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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2015)
Seaside Winter Sports Previews LET THE LIGHT IN FRIDAY EXTRA • 1C PAGES 8A & 9A 143rd YEAR, No. 113 ONE DOLLAR FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2015 • WEEKEND EDITION Port settles with two former employees Browne and her lawyer receive $478,000; Herman case ongoing By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian T he Port of Astoria on Thursday released two agreements signed last month to separate the agency from two former employees. The agency signed a separa- tion agreement with Mike Weston, the former director of business de- velopment and operations whose last day was Monday. In a separate agreement, it settled a lawsuit with Colleen Browne, the former ¿ nance manager ¿ red a year ago. In the settlement, Browne and her attorney Anne Foster will receive a total of $478,900 from the Port of Astoria’s insurer, the Special Districts Association of Oregon. The Port ¿ red both Browne and former Facilities Manager Tammi Herman a year ago. Foster represented both when they ¿ led a civil suit in U.S. District Court against the Port and Weston in Febru- ary. Browne and Herman claimed Weston abused his authority during his tenure as interim executive director, and that the agency retaliated against them for reporting his indiscretions. Weston held the position between Sep- tember 2013, when former Executive Director Hank Bynaker resigned, and October 2014, when Executive Direc- tor Jim Knight was hired. See PORT, Page 10A Wyden questions USPS threat to Observer Wetlands plan fi rst, then open for business Pot ads generate inquiry from Paci¿ c County Post Of¿ ce The Daily Astorian LONG BEACH, Wash. — Con- fusion over whether the U.S. Postal Service can mail the Chinook Ob- server and other newspapers with marijuana advertising will reach the desk of the postmaster general. In a letter to Postmaster Gener- al and Postal Service CEO Megan J. Brennan, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden and his colleagues — U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and U.S. Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer — seek clarity on how federal postal regulations intersect with state laws that legalize recreational marijuana. Washington state and Oregon are among the states that have legalized recreational marijuana, but the drug remains illegal under federal law. The U.S. Department of Justice, however, has encouraged states to establish strict regulations on legal pot and has said that federal en- forcement priorities do not include prosecution for possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use. On Monday, Long Beach Post- master Mark Scarborough contacted Chinook Observer Publisher Matt Winters with a memo dated Nov. 27 from managers of the Portland District. “The memo contained the eye-catching line: ‘If a mailpiece contains an advertisement for mari- juana, that piece is unmailable …,’” Winters said. The Observer and The Daily As- torian share a weekly publication, Coast Weekend, which frequently carries advertising for marijuana dis- pensaries in Paci¿ c County, Wash- ington, and Clatsop County. About half of the Observer’s newspapers are sent through the mail. A small portion of Astorian subscribers are served by mail. Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian A sign designates the location of North Coast Business Park near Southeast 19th Street and Southeast Ensign Lane in Warrenton. County in talks with potential developer for Warrenton area W ARRENTON — Earlier this year, all signs pointed to development at the North Coast Business Park. Having already been designated a Regional- ly Signi¿ cant Industrial Area, the 12-acre lot across from Costco in Warrenton also became part of the Clatsop Enterprise Zone, where prop- erty tax exemptions could be offered to encour- age new projects . The next step for the county-owned proper- ty was to take offers from interested business- es. However, the county recently learned that no mitigation had been done on the site’s many wetlands. An application — submitted in Octo- ber to the Oregon Department of State Lands and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — could take up to 18 months for approval, pushing the timeline for development into 2017. “They didn’t understand turning in the pa- perwork was not the end of the story, it was just the beginning,” Clatsop County Community Development Director Heather Hansen said of county administrators. it was over. I don’t think he realized the applica- tion could take a year or year and a half.” ‘It wasn’t as shovel -ready as advertised.’ By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian Speculative approach Dirk Rohne Clatsop County commissioner The news came as a surprise to the c ounty Board of Commissioners. C ounty commissioners learned about the delay this fall in executive session during ne- gotiations with an interested developer. Before executing an agreement, the county’s land use attorney informed the board about the need for wetland mitigation. “It wasn’t as shovel -ready as advertised,” Commissioner Dirk Rohne said. County staff was not at the table once nego- tiations started. Hansen, who helped submit the 1,200-page application, said former County Manager Scott Somers had the impression the wetland mitiga- tion was not going to hinder development. “Scott was just confused,” Hansen said. “He just thought when we turned the application in, Submitting an all-encompassing application at once is part of a new “speculative approach,” Hansen said, which is being encouraged by the Department of State Lands. Traditionally, applications would be sent one by one for speci¿ c development plans. The new approach allows wetland mitigation to be done on an entire site, taking out any un- certainty for future developers. “If you could get this taken care of in ad- vance, it’s more marketable,” Hansen said. The application focuses on compensatory mitigation, where the county plans to preserve wetlands on about a dozen other properties in order to be able to impact wetlands at the North Coast Business Park. By compensating for the loss of wetlands, the county will not have to purchase wetland credits, which can cost up to $100,000 each. If a developer is seriously interested in a por- tion of the park, Hansen said, they could submit See WETLANDS, Page 10A Spring launch at hand for Cannon Beach market Natural foods, wide range of beer and wine among choices By DANI PALMER EO Media Group Tolovana Park will likely have a new multimillion dol- lar grocery, fully stocked, by ne[t summer :ith ¿ nanc- ing in place, Tim Welsh, his brother Jon Welsh and their father James plan to begin construction and open Fresh Foods Cannon Beach in late- May or early June. In April, the Welsh family members purchased a vacant lot at 3401 S. Hemlock St., across the street from the Tolo- vana Inn, near the on-ramp to U.S. Highway 101. Site plans for the 10,000-square-foot mar- ket were approved by the De- sign Review Board at its May meeting. There will be 29 off- street parking spaces at the site, and a sidewalk will be added on the west side of the property. On the shelves, product will lean heavily toward nat- ural choices, Tim Welsh said, but a “broad spectrum” of op- tions will be available. A full-service market, Fresh Foods Cannon Beach will offer a health and beau- ty section, “an incredible beer and wine selection,” a pro- duce department, a meat and dairy section and a deli with soups and sandwiches along with a coffee bar. Welsh said they will work with local vendors to supply items like baked goods and partner with Sleepy Monk for coffee . The cafe area will feature an inside eating area, seating 17, an outside sitting area and Wi-Fi connection. A second À oor will consist of of¿ ces. 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