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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2012)
The INDEPENDENT, April 18, 2012 Page 11 Banks council approves change to five digit addresses for all by Jodi Boylan Banks City Council held a Public Hearing, during the April 10th council meeting, on the proposed ordinance for a uni- form house numbering system. City Planner K.J. Won spoke on behalf of the city. Several citizens asked questions and made comments, and Wash- ington County Sheriff Pat Gar- rett submitted a letter in sup- port of the proposed uniform house numbering system. Won explained that proper- ties in the City of Banks have addresses that are based on two different numbering sys- tems – a three digit historical system and a five digit county addressing system. Properties located in the northerly half of town have addresses based on the historical numbering sys- tem, except for lots on Banks Road that have already been converted to the county sys- tem. Properties located in the Arbor Village development were assigned addresses un- der the county system, and some addresses in the older part of town do not even follow a consistent pattern of odd/ even numbering. To eliminate confusion re- garding local street addresses, especially for emergency re- sponse purposes, city staff pre- pared a uniform addressing system that will conform with the county addressing system and should be in place to serve future development in the ex- panded Urban Growth Bound- ary (UGB) area, following an- nexation into Banks. At the conclusion of the hearing, Mayor John Kinsky held a first reading of the draft ordinance by title only. Washington County Sheriff Pat Garrett and Sergeant Dave Thompson attended the meet- ing while contract Deputy Todd Hanlon briefed council on the incidents in the city during the month of March. Hanlon report- ed that there were 20 public re- quests, no arrests, one Police Officer Hold (POH), and nine reports. There were 37 traffic stops, and 10 citations were is- sued. Hanlon reported that it was a quiet month and a quiet Spring Break. Council and staff complimented Hanlon’s “good police work” to the Sheriff. Tammy Stempel of Adapt Engineering briefed council on a pilot project for the Communi- ty Energy Savings Outreach Program. The program’s goal is to educate communities on economic savings, environ- mental conservation, and so- cial energy development. All businesses, including home businesses, qualify to partici- pate in this energy saving edu- cational project. Banks and North Plains were selected for the pilot program because they share the same general loca- tion and are communities of ap- proximately the same size. Any business in Banks or North Plains that would like to partici- pate in this community energy saving program should contact their city manager. Planning Commission Liai- son Janet Towne reported that there was no Planning Com- mission meeting in March. A work session was held, in- stead, to discuss the street re- naming project, and to review an application from a prospec- tive planning commissioner. City Manager Jim Hough re- ported that, at the request of the mayor, city staff is coordi- nating efforts with Banks Fire District and the City of Banks police services to educate the public about hazards associat- ed with the use of illegal fire- works inside the city limits. Some fireworks, such as sparklers, flower pots, and Ro- man candles, etc., are legal, however most fireworks are not. State law bans the use of explosive fireworks on the ba- sis that they are generally un- safe and are prone to start fires in built-up neighborhoods. The city and the fire district will coordinate educational out- reach efforts through the use of flyers in the water bills and the two reader boards in town. Cit- One tool Many uses izens also need to know that il- legal materials will be confis- cated, and that enforcement patrols will be coordinated on the 4th of July in an attempt to dissuade citizens who may be tempted to use illegal fire- works. In order to have a safe 4th of July, citizens should en- joy the free fireworks display put on by the Sunset Speed- way. The City Manager’s Report also included the following: • The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has in- stalled new park directional sig- nage on Main Street, at the city’s request. • The city conducted an open house on April 5th to present the proposed Banks Readdressing Plan Ordinance to city residents. • The city is planning to con- duct a review of all nine budget reserve funds during the No- vember 13th Council meeting. Reserve funds must be re- viewed and renewed at least every 10 years. By conducting a review of all of them at the same time, the city can note that in the following budget, and can schedule the review of all reserve funds at a later date. • Washington County Coor- dinating Committee (WCCC) approved the city’s request to use Traffic Impact Fees (TIF) to redesign the Main Street/Oak Way intersection. City staff is in contact with ODOT to continue the discussion of the intersec- tion, but is not optimistic that ODOT will be receptive to con- tinuing the project. • The city is continuing to up- grade and expand its traffic and street signage throughout the city. The new High Intensity Prismatic traffic signage is quite noticeable, especially at night. This upgrade is required for all municipalities by 2015. Banks will be in compliance three years early. • The city is working to get all of its transportation projects onto the Major Streets Trans- portation Improvement Pro- gram - Phase 3d (MSTIP 3d) project list. Hough does not an- ticipate any of the projects be- ing funded, but the city’s proj- ect requests will be document- ed with the Washington County Transportation Planning sec- tion for future reference and potential funding. There are no Banks projects on the “short list” of projects being reviewed for approval at WCCC’s May meeting. The city also needs to get the projects onto the North- west Area Commission on Transportation (NWACT) proj- See Banks on page 19 at STIHL KM 55 R KombiMotor starting 95 $219. Attachments starting at $59 95 NOW FEATURING DAVE’S KILLER BREAD $4.99 A member of the STIHL KombiSystem family of multi-task tools, the unique KM 55 R STIHL HomeScaper Series™ KombiMotor lets the occasional user mix and match attachments — so you can move from one project to another quickly and smoothly. Using the optional attachments, this tool is great for edging, pruning, cultivating and more. NOTE: STIHL KombiMotors and STIHL KombiSystem attachments sold separately. 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