Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2017)
3A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017 Astoria High School students can now park at Tapiola City Council also seeks housing grant By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian The Astoria City Council took a stab at solving parking issues at Astoria High School at a meeting Monday night, voting to allow students to park at nearby Tapiola Park. High school administra- tors say the demand for stu- dent parking has exceeded the capacity available on school grounds. However, stu- dents who have opted to park instead at Tapiola are violat- ing a city ordinance that pro- hibits people 7 to 18 years old to be in the park during school hours. Construction on West Marine Drive has contributed to lack of parking options, City Manager Brett Estes said. But, also, as the econ- omy improves, more students appear to be driving their own cars to school, clogging up the parking lot, Parks and Recre- ation Director Angela Cosby said. “(School administrators) are not sure if it’s going to stick around or not so they’re starting to look at all options,” Cosby said. “We are looking at it as kind of a test trial.” The ordinance was writ- ten to make sure students didn’t stay in the park instead of going to school. However, Cosby was in favor of the pro- posed modifi cations since the Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian Astoria High School students will be able to park at Tapiola Park. new ordinance requires stu- dents to go directly to school and authorizes school admin- istrators to be responsible for the students parking at Tapiola. In other business: • The City Council approved applying for a grant that would help low- or mod- erate-income individuals reha- bilitate their houses. The non profi t Commu- nity Action Team had asked the city to apply for $400,000 through the Community Development Block Grant program . The money would be available across the three counties the group serves — Clatsop, Columbia and Til- lamook — though company representatives said the Asto- ria area would be marketed to fi rst. They estimated the money, provided to appli- cants as zero-interest loans, could benefi t at least 66 peo- ple in need of home rehabilita- tion services such as handicap accessibility or plumbing and roofi ng repairs. According to Commu- nity Action Team, Astoria is in a perfect position to apply for the grant since the city received a grant from this same program in 2011 for the Astoria Senior Center and has all the necessary documents in place. “This is just perfect for us and it’s greatly appreciated,” said Mayor Arline LaMear, commenting that Astoria, like many cities, struggles to house Salmon pen collapse followed earlier breakdown Associated Press SEATTLE — A report to state regulators says a col- lapse of an Atlantic salmon net pen last August was pre- ceded by a serious break- down less than a month ear- lier in which nearly half of its anchor lines snapped. The Seattle Times reported the owner of the Cypress Island net pen, Cooke Aquaculture Pacifi c, fi led last week a chronology of the net pen collapse that spewed more than 160,000 adult Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound. More than 100,000 of those fi sh are still unac- counted for. The report was provided to state investigators looking into the collapse. WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA its low-income and homeless populations, but also has very little land available for new development. • The City Council took the next step toward library reno- vation work. The councilors authorized city staff to solicit propos- als for architectural and engi- neering services to take a close look at the existing Astoria Library building on the corner of 10th and Duane s treets, as well as examine and update a library renovation study devel- oped in 2013. The fi rst con- ceptual designs and budgets will come out of this process, as well. “This fi rst step is really (about) starting to help us assess the situation, give us a preliminary framework,” City Manager Brett Estes said. City staff say the library renovation will cost an esti- mated $5 million. Fundraising efforts have been underway since September. Work on the building is expected to begin in 2019. • Mayor LaMear recognized longtime city forester Mike Barnes, who has announced his retirement. During the 14 years Barnes worked as a con- sultant for the city, he main- tained and updated the water- shed forest management plan, led efforts to sell carbon cred- its on the watershed forest and conducted controlled timber harvests and replanting efforts in the watershed. “After the epic windstorm of December 2007 many acres of the urban forest within the city limits were totally blown down,” LaMear said, read- ing from a statement. “Mike was instrumental in organiz- ing a salvage log operation to recover the blown down tim- ber for sale to area saw mills. He also managed the effort to replant the wind-damaged areas so the urban forest would eventually return to its pre- storm condition.” She said Barnes has always been a team player and added, “Mike’s a great guy to work with.” “Everybody’s been out- standing,” Barnes said. “I wish the city well. You have an excellent resource in the Bear Creek w atershed. It will continue to provide the main thing it provides: water, water, water. Quality and quantity. … Thank you for letting me become a part of the city for a short number of years.” Discover Scandinavian Design 30 NOV. 10-13 th Birthday 1116 Commercial Astoria, OR (503)325-5720 SALE SAVE 30 % For every $ 10 spent, receive a ticket to enter 30 Days of Giveaways (Winners drawn 11/30/17) ON ALMOST THE ENTIRE STORE Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Need help getting health insurance by the Dec. 15 deadline? GET FREE LOCAL HELP! www.OregonHealthCare.gov | 1-855-268-3767 1139 Exchange Street Astoria, OR 97103 503-440-3909 duganins.com
