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5A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2016 Housing: State’s low Brownfields: Program has been working since 1995 vacancy rates, growth in population drive up values in home prices Continued from Page 1A Continued from Page 1A Monitoring contracts In multiple instances, auditors found the agency failed to monitor contracts for pricing and results. For example, since 2003, Oregon Housing and Com- munity Services has contin- uously renewed a contract with Neighborhood Part- nerships of Portland with- out putting the contract out to bid. The contract is for managing individual devel- opment accounts, a match- ing savings system that helps low-income fami- lies build financial manage- ment skills and save toward homeownership. Low vacancy rates and a growing population have driven up home values across the state by 12.5 per- cent since 2015, while rents have climbed by nearly 7 percent per month, making it increasingly challenging for low-income families to find housing. Auditors found that the agency has failed to com- plete a required annual statewide housing plan that would identify and find ways to meet needs, largely because the agency has not kept an accurate inven- tory of affordable hous- ing around the state. Out- dated data systems have contributed to barriers the agency faces in complet- ing an accurate and compre- hensive inventory, the audit noted. “Partnerships with hous- ing developers, funders, advocates, and others in the housing community, are a crucial part of pre- serving low-income afford- able housing,” Atkins said. “However, the audit found that OHCS needs to improve its relationships with stakeholders through better communications and transparency.” Boost planning Auditors recommended that the agency boost plan- ning efforts for housing preservation projects and work with the Legislature to increase the availabil- ity of funding for housing developers to promote more housing units in the state. “Our auditors found that crucial communications between OHCS leadership and the Housing Stability Council are lacking, and that the council needs clar- ity about its role,” Atkins said. “I urge the Legisla- ture to work with the coun- cil and agency leadership to help define this essential relationship.” The agency also faces organizational problems, including poor commu- nication with employees, inconsistent staffing and workloads, and inadequate policies and procedures, the audit found. Gov. Kate Brown hired Margaret Salazar, formerly of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Devel- opment, in late September to direct Oregon Housing and Community Services and steer improvements at the agency. Less than a month after starting her new job in November, Sala- zar responded to the audit’s preliminary findings. In her response, Sala- zar said she is working to address the shortcomings found in the audit. “While I am new in my role as director of OHCS, I have come to quickly under- stand the need to address these critical issues,” Sala- zar wrote in her response. The agency is in the pro- cess of updating its com- puter systems and plans to have a new system for tracking multifamily hous- ing finance data installed at the agency by the end of 2017. “The age of the systems and … workarounds make it difficult for staff to extract information,” the audit states. “Only a few staff have the long-term knowl- edge and expertise to do so.” The agency also plans to debut its first housing plan in many years, Salazar said. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. THE DAILY ASTORIAN W EDNESDAY E VENING A (2) (-) (-) (6) (-) (8) (9) (10) (12) (13) (-) (20) (-) (29) (30) (31) (32) (34) (35) (36) (38) (39) (43) (44) (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) (56) (57) (58) (61) (63) (64) (65) (162) L KATU KOMO KING KOIN KIRO KGW KRCW KOPB KPTV KPDX KCPQ TBS KZJO ESPN ESPN2 NICK DISN FAM FMC LIFE ROOT FS1 SPIKE COM HIST A&E TLC DISC NGEO TNT AMC USA FOOD HGTV FX CNN FNC CNBC BRAV TCM SYFY RFD (2) (4) (5) (-) (7) (-) (3) (10) (12) (-) (13) (20) (22) (29) (30) (31) (32) (34) (35) (36) (38) (39) (43) (44) (45) (46) (47) (48) (49) (50) (51) (52) (53) (54) (56) (57) (58) (61) (63) (64) (65) (162) 6 with the Ports of Willapa Har- bor, Ilwaco and Chinook and those cities — is preparing an application seeking fund- ing by the U.S. Environmen- tal Protection Agency brown- field grant program for reuse and revitalization of properties throughout Pacific County. Meetings held in Raymond and Ilwaco provided basic information on the program, grant-application process and a discussion about potential priority reuse and revitaliza- tion opportunities throughout Pacific County. “The point of the program is to revitalize areas in the community that aren’t per- forming where they could per- form,” said Marc Sauze, proj- ect manager for Stantec, an engineering, consulting and design service company cho- sen for the grant-application process. “It can include sites that aren’t being used because they’re contaminated, but it can also include sites that are completely underutilized.” What is a brownfield? The EPA defines brown- field land as “property where the reuse may be compli- cated by the presence of haz- ardous materials. Brownfields can be abandoned gas stations, dry-cleaning establishments, factories, mills, or foundries.” Old gas stations, dry clean- ers and former photo-process- ing shops are among the most egregious of environmental hazard offenders, according to the EPA. Former industrial areas, particularly those with abandoned factories and com- mercial buildings, can house contaminants. Since 1995, the EPA Brownfield Program has been working to address the more than 450,000 contami- nated areas across the U.S. Priority areas Potential brownfield sites aren’t as apparent as a burning barrel of toxic waste, but the community and environmen- tal impact can be equally pro- found, particularly if the con- taminated areas are near water, like much of Pacific County is. Some of the most apparent problem areas are those where high traffic navigates through delicate habitat. “For Pacific County, it’s the Highway 101 corridor, areas along the Willapa and port front in Ilwaco,” Sauze said. “A lot of (Pacific County) impacted sites are along the Luke Whittaker/EO Media Group A former gas station sits abandoned in Long Beach, Wash. “The EPA’s No. 1 focus right now is groundwater and surface water,” an expert said at a Pacific County forum last week. “The reason is because about half of the contaminated sites in the U.S. are old gas pump stations and then the other half are hazardous substance sites.” water.” One impacted site can cause ripple effects through the environment more easily if near water. “If you have a contami- nated or underutilized site sit- ting next to the water, rain falls and it goes straight into the water, which goes into your fish and then into larger mam- mals,” Sauze said. There are two types of brownfield sites, according to Sauze. “There’s petroleum-con- taminated sites, and then there’s hazardous-sub- stance-contaminated sites,” he said. However, not all brown- field-eligible sites are waste- lands. Some are spots where contamination has simply stunted development. “Up in Raymond, they have a VFW building that burnt to the ground, and now it’s a big open lot,” Sauze said “It’s not necessarily a contaminated site, but it’s a brownfield site because it’s not developing — it’s just sitting there in the mid- dle of Raymond.” Attendees were asked to brainstorm potential reuse and revitalization sites in Pacific County. Among the suggestions were buildings falling into disrepair, lots not living up to potential and sites considered to be con- taminated including the Port of Ilwaco; Old Ark Restau- rant in Nahcotta; Doupé Building major-intersection building in Ilwaco; former gas stations, city dumps and junkyards and the Chinook General Store Creating jobs The reuse and revitatiliza- tion of former brownfields in Pacific County could help curb unemployment, while boost- ing property values and spar- ing taxes. “If you have a lot of these open area sites, such as a burnt or abandoned building, they can become havens for crime and illegal dumping,” Sauze said. “It will save tax money because some of these sites will get developed and you won’t have to keep carrying them. One job will be created for every $17,000 invested.” Residential property values can increase 5 to 12 percent near brownfield sites when cleanup is complete, according to EPA figures. Sauze called on community members for letters of support and volunteer pledges to bol- ster the proposal due to the * Buy One Get One FREE Holiday Book Sale B UY G ET Bumble Bee Brand Book Flight of the Bumble Bee for $ 24.95 Special available only at The Daily Astorian Offi ce 949 Exchange Street | Astoria, OR 97103 or by calling 503-325-3211 LISTINGS A - Charter Astoria/ Seaside - L - Charter Long Beach EPA soon. Pacific County Commis- sioner Frank Wolfe raised con- cerns that some homeowners and businesses could be hesi- tant to invite initial inspections or soil sampling fearing linger- ing unknowns in total cleanup costs. “The idea is if I want to develop that property, once I make that decision, I feel like I’m signing a blank check to what it’s going to cost to clean it up,” Wolfe said. “On the other hand, this program can help put a handle on that. It gets you to that point where you can make an intel- ligent and informed decision. It makes it a known-known instead of an unknown-un- known.” Sauze agreed, equat- ing the scenario to a monster in the closet where fear of the unknown often overshadows the reality of the situation. Observing Our Peninsula’s Past FREE! *while supplies last Evening listings WEDNESDAY D ECEMBER 7 PM 6:30 7 PM 7:30 8 PM 8:30 9 PM 9:30 10 PM 10:30 11 PM 11:30 KATU News at 6 Jeopardy! Wheel of Fortune The Goldbergs (N) Speechless (N) Modern Family Black-ish (N) Designated Surv. "The Blueprint" (N) KATU News at 11 (:35) Jimmy Kimmel KOMO 4 News Wheel of Fortune Jeopardy! The Goldbergs (N) Speechless (N) Modern Family Black-ish (N) Designated Surv. "The Blueprint" (N) KOMO 4 News (:35) Jimmy Kimmel NBC Nightly News KING 5 News KING 5 News Evening Hairspray Live A teenage girl wants to appear on a popular show. (N) KING 5 News (:35) Tonight Show KOIN Local 6 at 6 CBS Evening News Extra Ent. 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