OPINION
4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017
Founded in 1873
DAVID F. PERO, Publisher & Editor
LAURA SELLERS, Managing Editor
BETTY SMITH, Advertising Manager
JEREMY FELDMAN, Circulation Manager
DEBRA BLOOM, Business Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN, Production Manager
CARL EARL, Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Submitted Photo
Gov. Tom Mcall in front of Surfsand Motel at Cannon Beach in 1967.
Beach Bill anniversary a
reminder for stewardship
S
aturday marks a momentous day in state history. It was on
that day 50 years ago in 1967 — in a publicity stunt — that
then-Gov. Tom McCall landed in a helicopter in Cannon
Beach to declare simply that Oregon needed to keep its beaches
open.
McCall’s stunt led to passage of the Beach Bill, the landmark
legislation that established public ownership of the Oregon Coast.
We should all be glad he did, and for the foresight of those
who passed it. We should remember that in many other coastal
states, portions of beautiful beaches are privately owned with “No
Trespassing” signs and no public access.
McCall’s actions fueled public support for the bill, which closed
a loophole in well-intentioned 1913 legislation that declared
Oregon beaches were public highways and guaranteed public
access to nearly all of the state’s 363 miles of coastline. The 1913
law, though, only protected the “wet sands” between high and low
tides of the beach as being publicly owned.
Controversy arose in 1966 when Bill Hay, the owner of the
Surfside Motel in Cannon Beach, roped off a section of the beach
on dry sand exclusively for motel guests. Since the 1913 legislation
only protected wet sands, the Beach Bill was introduced to guaran-
tee dry-sand areas would always be publicly accessible as well.
The Beach Bill nearly died in legislative committee, but passed
in June 1967. McCall signed it into law a month later, ensuring
“free and uninterrupted use of the beaches” between the low-water
mark and the vegetation line.
To mark the milestone Saturday the Cannon Beach Chamber of
Commerce is hosting a celebration with a host of activities. “This
is a celebration about saving the beach,” Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Court Carrier said. “What if the beach would
have been privatized? Can you imagine not being able to walk
along the beach? This bill is probably the reason why this visitor
economy exists on the coast.”
Carrier said he doesn’t think Cannon Beach could be what it
is today without the Beach Bill. “People established homes and
businesses because of beach access,” he said. “We’ve all been the
beneficiaries.”
Carrier is right, and the Saturday celebration and others that will
be tied to the upcoming anniversary serve as reminders that we
need to continue to be dedicated stewards of our coastline and to
continue to protect it in the years to come.
Property Watch program
targets unlawful conduct
A
storia Police and local businesses are partnering in an
innovative program that may help curb downtown loiter-
ing, aggressive panhandling and other unruly behavior.
The program is called Property Watch and allows police to
more closely supervise specific businesses on the owners’ behalf
during their patrols after business hours. Astoria building own-
ers can sign a one-year contract that allows police to act as if
they are the property owner after hours to remove people who
engage in unlawful activity. Their presence also acts as a deter-
rent. Building owners are also encouraged to post signs in their
windows warning against disorderly activity.
A similar program was initiated in 2015 and attracted four
rental properties. More recently, however, aggressive panhan-
dling and loitering have increased, drawing complaints from
downtown business owners. In looking for solutions, police
decided in March to reboot the program. The program is mod-
eled after similar ones in Pendleton and Beaverton that have
been successful.
Nine business and rental properties are now participating.
While under Oregon law police don’t have the authority to stop
people from panhandling, loitering or sitting or lying in public
places, police do have the authority to address unruly and unlaw-
ful behavior.
The idea for the program has drawn support from Astoria
Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Skip
Hauke and Elaine Bruce, Clatsop Community Action’s executive
director. Both said it’s a step in the right direction in addressing
and preventing disorderly activity.
Astoria Police Sgt. Andrew Randall says the program will be
reviewed annually.
The program deserves a chance and bears watching.
Panhandling and loitering aren’t unlawful, but the Property
Watch program gives businesses and police a tool for addressing
those who go beyond the law.
GUEST COLUMN
Champion our parks resources
By CINDY PRICE
Special to The Daily Astorian
A
recent article in The Daily
Astorian described discus-
sion at a City Council work
session over a “possible solution for
a $100,000 short-
fall” for the Parks
and Recreation
Department.
In fact, we
were considering
a “Life Raft Sce-
nario” budget to add an additional
$350,000 to retain valued skilled
staff and existing core programs.
Ten years ago, parks staff was
cut to 14 full-time people. Later,
staff was cut again by 50 percent to
only seven full-time people. Mean-
while, parks facilities grew by 60
percent and recreational program-
ming quadrupled. Parks staff are
rock stars at management and effi-
ciency, and have done all they can
with current resources. Increased
user fees have helped somewhat,
but there are no user fees for main-
taining the Astoria Riverwalk or the
Garden of Surging Waves or our
other parks, or for the popular free
programs like Summer Movies in
the Park and Monster Bash.
For many years budgeting for the
department was done on an “aspi-
rational” basis. The department’s
budget was balanced at the end of
the year, when overestimated rev-
enue and underestimated expendi-
tures became clear, often to the tune
of hundreds of thousands of dol-
lars. Two years ago, the City Coun-
cil, staff and the Budget Committee
pledged to end that.
How can we now maintain a
robust Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment that serves all ages, incomes
and abilities, and that is realistically
budgeted from the beginning of the
fiscal year?
City councilors have agreed to
consider an increase in the hotel tax
to 12 percent from 9 percent. That
will raise about $600,000, 70 per-
cent of which must by state law go
to tourist-related facilities and pro-
grams. Portions of our parks facil-
ities and programs fit within this
criterion. We will be close, but the
Life Raft will be incomplete, and
the tax will take several months to
implement.
To close the gap, City Coun-
cilor Tom Brownson and I propose
a parks fee of $3 per month per res-
idential meter on our bimonthly
water and sewer bill. Lower-income
residents in the Utility Assistance
Program would be exempt. Com-
mercial properties would be exempt,
too, as so many are sole proprietor-
ships owned by Astoria residents.
So, the new fee would be $6 every
two months, or $36 a year. The
fee is estimated to generate about
$100,000 annually, dedicated to
Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian
Dozens gathered at McClure Park to watch “Back to the Future” in
2015 as part of the “Parks after Dark” event series hosted by the As-
toria Parks and Recreation Department.
Parks staff are rock stars at
management and efficiency,
and have done all they can
with current resources.
Parks and Recreation.
Supported by the community
and approved by City Council, the
parks fee could be put into imme-
diate effect, allowing additional
resources for the busy summer-fall
seasons. Parks Director Angela Cos-
by’s first priority is to retain the
skilled full time, salaried folks, all of
whom have worked many additional
hours each week for the past couple
of years to keep their programs and
facilities going. Cosby would hire
an administrative services person,
who would provide relief depart-
mentwide to all staff, and also pro-
vide better customer service. Cosby
would also increase seasonal main-
tenance wages to ensure enough can
be hired to keep our parks, ceme-
tery and Aquatic Center well-staffed
throughout the year.
The City Council would like to
implement the recommendations
in the yearlong parks master plan,
an award-winning model of pub-
lic engagement that very clearly
demonstrated how much Astori-
ans treasure our parks and recre-
ational facilities. The plan revealed
some ways of maximizing revenue
and also some ways in which recre-
ational activities have changed over
the years. For example, adults favor
an improved trail system over more
organized sports. Respondents indi-
cated they might use more programs
if the Recreation Center was com-
bined with an expanded Aquatic
Center. Implementation of these and
other recommendations in the plan
requires staff time which currently
doesn’t exist, along with dollars.
Additional resources will be
needed. The City Council is consid-
ering the sale of some very low-use
parks: Birch Field in Alderbrook,
the Customs House and grounds,
Tidal Rock Park and Post Office
Park. All but Birch Field are desig-
nated historic, and will be very diffi-
cult if not impossible to sell. A pub-
lic hearing will be held before any
sale.
There is also the possibility of
using some of the tax dollars that
will come from the recently-ap-
proved 3 percent local marijuana
tax. We should have first-quarter fig-
ures on this in June. I’ve proposed
that, depending on the numbers, 15
to 25 percent be dedicated to Parks
and Recreation, 65 to 75 percent to
Astoria Police, and 10 percent to the
general fund.
If you agree that our parks and
recreation facilities, along with
police, fire and public works are
among the most important of city
functions, please let the City Coun-
cil know that you would support a
$3 per month parks fee. Email city-
council@astoria.or.us. Or take the
poll on my website: www.cindypri-
ceastoria.com/poll.
Cindy Price represents the
downtown region on the Astoria
City Council.
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