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The INDEPENDENT, May 16, 2012
Vernonia council okays noise variance for ODOT’s road work
Two citizens spoke from the
floor at the May 7 Vernonia City
Council meeting to ask the
council to bring water/sewer
rates down, not up. Both
speakers stated they were re-
tirees who could not afford the
water rate increase now in
place, or the one that is expect-
ed to come soon for sewer re-
habilitation.
Mayor Josette Mitchell pre-
sented Vernonia Police Officer
Sean Carnahan with a certifi-
cate of appreciation to thank
him for the extra effort and time
he put in while the two new of-
ficers, Brent Thompson and
Matt Brady, were in training.
The council, by consensus,
approved a Noise Variance re-
quest from Ron Larson of the
Oregon Department of Trans-
portation (ODOT). The vari-
ance will allow ODOT to work
on the Bridge St. improve-
ments, near Missouri Ave., 24
hours a day for approximately
two weeks this summer. The
around-the-clock work sched-
ule will speed up the project
and keep traffic delays to a
minimum. All affected residents
have already been met with by
ODOT, who will work with them
during the project to reduce
negative impact from the work.
After much discussion,
council unanimously approved
the basic format of the city’s
Vendor/Concession License
Agreement for city parks. They
then adopted a new format for
Park Volunteer Park Host
Agreements. Both have fill-in-
the-blank areas for differences
in contract negotiations.
City Administrator Bill Haack
was authorized to find a grant
administrator and obtain an en-
vironmental assessment need-
ed for a Community Develop-
ment Block Grant (CDBG) that
could be used for improving the
wastewater facility. CDBG
funds cannot be used by city
staff for these functions, Haack
told the council. An existing
grant for over $1.2 million (No.
6021) can be used, in part, for
this purpose, said Haack.
Council passed Resolution
13-12, outlining the city’s re-
sponsibility for enforcement of
the already existing ordinance
on flood hazard reduction. This
resolution puts Haack in
charge of enforcement of Fed-
eral Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) flood compli-
ance.
Resolution 14-12, authoriz-
ing the Mayor to sign a resolu-
tion establishing an Open
Space System, was approved
by council. The open spaces
referred to are the properties
that had home buy-outs and
demolitions after the 2007
flood. Now those properties are
off the property tax roles and
belong to the city.
See Council on page 5
Vernonia City Update
From page 3
ondly, utility systems are re-
quired by state law to maintain
a certain level of disinfectant
(chlorine) throughout the distri-
bution system. This is known
as “chlorine residual.” The ef-
fectiveness of chlorine dissi-
pates over time, meaning that
the longer water is sitting in the
system, the less chlorine there
is available in the water to act
as a disinfectant. The process
of “flushing” water lines through
hydrants solves this problem
by moving stagnant “old” water
out and bringing fresh water in.
Maintenance – Flushing is
also an important preventive
maintenance activity. There are
over 30 miles of water line with-
in the City of Vernonia water
system and approximately 120
sites that require flushing on a
routine schedule. The flushing
route is carefully planned and
valves are opened and closed
to control the direction of the
water flow.
Operations – Although it
may appear to waste water, the
process of flushing water is
necessary to maintain the in-
tegrity of the water system and
allows us to continue delivering
the highest quality water possi-
ble to our customers.
The City of Vernonia’s Public
Works Department works
closely with the Vernonia Rural
Fire Protection District in coor-
dinating the successful mainte-
nance of the fire suppression
system for the community.
Community Calendar
VERNONIA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Mondays
6:30 p.m., 410 North Street
Alcoholics Anonymous
Thursdays (Big Book Study) 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street
American Legion Post #119
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue
Booster Club
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., WGS Library
Boy Scout Troop 201
Tuesdays
7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin
Boy Scout Troop 860
Wednesdays
7:00 p.m., LDS Church
Cemetery Beautification Comm.
2nd Thursday
6:30 p.m., Library
Chamber of Commerce
2nd Wednesday
For Info Call 503-429-6081
Community Coalition
2nd Monday
12:30 p.m. School District Ofc.
Cub Scout Pack 201
Scout Cabin
For Info Call 503-429-4250
Emerg. Preparedness Comm.
4th Wednesday
6:30 p.m., WOEC
Friends of the Library
1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library
Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2
For Info Call 503-819-0143
Izaak Walton League
3rd Thursday
For location call 503-429-7193
Kiwanis Club
2nd & 4th Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong
Lions Club
1st & 3rd Tuesdays
6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong
Municipal Airport Committee
1t Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Pioneer Museum
For Info Call 503-429-3713
Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-0869 7:00 p.m.,Vernonia Grange
Public Works Committee
4th Tuesday
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Cares Directors
For Info call 503-429-1414
Vernonia City Council
1st & 3rd Mondays
7:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Comm. Learning Center 1st Wednesday
5:00 p.m., VCLC
Vernonia Community PTA
2nd Wednesday
7:00 p.m., WGS Library
Vernonia Garden Club
2nd Tuesday
1:30 p.m., Vernonia Library
Vernonia Grange
3rd Monday
7:00 p.m., Grange Hall
Vernonia Health Center
3rd Thursday
6:30 p.m., 510 Bridge St.
Vernonia Library Board
1st Wednesday
9:00 a.m., Sept-June, Library
Vernonia Parks Committee
3rd Wednesday
6:30 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Planning Comm.
1st & 3rd Thursdays
6:00 p.m., City Hall
Vernonia Ridge Riders
Last Thursday
7:00 p.m., Senior Center
Vernonia RFPD Board
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia School Board
2nd Thursday
6:00 p.m., District Office
Vernonia Sr. Center Board
2nd Friday
10:00 a.m., Senior Center
Vernonia Transfer Station
2nd & 4th Saturdays
8 a.m.-2 p.m.,Behind VHS
Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters
2nd Monday
7:00 p.m., Fire Station
WOEC Directors
3rd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., WOEC
MIST-BIRKENFELD
M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg.
3rd Tuesday
M-B Ambulance Drill
1st & 2nd Thursdays
M-B Fire Drill
1st & 2nd Wednesdays
M-B Helping Circle
2nd Monday
M-B SAR Drill
3rd Wednesday
M-B Volunteer Assoc.
1st Tuesday
Natal Grange
2nd Wednesday
T.O.P.S.
Mondays
BANKS
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
American Legion Post #90
Banks City Council
Banks Fire District #13
Banks Library Commission
Banks Planning Commission
Banks School Board
Banks Youth Group
Chamber of Commerce
CPO 14
Everybody’s Hometown Band
Friends of the Library
Lions Club
Sunset Park Assoc.
T.O.P.S.
Friday
Wednesday
2nd Tuesday
2nd Tuesday
2nd Wednesday
3rd Tuesday
Last Tuesday
2nd Monday
Sunday, Wednesday
1st Thursday
3rd Monday
Tuesdays
2nd Tuesday
1st & 3rd Mondays
3rd Wednesday
Wednesday
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall
9:00 a.m., Main Fire Station
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
7:30 p.m., Methodist Church
7:00 p.m., Main Street Post
7:30 p.m., City Hall
7:00 p.m., Station 13
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., City Hall
7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library
7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg.
12:30 p.m., Fire District Office
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., BHS Music Room
7:00 p.m., City Library
7:00 p.m., Brown Derby
8:00 p.m., Gun Club
7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg.
COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.)
Board of Commissioners
Wednesday
10:00 a.m., Courthouse
Citizens for Senior Justice
2nd Tuesday
7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church
Columbia 9-1-1 Board
3rd Thursday
9:00 a.m., 9-1-1 meeting room
Columbia Comm Mental Health
1st Tuesday
5”30 p.m., 58646 McNulty Way
Columbia Soil & Water District
3rd Wednesday
7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes
County Fair Board
2nd Monday
6:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg.
County Parks Commission
2nd Thursday
4:00 p.m., 1054 Oregon St.
Mental Health Advisory Comm.
Quarterly
For Info call 503-397-7211
Comm. on Children & Families
3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30
Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm.
Quarterly
For Info call 503-397-7211
Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.