A2
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021
IN BRIEF
Astoria Aquatic Center reopens
March 15 to reservations
The Astoria Aquatic Center reopens March 15 to res-
ervations for pool and gym use.
The city parks department began taking reservations
by phone, email and online Tuesday for up to two weeks
in advance, depending on Clatsop County’s coronavirus
risk level. Pools cannot operate unless the county is at
high risk or lower.
The aquatic center will open 7 to 10 a.m., 11 a.m. to
1 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays, and
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Up to 36 people will be
allowed in the facility at one time with masks, health
screenings and social distancing.
Patrons will reserve a 45-minute swim time starting
at the top of every hour, with the pool closed between
each slot for sanitizing. Use of the gym will be stag-
gered, with 45-minute use periods starting on the half-
hour to avoid crowding at the front desk.
The aquatic center will use singular drop-in rates,
including $18 for a family of up to fi ve, $7.50 for an
adult and $5.50 for senior citizens and youth. Reserve
spots by calling 503-325-7027, emailing tpatterson@
astoria.or.us or online at astoriaparks.com.
Patrons are encouraged to bring towels from home,
carry spare clothes easy to change into and have other
equipment on hand to maximize use of the pools. Lim-
ited exercise equipment will be available for checkout.
Day use lockers will be available on a fi rst-come, fi rst-
served basis and for $15 a month.
The city is offering tours for individuals and groups
of up to six people in advance of reopening to show-
case safety protocols. Tours will be available at 8 and
9 a.m., noon and 5 and 6 p.m. March 8, March 10 and
March 12.
Astoria adds Buoy Beer,
Scoular to enterprise zone
The Astoria City Council on Monday approved appli-
cations by Buoy Beer and Pilot House Distilling’s parent
company, River Barrel Brewing Inc., and fi shmeal com-
pany Scoular to join the Clatsop Enterprise Zone.
Entry provides fi ve years of property tax breaks on
new investments.
River Barrel is planning an $8 million expansion of
its waterfront campus, including a new brewery for Buoy
Beer in the former Video Horizons building and a new
headquarters for Pilot House in a nearby warehouse.
Scoular plans to spend $10 million on a new fi shmeal
plant near the Astoria Regional Airport taking in scraps
from local seafood processors and turning out protein for
aquaculture and pet food.
The enterprise zone application requires the projects
to create new jobs paying at least 130% of the county’s
average income. Buoy’s project is expected to create
between 15 and 20 new jobs, while Scoular’s new plant
would employ around 10 people.
The projects still need the signoff from elected lead-
ers for Clatsop County, Warrenton and the Port of Asto-
ria, all co-sponsors of the enterprise zone.
— The Astorian
Oregon wave energy project
gets federal go-ahead
Federal energy regulators gave Oregon State Univer-
sity the go-ahead Monday for a groundbreaking wave
energy testing facility off the coast.
The PacWave South project is designed to facilitate
and speed up the development of wave energy technol-
ogy, which harnesses the motion of the ocean to gener-
ate electricity.
Oregon is considered to have a high potential for wave
energy generation – much higher by coastal area than
Washington state or California. The Oregon Department
of Energy says near-shore wave energy projects alone
have the potential to power 28 million homes annually.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued
a license to the project, but a fi nal review period must
pass before Oregon State gets the fi nal go-ahead to begin
construction.
“It’s huge. It’s the fi rst license of its type to be issued
in the United States,” said Oregon State’s Burke Hales,
chief scientist on the project.
— Oregon Public Broadcasting
‘Norwegian fi shing village’
coming at Seaview Cottages
Rehabbing an
aging motel
By LUKE WHITTAKER
Chinook Observer
SEAVIEW, Wash. —
Through the fading yellow
paint, they found the perfect
place.
In early February, Rich-
ard Wood and Doug Voncan-
non became the owners of
Seaview Cottages, with inten-
tions of restoring the 16-unit
lot to former prominence.
The property is undergo-
ing a complete overhaul over
the next several months, with
a specifi c theme in mind.
“The image we’re portray-
ing for the Seaview Cottages
is going to be a Norwegian
fi shing village,” Wood said.
“We’ve always talked about
owning a boutique hotel. This
is the perfect start.”
Wood and Voncannon
came to Long Beach from
Moss Beach, California,
just south of San Francisco,
in June to look at a summer
home, but discovered much
more.
“We found we have the
best neighbors in the world
and just fell in love with the
place,” Voncannon said.
Wood had fond memories
from the peninsula as a youth.
“I used to come to Long
Beach 25 years ago and fell
in love with the area,” he said.
“That’s kind of what brought
us here. We decided to buy a
summer house here for our
kids and just make trips down
for the summer. We ended up
getting here and, because of
COVID -19, didn’t want to
be in California. We got here
thinking we would maybe
move into our house for a
few weeks or a month then
go back home, but we hav-
en’t left.”
It was during this time
that Voncannon noticed the
Seaview Motel was for sale.
“Doug pointed out that
there was one for sale nearby,
from where we lived in Long
Beach. We thought we would
take a look with no expecta-
tions,” Wood said. “As we
started viewing each cabin
it became apparent that this
place was pretty special. We
instantly looked at each other
and realized this could be a
great investment. Not only
Photos by Luke Whittaker/Chinook Observer
TOP: Doug Voncannon and Richard Wood became the offi cial
owners of Seaview Cottages in February. ABOVE: Richard Wood
talks about the changes coming to Seaview Cottages.
a great real estate invest-
ment, this could bring more
life into Seaview. This is
something that’s been here
for so long but needs some
revitalization.”
The work started almost
immediately.
“We hired an inspector to
come and do a full inspec-
tion. The report came back
really good, much better than
we anticipated. We put down
an offer right there and then,”
Wood said. “We just fell in
love with the property. We
saw past a lot of the issues
to the future to see what
we could make this motel
become. We will not rent
any units until they are 100%
remodeled.”
The transition from the
new owners came at an ideal
time.
“We talked to old owners
who loved the place but were
ready to retire,” Voncannon
said. “We relocated here not
long ago and wanted some-
thing the neighborhood could
be proud of.”
Wood began his hospital-
ity career working in Beverly
Hills hotels before operating
restaurants in San Diego and
a catering business in N orth-
ern California.
“I’ve been in hotel and
restaurant business most
of my life. I was a chef and
restaurateur as well. I did
hotel consulting and staffi ng
all around the country. For
many years I lived in hotels,
helping them out and revi-
talizing them. I always loved
roadside motels. It’s my pas-
sion,” he said.
Voncannon will play a less
hands-on role, he said.
“I’m more of a silent part-
ner,” said Voncannon , who
works full-time in the fi nan-
cial fi eld.
Among the fi rst changes
‘Keeper of the keys’ leaves convention center
Darnell retires
after two decades
as sales director
By R.J. MARX
The Astorian
DEATHS
In Brief
Deaths
Feb. 26, 2021
FICKEN,
Sterling
John, 71, of Astoria, died
in Astoria. Caldwell’s
Luce-Layton Mortuary of
Astoria is in charge of the
arrangements.
MORRISSON, Patrick
Sidney, 72, of Gearhart,
died in Gearhart. Cald-
well’s Funeral & Crema-
tion Arrangement Center
in Seaside is in charge of
the arrangements.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
THURSDAY
Maritime Memorial Committee, 2 p.m., City Hall, 1095
Duane St.
Astoria Development Commission and Port of Astoria
Commission, 4:30 p.m., City Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Astoria Design Review Commission, 5:30 p.m., City Hall,
1095 Duane St.
Seaside Parks Advisory Committee, 6 p.m., City Hall, 989
Broadway.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
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was the name, from Seaview
Motel to Seaview Cottages.
The sprawling property,
located on Pacifi c Way , occu-
pies about one acre with 16
units, including family suites
and several one-bedroom
cabins among the original
structures.
“The story goes that
the cabin units were offi -
cer quarters in WWII. They
were barged here to form the
motel,” Wood said.
Some of the original struc-
tures were combined and
added on over the years.
The property, including
four parcels, has changed
ownership three times over
the past 10 years, accord-
ing to public records on Tax-
Sifter. Most recently it was
owned by Frederick Speer
and Huiming Huang, who
purchased it from Lawrence
and Amy Cook for $435,000
in 2011 before selling it to
Voncannon and Wood for
$675,000 .
Their goal is to have the
fi rst units fi nished and open
to customers in April.
“I started lining up as many
people as a I could to get the
work underway. This is going
to be a year long project to get
all the cabins remodeled and
up to where we want to take
it,” Richard said.
Some projects will have to
wait until summer .
“The painting can’t start
until August or September,
but right now we’re starting
with the four one -bedroom
units. They will be completed
in April. We plan on at least
opening those and then we
would like to have one or two
units done each month until
the entire property is good,”
Wood said.
The main building, for-
merly the owners’ quar-
ters, will be converted into
an additional unit, cottage
or serve as a lobby. Another
vacant building on the prop-
erty, formerly a restaurant,
will be leased separately.
“ We’ve already inter-
viewed two different restau-
rateurs who are interested
in leasing the space,” Wood
said. “We’re offering an
extremely good compen-
sation package (a fi ve-year
lease with a fi ve-year option)
to anyone who does come in
and lease it, so they can help
us revitalize this area.”
SEASIDE — The banner
Gretchen Darnell wore read
“Offi cially Retired.” A crown
symbolized her role as doy-
enne of the Seaside Civic and
Convention Center.
“I am sort of the ‘keeper of
the keys,’” she said. “I hold
the key to book the building.”
Darnell started in July
1997 as the convention cen-
ter’s sales director. She cel-
ebrated her retirement last
week in a meet and greet at
the remodeled convention
center.
Not that attendees needed
an introduction. Her family,
the Fulops, had a summer
home in Gearhart for four
generations that they spent
time at while growing up.
She relocated to the North
Coast when her ex-husband,
Rick Darnell, was hired as a
Seaside police offi cer. “Rick
saw that job and said, ‘You
know Gretchen, this job has
your name on it,’ because I
was always in hotel cruise
ships group sales. My par-
ents owned travel agen-
cies. I worked for American
wine cruises, Intercontinental
Hotels.”
The last job she had before
joining the convention center
was regional sales manager
at American Hawaii Cruises,
based in San Francisco.
When Darnell arrived in
Seaside in 1997, Karen Mur-
ray was the convention cen-
ter’s general manager. Russ
R.J. Marx/The Astorian
Gretchen Darnell, with daughters Lindsey Darnell and Lauren
Oxley, at her retirement party last week.
Vandenberg, the convention
center’s general manager
today, joined in 2005.
Darnell attended count-
less breakfasts, lunches and
community meetings to pro-
mote the convention center
and its value to Seaside. In
the process, she regaled the
community with inside tales
of the cat shows, bridge tour-
naments, food festivals and
ghostly goings-on at the Ore-
gon Ghost Conference.
Over the decades she wit-
nessed the change from low-
tech to high-tech manage-
ment, from booking methods
to building features.
“It’s changed a great
deal,” Darnell said. “When
I fi rst came, everything was
done in a three-ring binder.
We didn’t have the internet
or email, so everything was
done sort of by hand and with
a lot of phone calls, whereas
today most of the business I
do is by email.”
The job’s mission remains
the same, she added, repre-
senting the convention center
in a positive way throughout
the Northwest.
As for her decision to step
down, she said, “It’s time, I
guess.”
Notwithstanding restric-
tions as a result of the corona-
virus pandemic, Darnell said
she is going out on a high
note. “We made it through
the expansion, and the calen-
dars are looking really good,”
she said, with event bookings
and signed contracts through
2030.
As Clatsop County moved
into the lower-risk cate-
gory for the coronavirus this
month, Darnell looks for-
ward to an increase in atten-
dance. “We will just keep
pushing forward and book-
ing clients as we can,” Dar-
nell said.
A silver lining, she said,
is that during the pandemic
smaller local groups have
been able to use the building.
These, in turn, can prove to
be ambassadors to statewide
organizations like the Oregon
Realtors Association or the
Oregon Society of Certifi ed
Public Accountants.
Darnell raised three chil-
dren as a single parent while
working at the convention
center.
Her daughter, Lindsey
Darnell, is her oldest, living
in Portland with her son. Lau-
ren Oxley is her middle child.
She lives in Seaside with her
husband, Wyatt, and two
daughters.
“Addy Darnell was my
youngest child, and she
passed December 2014, at
age 20,” Darnell said. “She
had an emergency liver trans-
plant in 2017, and survived 3
1/2 years with multiple health
issues. She died of liver fail-
ure, the root cause was Wil-
son’s disease, which is a rare
metabolic disease she was
born with.
“One of my other daugh-
ters also suffer from the dis-
ease. Addy was the bravest
person I have ever known.
The city and Russ were so
supportive while Addy strug-
gled through health issues,
and I am so grateful for that. I
took a lot of time off.”
Tina Eilers, the conven-
tion center’s offi ce manager,
will serve as the interim direc-
tor of sales. The position will
fi rst be advertised in-house,
Darnell said, to consider can-
didates that work for the city.
If a candidate is not selected,
the search could be widened.
What’s next for Dar-
nell? Spending time with
grandchildren,
traveling,
gardening, walking and
volunteering.
“It’s been an honor and
a privilege to represent the
city in this way for as many
years as I have,” Darnell said.
“I feel really confi dent in the
team that is here. I leave
with full confi dence. I know
they’ll be in great hands. We
have a really strong team
here now.”