city news
august20
Vernonia City News...
At the August 17, 2015 City Council Meeting:
Council Fails to Pass Parks Smoking Ban – Coun-
cil members deadlocked in a 2-2 tie on Ordinance 906,
which would have prohibited tobacco use in all areas
zoned Public Recreation in the City of Vernonia, in-
cluding all City parks. (See full story on this page.)
Council Approves Separation Agreement – Council
approved the Separation Agreement between the
City and former City Administrator Gian Paolo
Mammone. Council voted to terminate their contract
with Mammone without cause on August 11 following
a performance evaluation. Mammone has 21 days to
sign the agreement. Details of the agreement were not
made public.
improvements during construction of their new facil-
ity. Mitchell told the Council that the Senior Center
will be applying for a Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG) for construction and will be approach-
ing private foundations to secure the balance needed
to complete the project. Mitchell told Council that the
timing of when the CDGB funds and private founda-
tion funds are awarded does not line up, and the project
needed the option to forestall all street improvements
in order to complete applications for the funds. Coun-
cil approved the request.
Council Approves Purchase of Electronic Tablets –
Council approved the purchase of five Microsoft Sur-
face 3 tablets for use by the Council. The cost would
be up to $3,145, with funds moved from Contingency
to the Office Supply budget to cover the cost. The
Council Approves Amendment to Water Restric- move to the tablet is intended to eliminate the paper the
tions – Council approved an amendment to current City uses to produce the informational packet for each
water use restrictions, which now allows direct hand Councilor for every City Council meeting, which are
watering of food producing plants. (See full story on often 50 or more pages in length.
front page.)
Council Revisits Downtown Trees – Council once
Council Approves Request on Senior Center – again discussed the plan to remove the trees that line
Council approved a request from Casey Mitchell of Bridge Street through downtown. Following research,
Community Action Team, on behalf of the Vernonia staff brought Council three tree options that are recom-
Senior Center, to forestall the completion of all street mended for streetscaping projects and meet the needs
2015
5
of Vernonia: Red Chokecherry, Japanese Tree Lilac,
and Zelkova City Sprite. Staff told Council the current
plan would see the removal of 41 trees from down-
town and strategically replace just 15 of them. Council
instructed staff to move forward with the experimental
removal of two trees to see how difficult it is to accom-
plish and return with results for Council to consider be-
fore moving forward.
Topics From the Floor – Council President Kim Tier-
ney read a letter from Susan Wagner into the record,
which praised the work of the City Nuisance Abate-
ment officer.
Tony Schrader read a letter to the Council in
which he was critical of the City and Councils handling
of concerns he has continually raised over the last sev-
eral months about the Nickerson Ridge Estates devel-
opment. (See full letter on page 4.)
Georgiana Seager expressed concerns about
the cleanliness of the restrooms at Vernonia Lake.
Police Department Report – Vernonia Police Chief
Mike Conner told Council there were only three ar-
rests during Jamboree on August 7-9. Conner said it
was one of the best Jamborees from his standpoint and
noted the Parade was especially well organized.
Council Fails to Pass
Parks Smoking Ban
Two people spoke against the
ordinance. Donald Normand noted that
the smoking ban in bars has only forced
smokers out onto the street where the
public and children are exposed to
second hand smoke. Bob Perry said he
enjoys relaxing and smoking his pipe at
Vernonia Lake and does not want to see
that go away.
Ashley Baggett, Coordinator
Tobacco Prevention, The Public Health
Foundation of Columbia County, who
also helped work on the ordinance,
gave neutral testimony and provided
facts about smoking levels and health
costs in Oregon and Columbia County.
When the Ordinance was
brought up for vote later in the meeting,
there was a lengthy delay when Tierney
asked for a motion to pass the ordinance.
Councilor Bruce McNair finally made
the motion to approve, and then joined
Councilor Mike Seager in voting “no.”
Councilor Jill Hult noted that she is
concerned about the erosion of personal
freedoms before casting her “yes” vote
in favor, along with Tierney, resulting
in the 2-2 deadlock.
Tierney asked staff to bring the
ordinance back before Council when all
members are present for a vote.
Forestry Team Coach Needed
The Vernonia High School Forestry Competition Team is
in need of a new volunteer coach. If interested please
contact Superintendent Aaron Miller at 503-429-5891.
Police Blotter August 1 - 16, 2015
REPORTS TAKEN
• August 8, 2015 Arrest on a Warrant near
Bridge St. and Adams Ave.
• August 10, 2015 Report of a Burglary on
A St.
CITATIONS/OTHER VIOLATIONS
• August 6, 2015 Cited for Driving While
Suspended, Uninsured, and No Operators
License around Bridge St.
• August 8, 2015 Cited for Failure to Drive
Within Lane and Failure to Register near
Bridge St.
Vernonia Police Department responds
to calls that do not always end in
Arrest, Report, or Citation.
8/01/2015 through 8/15/2015 VPD had
184 calls for service.
Vernonia City Council
Meetings and Closures
City Council Meetings
are scheduled for 7:00 pm:
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Monday, September 21, 2015
For fast
cash!
010412
Following a Public Hearing
on Ordinance 906, which would have
prohibited tobacco use in all areas
zoned Public Recreation in the City
of Vernonia, including all City parks,
Council members deadlocked in a 2-2
tie when the ordinance was brought up
for a vote. Mayor Randy Parrow was
on vacation and not available to cast a
deciding vote.
Council President Kim Tierney,
who presided over the meeting in
Parrow’s absence, had been an advocate
for the tobacco ban. Tierney declared
Ex Parte contact in the proceedings at
the start of the hearing, based on her
participation on the committee that
helped craft the ordinance.
During the hearing three
citizens spoke in favor of the ordinance.
Brittany Roberts, a member of the
Parks Committee who also worked on
the ordinance, said through experience
working as a life guard at the City
swimming hole she has witnessed litter
from smoking and is concerned that it
sets a bad example for children. Tobie
Finzel said she is a former smoker
and sees a lot of litter when she walks
around Vernonia Lake. Mark Brown
raised concerns about fire danger from
smoking and the influence on children.
City Closures are scheduled for:
Monday, September 7, 2015
Labor Day Holiday
Dates and times subject to change
due to conflicts of schedules
2245 Baseline St., Cornelius
(Across from Fred Meyer)
503-530-8119
State Licensed PB-0388
Open
everyday
at 9 a.m.
