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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2015)
California Dreaming Locals compete in Shrine Game OPINION • 6A SPORTS • 4A WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2015 143rd YEAR, No. 21 ONE DOLLAR Port under pressure on Riverwalk Inn Three suitors vie to operate hotel By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian Under pressure to control a rud- derless Astoria Riverwalk Inn, the Port of Astoria will likely decide by Friday on a new operator for the Uniontown property. The Port has terminated the lease held by Brad Smithart of Hospital- ity Masters and will go to Circuit Court Friday to evict Smithart, who had fallen behind on payments to the Port, the city and county. At an unusual special session Tuesday night, the Port Commission heard from three potential suitors for the Riverwalk Inn who each indicat- ed they would be capable of taking over, and potentially improving, the unsettled property. Two of the prospects — Ganesh Sonpatki, a Portland hotelier, and William Orr, a Seattle businessman who grew up in Astoria — pledged to immediately pay off Smithart’s public debts and operate the inn. A new suitor — Mark Hollander, the president of Hollander Hospitality in Bellingham, Wash. — indicated a willingness to satisfy the debts and enter into a short-term operations agreement. Hollander, whose company has relationships with several prominent hotel brands, said he is interested in At fair, a carnival atmosphere bringing a Marriott to Astoria as part of a long-term development project in Uniontown. Hollander, whose company has Crowne Plaza properties in Portland and Seattle and a Courtyard by Mar- riott in Tacoma, among others, is the most experienced hotelier among the See PORT, Page 10A Warrenton to fund church food pantry Money to pass through secular group By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Victor Salazar, with the BMX Freestyle Team, jumps over Teri Woodroof, of Spokane, Wash., during a show at the Clatsop County Fair Tuesday. Rides, cotton candy, snorting pigs By McKINLEY SMITH The Daily Astorian P erhaps the ¿rst ride at the Clatsop Coun- ty Fair begins at the grassy parking area, where a tractor pulls fairgoers along in a covered wagon up the hill, down the road, be- neath the bridge and to the fair. It’s a short trip, but it sets the tone for what comes next: the carnival atmosphere of rides and cotton candy with a helping of snorting pigs, hand-crafted quilts and community. This year’s theme is “Forest, Farms and Foam.” The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Saturday. Fun and farm animals Katelynn Blodgett, a 16-year-old Warrenton High School student, got to experience the fair through the thrill of Robert Castillo’s BMX Free- style Team, not just as an audience member, but also as a participant. When the call went out for volunteers as part of the show, she raised her hand. “I was feeling really brave,” Blodgett said. She was picked to stand on the Àat center of a BMX ramp as two performers jumped their bikes over her. She barely Àinched. She could feel the air rushing over her head as the riders went by. She said she’d seen the show a couple of times before she volunteered. Blodgett is a 4-H member showing steer, pig and sheep. Gracie Klemp, an 11-year-old who will at- tend Broadway Middle School in Seaside this fall, also shows livestock — pigs, speci¿cally. “I felt good showing,” she said. It’s her sec- ond year in 4-H. See FAIR, Page 10A WARRENTON — A church-run food pantry in Warrenton may soon receive $5,000 from the city, but the money will pass through a secular third party to preserve the separation of church and state. The Warrenton City Commission decided at Tuesday’s meeting to fund the Warrenton Food Bank Pantry, a nonpro¿t operated by the Calvary Assembly of God, through Clatsop Community Action, a nonpro¿t that helps low-income residents meet housing, food and other living needs. The grant would be earmarked strict- ly for the food pantry to spend on utilities and other operating costs. In approving the city’s budget for this ¿scal year, the commission had accidentally approved a total of $13,000 in funding requests for three religiously af¿liated organizations — a violation of the Oregon Consti- tution. The Warrenton Business Associ- ation, a city advisory board whose budget comes from business license fees, had recommended the three grants, which also included $5,000 for the North Coast Christian School to erect a fence at a Hammond park and $3,000 for a youth camp hosted by the Warrenton Christian Church. But, when voting on the bud- get, the commission only saw a line item labeled “nonpro¿ts,” unaware that some of these nonpro¿ts are religious ones. City Manager Kurt Fritsch didn’t notice the conÀict un- til he later reviewed the expenditures one by one. See WARRENTON, Page 10A Business owners doubt Ilwaco’s commitment to growth Contract with planner terminated By KATIE WILSON EO Media Group ILWACO, Wash. — The city of Ilwaco is temporarily without a city planner after Mayor Mike Cassinelli termi- nated the contract the city had with an Astoria-based group that supplied a person to ¿ll the role. The move prompted sever- al business and property own- ers to attend a City Council meeting Monday, saying they felt that the mayor is active- ly discouraging development and sending out a message that Ilwaco is “closed for business.” There is some question among council members whether Cassinelli could ter- minate that contract on his own since it was a contract that had to ¿rst be approved by the entire council. At the meeting, City At- torney Heather Reynolds was present and the council met privately in an executive session to discuss agency en- forcement actions or potential litigation. Different direction In a phone interview be- fore the meeting, Cassinelli said the decision to terminate the contract was his and that, “We decided to go in a differ- ent direction.” 2014 5 C LATS O P Ilwaco is a member of the Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce, which maintains memberships with various city and county governments in Oregon and Washington state in the Lower Columbia region. Through this mem- bership, Ilwaco has access to environmental planning and other services, of which, most recently, the Ilwaco city plan- ner was one. Ryan Crater, a senior coastal planner with CREST and former member of the Il- waco Planning Commission, had worked as city planner for Ilwaco through the con- tract with CREST for about two years. He said Cassinelli terminated the contract for planning services shortly af- ter Crater approved a permit for a bed and breakfast at a business, Tre-Fin Foods LLC, near the Port of Ilwaco. The city now plans to seek professional and environmen- tal planning services else- where, though it will maintain the main membership with CREST. “Ryan wasn’t the prob- lem,” Cassinelli said. “We just decided, I decided, to go in a different direction.” Crater worked with the city to oversee various types of business and development permits. He also worked with city staff on updating the state-required Shoreline Master Program which guides how Washington counties and cities manage, designate, de- velop and conserve shoreline areas. THURS DAY IS D A Y BUDDY C OUN TY F AIR Tw o-for-one a dm ission AUGUST 1 th ru F or m ore in form a tion go to w w w .cla tsopfa irgrou n d s.com Councilor David Jensen says the city has never had enough planning needs to justify permanently hiring someone to ¿ll that position. Instead, the city has contract- ed with companies and even Paci¿c County in the past. Personal problem At the City Council meet- ing Monday, a number of local business and property owners were in attendance and the owner of Tre-Fin Foods LLC, Dave Shurleff, said he felt the mayor had a personal problem with his business, which also houses the Ilwaco Tuna Club and a small commercial tu- na-processing plant. He said it has been a struggle to get the See ILWACO, Page 10A F a ir hou rs 10a m -9p m Ca rn iva l hou rs N o o n -9p m Buy one a ll-you-ca n-ride bra celet, g et the 2n d 1/2 p rice