city news
november21
2019
5
Vernonia City News...
At the November 18, 2019 Vernonia
City Council Meeting:
Council Approves Food Trailer at
Lake – Council approved the placement
of a food trailer by David Sterner at Ver-
nonia Lake. City Administrator Josette
Mitchell told the Council the City can
install an electric meter so Sterner can
be charged for his electric use. Council
agreed they would charge $200 a month,
plus electricity for a six month lease, be-
ginning this spring.
Council Approves Two Public Safety
Resolutions – Council adopted Reso-
lution 16-19, approving an Intergov-
ernmental Agreement between the Co-
lumbia County Sheriff’s Office and
Municipal Police Departments for the
Columbia County Major Crimes Team,
which allows mutual assistance between
agencies for the investigation of major
crimes.
The Council also adopted Reso-
lution 17-19, approving the Columbia
County Deadly Physical Force Plan,
which provides a framework for a con-
sistent response to an officer’s use of
deadly physical force across county
agencies, in order to treat law enforce-
ment officers fairly and promote public
confidence in the criminal justice sys-
tem.
Council Approves Bench Placement at
Lake – Council approved the placement
of a new park bench by the Lions Club
overlooking Vernonia Lake, and ap-
proved naming the spot in honor of the
Webb family. City Administrator Josette
Mitchell confirmed there is not a need to
make the bench ADA accessible. Coun-
cil also discussed the need to move a set
of sign posts used by the Intercultural
Society of Vernonia to advertise events
and activities. Councilor Dale Webb
abstained from participating in the dis-
cussion because of his family’s possible
recognition as part of the project.
Council Schedules Work Session – At
the request of staff, the Council sched-
uled a work session on December 9 at
6:00 pm to discuss revising the City’s
Urban Growth Boundary with the City
Planner.
Council Takes No Action on Roseview
Heights HOA Request – Council dis-
cussed a letter they received from the
Roseview Heights Home Owners As-
sociation (HOA). The letter states that
the HOA would like to dissolve and turn
over maintenance of the streets in the de-
velopment to the City. They asked the
City to do an assessment of their streets
to see if the streets could be accepted
by the City. City Administrator Josette
Mitchell told the Council that accord-
ing to a visual inspection, the streets
were not constructed to City standards
of width, with no curbs and gutters, or
stormwater drainage, and said it would
be the HOA’s responsibility to pay for an
engineer to do the assessment. She sug-
gested the HOA dissolve and enter into
a road maintenance agreement among
property owners as another option.
Council authorized the City Adminis-
trator to respond to the HOA and took
no further action on the request.
City Administrator Report – City
Administrator Josette Mitchell told the
Council the Senior Center/Vernonia
Cares project is moving along, with
excavation almost complete and the
foundation being poured soon. She
said the City is still awaiting word on
the C. Keith Birkenfeld grant the City
has applied for.
Mitchell told the Council she
is still working on a community infor-
mational reader sign, with costs shared
between the City, the Vernonia School
District, the Vernonia Rural Fire Pro-
tection District, and a new partner –
the Vernonia Boosters.
Mitchell told Council the
cemetery pole building at the Memo-
rial Cemetery has been installed, and a
good neighbor fence will be construct-
ed in the near future.
Mitchell said arborist David
Hunter examined trees at Hawkins
and Anderson Parks and the report has
been sent to the Council. She said staff
will be making recommendations in
the future.
Topics From the Floor – Scott Laird
informed the Council about a new book
that has just been published, Voices
From the Mill Pond. The book is a col-
Citizen
of the Month
Mayor Rick Hobart recog-
nized Desmond Hines as Citizen of
the Month, acknowledging how Mr.
Hines was given a second chance with
his life and has made the most of it by
helping citizens around the commu-
nity, assisting the City with multiple
projects, and being a valued member
of the community.
laboration between Vernonia Hands on
Art and Vernonia’s Voice and includes
stories, poems, artwork, and photogra-
phy by over 50 contributors from around
the Vernonia Community.
Voters Fail to Pass Transportation Funding, Services to be Cut
Columbia County voters overwhelmingly re-
jected a measure to form a Transportation District in
the County when they returned their ballots on Novem-
ber 5, 2019. Officials at Columbia County Rider (CC
Rider), the County’s public transportation system, say
they will have to cut public transportation options as a
result.
Measure 5-277 received 63% “NO” votes in
Oregon’s most recent election. If approved, the mea-
sure would have taxed local property owners at a rate
of $0.18 per $1,000 of assessed value (approximately
$36 for a property valued at $200,000) and raised over
$1 million per year for the next two years to fund pub-
lic transportation across the County.
The “all measure” election, which also in-
cluded local measures in Scappoose and Rainier, saw
11,360 total ballots received, meaning just 34% of eli-
gible voters took part in the election.
According to a letter sent to the Vernonia City
Council from CC Rider’s Todd Wood, CC Rider offi-
cials were scheduled to meet with other regional trans-
portation system managers to help develop a plan for
cuts to service. Wood noted in his letter that there is
no local funding for public transportation and a lack of
matching funds for grants.
Wood said he expects severe impacts to service
on CC Rider’s Line 2, which provides service to Port-
land Community College; to Line 3 which provides
flex service in the St. Helens, Scappoose, and Colum-
bia City area; and to the Dial-a-Ride service; along
with minimal impacts to Line 1 which provides service
to Portland, and Line 5 which runs between Rainier and
Longview. He said there should be no impact to cur-
rent Vernonia service, although Vernonia service was
recently reduced with plans to increase service in Ver-
nonia if the measure had passed.
Wood said a public hearing will be held on
December 18 at the Columbia County Courthouse at
10:00 am to hear comments.
Bonamici Releases Report on High Cost of Insulin in NW Oregon
November is Diabetes
Awareness Month
Congresswoman Suzanne Bon-
amici (D-OR) released a report during
Diabetes Awareness Month that high-
lights the high cost of insulin in Ore-
gon’s First Congressional District.
The report, which was produced
for Bonamici by the House Oversight
and Reform Committee, compares pric-
es for the 50 most popular brand-name
prescription diabetes medications in
Northwest Oregon to the same drugs
in Australia, the United Kingdom, and
Canada. It found that Medicare benefi-
ciaries in Northwest Oregon pay over a
thousand dollars more per year in out-of-
pocket costs for some medications than
people in the other countries.
The report finds that the Medi-
Police Blotter November 1-18, 2019
Reports Taken/Arrests
• November 6, 2019 Driving While
Suspended Misdemeanor Level near
Rose Avenue
• November 7, 2019 Report of Criminal
Mischief III near Heather Lane
• November 8, 2019 Arrest on a Warrant
near East Bridge Street
• November 8, 2019 Arrest for Driving
Under the Influence near Timber Road
• November 13, 2019 Report of Non Injury
Motor Vehicle Accident near HWY 47
South
Citations/Other
• November 5, 2019 Cited for Failing to
Yield to a Pedestrian in a crosswalk near
Missouri Avenue
• November 5, 2019 Cited for Violation
of the Posted Speed 52/35 mph, Driving
While Suspended, and No Insurance near
River Street
• November 12, 2019 Cited for Violation
of the Posted Speed 43/20 mph and No
Insurance near Cougar Street
Vernonia Police Department responds
to calls that do not always end in
Arrest, Report, or Citation. 11/01/2019
through 11/18/2019 VPD had 158 calls
for service.
care costs in Oregon’s First District for
the top 50 drugs are:
• 4.6 times higher than in Australia
• 3.2 times higher than in the UK
• 2.4 times higher than in Canada
Approximately 20,000 seniors
and disabled Medicare beneficiaries
have been diagnosed with diabetes in
Oregon’s First District, which includes
Washington, Yamhill, Clatsop, and Co-
The Vernonia Transfer
Station is scheduled
to be open on the
st
1 and 3 rd Saturday in
November & December
December 7 & 21
The Transfer Station is scheduled
to be open on the 2 nd and 4 th
Saturday January - October
January 11 & 25
Dates and times are subject
to change due to weather
lumbia counties and part of Multnomah
County.
“No one should have to jeopar-
dize their health or worry about afford-
ing food because of exorbitant prices for
insulin,” said Congresswoman Bonami-
ci. “Companies are charging much more
for these critical drugs in the U.S. than
abroad, hurting seniors and families in
continued on page 17
Vernonia City
Council Meetings
and Closures
City Council Meetings
are scheduled for 7:00 pm:
Monday, December 2, 2019
Monday, December 16, 2019
City Closures are scheduled for:
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Friday, November 29, 2019
Thanksgiving Holiday
Dates and times subject to change