The INDEPENDENT, November 6, 2008
Page 13
Banks Council told Banks Municipal Court could start in December
An ordinance establishing
an election ordinance was de-
clared an emergency at the Oc-
tober 14 Banks City Council
Meeting. With no candidate on
the ballot for the city of Banks
mayor position and the rules for
write-in candidates differing
from those nominated for elec-
tive offices, the city adopted the
emergency ordinance to en-
sure that the guidelines are
equal.
Greg Stone, from the Citi-
zens for Banks Schools, gave a
presentation on Bond Measure
34-157, the Banks School Dis-
trict Proposed Solution to pro-
vide safe classrooms, add ad-
ditional classrooms to meet
state testing requirements, fire
and life safety systems to meet
current code and security of
student safety, and additional
physical education space for
student education and commu-
nity use. The geographic terri-
tory of the Banks School Dis-
trict covers 450 square miles.
“This is not a knee-jerk deci-
sion,” Stone reiterated through-
out his presentation, but has
been in the works for two years.
The $25.5 million bond meas-
ure is “not just a desire or
whim,” he emphasized, “the
State of Oregon went around
and evaluated all the schools –
Banks Jr. High School rated a
minus one on the scale of one
through ten.”
Councilor Pete Edison inter-
jected that the plan is pretty
cool. Student parking, bus turn
around, and parent pick up are
away from the new learning
plaza so the campus gets no
traffic – at no time does a stu-
dent cross with vehicle traffic
while on the campus. Edison
noted.
If the ballot measure passes,
the construction is slated to
commence July 2009, with an
estimated completion date of
fall 2010. Stone commented
that when he was in school, he
had a new school built for him
and it is now time to build one
for our children.
Tours of the school facilities,
including a walkthrough of the
bowels of the buildings, are
available on Thursdays by con-
tacting Superintendent Marv
Ott.
Mayor Teri Branstitre en-
couraged the community to
vote on this issue even if regis-
tered voters do not vote on oth-
er measures – Branstitre re-
minded folks that they can pick
and choose issues on the ballot
when they are voting – qualified
voters are not required to vote
on each and every issue.
A report on preparations for
the Banks Municipal Court not-
ed that the court system soft-
ware is ready and a municipal
judge has been appointed.
Council approved a resolution
authorizing the court to interact
with the state courts system
and the Law Enforcement Data
System (LEDS). Branstitre
asked what the projected time
period is for the court to be up
and running. City staff believe
that it can be operational by
December or January, with
court on the third Wednesday
of every month.
Planning Commission Liai-
Super Quiet
Portable Power
Senate Bill 583, the Oregon
Identity Theft Protection Act
(OITPA). The law requires that
a policy be in place by Novem-
ber 1. The objective of OITPA is
to safeguard personal informa-
tion. It includes protection for
Social Security numbers, notifi-
cation of security breach, and
proper disposal of personal in-
formation.
At the annual meeting of the
League of Oregon Cities, the
City of Banks was presented
with two gold medal awards, for
the city’s safety record and
wellness promotion, from City
County Insurance Services. –
one of six cities to receive two
gold medal awards. City Man-
ager Jim Hough commented
that other cities received
bronze and silver awards, but
only six cities received two
prestigious gold medal awards.
City Recorder Jolynn Becker
administered the oath of office
to returning City Councilor
Ryan Birr and to Washington
County Deputy Sheriff Kevin
Mitcham.
Deputy Tran appeared to re-
port on police activity for the
city for the month of Septem-
ber. According to Tran, there
were 33 calls for service within
the city, and four arrests; 31
traffic stops resulted in six cita-
son Sam VanDyke gave an up-
date of issues facing the plan-
ning commission. A big issue is
difficulty in making up a quo-
rum. VanDyke is one of the
commissioners who resides
outside the city limits and, cur-
rently, is not a voting member
because of the way the plan-
ning commission ordinance is
written. According to VanDyke,
the commission held a hearing
on September 30 to consider
ordinance revisions regarding
voting membership and profes-
sional restrictions.
In a public hearing, staff pre-
sented the planning commis-
sion’s draft revised ordinance,
which would expand the voting
make-up of the commission to
seven and permit up to two
planning commissioners to re-
side outside the city limits, but
within the Urban Growth
Boundary (UGB) and the
Banks Urban Reserve area.
With vacancies on the planning
commission, the revised ordi-
nance would make it easier to
have a quorum at commission
meetings. After closing the
hearing, council deliberated
and held the first reading of the
amended ordinance.
Council approved a resolu-
tion to adopt an identity protec-
tion policy that complies with
tions. Tran introduced Deputy
Mitcham who will also be work-
ing in Banks. Mitcham is part of
the
Sheriff’s
Department
search and rescue team, so “if
you get lost within the city, I
won’t help you, I’ll call
Mitcham,” Tran joked.
Council President Pete Edi-
son happily noted increased
Banks Library usage, with cir-
culation of 4,659 for September
2008, up 28.45 percent over
September of 2007. It was not-
ed that the increase may be a
result of the economic down-
turn.
In other business, Council
adopted:
• The first-ever Employee
Handbook, an Ordinance
amending the title of the Banks
Municipal Code, a Resolution
endorsing the U.S. Conference
of Mayor’s Climate Protection
Agreement, and an Ordinance
establishing an election Ordi-
nance.
Council also appointed
Stephanie Jones as Banks’
representative to the Washing-
ton County Cooperative Library
Services Executive Board.
The next city council meet-
ing will be November 11 at 7:30
p.m. in City Hall.
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