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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 9, 2015)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2015 Boatyard: ‘It almost feels like we’re rushing into it’ Continued from Page 1A JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Leroy Dunn, left, talks with Astoria City Councilor Cindy Price, right, during a meeting at the Ocean View Cemetery. Dunn, who has family in the cemetery, is not happy with the current state. Cemetery: Councilors ask whether property can be sold Continued from Page 1A But the City Council did not appear enthusiastic about restoring Ocean View to the manicured splendor of de- cades past, when interest from the irreducible fund provided healthy returns that could be used for upkeep. Interest from the fund — which now has about $828,000 to tend to the cem- etery for eternity — has only produced marginal returns during the past few years. Even if fees are increased and the returns eventually im- prove, the money will likely not be enough to make Ocean View the cemetery old-timers remember. “I don’t see making this a golf course,” said LaMear, who has a plot at the ceme- tery. “I really don’t.” The city projects that the 100-acre cemetery, which dates to 1897 and has more than 16,000 plots, could reach its current development ca- pacity in about three years and would need to expand into its remaining 50 acres. City Councilor Drew Her- zig asked city staff to research JOSHUA BESSEX — The Daily Astorian Jonah Dart-McLean, maintenance supervisor with Astoria Parks and Recreation, pauses at headstones during the City Council tour through the Ocean View Cemetery. The head- stones were uncovered by volunteer Carl Hagnas. whether the cemetery could be sold to a private owner. Councilor Zetty Nemlowill suggested that the city could sell the undeveloped 50 acres to a private developer and use the revenue to help maintain the existing plots. She, like LaMear, would also prefer that the city not have to subsi- dize cemetery operations. Nemlowill believes many in Astoria are probably un- aware the city owns a ceme- tery in Warrenton. “I want to get back to the idea, though, of whether or not we should be in the business of cemeteries,” she said. “And I know that we’ve made promises and we have contracts for the existing plots, but what about the fu- ture?” Harvest:3XEOLFZDVQRWJLYHQFKDQFHWRFRPPHQW on the project before the motion was approved from Dreyer, the board voted unanimously to approve taking /RJJLQJ FUHZV KDYH ¿Q- the project to bid. The project LVKHGDERXWDFUHVDQG3XEOLF was not taken to bid, however. Works Director Neal Wallace $GPLQLVWUDWLYH $VVLVWDQW .LP told the council there would be -RUGDQ VDLG WKH PRWLRQ ZDV costs associated with not mov- misstated, and the City Council ing forward. The city invested “knew at that meeting there was about $12,000 in seedlings to not going to be a bid.” replant in the clearcut areas, and 5DWKHU -RUGDQ VDLG WKH the logging crew also expects a council meant to only approve certain volume of trees as part of the project. Councilor Don its payment. -RKQVRQZKRPDGHWKHPRWLRQ “If we put this on hold for agreed that the council “intend- right now, this job is pretty much ed” to authorize city staff to pro- done,” Wallace said. The log- ceed with the project. ging company, Berlog, of Clats- If the project had gone to bid, kanie, and forester Mark Dreyer, it would have been proposed by owner of Lone Cedar Consult- resolution, which would have re- ing and the city’s consulting quired a public comment period. forester since 2006, would not When asked why the project wait a month while a discussion did not have to go to bid, Wal- occurred, Wallace said. lace responded, “When we hired the forest manager we turned Project concerns over the operation to him. At the council’s meeting “He reviews the logger’s Feb. 9, the Necanicum Water- information and makes the deci- shed Council also asked the City sion/recommendation on behalf Council to reconsider approving of the city,” Wallace said. “The the project. Melyssa Graeper, council approved the forester’s coordinator for the council, read recommendation.” a letter from the organization. There is no record of the Noting that the watershed council approving the recom- council has contributed over $2 PHQGDWLRQWRKLUH%HUORJRQO\ million in conservation funds to Dreyer’s initial description of the community to address envi- the project is on the record. ronmental and other issues, the In addition, the public was letter expressed concern that the not given an opportunity at the city, “a designated ‘Tree City, December meeting to comment USA,’ is quickly moving ahead on the project before the motion on a timber harvest in the water- was approved. shed with little public process, The North Coast Land Con- including allowing the water- servancy was not offered the shed council to provide the input opportunity either, Executive it was asked for.” 'LUHFWRU.DWLH9RHONHVDLG The project was listed on “When we heard of the plan, the agenda for the Dec. 8 City we approached the city to offer Council meeting under new our services,” she said, adding that business and solely as a pre- she learned of the project from a sentation by Wallace. After a -DQXDU\QHZVSDSHUDUWLFOH roughly 10-minute presenta- “Watershed-based land ac- tion, which included comments quisition is the charitable service Continued from Page 1A was lacking controls and it was lacking the energy and boatyard. In an Aug. 8 let- effort of all parties,” said WHULWQRWL¿HGWKH3RUWWKDW .QLJKW³%RDWRZQHUV3RUW it was under more stringent staff — all of us to some Tier II monitoring require- extent, are participants in ments, following two years this issue, in that we to- of testing that revealed JHWKHUKDYHQRWGH¿QHGWKH high hits of copper coming sources.” out of drains near piers 1 Rushing in and 3. “It almost feels like In the letter, the DEQ mandated that by Dec. 30, we’re rushing into it, and WKH 3RUW ZRUN ZLWK D FHU- once it’s closed, it’s hard WL¿HG HQJLQHHU WR GHYLVH WR UHRSHQ LW´ VDLG -HUHP\ a plan to reduce storm- 'DYLV FKLHI ¿QDQFLDO RI- water pollution and sub- ¿FHU IRU (QJOXQG 0DULQH mit it. But it wasn’t until and Industrial Supply, be- mid-December that the IRUHTXHU\LQJ.QLJKW:K\ agency contracted with April 1? .QLJKW UHVSRQGHG WKDW Ada Banasik, an engineer with Maul Foster Alongi, it’s an arbitrary date the WRVSHFL¿FDOO\ZRUNRQWKH 3RUW¶V VKRRWLQJ IRU LQ RU- der to build momentum Tier II response plan. 7KH 3RUW VXEPLWWHG D and show some actions to plan to DEQ to reroute DEQ, again invoking the VWRUPZDWHU WR D ELR¿O- 3RUW¶VUHVSRQVLELOLW\WRWKH WUDWLRQ V\VWHP RQ 3LHU environment. .XUW (QJOXQG SUHVL- The DEQ has given the 3RUW XQWLO -XQH dent of Englund Marine, to implement the plan. mentioned the Chinook If sampling after that is Observer article in which above benchmarks, said 0LNH :HVWRQ WKH 3RUW¶V WKH '(4¶V OHWWHU WKH 3RUW director of business de- would need to submit a velopment and operations, Tier II Benchmark Ex- VDLGWKH3RUWPDGH ceedance report evaluating to $100,000 gross prof- whether the measures were it a year on the boatyard. properly, installed, main- +H DVNHG .QLJKW WR FODU- ify whether the boatyard tained and implemented. There was no mention makes or loses money. .QLJKWZKRPHQWLRQHG LQ WKH OHWWHU RI ¿QHV RU VKXWWLQJ GRZQ 3RUW RSHUD- the boatyard Thursday as a losing operation that tions. hasn’t charged enough /DFNRIVSHFL¿FV in fees, said he doesn’t 7KH 3RUW KDVQ¶W SURYHG know where Weston got conclusively that the boat- the number he reported to yard is the primary source, WKH QHZVSDSHU -LP *UH\ and there’s been no talk of WKH 3RUW¶V QHZ ¿QDQFH GL- shutting down log opera- rector, added that he didn’t tions to help stem pollu- either. tion. Bornstein asked how “If I recollect correctly, PXFKLWZRXOGFRVWWKH3RUW before the boatyard was to come into compliance there, there were issues with the new stormwater with copper in the storm- UHTXLUHPHQWV 7KH 3RUW¶V water,” said Greg Morrill, permit and project manag- president of Bergerson er, Robert Evert, guessed it Construction, which stores was “north of $3 million.” materials near the boat- .QLJKWKDVHVWLPDWHGDERXW yard. He encouraged the $5 million to build a new, 3RUW WR ORRN DW WKH KLVWRU\ modernized boatyard. RISROOXWLRQIURP3LHU “I think this is bogus, Andrew Bornstein, IUDQNO\ -LP , MXVW FDQ¶W co-owner of Bornstein buy it,” said Dave Dens- Seafoods, questioned PRUH D FRPPHUFLDO ¿VK- whether brake pads from erman based in Astoria. “I DOO WKH WUXFN WUDI¿F FRXOG helped design that whole be a source of contami- UHJLRQDO PDVWHU SODQ , nants, and whether closing don’t know if you’ve seen the boatyard is a false give it. But it was a good plan to DEQ while surrendering that would have paid for a community asset. updates, if it would have $OO WKH 3RUW¶V DFWLYLWLHV been carried through. In- DQG WUDI¿F VDLG .QLJKW stead, it’s been killed off contribute to stormwater and starved down to where SROOXWLRQ 7KH 3RUW KDV we don’t have a damn challenged the source of thing there now, hardly. copper and whether testing “And I put that right for it was appropriate af- back at the commission, ter a long dry spell during EHFDXVH WKH 3RUW FRP- which copper could have missioners, they sold that accumulated before dump- boatyard out as far as I’m ing into the system. concerned.” “If you’ve ever looked Coming Tuesday: What at the boatyard to see how the Port’s master plans en- owners are actually prep- visioned for Pier 3; how ping the sites and contain- logs came but the marine ing the work that they’re industrial cluster petered doing, I think you come to out; and how ports like the same conclusion that 7ROHGRDUHEHQH¿WLQJIURP I come to, that DEQ has boatyards while the Port certainly come to, that it looks to close its. Because the timber harvest- ing project is underway, Graeper and Voelke said their organiza- tions want to help the city devel- op a comprehensive watershed protection plan to guide future decisions. The watershed council, Graeper said, could offer the city technical assistance and possibly funds to create a comprehensive watershed protection plan. At today’s City Council meeting, both organizations will propose Protecting the watershed how, through partnerships, the The watershed council also city and various stakeholders asked the City Council to revis- might go through a watershed it its forest management plan. protection planning process. At the December City Council “Regardless of what is hap- meeting, when Councilor Don pening now, that’s still a really -RKQVRQ DVNHG LI WKH WLPEHU good idea,” Voelke said. “We KDUYHVW ¿WV ZLWKLQ WKH IRUHVW just want to support the city’s management plan, Wallace said ability to make decisions about the plan was “very loosely put the watershed in the context of together” and only existed to the big picture.” manage the watershed and water quality and production. Wallace said later he was re- MEMBER APPRECIATION ferring to the water conservation and management plan because he and several other city staff members were not aware a for- SEPTEMBER 12–19, 2015 est, or rather timber, manage- ment plan existed until Wallace Roundtrip from Seattle starting at $899 searched the archives recently. 7-DAY ALASKAN EXPLORER VIA GLACIER BAY The city’s timber management Join us on this AAA Hosted Cruise, sailing plan has not been updated since out of Seattle’s scenic Puget Sound aboard 1983. Holland America’s classic ms Westerdam. The watershed council’s Enjoy up to $75 shipboard credit per letter admonished the city for stateroom, an onboard social reception its lack of attention to the man- and other AAA surprises! agement plan. It should not be a CALL DEBBIE SCHINDLER AT “one-time thought,” but a living SODQZLWKVSHFL¿FVKRUWWHUPDF- AAA TRAVEL: 503.861.3118 tivities leading to well thought 135 S Highway 101, Warrenton out, long-term goals, the letter said. “To know that decisions are being made based on an old and loosely put together plan is dis- All pricing is per person, double occupancy, cruise only, and subject to change and availability. Air, transfers, fuel heartening to say the least,” the surcharges, government taxes and fees are additional. Shipboard credit is up to $37.50 per person for a maximum of $75 per stateroom. Ships’ Registry: The Netherlands. letter added. that we provide as a land trust,” Voelke said. If the city creates a stewardship plan, it’s possible to receive grants to purchase more land, she added. Graeper said the situation has raised some questions about the public process regarding city projects and where there is room in the system for feedback. “Moving forward I want to understand the city’s process and be a part of it,” she said.