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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 10, 2017)
9A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017 Da Yang: ‘It’s not a Da Yang issue. It’s an industry issue’ its own action. “To me, it isn’t grounds for terminating their lease agree- ment,” he said. “We would be throwing out a perfectly good tenant.” Knight said it is impres- sive how quickly Da Yang has grown since opening at the Port in 2004. The company has invested millions in expand- ing its operations, along with extending utilities and rein- forcing sagging, pockmarked docks where fishermen deliver product on the west side of Pier 2. Knight said the work Da Yang has done on the docks is beyond what the Port can han- dle. The cash-strapped agency is trying to secure funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair the docks, which have been damaged by both long-term deferred maintenance and recent winter storms. Continued from Page 1A Da Yang contracted water-quality firm Aqua-Terra Consultants, which has helped train the company’s employ- ees in best practices and opti- mize the hydrosieve screens that remove solids from wastewater. “It’s not a Da Yang issue,” Alan Ismond, a project engi- neer with Aqua-Terra, said of wastewater challenges. “It’s an industry issue.” Ismond said Da Yang, like other processors, are strug- gling to meet the wastewa- ter requirements in the 900-J permit based on arcane EPA guidelines from the 1970s that haven’t been upgraded because seafood byproduct doesn’t pose a serious threat to the environment. “There really isn’t pollu- tion in the seafood industries,” Ismond said. “There’s only unrecovered product.” Community value Expansion Two years ago, Da Yang approached the Department of Environmental Quality about getting a permit for an expan- sion on Pier 2. An inspection by the state revealed the com- pany had been operating with- out a permit for the past seven years. Da Yang was fined $85,000 last year and has since been operating under a tem- porary agreement, agreeing to meet the requirements of the expired 900-J permit while the state completes the update. In its most recent fines, the state said Da Yang has failed to meet those requirements. Ismond said many proces- sors are having trouble meet- ing the requirements, and that he is reluctant to have Da Yang invest money in meeting the requirements of the 900-J per- mit when he doesn’t know what the company’s new per- mit requirements might be. Da Yang is also helping finance Aqua-Terra’s testing of new methods to better remove sea- food byproduct from wastewa- ter for use in animal food. “Let’s take a deep breath Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian ABOVE: Local contractor Joel Bergeman, left, and Da Yang Plant Manager Chang Lee, right, inspect recent upgrades made to various parts of the seafood processing facility. BELOW: Local contractor Joel Bergeman addresses changes made to various parts of the Da Yang Seafood processing facility in Astoria. and figure out permits that pro- tect the environment, keep sea- food processors operating and puts as much” seafood byprod- uct as possible to use as animal feed, Ismond said. to a contested hearing on the labor violations and agreed to make six monthly pay- ments of $10,000 on the labor violations. Work on demand The labor violations sparked an outcry from several speakers at a recent Port meet- ing, including the president of the local longshoremen’s union, calling for Da Yang to be punished. The Port Com- mission directed staff to look into the implication of the fines on Da Yang’s lease. Jim Knight, the Port’s exec- utive director, said there is lan- guage stating that Da Yang needs to follow state and fed- eral laws, but nothing about the consequences for not doing so. He said the number of fines don’t warrant the Port taking Da Yang was recently fined $60,000 by the Bureau of Labor and Industries for fail- ing to provide meal and rest breaks, and for breaking a requirement of manufacturers not to work employees more than 13 hours a day. Chang Lee, a manager with Da Yang, said the company faces challenges as a proces- sor of wild, perishable seafood that can come in any time of the day and needs to be imme- diately processed. “If you don’t process today, it will be bad tomorrow,” he said. Looking into lease Lee said the company had reached verbal compromise with its boat-unloading crews to forego unpaid lunch breaks in the middle of a shift, and instead receive paid lunches after unloading. He said the company has admitted that the agreement was unlawful. As for the 13-hour shift limit, Lee said, Da Yang didn’t real- ize it was considered a man- ufacturer, but has to unload seafood quickly whenever it arrives. Da Yang waived its right Joel Bergeman, a local con- tractor who works on many of Da Yang’s improvement proj- ects on Pier 2, said the com- pany has been a boon to the region’s economy, hiring local contractors and fixing problems at the Pier 2 plant as they arise. “You’re not buying this thing off an assembly line,” Bergeman said of Da Yang’s plant. “It’s not a Ford. You’re building it as you go.” When Da Yang isn’t in the midst of processing fish, Bergeman said, it tries to keep people employed by using them in construction projects. On its website, Da Yang claims to have invested more than $38 million in Astoria, employ 38 people year-round and up to 200 in peak season and have a payroll of $7 mil- lion annually. The company has tried in the past to expand into cold storage and a truck- ing hub on Pier 2. It recently leased more space in the Port’s seafood-processing ware- house, and completed a new $8 million shrimp-processing plant, which Lee said will help the company further diversify. Balensifer: Commission voted to appoint Newton as mayor pro tem the appointment for mayor,” commending his commitment Newton as mayor pro tem, or to the community and thank- acting mayor if Balensifer is ing the former NAPA Auto Parts owner for “keeping our ever unavailable. vehicles and RVs running. … We are truly blessed to have ‘Very professional’ Warrenton resident Lylla him as part of the governing Gaebel thanked Newton body of our city.” “Mayor Balensifer,” she during the meeting’s public comment period, saying the read, “We congratulate you and look forward to way he decided to continuing our con- step aside was “very tinuity as a com- professional.” mission and as you Balensifer was step into those large sworn in as mayor — shoes left by Mayor after Gaebel called Kujala, we trust you out a reminder from will take some pages the audience that the Rick from his book in the new mayor should Newton manner in which the be sworn in, a for- community has been mality City Manager Linda Engbretson said prob- accustomed.” “This commission has ably wasn’t necessary since he’d already been sworn in largely operated under the for his position on the com- principle of reflective lis- mission — and the commis- tening; acting, not reacting; sion declared his seat vacant. showing compassion and Ackley later read from a being passionate; upholding printed statement, congrat- the charter and making com- ulating Newton for “throw- mon-sense decisions when ing his hat in the ring for called upon,” she continued. Continued from Page 1A “We look forward to our con- tinued camaraderie and mak- ing sound decisions for our community and want you to know you have our support.” ‘Gone either way’ After the meeting, Ack- ley said the public hearing last month on the appoint- ment had helped clarify who they might choose for mayor, “but it wasn’t decided until tonight” and it still could have “gone either way.” “We did a little talking, but it was Mr. Newton’s decision (to withdraw),” Dyer said. “I didn’t know what to expect but I’m humbled by the support by the community and the vote of confidence from the commissioners,” Balensifer said. He added that he hadn’t expected to appoint a mayor pro tem that same night, but that the appoint- ment has typically gone to the person who is interested in having it. “It seemed fitting to me that we nominate (New- ton),” he said, “and the rest of the commission seemed to agree.” After City Recorder Dawne Shaw had read through the ballots and it was clear the commission had unanimously appointed New- ton mayor pro tem — Newton cast a ballot for himself — Dyer congratulated him. “You’ll make an excellent mayor pro tem,” he said, then added, jokingly, “and it might be a fight in a year and a half, huh?” Application deadline Engbretson said she has heard from a few residents interested in applying for the position Balensifer has left vacant. Warrenton residents interested in being appointed to fill that seat must submit a resume and a letter declar- ing their interest in serving on the commission to City Hall before 5 p.m. May 22. The commission will hold an informal meet-and-greet at 5:15 p.m. on May 23 before the regular meeting. They plan to appoint a person to fill Balensifer’s vacant seat at a meeting in June. CO M ING JUNE 2017 O UR 10 th A NNUA L Academy: ‘The timeline is tight’ Continued from Page 1A “We were going to out- grow the building on Sunset,” Simmons said. “In the Chil- dren’s Center, we can make this space work for the foresee- able future.” Simmons said the build- ing would take fewer, if any, renovations because it already meets many of the school building code requirements. It’s larger, includes a play- ground, and during a walk through, Simmons said Coaster Construction gave him a ball- park cost estimate of $50,000. Being a stand-alone build- ing also helps reduce cost, because the fire code require- ments in the last location were dependent on the fact the space shared walls with other retail businesses, Simmons said. “When I got the email (with the estimate) I believed we were done. I didn’t have a plan to raise $150,000,” he said. “I’ve been surprised, within a day there was an outpouring of sup- port of people determined to make this happen. To open this school it’s going to take that.” School or housing? Before the academy can start constructing anything, it must submit a conditional land use agreement to the city, City Manager Brant Kucera said. Since the city owns the property, the City Council must vote to give permission to Kucera to go ahead with lease negotiations at the June 6 council meeting. Then the ear- liest the request can go before the Planning Commission for approval is June 22. “The timeline is tight, but if nothing out of the ordi- nary happens, and the coun- cil decides to grant permis- sion, then I think we can do it,” Kucera said. However, the city has also designated the Children’s Cen- ter as an option for affordable housing in a strategic plan, Kucera said, with a vision of retrofitting the building into nine housing units. Affordable housing has remained a prior- ity issue for Cannon Beach. “We would be moving away from that plan,” Kucera said. If councilors denied the property to the academy, or if the permitting and construc- tion process don’t meet the fall deadline, Simmons said students enrolled would just be enrolled in Seaside School District. “We’ll do what we can to move the process along to meet all of the deadlines if coun- cil chooses to move forward,” Kucera said. C op ies d istrib uted throug hout the year to n orth coast hotels, m otels, cham b ers of com m erce, visitors b ureaus, cam p g roun d s, restauran ts an d stores an d in serted in T he D aily Astorian & C hin ook O b server N ew th is Y ea r! 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