city news january19 2017 5 Vernonia City News... At the January 17, 2017 City Council Meeting: Council Agrees on New Planner – Council agreed with a recommendation from City staff and will ex- tend an agreement offer to Carole Connell to provide planning services for the City. The agreement would state a per hour rate not to exceed $20,000 annually. Connell had previously served as the City Planner for several years and brings extensive experience and is familiar with Vernonia’s planning codes. According to staff and Councilor Susan Wagner, who previously served on the Planning Commission, Connell will be welcomed back enthusiastically. Council Discusses Need to Clear Vegetation Around 9-1-1 Tower – Council discussed a request from Co- lumbia 9-1-1 to clear vegetation and trees from around the 9-1-1 transmission tower located on City property above the cemetery. Vegetation and trees outside the fenced area that surrounds the tower are encroaching and interfering with the signal. City Administrator Jo- sette Mitchell explained that there is a need for a taller tower since the City is managing trees in the area to be harvested for profi t at some future date, but there are no current resources to upgrade the current tower. Mitch- ell said that the City Public Works crew will take care of the work and fall two trees that are creating interfer- ence. Councilor Bruce McNair suggested those trees could be included in an additional logging project this spring. City Approves Resolution for Extended Enterprise Zone Benefi ts for Cascade Tissue – Council passed Resolution 01-17 authorizing the extension of Enterprise Zone Benefi ts for a fourth and fi fth year to Cascasdes Tissue Group - Oregon. The resolution was requested by the Columbia County Economic Team (CCET) as part of the City of Vernonia’s membership in the South Columbia County Enterprise Zone. As part of the extension of the benefi ts Cascades Tissue has agreed to invest $53.6 million in the facilities in Scappoose and St. Helens and agrees to create 71 new jobs paying average wage and benefi t packages of no less than $55,346 per year for fi ve years. Taxes for Cascade Tissue that are being abated for fi ve years as part of the agreement are estimated at $877,512 annually, but betterment funds will be paid annually by Cascade Tissue to CCET in the amount of $87,751 which will be shared with the local jurisdictions of Scappoose and St. Helens. Council Members Adjust Committee Liaisons – Council discussed revising some Committee Liaisons. Councilor Bruce McNair suggested that the liaison po- sition to the Senior Center was redundant and that City staff, who are already regularly attending Senior Center Board meetings, could keep the Council informed of issues that involved the seniors. The rest of the Council agreed with McNair. Mayor Mario Leonetti and Coun- cilor Susan Wagner agreed to change Committee Lia- sisons; Leonetti will now be liaison to the Cemetery Committee and Wagner will now be the liaison to the Library Board. Council Schedules Work Session – Council discussed the need to hold upcoming work sessions and sched- uled to meet to discuss City Goals/Priorities on Mon- day, February 13 at 6:30 pm. Other topics that were suggested for potential workshops included streets and continued on page 6 City Addresses Emergency Shelter Concerns During the recent power out- age that affected all West Oregon Elec- tric Cooperative (WOEC) customers on January 9-10, questions were raised on social media about why an emergency shelter was not opened in the commu- nity. When questioned, City of Ver- nonia offi cials stated that there was not a need for an emergency shelter. “There has to be a need and peo- ple that are going to come and use it,” said Vernonia Police Chief Michael Con- ner. “We didn’t get any offi cial requests or people telling us they were cold, they needed supplies, or they needed shelter. That’s what we base the decision to open up a shelter on, and make those resourc- es available, if there is a real need.” Conner said there are several options for shelters if needed within the community, including the school build- ing and several area churches have vol- unteered to open as shelters if the need arises, but noted that if school is sched- uled to be in session, that needs to be considered. That is exactly the scenario which occurred during this most recent power outage, when power was lost due to downed transmission lines that feed WOEC from Bonneville Power Admin- istration. Power went out around 4:00 pm on Monday, January 9 and was re- stored starting around 6:00 am on Tues- day, January 10, and was brought back on-line in stages over the next several hours. The Vernonia Schools were opened to students that day on a two- hour delay. Vernonia City Administrator The Vernonia Transfer Station is open on the 2nd and 4th Saturday from 8am-2pm January 21 & 28 (January 21 is a change in schedule) Josette Mitchell agreed with Conner’s assessment. “There is a number of factors that go into the decision to open a local shelter,” explained Mitchell. “Usually the decision is made by either our police or fi re personnel and it is necessitated by the number of calls received. We also consider if it looks like the situation is going to be for over 24 hours. In this instance, the police or the dispatch had received zero calls about anyone needing assistance. We monitored local Facebook pages and we did check on two people who were mentioned as vulnerable on social media – one 93 year old woman had a generator and warm blankets and was fi ne, and we checked on another person who was mentioned who was also fi ne.” According to both Conner and Mitchell, the City mostly relies on Red Cross to provide supplies if they were to open an emergency shelter. “They know what needs to be done when they get here,” explained Conner. “They have the cots and blankets. They have the food and supplies. They have the proper ad- vertising to let people know the resource is available. We have a small amount of supplies in the Red Cross trailer at the Fire Station, but we don’t have enough to support a large array of people. We’re not going to bring Red Cross out if it’s just for a couple people.” “We also have a shelter avail- able in St. Helens, so if we did have two or three people telling us they needed assistance, we would fi nd transportation and get them over there, rather than open our own,” added Conner. Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures City Council Meetings are scheduled for 7:00 pm: Monday, February 6, 2017 Tuesday, February 21, 2017 City Closures are scheduled for: February 11 & 25 Monday, February 20, 2017 Presidents’ Day Holiday Dates and times are subject to change due to weather Dates and times subject to change Mitchell noted that opening a shelter is somewhat complex and would require monitoring. “If the shelter was at the school, the school would have to have an employee on duty and the City would also have to have someone on site,” said Mitchell. “Then you also have to consider provisions, and who is responsible for paying for those.” Mitchell added all the local agencies involved were in contact dur- ing the power outage and were monitor- ing the situation. Conner said that if an outage looks like it is going to be longer than 12 hours, they will open a local shelter. “We just didn’t have any request or a real need,” said Conner about the recent power outage. Mitchell did say that this most recent situation did identify some logis- tic issues between the City, Fire Depart- ment, School and other resource groups that need to be addressed. She specifi - cally noted how an emergency shel- ter would deal with pets as a concern. “Maybe there is a group in the commu- nity that would like to work with us, and help us deal with that in the event of a big emergency,” said Mitchell. Both Conner and Mitchell em- phasized that anyone that is concerned about their safety or the safety of some- one else in the community during winter weather events should contact the Ver- nonia Police through the non-emergency police dispatch, (503) 397-1521. “Call us,” said Conner. “We’ll let you know what the resources are that are available. If we hear from enough people, we’ll open a local shelter.” Police Blotter • January 1-16, 2017 ARRESTS/REPORTS TAKEN • January 3, 2017 Arrest on a Warrant near Keasey Rd. • January 4, 2017 Arrest for Disorderly Conduct and Harassment near Rose Ave • January 11, 2017 Arrest on a Warrant near Nehalem HWY S • January 14, 2017 Arrest on a Warrant near Bridge St. CITATIONS/OTHER • January 14, 2017 Cited for Driving While Suspended near Bridge St. • January 14, 2017 Cited for Failure to Obey a Traffi c Control Device near Bridge St. Vernonia Police Department responds to calls that do not always end in Arrest, Report, or Citation. 01/01/2017 through 01/16/2017 VPD had 158 calls for service. Need more room? See us for the lowest prices GUARANTEED! Debit/Credit now accepted 5x10 $39 10x10 $69 10x20 $99 RV Storage $149 Outside storage available Totally fenced and gated Padlocks available 58605 Nehalem Hwy South • P.O. Box 292 Vernonia, Oregon 97064 (503) 429-7867 10-5 Tue-Sat 12-4 Sun