Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 2005)
Page 4 The INDEPENDENT, August 18, 2005 Vernonia Council hears ways to change vacant downtown buildings Vernonia City Council held a workshop at the beginning of their August 15 meeting to dis- cuss vacant or warehoused structures in the downtown business district. Jeff Bennett, attorney at Jordan Schrader PC, told council there are three basic alternatives to getting more downtown buildings occu- pied; one is to use the city nui- sance ordinance, though that only gets owners to repair dan- gerous buildings. Bennett said he “wouldn’t recommend this as an effective means of get- ting buildings back into the marketplace unless they have lots of trash inside or vermin,” because the owners can clean them up and still not rent or sell. Another alternative, with similar problems, is to use the building code on dangerous buildings. Once again, this just addresses safety issues. A third alternative is to use eminent domain, whereby the city can take a building to fur- ther a plan for development. “Use this judiciously and care- fully,” Bennett said, “as it can be perceived as being unfairly applied and you can make ene- mies, but if you have an eco- nomic development plan, it can be done.” Another element identified with the use of emi- nent domain is that the city must have funds to pay the owner fair market value for any property taken in this way. Another method identified is through development of an Ur- ban Renewal District. This can be expensive to set up and can also be politically charged as there are taxes levied to make this happen. Bennett went on to say that trying to gain building owners’ cooperation is a good way to start and will work in some cas- es. Some cities are adopting plans that offer tax incentives instead of tax penalties, offer- ing owners tax abatement for a specific period if the owners al- low the building to be occupied. Council decided that, short term, they want to meet and talk with building owners. For a long term, they would like to see an economic development plan or Urban Renewal District set up. Rebecca McGaugh gave an update on the status of wildlife at Vernonia Lake since the Jamboree fireworks, reporting that the family of wood ducks and the young green herons are gone, only a fraction of the red-winged blackbirds remain and the fireworks ignited a small fire on property across the Nehalem River that was put out by property owners. Mc- Gaugh said she hoped the council would soon adopt a res- olution banning fireworks at the lake. Casey Mitchell spoke up with an alternative view, saying the fireworks were fantastic, that he walks around the lake every day and is still seeing herons and blackbirds and that Community Calendar VERNONIA Alcoholics Anonymous Mondays 6:30 p.m., Head Start Bldg. Alcoholics Anonymous Saturdays 7:00 p.m., Head Start Bldg. American Legion Post #119 2nd Thursday 627 Adams Avenue Arts & Crafts Society 2nd Thursday 2:00 p.m., City Library Booster Club 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., VHS Library Boy Scout Troop 201 Tuesdays 7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin Boy Scout Troop 860 Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., LDS Church Cemetery Beautification Comm. 2nd Thursday 7:00 p.m., Leonetti’s Grill CERT 4th Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-6033 Chamber of Commerce 2nd Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-6081 Community Coalition 2nd Monday 12:30 p.m. School District Ofc. Cub Scout Pack 201 Scout Cabin For Info Call 503-429-8133 Doll Club 4th Tuesday 1:00 p.m., Senior Center Friends of the Library 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library Hands On Art Committee 1st & 3rd Thursdays 7:00 p.m., Head Start Bldg. Izaak Walton League 3rd Thursday For location call 503-429-7193 Lions Club 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 6:30 p.m., Buckhorn Restaurant Nehalem Valley Car Club For Info Call 503-429-4074 Pioneer Museum For Info Call 503-429-3713 Preschool Story Hour Mondays 10:30 a.m., City Library Upper Nehalem C.P.A.C. 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Venturing Crew 201 1st & 3rd Thursdays 5:30 p.m., Buckhorn Restaurant Vernonia Airport Committee 3rd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Cares Directors For Info call 503-429-1414 Vernonia City Council 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Community PTA 3rd Thursday 6:30 p.m., WGS Library Vernonia Grange 4th Saturday 10:30 a.m., Grange Hall Vernonia Health Center 2nd Monday 6:00 p.m., 510 Bridge St. Vernonia Planning Comm. 1st & 3rd Thursdays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Pride 3rd Thursday 1:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Ridge Riders Last Thursday 7:00 p.m., Senior Center Vernonia RFPD Board 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia School Board 2nd Thursday 6:00 p.m., District Office Vernonia Sr. Center Board 3rd Friday 1:00 p.m., Senior Center Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Thursday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station WOEC Directors 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., WOEC S 7 14 21 28 M 1 8 15 22 29 he hopes the fireworks are held at the lake again. Vernonia Senior Center President Bill James told coun- cil that the Center’s board of di- rectors decided, by one vote, that they would prefer the new center be built on property by Vernonia Lake. City Administra- tor Robyn Bassett will meet with the owners of the property, seniors and Community Action Team personnel, to start finding ways to bring roads and utilities to the site. Council tabled a written re- quest from Vernonia School District Superintendent Michael Funderburg for a credit against development charges for the new school building. The re- quest was based on the fact that Lincoln Grade School ex- isted before development charges were implemented and that the new school is a re- placement. Council will review the appropriate ordinances and consider this request at the AUGUST 2005 T W T 3 2 4 10 11 9 16 17 18 23 24 25 30 31 F 5 12 19 26 S 6 13 20 27 S 4 11 18 25 SEPTEMBER 2005 T W T F 2 1 5 6 8 7 9 12 13 14 15 16 19 20 21 22 23 26 27 28 29 30 M next meeting. In a vote with only Councilor Randy Parrow opposed, Sys- tem Development Charges (SDC) were increased from $6,311 to $7,826 for new devel- opment. On a table showing SDCs in nine Oregon cities with populations under 5,000, Ver- nonia currently charges less than all but one city. The most expensive was St. Paul, with SDCs of $14,500. Develop- ment charges help pay for streets, stormwater, water, wastewater and parks. In other business, council approved the loan of a city backhoe and operator to get utilities to the Booster building behind the school – the Boost- ers have free paving coming but need the utilities dug in first. Council approved Vernonia Police Chief Workman’s re- quest to declare one of the po- lice cars surplus so it can be sold, and heard that Jamboree Please see page 5 OCTOBER 2005 S 3 10 17 24 2 9 16 23 30 MIST-BIRKENFELD M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg. 2nd Tuesday M-BRFPD Board Workshop 4th Tuesday M-B Ambulance Drill 1st & 2nd Thursdays M-B Fire Drill 1st & 2nd Wednesdays M-B Helping Circle 2nd Monday M-B SAR Drill 3rd Wednesday M-B Volunteer Assoc. 1st Tuesday Natal Grange 2nd Wednesday T.O.P.S. Mondays Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-2401 3 10 17 24 31 4 11 18 25 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 7 14 21 28 1 8 15 22 29 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall 6:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station BANKS Alcoholics Anonymous Fridays 8:00 p.m., Methodist Church American Legion Post #90 2nd Tuesdays 7:30 p.m., Main Street Post Banks City Council 2nd Tuesday 7:30 p.m., City Hall Banks Fire District #13 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., Station 13 Banks Planning Commission Last Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Banks School Board 2nd Monday 7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library Banks Youth Group Sundays, Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg. Chamber of Commerce 1st Thursday 12:30 p.m., Fire District Office CPO 14 3rd Monday 7:00 p.m., City Library Friends of the Library 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Library Lions Club 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., Brown Derby Sunset Park Assoc. 3rd Wednesday 8:00 p.m., Gun Club T.O.P.S. Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg. Women’s Aglow 2nd Thursday 7:00 p.m., City Library COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.) Board of Commissioners Wednesdays 10 a.m., Courthouse Citizens for Senior Justice 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church Columbia Soil & Water District 3rd Wednesday 7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes County Fair Board 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg. County Parks Commission 3rd Monday 6:00 p.m., 1054 Oregon St. Mental Health Advisory Comm. 3rd Tuesday 10 a.m., 2nd Floor, Courthouse Comm. on Children & Families 3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 550 N. Hwy. 30 Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm. 2nd Tuesday 3:00 p.m., 2nd Floor, Courthouse Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.
