146TH YEAR, NO. 156
ONE DOLLAR
DailyAstorian.com // TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2019
Port pulls back on new
seafood landing fees
Port loses
out on a
$1.5 million
state grant
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
The Daily Astorian
Crabbing boats unload on the west side of Pier 2 in 2016. The Port of Astoria is proposing seafood landing fees on processors to
help pay for the deferred maintenance on the decaying docks.
Staff will do
more research
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
See Port, Page A5
T
he Port of Astoria has pulled
back for now on seafood landing
fees on Pier 2 processors, fac-
ing criticism from the seafood indus-
try and uncertainty over how to mea-
sure or levy the fees.
The Port Commission had sched-
uled a vote in January on $2 per ton
worth of seafood landing fees for
wharfage and other services, but can-
celed the vote shortly before the
meeting.
The fees could have brought in
an estimated $150,000 a year to help
maintain the deteriorating west side of
Pier 2, where processors take in more
than 100 million pounds of seafood
each year.
Jim Knight, the Port’s executive
director , said he realized soon before
the meeting that he was not prepared
to answer the questions fi shermen and
processors had about the specifi cs and
fairness of the fees.
“I know it’s premature,” he said.
“We as a port are not ready to do this.”
Port staff have estimated nearly $7
million in deferred maintenance on
Pier 2, where the majority of seafood
processing takes place in Astoria. The
agency has long struggled to fi nd fund-
ing for more than basic operations.
The Port considered two fees :
$1 per ton to support wharfage, and
another $1 per ton for services Knight
said are related to keeping the docks
clean, sampling for stormwater, per-
mitting with the state and general
repairs.
“There’s just a general wear and
The Port of Astoria has returned a state
infrastructure grant of more than $1.5
million because of delays in proving win-
ter storm damage from 2015.
The Port in 2016 received the state
money to repair about 30,000 square feet
of decrepit dock on the west side of Pier
2, where seafood processors handle much
of the catch in Astoria. The grant would
have required a one-third local match .
T he agency attempted to use the state
grant as a local match on a larger pot of
relief money it has sought from the Fed-
eral Emergency Management Agency to
cover signifi cant damage to the central
waterfront from the 2015 storms.
Jim Knight, the Port’s executive direc-
tor , blamed delays with FEMA for why he
decided to return the state grant money.
“It was their strongest recommenda-
tion that we return the money and preserve
the relationship,” he said of the Connect
Oregon grant program, run through the
state Department of Transportation.
The Port has gone back and forth with
FEMA, trying unsuccessfully to prove
that issues under Pier 2 were caused by
the storms.
As of last fall, FEMA was offering
less than $1.5 million overall, while the
Port has estimated that between $6 mil-
lion and $10 million is needed to repair
storm damage. During the negotiations,
the Port has repeatedly applied for exten-
sions with the state to keep the 2016 grant
available.
Edward Stratton/The Daily Astorian
The fi shing vessel Ocean Beaut unloaded its catch last month at Bornstein Seafoods’
Pier 1 processing plant. Fishermen and seafood processors have decried landing
fees being proposed by the Port of Astoria as another fi nancial hit they can’t aff ord.
tear for the dock itself,” he said. “All
of that cargo and the vessels tying up
to it, and all the vehicles, they all cause
wear and tear on the docks.”
The Port, already in dire fi nancial
straits , faces the potential of declin-
ing log ship revenue during a pro-
tracted trade war between the U.S. and
China, a primary buyer. The agency
also recently lost a $1.5 million state
infrastructure grant originally secured
to help fi x the west side of Pier 2.
Industry objects
Fishermen and processors have
bristled at the additional charges as
the latest in a mountain of fees that
threaten their thin margins and could
lead some to leave the Port.
The most vocal has been Andrew
Bornstein, co-owner of Bornstein Sea-
foods. The processor has spaces at the
foot of Pier 1 and in the Pier 2 ware-
house. At a recent Port Commission
meeting, Bornstein pointed out what
he called the irony of federal tariffs
damaging the Port’s log business while
the agency looks at additional fees that
could damage fi shing.
“Whatever analysis you’re looking
at that tariffs may bring X dollars, I
can promise you it’s going to be less,”
he said. “Fish will move, and your ten-
ants can move.”
The new fees would mark Astoria
as unfriendly to the fi shing industry
and make it diffi cult for Bornstein Sea-
foods to attract boats, Bornstein said.
Chih Yuan Wang, p resident and
CEO of Da Yang Seafood, said impos-
ing the fees wouldn’t be fair consid-
ering the money tenants already have
to invest to improve their warehouses.
Da Yang has paid for dock work and
utilities in its portion of the Pier 2 sea-
food plant.
Public
records bill
dropped
by Boone
News media had objected
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
A bill in the state Senate that would
have toughened requirements for public
records requests has been dropped after
the legislation received
more
scrutiny
than
expected.
State Sen. Betsy John-
son, D-Scappoose, sub-
mitted Senate Bill 609
in January on behalf of
recently retired state Rep.
Deborah
Deborah Boone, who
Boone
called the legislation nec-
essary to weed out fi sh-
ing expeditions by journalists and others
that take time and resources from state
legislators.
See Fees, Page A5
See Bill, Page A5
Mayor, council defend Drag Queen Story Hour
Some claim event is
harmful to children
By KATIE
FRANKOWICZ
The Daily Astorian
Astoria Mayor Bruce
Jones and the City Coun-
cil defended a Drag Queen
Story Hour planned for the
Astoria Library after two
men from Warrenton said
Monday they were con-
cerned the event would be
harmful to children.
The reading is scheduled
for this weekend .
“It’s good for all of us to
be exposed to people who
are different from us, who
we might not understand,”
City Councilor Joan Herman
said .
There is nothing offensive
about the reading — “unless
you’re offended by men
dressing in a dress,” she said.
Herman pointed out that
the event will be held in
the library’s Flag Room, a
closed space away from the
main part of the library. If
parents don’t want their chil-
dren to participate, they can
easily bypass the event and
still use the library.
Drag queen story hours,
where a man dressed as a
woman reads to children,
have become popular at
libraries across the coun-
try. B ut they have also been
controversial. M any librar-
ies have gone ahead with the
readings despite protests.
Last year, a drag queen
story hour was one of the
Astoria L ibrary’s most popu-
lar and well-attended events.
Marco Davis, t he per-
former who will be read-
ing to children on Saturday,
grew up in Astoria and is a
dedicated community volun-
teer, Herman and other city
councilors said.
See Library, Page A5
A Drag Queen Story Hour is planned for the Astoria Library
this weekend.