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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2009)
Page 4 The INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2009 Council adjusts water rate for multi-unit dwellings Site selection criteria questioned At the February 17 Vernonia City Council meeting, council again looked at the handling of water bills for multi-unit dwellings with a single meter. Interim City Administrator Jim Johnson showed council bills from two such units and the ef- fect of the change on those bills. Johnson told council that the effect of the water bill changes on residential cus- tomers resulted in an increase of about 25 percent. Council approved a change for multi- unit dwellings on a single meter to $226.00 per month for the first 2,000 gallons of water used per unit, plus $1.25 for each additional 1,000 gallons of water used. Council also added another category for mo- bile-home parks on one master meter. These changes will de- crease the impact on these customers so they are closer to the approximately 25 percent increase other customers re- ceived in November. The cate- gory changes are retroactive to November. Councilor Randy Parrow raised an issue from the last council meeting, saying that the $8,700 dollars saved when In- terim Chief of Police Mike Kay got donated cameras, rather than the ICOP cameras bud- geted, should go back into the general fund for reallocation, rather than being used by the police department for other needs. Kay responded that some of that money was for the retrofitting the cameras, but that he and Johnson would pro- vide an itemized list of needs to council at the next meeting. Kay told council that the $125,000 grant that the Ver- nonia Drug Free Coalition was awarded will fund the equiva- lent of a one-and-a-half person position and would be used to offset police time spent on drug prevention and intervention services. Any time used from this fund will be accounted for by separated hours used on timecards so the money can be correctly allocated. Kay also re- ported that OSSOM (Operation Student Safety On the Move) has been restarted in Vernonia with 43 students joining. In other business, council; • heard from City Planning Consultant Carole Connell and Planning Commissioner Dan Brown on the Planning Com- mission’s goals and discussed the best ways for the Planning Commission and the council to work together. The next council meeting is scheduled for March 2, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. From page 1 the economy in Vernonia, where many residents are liv- ing in homes still unrepaired from the December 2007 flood, and others are still displaced, living in FEMA trailers or in oth- er locations. Among those asking ques- tions about site selection was Dick Titus, who said he had consultants in the fields of ar- chitecture, engineering and construction look at the Knott Street site, one of the locations on the original, long list. His consultants calculated that it would be less expensive than the others, Titus said, and sug- gested that it be looked at again. Asked by the school board chair, Kim Wallace, if he was representing the property owner, Titus said “No, I’m not representing anyone except myself.” Discussion ensued, with questions and responses from the audience, members of the site selection committee and the school board about site cri- teria and whether Knott Street should get another look. As the questions subsided, board member Ernie Smith presented a motion to review the Knott Street site, but the motion died for lack of a second. Saying “I don’t represent the state, I rep- resent local people,” Smith kept pressing the issue. Wal- lace interrupted, saying the dis- cussion had ended, and a clearly frustrated Smith left the meeting. Tomorrow, February 20, the site recommendation will be presented to the full Oregon Solutions Team in a meeting at Portland State University. The information will then be presented at a Town Hall meet- ing sponsored by the school district, to be held Monday, March 2, at 7:00 p.m. in the middle school cafeteria. Community Calendar VERNONIA Alcoholics Anonymous Monday 6:30 p.m., 410 North Street American Legion Post #119 2nd Thursday 7:00 p.m., 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 6:30 p.m., City Hall CERT 4th Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-3018 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 503-429-4250 Friends of the Library 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2 For Info Call 503-819-0143 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 Municipal Airport Committee 4th Thursday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Narcotics Anonymous Saturdays 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street Pioneer Museum For Info Call 503-429-3713 Public Works Committee 4th Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Cares Directors For Info call 503-429-1414 Vernonia City Council 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Community PTA 2nd Wednesday 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 Wednesday 6:00 p.m., VLC Vernonia Parks Committee 3rd Wednesday 6:30 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Planning Comm. 1st & 3rd Thursdays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Pride 2nd Thursday 2:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Ridge Riders Last Thursday 7:00 p.m., Senior Center Vernonia RFPD Board 2nd Tuesday 6:00 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 Vernonia Transfer Station 2nd & 4th Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Behind VHS Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st, 3rd & 4th Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station WOEC Directors 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., WOEC 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 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 7:30 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 Library Commission 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Library 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 1:00 p.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 Tuesday Times vary, 1054 Oregon St. Mental Health Advisory Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Comm. on Children & Families 3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30 Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 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.