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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 2010)
The INDEPENDENT, January 7, 2010 City settles law suit out of court A lawsuit filed against the City of Vernonia on April 1, 2009, has been settled out of court. The lawsuit, filed by Fred and Susanne Oviatt, asked for $319,946.43 as a result of an injury to Susanne Oviatt al- legedly caused by the O-A Hill sidewalk. The injury occurred in April of 2007, after the city constructed a sidewalk approx- imately six inches higher than the walkway to the Oviatt’s house. The lawsuit indicated that, on more than one occa- sion prior to the injury, the Ovi- atts had discussed the problem with the city, which took no ac- tion to remedy the problem. The settlement on October 26, 2009, stated that, “In ex- change for payment of $30,000 by City to Oviatt, Oviatt will dis- miss its claims against City and agrees to a resolution of all claims and controversies by Oviatt arising out of the under- lying lawsuit currently on file in the Columbia County Circuit Court, under Case No. 09- 2441, entitled: Susanne Oviatt v. City of Vernonia.” OSU Woodland Information Night Woodland owners interest- ed in learning how to keep their land healthy are invited to at- tend Woodland Information Night, Thursday, January 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the OSU Exten- sion Service office in St. He- lens. This free program will pro- vide tips on dealing with nox- ious weeds, protecting wooded property from fire, planting trees, and other issues of inter- est to small acreage woodland owners. Attendees will find out about the various sources of assistance available to help them achieve their goals and take care of their woodland and associated wildlife, water, and other resources. For more information, con- tact the OSU Extension Ser- vice, 503-397-3462. Page 5 Council sees preliminary flood reduction measures The December 21 Vernonia City Council meeting started with a presentation by HDR En- gineering of work that’s been done on flood modeling. It test- ed some potential flood reduc- tions measures, such as re- moving or reducing the size of the sewer lagoons, to see what impact could be obtained. The information is preliminary and HDR wanted to know where the council would like more work done. They will return to coun- cil in a few months with more information based on further modeling. At that time, there should be more detailed infor- mation that can be used for project planning. Police Chief Frank Grace told council that information was sent, Dec. 21, to the Dis- trict Attorney on four adults and six juveniles involved in the theft of 16 laptops from Vernon- ia Middle School and other crimes in the last year. Grace also reported that DPSST recommends closure on the complaint regarding Captain Kay, “Captain Mike Kay is exonerated in my opin- ion,” Grace finished. City Ad- ministrator Bob Young added that, “In the paper, it said the reason for the $5,500 lawyer’s fees wasn’t specified, but that was from the accusations against Mike Kay,” and he wanted to make it “very clear.” Young continued, regarding the water bill problem dis- cussed last month (Don Waters water shutoff), the bill has been paid and, “is on track.” Young Kay misconduct was prior to Jan 1, 2001, so no DPSST action on complaint The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST), has completed their review of a complaint regarding Captain Mike Kay of the Ver- nonia Police Department. DPSST recommended taking no action again Kay. DPSST’s response letter gave the background of the complaint as “In 1998 domestic violence assault charges were brought against Mr. Kay along with a temporary restraining or- der. Ultimately Mr. Kay was ac- quitted of the assault charges. Later in that year (1998) and into 1999, there were three al- leged violations of the restrain- ing order by Mr. Kay. In Janu- ary 2000, Mr. Kay went on trial for contempt of court and was found guilty of one of the three violations asserted. In Febru- ary 2000, Mr. Kay was sanc- tioned for a single count of Contempt of Court, his sanc- tion was suspended and he was placed on probation. In May 2001, court action indicat- ed a Probation Violation and in June 2001 this was dismissed.” DPSST determined that the Contempt of Court ruling met the criteria for Misconduct but indicated that OAR 259-008- 0070(7)(b) specifies that the Department will not take action on a conviction constituting dis- cretionary disqualifying mis- conduct that occurred prior to January 1, 2001. The final analysis by the DPSST Professional Stan- dards Unit was, “Based on the totality of circumstances, I do not believe Mr. Kay’s conduct rises to the level of violation of the established moral fitness standards, as defined in OAR 259-008-0070, nor do I believe the Department would prevail in a contested case hearing.” The other portions of the com- plaint filed with DPSST were referred back to Vernonia Po- lice Chief Frank Grace who stated at the December 21 City Council meeting, “…Kay is ex- onerated in my opinion.” A tort claim on an unrelated case has been filed by a Ver- nonia resident against the Ver- nonia Police Department, nam- ing officers Dalrymple and Kay, for illegal detainment, assault and battery, and illegal search. A tort claim is the official notice that a lawsuit is planned against a public body or a pub- lic employee. also said, “Joann and the staff have gone out of their way to work with people, I commend them for their efforts.” The agenda for the January 4 meeting was short. Young told council he is proposing a contract for $6,900 with Enge- nium, Inc. for an economic de- velopment and strategic plan. Council asked if the money was available in the budget and Young told them it was. The fi- nal report is expected to be available in mid-February. Young also reported that he is having Jim Johnson (former Interim City Administrator) pro- vide him with a report on staffing and workflow. There were executive ses- sions at both the December 21 and January 4 meetings, but council took no action and made no statements after re- convening the public meetings following the closed sessions. In other business, council; • accepted the resignation of Liz White from the Library Board. • unanimously approved the first batch of flood property ac- quisitions as presented by Dan Brown of the Unmet Needs Committee. The next council meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Febru- ary 19 (due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday), at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.