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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2018)
city news october18 2018 5 Vernonia City News... At the October 15, 2018 City Council Meeting: Council Reviews Grandstand Lease – Council re- viewed a draft lease agreement and a draft Memoran- dum of Understanding (MOU) for use of the Greenman Field Bleachers and the field area. The agreement is between the City of Vernonia and the Intercultural So- ciety of Vernonia (ICSV). Council had several points they asked to be clarified and rewritten. City Adminis- trator Josette Mitchell said roofing samples were being sent to Portland for asbestos testing and paint samples have been sent for lead-based testing. Mitchell said she will make the Council’s requested changes to the lease and MOU and send the amended draft to the Council and ICSV. When the results of the test samples are completed she will schedule a joint workshop. Council Receives Monthly Department Report – Council received a monthly report that documents ongoing work, operations, and project progress at the Library, Public Works Departmen,t and Parks Depart- ment. This monthly update was recently requested by the Council to help keep them updated. City Administrator Report – City Administrator Jo- sette Mitchell told the Council there was a final walk- through with a USDA representative to get a final sign- off on the Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade Proj- ect. Mitchell said there are two small warranty items that need to be repaired. She said progress is being made on the bio dome installation and they are close to the initial start-up. Mitchell told Council that the contractors who bid on the construction of the Senior Center/Food Bank project have been notified that all bids were rejected. Mitchell said the City will be reworking specifications including criteria for the design build components of the electrical and HVAC systems. Oregon General Election November 6, 2018 The General Election will be held November 6, 2918. At the General Election, candidates are elected to Fed- eral, State, County, City, and some spe- cial district offices. In addition to five state measures, there will be three local measures for Columbia County voters to decide on (5-270, 5-271, and 5-272). All active registered voters in Colum- bia County (approximately 37,500) will receive a ballot tailored to their residen- tial address. Election details can be found on the Columbia County Elections de- partment page of www.co.columbia. or.us. Voter registration. The last day for a new registrant to register to vote for this election was October 16. Already registered voters can review and update their registration information by visit- ing www.oregonvotes.gov and clicking the “My Vote” tab. Ballot Mailing. Ballots will be mailed beginning Wednesday, October 17. The last day ballots will be mailed to house- holds will be November 1. Voters’ Pamphlet. The state voters’ pamphlet will be delivered one per household October 10 to the 12. Insert- ed in the center of the pamphlet will be the Columbia County voters’ pamphlet. If you do not receive a voters’ pam- phlet, contact your local post office. Voters’ Pamphlets can also be viewed online at the above mentioned websites. Returning voted ballots. Ballots must Vernonia City Council Meetings and Closures City Council Meetings are scheduled for 7:00 pm: Monday, November 5, 2018 Monday, November 19, 2018 City Closures are scheduled for: Monday, November 12, 2018 Veterans Day Observed Dates and times subject to change be received by the county clerk or de- livered to an official drop site no later than 8:00 pm on November 6, 2018 - postmarks do not count. The U.S. Post- al Service has stated that ballots could take up to 5-7 days to reach county elections offices once they are put in the mail. If you cannot return your ballot by mail by the Thursday prior to Election Day, you should plan on returning your ballot to a dropsite. Drop sites for the election will be as follows: Columbia County Courthouse 24-Hour Drive-up Drop Box 230 Strand St . Clatskanie Library 11 Lillich St . Scappoose City Hall 24 Hour Drop box 33568 E Columbia Ave. Rainier City Hall 106 B St. W Vernonia Public Library 701 Weed Ave. Mist Birkenfeld RFPD 12525 Hwy 202 Public Certification Test. The Pub- lic Certification Test of the counting equipment for the General Election will be held on Tuesday, October 30, 2018. The testing will begin at 10:00 am in the County Elections Department. The public is welcome to attend. The Vernonia Transfer Station is scheduled to be open on the nd 2 and 4 th Saturday January - October 8:00 am - 2:00 pm October 27 Dates and times are subject to change due to weather Mitchell told the Council that the Public Works Department has installed new storm drain pip- ing from the homes on 4 th Avenue above the Lincoln School. They are waiting for an easement from one property owner and will then route the run-off to a ditch on Nehalem Street and into the City stormwater system. Mitchell said this should solve the issue homes on 3 rd Avenue were having with the water running onto their properties. Council Approves Library Handbook Resolution – Council approved Resolution 15-18, which incorpo- rates all Library Policies into a Handbook. The new Handbook includes a new policy for Interlibrary Loans, which allows patrons to request material from another library if the Vernonia Library does not own it; there will be a charge to the patron to mail the item back. City Will Keep Transfer Station City Administrator Josette Mitchell told the City Council that con- cerns that the local Transfer Station for garbage and recycling, managed by Waste Management, would need to be shut down at the end of October, were probably premature. Mitchell told the Council at their October 1, 2018 regular meeting that the City had received a letter from DEQ stating the City would be required to apply for an Industrial Stormwater Permit for the Transfer Station to be in compliance, and the options for meet- ing the requirements for the permit were not good. Representatives from Waste Management attended the City Coun- cil meeting and confirmed Mitchell’s assessment, stating they were working towards ceasing operations at the end of the month. The Council met in a special meeting on October 8, where Mitchell informed them that, after talking with DEQ Water Quality Specialist Michael Kennedy who sent the original letter, it looks like the Transfer Station will qualify for the permit with some minor modifications to operations at the site. Mitchell said according to Kennedy Police Blotter • the October 29 deadline identified in the letter was not a firm deadline from DEQ, but was intended to, “...get the conversation started with communi- ties.” Mitchell told Council that Ken- nedy believes the City can qualify for a “No Exposure Conditional Exclusion Permit.” Mitchell said the Transfer Sta- tion would need to minimize exposure by handling oils and chemical disposal properly, have proper bins for accepting garbage, control erosion and sediments, reconfigure recycling containers, and keep garbage from being windblown. Mitchell said she walked the site with Greg Johnson, Route Manager for Waste Management in Vernonia. “We came up with a plan to mitigate the identified hazards,” said Mitchell. She said the limited number of hours the facility is open and the short length of time garbage stays on site both played a factor in easing the requirements. Mitchell said the City would begin the process of filling out the per- mit paperwork and requested a site visit by Kennedy to review the City’s plan to be in compliance. October 1-15, 2018 Reports Taken • October 4, 2018 Report of Burglary near Jefferson Avenue • October 6, 2018 Report of Criminal Mischief II near Jefferson Avenue Vernonia Police Department responds to calls that do not always end in Arrest, Report, or Citation. 10/01/2018 through 10/15/2018 VPD had 91 calls for service An Opinion: Candidate Endorsements continued from page 3 several projects. He has also been a vo- cal and reactionary critic of the City on several issues. He’s proposed several interesting ideas during his campaign, and I believe his heart is in the right place, I just don’t think his methods are always productive. His work experi- ence would make him a great candidate for a spot on the Public Works Citizen Advisory Committee, and I think he could gain a lot of valuable knowledge being involved in the City in that capac- ity, I just don’t think he’s the best avail- able candidate for the Council at this time. Richard Traver has been close- ly aligned with David Sterner through- out this campaign. He has no real lead- ership experience that qualifies him for this position. He declined to respond to our candidate questionnaire or partici- pate in our Meet the Candidates event. He hasn’t expressed any concrete ideas about how he would achieve his stated goals.
