INSIDE: A FRESH LOOK FOR COAST WEEKEND
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016
143RD YEAR, NO. 211
ONE DOLLAR
‘No rosy
picture
this year’
Water, sewer rate hikes
on tap for Warrenton
By ERICK BENGEL
The Daily Astorian
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County Manager Cameron Moore in his office. Moore moved earlier this month from Mahomet, Illinois, where he served as
the chief executive officer for the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission since 2007.
‘MY LAST HURRAH’
New county
manager getting
up to speed
By KYLE SPURR
The Daily Astorian
C
ameron Moore, the new Clatsop
County manager, has spent his fi rst
month on the job getting accustomed
to life on the North Coast.
On days off, the avid hiker explores sce-
nic trails along the Pacifi c Ocean. On the job,
Moore enjoys learning from county staff and
community members. As the top administrator
for the county, he oversaw his second Board
of Commissioners meeting Wednesday night.
“It’s kind of been a two-way street,” he said.
“I have expectations of people on our staff, but
I also know they have a lot to teach me.”
Moore, 59, is getting caught up to speed
on the various issues facing the county, from
a housing crisis and mental health concerns
to the county’s role in forestry and fi shing
management.
See RATE HIKES, Page 4A
CAMERON MOORE
Clatsop County’s new county manager is an experienced administrator.
• 2007-2016 — c hief e xecutive o fficer for the Champaign County, Illinois, Regional Planning
Commission.
• 2006-2007 — e xecutive d irector and c hief e xecutive o fficer for the Washington D.C.-based
National Association of Regional Councils. The organization represents regional planning and
development organizations at the federal level.
• 2001-2006 — p resident and c hief e xecutive o fficer for the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance,
a federal and state designated, multi county economic development district, a regional planning
and development organizations at the federal level.
• 2000-2001 — v ice p resident of e conomic d evelopment for the Greater Phoenix, Arizona,
Chamber of Commerce. The economic development division is responsible for business retention
and expansion for Phoenix and the surrounding Maricopa County.
• 1997-2000 — p resident and c hief e xecutive o fficer for the Greater Flagstaff, Arizona, Economic
Council. The private, non-profit organization provides economic and community development
expertise to Flagstaff and surrounding Coconino County.
• 1991-1997 — e xecutive d irector and c hief e xecutive o fficer for the Muscatine, Iowa, Develop-
ment Corp . The private, non-profit corporation conducts economic and community development
duties with local city and county government.
An experienced administrator
Hired in February, Moore moved earlier this
month from Mahomet, Illinois, where he served
as the chief executive offi cer for the Champaign
County Regional Planning Commission since
2007. He replaced Scott Somers, who resigned
last year to take a job in Maryland.
Champaign County has a population of
more than 200,000, and is home to the Univer-
sity of Illinois. Over his 30-year career, Moore
has gained experience in public service admin-
istration and economic development with sev-
eral public and private entities in Pennsylvania,
Arizona, Iowa and Illinois.
See MOORE, Page 4A
WARRENTON — Still playing catch-up
after years of avoiding unpopular water and
sewer rate hikes, Warrenton will adopt rate
increases next fi scal year to sustain the util-
ity system and help improve the city’s fi nan-
cial state.
“As much as I want to give you a rosy
picture, there is no rosy picture this year,
and there’s no way that I think honestly
we can tell people there is,” City Manager
Kurt Fritsch told the budget committee at a
Wednesday work session.
When budget committee hearings begin
in May, Fritsch will recommend that water
rates go up 7 percent and sewer rates 6 per-
cent, which includes a 6 percent increase in
storm sewer service fees.
A household using 2,000 gallons of water
per month will see its monthly water-sewer
bill rise from $88.13 to $93.80, according to
a rate study.
“You’ll still be more expensive than
Astoria and Seaside, and you will still be less
expensive than Tillamook,” said Doug Gab-
bard, the study project manager from a FCS
Group, a Lake Oswego-based fi nancial man-
agement and consulting service hired by the
city.
Alex Pajunas/The Daily Astorian
Warrenton City Manager Kurt Fritsch
Port backs
seafood
processor
expansion
Da Yang’s footprint at
Pier 2 more than doubles
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Clatsop County Manager Cameron Moore gives his report during the County Commis-
sioners meeting Wednesday.
Speed humps calm traffi c on Alameda
Coast Guard
wives and mothers
had complained
about speeding
By DERRICK DePLEDGE
The Daily Astorian
Two new speed humps have been
installed on Alameda Avenue, a small
triumph for Coast Guard wives and
mothers who complained drivers were
speeding through their neighborhood.
The humps were placed on Ala-
meda near the intersection with West
Klaskanine Avenue, the heart of
Coast Guard housing, where there is
a playground and a school bus stop.
Speed humps and other traffi c
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Road markings warn drivers of
a speed hump along Alameda
Avenue.
calming devices are already on West
Klaskanine, but the women argued
that more was needed to protect their
children.
The Coast Guard wives and
mothers had pleaded with Astoria
Mayor Arline LaMear and the Coast
Guard last year for help.
“It’s a positive outcome,” said
Chelsea Billings, the ombudsman
for Coast Guard Sector Columbia
River in Warrenton. “It’s what we
were looking for and I think that we
all felt that the Coast Guard heard
our concerns.”
A city speed survey in the neigh-
borhood did not justify the addi-
tional speed humps. The speed limit
near the intersection of Alameda
and West Klaskanine is 25 mph, and
the highest recording, according to
the city, was around 30 mph from a
Coast Guard resident.
The city, however, listened to the
complaints from Coast Guard wives
and mothers and agreed to place the
signs and street markings that com-
plement the speed humps.
See ALAMEDA, Page 4A
Amid a packed meeting Wednesday and
protests from the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union, a divided Port of Astoria
Commission approved an amended lease with
Da Yang Seafoods that more than doubles the
company’s footprint in the Pier 2 fi sh-process-
ing warehouse.
Commissioners John Raichl, James Camp-
bell and Robert Mushen voted for the expan-
sion , while Bill Hunsinger voted against the
move , and Stephen Fulton abstained.
The amended lease starts May 1 and runs
through January 2027, with six 10-year exten-
sion options afterward. The lease expands Da
Yang’s space in the warehouse from 9,846 to
27,036 square feet, with spaces on the north-
ern and southern end. It also nearly doubles Da
Yang’s tarmac and dock space on either side of
the warehouse.
The decision divides the Pier 2 fi sh-pro-
cessing warehouse between Seattle-based
Da Yang and Bellingham, Washington-based
Bornstein Seafoods, which has already secured
two spaces in the warehouse through the Port
See PORT, Page 10A
MORE INSIDE
Port OKs emergency repairs to Pier 2.
Read more on Page 10A.