city news
At the January 19, 2016 City Council
Meeting:
Council Tables Amendment to
Conservation Easement – Council held
a lengthy discussion concerning a request
to amend the Conservation Easement
they placed on the Lincoln School
property. Council ended up tabling any
decision and asked for more information
from the City’s legal counsel. (See full
story on this page.)
Council Approves Contract for
CDBG – Council approved the contract
between the City and Infrastructure
Finance Authority (IFA) for the Oregon
Vernonia City News...
5
compliance. The Certifying Officer is the Library Board and consensus from
the City Council, Mayor Randy Parrow
generally the chief elected official.
appointed Haley Ayres to the Library
Council Adopts Excessive Force Policy Board.
– As a requirement of receiving CDBG
funds, the City adopted an Excessive Topics From the Floor - David Mile
Force Policy. The policy outlines the addressed the Council and asked for
City’s responsibility in regards to civil consideration of his request to amend the
rights protests and demonstrations.
Conservation Easement that limits use at
the Lincoln School property.
Council Receives Quarterly Financial
Council Designates Parrow Certifying Report – Council received a Quarterly
Officer – Council designated Mayor Financial report from Finance Director
Randy Parrow as the Certifying Officer Angie Handegard.
for CDBG Project Number C15008.
Any entitiy receiving CDBG funding Mayor Appoints Ayres to Library
must have a Certifying Officer to be in Board – With a recommendation from
The Vernonia City Council held
a lengthy discussion at their January 19,
2016 meeting concerning a request to
amend the Conservation Easement for
the Lincoln School property. The request
was made by Vernonia Brands, LLC
who have said they intend to develop a
marijuana growery operation at the site.
Council made no decision and tabled
the discussion until they could get more
information.
The Conservation Easement was
put in place by the Vernonia City Council
on May 4, 2015 to allow commercial
development on the 1.14 acre site located
at 1462 Bridge Street and preserve the
conservation values associated with the
building. The Conservation Easement
was included as part of a comprehensive
plan/zoning map amendment approved
by the City Council that changed zoning
of the property from Residential (R) to
General Commercial (GC).
The amendment came at
the request of attorney Ross Day,
representing Warren “Bud” Dow, the
current owner of the property, and
Vincent Sliwoski, representing Vernonia
Brands, LLC and principal David Mile
who have a lease for use of the property.
Mile previously introduced
himself to the Council at their January 4,
2016 meeting, explaining that he hopes
to develop an agriculturally based craft
enterprise similar to a winery, brewery,
or distillery that would make Vernonia a
destination by bringing new commercial
appeal to the community. Mile has
projected that his enterprise would create
20 new jobs and $80,000 in new tax
revenue for the City. Mile has launched
a website www.vernoniabrands.com to
recruit investors and explain the concept
of his business venture.
Mile’s plans hit a snag when
it was revealed to the Council at the
January 4 meeting by City Attorney
Ruben Cleaveland that the Conservation
Easement contains language in sections
4(f) and 5(c) which defines “prohibited
uses” to include: Any activity not in
compliance with any federal, state, and
local law, regulation, or requirement
applicable to the building. Cleaveland
pointed out that this would restrict any
business involving marijuana, since sale,
possession or cultivation of marijuana is
still against federal law.
The Council received letters
from both Day and Sliwoski indicating
that the restricting verbiage was
“boilerplate language” which was
inserted to protect the property from
damage and environmental violations,
and not intended to restrict the use of the
property. Both Day and Sliwoski were
in attendance at the Janaury 21 Council
meeting and asked Council to amend
the Conservation Easement to allow the
proposed use by Vernonia Brands, LLC.
Section 16 of the agreement allows for
it to be modified with the agreement of
both parties.
Property owner Dow had
indicated during the previous public
hearing concerning the property that
without a zone change his only option
would be to tear down the school
building and construct new homes. The
Conservation Easement guarantees that
any owner of the building may not tear it
down.
Sliwoski stated in his letter that
Vernonia Brands, LLC is committed to
preserving the building and putting “...
this unproductive property to use.” He
Police Blotter
January 1 - 19, 2016
Vernonia City Council
Meetings and Closures
CITATIONS
• January 1, 2016 Cited for Violating
the Speed limit near E Bridge St.
2016
Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG), Project Number C15008. The
grant is for $2,000,000 for the design
and construction of the Rose Avenue
Senior Center and Food Bank. The new
facility is expected to be approximately
8,600 square feet and will be owned
and developed by the City of Vernonia.
The contract provides 36 months for
completion of the project.
Bonamici
Convenes
Education
Leaders
Council Tables Change to Lincoln Easement
REPORTS TAKEN
• January 1, 2016 Report of a Release
Agreement in the 1000 Block of 1st
Ave.
• January 5, 2016 Arrest on a Warrant
near Missouri Ave.
• January 16, 2016 Report of
Disorderly Conduct on Bridge St.
january21
City Council Meetings
are scheduled for 7:00 pm:
Monday, February 1, 2016
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
City Closures are scheduled for:
Monday, February 15, 2016
Presidents’ Day
Dates and times subject to change
due to conflicts of schedules
also stated that Vernonia Brands, LLC is
committed to being a good community
partner in accordance with state and
local law, including any time, place, and
manner restrictions the City of Vernonia
may adopt with respect to marijuana.
Sliwoski also stated in his letter
that Dow, Vernonia City Administrator
Josette Mitchell, Day and Cleaveland
all agree that the restrictive language
was “boilerplate” and was not intended
to prohibit the use of the property.
Cleaveland, who helped draft the
easement along with Day, disagreed
with Sliwoski in a memo he sent to the
Council, stating: “The language used
and reasoning for the Conservation
Easement was in response to concerns
directly related to the use of the property.
There was significant consideration into
how a given commercial activity would
affect the neighborhood. It was not
merely to protect against damage and
environmental acts.”
Council asked Mile several
times to clarrify his intentions for the
property and appeared unsatisfied with
his responses. Several members seemed
unwilling to committ to approving any
changes to the agreement without a clear
description of what can and can’t take
place on the site. Councilor Kim Tierney
expressed concern that the regulations
governing the marijuana industry are
currently in flux and noted that she was
concerned about how this business at that
location might impact the neighborhood.
Council tabled any decison until
they could further discuss time, place
and manner restrictions. They also aksed
for more information from their attorney
on how any decion they make might be
interpreted by federal law.
Congresswoman Contributed
to Passage of New Law
Congresswoman
Suzanne
Bonamici (D-OR) convened a briefing
and discussion of the Every Student
Succeeds Act, the law that replaced No
Child Left Behind and advanced new
K-12 education policies. More than
fifty leaders in education attended.
Congresswoman Bonamici,
a member of the House Education
Committee, served on the select
panel of House and Senate members
who crafted the final version of the
bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA). Congresswoman Bonamici
successfully included provisions
to help states and school districts
eliminate redundant or unnecessary
tests and to support interdisciplinary
educational programs that integrate
arts into STEM courses.
“Strengthening
public
education is one of the top reasons I
got involved in public service,” said
Congresswoman Bonamici. “Oregon’s
students deserve better than No Child
Left Behind, so I went to work with
my colleagues from both sides of
the aisle. Under the new Every
Student Succeeds Act, our federal
K-12 education policies will reduce
high-stakes testing, which narrowed
curriculum and stifled teaching and
learning, and facilitate more decision-
making at the local and state level. I
was honored to stand with President
Obama as he signed the Every Student
Succeeds Act, but my job doesn’t end
there. Convening Oregon’s education
leaders is my first step in making sure
this law is implemented successfully
and best serves our students, families,
continued on page 6
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