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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2018)
GUNMAN KILLS 17 IN FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING PRESIDENT TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION • PAGE 5A READ ABOUT THIS YEAR’S READERS’ CHOICE AWARD WINNERS IN COAST WEEKEND • INSIDE DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 163 ONE DOLLAR County could put jail bond on November ballot Commissioners likely to decide in March By JACK HEFFERNAN The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian The Clatsop County jail in Astoria is overcrowded. Clatsop County commissioners will likely decide next month if a $23.8 mil- lion proposal to relocate the county jail in Astoria to a larger facility in Warrenton will be referred to voters in November. The design includes 148 beds with space to expand in the future at the site of the closed North Coast Youth Correctional Facility. The county jail on Duane Street — roughly 40 years old — holds about 60 inmates. The Oregon Youth Authority has offered to hand the Warrenton facility over to the county at no cost. County Manager Cameron Moore said the county could use cash reserves to pay Elk concerns on the rise in Warrenton $2 million to $3 million for the new jail. The county may also request that the state, which operated the youth facility until it closed in October, pay up to $3.2 million for deferred maintenance costs. The relocation plan will depend on political will, however, and local officials previewed their case at a meeting Wednes- day night. See JAIL, Page 7A Astoria narrows list of parks up for sale Birch Field is most likely to go By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A herd of elk grazes in Hammond. Residents worry about damage to property and safety on the road By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian W ARRENTON — While residents sat at City Hall in early February and asked their mayor what could be done about elk roaming downtown, five young bull elk nibbled grass in front of a house several blocks away. Warrenton isn’t Gearhart, where elk are the bane of a golf course, a protective mother elk once menaced beachgoers and people have reported being stuck in their homes or threatened in the streets. But some locals believe the Warren- ton herd is turning into a similar problem, growing in size and becoming too comfort- able in town. They worry about damage to property and safety on the road. “We’re just keeping a sharp eye and staying in contact with Gearhart to see what they’re doing,” Mayor Henry Bal- ensifer assured people who brought the issue to his attention at two of his informal weekly coffee meetings this month. Rangers at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park hope to provide more data that could inform management decisions going forward. They plan to attach GPS collars to six elk this year if the money See ELK, Page 7A ‘THERE’S CAUSE FOR CONCERN AND THERE ARE ISSUES — GARDENS BEING EATEN AND YARDS BEING TRAMPLED.’ Carla Cole | natural resources project manager at Lewis and Clark National Historical Park Of the four park sites the Astoria City Council discussed selling at a meeting Wednesday, one could have its park desig- nation removed and be put up for sale, one is off the table entirely and the remaining two are in limbo for now. City councilors will consider removing Birch Field, a ballpark in Alderbrook, from the city’s list of parks with the hopes that it will be sold and developed to address hous- ing needs. Questions remain about how fea- sible it would be for someone to develop the marshy field. Public Works staff said the site could also be a location for a stormwater treatment facility. Of the four properties, Birch Field is con- sidered the easiest to sell and the most feasi- ble to develop. City councilors asked staff to talk to sur- rounding property owners about any inter- est in the historic Tidal Rock site off Marine Drive near Fort George Brewery and the Astor Hotel, but will not take any other steps toward selling the property for now. The city has a one-year agreement with local artists to maintain the sunken, overgrown site and cre- ate an art installation there. City Councilor Zetty Nemlowill, who is married to one of Fort George’s owners, said the brewery might be interested in Tidal Rock if it were put on the market. “But I don’t know for what,” she said. Staff will also gather more information about what it would mean to move a historic customs house replica from a park site that is complicated by city sewer lines and access issues near Safeway off Lief Erikson Drive. It is possible the site could be divided and one small section of the lot could be sold. There See PARKS, Page 7A Warrenton schools to call public about bond for new campus Enrollment has grown during building boom By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — If you live in the Warrenton-Ham- mond School District, prepare for a phone call. The school board on Wednesday signed off on gauging public opinion for a bond plan to move mid- dle school grades and eventu- ally the entire school district to higher ground. A facilities planning committee last month rec- ommended a series of three bond measures over the next 14 years to relocate the quickly growing school district out of the tsunami inundation zone. The effort would start with a $32.4 million bond mea- sure in the November election to buy a new 70- to 80-acre master campus and build a middle school. Superintendent Mark Jef- fery said the committee looked at demographic data for the school district on how many voters there are, how often they vote and who’s more likely to back a bond. The district’s boundaries include around 4,500 voters spread over more than 2,800 households. Resi- dents 60 years and older voted at by far the highest rates over the past four elections. “Ours is a tough sell, I’ll tell you,” Jeffery said of the bond plan. “Not only looking at our demographics, but look- ing at what we’re really try- ing to do, it’s going to take us 18 years to finish what we’re wanting to start, and that’s not always an easy sell.” The school district will reach out to the community through a phone poll to estab- lish a baseline of support before bringing a recommen- dation to the board in April Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian See WARRENTON, Page 7A The Warrenton school district will ask voters about a po- tential bond plan.
