The INDEPENDENT, June 18, 2009
Johnson will contract with city on some issues
The last Vernonia City Coun-
cil meeting to be guided by In-
terim City Administrator Jim
Johnson was held June 15.
Johnson, who started on June
3, 2008, without a lot of fanfare,
handled this meeting the same
way. No cards, no cake, no
teary farewells. Council did,
however, approved a consult-
ant contract with Johnson
through December 31, 2009,
not to exceed $10,000 for a few
ongoing projects. Johnson will
continue to handle the Oregon
Solutions Project, help with
land use issues, plus street and
utility work involved in the
school siting project, and con-
tinue to be the city representa-
tive on the wastewater facility
plan update project. Johnson
will also stay in the office for at
least five days after new City
Administrator Bob Young’s first
day on June 22, to help with
Young’s transition.
The first of three public hear-
ings on amendments to Ordi-
nance 711, the city’s land use
and development ordinance,
provided some excitement, al-
though there were no changes
to the amendment, just house-
keeping issues to rescind older
ordinances and bring them un-
der 711, Title 9. Ordinance 711
outlines such items as fence
height, flood mitigation, sig-
nage, house numbering and
similar issues.
The excitement, such as it
was, was the concern of citi-
zens who did not understand
the flood plain permit process.
Any changes to the footprint on
a piece of property in the flood-
way cannot be permitted. An-
other citizen found out that a
flood plain permit must be ob-
tained, even for those not in the
floodway, for such items as
fencing and plantings. The
flood plain permit application is
available without charge from
city hall, and must be reviewed
before making changes to
property that might affect the
flow of water during any future
flood events. After clearing up
those two side issues, the pub-
lic hearing was completed with-
out problem.
Interim Police Chief Mike
Kay asked council what they
thought of an idea to charge a
fee for the police department to
respond to motor vehicle crash-
es that involve non-residents.
This fee would usually be paid
by the motor vehicle insurance.
Roseburg and Toledo charge
such a fee. In Roseburg the fee
is $160, plus the officers’ time
and any supplies used. After
discussing the pros and cons of
such a fee, council asked Kay
to look into the idea more and
see how it works in Roseburg
and Toledo. Council also asked
Kay to get more information on
a previously mentioned idea to
add a fee assessed by the
court upon conviction. That fee
would be used only for officer
training. Scappoose, among
other cities, has such a fee.
Johnson presented informa-
tion to council on the idea
brought up at the last meeting
of changing the organization of
the police department to having
a part-time chief of police, a
captain, a sergeant, and two
patrol officers. Johnson said
this change would allow for
more actual patrol time as four
police would be on the streets
instead of a chief (usually in the
office) and three officers. The
budgetary change would be an
initial increase of approximately
$25,000. Mayor Sally Harrison
asked if the Captain position
would be filled by Mike Kay.
Kay’s response was, “Don’t
take that away from your new
chief. Let him decide who fills
what position.” Council ap-
proved the reorganization and
the posting for a part-time chief
of police position. Additional
discussion centered on how to
get more officers to live in Ver-
nonia, with the council agreeing
they wanted to find ways to
provide incentives for officers
to live in the district, rather than
requiring them to do so. Every-
one agreed that it is best for the
community when the officers
are part of the community.
Johnson told council that the
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation (ODOT) put a new fin-
ish on the crosswalk by City
Hall and asked if council would
like them to use that to replace
the worn down crosswalks
along downtown Bridge St.
Council agreed to let ODOT re-
finish the crosswalks.
Stimulus dollars will arrive in
Vernonia with a $94,000 grant to
overlay paving on Washington
Avenue from Bridge St. to C St.
In other business, council:
• Approved a new three-year
contract with the Vernonia Po-
lice Association,
• approved the 2009-2010
budget,
• approved increases to the
cemetery fees.
The next council meeting will
be July 6, starting at 7:00 p.m.
at Vernonia City Hall.
Republican picnic in Vernonia
The Columbia County Re-
publicans are holding their an-
nual summer picnic/barbeque
on Saturday, June 27, in the
picnic shelter at Anderson Park
in Vernonia. All County Repub-
licans and other interested per-
sons are invited to attend.
This event will be a combi-
nation of the picnic and the
monthly Republican MeetUp
normally held the last Friday of
each month (cancelled for June
only). Guest speaker will be
Columbia County Commission-
er Tony Hyde who will give an
update on important issues fac-
ing the County.
Lunch will be served at
12:30 p.m. Each family should
bring whatever meat they pre-
fer for barbequing and either a
side dish or dessert to share.
Barbeque grills, plates, cups,
plastic ware, napkins, etc. and
drinks will be provided. For fur-
ther information contact Curt
Deslatte at 503-201-3001.
Col. Co. at 15.4% unemployment
Columbia County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rate rose to 15.4 percent in
April, a significant increase
from the previous month
(14.1%) and the year before
(5.9%). The rate was above the
statewide rate (12.0%) and the
national rate (8.9%). Total em-
ployment rose by 158 to 21,768
and the number of unemployed
people rose by 13 to 3,723. To-
tal employment this April was
1,012 fewer than one year be-
fore and there were 2,379 more
people unemployed this year.
April’s unemployment rate was
the highest the county has had
since the current data series
began in 1990.
Page 5
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big corporations pay only $10
in taxes each year, a corporate
minimum that has not changed
since 1931. And today, as a
share of income, the wealthiest
1% of Oregonians pay less tax-
es than those making $40,000
per year.
The Legislature worked
hand in hand with the business
community to develop a com-
promise plan and we adopted
many of their ideas. Since the
creation of the Oregon Rainy
Day Fund in 2007, we know
that the business community
supports the use of tax dollars
for the long term stability of
Oregon. On Thursday, as the
Senate debated and passed
the revenue package, an inno-
vative bill was introduced by
Rep. Tobias Read (D-27) to
make the additional corporate
tax revenues a part of the Ore-
gon Rainy Day Fund after the
state’s economy has stabilized.
This is a win-win situation.
Finally, I was honored to be
present at the Governor’s roll
out of a bill I and my colleague
Rep. David Edwards (D-30) in-
troduced, the Oregon Emer-
gency Jobs and Training Act,
HB3500. This bill will allow un-
employed or underemployed
workers to collect unemploy-
ment benefits if they enroll in
an approved worker training
program. The legislation is
funded by redirecting $50 mil-
lion from the state Unemploy-
ment Insurance Trust fund to
support the jobs program. An-
other $40 million would expand
and extend unemployment
benefits. The fund currently
amounts to $1.5 billion and has
a dedicated funding source
through regular payments by
employers through payroll tax-
es. Some aspects of the bill in-
clude:
• Creation of 7,100 entry-level
jobs with educational benefits
lasting 3-6 months
• Continues benefits for 3,500
Oregonians enrolling in train-
ing programs for high de-
mand jobs
• Authorizes an extension of
UI benefits for 11,000 for the
last 3 months of 2009
• Creates an Individual Edu-
cation Account for every Ore-
gonian who fills a job under
this program and dedicates
$2 for every hour worked to a
Continuing Education Ac-
count.