The INDEPENDENT, December 4, 2003
Page 13
Special meeting of Banks City Council on Sellers Road, police levy, and city manager
Mayor Bob Orlowski opened
the special meeting of the
Banks City Council, November
25, with the good news that de-
sign for the Sellers Road re-
alignment project would begin
shortly. The city did not receive
grant funding for the project,
but the Oregon Department of
Transportation has budgeted
$200,000 to start the work. Ad-
ditional funding will come from
ODOT and the Port of Tillam-
ook.
Councilor Katie Murdock re-
ported that many of the trees
surrounding the Scout cabin
have dead limbs that could
pose a danger and are in need
of professional attention. Mur-
dock has been researching ar-
borists to prune trees on Main
Street and to assess the health
and condition of the oaks in
Boy Scout Park, and said she
would bring additional informa-
tion to the next meeting. She
also stressed that, if the city is
going to purchase and plant
trees, they must provide for
continued maintenance.
Much of the meeting was
used to discuss ideas for the
maintenance and use of the
Scout cabin and park. Ray
Deeth, speaking as a represen-
tative of three organizations –
Banks Chamber of Commerce,
Banks Community Foundation
and the Banks Historical Soci-
ety – told the council that both
the historical society and the
community foundation have ap-
plied for status as tax-exempt
organizations. He praised three
young people active in the
community foundation but also
noted that there are many citi-
zens who love their town and
are willing to work for improve-
ments.
A town hall meeting was
suggested, where all groups
working on community projects
could exchange ideas and in-
formation, providing an oppor-
tunity for everyone to learn
about the activities of these or-
ganizations. Deeth told council
about plans for decorating the
cabin and park for Christmas,
including a possible visit from
Santa. Kathy Jackson, histori-
cal society genealogist, told
council that the history of
Banks belongs to the communi-
ty and holds the context of the
present and future.
Orlowski noted that Norma
Stewart and Ione Pilate, repre-
senting the historical society,
appeared before council earlier
in the month, with an offer to
manage activities in the cabin.
According to Orlowski, the city
does not have any formal
guidelines for management of
the park and budgets only a
nominal amount for mainte-
nance.
Councilors Pete Edison and
Kirk Andrews suggested that all
activities in the park should be
reviewed by a committee that
could make recommendations
for park use, maintenance,
funding and long range plans.
As suggested, the committee
would be parallel to the
Greenville Park Committee.
Council agreed that, should a
parks levy pass in the future,
the two committees would
merge, creating a single panel
that would allow a broad range
of community participation.
Pilate and Stewart said they
were interested only in the ac-
tivities focused on the cabin.
They would like to become a
“Friends” organization, similar
to the Friends of the Library,
and not be required to adminis-
ter all activities in the park. Or-
lowski said that an organization
like that could be part of a parks
committee and that Pilate and
Stewart would have the oppor-
tunity to participate on the com-
mittee. Stewart declined, say-
ing that “…would not work” and
left the meeting with Pilate.
Council will continue the dis-
cussion next month.
Police levy considered
Returning to ongoing council
discussions of police depart-
ment funding, Orlowski said
that placement of a statewide
tax initiative on the March ballot
might draw enough local voters
to meet the 50 percent-plus-
one needed to pass a levy for
Banks police funding. As city
leaders, Orlowski said, the
council needs to keep this is-
sue in front of voters. He said
that voters are confused about
whether the levy passed, and
that continued efforts are need-
ed about the reason for the
levy. Orlowski said that the levy,
which received a high percent-
age of favorable votes in both
previous attempts, was 60 vot-
ers short of the double majority
on the first attempt and 28 vot-
ers short on the second.
Council
President
Teri
Branstitre said that her initial
response to the failure of the
levy was a fear that voters
would get “burned out” if the
levy was proposed again in
March. She had revised that
opinion, however, and agreed
that the levy may take several
efforts to pass and should be
kept on the ballot. A majority of
people voted in favor of the
levy, Edison said, and the
council would be “letting those
voters down” if they did not fol-
low-up.
Council voted, unanimously,
to put the measure on the
March ballot, this time as a
four-year levy so future re-
newals would coincide with
presidential elections, when the
double majority is not required.
City manager studied
Council appointed to a com-
mittee to study the feasibility of
hiring a city manager. The com-
mittee, composed of Mark
Ward and Wes Wingship,
Councilors Pete Edison and
Ryan Birr, and public works su-
perintendent Tim Grossnickle,
will begin meeting next week.
F OR A LL Y OUR H OLIDAY N EEDS
Candies • Cookies • Cards
Baked Goods • Holiday Videos
Holiday Decorations • Tinsel
Ornaments • Lights • Candles
Stocking Stuffers and More!
Santa is Coming!
Saturday Dec. 20th
11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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