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THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, MAy 30, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
Founded in 1873
JEREMY FELDMAN
Circulation Manager
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Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Invest in America’s infrastructure
Engineers say Oregon’s pipes, roads, bridges and other structures are falling apart
I
nfrastructure is too boring a
word for a set of assets that go
to the very core of a function-
ing civilization.
Two thousand years ago, the
Roman Empire conquered much
of the known world partly because
its leaders understood the absolute
necessity of good roads, aqueducts
for clean water, sewage disposal
and all the other ingredients that
make up infrastructure. Almost as
much as military might, it was ded-
ication to maintaining these essen-
tials that kept Rome in power for
centuries.
Much closer to our time, post-
World War II construction of inter-
state highways bound our nation
together, vastly expanding com-
merce and domestic travel. Other
examples of important public
investments could fill a book.
Infrastructure has been in the
national news of late. Even all who
question the basic competence of
the president and Congress find
it worth hoping that sheer politi-
cal expediency and the time-tested
desire to sprinkle borrowed money
on local projects might prevail over
all the tiresome quarreling. No such
luck, so far. Wouldn’t it be great if
more politicians believed in invest-
ing in America instead of squander-
ing our treasure on endless foreign
wars?
In this age of paralyzed national
government, we sometimes have
to find other ways to keep at least
some infrastructure from crum-
bling. Subnational entities — the
states, counties, cities and even pri-
vate citizens — can do the import-
ant job of identifying the most
important priorities and focusing
public pressure on federal agencies
and appropriators.
Here in our area, there are good
examples of what federal fund-
ing can achieve, and also of the
strengths and weaknesses of state
funding.
The Columbia River jetty sys-
tem, now in the midst of a thorough
multiyear renovation, is the kind
of mammoth project only a federal
government could build and main-
tain. It benefits from being hugely
beneficial to a broad set of political
and economic interests, making it
possible to win support from Dem-
ocrats and Republicans alike.
Similarly, Astoria Bridge renova-
Colin Murphey/The Astorian
A crane moves rocks into place at the North Jetty construction site. It’s the kind of
mammoth project only a federal government could build and maintain.
tions have largely happened thanks
to the 2008 Great Recession stim-
ulus package requested by Presi-
dent George W. Bush and approved
by a strong bipartisan majority in
Congress.
Less visible and less vital to
interstate transportation, smaller
projects in our area in recent years
have included the John Day River
Bridge east of Astoria and a whole
set of U.S. Highway 101 bridges
in the USA. Our Capital Bureau
reported May 16 that engineers say
Oregon’s infrastructure is falling
apart, and that the risks are height-
ened by the threat of earthquakes.
In January, the state got a “C-”
for infrastructure upkeep by grade
from the American Society of Civil
Engineers. The ASCE gave Wash-
ington state only a slightly bet-
ter “C” grade. Both rate better than
the nation as a whole. (It’s worth
WOuLdN’T IT BE GREAT IF MORE
POLITICIANS BELIEVEd IN INVESTING IN
AMERICA INSTEAd OF SQuANdERING OuR
TREASuRE ON ENdLESS FOREIGN WARS?
in Pacific County, among others.
It doesn’t take much time spent in
less-developed countries to recog-
nize how lucky we are to benefit
in these public investments. Russia
is particularly notorious for woe-
fully neglecting vast areas beyond
its capital and other major urban
centers.
And yet it’s easy to find head-
lines and real-world examples of
infrastructure neglect right here
noting that civil engineers have
a financial interest in generating
more spending on public projects.)
When it comes to highway qual-
ity, it isn’t uncommon for Wash-
ington residents to joke that cross-
ing into Oregon is akin to traveling
by road from the U.S. into Mex-
ico. This comparison is especially
obvious between Vancouver and
Portland, where traffic moves at a
slug’s pace on Oregon’s under-built
share of Interstate 5 and speeds like
a jackrabbit in Washington. How-
ever, the ASCE gives Oregon roads
a “C+” and Washington’s a “C-”
due to chronic congestion in the
Seattle area.
Local highways and streets are
another matter. On the Washington
side, in Pacific County, U.S. High-
way 101 has a nearly continuous
narrow pothole running through
Seaview, while some streets in both
Clatsop and Pacific counties are
embarrassingly poor.
Perhaps of greatest concern
is the massive amount of work
required to better prepare both
states for an inevitable Cascadia
Subduction Zone earthquake. Here
on the coast, seismic retrofitting
and relocation of infrastructure has
the potential of saving many lives.
It would take decades for such
work to accrue a substantial bene-
fit — but we may have time, if we
get busy. In the same vein, rising
sea level will require some mas-
sively expensive adjustments, some
of which may be easier if started
sooner.
On a less-glamorous level, both
states need to improve wastewa-
ter management, and do so in ways
that aren’t so financially punishing
to the residents of small cities and
towns, which have seen spiraling
public utility bills in recent years.
All this may strike some as
amounting to call for more taxes on
the state and federal levels to pay
for investment and upkeep of pub-
lic assets. This wouldn’t necessar-
ily be the case, if we ratchet back
out-of-control defense spending
and make other choices to priori-
tize domestic needs. In other cases,
it can be argued that citizens and
businesses alike that benefit from
infrastructure like highways prob-
ably ought to contribute more to
maintaining them.
Rome failed for many reasons,
but a significant one was overex-
tending itself and letting things like
roads and bridge go to pot. If the
U.S. isn’t willing to invest more on
ourselves, we will have to adjust
to a future in which infrastruc-
ture in less-smart, less politically
powerful and less affluent places
becomes obsolete. (Sadly, the mod-
ern city of Rome is a perfect exam-
ple of a massive failure in urban
maintenance.)
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Director search
disappointing
I
t was disappointing to read that Asto-
ria’s city management has not been
able to close on a candidate for the open-
ing for community development director
(“Astoria restarts search for new commu-
nity development director,” The Astorian,
May 23).
It takes a lot of time and effort to get to
the point of extending an offer to a final
candidate, only to have the offer rejected.
In my experience, this should happen only
in the rarest of situations.
Using a recruitment agency is a costly
form of recruiting, and you should expect
the utmost from them. They should be
managing the candidates they present to
their clients.
First of all, the agency should not be
presenting any candidates who do not feel
the salary range of the job is acceptable.
Then, at the time an offer is extended, they
should have pre-qualified the candidate to
ensure the offer as formulated would be
accepted.
Should the candidate show any reluc-
tance, the company should present the can-
didate’s concerns to the hiring body to see
if any accommodation can be made, so
that an acceptable offer can be made in the
first place.
It is always better to work to make an
offer acceptable in the first place, than start
a recruitment all over again from square
one. I hope this time, we have a more pos-
itive outcome.
NORMAN BROWN
Seaside
Trabucco accusations
unfounded
I
n review of Edward Stratton’s story
about the squabble between the Port’s
Matt McGrath and its executive direc-
tor, Jim Knight, it is disturbing that Ches-
ter Trabucco should be dragged into the
mix on a credibility issue (“Former Port of
Astoria second-in-command blasts execu-
tive director,” The Astorian, May 24).
I am a fishing guide residing at the Riv-
erwalk Inn two months every year during
the fishing season since 2013.
Days after Brad Smithart evicted all
of the hotel guests in August 2015, locals
Trabucco and Bill Orr reopened the Riv-
erwalk, delivering an overnight transfor-
mation to the good. Without promise of a
future, they updated the hotel, inarguably
enhancing both the guest experience and
the inn’s value.
I have watched Chester help his
employees when they were in financial
need, or looked for assistance with their
personal lives — he has been a good stew-
ard of both the Riverwalk and the Chinook
building, and an asset to the community.
Following the rules of order, negoti-
ations of all significant Port leases rest
almost solely with the executive direc-
tor. Thus, it is the director’s job, not
the tenant’s, to communicate with staff
about lease discussions with final deci-
sions required to be voted on by the Port
Commission.
So, any accusations of “back-room
negotiations” on the part of Chester are
unfounded, with the real disconnect and
credibility issues being not with him (or
any of the Port’s tenants), but instead lie
squarely on director Knight for his lack of
responsiveness and communication with
his own staff and the Port Commission
regarding ongoing discussions.
ROB BIGNALL
Sherwood
Thanks for landslide help
I
just want to take a moment to say thank
you to everyone who helped out with
the landslide by Emerald Heights before it
got too out of hand. It was close to block-
ing the whole road at one point in time.
It was nice to see when they started to
haul dirt and debris out of there. Now that
it is done, and I don’t have to worry about
a slide in the road, it looks really nice.
The crews all did a really nice job on this
project.
TREYE SMITH
Astoria
Neuter sea lions
I
have been watching the sea lion prob-
lems that the Port of Astoria officials are
having at the docks.
First of all, I don’t believe in killing
anything needlessly, but I think I might
have a solution to the problem. Why not
do the humane thing and dart, trap or net
them, then neuter them, and let them live
the rest of their lives? I’m sure veterinar-
ians, the fisheries department, fishermen
and local citizens would volunteer to help
with the procedures.
In the future, their numbers would
decrease greatly before salmon go extinct.
We do it with stray dogs and cats, and it
works great.
RALPH CAUDILL
Raymond, Washington