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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2017 Cannon Beach approves excise tax for housing Tax on permits would finance affordable units By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — City councilors approved an excise tax Tuesday designed to fund affordable housing projects. In a 4-1 vote, councilors approved a 1 percent tax that would be applied to build- ing permits — so if someone applied for a permit to build $200,000 home, $2,000 would go into the fund. If the surcharge was applied to commercial and residential permits in 2016, the tax would have yielded about $96,000, City Planner Mark Barnes said. Councilors who voted for the tax supported any way for the city to raise money for affordable housing projects, as well as the builder incentives that would waive the tax if the proposed units were affordable. What projects are cho- sen and assessed to be afford- able — which means house- holds intended for people with incomes 80 percent of the median county income — would be decided by the City Council. But Councilor George Vet- ter, the one dissenting vote, took issue with the principle of taxing a small group of people to solve what he calls “a com- munity problem” in Cannon Beach. “I would much prefer to see this issue solved with a general obligation bond,” Vetter said. “In a citizen survey, the peo- ple identified this as a com- munity problem. I’d like to see the solution come from their pocketbooks.” Vetter also said that he doesn’t think the waiver will be enough to entice developers. “We’re talking about mar- ket value,” he said. “To get the best return, we would need to make up with some kind of subsidy.” Other cities like Salem and Portland have passed simi- lar taxes, while Astoria is still considering the option. Affordable Housing Fund The city’s budget com- mittee approved next fiscal year’s budget, but not without heated debate over the mer- its of the newly-added Afford- able Housing Fund. The budget was approved 9-1, with the ‘no’ vote com- ing Vetter. Because of the increase in Police chief will serve as the interim CB city manager Cannon Beach recruiting to replace Kucera The City Council voted unanimously for Schermerhorn. Selecting the police chief also means the city does not have to spend time or resources finding, hiring and training an interim pick from outside City By BRENNA VISSER Hall. The Daily Astorian Schermerhorn has been the CANNON BEACH — police chief of Cannon Beach Police Chief Jason Schermer- since 2012, and before then horn will serve as interim city was a sergeant for Seaside Police from 2005 to 2012. He manager starting in July. received a bachelor’s After 2 1/2 years in degree in criminal jus- Cannon Beach, City tice from Western Ore- Manager Brant Kucera gon University. is leaving at the end of He will be receiv- the month to become ing Kucera’s salary the city manager of during the interim. Sisters, citing the need The City Council for “a change of pace.” will be presented with Schermerhorn was Jason quotes from recruit- suggested as a candi- Schermerhorn ment firms at a work date because he had session next week. served as an interim city manager briefly between Whichever firm is chosen will former city manager Rich have four months to begin a Mays’ retirement and interim national search to fill the posi- city manager Jennie Messer in tion by November, according to 2014, Kucera said, and is famil- the city charter. The interim city man- iar with the duties. “He is well-liked and well- ager serves mostly as a point known throughout the commu- of contact to make sure pre- determined projects and busi- nity,” Kucera said. ness keep moving efficiently, Kucera said. While summer is gener- ally the busiest time for law enforcement in Cannon Beach, Schermerhorn said he was not concerned with an overwhelm- ing workload. With how the hierarchy of the department works, Lt. Chris Wilbur is already accustomed to tak- ing on chief duties when he is away, he said. Before departing in June, Kucera plans to sit down with department heads to solidify projects, as well as finish lease negotiations between the city and the Cannon Beach Acad- emy concerning its new loca- tion at the former Children’s Center on Hemlock. Kucera advised whoever takes on the role next to be very physically present in the community. “This community expects the city manager to be visible and out there in the commu- nity — more than I have been,” Kucera said. “The next man- ager needs to recognize being active in the community is the key to their success.” the lodging tax from 7 to 8 per- cent in 2016, the budget grew 4.7 percent, City Manager Brant Kucera said. The bud- get includes four major water and wastewater improvement projects, a newly funded posi- tion for an in-house build- ing official to evaluate build- ing codes and procedure and additional funding for updated radio technology for police. But one of the most signif- icant changes to the budget landscape is the Affordable Housing Fund. The fund’s purpose in this budget cycle is to build five affordable homes in the RV Resort on Elk Land Road and Haskell Lane, and $92,000 of that fund is made up from excise tax revenue. The park was identified as a potential site in a report compiled by the affordable housing task force last year, citing the fact the city owned the land, as well as relatively low startup costs as benefits. Each house would be around 400 square feet and mobile, Kucera said. With rent anticipated to be $600 to $800 a month, the homes would be intended for sin- gle and working-class people who earn about $15 an hour. Different approaches While the $429,740 fund has remained in the budget, some members of the com- mittee took issue with the homes relying on a bank loan, rents and construction excise taxes tied to a building econ- omy — all sources of income the committee interpreted as either too risky or unfair to business. “I don’t think it’s good for us to charge such a tiny group of people for something that won’t make that much money,” Vetter said in refer- ence to excise taxes. During a May budget meet- ing, Kucera argued that tak- ing out loans to buy a home is standard procedure, and that the plan is low risk given that the city already owns the land and could sell the units if the program does not succeed. “Maybe there is some assumption of cost,” budget committee member Carolyn Propst said, “but if you don’t start with a low-risk project then how do you get started?” But with Kucera leaving as city manager at the end of the month, how this project will roll out isn’t set in stone. Tentatively, implementation will be pushed from summer until fall, Kucera said, where it will be under the direction of a new city manager. Man accused in Portland stabbings targets victim in court outburst By STEVEN DUBOIS Associated Press PORTLAND — The man accused of killing two men and wounding a third who tried to stop his anti-Muslim tirade against two teenagers on a Port- land light-rail train shouted he was “not guilty” today during a courtroom out- burst directed at one of the victims. Jeremy Christian, 35, didn’t enter a plea during his brief court appearance but said he was “not guilty of anything but defend- ing myself against the vio- lent aggression by Micah Fletcher!” Fletcher was in the courtroom but said nothing to reporters and displayed no reaction as he left. The 21-year-old was stabbed in the neck during the May 26 attack that killed Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche. Christian was arraigned on a 15-count indictment charging him with aggravated murder, attempted murder and other crimes. The hear- ing lasted about two minutes, and his next court appearance is July 18. Prosecutors who have reviewed videos and inter- views with witnesses say in court papers that Christian yelled hateful comments at two black girls, one of whom was wearing an Islamic head covering called a hijab. When the girls moved away from Christian, he made a sudden move toward Nam- kai-Meche and got into a confrontation. W A NTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Fre e as Est F ima t t es ll Ca ime yt n A Jeff Hale P ainting • Residential • Commercial •Cedar Roof Treatments • Interior & Exterior Over 20 years local experience 503-440-2169 Jeff Hale, Contractor LICENSED BONDED INSURED CCB#179131 Thank you, everyone, for making the 10 th annual Assistance League ® the Columbia Pacific Golf Ball Drop such a great success. WINNERS OF PRIZE PACKAGES/PRIZE DONORS 1 2 3 4 1. 2. 3. 4. CMH cares for the whole family. You can pay your bill online. CMH provides an athletic trainer to schools at no cost. Our volunteers are priceless! 2111 Exchange St., Astoria, Oregon • 503-325-4321 www.columbiamemorial.org • A Planetree-Designated Hospital Chris Luhrs – Wine Cellar on 10th Tami Aho – Columbia River Bar Pilots/Fulio’s Lou Marconeri – Ocean Lodge/ Tom’s Fish & Chips/The Driftwood Christine Lalich – City Lumber/4 Seasons Pam Cartwright – Complete Beauty Spa/Fairweather’s Gift & Gallery/Doogers/Ter Har’s Jo Pappas – Cannery Pier Hotel/Bridgewater Bistro/ Columbia River Maritime Museum Cindy Marconeri – Surfsand/ Public Coast John Nybakke – Gearhart Golf Course/Gearhart Crossing Trudy Enke – High Life Adventures/Human Bean Jan Nybakke – AAA of Oregon/ Finn Ware/T Paul’s Urban Café Linda Weber – Liberty Theater/ Silver Salmon Grille Kay LaBerge – Homespun Quilts/Dots & Doodles/ Winekraft/Old Town Framing/ Young at Heart Paper Crafting Phoebe Daniels – Prana Wellness/Shear Pleasures/ Salon Verve’ /Erickson Floral Kristin Afornorpe – A Gypsy’s Whimsy/Gimre’s/Sisters Olive & Nut/Vintage Hardware Mason Brown – Girl’s bike -won in kids raffle Paivi TerHar – Boy’s bike-won in kids raffle for her nephew Ares Covell Donors not listed above: Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, Utti’s Fultano’s, Funland, Gearhart Bowling, Purple Cow Toys, Dutch Bros. Coffee, Rachel’s Quilts, M’s Alterations, Assistance League Members and a sincere apology and thank you to MAIDEN ASTORIA for the error in their name and their graciousness. HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR MAJOR SPONSORS: Columbia River Bar Pilots, Astoria Golf and Country Club, Fibre Federal/TLC, Pacific Power, Warrenton Fiber, Bryce Evans of Seaside Dental Clinic, US Bank, NW Natural Gas, Lektro, Senator Betsy Johnson, Remax River & Sea and Seaside Temps Additional thanks to: North Coast Subway, Reed & Hertig, John Kawasoe, Knusten Insurance, Clatsop Community Bank and to all our ALCP volunteer members. Finally, a special thank you to everyone who supported our organization by purchasing tickets and participating in our events. We dressed 690 school kids in need this school year. THANK YOU FOR HELPING US “CLOTHE THE KIDS!”
