FOLK MUSICIAN JOHN GORKA SET TO PERFORM TONIGHT IN ASTORIA COAST
WEEKEND
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019
146TH YEAR, NO. 143
ONE DOLLAR
Strange glaze
Port sees
payoff at
airport
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
Large numbers of jellyfi sh recently washed up on the beach near Haystack Rock.
Jellyfi sh show up by the
hundreds on the North Coast
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
A
n incomplete list of things that
have washed up on North
Coast beaches: a giant octo-
pus, dead whales, pyrosomes, Japa-
nese fi shing boats, hundreds of Hum-
boldt squid, so much bull kelp, so
much plastic.
And now, earlier this week, moon
jellyfi sh as far as the eye could see
around Haystack Rock.
Large numbers of stranded jelly-
fi sh are not an unusual sight on local
beaches, especially after storms or
during times of strong waves and
seasonal upwelling, the Haystack
Rock Awareness Program noted on
Facebook .
Moon jellyfi sh are just one type
of jellyfi sh that shows up frequently.
Pacifi c sea nettles, which do sting, are
a common fi nd. These jellies are yel-
low-brown with a sort of frilled edge
when nestled in the sand. Tiny comb
jellies will dot the beach, looking like
oversized water droplets frozen in
place.
Most years, rafts of Vellela vellela
Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian
See Jellyfi sh, Page A7
The Haystack Rock Awareness Program recommends avoiding jellyfi sh that wash up
on local beaches.
THE HAYSTACK ROCK AWARENESS PROGRAM NOTED THAT
MOON JELLYFISH DO NOT STING MOST PEOPLE.
The Port of Astoria hopes the Astoria
Regional Airport’s connection to the military
and Columbia River commerce will help the
aging airfi eld get a higher priority with the state.
The state is updating the Oregon Aviation
Plan for the fi rst time in more than a decade.
Gary Kobes, the Port’s airport manager , created
an economic impact analysis to show the air-
port’s value.
The airport supports nearly 370 jobs with
an estimated $22 million payroll, the analy-
sis found. M ore than 60 percent of the jobs are
with the Coast Guard’s Sector Columbia River,
while 25 percent are from electric airplane tug
manufacturer Lektro .
Between local operations and visiting air-
craft, the airport produces an estimated eco-
nomic impact of $75.5 million.
While Brim Aviation only accounts for about
15 employees at the airport, its impact is largely
felt by taking Columbia River Bar Pilots to and
from passing ships.
“The airport touches about 70 percent of the
shipping on the Columbia River,” Kobes said.
In addition to Coast Guard operations and
training, the airport takes in military traffi c
going to and from Camp Rilea Armed Forces
Training Center in Warrenton and Joint Base
Lewis-McChord in Washington state. The mili-
tary connections are a large part of why the air-
port, which loses money operationally, accounts
for the vast majority of the Port’s grant revenue.
The Port Commission recently approved
spending up to $230,000 on a local match to
secure $4.1 million in federal grants for the fi s-
cal year. The outlay also makes the Port eligi-
ble for another $3.7 million supplemental grant
with no local match required.
“If it weren’t for the a irport being there,
there’d be a lot of business that wouldn’t be
there, including the Coast Guard,” Commis-
sioner James Campbell said.
The airport is also of critical importance in a
natural disaster, Port Commissioner Robert Ste-
vens said.
Jim Knight, the Port’s executive director,
who is part of a state committee reviewing avi-
ation grants, has sounded alarm bells about the
lack of state funding for port and airport proj-
ects in the coming two-year state budget . He’ll
be using the airport’s impact to stump for fund-
ing at the state Legislature .
The Port Commission supported a grant
request by the Oregon Aviation Industries Clus-
ter Group to explore a statewide on-demand air
taxi service. The association is trying to partner
with airports in Astoria, John Day and Newport
to start the service.
The Port was also approached by represen-
tatives of the Seaside Municipal Airport ask-
ing for help in maintaining and insuring a cour-
tesy vehicle from the airstrip. Bruce Francis, a
member of the Seaside Airport Advisory Com-
mittee, said the help would be a minimal bur-
den and something the Port could do to assist
South County.
The Daily Astorian
Gary Kobes, manager of the Astoria Regional
Airport for the Port of Astoria, has estimated
the facility supports nearly 370 jobs between
the Coast Guard and private enterprise.
Seaside will pursue annexation
City targets 45 tax lots
By R.J. MARX
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — Seaside will pur-
sue annexation of 45 tax lots in
the southern part of town, includ-
ing county land on the east and
west sides of U.S. Highway
101.
Driving the decision is the city’s
longtime goal to eliminate “check-
erboard zoning,” where neighbor-
ing parcels are served by different
governments, Mayor Jay Barber
said at a City Council meeting on
Monday .
City residents receive fi re,
‘THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROPERTY
IS GOING TO BE RESTRICTED BY THE FACT
THAT THERE’S NOT SEWER IN THAT AREA.’
Mark Winstanley, Seaside city manager
police, water and sewage, among
other services, while people under
county jurisdiction are served by
other entities.
The annexation could offer a
chance for property owners along
the Necanicum River to hook up
to city sewer. Right now, many of
those properties are on septic sys-
tems, with the potential for con-
tamination should those systems
fail, City Manager Mark Winstan-
ley said.
Without annexation, develop-
ment would be limited .
“The development of the prop-
erty is going to be restricted by the
fact that there’s not sewer in that
area,” he said.
City c ouncilors asked staff to
address potential costs for property
owners facing annexation.
It could be a trade-off, Winstan-
ley said. Clatsop County residents
served by Seaside Fire and Rescue ,
for example, now pay an assess-
ment for fi re services.
“If they come into the city,
they’ll still be covered by the
same fi re department, but the city
taxes will pay for fi re services at
that point and they no longer will
be in the rural fi re district,” he
said.
Residents now under county
jurisdiction would see an increase
of about $1.80 per thousand of
their home’s assessed value,
Assistant City Manager Jon Rahl
added.
See Seaside, Page A7