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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, JUNE 5, 2018 145TH YEAR, NO. 241 ONE DOLLAR ASTORIA Budget contains new officer, fee hikes City manager cautious on revenue options By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian The Astoria Police Department will get a new officer and residents will see a slight increase in sewer and water rates under a budget approved by city councilors Mon- day night. The $40.2 million budget takes effect in July. The spending plan is up from $37 mil- lion this fiscal year. City Manager Brett Estes noted in his budget message that “resources through state and federal grants are waning,” there are increased regulations on ways the city is able to generate revenue, “interest rates continue to slowly rise and investment oversight is complicated and limiting.” Nor is the city up-to-date on replace- ment schedules for all of its aging infra- structure and assets. In some cases, city leaders have deferred replacement. “With this history and a glimpse of things to come, it is imperative for the city to main- tain a sharp eye on budgets, programs, projects and funding,” Estes wrote. Oregon State University Hydrate and methane bubbles from the Astoria canyon floor at a depth of nearly 2,800 feet. Researchers scan Cascadia coast for methane gas Large concentration found near Astoria See BUDGET, Page 4A By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian R Ocean Exploration Trust esearchers with Oregon State Uni- versity and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have documented 1,000 underwater seeps of methane gas along the Pacific Northwest coast between Northern California and the Canadian border over the past two years. A large concentration was found in the Astoria canyon west of the mouth of the Columbia River. Next week, a new expedition begins in search of more. Tectonic activity causes fissures in the sea floor that lead to seeps of hydro- carbon-rich fluids such as hydrogen sul- fide and methane, a main component in natural gas. Methane released through the seeps often crystallizes into methane hydrate, an opaque or translucent ice. The releasing methane also takes the form of bubbling gas and can contribute to ocean acidification. Surveying for methane offshore is a relatively new field, said Susan Merle, an oceanographer who works out of Oregon State’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, although geologists have long known there should be methane deposits offshore. The study of methane seeps has both environmental and economic implica- tions. The U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that global methane hydrate deposits could hold twice the natural gas energy as fossil fuels currently available. Some of the first discoveries of meth- ane seeps in the Cascadia Subduction Zone, a fault line running from Vancou- ver Island in British Columbia to Cape Mendocino in Northern California, were documented in the late 1980s. Fishermen sometimes spot the seeps as anomalies on their fish-finders — acoustic reflections from bubbling methane gas. The remotely operated underwater robot Hercules used a gas-tight sampler during an expedition in 2016 to collect methane bubbles. See METHANE, Page 4A Ticket to ride Parking officer can use scooter downtown By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian The foot-powered scooter Ronni Harris uses to get around while she enforces park- ing limits in downtown Astoria was techni- cally illegal — but not anymore. The Astoria City Council has agreed to amend a city ordinance that bans the use of skateboards, roller skates, coasters and other similar toy vehicles and devices in the cen- tral business district. It will allow City Man- ager Brett Estes to exempt parking control officers from the ban in order to increase “mobility and productivity.” The Astoria Downtown Historic District Association had been asked if the parking tickets Harris writes as a special police offi- cer for the city and as the downtown asso- ciation’s community outreach officer were valid since she was breaking the law by rid- ing the scooter. Now Harris can ride in peace with the full force of the law behind her. “I’d never rid- den one in my life,” she said of the scooter. But when she took the community out- reach officer job, she needed some way to get around town relatively quickly. She went to Big 5 Sporting Goods and tried out a Razor scooter, riding it around the store. “Yeah, I think this will work,” she remembered thinking. “It’s a very friendly vehicle,” she said. And it doesn’t come with the safety con- cerns a motorized vehicle could create, added Sarah Lu Heath, executive director of the downtown association. They hope to add decals to the scooter or decorate it in other ways in the future. Oregon State University Researchers aboard the Nautilus use the remotely operated submersible robot Hercules to collect samples from around methane seeps on the ocean floor. Seaside breaks ground on $15M convention center project Jason Steg- ner, Russ Vandenberg, Steve Wright, Jay Barber, Randy Frank, Tita Monte- ro, Patrick Duhachek and Tim Tolan prepare to put shovels to the ground at the Seaside Civic and Conven- tion Center. R.J. Marx The Daily Astorian Shovels hit dirt on renovation By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Back in 1970, no one was sure if the $300,000 construction bond for the Seaside Civic and Con- vention Center would ever pay off. “It was very controver- sial back in the day to invest that kind of money,” Mayor Jay Barber said. “People won- dered, ‘Who’s going to come to Seaside?’” With the formation of a convention center committee, the building opened its doors the next fall and has enter- tained thousands of guests. Over the years, there have been two upgrades, in 1986 and 1991. Without upgrades, the convention center would be unable to compete with other venues throughout the state and Northwest region, gen- eral manager Russ Vanden- berg told city councilors last summer. City councilors responded, unanimously approving a hike in the city’s lodging tax from 8 to 10 percent to pay for the $15 million in 30-year bonds See SEASIDE, Page 4A