7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016
Dam: Lawsuit seeks to attach liability to the water district
Continued from Page 1A
The city argues the water district forfeited the
easement by removing the tide gates and no lon-
ger operating the structure as a dam.
The city is citing a quiet title lawsuit in Cir-
cuit Court in 1938 for surrounding land, as well
as the city’s partnership with the Army Corps on
the levee system, as justification for taking con-
trol of the dam.
The lawsuit describes the dam as a federal asset
tied to two nearby levees, but holds that the city is
the rightful owner, since the city has an obligation
to maintain the entire flood-control system.
Exhibits
The draft of the lawsuit details many of the
arguments Blitz has made publicly on behalf of
Warrenton over the past few months. But import-
ant new information is outlined in the exhibits,
and the suit foreshadows some of the questions
the city will likely encounter if it takes over the
dam.
The Natural Resources Conservation Ser-
vice, in a February 2014 letter to the water dis-
trict, declared that the federal interest in the dam
was complete because the structure had reached
its useful life of 50 years. The letter said the water
district was free to operate and maintain the dam
as the owner, including modifying or decommis-
sioning the structure.
But Ronald Alvarado, the state conservation-
ist for the Natural Resources Conservation Ser-
vice, who authored the 2014 letter, clarified in
a letter to Blitz on Friday that the federal gov-
ernment did not intend to infer the water district
owned the property. The water district, Alvarado
explained, was responsible for securing the
city easement and any other rights necessary to
arrange federal financing for the dam.
More importantly, Ed Berger, an assistant dis-
trict counsel for the Army Corps, wrote in an
email to Blitz on Wednesday that the dam and
the two nearby levees are “integrally-connected
components of what appears to be a single flood
risk reduction system.”
The city’s lawsuit alleges the water district’s
removal of the tide gates was a potential violation
of federal law. Berger suggested the Army Corps
would likely insist the tide gates — or replicas —
be reinstalled on the dam and any damage to the
levees be repaired.
Liability
The water district has an engineering plan
that concludes removing the dam would not sig-
nificantly increase flooding risk, although a city
consultant has questioned whether the plan accu-
rately modeled the flood plain. The state Water
Resources Department found after a 2012 inspec-
tion that the dam may no longer be capable of
flood control and is likely a significant hazard. The
state recommended further engineering analysis.
The water district also barricaded a gravel
road over the dam over liability concerns.
If Warrenton prevails, after such an aggres-
sive legal push to take control, the city will have
to answer whether the dam is indeed necessary
for flood control. Blitz has previously said the
dam could be held by the city as an asset that
could be removed later for wetlands mitigation
on a development project. But that idea could
be undermined now that the city is claiming an
emergency exists and the dam needs to be oper-
ated to prevent flooding.
The lawsuit seeks to attach liability to the
water district — for any failure to properly main-
tain the dam for flood control — and recover the
money necessary to reinstall the tide gates and
restore the dam.
Housing: Some have concerns
about plan to add model homes
Continued from Page 1A
Submitted Photo
“Exhibit A” shows Shilo’s income and tax bill.
Seaside: Room tax for all hotels,
motels set to increase in January
Bankruptcy,
restructuring
Continued from Page 1A
Penalties and interest con-
tinue to accrue on the 113-room
beachfront hotel in Seaside.
“It certainly is a signifi-
cant amount of money,” Van
Thiel said. “It evidently is not
enough because they don’t turn
over the tax everybody pays
when they stay at the Shilo
Inn.”
Shilo Inn, Seaside Ocean-
front LLC paid out almost
$146,000 — a late payment
of more than $54,000 deliv-
ered in July and a late pay-
ment of $93,000 in delinquent
room taxes, interest and penal-
ties this fall — after two sim-
ilar suits brought by the city.
Those cases were closed after
payments were made.
A lawyer for Shilo Inn did
not respond to a request for
comment.
Shilo Inn was founded in
1974 by Mark Hemstreet. The
47-hotel chain, headquartered
in Portland, struggled after the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks inter-
rupted the tourist industry.
In 2002, more than half of
Shilo Inns in nine states sought
bankruptcy protection before
re-emerging after reaching a
deal with creditors.
The Great Recession brought
more closings to the Shilo Inn
chain, which included both the
Seaside Oceanfront and Seaside
East on Holladay Drive.
In 2015, Shilo’s federal
bankruptcy cases resulted in
a restructuring deal and the
sale of some Shilo properties,
including the sale of Shilo Inn
Seaside East.
The city was not a part
of the federal proceedings,
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Van Thiel said.
‘No defenses’
Shilo Inn brought in gross
rents of about $1.4 million in
taxable rents in Seaside for
the period ending Sept. 30, of
which 8 percent is subject to the
city’s room tax collection.
In January, the room tax for
all hotels and motels increases
to 10 percent, with the hike to
fund Seaside Civic and Con-
vention Center upgrades.
Van Thiel said he has had
trouble on occasion collecting
lodging taxes, but “it’s been
some time” since delinquency
has led to court action.
“In the previous two times,
(Shilo) paid the money,” Van
Thiel said. “And I expect them
to this time. They don’t have
any defenses to it. I’m not
going to let them sit there and
fool around.”
The homes would be avail-
able for those who make about
70 to 100 percent of the area’s
median income.
Before purchasing the
manufactured homes, the city
would have to amend the bud-
get or wait until the new fiscal
year in July, Barnes said. Other
decisions — management, rent
costs, the process of screening
applicants, the homes’ location
within the RV Resort and more
— have yet to be made.
Another potential develop-
ment could take place at the
former children’s center site in
Tolovana.
“If City Council agrees to
move forward with the devel-
opment proposals described,
additional analysis, discussion
and planning will be needed
to move forward thoughtfully
with an implementation plan,”
the report stated.
“I think we’re fortunate
to have city-owned property
that gives us the opportunity
to develop projects like this,”
Councilor Mike Benefield
said. “Most cities don’t, and
they’re struggling.”
Code amendment recom-
mendations include ensuring
that city fees, accessory dwell-
ing units and multifamily hous-
ing encourage the develop-
ment of affordable, long-term
rentals. Another option the city
could pursue, the report stated,
is limiting the growth of short-
term rentals through a com-
bination of capping permits,
neighborhood-specific regula-
tions and enforcement.
Location concerns
Some who reside by the RV
Resort on Elk Land Road and
Haskell Lane have concerns
about the plan to add park
model homes.
“Protecting property val-
ues will be directly related to
the increased amount of peo-
ple, traffic flow and types of
buildings erected,” Rick Hud-
son and Laurie Hudson wrote
in a letter to the city. “We pur-
chased our home because of
its location, its seclusion and
its quiet corner of Cannon
Beach.”
Resident Jan Siebert-Wahr-
mund said although she has
concerns about the potential
locations for housing recom-
mended by the report, she will
“try to keep an open mind.”
Councilor George Vet-
ter expressed concerns about
“diminishing” the RV park’s
value. Barnes said he would
provide an analysis on the
financial impact the park
models could have on the RV
Resort.
“We live in a beautiful
place,” Vetter said. “People are
willing to pay a lot of money
for property. If we build some-
thing or put something up
within the area of where these
people want to be, the pressure
is always there.”
He said if affordable hous-
ing were placed on the edge or
outside the city, “the pressure”
would not be there.
The task force is not look-
ing to place affordable hous-
ing in “an area set aside that’s
less than equal to anyplace else
in our city limits,” Councilor
Melissa Cadwallader said. “As
a fellow councilor, I find your
comments about, ‘we should
be looking at less favorable
property to be used,’ to not be
a good starting point for devel-
oping what this task force
hoped to develop.”
The appointed task force
included Duane Johnson of
Duane Johnson Real Estate;
Todd Johnston, Northwest
Oregon Housing Author-
ity executive director; Ken
McQuhae, retired engineer
and resident; Dave Norstedt,
Martin Hospitality vice pres-
ident of operations; Brandon
Ogilvie, a local contractor;
Sheri Russell, Columbia Bank
branch manager; City Man-
ager Brant Kucera; and coun-
cil liaison Cadwallader.
‘If we build something or put something
up within the area of where these people
want to be, the pressure is always there.’
Councilor George Vetter
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A - Charter Astoria/ Seaside - L - Charter Long Beach
Evening listings
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