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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 16, 2015)
city news july16 Vernonia City News... At the July 6, 2015 City Council Meeting: Topics From the Floor – Tony Schrader expressed concerns about the water pressure for fire hydrants oat Nickerson Ridge Estates, saying that instead of installing the required six inch water line, the original developers only installed a four inch line, which doesn’t produce the 1,000 gallons per minute required by the fire code. Schrader told Council that concerns had been raised by the Fire Chief in 2000 about the lack of adequate water pressure for hydrants. Schrader again asked Council to place a moratorium on any new building permits in the development that is served by these water lines. Kristie Freeman praised the work of the Vernonia Police Department. She also thanked the Council for improvements in communication between the City and the community, noting the use of social media and Vernonia’s Voice. Freeman went on to say she was not happy with the lack of communication around Nuisance Violations and asked the City to do a better job explaining and warning citizens about potential violations. She also asked the City to be more fair and provide equal enforcement of violations. Rick Hobart told Council he is hoping to get permitted to restart a horse and carriage business, Ne- halem Valley Carriage Company, and provide rides around town. Council Hears Presentation on Tobacco Free Parks– Ashley Baggett, Coordinator Tobacco Prevention, The Public Health Foundation of Columbia County, pre- sented Council with the benefits of creating a policy that would make all Vernonia Parks tobacco free. A draft ordinance was also presented. Councilor Kim Tierney and Parks Committee member Brittanie Rob- erts will work with Baggett to finalize an ordinance to bring back to Council. investigate replacing the trees with smaller and appro- priate trees in the ground instead of in containers. Council Asks For Moratorium on Construction at Nickerson Ridge – After hearing complaints from Tony Schrader at their June 15, 2015 meeting about the Nickerson Ridge Estates Development, staff be- gan to investigate and collect documentation about the original subdivision development 15 years ago. Staff reported that all members of staff that worked for the City at that time and were responsible for approving the development are no longer employed by the City. The documentation notes there were several outstanding shortcomings, yet the development was still condition- ally approved. Specific concerns were raised about the lack of proper water pressure at fire hydrants that serve the development. A Final Plat was approved in 2000 and records indicate all required improvements were not completed. There are 18 lots in the subdivision. Six homes have been completed and two are currently under construction. Council requested staff to place a moratorium on any new construction following a pres- sure test of fire hydrants and the gathering of more in- formation about other outstanding issues. City Admin- istrator Mammone suggested that the moratorium only be put in place contingent on approval from the City Attorney and Council agreed. Council Approves Reservation System for Ander- son Park – Staff presented Council with a proposed online reservation system for Anderson Park. Cost is $39.95 per month. Staff told Council it would stream- line the duties of the Park Host and hopefully help at- tract candidates for that position. Council approved the new system. Council Approves Open Air Market Extension – Council extended the closure and use of Adams Avenue for the Open Air Market on Saturday mornings for two Council Discusses Livestock Ordinance - Council more months. (See full story on front page) heard the opinions of seven citizens concerned about Council Considers Coffee Stand on City Property the Livestock Ordinance that regulates keeping and – Council was asked by staff if they would consider raising livestock in city limits. Council scheduled a leasing part of the property at the Rose Avenue Project workshop for September 14 at 6:30 pm on the issue. designated for commercial development for a drive- (See full story on front page) through coffee business. Staff told Council they had an Council Discusses Downtown Tree Replacement– inquiry from Sue Hadley, who currently runs a coffee City Administrator Gian Paolo Mammone brought drive-through in Banks, about the possibility of open- Council a plan for removing the trees that line Bridge ing a business in Vernonia. Council told staff to pursue Street in downtown, resetting all the pavers between the possibility at the location along Highway 47 near the curb and sidewalk, and replacing the trees with the south entrance to town. smaller trees in large planters. Council asked staff to 2015 5 Council Approves Eagle Scout Project at Spencer Park – Council heard a presentation from Jared Med- earis who requested approval to complete his Eagle Scout Project at Spencer Park. Medearis said he has been working with City Recorder Josette Mitchell to plan his project, which would include power washing the basketball court, repainting the lines, fixing the chain link fence, removing broken glass blocks and re- moving graffiti at the covered play shed; cleaning the play structure, weeding, placing new wood chips, and replacing the logs surrounding in the play area; moving benches; and other work in the area. Medearis would organize some technical work by Public Works staff and do the rest of the labor with help from volunteers. Council approved the project and thanked Medaeris. City Administrator Report – City Administrator Mammone told Council he was prepared to put the RFP out for the restroom construction at Spencer Park. Council approved the purchase of the restroom kit to be constructed. Mammone told Council that the new Public Works employee has started. Mammone told Council that he has been un- able to find a suitable candidate for the Planning/GIS position he had proposed. He suggested the City rehire Ben Fousek who had been doing GIS work by contract for the City for the last seven years. He also suggested the City enter into a temporary contract with a planning firm that could conduct general planning business for the City. Council approved a short term, three month contract with Fousek while a program of work is cre- ated for the year and also approved a one year contract with the planning firm. Mammone received permission from Council to attend the state wide City Administrators Conference in Bend. Cost of the conference was $325 with a late fee. Mammone said total cost would be $500-$600 for the week; he had not yet secured overnight accommo- dations. Mammone failed to tell Council that the con- ference started the next day and that he would be gone from the office the rest of the work week. Council Approves Transportation Improvement Grant Application – Council approved an application by the City for a State Special City Allotment Grant to be used for improvements on Knott Street which would include widening the street to two full lanes for traffic and adding storm drainage. Estimated cost of the proj- ect is $75,000. City Department Updates: June 1 - 12, 2015 Administration/Utility Billing • As of July 2, 2015 the outstanding balances on active accounts are as follows: 90 days $6.69, 60 days $367.86, 30 days $1,168.59 • Reminder no door hangers will be sent out, and shut offs will on July 15, 2015 • Updating and sending out business license • 2 new water/sewer services Police Department-VPD • June 26th, 2015 - June 30th, 2015: The total number of Calls for Service and Officer initiated activity was 51. • Nuisance Violations: There are currently 204 nuisance violations pending within the city. • Open Police Position: The Police Department accepted applications for entry level / lateral Police Officer until July 10 th . We received six applications. Finance • June 30 was the last day of the fiscal year. There will be a lot of prep work being done over the next few weeks for the audit in September. Staff is jumping into the new fiscal year with a few exciting projects including the WWTP and the completion of Spencer Park. • The final contract for the WWTP between the contractor and the City was delivered today. Once it has been reviewed by our legal counsel it will be signed and forwarded to USDA for their approval. We are hoping to break ground on the project this month. • The loan for the new tractor has been Police Blotter July 1 - 13, 2015 REPORTS TAKEN • July 1, 2015 Report of Minor in Possession of Alcohol near Nehalem and 1st Ave. • July 2, 2015 Arrest on Warrant (x2) in the 1200 Block of Knott St. • July 2, 2015 Sex Crime report taken • July 9, 2015 Death Investigation CITATION/OTHER VIOLATIONS • July 8, 2015 Citation for failure to install IID and operating vehicle outside restrictions near Bridge St. and East Ave. Vernonia Police Department responds to calls that do not always end in Arrest, Report, or Citation. 7/1/2015 through 7/13/2015 VPD had a 156 calls for service. funded and Public Works has picked it up. • The City’s IT consultant has been given the go ahead to order the necessary equipment to set up our backup system at City Hall. This will allow us to backup and store the data offsite which is much safer than keeping backups in the same location as the servers. FOR TOWING EMERGENCIES IN AND AROUND THE VERNONIA AREA Polife and County personnel are required to use a rotation of available providers, UNLESS YOU SPECIFICALLY ASK for a servife by name. REQUEST TOWING SERVICE FROM Public Works • Public Works staff cold patched a portion of Louisiana Avenue this week. This street is in bad shape and we hope to continue to repair it as time allows. • Staff spent many hours moving the continued on page 6 Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures City Council Meeting scheduled for 7 PM: Monday, July 20, 2015 Canceled City Council Meetings are scheduled for 7 PM: Monday, August 3, 2015 City Closures are scheduled for: Friday, August 7, 2015 At noon for Jamboree Shop Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00 - 6:00 Dates and times subject to change due to conflicts of schedules
