WATER RATES INCREASE

The City plans to implement a water rate increase, effective May 26th, which will be reflected on the June 26th water bills. The City Council will hold a public hearing in the Council Chambers of the City Hall on May 15, 2003, at 7:30 p.m. to receive public comments about the proposed water rates. The greatest share of the proposed increase is in the minimum charge. For a residential customer within the City limits, the proposal is to increase the minimum monthly charge by $4.50, and increase the volume charges by $0.25.

The rates for commercial, industrial and outside City water users are scheduled to increase in similar proportions.

The City last increased water rates in September 2001, and the greatest burden of that rate increase was placed on higher water users through the adoption of an ascending rate schedule. The ascending rate schedule encourages conservation because the rates increase as consumption increases.

The proposed rate increase was originally scheduled to occur in September 2002, but was postponed for as long as it was financially possible. More than 40% of the revenue we generate from water sales is spent to purchase water from the City of St. Helens. The remaining revenue is used to pay for water department personnel and the maintenance and repair of our existing distribution system. The revenue is also used to repay our technical assistance loan, buy equipment, and construct projects. In addition, once our water reservoir and water source projects are completed, revenue from water sales will be used to make payments on our low-interest loan from the Safe Drinking Water Program.

Now is the time to get rid of your yard debris and unwanted junk. The annual Spring Cleanup Day will be held on Saturday, May 3, 2003, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Columbia City Grade School. There is no charge for yard debris, but the following minimum charges apply to other items:

Car loads of junk - $5

Truck loads of junk - $10

Refrigerators/freezers/air conditioners - $15 each

Other appliances - $5 each

Car batteries - $2 each

Car or Pick-up Tires - $2 each

(No rims or truck tires)

Please keep the length of yard debris (limbs) to six feet and under. Wet garbage, lumber or construction debris, burn piles, building materials and hazardous household waste will NOT be accepted.

We'd like to extend a special thank you to the following Spring Clean-Up Day sponsors:

Between May 15^th and September 30^th of any year, weeds and grass cannot exceed 10 inches in height within the City limits. Additionally, blackberry bushes cannot extend across property lines or into the City’s rights-of-way, including streets, alleys and sidewalks. Property owners or other persons in charge of the property must keep weeds, grass and other noxious growth, such as poison oak, cut and maintained to prevent them from becoming unsightly and a fire hazard, and to prevent them from maturing and going to seed. Violators can be cited into Municipal Court. Additionally, the City may abate the nuisance and lien the property for the costs. To report violations, please contact City Hall.

The Community Hall rental fees are scheduled to increase on July 1, 2003. The City Council will hold a public hearing on May 15, 2003 at 7:30 p.m. to obtain input about the proposed increase. The meeting will be held in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, 1840 Second Street. The proposed fees are as follows:

$10/hour or $112/day for residents

$14/hour or $125/day for non-residents

All other fees remain the same. The fees were last increased in 1999. The purpose of the fee increase is to offset the rising cost of heating, maintenance and repair of the building.

Please join us for the fourth annual "Down By the Riverside" project in Columbia City! We are looking for volunteers to assist us with this project in Pixie Park and Datis Park on Friday, May 16, 2003, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Volunteers will be removing blackberry bushes and debris, installing fencing and signs, planting, painting, and sprucing up the parks as needed. If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact City Hall to sign up.

PLANNING COMMISSION

The Planning Commission completed their initial review of proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan and the new draft Development Code during their meeting in April.

The Comprehensive Plan is a series of generalized, coordinated policy statements, accompanied by a land use map, through which the City has set out its vision of its future. It includes text describing goals and policies, and the factual data and projections on which the policies were based, together with a map which generally indicates future locations of various types of public and private uses of the land. The proposed changes will update the Comprehensive Plan and the map to better reflect the City's current vision.

The new draft Development Code implements the Comprehensive Plan by following these goals and objectives. It establishes the criteria, standards and procedures through which the Comprehensive Plan will be carried out. It prescribes laws governing the way in which land may be used and divided. It combines several documents - the Zoning Ordinance, the Subdivision and Partitioning Ordinance, the Sign Ordinance and the Fence Ordinance - into one single document.

The Comprehensive Plan and the Development Code each have a map showing zoning districts within the City and the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). The State of Oregon requires cities maintain a 20-year supply of buildable lands within their City limits and UGB. The Planning Commission will be presenting a recommendation to the City Council for additional property to be included within the UGB to meet the 20-year supply requirements. A map showing the proposed lands for the urban growth boundary is displayed at the City Hall on the bulletin board outside.

The Planning Commission and City Council will hold two joint meetings and public hearings to receive and consider comments about the proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan and UGB, and about the draft Development Code. The first public hearing will be held on May 29, and a second public hearing be held on June 10, 2003. Both meetings begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be held in the Community Hall, 1850 Second Street. The proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan and UGB, and the draft Development Code, are available at the City Hall for public inspection.

This project was funded with grant funds from the Department of Land Conservation and Development.

During the month of May, the City received bids for the construction of the 1.0 million-gallon water storage reservoir. The City Council reviewed the bid results, and awarded the contract to Skaar Construction. Construction will begin during the week of May 12th.

During the last few weeks of May, the contractor will need to shut down the reservoir at Ninth and "K" Streets temporarily, which will reduce our water storage capacity by 50%. Please help us during this two-week period by conserving water.

COMMUNITY ALERT NETWORK

An article in the April newsletter described a test of the County's telephone notification system by Coastal Chemical. At approximately 7:10 p.m., a message was sent to the 466 listed telephone numbers in Columbia City. It took eight minutes to contact all the numbers. Of the 391 phones, 84 percent were answered and 376 took the option to hear the message again.

Households having unlisted phone numbers did not receive the call. If you have an unlisted number and wish to be included on the notification list, City Hall has the form to fill out. There is no charge for this service and the information will be kept confidential.

As of this publication, the Rose Festival Fleet Week will be June 4-9. Watch for more details in the June newsletter.

Special thanks to Laura Flynn, Dorothy Greyell, Phyllis Moss, Phyllis Rowley, Helen Sandstrom and Amy West for helping with the March newsletters and utility bills.

Special thanks to Marion Calnon and Vonnie Walker for weeding and sprucing up City Hall's flower beds.

Special thanks to Jim Shinkle for refinishing the park bench at Harvard Park.

Special thanks to Rose Farness for providing the City with Russell Stover Easter eggs.

Special thanks to Nell Harrison and Marion Calnon for time spent planting in Bundy Park.

The Street Committee is in need of members. Since this committee meets rather infrequently (about twice a year), it does not have established meeting dates. Instead, members are mailed agendas once a meeting has been scheduled. Please call or stop by City Hall if you would like to volunteer to serve on this committee.

Is your house in need of repairs? Low-income homeowners may now be eligible for no-interest, deferred payment loans! The funds may be used to complete the following housing rehabilitation projects:

• Update electrical, plumbing or sewer

• Replace or update heat source

• Replace roof, doors, windows

• Structural repairs

• Foundation repairs

• Energy saving measures

In order to qualify, you must be a homeowner, meet income and property guidelines, and live in the dwelling to be repaired. Loan funds are limited! Please contact the Community Action Team, Inc., at (503) 397-1675 for additional information and/or loan applications.

Thanks to a generous donation by the Columbia County Chapter of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, the Columbia City Police Department has bicycle helmets available to young riders in need of a helmet. The helmets are free of charge to those that cannot afford to purchase their own helmet, and donations are always appreciated. To qualify for a free helmet, children must reside within Columbia City. Contact a Police Officer by calling (503) 397-4010 to obtain additional information. The Columbia City Police Department would like to remind young riders that State law requires persons under the age of 16 to wear protective headgear when operating or riding a bicycle.

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