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Y, DECEMB
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ER 19, 2019
147TH YEAR, NO. 74
// 1
DailyAstorian.com // THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2019
$1.50
Warrenton’s growth isn’t paying for itself
New and higher fees
are in the works
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
The Astorian
Warrenton is exploring a public safety fee for businesses like Walmart that
contribute to a high number of calls to police.
WARRENTON — Leaders
from the city planning, police,
public works and fi nance depart-
ments came forth Tuesday night
in advance of budget season with
requests for around $500,000 in
new staff, building remodels and
equipment they argue are neces-
sary to keep pace with the city’s
rapid growth.
But the city only expects
another $81,000 in property tax
Port inks
contract
with Isom
revenue.
City leaders and staff, agree-
ing that growth has not paid for
itself, are proposing a host of
new and increased fees and other
measures to help become more
self-sustaining.
City Manager Linda Engbret-
son, searching for direction from
the City Commission, suggested
the city raise franchise fees —
the rent paid by companies for the
use of public rights of way — for
sewer and water delivery.
“Most of our franchise fees are
at a 5% or a 7%” rate,” Engbret-
son said. “If we increased sewer
and water by 2% — right now
it’s at 3% — to a 5%, that would
bring in a little over $100,000.”
Police Chief Mat hew Work-
man argued that public safety
funding hasn’t kept pace with
the growth of the city. City com-
missioners quickly warmed to
his idea of raising fees on peo-
ple convicted of traffi c violations
and other crimes, along with other
administrative fees related to the
city’s M unicipal C ourt. Commis-
sioners also appeared receptive
to Workman’s idea of charging
a public safety fee to businesses
based on calls for service.
“When you talk about growth
paying for growth, I can tell you
See Warrenton, Page A7
‘Kindergarten Cop’
mural will go
A three-year deal as
executive director
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Astorian
Port of Astoria commissioners waxed
hopeful Tuesday about a new era of sta-
bility before signing Will Isom, the agen-
cy’s homegrown staffer,
to a three-year contract as
executive director baked
in with protections.
Isom,
a
Knappa
native who left Colum-
bia Memorial Hospital in
Astoria in 2015 to join the
Will Isom
Port and was elevated to
director of fi nance three
years ago, had been fi lling in as execu-
tive director since Jim Knight resigned
under pressure in June. He is the Port’s
sixth leader since 2012.
Worried about the changing attitudes
of new Port commissioners, Isom nego-
tiated numerous protections into his con-
tract, which is guaranteed for three years
each time he receives a positive annual
evaluation.
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
The mural featured in ‘Kindergarten Cop’ will be covered in a renovation at Astor Elementary School.
A remodel at Astor Elementary
By KATIE FRANKOWICZ
The Astorian
Fair board
to ask voters
for increase
in tax levy
remodel of Astor Elementary
School will cover up a mural fea-
tured in the 1990 action-comedy
“Kindergarten Cop.”
While the movie does not have as
rabid a following as the 1980s cult clas-
sic “The Goonies,” Astor Elementary ,
located in the same Uppertown neigh-
borhood as the Goonies house, remains a
draw to fans. People will sometimes stop
to take pictures in front of the building,
said Craig Hoppes, the Astoria school
superintendent.
“Kindergarten Cop” celebrates its
30-year anniversary next year.
Over written objections by the artist
who painted the original murals for the
fi lm company that produced “Kindergar-
A
See Port, Page A6
The giraff e is a prominent part of the
mural painted by Astoria artist and
playwright Judith Niland.
ten Cop,” the city’s Historic Landmarks
Commission on Tuesday night approved
the bulk of the Astoria School District’s
plan . The remodel is tied to a $70 million
bond voters passed in 2018 to modernize
and improve schools across the district.
Still, many of the commissioners
said they believe the mural is import-
ant. They recommended that the school
district fi nd some way of recording the
art or preserving it elsewhere on school
property.
The mural, located on the back of
the school, prominently features a large
giraffe. It may not be historical, but it
has acquired cultural and social signif-
icance over the years, said Michelle
Dieffenbach, the vice president of the
commission.
See Mural, Page A6
Bond is possible in the future
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
The Clatsop County Fair B oard plans
to ask voters to renew and increase a local
tax levy in May to fund the increasing
costs of maintaining the fairgrounds.
In 2016, voters approved the renewal
of a local tax levy of 5 cents per $1,000 of
assessed value each year for fi ve years for
the fairgrounds. The measure extended a
previous tax for the fair, but at a reduc-
tion from 7 cents per $1,000 of assessed
value.
The vote in May would be whether to
go back to 7 cents per $1,000.
John Lewis, the fair manager, said
the increase is necessary to keep up with
growth and pay for ongoing maintenance
and operational expenses.
He said funding from the levy also
allows Clatsop County 4-H and other
nonprofi ts to have a place to offer classes
without charge.
Since the last renewal, there have
been several upgrades to the fairgrounds,
including the construction of a new
storage building, installation of Wi-Fi
See Fair board, Page A6
Family loses Warrenton home to fi re
Firefi ghters saved
urn, other items
from late teenager
By NICOLE BALES
The Astorian
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
A fi refi ghter gives Rachel Williams the football-shaped urn of Trevor
Secord’s ashes and his Warrenton football jersey, which had been
rescued from a burning house in Warrenton on Tuesday afternoon.
Williams is a longtime friend of the Secord family.
WARRENTON — A fi re
destroyed a family’s home near
the Skipanon Slough on Tues-
day afternoon.
Christina Secord tearfully
watched alongside family and
friends as fi refi ghters worked
to contain the fi re and retrieve
valuables. She said the house
was her family’s home for 17
years.
“I’m devastated. All my
memories of my children are
here,” Secord said. “Everything
can be replaced except for the
pictures of my son that I lost in
2017.”
Firefi ghters quickly retrieved
her son’s urn from the burn-
ing home, along with other
memorabilia.
Trevor Secord, a 15-year-old
Warrenton High School foot-
ball player, was killed in Janu-
ary 2017 after being struck by a
pick up truck on U.S. Highway
101 in Gearhart after drinking
with friends.
“I got his urn, so he got out,”
Christina Secord said. “I got
the last picture that him and
my oldest two boys got to take
together.”
She said those were the things
she asked fi refi ghters to save.
See Fire, Page A7