The INDEPENDENT, September 19, 2012
Page 5
Free workshop on bonding is CCRider part of award winning agency
The NW Oregon Transit Al- better information systems for non-profit foundation to assist
set for small businesses
liance, a five-agency rural tran- public use. As a part of that with fundraising and promotion
Small businesses often face
the daunting task of being
“bondable.” When it comes to
working on government con-
tracts in the transportation in-
dustry, being bonded is often a
requirement. Now, a free six-
week workshop will help small
business owners in Oregon
and southwest Washington find
out just what it takes to become
bonded and how to expand
their existing bonding capacity.
The free, 3-hour evening
courses begin October 4 at the
Oregon Association of Minority
Entrepreneurs Center, 4134 N.
Vancouver Ave. in Portland.
The Oregon Department of
Transportation requested the
workshop after learning of its
successful pilot in Chicago,
Dallas and Atlanta in 2010. The
Bonding Education Program
(BEP), a partnership between
the U.S. Department of Trans-
portation/Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Uti-
lization, the Surety & Fidelity
Association of America, and a
host of local stakeholders, con-
sists of educational workshops
and bond readiness sessions.
The educational component
offers an introductory session
and five comprehensive work-
shops, each providing informa-
tion related to improving a
small contractor’s operations –
with a goal of making it easier
to be bonded or to increase
bonding capacity. A final work-
shop focuses on networking
and next steps.
The bond readiness compo-
nent consists of one-on-one in-
teractions with surety bond pro-
ducers, underwriters and other
professionals who work with
the contractors on a case-by-
case basis in assembling the
materials necessary for a com-
plete bond application and in
addressing any omissions
and/or deficiencies that might
deter the successful underwrit-
ing of a bond.
The classes qualify for Con-
struction Contractors Board li-
cense continuing education for
Commercial and Residential
contractors under the “elective”
category. See the Construction
Contractors Board Education
page for additional information.
Businesses with no bonding
and those who want to in-
crease bonding capacity may
be interested in this program.
Businesses can apply at the
Bonding Education Program
event website, http://bep.event
brite.com/.
For questions, contact Lily
Keeffe, U.S. DOT/Northwest
Small Business Transportation
Resource Center, 425-248-
4222 or lkeefe@snoedc.org.
Forestry Department has set
new fire precaution levels
The State of Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry announced
new Fire Precaution Levels on
September 17.
NW-1 district went to Level 2
Partial Shutdown between the
hours of 1:00 and 8:00 p.m.
NW-2 and NW-3 districts
went to Level 3. Cable yarding
systems (motorized) may oper-
ate only as permitted and pow-
er saws are allowed only at
loading sites and on tractor or
skidder operations between
8:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. Be-
tween 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
there is a partial shutdown.
The full information can be
found on the Oregon Depart-
ment of Forestry website at
http://www.oregon.gov/odf/pag
es/fire/precautionlevel.aspx .
Additionally, Longview Tim-
berlands LLC has closed all
their property in Oregon to pub-
lic-recreational entry as of Sep-
tember 13, because of high for-
est-fire danger. For up-to-date
information on their closures,
go to www.longviewtimber.
com.
Autumn officially
arrives on
September 22
sit partnership, received the
Oregon Public Transit Divi-
sion’s System Innovation
Award at the Oregon Transit
Association Conference in
Seaside. Convention atten-
dees included over 250 trans-
portation professionals from all
over Oregon. The award hon-
ors a public transit project that
has demonstrated innovative
concepts or effective problem-
solving techniques not previ-
ously applied in the public tran-
sit industry.
The five agencies that make
up the NW Oregon Transit Al-
liance are Columbia County
Rider Transportation, Sunset
Empire Transportation District,
Tillamook Transit District, Lin-
coln County Transit District and
Linn/Benton Rural Transit.
The project is a collaborative
effort of the five transit agen-
cies to enhance the livability
and economic vitality of the
communities they service,
while preserving their unique
character. This is a landmark
project for rural public trans-
portation in Oregon, and a
model for other communities
and transit providers in the rest
of the nation.
Funded through a $3.5 mil-
lion U.S. Department of Energy
General Innovation Fund grant
(through the American Recov-
ery and Reinvestment Act),
which is aimed at increasing
transit use by commuters and
visitors in rural northwest Ore-
gon, and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by making pub-
lic transit options easy to use
and relevant to visitors and
everyday riders.
The goal of the project is to
streamline connections be-
tween the Oregon Coast and
the I-5 corridor; coordinate
routes, schedules; and create a
fare structure for travel focused
on tourism. All of the tasks are
crucial aspects of an integrated
approach to creating a seam-
less regional transit system.
The goals of this project are to
remove transit barriers be-
tween counties, brand and
market a regionalized system,
and implement innovative part-
nerships with coastal business
communities and the travel in-
dustry for long-term operational
sustainability.
Additional tasks covered by
the project are to improve serv-
ice coordination and provide
task the alliance has, through
its Consultant, David Evans &
Associates, developed site-
specific branding that en-
hances the visibility of the sys-
tem while lending itself to local
ownership and participation.
The final piece is that of de-
veloping strategic partnerships,
including the creation of a new
of regional transit programs. As
transportation budgets shrink,
we expect this model to suit
other regions across the coun-
try that will need to use their re-
sources in a smarter, greener
way.
For further information con-
tact Janet Wright at 503-366-
8504.
Vernonia City Council hears
about downtown re-zoning
The Vernonia City Council
had a light agenda for their
September 17 meeting, with no
new business, unfinished busi-
ness, ordinances or resolutions
to handle.
The meeting started with
council consensus for Mayor
Josette Mitchell to appoint
Dennis Peters to the Airport
Committee.
City Planner Carole Connell
gave the council information on
rezoning issues, including a
plan to rezone three blocks of
Rose Ave. and two blocks of
Weed Ave. from General Resi-
dential to Downtown zone. The
Planning Commission will hold
a hearing on the zone changes
tomorrow night, September 20,
at 6:00 p.m. in city hall. The
council will hold their hearing
on the changes on October 1,
at 7:00 p.m., also at city hall.
Connell also told council that
the Planning Commission will
meet on November 19 on the
proposed parking amendment
for the downtown zone.
City Administrator Bill Haack
told council he will be search-
ing for a new year-round park
host for Anderson Park and re-
viewing whether the city needs
a park host at Vernonia Lake.
Haack announced the hiring of
Dan Kenoyer as a part-time
Building and Grounds Mainte-
nance employee. Haack also
told council that the parks will
get very little in the way of
groundskeeping through the
fall and winter due to budgetary
constraints.
The next city council meet-
ing will start at 7:00 p.m. on Oc-
tober 1 at city hall.