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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016
Stop!
City to hold hearing
on property sale
Debate could
reopen old
controversy
By DERRICK
DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
A car stops Monday at the new stop sign at the intersection of Irving Avenue and Eighth
Street. The sign, installed Friday, was approved by the Astoria City Council in November
after some residents complained the intersection was dangerously confusing.
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end of project funding
Reopening a politically
sensitive debate over property
sales, the Astoria City Coun-
cil in early May will con-
sider whether to sell city land
off Alameda Avenue to Bruce
Conner, a travel agency owner
and cruise ship marketer.
A split City Council voted
3-2 Monday night to hold a
public hearing on the sale.
But questions were again
raised about Steven Weed, the
appraiser the city hired to eval-
uate the property.
Weed valued the 0.32 acres
of city land at $47,000. Conner,
who approached the city about
the sale, has agreed to the price.
Some residents have sec-
ond-guessed Weed’s apprais-
als and have claimed that the
city, under former Mayor
Willis Van Dusen, sold city
land to the well-connected at
bargain prices.
Shel Cantor, a retired
engineer who has served on
the city’s budget committee,
told the City Council that his
analysis suggests the prop-
erty off Alameda should be
priced closer to $100,000.
Cantor
questioned
whether Weed, either on his
own or by “illegitimate direc-
tion from someone else,” has
based his appraisals on the
prospective buyer rather than
the property.
City Councilor Drew
Herzig said residents are
not opposed to selling city
property, but question a pro-
cess that does not involve
bidding.
Conner, Herzig also
noted, is a prominent resident
who has been involved with
the sister city committee.
“And this looks like doing
favors, even though it’s not,”
Herzig said. “The city needs
to avoid the appearance of
favoritism in this sort of
operation.”
Asked by City Councilor
Zetty Nemlowill whether
Weed is undervaluing the
Alameda property, City
Manager Brett Estes said: “I
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So I don’t practice engineer-
ing and I don’t practice being
a surveyor.
“We rely on our profes-
sionals to do that work for
us, to be able to provide their
professional opinion.”
Estes took exception to
Cantor’s suggestion that
someone might have directed
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highly offensive,” he said of
any sort of collusion.
Nemlowill, Mayor Arline
LaMear and City Councilor
Russ Warr voted to schedule
a hearing on the property sale
to Conner, while Herzig and
Councilor Cindy Price voted
against the hearing.
Dancing with themselves
Company
has ceased
operations
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — Oregon
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$6 billion terminal and pipeline
project on the Skipanon Pen-
insula was scrapped because
Leucadia National Corp., the
New York-based holding com-
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decided to cease funding.
“Oregon LNG thanks all
those in the project area who
supported its 12-year effort to
bring good jobs and tax reve-
nues to Warrenton and Clatsop
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natural gas terminal and asso-
ciated pipeline,” the company
said in a statement posted on
its website.
“Oregon LNG will have no
further comment.”
Company representatives
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cials Friday that funding was
the reason behind the decision
to end operations, but the com-
pany did not publicly make a
formal announcement until
Monday.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Robert Clark, of Astoria, wears a salmon hat during a rally
against the Oregon LNG project in Warrenton in Septem-
ber.
Dick Hellberg, a former
Warrenton city commissioner
who favored the project, is
sorry to see the company go.
“I don’t know how many
millions of dollars that Leu-
cadia put into that project, but
that was insanity in itself, to
have to put that much money
out to go through a dead-end
procedure,” he said. “Very dis-
appointed in the whole thing.”
“Anyway, it is what it is,
and I had nothing to gain and,
really, nothing to lose — other
than, sorry to see the econ-
omy of the area go down,” he
added.
Brett VandenHeuvel, the
executive director of Colum-
bia Riverkeeper, the Hood
River-based environmental
group that fought the project,
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“the wrong direction and locks
us into dirty fuels.
“The world is moving
more rapidly towards clean
energy. The United States and
Asia and many other coun-
tries are rapidly developing
clean energy, and we can’t
lock ourselves into these giant
terminals that are not moving
(us) forward towards clean
energy.”
CHIP-in event for Earth Day at
Tapiola Park on Saturday
The Daily Astorian
In honor of Earth Day on Fri-
day, the next Astoria Parks and
Recreation Department Citizens
Helping Improve Parks event is
from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at
Tapiola Park.
This event is also hosted by
62/9( D VWDWHZLGH QRQSUR¿W
organization that helps keep
Oregon clean and green.
The CHIP-in is a fami-
ly-friendly event. Volunteers
will pick up trash, pull weeds,
put in new bark mulch, clean
playground equipment and
prune shrubs.
T-shirts, snacks and tools are
provided for volunteers at the
park. Those wishing to partici-
pate should feel free to stop by
any time during CHIP-in to help.
For questions, or to volun-
teer, email CHIP-in@astoria.
or.us or call 503-741-5965.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
An air dancer waves on the roof of CMH Field’s grandstands. The Astoria School Dis-
trict borrowed the concept from the Port of Astoria to help keep seagulls away. The
Port has used air dancers to scare sea lions at the East End Mooring Basin.
A L i f e
R e m e m b e r e d
Heaven ’ s Honor Roll
February of 2 01 6
1 Clara Lum 96
2 Norman Jefta Koljonen 69
2 Sandra Lee Sarin 72
2 Nancy Jean Miller 63
2 Dennis John Grotz 58
7 Prentice Lloyd Wallace 90
9 Thomas James Hughes 80
16 William Jackson Russell 79
18 Michael Kingsley Beck 60
18 Anthony John Thorne 47
20 Barbara Diane Minard 68
22 William Henry Ojanen 87
22 Larry Glenn Samson 76
22 Dallas Roger Miller 80
23 Jack Dennis Hogan 68
25 Merle Douglas Hall 90
26 Marian Jean Hall 78
28 Dr. Robert Donald Neikes 98
29 Leah Rae Steinke 75
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
R e m e m b e r e d
A L i f e
Heaven ’ s Honor Roll
March of 2 01 6
2 Lee Ann Jones-Kelly 73
5 Marjorie May Aho 85
6 Freida Ann Piippo 98
8 Grace Frances May 65
8 David Richard King Jr. 66
9 Michael John Meno 70
10 Richard Raymond Davis Sr. 82
10 Jon Alan Aho 65
13 William Junior Middleton 92
14 James Mack Craft 87
15 Carl Iver Asplind 67
19 Steven Walter Escola 68
20 Patricia Ruth Abrahams 86
24 Robert Douglas Lindstrom 54
25 John McKibbin 69
25 Irene Kazuko Mustain 64
27 Michael Thomas Sopko 66
28 Daniel Duane Thompson 37
31 Allen Rayman Shockley Jr. 76
31 Tamie Jean Duyck 57
Contact: Steve Axtell • 360-430-0885 or John Anderson • 360-269-2500
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