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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (July 20, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, July 20, 2011 Page 13 Banks City Council votes to put local option levy on Nov. ballot by Jodi Boylan The Banks City Council, at their July 12 meeting, unani- mously approved placing a lo- cal option levy for law enforce- ment on the November 2011 general election ballot. The purpose of the levy is to contin- ue law enforcement services when the current levy expires on June 30, 2012. If this measure is approved, the City will levy $2.35/thou- sand-dollars of assessed val- ue, each year for five years, beginning in fiscal year 2012, to continue a contract with the Washington County Sheriff’s Department for local police services. If the levy fails, the City will be without police serv- ices. Services such as crime prevention, work with youth and school programs, investi- gation of criminal activity, traffic enforcement and many more services will be eliminated. The City has contracted with Wash- ington County for these servic- es since 2006. Mayor John Kinsky pro- claimed the evening of Tues- day, August 2, as Banks Na- tional Night Out 2011, and is asking the citizens of Banks to join the Greenville City Park Management Committee, the National Association of Town Watch, and TARGET, Inc., in supporting the 28th National Night Out in our fair city. Na- tional Night Out provides a unique opportunity for the citi- zens of Banks to join forces with thousands of other com- munities across the country in promoting cooperative police- community crime prevention efforts. Crime prevention pro- grams and citizen participation are important in the reduction of crime, drugs and violence in all communities. Deputy Todd Hanlon gave the report on police activity for the month of June. Total inci- dents in the city were 134. There were 36 citizen requests for contact, six arrests, 43 traf- fic stops, nine traffic citations, and 19 reports filed. According to Hanlon, theft of bicycles has been an issue. Citizens who re- ported bicycle thefts said they have stored their bicycles on their front porches without any problems in the past, but now find their bicycles missing. Although Hanlon has been the new contract deputy in the city for a month, he has actual- ly spent only five days on his new assignment. Now that va- cation and training are over, he is looking forward to connect- ing with the community. Hanlon was given a warm welcome by council. Kinsky presented Christine Fore with a certificate of appre- ciation in recognition of her support of the City of Banks by serving for 10 years on the Banks Library Commission and Library Board. Planning Commission Liai- son Janet Towne reported that the June 21 Planning Commis- sion meeting was short. The commissioners reviewed train- ing materials, received an up- date on the Urban Growth Boundary and Urban Reserves from KJ Won, and approved a joint work session. There is currently one vacancy on the board. City Manager Jim Hough re- ported the following: • City staff has begun pre- disaster planning in conjunc- tion with Servpro, a local fran- chisee that does disaster re- covery work with commercial and municipal organizations. The city will coordinate with other entities such as Clean Water Services, Fire District 13, and School District 13 to ensure adequate pre-disaster planning “cross-talk”. • The city gave approval to the Board of Directors of the Banks Chamber of Commerce regarding their Cell Phone and Rechargeable Battery Recy- cling Program. This is an op- portunity to continue coopera- tive “green” programs for the betterment of chamber mem- bers and citizens at-large. • The 2nd Annual Beaverton, Banks, and Beyond fund-raiser for the Northwest Bicycle Safe- ty Council will come through Banks on Saturday, August 27. This year, there will be an offi- cial rest stop at Banks Log Cabin Park. As part of the council’s desire to have more city-sponsored events, city staff will be manning the station with the assistance of a Forest Grove Junior Girl Scout Troop. The city hopes to set up a City of Banks Sustainability booth at the rest stop. The next city council meet- ing will be held on Tuesday, Au- gust 9 at 7:00 p.m. in the City Council Chambers. Come find out what’s next for schools by Debi Wagner On Monday, June 27, while the Banks School Board was contemplating the future of the district’s schools, the baseball fields across the street from Banks schools were packed with students and parents en- joying their summer break. School board members gath- ered at 6:00 p.m. for a work session regarding problematic heating, outdated lighting and a bond issue. With business manager Si- mon Lavear, the board dis- cussed a detailed plan outlining the short and long term costs of upgrading the aging schools energy efficiency. After lengthy study, the board decided that more information is needed to make an informed final deci- sion. The plan will be reviewed at the next board meeting. A new program, Cool Schools (HB 2960), was also outlined. This state-run pro- One tool Many uses gram will offer schools low-cost loans to pay for energy efficient technology retrofits. Support- ers of the “Cool Schools” bill say it will help districts pay for high upfront costs of energy ef- ficiency improvements. Accord- ing to Senate Majority Leader Diane Rosenbaum, a chief sponsor of the bill, “This legis- lation is a win-win for Oregon that will help reduce utility costs, upgrade aging facilities, improve the learning environ- ment for our kids, and create much-needed jobs across Ore- gon.” The low-interest loans will require no upfront outlay of funds and will come from exist- ing state funding that would be paid back with energy savings. Studies show that students learn better in “green schools,” so energy upgrades could also help improve test scores! Cool Schools was a centerpiece of Governor John Kitzhaber’s campaign and the Governor signed the bill into law on June 23, after a unanimous vote by the Oregon Senate. The last item on the agenda was the recurring issue of a bond measure for the Banks School District. The board de- cided that, because communi- cation and dialog with the com- munity are very important fac- tor for successful passing of the much-needed bond, a pub- lic meeting is needed. “Community Summit, What’s Next for Schools?” is open to the public and will take place on Saturday morning, July 30, at 8:30 a.m. in the junior high school gym. Everyone is en- couraged to attend, as the school board is looking for in- put on what it will take to get a bond passed on the November Ballot. 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