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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2018)
7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2018 Debt: Smithart moved to East Coast Continued from Page 1A Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian The new owners of the Circle Creek RV Resort are planning to expand and develop the southern portion of the property. Bidders must have cash or a cashier’s check. The high- est bidder will receive a bill of sale and the right to what- ever amount Smithart is owed by Param as part of its judgment against the hotel’s owner, the Port of Astoria. Circuit Court Judge Dawn McIntosh has ruled that the Port is obligated to lease Param the hotel for two years, beginning in Novem- ber, with a five-year exten- sion option. The head of the company, Ganesh Sonpatki, had tried unsuccessfully since 2014 to take over oper- ation of the hotel from Smi- thart, offering to pay off the debts he had accumulated with the Port, city and county in exchange for his remain- ing lease. The Port Commis- sion voted to accept the trans- fer of the lease, but the deal fell apart. When Param takes over the hotel, the company would pay $580,000 into an escrow account to satisfy its prom- ise to pay Smithart’s debts, according to the judgment. The Port would receive $273,180 for back-due rent and revenue sharing, the city $115,858 for lodging taxes and the county $4,633 for property taxes. The remain- der — $186,327 — would go to Smithart. But the Port has appealed the court’s decision. The bid- der in Thursday’s auction likely wouldn’t see a return on investment until after the case is resolved. Smithart, who has moved to the East Coast, questioned why the city isn’t waiting for the court case to be resolved. “It’s a good ol’ boy net- work,” Smithart said, adding the collection effort by the city might not have happened if he had better connections. Smithart could have filed for bankruptcy, but he said didn’t feel it would be right. He previously had a plan to repay his debt to the city but quickly fell behind. “If the sale would have gone through with Ganesh like it was supposed to, then the Port and city would have been paid,” he said. RV park: ‘I believe in the economics of the North Coast’ Continued from Page 1A Roper sold the property to JO OR Properties and Circle Creek Partners, registered to Loren Landau, a prin- cipal broker with Commonwealth Real Estate Services. The company manages manufactured and mobile home communities throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Four Winds Mobile Estates and Neawanna Mobile Home Park in Seaside. Com- monwealth last year acquired Alder Creek Village, a 42-space, 55-and- older manufactured home commu- nity in Warrenton, for $4.5 million. The interest in Circle Creek stems from his growing up in southwest Washington and visiting the Lower Columbia River region as a child, Landau said. “I believe in the economics of the North Coast,” he said, adding that RV parks have also become more attrac- tive as state tenant laws become more unfavorable for landlords. The 44 spots at Circle Creek RV Park occupy the northern half of the property, with a field to the south. Circle Creek Partners plans to invest in aesthetics and double the park’s size in that southern field, hopefully starting construction in the fall after the busy season is over, Landau said. The hope is to have the additional spaces available by next summer. The southern part of the resort is occupied by fire pits and picnic tables. Oregon Department of Forestry As Democrats in the Legislature propose a ‘cap-and-trade’ carbon measure, timber companies and several lawmakers are advocating for a bill that would require the Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Forestry to evaluate using natural ecosystems to absorb and store carbon as an alternative. Carbon: Oregon’s wildfires produce more emissions than industrial sources, vehicles Continued from Page 1A carbon while promoting eco- nomic development, as well as using tax incentives for companies to reduce carbon emissions. Under House Bill 4109, the study would also examine regional approaches to reduce carbon emissions “other than adopting or participating in a greenhouse cap-and-trade system.” Oregon’s annual wild- fires emit more carbon mon- oxide, nitrous oxide, fine particulates and volatile organic compounds than industrial sources or vehicles, said state Rep. David Brock Smith, R-Port Orford, the bill’s chief sponsor. Supporters of HB 4109 carbon sequestration to fight climate change, the science isn’t yet conclusive as to the best return-on-investment for carbon sequestration, said Catherine Macdonald, the nonprofit’s Oregon conserva- tion director. The study should be expanded to include Ore- gon State University and to examine the most effective methods to increase carbon sequestration, she said. A work session on HB 4109 is scheduled for Thurs- day, which is the legislative deadline for the proposal to be approved by the House Agriculture Committee. The Capital Bureau is a collaboration between EO Media Group and Pamplin Media Group. F EBRUARY 20 Bill: Financial relief could allow more investment in expansion and employees Clatsop County District Attorney Continued from Page 1A “Right now, the way the system’s set up, it’s not a profit center for the distillery,” Cary said. “It’s a profit center for the state.” A Legislative Fiscal Office report estimated the bill would cost the state $3.4 million in revenue between 2019 and 2021. The loss could be greater if distilleries reorganize and add to the 55 tasting rooms under the $250,000 threshold. But both Cary and Selberg said the financial relief could allow them to invest more in expansion and employees. The bill has received broad indus- try support, including from the Oregon Distillers Guild, a craft-distilling trade group. Selberg was one of two distill- ers to testify during the bill’s first public hearing Monday in Salem. The state’s largest distiller, Hood River Distillery, maker of popular brands Pendleton Whiskey and HRD Vodka, has come out against the bill. The company argues the bill could undercut the liquor control commission and invite large, out-of-state competitors. “We believe this legisla- tion weakens the state sys- tem,” Hood River CEO Ron- ald Dodge told Willamette Week. “We didn’t start out with a state subsidy, and we have still been able to bene- fit from Oregon’s system. The short-term gains included in argue it would encourage dis- cussions about thinning over- stocked federal lands that are prone to catastrophic forest fires. There’s also an opportu- nity to direct harvested tim- ber toward novel products such as cross-laminated tim- ber, or CLT, which is used for larger-scale buildings. These objectives can be accomplished without sacri- ficing viewsheds or native fish — otherwise, projects would just wind up in court, said Ken Humberston, a mem- ber of the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners. However, the bill encoun- tered some mild criticism from the Nature Conservancy, an environmental nonprofit. While the group supports Josh Marquis A Columbia Forum Presentation Josh Marquis is about to start his 25th year as Clatsop County’s District Attorney. First appointed by Gov. Barbara Roberts in 1994 after the recall and criminal conviction of his predecessor. A graduate of the Honors College and Law School of the University of Oregon, he has spent most of his 37 years as a lawyer as a prosecutor, fi rst in Eugene, then Newport, and as Chief Deputy DA in Bend before coming to Astoria. He also spent time as a newspaper reporter and speechwriter in Los Angeles and two years as a criminal defense lawyer. He lectures and teaches to lawyers and others across the nation and overseas and has been asked to testify four times before Congress. Marquis served as President of the Oregon District Attorneys Association and Vice President of the National DA’s Association, on whose board he still serves 21 years later. He is married to City Councilor Cindy Price. For more than 20 years he’s been a jazz programmer at KMUN and appeared in SHANGHAIED IN ASTORIA every year since 1994. TO ATTEND: LIMI SEA TED TING RESE For Members: Dinner & Lecture: $25 each; Lecture only: no charge SPAC R E VE YOUR TODA Y! For Non-Members: Dinner & Lecture: $35 each; Lecture only: $15 ea. Appetizers will be available at 6 p.m. • Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. The speaker will begin after the dinner service is complete and non-dinner members and guests of the audience take their seats. Forum to be held at the CMH Community Center at 2021 Exchange St., Astoria. The Daily Astorian Larry Cary, owner of Pilot House Distilling, said a bill let- ting him avoid state fees on the first $250,000 in tasting room sales each year would help his company expand. this bill do not outweigh the potential serious, long-term, harmful consequences.” The cut in state fees would come on the heels of the Republican tax plan cutting fees on distilled spirits from $13.50 to $2.70 per gallon for the first 100,000 gallons produced. ColumbiaForum FOR RESERVATIONS OR TO JOIN COLUMBIA FORUM CONTACT: Holly Larkins at 503.325.3211 ext. 227 or hlarkins@dailyastorian.com by Feb. 18, 2018 Columbia Forum is sponsored by: The Daily Astorian • Craft3 • OSU Seafood Laboratory • KMUN-FM Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa
