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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 2, 2015)
NORTH COAST THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015 3A Sales tax might help fund convention center expansion Hike in lodging taxes also proposed By NANCY MCCARTHY The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — A local sales tax could be imposed on all businesses throughout Sea- side to help pay for a proposed expansion of the Seaside Civ- ic and Convention Center and a new parking structure. The sales tax also would come with a bump in local lodging taxes, said Russ Van- denberg, general manager of the convention center. Van- denberg spoke to the Seaside Chamber of Commerce at its weekly meeting Friday. Vandenberg said the pro- posal will come before the Seaside City Council this year. The council would have WKH¿QDOVD\RQWKHH[SDQVLRQ DQG WKH ¿QDQFLQJ VFKHPH LW will not be subject to a public vote. A proposed $25 million convention center expansion has been in the works for at least six years and has un- dergone studies by three con- VXOWLQJ ¿UPV 7KH WHQWDWLYH design, however, would elimi- nate 42 parking spaces, which could be restored by construc- tion of a parking structure, adding $6 million to the bill, Vandenberg said. It would cost $200,000 a month for 30 years to pay off the debt, he said. C.H. Johnson Consulting, which did the latest study, VXJJHVWHG WKUHH ¿QDQFLQJ RSWLRQV 7KH ¿UVW VXJJHVWLRQ was to work with the cities of Cannon Beach and Astoria to increase their lodging taxes and contribute the proceeds to the convention center. But, Vandenberg said, “I feel, re- alistically, that’s not going to happen.” The second option was to raise the city’s 8 percent lodging tax by 6 percent. That would bring in $2.6 million a year, about the amount needed annually. Another 1 percent in lodging taxes goes to the state. In comparison, Vanden- berg noted, Portland has a 13 percent lodging tax. The third option was to create a 2.75 percent “busi- ness improvement district” tax that would be applied to all retail sales — including food stores and restaurants — throughout Seaside and combine it with an increased lodging tax that could reach to SHUFHQW 7KH DFWXDO ¿JXUHV have not been determined yet, Vandenberg said. “We haven’t come up with a formula,” he added. “We have to look at all the options. But everything we do comes with a price tag.” Within 10 years the city could realize a 50 percent increase in economic devel- opment and event days, Van- denberg added. That would generate another $20 million to the $44 million annual eco- nomic impact the city already experiences from the conven- tion center. The expansion would al- low the convention center to bring groups of 500 to 600 to town. It currently is limited to conventions of 200 or few- er people. Within a 300-mile radius of Seaside there are “hundreds” of larger groups that have been unable to use the center, Vandenberg said. When asked in a survey if they would come to Seaside, the “overwhelming response was yes,” he said. “There’s a very strong indication that groups would come to Sea- side.” To accommodate the visi- tors, Seaside already has 600 “convention quality” rooms within walking distance, ac- cording to Vandenberg. Some hotels would have to undergo some upgrades if they wanted to compete, he added. Questions to Vandenberg focused on what would pre- YHQWSHRSOHIURP¿QGLQJOHVV costly lodging elsewhere or going to another town to shop if the sales tax was adopted. “I think you might be shooting the goose that’s lay- ing the golden egg,” one per- son told Vandenberg. If the City Council ap- proves the expansion and funding, the architectural de- VLJQV ZRXOG EH ¿QDOL]HG LQ 2016 and construction could begin in 2017, Vandenberg said. Suspicious pipe closes the Astoria Column sives Unit for consultation. They also conferred with the Astoria Parks and Recreation Director Astoria Police closed the Asto- Angela Cosby, who checked with ria Column Sunday morning to in- her staff to see if they recognized vestigate a suspicious item, appear- the item. Oregon State Police Explo- ing to be a potential pipe bomb. By noon, the Oregon State sives Unit determined the device Police Explosives Unit removed was unlikely to be explosive in the item and deemed it not likely nature. The item was moved re- motely then taken from the area. explosive. The park was reopened to An Astoria Column caretaker reported the suspicious item to the public just before noon. Johnston said his department the police at 9:46 a.m. Sunday. Police arrived and found a appreciates the cooperation of large diameter pipe that was at those who were inconvenienced OHDVWSDUWLDOO\¿OOHGZLWKFRQFUHWH by the closure. “These cases are frequently As a precaution, Astoria Po- lice Chief Brad Johnston said, best addressed with an abun- WKHUHVSRQGLQJRI¿FHUVDVNHGWKH dance of caution,” Johnston few people at the column to leave said. “Getting it wrong in the and closed the park to the public. more cautious direction has very 7KH RI¿FHUV WRRN SLFWXUHV RI little downside. Getting it wrong the item and sent the pictures to on the more optimistic direction the Oregon State Police Explo- has huge downsides.” By KYLE SPURR By The Daily Astorian JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Brittany, right, and Zoey Thorne tour the Columbia River Maritime Museum during an Oregon Connections Acade- my-sponsored trip Friday. Oregon Connections charter students visit Astoria museum Field trip highlights National School Choice Week By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Elliana Fladstol, a 17-year-old high school junior, helped her mother, Teri, greet and register fam- ilies on Field Trip Friday at the Columbia River Mari- time Museum. The students and their families came from Astoria, the Portland metro area and, in the Flad- stols’ case, Tillamook. Oregon Connections Academy, the state’s largest public online charter school, organized a field trip that brought 18 students to As- toria on the tail end of Na- tional School Choice Week, which highlights public, charter, magnet, private and homeschooling options. Connections Academy is associated with Scio School District in Linn County, and includes about 3,700 stu- dents statewide and 60 in Clatsop County. Parents at the academy’s field trip had varying reasons for choos- ing it. “I always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom,” said Teri Fladstol, adding that she was certified by her local community col- lege when the family lived in Washington. “Part of it was staying at home, being with the kids and educating them.” After hearing critiques about the limitations of public schooling from rel- atives who were teachers and aides, said Fladstol, she decided she could teach El- liana and her younger broth- er, a freshman. Elliana has been enrolled in Connec- tions Academy since sev- enth grade. Elliana said she logs on to Connections Academy in the morning to check for emails, assignments, les- sons and grades. Then she completes her lessons for the day online. “It’s all pret- ty simple from that stand- point,” she said Although she isn’t in a physical school, Elliana has JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Elinora Cannon, left, 2, and Elijah Cannon, right, 11, from Oregon Connections Academy listen in at the “Fishermen Tell Their Stories” exhibit during a visit to the Columbia River Maritime Museum Friday. her own brand of physical education, often jogging on a treadmill at home. She so- cializes with peers through programs like 4-H and her church. “It’s not like I’m at home all the time and sepa- rated from the world.” The Fladstols said they meet teachers at open hous- es and during field trips around the state. Her chil- dren are able to go through entire textbooks in-depth with homeschooling, Teri Fladstol said, something she’d heard was uncommon in public school. Elliana’s father is a me- chanical engineer from a family of mathematicians, Fladstol said, so math has never been an issue. School issues Brenda Teague said it was issues with administra- tors at individual schools that led her to take son Jo- sef Teague, 10, out of John Jacob Astor Elementary School as a first-grader, and later Lewis and Clark Ele- mentary as a fifth-grader. Josef, who said he prefers a traditional school but is alright with Connections Academy, will leave home- schooling again next year to attend Astoria Middle School. “After middle school age, the kids are treated less like they’re the teach- ers’ wards, and more like they’re people,” said Bren- da Teague. Josef said he socializes with neighborhood friends and those he’s made at school. He works out with his brother, a student at As- toria High School, in the weight room. “He’s learning stuff that his older brother was learn- ing in seventh grade,” said Brenda Teague, adding that success in homeschooling depends on the child. American Cancer Society seeks volunteer drivers An estimated 22,410 Or- egon residents will learn that they have cancer this year. The American Cancer Soci- ety provides transportation to and from treatment facilities to help people with cancer JHWWKHFULWLFDOFDUHWKH\QHHG however, getting to their scheduled treatment may be a challenge, the society reports. “One cancer patient re- quiring radiation therapy could need anywhere from 20 to 30 trips to treatment in six weeks,” states Lily Westlund, American Can- cer Society mission delivery specialist. “A patient receiv- ing chemotherapy might re- port for treatment weekly for up to a year. In many cases, a patient is driven to hospi- tals or clinics by relatives or friends, but even these pa- tients must occasionally seek alternative transportation. That’s where the American Cancer Society Road To Re- covery program comes in.” The free program pro- vides patients rides to and from their medical treatment. To ensure that all patients have transportation when they need it, the society is looking for volunteer drivers and a road coordinator. Road To Recovery volunteer driv- ers arrange their own sched- ules, with some volunteering as little as one afternoon a month and others driving patients as often as twice a week. Those who have a car and some spare time can help someone keep an important appointment For information about and the Road To Recovery program and other ACS pro- grams and services, or to vol- unteer, call 800-227-2345 or go to www.cancer.org W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500 PUBLIC NOTICE CMH ENT/Cosmetic Surgery Clinic to close Feb. 20, 2015 After two years of dedicated service, Dr. Christopher Nyte will be leaving Astoria and the CMH ENT/Cosmetic Surgery Clinic will be closing. Dr. Nyte will continue to keep scheduled appointments until Feb. 20, 2015, and will ensure that his patients have alternative options if they have been under his care. Any patients who have seen Dr. Nyte in the CMH ENT/Cosmetic Surgery Clinic in the past 2 years will be able to access their records through the CMH Medical Records department; the phone number is 503-338-7528.