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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2003)
The INDEPENDENT, February 20, 2003 Page 11 anks will seek approval for an extended law enforcement levy lAnkc City Council mr^il on. Banks ap proved drafting a new operat ing levy for law enforcement at their February 11 meeting. After providing some history of the police departm ent funding, Mayor Bob Orlowski told coun cil that if a new operating levy lA/nm were nnl not passed, the city “would have to say goodby” to the police department. The levy passed in 1998 will expire at the end of June. The levy of $1.80 per $1,000 of as sessed property value, pro vides approximately 85-percent -J ~ of the departm ent’s budget, The remainder, from the gener- al fund, was about $30,000 last fiscal year and is estimated at $50,000 this fiscal year. Because of the economy, Orlowski felt that passing an in creased levy would be ex- ~ _ a _ — a »^ _____ a ____i r f f • . >• . • tremely difficult. Police Chief Daryl Crandall told council that the department could live with in this limited budget by “belt tightening.” However, he added, he expects increases in insur ance and PERS. Crandall does not anticipate increasing the current force of two full-time officers and a full time chief. In response to a question about increasing de partment revenue, Crandall cit ed his report of the overwhelm ing success of the newly of fered diversion class. The class generated nearly one-half of the income budgeted for the year in the first quarter of oper ation. Crandall couldn’t predict whether that level of income would be maintained, or not, as the backlog of people needing the class is reduced. City attorney Jim Lucas will draft a ballot measure at the current levy amount, for review at the March meeting. If ap proved, the measure will be on the ballot in the May election. Passage of the levy would need to meet the “double ma jority” standard, with over 50 percent of registered voters casting ballots and over 50 per cent of the votes cast to be in favor of the levy. a Parks Agreement CASH U P R E B H T E T O $ /l n c * Maw *When you purchase complete kitchen* Also Find us at www.homeappliances.com/vandyke Serving the local community for over 59 years A P P L IA N C E S 2008 Main Street • Forest Grove • 503-357-6011 Scott Bradley, vice-president of the Arbor Village Homeown ers Association (AVHA), pre sented a five-point proposal for the maintenance of Greenville Park: • Continue the present agreement until the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2003. • AVHA will pay maintenance of Greenville Park during fiscal year 2003-2004 (estimated at $1750/ month) with the excep tion of water. Water for the park would be a city responsibility. • The city will assume all maintenance costs beginning July 1, 2004. • The city will relinquish all AVHA maintenance responsi bility in writing. • AVHA and the city will work jointly to secure funding for maintenance of Greenville Park. Assuming the cost of irriga tion at the park would mean a loss of income to the city of ap- proximately $9,000, according m n rin v u J ri ^ h i r h „ „ „ . a to Orlowski, which could be easily absorbed by the city’s water fund. In addition, the city just instituted a park user fee. However, Orlowski told council, since the fee is new and the city ... has no history of park users, the amount of income generat ed by the fee is unknown. Lu cas reminded council that a change in the agreement af fects only the financial situation and does not change the way the park is run. Council concurred with ex tension of the agreement until the end of the fiscal year. They will use the intervening time to develop a new agreement with the AVHA. Main Street trees C ouncilor Katie Murdoch presented a proposal for budg eting $1000 for the mainte nance of trees on Main Street. Council approved her recom mendation to hire the low bid- der, Diamond Landscape, to re- move three trees leaning into the road or blocking signs, re move stumps and reseed, and plant and provide care through the summer for four new trees. Council also agreed that the re mainder of the fund could be used to prune and maintain other trees. Murdoch will work with Public Works Superinten dent to prioritize maintenance. Audit com m endation Dennis Conner, the city’s au ditor commended the city f or their efforts to get the city out of deficit and end fiscal year 2001-2002 with a positive bal ance. He told the council that the received an “A+ report card opinion" on their accounting procedures. Conner urged council members to review the audit report and contact him with any questions. Council Roundtable During the council round table, Brock Banks said that the area surrounded by the high way exit on the south end of town is being developed by ODOT and the fire department as a permanent landing zone for Life Flight. Teri Brandstitr apologized for the city's web site being down, and compli mented city employees for their help in moving the site to a new host. Pete Edison mentioned the Banks Community Auction to be held at the end of April and urged people to partici- ° do,wski,sajd ,he Ci,y,had received two letters complain- ing about garbage and trash at a property in the city and that he would be sending Chief Crandall to investigate.
