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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2008)
The INDEPENDENT, August 21, 2008 Page 5 Council hears from citizens, sets date for public hearing on hiring After an executive session at a special council meeting on August 6, the Vernonia City Council voted to accept a cash offer of $67,000 for 919 Bridge St. (known as old City Hall). The property was originally list- ed for $150,000, but council subsequently asked for a new appraisal of the property that would take into account the current condition of the building and that the portion now hous- ing a realty office would be re- moved to allow sidewalk ac- cess to the courtyard of the Vernonia Community Learning Center. The current appraisal was for $85,000. In accepting the offer of $67,000, Council cited potential loss of value if the building sits empty through winter, and oth- er reasons (For more informa- tion see “Council accepts offer for old City Hall,” page 1). At the August 18 council meeting, Council passed a res- olution giving Interim City Ad- ministrator Jim Johnson author- ity to sign the closing papers for the sale, which is expected to close by the end of this month. In Mayor Sally Harrison’s ab- sence, the meeting was chaired by Council President Steve Whiteman. Also at the August 18 meet- ing, citizen Gene Winningham suggested that, except for Hwy 47 (Bridge St.), Vernonia streets should be designed to allow for pedestrian sidewalks on one side and multi-use (skateboards, bikes, scooters, wheelchairs and golf carts) on the other. Winningham told council that, by ordinance, sidewalks are required on only one side of the street. He added that he has talked to someone who has agreed to write a grant for this and that this would allow Vernonia to be- come a “mecca for retired and people who use alternate trans- portation.” Since Winningham spoke during the Topics from the Floor portion of the meet- ing, council is not required to take action and did not do so. Sandy DeWeber of D.A.D.s Recycling gave council an up- date of their progress in meet- ing the move deadline of Au- gust 31. She told council they met with DEQ, Jim Johnson, and Joann Glass on Tuesday, August 12, and are working on their suggestions, plus getting the grass mowed on the land they are looking at so they will know the actual property boundaries. Leonard Simmons told coun- cil that he has met with Mr. Johnson a couple of times and that Johnson apologized to him for the way the city has treated him. Simmons said he appreci- ated the apology. He had previ- ously told Council about his is- sue with the city turning his wa- ter off after he stopped paying Rep. Wu returns to Vernonia to meet with residents State Sen. Betsy Johnson and Congressman Davis Wu dis- cuss local topics at meeting in Vernonia. Congressman David Wu was in Vernonia August 8, after having visited Scappoose on August 7, going door to door to talk to citizens. In Vernonia, Wu first joined the Oregon Solu- tions meeting held that morning at the Scout Cabin, before heading to Black Bear Coffee Company in search of Vernoni- ans, who were in short supply at 10:00 a.m. on that Friday. At the Oregon Solutions meeting, Wu heard that many Vernonians were frustrated by the length of time it is taking to get a site and the funding need- ed to move Vernonia schools out of the flood plain. Wu told The Independent over coffee that he, “understands the frus- tration of people who had wet basements and whose kids were bussed to Scappoose. “It’s my job to be an advo- cate for Vernonia…the om- budsman. A lot of that is finding the right box, the right fit. Tradi- tionally, schools have been a local responsibility. If we can find the right box, like the $200,000 for technology and equipment that is under threat of veto, we can help,” he went on to say. Before leaving for other stops on his schedule, Wu said, “I’ve been working on a lot of things that don’t get much at- tention, like solar power. I ob- tained funding for community college training for solar instal- lation. And, put together an amendment to use biomass – not corn or sugar that we can eat – but focusing on using dead trees (which we have a lot of) and do more research to use the entire plant.” Additional town halls From page 1 first meetings. In general, the information provided pointed to the need for each flood-affected home- owner to work closely with the Columbia County Flood Relief staff on their specific situation. Another meeting is sched- uled for September 22. Watch for information on time and place. the extra $12.00 fee, while Aldie Howard was interim city administrator. Council agreed with a pro- posal presented by Police Chief Mat Workman to have the city attorney draft a resolution adding a Training Fee to fines imposed by the Justice Court for crimes and violations within the City of Vernonia. This sys- tem is already in place in Scap- poose ($30) and St. Helens ($20), and is used for police training and training-related ex- penses. Workman cited the in- creasing amount of training, and associated costs, being re- quired of police officers as the reason for the request. In other business, council; • approved an amended ver- sion of a Recruitment Profile that will be used in the hiring process for the City Administra- tor position. • heard from Johnson that city planners from other areas (including Washington County and Beaverton) have agreed to serve on a steering committee to work on Vernonia’s Master Plan. • agreed that Johnson should continue to attend meet- ings of the Vernonia Communi- ty Learning Center committee. The next regular meeting of the Vernonia City Council will be September 2 (Tuesday due to Labor Day), at 7:00 p.m., at City Hall, and will start with a public hearing to take public in- put on position requirements for the city administrator hiring process.
