The INDEPENDENT, July 18, 2002,
Page 11
anks water users again ignore public hearing on rate increase
Attendance at a second pub
lic meeting, July 9, on a rate in
crease for City of Banks water
users, was identical to the at
tendance at the first meet
ing...zero. Since no one was at
the special meeting, it was ad
journed shortly after opening,
to convene the regular meeting
of the Banks City Council.
Health insurance
problem averted
The city was recently in
formed that their health insur
ance carrier, CCIS, would not
renew the policy, effective Au
gust 1, 2002. In spite of the
short notice, the City was pre
pared because the council had
previously asked for informa
tion on alternative policies and
the city’s insurance agent,
Waltz, Sheriden, Crawford, Inc.
(WSC), had already started a
comparison of various plans.
Representatives from WCS
had also met with city employ
ees (on a hot day when the air-
conditioning died) to discuss
what the employees wanted in
their health benefit.
After considerable discus
sion, council approved a Kaiser
medical plan with a standard
ODS dental plan for the 2002-
03 enrollment year. Councilors
Katie Murdoch, Gary Coffey,
Ryan Birr and Teri Brandstitr
voted in favor of the plan; Judy
Clifford and Tim Hardie were
opposed. The approved plan
includes chiropractic benefits
and will also allow participants
e d a r
S aturday , A ugust 3 rd
D u r in g t h e V e r n o n ia
R
id g e
Music
D ancing
Greenhouse waiver
’S.
from 7 :0 0 - 10:00 pm
F r ie n d s h ip J a m b o r e e
F e a t u r in g :
B o b M a n n in g ,
N a s h v ille W e s t
a n d A c e s H ig h
A d m is s io n
ADULTS
K ID S ( 7 - 1 2 )
UNDER 6
Food.
V olleyball
$7
$4
FREE
P la g Circa.
Sw im m ing
G ates O pen
B ee r Garden
a t 6 PM
F O R M O R E IN F O R M A T IO N C A L L 5 0 3 . 8 8 5 . 2 8 2 0
O R V IS IT U S AT W W W .V IS IT C E D A R R ID G E .C O M
SUNSET
LAUNDRY
Ye Olde
Dingheiser
Pub & Restaurant
VISA - MC - ATM
FOOD. KEGS & ICE TO GO
W ash...$1.00
Dry.. .25#
Lunch & Dinner
180 S. Main St.
Banks, Oregon
COCKTAILS • BEER • WINE
Feds approve water
plant improvements
Public Works Superinten
dent Tim Grossnickle told coun
cil that administrators from the
State/Federal Revolving Loan
program had completed their fi
nal inspection and verification
of improvements at the water
treatment plant. Grossnickle
said that he was impressed
with the administrators’ meticu
lous review of both the support
ing paperwork and the physical
project.
Grossnickle has also been
working with timber consultant
Bill Davidson on the recently
completed timber cut. The cut
included more board feet ot
timber than had been anticipat
ed and may provide the city
with increased income, Gross
nickle told the council.
C o u n tr y J u b ile e
ok
C
to “swing-out" of the Kaiser sys
tem and choose an outside
provider if they desire. The new
plan will cost about 35-percent
more than the current plan. For
purposes of comparison, if
CCIS were going to renew the
current policy, the increase in
the premium would be about
26-percent. However, CCIS will
not renew the policy.
problem solved
A discussion of findings of
fact to support the waiver of
fees for Banks Elementary
School’s land use application to
build a green house was re
moved from the agenda. Last
month representatives from the
greenhouse project appeared
before council to ask that the
land use fee be waived. When
they initially applied to Wash
ington County for a building
permit they were told that they
would need to get land use ap
proval to build on school prop
erty. The city charges a fee of
$850 to cover costs of the
process that was waived by city
council in June. On the advice
of City Attorney Jim Lucas,
council was to have a discus
sion about why the fee was
waived in this case in order to
narrow the possibility that the
waiver could be used as a
precedent in the future. How
ever, according to Mayor Bob
Orlowski, the county has now
decided that the greenhouse is
a temporary structure and is a
conditional use of the school
property. City Planner K.J. Won
has the discretion to grant con
ditional use permits within the
planning commission process
without charging a fee. There
S trassel ’ s A uto R epair
S a t-S u n 9 am - N oon
A series of six-hour, hands-
on workshops taught by OSU
Master Food Preservers, will
be held on Saturdays, from
9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the
Washington County Extension
Office located at the Capital
Center, NW 185th and Walker
Road, entrance D-1, 1411 East.
Class is limited to ten per
sons. The cost is $10.00 per
workshop, or free with presen-
OUTDOOR STORE IN BANKS!
H u n tin g , F is h in g & C a m p in g S u p p lie s ,
IV
B a it b y L e n !
C o m e s e e u s to d a y !
J & S O u td o o r
165 N. Main, Banks
503-324*1113
T u e -S a t 6 a m - 5 :3 0 p m
SUNDAYS 5-8 PM
CASH PRIZES!!
M anning Yard Decor
& H ydraulic H oses
B IN G O
J
All L o tte ry G a m e s
CLOSED MONDAYS
4710« NW SUNSET IIWY.
MANNING • 324-4848
2-4-6 S piral W ire
F lange H ead • S uction H oses
A daptors - 3/16" to 2"
B ulk O il P roducts
276 S unset , B anks
503-324-9808
Air conditioning
improvements
Mayor Bob Orlowski told
council that the city’s 14-year-
old heat pumps that provided
city hall and the police depart
ment with air conditioning had
failed last month. He had the air
conditioning units replaced, at
a cost of $4,326. Orlowski told
council that the money was tak
en from the general fund main
tenance budget.
In other business, council:
• Approved a re solution au
thorizing final payment to Pro-
Teck Construction for Wilkes
Street improvements in the
amount of $81,122.
• Heard from Lucas that a re
sponse had been filed in the
Kelley property lawsuit. A future
executive session will be held
to further update council.
• Authorized Orlowski and
Lucas to negotiate a lease with
Salmon PCS for property adja
cent to the city’s water tower as
a cell tower site, subject to
council approval.
Extension offers food preserving workshops
D a ily 11:00 am - C lo sin g
Breakfast
fore the discussion was re
moved from the agenda until
Won and Lucas can review the
situation to determine if further
action needs to be taken by
council.
N e w Stock W eekly!
Hll
F o u n tain s • S ta tu a ry
Benches • B ird b ath s & M o re
HOURS: Sat. 10 AM - 5 PM • Sun. 10 AM - 4 PM
pjhl Road @ Sunset Highway • 503 324-4015
tation of a current Oregon Trail
Card or proof of WIC program
participation.
On July 27, the workshop
will cover pressure canning
vegetables, plus freezing and
drying.
August 3, pickles and chut-
neys will be the topic.
Tomatoes, salsa, flavored
oils and vinegars will be fea
tured on August 24.
The September 14 work
shop will cover canning, freez
ing and smoking fish and
game.
For more information and to
register, call 503-725-2040.
Also available through OSU
Washington County Extension
is Pressure Gauge Testing, on
Thursdays, July 25, August 15
and September 12, from 1:00
to 3:00 p.m. For more informa
tion, call 503-725-2300.
The Oregon State University
Extension Service Food Safety
& Preservation Hotline is avail
able July 15 through October 1
at 1-800-354-7319.