7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016 Inn: Orr, Trabucco are interested in old Seafare restaurant Continued from Page 1A Orr, the main agent for Marina Village, said the pro- posal is part of the marina vil- lage development concept he and Trabucco brought to the Port a year ago. The partners want to make properties like the Riverwalk Inn, Chinook Building and the former Sea- fare restaurant part of a more uniied tourist destination. “One important thing we’re lacking is some way to draw people in in the winter,” Orr told the commission, adding the upstairs of the Chinook Building could provide vital meeting space for the hotel. Seafare Restaurant The Port Commission’s vote included options to include the restaurant’s lease and extend Hospitality Ventures’ lease on the hotel two years. Since being named opera- tor nearly a year ago, the com- pany has been on a month- to-month lease. The Port is waiting to search for a long- term operator until after it resolves litigation with Param Hotel Group, which sued the agency for allegedly breaking a previous deal and choosing Hospitality Ventures, an oper- ator with local connections to the Port Commission. Orr and Trabucco are co-defendants on claims they interfered with Param’s agreement with the Port. The Port announced in Feb- ruary that a new master plan for and engaging directly with an existing tenant. Orr and Tra- bucco have long been interested in the restaurant, and have inves- tigated the structure’s condition. Lease extension The Daily Astorian/File Photo A chair and table sit in the riverside dining room of the old Seafare restaurant. the agency was needed before offering up the former Seafare restaurant, because of a lack of information on the building for bidders. Hunsinger asked what had changed. Knight said the Port was bypassing the bidding process In addition to the option for the restaurant, Orr asked the Port Commission for a two- year extension on the lease of the Riverwalk Inn, saying the company needed more cer- tainty before making bigger investments. Orr said there’s an amount of maintenance that shouldn’t be expected from a month-to- month tenant, such as a $40,000 investment he said is neces- sary to replace an aging laun- dry facility. “We put a lot into this building, but there are big- ticket items a longer-term lease could help us decide to invest in,” he said. In other news: • The Port delayed award- ing the contract for a storm- water treatment system on the central waterfront because of additional costs needed to ensure groundwater does not escape from the worksite into the Columbia River. The expected wining bid is Conway Construction from Ridgeield, Washington, which bid less than $1.6 million on the proj- ect, nearly $700,000 lower than the next lowest bid. • The Port awarded the con- tract for a $60,000 stormwa- ter treatment project at North Tongue Point to Big River Con- struction Inc. of Astoria. Risky: Government’s cost of rescue efforts is not small Continued from Page 1A To help remedy the situation, the department recently assigned a park ranger to patrol the fence. In late July, a task force will present recommendations on improving the fence, signs and public communication. But combating the allure of that perfect picture — that happy couple perched on a nat- ural pedestal above the ocean — will be no easy task. It’s not OK Cape Kiwanda is a beauti- ful area, and popular for good reason. Sandy beach stretches to a sparkling ocean where the other Haystack Rock in Paciic City rises hundreds of feet high. The nearby Pelican Pub and Brewery offers food and ocean views, while dory ishing boats launch from the beach. It’s one of the few places on the coast where visitors can drive onto the sand. What makes the area unique, and dangerous, is geology. Jut- ting into the ocean from a large dune, Cape Kiwanda is com- posed of sandstone that is grad- ually being destroyed, piece by piece, by ocean currents navi- gating around Haystack Rock. Tannish-orange towers, cliffs, caves and bowls are carved in bizarre shapes against the ocean, the creative hand of wind and waves sculpting a landscape that will eventually become an island and someday disappear completely. A popular hiking trail leads up the cape to the fence line and warning signs. First built in the 1970s, the fence sits a long way back from the tip of the cape. This creates the belief, accord- ing to many park visitors, that they are being fenced off from land that is perfectly safe and home to better views. Yet the sandstone bluff is anything but stable. Cliffs give out without warning and waves rise quickly, pulling people into the sea. Deadliest spots The seven recent fatali- ties make this cape the deadli- est spot on the Oregon Coast, a place that has brought wrench- ing heartbreak to families and communities across the Paciic Northwest. Last summer, 17-year-old Slick Rick Nelson of Sprague High School and his friends left a bonire on the beach, climbed up the cape and passed through the fence. On a cliff edge, Nel- son fell backward, dropping hundreds of feet onto the rocks below. He was pronounced dead at the scene. At a candlelight vigil in June 2015, Nelson’s little sister knelt before a cross, pleading for her brother to come back. “You’re supposed to take care of me,” she screamed. “I’m your baby sister. I didn’t get to say goodbye.” But death at Cape Kiwanda is nothing new. Eleven people died at the cape from 1960 to ’72, and multiple fatalities took place in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, according to research into old newspaper accounts by Julie Lethin-Keyser, and conirmed by parks oficials. Lethin-Keyser was inspired to do the research when her son, Sean Yamaguchi, 22, and his girlfriend, Elise Dickey, 18, drowned at Cape Kiwanda. Yamaguchi was closing in on a welding degree. Dickey was an artist. Fences and rules Outcry in the 1970s inspired the irst fence at Cape Kiwanda, but shifting sands and high winds made upkeep dificult. The fence was rebuilt in the mid-1990s, but has needed to be ixed multiple times. More dificult than keeping the fence erected, however, has been convincing people to stay behind it. Weekend crowds have exploded in Paciic City during the past few years. Upward of 10,000 people cram onto the beach and Cape Kiwanda during summer weekends, said James Oeder, division chief for Nestucca Rural Fire Protection District. The increase has meant more accidents, and more peo- ple walking beyond the fence. While lost children are one thing, conducting a rescue effort on the sandstone bluff beyond the fence, especially an area known as the Punchbowl, makes Oeder’s blood run cold. The Punchbowl is a low-ly- ing multicolored sandstone bowl. It sits on the ocean edge, features swirling colors and a sea cave. But that beauty can turn deadly in a matter of moments, as quick-rising seas pull people into a “washing machine where you’re churned around with huge rocks,” Oeder said. “It’s very hard to get out or escape if you get caught. “Since I started this job in 2009, we’ve only pulled one person out alive.” “I cringe every time I have to send my team in there,” he said. “It’s very danger- ous because you never know what’s going to happen. It can be empty and then become full of water and very rough within a matter of minutes. The trac- tion is awful.” Danger, danger In February, during a rescue operation in the Punchbowl, two personal watercraft were pulled into the sea cave and two rescuers were injured. The government’s cost of rescue efforts is not small. For irst-responding ire dis- tricts, the cost is around $600 per hour, and $1,800 to $3,000 for a three- to ive-hour rescue, Oeder said. That money comes from the ire district budget. The cost spikes dramati- cally when the Coast Guard is involved, which is often the case in serious rescue operations. The equipment most com- monly used by the Coast Guard for a rescue at Cape Kiwanda includes a motorized life- boat, H-60 Jayhawk helicop- ter and H-65 Dolphin helicop- ter, said Petty Oficer 1st Class Levi Read, public affairs spe- cialist for the Coast Guard 13th District. The combined price for the three totals around $21,000 per hour, or $63,000 to $105,000 for a three- to ive- hour mission. Civilians will not be billed for the rescue mission, with limited exceptions. Read emphasized that the Coast Guard doesn’t worry about the price when it comes to saving lives and people should never hesitate to call for help. Oeder said his agency couldn’t bill a person for a res- cue either; although at Cape Kiwanda, he wishes he could. “If we had the ability to bill a person for a rescue,” Oeder said, Cape Kiwanda “would be the place.” The spate of deaths led to an emotional town hall meet- ing in March. A task force was formed that will make recom- mendations to Lisa Sumption, director of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. As the long-term plan develops, the parks department has added new signs at the bluff indicating the danger. They’ve also added a park ranger who patrols the fence, hoping to limit the number of people who put themselves in danger. Need a job? We caN help. Local and National Employers FREE SERVICES People-Centered, Quality Driven & Service Focused. n Computer access n Skills review and assessment n Resumes and cover letters Expert Surgical Care Close to Home Whether it’s a same-day procedure or something more complex, you want a surgeon you can trust. You’ll ind that and more with CMH’s General Sugeons. Enjoy the comfort and convenience of receiving care in your community hospital. Services: Adhesion treatment Biopsies Breast surgery Endocscopy Gall bladder removal Hemorrhoid removal Laparotomy Laparoscopic/minimally invasive surgery Lump and bump removal Port-a-Cath placement Varicose vein surgery n Job leads and referrals n Interview practice n Job fairs GET STARTED NOW! Call 503-861-9502 or visit www.goodwilljobconnection.org Call 503-338-4075 to schedule a consultation with General Surgeon Dr. Camilo Rosales, Dr. Richard Crass, or Dr. Rachel Van Dusen. 2111 Exchange St., Astoria, Oregon 503-325-4321 • www.columbiamemorial.org www.facebook.com/meetgoodwill @Goodwill_Power