
2014
Columbia Humane Society Featured Pet
Please meet Lucy AKA Buttercup. She is a
7 year old sweet cuddly girl that is looking
for a home of her own. We feel she would
do best in a home without female dogs, but
does wonderfully with male dogs. She is
quick to bond to her people. She does well
with kids and loves her toys. Please call the
shelter if you are interested in meeting her
as she is not currently at the shelter so we
can make those arrangments.
Email: animalwelfare@columbiahumane.org
Phone: 543-397-4353
2484 Oregon Street
St. Helens, OR 97451
Web: www.columbiahumane.org
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3
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2014 final summary report clearly
identifies in the Anderson Park site
plan, the existing and future use of the
Equestrian area, arena, and linear trail
access as an established amenity within
Anderson Park,” said Mitchell when
asked about the future of the Anderson
Park Horse Arena. “As this plan lays
out the vision of the community into the
future it is clear the overall goal looking
forward is not to uproot and diminish
equestrian activities within Anderson
Park.”
City Records indicate that the
International Paper Company conveyed
the property to the City of Vernonia in
1953. According to the book, “Vernonia,
a Pocket in the Woods,” in 1960 the City
built the Anderson Park campground.
The same year the Vernonia Ridge
Riders Saddle Club, as they were called
then, built the arena and structures for
• Specialty hamburgers
• Draft beer & mixed drinks
• Pool tables & satelite TV
november20
equestrian events.
Following the April 7, 2014
judgement which ruled the current lease
invalid, the Ridge Riders were told by
the City they could not use the arena
until the legal dispute had been satisfied.
This past summer the Vernonia Jamboree
Committee secured the use of the arena
for Jamboree Weekend and allowed the
Ridge Riders to hold their annual Play
Day.
Ridge Riders President Gardner
agrees that there are some items in the
current lease which should be adjusted
and hopes the two parties can come back
to the table and negotiate some type of
agreement.
Early in 2014, Mayor Mitchell,
who was also serving as Interim City
Administrator, began meeting with
Gardner. According to Mitchell,
following the judgement in April that
ruled the lease invalid, she and Gardner
were close to negotiating an agreement
based on a recommendation from the
Parks Committee that would allow the
Ridge Riders to schedule and use the
arena twelve times each year for events
of their choosing, free of charge, in
exchange for maintaining the area.
The Ridge Riders ended up
challenging that court decision, which
was followed by Judge Grove’s ruling
in favor of the Ridge Riders’ motion
on October 24, 2014, and potentially
setting the stage for a trial sometime in
2015.
When asked Mayor Mitchell
declined to comment on the possibility
of further negotiations between the City
and the Ridge Riders.
Publisher and Managing Editor
Scott Laird
503-367-0098
scott@vernoniasvoice.com
Contributors
Chip Bubl
Tobie Finzel
Karen Kain
Grant Williams
Photography
Karen Kain
Scott Laird
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PO Box 55
Vernonia, OR 97064
503-367-0098
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