Page 3 - Broad Sheet Tempate.qxd

City and Foothills working out final details for
Molalla Adult Center transition
Peggy Savage
Molalla Pioneer
It looks like plans for the Molalla
Adult Center to switch hands from the
city of Molalla to Foothills
Community Church are progressing on
schedule.
Church pastor, Dale Satrum, met
with city officials and the council in a
special meeting Wednesday, March 6
at city hall to go over the final details
of a lease agreement.
After a long discussion, the council
unanimously approved a term sheet so
that the church can take over the center
on April 1.
The purpose of the meeting was to
address the terms of the lease agree-
ment for the Molalla Adult Center
building and to go over the necessary
steps that need to be taken for the clo-
sure of the center and the transition.
The city previously met with
Foothills representatives on Feb. 21 to
discuss the transition process and con-
cerns. The city’s legal and administra-
tive staff members have
reviewed the terms, and attor-
ney Chad Jacobs was present at
the meeting.
Jacobs said most of the terms
regarding the lease were agree-
able to both parties, and that the
city had agreed to a 15-month
lease (through fiscal year 2013-
14) charging $1 a year in rent.
The city wants to reserve the
current computer room as a
storage area for city use, which
Satrum readily agreed to.
The big problem centered on
insurance for the building.
Ron Cutter, agent for the
company insuring the structure,
said the city’s premium for the
property and contents would be
about $1,843 per year.
The city’s intent, however,
was to turn the property and all
contents over to the church,
under the lease agreement so that the
church could continue services the city
already is providing.
“We wanted to keep this as simple
as possible,” said Interim City
Manager Mark Gervasi. “Dale needs a
thumbs up on this. I don’t want a mis-
understanding.”
Cutter said that situation would
“create muddiness”— if there were a
fire, the insurance company “wouldn’t
know whose property was whose.”
Jacobs said if it was clearly delineat-
ed in the lease who owns what, that
should take care of all concerns.
“We’d like to disrupt as little as pos-
sible,” Satrum said. “Our seniors are
used to these things in the center. If
that furniture is gone, it might case
emotional transition. But if we leave
things the same, as much as possible,
they will be comfortable.”
Nothing is finalized yet, but the city
agreed to release all furniture with the
$1 per year lease. If things go as dis-
cussed, the city would insure the struc-
ture and the church would insure the
contents of the building.
Peggy Savage
Molalla Pioneer
Due to mold issues in the building, the city has plans to
close the building used for the Molalla Youth Center by PAL
(Police Activities League), a self-sustained nonprofit organi-
zation.
Molalla City Council discussed the situation with city staff
and two PAL board members at Wednesday’s special city
council meeting. The issue before the council was mitigation
of reported damage, a $25,000 insurance deductible and the
future of the building.
“We are now in a position as to what we should do with
the building,” said Interim City Manager Mark Gervasi.
But members of the PAL organization are frantic. They
had no warning that the city was thinking of evicting the
Youth Center from the building and are now scrambling to
find a new place to keep the after-school program going for
Molalla kids.
PAL Board Chairwoman Shilo Wittrock-Laccino said she
only recently received a phone call late at night telling her
the Youth Center had to move out of the building immediate-
ly.
“We were told to be out of the building in 14 days, and we
thought, are you kidding?” said Wittrock-Laccino said. “We
didn’t know this was going to happen. We need to find a way
to keep this after-school program going.”
Activities at the center include Homework Club, tutoring,
arts and crafts, computer skills, billiards, board games, out-
door intramurals, video games and field trips. The youth cen-
ter is open Monday-Friday from 2:30 to 7 p.m. The program
is open to kids ages 8-14.
“We have been in that building a long time – nine years –
whatever you decide, we need to stay at least through the
school year, which ends June 7,” Wittrock-Laccino said.
City officials and the insurance company, however, said
that would be impossible.
Apparently, there has been an ongoing flooding problem
where water collects below the building and creates mold.
According to city documents, the city received a call from
insurance agent Ron Cutter on Feb. 4 about the insurance
deductable. The city then contacted Horizon Restoration the
same day, which did an onsite assessment.
A discussion between the city officials on Feb. 12 centered
on options for handling the problem. The options were to
close the building and relocate the PAL program, mitigate the
issues and pay the $25,000 deductable or mitigate the issues
and pay for damages estimated at between $15,000 and
$20,000.
The council felt that the city could not afford the insurance
deductable or paying for repairs, and opted for closing down
the building.
“This is making us very sad,” Wittrock-Laccino said. “We
have been bringing that flooding to the attention of the city
for a long time.”
Council members and city officials then talked about
allowing the center to stay open a while longer, until another
place could be found, with the parents signing a waiver. That
idea met with words of caution from Cutter.
“If the city knowingly puts kids in an area where there’s
mold, there could be a problem and a waiver wouldn’t do a
lot of good,” Cutter said.
Wittrock-Laccino said the PAL group is searching for
another home for the center, but is having no luck.
“If we let this nonprofit go, in a rural area. . .” she said.
“We won’t let this nonprofit to,” Gervasi said. “I am trying
to be prudent but reasonable. There are kids involved.”
Councilman George Pottle, who was attending by phone
conference from Hawaii, said a citizen group could get
together and quickly make repairs.
“All it takes is a couple of professional people in the com-
munity to fix the problems,” Pottle said. “People in this town
wanting the city to keep the kids there could help me do the
fixes.”
Cutter cautioned against the idea as nobody knows if it is
safe to let people go in the building to make repairs.
The council decided to table a decision until the
Wednesday, March 13 meeting.
Woman injured in
Molalla school bus crash
MOLALLA PIONEER 100-YEAR ANNIVERSARY 3
For over 60 years ---
we’ve been here:
To provide the community
with the finest equipment
for home improvement and
yard maintenance.
Both sales and service.
Come in and see us!
We’ll be happy to answer any questions
and offer advice.
MOLALLA SAW SHOP
210 North Molalla Avenue
Molalla • 503-829-2121
Open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Molalla Saw 3-13-13
Feeding and Treating
Your Animals
for 57 Years
We Carry:
Pet Food: Nutro, Diamond,
Blue Buffalo, First Mate,
Taste of the Wild,
Assorted Bird Seed
Livestock Feed: Purina, Albers
Hay, Straw, Alfalfa
Veterinarian Supplies, Tack, and much more!
Family owned and operated, with friendly service and advice
Conveniently located at 110 N. Molalla Ave.
503-829-2412 Find us on facebook
446326.031313
Peggy Savage
Molalla Pioneer
A Life Flight helicopter
took an injured 19-year-old
Oregon City woman to the
hospital after a Molalla
school bus T-boned her vehi-
cle early on Thursday morn-
ing.
The crash occurred about
6:28 a.m. at the intersection
of Highway 211 and South
Vaughn Road, about one-
half mile east of Molalla.
According to OSP Senior
Trooper Dan Swift,
Alexandra Vanderpool, 19,
was driving her 2001
Volkswagen Passat west-
bound on 211 west of
Vaughan Road when it
encountered some black ice
and slid into the oncoming
traffic lane. The Volkswagen
collided with a full-sized
First Student school bus
being operated under con-
tract with the Molalla
School District.
No children were aboard
the bus at the time of the
crash, police said.
The driver of the school
bus, Lori Koos, 57, of
Molalla, was taken by car to
Providence Wilamette Falls
Medical Center, where she
was treated and released.
Both drivers were wearing
their seatbelts, and the
airbags on the Volkswagen
deployed.
Molalla Police Sgt. Chris
Long, who was at the scene,
said weather conditions con-
tributed to the accident.
“The road was icy, and
the car slid in front of the
bus,” Long said.
Molalla Fire District was
dispatched. When para-
medics arrived at the scene,
they requested the Life
Flight because of the seri-
ousness of the driver’s
injuries, dispatchers said.
Oregon Department of
Transportation reported
Highway 211 two miles east
of Molalla was closed in
both directions until 7:45
a.m.
This is the fourth school-
bus crash in the Molalla
River School District in
recent months.
Superintendent Tony Mann
said he has been looking
into the incident.
“I been in contact with the
local First Student supervi-
sor and corporate offices and
gave our concern about
school-bus safety,” Mann
said. “I have continued to
communicate with her and
the corporate office to learn
as much as I can about the
facts surrounding this morn-
ing’s accident. At this time,
with the absence of police
reports, I can’t confirm any
facts other than there were
no children on the bus.”
State troopers were
assisted at the scene by a
Molalla Fire District crew,
which stabilized the victim
for transport by helicopter.
Also assisting were Molalla
police and Clackamas
County sheriff's deputies.
Photo by Molalla Police Sgt. Chris Long
Icy road conditions contributed to this crash between a First Student school bus and a
Volkswagen Passat Thursday morning. The driver of the car was taken by Life Flight to a
Portland hospital.
City plans to
close down Youth
Center building
“We wanted to
keep this as simple
as possible. Dale
needs a thumbs up
on this.
I don’t want a
misunderstanding.”
— Mark Gervasi
Interim City Manager