DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2018
146TH YEAR, NO. 67
ONE DOLLAR
Astoria
delays
ban on
camping
Mayor’s task force
will discuss policy
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Plans to amend a city rule and make it
illegal to camp in Astoria’s forests are on
hold for now.
The City Council, at Mayor Arline
LaMear’s request, decided to delay amend-
ing the rule to give the mayor’s homeless-
ness solutions task force time to talk about
the issue. The group meets next Monday
and includes representatives from a variety
of social service organizations, as well as
leaders in city government and the business
community.
City councilors had planned to finalize
the amendment at a meeting Monday night
to begin addressing homeless camps in city-
owned forestland on the east side and near
Columbia Memorial Hospital. The city’s “no
camping” ordinance already prohibits camp-
ing on other types of public land, including
city parks.
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Bob Vinatieri, far right, directs cruise ship passengers to a tour bus.
Tour operators call foul on
Port cruise ship policies
A new policy
could emerge
‘OUR DESIRE IS
FOR ASTORIA TO
SUPPORT ALL THE
PEOPLE INVOLVED
WHILE FINDING
LONGER-TERM
SOLUTIONS.’
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
A
trickle of cruise ship passengers,
many in their 70s and using canes
and other walking aids, disem-
barked Wednesday from Holland Amer-
ica’s Amsterdam ready to take a tour of
Astoria.
But to reach their buses, they had to
trek about one-fifth of a mile around Pier
1, ironically passing an empty bus-load-
ing area in front of the Port of Astoria’s
offices before making their way down
Portway Street. Next to the Astoria Riv-
erwalk Inn, they boarded buses for an
excursion led by Bob Vinatieri, owner of
Astoria Tours.
Because the tour was not vetted and
sold through the cruise line, the buses for
Vinatieri’s tours were not allowed to pick
up passengers up Pier 1.
As Astoria has become a bigger cruise
ship destination, hosting on average more
than 40,000 passengers a year, newer tour
providers like Vinatieri and Lori Beth
Kulp of Lor’s Tours have called foul over
the Port’s access policies. The agency’s
has an agreement with its cruise ship mar-
keter, Bruce Conner, who also offers sho-
reside excursions through his company,
Sundial Travel.
Vinatieri claims he has been threatened
with arrest multiple times for operating
on Port property without a permit. Kulp
recently sent a tort claim notifying the
Port she is contemplating a lawsuit over
what she has claimed is an unethical rela-
tionship between the agency and Conner.
Jim Knight, the Port’s executive direc-
tor, said the agency’s policy regarding
tour operators is driven by the cruise lines.
Nelle Moffett | advocate for the homeless
Police Chief Geoff Spalding planned to
take the ordinance to the homelessness solu-
tions task force and brainstorm ways to work
with people camping in the woods before
asking anyone to move. Police are not anx-
ious to start kicking people out, he said. They
are looking for humane solutions.
But there are concerns about health and
safety in the forest. Police have received
multiple complaints about suspicious and
criminal activity tied to some of the camps
and have uncovered stolen property. The fire
department said there is fire danger as people
use all types of techniques and gear to cook
food or stay warm.
Emergency responders also worry about
the time it would take for them to respond
to an emergency in the woods. Many of the
camps are located off steep and narrow dirt
trails, away from city access roads. Some of
the camps contain large amounts of trash,
including human waste and needles.
“It’s become an untenable situation,”
LaMear agreed.
But the mayor also wanted to move care-
fully. The City Council will not discuss the
code amendment again until its next meet-
ing on Oct. 15.
“I appreciate slowing down,” said Rich-
ard Bowers. He and his wife, Nelle Moffett,
are advocates for the homeless and wrote a
Bob Vinatieri helps a client board the tour bus near the Port of Astoria.
Cruise ship passengers make their way to a waiting tour bus near the Port of Astoria.
See PORT, Page 7A
See CAMPING, Page 7A
Gearhart council candidates take on key issues
Zimmerman,
Smith vie for
council seat
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
GEARHART — Position 1
City Council candidates Kerry
Smith and Jack Zimmerman
offer different perspectives
while sharing the goal of main-
taining Gearhart’s character and
being a vigilant watchdog for
the taxpayer.
Smith, who was elected
to the City Council in 2014,
describes himself as a 33-year
Kerry
Smith
Jack
Zimmerman
Gearhart resident. With a back-
ground in construction, after
working on the Alaska pipeline,
he became a contractor.
“I have tried to be a voice
for the residents of Gearhart
that I know, as well as tried to
use some of my communication
skills to ask tough questions
and help facilitate the conver-
sations,” he said in a candidate
statement for The Daily Astori-
an’s voters guide.
Zimmerman, a former oil
and gas executive, moved to
Gearhart after traveling and vis-
iting for over 28 years.
“I wish to serve to protect
Gearhart from unnecessary tax-
ation and concentrate all my
efforts on improving our city’s
existing assets before taking on
new service obligations which
can cause the city to lose its pri-
mary focus on our current res-
idents,” he said. “I desperately
want to frame this election in
the overriding concept of creat-
ing beauty and goodness for our
special oasis by the sea.”
In interviews last week, they
discussed key issues — the
location of the proposed fire-
house, the growing elk herd, the
budget process and growth.
Fire station
Smith called a new fire sta-
tion the city’s most important
concern.
The existing station, built in
1958 and liable to collapse and
flood during a Cascadia Sub-
duction Zone earthquake and
tsunami, is the topic of years of
conversation.
Smith anticipated using
feedback from the community
to help determine a new site,
he said. A town hall meeting is
planned for November.
“With the town hall meet-
ing, they’ll find the pros and
cons as the committee sees it
for each location,” he said.
Zimmerman opposed locat-
ing the fire station at one of the
three proposed locations — the
city park at Pacific Way and
North Marion Avenue, he said.
See GEARHART, Page 3A