The daily Astorian., January 30, 2020, Page 30, Image 30

A3
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2020
Cannon Beach: Call volumes have increased by more than 42%
Continued from Page A1
departments, cannot assess
other types of taxes to keep
up with growth.
Since Measure 5 was
approved by voters in 1990,
property tax rates became
permanent. So districts are
left with few options and
often resort to bonds or lev-
ies to increase revenue.
Since the permanent tax
rate is set when a district is
formed, some fi re districts
have resorted to merging
with one another to create
a new tax rate.
The Cannon Beach fi re
district, which serves Can-
non Beach, Arch Cape,
Cove Beach and Falcon
Cove, has one of the lowest
permanent tax rates in the
state at 35 cents per $1,000
of assessed value. The aver-
age tax rate for fi re districts
in Oregon is $2 per $1,000
of assessed value, accord-
ing to the Oregon Depart-
ment of Revenue.
Over the years, vot-
ers have approved a fi ve -
year levy to support the fi re
chief’s position for 19 cents
per $1,000 of assessed
value and a fi ve -year bond
for a ladder truck at 9 cents
per $1,000 assessed value.
An increase in calls
Since 2012, the fi re dis-
trict’s calls per year have
increased by more than
42%. The general fund rev-
Hailey Hoff man/The Astorian
Two fi refi ghters put out a house fi re in Warrenton in December.
THE FIRE DISTRICT IS
WORKING ON A STRATEGIC
PLAN MOVING FORWARD WITH
THE GOAL OF NOT HAVING TO
RELY ON LEVIES AND BONDS
‘TO B AND-A ID ALONG AS NEEDED.’
enue has increased by 33%.
Fire districts are only
legally obligated to respond
to fi res, yet only about 5%
of Cannon Beach fi re dis-
trict calls are for fi res.
About 62% are described
as rescue and emergency
medical calls.
“It’s what people expect
… The fi re service becomes
the ‘fi x-all.’” Reckmann
said. “Over my years here
in the fi re service, I’ve seen
it completely evolve.”
“When you look at it,
Cannon Beach is not just
a little coastal commu-
nity, we’re a tourism des-
tination. And there’s only
2,200 permanent residents
in the district, roughly,” he
said. “We’re not having the
downtime with the tourism,
it’s leveled out a lot.”
Between
September
2018 through August , 77%
of calls were for people
who do not live in the fi re
district’s boundaries.
“We’re spending a lot of
money and a lot of time on
these calls, but this isn’t the
taxpayers we’re responding
to, this is tourism,” Reck-
mann said. “They’re really
putting nothing into the
district.”
As
tourism
has
increased, the number of
volunteer fi refi ghters has
decreased, which has put
more pressure on the vol-
unteers and chiefs.
When Cannon Beach
fi re district responded to an
emergency at Falcon Cove
in January where two chil-
dren died after being swept
out to sea by a wave, Reck-
mann was out of town.
He said that was an
example for why the fi re
district needs a second
commanding offi cer.
“When our four (volun-
teer fi refi ghters) got there,
they started calling the
resources they needed, but
they also had a girl down
on the beach, and they were
focused on that rescue,” he
said.
W hen the Seaside Fire
Department arrived, he
said, they passed com-
mand to Seaside Fire Chief
Joey Daniels and he was
able to lead the rescue and
focus on other aspects, like
communicating with other
agencies, ambulances, dis-
patch and hospitals.
Agencies rely on each
other for mutual aid
during rescues, since no
agency has enough volun-
teer fi refi ghters and share
equipment.
“They’re doing the best
they can with what they
have, but we’re coming to a
spot where … the numbers
throughout the county are
low — the lowest they’ve
probably ever been with
volunteers,” Daniels said.
L ike other agencies, he
said, call volumes at the
Seaside Fire Department
have doubled in the past 10
to 15 years.
“All these volunteers
have probably hundreds of
hours of training and that’s
a big commitment and most
families, both parents are
working,” Daniels said.
Daniels and Reckmann
said paid personnel supple-
ments the volunteer fi re-
fi ghters and helps make
sure there is always some-
one who can take command
during a rescue.
Service requirements
Paid personnel is also
necessary to keep up
with increasing service
requirements.
“When I started in 1994
… you walked into the fi re
station, they’d give you a
set of turnouts and pager
and say, ‘W elcome aboard.’
We can’t do that anymore,”
Reckmann said.
In December , Warren-
ton was fi ned $10,800 by
the state for safety vio-
lations at the Warrenton
Fire Department. The state
investigation and fi nes
have left other agencies
looking at how they are
meeting expectations .
“One of the big stan-
dards is physicals,” Reck-
mann said. “So, before
we put anybody through
any training, you’re sup-
posed to go to a doctor
and have a physical. Well,
that’s $1,000, $1,500 a per-
son and you’re supposed to
be doing that annually —
every person — we can’t
afford that.”
“It’s important, but you
have to weigh the cost
of that, and where does it
come from,” he said.
The fi re district is work-
ing on a strategic plan mov-
ing forward with the goal
of not having to rely on
levies and bonds “to B and-
A id along as needed.”
“The board has done a
great job of trying to keep
taxes low and not keep ask-
ing taxpayers for money.
B ut, in a way, it’s done
them a disservice because
now we’re where we are,”
he said.
“I think we, in general,
would have voter support
(for a levy). B ut it’s going
to take … a lot of educa-
tion of why we need to do
this.”
Clatsop Post 12
Rail line: Astoria Plywood’s closure ‘pretty well doomed it’
Continued from Page A1
Georgia-Pacifi c’s
Wauna
Mill to Portland.
Discontinuing service is
long overdue and easier than
applying for yearly embar-
goes to prevent use of the
track, said Bob Melbo, the
state rail planner.
“I think they’ve over-
looked it for a number of
years, then someone realized
they needed to do something
on this,” Melbo said.
Astoria took possession
of the railroad and right of
way from Tongue Point to
the central waterfront in a
1996 railbanking agreement
with the state and Burling-
ton Northern Santa Fe LLC
meant to preserve rail cor-
ridors. The line carries the
Astoria Riverfront Trolley
from Pier 39 to the Port of
Astoria. Portland & Western
retains the right to use the
tracks in the almost impos-
sible scenario where freight
traffi c returns to Astoria.
The tracks have been out
of use between Astoria and
the Georgia-Pacifi c Wauna
Mill since 2004, when the
state stopped sponsoring the
Lewis and Clark Explorer
Train between Astoria and
Portland after three summer
seasons. The line has not
carried signifi cant freight
traffi c since Astoria Ply-
4 Bed, 3 Bath, 4,029 Sq. Ft.
$
wood Mill closed in the
1990s.
Landslides at Aldrich
Point near Brownsmead
have blocked the line at
least three times since 1996.
A landslide in 2009 covered
railroad cars being stored on
the line. The company even-
tually removed the tracks
from the landslide zone to
prevent damage and stacked
them up nearby, Melbo said.
Railroads thrive on vol-
ume to cover the fi xed
costs of maintaining a line.
Repairing the rail between
Wauna and Tongue Point has
been previously estimated
at $1 million a mile. Melbo
estimated at least 2,500 cars
a year in freight to and from
Astoria would be needed
to make restoring the line
fi nancially worthwhile.
“When Astoria Plywood
closed … that pretty well
doomed it,” he said.
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