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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 18, 2007)
Page 12 The INDEPENDENT, January 18, 2007 Officials sworn in, there is still time to apply for council position The January 9 Banks City Council meeting started with the swearing in of recently elected officials. Incumbents Pete Edison, Jason Short and Dan Keller were sworn in for their new four-year terms. Teri Branstitre was sworn in as mayor and Mike Lyda stepped down. Lyda, who did not seek reelection, thanked councilors and city staff for all their hard work during his term, he thanked the citizens for the op- portunity to serve as mayor and he thanked his family for their support over the last two years. Edison was elected to take Branstitre’s place as council president. Her council seat will be filled by appointment at the February council meeting. In- terested parties should fill out an application at city hall. Cur- rently, there are also positions open on the city’s tree board, the parks committee, and the planning commission. Informa- tion on these opportunities is available at city hall. Council will be establishing the tree board as a priority in coming months. Citizen Jodi Boylan ap- peared before council to ask that they look into a means of slowing down traffic on Banks Road, such as installing speed bumps. Boylan explained that, although she has posted speed signs up and down the road, drivers continue to drive too fast. She added that it is a resi- dential area with children and pedestrians, with a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour. Councilor Craig Stewart point- ed out that Banks Road is a county road, making speed bumps a county decision. The Mayor said that she would have the police look into speed con- trol there when the Banks offi- cer is available. Deputy Tran will be assigned to Banks under contract with the Washington County Sher- iff’s Department. He will work 40 hours a week in the city on a varied schedule. Another deputy will work an additional 10 hours a week. Tran is look- ing forward to the position and the chance to get to know peo- ple in the area. He previously worked in Banks as the deputy providing 10 hours of service, so he has some familiarity with the job. An employment contract has been drafted and sent to poten- tial city manager Don Whitman. He has received the document and the city is awaiting his re- sponse. Edison said that he thinks it is “a solid deal” with some minor negotiation before Whitman accepts. Ex-mayor Lyda presented the public works report. He said that permits for the public works building will expire in April. As-built drawings from the stamping engineer need to be submitted to the county in order to receive a certificate of occupancy. LDC was the engi- neer for the building, but they do not know where everything in the building was installed be- cause some work was done by former public works superin- tendent Tim Grossnickle. LDC engineering, now known as Studio Parati Architects, sub- mitted a bid to finalize the doc- uments for $2750. Council ap- proved the contract. Lyda also reported that work on the library is nearly com- plete. Exterior work is awaiting dry weather and the skylights need to be replaced. Council approved $1440 for the con- tractor to replace the three sky- lights. When the project was originally developed, it was not known whether the skylights would need to be replaced. As part of the codification process, council is updating 19 Tough Saws for Tough Jobs! 349 95 MS 290 $ 16” bar 579 95 MS 361 $ 20” bar PRECISION OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT Banks Hardware 503-324-5221 • 150 N. Main Street, Banks STIHL Farm Boss® Chain Saw Our most popular model. Designed for rugged farm use, this powerful unit comes equipped with side- access chain tensioner, STIHL Quickstop® inertia chain brake and an anti-vibration system. MS 361 Chain Saw High-tech engine with advanced anti- vibration technology for very smooth operation. Includes: IntelliCarb™ com- pensating carburetor, side access chain tensioner, toolless fuel and oil caps with retainer, and carburetor preheating system. • Mon - Fri 8am to 6pm • Saturday 8am to 5pm • Sunday 10am to 4pm Teri Branstitre being sworn in as the new Mayor of Banks during the January 9 Banks City Council meeting. ordinances. A first reading of all the ordinances was held with little discussion. Council did discuss an ordinance address- ing the discharge of weapons within the city. The proposed language forbids the firing of “any air gun or weapon which acts by force of gunpowder or other explosive, or by the use of jet or rocket propulsion.” Councilor Dan Keller said that this definition would ban AirSoft guns, which he did not think was necessary. Branstitre and Edison wanted BB guns and pump-action pellet guns to be included in the prohibition. The state definition of a firearm is one that uses gunpowder. Council directed city attorney Jim Lucas to determine how to define the limits. Council is also proposing to update the city charter. They will develop new language and present it for approval by Banks voters. Using a model from the League of Oregon Cities, coun- cil looked at the differences be- tween the model and the cur- rent charter. They are propos- ing two significant changes to the existing charter. One would change how the mayor votes, from voting only to break a tie, to voting on all matters. Lucas said that this is a shift cities of- ten make when they hire a city manager. Council also decided to propose a four-year term for mayor, instead of a two-year term. This change would not af- fect the current mayor’s term. Don’t miss the 2007 International Soup Festival on February 3 It’s almost time for this year’s 2007 International Soup Festival, presented by the Banks Community Foundation. Among the soups featured will be Tom Ka Thai, Italian Tortelli- ni, Chicken Noodle soup and Hawaiian Chili. Dinner will also include New Seasons Market organic bread, coffee/water, plus Texas sheet cake and lemon blueberry cake for dessert. This is an ALL-YOU-CAN- EAT event with delicious soups, many from recipes that are family traditions in our own community. Local musicians Dave Degman, Bare Soul Band, Larry Lee, Ed Trussell, and others, will provide enter- tainment while you enjoy your soup. This great event will be held Saturday, February 3, at the Banks Elementary School cafeteria from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Advance tickets for $8.00 (adult) and $4.00 (child) can be purchased by calling Denise Dethlefs at 503-324-2422. Tickets may also be purchased in the cafeteria on the day of the Festival, for $10.00 (adult) and $5.00 (child). Children five and younger are free. If you are interested in help- ing out at the Soup Festival, please call Denise and volun- teer your time!