The INDEPENDENT, September 5, 2012
Page 5
Haack tells city council that FEMA says lagoons are okay as is
The Vernonia City Council
held meetings on August 20
and September 4, both with
short agendas.
Mayor Josette Mitchell was
not in attendance at the August
20 meeting, as she was in the
hospital delivering her new
son, Jasper. She returned to
her place on the podium for the
September 4 meeting.
The only item of business on
the August 20 agenda was to
authorize City Administrator Bill
Haack to contract with Ameri-
can Leak Detection to test the
city’s water system for leaks.
The contract is not to exceed
$4,000, and it is anticipated
that any leaks found and fixed
will save the city that amount or
more.
Council gave consensus to
the Airport Committee to pur-
sue the placement of a Vernon-
ia Muni Sign at the Airport.
Haack reported to council
that FEMA is now indicating
that, with other changes antici-
pated, such as the removal of
the old schools, the city sewer
lagoons will not need to be
modified to keep them safe in
the event of future flooding. Un-
fortunately, this does not mean
that work on the sewer system
will not not be needed, as there
is still the problem of releasing
water from the lagoons into the
river during times of low flow,
such as summer. The water
from the lagoons is too warm
and can adversely affect the
river during those low flow peri-
ods.
Council went into executive
session (closed to the public),
on August 20, to “consult with
their attorney regarding…cur-
rent litigation or litigation that is
more likely than not to be filed.”
Council took no action after the
session.
At the September 4 meeting,
council heard a proposal, from
The Building Department, LLC,
to raise building permit fees.
For example, the current rate
for a new single family dwelling
building permit is $1,028.00
and the proposal is to raise that
fee to $1,105.00. The list pre-
sented stated that the current
fee charged by Columbia
County is $1,212.13 for the
same permit. Council took no
action on the proposal.
The council approved a re-
quest from Archers Afield for a
building permit for a mobile
archery store to be in Vernonia
just before and during Salmon
Festival this year and then to
be here for three days at a
time, twice a year, starting in
April 2013.
The Vernonia Police Depart-
ment received council approval
of police #387 “Drug Collec-
tion/Disposal Program.” The
police department will have a
secure Collection Box at city
hall where citizens can dispose
of old or unused medications
anonymously.
Haack told council that Li-
brarian Nancy Burch has re-
tired as of September 1 but will
continue in a part-time capacity
as Assistant Librarian for a
while. Jennifer Moloney has
taken on the role of Interim City
Librarian.
The council’s final piece of
business, on September 4, was
to approve the FEMA buyout of
the property at 1328 Heather
Lane.
The next regular meeting
will be held September 17,
starting at 7:00 p.m., at city
hall.
Above, Vernonia Police Officer Matt Brady listens to a young
man during Vernonia’s Night Out activities on August 22.
Vernonia’s new school is now open and classes have begun
From page 1
million project. The fundraising
continues for another year to
raise the final $3-4 million that
the school district borrowed to
keep the project from being de-
layed and allow it to open for
the 2012-13 school year.
As was the case with Wash-
ington Grade School when it
was built, the new school still
needs some finishing touches,
including completion of the
large gymnasium and bleach-
ers. The district will, for the time
being, continue to use the ball
fields at the old schools site for
athletics, while working to-
wards developing fields at the
new school site.
The old schools, on Bridge
Street, are now in the process
of being torn down. The doors
and windows are gone from
Washington Grade School, the
shop and weight room building
is rubble on a concrete pad,
and work is ongoing to tear
down the old high school. The
Middle School building has yet
to be touched. The playshed
will remain and the entire old
school site will become a large
city park.
Many students have spent
the last five years in modular
classrooms and were looking
forward to being able to change
classrooms, or walk to bath-
rooms and the cafeteria without
going out in the rain or snow.
On September 4, the first
day of the new school year, ex-
cited students entered the new
school for an assembly includ-
ing speeches before starting
classes. The assembly includ-
ed the welcome news that Fred
Meyer has donated $10,000 to
the school project. Those start-
ing Kindergarten have never
studied in the old buildings, but
in future years, will remember
being the first class to start and
finish their Vernonia education
in the new school building.
The wall in the entryway
BOLI seeks business award nominations
The Oregon Bureau of La-
bor and Industries (BOLI) and
state Labor and Industries
Commissioner Brad Avakian
are reminding Oregonians that
nominations for the 4th Annual
BOLI Business Leadership
Awards remain open through
October 1. Nominations are
easy to submit: just email
BOLI_BizAwards@state.or.us
with:
• The nominator’s name and
contact information;
• The nominated employer,
including their website and a
contact person and reliable
contact information; and
• How the nominee has
demonstrated leadership in its
commitment to fair workplaces,
protecting civil rights in the
community and/or developing a
stronger workforce.
BOLI Business Leadership
Awards are considered in three
categories: Civil Rights Cham-
pion, Fair Workplace Champi-
on, and Workforce Develop-
ment Champion. Nominees
must be businesses or non-
profit employers currently oper-
ating primarily within Oregon,
or with headquarters in Ore-
gon. While business owners
may not nominate their own
company, they and any other
Oregonian are encouraged to
nominate an outstanding em-
ployer for one, or more than
one, category of award.
See BOLI on page 17
contains plaques with the
names of many of the people
who made the new school pos-
sible. The list is extensive,
though not exhaustive, and al-
lows the community to remem-
ber the efforts that went into the
four-and-a-half year process of
what one speaker termed, “the
Oregon barnraising.”