Thursday, December 15, 2011

Clatsop Transportation And Development Services Splits To Separate Departments!

Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011

REORGANIZATION SEPARATES PLANNING, PUBLIC WORKS OFFICES

Four years after the two were combined, Clatsop County’s public works and planning offices will become independent departments again.

On Wednesday the county board of commissioners approved a plan to dissolve the Transportation and Development Services Department, created in 2007 as an umbrella entity for the two offices.

Under the plan, Transportation and Development Services Director Ed Wegner will return to his original position as Public Works Director, which he first assumed in 2004. Hiller West, hired in September as principal planner, will head the Community Development Department. The change will become effective Jan. 1.

County Manager Duane Cole said the reorganization, by assigning a manager to each of the two departments, will bring better oversight to both offices at a time when each has a sizeable workload, including the various long-term projects in the draft county Strategic Plan.

Cole praised Wegner’s tenure as Transportation and Development Services director, which included the lengthy Bradwood and Oregon Pipeline liquefied natural gas land-use reviews conducted by the planning office.

“We’re excited to be getting him back over at Public Works,” Cole said. “They have a lot of projects going on, and Ed is the guy for that.”

Cole noted that West has a lengthy background in planning, including an early job with the Columbia River Estuary Study Task Force. He most recently served as planning director for the city of Monroe, Wash.

Citizens should see no change in services. Both offices will remain in their current locations – Community Development at 800 Exchange Suite 100 and Public Works at 1100 Olney Ave. – and keep their same hours.

The reorganization involves no other personnel changes. There are 45 fulltime-equivalent personnel in the various Transportation and Development Services divisions, including Community Development, road maintenance, building codes, surveyor, fisheries and parks.

Released by:
Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 338-3622

December 14, 2011 Clatsop Clatsop County board Of Commissioners Regular Meeting Highlights

Clatsop
County Board of Commissioners
Highlights
Wednesday, Dec. 14,
2011 regular meeting
Listen Full Audio Transcript Of 12/14/2011 Regular Meeting
Official minutes
available once approved by board

Planning, public
works split approved
The board of
commissioners approved a reorganization plan that divides the county’s Community
Development and Public Works departments into separate entities.
County Manager Duane
Cole told the board that the workload in both offices requires that each have
its own director. Currently the two offices are jointly directed by Ed Wegner as
Transportation and Development Services Director. The change will become
effective Jan. 1.
Under the plan,
Wegner will return to his original position as Public Works Director. Hiller
West, hired in September as principal planner, will become director of Community
Development. West has a lengthy background in land-use planning, most recently
as planning director of Monroe, Wash.
Planning and Public
Works were combined in the Transportation and Development Services Department in
2007.

Darigold funding
approved

The board approved an
amendment to the county’s contract with Groat Brothers Inc. covering the
demolition of the former Darigold Building to provide additional funding for
removal of contaminated soil and other work at the site. The original $49,850
contract approved by the board in April included an additional $7,450
contingency fund, which will be used to cover the cost of removing a fuel oil
tank from the building site. The amendment will allow spending up to another
$22,500 to pay for clean-up of soil contaminated with petroleum
product.

Medical examiner
appointed

The board appointed
Susan Heinick, MD as District Medical Examiner for Clatsop County. Heinick, an
emergency room physician at Providence Seaside Hospital, replaces Joann
Stefanelli, who resigned from the position earlier this year. Stefanelli will
continue to offer her services on a part-time basis.
The medical examiner
investigates all unattended deaths and participates in criminal investigations
as part of the local Major Crime Team.

Other
Business

In other business the
board:
-Approved a request
from Columbia County to support the participation of a Rainier company,
Rightline Equipment Inc., in the Lower Columbia Maritime Enterprise Zone. The
zone, which covers Columbia County and a portion of Clatsop County, provides tax
breaks to qualified new and expanding businesses.
-Approved a $50,000
payment to the Westport Water Association for improvements to its water system
made necessary by damage from flooding that accompanied the December 2007 storm.
The improvements, totaling approximately $500,000 and funded primarily by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, were completed earlier this year and
involved a partnership with the nearby Wauna Water District that included
development of an additional water source, adding a chlorinator and increasing
water line capacity. The funds from Clatsop County come from the proceeds of the
tax penalty levied on Georgia-Pacific over the Lower Columbia Enterprise
Zone.
-Approved an
agreement between the Clatsop County 4-H and Extension Service and the North
Coast Food Web for the operation of the North Coast Communities Food Project, a
collaborative campaign to improve community food security, promote good
nutrition and health and support diversification of regional food production and
access. Funding comes from a Meyer Memorial Trust grant.
-Approved an
intergovernmental agreement with the State of Oregon to receive $91,306 -
$61,900 for the current fiscal year plus $29,406 carryover from 2010-11 – to
fund treatment and intervention services through the Sheriff’s Office Community
Corrections Division targeted at Measure 57 criminal offenders.
-Approved the
language of input to be given at the Dec. 15 meeting of the state Territorial
Sea Plan Working Group in Astoria, which is examining ocean-planning and
wave-energy issues off the state coastline. Among other points the input calls
for vigorous public involvement, recommends conditional-use reviews versus
restrictive zones for wave-energy projects, and seeks compatibility between the
state plan and local planning efforts.
-Conducted the first
reading
of an ordinance adopting the county’s Administrative Code. Provisions in
the code, which spells out the county’s organizational structure, board and
committee rules, contracting rules and financial policies, have previously been
established by board resolution, but county staff recommended its adoption by
ordinance so it is included in the process, currently underway, of codifying all
the county ordinances. Second reading and adoption of the Administrative Code
ordinance is scheduled for Jan. 11.
-Adopted new board
rules governing meeting procedures and protocol, committee appointments, travel
policy and other items.
-Appointed Pamela
Alegria to the Recreational Lands Planning Advisory Committee.

Tom Bennett
Community Relations Coordinator
(503) 325-1000 ext. 1312

Astoria School District Board Recognizes Astoria School Foundation

CRAIG HOPPES, SUPERINTENDENT
ASTORIA SCHOOL DISTRICT
DATE: DECEMBER 14, 2011

The Astoria School District
Board of Directors recognized the Astoria School Foundation, which was founded
in 2010. A loyal group of board members have worked diligently since its
beginning to create a mission and strategic plan that will benefit students in
the Astoria School District.

The mission of the Astoria
School Foundation is to enhance the educational experience of students in the
Astoria School District 1C through public education and financial
support.

The goal of the Astoria School
Foundation is to enhance the educational services and opportunities the Astoria
School District offers through programs including, but not limited
to:

*Providing
Innovative Educator Grants
*Celebrating
Teacher Excellence
*Celebrating
Academic Excellence
*Major Grant Projects
Developing and Maintaining a Board Reflecting Our Diverse Community
*Providing
Material Support for Astoria School District 1C

Although these goals are in the
early planning stages, the Astoria School Foundation has established a solid
framework with which to provide necessary support to fulfill its
mission.

In addition the Astoria
School Foundation is announcing the inception of available funds for four
Innovative Educator Grants in the amount of $250 each. The Innovative Educator
Grant application will be available to all educators in the Astoria School
District on January 3, 2012. The application deadline is January 31, 2012. A
formal announcement of grant recipients will take place in mid February. The
Innovative Educator Grant opportunity adheres to the mission of Astoria School
Foundation, enhancing the educational experience of students in Astoria School
District through public education and financial support. It is the goal of
Astoria School Foundation to continually provide resources to Astoria School
District that will enhance educational opportunities.

The Astoria School District
gratefully thanks Astoria School Foundation Board of Directors for their
generous time and support in the formation and work to sustain the foundation.
Astoria School District looks forward to continuing this partnership with
Astoria School Foundation to provide needed assistance to students and staff of
the Astoria School District.

23 Important Adult Truths

1.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3
consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
2.
Nothing sucks
more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're
wrong.
3.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I
was younger.
4.
There is great need for a sarcasm font.
5.
How
the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
6.
Was learning
cursive really necessary?
7.
Map Quest really needs to start their
directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
8.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the
person died.
9.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind-of
tired.
10.
Bad decisions make good stories.
11.
You never know
when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you
just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
12.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to
have to restart my collection...again.
13.
I'm always slightly terrified
when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my
ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
14.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.
15.
I think the freezer deserves a light as
well.
16.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday
or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Light than Kay.
17.
I
wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
18.
I have a hard
time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
19.
How many
times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you
still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
20.
I love the sense of
camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting
in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
21.
Shirts get
dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them
forever.
22.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating
their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on
the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3
feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
23.
The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first
helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize
that their brain is also important.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Claim Certain: An Interesting Idea

Public figures that affect our daily lives should be held accountable for their claims: in real-time. Claim Certain gives them no option but to be honest with us about what they know and what they do not know. Sign up to be notified when we launch our service and help change politics forever.

December 14, 2011 Clatsop County Board Of Commissioners Regular Meeting Agenda

Amendment Notice: 12/13/2011