COAST WEEKEND: FESTIVALS GALORE LIVEN UP THE COAST
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 2017
144TH YEAR, NO. 250
ONE DOLLAR
New set of
apartments
planned for
South Slope
Developer pitches a
32-unit complex
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Jimmy Huddleston, with the Seaside Fire Department, works to maintain equipment at the Fire Station. The department was
recently awarded a grant that will update some components of their self-contained-breathing-apparatus gear.
Seaside firefighters get
some ‘breathing room’
five years for fire equipment and
personnel, including self-con-
tained breathing apparatus, a new
ladder truck and funding for the
department’s training and safety
officer.
The federal grant, meanwhile,
was approved only days after the
By R.J. MARX
election.
The Daily Astorian
Within the last five years, Dan-
EASIDE — For the Seaside iels said he has noticed major
Fire Department, the third issues with the current apparatus.
“We’re always fixing them,” Dan-
time’s a charm.
Chief Joey Daniels and Seaside iels said. “If you went out there
Fire and Rescue were awarded right now, there are six hanging out
$151,600 to buy self-contained there on the wall, out of service.”
Tanks must be tested every five
breathing apparatus essential for
indoor firefighting. “These are years, with a 15-year life before
they must be
lifesaving pieces of
thrown away. All
equipment,” Dan-
‘These are 32 tanks owned
iels said.
the department
Seaside
will
lifesaving by
are up for disposal
match a little
year. “You’re
more than $7,000
pieces of next
not going interior
of U.S. Depart-
them,”
ment of Homeland equipment.’ without
Daniels
said.
Security funds, for
“That’s
our
air.”
a federal share just
Chief Joey
While
levy
above $144,000.
Daniels
funds are not avail-
Daniels said
Seaside Fire Department
able until Novem-
he’d sought the
ber 2018, the grant,
funds each of the
last three years, as aging, unusable available immediately, gives the
or obsolete equipment limited the fire department a head start.
One package includes back-as-
number of air packs available for
the 35-member Seaside volunteer sembly, high-pressure cylin-
der and a face mask and sells for
staff.
The fire department asked vot- about $6,500 to $7,200 each. The
ers for a levy to help meet crit- Department of Homeland Security
ical safety needs, including the grants a slightly lower cost allow-
ance, capping their participation at
apparatus.
$6,200 per unit. Seaside will make
up the difference through the
Thumbs-up
In May, Seaside voters over- department’s budget, Daniels said.
whelming endorsed Local Option
4-186, approving $2 million over
See SEASIDE FIRE, Page 7A
Grant, levy to
boost breathing
apparatus gear
The owner of the Fisher Brothers Build-
ing in downtown Astoria plans to build a
32-unit apartment complex on property near
the Old Youngs Bay Bridge.
The city building department recently
approved
devel-
oper Joe Barnes’ per-
mit application for an
apartment complex
consisting of three
separate three-story
buildings. The com-
plex would be built on
property near the old Yacht Club offices, the
location of the city’s Parks and Recreation
Department, according to city staff. Barnes
estimates the project will cost $1.8 million,
according to the application he submitted
to the city. But city staff believe it could be
more expensive. They estimate the cost at
$4.5 million.
Barnes, whose company, West D Lake
LLC, has an Otis, address, could not be
reached for comment. His application must
still obtain approval from the city’s public
works, planning and fire departments before
he and his contractors can proceed.
See APARTMENTS, Page 7A
Sturgeon
fishermen
strike quota
S
Saturday fishing called
off after good haul
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Seaside firefighter Jimmy Huddleston demonstrates how
the group’s self-contained-breathing-apparatus equip-
ment works in conjunction with other safety gear.
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Sturgeon fishing is canceled for Saturday
after Oregon and Washington state reported
higher-than-expected numbers of fish
caught and thousands of people fishing, state
fishery managers announced Wednesday
evening.
Total catch, after factoring in Wednes-
day’s landings, will likely be right at or
slightly over the quota of 3,000 sturgeon set
by the states, according to the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife.
It was a number fishery managers
expected fishermen to inch toward over the
six days of fishing scheduled from June 5 to
Saturday.
Instead, fishermen landed an estimated
400 sturgeon on the first day, about 100 fish
more than expected. Over the next four days
that the fishery was open, the river — and
fish cleaning stations — stayed busy.
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The Seaside Fire Department consists mainly of a volunteers.
See QUOTA, Page 7A
Scandinavian monument in Astoria still on hold
City seeks
maintenance
help from
advocates
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Plans to build a monument
at an underused downtown
park to honor Astoria’s Scan-
dinavian history will not go
forward this year.
The city’s Parks and Recre-
ation Department has already
had to cut programs, and
is looking for ways to sus-
tain itself into the future. The
department cannot take on
another maintenance responsi-
bility right now, city manage-
ment says.
Mayor Arline LaMear and
City Manager Brett Estes say
the group behind the monu-
ment, the Astoria Scandina-
vian Heritage Association,
would need to come up with a
way to maintain the monument
and surrounding Peoples Park
for the long term.
The association, mean-
while, hasn’t done any further
fundraising, waiting for word
from the city about whether or
not the park would be avail-
able to them as a potential site.
“We didn’t want to go out
and start fundraising until
we had some assurance that
it would happen,” explained
Loran Mathews, who was
president of the associa-
tion when discussions about
a potential monument first
began last summer.
50th anniversary
The Astoria Scandina-
vian Midsummer Festival cel-
ebrates its 50th anniversary
this weekend. The heritage
association had hoped to be
able to schedule a monument
Submitted Graphic
See MONUMENT, Page 7A
The city is concerned about maintenance costs at a pro-
posed Scandinavian monument at Peoples Park downtown.