Page 14
The INDEPENDENT, August 19, 2004
Banks puts parks levy on ballot, discusses police department
Banks City Council agreed,
at their August 10 meeting, to
place a four-year park levy on
the November ballot. The levy
would provide funds for the
maintenance needs of Green-
ville Park and Scout Cabin
Park. The levy amount will be
75 cents per $1,000 of as-
sessed property value and
would generate approximately
$186,000 over four years. If ap-
proved, revenue from the levy
would not be received until De-
cember, 2005.
Annual maintenance costs
for Greenville Park are about
$30,000 for mowing, litter re-
moval, landscaping, and irriga-
tion. The levy would provide
about $13,000 per year for park
improvements.
Police qualifications
discussed
Orlowski told council that the
judge of the municipal court in
North Plains had questioned
the qualifications and certifica-
tion of Banks Police Depart-
ment officers. According to Or-
lowski, the judge’s concerns
were due, in part, to misinfor-
mation and that both full time
and reserve officers are work-
ing to comply with other issues
raised by the judge. A final con-
cern will be addressed when
the department’s remaining of-
ficer attends police academy in
late September.
Councilor Katie Murdock
suggested re-hiring Bruce
Bringman in order to meet the
city’s need for a certified officer.
She told council that she would
like the mayor and two council
members to “enter into discus-
sion [with Bringman] about re-
turning him to the force.”
Orlowski responded that re-
hiring an officer who had re-
signed “was a questionable
management practice.” Coun-
cilor Kirk Andrews said that he
was “OK with [the city not being
able to] provide good coverage
until the levy passes,” as a nat-
ural consequence of the inade-
quate voter participation need-
ed to pass the levy.
Andrews also said that the
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previously approved timeline
for hiring a chief, passing the
levy and allowing a new chief to
rebuild the department should
be followed. There was no ac-
tion on Murdock’s request.
Council also discussed the
process designed by a sub-
committee for hiring a new
chief. The committee, chaired
by Murdock and including Or-
lowski and Teri Branstitre, has
worked to develop a process
that will allow applicants to be
evaluated impartially. After re-
viewing all applications against
the advertised requirements,
the top four or five candidates
will be interviewed by a panel
of police professionals from
throughout the county, and a
panel of community members
including representatives of lo-
cal businesses and school dis-
trict, and the mayor. The city
will host a reception for the top
applicants on the same day
that interviews are scheduled,
to allow councilors an opportu-
nity to meet the candidates.
There will also be a visit by at
least one member of the hiring
committee to each candidate’s
current work place. The closing
date to apply is August 30.
Skate Park Update
Council member Pete Edi-
son agreed to serve as liaison
to a committee that is studying
the feasibility of building a facil-
ity for skateboarders in Banks.
Last month, a group of young
people asked the council to
consider development of a
skate park. At that time it was
suggested that the Banks Com-
munity Foundation (BCF) may
be interested in the project.
Denise Dethlefs, chairman
of BCF, explained that the Ford
Foundation program is a four-
year program, not just a one-
time training and that BCF will
be working in the program for
another three years.
“They love building skate
parks or doing anything that
benefits kids,” Dethlef said.
BCF could help apply for
grants to build the facility, she
added, explaining that the max-
imum award for a capitol proj-
ect of this kind was 40 percent
of the total cost. The communi-
ty would have to provide the re-
mainder through a combination
of other grant funds, in-kind
and material donations and
cash from fundraising.
According to Dethlefs, proj-
ects of this sort generally take
at least two years to complete.
BCF would be available to help
the city with community out-
reach and publicity.
Water Rights workshop
Orlowski and public works
superintendent Tim Grossnick-
le attended a workshop with
representatives of the city of
North Plains, engineers from
both cities and a Certified Wa-
ter Rights Examiner (CWRE) to
discuss water rights. Tom
Michalek, CWRE, said that
both cities have existing water
rights in the permit stage. Both
began the process in the early
‘90s but did not complete it.
Michalek recommended that
they move toward securing full
certification. A water right would
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allow each city to pump up to
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Resources Department has in-
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transferring a portion of the wa-
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North Plains is in the
process of securing water from
another source, due to an ex-
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of contamination. When that
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about six months, it will be
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amount of their current water
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