community
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Candidates Discuss Issues at Two Forums continued from page 6
If we’re going to develop Port Westward
we have to be smart about it and not
stick our money in failed fossil fuel in-
dustries. Yes, it has failed. But with the
proper development it could be a great
place for us.” Preheim noted that “Port
of St. Helens has been woefully mis-
managed,” and called for a change in the
management team. “The manager has a
credibility issue and as a County Com-
missioner I would be happy to say that to
the Port.” Preheim also commented on
the ethanol plant at Port Westward, stat-
ing, “That’s never going to work. There
is a problem at Port Westward and it’s
been the leadership in the County and
pretending that it didn’t happen isn’t
going to make it better. We need to not
continue to use our tax dollars on failed
projects.”
Yarbor said Port Westward is a
big plus for the entire county and has
been a positive for the Clatskanie com-
munity, bringing jobs and economic
growth. He noted that the lack of in-
frastructure in the past led to the loss of
potential industry. Now that the County
has invested in infrastructure it is the
perfect place for development. “Things
don’t happen overnight, but it’s starting
to pay off now,” said Yarbor.
Hyde pointed to two decades
of negative growth in Clatskanie prior
to the development at Port Westward.
He cited the deep water port and 1,300
acres of available industrial zoned land.
“What was wrong was they did not have
the infrastructure,” said Hyde. He said
the county created an Urban Renewal
District that would capture taxes from
new industry to pay off the debt incurred
to install a water system, roads and rail
improvements. “It’s industrial ready and
I don’t think we wasted that money. We
have been getting it ready and we have
lots of suitors. Failed? I don’t see it,”
said Hyde. Hyde also commented on the
ethanol plant, noting the company there
is investing millions of dollars on a pub-
lic road. “If they intend to leave, why
are they doing that?” asked Hyde.
Tardif said that, whether we
agree with the “$35-$55 million” in in-
vestments previously made, we now
need to do something with it, and sug-
gested that fossil fuels are not reliable
and not a guarantee for our future. He
suggested high tech or agriculture as
potential industries that could flourish
there. “What we’re utilizing it for right
now is not the way of the future,” said
Tardif. He suggested that the biggest is-
sue is access, as Port Westward is at the
far end of the county with no direct ac- replaced a 49 bed jail that was constantly
cess to I-5, which companies looking to overly full, was built on time and within
locate here have stated is a barrier.
budget. He said a recent analysis showed
Legal Marijuana
that the beds the county is renting cost
The candidates discussed new- them $9/day and they receive over $80/
ly legalized marijuana as an economic day from the feds. Hyde said the county
stimulus and all agreed that since the is renting out 55-80 beds a day and said
people voted for it, the county needs to the jail will be paid off in the next two
work within the state mandate, but had years. He also noted that law enforce-
some differing points of view on how it ment is not cheap and takes up 25% of
might benefit the county.
the county annual budget. Hyde agreed
Tardif suggested the county has he doesn’t like new taxes. “The time
been “shortsighted”
might be coming
while failing to em-
when we need to start
“I’m running for
brace marijuana as
talking about consol-
Commissioner,
a potential industry
idation of services,”
because I have the
and suggested the
said Hyde.
foresight,
I
understand
county has the poten-
Tardif suggest-
the numbers, and
tial to include not just
ed a partnership with
I also recognize
growing operations,
rural fire districts to
but processing, man-
balancing what we can house sheriff’s depu-
ufacturing, produc-
ties, “...someone who
afford with what we
tion, and research.
is local and closer to
need,” said Tardif.
“There is a lot of
those communities.”
money to be made in
He also stated that no
this industry. We are perfectly situated one did the financial analysis correctly
to pioneer an entire new industry here when the jail was built. “They built a
in Oregon. We’re not taking advantage jail they couldn’t fund and then ran out
of it. There are so many new revenue of money,” said Tardif. “This is why
streams that we could tap into.”
I’m running for Commissioner, because
Hyde said the county is keep- I have the foresight, I understand the
ing an eye on this emerging industry, but numbers, and I also recognize balanc-
that he doesn’t see it as a revenue stream ing what we can afford with what we
right now.
need.” He suggested that, yes, the jail
Yarbor took issue with how will be paid off by 2018, but that it was
the county is allowing marijuana to be done with a tax levy because the funding
grown outdoors in rural areas, stating wasn’t there. “We need to move forward
that it should only be grown in ware- and look for ways to prevent these kinds
houses.
of situations from happening again,”
Magruder agreed that marijuana said Tardif.
could be an agricultural crop but the
Magruder likes the idea of
county needs to be careful how it devel-
ops the rules around it and thoughtfully
plan it out.
Funding Law Enforcement and the
Jail
The candidates disagreed when
asked about how to solve funding issues
for law enforcement and the county jail.
Yarbor said the county did the
right thing by looking to the future when
they originally built a 265 bed county
jail that could be run efficiently and said
the county was guaranteed inmates from
the federal government, which ended up
not being provided. He also stated he is
not in favor of new taxes. He noted later
that a previous attempt to have cities
and the county work together to provide
law enforcement coverage did not work
well. “None of them wanted to agree on
anything,” said Yarbor.
Hyde stated that the jail, which
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7
sharing resources between cities and the
county and pointed to Clatskanie where
this is already being discussed. She also
stated that improved economics and tax
revenue in the county could help fund
the jail and keep the county from asking
taxpayers to foot the bill again.
Preheim adamantly disagreed
with the $9/day cost that Hyde stated.
“That is not the cost and the committee
was so focused on trying to cover up our
past mistakes in building a jail that was
too big for our needs and was built spe-
cifically to house federal prisoners to the
point of absurdity,” said Preheim. “The
jail, in reality costs about $118/day to
house a federal prisoner and that is not
a model of efficiency when the aver-
age to house a federal prisoner is about
$80/day.” Preheim also disagreed with
Yarbor and said there was no guarantee
of federal prisoners and that there was
also a plan to expand the jail after it was
built. “It was built for federal prisoners
and we need to admit that was a mistake.
We would be in even worse shape if that
expansion had happened,” said Preheim.
Mayo says a jail is a necessity
and will require another bond measure in
2017. “We have to pass that and we have
to run our jail, but in the future we need
to look at other options in that regard,”
and suggested increasing the depletion
fee on gravel as a funding option. He
said the current revenues don’t add up
and need to be examined.
Conn said she spearheaded the
last efforts to pass the bond and keep
the jail open because “...we need to be
able to protect our citizens. I think it is
money wisely spent,” said Conn.
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