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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 25, 2016
Fort George: ‘We’d love to have everything to be organic and local’
Continued from Page 1A
Farm fresh
Farm-to-table dining supports
the idea that food should come
directly from local or regional
sources. “We’d love everything to
be organic and local, but that’s not
always the option,” said Jeff Gra-
ham, executive chef at Fort George.
One problem, he explained, is
the pig farm they donate scraps
to cannot supply them with pork
because there isn’t a U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture slaughterhouse
nearby. “They would have to travel
about 500 miles there and back to
be used,” Graham said.
Certain loops can be closed on
the farm-to-table system, as dif-
ferent laws make some foods eas-
ier to obtain locally than others.
Fort George is now buying chick-
ens from Blackberry Bog Farm. In
the few months they have worked
together, the brewery has used about
400 chickens from the Astoria farm.
Seafood is another market Gra-
ham wishes Fort George could tap
directly from local ishermen. The
brewery currently sources from
Ocean Beauty, a company that does
processing in Alaska, but has an
Astoria distribution center.
While not having any com-
plaints about the freshness of prod-
uct, Graham says, “I’d much rather
know my isherman as well as I
know my farmer.”
TOP: Scott Thompson, right, and son Andrew pose for
a portrait with their dog, Claus, on Friday at Blackberry
Bog Farm. LEFT: Pasture-raised chickens roam on Friday
at Blackberry Bog Farm.
Looking ahead
While a strictly local menu
might not be attainable now, John-
son and Fort George are looking
ahead at what they can do in terms
of reducing their environmental
impact. The director of sustainabil-
ity said that a complete report will
be produced in 2017. From there,
they will be able to address which
issues are the most important and
need to be tackled.
“My plan is by the end of the
year to prioritize consuming less.
Whether that’s food or electricity
or water. It’s economic and the right
thing to do,” Johnson said.
Photos by Danny Miller
The Daily Astorian
‘My plan is by the end
of the year to prioritize
consuming less. Whether
that’s food or electricity or
water. It’s economic and
the right thing to do.’
Renee Johnson
new director of sustainability at Fort George Brewery
Library: New cost estimates range from $7.2 million to $24.1 million
Different options
Continued from Page 1A
“I’m ready to make a deci-
sion,” said City Councilor Cindy
Price, who represents the swath
of downtown that includes the
library, the Waldorf and Heri-
tage Square. “I think it’s time for
Astoria to make an open, pub-
lic, accessible, technologically
advanced library.
“I think we can do it. And
I’m ready. I can’t speak for
anybody else, but I feel like
we’re all kind of at the same
place.”
City Councilor Zetty Nem-
lowill said councilors have
“done our due diligence explor-
ing the options and I’m ready to
make a decision.
“It’s a tough position,
because this issue is so contro-
versial,” she said in a text mes-
sage. “As a leader I am balanc-
ing a collection of citizen input
and studies regarding two city
properties — the library and for-
mer Safeway site — that span
more than a decade.”
Financial analysis
In a memo released late Fri-
day, Kevin Cronin, the city’s
community development direc-
tor, said the City Council could
select a site and direct city staff
to come up with a funding strat-
egy, or weigh the preliminary
inancial analysis as a tool to
make a site selection.
Councilors should also
Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian
The Astoria Library and vacant Waldorf Hotel next door. The City Council is debating
whether to renovate the existing library or build a new one at Heritage Square.
decide whether a project is
a short- or long-term goal
given the anticipated inancial
challenges.
The new cost estimates
range from $7.2 million to reno-
vate the existing library by using
the basement to $24.1 million
for a new library with housing at
Heritage Square. Just building a
new library at Heritage Square,
the Library Board’s recommen-
dation, would cost about $10.9
million.
A project could be inanced
by a blend of city money, pri-
vate donations and grants, loans
and a bond sale. The city now
has about $1.6 million ear-
marked for a project. City staff
presumes the Astoria Library
Friends Association could
raise about $1 million through
a capital campaign. The rest
of the money would proba-
bly come from private grants,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
loans or a bond sale.
According to city staff, a $10
million bond over 21 years at an
interest rate of 4 percent would
cost an average homeowner
Rund: Beauty pageants are ‘more than the
glitz and glam and the showy part of it’
Continued from Page 1A
My answer to that was, at
irst you think it does, but hon-
estly, every woman and girl teen
in the pageant has their own way
of being healthy and beautiful. It
doesn’t matter what your body
type is.
Q: Should female beauty
contests accept transgender
participants?
A: That’s deinitely been a
topic of conversation. My per-
sonal opinion is that as long as
they have fully transitioned,
they should be eligible to com-
pete. Because it’s a pageant for
women.
If they haven’t, it kind of
crosses the lines of privacy in
the dressing rooms, and it could
be a religious issue.
Q: Will you do future
pageants?
A: Deinitely. I’m planning
on competing in Miss Univer-
sity of Oregon or Miss Lane
County pageant, in Febru-
ary. It’s been such an enriching
experience.
Q: What will you do to
prepare for the February
contest?
A: The biggest thing is stay-
ing up on current events in Ore-
gon, the country and the world.
And the onstage competitions
— walking and the swimsuit
— there’s a certain way to pose
yourself. I don’t have a coach. I
kind of do it on my own in front
of a mirror.
I’m practicing my talent,
which is dance. I don’t have
a dance for February, but I’ll
make it up soon.
For interview skills, I like to
talk with my friends. I have this
one particular friend who likes
to test me. She asks me inter-
view questions.
Q: Anything else you want
to add?
A: If you don’t think a
beauty pageant is for you, think
again. It’s much more than the
glitz and glam and the showy
part of it. It provides so many
scholarship opportunities — tal-
ent, evening gown, marketing
scholarships — and develops
communications skills. Just one
week of spring pageant camp is
worth a million dollars.
— R.J. Marx
with a $200,000 property about
$200 extra each year.
A $5 million USDA loan
at 3.5 percent interest over 40
years, according to staff, could
be repaid over time by assessing
a library utility fee.
The options with the hous-
ing components at the Waldorf
and Heritage Square could also
attract private developers as
inancial partners.
In 2014, former Mayor Wil-
lis Van Dusen and the City
Council had settled on a $4.6
million library renovation
project that involved expand-
ing into the space of a demol-
ished Waldorf Hotel. Early last
year, Mayor LaMear and a new
council — responding to pres-
ervationists who want to save
the Waldorf as an example of
1920s architecture, and others
interested in the potential rede-
velopment of Heritage Square
— opted to look at Heritage
Square.
The council also revived
ideas such as renovating the
existing library by using the
basement or parking lot.
In May, city staff, work-
ing with consultants, presented
inancial estimates for six
options but cautioned that the
projections were luid. Staff pre-
pared a more detailed inancial
analysis in the memo Friday to
help councilors select a site.
• Option A/10th Street
library expands into the base-
ment. The estimated cost had
been $5.7 million to $7.1 mil-
lion. The revised estimate is $7.2
million, still the least expensive
option.
• Option B/10th Street
library expands into the park-
ing lot. The estimate had been
$9 million to $10.4 million. The
new igure is $11.3 million.
• Option C/10th Street
library expands into the Wal-
dorf Hotel with housing. The
estimated cost for the library
portion was $10.2 million to
$11.7 million, with the housing
component at $2.5 million to
$3.5 million. The revised esti-
mate is $15.3 million.
• Option D/10th Street
library expands into the Wal-
dorf. The estimate had been
$8.4 million to $9.6 million,
demonstrably higher — and
more realistic — than the $4.6
million described for a similar
project in 2014. The new ig-
ure is $10.5 million, the second
lowest.
• Option E/New library
at Heritage Square. The esti-
mated cost had been $8.7 million
to $10.1 million. The revised
estimate is $10.9 million.
• Option F/New library
with housing at Heritage
Square. The estimate for the
library portion was $8.7 million
to $10.1 million, with the hous-
ing component at $15.6 million
to $17.8 million. The new ig-
ure is $24.1 million, the most
expensive option.
The special meeting is at 7
p.m. at City Hall.
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