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Rainier’s ‘A’ Community partnerships Street Project: make for successful Caution, limited parking National Night Out Page A10 Page A3 Opinions A4 • Out & About A5 • Obituaries A6 • TV Guide A7 • Classified Ads A8 • Public Notices A9 • Blotters A9 • Wings & Wheels A11 • Sports A12 Wednesday, August 14, 2019 $1 TheThe ChronicleChronicle thechronicleonline.com Serving Columbia County since 1881 City council approves $2 Community Recreation Ahoy, mateys! and Parks Fee CHRISTINE MENGES [email protected] St. Helens City Council has set and approved a $2 Community Rec- reation and Parks Fee, to appear as a line item on residents’ utility bills. The resolution states the fee will not take effect until January of 2020, and will “sunset,” or end on Decem- ber 31, 2021. The fee will “provide support for the recreation and parks programs as well as research for creation of a separate taxing district for support and sustainability of St. Helens Rec- reation, Parks, and St. Helens School Partnership facilities,” the resolution states. City councilors discussed the fee at the city council work session the day of August 7 and passed Reso- lution 1860 later that day at their regular session. Matt Brown, City Finance Direc- tor, said during the work session that delaying the onset of the fee until Christine Menges/The Chronicle January of 2020 would be necessary Pat McCord, “Captain” of the Shiver Me Ice Cream ship, and Janeen Sepulveda, “Quartermaster and First Mate,” hand out ice cream to customers at low cost. because of the city’s new software system that facilitates utility bills. Before appearing on the agenda packet for the regular work session, the fee was set at $3. After a brief discussion, councilors agreed to ‘Pirate ship’ serves sweets lower the fee to $2. “We never had a consensus to be low price. cording to Sepulveda. The couple is served exclusively to dogs for $3,” Councilor Ginny Carlson said at CHRISTINE MENGES Pat McCord and Janeen Sepul- said their truck has traveled very any customers who want to include the work session. Mayor Rick Scholl [email protected] veda, partners in life and in the ice rural roads in the county, as well as their pets in on the fun. said the $3 had been his idea and cream business, have been running stationed at county hot-spots like Prices range from $1 to $4, with directed Brown to change the resolu- Residents in Scappoose, St. their pirate ship-themed ice cream 13 Nights on the River, making the average price being around tion to $2. Helens and Columbia City may truck, “Shiver Me Ice Cream” since sure to sell to as many people as $2.50 to $3.50. But Captain Mc- City councilors have explained have noticed a truck passing by that 2016. McCord serves as “Cap- they can. Cord said the couple doesn’t al- at various public forums that the looks strangely like a pirate ship. tain” of the ship, and Sepulveda as Ice cream from the truck is ways adhere strictly to those prices. eventual goal for funding the The same “ship” may have also “Quartermaster and First Mate.” pre-packaged, and includes Nestle “There’s been several times recreation center is to form a Parks been playing the “Pirates of the The ice cream ship starts run- Drumsticks, Haagen-Dazs vanilla where kids and their parents and Recreation District, which they Caribbean” song heard in the ride ning its route in May, and continues milk chocolate bars, fruit bars, and stopped us and the parents for one hope will be used as the permanent by the same name at Disneyland through the end of September, around 20 different varieties of reason or another didn’t realize funding source of the program. St. or Disney World. No, the inhabit- although last year the couple served ice cream. The novelties cater to they didn’t have any money on Helens residents would have to vote ants of the ship are not coming to customers at Halloweentown. different diets, including dairy- them,” McCord said. In those cases, on a measure to approve a Parks and plunder the village. In fact, they A typical daily route serves as free flavors as well as low-calorie Recreation District. have been seen indulging in very many as 100 customers, making and sugar-free ice cream. There’s As Scholl explained during a un-pirate like behavior: giving out approximately 50 stops a day, ac- even one brand, Frosty Paws, that June 24 public forum to discuss the sweet treats to residents, for a very See PIRATE Page A6 recreation center fee, the $3 fee was intended to raise money not only for the recreation center, but also to get the measure for the future district Uncertainty over MTR Western contract raise onto a future ballot, and to pay for market analysis on what an appropri- $40 to $58 an hour. CHRISTINE MENGES That new contract came after ate tax for a Parks and Recreation [email protected] District would be. MTR Western had said in the fall of 2018 that they were going to During the August 7 work ses- MTR Western, the agency sion, Brown stressed to the council- need more funding. Before that ors that he wanted them to vote on Columbia County has contracted time, in the three years the com- the issue that night. to provide buses for CC Rider, pany has been contracted for CC “I need direction on this rec has informed the county transit Rider, they had never renegotiated program. We’ve kind of hobbled service it wants to raise its hourly a contract. together and taken money out of the increase, but different people have The reason CC Rider contracts General Fund to help get this thing provided different figures for what out for drivers rather than hiring started. I don’t think there’s any that increase should be. in-house is because of overall disagreement that it’s needed in the According to Karen Kane, savings. According to Kane, CC community, it’s just a matter of how Public Affairs Coordinator for Co- Rider staff compared the cost of do you pay for it,” Brown said. lumbia County, Jeremy Butzlaff, having in-house drivers rather than City councilors first started dis- President of MTR Western gave contracted drivers before hiring cussing a line-item fee tacked onto $8 to $10 an hour increases as the MTR Western as the contracted residents’ utility bills to help fund desired figure, while the Nicholas agency. A lot of the cost savings is recreation center programming last Carlstrom, Director of Finance for the PERS cost, which the county year, as Scholl explained at a March MTR Western gave a figure of $4 would not have to pay with a con- 25 public forum. At that forum, an hour increase. The figures were tracted agency like MTR Western. Scholl also said adding a line-item not given in an official notice but “That’s still the case until we were part of a conversation that find out what they’re asking of us, Transit Administrator Todd Wood and why,” Kane said. See RECREATION Page A2 had had with MTR Western of- Before the county knows of an ficials on Wednesday, Aug. 7. exact cost increase, CC Rider staff Kane also wanted to correct will not know if they can meet the some misinformation that the increase, according to Kane. agency threatened to pull their “It may be possible to meet an contract, saying the agency did Jeremy Ruark/The Chronicle increase, but we don’t know how not do so. CC Rider is facing uncertainty with MTR Western, the contracted agency that provides much they’re asking us,” Kane The reasoning behind the in- bus drivers for the transit service. said. crease for the company is down to Aside from the conflicting in- months into your contract, your CC Rider has been struggling rising insurance rates, according financially for a while, making to Kane. The company had in- formation, the rate itself does not insurance rates go up? It’s odd. add up for CC Rider staff. I’m not saying they’re not hon- massive cuts to the service in formed CC Rider in June that their February of this year in order to insurance rates were going to go John Dreeszen, CC Rider est, I’m just saying, what are they Transit Coordinator did his own looking at?” close the gap between revenue and up, but they never made a formal expenses. As The Chronicle has request for a rate increase. calculations on the rate increase, The increase request comes and his figures did not yield an $8 four months after the Columbia previously reported, a large part of “We’ve gotten conflicting in- the financing gap stems from formation, so we’re going to wait to $10 increase. County Board of Commissioners until we’ve gotten something from “I think the question goes back approved a new contract with the them that explains the rate,” Kane to MTR, how did they do their agency on April 15 of this year, said. calculations,” Kane said. “Two which was a wage increase from See MTR Page A12 Market Fresh Deli is Vol. 137, No. 33 centerplacemarket.com/ sthelens.html extending our hours 1111 Columbia Blvd, St Helens, OR 97051 From 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. for the summer. A2 www.thechronicleonline.com Wednesday, August 14, 2019 One passenger dies in car crash Christine Menges/The Chronicle Port commissioners look at products provided by Adam Kurtz, owner of Oregon Fusion Farms, LLC at their recent commission meeting.

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