The daily Astorian., November 08, 2018, Image 1

LEADING LIGHTS: DOUBLE BILL OPENS IN ILWACO COAST WEEKEND
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2018
146TH YEAR, NO. 94
ONE DOLLAR
Port
strives
for new
revenue
Federal storm money
less than expected
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Port of Astoria will likely receive a
fraction of the money it tried to get from the
Federal Emergency Management Agency
for storm damage in 2015, throwing into
jeopardy the agency’s plan for repairing a
decaying central waterfront and leaving it
to look for other sources of revenue.
FEMA has offered nearly $1.5 million to
repair Port docks pummeled by high winds
and rough waters in the storms. The Port at
one point estimated more than $13 million
in damage.
Other city and county agencies affected
by the storms have completed repairs and
received reimbursements, albeit in much
smaller amounts.
The Port had hoped to leverage a $1.5
million state infrastructure grant it received
to repair parts of Pier 2 as a local match for
at least $6 million in federal funds, and vise
versa, stretching the grants to pay for more
repairs.
But FEMA has so far offered just under
$1.5 million, including the nearly $368,000
in reimbursements the Port has received so
far, said Matt McGrath, the Port’s director
of operations.
The biggest hit has come on Pier 2,
where the Port had sought $2.7 million for
repairs but has so far been offered $8,000
for engineering by FEMA, McGrath said.
Because much of the damage was to the
pier’s rock and sheet pile walls under the
cover of docks, the Port has not been able
to show aerial photographs of the condition
of the pier before and after the storms, he
said.
Port staff has estimated about $20 mil-
lion is needed to bring the docks up to proper
working condition, including nearly $7 mil-
lion for the seafood landing and processing
dock on Pier 2 and $4 million to replace an
ailing causeway at the East Mooring Basin,
which is in danger of being shut down. The
Port estimates at least $2.5 million annually
for upkeep to the infrastructure, while the
agency’s budget allows for about $1 million
in maintenance, McGrath said.
Jim Knight, the Port’s executive direc-
tor, said FEMA’s decision was one of the
last blows in the Port’s efforts to find the
money to fix its infrastructure.
“I’m publicly begging for help,” Knight
told the audience at a Port Commission
meeting Tuesday. “Our infrastructure is
failing. If we don’t do something, it will be
lost.”
PROBLEM
PROPERTIES
Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Vehicles and trailers in states of disrepair and piles of refuse can be seen on Youngs River Road.
County searches for better ways to
enforce around 200 code violations
By JACK HEFFERNAN
The Daily Astorian
A
scenic 20-acre property on
Youngs River Road that
Leslee and John Thompson
moved to in 2016 was perfect.
At 61 years old and retired, they are now
closer to their grandchildren, and their
three horses have room to roam.
“This is the dream that I worked 38
years for,” said Leslee Thompson, a
retired nurse.
The only problem: the grandchildren
don’t visit, and the horses can barely roam.
Soon after they moved in, a host of
people in recreational vehicles started
gathering at a property near the entry to
their 200-foot-long, sloped driveway. The
Thompsons say they’ve dealt with daily
problems, including threats of violence,
possible drug odors, loud noise, piles of
trash, human waste and burning of large
items like a trailer and mattress.
They listed a range of health and safety
concerns.
“I feel pretty much like I’m living in a
war zone,” Leslee Thompson said. “That’s
not what I moved here for. That’s not why
I pay my taxes.”
At least 20 similar problem proper-
ties are known to exist in rural areas of
Clatsop County. The county is manag-
ing about 200 unresolved code violations
and, until recently, did not have a full-time
code compliance specialist.
When a property does rack up viola-
tions, the consequences can take years, if
A property off Youngs River Road south of Miles Crossing has been deemed a
problem by neighbors.
ever, to take hold.
“Why are they being allowed to con-
tinue to get away with this without con-
sequences?” Leslee Thompson said of
the squatters next door. “Nothing that
(the county has) done so far has been
effective.”
While more active code enforcement
is needed, even the most egregious vio-
lators deserve due process, county Com-
munity Development Director Gail Hen-
rikson said.
“We have a process established in the
code, and it’s slow,” she said. “Just as we
wouldn’t want anybody coming in and
taking action against us for a real or per-
ceived violation, we’d want to, you know,
have our day in court, so to speak.”
Warning
After visiting a property to verify a
complaint, the county sends a letter of
warning to the owner, offering 15 days to
remedy the situation or present a plan. If
no response is received, a formal notice
of violation is sent, allowing 30 days to
answer. Then the county places an order
on the property allowing it to collect up
to $20,000 in fines in a 10-year period if
issues remain unresolved.
See CODE VIOLATIONS, Page 7A
Raising revenue
The Port on Tuesday opened the possi-
bility of charging new fees on passing ships
and seafood offloaded at its docks to raise
more revenue. The idea is that seafood pro-
cessors would be charged the fees and pass
part of the cost on to fishermen.
‘I FEEL PRETTY MUCH LIKE I’M LIVING IN A
WAR ZONE. THAT’S NOT WHAT I MOVED HERE
FOR. THAT’S NOT WHY I PAY MY TAXES.’
Leslee Thompson | retired nurse who moved to a scenic 20-acre property on Youngs River Road
See PORT, Page 7A
For Uniontown, a ‘land use first’ process
City wants
to improve
west side
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Alex Pajunas/The Daily Astorian
Astoria hopes to revitalize Uniontown on the city’s west side.
Astoria took its first stab at
planning Uniontown’s future
Wednesday night.
A crowd representing
diverse interests and back-
grounds peered at maps and
wrote questions, concerns and
observations on yellow sticky
notes as they considered the
historic neighborhood’s trans-
portation needs and debated
what they would like to see in
terms of businesses, buildings,
housing and recreation.
“It’s really about balance,”
said Michael Duncan, senior
regional planner and grant
manager with the Oregon
Department of Transportation.
The Uniontown Reborn
study is funded by state grant
money and intended to lay the
groundwork for a number of
different improvements to the
city’s western gateway.
Duncan described the study
as a “land use first” process.
“We’re looking at how
Uniontown wants to grow up
and matching that with a trans-
portation plan they’ll want to
use,” he explained.
Consultants and project
managers identified a slew of
existing constraints and possi-
ble opportunities in Uniontown
and presented these to the audi-
ence on Wednesday, asking for
feedback.
Property ownership is frag-
mented and divided into small
parcels, they noted, while
Bridge Vista, established under
the city’s Riverfront Vision Plan
and designed to preserve views
of the river and bridge, affects
new development and requires
a lengthy public process.
See UNIONTOWN, Page 7A