DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2018
145TH YEAR, NO. 236
ONE DOLLAR
Port budget
shrinks with
less grant
funding
A WAY TO
REMEMBER
Grants make up a large
portion of budget
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Gold Star family members lay roses on a representation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Ocean View Cemetery.
Local ceremonies commemorate
150th anniversary of Memorial Day
Shrinking grant money is causing the
Port of Astoria to further tighten its purse
strings for the coming fiscal year starting in
July.
Port staff on Thursday proposed a nearly
$11.5 million operating budget for the next
fiscal year, more than $2.4 million smaller
than the agency’s current operating budget
and more than $4 million smaller than the
fiscal year prior.
Will Isom, finance director for the Port,
said the smaller budget is largely a matter of
timing.
“We’re in between years, as far as con-
struction goes out at the airport,” he said,
adding grant revenue will likely be higher
with grant-funded construction projects in
the 2019-20 budget.
Multimillion-dollar Federal Aviation
Administration grants fund much of the con-
struction at the Astoria Regional Airport
and can often make up a large portion of the
Port’s budget.
Jim Knight, the Port’s executive direc-
tor, has said that uncertainty in grant
funding, combined with failing infrastruc-
ture, limited cash reserves and high debt
load, has made creating a balanced budget a
challenge.
The Port often uses state ConnectOregon
infrastructure grants to fund improvements
and act as local matches on federal monies.
Knight has called the state grants a lifeline
for improving properties like the airport.
See PORT, Page 7A
By BRENNA VISSER
The Daily Astorian
Rents climb
higher at
Emerald
Heights
I
n memory of the doughboys.
In memory of Pearl Harbor.
In memory of veterans’ families.
One by one, each of these phrases
were said as members of the American
Legion and other veterans groups pre-
sented wreaths as part of a Memorial
Day ceremony at Ocean View Cemetery
in Warrenton.
Dozens gathered on a blustery Mon-
day morning to remember those who lost
their lives in the line of duty. A Coast
Guard helicopter flyover spritzed the
crowd with mist from Cemetery Lake as
it dropped a wreath in remembrance to
those who lost their lives at sea.
This year marks the 150th anniver-
sary of the holiday, which was originally
called Decoration Day, Scott Parker
reminded the crowd during his presenta-
tion. Parker spoke as the great nephew of
Freeman Parker, a Clatsop County vet-
eran who died during World War I.
“Today we pay tribute to those who
bravely rose above and fought for some-
Apartments still
below market rate
Dozens of people attended the event Monday at Ocean View Cemetery.
thing greater than themselves,” he said.
Parker emphasized the best way for
society to pay its debt to those whose
lives were lost was through education
about the holiday’s purpose.
“Please don’t wish me a happy
Memorial Day. There’s nothing happy
about it,” he said.
See MEMORIAL DAY, Page 7A
‘TODAY WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THOSE WHO
BRAVELY ROSE ABOVE AND FOUGHT FOR
SOMETHING GREATER THAN THEMSELVES.’
Scott Parker | great nephew of Freeman Parker, a Clatsop County veteran who died during World War I
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
The rent for some Emerald Heights Apart-
ments is going up, but the prices remain just
below market rate at one of Astoria’s few
remaining sources of affordable housing.
Deed restrictions that preserved 60 units
of the 300-unit complex for low-income ten-
ants expired in October. Under the restric-
tions, rent also had to include the cost of pro-
viding utilities. With the restrictions out of
the picture, everyone is paying their own
heating bills and property owner Edita Smith
is charging more for units she remodels after
tenants move away.
See RENT, Page 4A
Warrenton grapples with blighted buildings
City is dealing
with some
growing pains
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
WARRENTON — Warren-
ton declared three local prop-
erties nuisances recently, more
than City Manager Linda Eng-
bretson can recall happening in
the last two decades.
The city is grappling with a
major growth spurt and some
growing pains along the way.
City staffing levels remain rel-
atively unchanged even as calls
for service increase. Large busi-
nesses have moved to town
— Costco is well-established,
while Walmart and Pacific Sea-
food plan to open facilities this
summer — and a number of
housing developments are in
the works.
The North Coast as a whole
is a much busier place than
it used to be, the tourist sea-
son no longer bound to sum-
mer months. City commission-
ers are asking how to encourage
this growth, answer shifting
needs and ensure Warrenton
remains a place people want to
live.
One of the City Commis-
sion’s goals has been to improve
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
The city of Warrenton is dealing with three nuisance properties.
the appearance and livability of
downtown, paving the way for a
city that suits the present and is
ready to meet the future. Deal-
ing with nuisance properties is
one small step, but the city’s
ordinance can only go so far.
Astoria has also had to deal
with its share of run-down,
abandoned and nuisance prop-
erties over the years. In 2010,
the city began examining
another tool for dealing with a
particular kind of neighborhood
blight: the derelict building ordi-
nance. Using this ordinance, the
city was able to gain access to
the neglected Flavel home and
applied it to a home in Alder-
brook last year. The Alderbrook
property has dropped in and out
of compliance multiple times
over the years. City Attorney
Blair Henningsgaard says the
property owner remains out of
compliance now.
See BUILDINGS, Page 4A