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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 30, 2020)
A6 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2020 County reports new coronavirus case By NICOLE BALES The Astorian Clatsop County reported Friday that a woman living in the northern part of the county has tested positive for the coronavirus. The woman is in her 50s and was recovering at home. The county has tracked 46 cases since March 23. For- ty-one have recovered and all of the others are convalescing at home. The Oregon Health Authority reported 4,131 cases and 151 deaths from the virus statewide as of Fri- day morning. The health authority tracked 1,513 test results in Clatsop County, including 45 of the positive cases. Michael McNickle, the county’s public health direc- tor, said during a Board of Commissioners work ses- sion Wednesday that 84% of the people who have tested positive in the c ounty are H ispanic. McNickle said that the county has conducted more than 480 tests in the past three weeks. A bout half of the peo- ple were tested at the coun- ty’s drive-thru community testing, he said, and the other half were tested at seafood processors . also may work in fi sh pro- cessing or maybe they have both those jobs, ” he said. He said the question will be if businesses are able to provide enough personal pro- tective equipment to work- ers and education about how THE OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY REPORTED 4,131 CASES AND 151 DEATHS FROM THE VIRUS STATEWIDE AS OF FRIDAY MORNING. Commissioner Sarah Nebeker expressed concerns about the safety of H ispanic workers, especially in the hospitality industry as hotels begin to open. McNickle validated her concerns and said it may be problematic. “And, you know, these families who are intragener- ational in these homes, may have several members who not only work in the back of the house of a restaurant, they they can protect themselves. McNickle said the county has reached out to the Lower Columbia Hispanic Coun- cil to fi gure out the best mes- sages to encourage people to get tested, protect themselves, their families and friends. The county Board of Commissioners voted Friday to follow the state’s lead and approve extending the coun- ty’s emergency order on the coronavirus until July 6. The board also approved an order to ease restrictions on lodging and camping on June 5, allowing them to open at 60% capacity for a minimum of 21 days before going to full capacity. Vacation rentals with fi ve or fewer guests can open at 100% capacity, while those with an occupancy of six to eight can allow up to fi ve guests. County Manager Don Bohn said the incremental approach to reopening lodg- ing is being done in coordi- nation with Astoria, Warren- ton and Gearhart. He said the fl exibility for vacation rentals is an effort to be equitable. “You know, we still know that this is not what a lot of our lodging partners would like,” Bohn said. “And we’re trying to thread the needle about being sensitive to the economic challenges that the community is facing, but to still allow ourselves the abil- ity and fl exibility to respond if we start having more cases and having stress on our med- ical system.” Fireworks: Among long list of already canceled events Continued from Page A1 The c hamber had dou- bled its budget for the fi re- works, securing several sponsors and planning the biggest show in Astoria to date. “We believe our fi nancial assets could be better spent in supporting our business community in this unprece- dented time and continuing to provide the resources, service and encouragement our members have come to expect from us,” Reid said. Seaside announced ear- lier this month the can- celation of its annual fi re- works show. The event can regularly draw tens of thousands of visitors to the North Coast. The cancella- tion of Astoria’s show was expected, with large gath- erings canceled by Gov. Kate Brown across Oregon through September. The c hamber had already canceled its larg- est event, the Crab, Sea- food & Wine Festival, along with the 35th anni- versary celebration of “The Goonies.” Other prominent Warrenton: Residents, businesses and visitors all use police, fi re services Continued from Page A1 The city dispatched Police Chief Mat hew Workman to research what other cities do. The seven cities that responded based their public safety fees on the size of water meters, he said. “That would mean a hotel, or the (RV) park or something like that, would have a more substantial cost,” Workman told the City Commission on Tues- day. “They would probably pass that on to the patron.” Basing the fee on police calls would disadvantage small businesses that gener- ate a lot of calls but cannot absorb costs like Walmart or Fred Meyer, Workman said. Tying the fee to calls would also include nearby traffi c stops the city reports at a certain address, he said. Corvallis charged $12.10 a month for the equivalent of every sin- gle-family water meter, costing a homeowner $145 a year. A large grocery store, using the equivalent of four residential meters, paid more than $1,000 a year, while churches or a four-unit residential com- plex paid $580. Workman found that Talent, a city of around 6,500 people in southern Oregon, generated around $144,000 per year from public safety fees charged on utilities. Workman argued that the fee should be borne by residents, businesses and visitors, as all three use police and fi re services. “There is no perfect ideology to use to deter- mine the amount of a pub- lic safety fee,” he wrote in a report to the City Com- mission. “I do believe that charging large businesses more is fair, but I know that those costs will be passed onto the customers, which also includes residents.” Playing into the poten- tial need for a public safety fee is the city’s existing police operations levy, based on property taxes and bringing in around $180,000 a year. The fi ve- year levy was last approved by voters in 2018. “If for some reason the operations levy failed or didn’t go through, this would be the backup step, I would think, and the appro- priate time to really jump that in to maintain a police force,” Mayor Henry Bal- ensifer said. But the City Com- mission has tasked staff with looking at alterna- tive sources of revenue, and property tax-based lev- ies don’t capture nonprof- its and other organizations , City Manager Linda Eng- bretson said. Commissioner Rick Newton said such a fee is necessary to help relieve locals of the cost of ser- vices for visitors. Commissioner Mark Baldwin recommended exempting properties with small water meters to take the burden off the backs of residential custom- ers, unless they’re running commercial rentals. Balensifer said it’s a good time to start having such a conversation. “Given the current sit- uation, that’s probably not what we’re going to do right now,” the mayor said. “But it needs to be a con- versation on the table.” Edward Stratton/The Astorian The Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce has canceled the Fourth of July fi reworks display. events canceled over the pandemic include Warren- ton’s Old-Fashioned Fourth of July parade, Seaside’s beach volleyball tourna- ment, the Hood to Coast R elay , Astoria Regatta and the Astoria Scandinavian Midsummer Festival. facebook.com/DailyAstorian S ERVING C LATSOP AND N ORTH T ILLAMOOK C OUNTIES Moving: ‘Already planned’ Continued from Page A1 “At my age, I don’t want to bother with a lease,” he said. “So I will more or less be renting the basement of his building.” Moore plans to sell some of his VHS collec- tion to Cummings and will take on the vinyl col- lection of the thrift store Mallternative. Cummings is hopeful to open the new store some- time in July, but he said he wants to see how bad the pandemic is at that point. “The move was already planned, but not until fall,” Cummings said of the relo- cation. “But the pandemic just kind of (sped) things up, made it necessary. I knew I couldn’t afford to stay where I’m at.” WANTED Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber Northwest Hardwoods • Longview, WA Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 City of Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission Dr. Edward Harvey Historic Preservation Award The City of Astoria Historic Landmarks Commission is seeking nominations for the Dr. Edward Harvey Historic Preservation Award. The award is presented to recognize a property owner who has completed exterior restoration or beautification of a building which exemplifies the historical attributes of the building or the architectural heritage of Astoria. The work must have been completed within the last two years. Nominations may include residential, commercial, public, and other types of buildings. The awards will be presented by the Mayor at the July 6, 2020 City Council meeting. Anyone wishing to submit a nomination should contact Tiffany Taylor at the City of Astoria by email, ttaylor@astoria.or.us, by phone, (503) 338-5183, or by mail, Community Development Department, City of Astoria, 1095 Duane Street, Astoria OR 97103. Nominations must be received no later than 5:00 pm on June 10, 2020. The Historic Landmarks Commission will consider the nominations at their June 16, 2020 meeting, beginning at 5:15 pm. CCB #198257 CALL US for your next electrical project! • New Construction • Remodels • Panel Changes/Upgrades • Add Circuits or Lighting • Generators • Repairs 503-739-7145 712 S. Holladay Dr., Seaside, OR Monday-Friday: 8am-5pm www.jjelectricservice.com