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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2017)
city news november16 2017 5 Vernonia City News... At the November 6, 2017 City Council Meeting: Council Adopts Ordinance to Restrict Smoking in Parks – The City Council voted 4-0 to adopt Ordi- nance 914, which regulates smoking in City Parks. The ordinance takes effect in 30 days from adoption. (See full story on front page.) Council Discusses Greenman Field Bleachers – Fol- lowing a joint workshop between the City Council and the Parks Committee on October 30, Council again dis- cussed the current repairs needed for the stadium roof structure at Greenman Field. The roof was deemed un- safe by an engineer this summer. They also discussed potential future uses for the stadium after the School District constructs a new field at the school campus and no longer has need to lease the field from the City. It was agreed that the City does not see the potential for future use that would warrant the expense needed to make long-term repairs. Council directed City Ad- ministrator Josette Mitchell to attend the School Board meeting on November 9 and ask the School District to abide by their lease, which requires them to maintain the field and the structure, and either pay to have a tem- porary fix done to secure the roof through the winter, estimated at $15,000, or install security fencing to re- duce liability to both the City and the District. Council Approves Streets Recommendations – Coun- cil approved three recommendations from the Public Works Committee which would begin the process of addressing additional street and stormwater repairs and upgrades. Council approved recommendations that would propose a cost sharing plan with residents on OA Hill to improve alleyways in that neighborhood. They also approved recommendations to gather informa- tion for survey work, preliminary engineering and cost analysis to build out Louisiana Avenue, build a con- nector street between the north and south sections of Louisianna Avenue, and build a connector to E Street. Council Approves Parks Recommendations – Coun- cil approved two recommendations from the Parks Committee for upgrades to Spencer Park. Council ap- proved spending $500 to hire Robert Tidwell of Knot Just a Bear to carve one of the stumps in front of Spen- cer Park into a salmon. They also approved starting the Spencer Park Tree Project which would allow citizens to purchase a memorial tree from a list of approved trees which would be planted in various locations around the park. The project is being headed by Parks Committee member Steve Whiteman, who would like to see places in the park for people to relax and enjoy the park. Anyone interested in purchasing a memorial tree should contact City Hall. Police Chief Report – Police Chief Mike Conner confirmed that Officer Cody Pesio will be leaving the force on November 14. Conner said he will be clos- ing the hiring process to replace Pesio on November 17. Conner also said he is continuing the background check process on one applicant for the Reserve Officer program. City Administrator Report – City Administrator Jo- sette Mitchell updated the Council on several ongoing projects and issues, including the Wastewater Treat- ment Plant project, Nickerson Ridge Estates, Spencer Park Picnic Shelter, the Green Bridge, and the Airport Seismic Monitoring Station. Mitchell told the Council construction con- tracts are being prepared for the Senior Center/Food Bank facility. She said it looks like construction will begin in the spring, one year later than was originally projected. Mitchell said the first phase of the streets and storm water upgrade project authorized by the Coun- cil is complete; next up is finishing work on G Street, culvert and side rock on Polk Avenue, and grading, re- rocking and a cold patch at the entrance to Old Bridge Street. Mitchell said a meeting concerning mitigating flood run-off from Knickerson Creek was held with Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife, Department of State Lands, The Upper Nehalem Watershed Council, and local homeowners. Mitchell said the solution is probably a three year project to address restoration of the creek that would include creating swale areas to slow down water flow and create storage, and the re- moval of the culvert at the end of Nickerson Avenue. Council Meets in Executive Session – Council met in Executive Session under ORS.192.660 (2) (h) To consult with counsel concerning the legal rights and duties of a public body with regard to current litigation or litigation likely to be filed. Following their return to Open Session, the Council directed the City Admin- istrator to prepare a cost estimate for an engineering report. Council took no further action and did not pro- vide any further information for the audience concern- ing this action. Topics From the Floor – Jeff Goodman said he had concerns about provisions in the City’s livestock or- dinance which does not allow a resident to keep live- stock within 15 feet of an inhabited structure. He said he keeps livestock on his covered porch and has been told by code enforcement this is not allowed. He asked Council to revisit the ordinance. Wendy Sears provided an update on the Skate Park project and presented Council with petitions with over 300 names, including school students, who were in favor of a skate park. She asked Council to give approval for the project so she can begin fundraising. Council asked Sears to meet with the City Administra- tor and the Parks Committee. Tim Nebergall told Council he has a problem with his water line, which runs through several other properties. There was a leak but he has been unable to receive permission to go onto the other property to fix it. The water shut off and meter are also on other prop- erty owners’ land, which has also caused problems. He is looking for help in solving his issues. Michelle Moline provided an update on the easement issue at the Lincoln School property where she lives and runs a business. She thanked City Ad- ministrator Josette Mitchell for her help with the issue and said a fence will be installed which should alleviate some issues with neighbors. Brittanie Roberts said the proposed ordinance to restrict smoking in parks is a good compromise and encouraged the Council to do what they feel is best for the community when they vote on it. Council Approves Smoking Regulations in Parks from the Vernonia Schools OSSOM (Operation Student Safety On the Move) group took part in the nationwide Kick Butts campaign to help curb tobacco use by youths, collecting cigarette butts and tobacco litter at Hawkins Park and the Spencer Park play shed. Students noted that while the parks looked clean of ciga- rette butts at first, upon closer inspection there were quite a lot – especially for the month of March. Students concurred that they see a large increase in cigarette butt litter in the parks as the weather gets warmer each year. Students were also surprised about other things they found, including alcohol containers, broken glass, children’s pacifiers, and a few syringes. Students later made a pre- sentation about their findings to the City The Vernonia Transfer Station is open on the 1st and 3rd Saturday in November and December 8am-2pm November 18 December 2 & 16 Dates and times are subject to change due to weather Council. In July of 2017 the Parks Com- mittee returned to City Council and pre- sented a compromise ordinance that did not completely ban smoking, but instead restricted smoking to designated areas in some parks, created smoke free areas in other parks, and banned smoking in two smaller parks where it would be easy for smokers to step outside park boundaries in order to smoke. City Administrator Josette Mitchell raised several questions about the feasibility of implementing specific parts of the recommendation and Coun- cil asked her to work with the Parks Committee to clarify and simplify the proposal before bringing it back for adoption. Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures City Council Meetings are scheduled for 7:00 pm: Monday, November 20, 2017 Monday, December 4, 2017 City Closures are scheduled for: Thursday, November 23, 2017 Friday, November 24, 2017 Thanksgiving Holiday Dates and times subject to change continued from front page Council discussed the revised version of the ordinance at their August 21, 2017 meeting. Numerous public dis- cussions on social media concerning the issue took place and several citizens, both for and against the ordinance, ad- dressed the Council during the Topics From the Floor portion of their Septem- ber 18 meeting, both in person and by email. At that meeting Council chose to table a scheduled vote on the ordinance and asked city staff to prepare a survey on the issue so they could receive more community input before making a deci- sion. The survey was sent out with the City utility bills and copies of the survey were also made available to other citi- zens at City Hall. At their October 16, 2017 meet- ing, Council received the results of the survey which had 153 individuals re- sponding, with 67 (45.76%) saying they approved of restricting smoking in parks, 3 saying they approved of restric- tions but wanted to see changes in the ordinance, and 83 (54.24%) saying they disagreed with the proposed restrictions. At their November 6, 2017 meeting Council adopted the Ordinance with Councilor Bruce McNair making the motion without any discussion. The motion passed 4-0, with Councilor Su- san Wagner not present at the meeting. The ordinance takes effect 30 days from adoption. Police Blotter • November 1-13, 2017 Reports/Arests • November 1, 2017 Citation after a Non Injury Vehicle Crash for Careless Driving and Driving Outside Restriction near North Mist Drive • November 2, 2017 Report of Outside Agency Assist near Jefferson Avenue • November 4, 2017 Citation for Burning of Certain Materials near “F” Street • November 4, 2017 Arrest for Criminal Trespass II near Jefferson Avenue • November 7, 2017 Arrest for Attempted Burglary, Criminal Trespass II, and Violation of a Release Agreement near Jefferson Avenue Citations/Other • November 3, 2017 Citation for Title 3-02 Nuisance Control Vioaltions • November 6, 2017 Citation for Driving While Suspended and Failure to Carry Proof of Insurance near Rose Avenue • November 7, 2017 Citation for Driving While Suspended near Maple Street Vernonia Police Department responds to calls that do not always end in Arrest, Report, or Citation. 11/01/2017 through 11/13/2017 VPD had 89 calls for service.
