city news
april21
2016
City Begins Budget Process
The City of Vernonia has begun
their 2016-17 budget process.
The Budget Committee met
for the first time on Tuesday, April 12
and received the Budget Message from
City Administrator and Budget Officer
Josette Mitchell.
The proposed budget, prepared
and presented by Finance Officer
Angie Handegard and Mitchell, totals
$7,128,988.
“There are no dramatic shifts
to reduce or increase city service levels
from the current year,” said Mitchell in
her prepared Budget Message. “The
proposed budget maintains existing
service levels in spite of rising costs.
We have been able to do this by finding
some efficiencies and by keeping costs
as low as possible.”
Mitchell lists three community/
city goals and objectives for the
upcoming fiscal year: completion
of the Wastewater Treatment Plant
Facility, build the Rose Avenue Senior
Center/Food Bank, and construction of
California Avenue. Mitchell also listed
the upgrade of the culvert on Adams
Avenue and storm drainage work on
Knott Street as possible projects in the
fiscal year.
The Budget Committee is
made up of the five members of the
City Council and five citizen members.
At the start of the first meeting, the
committee elected citizen member Brett
Costley as the Chair and citizen member
George Tice as Vice Chair. Other citizen
members are Brittanie Roberts and Rick
Hobart. There was one open seat on the
committee.
Mitchell thanked staff members
Handegard, Jeff Burch, Michael Conner,
Shannon Romtvedt and James McMahon
for their help in the preparation of the
budget.
The committee was scheduled
to meet on April 19, April 26, when they
will discuss the Water, Street, SDC’s,
Timber, Facility Reserve and Water Debt
Service funds, and May 3, when they
were scheduled to discuss the General,
Administration, Library and Police
Funds.
Readers Lend Their Voices...
continued from page 4
To the Editor,
I am asking the Vernonia
Community to pray for my son Johnney.
Because of prayer two serious
surgeries were canceled. First was his
brain, second was his heart. I went to
Four Square Church and the Assembly
of God. They anointed him and prayed.
The doctors x-rayed him both times and
couldn’t believe he was healed both
times.
He now needs another surgery
and he doesn’t react well to medication.
We need another miracle. Please pray
for him April 22.
God bless you and thank you.
Gail Law, Sarah and Johnney too!
Vernonia
To the Editor,
Susan Conn is the best candidate
for County Commission Position 1.
Susan isn’t owned by any special interest
group(s), understands how city, county
and regional governments work (that
means she will hit the ground running
and not have to waste time figuring
out how things are done) and she has a
long history of working to improve our
community.
Susan worked tirelessly for 14
years on the Commission for Children
and Families, the organization that
oversaw programs like Head Start and
Healthy Start, she is a key player in the
Crisis Intervention Team bringing life
saving crises response training to our
community, law enforcement and first
responders.
Susan is for kids, libraries, parks
and education, senior citizens, families,
farms and healthy business development;
she supports our law enforcement
communities, community mental health
and wants to grow healthy businesses
that support family wage jobs.
But here is what I believe is
her most important trait, Susan is a
worker -- that means she’s an excellent
collaborator, helper and advocate; she’s
willing to listen to all sides of small,
large and thorny issues before making
decisions and taking action. Susan
doesn’t grandstand, make bold promises
to special interest groups, she isn’t a
good old boy. Susan Conn is the People’s
Candidate because she believes all the
citizens of Columbia County deserve a
great place to live and work.
Cecelia Nunn Haack
Scappoose, OR
At the April 18 City Council Meeting:
operating expenses.
Chamber Asks for Room Tax - Nicole
Larke, representing the Vernonia Area
Chamber of Commerce, presented a
plan for the City to add a 10% room
tax and a $1 per night tax on camping
spaces in Vernonia to generate funds for
the operation of the Chamber. Larke
proposed that 3% of the tax would go to
the City to administer the program and
said the Chamber portion would pay
for staffing costs, provide community
grants, and create funding for festivals
and events.
Council scheduled a
workshop for June 6 at 6:00 pm to
discuss the proposal.
City Administrator Report – City
Administrator Josette Mitchell updated
Council on the Wastewater Treatment
Plant project, the Rose Avenue Project
and the California Avenue Project.
Mitchell told the Council the
City has heard from four customers
requesting to downsize their water meter
following the sewer rate adjustment.
Mitchell said staff is working with the
customers to calculate the minimum
size meter they will be allowed by code
and noted customers would have to pay
the costs for changing the meter.
Mitchell told Council the City
has hired Jerry McCall as a part-time
Council Approves Request to Extend
seasonal worker.
Park Stay – Council approved a request
Mitchell told Council that
from Corinna Rumbolz to allow her
April 23 is Make Vernonia Shine Day,
son Dakota to stay at Anderson Park at
although there will be limited projects
the winter rate until he graduates from
as the volunteer who usually organizes
Vernonia High School.
the project has stepped down and
Council Hears Update on CC Rider not been replaced. There will be a
– Council heard an update from Janet Hazardous Waste collection at the old
Wright, Director of Columbia County School District Office on Bridge Street.
Rider, and Genell Grow, on Measure
Mitchell updated Council
5-251 which would create a Special on the Nickerson Ridge Estates
Transit District and provide funding development issue and said the
for the CC Rider public transportation City Planner requested that the City
system. Wright told the Council that engineer assist in determining any code
after a 64% cut in funding last year violations that might have taken place.
ridership dropped about 20%, but still A comprehensive letter is being sent to
provided over 84,000 total rides in 2015. all parties involved.
Wright said CC Rider is one of only two
Mayor Appoints Hobart to Budget
transportation systems in Oregon that
Committee – With approval from
does not operate in a transit district and
the rest of the Council, Mayor Randy
said becoming a Special Transit District
Parrow appointed Rick Hobart to the
would provide stable funding and allow
Budget Committee.
CC Rider to focus their service on
rider’s needs. Measure 5-251 would Earth Day Proclamation – Mayor
establish a funding mechanism of $0.23 Randy Parrow read a proclamation
per $1,000 of assessed value and raise declaring April 22 as Earth Day.
approximately $1 million each year for
NOTICE OF POSITIONS OPEN
CITY OF VERNONIA
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the General Election will be held on the 8th day of
November 2016, at which time the legal voters of the City of Vernonia will be entitled to
vote for candidates to certain city offices.
OFFICES OPEN FOR ELECTION:
Vernonia City Council
Meetings and Closures
City Council Meetings
are scheduled for 7:00 pm:
VERNONIA MAYOR TWO YEAR TERM
VERNONIA COUNCIL MEMBER FOUR YEAR TERM
VERNONIA COUNCIL MEMBER FOUR YEAR TERM
Election packets are available at the office of the City Recorder, 1001 Bridge St, Vernonia,
OR 97064. Nominating petitions can be filed no sooner than June 1, 2016, and filed
no later than Friday, August 26, 2016, by 4:00 pm with the City Recorder. For more
information call Stephanie Borst, City Recorder at 503-429-5291 ext. 104.
The City of Vernonia is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
Monday, May 2, 2016
Monday, May 16, 2016
City Closures are scheduled for:
Monday, May 30, 2016
Memorial Day
Dates and times subject to change
due to conflicts of schedules
Upcoming Election Info
Oregon’s Presidential Primary:
May 17
(including local and County elections)
Vernonia City News...
5
You can find a voter registration card at Vernonia
City Hall, Vernonia Library or county elections
office. You can also ask the Columbia County
Last day to register by mail:
April 26 elections office to mail you a card:
230 Strand St.,
To register to vote online or to update your voter St. Helens, OR 97051
registration go to:
(503) 397-7214, (503) 397-7266 fax,
http://sos.oregon.gov/voting/Pages/voteinor.aspx Office Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm (M-Th)
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