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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2008)
The INDEPENDENT, August 7, 2008 Page 5 Business Notes Col-Pac receives grants for storm-related small business loans Col-Pac has received two grants, $199,000 technical as- sistance funding and $499,000 loan funding, targeting small companies with storm damage and/or business interruption and those companies needing to “storm-proof” for future weather events. Over 80% of NW Oregon’s economy is small business, with relatively limited resources for recovering from significant weather events such as the severe December 2007 storm. Given the likelihood of future storm events, this fund- ing will provide counseling on business recovery and loans to implement needed recovery or storm-proofing projects. Col-Pac will be partnering with Clatsop Economic Devel- opment Resources (CEDR) in Clatsop County, the Economic Development Council of Tillam- ook County (EDCTC) and Co- lumbia County to identify affect- ed small businesses and work with them on providing techni- cal assistance and/or loan funding. Technical assistance and loan funding will be avail- able through June 2009. “These two grants will signif- Confusing flood zones explained by Jill Hult, Columbia County Flood Relief It is easy to get confused and ask why areas designated as 100-year and 500-year floodplains have flooded twice in 11 years. It is a continuing effort of Co- lumbia County Flood Relief (CCFR) to better educate our community on all matters of flooding and what it means for now and into the future. When examining the flood- plain, there are more accurate terms to define what the 100- year and 500-year floodplain truly are. Preferably, the 100-year floodplain is referred to as zone A or a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). As we can attest, it does not mean a flood will oc- cur only once every 100 years. An area designated as flood zone A means there is a one (1) percent chance of flooding per year. In the same vein, a 500-year floodplain referred to as zone X has a 0.2 percent chance of flooding per year. There are subtle but distinct differences between the flood zones within the Vernonia city limits and those unincorporated rural areas in the County. Briefly, Vernonia has flood zones AE and X. This simply means elevations determined by detailed methods such as a hydraulic analysis are attached to the AE zone to establish a Base Flood Elevation (BFE) or Please see page 22 Public input wanted on hazard plan A meeting for public input and review of the Columbia County Hazard Mitigation plan will be Wednesday, August 13, at 10:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. at the Emergency Commu- nications District office, 58611 McNulty Way, St. Helens. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing technical assis- tance to Columbia County to facilitate the update of our ex- isting natural hazards mitiga- tion plan to a multi-jurisdiction- al hazard mitigation plan. The following jurisdictions have designated steering commit- tees, completed the hazard screening process, and gath- ered data to analyze the risk associated with the hazards af- fecting the people and property in the following jurisdictions: Columbia County, St. Helens, Columbia City, Scappoose, Clatskanie, Rainier, Prescott, and the Vernonia area. All interested parties are en- couraged to attend one of the three informational sessions presenting the results of the risk assessment. This opportu- nity for public participation is designed to describe the plan- ning process to date; natural and technological hazards identified to occur in your com- munity; people and property at risk from each hazard; goals your community wants to achieve; and mitigation actions or projects your community can implement to reduce or miti- gate the risks associated with the hazards. icantly enhance NW Oregon’s business retention and expan- sion activities, and provide long-term self-sustainability to our regional economy,” stated Mark Labhart, President of Col- Pac and Tillamook County Commissioner. Mark Simmons, Oregon Director for USDA added, “We are pleased that NW Oregon’s funding applica- tions were successful, as as- sisting small businesses is a core component of USDA’s Rural Development mission. Columbia-Pacific Economic Development District (Col-Pac) includes Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook and western Wash- ington counties. Information about Col-Pac, its meetings, and its deliberations can be found at NWOregon.org.
