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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2017
Housing: Fixing property wasn’t easy
Ilwaco girls cruise past Willapa
Valley in 69-28 pummeling
Continued from Page 1A
“I think it’s changed all
of our thinking on it,” county
Assessment and Taxation
Director Suzanne Johnson said.
ILWACO, Wash. — The average margin of victory for the
Ilwaco girls basketball team over the last three games is now
44.6 points.
The Lady Fishermen scored another easy victory Friday,
69-28 over Willapa Valley. Ilwaco led 23-2 after one quarter.
Four players scored in double figures for the Fishermen,
led by Makenzie Kaech with 20 points. Eliza Bannister and
Erika Glenn scored 15 points apiece, and Madeline Jacobson
added 14 points for Ilwaco, now 4-0 overall.
Alternative idea
County
Commissioner
Kathleen Sullivan lives in
Alderbrook and sees the dere-
lict property often. Earlier this
year, she approached Bruce
and county staff with an alter-
native idea for the foreclosed
property. Her original vision
was different from what the
project eventually became.
“When I saw that house, I
said, ‘Boy, it would be a per-
fect co-op,’” Sullivan said. “It
seemed like a nice fit.”
The county slated the prop-
erty, designated one of the
top five nuisance properties,
for auction in January after it
was foreclosed in October. But
after Sullivan pitched her idea
a few weeks later, the property
was removed from the auction
list. Citing a county policy and
state law that allows for the
transfers of properties to non-
profits, the Board of Commis-
sioners voted to hand them the
house key.
Johnson has worked for the
county for more than 34 years.
Responsible for collecting
taxes, Johnson admits she ini-
tially was leery of simply giv-
ing a property to a tax-exempt
organization.
“We saw dollar signs in our
eyes,” Johnson said. “I said,
‘Are you kidding me? We’re
just going to give it away?’”
But after further discus-
sion, Johnson warmed to the
idea. She learned that the non-
profits, rather than convert the
home into a low-income hous-
ing unit, planned to ready the
house for sale.
Because of the scenic view
and cultural significance, it
made more sense for the orga-
nizations to partially fix it, flip
it to a buyer, split money from
the sale and save for future
housing projects.
“Do you build an afford-
able house with a view like
that? Or do you get it on the
tax rolls and take that money
and do something else with it,”
Casey Michell, the Commu-
nity Action Team’s single-fam-
ily housing director, said at
a Board of Commissioners
meeting. “It would be nice if
people with low incomes had
good views, but funds are so
scarce right now. We’re just
trying to get as many people in
houses as we can.”
The county will not be able
to recoup more than $21,000
in taxes owed on the prop-
erty after eight years of non-
payment. But once the house
is sold to a new owner, the
county hopes to see a steady
stream of tax payments.
Naselle boys knock off Knight
NASELLE, Wash. — A 29-5 run by Naselle in the third
quarter helped the Comets post another easy win Friday,
74-35 over visiting Mary M. Knight in a Coastal 1B boys bas-
ketball game at Lyle Patterson Gymnasium.
Jacob Eaton led a trio of players in double figures for the
Comets, with 15 points. Erik Lund added 12 and Oggie Lopez
scored 11 for Naselle.
Naselle girls beat Mary M. Knight
NASELLE, Wash. — Kenzie Glenn scored 15 points and
Taylor Gudmundsen added 13 to lead Naselle to a 41-30 win
over Mary M. Knight Friday night at Naselle.
The Comets held a slim 20-17 lead at halftime, before
going on a 13-4 run in the third quarter.
— The Daily Astorian
READ MORE LOCAL
SPORTS NEWS ON PAGE 10A
Photos by Casey Mitchell
Roughly 100,000 pounds of trash and debris had to be removed from this Alderbrook
home before work to refurbish the property could begin.
Food cart: ‘My
bucket list had one
thing on it. This is it.’
Continued from Page 1A
property. Hollander also
leases property from the Port
of Astoria under the Astoria
Bridge and has been study-
ing the feasibility of siting
a Marriott-branded hotel in
Astoria.
“There’s so many peo-
ple that were so bummed
about The Ship Inn closing,”
Baeten said.
Her menu has incorpo-
rated much of the fare at Ship
Inn, including halibut, cod,
scallops, oysters and prawns,
along with clam chowder.
The menu also includes more
Americana offerings such as
burgers, sandwiches and hot
dogs, along with desserts.
“We just kind of tried to
appeal to something every-
body would want,” she said.
Baeten has worked at
quite a few restaurants, she
said, starting at The Ship Inn
at 16 bussing tables, host-
essing, washing dishes and
cooking. She has been a local
real estate agent and hair-
dresser, and owned a salon
and auto detailing business.
She and her husband own
Neal Baeten Autobody Inc.
in Lewis and Clark near her
food cart.
“He has a bucket list with
many things on it,” she said
of her husband, who provides
support at the food cart. “My
bucket list had one thing on
it. And this is it.”
Team: Bridge ‘one of
the best games there is’
They hit their final mark
in October, and they pos-
retiring. He was an avid sess a bundle of memories
chess player. But when his to show for it.
They visited the Nan-
wife died a little more than
10 years ago, he searched for tucket Whaling Museum in
Massachusetts, where they
more ways to interact.
“Bridge is more social learned how young boys
than chess,” Richard- would be lowered naked
son said. “I needed to get into the skull of a sperm
out of the house and do whale to fetch a bucket of
something.”
oil from the animal’s sonar
Taylor moved to Astoria system. During a bus tour
from California in 1974. A through Denali National
longtime nurse, she retired Park and Preserve in Alaska,
after working at Colum- they gazed as several bears
bia Memorial Hospital for and a pair of coyotes chased
10 years. She recalls play- a lynx up a tree where a
ing bridge
squawking
with dormi-
magpie was
tory mates
perched.
‘It’s
just
O t h e r
an hour each
experiences
night while
a mental
were more
studying
fascination d a n g e r o u s .
chemistry
The
pair
at the Uni-
with the
versity
of
once landed
in
Okla-
California,
game.’
homa City
B e r k e l e y.
soon after a
When she
Monica Taylor
tornado hit
heard about
avid bridge player who
moved to Astoria in 1974
the city and
others in the
as warnings
area
who
were
still
taught and
played bridge, she jumped in effect. Later, a manager
on the chance to end her at their hotel interrupted a
40-year hiatus from the tournament and asked play-
ers to take shelter. They
game.
“It’s just a mental fasci- reluctantly obliged, placed
nation with the game, one their cards on the table and
of the best games there is,” scattered to safer locations.
Richardson and Tay-
Taylor said.
Taylor and Richardson lor huddled together in a
met each other after taking brick hallway as flash flood-
classes and attending local ing, baseball-sized hail and
tournaments. After form- uprooted trees slammed the
ing the team, they set a goal hotel’s exterior. The large,
to play American Contract fatal tornado that hit less
Bridge League tournaments than a mile away spared
in all 50 states and even the hotel, though, minus the
inch of water that flooded
some Canadian provinces.
“He hadn’t seen much of the hallway carpet.
The next day, they
the country and neither had
I, actually,” Taylor said.
resumed the tournament.
Continued from Page 1A
Not a simple task
Fixing the property proved
not to be a simple task,
however.
Roughly 100,000 pounds
of debris needed to be
removed from the property
before it could be fixed and
sold. Despite its assets, an
appraiser estimated the mar-
ket value of the house was
just over $38,000 immediately
after foreclosure.
“When you have a struc-
ture that is that full of stuff, the
market is really low,” Mitch-
ell said.
Days before the commis-
sioners’ decision, Mitchell and
a group of workers began the
arduous task of cleaning it out
and performing other tasks
like installing plywood. But
they were not lacking com-
munity support. Neighbors,
thrilled that the home would
be beautified, observed as
workers removed the junk and
even offered to let them use
tools, Mitchell said.
“It’s been like a parade
these last three days,” Mitchell
said at the meeting. “They’re
so excited and very friendly.”
Larry Bryant, an Alder-
brook resident, expressed his
support at a meeting for refur-
bishing the house and turning
it into a single-family home.
“After many years of con-
tinuing decline on this eye-
sore property in Alderbrook,
it is a great relief to finally see
hope for its renovation and the
enhancement of the surround-
ing neighborhood in Alder-
brook,” Bryant said.
Mitchell said no major
structural damage, save some
SPORTS IN BRIEF
This restored home in the Alderbrook neighborhood of Astoria will be sold and the prof-
its used to build low-income housing.
dry rot in the kitchen and an
awkward layout after a past
attempt to turn it into a duplex,
were spotted after the cleanup.
Workers
did,
however,
uncover a garage that had been
blocked from view by storage
sheds by as long as neighbors
could remember.
The nonprofits will spend
more than $60,000 clean-
ing and renovating the home
before it’s sold, Mitchell said.
His target price once it’s listed
for sale is between $90,000
and $150,000.
“I’m kind of hopeful some-
one is going to fall in love with
it,” Mitchell said.
He and others are also
hopeful that this model can be
replicated with other county
properties. Sullivan said she
was happy with the outcome
of the property, though she
stressed the county should
start acting more aggressively
to open opportunities for
low-income and cooperative
housing.
“It has to be a whole com-
munity concern,” Sullivan
said. “We need to be creative
and committed in creating a
housing inventory.”
After removing nearly 100,000 pounds of debris from this
Alderbrook home, the property was restored and will now
be put on the market.