9A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016
Dam: Engineering plan characterizes dam as unsafe
Continued from Page 1A
The water district will
seek a city permit to remove
the dam, setting up a poten-
tial
confrontation
with
nearby property owners who
claim the dam could be nec-
essary for lood control.
Mayor Mark Kujala’s family,
who own property near the
dam, and the politically inlu-
ential Nygaard family, who
own Warrenton Fiber, have
urged the city to take control
of the dam.
The water district and
CREST are disappointed and
perplexed by the City Commis-
sion’s 2-2 vote against an agree-
ment. Mayor Kujala recused
himself. The commission had
twice voted in the past to sup-
port the deal, which would have
given the city a 54-foot-long,
16-foot-wide emergency access
bridge to replace a gravel road
over the dam.
“I feel like the city has given
a very clear message to the dis-
trict and to CREST and they’ve
said, ‘No, thank you,’” said
Denise Löfman, the task-force
director.
The Kujala family and oth-
ers had pushed for a wider
bridge last year to enable future
development, but have since
pivoted and joined the Nygaard
family in arguing that the dam
needs to be saved for lood
control.
Expired lifespan
The dam, built by the federal
government in 1963 for lood
control, was transferred to the
water district when its 50-year
lifespan expired. The state has
questioned the dam’s value for
lood control and described the
structure as likely a signiicant
hazard.
The water district’s engineer-
ing plan characterizes the dam
as unsafe, ineffective and expen-
sive to maintain. The dam also
acts as a barrier to ish passage,
restricts water low and impedes
water quality.
Bruce Francis, the water dis-
trict’s vice chairman, said he
would be willing to give the dam
to the city for $1 — an offer the
water district made several years
ago — to shed the liability. If the
city were to take ownership, the
responsibility for maintenance
and the liability would shift to
city taxpayers.
“Now is the time to get away
from it, and just get rid of it,”
Francis said.
The water district’s board
has also thought about installing
a gate and security cameras to
shut down the gravel road while
the dam’s fate is debated. The
city would get keys to the gate
for emergency access.
“We’re not trying to punish
the city, we’re trying to decrease
our liability,” Scheller said.
Dick Hellberg, a former
city commissioner who has
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
The Skipanon Water Control District wants to remove the Eighth Street Dam on the Skipanon River in Warrenton.
lived near the dam since 1971,
doubts that the dam has ever
been particularly useful for
lood control.
“I can’t even understand why
the two commissioners voted
‘no,’” he said of Commission-
ers Pam Ackley and Rick New-
ton, who had supported the deal
last year. Commissioners Henry
Balensifer and Tom Dyer voted
to renew the agreement with the
water district and CREST to get
the bridge.
“I don’t really under-
stand what their argument was
because the dam is really not a
part of our diking system other
than it’s connected to it,” Hell-
berg said.
“It has virtually nothing to
do with the height of the water
in the areas that we’re worried
about.”
Denise
Löfman
Dick
Hellberg
Tessa
Scheller
Proposals: Commission will make recommendations in June
Continued from Page 1A
Food fest
The Chamber of Commerce
requested $50,000 for a culi-
nary, beverage and music fest
and an inaugural night market,
planned for April. The festival
would be held annually, while
the night market would be
monthly for ive months of the
year, the chamber’s executive
director Court Carrier said.
“It’s been a very success-
ful event in many other loca-
tions,” Carrier said, pointing to
the popularity of outdoor din-
ing. “We know we’ve got some
great food and beverages here.
We have an incredible opportu-
nity to tap into that market.”
The chamber also requested
$25,000 for marketing on
the North Coast, $20,000 to
expand the website and social
media and $15,000 to create
videos for marketing. Last year,
the chamber received about
$81,000 for three projects.
Make us laugh
Tolovana Arts Colony
requested $6,500 for a week-
end Cannon Beach Comedy
Festival, a new event proposal
scheduled for winter 2017.
The festival could include
stand-up comedians, impro-
visational troupes or sketch
troupes throughout the city.
Comedy is a “profound and
connective art form” not found
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
Elaina Calbaum, right, of Seattle, Wash., gets a pour of a
white blend from Savor Cannon Beach volunteer Tracy
Abel, while her husband, Steven Calbaum, left, waits his
turn during the Battle of the Blends at last year’s event.
in Cannon Beach, the proposal
stated, and comedy festivals
have been successful in resort
towns like Aspen.
Tolovana Arts Colony also
requested $25,000 for the sixth
annual Get Lit at the Beach, a
three-day spring event featuring
bestselling authors from a range
of literary genres. Last year,
Tolovana Arts Colony received
more than $20,000 for Get Lit.
Columbia River and heading
over Tillamook Head to Can-
non Beach. The event would
provide 50 hikers and nature
lovers the opportunity to
explore Oregon’s beaches and
coastal ecosystems, according
to the proposal.
Clatsop Animal Assis-
tance requested more than
$46,000 for the eighth annual
Savor Cannon Beach, a four-
day wine, culinary and arts
festival in March. The event
taps into the culinary tourism
trend and “introduces Can-
non Beach to a new, younger
and afluent demographic,” the
proposal reads. In past years,
Savor helped raise money for
the Cannon Beach Children’s
Other options
North Coast Land Conser-
vancy proposed a September
event, CoastWalk Oregon. The
organization requested $5,000
to fund part of the three-day,
30-mile hiking event on the
Oregon Coast Trail, starting at
OSAA 4A GIRLS
TRACK & FIELD STATE
Center, which closed in April.
Last year, the children’s center
received about $38,000 from
Savor.
Friends of Haystack Rock
requested $60,000 for the
Cannon Beach Yoga Festival,
a four-day event with yoga,
dance, art, music, environ-
mental and wellness planned
in February. Friends of Hay-
stack Rock received more than
$38,000 last year. It is difi-
cult to book in-demand teach-
ers in advance when funding
is received annually, festival
director Christen Allsop said.
The
Coaster
Theatre
requested about $55,000 for
special event concerts, six theat-
rical productions and a celebra-
tion of the organization’s 45th
anniversary. The theater’s interi-
ors are also being upgraded with
new seats, curtains and carpets.
The Coaster Theatre received
$35,000 last year.
The Cannon Beach History
Center & Museum proposed
$27,000 for the 14th annual
Cottage & Garden Tour, an
event that has grown signii-
cantly and includes a lun-
cheon, lecture, concerts and
more. The event, scheduled for
September 2017, attracts about
500 attendees and provides 20
percent of the history center’s
annual income, according to
the proposal. Last year, the his-
tory center received $17,000,
The Cannon Beach Arts
Association requested $24,000
to create three juried shows
and a new series of “art week-
ends” that encourage visitors
to stay for a longer period.
The events are planned from
November to June 2017.
The goal is to expand the
organization’s artist commu-
nity to include visiting art-
ists, nonresident members
and “engaged cultural tour-
ists,” program director Jane
Brumield wrote in the pro-
posal. Last year, the associa-
tion received almost $13,000
for juried exhibitions and spe-
cial events.
The Cannon Beach Gallery
Group requested $53,000 for
the Spring Unveiling Arts Fes-
tival and the Plein Air & More
Arts Festival. “We have estab-
lished both festivals as via-
ble events with great potential
for continued expansion,” the
proposal read. Last year, the
gallery group received about
$40,000.
The commission will make
recommendations to the Can-
non Beach City Council in
June.
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The Daily Astorian
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Follow the Old Soldiers Trail
and learn the story of Fort
Stevens the Defender at the
River of the West.
Weekend
Raffle tickets will be sold
for the chance to help fire
Civil War cannons.
FORT STEVENS STATE PARK HISTORIC AREA
SATURDAY & SUNDAY,
MAY 28 & 29 • 11AM-4PM
PARK HOURS 8AM-6PM
How do I get there? The Fort Stevens Historic Area entrance is
approximately one mile north of the Fort Stevens State Park camping
entrance on Ridge Road. Head west at the 4-way stop.
O LD
F RIENDS OF
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email: foofs@teleport.com Click on: www.visitfortstevens.com
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OREGON’S DEFENDER