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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (July 27, 2016)
GOLF: WOMEN TAKE CENTER STAGE AT INVITATIONAL SPORTS • 7A DailyAstorian.com // WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 19 ONE DOLLAR Arch Cape dwellers fi ght to save design review Advisory group reviews projects Historic ferry is close to home By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian rch Cape residents continue to fi ght for their citizen advisory committee. About a dozen people from the unincorporated town south of Cannon Beach came to a Clatsop County Planning Commis- sion meeting Tuesday in Astoria to speak out against the county’s plan to dissolve the Arch Cape Design Review Committee. After listening to the public com- ment, the Planning Commission agreed to extend the discussion to September before it sends a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. The Board of Commissioners discontin- ued Arch Cape’s committee in February, call- ing the group unnecessary, time-consuming, expensive and a potential legal liability. Former interim County Manager Rich Mays accused the committee of harassing a county employee about her disability. Despite her requests, Mays claims, the group voted to move its meetings to a building that is not a federal Americans with Disabilities Act-ap- proved facility. The county’s decision to dissolve the group was challenged with the state Land Use Board of Appeals, which sent the issue back to the county. The county again plans to discontinue the design review committee, but now through a land use process that includes public hearings before the committee, Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners. Members of the Arch Cape Design Review Committee, also known as the Southwest Coastal Citizens Advisory Committee, cite county by laws that say a committee can only be disbanded if it is inactive. Since the group is active, the members recommend they should stay. The committee makes recommendations on any land use or development applications in the Arch Cape area. “It’s been a busy committee,” former member Linda Eyerman said. Courtesy of Clatsop County Historical Society The Tourist No. 2 used to ferry passen- gers and cars across the Columbia River. A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Arch Cape resident Michael Manzulli voices his opinion in opposition to dissolving the Arch Cape Design Review Committee during a public hearing Tuesday in Astoria. Vessel to dock at 17th Street near Columbia River Maritime Museum By ERICK BENGEL The Daily Astorian The historic Tourist No. 2, a ferry that plied the Columbia River between Asto- ria and Washington state between 1924 and 1966, may fi nally return to Astoria within the next week. The nonprofi t in charge of reclaiming the vintage vessel hopes that Capt. Christian Lint, the ferry’s owner, will be able to skip- per the ferry into the river by the weekend. Lint plans to dock at 17th Street, near the Columbia River Maritime Museum. See FERRY, Page 7A Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian The Clatsop County Planning Commission listens to concerned residents speak during a public hearing on the Arch Cape Design Review Committee . Some Arch Cape residents don’t want the county to disband their design review committee. Lyra Fontaine The Daily Astorian See ARCH CAPE, Page 10A Port of Astoria to split cost to treat runoff Tenants will likely pay a share of loan By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Now that the Port of Astoria has the con- tractor to build a multimillion-dollar storm- water treatment system, it has to fi gure out how to pay for it. The Port Commission voted on Monday to move forward with a $1.6 million loan from Key Bank to pay for much of the proj- ect, but now needs to determine how to equi- tably split the cost with tenants. The loan will obligate the Port to about $90,000 a year in payments. Staff have cre- ated a plan of charging tenants based on the amount of the affected 47 acres they lease. The Port, for instance, owns nearly 54 per- cent of the affected area, and would repay See PORT, Page 10A Ex-ODOT consultant picked to lead management review Chosen over a lower bidder By PARIS ACHEN Capital Bureau SALEM — When a long- awaited management review assesses the readiness of the Oregon Department of Trans- portation for a massive infl ux of money, leading it will be a familiar face. The state has selected John L. Craig, a former department consultant, for a $350,000 con- tract to lead the review. He was chosen over a competing com- pany with similar experience that offered to do the job for more than $100,000 less. Gov. Kate Brown ordered the review in November to assuage lawmakers’ reserva- tions over some of the Depart- ment of Transportation’s past management decisions. Lawmakers said they wanted an independent, third- party review to ensure that the department was operating effi - ciently before they consider passing a transportation pack- age in 2017. That legislation — one of Brown’s priorities as governor — could hike gas taxes and fees on drivers and funnel hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding to the agency. Craig has extensive rela- John L. Craig Joe Cortright tionships with Department of Transportation leaders, having overseen the agency’s $1.3 bil- lion outsourced bridge repair and replacement program for six years. He stepped down from that position in June 2015. Craig’s close ties with the Barry Pack department , his selection by a former longtime Brown aide and Brown’s decision to give oversight of the audit to the Oregon Transportation Com- mission have raised concerns about whether the review will be impartial. “It’s like hiring the fox to vet designs for the henhouse,” said Portland economist Joe Cortright, a longtime critic of the department’s management of projects. Cortright said the choice gives the appearance state lead- ers are seeking a predetermined outcome to the performance audit. Craig has worked on department projects in the past and could seek contracts in the future, Cortright noted. Rejects bias claims Craig said he was unaware that the review is linked with passage of a transportation See ODOT, Page 10A