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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2019)
KITE FESTIVAL SOARS COAST WEEKEND 147TH YEAR, NO. 20 Mayor calls for change in Warrenton DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 2019 $1.50 Port of Toledo off ers strategic lessons for Astoria Balensifer gives State of the City talk By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian WARRENTON — Mayor Henry Bal- ensifer is proposing a new mantra for the city: “Warrenton for Warrenton.” The city has grown steadily , becom- ing a hub for big box stores like Costco, Walmart, Home Depot and others. Along with commercial development, there has been an explosion in new housing . In a S tate of the C ity address Tues- day, Balensifer said the city must assess growth more intelligently in the future and ensure projects have tangible benefi ts for residents. Growth has brought its own problems. Henry Demands on city ser- Balensifer vices have increased, while city staff has not grown, and in some departments has even shrunk. Complaints about traf- fi c congestion are common and, in their desire to grow , city leaders allowed entire neighborhoods to be built with no street lighting, narrow roads and “minimalis- tic” infrastructure that “did not consider future plans for growth,” Balensifer said. “This has got to change,” the mayor said, adding later, “Regardless of who, how or why these developments were allowed, they are here now. The issues of yesterday are problems the current c om- mission must own. They are our prob- lems now.” The City Commission can fi x some of the issues, he said. “Others we’ll just have to learn from.” In the past two years, the c ommission has pivoted from an “open for business” model to an emphasis on quality of life and the belief that, in Balensifer’s words, “growth should pay for growth.” For developers and residents, this approach has included a renewed empha- sis by the City Commission and staff on city standards and requirements, amended codes, new fee schedules and an aggressive campaign against nuisance properties. Local groups led by commission- ers have worked with property own- ers to clean up problem sites, beautify and revitalize downtown and solidify plans for improvements at the Hammond Marina — all work Balensifer hopes will continue. “Because it’s high time Warrenton asks for better,” he said. “It’s time we Port of Toledo The fi shing vessel Pegasus was lowered into the Yaquina River at the Port of Toledo after more than $3 million worth of expansion and modernization. Investment in a boatyard By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian T Photos by Edward Stratton/The Astorian ABOVE: Bud Shoemake is manager of the Port of Toledo. BELOW LEFT: Justin Johnson, left, and Chris Loper, are co-captains of the Pegasus. BELOW RIGHT: Ben Victorine, foreman of the Port of Toledo’s shipyard, said the agency’s boatyard has helped create many good-paying local jobs. OLEDO — M arine work- ers, business leaders and politi- cians gathered earlier this month to watch the trawler Pegasus get low- ered into the Yaquina River from the former Sturgeon Bend Boat Works, a shuttered boatyard acquired from Fred Wahl Marine Construction in 2010 by the Port of Toledo. Widening and modernizing the ves- sel took more than 10 months, $3 mil- lion and tens of contractors. Purchasing and developing the boatyard has cost Toledo more than $10 million, largely from state grants and loans. Toledo’s vision to turn the boat- yard into a thriving economic genera- tor offers lessons to the Port of Asto- ria. The Port, under fi nancial pressure and leadership uncertainty, has devel- oped an updated strategic business plan while trying to rebuild credibility in the hopes of earning more state support to fi x its crumbling infrastructure. Boatbuilder Fred Wahl shut down his Toledo boatyard in 2008, focusing on the company’s shipyard in Reedsport. “He wasn’t going to do any more maintenance on our fl eet,” said Bud Shoemake, the manager of the Port of Toledo. See Port of Toledo, Page A6 See Warrenton, Page A5 Doughnuts return to Astoria Another food cart option downtown Visitors drawn to a disc golf course By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Astoria has locally made dough- nuts again. Samuel Bruhn recently opened Half Pint Donuts in the food cart pod on 11th and Duane streets, turn- ing out small batches of miniature cake doughnuts. Half Pint is the fi rst doughnut stop in Astoria since Home Bak- ery closed earlier this year and Lindstrom’s Danish Maid closed in 2017. The cart joins an ever-ex- panding menu of food options, including sushi, ramen, tacos, bowls, soul food, sandwiches, waf- fl es and pizza. Bruhn’s food service back- ground spans from working galleys in the Navy to the back of the house at Baked Alaska. He works at Sweet At Fort Stevens, new fun is in the air By LUCY KLEINER The Astorian Visitors to Fort Stevens may have noticed the state park got a bit more colorful this summer. Small, vibrant discs can be found fl ying through the air on the park’s new disc golf course and stacked high in the park’s gift shop. On windy days, the discs can also be spotted in trees, blackberry bushes and sinking to the bottom of the Columbia River. See Disc golf course, Page A5 Lucy Kleiner/The Astorian Park ranger Dane Osis prepares to launch off the tee pad at the disc golf course at Fort Stevens. Edward Stratton/The Astorian Samuel Bruhn recently opened Half Pint Donuts in the food cart pod on 11th and Duane streets. Relief when not running the cart. “It was something I thought that I could be tenacious enough with, and honestly I wanted to take on a new challenge,” he said. “Starting your own business seems like the most challenging.” Bruhn makes his cake dough- nuts in creative daily small batches like blackberry and banana nut. His automatic doughnut maker pumps out small rings of dough from a hopper into a hot oil bath. Paddles push the dough along until they are shoveled out the other side, freshly fried. See Doughnuts, Page A5
