CITY COUNCIL John Shafer, Mayor ATHENA CITY NEWSLETTER MAY 2015 Rebecca Schroeder, Comm of Parks & Rec Chet Sater, Comm. of Fire Services Carol Speed, Comm. of Public Works LaVerne Mitchell, Comm. of Administration Pat Gibson Comm. of Library John Shafer, Comm. of Police Services: ***** CITY HALL HOURS Monday – Friday 8am - 5pm (open during lunch) Closed all legal holidays Athena Chamber of Commerce is needing 2-3 volunteers to MONTHLY survey the properties in the City of Athena as to notable “YARD OF THE MONTH”. This opportunity is for the months May-September. If interested, please contact Margaret Hansell, Helen Miller or Nancy Parker. CITY PHONE NUMBERS City Hall 566-3862 City Shop 566-0228 Library 566-2470 Emergency 911 Non-Emergency Sheriff Dispatch 541-966-3651 Ambulance Calls: APRIL 2015 NO NEWS MAY MEETINGS Chamber News All meetings are at City Hall unless otherwise indicated. April 16, 2015 OLD BUSINESS Rose Garden: Nancy reported that the Caledonian Games have taken responsibility for the Garden. Nancy will discuss with Mark Seltman. Livestock Commission Tuesday, May 19th @ 5:30 Reader Board: Sharon updated the attendees on the Reader Board on 3rd street idea. Jerry Copeland will talk to Roland Marshall and get back to the Chamber. Grants are available to the school. Larry asked if we are all in accord in supporting the establishment of a 3rd street Reader Board. All said “yes” Library Board (Library) Monday, 11th @ 7:00 pm Planning Commission PGG Building: Larry updated the attendees on challenges with the sale of the PGG Building. There apparently has been at least four different local and NE Oregon parties interested in purchasing the facility. Apparently there is something in “the works” (not confirmed yet) Wednesday, 13th @ 6:30 pm City Council Meeting Thursday, 14th @ 6:30 pm Yard of the Month: Volunteers needed to judge yards. Cemetery Meeting ABC Children’s Ministry, Annual St Jude Trike-a-Thon raised $942. Tuesday, 19th @ 5:30 pm NEW BUSINESS A motion passed unanimously to give the Jr. Show a $100.00 Contribution. Spring is here...enjoy it!!!!! COMMUNITY WIDE CLEAN UP DAY The Annual City Wide CleanUp Day ( sponsored by CPS) in conjunction with Humbert Refuse “Free Dump Day” is May 2nd. All loads taken to the dump MUST be tarped! Remember to bring your bright pink card and there will be no charge for your load. Also, there will be a team of community volunteers with trucks that can pick up any disposal items that you may need taken to the dump. If you would like to take advantage of this service, please contact Crop Production Services (as soon as possible) at 541-566-3533 and they will put you on the list for pickup. Let’s all do our part in keeping Chamber meets on the third Thursday of the month at noon in the City Hall Meeting Room. All are welcome! MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVATION The City Office, Public Works, and Public Library will be closed Monday, May 25th in observance of Memorial Day. ATHENA CITY NEWSLETTER MAY 2015 Page 2 THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF THE ATHENA CITY COUNCIL April 9, 2015 Attendance: Mayor John Shafer called the regular meeting of the Athena City Council to order at 6:33 pm in the City’s community room. Roll was taken with Councilors Pat Gibson, LaVerne Mitchell, Chet Sater, Rebecca Schroeder and Carol Speed present. Recorder Nancy Parker and five guests were also in attendance. Mayor Shafer led everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. Business from the Public: Bill Duke requested a variance to allow him to have 6 additional chickens. His property is zoned suburban-residential, which has a larger lot size than residential zones. His property is bordered on two sides by farm fields and has a large buffer between the existing chicken coop and neighbors. Schroeder motioned to approve the variance due to the zoning. Motion was seconded by Mitchell and approved 5-0. The Main Street Association notified the City they have received their 501C3 status and are eligible to receive grants. They will have planters on Main Street this summer, and will be holding Farmers Markets on Tuesday afternoons from 3-7 pm. They requested permission to put a bus kiosk in Dugger Park, with the back butting up against the Funks of Athena building. They have applied for a grant from Wildhorse (which furnishes the bus) and will present plans at the May council meeting. Schroeder move to allow the placement of a bus kiosk in Dugger Park and Speed seconded. Motion carried 5-0. Planning Commission: Approved a variance request for permit # 2015-03, A-W School District 26R, to run a 100’ overhead electrical line from the back of McEwen Housing to a new pole at the track. This will supply power to run timers at track meets. Consent Agenda: Councilor Speed moved and the motion was seconded by Mitchell to approve the minutes of the 3/12/15 regular meeting, the financial statements and bills. Motion passed 5-0. Actionable/Discussion Items: Approved the budget calendar. Councilor Speed made a motion, which was seconded by Gibson, to approve the annual renewal for the Humbert Landfill Contract. Motion approved 5-0. Anderson-Perry notified the City they will present a $750 scholarship to a Weston-McEwen senior on behalf of their firm and the City of Athena. Recorder Parker will contact the school to request three names be submitted to the City before the May 14 th council meeting. Council set the following criteria for applicants: 3.00 GPA, School & Community Service and extra-Curricular activities such as Band, FFA, or volunteer work. Mayor Shafer re-appointed Shawn Coffman to the Livestock Commission with his term expiring 12/31/17, and appointed Mary West to fill Evelyn Ehlers position, which expires 12/31/2016. Old Business: Brad Baird was unable to attend the meeting, but wanted the City to know the Water Project is moving along. Councilor Schroeder presented the revised preliminary pool Master Plan for members to view. The next pool committee meeting is April 29th. Lifeguards have been hired and are as follows: Pool Manager - Riley Faircloth; Head Lifeguard - Jimmy Patrick; Lifeguards - Brenden Dearing, Amanda Gibson, Anna Gilsdorf and Caleb Olsen. They will attend training April 24th & 25th. New Business: Recorder Parker notified the Council a supplemental Budget will need to be passed to allow payment to the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office for the police contract. Business from the Departments: Police: Sgt. Gregory was unable to attend, but sent a police report to Mayor Shafer. Administration: Recorder Parker thanked the Council for allowing her to attend the OAMR Mid-Year Academy and Conference. It is very educational and worthwhile! She reminded all councilors to submit their Annual Ethics Statement of Economic Interest by 4/15/15. Nancy also reported the City Hall sign is almost complete and will be installed soon. Library: Librarian Carrie Bremer reviewed the Agreement for Library Services between the City of Athena and the Umatilla County Special Library District. Councilor Schroder motioned and Gibson seconded to approve the agreement. Motion carried 5-0. Bremer also requested permission to hire a student to work 15 hours per week in the summer at $9.25 per hour. Schroeder motioned to approve the request, which was seconded by Mitchell and approved 5-0. Councilor Report: Sater: Chet reported the Umatilla County Watershed Council has received funding to hire an engineer to assess Wildhorse Creek from Highway 11 to Pambrun Road. Shafer: John and Carol will be participating in Union contract negotiations April 17th at 2:00 pm at the library. There being no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:21 pm. The next regular council meeting will be May 14, 2015 @ 6:30 pm in the Athena City Hall meeting room. *Minutes are subject to council approval, any corrections or additions will appear in the next newsletter. MAY 2015 Page 3 RESTORATION MINISTRIES (Rebuilding the Foundation of Life) 16 week course Athena Baptist Church May 6, 2015 through August 19, 2015 @ 7:00 For nearly 30 years Restoration classes have helped people become free in Christ. Thousands of your brothers and sisters have found freedom from guilt and shame, anger and hatreds, and bondage from lifelong habits. The restoration class can help you find freedom from all that weighs over and haunts you. It can help you start a new phase in your life, building upon a new foundation based on God’s truth. The Restoration class is offered 2 hours per week over 16 weeks at a cost of $27.00 for the workbook per student. The classes will be offered at Athena Baptist Church, 415 N. 5th Street, Athena, Oregon each Wednesday from 7:00-9:00 pm beginning May 6, 2015. Please call the church office at 541.566.3602 or email [email protected] to order your book. HUMBERT REFUSE REQUEST It has come to our attention that the Athena Recycling Depot has become a garbage dump. This is not what this area is intended for so here is a quick reminder: Items to Recycle Items we do not take Corrugated Cardboard—flattened Plastic Batteries Newspapers and Magazines—loose Tin Foil Sheet Glass Glass Bottles and Jars—rinsed and lids removed Styrofoam Office Paper Tin Cans—rinsed Light Bulbs Junk Mail Aluminum Cans Plastic Bags Shredded Paper It is a privilege for the City of Athena to have this recycling depot. We do not want to lose this service. Please do not dump garbage or any other items not listed above. Thank you for recycling and doing your part to keep Athena beautiful. YARD SALE TIME!!! It's time again for the annual city of Athena yard sale day! Last year was a huge success bringing hundreds of visitors to our town with almost 30 sales. Let's do it again this year folks. The big day is Saturday May 23rd Please submit the address of your sale to City Hall or Bees Knees and we will add the location to our map. Remember that we will do the advertising in the local papers free to you. All you have to do is clean out your closets and submit your address by May 18th. ATHENA CANCER WALK On Saturday, June 13, 2015, the Athena Cancer Walk Committee is hosting a benefit walk to support the Providence, St. Mary Foundation Cancer Special Needs Fund. This funds helps the most desperate patients with gas cards, medication, food, wigs and other hurdles they may face. Last year, the Athena Cancer Walk drew over 100 participants. With generous support from our community, we were able to donate over $5,000! This year our goal is to double the amount of participants and funds to be donated. For more information, please contact, Renae Swilling, Athena Cancer Walk President, at US Bank in Athena Page 4 City of Athena MAY 2015 You are encouraged to help Caledonian’s mission to "promote and perpetuate our Scottish traditions" by donating $50 to Athena Caledonian Games and becoming a Caledonian Sustaining Guardian.. You will be listed in the program and you will be invited to sponsor a sheep dog and receive two tickets to the Saturday night Tattoo. Caledonian’s mission has been to celebrate our Scottish heritage since the first games and picnic in 1899. Please make donations to Athena Caledonian Games, P O Box 161, Athena, 97813 by May 30. TUESDAY EVENING MARKET Main Street May 5, 2015 4-7pm Come to shop local vendors, eat great food and listen to music. SAVE THE DATES May June 2 City Wide Clean Up 5 Tuesday Evening Market 4-7 on Main Street 10 Mother’s Day 23 Athena City Wide Yard Sale 23 Helix “Heart of the Country” Rodeo 27 W-M HS Baccalaureate 7:00 @ Weston Auditorium 30 Weston-McEwen High School Graduation 7:00 @ WM Gym 6 Pioneer Days—Weston 7 Weston-McEwen Golf Tournament 13 Athena Annual Cancer Walk 26-28 Hodaka Days Enter raffle to win a handmade quilt! The more you shop the more chances you have to win. For more information or to be a vendor call Katie Zmuda at 541-969-4810 or email [email protected] Library News Wanted: Part-time teenage library aide. Applicant must be currently completing freshman, sophomore, junior or senior year in High School. Minimum wage. Application form available at the Athena Public Library during open hours. Deadline for applications is May 15, 2015. City of Athena PO Box 686 Athena, OR 97813 Athena City Hall 302 E Currant PO Box 686 Athena, Or 97813 MAY 2015 Phone (541) 566-3862 Fax NEWSLETTER (541) 566-2781 E-mail [email protected] Ceud Mile Failt (100,000 Welcomes) ATHENA BOXHOLDER ATHENA OR 97813 CITY NEWSLETTER Is published monthly by the CITY OF ATHENA Editors: Nancy Parker: [email protected] and [email protected] reserve the right to edit for content and space. Original articles from this publication may be reprinted with proper acknowledgment.
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