7A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2017
College: Special PAC: The Partners have scheduled
meeting will be events at arts center through December
held on Jan. 24
Continued from Page 1A
Rumors flew in 2012 that
the college would sell the
arts center amid budget cuts.
The rumors proved false, but
a community uproar moti-
vated the Partners, which have
since raised money to keep the
space open for rehearsals and
performances. The group was
recently joined by Astoria’s
Pacific Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship, a spiritual group
that relocated to the arts cen-
ter and joined the Partners late
last year.
Charlene Larsen, a mem-
ber of the North Oregon Coast
Symphony and co-chair-
woman of the Partners, said the
group pays more than $1,800
a month to cover the basic
maintenance and operation of
the 225-seat auditorium.
“We’ve been funding the
monthly expenses,” she said.
“We’ve also done numer-
ous volunteer work parties to
enhance the facility. We’ve
scheduled the use of the build-
ing on a very consistent basis.”
Larsen said the Partners
have already scheduled events
at the arts center through
December.
uals from both sides. We
could receive both sets of
maximize
timber
har- answers. Then we could pre-
vest on 650,000 acres of pare those to have the full sort
forestland counties turned of answer.”
over to state ownership in
Wingard said that while he
the early 1900s. When the works in the natural resources
suit was certified as class sector and has thoroughly
action by a Linn County Cir- researched the lawsuit, others
cuit Court judge, the plain- might need more information.
tiffs grew to 15 counties and “I just hope that everybody is
roughly 130 taxing districts, afforded a fair, and unbiased,
including
enti-
and equally tempo-
ties such as the
ral opportunity to
college, Clatsop
gain information.”
County and Jew-
Board Chair-
ell School District.
woman Rosemary
Board member
Baker-Monaghan,
Patrick Wingard,
who has a back-
also a land use
ground in forestry,
planner with the
reiterated Breit-
state, said he felt
meyer’s statement
like he was unable
that the executive
to get any ques-
session Tuesday
Rosemary
tions in during the Baker-Monaghan was informational,
meeting with the
and requested by
attorneys, which he added the plaintiffs.
did not seem impartial.
“We’re going to continue
“We’ve got a plaintiff and in that vein, and hear from
a defendant,” Wingard said. the quote-unquote other side,
“We had the plaintiff’s rep- so that everyone can have
resentatives here. How about the opportunity to have their
we hear from the defendant?” questions answered,” she said.
Breitmeyer said the bulk “And then we’ll have a pub-
of the special meeting later in lic meeting to talk about it and
the month would be deliber- decide what we want to do.”
The college’s special
ation, with the lawyers avail-
meeting will be at 6 p.m. Jan.
able for questions.
“It seems to me you’re 24 in Columbia Hall Room
interested in hearing from 219, on the college’s main
both sides,” Breitmeyer said. campus at 1651 Lexington
“We could identify individ- Ave.
Continued from Page 1A
Fixer-upper
But beyond the daily needs
of the arts center is the mon-
umental cost of upgrading the
facility into a modern venue,
part of why the college has
moved away from the building
as viable class space. The col-
The Daily Astorian/File Photo
The North Coast Symphonic Band rehearses at Clatsop Community College’s Perform-
ing Arts Center, where the Partners for the PAC have scheduled events through the rest
of the year. The Partners present “All in the Timing” as a fundraiser starting Friday.
lege has estimated that about
$1 million in improvements
are needed to make the facility
a modern educational space.
Larsen said that figure is
probably inflated, consider-
ing the volunteer hours put in
to improve the building. She
said the Partners have already
begun pursuing estimates to
upgrade the kitchen and fix the
building’s heating.
The college had an
appraisal of the property per-
formed late last year, after it
received an unsolicited offer
on the arts center and adja-
cent Josie Peper Building
from WTJ Development, a
company registered to a law-
yer in Portland. Karen Rad-
ditz, the Realtor represent-
ing the college on the offer,
said the developer wanted
to develop affordable, stu-
dent and short-term housing
for Columbia Memorial Hos-
pital on the city block, which
is mostly occupied by the for-
mer Lum’s Auto Center. Rad-
ditz said the developer wanted
to keep the arts center a “com-
munity center,” albeit with lit-
tle elaboration.
The amount of the offer
was never released. The name
of the developer was also
unknown until after the col-
lege board rejected the offer.
Asked after Tuesday’s
meeting what the appraisal of
the property was, Breitmeyer
declined to give a figure, only
to say it was less than the offer
the college received last year.
Larsen said the Partners
are also waiting to hear what
the building was appraised for.
“My assumption is that’s what
our meeting (with the college)
is about.”
Dam: Webpage may be created to make it ‘more transparent’
Continued from Page 1A
Warrenton declared an emer-
gency in December and agreed to
ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
neers whether the dam should be
restored for flood control as part
of the city’s levee system.
In September, Akin Blitz, a
Portland attorney hired by the city
to conduct a report on the dam,
said the city should take con-
trol of the aging structure, per-
haps to use for flood control or
keep as an asset that could eventu-
ally be removed as mitigation for
development.
Blitz described the dam as a
“priceless” asset, and some crit-
ics had questioned whether the
city’s interest is more about future
development than flood control.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Newton
said Blitz “was not speaking for
me at that time, because that’s not
one of the options in my book.”
“I’m absolutely opposed to
using it for any kind of mitiga-
tion,” Newton said, adding that
Blitz “was giving us options, and I
wish he’d left that one out.”
Kujala agreed, saying that “the
city’s concern is about flood con-
trol, flood protection, flood insur-
ance.” He said the city needs to
put the tide gates back on and start
operating the dam “as it was …
designed to do.”
At a town hall discussion last
week between the City Commis-
sion and the public on a ballot
measure that restricted the transfer
of city assets, a concerned resident
said he wished the commission
had been more transparent so far
about its intentions for the dam.
Commissioner Pam Ackley
said Tuesday that the commis-
sion has spoken with city staff
about creating a webpage about
the Eighth Street Dam project
to make it “more transparent to
everyone.”
The City Commission’s emer-
gency declaration — and the com-
mitment to use the dam for flood
control — cements the city’s posi-
tion that the dam is necessary to
reduce flood risk. The water dis-
trict has argued that the dam is
obsolete and actually a flood haz-
ard. The state Water Resources
Department, after a 2012 inspec-
tion, also raised doubts about
whether the dam was capable of
flood control.
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
The city wants to use the aging Eighth Street Dam for flood control.
IN REPLY REFER TO: CRSO-EIS
Public comment period extended for scoping input for the Columbia
River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement
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Tfe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and tfe Bonneville Power
Administration are seeking your felp to sfape our basin’s future. Togetfer, tfe tfree agencies
operate 14 federal multi-purpose projects on tfe Columbia and Snake rivers, known as tfe
Columbia River System, tfat serve tfe region witf fl ood risk management, navigation, power
generation, irrigation, fi sf and wildlife conservation, recreation, and municipal and industrial
water supply.
We are preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) under tfe National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) to review tfe environmental and socioeconomic effects of tfe long-term
system operations and confi gurations of tfese projects.
To begin tfis process, tfe tfree agencies are fosting public scoping meetings tfrougfout
tfe basin. If you were unable to attend a scoping meeting in your area, you can also fi nd
information about tfe NEPA process and about tfe way we currently operate tfe system
posted on our website at www.crso.info. You can also use tfe website to provide us
comments tfat can felp defi ne tfe issues, concerns and tfougfts on system operations for
consideration in tfe EIS.
Based on requests from a number of interested organizations, we fave extended tfe
scoping comment period to Feb. 7, 2017, in order to allow more time for development and
submission of written comments.
After tfe scoping period ends, we will carefully review tfe comments received to felp inform
a range of alternatives and impacts to resources for evaluation in tfe EIS. We are committed
to considering all regional perspectives and to running an open and transparent public
process. To tfat end, we will continue to provide opportunities for meaningful engagement
and dialogue witf tfe region after tfe scoping comment period closes. We all fave a stake
in tfe operation of tfe system and tfe environmental fealtf of tfe Columbia River Basin, so
we encourage and look forward to fearing your tfougfts and comments.
If you fave already sfared your tfougfts, we tfank you! If you fave not yet sfared your
perspective, tfere is still time to do so. Again, tfe revised public comment period for scoping
will now conclude Feb. 7, 2017.
Please go to tfe website for information about tfe NEPA process, or send your comments to
comment@crso.info. You also may mail your written comments to CRSO EIS, P.O. Box 2870,
Portland, OR 97208-2870.
Scott A. Spellmon
Major General
Division Commander
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Nortfwestern Division
Lorri J. Lee
Regional Director
Pacifi c Nortfwest Region
Bureau of Reclamation
Elliot E. Mainzer
Administrator & CEO
Bonneville Power
Administration