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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2017)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, AUGUST 31, 2017 Building: 2015 lawsuit hangs over Trabucco and Orr’s operation ing rooms into additional seat- ing, install a bar and extend a deck facing the mooring basin, adding about 50 seats. Continued from Page 1A utilities, a broken elevator, pre- vious roof damage and several thousand square feet of unfin- ished space upstairs. “The collateral for the loan consisted only of the personal property of Marina Village,” the Port staff report said. “This was deemed too small in value to secure the size of the loan being contemplated. What was needed was a lien on the build- ing itself.” Should the Marina Village seek a loan, staff said, the Port Commission would have to decide whether to allow the lender to take out a lien pro- viding the lender interest in the Chinook Building. The Port has used a similar strat- egy with Bornstein Seafoods, whose former processing space in downtown Astoria was used as collateral on a loan to build a new plant on the central waterfront. Trabucco said Marina Vil- lage has not used financing on the hotel but would like to have such an option available for the Chinook Building. Proven operators While the Port faced numerous issues with for- mer Riverwalk Inn operator Brad Smithart and sued him several times over nonpay- ment of rent, Port staff and Legal uncertainty Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Developer Chester Trabucco stands on the balcony of one of the remodeled rooms at the Astoria Riverwalk Inn, which overlooks the West Mooring Basin at the Port of Astoria. commissioners have largely lauded the job done by Orr and Trabucco. Last summer, the Port Commission granted the pair’s company — Astoria Hospitality Ventures — a two- year extension on its lease of the hotel, which goes through October 2018. Orr, an Astoria native, is an attorney and seafood process- Warming center: ‘I think we’re very close to what it needs to be’ Continued from Page 1A Mediator Anne Odom, who also works for Asto- ria Library, helped guide a discussion of the center’s draft agreement Wednesday and will be present again tonight. “I think we’re very close to what it needs to be,” said Dulcye Taylor, president of the Astoria Downtown His- toric District Association, about the draft agreement. She expects many of the issues raised Wednesday night could be covered in a second, more detailed draft. While few who testified at a Planning Commission hearing in July were against the existence of a warming center, some neighbors and business owners are con- cerned about its location in a residential area. The warm- ing center board sought to address these concerns in a draft good-neighbor agree- ment provided Wednesday night. The volunteer-run, low-barrier center oper- ates out of the basement of the First United Methodist Church on the corner of 11th Street and Franklin Ave- nue and provides a meal and beds for up to 30 homeless people a night during severe winter weather. Dan Parkison, the pres- ident of the warming cen- ter’s board, said the center outlined nine major changes to its operation this coming winter in application mate- rials submitted to the Plan- ning Commission. After dis- cussions with neighbors and the downtown association, that number increased to 15 in the draft good-neighbor agreement. These changes include the addition of reg- ular litter patrols, enforce- ment of a no-camping pol- icy in the church’s parking lot after a bed and break- fast owner said this had been a major issue last year, and regular neighborhood meetings. Some requests are impos- sible for the warming center to address or fall beyond its authority, Parkison said.. The center can only be responsi- ble for what happens on the church’s property during the time the center is operat- ing. Of the estimated 1,000 homeless people living in Clatsop County at any given time, the warming center caps at 30 a night during its 90-day-operation period. However, “The closer people live to the warming center, the more impacted they are by our operation and the more we have a responsibility to listen to their concerns,” he said after the meeting ended. The discussion Wednes- day also delved into ongoing concerns with how warming center staff will deal with disruptive and dangerous behavior and address trash, noise and security issues. Taylor and downtown asso- ciation director Sarah Lu Heath wanted to know how and when warming cen- ter volunteers and board members decide someone is kicked out of the cen- ter for breaking rules or for criminal actions in town, and when that exclusion is permanent. Sean Fitzpatrick, a mem- ber of the Planning Commis- sion and owner of the Illahee Apartments across the street from the First United Meth- odist Church, is not opposed to the warming center itself, but says the Franklin Ave- nue neighborhood is not the right location. He contin- ues to have concerns about some of the center’s poli- cies but believes the groups could reach a good-neighbor agreement. “I think it’s going to take more than just this evening,” he said, “but the input was hopefully helpful for both sides.” ing executive in Seattle. Tra- bucco, a developer, previously renovated Astoria’s Hotel Elliott and other buildings and owned the No. 10 Sixth Street building, a commercial water- front complex that burned down in 2010. Since taking over the Riv- erwalk Inn, the duo have brought 25 additional rooms Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian As part of the recent pitch to lease the Chinook Build- ing, Trabucco, Orr and their interior architect Karen Niemi presented the company’s plan to expand the hotel’s dining area, currently a thin corridor behind the lobby where hun- dreds of guests can vie for fewer than 30 seats. Niemi said the plan is turn two exist- Spalding: Plans to get involved in the community Continued from Page 1A Spalding will work for a monthly salary of $8,639, or $103,668 annually, along with a housing stipend. Spald- ing likely will lead the police department for at least six months. His arrival marks the first step in a leader- ship transition process for the department. Former Chief Brad John- ston retired suddenly earlier this month after an indepen- dent assessment documented leadership failures, staff short- ages, politics and conflict. The strife drained employee morale and left the department nearing a crisis. Deputy Chief Eric Halver- son, singled out in the report as a well-respected leader, assumed Johnston’s duties the past few weeks. During that time, Akin Blitz, the Portland labor attorney who directed the assessment, called Spald- ing to gauge his interest. Spalding had applied for the police chief position in Astoria a decade ago, but he pulled out of the running before accepting the Beaver- ton job. This time, he and his wife decided to give the North Coast a shot. “We knew logistically it might be a little difficult, but we figured we’d figure it all out,” Spalding said. “Things come around full circle sometimes.” Experienced hand Spalding earned a criminal justice degree from California State University, Fullerton, as well as a master’s degree in emergency management from CSU Long Beach. After a 32-year career with the Fullerton Police Depart- ment, Spalding moved to Bea- verton in 2009. In his seven years there, he supervised 177 officers in the state’s sixth-largest city. He guided the force through up to half a dozen officer-involved shoot- Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Astoria Interim Police Chief Geoff Spalding comes to the position with nearly 40 years of law enforcement experience. ings and created its first bilin- gual outreach coordinator position. Spalding is familiar with some area law enforcement officials and city employees after applying for the Asto- ria job. He also has made con- nections through the Oregon Association Chiefs of Police, where he serves on the exec- utive board and was the pres- ident for a year. “I’m very impressed with the quality of people here,” Spalding said. “They’ve some- how been able to keep that positive face in the commu- nity. That I really respect.” He has read the assessment that preceded Johnston’s retire- ment, but still wants to meet with all employees to assess their concerns and the depart- ment’s overall culture. From those conversations, he hopes to initiate a strategy to avoid the burnout and morale issues employees have expressed. “This really isn’t a depart- ment that’s broken by any stretch,” he said. “It’s just, hopefully, maybe, stabilizing things a little bit — if that’s the right word — and setting things up so that the next per- son that replaces me will be successful and they’re not going to have to deal with a lot of issues.” He also pointed to a lack of available funding — a com- mon complaint from his prede- cessor — and the time it takes to hire new officers — at least a year once the process begins — as limitations in terms of the major improvements the department may need. “I would like to believe we are a priority department, but, again, there are lots of import- ant things the city needs to do, too,” Spalding said. Spalding’s impression so far is that the city manager and city councilors will not attempt to micromanage the police department. “That, to me, would be a challenge I don’t know that I’d really want to work with,” he said. Call volume One of the more immediate issues Spalding will look to tackle is an increased number of dispatch calls. Factors such as increased tourism and an uptick in the homeless popula- tion have worn out police and dispatch staffs that are already short-handed. “It’s just busier. It’s not just anecdotal,” he said. “People know that we’re going to more calls.” The police department may look into an online report- ing system, rather than requir- ing that dispatchers handle all calls. The system could allow more reports to be resolved without officer response, or at least prioritize which ones need immediate attention. The department also may seek to sign a contract with Clatsop County Animal Con- trol to handle dog and animal complaints. The key is balancing staff safety and fatigue levels with the obligation to protect the public, Spalding said. “I’m not going to act like an interim chief,” he said. “I’m going to be the chief until I’m no longer here, and I plan to get involved in the community.” Police: ‘There wasn’t this kind of fear before’ Continued from Page 1A Volunteers hand out soup and coffee at the Astoria Warm- ing Center at First United Methodist Church in 2015. into use, remodeled 15 others, added amenities such as fire pits and made other upgrades throughout the hotel. Tra- bucco credited Smithart with handing them a well-function- ing hotel two years ago. “Brad put the new carbu- retor and transmission in the car,” he said. “When we got it, all we had to do was paint it.” Hanging over Trabucco and Orr’s operation of the hotel is a lawsuit filed in 2015 against the Port by Param Hotel Corp., which had com- peted to take over Smithart’s lease. Param claims the Port violated a previous agree- ment and showed favoritism toward Orr, whose brother- in-law, Stephen Fulton, was a Port commissioner when Astoria Hospitality Ventures took over. Orr and Trabucco were removed as co-defendants in the lawsuit, which is sched- uled for trial in October. But if Param prevails, the Port could be forced to give the Portland company operation of the hotel. In a perfect world, Tra- bucco said, the issue would be settled, although the Port seems confident in its case. Marina Village could be inter- ested in leasing the Chinook Building regardless of how the lawsuit on the hotel goes. The intent is for Astoria Hospitality Ventures to fin- ish the dining room expan- sion in the near future, but that “we’ve pretty much done what we intend to do before the lawsuit is over,” he said. President Donald Trump has made immigration enforce- ment a priority. The U.S. Department of Justice has been critical of states and cities that have not fully cooperated with federal agents on immigration, but Sheriff Johnson insists fed- eral agents also ought to let local law enforcement know about their activities. Stephanie Serrano, of South Bend, said she wanted to speak up for those being targeted by ICE’s “cloak-and- dagger” operations after seeing families of friends and neigh- bors torn apart by immigration arrests and deportations. “They’re being watched, stalked is the right word,” she said. “Several oyster pickers have been followed. … Most (of those who’ve been arrested) are hardworking people.” Erin Glenn, a Spanish teacher at Ilwaco High School, said a father with five young children was arrested Wednes- day morning. Sheriff Johnson said he wasn’t made aware of any arrests, but ICE did notify the sheriff’s office that it was in the area. “We aren’t required to, but out of consideration for offi- cer and operational safety, we generally alert the primary local law enforcement agency in a jurisdiction immediately beforehand if we’re going to be conducting an enforce- ment action in their area,” ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said in an email. The Immigration and Cus- toms Enforcement office in Seattle handles Washington state, Oregon and Alaska but does not have arrest and depor- tation numbers by county read- ily available, Kice said. Earlier this month, Serrano spoke out against the immi- grant arrests and deportations at a rally outside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. She helped organize a trip to the private immigration prison for about 20 protesters from Pacific County. They came to the Aug. 12 demonstration with granola, dried fruits, col- oring books and crayons to give to those traveling to visit loved ones in lockup. The volunteers continue to work with advocacy groups, such as Willapa Bay Resis- tance, Long Beach Indivisible and Living Liberally to sup- port immigrant rights, Serrano said. “ICE is a real threat,” she said. “It’s changed the atmo- sphere in our community. There wasn’t this kind of fear before.”