Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2017)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2017 Water rates: Brownson, Nemlowill and Price voted against the resolution Continued from Page 1A Public works staff had recommended increasing the percentage rate charged to outside water customers to 25 percent, the lower end of an industry standard that ranges from 24 to 50 percent, City Support Engineer Cindy Moore said at a meeting in November. Base water rates have risen over the years, but the out-of-town percentage has not changed since 1984. At a meeting Mon- day night, Moore and Jeff Harrington, the public works director, said an increase would accomplish several goals, but the primary goal is equity. It costs the city to serve out-of-town custom- ers, they said, a burden not reflected in the current fee structure. Staff wrote in a memo that the funds obtained from the increase would go toward capital improvement proj- ects, as well as maintenance and operations that serve all of Astoria’s water custom- ers. Harrington and Moore pointed to future needs such as the construction of a clear- well system, estimated to cost anywhere from $1 million to $2 million, that would build capacity and resiliency across the city’s water system. It is an improvement that would be recommended even if there were no water customers out- side city limits, they said. Public works is still in the preliminary stages of figur- ing out the scope and cost of constructing a clearwell sys- tem, Price said, and it wasn’t clear how the money raised by an increase now would contribute. She wanted to be able to make a clear statement to the water districts about why the city is raising their rates but that — right now — the issue feels muddy, she said. “We’ve been very thought- ful when we have raised rates on and fees on extracurric- ular activities and I am cer- tain we want to be as careful if not more so when it comes to water which is a necessity.” City Manager Brett Estes said there was no need to make a decision Mon- day night, but that city staff was coming to the council to ask, “What would you like to do? How would you like to move forward?” Mayor Arline LaMear said an increase to 12.5 percent is what the council asked the staff to bring back. “I feel like this is at least a beginning to help the Pub- lic Works Department meet some of their needs,” she added. “It’s not nearly enough but it’s a partial solution.” After the resolution failed to pass in a 3-2 vote, with Price, Nemlowill and Brown- son voting against it, Coun- cilor Bruce Jones asked if the council as a whole was in favor of an increase or not. He thought the council had reached a “pretty good compromise” at its meeting in November when they rejected the large jump staff proposed and asked staff to come back with a proposal for an increase to 12.5 percent. The percentage has to go up, he said, adding that an increase to 12.5 percent is still modest and well under the industry standard. He wanted to make sure their instructions to staff were very clear after the resolution failed. “Because what we’ve just decided not to do is bring in what some have referred to as a very small $12,500,” Jones said. “We’ve already spent that much in staff time on this issue and I don’t want to spend it two or three times over again in the next six months to come back with another rock that might not be the right rock.” Price, Nemlowill and Brownson said they want staff to return with a more detailed breakdown of what is needed and why. Brownson said he is willing to support an increase if he understands it. “I’m just not understand- ing it,” Brownson said. Nemlowill echoed Brown- son and added, “The justifi- cation for the rate increase seems to me to be a moving target.” Joshua Bessex/The Daily Astorian The Astoria City Council voted 3-2 Monday against a surcharge increase on out-of-town water customers. Governor: ‘We are looking at cost sharing/risk sharing’ Continued from Page 1A an analysis showing how the proposals could impact Ore- gonians’ finances and the state’s budget and services. “Certainly, what is hap- pening at the federal level makes it really hard for us to have a detailed conversation about (state) tax policy right now,” she said. Also distracting from negotiations toward a state tax overhaul is a statewide ref- erendum Jan. 23 to repeal a health care funding law passed by state legislators earlier this year. The law was intended to maintain health insurance for more than 350,000 low-in- come Oregonians. Its repeal would compel state leaders to come up with a way to off- set the loss in revenue, includ- ing the possibility of reducing subsidies for health coverage. Any state tax overhaul conversation likely would spark calls for the state to cur- tail employee benefit costs and up employee contribu- tions to the Public Employees Retirement System to help offset a $21 billion unfunded liability in the system. “I think the role of the state is to make sure that we are incenting local employ- ers … on paying down their (unfunded actuarial liabil- ity) so the entire number comes down,” Brown said. “That will eventually reduce employer rates and enable us to put more money into class- rooms … and services that vulnerable Oregonians need.” She said she also could ask employees to “have some skin in the game.” “We are looking at cost sharing/risk sharing,” she said. Her staffers also are exam- ining recommendations by a PERS task force to come up with policy proposals for February. “I have asked my team to put together a handful of options and I look forward to working with the business community on what those look like,” Brown said. The 15th annual summit — founded by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden — drew more than 1,200 businesspeople, policy wonks, politicians and oth- ers to the Oregon Convention Center. The event also serves as the vehicle for unveiling the annual Oregon Business Plan, a policy roadmap for stimulat- ing the economy and support- ing business in the state. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A small waterfall in the upper reaches of the Arch Cape watershed contributes to the area’s supply of clean water. Arch Cape: Community forest models are fairly uncommon in the Pacific Northwest Continued from Page 1A The state Department of Environmental Quality identi- fied 50 coastal municipalities in Oregon that get water from for- ested drinking watersheds. Discussion of creating a community forest intensi- fied about three years ago after coastal communities started to notice they were suffering from similar problems, Oregon Coast Alliance President Mike Man- zulli said. The North Coast Basin Coa- lition, representing more than a dozen communities on the coast, formed in 2014 as a way to band together to come up with solutions — and develop- ing community forests was one of them. In Arch Cape, the water dis- trict is working with the North Coast Land Conservancy to raise enough money to buy the land from Ecotrust Forest Man- agement, which is managing the property until the district can afford the purchase. If the watershed is owned by the district, Manzulli said the community can make differ- ent management decisions, like requiring larger buffers, ban- ning pesticides and choosing to select cut trees for revenue that could be given back to support the community. “It’s in the best interest of the community to control their drinking watersheds locally so they can decide for themselves what kind of buffers they want to see, what harvest levels they want to see and what kind of protections they want to see in their local drinking water,” Manzulli said. Community forest models are common in other parts the country, but fairly uncommon in the Pacific Northwest, Manzulli said. Astoria is a notable excep- tion as a city which has had full ownership of its Bear Creek watershed since the 1950s. “The people living in the forest are managing the for- est,” Manzulli said. “When Phil Chick takes a drive up into the higher elevations of the Arch Cape watershed, where much of the water supply to the area originates. Signs warning not to spray chemicals dot the landscape of the 2,100-acre Arch Cape watershed. you are connected to the forest you are managing, you aren’t going to clear-cut it and spray pesticides.” Moving forward A step forward was made this month when Sustainable Northwest, an environmental organization which works with forest collaborative groups in the Pacific Northwest, received a Meyer Memorial Trust grant for $250,000 to help fund efforts to map these watersheds and identify which are most at risk for issues like sedimenta- tion and erosion. “Most of the drinking water- sheds are managed for timber production,” said Andrew Spa- eth, the forest program director at Sustainable Northwest. “The goal of this project is to main- tain those watersheds as work- ing forestlands and manage them in a way that aligns with the best available science, com- munity interests and priorities, and the quantity and quality of water available to local resi- dents and visitors.” Manzulli hopes the grant will help identify which parts of the watershed are suitable for sustainable timber production and which need to be preserved for recreation and conservation, he said. The land conservancy and the water district have also been recommended by the Oregon Department of Forestry’s State Forest Stewardship Coordinat- ing Committee to be considered for $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service to purchase the land. Because timber prices fluc- tuate, there is not a static price for the land, Manzulli said. But next steps will be the water dis- trict entering a purchase and sale agreement with Ecotrust Forest Management, followed by a series of public meetings and fundraising efforts over the next few years. “We hope this project becomes a project for what we all can do, and it can get repli- cated down the coast,” Manzu- lli said. Tongue Point: ‘It’s a diamond in the rough’ Continued from Page 1A recently approached the Port Commission with a plan to develop North Tongue Point into a full-service marine con- struction and repair facility. Hyak inherited more than 30 subleases from the Port to tenants on the site, from stor- age for discount store Deals Only to large processor Pacific Coast Seafood leasing an entire hangar. “For the time being, we’re happy with all the clients,” Dorn said. “Over time, we see it as a repair and fabrication facility. It’s really not a place where a lot of cargo operations can take place. We see it as an industrial park that lends itself to supporting commercial fishing and the tug and barge industry.” Knight had mixed feelings about leaving North Tongue Point, disappointed the Port couldn’t develop the site but hopeful Hyak will add quality employment to the region. “By simply getting out of Port of Astoria North Tongue Point includes 30 acres of industrial dock space, bounded to the north by Tongue Point Job Corps Center. the way and letting private industry take over, the com- munity benefits,” he said. “In spite of feeling bad about leav- ing, I’m happy to help this new ship, barge-building business take off.” One of the Port’s former tenants expected to benefit the most is marine repair and fabri- cation company WCT Marine & Construction, operating out of the site’s other seaplane hangar. WCT recently pur- chased hangar co-tenant J&H Boatworks, one of the Port’s first tenants at North Tongue Point, after the retirement of owner Tim Hill, becoming the site’s sole shipwright. Hill and WCT owners Wil- lie and Carol Toristoja all endorsed Hyak’s purchase. “They’re the reason we were attracted to the property,” Dorn said of WCT. “Willie Toristoja I’ve known for 20 years. He’s one of the best in marine fabrication and repair.” The Port had attempted to buy North Tongue Point for $4 million in 2000 with Alas- ka’s Clearwater Environmen- tal Inc., a company planning a controversial ship-break- ing facility. But the deal fell through, and the property was later sold for $4 million by the Department of State Lands to Washington-based Cresmont Inc. and shortly thereafter to Washington Development Co. for $4.2 million. There is no master plan for developing North Tongue Point beyond trying to improve the site, help WCT add more business and become a replacement for the eight or nine smaller shipyards that have shut down over the last decade in the Puget Sound and along the Columbia River, Dorn said. “It’s a diamond in the rough with respect to help- ing people maintain fleets.”