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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2018)
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018 146TH YEAR, NO. 72 ONE DOLLAR Housing authority: Employee’s claims are baseless Dueling complaints disrupt agency By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Investigators hired by the Northwest Ore- gon Housing Authority to look into the dep- uty director’s complaints against the agen- cy’s director say the allegations are baseless. Their report informed a response sent to the state Bureau of Labor and Industries to refute a complaint Teresa Sims, the deputy director, filed in August. Sims has been on paid leave since May pending the results of a separate investigation by the housing author- ity into her conduct. The state is reviewing both Sims’ com- plaint and the agency’s response. There is no timeline for a determination. Last week, the housing authority’s board was given a summary of the investigation into the accusations Sims had leveled against Todd Johnston, the director. Sims detailed a long list of issues, paint- ing a picture of an agency in disarray where people feared retaliation if they spoke out. In their summary, the agency’s investiga- tors refuted — among other claims — alle- gations that Johnston promoted an employee who wasn’t qualified for the position, obscured information or that he and Helping See CLAIMS, Page 7A Astoria could move forward on camping ban City sensitive to plight of homeless By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian Astoria Mayor Arline LaMear thinks she is ready to update an ordinance that would make it illegal to camp on city-owned forestland. The mayor had urged the City Council to hold off on a vote at a meeting last week. She wanted to hear from the homelessness solu- tions task force she leads with Police Chief Geoff Spalding about ways to humanely address the many homeless people camping in the woods. When the task force met Monday, they had few if any solutions to offer. But LaMear said afterwards it is clear to her that police need a law on the books that allows them to remove someone from the woods if neces- sary. A smaller group of task force members plan to discuss how to help homeless people better access resources. Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Several locations in Astoria are being considered for large development projects. Astoria not alone in struggle to find development director Position unfilled for a year By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian storia has been without a com- munity development director for a year —a time when major projects and discussions about the city’s future loom large. Since Kevin Cronin, the former direc- tor, left last October, City Manager Brett Estes has posted the job several times without success. Astoria isn’t alone. A number of coastal communities have struggled to fill similar positions. Unemployment is low and the job market favors job seek- ers, Estes says. Other factors come into play as well. Housing on the coast is hard to come by, as are jobs in a variety of professions. Someone who lands a planning job in Astoria might have a spouse or partner who will have a harder time finding work in their field. There’s also the question of pay. “Salaries on the coast are competitive, but just barely so,” said Mark Barnes, the city planner for Cannon Beach. Barnes planned to retire this month, but he will stay on through November to help ease the transition with his replace- ment. He told his boss about his retire- ment plans last December after conversa- tions with other planning directors in the region revealed just how difficult it might be to fill his position. He wanted to give the city as much time as possible. A Mike Morgan looks over construction plans for a new home at City Hall in Astoria. ‘SALARIES ON THE COAST ARE COMPETITIVE, BUT JUST BARELY SO.’ Mark Barnes | city planner for Cannon Beach “I had no reason to believe we would be any different than all the other job search situations out there,” Barnes said. Public planning jobs also can demand more than the private sector, asking plan- ners to juggle a variety of responsibilities and attend numerous public meetings. City and county planners perform a dif- ferent kind of balancing act, as requests from elected officials or citizen groups shift priorities or projects. Still: “It’s actually been a bit perplex- ing,” said Lisa Phipps, with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. “Certainly the communities that are putting these jobs out there right now are desirable places to be, a lot of See ASTORIA, Page 7A See CAMPING, Page 7A Roll & Bowl brings sushi and ramen to 11th Street in Astoria New food cart downtown By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian Bryan Tiller, left, and BraeAnn Bartlett run Roll & Bowl, a new food cart addition to the 11th Street pod in Astoria. Bryan Tiller does sushi. BraeAnn Bartlett does ramen. Together, the two run the Japanese-themed Roll & Bowl, which recently opened in the food cart pod along 11th Street in Astoria. IF YOU GO Roll & Bowl opens from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; and 4 to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday. “We want to be traditional as possible,” Bartlett said of the cart’s concept. The cart offers two egg noodle ramens: a chicken and See FOOD CART, Page 5A