Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 2019)
GUNMAN KILLS 49 IN NEW ZEALAND MOSQUE ATTACKS PAGE A6 WEEKEND EDITION // FRIDAY, MARCH 15, 2019 146TH YEAR, NO. 184 ONE DOLLAR Fine forgiveness program could help homeless climb out of debt Port prepares for $300 harbor fee Commission will discuss the idea on Tuesday By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Kenny Hansen, homeless liaison officer with the Astoria Police Department, has been helping homeless people access resources or begin to tackle issues like court fines. An experiment in Municipal Court By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian I t only took a few minutes in front of a judge in February and sud- denly Chris Crone had an option for dealing with thousands of dol- lars in unpaid fines. The fines had piled up over the years and, along with other bills and debts, threatened to overwhelm him. Crone, 49, has been homeless on and off for most of his life. Though he hasn’t had any new tickets from police in sev- eral years, he avoided dealing with out- standing charges, allowing fines for small-time nuisance offenses like litter- ing or trespassing to accumulate. Crone had long worried about this exact moment — the moment he finally showed up for court and would be vul- nerable in front of a judge. After a brief consultation with Crone and Astoria Police Officer Kenny Han- sen, who attended to represent and sup- port Crone, Municipal Court Judge Kris Kaino agreed to accept 40 hours of vol- unteer work at local nonprofits in lieu of the roughly $3,000 in fines Crone owed. “The city of Astoria doesn’t neces- sarily have an interest in getting rich off the poor people of Astoria,” Kaino told Crone. If the work satisfies Astoria police, Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian Chris Crone, left, and Sam McDaniel share a laugh at McDaniel’s market. Kaino said, it satisfies the court. “Not bad,” Crone said as he stood outside City Hall later. “That went a lot better than I thought it would.” Fine forgiveness Crone is a bit of anomaly, said Police Chief Geoff Spalding, but his situation prompted Mayor Bruce Jones’ home- lessness solutions task force earlier this year to begin developing a fine forgive- ness program. The task force hopes to help home- less people who struggle to pay fines for small-time offenses and whose debts compound when they don’t show up for court. While certain problem behaviors need to be addressed, Spalding has said officers aren’t interested in ticketing the homeless for every infraction. Tickets don’t solve the underlying problems, he said, and only put more stress on people in difficult situations. Mental health and other issues may make it hard for some people to show up for a court hearing, but, more often, they don’t show up because they know See Fine, Page A6 The Port of Astoria Commission will likely decide Tuesday whether to charge oceangoing commercial ships over 250 feet passing along the Columbia River a $300 fee to help maintain Pier 1. “Pier 1 provides the only avail- able critical emergency berth for distressed vessels at the mouth of the Columbia River, and serves as a land-based platform for provid- ing emergency services including shipboard firefighting,” a resolu- tion on the fee states. Pier 1 hosts vessels ordered in for repairs.The Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Leon Oetker, for example, was ordered into the Port in November for repairs to its radar and steering. The Port sees the harbor use fee as a way to capture badly needed revenue and maintain its main cash-generating piece of infrastructure. Jim Knight, the Port’s execu- tive director, said the $300 fee is based on the $482,000 the agency spent over the last year in staff and dredging to maintain Pier 1. The Port estimates an average of 1,500 oceangoing commercial ships come into the river each year. The fee, which would take effect in June, would not apply to govern- ment vessels, tugboats or pleasure craft. “We’re so firm in our authority and the need to do this that we do not anticipate a negative response or legal challenge,” Knight said. The proposed fee has faced crit- icism from the Columbia River Steamship Operators’ Associa- tion, which has cautioned the Port against any action that would raise costs. Kate Mickelson, the group’s executive director, has cited a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that shot down a property tax imposed on oil tankers by Valdez, Alaska, because the Constitution bars states from enacting tonnage fees without an act of Congress. But Michael Haglund, a mari- time attorney hired by the Port to review the legality of the harbor use fee, said the agency has broad authority to charge fees within its jurisdiction, which extends to the Washington state side of the Columbia River. The Port has referenced a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the Ala- bama State Docks Commission could charge vessels entering the harbor in Mobile a policing fee. “As long as (the fee) applies to everybody, and everybody is ben- efitting from a pier that is there for emergencies whenever one of these big ships needs it, it’s legit- imate,” Haglund said at a recent Port meeting. Warrenton struggles with homelessness Some residents see a growing problem By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Daily Astorian WARRENTON — Plans by police to develop a con- sistent strategy for dealing with a more visible home- less population are on hold for now. With two retirements and a new opening to fill this summer, the police depart- ment needs to focus on hir- ing officers, Police Chief Mathew Workman said. Due to training requirements, it could be another year or more before the department is fully staffed. But some city leaders are concerned about what they see as a major change when it comes to the home- less. They are noticing more camps around town and an increase in suspicious activ- ity along river trails, Plan- ning Commissioner Ryan Lampi and Commissioner Christine Bridgens said at the end of a commission meeting Thursday. Lampi has compassion for people who are home- less, but it is a new situa- tion for the city to navigate, he said. While Astoria has seen an increase in its year-round homeless population, War- renton typically only sees transient groups during the summer months. Few peo- ple have seemed to stay Christine Bridgens See Warrenton, Page A6 The Port of Astoria recently cleaned up a homeless camp on property the Port owns off Harbor Drive in Warrenton.
