WEEKEND WANDERING REEL TRAVELING FILM FESTIVAL COMES TO TOWN COAST PAGE XX INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2017 145TH YEAR, NO. 94 ONE DOLLAR Commissioners hear new county jail options Cost to taxpayers is a lingering issue By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Clatsop County commissioners appear open to relocating the county jail to Warrenton. The lingering ques- tion, though, is which design they — and taxpayers — can stomach financially. In a September work session, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office and DLR Group presented two propos- als for an expanded jail at the site of the closed North Coast Youth Correc- tional Facility in Warrenton. But at a second work session Wednesday, the sheriff’s office offered several other options. One renovation plan introduced in September would create space for 140 beds and cost more than $12 million. The other plan calls for a new structure in the middle of the youth facility to house 200 inmates, at a cost of more than $28 million. The larger plan would accom- modate future expansion of up to 252 beds. Less staff supervision of inmates — 36 employees required compared to 46 in the smaller plan — would be required due to the design. Architects predict fewer staff would save the county 18 percent in staffing costs, offsetting the construction cost difference after 10 years. STAYING WARM Warming centers for homeless prepare to open for winter Though the larger plan is his favorite option, Sheriff Tom Bergin recognized it would be a heavy ask from taxpayers. “This is absolutely the most effi- cient in both construction and opera- tions costs. However, it’s a Cadillac,” Bergin said. See JAIL, Page 5A Commission chews over Thompson’s expenses Discussion ended with calls for civility By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Dan Parkison walks by a rack of donated coats and other clothes as he brings in supplies to the Astoria Warming Center. By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian I f temperatures dip low enough, warm- ing centers in Astoria and Warren- ton will open for the winter season on Wednesday, providing a place out of the elements for homeless people to spend the night. The continued operation of the Asto- ria Warming Center in the basement of the First United Methodist Church — up the hill from the downtown core — was a con- tentious topic this summer. People on both sides of the debate dedicated hours to hash- ing out a good-neighbor agreement, a series of commitments by warming center staff to reduce the real and perceived impacts on the neighborhood. No one contested the necessity of the warming center given the increasingly vis- ible homeless population downtown, but some said a residential neighborhood was the wrong location. Astoria and Warrenton are trying to answer what social service groups say can seem like unanswerable questions about how to bal- ance community concerns and the needs of See HOMELESS, Page 7A After a discussion on what has become a heated issue, Clatsop County Commissioner Lianne Thompson will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses she has incurred so far this year, though she may have to pay her own way on some future trips. Thompson has claimed $3,640 in expenses in the first three months of the fiscal year, which began in Lianne July. Under the county bud- Thompson get, the five commission- ers are allowed a combined $17,500 for the year. Thompson has been criticized repeat- edly by commissioners for claiming nearly $20,000 in travel and education expenses since 2015. At an October meeting, Scott Lee, the board’s chairman, placed an item on Wednesday’s agenda centered on whether many of Thompson’s expenses should be approved and to discuss how to manage expenses for the remainder of the year. “As the commission chair, it is my responsibility to ensure that my fellow com- missioners adhere to the policies estab- lished by them and for them,” Lee wrote Thompson in a Nov. 1 letter. “Unfortu- nately my efforts in this regard have been met with hostility from you in the past. As a result I have been remiss in not enforcing the travel policy more stringently but must insist that, in the future, all Clatsop County commissioners follow this policy until it is changed or amended by a majority of the commissioners.” Lee also referenced limitations placed on commissioners, who are volunteers under the county charter. See THOMPSON, Page 7A Ramon Navarrete prepares a spot at the First United Methodist Church in Astoria for a new bike rack for patrons of the warming center. Gun concerns prompt talk of pawn shop ban Cannon Beach chooses new city manager St. Denis was a town manager in Florida By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian Worries about gun sales in downtown Astoria The Astoria City Council may consider a ban on pawn shops amid concerns about gun sales downtown. Councilor Cindy Price and Mayor Arline LaMear, at a work session Wednesday, voiced their unease about a new pawn shop slated to move into a vacant store- front on Commercial Street. The council was meeting to discuss its overall vision for Astoria’s future devel- opment and where the vision intersects with city poli- cies and codes. Councilors Bruce Jones and Zetty Nemlowill said the council needs to approach a potential ban on pawn shops carefully. Jones said he doesn’t want to ban pawn Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian CANNON BEACH — After a four- month hiring process, Cannon Beach has selected Bruce St. Denis as the new city manager. St. Denis, a manager at a private devel- opment company, is a former town manager for the coastal city of Longboat Key, Florida, and holds a master’s degree in management from the University of South Florida. He was chosen over two other finalists — Peter M. Jankowski, former city man- ager of Cave Creek, Ariz., and Kevin Green- wood, former general manager of the Port of Newport. Thirty-three people applied for the position. “We are confident that he will do an excellent job,” Mayor Sam Steidel said in See PAWN SHOPS, Page 5A Some city councilors are concerned about the po- tential for gun sales if pawn shops move downtown. See MANAGER, Page 8A By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian