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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 17, 2011)
The INDEPENDENT, August 17, 2011 Page 13 Banks Council told demographic surveys will help get grants Girl Scout Troop 41925 led the Pledge of Allegiance at the August 9 meeting of the Banks City Council. Mayor John Kin- sky recognized the troop for their strong support of the City of Banks, and presented them with a certificate of apprecia- tion for conducting the “Beauti- fy Banks” Cleanup event on June 30. Deputy Todd Hanlon, the city’s contract police officer, told the council that crimes in the city have seemed more se- rious than normal, with nothing to attribute the activity to, and he has asked the graveyard deputies, when they are in the west end of the county, to drive through the city and around Greenville Park. No one should be in the park after closing at 10:00 p.m. City Manager Jim Hough commented that this is over and above the contract services that the city has nego- tiated with the Washington County Sheriff’s office, and is an indirect value of having a contract deputy on the scene. July activity included 21 con- tacts by public requests, five arrests, 46 traffic stops in which eight citations were written, and 18 formal reports written. Incidents included a criminal mischief which included mixing paint with fireworks at the high school, a PCS/heroin traffic stop which resulted in an ar- rest, theft of a bicycle, a burgla- ry/UUMV/criminal mischief at Sunset Speedway, vandalism to sprinkler heads at Greenville Park, vandalism with spray paint at Banks Elementary school, and a hit and run. Stephen Bechler, a graduate student from Portland State University, conducted a study of the the city’s financial man- agement policies and proce- dures. Bechler did the study as part of a 509 Organizational Experience program, which of- fers students an opportunity to relate their academic experi- ence in the master’s program to practice. The city was very pleased with the report. Kinsky commented that this is a “valu- able document” with Hough re- laying that “Stephen did a su- perior job” and that the report is extremely responsive, some- thing he can be proud of, stel- lar.” The City Manager’s report included the following: • Mayor Kinsky has accept- ed an invitation to join the NW Bicycle Safety Council Adviso- ry Board as an Honorary Board member. This is in keeping with Council’s strategic goal of mak- ing Banks a recreational hub centered on the Banks-Vernon- ia Trail and the Council Region- al Trail. • The third annual Banks Na- tional Night Out event on Au- gust 2 was the best yet. Coun- cilor Greagor was, and is, the driving force behind this suc- G ET cessful event. • Roberta Sommer, the city’s Sustainability Analyst, manned an information booth at the Na- tional Night Out event. She continues to come up with in- novative ideas and projects for educating our citizens about our Environmental Sensitivity. She is scheduled to report to Council at the September 13 Council Meeting. • The quarterly “Pride in Serving” joint City/Sheriff’s Of- fice newsletter is being mailed out in this month’s water bill. • The ridership on the Tillam- ook Transit District (The Wave) bus route through Banks and North Plains is constantly in- creasing. For 2009-2010 (10 months) there were 187 one- way trips to Banks. For 2010- 2011 there were 379 trips. This is a 102.7 percent increase. Ride Connection subsidized the fare for Banks riders. • The city is working with the National Weather Service’s Portland office to obtain flood area signage. The specially produced signage would be available in a flood emergency and is part of the pre-disaster planning that the city is current- ly conducting. • The City of Banks experi- enced an interesting economic development opportunity a few weeks ago. An independent film company used Banks Bil- IT WHILE YOU CAN J IM ’ S F AMOUS B AR -B-Q F RIDAYS & S ATURDAYS T HRU S EPTEMBER 660 So. Main, Banks • 503-324-2171 liards tavern and part of Main Street for filming a movie. The permits were issued in quick order and the process went well. Some locals were hired as extras in the movie. • The Movies-In-The-Park event scheduled for August 26th has been cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. The event costs $750 to conduct and only $75 in pledges have been re- ceived so far. • The city is in the process of installing a Mutt-Mitt dispenser in Log Cabin Park. It is antici- pated that it will be operational by the September 13 Council meeting. The city is awaiting sponsorship of the dispenser purchase. • The semi-annual joint City Council/Planning Commission work session was “enlighten- ing” according to the feedback. The next meeting is tentatively set for Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at 6:00 p.m. • The city will attempt to con- duct demographic surveys in an effort to apply for CDGB funding for limited sidewalk re- pairs and for potential water in- frastruction upgrades. The goal is to have four applications ready for submission in August 2012. Council authorized the appli- cation for a “Ready To Read” grant from the Oregon State Li- brary in the amount of $1,000, and authorized the Mayor to sign on behalf of the City, and accept the grant when it is awarded. This item was in the consent agenda. Council adopted an updated City of Banks Safety Manual. The manual was adapted from a template recommended by City/County Insurance Ser- vices (CCIS). The revision in- corporates five additional chap- ters which include evacuation safety, a fall protection See Council on page 14 S TRASSEL ’ S A UTO R EPAIR & H YDRAULIC H OSES 2-4-6 S PIRAL W IRE S UCTION H OSES A DAPTORS - 3/16” TO 2” A MERICAN & M ETRIC F ITTINGS B ULK O IL P RODUCTS 276 S UNSET , B ANKS 503-324-9808