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City News
April 21
2022
Vernonia City News...
At the April 18, 2022 City Council Meet-
ing:
Council Makes Decision on Milstein
Property – City Administrator Josette
Mitchell provided the Council with a time-
line summary of the City’s interactions with
Jessica and Aaron Milstein. The Milsteins
have applied for permits for the construc-
tion of a new road and house and expressed
concerns to the Council they have with the
cost of the newly adopted fee in lieu, which
replaces the required street improvements.
Mitchell asked Council whether they want-
ed to follow adopted City code and continue
working with the Milsteins for their per-
mits, or if the Council wanted to go against
City code and hold a workshop on the is-
sue. Councilor J.R. Allen requested a work-
shop, but three other Councilors stated they
wanted to follow City code. Staff took time
to explain the timeline and discuss it with
the Council. Council voted 5-0 to instruct
Staff to continue to work with the Milsteins
on their permits per City code.
voted 5-0 to approve Resolution 2022-05 to
extend the Enterprise Zone Benefits award-
ed to Control Solutions at 35851 Industrial
Way, St. Helens, for a fourth and fifth year.
Those benefits include property tax abate-
ment. Vernonia is a co-sponsor of the South
Columbia County Enterprise Zone, and
must approve such requests. According to
CET, Control Solutions invested over $1.1
million in construction of their manufactur-
ing facility resulting in the creation of two
new jobs in the Enterprise Zone.
Mayor Appoints Bryson to Library
Board, Appoints Parrott to Budget Com-
mittee – Based on a recommendation from
the Library Board and approval from the
rest of the Council, Mayor Rick Hobart ap-
pointed Jim Bryson to serve on the Library
Board. Hobart also appointed Shelia Per-
rott to the Budget Committee.
Council Approves SDC Study – Council
voted 5-0 to budget $10,000 for a System
Development Charges (SDC) rate study.
Staff told Council SDC charges in Vernonia
are low compared to surrounding communi-
ties.
Council Approves Open Air Market Per-
mit – Council voted 4-1 to approve a per-
mit application for the Open Air Market for
use of City owned property at the corner of
Bridge Street and Grant Avenue for local
vendors on Saturdays, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm,
from May 14 through September 24. The
approval was contingent on the applicants
applying safety paint at the site. Councilor
J.R. Allen was the dissenting vote.
Council Approves Two-Year Enterprise
Zone Extension – At the request of the
Columbia Economic Team (CET) Council
Council Approves Use of Facilities for
Jamboree – Council voted 5-0 to approve
a request from the Jamboree Committee
for use of multiple City facilities during the
weekend of August 5-7 for Jamboree ac-
tivities. Facilities and activities approved
include: Shay Park for vendors and music;
Anderson Park Horse Arena for Ridge Rid-
ers Play Day; Hawkins Park for Logging
Shows; Parking Areas at corner of Maple
Street and Adams Avenue for dumpster
storage and vendor parking, at corner of
Washington Avenue and Bridge Street for
parking, and parking area at Spencer Park
for Jamboree vendors and patrons; Spencer
Park for Softball Tournament, vendors, car
and motorcycle shows, and Kid Zone; park-
ing area at corner of Bridge Street and Grant
Avenue for exhibitors and vendors.
Citizen of the Month – Mayor Rick
Hobart nominated Joann Beamish as
Citizen of the Month. Beamish moved
to Vernonia in 1969, and started driv-
ing school bus for Curls Bus Service in
the ‘70s. She was recognized for her 44
years of driving our community’s chil-
dren to school.
Topics From the Floor – Wendy Sears re-
minded Council that the Vernonia SK8 park
grand opening is on Saturday, April 23.
Vernonia Police Blotter
April 1-18, 2022
Reports Taken/Arrests
• April 6, 2022 Informational Report taken
• April 14, 2022 Report taken for Violation of a
Restraining Order near Nehalem Street
• April 15, 2022 Informational Report taken
Citation/Other
• April 3, 2022 Citation issued for Driving
While Suspended and Driving Uninsured near
Elm Street
• April 14, 2022 Citation issued for Careless
Driving near Scappoose Vernonia HWY
Vernonia Police Department had 72 calls
for service from 04/01/2022 to 04/18/2022.
What’s Happening at the Vernonia Library
By Shannon Romtvedt
Upcoming Events
Computer Help Sessions
One-on-one computer help sessions
are now being offered at the Library!
Need help setting up an email account,
navigating the internet, uploading
documents to a form, accessing eBooks?
Schedule a help session. Please call (503)
429-1818 to reserve a time slot for a
Tuesday or Saturday afternoon.
Low-Water Gardening
and Native Plants
Wednesday, May 11, 6:30 pm
Presentation by Chip Bubl, OSU Extension
Service and Columbia County Master
Gardeners. Program sponsored by the
American Library Association’s, Libraries
Transforming Communities, Small and
Rural Libraries Grant.
Geological History of Vernonia
Wednesday, June 8, 6:30 pm
Presentation by Dave Taylor, Portland
State University Department of Geology,
currently researching in the Vernonia
area. Program sponsored by the
American Library Association’s, Libraries
Transforming Communities, Small and
NOTICE OF BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING
A public meeting of the Budget Committee of the City of Vernonia, Columbia County,
State of Oregon, to present the budget for the fiscal year July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023,
will be held on April 26, 2022 at 6:30 pm. The purpose of the meeting is to receive the
budget message, the budget document and to establish the agenda for future meetings.
No deliberation will take place at this meeting and no public comment will be heard.
An additional separate meeting of the Budget Committee will be held to take public
comment. Any person may appear to discuss the proposed programs with the
Budget Committee. This meeting will be held on May 3, 2022 at 6:30 pm.
Budget Meetings will be held at the Cabin in Vernonia at
901 Park Dr, Vernonia, OR 97064 from 6:30-9:30 pm.
A copy of the budget document will be available after April 26, 2022 at City Hall located
at 1001 Bridge St between the hours of 8 am - 5 pm Monday - Friday.
This notice is also posted on the City’s website: vernonia-or.gov
IT’S TAX TIME
Call your LOCAL tax preparer
R
Y
O
A
LL PL
P
US LLC
Edi Sheldon 503-429-1819
edisheldon@gmail.com
Licensed tax consultant • Full service payroll
Personal & small business bookkeeping • QuickBooks assistance
CORPS, S-CORPS, LLC, Partnerships • Personal one-on-one service
LTC #29629 - Oregon licensed tax consultant
RTRP #P00448199 - designated as a registered tax return preparer by the Internal Revenue Service
The IRS does not endorse any particular individual tax return preparer. For more information
on tax return preparers, go to www.IRS.gov.
Rural Libraries Grant.
Ongoing Programs
Writers’ Group
1 st and 3 rd Thursday of the month,
April 21, May 5, and May 19, 6-7:30 pm
For adult and teen writers with all levels of
experience. Writing prompts, opportunity
to share current work for feedback, and
information on local opportunities for
writers.
Baby and Toddler Time
Mondays, 1-1:45 pm
Short story, movement activities, bubbles,
and toys! Designed for littles, birth - age
3.
Preschool Storytime
Fridays, 10:30-11:15 am
Stories, movement activities, and a craft
for children up through age 6. Each
week’s stories and crafts are based on a
different theme.
Did You Know?:
Summer Reading Program 2022
Every year, the Library offers a Summer
Reading incentive program for children,
birth through age 14. Kids earn prize
tickets for every hour of reading, and
receive a book bag and a free book. Prize
drawings include toys, science activity
kits, gift certificates to local stores, and
more. Along with the reading portion
Vernonia City
Council Meetings
and Closures
Please check the City’s website
for details on upcoming
City Council Meetings
scheduled for 7:00 pm:
Monday, May 2, 2022
Monday, May 16, 2022
www.vernonia-or.gov
City Closures are scheduled for:
Monday, May 30, 2022
Memorial Day
Dates and times subject to change
of our program, we have performers,
hands on activities for elementary age
children, and family storytimes scheduled
throughout the summer. A full schedule
of summer events will be available in
May! The first day to sign-up for Summer
Reading this year is Monday, June 20.
Featured Resource:
Historic Oregon Newspapers
More content has been recently added
to our digital, historic newspaper
collection, hosted on the Historic Oregon
Newspapers site: https://oregonnews.
uoregon.edu/. The Vernonia Eagle is now
viewable and searchable from 1922-1957.
The collection also currently includes
select years of The Independent, and
Vernonia’s Voice from 2007-2020. We
are scheduled to continue the project in
March 2023 and complete the collection
of the Vernonia Eagle from 1958-1974.
For more information about the project,
contact Shannon Romtvedt at the Library
(503) 429-1818 or shannonr@vernonia-or.
gov. We gladly accept donations to fund
the digital collection through the Friends
of the Vernonia Public Library.
Current Hours & Contact Info:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 10 am - 5 pm
Tuesday, Thursday: 12 pm - 7 pm
Saturday: 12 pm - 5 pm
Contact
Phone: (503) 429-1818
E-mail: library@vernonia-or.gov
Website: www.vernonia-or.gov/
departments/library/
Social Media: Follow us on Facebook and
Instagram
The Vernonia Transfer
Station is scheduled
to be open on the
2 nd and 4 th Saturday
January - October
April 23
May 14 & 28
Dates are subject to change