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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 Astoria public works director set to retire By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Astoria’s public works director announced his retire- ment this morning after 35 years with the city. Ken Cook started out as a utility worker in 1982 and worked his way up through the ranks. He has served as the public works director for the past 11 years, overseeing a busy department responsi- ble for water treatment and distribution, waste water col- lection and treatment, street maintenance, engineering services, fleet maintenance for city vehicles, forestry management, city facil- ity maintenance, trolley line maintenance, and mapping with geographic information systems. Cook also frequently stepped in as acting city manager when City Manager Brett Estes was out of town or otherwise unavailable. His retirement is effective Nov. 30. “I’m leaving at a time when the department is at its best and I credit past and present employees for get- ting us here,” Cook said in a statement. “So many indi- viduals along the way have worked really hard and have been dedicated to this city. I am confident that this is the right time for me to make this transition.” In past interviews, Cook praised his team, saying he is proud to work with such a collaborative group. “We are grateful to Ken for his long service to the Public Works Department,” Estes said. “He has led the department in a direction that has allowed the city of Asto- ria to evolve. We wish him the best in his retirement.” The announcement comes on the heels of two other department heads leaving: Astoria Police Chief Brad Johnston retired abruptly in August and, last week, Com- munity Development Direc- tor Kevin Cronin put in his two weeks’ notice. Cook’s retirement announcement, however, had been anticipated for some time. Dam: Water district can’t remove dam without a city permit Continued from Page 1A “One of the beauties of having a model is you can do all sorts of things without actually physically going out and doing that,” said Shane Cline, the levee safety pro- gram manager for the Army Corps in Portland. “So I think it is possible to develop a model that represents a con- dition with the tide gates on.” Fight for control Warrenton had declared an emergency last Decem- ber, describing the dam as a risk to public safety and prop- erty, and asked the Army Corps to investigate whether the water district improperly removed the tide gates. The city, which had threatened to sue the water district and take control of the dam, wanted to put the tide gates back on for flood control. Over the past few months, however, it became clear that the Army Corps would not intervene on behalf of War- renton. The city carefully walked back its legal threats and agreed to meet with the water district on a solution. Helwig and Cline said Tuesday night that the Army Corps has no authority over the dam, which was built in 1963 with the help of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and operated and maintained for 54 years by the water district. “Our levees here were spe- cifically authorized under the Corps’ authorizations and appropriations,” Helwig said, “and that dam was not part of that levee authorization.” The Army Corps also assured Warrenton that there appears to be no damage to the levees related to the tide gate removal at the dam. The city is going through the lengthy process of getting the levees certified by the federal government for a 100-year flood, and the Army Corps said the dam, while built sep- arately from the levees, is part of the broader flood-control landscape. “I think it would be good to look at both the dam and the levee as a system, and not just the dam or not just the levee,” Cline said. Face-to-face meeting Earlier Tuesday, city commissioners and water district board members met at City Hall to discuss a compromise on the dam. The work session, mod- erated by Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin, was Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Warrenton wants more study of the Eighth Street Dam before reconsider- ing a proposal by the Ski- panon Water Control Dis- trict to remove the aging structure. intended as a fresh start after a $1.2 million deal to remove the dam and construct a sin- gle-lane bridge over the river for city emergency access dis- solved last year into a political and legal confrontation. While Balensifer and Commissioner Tom Dyer pressed for a new study on the dam that might reassure residents concerned about flooding, water district board members defended previous studies that found that remov- ing the dam would not signifi- cantly increase flooding. “What I’m saying is it doesn’t hurt to be certain,” Dyer said. “And we’re never going to be 100 percent.” Tessa Scheller, the chairwoman of the water district’s board, said there is no evidence the dam has ever worked as intended. She said the struc- ture — originally built for a 10-year flood, then later downgraded as protection for a two-year flood — actu- ally poses a flood risk to prop- erty owners by trapping water upriver. “It floods us,” she said. “The Eighth Street Dam floods us. It doesn’t protect us.” Warrenton, while back- ing off on ownership claims to the dam, has some leverage because the water district can- not remove the dam without a city permit. The water district would also likely be unable to convince previous partners — the Bonneville Power Admin- istration and the Columbia River Estuary Study Task- force — to help finance another project unless the city was an eager participant. “Someone’s got to bend here a little bit,” Bergin said. Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Lead Dispatcher Jennifer Peden, left, keeps a close eye on her computer screens during a recent shift at the Astoria 911 Dispatch. Dispatch: 400 overtime hours logged in July Continued from Page 1A Operations supervisor The assessment, based largely on interviews with staff, found that Johnston would often micromanage Rusiecki without providing actual training or mentoring. Dispatchers raised concerns about Rusiecki’s communi- cation style while saying he could occasionally be “steam- rolled” by an outspoken subordinate. “We’ve tried to open the lines of communications bet- ter,” said Rusiecki, a 19-year veteran with the police depart- ment who speaks in a succinct, serious manner and often exudes a dry sense of humor. Rusiecki had attempted to address the problem for months by advocating for an operations supervisor posi- tion. The supervisor would oversee the day-to-day oper- ations of dispatchers by han- dling schedules and provid- ing oversight, guidance and accountability. He or she would report to Rusiecki, who would then have time to perform exter- nal duties such as managing direction of cellular traffic and coordinating with the public safety agencies that utilize the dispatch center. The freedom would allow him to effectively execute a full-time job while dispatchers’ needs are satis- factorily met, Rusiecki said. Though Rusiecki had requested the creation of the position months ago, it was barely addressed by Johnston, the report found. The police department opened the appli- cation process soon after his departure and are consider- ing eight candidates, some of whom live locally. Interviews were conducted last week and the position will likely be filled in a month or two. Long shifts Dispatchers often work 10-hour shifts during which they handle numerous calls Candace Pozdolski, lead dispatcher at the Astoria 911 Dispatch, closely monitors her computer screens during a recent shift at the facility. and constantly divert their eyes between four computer monitors. Green lighting was even installed inside the dis- patch center recently to coun- teract the visual strain. “This is the ultimate cus- tomer service job,” Lead Dis- patcher Jennifer Peden said. “You can quietly make a dif- ference that no one sees. That’s important, and I like that.” After questioning 911 call- ers, dispatchers then decide what level of priority the call receives and which available officer or agency will respond. “They truly are the gate- way for people accessing pub- lic safety services,” Rusiecki said. This year has been more stressful than usual. The city has allocated 11 positions in the dispatch cen- ter, including nine dispatchers. In July alone, typically one of the busiest times of the year for 911 centers, the six dis- patchers on staff at the time logged 400 overtime hours. Since then, another dis- patcher has been hired, and overtime hours were cut below 100 in August. One more dis- patcher is undergoing back- ground checks, and just one more position will need to be filled after that. “We’ve been short people before. We’ll be short people again,” Rusiecki said. “Cur- rently we’re in the uptick of the cycle. It’s not as if Astoria is unique.” External factor An external factor add- ing to dispatchers’ strain is the growing number of calls this year. The most recent data reveals calls have already sur- passed last years’ totals. Rusiecki pointed to a larger homeless population, more road traffic, easier cell- phone access and more med- ical emergencies as possi- ble reasons, but the police department will not know for sure until its annual report is released next year. “I can’t put a finger on why we’ve seen an uptick in calls,” Lead Dispatcher Candace Pozdolski said. “I just know we have.” Rusiecki said he is proud of the performance of dis- patchers who have trudged forward despite management issues, staffing shortages and higher service demands. As operations at the center slowly begin to normalize, he said he hopes to provide more train- ing opportunities for dispatch- ers who he said will have ample opportunities for career advancement. “They’re highly dedicated, highly motivated. Regardless of what’s going on external to the center, they’re going to do the best job possible” Rusiecki said. “It’s a stressful job as it is. Having the additional bur- den of command problems just aggravated that, but now with Chief Spalding on board, we’re looking ahead, not back.” Strickland: Governor’s office invited Knappa mom Continued from Page 1A D-Oregon, and Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. Opportunities for politi- cal advocacy came to Strick- land as she was in the early stages of grieving her son’s death. Around the same time she founded Jordan’s Hope, Strickland was asked to sit on a number of panels, including some organized by Wyden. “That kind of snowballed into my political arena,” she said. “I have a personal story and I talk a lot. I have a lot of thoughts.” In July, Strickland partic- ipated in a work session with the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners in which she advocated for a pilot needle exchange program. Commis- sioners unanimously approved the program the following month. Her increasing political voice eventually led to the governor’s office inviting her to the Sept. 19 events in Salem. “We’ve been out there tell- Submitted Photo Gov. Kate Brown held a ceremonial signing last week for a new law intended to improve access to Naloxone and other drugs that can reverse opioid overdoses. ing my story,” Strickland said. “It puts a face to it. If some- thing comes to me and I agree with it, I’ll say something.” Strickland said she was encouraged by the task force’s diversity of expertise — law- makers, doctors and medical professionals. Still, though, Strickland and her organiza- tion plan to continue pushing for additional resources and treatment that could curb the opioid epidemic. “We didn’t get here over- night,” she said. “We’re not going to get out of it overnight either.”