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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2006)
Page 4 The INDEPENDENT, September 21, 2006 History and usage of SDCs explained From page 1 There are two fees; reim- bursement fees which may be spent on capital improvements to the system (so sewer fees for sewer improvements, but not for stormwater, for exam- ple), including debt service; and Improvement fees to be spent only on capacity-increas- ing capital improvements, also including debt service. ORS 223.297-314 specifies what can and can’t legally be done with SDC funds and how they can be set. The math for figuring out how much to charge is fairly simple, using the amount ex- pected to be spent on improve- ments, multiplied by the antici- pated percent increase in us- age, and divided by the number of equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) expected, to come up with an outside cost. City Coun- cils then decide how much of that amount to use for the SDC. Pigott used the wastewater project and the wastewater SDC as an example, using the $9.6 million anticipated cost, times 26 percent (for the addi- tional wastewater flow the new system will handle) divided by 589 (which is 29 new EDU’s per year for the next 20 years. This is the projected increased wastewater capacity needed by 2027), to come up with a wastewater SDC of $4,238. Once the collection system is put through the same math, the total wastewater SDC comes up to $5,749. If Vernonia actu- ally adopted an SDC of $5,749, it would be one of the highest SDC’s in Oregon. Pigott said that the amount would be differ- ent if Vernonia passes a bond measure which would de- crease the cost of the project that would be funded by rates and SDCs. Pigott went on to say that SDC’s should be re- viewed each year, based on the amounts collected and the amounts expended, and ad- justed accordingly. “Housekeeping” issues take the attention of Vernonia Council Vernonia City Council took care of a number of house- keeping issues at their Sep- tember 18 meeting. They ap- proved the termination of the Interim City Administrator con- tract now that Dick Kline has been hired under a regular con- tract; changes to Ordinance 711 to allow for bed and break- fast operations in the city and fixed a typographical error (25,000 square feet vs. 2,500 per dwelling unit); changed the city’s employee handbook to more closely match paid time off language in the city’s union contracts; and transferred funds within the Learning Cen- ter budget with no net change. In other business: • George Tice, representing the Public Works Committee, told council that there will be a meeting of the committee on Wednesday, September 27, at 5:30 p.m. starting with a tour of the wastewater project. • council approved closures of Adams Ave. and Park Dr. on October 7, for Salmon Festival. • council gave consensus for a letter to be sent to Columbia County Animal Control which formally allows them to enforce county animal control ordi- nances within the City Limits. The next regularly sched- uled City Council meeting will be at 7:00 p.m., on October 2, at City Hall. Pilot project info has potential for cost savings From page 1 the cost of this phase down by between one and $1.5 million before starting the final stage of the project. There is currently a pilot project running with two different membrane systems to determine which works better in Vernonia. At this time of year, algae is a factor in the lagoons so the pilot project will deter- mine which membrane can handle the algae and can run most efficiently under actual Vernonia conditions. If one of the piloted systems is chosen, the cost of the pilot for that sys- tem (two percent of the system Community Calendar VERNONIA Al-Anon Fridays 7:00 p.m. Grange Hall 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 Friends of the Library 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library Hands On Art Committee 1st & 3rd Thursdays 4:00 p.m., City Hall 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 Public Works Committee 2nd & 4th Wednesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall 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 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 7:00 p.m., WGS Library Vernonia Grange 3rd Monday 7:00 p.m., Grange Hall Vernonia Health Center 2nd Monday 6:00 p.m., 510 Bridge St. Vernonia Learning Center 1st & Last Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Parks Committee 3rd Tuesday 6:30 p.m., City Hall 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 2nd 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 S 3 10 17 24 cost) will be credited toward the purchase cost. Both systems are in use at other wastewater treatment facilities, but none of those facilities needs are iden- tical. The pilot projects will run through mid- or late October. SEPTEMBER 2006 T W T F 1 5 6 4 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 18 19 20 21 22 25 26 27 28 29 M S 2 9 16 23 30 S 1 8 15 22 29 M 2 9 16 23 30 OCTOBER T W 3 4 10 11 17 18 24 25 31 2006 T 5 12 19 26 F 6 13 20 27 S 7 14 21 28 S M 5 12 19 26 6 13 20 27 WOEC Directors 3rd Tuesday 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 NOVEMBER T W 1 7 8 14 15 21 22 28 29 2006 T 2 9 16 23 30 F 3 10 17 24 S 4 11 18 25 7:00 p.m., WOEC 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 7:00 p.m., Methodist Church Alcoholics Anonymous Wednesdays 7:30 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. 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.
