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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 2016)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2016 Consultant suggests improvements to state crisis unit Unit operates 23 homes for people with severe needs By CLAIRE WITHYCOMBE Capital Bureau SALEM — Feedback from a consultant hired to assess safety within the state’s resi- dential crisis services for peo- ple with developmental dis- abilities is “not glowing,” according to the director of the state’s Stabilization and Crisis Unit. The crisis unit operates 23 homes along the I-5 corridor between Portland and Eugene, according to the state Depart- ment of Human Services. About 100 people live in these facilities, which are intended to help people with severe needs. SACU Director Jana McLellan, in a presentation Monday to the Client Staff and Safety Task Force, said the consultant has tentatively rec- ommended the unit improve staff training and take a more individualized approach to residents. The task force was estab- lished in 2015 and directed by the Legislature to evaluate safety and make recommenda- tions on staff safety, resident care and the operation of crisis unit facilities. Although the task force was required to provide its rec- ommendations to the Legisla- ture by Sept. 15, it determined then that none were “ready for submission.” A consultant, Benchmark Human Services, Inc., was brought on this spring to inves- tigate safety and health issues of people both working for and getting services from the cri- sis unit. McLellan said Monday she expects Benchmark’s report to be complete next month. The consultancy has reviewed information provided by the crisis unit and has conducted interviews with more than 30 staff, management and other stakeholders in the system. McLellan said the consul- tant’s report will focus on sev- eral best practice areas, include staff training, medication man- agement, access to psychiat- ric services, residential capac- ity and using data to inform policy and programming decisions. The inal report is expected to have several com- ponents, including recommen- dations on implementing the indings. According to early ind- ings, McLellan said, the crisis unit is perceived as separate from and not integrated with the larger system of services and care for people with devel- opmental disabilities; and the unit may not be adapting to the changing needs of the popula- tion it serves. State Sen. Sara Gelser, D-Corvallis, who co-chairs the task force, and Eva Rippeteau, a task force member and polit- ical coordinator for the Associ- ation of Federal, State, County and Municipal Employees, said that many of the consul- tant’s initial indings were not surprising. Gelser asked McLellan what the crisis unit was doing now to address the issues, some of which Gelser said did not require funding to improve. McLellan, pointing to par- ticular feedback indicating that crisis unit residents did not appear to spend enough time in “meaningful engagement” in the community, said the unit is still trying to get more information. McLellan said she believed on average a crisis unit resi- dent has 10 hours a month of “meaningful engagement,” which the consultant consid- ered low and which McLellan said was not an “acceptable” number of hours. It’s possible there are a variety of reasons for that low number, McLellan said — there may not be enough staff or transportation to support many community outings, for example. A representative from the consultancy is expected to attend the next task force meet- ing to discuss the indings. McLellan also qualiied her report to the task force, saying it was based on her conversa- tions with the consultant, and that the recommendations may look different when compiled into a inal report. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Coast River Inn debuts new look with ‘budget boutique’ style Remodeled hotel seeks to ill a niche By KATHERINE LACAZE For The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Here’s one boutique hotel geared to be affordable. Hotelier Masudur Khan, managing director of Seaside Lodging, purchased the Coast River Inn and adjacent River View Inn on Holladay Drive and Avenue G as a package deal in August 2015. The two properties and accompanying buildings were combined to create the 42-bedroom “bud- get boutique” hotel, designed to attract guests in the mid- scale level, Khan said. Khan was irst offered the properties about three years ago. He declined but changed his mind after recognizing potential in the lodging facil- ities, which were not receiving adequate use or attention. “One day I thought, ‘Maybe I’ll take this and see what happens,’” he said, add- ing he hoped to improve the buildings’ aesthetics to appeal to travelers along Holladay, a main thoroughfare in Seaside. “This is a property you can see right away.” The Coast River Inn recently underwent an approx- imately $400,000 exterior and interior face-lift after being acquired by Seaside Lodging. Submitted Photo The interior of the 42-bedroom Coast River Inn was re- modeled in addition to the exterior. The rooms received new furniture, appliances, bed and bedding. The Coast River Inn offers a bike service, which gives guests use of the bikes for an hour for free. updates included new furni- ture, appliances and bedding, along with the installation of complimentary high-speed wireless internet. On the outside, the build- ings received new cedar stain- ing, lighting and signage. A sidewalk was installed to con- nect the former River View Inn to the original Coast River Inn building. The hotel was given a new logo and orange color scheme, which was incorpo- rated into the landscaping. Guests wanting to tour Sea- side can use the hotel’s new complimentary bike rental service. Management ini- tially purchased two bikes, unsure how the service would be received. Before long, they were compelled to increase the stock from two to seven to meet demand. “Guests like to explore Seaside” on the bicycles, said the Coast River Inn’s rating among Seaside hotels has steadily increased during the past six months. While it for- merly sat near the bottom, it was ranked No. 10 on Tri- pAdvisor recently, although the ratings can frequently luctuate. Under Seaside Lodg- ing’s ownership, the property has increased employment with the addition of eight to 10 full-time employees. While previously the proper- ties housed longer-term ten- ants for weeks or months at a time, the Coast River Inn now focuses on the more tra- ditional hotel model of guests staying only a few days, which contributes a signii- cant lodging tax increase to the city. Now that the reno- vation is inished, Khan said, “we are expecting higher occupancy next year.” Don Frank Photography Submitted Photo This image from Seaside Lodging compares the Coast River Inn before its renovation, started last fall, and after. The renovation began last fall, as the tourist season began to wane. Khan did not want the project to interrupt summer business, he said. Even then, the renovation focused on one building irst, followed by the other, so the hotel could con- tinue functioning throughout the remodel. “We didn’t actually shut down the whole hotel,” Khan said. About 80 percent of the renovation was completed by March, with just a few cus- tom-made orders outstanding. While most of the renova- tion took place on the exterior of the buildings, some interior Kaarina Vera, the sales, mar- keting and revenue manager. With the addition of the Coast River Inn, Seaside Lodging’s portfolio of inde- pendent hotels grew to four, including the Inn at Seaside, the River Inn at Seaside and the City Center Motel. Each lodging facility is targeted toward a different market segment, from economy to upper midscale. With a fairly central loca- tion but few amenities, such as a swimming pool or com- plimentary breakfast, Khan said the Coast River Inn appeals to a younger, modern crowd looking for something new in Seaside that is reason- ably priced for the market. “They’re getting good rooms,” Khan added. “It’s not too crowded and it’s quiet.” Under new management and with the renovation, City Council gives the nod to design work on trestle repairs Work needed for trolley to run next year By DERRICK DePLEDGE The Daily Astorian The city has set in motion the trestle repairs necessary for the Astoria Riverfront Trolley to operate next year. The City Council on Mon- day night approved more than $23,000 for design services on a construction project esti- mated to cost $319,500. The city will use tourism money in the Promote Astoria fund to inance the project. The city will focus on the 3 miles of track and four trestles used by the trolley between Portway Street and 39th Street. Councilors sepa- rately approved about $14,500 for repairs to the trestle along the Astoria Riverwalk near Alderbrook. “If the trolley is going to run this next summer, this work has to happen,” City Manager Brett Estes said. Annual maintenance costs will approach about $276,000 over the next decade. The city is in talks with the trolley asso- ciation about sharing the costs. “Well this is deinitely a tough pill to swallow,” City Councilor Zetty Nemlow- ill said. “It’s not the irst time we’ve heard about it, but the Riverwalk is of utmost prior- ity in Astoria, so I don’t see that we have any other choice but to award this contract tonight.” The city is also doing about $206,000 in emergency repair work to wooden bridges on the Recreational marijuana sales reach $160 million this year Associated Press EUGENE — Marijuana dispensaries have sold more than $160 million worth of recreational marijuana so far this year. The Register-Guard reported that according to sales tax igures released Mon- day by the state Department of Revenue, more than $160 million worth of pot was sold in the irst nine months of the year, bringing in $40.2 million in sales tax payments. State-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries charge a 25 percent sales tax to cus- tomers for recreational mari- juana products. The igures come weeks W A NTED A der and Map e Saw Logs & Stand ng T mber ort w e t H rdw ood • Lo gv ew , A Con ac S eve Ax e • 360 430 0885 o John Ande on • 360 269 2500 In Loving Memory of our Beloved Don McComber who passed away August 29, 2016. He was very special to all his family and many friends. He will be greatly missed for the loving, caring family man he was. We could always count on him to be there for us. May he rest in peace with our Lord and Saviour. Love, The Family after the Oregon Liquor Con- trol Commission licensed the irst retailers in its recreational marijuana program. Those retailers charge a 17 percent state sales tax for all recre- ational marijuana products. Medical dispensaries must become licensed with the OLCC if they want to continue to sell recreational pot in 2017. 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Tell us about your carrier and how they have provided you with excellent service. Email: Online: north ends of Sixth through 11th streets near the River- walk. The work is a temporary ix while the city moves for- ward with a $12 million proj- ect to replace the short, street- end bridges over the next few years. In other business Monday night: • The City Council updated a legal services contract with City Attorney Blair Hennings- gaard. The agreement includes a $3,000 pay raise, from $84,000 to $87,000 a year. The rate Henningsgaard charges to handle nonroutine city matters will also go up by $10 an hour, from $180 to $190 an hour. Re-elect Deborah Boone State Representative HD 32, Democrat Native Oregonian Rural homeowner in HD 32 since 1974 “TheendorsementofRepresentativeDeborah Boone is the result of careful consideration bytheSheriffsofOregon.Weareconident Deborah will promote laws designed to betterprotectOregoniansandtheirfamilies bymakinglawenforcementmoreeffective.” — Sheriffs of oregon PAC DeBORahiSaLSOenDORSeDBy: Oregon Nurseries PAC Cultural Advocacy Coalition American Federation of Oregon State Building & Teachers–Oregon (AFT-Oregon) Constructions Trades Council Sen. Ron Wyden Oregon State Fireighters Council Sen. Jeff Merkley Oregon State Council for Retired Citizens Oregon School Employees Assn. National Electrical Contractors Assn. Basic Rights Oregon Equality PAC Stand for Children Oregon Oregon AFSCME Council 75 Oregon Coalition of Police & Sheriffs Humane Oregon Working Hard for YoU in HD 32 BooneforStateRep.org Paid for by: Boone for State Representative P.O. Box 637, Cannon Beach, OR 97110
