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August 3, 2011     The Sun Paper
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August 3, 2011
 
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Wednesday, August 3, 2011, The Sun 3 Willamina City Council to discuss staff salaries By Marguerite Alexander Correspondent, The Sun Four years after the City of Willamina hired Richard Mower as a utility technician, the council voted to change his job title to better reflect his re- sponsibilities. The discussion also brought to light other council concerns regarding how much the city pays its em- ployees. Mower was hired into an entry level position in April of 2007. Since then his responsi- bilities have increased and have included filling in for the pub- lic works director. His position was very much under classified for his level of responsibility and level of skills, City Re- corder Sue Hollis told the coun- cil at the July 14 meeting. "Sam Sasaki, the former City Manager, also recognized that Mower's position was not classified appropriately, and I concur," Hollis said. During this year's budget process, the city reviewed the request to change Mower's job classifica- tion. Hollis recommended reclas- sifying Mower as a Utility Technician II which would in- crease his salary to $14 per hour. Even with a $130 per hour lmy increase, the council expressed concern about the level of pay Mower would be receiving. Councilor lla Skyberg said that she had taken a look at the city salaries and found them to be low. Councilor Corey Adams, who has worked in the con- struction industry for four years, agreed. "Where do we sit in the budget with this?" he asked. The city should look at what it pays all of its employees-- not just one of them, said Mayor Vem Mosser. He sug- gested asking the staff to look at it for the next budget year. Right now was not a good time to consider giving every- one a raise. "We just can't," said Mosser. According to Hollis, three of the city's employees are paid less than $10 per hour. One of them, Denise Willms, was sit- ting in the meeting during the discussion. "My daughter gets paid more working at Home Depot than I get," she told the coun- cil. Willms has worked as a part-time employee at the li- brary for many years and is also responsible for the technology at the Sheridan Library. She was recently appointed to the Chemeketa Cooperative Re- gional Library Service Tech- nology Committee as a small libraries representative. "That was like real cool," said Willms, who told the coun- cil she is still doing a happy dance. $4-million bridge project begins By Marguerite Alexander Correspondent, The Sun Local citizens might not be able to see the progress yet, but work on the bridge in Sheridan is moving ahead full speed. The $4 million renovation project is in the project development phase with plans for public input scheduled for October. "This project is gong to move very fast," Brim Nicholas, the project manager for OBEC Consulting Engineers, told the Sheridan City Council on Monday. Engineers have already been in town inspecting the bridge. "We've completed half of our inspection," said Nicholas. They will return in several weeks to fmish. Official work on the bridge is not slated to begin until 2013--the date agreed upon by the Oregon Depart- ment of Transportation. The engineers, however, are working to bump the starting date up a year. "We are pressing to get this project on the street as soon as possible," Nicholas said. Engineers believe the sooner the bridge renovation begins, the less it will cost. With a fixed budget and a long list of concerns to address, stretch- ing dollars is imperative. The largest share of the total cost will come from federal funding. The county will provide a 10.75 percent match. "The county is faced with a large bill at the end of this project," County Road Department Director John Phelan told the council. The city is prepared to contribute to- ward the project cost as well, possibly Photo by Clinton Vlnlng Sheridan Mayor Val Adamson (left) talks to Yamhill County Commissioner Leslie Lewis, Sheddan City Manager Frank Sheridan and Yamhill County Road Department Director John Phelan on Monday, underneath the Sheridan Bridge. helping with storm drainage issues or re- placing storm pipes. "We're able to help with your county street," City Manager Frank Sheridan told Phelan and Yamhill County Commissioner Leslie Lewis. Two tall cottonwood trees on the bank of the river will need to be re- moved. "We're posing to take those down," Phelan said. Sheridan suggested replacing them with big leaf maple trees. The bridge rehabilitation is sched- uled to take place over a three-year pe- riod. Phase one includes developing the scope and establishing the project costs. If all goes as planned, actual work on the bridge could begin in June ofnext year. Nicholas estimates work on the upper level of the bridge should be done in a six-week period, allowing three weeks for each half. During that time a temporary traffic light will be installed at the south end of the bridge that will be tied into the existing traffic signal. "We'll never close both lanes at the same time," Nicholas explained. While the bridge is undergoing renovation, residents and motorists will be able to keep up to date on the lane closures via the city website. Traffic de- lays will run about 30 seconds at most times but could approach five minutes during peak evening traffic. Most of the work will take place under the bridge and will not impact traffic. OBEC plans to build a hard deck under the truss span and will do most of the work from there. The bridge will be expected to main- tain its historic attributes--after all, it is the historical significance that bumped it up the funding priority list. The original bridge, a Public Works Administration project, was constructed in 1938. The bridge was reportedly de- signed under the supervision of Conde B. McCullough who designed many other historic bridges in Oregon. It may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. "It will look an awful lot like a new bridge when we're done," Nicholas told the council. Monday's meeting with the city coun- cil and representatives from the county was the first step the engineers have taken to garner public input. The council's questions included lighting, paint, plans to make the bridge less hospitable to pi- geons, the barrier between the sidewalk and traffic, dangers to the bridge posed by a nearby building and truck traffic. The next step will be an open house in October. Although the public will not have much say regarding many aspects of the bridge rehabilitation, it will be able to voice concerns, ask questions and share ideas about things such as the illumination of the bridge and access to the little park along the river. "With a bridge like this, there aren't a lot of variables," Nicholas said. Once the bridge has been rehabili- tated, the county would like turn over ownership of the historic structure to the city. It's something for the city to con- sider, Lewis said. Willamina considers tapping into neighbors for water By Marguerite Alexander Correspondent, The Sun Water--the top issue faced by cit- ies-has not escaped consideration by the City of Willamina. At the July council meeting talk of pumps and wintertime filter problems prompted discussion of water supply. In years past Willamina had con- sidered the possibility of developing inter-ties with its neighbors to the west and to the east for use in emergency situations. Sheridan's water supply lines end at Rock Creek Road and Willamina's begin at the old Conifer Mill site. The Grand Ronde water sys- tem comes to Morton Mill by the old Steel Bridge, the council was told. Prior to the construction of the Stoney Mountain Reservoir, former Willamina city employee Brent Age° had talked with the City of Sheridan about tying the two systems together, City Recorder Sue Hollis was informed. At that time the City of Sheridan faced potential water woes in the summer while winter time posed the biggest concem for Willamina. According to Public Works Direc- tor JeffBrown, the city typically main- tains a three-day water supply without ,getting into the fire supply. Was there any possibility of continu- ing those discussions, the council asked? Mayor Vem Mosser offered to talk to Sheridan City Manager Frank Sheridan. According to Hollis it comes down to two things: money and the will to do it. "It's always possible," she told the council. A shared project is more likely to get funded than an individual project, Hollis added. To the west, the City could loop a water line through town and up Wil- lamina Creek Road to where the Grand Ronde water line ties. One thing to con- sider when considering tie-ins with the Grand Ronde water system is the fact that its water is neither chlorinated nor treated, the council was reminded. More immediate is the need for wa- ter on City property on the south end of town. This year the lack of water re- suited in dry conditions for the annual Mud Drags. What would it take to get water to that site, the council asked? Brown said the existing water line would have to be extended to the city shop from the hydrant at the ball fields. It would involve laying a 4-inch line downAdams Street to the shop and then a 2-inch line from that point down to the site where the Mud Drags are held. "I'd like to see it happen," said Brown. Extending the waterline to the shop would provide a place for filling equip- ment including the street sweeper and water tanks used for road work. In the past the City had a metered water sup- ply line at the old fire station parking lot. It is no longer there, Brown said. In some instances the City sells wa- ter as it did during the Highway 18 con- struction project. Brown told the coun- cil that if the City extended the water- line to the shop, they would put a meter on it to facilitate water purchases. Sheridan Schools hire executive secretary IIBoard hires new teachers By Herb Swett Correspondent, The Sun Hiring of Penny Eltiott as ex- ecutive secretary for the Sheri- dan School District was approved by the school board July 27. A longtime employee of the district, she has held several secretarial positions and most recently was district recorder, handling student records. The board, holding its first meeting of the 2011-12 school year, swore in Harvey Hall as a newly elected member. Larry Deibel declined to seek re-election as board chair, and the board elected Judy Breeden to that position and Deibel as vice chair. Superintendent A.J. Grauer announced a grant from the Oregon Community Health Foundation for food packs for students who meet qualifica- tions for the meals. Grauer reported the recent enactment by the Oregon Leg- islature of a law, effective im- mediately, setting requirements for notifying parents or guard- ians of unexcused student ab- sences. Hirings approved by the board, other than that of Elliott, were of: • Jeremy Brown, science and mathematics teacher, Faulconer Chapman School. • Robin Van Buren and Joy Root, language arts teachers, Faulconer Chapman. • Karissa Griggs, math- ematics, Sheridan High School. • Vicki Hermens, educa- tional assistant. • Karl Sanders, half-time physical education teacher and half-time head teacher, Faulconer Chapman. The board will resume its regular schedule this month, meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 17. _ RE60_ 0FRU IT PRODt)CTS N Recipes online at www.oregonfruit.com Please visit our blog at www.blog.oregonfmlt.com and llke us On Iacebook Find our products at most grocery stores. u PROVIDENCE Newberg Medical Center providence.orglnewberg 503-537-1555 DEMOSS & ... 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