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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2018)
4A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2018 editor@dailyastorian.com KARI BORGEN Publisher JIM VAN NOSTRAND Editor Founded in 1873 JEREMY FELDMAN Circulation Manager DEBRA BLOOM Business Manager JOHN D. BRUIJN Production Manager CARL EARL Systems Manager OUR VIEW Astoria’s waterfront bridges key to our future C hances are good that Astoria’s waterfront is not where you think it is. Nineteenth century engravings show a heavily forested hill- side rising steeply just behind our tiny old settlement. As with many waterside communities — San Francisco is another good exam- ple — the flat portion of modern Astoria is largely artificial, and more obviously so right along the Columbia, where the river swirls along underneath a series of wooden bridges and other structures. Why the history lesson? In few other places is the past more closely linked to a successful present and future. In this case we’re not speaking of the sym- bolic importance to our economy of a rich legacy of tribal civilization and col- orful settlement, but to the actual physi- cal infrastructure that is a key bequest of Astoria’s industrial heritage. As we’ve been reporting for months, Astoria faces an increasingly fraught near-term emergency over replac- ing six waterfront bridges between the base of downtown and piers that extend even farther over the Columbia. A tidy amount of the city’s economic and recreational life depends on these bridges and associated assets — every- thing from freight delivery trucks to the Astoria Riverfront Trolley and the Riverwalk. Although deferred maintenance on essential bridges and highways poses a profound challenge nationwide, Astoria The Daily Astorian The Astoria Riverfront Trolley and Riverwalk also partly depend on the waterfront bridges. is comparatively fortunate in getting much of the bridge-replacement money from the state of Oregon — in part a tes- tament to the effective efforts of state Sen. Betsy Johnson, along with Astoria’s increasingly positive reputation as an innovative and successful destination. Unluckily, however, construction bids ranged from $10 million to $10.9 mil- lion, or about $2.2 million more than the state has thus far authorized. This is no small amount for a place of Astoria’s size and threatens a con- struction schedule that was calculated to avoid the worst impacts on local busi- nesses, residents and visitors. While construction remains pending, local businesses face an increasing pros- pect of having to alter operations more than they already have to comply with a 6,000-pound load limit on the decay- ing bridges. That’s not much, especially when dealing with appliance deliveries to Sears or even things like beverages for riverside restaurants. The temptation is to push the limits, believing that bridges that have borne up under such weights for decades are likely to continue to do so for a while longer. This, as any transportation engi- neer will aver, is dangerous thinking. There are too many examples around the U.S. and the world of bridges that worked just fine up until the moment they no longer did, sending hapless users into the water. If the weight limits aren’t observed, the state is likely to close the bridges to everything but pedestrian traffic. If that happens, all of a sudden there will be a resurgence in hiring notices for manual laborers to slog deliveries on hand trucks and carts from jury-rigged unloading areas to over-water busi- nesses. Good luck filling those slots in the current job market, particularly with undocumented immigrants having been made persona non grata. What can be done? Obviously for one thing, it will behoove us in the future not to overlook such vital links between Astoria’s land and water. In the short term, it appears likely the city will have to undertake up to $131,000 in repairs to see the struc- tures through until major work can com- mence. We should coordinate this effort with the state in hopes that some of this expenditure can be applied toward the full-scale replacement, perhaps at least by salvaging repair materials. We must also work with state lawmakers and other potential funding sources to come up with the additional reconstruction funds, or else find acceptable ways to shave expenses from the project. Such specialized work does not lend itself to bargain hunting at a time when contrac- tors are busy, but there may be smart ways to achieve more for less. Bridge replacement will be disrup- tive, but will probably pale in compari- son to what the city experienced during combined sewer overflow work earlier this decade. The good news is that all this basic maintenance — unloved and largely invisible once complete — puts Astoria in good stead to enjoy continu- ing vitality well into the 21st century. LETTERS WELCOME Letters should be exclusive to The Daily Astorian. Letters should be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer’s name, address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar, and, on occa- sion, factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers should address the issue at hand and, rather than mentioning the writer by name, should refer to the headline and date the letter was published. Dis- course should be civil and people should be referred to in a respectful manner. Letters in poor taste will not be printed. Send via email to editor@dai- lyastorian.com, online at dailyasto- rian.com/submit_letters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or 1555 North Roosevelt in Seaside, or mail to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. GUEST COLUMN New county lodging tax increase is a kick in the teeth ast week, without any discussion or consideration of the largest employment sector, Clatsop County commissioners voted for a countywide tax increase on lodging. The additional 1 percent lodging tax, when added to the 9.5 percent tax already in place in unincorporated areas of the county, results in a whopping tax rate increase of 10.5 percent. Local lodging operators were stunned by this vote and the county’s backwards approach, as not a single outreach effort was made by the county in advance. Before moving forward, local lodging operators asked STEPHEN that our industry taxes be MALKOWSKI discussed fairly and openly under the principles for which they were established — tourism promotion. It is highly uncommon for a local govern- ment jurisdiction to increase an industry-spe- cific tax without holding proactive discussions with those impacted by the decision first. Weeks ago, the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association submitted a letter to the county in support of a renewed commitment to county/lodging industry conversations. The letter was sent offering assistance in coordinating meetings as a first order of L business before any lodging tax increases were considered. Clatsop County lodging operators were highly engaged in this issue and were in opposition to any increase without these crucial industry conversations. Here are some statements from staff at the two commission readings: • “this is not a tax on the hotels, this is not a tax on this industry” • “the burden is not on the hotel/motel” • “the 1 percent tax has nothing to do with the bottom line” … “it is not affecting their bottom line” • “we fall well within the guidelines of other counties that do this” • “this county doesn’t really need a lot of promotion” • “this is a great way to help fund a local facility without a burden to our local citizens.” These statements could not be further from the truth, as evidenced in this region’s dismal tourism performance compared with the rest of the state. The 2018 Oregon Travel Impacts report breaks down overnight visitor volume within Oregon’s tourism regions. The latest report highlights overnight visitor changes from 2015-2017, which is the latest data available. The regional breakdown for this period is Oregon + 6.3 percent, Portland +10.1 percent, Willamette Valley + 2.9 percent, Central Oregon + 7.8 percent, Mt. Hood/Gorge +15.3 percent, Eastern Oregon + 6.5 percent, Southern Oregon + 6.0 percent and the Central Coast +10.5 percent. In contrast, the North Coast suffered a 2.9 percent decline. Clatsop County local economies rely upon the strength of the tourism sector and the full utilization of marketing dollars to trigger visi- tor spending. Every lodging dollar represents three tour- ism dollars into our economy. These three dol- lars are then spent on coffee shops, restaurants, art galleries, et cetera. Conversely, for every lodging dollar that is not spent, three more are also not spent in coffee shops, restaurants and art galleries. Given this latest data, lodging operators felt it irresponsible to increase the lodging tax until the current investments in lodging tax revenues were fully evaluated. A full analysis of current lodging tax revenue investments was recom- mended by the association given the results highlighted above. Lodging requested that the county ensure it is leveraging tourism promotional dollars to their maximum benefit before increasing taxes further. The county completely ignored any requests for these meetings, or to slow the process down for further review. Instead, they recommended the vote move forward without any industry outreach or discussion. The tax increase passed without input to learn what impact this tax would have on the lodging business owners, and, therefore, the collateral impact on all employees/jobs in this, the largest employment sector in our county. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the benefits of tourism, the true issue is the dynamics of how this all went down as an example of countywide leadership failure on all levels. The final kick in the teeth is that this tax increase was passed for the purpose of funding a jail ballot measure that has yet to be voted on by you, the voter. It is irresponsible governance examples like these that keep any worthwhile business from considering Clatsop County as a place to invest, expand or relocate. Meanwhile, regional leadership will continue to wonder why storefronts remain empty, unaffordable housing escalates, and no family-wage jobs come into our area. Stephen Malkowski is the owner of Arch Cape Inn and Retreat and a former Clatsop County planning commissioner.
