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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2004)
The INDEPENDENT, July 15, 2004 Page 3 Letters Review of efforts to build a Senior Center To the Editor: I have received several calls to verify rumors surrounding the planned new senior center. Clearly it is time to review progress on the project. Between the Bookends By Nancy Burch, Librarian Vernonia Public Library Summer reading will be continuing through Jam- boree weekend with the li- brary’s entry in the annual parade bringing the pro- grams to a conclusion. Youngsters are encour- aged to complete their reading goals with prizes being awarded until Au- gust 18th. Yet to come are sessions at 10 a.m. on July 21, July 28 and August 4 as well as the special visit by Aunt Lena (Anne-Louise Sterry) at 7:00 p.m. on July 21. Ms. Sterry is an extraor- dinary performer whose joy in storytelling and singing is contagious. Young and old alike are encouraged to attend this “untold story of Lena, the Italian girl, and her part in the Lewis and Clark expedition.” The event will be sponsored by The Friends of the Library. Saturday, July 31, from 9-12 will be the final chance to drop off books for the annual book sale sponsored by The Friends of the Library. The sale and book drop will take place at Glen Purvee’s building (the old bowling alley). The By Ann Krutsinger, Library Assistant Banks Public Library The Banks Public Li- brary has had to readjust our hours because of fis- cal concerns. The Wash- ington County Library Levy passed, but ultimate- ly failed because of light voter turn out. Because of this, our open hours have been reduced by one hour per day. Starting July 1, we will be opening at 12 noon instead of 11 a.m. on our regular open days. We will still be open Tuesday through Sat- urday. We will continue to be closed on Sundays and Mondays. We are sorry for any inconven- ience this might cause. Summer Reading Programming is underway! Join us Thursdays at 2:00 p.m. Your child can enter a weekly drawing and win a beautiful hard- back book! Just fill out one of the entry forms at the library with the name of a recently read book and drop it in the box! Drawings are held weekly before the start of the program, but you don’t need to be present to win. If you missed the first two programs, you can still join us for the remainder of the stimulating Summer Reading Program. Summer Reading Sign-ups continue through July 17th. July 22 – BJ The Clown: He’s back! Summer wouldn’t be summer at the library without BJ’s latest fun-filled show! July 29 – Angel Ocasio: A very funny and high- energy one-man act. His performances combine physical comedy, jokes, magic and more! sale will take place on Saturday of Jamboree weekend from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., with the last hour being a bag sale (all you can get in a bag for a $1.00). Winning tickets for the four raf- fle prizes will be drawn at 5:00 p.m. This is the main money-raising event of this organization. Your continued support is appreciated and you’re sure to find some great books at only 25 cents each. Recently donated to The Friends of the Li- brary and designated for children’s education, anything to encourage young people to develop their reading skills or desire to read, was a gen- erous check from the Mark & Helena Great- house Family Fund. Mark Greathouse is a son of Kathryn Malmsten, a longtime Vernonia resident. This much appreciated gift will be used for chil- dren’s nonfiction materials, audio books and ad- ditional beginning reader books. Vernonia Public Library: 701 Weed Ave. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Tues., Thur. 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Mondays, 10:30 a.m., when school is in session. Phone: (503 ) 429-1818 August 5 – Creature Feature: Steve Lattanzi is a well-traveled reptile naturalist. He will share a wide variety of live reptiles from all over the world. Participants can choose their own reading goal for the summer. Starting August 1st you can bring in your completed reading record and choose a brand new book from our supply of re- ward books. Verizon, State Farm Insurance Co. and Wells Fargo Bank sponsor the purchase of the reward books. In addition to the Summer Programs, Pre- school Story time will continue every Wednes- day at 10:15 a.m. through July. Preschool Story time will remain at 10:15 a.m. Attention all adult readers! New books are in! The Bill Clinton autobiography My Life should provide hours of entertainment. Other new books include D.W. Buffa’s newest, Breach of Trust, Larry McMurtry’s final book in the Berry- bender Saga series Folly and Glory, and a new Ann B. Ross book, Miss Julia Meets Her Match. Be sure to get on the waiting list for the newest Janet Evanovich Ten Big Ones. Happy summer reading! Banks Public Library: 111 Market Street. Hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs., 12 - 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 12 - 5 p.m. Preschool Story Time: Wednesdays, 10:15 a.m., through July. Phone: (503 ) 324-1382 Internet: www.WILInet.wccls.lib.or.us. to browse library resources or to reserve materials electronically. Our work over the last sever- al years has been aimed at identifying and obtaining a fea- sible site for the new Center. Af- ter much research, we conclud- ed that a site just west of Ver- nonia Lake was the best place for the project. The site is set back from the path around the lake because of city plans to add parking at the lake and ad- jacent property in the city’s park system. An access road and sewer facilities required by the new Senior Center will use part of that property. At this point, we needed to determine who would be the owner of the proj- ect. I am told that projects fund- ed using a Community Devel- opment Block Grant, like the new Senior Center, are typical- ly owned by a city or county. As budgets have become tighter in recent years, many municipali- ties have preferred that owner- ship of such projects be vested in the user organization or an intermediary. This is said to bring a sense of fiscal responsi- bility to these organizations, encouraging volunteer mainte- nance along with reasonable contributions to sinking funds for future repairs. It also takes the cities off the hook if a prob- lem occurs. The downside to this strategy is that many small organizations have limited fi- nancial capacity to respond to unforeseen events. As we began arranging own- ership documents, city staff conveyed their preference for the Seniors to be the owner of the new building. After review- ing their options, the Senior Center board voted to ask Co- lumbia County Self Help, Inc. to act as its intermediary, accept- ing ownership of the project un- til a sufficient cash reserve has been accumulated and both can be transferred to the sen- iors. Self Help is a charitable non- profit that Rocky Johnson, Community Action Team’s ex- ecutive director, formed 20 years ago specifically as a real estate holding company. Self Help’s mission is to assist area non-profits by reducing their space costs. In addition to Johnson, the Self Help board includes Circuit Court Judge Ted Grove, former Columbia River PUD General Manager Fergus Pilon, former Columbia County Assessor Tom Linhares and former County Commis- sioner and State Representa- tive Bruce Hugo. Community Action Team staff acts as staff to the Self Help board. In addi- tion to CAT’s offices, Self Help purchased and owned the Co- lumbia Pacific Food Bank build- ing in St. Helens for more than ten years until the food bank asked to purchase it. During the last several months important questions and reservations held by our board, City Council and the Self Help board have been an- swered. An option agreement is being prepared for review by all concerned. We expect to have it approved and executed early in August. At that point, we can begin raising funds. Because our project also in- cludes a new home for Vernon- ia Cares, it is larger than most new senior centers. We expect it to cost close to $1 million. The city can request $600,000 from the state in the form of a Community Development Block Grant. That means we will need to raise approximately $400,000 in other funds to complete the project. That is very ambitious, but we are opti- mistic that we will eventually be successful. A few weeks ago, Jim Tier- ney, who has been staffing the project for us, was approached by members of the Hands on Art board with the possibility that they might also find a home in this new building. Jim listened and explained that our board would have to approve such a change, and that our fund plan was already aggres- sive. He also said that Vernon- ia Cares should be consulted. Jim tells me that the issue was expected to be raised at the Hands on Art board meeting and that they would get back to us. Later that day he provided the same information to the City Council. Although we con- tinue to field rumors on the sub- ject, the Senior Board has not yet heard from Hands on Art and we consider it just specula- tion at this point. I hope this report will help al- leviate the many rumors that are circulating about the new Center. Anyone who is con- cerned or curious is welcome to call me at 503-429-3912 or Tierney at 503-366-6575. Bill James, President Vernonia Senior Center
