8A • January 20, 2017 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
County, city leaders look to the new year
By Lyra Fontaine and R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
For 2017, we asked local
mayors Jay Barber of Sea-
side, Matt Brown of Gearhart,
Sam Steidel of Cannon Beach
and Clatsop County Manager
Cameron Moore what the big-
gest challenge facing their ar-
eas will be in the coming year.
Jay Barber
“We have a City Council
that works well together and
gets things done. One of the
signifi cant challenges will be
swearing in two new council-
ors in the new year, one newly
elected and one that the coun-
cil will appoint to fi ll the now
vacant councilor seat from
Ward 1 and getting them on
board and working well with
the other four councilors and
the mayor.
“With the approval of the
bond issue for the Seaside
School District, it will be in-
cumbent upon the Planning
Commission and the council
to address the expansion of
the urban growth boundary in
the new year to bring the new
campus into the city and work
to provide proper access to
the new location.
“Affordable housing in
Clatsop County is a major
issue that all cities and the
county will need to work to-
gether to provide workable
solutions.
“This is an issue that will
require input from the county,
cities, local businesses, devel-
opers and concerned citizens.
We can learn from other cities
and regions where workable
solutions are being imple-
mented. This issue is rising to
the top of my concerns.
“Tsunami
preparedness
continues to be a major is-
SEASIDE SIGNAL/FILE PHOTO
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SUBMITTED PHOTO
EO MEDIA GROUP/FILE PHOTO
Seaside Mayor Jay Barber
lists the new school campus
at the top of his list of 2017
priorities.
Cannon Beach Mayor Sam
Steidel hopes to have a
goal-setting session early in
the year.
Gearhart Mayor Matt Brown
is hoping for openness and
cooperation in the coming
year.
Clatsop County Manager Cam-
eron Moore says a new county
compensation plan and the
Linn County timber lawsuit
are top of the challenge list.
sue of signifi cant importance.
The highest priority is to seek
funding for the retro fi tting of
all of our bridges to assist citi-
zens to be able to move to safe
ground in the case of a major
incident.
“In addition we need to
continue our thinking about re-
silience. How will we continue
to be a city in the case of a ma-
jor earthquake and tsunami?
“Finally, annexation to the
south of the city to address
blight, vacant and sub-stan-
dard housing as well as the
need to address access to city
water and sewerage.”
‘Aff ordable housing in Clatsop County is a major
issue that all cities and the county will need to
work together to provide workable solutions.’
developing the city-owned
South Wind property. The
58 acres located east of U.S.
Highway 101, largely outside
of the tsunami zone, needs
infrastructure in place before
it can be the site of the city’s
essential services, such as an
emergency shelter, school and
police and fi re stations.
Steidel said he hopes to get
discussion about city priorities
done before the spring budget-
ing process, when things tend
to get “bogged down.”
“I’m looking forward to
some energy from the council,
and new voices always bring
that.”
Matt Brown
“As you know Gearhart
has gone through a handful of
contentious issues the last few
years, so I hope 2017 brings a
sense of calmness and coopera-
tion, working together with our
citizens and other cities in Clat-
sop County to solve common
problems, such as affordable
housing.
I’m looking forward to hav-
ing work sessions with our fel-
low councilors in the months
to come to work on strategic
Seaside Mayor Jay Barber
planning for the next four years
and prioritizing what is import-
ant to our residents. I hope this
includes working on a new fi re
station plan, emergency pre-
paredness and a transportation
master plan.
“Also, looking forward to
working with city staff to fi nd
better ways to communicate
with our citizens including
building a new city of Gearhart
interactive website, scheduling
town hall meetings and getting
folks more involved in the pro-
cess and decision making.
“It’s great to work with our
amazing city staff and depart-
ment heads and I look forward
to a very positive and construc-
tive 2017 for Gearhart!”
Sam Steidel
Mayor Sam Steidel, Can-
non Beach said the biggest
challenge the city will face in
2017 is looking at how vari-
ous projects might affect one
another.
“My concern is that as a
council we have a comprehen-
sive view of all the problems
so they can interact as they
need to be. I have a feeling we
do not have a lot of big prob-
lems, but lots of projects that
intertwine a little.
The council will have a
goal-setting session early this
year to reach a consensus on
city priorities, using the city’s
strategic plan as a guide.
Steidel said his personal
areas of focus include seeing
how the former Cannon Beach
Elementary property could be
used and expanding NeCus
Park.
Steidel’s longer-term goal
is for the council to work on
Cameron Moore
Some of the challenges of
the coming year are as yet un-
known, Clatsop County Man-
ager Cameron Moore said.
“It’s quite possible the big-
gest challenge we don’t know
yet. Things happen during the
course of the year.”
Internally, a new compen-
sation system is on the county
road map.
“We have been working
for a couple years on revamp-
ing our compensation system
for county employees, so
we’re anticipating that 2017
will be the year that we im-
plement that new structure,
which again, doesn’t affect
the taxpayers or anything,”
he said. “But anytime you
make signifi cant changes to
your compensation structure,
there’s a few challenges that
go along with that.
Externally, there are two
challenges on the horizon.
“One is, in 2017, we will be
doing a review of the county
charter, which is the coun-
ty government. It opens up
county government to po-
tentially discuss either small
or signifi cant changes to the
structure of county govern-
ment,” Moore said. “We don’t
know where that’s going to go
yet, but obviously that’s very
important. It’s something we
only do once every 10 years.
I would say that, probably,
you know, certainly is very
important. How challenging it
will be, we don’t know yet.”
Secondly, the commission-
ers need to make a decision
on the Linn County timber
lawsuit. “But regardless of
which decision they make, we
are anticipating that 2017 —
maybe all year, I don’t know
— but this will be the discov-
ery part of that trial,” Moore
said. “What that means for
us is, is whether we’re in the
lawsuit or whether we’re out
of the lawsuit, we’re probably
going to have to commit sig-
nifi cant county staff time and
signifi cant resources to re-
sponding to requests for years
of data about timber sales
and timber revenues. And we
don’t know how much de-
mand that will place on coun-
ty resources, but it could be
signifi cant.”
No video lottery at former Gearhart grocery New mayor, council
Owner says he can’t
make it without video
gambling machines
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
Citing
losses,
Terry
Lowenberg closed the Gear-
hart Grocery in December af-
ter winning city approvals for
a brew pub and deli.
Thursday, Jan. 12, he went
before the Planning Commis-
sion seeking a permit to install
video lottery machines in the
brew pub, a move, he said,
essential for the pub’s future
profi tability.
Lowenberg said the ma-
chines — four to start, with
a maximum of six — placed
in an enclosed area next to the
deli separated by an 8-foot
wall, would help the brew pub
survive economic hardship in
winter months.
“We need them simply to
make it exist,” Lowenberg
said. “If we can’t get through
this, we will end up having to
close the store.”
The Planning Commis-
sion, unconvinced, voted 5-2
to deny the permit request.
Resident Dave Eilenberg
spoke on be-
half of the pro-
posal. “I don’t
personally
gamble, but I
think a lot of
Terry
people rely on
them to keep Lowenberg
employees and
jobs in the community,” he
said.
Gearhart’s Wilson Mark
suggested Lowenberg didn’t
need video lottery machines
but rather a successful busi-
ness plan. “The reality is the
last two (grocery) owners
struggled as well,” Mark said.
“But I believe you’re strug-
gling a lot more than they
were. We don’t want video
poker, and we don’t need it.
If you can’t make it without
video poker, maybe we don’t
need you. We want a full-
fl edged grocery store.”
Commissioner Terry Graff
said he had not voted for the
brew pub in May. “It was ob-
vious you didn’t have a busi-
ness plan,” Graff said. “Now
what you’re doing is coming
up with gambling to make this
fl y. To prop up your whole
business, and I can’t support
that. It’s not a bar. I t’s not a
tavern. I t’s not a place you can
gamble.”
president in Gearhart
Jesse is Gearhart’s
second in command
By R.J. Marx
Seaside Signal
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
The owner of the former Gearhart Grocery was denied in his
bid to install four lottery machines in a new brew pub.
Commissioner Russ Tag-
gard suggested that video lot-
tery could open the door for
gambling machines in other
downtown locations, turning
Gearhart into a “little Atlantic
City.”
“I don’t believe it’s any-
body’s business to tell me I
should sell or anything else,”
Lowenberg said in rebuttal. “I
cannot afford to keep money
pumping into this. If we can’t
keep it alive we have to close
it.”
Commissioners Virginia
Dideum and Jeremy Davis
supported the video lottery
proposal.
“You’re trying to make a
business in a small seasonal
community,” Davis said. “I
feel there’s a need there, and
still consistent with the use
we’ve already approved.”
Dideum praised the brew
pub’s design and said poten-
tial profi ts from video lottery
could help the restaurant sur-
vive.
Acting on a recommenda-
tion from City Planner Car-
ole Connell, commissioners
Graff, Taggard, Carl Ander-
son, David Smith and Richard
Owsley voted to deny the ap-
plication. Dideum and Davis
opposed the denial.
Lowenberg could appeal
the decision to the City Coun-
cil. Approval for the brew pub
remains unchanged.
With a change at the top
of city government came
a call for a second in com-
mand, council president.
Mayor Matt Brown ushered
in the new year at Gearhart’s
fi rst council meeting of 2017
and among his agenda items
was the job of appointing a
council president.
Dan Jesse was unani-
mously elected to serve the
role.
The position, mandated
in the city’s charter, calls for
council members to elect
a president among them-
selves. In the mayor’s ab-
sence from a council meet-
ing, the council president
would preside. Whenever
the mayor is unable to per-
form the functions of offi ce,
the president acts as mayor.
Sue Lorain held the post
under the term of Dianne
Widdop.
In nominating Pauli-
na Cockrum, Kerry Smith
called for a “well-rounded
council.”
“Instead of re-electing a
person, I’d like to see some-
body else has the chance,”
Smith said. “It makes sense
another council member to
get the experience.”
Lorain nominated Jesse,
who is serving his second
four-year term after running
unopposed in November.
Cockrum, the junior
member on the council,
withdrew her name from
consideration and joined
Brown, Lorain and Smith in
voting for Jesse.
Jesse’s career in pub-
lic service began with the
Seaside Civic and Conven-
tion Center and the Seaside
Improvement Commission,
before he and his wife, Ju-
lie, moved to Gearhart,
where he served on the
Planning Commission be-
fore election to the City
Council.
“Being the council pres-
ident in Gearhart is largely
symbolic, but if the mayor
were to be absent, at that
point I would be next in
line,” Jesse said after the
meeting.
Council seeks to fi ll vacancy
Council from Page 1A
applied and was nominated for
this vacancy.
Two candidates are also
seeking one available seat on
the city’s library board.
Montero stressed the need
to invite new faces to fi ll va-
cancies. “We really can’t run
and not just the city but all
the organizations in town
and I happen to be on sever-
al without volunteers,” she
said. “Whatever we can do
to encourage the youth of the
community, we need their en-
ergy, their ideas. This is their
future.”
“Volunteers are what makes
this community such a special
community, people wanting
to get involved and make the
community better,” Council-
or Dana Phillips said. “You
can travel all over the United
States and a lot of people don’t
have the support we do.”
R.J. MARX/SEASIDE SIGNAL
City Manager Mark Winstanley swears in Tom Horning, Sean
Morrisey and Randy Frank.