AREA REAL ESTATE GUIDE • INSIDE
147TH YEAR, NO. 12
WEEKEND EDITION // SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2019
$1.50
Astoria,
Warrenton
struggle with
homelessness
Police calls remain high
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Police calls related to homelessness
remain high in Astoria, but the number of
illegal camping complaints appears to be
down from last year.
Warrenton, which is used to a more
seasonal homeless population, is seeing
a high volume of police calls, as well as
numerous camps.
Warrenton p olice have started track-
ing homelessness-related calls using the
same coding system Astoria p olice imple-
mented last year.
In Astoria, offi cers use two differ-
ent codes — “40” for a call involv-
ing homelessness in general; “41” for a
call that involves an aggressive interac-
tion with someone who is homeless — to
categorize calls after they have fi nished
responding. The codes provide the police
department with a way to track call vol-
ume and detail otherwise anecdotal infor-
mation about homelessness.
Since late June , Warrenton police
have recorded 60 homelessness-related
calls, only one of them for an aggressive
encounter.
Even just a year ago, Warrenton Police
Chief Mathew Workman said these num-
bers would have been a surprise. Not
anymore.
“Now that we’re in the midst of this
— I’ve had people refer to it as an epi-
demic — it’s just a much larger problem
this year in Warrenton than it has ever
been,” he said.
Unlike Astoria, Warrenton has not typ-
ically had a visible, year-round homeless
population. Instead, most obvious signs
of homelessness — camps and panhan-
dling — proliferate during the summer
months.
See Homelessness, Page A6
Westport
residents see
signifi cant sewer
rate increases
A 46% hike over four years
The Astorian
The battle over LNG dominated politics in Clatsop County for a decade.
Case study looks at
lessons from LNG fi ght
A decadelong debate
in Clatsop County
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
A
case study on the fi ght over
LNG in Clatsop County
details how activists went
beyond environmental concerns
and used the potential threat to
tourism and fears about earth-
quakes and tsunamis to help build
public opposition.
Two liquefi ed natural gas proj-
ects — at Bradwood Landing east
of Astoria and on the Skipanon
Peninsula in Warrenton — domi-
nated political debate on the North
Coast for more than a decade.
The project at Bradwood Land-
ing sputtered after the developer,
NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc.,
fi led for bankruptcy in 2010. Ore-
gon LNG withdrew from a $6 bil-
lion export terminal and pipeline
project in Warrenton in 2016 after
fi nancing and regulatory obstacles.
The case study, prepared by
researchers at the University of
Alaska, the University of Dela-
ware, Oregon State University and
the State University of New York,
looked at how activists opposed to
LNG helped turn public opinion
against the projects.
“LNG opponents gained early
momentum over supporters by
countering economic arguments
in support of the proposed facili-
ties. By framing LNG as a threat
to the future of Clatsop County’s
budding tourist economy, oppo-
nents seemed more in tune with
the existing local community than
See LNG fi ght, Page A6
‘I THINK THE OPPONENTS IN THE CLATSOP COUNTY
CASE WERE QUITE EFFECTIVE IN PUSHING FORWARD
A FRAME THAT WASN’T JUST ABOUT ENVIRONMENT.
IT WAS, TOO, BUT IT WAS ALSO ABOUT POTENTIAL
ECONOMIC IMPACTS IF THE FACILITY WERE TO BE BUILT.’
Hilary Boudet | an associate professor in the sociology program at Oregon State, who was one of the authors
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Clatsop County c ommissioners on
Wednesday night approved a consider-
able rate increase for sewer service in
Westport .
Residents in Westport have not seen a
rate hike since 2005, but should expect a
46% increase over the next four years.
A roughly 35% increase will take effect
on Aug. 20. Rates will go up an additional
5% in the second year, 3% in the third
year and 3% in the fourth year.
Ted McLean, the county’s public works
director, said the rate increases come as a
result of escalating operational costs .
McLean said the county is preparing
for more upgrades to comply with state
Department of Environmental Quality
permit requirements.
Other planned upgrades include
addressing p H issues at the plant, repairs
to infrastructure and testing for system
infi ltration.
After conducting infi ltration stud-
ies, the county found some broken septic
tanks.
McLean said the septic tanks are fi ber-
glass with basically a large concrete
weight on top of them. He said because
the area is inundated with groundwater, it
creates an effect on septic tanks that make
them break easily.
The s ewer d istrict has also not been
able to save for contingencies .
McLean said homeowners in Westport
were sent an invitation to a public meeting
to discuss the rate increases .
See Sewer rate, Page A6
Astoria Co+op offers farmers loans for produce
Partnership with
46 North Farm
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Teresa Retzlaff and Packy
Coleman, owners of 46 North
Farm in Olney, have provided
plant starts and produce to the
Astoria Co+op for the past seven
years, becoming one of the fi rst
local producers to work with the
grocery.
The co-op recently launched
a microloan program for farm-
ers, starting with $1,500 to help
46 North install more covered
areas to protect fl owers from the
weather.
Retzlaff described the loan as
similar to community-supported
agriculture, in which customers
prepay farmers in the winter and
receive produce throughout the
harvest season.
The co-op wanted more fl ow-
ers for the new store opening
later this year in Mill Pond, and
Retzlaff wanted to grow more
fl owers. She estimated $1,500
to build four 100-foot caterpil-
lar tunnels to protect her fl owers
from the rain and allow the farm
to plant earlier in the spring.
“A lot of times when you’re
starting out you don’t just have
that lying around,” she said.
Retzlaff and Coleman con-
Edward Stratton/The Astorian
Teresa Retzlaff , co-owner of 46 North Farm, turned a $1,500 loan from the Astoria Co+op into four caterpillar
tunnels that protect her fl owers from the weather and allow the farm to plant earlier in the spring.
structed the tunnels in April
using local materials and began
taking between $100 and $300
off of each invoice on the plant
starts and produce they brought
to the co-op, paying off their
loan in full earlier this month.
Danny Rasmussen, the pro-
duce manager for the co-op,
said the store is trying to sup-
port local farmers and expand
its selection of local food in
the new location . At peak sea-
son, the co-op can source nearly
half of its produce directly from
farmers, he said.
“We’ll take this on a case-by-
case basis,” he said of the loans.
“I would like to do one farm
again next year. We’d like to
extend these loans to farms who
have a track record of deliver-
ing great products to the co-op.
These farms will also need to
show us a plan for how a loan
can help grow their business.”
The support is crucial for
small farmers, who often have
See Co+op, Page A7