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THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
CARL EARL
Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
Our choices for ballot measures
A
new food tax in Cannon
Beach and a bond measure
for schools in Knappa are
on the November ballot.
With all ballot questions that
require consumers or residents to
pay more out of pocket, the burden
rests with the local government to
justify the reasons.
We look at whether the govern-
ment functions eff ectively, whether
there is a demonstrated need and
whether the objective is worth the
extra cost to taxpayers.
‘No’ on Cannon Beach food tax
In Cannon Beach, the City
Council has asked voters to con-
sider a 5% tax on prepared food
sold at restaurants and other
venues.
A city consultant projected that
most of the $1.7 million in annual
revenue generated from Mea-
sure 4-210 would come from vis-
itors. The money would be used
by the Cannon Beach Rural Fire
Protection District for emer-
gency response and to help fi nance
a new City Hall and other city
infrastructure.
Fire Chief Marc Reckmann has
made a compelling case over the
past few years that a signifi cant
share of emergency response calls
are tied to visitors. In 2020, rec-
ognizing the stress being placed
on the fi re district, we supported
a fi ve-year local option tax to pay
for a second commanding offi -
cer, building repairs and equipment
replacement.
We would be inclined to sup-
port a food tax if there was a clear,
bright line directing the revenue
to the fi re district for emergency
response.
But there is not.
The City Council chose to
muddy the question by bringing
in a new City Hall and other city
infrastructure.
Cannon Beach probably needs
a new City Hall. The city should
spell out the cost and the pluses
and minuses and ask voters for a
bond measure to fi nance the proj-
ect. Property taxes are a more suit-
able way to pay for this type of
city infrastructure than a sales tax.
Gearhart is going through this pro-
Lydia Ely/The Astorian
Many restaurant owners have opposed a food tax in Cannon Beach.
cess to fi nance a new fi rehouse.
We also think the City Coun-
cil fumbled the rollout of the food
tax. In July, the council voted 3 to 2
to impose the new tax by city ordi-
nance. A week later, City Coun-
cilor Brandon Ogilvie switched his
vote, sending the question to voters
instead.
This indecision sent a message
that the idea was not fully cooked.
We believe food and beverage
taxes are reasonable steps for cit-
ies to take to help off set the local
impacts of tourism. Ashland and
Yachats have taken this approach.
Newport has a tax on the Novem-
ber ballot. We suspect other cit-
ies will follow because of the
legal constraints on how lodging
taxes can be spent beyond tourism
promotion.
In Cannon Beach, we think
restaurant owners and other oppo-
nents have exaggerated the poten-
tial impacts of a food tax. The town
is among the most popular upscale
destinations on the coast. Anyone
who can aff ord to go out or visit
is not going to stop because they
have to pay a few dollars more for
meals.
But we do hear the anxiety about
the timing. We are just emerging
from the worst stretch of the coro-
navirus pandemic. A labor short-
age has complicated our economic
recovery. A new tax adds another
layer of uncertainty.
The city and the fi re district
should regroup and return in a year
or two with a food tax more closely
aligned to emergency response.
In the meantime, vote “no.”
‘Yes’ on Knappa school bond
In Knappa, the school district
has recommended a $14 million
bond measure to help fi nance a
range of school improvements. If
Measure 4-212 is approved by vot-
ers, the school district would also
be able to tap a $4 million state
grant, expanding the outlay to $18
million.
The average bond rate for prop-
erty owners is estimated at $2.20
per $1,000 of assessed value. The
bonds would mature in 25 years.
We are mindful about adding
to the property tax burden, partic-
ularly in rural areas. But the rate
would be 3 cents less than the
bonds used to help improve the
high school that were paid off in
June.
This is a sensible investment.
The bond money would help the
school district attack critical repair
and maintenance issues. Many of
the improvements would be tar-
geted toward middle school stu-
dents. The district hopes to replace
old portable classrooms and create
a science lab and learning hub. A
new gym is planned at Hilda Lahti
Elementary School. There could
be space for the new preschool
program.
A citizen committee would
review the spending.
Over the past several years, vot-
ers have wisely chosen to approve
bond measures for school improve-
ments in Astoria, Warrenton and
Seaside. Knappa schools should not
be left behind.
Vote “yes.”
SOUTHERN EXPOSURE
Gearhart seeks post offi ce independence
G
EARHART — Confusion
between addresses in Seaside and
Gearhart is driving an attempt to
bring a new ZIP code to Gearhart. Gear-
hart residents hope to persuade the U.S.
Postal Service to issue a new ZIP code to
the city in order to prevent delivery mix-
ups and delays.
“If I’m ordering online and I give my
ZIP code and I say Gear-
hart, and they, on the other
end of the line, they say,
‘No, it’s Seaside,’ and you
have to explain the whole
thing,” City C ouncilor
Reita Fackerell said.
Gearhart postal clerk
R.J.
Karynn Kozij described
MARX
the situation as “massive
confusion.”
“Companies send out text messages
saying their packages are being held at
97138,” Kozij said. “A lot of my custom-
ers who are new to the area, not knowing
that I have their package here at Gearhart,
go to Seaside by mistake.”
Not only homeowners, but businesses
that rely on property addresses could ben-
efi t from the change, including real estate
agents and emergency responders.
City Councilor Brent Warren, a propo-
nent of the change, said numbered streets
and lettered streets — in Gearhart, they are
streets; in Seaside, they are avenues — are
especially troublesome.
The Gearhart Post Offi ce on Pacifi c Way.
“It creates delays in the mail,” War-
ren said. “And obviously, when things
are misdirected, they have to be fi xed and
researched, so that’s problematic.”
Gearhart will present a resolution to
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and regional
postal offi cials seeking a new ZIP code and
an independent post offi ce.
Gearhart became a contract sta-
tion of Seaside in 1961, when the post
offi ce struggled with outdated equipment,
crowded facilities, underpaid workers and
an ineff ective management structure. The
decision saved the post offi ce about $1,700
a year.
The Gearhart Post Offi ce moved in
1995 from a space in the Pacifi c Way Cafe
to its location at 546 Pacifi c Way. In 2003,
the city attempted to address the ZIP code
issue with a request to a coordinator for the
regional district.
Many coastal communities with popu-
lations considerably smaller than Gearhart
have been assigned their own unique ZIP
codes, staff wrote in the draft resolution
presented to the City Council at the Octo-
ber meeting.
It is possible to request a ZIP code
boundary review by writing to the district
manager for the region, Bonamici’s district
representative, Ali Mayeda, wrote Warren.
“The boundary review process requires
any municipality and community group
seeking a ZIP code change to submit the
request in writing to the manager of the
district, with any rationale and justifi ca-
tion,” she wrote. “This request can only be
made once every 10 years.”
Mayeda asked the city to prepare and
send a request to the congresswoman’s
offi ce. The district manager must provide
a determination within 60 days, and the
P ostal S ervice conducts a formal survey of
customers who would be aff ected.
If a simple majority of respondents sup-
port the change, the P ostal S ervice usually
grants an approval, she said.
“I can’t see the downside to this, so I
would ask that we adopt the resolution and
get going on it,” Warren said.
R.J. Marx is the South County reporter
for The Astorian and the editor of the Sea-
side Signal.