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COAST WEEKEND: JUST GET OUT THE DOOR AND START RUNNING INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2016 144TH YEAR, NO. 40 ONE DOLLAR Developer tries to save Miles Crossing project Apartment complex could help with housing shortage apartment complex in Miles Cross- ing to the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Richard Krueger fi led the appeal with the county, claiming the Clat- sop County Planning Commission’s denial in July was based on a formal- ity and not on actual requirements. The Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Wednesday to hear the appeal and take a fresh By KYLE SPURR The Daily Astorian A developer has appealed a deci- sion to deny a proposed 48-unit look at the proposal. Supporters of the Bella Ridge Apartments see the project as a much-needed source of affordable and workforce housing. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 14 during the board’s next regular meet- ing . In his appeal, Krueger asked county c ommissioners to only review the sole issue of contention, which was a question about sewer capacity in the region. Krueger wants to build the Bella Ridge Apartments on 10.4 acres between Lewis and Clark Ele- mentary School and the Lewis and Clark Golf & RV Resort. County staff, however, recom- mended the board revisit the entire project . Commissioners agreed to hear all the evidence, and not limit what can be discussed during public comment. Jetty gets armored up Repairs to jetty system at the mouth quicken By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Photos by David Plechl/EO Media Group Jerry Otto, a Army Corps of Engineers civil engineer, and the Jetty A project man- ager, led members of the media on a tour of the site and explained how crews were rebuilding the 77-year-old structure back up to its full functional capacity. Project overview See JETTY, Page 9A See COMPLEX, Page 10A State mandate may not come with money I Rocks at the core of the jetty are smaller, while the largest, “armor rocks,” form the shell of the structure. Those can range in size from 18 to 32 tons, project managers said. Although the Corps is responsible for the planning, design, and monitoring of all jetty operations and improvements, Vancouver-based Kiewit Corp ., which provides construction, engineer- ing and mining services, is the primary contrac- tor for the job. Several years ago, Kiewit made repairs to the South Jetty. The company also had the ability to barge rocks in from its own Beaver Lake Quarry in Mount Vernon. Sewer concerns Neighbors against the project have been outspoken with concerns rang- ing from traffi c impacts to whether Lead test costs high By DAVID PLECHL EO Media Group LWACO, Wash. — Crash! Bang! Boom! On a recent afternoon, the construction site at Jetty A, near U.S. Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment, was something straight out of a child’s imagination. On a barge teth- ered to the tip of the jetty, a crane was swing- ing rocks as big as cars ashore. The giant claw of an oversized excavator hefted most of the massive boulders into oversized dump trucks and plunged some of the rock directly into the weather-worn chinks in the jetty’s aging armor. Workers at the site were unloading the third of six barge-loads of meta-basalt that will be used to fortify the 77-year old jetty at the mouth of the Columbia River. Built in 1939, the 1 1/2-mile-long jetty’s pri- mary function is to direct river and tidal cur- rents away from the North Jetty foundation. Engineers say the lifespan of a jetty is about 50 years, so on the whole, Jetty A has outlived expectations. Nonetheless, the jetty has been in need of repairs and upgrades for years. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the estimated $30.5 million effort to bring the jetty back up to full strength in June. The ongoing construction at Jetty A is part of a comprehensive effort to repair all three jetties at the river’s mouth, a project Corps offi cials expect to last through 2023. “I think it’s important that we allow the public to say what they want to say,” Commissioner Sarah Nebeker said. ABOVE: A “spotter” scrambled over the rocks near the ocean end of Jetty A after advising a crane operator precisely where to place an “armor rock” that will make up the exterior of the mile-and-a-half long structure. The $30.5 million project will buttress the jetty with more than 82,000 tons of new stone. BELOW: Built in 1939, the jetty’s primary function is to direct river and tidal currents away from the North Jetty foundation. The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the planning and design of the project, while Vancouver-based Kiewit Corp., is the primary contractor As the deadline nears for school districts to turn in plans to test for lead and radon, local administrators understand the need but worry about the costs. The state Board of Education this month voted to require school districts to test for lead and radon. The vote came after scandals in Portland Public Schools over contami- nated drinking water ballooned into a state- wide issue. School d istricts have to turn in preliminary plans to test for lead and radon into the state by October, with fi nal plans due by January. “We want to ensure that our water and air are going to be safe for students,” Superin- tendent Mark Jeffery of the Warrenton-Ham- mond School District said of the new requirements. “It would have been lovely if they would have come forward with some funding.” Jeffery said he is hopeful funding for testing will be forth- coming. The city of Warrenton tested the district’s water at no charge, but Jeffery said he doesn’t know how Mark far that arrangement Jeffery will go. School advocates have said the Legis- lative Fiscal Offi ce is working on a funding proposal to present to the state’s Emergency Board in September. The costs of test- ing and mitigating problems are largely unknown. The state Paulette School Boards Asso- Johnson ciation has said test- ing and fi xing problems could costs dis- tricts hundreds of millions of dollars statewide. New Knappa Superintendent Paulette Johnson said her district spent about $400 on testing throughout its schools. The results came back Tuesday, with only one lightly used fountain shut down. “We have to keep our kids safe.” Johnson said. “If that takes testing, I’m OK with that. I’ll put it in the budget.” Astoria and Seaside schools have also received results back from lead test- ing . Astoria shut off two fountains at See LEAD TEST, Page 10A Mental health agency on a better track Strong leadership key to success By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian The chief executive for regional mental health care on Wednesday praised the Clatsop County manager and the interim director at Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare for stepping for- ward to “really save a local program from the brink.” Kevin Campbell, who leads Greater Oregon Behavioral Healthcare Inc., which ovesees mental health services in Clatsop and several other counties, believes Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare is beginning to turn a corner. County Manager Cameron Moore and Amy Baker, the interim executive director of the mental health agency, have been working to stabilize the agency after a leadership shakeup this year. “I can tell you that GOBHI is willing and ready to continue putting resources into this community to see that we get to a not only a functional, but an exem- plary, mental health system,” Campbell said at a work session with the county Board of Commissioners. Amy Baker Cameron Moore An internal investigation and a state review by the Oregon Health Authority documented management challenges and led to the departure of top admin- istrators at Clatsop Behavioral Health- care. The agency, which provides men- tal health services under contract with the county, also suffered through an exodus of professional talent. Details of the dysfunction dribbled out publicly over the past year through anecdotes from law enforcement and social-service advocates, union action and federal lawsuits. Baker told county commissioners her biggest fear when she took over in June was that the agency’s crisis team had dwindled to just one person. “And that is a position you never want to be in as a community mental health pro- gram,” she said. Baker is gradually rebuilding staff throughout the agency and is working to improve infrastructure. On Wednes- day, for example, she said she went through the agency’s intake process herself to see what patients experience. See AGENCY, Page 10A