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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 6, 2015)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 2015 Convention center’s expansion committee considering next step By KATHERINE LACAZE EO Media Group ALEX PAJUNAS — The Daily Astorian A female coho salmon, sporting a worn and battered tail from scouring a redd in the gravel, rests along the bottom of the north fork of Ecola Creek Nov. 12, 2014. Environmentalists threaten to sue over salmon recovery plan PORTLAND. (AP) — Two environmental groups are threatening to sue a federal agency over what they deem its fail- ure to develop a recovery plan for the Oregon coast coho salmon. The formal notice of intent to sue was filed Tuesday by the Center for Biological Diversity and Oregon Wild. The Oregon coast coho has been protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 2008. Despite this, the two groups say, the National Marine Fisheries Service has failed to develop a recovery plan for the fish. The plan would en- tail reforming logging and other land-manage- ment practices, which the groups say contribute to the decline of the salmon. The Fisheries Service says the lawsuit is un- necessary. The agency is working on the plan and will release a draft some- time this fall. SEASIDE — A recent survey of Seaside Downtown District Association and Cham- ber of Commerce members regarding the po- tential Seaside Civic and Convention Center expansion as proposed raised concerns, not only as to how it will be funded, but also is- sues that exist external of the project, such as downtown parking. Finding a viable funding resource has EHHQ LGHQWL¿HG DV D FUXFLDO SUHUHTXLVLWH WR the proposed expansion, but parking is even more important and must be addressed at some point, regardless if the project is halted, said Jeff Kilday, chairman of the Convention Center Commission and a member of the subcommittee on the expansion. The proposed expansion, which is esti- mated to cost $25 million, would increase the IDFLOLW\¶VVSDFHE\DERXWVTXDUHIHHW Several studies on the expansion have recom- PHQGHG FRQVWUXFWLQJ D QHZ VTXDUH IRRWH[KLELWKDOOFRQYHUWLQJWKH3DFL¿F+DOO and Necanicum Room into a multi-purpose EDOOURRPRUEDQTXHWVSDFHDGGLQJDQDGGL- WLRQDOVTXDUHIHHWRIPHHWLQJDQGEUHDN out space; along with storage space and re- strooms. There is space to host a large group of people for their meeting or to feed them, but not to do both seamlessly, and it’s costing the center customers, Kilday said. Additionally, WKHUHDUHQ¶WDGHTXDWHIDFLOLWLHVLQWKHQHDUE\ downtown area to feed 400 plus people with- in an hour, which is usually what groups allot for lunch. “It’s about logistics,” Kilday added. Seaside Civic and Convention Center No one is optimistic an agreement could be reached with Cannon Beach and Astoria, and the community response to the other op- tions has been overwhelmingly negative. “We don’t believe the (sales) tax is a vi- able solution,” Kilday said. “Quite frankly, I don’t think anyone on the committee thought is was good idea.” Additionally, if municipal lodging tax is increased by 6 percent, or to 14 percent, it will put Seaside’s tax far above other near- by jurisdictions. Cannon Beach’s municipal lodging tax is 7 percent, Astoria’s is 9 percent and Warrenton’s is 12 percent. Portland’s mu- nicipal tax is 6 percent, but guests also have to pay a 5.5 percent tax that goes to Multnomah County, and some establishments that have 50 or more rooms pass on their 2 percent Portland Tourism Improvement District fee to guests. Guests in all localities pay an addi- tional 1 percent tax that goes to the state. Overall, Kilday said, he felt the study was Parking spaces “a poorly done feasibility study.” The expan- Since the expansion would remove at VLRQFRPPLWWHHDVNHG&+-RKQVRQ&RQVXOW- least 40 parking spaces to the west of the cen- ing to research and develop more funding ter, a $6 million multistory parking structure options for the city to consider, Kilday said. is being considered, as well. It will cost the Those results will be reported to the commit- city about $200,000 per month for 30 years tee soon. to pay off the debt from both endeavors, Con- ³,¶P2.ZLWKWKHLGHDWKDWZHFDQ¶W¿- vention Center General Manager Russ Van- nance it, and saying, ‘no.’” Kilday said. denberg has said. Funding is only secondary, though; park- 7KH ODWHVW VWXG\ D ¿QDQFLDO IHDVLELOLW\ ing is the priority, he said. The feasibility study VWXG\ FRQGXFWHG E\ &+ -RKQVRQ &RQVXOW- DQGWKHFRPPXQLW\¶VVXEVHTXHQWUHDFWLRQWRLW ing, suggested three funding options to cov- illustrated the need to address the downtown er the $31 million: a 6 percent increase in parking issue separately. Doing so, he said, is Seaside’s lodging taxes; a joint agreement not a responsibility of the Convention Center between Seaside, Astoria and Cannon Beach Commission, so action must be initiated by to raise lodging taxes by 2 percent in each lo- the merchants themselves or the city. cality, with the proceeds to go to the conven- Constructing a multi-tiered parking struc- tion center; or a combination of a 2.75 percent ture, as has been suggested, is one of the few business improvement district tax on restau- and most practical solutions. It poses a prob- rants, retail sales, gas and groceries along with lem, however, that is similar to one associated a smaller increase in lodging taxes. with the convention center expansion, Kilday said. Where will people park and how much disruption will be caused to the downtown area during the construction phase? The large public parking lot near the center likely would become a staging area for expansion con- VWUXFWLRQ DQG FRXOG EH RYHUUXQ ZLWK HTXLS- ment and materials for months, Kilday said. Alternatives For those reasons, the committee is con- sidering an alternative to expansion, which would be to work within the center’s footprint and manipulate or renovate the space to serve the present needs. “I think we’re pulling away from the ex- pansion as we saw it,” Kilday said, and com- mission member Tim Tolan agreed. “Because the reaction was very negative, we backed off from the expansion,” said To- lan, who also serves on the expansion com- mittee. “We’ve had good participation as far as input from the community, and we’re tak- ing that real seriously.” The committee knows, Tolan said, that DQ\H[SDQVLRQZRXOGEHGLI¿FXOWVDQVVXS- port from downtown businesses. The city has asked a planner to review the center and see if the idea has potential. A project of that nature also would carry an undetermined expense. Vandenberg agreed they are looking to see ZKDW DGGLWLRQDO VTXDUH IRRWDJH RI EDOOURRP space could be obtained by utilizing the exist- LQJIRRWSULQWEXWQRWKLQJKDVEHHQ¿QDOL]HG nor options ruled out. ³8QWLOZHPDNHD¿QDOGHFLVLRQRUDUHF- ommendation (to City Council), we don’t re- ally have anything concrete at this point,” he said. “Everything is still on the table.” +H H[SHFWV WKH\ ZLOO EULQJ D ¿QDO UHF- ommendation to City Council, which will KDYHWKH¿QDOVD\RQWKHSURMHFWDQGIXQGLQJ source, within three to six months. Celebrating CAREGIVERS National Nurses Week is in May. Join us in thanking a QXUVHQXUVHâVDVVLVWDQWRUPHGLFDODVVLVWDQWIRUWKHLU GHGLFDWLRQDQGFRPSDVVLRQ The nursing profession has changed tremendously over the past few decades. Nurses now work in a high touch and high tech environment. To keep up with the rapid pace of change, CMH’s nurses learn new techniques and refresh existing skills throughout the year. We are proud of the quality and professionalism of our nursing caregivers. Thank you to all of our direct caregivers for the compassion you show to our patients. 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