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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2019)
Craft beer festival on tap in cannon beach DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019 147TH YEAR, NO. 23 $1.50 Riverwalk Inn sale could be good for the Port Revenue of up to $4M By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Photos by Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian A Clatsop County health offi cial puts boxes of used syringes in larger biohazard containers for disposal at a Thursday needle exchange in Astoria. County aims to reduce spread of sexually transmitted infections Initiative planned for November By NICOLE BALES The Astorian C latsop C ounty has tried to tackle the spread of sexually transmit- ted infections , but has found it diffi cult without also addressing drug abuse. “Not having those two things in the same conversation, you’re miss- ing part of the problem,” said Michael McNickle, the county’s public health director. “S o we have to look at it holistically if we’re going to actually tackle it.” The c ounty expects to help launch a new, two-year initiative in Novem- ber to reduce sexually transmitted infections by 10% across the region by 2021. Reported cases of chlamydia, gon- orrhea and syphilis have continued to increase every year in the c ounty and around the state, according to the Ore- gon Health Authority. Cases of chla- mydia have been particularly high in Clatsop County, with 141 reported in 2018. People usually don’t admit to drug See Port, Page A6 Hundreds of used needles and syringes sit in a biohazards bin. abuse on surveys, McNickle said. H owever, he believes drug use has continued to climb and is linked to the increase in sexually transmitted infections. The new initiative is funded by the Oregon Health Authority. It is a regional collaboration between the Columbia Pacifi c Coordinated Care Organization , which oversees the Ore- gon Health Plan in Clatsop, Tilla- mook and Columbia c ounties, and the counties. “It’s a four-way partnership trying to tackle this major issue,” McNickle said. It is a bold and creative approach to confront a problem the county doesn’t have adequate funding or staffi ng to handle alone, he said. See Infections, Page A6 ‘THE TROUBLE WITH CHLAMYDIA IS IT’S SO PREVALENT RIGHT NOW IN THE POPULATION THAT WHEN WE GET A CASE WE REALLY DON’T HAVE THE STAFF AND EFFORT TO DO PARTNER NOTIFICATION, GENERALLY BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PARTNERS.’ Nurses at Columbia Memo- rial Hospital, supported by other union members, picketed along Marine Drive on Tuesday amid a labor dispute with the hospital’s administration . The Oregon Nurses Associa- tion, a union representing more than 120 nurses at the Astoria h os- pital, has been negotiating with the hospital to replace a three-year con- Revisions to Bridge Vista By KATIE FRANKOWICZ The Astorian tract that expired in May. Unable to reach an agreement, the two sides recently brought in a mediator. Hospital administrators have presented an updated offer before the next scheduled negotiations on Friday. The latest offer would increase nurses’ wages by 10% over three years through cost-of-living adjust- ments, and nurses would also see step increases. It would limit the hospital to docking only 20% of nurses’ scheduled hours within a fi scal quarter for low patient counts and double tuition reimbursement for those studying for bachelor’s degrees. “The CMH bargaining team has worked in good faith with (the nurses association) toward Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian See Nurses, Page A6 Amber Cooper, of the Oregon Nurses Association, was part of a picket line on Tuesday outside Columbia Memorial Hospital. See Riverfront, Page A6 Nurses picket for new contract By EDWARD STRATTON The Astorian Astoria debates riverfront changes Astoria c ity c ouncilors didn’t com- pletely go back to the drawing board while discussing riverfront development in Uniontown, but they did suggest some changes. Mayor Bruce Jones was the only one ready to support recommendations from the Planning Commission on changes to the codes that guide development in Bridge Vista at a hearing Monday night. This section of the city’s Riverfront Vision Plan applies to waterfront prop- erties between Portway Street and Sec- ond Street. However, when Jones made a motion to accept the recommendations , it failed to gain support from the rest of the City Council. Other councilors had suggestions and concerns that ranged from how tall and large buildings could be in Bridge Vista to plan districts proposed by city staff that could allow the Port of Astoria and the Astoria Warehousing developers some relief from certain restrictions. The City Council plans to continue discussing the issue at a meeting in September. At a meeting in July, following numer- ous hearings and hours of public testi- mony and discussion, the Planning Com- mission believed it had hit on a good compromise between property own- ers who wanted fl exibility in how they developed their lots and residents who worried about new buildings that could block river views and limit access to the Columbia River. Michael McNickle | county’s public health director Columbia Memorial updates offer The Port of Astoria is moving toward a sale of the Astoria Riverwalk Inn after an analysis showed the agency could make up to $4 million more over the next decade by selling the building and leasing the land to a private owner. S trapped for cash to fi x crumbling infrastructure, the Port is looking at assets it could sell. The hotel, owned by the Port and leased to Param Hotel Corp., became the lowest-hanging fruit. An outside appraisal valued the hotel property at more than $5.2 million. Param’s lease runs through October 2020, after which the company is expected to exercise a fi ve-year extension option. The Port receives $5,000 a month and 7% of gross sales from Param, totaling $218,000 last fi scal year. Any sale would have to honor Param’s contract. Param could either buy the hotel or be bought out of its contract by a new owner. The analysis found that the Port, if it sold the hotel and rented the land for $141,000 a year, could make as much as $6.6 million over the next decade if the rent is increased by 15% every fi ve years. That compares to around $2.6 million if the Port keeps the hotel and rents it to an operator. “Selling the building, from a fi nancial perspective, it makes all the sense in the world,” said Will Isom, the Port’s fi nance director and interim executive director.
