4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015
‘Kicker’ will return $402.4 million
Local football
to Oregon taxpayers next tax season teams ready to
By PETER WONG
Capital Bureau
SALEM — Oregonians
can expect an average of $124
off their 2015 tax returns due
in April 2016, according to
the state’s latest economic and
revenue forecast.
State Economist MarN Mc-
Mullen said Wednesday that
the amount of excess income
tax collections from the pre-
vious two-year budget cycle is
$402.4 million, down from the
$473 million forecast May 14.
He said tax collections
dipped more than anticipated
in late spring and the result is
the smaller amount.
Wednesday’s forecast is the
¿rst of the new budget cycle,
and also is the one immediate-
ly after the close of the 2013-
15 cycle.
8nliNe the practice for the
past two decades, the excess
— Nnown as the “NicNer” —
will be returned to individual
taxpayers in the form of a cred-
it against the following year’s
tax bills. LawmaNers in 2011
ended the practice of mailing
checNs directly to taxpayers
that was started in 1995.
The average rebate of $124
is for Oregon median incomes
— half of them above and
half below — ranging from
$30,000 to $35,000. Because
the rebate is based on liability,
higher-income households will
get far more than the average;
low-income households will
get as little as $10.
The most recent NicNer was
in 2007, when $1.1 billion was
rebated a few months before
the of¿cial start of the latest
economic downturn.
A 1979 law, which voters
wrote into the Oregon Consti-
tution in 2000, requires a re-
bate of excess taxes when ac-
tual collections exceed budget
projections by 2 percent.
The law also applies to
corporate income taxes, but
in 2012, voters earmarNed any
excess collections of corporate
taxes for the state school fund.
That amount is built into the
current state budget cycle that
started July 1.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Mark Hollander, a hotelier based in Bellingham, Wash., speaks during a Port of Astoria meeting Tuesday.
Port: µWe’d liNe to have literally a 99-year-lease’
Continued from Page 1A
Hollander said his pref-
erence is to go into a short-
term lease between 90 and
180 days to assess the prop-
erty and operation. His and
the Port’s attorney have been
worNing on a short-term
agreement since late last
month, and Hollander said
he would be able to taNe over
the hotel within two days of
that agreement being signed.
“I’m prepared to taNe
negative cash flow during
this short lease period to do
my due diligence, and pre-
pare for a long-term lease,”
Hollander said.
The Port estimates Brad
Smithart, the current opera-
tor of the hotel through his
company Hospitality Mas-
ters, owes the Port and city
upward of $400,000, along
with tax liens. When asNed
about paying them off, Hol-
lander said Smithart’s debts
can fit into a larger project,
adding he wants to put $1.5
million into the hotel.
Hollander also talNed
about fixing up the roads,
landscaping and ChinooN
Building around the hotel.
LiNe the RiverwalN Inn,
Hollander said it will taNe
time to determine wheth-
er the building housing the
long-vacant Seafare Restau-
rant & Lounge is still sal-
vageable, adding he could
turn the former restaurant
into a meeting space until
the marNet is ready for an-
other restaurant.
“We’d liNe to have literal-
ly a 99-year lease,” Holland-
er said of the long-term.
The Port Commission re-
cently voted unanimously to
continue negotiating a short-
term agreement with Hol-
lander, but to also develop
an open bidding process in
which Hollander would have
to compete with a growing
number of suitors for the
RiverwalN Inn.
Hollander said he would
not be willing to compete
in that process. He, Knight
and the commission met in a
closed executive session af-
ter the meeting to discuss his
proposal more in-depth.
Everybody gets a turn
Preceding
Hollander’s
presentations were pitches
by several other suitors for
the hotel during public com-
ment.
Ganesh SonpatNi, a Port-
land operator of nine budget
hotels through Param Hotel
Group, has been courting
Chester
Trabucco
speaks at the
Port meeting
Tuesday.
Joshua Bessex
The Daily
Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Brad Smithart speaks during
the Port meeting Tuesday.
Smithart since late last year.
The Port Commission voted
in early June to have staff
worN on transferring the
RiverwalN Inn lease from
Smithart to SonpatNi.
But the deal never final-
ized. The Port terminated
Smithart’s contract in early
July. And it has been trying
since to evict him without
shutting down the hotel.
SonpatNi’s lawyer, Colin
Hunter, announced late last
month SonpatNi was pre-
pared to sue if the Port didn’t
honor their agreement. On
Tuesday, he showed up with
a $273,000 cashier’s checN
he said was to pay Smi-
thart’s debts with the Port as
of June.
Hunter also brought
transfer consent he said was
completed Aug. 4 and signed
by all parties but the Port.
All that has to be done, he
said, is for the Port to cancel
Smithart’s eviction, sign the
transfer, taNe the checN and
move on.
But the Port contends
there is no lease to transfer
to SonpatNi.
Former Hotel Elliott de-
veloper Chester Trabucco
recently came forward as
a contender for the hotel
in partnership with native
Astorian William Orr in
a company called Astoria
Hospitality Ventures. Orr is
a lawyer who also leads a
seafood processing company
in Seattle.
Trabucco said it was he
who called Commissioner
Stephen Fulton and asNed
him if SonpatNi’s proposal
to operate a budget hotel in
the RiverwalN Inn was the
best use of the building. “I
started that mess, but I thinN
you have more interest in the
hotel now,” he said.
At Tuesday’s meeting,
Trabucco presented a 90-day
contract to operate the hotel
in the short-term, adding he
and Orr have made available
$350,000 to pay off Smi-
thart’s debts. Trabucco pre-
sented a vision of restoring
the RiverwalN Inn and Sea-
fare restaurant bacN to their
original glory.
Moreover, Trabucco said,
he, Orr and SonpatNi are in
daily contact and willing to
worN together on operation
of the hotel. It was unclear
how linNed the proposals
from the Param Group and
Hospitality Ventures are.
Ann Samuelson, a real es-
tate broNer from Seaside and
former Clatsop County com-
missioner, came to represent
her client, James Mulloy,
owner of the Comfort Suites
through Malbco Holdings
LLC. He owns 10 hotels, she
said, and is interested in in-
vesting in Astoria, the hotel
and the restaurant.
Samuelson said the Port
should looN at selling the
hotel to get some money
for other industrial projects
creating more living-wage
jobs.
Dissatisfied customer
“Many people have failed
in business, and I’m one of
them,” said Smithart, who
approached during public
comment to share his disgust
over what he said has been
disrespectful treatment by
Knight and the Port.
“Being a tenant and be-
ing slandered by the Port for
failing at business is offend-
ing,” Smithart said, adding
the way he has been spoNen
to by Knight is disgusting,
and the last time he tried to
talN with Knight about his
lease, he was thrown out of
the Port’s offices.
Smithart has said he
wants to get out of the hotel
and focus on the arcade he
opened in downtown Asto-
ria. He also maintains that he
has offered a solution to his
debt the Port hasn’t taNen,
referring to SonpatNi.
Smithart said he has
spent hundreds of thousands
of dollars fixing up a run-
down hotel and pays about
$700,000 in payroll.
jam(boree)
The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Fishermen
will be hosting a big foot-
ball jamboree summit Fri-
day at Columbia Memorial
Field.
Six
freshman/sopho-
more teams will be partici-
pating, along with nine var-
sity teams.
The freshman/sopho-
more jamboree begins at 2
p.m., followed by the varsi-
ty jamboree at 6 p.m.
Gates open at 12:30 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults
and $3 for students, between
12:30 to 5 p.m. Admission
increases to $6 for adults
and $4 for students after 5
p.m., for the varsity jambo-
ree.
Only OSAA coaches
cards can be used for free
admission. No other passes
will be accepted.
Due to the number of
teams and spectators ex-
pected, overÀow parNing
will be provided at the
Astoria High School main
parNing lot. Shuttle service
will be provided by the As-
toria School District. Shut-
tles will run every 15 min-
utes beginning at 5 p.m.,
and will continue until 7:30
p.m. Shuttle service will
then resume at the conclu-
sion of the jamboree.
3arNing issues at CMH
have been addressed, said
Astoria head coach and Ath-
letic Director Howard Rub.
³:e thinN parNing for
a big game will be tight,”
he said. “But there are 500
spaces here, which is more
than we ever had at John
Warren. We never really had
any parNing downtown.
“We¶ll maNe it worN. For
the jamboree, we are going
to run shuttles from the high
school, because we have
nine teams coming here.
We¶re expecting a pacNed
facility. We can seat 1,200
in the grandstand, and we
¿gure to be close to that. We
are going to rotate a shuttle
from the high school parN-
ing lot.”
The school will “prob-
ably not” run a shuttle for
other home games this year.
Although, “If things go
well in our nonleague sea-
son liNe we hope, the open-
ing game with Scappoose
might need some parNing
help with the shuttle,” Rub
said.
The varsity jamboree
will be divided into three
Pools: A-Seaside, Warren-
ton, Ilwaco B-ClatsNanie,
TillamooN, <amhill-Carl-
ton; C-Astoria, Estacada,
Stayton.
Teams from each pool
will play on half of the ¿eld.
Teams from Pools A and B
will begin at 6 p.m., teams
from Pool C will begin at
approximately 6:30. Each
team will run 36 offensive
plays.
Knappa will be partici-
pating in a four-team jam-
boree Friday at Nestucca.
SCOREBOARD
PREP SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
Volleyball — Astoria at Santiam
Christian, 1 p.m.; Knappa at War-
renton, 6:30 p.m.
Cross Country — Seaside at Wil-
sonville Night Meet, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Football — Astoria Jamboree, at
CMH Field, 5 p.m. (with Clatskanie,
Estacada, Ilwaco, Seaside, Stayton,
Warrenton, Yamhill-Carlton); Neah-
Kah-Nie Jamboree, 7 p.m.
Volleyball — Knappa at Neah-
Kah-Nie, 6 p.m.
SATURDAY
Volleyball — Warrenton Tourna-
ment, 8:30 a.m.; Knappa at Colum-
bia Christian Tournament, TBA
:LW[LTILY
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>OH[! 5K walk/run or 10K run, followed by a bonfire on
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>OLYL! Peter Iredale Shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park,
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/V^! Register online at www.RaceToTheBar.com.
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