city news
september19
2019
5
Vernonia City News...
At the September 16, 2019 City Council Meeting:
Council Hears Presentation From Columbia County
Tourism Initiative – The Council heard a presentation
by Alison Hart of the Columbia County Tourism
Initiative. The presentation explained the goals and
progress of the organization, which is working to
cultivate Columbia County as a tourist destination by
leveraging and enhancing resources, while engaging
the community. Hart said they recently completed
both a Strategic Plan and a Destination Development
Plan, and have been awarded $85,000 in grants for
specific projects at Prescott Beach, the CZ Trail, and
Salmonberry Lake. The organization is asking local
governmental entities to participate financially to help
continue the program, and requested $5,000 from the
City of Vernonia. After a discussion the Council asked
staff to identify potential sources of funding in their
budget for the program.
Council Approves MOU for School District Use of
Wetlands – Council approved an MOU between the
City and the Vernonia School District for use of the Mill
Site Marsh Wetlands area for continuing educational
purposes.
Council Discusses Nehalem River Campground Fee
– Council discussed a recommendation from the Parks
Committee to decrease the camping fees at Nehalem
River Campground (formerly Airport Park) from $20
to $15 to make it consistent with the tent camping fees
charged at Anderson Park. After a discussion, Council
declined to make the change.
Police Department Report – Police Chief Mike
Conner told the Council he has three applicants for
the open patrol officer position and is waiting for more
applicants before beginning the interview process. He
said he is considering hiring part-time certified officers
from other agencies to temporarily fill coverage gaps.
The Vernonia Transfer
Station is scheduled
to be open on the
nd
2 and 4 th Saturday
January - October
September 28
October 12 & 26
Dates and times are subject
to change due to weather
Citizen of the Month – Mayor Rick Hobart recog-
nized Arnie and Mary Tolonen, and Craig and Tonya
Tolonen for their years of service to the community as
owners of the True Value Hardware store on Bridge
Street. The Tolonens celebrated 50 years of business
on September 14.
continued from front page
nior Center on Bridge Street, the build-
ing was bought-out through FEMA funds
and demolished. Since then the Seniors
have been without a real location of their
own, and have shared space with Ver-
nonia Cares at their headquarters at the
American Legion Hall. Vernonia Cares
was flooded in 2007 and immediately
cleaned up so it could help in flood re-
covery efforts. The American Legion
building remains in the flood way, and
had several close calls during high water
events over the past decade, with volun-
teers activated to move all food supplies
to safety on several occasions.
The City has been in the process
of acquiring the funding for the project
for the last several years, and had to
make adjustments to the design after all
construction bids received last fall were
over budget. The project will house both
the Senior Center and Vernonia Cares
under one roof, with separate entrances
and a wall dividing the two operations.
The Senior Center will be the final proj-
ect undertaken as part of the 2007 flood
Police Blotter September 1-16, 2019
Arrests/Reports Taken
• September 2, 2019 Arrest on a 
Warrant near Bridge Street
• September 6, 2019 Abandoned 
Vehicle Report near North Street
• September 9, 2019 Found Property 
Report
• September 12, 2019 Report of Theft II 
and Burglary I near East Bridge Street
Citizen of the Month
City Administrator Report – City Administrator
Josette Mitchell told the Council the sale of the
cemetery house has been completed for $132,000. She
said some of the revenue from the sale will be used to
construct an equipment shed and a columbarium wall
at the cemetery.
A Cares/Senior Moment!
Coordinator; Mary McArthur, Executive
Director of Columbia Pacific EED who
served as the grant administrator for the
project; Trent Jorgensen, the architect on
the project from Sid Scott Architecture;
Columbia County Commissioners Alex
Tardif and Margaret Magruder; repre-
sentatives from the Columbia Pacific
Food Bank, Columbia County United
Way, and Community Action Team
(CAT); and Vernonia City Councilors
J.R. Allen and Dale Webb. Eric Larke,
the project supervisor, and Terry Brown
of Five Star Builders also took part in
the ceremony, along with Sandy Welch,
Executive Director of Vernonia Cares
and Tobie Finzel representing the Ver-
nonia Seniors. Jim Tierney and Casey
Mitchell, both formerly of CAT and in-
strumental partners in the project, were
unable to attend.
The long awaited project, which
became necessary following the 2007
flood, has taken a meandering, and
sometimes frustrating, path. Following
the flood which damaged the former Se-
Mitchell told the Council the Agricultural
Access Easement for the Weller family, and the Senior
Citizen Lease Agreement for the Cabin in Vernonia
have both been completed.
Citations/Other
• September 13, 2019 Cited for Driving 
While Suspended near California 
Avenue
Vernonia Police Department
responds to calls that do not always
end in Arrest, Report, or Citation.
9/01/2019 through 9/16/2019 VPD
had 130 calls for service.
Vernonia City
Council Meetings
and Closures
City Council Meetings
are scheduled for 7:00 pm:
Monday, October 7, 2019
Monday, October 21, 2019
City Closures are scheduled for:
Monday, November 11, 2019
Veterans Day
Dates and times subject to change
recovery efforts across the community.
The Vernonia Senior Citizens
recently took over operations of the
Cabin in Vernonia (aka Scout Cabin) in
Hawkins Park, and will use the space as
an interim meeting place until construc-
tion of the new facility is complete. The
Senior Center Board of Directors will
host a luncheon on Wednesday, Sep-
tember 25, at 11:30 am, and invites local
area residents 60 and older to the Cabin
in Vernonia to hear from the senior com-
munity on their ideas/wishes/dreams for
new potential activities and services in
the two venues. Lunch will be served
at noon followed by a short presentation
on plans for the new Senior Center and
the recently-inherited Cabin. Please call
(503) 429-3912 or sign up at the Seniors’
thrift store at 939 Bridge Street so there
will be sufficient food.
Following the groundbreaking
ceremony, attendees and guests were in-
vited for cake and coffee at the Verno-
nia City Hall. Vernonia Cares Director
Welch was recognized for her efforts on
the project by Mayor Hobart and given
the honor of cutting the cake.
The project is expected to be
completed by summer of 2020.